Disclaimer: Voltron and all related characters (Keith, Allura, etc.) are property of WEP. No profit was made from their use.

The pale moon light poured into the ancient castle from every window that faced it. The light seemed to drain almost everything of its natural color, opting instead to paint everything various shades of blue and gray. No mater where you went in the castle, every room was cold, calm, and silent looking.

The only object that seemed to escape moonlight's effect was the flame burning on top of the candle held by Princess Allura. The young woman stood silently before a one of the many large windows in the room. The expression on her face was as somber looking as the castle itself as she stared up at the night sky. The whole time she stood there, it appeared that she was expecting something horrible to drop down from it at any moment.

The sound of approaching footsteps made her gasp suddenly. Her heart beating somewhat harder, she spun around to look through the room?s open door and into the pitch black hallway beyond.

"Who's there?" Allura demanded as she tried to mask the fear. in her voice. The grip her fingers had the candle holder tightened as the footsteps grew closer and closer. Her body began to tremble slightly as her eyes scanned the room for another way out or even a potential weapon to defend herself.

"It's just me, Princess," answered Keith as he stepped into the moon lit room.

Allura sighed as a feeling of relief swept through her body.

"Oh, Keith, you scared me! I was expecting an intruder of some sort!" Her gaze then went from worried to quizzical. ?Not to be rude, but what are you doing up at this horrible hour of the night?"

"Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Sven, and myself are taking turns patrolling the castle tonight. It just happens to be my turn right now. Unfortunately, the batteries in my flashlight went out long the way," he explained as he held up the broken flashlight. "I saw the light coming from this room through down the hall and decided to check it out."

He then paused for a moment, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "But now, what are you doing up, Princess?"

Allura's face flushed slightly with embarrassment. Unable to maintain eye contact, her eyes looked down at the carpeted floor.

"I guess I am on a little patrol of my own. The attacks on Arus have been going on for so long that I am always expecting them," she explained, her voice just above a whisper. She then looked over her shoulder to look out the window once again. "At any moment I fear that Zarkon's ships will rain down on from the sky and crush us once and for and all. I guess that sounds silly now that you and your friends have returned the Lions to us."

Keith shook his head; the expression on his face became stone serious. ?It?s not silly at all," said Keith; his was voice both firm and reassuring at the same time. He then swiftly crossed the distance between them in order to stand right before her. As Allura turned her head to face face him, her eyes widened just a little in surprise.

"I don't know the whole story, but I know just by looking at this castle, this planet, and the people here, that they have been through a lot. The fear that Zarkon has put into your heart, as well as theirs, is not going to go away anytime soon. Sadly, Zarkon is not going stop his attacks anytime soon either, and you know it too. Your feelings are perfectly justified."

The look on Allura's face was blank for a few moments before she gave a Keith a soft smile of gratitude. Upon seeing that he had made her happy, Keith could not help but smile back at her.

It was then that Allura noticed just how closely Keith was standing to her. The closeness of his body combined with the gentle smile on his face made the princess's heart beat just a little faster. However, this time it was not out of fear like before. It was more like how she felt when the pilot and princess and first met; when he and sworn his allegiance to her and then kissed her hand. Though she still could not put her finger and what that feeling was, and though it made her somewhat nervous, she did like the feeling.

"Thank you, Keith. It really means a lot to me," said Allura. Still feeling strange and unsure of what to say, she remained silent for a moment before continuing. "Well, I guess I should be getting back to my chambers now. I am only holding you up and Coran sometimes walks the halls at night. He has caught me wandering me before and he is never pleased about it."

"Would you like me to escort you back to your room, Princess? Your room is on my route, so it's not an inconvenience if you are worried about that."

"Yes, that would be very kind of you Keith. Also, you could borrow my candle once we are there. But you don?t have be so formal when you address me. Despite what Coran says, I much rather have you just address me as Allura."

"Whatever you say, Pri- I mean - Allura," said Keith, clearly embarrassed by his error.

Allura covered her mouth with her free had as she giggled a little. He took everything, even the slightest error, so seriously. Though she could tell the he was naturally like this, she could not help but wonder how much the fact that she was princess added to his formality. She would much rather have Keith act naturally around her, but it seemed that getting him comfortable enough around her to do so would take some time.

"It's all right Keith, you can address me in the manner that you are the most comfortable with," she said, flashing him a reassuring smile.

The two of them then began their journey together through the palace.

"Doom's attacks really did a number on this place," muttered Keith to himself after they had walked a ways. They were now in a very wide, long hallway with many large holes in the ceiling and walls. Keith could even make out the burn marks from the lasers around the hole's edges.

"Yes, the attacks on Arus began ten years ago," explained Allura. She frowned and her eyes looked down at the floor as she continued walking. "In about three years time, Arus was devastated. Though our planet's force were at first able to keep the forces of Doom from attacking the palace, many people in the cities and villages were killed or enslaved. Finally, our army could no longer fight off the enemy and they attacked the castle. Almost everything was consumed by raging fires."

Allura stopped suddenly in her tracks and tried to quickly whipped away her tears with the back of her free hand. She did not want to look weak or worry Keith any further. It did not work , for her tears just continued to fall.

"The screams were so horrible. And my mother-" she choked.

"Allura," said Keith, cutting her off.

Allura looked up at Keith's face, tears still streaming from her slightly bloodshot eyes.

The look on her face was almost heartbreaking. Looking at her, Keith felt something stir inside of him. What was it? Anger? Protectiveness? Both? He was not sure. Seeing her this way, he could not understand how anyone could hurt her. She was such a gentle soul, but she obviously was not weak. If she was, the hell that she had been dragged through would had drained her of that gentleness, leaving just a bitter, empty husk. The thought of something like that happening to her pained him.

"Allura, don't talk about this, it's obviously hurting you. I'm sorry that I ever brought it up."

The princess shook her head. After her silent crying had ceased, and the last of her tears were wiped away, she spoken again.

"No, Keith, don't apologize, it is not your fault. Every time I try to talk about what happened that day, I try to prove to myself that I have moved on. I want to show that I am strong, that I won't cry anymore like a child. However, no matter what I tell myself, each time I think about that day..."

To her shame, she sniffed a little as she tried to hold back a new wave of tears. Allura suddenly became increasingly angry with herself. Why was she such a crybaby? She was so caught up in her emotions that she did not feel the cold breeze that blew into the room and made the flame of her candle flicker wildly.

"...I just feel so hopeless."

The breeze then smothered the little flame's light, leaving the two of them in blackness.

"Allura, please don't lose hope," said Keith ignoring the darkness that surrounded them. There was so much he wanted to say, and he wanted to comfort her, but opening himself up enough to do so was uncomfortable for him. "I don't think anyone, including myself, my friends, Coran, or your people want to see that happen. And though I may be putting words in their mouths, we will, I will, do everything we can to keep your hopes alive."

Even in the darkness, she could feel the intensity of his stare and Allura could not help but blush. Still, she felt like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders, if only for a little. She was not alone. Actually, she was never alone, she had just forgotten how many people were there for her.

Without a word, Allura reached into the pocket hidden between the folds of her gown and pulled out a small box of matches. With a small smile on her face, she gently placed the box in Keith's hand and held out the candle before him. With a quick stroke of the match, Keith re-lit the candle.

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