Chapter One

A small smile danced across Merla's lips as she twirled the Royal Sceptre in her long-fingered hands. She sat in the conference room, her legs crossed primly at the knee as she watched various scenes from around Voltronia on the viewscreen before her. Patience had always been her strongest quality and she was not ashamed to admit that she spent most of the day in idle pursuits. Already, she'd read most of the books in the King's study and learned that he enjoyed reading books by archaic Terran philosophers. She took a particular liking to an Italian philosopher named Machiavelli though the Prince he spoke of could not be more different from the present King of Arus...Merla could not say the same about the Queen.

It would have been hard to believe, but Merla did respect Allura. She was not a soft ruler or a soft woman, even though she had become more relaxed through the years. Peace had that effect on people and Allura was no different, but Merla recognized the battle light in the other woman's eyes and had found it something to admire. Of course, that admiration did not mean that she was ready to let Arus go. Merla was a prideful woman and she was determined to conquer this planet...as well as gather its powers for herself. After having brushed up against Allura's powers, Merla knew she had made the right decision by coming to Arus, by taking all that she had and knew and putting it all into this one basket.

It irritated her to no end that Voltron was still not in her possession, but she was also not foolish enough to act before it was time. Despite the speed with which the Arusians had acted to get Voltron out of her grasp, she was fully aware that the Lions and their pilots were hiding in the desert continent of the planet. During her more acute bouts of boredom and restlessness, she was tempted to send a squadron out there but she just had to keep reminding herself that she would soon take everything away from them. It did provide her with some amusement to watch them scrabble about like rats and they had figured out the secret to her robots and ships sooner than expected, but at the end of it all, she could still destroy them all with a sweep of her hand. That is to say, all of it except for Voltron. Her talent was extensive, but no matter how hard she tried, the robot was like a vacant space in her perception. She could not read it, could not read anyone who was inside it, and her magic bounced off his hull like their lasers bounced off her fighters. But she had expected that. What she had not expected was that Arus' magic did the same. Voltron was as removed from that magic as it was from hers. It was an interesting aspect to the robot that would make it even more useful than she thought.

Putting the sceptre down, she clasped her hands in her lap and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her own powers outward and imagined she could hear the air hum with it. Her power met and mingled with the raw magic that permeated Arus, but her brow furrowed as the magic seemed to reject and push hers away. Frowning, she pushed back, harder, then smiled with satisfaction when it gave way. Around her body, small pinpoints of lights danced and her blue skin began to shimmer with it. Letting out a beath, she opened her eyes and the lights faded. She needed only a little sleep because of the regenerative powers of Arus and she could feel the power inside her grow after each time she tapped into the planet. Yet, it was not enough because she knew that it could be so much more. Arus fought her back and though she could get to a certain point by battling it, she could not get to the root of it all. She could hold in the palm of her hands all the power of the universe if she could just find the center of this magic and to do that, she needed Voltron.

Or something like it.

Their journey was taking longer than expected because of tempermental ship that Lotor had lent them. None of them were especially gifted with mechanical skills, but as the one who had the most training in it, Jason spent most of his time in the engine room trying to convince it to give him just a little bit more power. Romelle had gotten the latest report from Sven and she learned of the battle that the Voltron Force along with the ground forces was planning. She was not sure whether that was good or bad news considering how their forces stood up to the Lotorians, but Romelle would have to trust those on the ground to know what was best. She just hoped that the next transmission did not bring her news of a death and she shuddered at the thought.

She was alone in the cockpit, Alana and Jason having given her some privacy to speak to her husband but she didn't open the door long after they ended the transmission so that she could settle herself. Both Jason and Alana were looking to her for guidance and leadership and they did not need to see her trying to get control of her emotions. Seeing Sven always threw her off balance as she came face to face with just how much she missed him. She wanted to lose herself in his embrace and listen to his voice at her ear, not lurch across the galaxy in a ship with suspect parts. She did not want to be responsible for two children who needed her as much as she needed them, she just wanted life to be the way it was.

The door snicked open and Romelle fixed her expression to a pleasant one. Alana came in, her dark eyes questioning.

"Was there any word from the castle? How are my parents?" she asked quietly.

"The Lotorians have been as silent as the day they took control," Romelle answered. "I'm sorry. I wish that I could give you a different answer."

Alana's lips thinned. She was beginning to stay awake most nights because of the nightmares that plagued her when she let herself rest. The fate of her parents hung heavily above her young head and she could not stop imagining what their lives would be like if Arus lost its leaders--what her life would be like without her parents. No more walks with her mother or warm hugs from her father, no more family dinners with her mother and Bethie fighting it out over something while her father did his best to referee them and Ethan tried to add fuel to the fire. She kept her memories close to her heart and when things got too hard, she tried to go back to the happier times--but then when faced with reality she realized that it only got harder. The comfort and love that had surrounded her childhood was gone but she was going to fight to get it back. It hurt her to push aside thoughts of her family but if wanted to keep her head up, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, she had to keep her focus on the task at hand.

"We're about fifteen hours out," Romelle said before Alana could ask. "I'll keep watch. You should get some rest."

But Alana shook her head. She hugged a knee to her chest, much in the same way her mother and sister liked to do, her dark eyes brooding as she stared at the starfield in front of them.

"You haven't been sleeping," Romelle said.

"I didn't mean to keep you up."

"No, I can see it on your face. I have seen it before, you know. I've done it myself. Are you having nightmares?"

Alana nodded, resting her chin on her bent knee. Romelle caressed her silky blonde head, thinking of her own daughter, and fervently prayed that she and Allura would be able to see their babies again.

"Honey, I've had nightmares for almost half my life," she confessed softly. "You think that sleep is the last bastion, but Zarkon or the Lotorians manage to invade your sub-conscious too. But you have to keep them out of there, Lana. I've had nightmares for more than half my life, almost every night when I first left Pollux. I relive the worst days of my life after I've closed my eyes and I'm warm and safe in my bed--but I don't run from them anymore. You can't let them have that last victory, that last battlefield."

When Alana turned to look at her, Romelle felt like she just watched her niece age ten years. Alana had always had an old soul, but there was always a touch of child-like innocence in her gaze...not anymore. Romelle saw echoes of Allura's bitterness, borne from years of battle and hardship in the girl's eyes and it hurt her almost as much as if she had seen it in her own daughter.

"I'll try," Alana said simply.

Romelle kissed her forehead. "Try, child. Try."

Allura opened her eyes and without thinking, she reached out next to her, half-expecting to feel Keith's warmth nearby. Her face crumpled as she found only an empty space, had been empty for three nights. She knew that he would not be there, but there was always that small hope that maybe Merla would bring him back to her. They had slept next to each other for nearly every day of their married lives...and even for a while before then. She needed him as surely as she needed to breathe and at a time when she was feeling her weakest, his absence only drained her spirit even more. Since they had been separated, Merla had her sitting in the interrogation chair for at least fifteen hours a day, asking questions about her powers, Voltron, and her children. When she did not get a satisfactory answer, Allura paid dearly. There were no more violent hits or laser burns, but all Merla had to do was put her hands on the Queen and Allura felt as if her soul was being sucked out.

She rose from bed slowly, for even though her body was unmarked, she felt as if she had been beaten within an inch of her life. There was a empty hole in her core that only grew wider with every session she had with Merla and she did not know how to fix it. Broken bones, split skin...these were injuries she knew how to deal with. But her spirit, her very soul...there was no glowing aura to protect her. No matter how hard she tried, she could not gather the energy to bring back the magic that Nanny had shown her she had. Maybe it was because she was too tired, or maybe because it had been too long, but no amount of concentration or meditation brought that power to her fingertips.

By the time she finished showering and getting dressed, the Drule soldiers came for her. She expected them and after the first and last time she kept then waiting, she did not do it again. That particular interrogation had her blacking out and waking up with a vague memory of telling Merla too much about the workings of Castle Control. Allura allowed the soldiers to lead her out in the corridor and to their leader, but in her steady blue gaze, there was something that they had not seen before...

Fear.