Dancing On Dark Water - Chapter 10 - Reckless Hostilities
Chapter 10 -
Reckless Hostilities
Prince Lotor leaned against the frame of his chamber door with a small frown. Arms crossed elegantly across his chest, he raised his head and looked around his room with unfocused eyes. Slowly uncrossing his arms with a heavy sigh he turned and looked outside into the ornate hall.
"Maybe I was too harsh." He said while glancing around uneasily. Straightening up, he drew a long breath and headed down the hall towards his guest's room. He stopped at the door and after a moment of hesitation, knocked softly. Lotor could hear rustling behind the door and the muffled voices of two females. Two? he thought a bit perplexed. Who else is with her? Then the door opened and before him stood Lahana. Well, that answers that question he thought to himself. Her eyes widened in shock and she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.
"Who is it, Lahana?" Came a voice that belonged to none other than the captive princess. She walked over to where she could see who was at the door and froze. Now she understood why Lahana had suddenly become so quiet. Of all the people she hadn't even thought of the possibility of his being there. Lotor looked around suddenly nervous and he looked behind his shoulder as if watching for something.
Allura's features hardened as she looked at him. His rudeness from the day before was still fresh in her mind and she would not give him the pleasure of knowing it had done anything but angered her.
"Well, what do you want?" she asked angrily. Lotor's head snapped back around and his eyes narrowed reflecting the same emotion. Allura fought desperately not to let her fear show as he glared at her. Any thoughts of apologizing were totally gone from his mind now.
"You will join me in the throne room in one hour." he commanded sternly. Allura's back straightened defiantly.
"I will not." Lotor's eyes widened at her refusal as he clenched his teeth.
"You WILL join me or I'll prepare another 'show' like the one you saw earlier. I'm sure you'll enjoy it." His lips curled into a terrible smile and Allura's defiant posture went slack. She averted her eyes from his and looked to Lahana.
"No....I'll come." Satisfied at her response, Lotor smiled and nodded to himself.
"I knew you'd see it my way." At that Allura flinched and prayed that he didn't notice. He started to walk away but turned on his heel and called back to her. "Oh, and this time don't be late..." with that he turned once again and walked down one of the numerous winding corridors of the massive base. The princess turned and slumped onto her bed and looked to Lahana with tear filled eyes.
"What am I to do? This...this place....him....he angers me so. But I cannot disobey him or he will make innocent people suffer for my defiance." She hung her head as Lahana walked over to her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I don't care what he does to me; not really. He knows this and uses my weakness against me - the innocent. He would kill an entire planet to see me break if that's what it would take."
"I don’t know, princess. It’s hard to say what he really has in mind and what he will and will not do, but for some reason I doubt he’s truly trying to break you. In any case, maybe you ought to try...complying with his wishes." The princess lifted her head in disbelief.
"That is the last thing I want to do. Don't you see? If I do that he wins. Yes, he's destroyed Voltron - the Alliance, but as long as I hold out I know that he has not won. Not totally; I would rather die than give him that satisfaction." Lahana grimly nodded, being able to understand the view that the princess was taking.
"Then what are we to do, m'lady? You cannot continue to fight with him - I am afraid you will be hurt if you push him much farther...or someone else will."
Allura now stood in front of the full length mirror of her chambers and looked sadly back at her reflection. Lahana had left earlier since she had been summoned by one of the overseers to run some errand. She missed the woman's company dearly. Even in the small time that she was alone, fear began to sit in as well as other things. Now, she had to meet Lotor...
Tearing her eyes away from the mirror with a weary sigh, the captive princess looked through her clothing for something to wear. A dress of finely made satin, dark red as blood, hung from the rung in the closet. Eyeing the dress for a moment, inspecting the low cut neckline and exquisite stitching, Allura fought back tears. Taking her time to dress but keeping a weary eye on the clock this time, the princess readied herself to meet the prince. As much as she didn't want too, she knew he needed to be satisfied thus dressing so. Finally dressed, the young woman stared into the full length mirror once more inspecting her image carefully.
Her long blonde mane was carefully pulled back and piled on her head in the normal fashion, while she wore no makeup, her visage glowed. The dress was a perfect fit and showed the curves of her body gracefully, sweeping the floor in elegant waves. Taking one last glance in the mirror, Allura turned and headed out the door towards the throne room. Stopping at the great gold adorned doors as she had several times before, she quietly entered and waited to be noticed. As the door opened, Allura spotted Lotor sitting in his throne while several men stood slightly below him speaking as if in an argument with each other. Lotor looked on with impatience as he tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. His eyes lifted from the arguing men and came to meet hers, his head lifted and the men went silent. Lotor gave a small wave of his hand, his eyes still locked on hers. When they had left he started down the stairs towards her as she came to meet him half way.
The prince's eyes swept Allura's body in wonderment and as he rose his gaze back to hers once again, he smiled gently.
"You look absolutely ravishing, Allura. That dress is beautiful but it doesn't do you justice." Allura didn't react in any way. Lotor's smile faded into a slight frown as he studied her face. Slowly looking away he sighed wearily before he spoke once again in a halting fashion.
". . . I'm sorry. For earlier and the other day both. I came to apologize earlier but when you reacted as such it set me off once again. But I ask that you accept my apology." he said in a hushed voice only she could hear. Allura's face suddenly changed at his words realizing that she had made a horrible mistake.
She shook her head, "No, I'm the one that should be apologizing. I shouldn't have said what I did -- I let my temper get the better of me." Lotor didn't reply for a moment since he really was in agreement over this.
"Then again, I was too harsh. Mainly it is my fault." Silence fell between the two of them for a short time as they both stood there. Lotor suddenly reached out and took her hand, not noticing the princess’ flinch that kept her from withdrawing her hand from his as he gently lead her towards another room. Allura followed with a little reluctance as she let him pull her along. They entered a dimly lit room he had prepared earlier for dinner. Allura felt a shudder run up her spine as she looked at the murals on the passage walls. This is where I was before, where I met Lotor on this base. Her fear mounted as they progressed.
Entering the room Lotor pulled out the chair at the closest end of the table and giving a low graceful bow, motioned with his hand for her to sit. After she was seated Lotor went back to the opposite end of the table some distance away picked up his chair and brought it back to Allura's side of the table and sat down to her left. His presence made her a little uneasy but she did not try to move away when he sat beside her. The food, just as before was plentiful and exotic, ranging from all over the universe, but this time she found stomach enough to eat.
Both were silent for several minutes not even attempting to make conversation. Then Allura stopped eating for a moment and turned to him. She hesitated in her inquiry but she wanted to know the answer to her question desperately.
"What is going to happen to Arus and what is left of the Alliance?" Lotor turned to her and sat silently for a moment considering whether or not to tell her. He made his decision and looking her in the eye, told her the truth of the matter.
"Arus is fine. The Empire has more important things to deal with and Arus is not a priority at the moment. As for the Alliance...right now those loyal to the Alliance who are rebelling against the Empire, whether it be planets or certain individuals; are being taken out." she looked at him with a tinge of horror. "In a diplomatic way." he quickly added at her look. Allura's color returned to normal and Lotor gave a small laugh.
"You thought I meant that we were killing them off. I suppose that's what would come to mind when the Prince of Doom mentioned someone being taken out." Allura looked at him for a moment longer before looking back down at her plate and playing with her food. She sensed there was something more than humor being communicated in his words. Eyes still on her plate she spoke again.
"Is there anything more you can tell me about Arus?" When there was no response she looked up at him. His face was grave and he merely shook his head.
"I've already said too much as it is." she dropped the subject at that knowing that to question him any further would prove in doing nothing but angering him.
After they finished a servant appeared to take the food away and Lotor rose to his feet and offered his hand to help her up. Staring at his hand for a short moment then looking up into his face she put her hand in his and he gently pulled her to her feet. He smiled then moved towards another door, one she had not noticed before. Allura gasped as they entered the small room. Above her was a clear dome in which she could see the sky or what would have been the sky if they were on a planet. The vast beauty of space was spread out before her. Now she was sure they were in the quasar. The red and blue clouds of dust and stars whirled through space and an entire spectrum of color could be found. It was incredible. Lotor turned to her with a smile.
"I thought you'd like it." he turned his gaze back to the dome. "It is spectacular, one of the best places to see the beauty of the universe." Allura nodded and looked down finally realizing that her hand still rested in his. She began to pull her hand away but stopped. He's doing no wrong. It will only insult him and cause him to lose his temper. Allura nearly laughed at what she had just discovered. She had figured out how to get along with the prince. All she had to do was keep any biting comments that came to mind to herself and attempt not to bruise his pride. Unfortunately, when it came to dealing with Lotor, avoiding those two things would be near impossible. She sighed and he turned to look at her once again and noticed that he had yet to let go of her hand. Realizing that it probably made her a little uneasy, he gently dropped her hand - to Allura's extreme surprise. Now she knew what she had been doing wrong. She never gave him a chance to be anything but cruel and perhaps he simply had to discover through trial and error how to deal with her.
They stood there silently for several minutes when Lotor finally broke the silence.
"You may return to your room now if you wish." Allura looked up at his stern form with slight shock. He thinks I did this as an obligation. Which it is, but...I did enjoy this last part. she debated it for a moment longer but then spoke.
"Thank you for showing me this." It was Lotor's turn to be surprised. As he turned to her his eyes met hers and he knew that she was being sincere. Amazed at this and now quite happy he smiled and nodded. Allura couldn't believe the change that came over him when she said something kind to him. His whole demeanor went from stern and indifferent to considerate and earnest in a split seconds time. Allura had to stifle a laugh at the thought that in that aspect at least, he seemed quite similar to a frightened dog.
She began to walk towards the door when she stopped and turned back to him. "I'm afraid I don't know how to get back to my chambers." she said softly. Lotor laughed.
"I forgot about that. Would you like me to escort you back to your room?" he paused for a second. "Or would you rather me send for someone to take you back?" Allura thought for a moment then shook her head.
"No, there's no need for you to call anyone." He walked towards her and offered her his arm like a gentleman as he barely withheld a smile. The princess placed her arm in his and they started back towards her room.
The walk to her chambers had been odd with no talking between them. Finally reaching the chambers, Lotor gently pulled away and bowed to the princess before he turned and walked back the direction they had come.
Allura entered her room, thankful for the first time that Lahana was not there. She had to make sense of all she had learned that day. So for the remaining time until Lahana returned she pondered over the prince's actions...and her own.
Lahana entered the princess's room as quietly as possible. She expected the princess to be asleep. The result of crying herself to sleep none the less thanks to the prince. But to her surprise the princess was awake and actually seemingly happy upon her entrance. Slowly walking over to her she sat down beside Allura.
"The meeting with the prince went...well?" Allura laughed at Lahana's shock and nodded.
"Surprisingly, yes. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be." Then becoming solemn once again she added. "He came to apologize earlier today when I snapped at him." Lahana's eyes widened. "He apologized once I reached the throne room. I apologized to him as well. And you know what the oddest thing is? I think I'm finally coming to understand him. At least in the sense that I can get along with him enough to keep myself or someone else from getting hurt. Unfortunately it'll be like walking on eggshells around him which won't be easy."
"See. Maybe things won't be so bad after all." With that she stood and exited leaving the Arusian princess to her thoughts. Allura's smile had faded slightly.
"Maybe you're right..."
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