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undefined "The Christmas Ball"


All was quiet on the front lines. There had been no new Doom activity and thatwas fine with all the Alliance planets. It was very rare that there was peace for a few days. And this time they were especially appreciative of the break. Christmas was only a few days away, and this year it looked like they could spend Christmas with their families.

On Planet Arus, Christmas preparations were being made for the first time in a very long while. They had everything, wreaths, trees, ornaments, presents, you name it. It was a beautiful sight. All the people were happily decorating for the joyous season. Princess Allura was also getting into the Christmas sprit. Amazingly, so were the other inhabitants of the Castle.

"Hey Keith, could you hand me that star?"
"Yeah sure Lance," Keith replied searching through a large box of Christmas Decorations. "There's a couple here. Which one you want?"


"That one. The one with the green and white lights," Keith handed it up to him and Lance then adjusted it to the right position on the tree. That's when the Princess walked in.

"Oh, it's beautiful! You guys have done a wonderful job. The whole castle looks wonderful thanks to your hard work.
"Ahh, thanks Princess. It was nothing."

"It's given hope to my people. It seems like there are several more of them out now than before. Many more. This s just what we needed. And you know what, this Christmas Spirit has got me in the mood to celebrate. I think I'll have a Christmas Ball. What do you think?"

Lance broke into a large grin. "Sure Princess, that sounds like a great idea! Who's invited?"

"Well, I don't no for sure just yet but we'll see. Anyone who wants to come I suppose," she frowned suddenly. "Nanny will make me invite all the eligible bachelor Princes there are. I don't like any of them."

No one said anything. Keith and Lance went back to work on the tree and after a minuet Allura left the room for her bedroom. She gave a heavy sigh as she sunk down onto her bed. The thought of the ball had raised other unwanted questions n her mind. Her people, including Nanny and Coran, had been pressuring her to marry for a long time now. They just didn't seem to understand.

"I just haven't met anyone I like yet. I wish they'd except that, but then again I'm a princess," She glanced over at her clock. It was later than she had thought. Time for bed. She dressed for bed and burrowed under the covers. The Princess feel asleep thinking of her ball.

All was not well on Doom. Fights and bloody battles were erupting everywhere. The Christmas sprit seemed to be influencing the slaves as well but in a slightly different manner. They were constantly revolting against Zarkon, which meant Lotor had his hands full. There never seemed to be a moment of rest for him. He needed to get away.

"But where?" he asked himself. Things were going really bad. Zarkon was becoming very agitated with him. He knew that if he wasn't the heir to the throne he would have been killed a long time ago. His mind suddenly drifted from his troubles to another far away. He saw her as he'd always seen her, ever beautiful. That's when he got an idea.


Several days later...


The preparations were almost done. Allura had managed to convince Nanny and Coran fairly easily to hold the Christmas ball. They'd already sent out the invitations and the decorations had been up for days. Nanny, just as the princess had predicted, had invited every young eligible prince or king she could think of. Everyone but the ones that were sided with the Drule Empire. Allura was anxiously awaiting that night.

"Nanny!"
" 'old still! J'st a little bit longer. I'm almost don'e." Nanny was putting the finishing touches on the princess' dress. "There! Don'e!"

Allura stepped down off of the small stool she had been standing on and looked in the full length mirror. The thin layers of her dress were exquisitely decorated with gold and red trim. The fabric was that of a light weight material much like a satin and silk cross that fell down to her ankles. For the most part it was pure white in color except for the small topmost layer that encircled her waist which was a misty light blue.

"You look ravishing! No man will be able to resist you!"
"Nanny!" the princess turned a dark crimson but giggled despite herself. She had to admit, she loved the dress.

"Ve'll Princess it's time for the party."
She nodded and followed her nanny out the door towards her awaiting friends.



The small bat shaped cruiser made a soft and silent landing in Planet Arus' atmosphere. Gliding to a stop in the dense forests near the Castle of Lions. Lotor climbed out of his cruiser and surveyed the area before doing a very athletic jump to the ground below. Helmet under hand, he walked towards the castle in the distance.

After he had walked a fair distance and had neared the castle, he heard a very different sound coming from within that he'd never heard on Arus before. It was the sound of music and laughter. He stopped for a moment.

"I wonder what's going on over there. It sounds like they're having a pretty good time whatever it is they're doing," deep in thought, he continued to trudge towards the castle.



"Prince Conor, how nice to see you again,"
"Why thank you princess. It's an honor to be here," the handsome prince said with a small bow. "I hope that I will also have the honor of the first dance,"
Allura thought about it for a minute. Then with a gentle smile she shook her head no. "I'm sorry Conor, I'm not sure who I will dance with, but I thought it proper to dance with one of my champions first. I'm sorry,"
"That's quite all right princess. Maybe later then?"
She continued to smile until he was out of sight. A heavy sigh escaped her. Raising her head and looking outside for a moment she studied the stars. Glittering brightly in the night sky so high above her; she thought about what might be happening on the other planets far away. "I hope their Christmas will be as peaceful as this," Turning back towards the ball room entrance she made ready to greet more of her guests.



All night long they danced. As the princess had told Prince Conor, she had danced with one of her champions first which in this case was Lance. Then Keith, Hunk, and even Pidge. She would of danced with them for the rest of the night but being the hostess she couldn't do that. Allura knew that she must dance with the others as well.

For hours she put up with the arrogant princes. All their talk of war and conquests, all trying to impress her. She grew tired of it all.

"Please excuse me," she said. Taking her leave from the others, the princess of Arus sneaked off onto the balcony outside of one of the far ball room entryways. The cold night air was most comforting compared to the stuffy air of the ball room. All was quiet outside. Allura lifted her head once more to gaze at the stars. She didn't her the stranger approaching below.



He hadn't noticed her until he was right below one of the large balconies of the castle. His beautiful princess. Lotor stode still waiting to see if she had noticed him. She didn't move. The dark prince decided he would pay her a visit. The music covered his acsent as he climbed nibly up towards the top of the balcony.

After he reached the top he quietly slipped into the darkness beside her. She still hadn't noticed him. Lotor slowly reached out and touched her shoulder. Allura gasped and turned around to face him skirts whriling around her feet.

"Who's there? I demand that you come forward!" even though her voice was stern and demanding it was soft enough that no one except the one that she was addressing could hear.

"Don't worry Princess, it's only me," Lotor walked out of the shadows to stand before her. She took a small step back. "I won't hurt you. You should know that by now,"

"Really Lotor, how am I supposed to know that?"
"I've never really hurt you on perpose now have I?"
She shooke her head no. "No, I guess not, but still, how am I supposed to know if you did it on perpose of not. And even if you didn't, what about all the things you've done to my people and my planet."

He was speechless. Lotor wasn't sure what to do now. There was no answer to that question. After a moment of silent thinking, he reached into a pocket of his cape and produced a small rectangular box. Gently he placed it in her hand. She didn't pull back but just stared at the gift. There was the sound of voices coming towards them. The party had ended.

Lotor glanced at the door and then back at the princess. He wanted to saty but he knew he had to leave. There would be nothing gained if he stayed. He turned to her once more, "I have to go Princess; hopefully I'll see you again soon,"

Allura didn't say anything but just nodded. Lotor, cape flowing behind him; leaped from the balcony to the ground. Taking one last glance back at the woman standing on the balcony, he turned and ran back towards his cruiser at the edge of the forest.

"Hi Princess! What you doing standing out here? You missed the last of the party!"
"Oh, that's all right Hunk. It doesn't matter. I had a good time anyway,"
"Hey Princess, Coran wants to talk to you!" Lance said leaning out of the balcony doorway.
"All right, just a minute!" she turned back towards Hunk. "Go on ahead of me. I'll be in in a minute,"

Hunk nodded and quietly walked back inside. Allura turned and looked off in the direction that the Prince of Doom had gone. She couldn't see him but she knew he was out there somewhere. The small box was still tightly cluched in her hands. Carefully, she lifted the lid of the box to find a small white piece of paper. She realized that it was a note. All it said was Merry Christmas Allura and was signed with Lotor's name.

She was about ready to close the box when she noticed the light bouncing off of something inside of it. Moving the box into the light she noticed what was inside and gave a small gasp. It was a beautiful necklace made of saffires, diamonds, and one large ruby in the center. Allura had never seen anything so beautiful.

"Allura!"
"Coming Coran!" she quickly took out the necklace and placed t around her neck. Then she turned and ran inside to see what her old friend wanted.



Prince Lotor had returned to his planet in a much better mood then when he left. No, he hadn't been able to stay with his princess, but just seeing her the way she was, was enough. For him, his first Christmas had been a wonderful one. He knew now that he could stand the harsh life of the Prince of Doom a little bit longer.



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