Three weeks had passed since the Voltron Force left Arus for Earth, and she had spent much of that time attending to the needs of her people and the kingdom. There was still a sizable amount of rebuilding that needed to be done, especially in the villages nearest the castle where Zarkon’s attacks had been the worst. There was still much to do, but Allura couldn’t help but think the workload to be considerably less than in the past. Without her additional piloting duties, she found a little more extra time on her hands than she might have liked.
Allura’s routine had also been including regular trips to the cargo bay to check incoming shipments from Earth. The Earth cargo ships only came in every few days or so, but in the past three weeks, there’d always been a letter in it from one of the boys. Allura heard from Hunk and Pidge about once a week. Lance seemed to write everyday; each shipment usually had two or three letters from him. Allura enjoyed the little distractions the letters provided. She’d been incredibly homesick for her friends and missed them constantly, particularly at dinnertime for some reason.
Allura enjoyed hearing about what they were doing and how much attention they were getting. She thought it particularly amusing that people had been asking them for autographs. She could just imagine how awkward that would make someone like Keith feel. He tried to be so humble all the time; this was probably driving him crazy. Allura laughed at the thought of poor Keith trying hide from the amorous masses of little girls following him everywhere.
Allura missed him. Things had happened so fast between them the night before he left. It felt so…unfinished. Allura always hoped that there would be something from Keith in the Earth shipments, but there never was. ‘He’s probably just so busy right now,’ she would tell herself.
Allura had heard from him a couple of times, but they had been electronic transmissions. (The others didn’t like using that system since the Garrison often censored transmissions. Paper letters were a little archaic, but at least they were private.) Keith’s messages had always been short and maybe even a little on the impersonal side. He just didn’t seem like the same man somehow. The messages would consist of the normal, ‘Hi. How are you?’ thing. It was maddening. She tried not to wonder if there was something seriously wrong on his end, but her gut told her that there was.
Allura wrote Lance pretty much every day. Lance was a good friend, and she could tell him anything. Well, almost. One of his recent letters had mentioned something about him coming to visit. Allura hoped so; she’d been getting lonelier by the day. It would be so wonderful to have him back again, if only for a while.
‘He’s a good friend,’ she thought, as she made her way through the maze of hallway toward Castle Control. Earlier in the day, Allura received notice that a couple of transmissions from Galaxy Garrison had been sent to her attention. She tried not to get excited, but the closer she got to Control, the more she started to run.
‘Maybe…’ she hoped.
The first message was from Lance. It read:
Hi Allura.
I hope you’re not letting Coran and Nanny give you any crap over there. If they do, just let me know, and I’ll take care of it. (Ha Ha – Like I could ever stand up to Nanny).
But there’s no time for small talk today…I don’t have much time right now.
I assume you heard already about the deposition. Don’t worry about a thing. We’re taking care of everything for you. Keith and I will pick you up at the spaceport when you arrive on Earth, so don‘t leave without us. And don’t worry, you won’t even have to see Lotor at all. We’ve already taken care of that. No need to panic.
And another thing, you ARE staying with us while you’re here. We stayed at your house for three years; you can stay at ours for three days. No arguments!
We can’t wait to see you! If you need anything, let me know.
Love,
Lance
What was all that about? What deposition?
She flipped a second switch on the control panel, activating the second message. It was from the soon-to-be-retired, Space Marshall Graham.
Allura’s mouth dropped as she carefully read the contents of the message.
Lotor had survived and was recovering from the crash that had nearly taken his life. There was going to be a trial, and she had to go to Earth for a deposition to make a statement. The Space Marshall had said it wouldn’t be much. Most of what they needed would be from Keith concerning the frequent reports he’d made to the Galaxy Garrison over the years. This wasn’t a trial, so Allura would never have to see Lotor. She only had to answer a few isolated questions from Lotor’s appointed defense attorney.
Allura couldn’t help but laugh. ‘What kind of defense could that evil villain even attempt?’
Although Allura really didn’t like the idea of dealing with a deposition, she was overjoyed with the thought of seeing her friends again. She’d never been to Earth before. She’d often wondered, with all the stories she’d been told over the years.
This was too exciting! She would have to pack immediately. She only had a few days until the deposition, and it was a two-day trip. Allura all but took off running. As she turned the corner of the hall that led to her chambers, she all but ran straight into Coran. He didn’t exactly look as happy as she did.
Allura halted abruptly, all the while trying to conceal her obvious enthusiasm.
“So, you’ve heard about the deposition.” Coran paused. “Allura, I don’t like the idea of you having to be anywhere near that monster. He’s dangerous.” Consternation marred his sharp features. “But at least he’s safely locked up, and from what I’ve heard, physically unable to do you any harm. You can go, but I agree with Lance. It will be much safer if you stay close to Lance and Keith while you are there.”
Allura thought that Coran gave her another look, one that didn’t have much to do with his reservations about Lotor, but as soon as she saw it, it was gone.
“You can go alone. Nanny wanted to come with you, but I told her that you’d be safe in Blue Lion. And there will be escorts at various points along a designated route, just to be safe.”
Coran held back a smile at the look of utter disbelief on Allura’s face. “Princess, I have my reasons. Now, hurry and pack. You should leave within the hour.”
The time it took to get to Earth seemed short. Allura had relished the opportunity to be at Blue Lion’s controls again. Maybe straight flying wasn’t as exciting as being in battle, but it would do. She’d kept it on manual control most of the time, except for when she’d break the monotony by pulling out one of Lance’s letters; she’d brought them to keep her company on the long trip. And perhaps if she read them over a few times, she’d find some clue as to why Keith had failed to call or write.
Lance’s letters were always incredibly long. ‘Maybe he’s as bored as I am,’ she would wonder.
As Allura approached Earth, she could hardly contain her excitement. She was anxious to see Earth for the first time, but even more so to see her friends again. Allura had been surprised to learn that Lance and Keith were living in a house somewhere near GG headquarters, with Hunk and Pidge just down the street. With the team being “officially” disbanded for the moment, Allura thought that they might need some time and space away from each other, but apparently, they didn’t. Allura was silently happy that her friends were still together. She didn’t want any of them to feel the loneliness that she often did.
As Blue Lion entered the Earth’s atmosphere, she couldn’t help but notice how beautiful it looked from above. It made her glad to have cancelled a planned overnight stay the night before. How could she be tired when she was finally able to visit Earth? Allura sent word to Lance that she would be forgoing her stop and would be early.
She was closing in on GG headquarters, when her landing co-ordinates suddenly appeared on the overhead screen. Allura took her Lion into GG airspace, trying hard not to be distracted by the seemingly endless buildings, space ports, and technology that were beyond anything she’d ever seen before. It was so overwhelming.
Allura studied the terrain as she prepared to land. She was surprised to see that the entire GG complex was surrounded by mountains. For protection, Allura figured, but she couldn’t help but think that the landscape made the Garrison appear almost beautiful. It certainly didn’t look like the center of an organization that maintained enough weaponry to blow several systems to bits. The GG almost looked like a vacation spot. Across the west rim of the mountain range, it met with a seemingly endless body of water. Allura knew this to be the Pacific Ocean, and she was looking forward to seeing it close up. Lance had said that he often walked the ocean at sunset, just to think. She could imagine just how peaceful that must be.
Allura shut down the main computer, crawled out the upper hatch, and made the three long jumps down from her Lion to get her first feeling of planet Earth under foot. She was just too excited to bother with the elevator today.
Allura had barely hit the ground when she saw a familiar figure running toward her.
She flung her arms around him as he picked her up in a fervent embrace.
“There’s my girl! How was your trip?”
Lance set her down but didn’t let go.
“Better now!”
Allura almost didn’t recognize him in civilian clothing. He wore a pair of tan pants and a dark blue casual shirt with short sleeves. Obviously, he was off duty at the moment. Lance was definitely handsome…and he looked so incredibly happy. Suddenly, Allura felt better than she had in weeks.
Allura searched the docking bay. Lance’s note had mentioned that both he and Keith would be coming for her…but it seemed as if Keith had found something else better to do yet again.
Lance noticed her wandering eyes.
“Keith would have come, but he’s on duty today. He’s at the deposition.”
She nodded. At the deposition – at least it was a valid excuse.
“It gets a little worse. He’s not allowed to talk with anyone until after he’s given testimony, so you won’t see him until after you’ve give yours, the day after tomorrow.” Lance frowned. “Allura, there’s nothing he could do. These orders came from the top.”
Previously, Lance and Keith had arranged for Allura’s testimony to be conducted in private, without the presence of Lotor. Considering the history, it was better for her safety. However, since Keith’s statements were directly accusatory to the defense, Lotor had the choice of whether or not to attend that portion of the proceedings…and there was word that Lotor was indeed going. But Keith would handle things just fine – he always did. Besides, it wasn’t really a dangerous situation, considering Lotor’s questionable physical condition. But Lance couldn’t worry about that now. No matter what Keith had going on, Lance wasn’t going to let Allura’s trip be in vain. He was going to show her a good time, maybe even a great one.
A wry grin spread across his tanned features.
“However, young Princess, I’m free all day,” he said, extending an arm. “And it would be my pleasure to show you around. That is, if you’re interested?”
Allura wasn’t going to mope. Even if Keith wasn’t to be a part of this trip, she was going to have a good time. Who knew when she was ever going to see Lance again? And this was her first visit to Earth. Yes, she was going to have fun. She couldn’t afford not to.
“I would love that,” she replied, taking his arm. So together, they headed for the transport.
The last three days on Earth had left the Princess Allura bedazzled. Granted, she only saw that part of California where Galaxy Garrison was located, but to her, the entire experience had been enthralling nonetheless. With Pidge and Hunk in tow, Lance had taken her to a beach where they had a picnic and played in the sand. Lance even tried to teach her how to surf (with minimal results, but she did get up once). They saw movies, ate at restaurants, and even went to a shopping mall that had an amusement park right in the middle of it! Allura couldn’t believe that the people of Earth would ever take these things for granted. It was considered part of their normal life, but the things she’d seen…done – how could anyone ever get used to all of it?
The time had flown so quickly, they had had so much fun, she hadn’t given Keith’s absence much lingering pause. Well, at least Lance had done his best to distract her.
This would be her last night on Earth. Even if she’d wanted to stay, there were pressing issues to attend to back on Arus. Several of the village leaders had scheduled an audience with her in just two days, and it would be considered bad form if she were to cancel, no matter the reason.
Allura’s deposition had been earlier in the day. She found the process to be much less complicated than she had anticipated; it had only taken an hour. Besides, it’s not that hard to tell a true story. The ease of the entire process had Allura wondering why Keith had been so busy the last two days. Why was he put through the ringer, when all she had to do was answer a few simple questions? Was he actually trying to avoid her? It seemed the general theme as of late, so she wouldn’t doubt that could be the case. But it wouldn’t do her any good to think about it anymore. She was leaving.
But that was tomorrow. Tonight, she would be having dinner with Keith. His deposition had concluded earlier in the afternoon, and he was on his way home. Lance had gone out for the evening, citing certain “female obligations.”
It had been hard to kiss him good-bye. Lance had made such an effort to see that she had had a good visit. But then again, she wouldn’t have expected anything less. Despite the flashy image and snide sense of the universe, he really was a good guy. Such a loyal friend to the few he saw as being so, he would do anything for those he cared for most. Before going out, he had promised he’d try to arrange a visit to Arus. Allura hoped so. She already found herself missing him terribly.
Lance said that he had a “date,” but Allura had the feeling he was just trying to make himself scarce to give her a little time alone with Keith. Strangely, it didn’t matter to her one way or the other.
The room was beginning to take on the pronounced brightness of late day sun.
Allura sat quietly, allowing her gaze to wander first around the lavishly decorated living room in which she sat, and then through the nearly wall-size window that separated the house from the great Pacific Ocean just beyond.
For a few peaceful moments, her thoughts drifted in tandem with the gentle, lulling waves coming ashore. Funny, she thought, how the ocean was like life – so vast and seemingly endless, yet finite. But as one body of water connects to another, it becomes part of a larger system, extending beyond its earthly boundaries. Allura couldn’t help but think of people like this. One life can be great on its own, but joined with many others, the scope of that one’s greatness can take on infinite proportions. Separate, yet connected.
She let out a deep sigh.
She would have good reason to be stand-offish tonight. Keith had all but ignored her since leaving Arus - not returning her letters, his new, more casual (cold) demeanor. But somehow, Allura couldn’t find it in her heart to be a problem on purpose. Not tonight anyway. They only had a short time together, and she didn’t want to ruin it by acting like a child. Besides, he would probably be exhausted after two days of courtroom rhetoric. And who wouldn’t be after two days of politicians, papers, and pomp?
She waited in the living room, wearing the new white dress she’d found while shopping the other day. Nanny would definitely never let her wear it again, so she might as well while she had the chance.
The sheer material rested incredibly light against her skin, almost like she was wearing air. Even the thin, dainty straps holding it up couldn’t be felt against her shoulders. But that wasn’t why Allura had bought it. She liked it because it was short. Sinfully short.
Allura smoothed the fabric against her skin and tugged at it in an attempt to cover a little more leg. Maybe too short. She glanced at the time piece on the wall, an “antique” Lance called it, something Keith’s grandfather gave to him.
Their house was much larger than any of the others she’d seen on the trip. It was brand new, Lance had told her, and with all the modern conveniences: big-screen this-and-that’s, digital whachamajigits, a toaster - things Allura never had dreamed even existed. Each of the house’s three levels had high, domed ceilings with hand-carved moldings (Lance said the moldings made the house look old, which Keith liked), and giant picture windows on almost every wall, allowing the sun’s rays to permeate the house at any given point in the day. The linens, tapestries, and furniture were all fashioned from perfectly white fabrics. Pristine white, the kind of untouched clean that makes you want to take your shoes off or use a coaster under your drink. But Lance said they didn’t have any coasters. “This isn’t that kind of place” he’d said. “If I’m gonna get my ass in bunch about a water ring on my coffee table, I’ve got bigger problems than what a coaster would fix.” Whatever that meant. Every room had been furnished with big, soft chairs and sofas, and in that way, the entire house took on a comfortable warmth. Yet, it seemed to be missing something. A family, maybe. Allura couldn’t help but wonder why two people would need all this space. And then she laughed out loud, remembering she owned her own castle.
Allura had marveled at the structure, but that wasn’t what had caught her attention right off. The house rested not twenty meters from the ocean. It had built on a subtle bluff which overlooked the shoreline for kilometers in both directions from the great balcony off the living room. From almost anywhere in the house, you could hear the distant crashing of the soft waves. It was no wonder he didn’t miss Arus. Life here was perfect.
Her thoughts melted when a noise sounded from the other end of the house. She recognized it to be the lock to the back door.
“Allura!?” a familiar voice echoed through the large house. “I’m home. Are you here?”
Distant footfalls grew louder on the wooden floor as he approached.
The moment he entered the room, Allura could almost forget why she’d been mad in the first place. That smile…she’d been starved for it.
Keith ran over and wrapped her in a giant hug. If it was a “friend” hug or a “something else” hug, she couldn’t tell, but she did notice he didn’t look the part of someone who’d just been through a two-day ordeal. He looked invigorated…happy. Allura was glad that he was doing well, but part of her had hoped that maybe…
“Finally!” Keith held her for endless minutes, eventually letting go. “Did Lance take good care of you?”
“Yes, we had a great time. Wish you could’ve been there.”
“Me too.”
He tried not to notice the dress she was wearing (dress…nightgown), but it was impossible. For the male species, not looking at pretty girl in a short skirt either meant he was blind, or played for the other team. Keith fit neither of the categories, and so allowed himself a brief head-to-toe inspection before averting his gaze. The heavy sun was at the point where the angle of reflection off the ocean was casting a bright yellow hue around everything in the room. She had worn her hair down, the way he liked it, and it was catching rays like soft, golden filaments of light, illuminating her like one of those portraits of an angel with the sun of God behind her.
“You look…I mean, it’s really good to see you again.”
To avoid further embarrassment, he turned to pick up the bag he’d set down as he’d come into the room. “Chinese take-out, a must for any Earth visitor.” He turned the corner to enter the kitchen, but Allura could still see him over the counter top.
He was wearing the dress blues he’d had on the night before he left Arus. She’d often dreamt of that night…his uniform…how it felt against her. This was going to be a difficult night.
Allura took the glass of Chardonnay Keith offered her and wandered back into the living room. Lance had lit a fire in the marble and brick fireplace before he’d left. It was sparking and crackling merrily now, throwing cinders this way and that like a poor man’s fireworks display.
Keith came up behind her. His voice was soft and slow. “Allura, the entire two days…you have to know how much I wanted to be with you. I really didn’t have a choice.”
“I know…duty called, and you jumped up and answered.”
Keith didn’t say anything. How could he? She was right. He didn’t even try to reschedule his deposition. Why he hadn’t, he couldn’t say for sure.
“I’m sorry,” was all he could think to say.
With that out of the way, the couple seemed to relax. It would prove futile to carry it any further, considering the short time they had now. Some things aren’t worth taking to exhaustion.
The two had decided to take dinner out on the patio deck. The night air was warm, but a soft breeze kept things comfortable. And before they realized, it had grown dark, save for the quarter moon that hung low in the open sky and the flicker of the single candle in the middle of their table.
They had laughed and talked as if no time had passed between this moment and the last time she’d seen him. It was heavenly. She wanted so badly to touch him so many times that night, reach over and hold his hand. But she just couldn’t, no matter how much she might have wanted to. But it was just good to be with him…see him…hear the sound of his voice. And it was nice to have him all to herself. No Nanny, no Lance…nobody to give disapproving looks.
They had long finished dinner, but kept talking until around midnight. Keith desperately wanted to keep her all to himself for the rest of the night, take advantage of every last minute they had together…but she was leaving early in the morning. As a gentleman, he couldn’t keep her up any longer, despite that there was nothing else he’d rather do. She would need her rest for the long trip back.
The sound of the soft waves rolling ashore hummed like music in Allura’s ears. For a second, she thought of the lonely trip back to Arus. It always seemed that they needed just one more day.
“Well, Allura, I’m sorry to have kept you up like this. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
She knew it was coming. Truthfully, she wasn’t tired, but she couldn’t think of a proper excuse to stay up any longer. Maybe she would go to her room for a while and then…but no, that wouldn’t be right. Would it?
Keith stood and opened the patio door for her to enter ahead of him. She started to walk inside, but stopped and turned to him. She wanted to say something…anything.
“Thanks for dinner.”
Hey Keith, I’m not tired. Let’s stay up all night and talk…Keith, you’re gorgeous. Is that a new cologne?…Hey, how about coming back to Arus and making babies with me? Nope. She’d said, ‘Thanks for dinner.’ Allura dropped her gaze and walked inside.
In the past hour, the temperature seemed to have dropped considerably. Lance had mentioned it was a phenomenon typical of northern California this time of year (warm during the day, freezing cold at night), but it was just so drastic a change. She had been comfortable early on, but somewhere in the last four hours, she’d turned into a walking ice sculpture. But she hadn’t let him know it, not for one instant.
Allura stepped close to the fireplace to warm her cold limbs. Behind her, she heard the sliding glass door close and lock. Footsteps came up behind her, but she made no attempt to turn around.
The waves had lulled to a dull, continuous hush, and save for the occasional snapping of the dying fire, the room was silent.
“Allura, I just wanted to tell you,” he paused, “that you look beautiful tonight.”
For some reason, she laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
Now, she turned around to face him. “Nothing, it’s just that…everyone’s always told me how beautiful I am…” Her expression turned serious. ”But the only person I ever wanted to hear it from was you.”
As he approached, the ocean grew silent in her ears for the first time in days. She could hear nothing now but the slow, rhythmic rushing of blood against her temples, moving in time with the beating of her heart.
He held her close, and she searched his face, his eyes for some clue as to what he was thinking…feeling. Nothing. All she could see was the hurt, the desperation, and the love. In one painful instant, every emotion that had kept her prisoner was released from somewhere deep inside, and as her body gave out from under her, she fell into his arms.
Allura couldn’t tell whether it had been hours, minutes, or days. Awareness of time and place left her. All she would know that night would be the slow, heavy breathing, and the pleasure that came with knowing what it was to be consumed entirely by another’s love.
The sun was just beginning to creep up from its evening oblivion.
They’d spent the night where they’d started it, under a blanket on the soft rug beside the marble fireplace, their bodies entwined in a warm lovers’ embrace. Neither had slept, and time was yet again pushing them apart. In a respectful silence, they watched helplessly as the sun peeked up over the horizon and warm light began filling the room.
“I’d better get ready. Coran will be expecting me.”
All Keith could do was remove his arm from around her waist, and before he could say something to stop her, she was gone.