Chapter Seven

Allura left her dress in a pile on the floor and changed into a more comfortable outfit; a jumpsuit. She went into the living room, pulling the pins out of her hair. Keith was sitting on the floor, in his shirtsleeves, and a mess of data pads surrounding him. His jacket was thrown carelessly nearby. Without thinking, she picked it up and hung it on the back of an armchair. She went to lounge on the couch behind him, still pulling pins out of her hair. Though her hair had looked perfect earlier, she used far more pins than Nanny usually did to get it that way.

"Admiral Selea is on our side," Keith said, picking up the data pad with her information on it and putting it to the side. "Admiral Delora is not." He put her data pad next to Admiral Selea's. "The others, I have no idea." He put the other data pads in a pile of their own. "We have to make some quick visits to their offices later today."

Allura finally pulled out the last pin and put it in her pocket with the others. Her hair fanned out around her head, strands of it touching the ground. She didn't respond to his remarks, instead her eyes were closed and she looked for all the world to be in a deep slumber. She had gotten hardly any sleep as she and Keith spent a better part of the night preparing their arguments for the next day and then ironing out some paperwork that had come in from Arus that neither Lance nor Coran could take care of. Then, they had spent ten hours in the hall as the other leaders began to speak and Allura had to play peacemaker for once as things threatened to erupt into shouts and accusations. It was a role she was not used to, but played well enough to garner some respect.

"Porterfield to Allura...are you there, Princess?"

"I heard you," she said. "I'm just exhausted. This spokesperson business is tiring. Two days of arguing and mediating and explaining...I don't know how people can do this on an everyday basis."

"You could have left it up to someone else."

She snorted. "One thing I've learned is never leave your job to someone else. I started this and I'm going to finish it."

"Admirable."

"Hope they think so."

"I'm sure they do. But their liking it is a whole other matter."

"Thank you for bursting my bubble. I appreciate it. Riaru forbid I be content for five minutes of my life."

He smirked. "Something eating at you, Allura? I'm getting the feeling that you're upset about something."

"The usual misgivings," she said casually. "Am I doing this right? What was I thinking? If this doesn't work, what am I going to do?"

"We are doing the right thing. This needed to be done," he said, turning around and looking her straight in the eye. "Don't doubt yourself, Allura. They can smell it if you do."

"Great. Something else to worry about."

He eyed her carefully and then got up. He opened a channel to a transportation officer and requested a small two-seater plane to use for the day. Allura sat up and threw him a questioning glance.

"We're going on a walk," he said.

"But you asked for a plane..." She looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Just be patient."

Allura stood on the shore, letting the warm water lap at her feet. She took a deep breath of the salty sea air, and closed her eyes. She was still in her flightsuit, but the pants were rolled up and so were the sleeves. Next to her, Keith--now in his own flightsuit--was looking out into the horizon and the setting sun. He had taken her to a small secluded beach on the southern coast of British Columbia, a twenty minute flight from Washington DC, so that she could calm her fraying nerves. It appeared to be working.

"This is beautiful," she said appreciatively. "Thank you..for bringing me here."

"We can't stay long," he reminded her. "But I thought you needed a break and I remember that beautiful scenery always calms me down."

"Arus lacks beautiful scenery," she said with a tinge of regret in her voice.

That's what you think, he thought, looking at her.

Unaware of his glance, she knelt down, not caring about getting her clothes wet, and picked up a seashell. It was a small white one and shone rainbow colors in the sun. It was not unique for there were a million of them littering the beach, but she pocketed it regardless.

"A keepsake," she said.

She took a step back and gestured for him to come with her. They walked down the beach, feet sinking and sliding in the wet white sands. The sun was halfway down the horizon and it threw streaks of purple and orange across the skies. In muted tones, they began to talk about the next day's meeting, but were both visibly more relaxed. Though they spoke of matters that affected the lives of billions of people in dozens of planets, they looked as though they were talking about everyday things.

Keith checked his chronometer after half and hour and decided it was time to go. They still had officers to visit and Allura had to get dressed. He led Allura back to the ship they borrowed and they got in. They were both dry by this time and were able to sit comfortably in the soft cloth-covered seats.

They went back to GG HQ and to their suite in silence. Allura didn't want to waste the energy she had managed to gather by speaking unnecessarily. She went to her chambers and changed into a forest green gown with a matching cloak of the same color. Arusian custom didn't allow her to move about an important place such as this without a cloak of some kind. She met Keith in the living room after she finished putting her hair into a bun. He had changed back into his dress uniform.

"Shall we?" he said, offering his arm.

"We do what we have to," she sighed. "Where are we going first?"

"Admiral Mileaux," he replied. "He's a Grogaun so we may be able to get him on our side. His planet was ravaged by Zarkon during the attack."

They made their way down the corridors, Keith having to pause once and a while to make sure they were headed in the right direction by way of the maps embedded in the wall panels. They found themselves in a corridor lined with decorative plants and cheerful white light. There were doors on either side of them, a nameplate on each one. Keith stopped in front of the one that said Admiral Limaj Mileaux. He glanced at Allura who squared her shoulders and then reached out to touch the door chime. The doors slid open to reveal a towering orange-skinned man with a square-shaped head. He had no hair, and his eyes were a striking purple color. Allura had to crane her head to meet his eyes. He smiled slightly when he saw them.

"I've been expecting you," he said, his voice a low baritone. "I knew you'd be visiting me first. Please, come in."

He led them in and sat behind a large desk made out of a solid green material that Allura had never seen before. She and Keith sat on the chairs opposite. Mileaux leaned forward in his seat and rested his hands on the surface of his desk, palms down. He pinned Allura with his unnerving purple gaze, but she met it without a flinch.

"So, Princess, what have you got to say to me?" he asked.

"I want to know what you think of this whole business," she said.

"You want to know if I agree with you, you mean," he said with a knowing look. "I cannot outright say that I am behind you as Commander Porterfield has so bravely done, but I admire your strength in coming before us the way you did."

"Thank you, Sir," she said with a slight smile.

He nodded in acknowledgement. "But as an officer of Galaxy Garrison, I am sworn to uphold all that it stands for. I am part of the council and it is my responsibility to remember what I have to do to protect it. Though my world has been...attacked...I have to keep an emotionless stance to keep my decision untainted."

"We understand, Sir," Keith said. "And we commend you for it."

They chatted more about the state of the Alliance, about the planets destroyed and now rebuilding. Allura then let loose a full blown presentation about how they were going to set up the new Intergalactic Planetary Alliance Government. Mileaux listened patiently and Keith could see that he liked the idea...he just wasn't going to say so.

Half an hour later, they took their leave. Keith and Allura stepped out into the corridor, confident that Mileaux would vote in their favor. He then took her further down the corridor to another office and began their campaign anew.