My world is spinning. I didn't want to remember the fact that I was the King of Arus and that Allura was my Queen. I didn't want to think about the happiness we had lived through amidst the chaos of war. We had a year together, one short, sweet year of togetherness. I didn't know she was pregnant when we had been captured. I begin to shake. She puts her arms gently around me and held me until I had calmed down. Then, she whispers her story in my ear.

She had convinced Zarkon to allow her to keep the child, Keith was his name, though Zarkon called him Royon, as a prize. He saw his greatest revenge against me as raising my son as his own and turning him loose on the slaves one day to be able to slay his biological father. I feel like throwing up when she told me this.

"Allura," I grab her shoulders. "You left him to Zarkon?"

"He is with his nursemaid. I trust her with his life. He will be safe until I return. Zarkon won't hurt him, I promise you that."

She reaches into her pocket and withdrew a small picture. A little boy with a big smile and black hair stares up at me. I stare back at him. I take the picture from her and put it in my own pocket.

"Will I ever see him?" I ask.

"Yes," she says. "I promise you, that you will hold your son in your arms. And you will watch him grow up. You will be there when he...when he..." Her voice breaks and she puts a hand over her mouth as she struggles to gather her composure. "When he becomes man," she finishes.

"What about you?" I ask, cupping her face with my dirty brown hand.

She shakes her head. "I can't promise you my life."

I take her into my arms and we cried together. Old stirrings of desire grows within me and I can feel her hands begin to roam across my back. I find her lips and cover them with mine. Softly, we relive our love. It is as if we are back in our bed on Arus, two young people so deeply in love that everything else disappears when we're together. It is a feeling that I had forgotten in my captivity and I hope that I never forget it again.

Afterwards, I hold her and she holds me. I can see how used her body was, showing marks that were supposed to come with years, but were not, a stark contrast to the smooth whiteness that I remembered. I rest my cheek on the top of her head and I can feel her breath on my chest.

Our time was cut short when a beep on the console told us that were were in Pollux's atmosphere. I reluctantly let her go so that she can land safely. I put my clothes back on and so does she. I glance back at Lance and see he is still asleep. I had forgotten about him during our coupling which was just as well. Allura and I needed that time.

I sit quietly as she touches down on the tarmac outside the gleaming white castle that was the centerpiece of Pollux. Two figures rush towards the ship even before she turned off the engine. I open the door and Romelle throws herself at me. She embraces me hard and Sven puts a hand on my shoulder.

"We waited so long," she says.

"It is good to see you, Keith," Sven says with the same trace of an accent that I remember. "We've been waiting for you."

"Sven, help me get Lance," Allura calls from inside the ship.

Sven stepps inside. Romelle leads me into the castle and straight for the infirmary. Lance follows soon after. Allura had drugged him heavily to make sure that he didn't make the slightest sound. Sven looks at him, concerned.

"Will he be alright?" he asks the doctor.

"No," I answered for our lost friend. "He went crazy."

Sven takes Lance's thin hand in his own strong one. "We lost two already," he says quietly. "We can't lose another."

I look at Allura who lingered at the doorway. I can see in her eyes that she had to go. I hold out my arms to her. She runs into them. The others, save Lance, leave discreetly.

"Thinking of you has what kept me going," she murmurs. "So many times I wanted to end it with Hagar's poison or jumping from my bedroom balcony. But I thought of you, and how you needed me. I thought of Keithy." She looks into my face. "Promise me you won't come for me." When I didn't respond, she gave me a slight shake. "Promise me, Keith. Promise on our love that you won't come for me."

"Only if you promise that you'll come back," I answer.

She buries her face in my shoulder. "I promise," is her muffled response. "I will do everything I can to come back to you."

We stare at each other and she kissed me lightly, but to me it held all the power of a supernova. Without another word, she turns on her heel and strides out of the room. I begin to follow her, but my legs wouldn't cooperate.

I look to my right and see Lance, my best friend, sleeping like a baby. I am afraid of what might happen when he woke up. Would he talk to us again or would he simply shut down and repeat what he'd been saying for all this time? Although the others were anxiously waiting for him to wake, I want him to stay asleep because while he was sleeping, I can still hope.

"Keith?"

I roll my head towards the door and smile. "Hi, Sven."

"Allura has just left," he tells me.

"I know," I answer. "Have you been planning this long, Sven?"

He sits down on an armchair by my bed. "For as long as she's been Zarkon's...Zarkon's..."

"She's an amazing woman," I say, interrupting him.

"That she is, my friend." He pats my hand. "I think it is time for your to get some sleep."

"I think so, too," I say as my eyes began to drift shut. I fall asleep before he even leaves the room. I don't wake up until the following night.