ALLURA'S NEW GROOVE - PART 14

“Good morning, Coran.” Nanny sets the tea tray on my desk. I thank her and reach for the cream pitcher. Then I notice the unhappy look on her face.

“Nanny....what’s the matter?”

“I’m concerned about Allura. She seemed to be in a better mood when I brought her breakfast this morning, but now something else is wrong, I think.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was very tired, and had a terrible headache. She asked for aspirin, and she said her stomach was a little queasy...”

I stop with the cup halfway to my lips. “Queasy, did you say...?”

“Yes, she said she didn’t think she could eat much. I think that a doctor should look at her. She might be ill. Perhaps that’s what made her cut her hair yesterday - she was delirious with fever.”

Sick, I think to myself. Allura is sick. Sick this morning - morning...sickness?

“What was that?” Nanny asks. I must have muttered it aloud. I manage a smile as I set the cup back down.

“Nothing, Nanny. Will you excuse me? I have to go talk to Keith.”

“Very well, but I don’t see what talking to Keith has to do with Allura being - oh!” Her eyes shoot wide and she claps a hand to her mouth. “Oh, no! Fiend! Animal! Where is my rolling pin?” She rushes through the door and I follow after her.

“Okay, for this morning’s self-defense practice, we’re going to work on how to deal with multiple attackers.” I say to the group. “Who wants to volunteer first?”

“Ummm...actually, Cap’n, it looks like you’re going to be the volunteer this time.” Lance points past me and I turn to see Nanny with her rolling pin and a red-faced Coran both rushing toward me at once. I feel the color draining from my face.

“Oh, shit. They must have found out somehow.” I swallow tightly and put on my best diplomatic face as they get near. “Nanny, Coran...what can I do for you this morning?”

“Allura has morning sickness, you shameless ogre!” Nanny hisses and swings the pin. I dodge it and jump to my left to evade Coran’s grasp as well. Nanny continues to press her attack, swinging wildly as she approaches. Even Hunk and Dunkirk clear out of her way. Tasia makes a face and dashes out of the room. I skip backward to create distance and raise my palms defensively.

“Wait, Nanny! Explain this to me. How could the princess have morning sickness?”

“As if you wouldn’t know,” she growls. “I told you that we would get along as long as you remembered your place around the princess. And now, now this! So help me, I’m going to beat some decency into you if it takes me all day!” She advances, I evade. Out of the corner of my eye I notice Coran quietly circling the other way. As I attempt to adjust for his change of position, I hear a very solid thump from behind me. Coran has nose-dived hard into the mat, shaking his head as he gets up slowly. Lance is grinning like a cat that’s just had its canary snack.

“Oopsie, Coran. Watch that first step,” he says with mock concern. But I can’t stop to lecture him because I still have to fend Nanny off harmlessly. I don’t care to beat on any woman, even if it’s her. For now I have to settle for evasive maneuvering. I leap back to create distance between us and unexpectedly come up against Coran, who is still on his hands and knees. The result is like the old shove trick; I wind up tumbling backward, falling into a reverse roll that I’m able to recover from pretty easily. Nanny rounds Coran and continues after me, determined to cave my skull in.

“Stop!” Allura’s voice comes from the doorway, and everyone freezes. It reminds me of the time we caught her mice an a cage and tried to get the location of the last key from them. The group reaction is eerily similar as well. Everyone immediately parts to let her through with Tasia right behind her. Nanny lowers her pin and turns to face Allura.

“Young lady, what are you doing out of bed? You shouldn’t be up and walking around in your condition!”

“My condition?” Allura blinks. Tasia whispers something quietly to her. She gives Tasia an incredulous look, then she faces Nanny once again. “Nanny...I’m not pregnant - I just have a hangover, that’s all. But the aspirin took care of it for the most part. I’m fine now.”

Nanny looks relieved. “Ah, that’s such a relief! For a moment, I thought -” And then it hits her. “Hangover? You were drinking alcohol last night?”

Allura nods. “Yes, I was. Bama-Slammas.”

“Bama what?” Coran finally manages to pick himself up from the mat. I feel sorry for him. Lance, however, doesn’t. In fact, he looks like he’s ready to knock him right back down again. I have to stare him down to make him behave.

“Bama-Slammas,” Allura repeats. “They’re really good. I don’t remember how many I had, though.”

“Oh, my goodness.” Nanny looks as if she’s about to faint. A moment later she does. Hunk prudently grabs the rolling pin, and he and Dunkirk carry her out of the room. Coran storms right up to Allura and points a finger at her.

“Allura, you have done some very careless and outlandish things before, but this is without question the most inappropriate thing I’ve heard of you doing. You are the princess of a highly-esteemed planet of the Alliance, and you simply cannot conduct yourself like a common, drunken...trollop!”

“Coran...” she says, clearly chagrined by his tirade.

“Don’t you ‘Coran’ me, young lady. I didn’t devote my life to seeing to your safety and well-being to have something like this happen. What in the world were you thinking?”

Allura sighs. “Don’t ask what you don’t want to know.”

“And what is that supposed to mean? You listen to me, young lady. I’ve tolerated your recklessness for a very, very long time now, and I’ve forgiven a great deal of your questionable conduct because it obviously stems from the individuals you associate with. But enough is enough. I will not tolerate such inexcusable behavior for one minute more. Do you understand me?”

“Inexcusable behavior...?” She blinks at Coran, a slightly stunned expression on her face. “Inexcusable?” She takes an angry step toward him. “You want to talk about inexcusable behavior? What about locking me up in my bedroom and all but leaving me at Lotor’s mercy when he broke in through the window and was about to carry me off? What about tying me to a chair to keep me from getting to Blue Lion when the rest of the team is being beaten to within inches of their lives and we’re this close -” she holds up her hand with the forefinger and thumb about an inch apart “to losing Voltron, losing everything we fought so hard to preserve and protect up to that point? You’re so...damn obsessed with my proper behavior that you can’t even see that you would have brought the walls down around our heads all over again because of what you were doing. I’d be a thing of virtue, all right, ruling my little radioactive ball of charred ash once Zarkon got through with it. And that’s assuming I wasn’t spending the rest of my days in Lotor’s harem.”

Coran winces as if he’s been struck. Allura continues to advance toward him, her blue eyes blazing with anger. “And as for these ‘associates of questionable behavior’ you’re referring to, they’ve taught me how to fight for what I believe in. I’m fully capable of defending both myself and my planet because of what I’ve learned. If it weren’t for them I don’t know how I would have survived being threatened by Zarkon, roughed up by Lotor, enspelled by Hagar and everything else I’ve been through. Don’t you ever, ever speak ill of them again. Not one of them. Do you understand me?”

His mouth falls open, snaps shut. He averts his gaze, looking wounded. Allura’s expression softens then, and she gives a deep sigh. All of her former fury has vanished without trace.

“Coran, I’m sorry. I owe both you and Nanny an incredible debt for looking after me when I was little and helpless, but I am neither anymore. It’s time for dear little princess Ally to join the modern day.”

Coran clears his throat softly. “It’s quite all right, Allura. If you feel that my outdated attitude is no longer appropriate, I can always leave and you could then appoint someone more suitable. The choice is yours.” He lowers his gaze, raises it again.

Allura startles and her lower lip trembles. That was a dirty little trick. I really hope she doesn’t fall for such a blatant attack on her feelings. Maybe I should have let Lance knock him down again. I watch her intently as she draws a calming breath and folds her hands in front of her.

“If that’s honestly how you feel, arrangements can be made,” she replies quietly. “But in truth, since I seem to be the true offender here it may be more appropriate if I simply abdicated the throne. My Aunt Orla might turn out to be a more suitable ruler than I am. Do you think?”

Coran blinks, clearly surprised by her reply. Allura’s expression is calm, almost serene as she awaits his answer.

“I...don’t see a need for that,” he begins slowly. “You’ve done very well in the way that you’ve looked after your people, and they adore you very much. I can’t even imagine that as a feasible option.”

“Are you certain? They might not be terribly happy at the thought of having a drunken trollop as their future Queen.”

Coran winces yet again at the verbal blow. Oh, yes! Burn! I want to grab the girl and kiss her. But that’s always been a given. I can’t keep the smile from my lips in any case. Allura awaits his reply and I find myself eagerly waiting to see what her next shot will be. But Coran doesn’t allow her the opportunity.

“I apologize for the rashness of my words,” he says. “It seems this misunderstanding has gotten quite out of hand.” He steps back from her and gives a polite bow. “I am terribly sorry...please excuse me, I have to get some fresh air.” He heads for the exit without saying another word. Allura watches him go, then she turns her attention to me.

“Are you all right?”

I nod to her. “I’m fine, thanks.”

Dexter glances toward the clock on the far side of the room. “Wow, look at the time! Our turn for watch, team. Time to hit the showers.” He and his people immediately leave. Tasia gives Allura a pat on the shoulder before she goes. Lance gives a tug on Pidge’s sleeve and startles him out of his stunned silence. They head for the locker room as well. Allura sighs and gives me a hesitant smile.

“You know, this doesn’t change things. Not where it counts. I still love puppies and kittens and I’ll still go around hugging every baby I can get my hands on. And just because I had a wild night out with the girls, it doesn’t mean I’m suddenly going to take up lounging around in sleazy bars and smoking cigarettes, or something like that. You know?”

For some reason I get a mental image of Allura dressed in the black outfit worn by Sandy in ‘Grease’, at the end of the movie. Allura would look kinda hot in that, come to think of it...

“Keith, what are you smiling at?”

“Hmm? Uh, nothing.”

She tilts her head at me. “Why don’t I believe you?”

“It’s nothing, really. Seriously.”

“It wasn’t a thought about chocolate syrup, was it?”

“No!”

She smiles. “You don’t have to be so defensive about it.”

“I think we should get back to the subject at hand here.”

“All right, go ahead.”

“Allura, there’s something you have to remember while you’re adopting whatever new outlook you’re forming in your head. You have to realize that even though you are a human being like the rest of us, you still have an image that your people look up to. They need for you to be their ‘dear little Ally’ at times, and you are, really. I don’t think you need to compromise that image. You just need a private, quiet place to vent your frustration and yell and scream and cuss, and things will be just fine.”

“Is that what you do?”

“Yeah, every now and then.”

She’s quiet for a long time before she speaks again. “I don’t suppose that maybe we could have a quiet time together, could we?”

“I...don’t think so. You saw how Nanny gets with that rolling pin.”

Her voice softens. “Then how about a hug?”

I bite my lip while thinking up an answer. I would love to do that, but should I? It might cause more trouble than what it’s worth in the long run. Rumors already abound about a relationship existing between us. It’s not like it would help any if we were seen by anyone. What if the gang comes out of the locker room right then? What if Coran were to walk back in?

But all she wants is a hug. It’s much less dangerous than chocolate syrup in any case. And I vowed a vow to protect and support her as long as I am able to do so. Offering a shoulder for her to lean on could fall under being supportive. It’s just one hug. It can’t hurt. Not really. Right? Right.

“Princess,” I say quietly.

She looks up at me. I hold my arms out to her. She rushes to me without hesitation, resting her head on my shoulder and wrapping her arms around my waist. I hold her gently and rub my palms along her back. She tucks her face into the crook of my neck and I feel the tickle of her warm breath on my skin.

“And to think I had you all naked and at my mercy not so long ago…”

“Let’s not think about it, and just say we did.”

“Why? What is it about last night that bothers you so much?”

“What do you suppose would have happened if I gave into temptation and took advantage of you while you were drunk?”

She nuzzles my throat and I have to bite my lip to fight back the stir of arousal I feel deep within.

“I would have let you...” she whispers.

“And then what? How would we deal with what happened next?”

“Whatever happened next would happen,” she replies. “I was the one who started the whole thing, so I would have accepted the consequences once I had sobered up. Do you think I wouldn’t have the guts to make a commitment to you?”

“Do you think Nanny and Coran would actually let you?”

She tightens her hold on me and tenses bodily. “I’m the princess of this planet! If I chose to remain with you after losing my innocence they would have to accept it whether they agreed with it or not.” She relaxes slightly and I feel her tears wet my skin. “I work hard to make my people happy. I think it’s about time that I had some happiness of my own. I guess that’s a little more forward than I should be, but I can’t help it.”

I don’t reply. I’m not sure what to say. Of course I want her. I have from the moment I first set eyes on her. So why don’t I take her? What’s stopping me? What do I have to fear? A fussy old man and a bulldog-fierce governess. And what could they do, really? Seriously? Rant and rave and threaten - in Nanny’s case probably do - bodily harm. I’ve survived some major hurts in the past, though. I think I could handle this one as well.

But a part of me deep down inside knows it’s sheer ego to think that I’m the answer to Allura’s prayers. I’m little more than a rogue pilot quietly lusting after the fair princess. I can hear the old cliché ringing in my ears: I’m the one your guardians warned you about. Which is more important, my feelings for her or my duty to her? Should I honor both? Do I dare to try?

I can feel the emotions tugging at my gut, yanking it in all directions. Allura senses my tension and smoothes her hands along my back the same way I did for her. Her touch is gentle and soothing. I relax further in her hold and brush lightly at her hair.

“I could get used to this,” she sighs. “Maybe I should have you kidnapped out of the locker room more often, if this is going to be the end result.”

“No, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Which one, the kidnapping or the hugging?”

“Both.”

She’s quiet for a long time before she speaks again. “I notice you don’t have any argument against the chocolate syrup.”

“I’m working on it, trust me.”

“Well, I don’t have an argument against it.” She runs her hand along my side and I scoot back from her a little. She looks up at me in surprise.

“What’s this - the Captain of the mighty Voltron Force is ticklish? Can it be true?”

“Umm...”

She runs her fingers in a feathery brush along my ribs again and I let go of her completely, making distance between us. She gets a wicked little grin on her face that clearly means trouble.

“Well, well, well. It is true. How about that?”

I take another step back and point a finger at her. “Princess...”

“Yes?” She advances toward me with both hands up, wriggling her fingertips.

“Now look - we just finished talking about un-Princess-like behavior...”

“And you suggested that I express my feelings in a solitary setting. Do you see anyone in the room other than us?”

“What I meant is that you should take some private time by yourself, and -”

She rushes at me before I can finish, and I dodge. But we’ve spent many, many hours in this very same gym sparring together, and she’s familiar enough with my tactics to break off her advance and angle toward me at the last second. I attempt another evasion, but there’s a gap in the mats where they’ve worked loose and my foot lands right in it. I lose my balance completely. Allura is in the process of grabbing my arm at that exact moment, so she goes down with me as I hit the floor. I land flat on my back with her on top of me. We lie there completely still for a moment, me stunned, her breathless. “Oops,” she says softly, her eyes searching my face.

“Yeah,” I reply, equally soft. “Oops.” I prop up on my elbows, and it gives me a perfect view of her cleavage where her bosom rests against my chest. Bad move, Captain.

“Are you all right?” She asks quietly.

“Uh-huh, I’m fine...ahh, we’d better get up before -”

“Someone sees us, yes.”

I attempt to maneuver from beneath her. She tries to move at the same time and our hips rub against each other. She gives a little gasp and her eyes widen. “Oh...!”

I squeeze my eyes shut. Rolling pin, rolling pin, think about the rolling pin...long, hard rolling pin, plunging into the fresh, soft dough...oh no, bad mental abstract!

She makes a second attempt to move, as do I, and we wind up in a comically clumsy tangle for a second or two before we finally manage to get to our feet. She brushes at her skirt, puffs at her brand new bangs and sighs. “I think I ought to go have a heart to heart talk with Coran and Nanny.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“And thank you for the advice, Keith. I think it will help.”

“You’re welcome, Princess.”

She gives me a quick little smile. “See you later.”

I nod at her. “Take care.”

She leaves the room at a near run. I watch her hasty retreat and wonder what’s going on in her head right about now. It can’t be any worse than what’s going on in mine. I sigh to myself and head for the locker room. I have no idea how I’m going to deal with this new attitude of hers. What do I do if she decides she wants to kidnap me again and I can’t get the cuffs loose?

Maybe I’m overreacting. Sure, she got drunk and carried away, but she’s over it now. It’s not like she wants to go have a romp on my desk or anything…

=== END

To Allura's New Groove: Part 13