Allura glared petulantly at her nanny. The older woman regarded her charge with an annoyed air as she held a stunning blue ball gown with the full skirt peppered with small sparkles like stars. Allura was seated on her bed, fresh from a shower and clad in a robe as she looked at it as if it was the dirtiest rag that she wouldn't be caught dead in.

"Why can't I just wear pants?" she demanded stubbornly. "The boys get to wear pants."

Nanny took a deep, calming breath. "Because, you are not a boy. You are a princess and princesses wear dresses to balls! Do you really want to be de only voman dere in a pair of pants?!?"

Allura threw her arms up in the air in frustration. "Fine! Fine! If you leave me alone concerning everything else, I'll wear the dress." If I had my blaster, I would disintegrate the damned dress! she mused regretfully as she realized Nanny was right. That would sure solve all my problems for today.

Nanny began to putter around Allura's sparse chambers to gather what she thought the Princess would need. Allura had kept all her mother's jewelry near her and Nanny attacked her jewelry box as Allura looked on, silently fuming. She held up a chain and on it was a single sparkling white diamond. A matching pair of earrings were found near the bottom of box. She laid them on the dresser and then attacked Allura's still wet hair. She dried it with a high-powered blow dryer, keeping at it until Allura thought her scalp was on fire. When Nanny was satisfied with it--Allura's blonde hair flew about her head like a wild thing--she pulled some of the hair back and up, letting the rest cascade down the Princess' back in a rippling golden waterfall. Nanny then opened a bag resting on the dresser and took out brushes and small cases. Allura took one look at them and stood, her hands stretched out in front of her as she slowly backed away from the older woman.

"NO WAY!" she cried. "There is NO WAY on this planet that I will wear make-up. Forget it, Nanny! I'm already going to be wearing your da--dress. Let my face be."

"Just a leetle, Princess," Nanny protested. "You are too pale and vite. You need a leetle bit of color."

"NO!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Outside, Hunk drew his weapon and burst into the Princess' chambers using an emergency access code. Allura and Nanny regarded him warily as he pointed his blaster at them. He lowered it when he noticed that Nanny was holding a cosmetic's bag and Allura was far, far away from her. He smiled amusedly.

"Getting ready for the ball, Princess?"

"Tell her I don't need make-up, Hunk!" she said. "Please."

Hunk tilted his head to the side and stared at her thoughtfully. He appeared to be studying her, but in reality, he was weighing the consequences. If he said that she needed make-up, she would probably threaten his life, but Keith would save him. If he said that she didn't need make-up, there wouldn't be enough dessert for him for a long, long time.

"Maybe just a little," he conceded.

Allura let out a cry. Nanny laughed victoriously and as the Princess slumped down in utter defeat, she applied the make-up. Hunk crept out unassumingly before Allura could berate him. He was fortunate that she was distracted by Nanny dusting her face or else he would have gotten an earful.

Keith helped Lance straighten his dress uniform. Lance grumbled under his breath about the deluded designers who actually thought that it was comfortable. For his part, Keith didn't appear to be ill-at-ease with his uniform, but it was rare that Keith looked ill-at-ease with anything. He felt it, but feeling it and looking it were two different things with Keith.

"How the hell did you make it out of the Academy without knowing how to do this?" Keith asked with a small laugh.

"Easy. I always got you to do it for me."

Keith straightened and thought back. He laughed when he realized Lance was right. There wasn't a single occasion that he ever saw Lance fix his own uniform. He was always the one making sure that Lance's buttons were straight and that his shoes were shined properly.

"Lucky you," he said dryly.

Lance took a look at the chronometer. "What time do you have to get Allura?"

Keith checked his watch. "In about ten minutes."

"Hunk told me that Nanny was having a some trouble dressing our little Princess."

Keith smiled slightly. "I'm sure the whole castle has heard that already. It's not a big surprise. Allura isn't one for frilly feminine things."

Lance looked at him, one brown eyebrow arched. "You think?" he said sarcastically.

"Which is more than I can say for you."

"If you weren't so damned close to me, I would say something that would make you sorry you said that."

"Shut up, Lance. All your blabbing is distracting me. I might stick you with your sword so you better stay still."

"Sir, yes, sir."

Keith finished with Lance's uniform and straightened his own, the buttons lining up by themselves.

"Well, I'm off," he said.

"Don't get too excited now," Lance said wryly.

Keith left Lance's quarters and went towards Allura's room. He straightened his collar and made sure his gloves were spotless as he waited for the doors to open. When they finally did, he couldn't believe his eyes. For standing before him was the most stunning vision of womanhood he had ever seen in his life. Her blonde hair was shining and pulled up in a mass of curls, a few strands framing her face for a dramatic affect. The blue dress was the same shade as her eyes and made them look bigger than they already were.

"Allura?" he asked, unsure.

"Who else would it be? Nanny isn't blonde," she retorted.

He ignored her biting tone and just stared until she began to feel uncomfortable. Nanny pushed passed her and grabbed Keith's arm, leading him to the Princess. He followed willingly and offered Allura his arm.

"May I escort you to the ball, milady?" he asked, still staring.

"You may," she said grandly, taking his arm.

They went down the corridors and Nanny looked after her charge with pride. If only Allura fixed herself up, she would be a great catch for a rich and handsome Prince.

Allura threw sideways glances at her escort, impressed at the picture he presented. His dress uniform consisted of a white jacket with navy blue pants, a red stripe running down the side. There was navy blue trim on the collar and sleeves to match with the pants. And on his chest were multicolored bars that she knew had a significant amount of honor attached to them. His hair was calm for once, gelled to a point that it didn't move at all. He looked bigger in his uniform somehow, his shoulders broader, but it wasn't a bad thing. Her lips quirked lopsidedly as strange sensations floated around in her chest. Something strange was going on with her and she wasn't going to make it worse by acknowledging it.

Keith had to tear his eyes away from the Princess. He had always thought her beautiful, but not to this extent. Not when her hair was usually far from kept and her clothes baggy did he even imagine that she could look like this. The dress had bodice that revealed the curves that she had hid and since there were no sleeves, only thick straps on her shoulders, her long, graceful arms swung freely at her side. Nanny stayed true to her word and only put a little make-up on her, just to bring out her natural beauty. Her lips shone pink and her eyelids were shadowed silver to match the sparkles on her skirt. Her cheeks were stained with a peach that brought the color she needed to her complexion.

"You look...you look..."

"Spit it out," she said crossly.

Keith rolled his eyes. "At least try to look pleasant, Allura. This is the ball to celebrate Voltronia's completion. You have to be gracious to your subjects and at least seem like you're having a good time."

She felt a little ashamed of herself. She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. She cleared her throat and said in a dignified, but sincere tone, "You look very nice tonight, Commander Porterfield."

"As do you, Your Majesty," he said with a warm smile.

"Did I sound alright?" she asked.

"You sounded fine."

"Good. We'll call that my diplomatic voice."

"Really? I thought that voice was a few thousand decibels higher."

She threw him a withering look and was about to retort, when they found that they were nearing the entrance to the ballroom. Coran and the other three members of the team had turned to see who was approaching and all four jaws dropped when they spotted Allura. Keith felt a strange sense of pride that they were gaping at the woman on his arm--not that he really had anything to do with her looking that way.

Allura shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. She didn't like being the center of attention though she had to admit that it was nice that they thought she was beautiful. She almost regretted not being able to fix herself up like this everyday...almost. She sighed and threw Keith a brief amused glance before turning to the others.

"What are you waiting for," she said, waving a hand at them. "Open the doors. Let's get this party started."

Lance, Hunk, and Pidge nearly fell over each other to do her bidding. Allura was impressed with the sudden power she had over them. Her blue eyes sparkled wickedly. Keith nudged her lightly, his lips turned up slightly at the corners.

"Make-up isn't so bad anymore, is it?" he whispered so close to her ear that his breath rustled her hair.

Allura was speechless for a moment as a pleasant chill ran down her spine. She didn't look at him as she answered, "Say that to me when I get a rash from it tomorrow."

The large double doors finally opened and they heard the trumpets sound. Coran led their little entourage down the steps, Hunk, Lance and Pidge behind him. Keith and Allura came down next, causing a small stir in the crowd as it became apparent that they made a striking couple. Neither seemed aware of it, only of the weight of the stares they were receiving.

Allura paused at the bottom of the stairs. Keith moved to leave her side, but she clung fast to his arm. He stayed his steps and looked for all the world as if nothing strange had happened. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that she was nervous. He looked out into the crowd and saw many familiar and important faces, dignitaries sent by the Alliance planets as well as leaders from Galaxy Garrison. He could understand her trepidation. The only time she didn't feel nervous speaking to them was when she was yelling at them.

"Welcome to our celebration most distinguished guests and thank you for coming," Allura began, her voice strong and sure. "We have worked long and hard to rebuild Arus as she was, and the completion of Voltronia is only the first step to that long and arduous process. But the first step is always the most important step. Now, my people have a place they can call home and where they can feel safe. We would not have been able to do this without your help and support. Consider tonight's celebration our thanks to you." She nodded at the band and waved her hand in the air as a sweet melody began. "Enjoy."