Nanny whistled as she put away the last of the breakfast dishes, a task which would take considerably less time to complete in a few days. The thought left Nanny with a bit of a heavy heart. Of course, she was happy that the dreadful war had finally ended. The galaxy, planet Arus, and most importantly, her dear Princess, were now safe. These were supposed to be happy times.

As Nanny strolled down the hall leading to the Princess’ chambers, she felt a twinge of sadness as she passed near the boy’s recreation room. From behind the closed door, she could hear their cheerful voices. ‘Must be planning their outing to Wyles this morning,’ she thought. Allura, out of courtesy, had asked Nanny earlier about the trip. Allura never listened to her nanny now-a-days, but it was kind of her to have asked. Nanny was actually looking forward to being uninterrupted for a while. There was still much to be done, with the ball being only three days away. And Allura needed to spend time with her friends, for their time together was now short.

Nanny never expected to feel this apprehensive in lieu of their upcoming departure. Maybe she’d always been a little hard on them, but they gradually earned her respect and love. She worried about Pidge the most. It was good for him to have had a mother for a while. She hoped she left him with that feeling.

Now and then, Nanny still felt the sharp pain of being overruled as far as the decision concerning the Princess and her flying the Blue Lion. ‘That was an unnecessary risk, to say the least.’ However, even Nanny, at times, couldn’t help but be secretly proud of Allura’s accomplishments. She had become a very capable pilot. ‘Nerves of steel…I’m surprised I didn’t die of fright,’ Nanny mused to herself.

Nanny arrived at Allura’s chambers, finding it empty. She placed the small while box she’d brought atop of Allura’s dressing table, and set to straightening the bed, something Allura had asked her time and again not to bother with. Eyeing the box that she’d brought, Nanny couldn’t help but be a little proud of the gift for Allura she’d worked so hard to find. She had definitely outdone herself this time. Even Nanny was little surprised at her own actions. She couldn’t believe that she was going to let Allura wear this to the ball, she mused, pulling the black satin from the box. ‘This is truly a beautiful dress,’ she prided. The shoulder straps were thin and the neckline a little low, but tasteful. The skirt was long and flowing, a dress definitely worthy of dancing in.

Nanny had once caught Allura eyeing this same dress a while back in an Earth clothing store catalog. Keith’s friend Ginger often sent her such things. Nanny often wondered what else Ginger dreamed up to send, but thought it not her place to ask. Besides, there was always a thing or two for Nanny in those packages. ‘What a sweet girl, that Ginger,’ she smiled.

As she hid the box under a blanket in the linen drawer, there sounded a knock at the door. Nanny punched in the code that released the security lock (a safety feature that was installed in the Princess’ room only), and the metal door slid open.

“Oh, uh, Nanny…sorry, I was, uh, just looking for the Princess. We’re leaving for Wyles shortly,” stammered the startled captain as he promptly moved to hide the contents of his right hand behind his back. He could never figure out how such a short, harmless woman could tie his tongue so easily with just a look. br>

“Good morning, Captain,” Nanny grinned. “I believe Allura has gone down to meet everyone in the stables.”

“Great, uh, sorry to bother you,” as he gave a slight bow and tried to back away.

“Oh, Captain?”

“Yes, Nanny?” he stammered nervously.

“Do you want me to put those in water for the Princess?” asking as she peered around him, revealing the large bundle of wild flowers he was trying to conceal.

“That would be, uh, nice. Thank you, Nanny,” as he quickly passed them over.

Nanny glanced over the familiar white lily flowers; she’d seen them before. “You know, Captain,” she started with an air of humor. “There are OTHER beautiful flowers that grow on Arus; flowers that one does not have to hang from cliffs in order to pick,” she teased.

Keith stopped for a moment, and his eyes grew just a little wider. “Too easy,” he replied. A slow, slight grin came upon his face. “Besides,” he continued, “What if I don’t want any other beautiful flowers? What if I only have eyes for that one particular flower?” Flashing Nanny his famous devilish grin, he gave her a quick wink and headed for the stables.

Nanny shook her head with silent amusement. ‘Yes, this will be a fine party. A fine, fine event indeed.’ Nanny couldn’t help but laugh out loud as she set about putting the flowers in water.