"Ach, your beautiful hair, Your Highness," Nanny clucked, hovering around Allura's head with a pair of scissors. "It iz a sin to chop it off like dis."

"I can't wear a helmet with this much hair, Nanny. The bun gets too big," Allura explained, but it sounded more as if she was trying to convince herself rather than Nanny. "I'm not cutting it all off. It'll fall just halfway down my back. Five inches off, that's all."

She looked at the floor where a pile of blonde hair was beginning to grow. She bit her lip.

It's just a few inches. You'll still have hair, she told herself.

Suddenly, there was a knock at her door.

"Come in," she called.

"But dis is your room!" Nanny cried.

Allura waved her hand dismissively and Keith walked in. He frowned when he saw her sitting at her dresser, wearing a plastic wrap over her clothes and a pile of hair behind her.

"I just wanted to tell you that you did a great job today," he said, coming closer. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" she said saucily. "I'm learning how to waltz."

"I thought...well..."

"I can't wear the helmet that goes with the uniform with my hair," she explained with a sigh. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, but don't you think this is a little too presumptuous?"

"Not at all. It was time for a cut anyway."

"You look like Nanny's cutting your limbs off."

"It's hard to part with it, is all," she sighed. "Nanny, I think that's enough."

With one last snip, Nanny straightened and looked at her handy work. She had layered Allura's hair slightly to give it some bounce after lecturing the Princess about how she needed to fix herself up, but the second she was done cutting, Allura gathered her hair up and tied it back.

"Thanks for the compliment, Keith," she said, standing. "I'm glad you came because I want to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

She took his arm and propelled him out the door. She began to walk down the corridor and he fell into step beside her.

"I know this is a lot to ask, and I've already asked you for so much, but..."

"You want extra practice time, don't you?"

"Was I that bad?" she asked, cringing.

It was the first sign he'd seen of her self-doubt, though he was sure it wasn't reaching massive proportions, but she was only human and she had undertaken a task that was much bigger than herself. He had prepared himself for this question and was going to say no because he had other things to take care of, but her blue eyes implored to him from a perfect oval face topped by soft sunshine hair. He was not usually swayed by female beauty, so he told himself that wasn't why he was changing his mind. She really needed his help and he was not one to refuse a request for aid.

"Meet me at twenty-three hundred hours in the rec room. I'll take care of the rest," he said.

She would have thrown her arms around him had she been another woman, but the jubilation on her face was enough to convey her feelings. She gave him a hearty slap on the arm and went off to Castle Control. Scratching his head, Keith went off in the opposite direction. He needed to think and he knew exactly where to go to get that done.

Keith dug into the black soil, reveling in the feeling of nature under his fingertips. When he was younger, he would tend to his mother's garden whenever he wanted an escape. When she had been alive, he had helped her. After she had died and his father began lashing out at him, he fairly lived there. Now, he tended Allura's mother's garden. He was spending more time in it and it showed as the panorama of colors of the flowers he had planted gave witness to his work. He brushed away the sweat from his brow and pushed aside the thought that he needed to be somewhere else. Lance had assured him that he would take care of the orphanage construction. He was brash at times, but Lance was a sensitive person deep down...very deep down.

He used a shovel to dig a hole in the ground and he planted a small apple tree that Jeff had brought with him. He had communicated with his friend ahead of time to make sure that it would be brought. He was sure Allura would like it and Hunk would be ecstatic when the apples grew. In addition to the cherry tree, Nanny was getting all the fresh fruit she needed to make his pies.

When Keith finished with the tree, he went to sit underneath a large oak tree in one corner of the garden. Across from him was a small plaque on the wall, with violets planted underneath it. His lips tightened and his eyebrows knotted.

Sven Van Voorst, it read. A Son, A Friend, A Hero. We will miss you.

He had asked Allura if he could have it placed there and she had agreed. There was already a plaque with Sven's name at the chapel, but Keith needed to have a reminder much closer to him. Since he was in the garden most of the time, he wanted it there and soon it became his primary reason for coming. He would sit on the stone bench for hours, just staring at Sven's name, and going over the scene in his mind.

He had nightmares every night and each time he saw Sven's body hurtling through the air to his death. He had not seen the expression on Sven's face when the land mine had exploded, but his imagination filled in what he didn't know. The spectre of his friend would always haunt him until he somehow found peace within himself. Despite the reassurances he got from the others, he had made the decision to leave Sven behind and it was his fault Sven's parents did not have a body to bury. That decision weighed heavily on his mind and his soul.

Keith put a hand to his heart, then reached out and brushed the plaque with his hand.

"See you later, Friend," he whispered.

He stood and went back to his planting. He didn't have much time until dinner and then it was more practice with Allura. He shook his head, a smile playing around his lips. She was one determined woman. He wasn't surprised that she got what she wanted, despite his and Coran's feelings on the subject. He sighed. He only hoped that when the time came to make his decision, he would make the right one.

Lance snickered as he spotted two shadows disappear into the manual entrance to the Blue Lion from one of the security monitors at Castle Control. If Keith honestly thought he was going to get away with this, he must have had another thing coming because he had set up the security systems to the Lions himself and he should have known how to get to the Blue without getting detected. Lance quieted and then smiled as something in his head clicked. Keith probably wanted him to see them leave so that he could keep an eye on them in case something happened. But he knew that if he brought it up, Keith would deny any knowledge of it so he made a mental note to keep his mouth shut. He was a lot of things, but he wasn't a tattle-tale. Keith was definitely a genius. Lance leaned back in his chair and enjoyed the show.

Keith gestured to the pilot's seat and Allura took it with a satisfied look. He handed her the key and she took it, inserting it in the lock. The panel before her came to life and she put her hands on the controls. Keith talked her through lift off though she had already done it dozens of times in the sim. The Blue shot up from the waters of the lake and into the starry Arusian night. Allura held the yoke lightly, like he taught her. She could feel the Lion moving, the light vibrations going through the engine to the yoke then to her fingers. She understood now why pilots hated being on the ground. Being in the air was like magic and she never wanted to walk again. She hadn't noticed earlier because the stress of doing well in front of the others took her mind off her emotions, but now, as she flew through the peaceful sky, it was all she could think about.

"Allura," Keith said quietly, seeing her eyes take on a dreamy look that he'd seen many times on a new pilot's face and broke her gently from her reverie. "Ready to try some new moves?"

"Ready and waiting, Sir," she said. "Barrel rolls?"

He grinned. "Not yet. We're going to do some simple ducking and dodging."

"Sounds good."

Lance watched as the Blue danced across the sky. Allura seemed to be doing fine for the movements were fluid and sure. She was a good student and if she continued on the way she was going, she would probably be a great pilot one day. Or maybe it was because she had Keith for a teacher. Lance had seen many pilots in his day and he'd never seen one like Keith. Jeff came a close second, but even he couldn't land a shot on the great Commander Porterfield. He didn't know how the man could focus like that, but whatever he was doing, he was doing it right. In his entire career, Keith had only damaged two fighters, and considering they were at war, that was no small feat. He treated the fighters like his soldiers and protected them as such.

In the Blue, Allura was in what pilots called "The Zone". She was one with her ship and in such a state, it was dangerous for the enemy to come in her sights. As it was, her maneuvers were nearly perfect. With just a bit more practice, they would be. She slowed the Blue to a leisurely pace and stretched her arms.

"It's in my blood," she said. "I was meant to fly."

"Oh, really?"

"My father flew before me, his mother and father before him."

"You might have your chance," he said.

"I will have my chance."

He nodded. "We'll see, Allura. Now, how about some target practice."