Hi everyone! It is getting closer to this fic coming to an end and even I don't know how it will end. Being a panster is fun because it's like I'm going on the journey with all of you, my lovely readers.


8. Unseen Fears

Allura twisted and turned, unable to fight the thoughts that invaded her mind. She was physically in her own bed but at the same time, she had been dragged out of it and into another dimension. She stood in a white space, still in her nightgown as she looked around. How had she gotten here? Keith said they were safe. That they were away from Lotor. Had he lied to her? No, Keith was an awful liar. He must have found a way to intrude again.

"Did you really think you could escape me, Princess?" Lotor asked her as he stepped closer to her. She took a step back. Why was she here alone? Where were the others? Had he captured her? The thought made a cold chill envelop her heart. If he had captured her, he would bring her somewhere he would be at an advantage. She had known him long enough to figure that much about him.

"Stay away from me," Allura said clenching her fists, but Lotor simply laughed at this and just stepped even closer.

"We will always be together, Princess," Lotor said calmly. "No matter how much you fight, you will never be able to escape me." He grabbed a hold of her, pulling her close. No, no, not again. This couldn't be happening again. No matter what she did, his powers were much stronger than hers. The place he brought her to always put him in a powerful position.

"Where have you brought me? Did you capture me from the Castle of Lions?" Allura demanded to know. Her heart was racing as she tried to pull away but like before, she couldn't. Lotor laughed at this, his arm wrapping around her waist before he pulled back to look at her.

There was an odd look in his eyes, almost as if he were looking right through her but the smirk on his face made her shiver. His expression provided more questions than give answers and she knew the more nervous she was, it would be worse, but she couldn't help it.

"I will always be a part of you, princess," Lotor said calmly. "No matter where you run, you cannot escape me. And if you rely on Keith, one day, you will be holding his corpse in your own hands." His own hands slithered inside her night gown, forcing their way as they explored the naked skin of her inner thigh and she screamed. That was the only thing she could think of right now. Screaming – surely, someone would come to her aid. She wanted the hands away, far away from her body and something must have worked because the white space disappeared and she sat up in bed, breathing heavily. It had just been a nightmare? The others surrounded her, and she leaned into Coran's warm embrace, gaze still a little frantic as she looked around.

Her breathing was still slightly laboured, and her entire body trembled even in the warm embrace. She could still feel his hands and no matter what she did, she couldn't get them out. A distant humming brought her thoughts back to the present as Coran ran a comb through her silver locks, the movement and the sound of humming slowly causing Lotor's laughter to fade.

"I'm sorry," Allura whispered. "I woke everyone up, didn't I?"

"Princess, we don't mind being woken up to help you," Shiro said gently. "Are you alright?"

Allura wanted to say she was fine, that it was just a stupid nightmare, but she knew that the moment she closed her eyes, he would come back.

He was right – she couldn't escape him; she hadn't been able to even when they had been running in the world and he was still haunting her.

And why wouldn't he? He was still out there. Given how interested he was in her, would he really let up just because the two of them had escaped?

"I had a nightmare," Allura said softly, able to speak now that her breathing wasn't breaking up constantly. "I know all of you said we're safe in here, but he was interested in me. Keith got hurt protecting me so I'm not even certain he's safe."

"Didn't you guys say he was from another world though?" Lance pointed out. "I get you're scared, Allura but do you think he'll able to leave that world and come here?"

"It does not hurt to be careful, does it?" Allura replied and sighed as she glanced over at Keith. Their eyes locked and he reached to take her hand.

"I won't let him hurt you," Keith promised.

Keith's words were full of conviction, and she knew he would fight tooth and nail to make sure that Lotor never laid a hand on her again but how was she supposed to explaining the sinking feeling in her heart? The feeling that he was closer than they thought, and he would strike at any moment. As he squeezed her hand, the touch grounded her, but she still shook her head.

"I know everyone thinks I'm being paranoid, but I can feel it," Allura said, shivering a little. "And even if I am, isn't it better to be a little bit cautious than to be caught off guard if he does attack us again?"

"She has a point," Pidge chimed in. "I mean, maybe it could just be a bad dream but Keith and Allura do know this Lotor a lot better than we do. Keith, what do you think?"

Keith paused and nodded. "It doesn't hurt to be careful. He was hunting us. We were able to get away, thanks to all of you back then. If Allura has a bad feeling then I trust it enough to follow it."

Allura felt her body relax. He believed her – even though she was shaken, and it could have been a bad dream for all she knew but at the same time, he trusted her enough to take it seriously. The dream felt so real, she could still feel Lotor's hands, coming closer no matter how much she tried to push him away. There was nothing she could have done.

"We'll look into it then, I guess though Allura, are you ok? You and Keith have been a little clingy to one another since you came back," Lance said a little tactlessly and there was an odd expression on his face, one she could not place right now. She would have flinched at how blunt he sounded if he did not look the way he did. His eyes were downcast, and it appeared that he was trying a little too hard to cheerful because he had his usual smile on his face. One thing her skills in diplomacy had taught her was that out of their whole team, Lance was a very good liar.

It took watching him closely and even then it would be so easy to miss if something was off because he was a good actor. He had practically mastered hiding it.

"All Keith and I had was each other in that place," Allura said softly, cheeks flushing. "We shared a lot together even in those difficult times. I don't know if I would be here had it not been for him." She frowned as Lance's face did completely fall for a flicker of second before it was back to normal again. She wasn't certain at what was going on, especially as Keith glanced over at Lance. There was a sudden silence in the room and Hunk moved to clasp Lance's shoulder before Shiro spoke again.

"Let's take a further look into that in the morning, why don't we all get some rest?" Shiro said although frowned as Allura's grip tightened around Keith's hand. She didn't want him to leave – she didn't want to sleep, she knew as soon as she closed her eyes, the nightmare would come back.

Even if it was just a nightmare, even if it was just a bad dream that was following her, she didn't want it to come back. He had been so close to her there and no matter how much she stepped back, he would close the distance between them.

"Do you want me to stay here too?" Keith asked softly and Allura nodded, opening her mouth to say something but words caught in her throat. They had kissed after all; how could she explain what Lotor was going to do to her in the nightmare? The things he had not been able to finish doing in reality, he would finish in the nightmare.

Allura had never understood romantic feelings – what it meant to be loyal to someone, out of your own free will. What it meant to want someone back but given her thoughts kept drifting to Lotor and she wasn't reliving the beautiful kiss she shared with Keith – was she really deserving of him? Her thoughts should be of the person she had managed to open her heart too despite everything else going on at the time.

But at the same time, him being close felt comforting. It felt as if Keith being close would keep Lotor far away. His embrace had been protective even when he was not certain that he would be able to win in this battle for her. She tightened her grip around Keith's hand, keeping her gaze averted even as the others left.

"I'm sorry," Allura murmured softly once it was just her, Keith and Coran left in the room.

Keith blinked. "Why? I don't mind staying with you, Allura. I like it. It makes me feel like I'm doing something right."

"I'm not loyal," Allura said quietly, pulling her hand away and curling into herself. "He keeps coming in my dreams. He keeps touching me and no matter how much I try to move away, he keeps trying to take something that isn't his to take. He has no right to even look at me. I don't give him that kind of permission." Her voice had turned indignant by the end of this, and she knew maybe she was thinking too much about all of this, but she couldn't help it. Keith was important to her – and Lotor even now was being an interloper in all this, meddling in places he did not belong.

"It doesn't matter," Keith said firmly. "You said no. No matter what he does, it's not your fault. He is just an interloper but we're here and I won't let him hurt you again, no matter what I have to do." He held out his arms to her, stepping back and giving her the option to come into them.

Allura stepped closer, wrapping her own arms around him, resting her head against his chest. She didn't know what would happen next but knowing she didn't have to face it alone made the burden a little easier.