The Greatest Gift A Voltron Christmas Tale
Chapter Seven
Meeting the Queen
After being given time to clean themselves up, Keith and Al were led back into the main castle by two scantily clad servants. Keith soon realized where they were going, they were heading to the dining hall, but when the doors opened there was nothing familiar about it. The room was dimly lit. Every wall was draped in rich fabrics and the floor was covered with animal skins and rugs. The table and chairs were gone and the center of the room was open, but around the perimeter there were various sofas, overstuffed chairs, and large floor pillows, most of the people in the room seeming to prefer the floor. As for the occupants themselves, they were a mixture of races. Lotor's allies, or ones wishing to become so, Keith assumed. Each guest was being attended to in variety of ways by various female slaves. Keith and Al were led up to a dais where they found King Lotor sitting on a large pillow with a blond slave girl massaging his shoulders for him.
"Gentlemen, so glad you came, please." Lotor gestured to some pillows at his side.
When they sat they were immediately descended upon by Lotor's servants bringing them drink food and offers of anything else they desired and judging by what Keith saw some of the people in the room engaged in, they truly meant anything. Keith brushed away their attempts at companionship and instead went about cleaning his sword from the mornings fighting as he occasionally took bites of food. Lotor and Keith engaged in small talk about swords and fighting techniques, Keith needing to remind himself less and less that the man was his enemy.
When Yurak finally entered the room, all eyes turned to him. He was walking with an obvious limp and his wrist and face were bandaged. He approached his king to find his usual spot occupied. He shot Keith a look that promised unfinished business and moved to a seat off to the side. Keith had to muffle his laughter as he watched Yurak futilely try to sit upon his bruised rear end, finally having to settle to lean on his side. Yurak was then quickly descended upon by several slaves, catering to his every whim.
"So tell me Lord Kogane." Lotor called Keith's attention back to him "What do you honestly think of my warriors?"
Keith looked at Lotor, unsure of what to say, then he heard Al in his head 'Remember your part, be Lotor.' Keith smiled. "All brawn, no brain. If that's all you've got, I'd say this is a pretty pathetic place to be ruler of."
Lotor's face fell flat for a moment but he soon smiled and then laughed heartily. "Well said, my friend. That is something my wife has been trying to tell me for years."
Now it was Keith's face that fell flat. How could he have forgotten? Oh god no! Allura! Lotor married Allura! Those repulsive images started to fill his mind again.
"She will be here soon. After your little show this morning she truly wants to meet you."
Keith managed to hide his panic well, taking a swig of wine to ease his mind. Soon she would be here… soon, what will he do then? Al, sitting beside him, remained uncharacteristically quiet.
Lotor smiled with a wide grin. "You'll have to excuse her if she has a bit of a temper. Her hormones are completely off the charts. I can't wait until our child is born and things get back to normal."
Keith looked up at Lotor stunned. A baby?
Lotor flinched slightly. "I'm sorry Lord Kogane, You just seem more of an equal, like a brother. I did not mean to be so casual."
Keith froze in shock, your brother? Lotor? He felt a sharp kick to his back snapping him back to the present. "Oh…I am honored that you would call me brother." Damn you Al.
Lotor turned towards the door and smiled. "Ah, there she is."
The room all stood to greet the queen. Keith stood too but was afraid to turn and face her, to see her face, the face of his love. He felt a prod to his back again and reluctantly turned his head, his eyes landing on the Queen of Arus. What the? Keith froze stunned at the sight of her, Merla? How? But I felt her! I felt Allura.
Queen Merla approached with one hand on her ripe belly. She moved to stand before Keith who intuitively bowed before her. She reached out a hand to lift up his chin forcing him to meet her eyes. "Nice, very nice…Tell me my husband, are you going to share?" She ran a flinger along Keith's stubbly jaw.
"Anything you wish, my Queen." Lotor cooed from behind her, but rolled his eyes at Keith. "And how are you two doing today he ran a hand up around from behind her caressing his child within.
Keith's mind was reeling. This is Lotor? Where is Ally? What the heck happened? As if he read his mind Al came up behind Keith and whispered. "Simple, you were never born."
Lotor, Merla, Keith, and Al dined together at a low table that was brought to them. Al's plan worked and they truly had been accepted into Lotor's inner circle. They dined and talk for several hours and Keith tried to find out some of what happened without much success, but one thing Merla said during dinner was sticking in his mind - Lotor had never been defeated. Never?
The drinks were flowing and the food was exquisite and Keith found himself guiltily of actually enjoying himself. The booze clouding his mind enough that he concentrated mostly on what's in front of him he could push back his grief.
The doors again opened and Lotor's elite warriors started to file in, each addressing the King and Queen before finding their seats, all eyeing Keith and Al curiously having heard of what happened in the arena. The last man in, a Drule warrior, stopped to speak. "Majesty the uprising on Caspia has been dealt with. We shouldn't have that problem again any time soon."
Lotor nodded to the man and he turned finding his place.
Keith turned to Al to ask him what he knows about Caspia but Al, who had up until then seem so relaxed, now seemed on edge and fidgety. "Al? Are you alright?"
Al seemed to startle slightly at Keith's voice. "Fine, my Lord. If you don't mind though, I would like to retire, with your permission of course."
Keith eyed him curiously. "Yes by all means." Keith smiled, his mind now way too foggy with drink to dwell on it. Merla gestured to some servants to show him to a room. Al bowed gracefully and then took his leave.
Just as Al left the room an entourage of a dozen or so exquisitely beautiful women begin filing in all dressed richly, but scantily. They moved to a side area separated from the rest by a very sheer black cloth. So sheer that it was almost nonexistent but the barrier was obviously there. Lotor's harem, Keith assumed and turned back to the door. Keith's stomach instantly hit the floor for the next person to enter the room was Allura. He was instantly transfixed. She was dressed in a very sheer flowing shift of a dress and not much else. Her hair loose about her head and there was no sign of a crown. He just stared and as soon as she saw him she was staring right back unable to move herself. Ally! Keith cried inwardly for her but the woman he saw, just as Al had said, was not his Allura. This woman, however breathtakingly beautiful, was a hollow shell, no spirit radiating from her. A gaunt, empty beauty. Ally, what happened to you, Ally? And then that stupid voice of Al's chimed in his head again, 'Simple, you were never born,' snapping Keith out of his daze and his eyes off of her.
"So your like blonds do you?" Lotor asked with a grin.
"I…" Keith averted his eyes.
"Yes, that one is something special." Lotor looked over to Allura.
Allura now free from Keith's attention, moved to sit behind the screen.
Keith tracked her movements in his peripheral vision afraid to look directly upon her again. So she's his slave, not his wife? But how did that…?
Lotor sipped his drink. "Yes, she is a beauty I must say, but the beauty hides much."
Merla playfully hit Lotor. "This fool almost married her if you can believe that. Luckily he woke up."
Keith couldn't believe his ears and his mind just wanted to switch off. Too many thoughts and too much wine had left him in a perpetual blur, a blur he was now happy to revel in, not wanting to think about anything anymore. The room around him was beginning to grow more amorous and he was having to push away more and more advances. His eyes, in spite of his will, kept seeking out Allura who remained quiet, sitting off to the side behind the screen.
Merla stood to leave her husband to his fun. She walked over to Keith, running her hand over his jaw. "You are impressive." She eyed him seductively.
Keith quickly looked away avoiding Merla's gaze, his eyes instead again finding Allura, who had been watching him. Their eyes again locked across the room. She may be a shell but she is Allura. Those were Allura's eyes. My god Ally what happened?
Merla laughed. "Yes Husband, he does seem to suffer from your same weakness. Poor man. Well, if you change your mind." She ran her hands into Keith's hair then swaggered away.
Keith had seen all he could bear. "Your Majesty… If you do not mind I wish to retire."
"Yes." Lotor smiled up from the pile of women swarming around him. "You must be exhausted." Lotor snapped his fingers and a barely dressed slave girl with long flowing black hair approached. "Show him to the royal guest suite."
The woman turned to face him. "Follow me, my Lord."
Keith's jaw hit the floor. L…Lisa?
Keith followed her out of the room and down the hall. It couldn't be. She wasn't even here. How? "What is your name?"
"My Lord?"
"Your name? What's your name?"
'"What do you wish it to be?"
Wha… Lisa's a slave girl? "Please, tell me what was your name before you lived here?"
"Lisa." She whispered.
"You, you were a pilot?"
She stopped and turned to look at him. "Do I know you?"
"No… I…" Keith stumbled. "I… I just heard rumors."
She resumed walking. "People talk too much."
Keith fell in behind her. "Please tell me what happened how did Arus fall?"
She didn't answer.
They stopped at a large door and Keith eyes went wide in the realization of where he was. He reached out to touch the door. "This is the Princess' room."
"How do you? How would you know that? I've never seen you before and I've been here since before this castle was resurrected."
"You?" Keith turned to Lisa in surprise. "You have?"
Lisa opened the door and walked in as Keith tentatively followed. The room was eerily familiar to Keith. It was Allura's old room, but lavishly decorated in the same gaudy manner as the other rooms he had been in. Rich fabrics were everywhere. Her bed had been replaced by an elaborately carved one with a huge canopy overhead, also richly draped in fabrics.
"Lisa?" Keith turned to her. "What about the Explorer?"
"The Explorer?" She looked at him quizzically.
"Yes, the other Voltron team."
"Other team?" She laughed. "There's only one Voltron. Well, there was only one."
Keith grabbed her arms. "But Space Marshal Graham, he created another team and…"
"Space Marshal who?" She looked completely puzzled.
"Graham."
She pulled free of his grasp. "I don't know who you're talking about."
"What about Jeff?"
"Jeff who?"
"Jeff, Lisa… Jeff!"
Al then entered the room a huge smile on his face drawing Keith and Lisa's attention. "Oh here you are, my Lord."
Lisa bowed before Keith. "Do you need anything else, my Lord?"
"Uh, no. Thank you, Lisa."
"Please, don't call me that. I…I…" She flustered but then righted herself remembering her place.
"I'm sorry." Keith bowed his head.
Al shoved Keith, shooting him a nasty look. "My Lord will be needing a computer terminal and a bottle of your best wine. He has business to take care of!"
Lisa bowed. "Right away, my Lord." She turned and hurriedly left the room.
"You're forgetting your role… my Lord, remember the walls have eyes. Don't get soft. No matter who you meet."
"What's wrong with Lisa? She and Jeff have been seeing each other for years. Why wouldn't she know him or Graham for that matter?"
"Keith, think back. Where would Graham and Jeff be today if you weren't there all those years ago?"
"I don't understand?"
"Think back. When you were nine, what happened? Remember, when Graham's son died?"
"Huh? Wait, you mean the ammo?"
"Yes Keith, you weren't there to stop it from being delivered. Live ammo was used on the training range. The very training range Jeff was practicing at. Jeff was killed that day and Graham…He was arrested and sent to prison. Vehicle Voltron never came about because Graham was not there to make it happen. Lisa never met Jeff."
"Wait a minute! Your saying Vehicle Voltron doesn't exist because I didn't exist?"
"Exactly!"
"Bullshit!" Keith turned away.
"Ah, but, it is the truth." Al walked up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Keith visibly sighed. "Al, what happened to Allura?"
"That I'll let you sort out on your own, son." Two slaves entered but Lisa was not with them. One was carrying a computer terminal, the other was pushing a cart full of appetizers and three bottles of wine. They set them down. "That will be all." Al barked and they hurriedly left. Al moved to face Keith. "I'll let you be. You have a lot to discover about this world." He gestured to the computer. "You do know how to read Drule don't you?"
Keith nodded slightly.
"Goodnight my Lord. Remember your role."
"My King." Merla entered the royal chambers and sauntered up to King Lotor, who was undressing for the night. "That human, quite interesting isn't he?" She purred.
"Yes, quite." He turned to her. "I think I will have him go hunting with me tomorrow. He intrigues me."
She ran a finger along his bare chest. "He would be a good asset to your military. If he could train your armies to fight like that. Well… you would be unstoppable!"
Lotor bellowed with laughter. "I'm already unstoppable! …But, I do see your point. His skills are great and would be useful."
She smiled up at him. "We should send him something to show our good will."
He looked down at her curiously. "What then? He didn't seem interested in any of the slaves."
"Oh?" Merla smiled as her finger traced circles on his chest. She then reached out with her mind and mentally suggests. Well, there was one.
Lotor looked up searching the ceiling for a moment. "Well, there was one."
Princess Allura.
He looked at Merla again. "He did have an eye for Princess Allura."
"Really?" Merla feigned surprise. "Oh yes, he did, didn't he?" Yes, sending him your special prize would show true respect.
"Yes." Lotor nodded. "Merla, have her sent to him. And make sure that wench performs well."
"Lotor, are you sure? You just met him?"
"Don't dare question me, woman! Now go!"
Excellent Idea. And it will be punishment for her to boot.
"Yes that little witch needs to be put in line. She has been growing bold as of late. Time to show her her place again." He went to his large desk and punched up a view screen. A view of Allura's small and mostly bare room came into view. She was in her usual spot, just standing at the window looking out at nothing in particular. "There you are you little witch. Are you ready to have some fun tonight?"
Allura stood looking out her window. The sun had long descended and the stars were twinkling at her. She thought back on how it used to be and tried to picture it in her mind. It would almost be Christmas and the beautiful forest would be covered in snow. But there was no forest anymore, no snow either, just a vast expanse of desolation and concrete.
The one woman whom Lotor allowed free access to Allura's room approached. She seemed older then her true years, thin and hunched over, one arm hanging uselessly at her side, her face tired from years of worry for her princess. She moved in wrapping Allura in a blanket. "Princess are you alright? You seem so lost tonight?"
"Sorry Nanny I… " Allura took a breath. "You know it's almost Christmas?"
"Yes, I know. Your mother loved Christmas. Remember how beautiful the castle was?" Nanny wrapped her good arm around Allura.
Allura smiled at the comforting memory. "Yes it was beautiful." Allura stared off again for a long while unable to get the image of the dark haired stranger out of her mind. "Nanny did you see the offworlders?"
Nanny smiled hugging Allura tighter. "No, but everyone is talking about them. Both amazing fighters I was told, maybe even as good as Lotor himself."
"Shhh, Nanny." Allura whispered. "You shouldn't say such things."
The door to Allura's room suddenly swished open and the two turned to find Queen Merla staring back at them. "Come, little princess. The king wishes for you to entertain tonight."
Allura walked slowly towards the queen, leaving Nanny behind holding the blanket. Allura had long ago given up on protest. It never got her anything but a beating, either for her or for one of her subjects. This was her life now. She was Lotor's play toy, to be used and loaned out however he chose. She paused at a cupboard and opened the door hiding herself slightly from Merla. She pulled on a silk cape and quickly grabbed several vials of a blue liquid Nanny had stashed there for her. She quietly slipped them into a small pocket inside the folds of the cape hiding them from Merla's eyes. She closed the doors exchanging a last look to Nanny, and then followed Merla out the door.
Once in the hall Merla grabbed Allura's arm tight. "His Majesty wants you to do a good job tonight, little princess." She hissed. "So you'd best be good or face my wrath!" She shook Allura like a rag doll. "Come!"
"Yes, your majesty." Allura meekly replied. Not knowing who or what manner of man or thing Lotor had in mind for her tonight. Nothing could surprise her, not anymore. Her hands fingered the vials in her cape, double and triple checking that they were there. They reached the door, the door to her old room. The room Lotor saves only for his most important guests.
"Be good now, little princess." Merla smiled. "And do as you're told." She reached out and grabbed Allura by her stomach, near the scar she knew was there, pinching then twisting cruelly. Merla glowered at her a moment. Then, letting go, she stormed off down the hall.
Allura knew Merla truly despised the fact that she was still alive, a constant reminder to her that she was Lotor's second choice. She was also well aware that she was just waiting for the excuse to kill her, a fact that Merla didn't even try to hide.
Allura turned to the door pausing to pull out one of the small vials. She opened it carefully so as not to spill even a drop. Holding it up to her nose, she let the smell wash over her. She could taste it already in the back of her throat, her only salvation. She put it to her lips and drank it all at once letting the cool, numbing sensation wash down her throat and over her whole body. She closed her eyes and felt the first soothing effects of the blue liquid, knowing it would make her time in the room she was about to enter bearable at least physically, if not emotionally. By now she was so accustomed to servitude that even she sometimes forgot she had ever done anything else but serve Lotor and succumb to his every whim. She put her hand on the door, the memories of when this room was hers coming flooding back in spite of the drug. Hand shaking she reached into the folds of the cape and brought out another vial opening it and downing the contents in desperation. Please just let the feeling come. Please… She dropped her hand as the sensations intensified and her body responded. She was ready.
Keith sat at the computer trying to find any real information on what happened to bring about the fall of Arus, wishing now he had studied his Drule script better. He could not find any details, just fanciful glowing reports of Lotor's mission to Arus and decisive victory on his first attack. It was so far fetched it had to be propaganda. "Lotor won Arus on his first mission? Bah! I don't believe it."
"Believe it." Al's voice came from behind him, making Keith jump.
"Don't you ever knock?" Keith asked, shaking off the scare.
"Don't need doors." Al grinned.
"Oh yeah, I forgot…angel…"
Al gestured to the computer screen. "Why can't you believe Lotor won the day he first arrived on Arus?"
Keith turned to Al. "Lotor? The bumbling idiot that thwarted all his own plans because he was chasing after Allura? We talking about the same Lotor?"
"Yes."
Keith got to his feet. "Impossible. I remember his first attack. He came and challenged one of the force for the planet and I…I…"
Al moved, standing directly in front of him. "You weren't there. Captain Jamison took the challenge."
Keith's jaw hit the floor. "Who? No? Jamison? That hot-head was the commander? He was a good pilot, but a commander?"
"Top of his class." Al grinned.
"What!" Keith fisted, and put his hands to his hips in frustration. "No, he wasn't! I was!"
Al, still smiling just shook his head. "No, you were never…"
Keith's hand shot up raking into his hair. "Yeah, yeah. Never born. Well then Jeff was…"
"Jeff is dead. He died at age nine. How quickly you forget."
"Ugh…"Keith started to tug at his locks. "Well then Sven or Lance, they had the next highest scores."
Al smiled again. "Do you really think they could have gotten those grades without having you and Jeff as roommates? Heck they barely graduated."
Keith froze. "What?"
"Remember? They were always in trouble, you two weren't there to bail them out and cover their tracks. I think they are both piloting cargo ships now."
"You're kidding! "Keith dropped back into the chair in front of the computer clutching at his head staring at the screen for a moment as the gears turned wildly in his head. "So then, who were the pilots?"
"Pilots?" A soft, quivering feminine voice spoke out from behind him. "What pilots?"
Keith snapped around in his chair. Al was nowhere to be seen and instead before him stood a scantily clad Allura draped in a silken cape. His throat closed up and he gasped. He finally managed a single, strained word. "You."
Allura froze at the sight of him. Her mouth quivered a bit trying to speak but only air came out. Finally she managed her words. "My… master…" She took a deep breath. "He has sent me… to… please you tonight."
Keith shook his head and blinked. "Your master? You mean…Lotor sent you?"
"Yes..."
Keith grabbed his head and spun back around grabbing the computer for support and muttered. "Lotor sent her to me? What the… why would he…" He jumped and his whole body quivered at the sudden sensation of her hands then running into his hair. Oh god… He again heard Al's voice in his head. Remember your part. The walls have eyes.
"What did you want to know about pilots for, my Lord?" She looked over his shoulder at the screen in front of him and stopped moving for the longest time. "Why does this interest you?" She resumed lightly massaging his scalp.
Remember your part. Al reminded him again.
"Uh I… well I… I like to know the history of the planets I visit." He tied to focus but found it impossible as her fingers danced through his hair. Oh my god!
"Well maybe I can help you? Would that please you, my Lord?"
"Uh… yes. That would please me." Keith turned to look at her. She pulled back slightly as his eyes met hers. But now this close he finds her eyes weren't the ones he remembered. Instead they were glazed, lost and hollow, the life beaten out of them. She appeared more as a robot to him than a human. Keith had to fight off the urge to pull her into his arms in a protective embrace and never let go. She's not your Allura, Keith… not your Allura. "How…how did Arus fall?"
"I do not wish to speak of it."
"Please. Tell me."
He saw her eyes glimmer with life for a moment but it was gone in an instant. She dropped her eyes to the floor. "Lotor attacked, he split up the Voltron force killing the commander in a duel. Then with us unable to form Voltron, Yurak destroyed the lions when he was a Robeast. We had no choice but to surrender."
"So, Yurak the Robeast destroyed the Lions? What happened the rest of the pilots? You survived, did they?"
"What do you mean, my Lord? I was never a pilot. I was…I was…" She started to shift a bit.
"What? But you flew the Blue Lion."
She started to laugh, giggling at him, but it was not the same infectious giggle of his Allura. This giggle was laced with sadness.
He cocked his head. "What's so funny?"
"I was the ruler of this world before Lotor attacked. Princesses are not pilots." Her response sounded almost robotic.
Princesses aren't pilots? Hell, this definitely wasn't his Allura. His Allura would kill anyone who told her she couldn't fly. "You never flew?"
She looked at him in utter bewilderment. "No, my Lord." She breathed out. "I was the Princess." She moved in closer to stand in between his legs. She ran a hand up into his hair. "You are a strange man. So many questions, do I not please you?"
Keith's head was instantly swimming. The image of the woman he loves was standing before him, offering herself to him. Yet, it was not her, not Allura. It was like her spirit was dead, a hollow image.
"My lord?" She brought one knee tentatively up on the chair followed by the other to straddle him. She stroked his face and hair, her fingers playing with his lips. "What do you wish of me, my Lord?"
Keith's body, defying his commands, jumped to life. In spite of what his brain said, his eyes saw Allura, his nose smelled Allura, and his skin, his skin…Oh no…He snapped too, grabbing her wrists in his hands, pulling them down to her lap. "Ally…please, can we just talk?"
Allura started, her eyes wide in shock. "How…how do you…How do you know my nickname?"
Keith stammered a bit. Oh that was smart! "Well, I just assumed…I mean your name is Allura isn't it?"
She dropped her eyes. "Yes, it's just no one has called me that in years…I…"
"I apologize, Princess."
"Please don't call me that." She whispered, pulling her hands free and crossing her arms in front of her. Then, as if suddenly remembering herself, she dropped her head. "I'm sorry, my Lord. Call me what you wish." She reached into her cape producing a vial and lifted it up between them, giggling slightly.
"What's that?" Keith eyed the vial curiously.
She smiled shyly. "This, my Lord? This will make you feel good. This is Asad, or." She smiled. "Blue." She opened the bottle and held it under her nose, breathing in the scent."
"Blue? What's Blue?"
She giggled as she lifted it to his nose. "My Lord you are funny. Here let me show you."
Before he could realize what she was doing, her finger had parted his lips and she had poured the liquid into his mouth. It numbed everything it touched, blazing a cool tingling trail to his throat down to the pit of his stomach and beyond. He instantly felt a rush reminiscent of free fall, and his eyes drifted shut as the sensation washed over him.
She giggled again, running her finger around his tingling lips. "Isn't that better, My Lord?" His eyes drifted open just as she wiped a drip of the liquid from the corner of his mouth, taking it and wiping her own lips with it, her tongue coming out to get a taste. "Hmmmm." She smiled down at him. "What is your name, My Lord?"
Keith was on the brink of loosing all control. He knew it had been a miracle of his will that he hadn't already given in to his desires for her. Hell, he would almost take her sober, and with all he had drunk it was so easy to forget why he hadn't. Now with the added effect of whatever the hell she just gave him, his will was all but shattered. "My name?" He softly exhaled, his lips raising up to hers. "It's Keith."
"Keith." She almost purred it as her finger traced his tingling lips. "I like that name, Keith… Would you like me to call you that?" She kissed him lightly, tasting the liquid around his mouth.
Hmmmmm, You can call me whatever you…Crap! Keith snapped too. "NO!"
She flinched, suddenly afraid and meekly recoiled. "My apologies, My Lord." She fumbled for another vial in her cape, pulling it free and uncapping it, she started to lift it to her lips.
"Stop!" Keith grabbed her hand. "Please, don't." She looked anywhere but at him holding onto the vial tightly. "Allura please. I'm sorry I yelled." She suddenly looked at him with those eyes that were hers but were not hers. "Allura? I really would like to know you… " He took the vial from her hand. "You, not this." He tossed it aside. "Please."
Her eyes tracked the vial as it smashed onto the floor spilling its contents. She started to tremble, a look of sheer terror washing over her. Keith instinctively reached for her and pulled her tight into his arms. "Shhh, It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you…I…" He started to rock with her as he felt her whole body quaking with fear. "Shhhh, I promise, I give you my word." Her body slowly relaxed, but not completely. He pulled back to look at her. "I just want to talk with you. Okay?"
She still had the look of terror about her. "Just talk? But…I was sent to please you."
"I just want to talk."
"But…"
"But what?"
"I…They…" she started to look around fearfully.
"What… Allura what is it?"
"If they find out that I…no…no…Please, My Lord. I will do anything you ask. Please. I must please you." She was shaking, her hand seeking her cape, fumbling around in it yet again.
Keith grabbed her arms. "Stop!" He yelled, the bite to his voice breaking through her panic. "What, what is it?"
She pulled back, her voice just a whisper. "They will punish me."
"Punish you!" Keith's eyes finally looked at her closely, something he had not dared do before. How did he not see it? Through her sheer clothing he could now see scars, many scars, all over her. He ran his hand down her back and it was the same. Scar upon scar. On her belly he could see a huge deep scar, through the sheer cloth of her dress. He pulled her arm out straight, seeing many a lash. Her wrist was wrapped in cloth. He reached over with his other hand to pull the cloth away. She tried to pull her arm free but he held tight and she soon gave up the fight. What he found when he bared her wrist made him physically ill. Deep scars, no doubt self inflicted. He looked at the other arm which was bound in the same manner. "Ally?" he whispered. "I…Oh Ally…" He pulled her to him again.
Her body finally went limp against him as he held her and rocked her in his arms. She begin to sob uncontrollably soon grabbing at him for support. He pulled her closer and they remained that way for a long while. Eventually she calmed and pulled back, wiping her face with her hands. "I…" She stiffened up a bit. "I am sorry, My Lord. I will take my leave." She shifted to get up.
"No." he grabbed her arm. "Please…stay. You did say you were sent to please me?" A look of fear washed over her yet again. Keith let a slight smile escape his lips. "You can tell me about your planet. How it used to be before Lotor…" He smirked. "That would please me."
She looked at him in utter disbelief, still sniffling a bit. "That's all?"
"Is there something else you would rather talk about?" He smiled.
"Who are you?"
"What?" Keith's brow furrowed.
She managed a hint of a smile and shook her head in total disbelief but soon her smile faded. "But when they check on me…"
"They do that?" He shook his head, a devilish grin coming to his lips. "Well, let's give them something to see, shall we?" He pulled her to him again and stood up swooping her up into his arms. He was momentarily taken aback by the slightness of her. She barely weighed a thing. The Allura he knew, while she looked outwardly delicate, was solidly built her strong muscles built from tireless training were hidden within. But this woman, this Allura weighed nothing, just skin and bone.
Allura tried desperately to break free but couldn't quickly tiring from the effort. Keith purposely knocked over several small tables as he carried her over to the canopy bed and tossed her upon it, climbing in himself. He pulled the canopy hanging around it closed, sealing them both inside. Allura looked like a frightened animal, unsure of what to do, again reaching for her vials. But somehow he had already managed to strip the cape from her, her hand still seeking what wasn't there. Keith reached out to her and took her hand in his holding it still as he lay down on his side. "So tell me about your planet, Allura."
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