"Yes," Allura replied, leaning back in her seat, a troubled expression on her face. "If Romelle is my cousin, then we have an enemy in the inside."
"I don't know, Allura. She's been Zarkon's slave for a long time. I don't think she has any more ties to Pollux, especially if they had given her away like she said."
"We just have to be careful," she said.
"What led you to think that Romelle could be Allura's cousin, Coran?"
"Doctor Gorma mentioned to me that Romelle had strange markings on her hand like Allura does. I visited her while she was still in ICU and took a look for myself."
Allura spread her left hand out and turned it so that her thumb was towards Keith. He could see that there was something tattooed on the fleshy part of her thumb. His grasp of Arusian writing was slippery at best, but from what he could tell it said "Arus".
"All the members of the royal families have this on their left hands," Allura explained, taking her hand away. "Romelle's is on her right to show her planet's break from ours."
"According to ancient Arusian history, Pollux and Arus used to be considered sister planets, its people were friends," Coran explained. "But one day, their rulers turned against each other. Some say it was because of an evil spell cast on the Polluxian royal family that affected only the men because after that day, Pollux turned into a wasteland as its people were cast into slavery by their own King. And when the Drules came into the picture, it just got worst."
"Now they're allied with Zarkon and a great threat to us. Alliance spies have told us that they have been building up their armaments," Allura said. "We have to be on our guard and that means Romelle has to be put in protective custody until we are sure she isn't a danger."
"Doctor Gorma is running a second test with the samples he already has," Coran said. "We don't want Romelle to suspect anything and as far as we're concerned, this is not to leave the room."
Keith looked from one to the other. "This is incredible. What else could possibly go wrong?"
"Don't even say that," Allura said, shaking her head. "When is Doctor Gorma going to have the results?"
"In an hour's time," Coran replied.
"Then, Keith and I have time to get some work done," she said.
They crossed the room to the main security console and Keith went over the schematics. He asked Allura a question and when seconds ticked by with no answer from her, he turned his head and found her gazing into nowhere. She was having trouble keeping her mind on track as she had just found out that after all these years of thinking she was alone in the world, the last member of the Royal House of Azure to be alive, that there was someone else out there who shared her ancestry. Allura was not usually sentimental, but she only hoped that if Romelle was her cousin, she was not going to set them up for a trap. She smirked.
Although it would be fitting, considering the direction my life is going, she mused.
Keith waved a hand in front of her face, a crooked smile on his lips.
"Want to talk about it?" he asked.
She blinked and refocused on the screen in front of her. "No. Just go on with what you were saying."
"You didn't answer my question."
"No, we haven't assigned new men to the parameters," she replied.
They discussed more of the changes that had to be made, though Allura had to be snapped out of her thoughts more than once. She kept on checking her earpiece to make sure it was working as the end of the hour loomed near. When it finally beeped, she raised a shaking hand to the switch attached to her collar.
"Doctor?"
"I have the results, Princess...she's your cousin."
Allura stumbled to a chair and sat down hard. She covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes taking on a shocked look above it. Coran opened the link so that he could hear the details that the doctor was going over. Keith stood by the Princess but didn't move, knowing she would probably break his hand if he tried to touch her or comfort her in any way. This was her private pain, something he was sure she wasn't ready to share with anyone.
"I want two guards posted outside her room," Keith said. "Get Sven out of there."
"We should have someone watching Sven at all times," Allura said, raising her head. "She might have gotten to him."
Keith's expression clouded over. "I can't do that to him. I trust him..."
"Now is not the time for sentimentality, Keith," Allura said flatly. "Not when our safety is in danger."
Keith rubbed the bridge of his nose, a muscle in his jaw jumping. "No guards for Sven. I'll watch him myself."
She nodded. "I'm going to go talk to Romelle."
"Wait, Princess," the doctor called. "There's more."
She eyed him warily. "What else could possibly have happened? Maybe she's the real Princess of Arus."
"She's pregnant and it's only a half-human fetus. From our tests, it looks like the child is half-Drule."
Allura swore savagely under her breath. Keith closed his eyes briefly. Coran let out a sigh. Before anyone could say anything, the Princess walked out of the room and headed towards the medwing.
"Vat do you tink you are doing?" he demanded, looking threateningly down at her.
Allura met his glare head on with one of her own, her eyes sparking blue fire. "What I have to do. I suggest you remove yourself from my way, Sven, or I will charge you with insubordination."
His nostrils flared. "Youf got to be kidding."
Keith left the control room right after Allura and followed her down the corridors. He knew how Sven would react and now was a better time than any to begin the surveillance of one of his closest friends. He put a calming hand on Sven's arm and tried to lead him away, but Sven shrugged him off.
"Keit, you cannot allow dis!" he cried.
"I have to, Sven. You know we have to."
Sven took a deep breath and shook his head. "Do not treat her dis vay...not after all she's been tru."
"I'm sorry," Allura said as sincerely as she could, but her voice was firm. "Please step out of the way, Sven."
"Don't make this any harder than it has to be," Keith said gently.
Sven glared at them and stalked off. Allura nudged her head towards the direction he was headed. Keith nodded his understanding and followed. She then turned to Romelle's room and stepped through.
Romelle tried not to feel any contempt for the woman that entered, but she couldn't quite hold it all down. Her expression was decidedly cold as Allura came up to stand at her bedside. It wasn't lost on the Princess and she put up her own barriers. This woman could hold their lives in her hands and no matter what story Romelle had told Sven, Allura wasn't going to lower her defenses until she was sure that it was safe to do so.
Without any preamble, Allura said, "You're my cousin."
"Is this how you treat all your family members?" Romelle asked, showing not the least bit of shock at the knowledge though she was just as surprised as Allura was when she learned of their connection.
"No, just the ones that come from planets allied with Doom."
They faced each other, the two last women in their family as far as Allura knew, and the only thing she could say to her cousin was...
"If we find enough evidence to suspect you of dealing with Lotor or Pollux, you are going to be sent to Bastion-12."
Romelle's mouth thinned to a line, her eyes narrowing. "I cannot believe you have the nerve to ask me something like that after learning of all that I have suffered at Lotor's hands, at the hands of my own family. The day they sold me into slavery, they lost what little allegiance I had towards our Royal House."
Allura blew out an exasperated breath through her lips. "Understand the position I'm in, Romelle. I can't allow you to walk freely around here when there's even a minute chance of you turning against us. I will not put Arus in any more danger than it's already in. We've worked too hard..."
"Spare me," Romelle said frostily. "Leave me alone, Allura. As much as I hate to admit it, I understand what you're saying, but I have had it with people trying to control my life. For the first time, I am free and I will not let you hinder me. As soon as I am well, I'm leaving."
"But in the meantime..."
Romelle met Allura's blue gaze with an identical one. For a moment, it was like looking into a mirror, so strong was their similarities when Romelle showed her anger. Then she blinked and the moment was gone. They were once again strangers. One blowing cold, the other hot, they were complete opposites. It was not a promising start...if this could be considered a start at all.
"I know," Romelle said in a calmer, but freezing tone.
Allura turned quickly and strode out the door. She nodded as she passed the two guards and didn't look back. Romelle stared at the doorway, her eyes beginning to tear, but she promised herself that she wouldn't allow herself to cry over this. It had hurt more to learn that Allura, someone she hardly knew, already didn't trust her than it did when her father had given her up. She rolled on her side and closed her eyes, a lone tear escaping from underneath her eyelids.
Sven protested loudly as the guards arrived and insisted that he leave the room. He was arguing loudly with them, his anger boiling over as he wondered what could have possessed Keith and Allura to treat Romelle like an enemy. It was only when Allura came did he quiet, but his fury did not cool.
