Fate
A/N: This is a Voltron fanfiction. I own nothing.
'How could you have let this happen.'
Allura screamed at herself as she desperately tried to escape through the dark, foreign room as boot-clad feet thundered behind, drawing ever closer. She pushed the shelf of books to her left, effectively slowly down the man running behind her. The one running parallel to her in the next row was a different matter. His burly body copied her hope for escape by slamming is weight into the sturdy, floor-bolted bookshelf with his left shoulder. She heard more than she saw the books starting to falls from the impact, the heavy shelf groaning as its support was violently uprooted, marble floors screaming in protest as bolts and cement carved into it. Allura managed to slam herself into the corridor of books to her left before she was crashed by the force of the books and shelf, heart slamming in her chest as she managed to stop herself before slamming head-first into more books. She quickly crouched and crawled under the hole the two book shelves had created, careful not to dislodge the books and give away her location.
"Come out my Beautiful. Let me see you."
The eerily smooth voice sent shivers through Allura despite its soft tone, despite the appearance of the man who possessed it.
"You don't know how long I've longed to see you again my sweet. Grace my eyes my dear, for I've missed you so."
She would never forget Lotor. Or forgive him.
She tried to calm her heart enough to try and figure out a way to escape the huge library buried in the depths of the building that man had pulled her through. She hadn't protested since they had escaped the dark tunnel they had walked through to stand before large steel bolted doors. Of what material they were made of, Allura wasn't sure. But it struck her as strange that they looked brand new despite the humidity and the rock surrounding them. With only a touch the doors slowly opened to reveal a large cavern that took her breath away.
Giant stone lions on pedestals carved out of the same rock sat proudly, making a clear pathway toward a door carved out of black metal material that seemed to shift ever so gently but maintaining the same pattern. Their grandeur took her breath away. The Castle of Lions had many artefacts created for the lions, but this… this was magnificent. The air was still but she could feel the gentle hum of magic permeating every corner. And it was strong. The gentle glow of the silent fires dancing between each lion allowed Allura to comprehend what she was looking at without question and only a gasp. The face of a lion. A male lion with a mane set in the shifting wall in front of them. She had separated from Keith soon afterwards when they had spotted drule soldiers across the pavilion, led by a wrinkled old woman.
"My memory has been coming back slowly over the last few weeks. At first I thought it was a dream I had created in my head because of all the talk about the lions. Seeing you for the first time was the same as being pulled out of cloudy, dim water where you can't see or hear. I knew what I needed to do from then. I apologize for your discomfort till now, your highness." Keith said quietly before he touched the beautiful design in front of them.
Allura felt ashamed of her behaviour as she watched the swirl of emotions haunting this man's face. She knew the pain of losing her brothers was something that would haunt her for the rest of her life. But what of this man whose very existence some selfish man had tried to eradicate? She grew up learning of the different peoples that she would one day govern, their cultures, customs, loves and hates. Having to lose it all…
"The worst part about remembering is that I don't have anyone to remember with. This war cost me more than what should have been taken from me. Right now I don't know whether that lion, myinheritance, is a curse or not." Keith said, letting go of her hand, walking toward the lone pedestal.
"If you think it's a curse, why are you approaching it?"
Keith stopped in front of the pedestal, taking his eyes of the lion and landing on the unassuming oval black key that would change his very near future. He didn't want to answer her any more than he had already had. She was like a gentle wave that you could let go and float in, only to find yourself taken too far out. She could also turn like a raging storm, wild and uncontrollable. He knew he liked it. His actions and reactions over the last few days showed him how dangerous she was to him.
"Because I know what's going to happen to you if I don't."
Allura shook her head to clear it, forcing herself to focus on the situation at hand. Lotor was here. And he was prowling, hunting her as he had done before. She could hear the clip of his booted feet as he pranced along the free path made by the ends of the rows. The light of the full moon flooded the dark room in cool light from the impressive floor-to-ceiling windows of the library, casting his long shadows at intervals as the bookcase rows broke the light.
She knew how much he revealed in hunting his prey down, how much he loved slowly inflicting fear into his prey as he played with it like a predator toying with its caged prey, slowly circling until fear felt like a cold heavy blanket suffocating you. She didn't have much time and she knew it. The library was otherwise clean and clear as it hadn't been discovered by Drule until she led them here. She had to make a run for it. There was no other way.
She picked up a small book stop and threw it in the direction she'd come, hoping to distract the soldiers waiting for commands from Lotor. As soon as she saw them look at the direction of the sound, she bolted for her destination: the double doors of the library only four rows down. Heart pumping, she rushed for the door as she heard one of the guards shout, alerting the others that she was on the move.
'Almost there!' she prayed to herself, feeling her heart scream at her to keep her muscles moving despite the fear she felt.
She only managed to stop herself on time before she rammed straight into Lotor who suddenly appeared in front of the doors. Her blood ran cold as she saw him leer at her, reptilian eyes dilating in delight. He looked quite calm, arms behind his back in a false appearance of harmlessness. His stance did nothing to calm Allura who knew violence the man would do. She could see his shoulders quiver uncontrollably, saw the uneven rise of his chest.
He was excited that he had caught her. Thrilled. And she knew he would show it.
Allura felt fear grip her, trying to freeze her in place. She unintentionally took a step back and watched him smirk in delight as he watched her closely as she realized the hopelessness of her situation.
"You still are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen." He leered, as he started moving toward her.
"I find beautiful an insult when coming from your lips, you bastard." Allura spat as she tried to force her body from shaking. She could feel his excitement rise as he watched her retreat, smiling even more at his retort. Every word from him was an echo of pain in her heart. A reminder of the things she had done to stay alive.
"An insult from the lips of an angel such as yourself elates me my dear. Your screams still haunt my dreams as well." Lotor replied smoothly, pride filling him as he sees her breath hitch, her beautiful blue eyes widening in fear.
"I see you still remember our time together. I have captured countless women who I've tried to relive our time together with, but all of them were poor substitutes. In beauty and in strength. The princess of Pollux shows potential. That is a given, considering you share the same blood."
Allura bristled at the horror her cousin was going through. Her blood boiled as she heard Lotor's delighted laugh.
"Don't worry my dear. I promised you that i would savor my first night with you. None who have come before you will compare. They and my future conquests will serve me as occasional amusements."
"I would rather die than ever be with a monster like you!" Allura screamed, shaking in anger. Romelle at the hands of this monster was suffering unimaginable pain and trauma. How could he?
"Yes that's what you would say. But you wouldn't have survived my hunt if you were that weak. You are different from them all. Why: You are waiting for me. You want to die but you can't. I'm your reason for living, my Allura." Lotor suddenly moved and before she knew it, he'd forced her against him, wanting her to feel how much he desired her. Allura tried to shake herself free, disgusted by him, disgusted with her weakness, feeling the tears she'd held back making wet paths on her cheeks. She sobbed as she fought him, struggling to break free.
"Those are tears of relief, my Allura. I know you've been as lonely without me as I've been without you. You see, I know you more than you know yourself. My people tell me you didn't tell the King about our time together. You were so jealous that you kept it to yourself, didn't you? Don't worry, I didn't tell my fool of a father as well. I want to keep you to myself, to look at you, kiss you, touch you, glorify you myself. No one can appreciate you like I do, only me."
Allura continued to struggle against Lotor, desperate to escape the cage he was closing around her. She didn't want to remember those three weeks she was trapped when she had been betrayed. That nightmare she couldn't escape from. She winced and cried out as Lotor grabbed her hair viciously, pulling her head back in order to look at her tear stained eyes in the moonlight. She was in pain. And she never looked more beautiful than at that moment. Allura tried to turn her head away from his as she saw his lower, his intent to kiss obvious, but pain ripped through her scalp as he tightened his grip. More tears flowed from her eyes at the impossibility of her situation.
"I think the lady has made it more than obvious that she doesn't want your attention." a soft voice called out, halting Lotor's descent a few centimeters before he conquered Allura's lips. A flicker of annoyance radiated on Lotor's face at the disruption before he ordered:
"Kill the fool who just disrupted me."
When heard no one respond or act to his command, he turned to look at his guards, annoyance growing into anger.
"Since when have you grown the capacity to not respond to me?! I said kill the fool who interrupted me and my beloved. Now!" Allura whimpered at the sudden increase in tension his hand caused. Her scalp felt like it would bleed at any moment from his grip. Her head started to pound, pain starting to blind her thoughts.
'Keith.'
What she thought was a thought turned out to be a whisper as the man closest to her suddenly increased the tilt of her head. Crying out at the sharp angle and looking at him, Allura could see the rage radiating from Lotor as he hissed dangerously at her.
"So you would dare utter another man's name in my presence Allura?! Who is this Keith? Answer me you ungrateful bitch!"
Lotor started shaking her in rage before slapping her hard across the face, forcing her away from him and causing her to slam her head into the nearest shelf. Pain ripped through her skull, dizziness soon following as her body fell onto the floor in a thud. She felt warm liquid slip across her forehead and she knew she was bleeding. Her body was exhausted from all the adrenaline she had used up, sapping her of the strength to move her body.
She heard a growl and felt the air shift as she saw Lotor fly off his feet and slam into the wall.
"You son of a bitch!" Lotor screamed, blood streaming out of his nose and mouth from Keith's kick. He was jarred by the impact, expecting a weak punch and receiving a boot to the face. His head snapped to the side as the man who had kicked him combo punched him multiple times in the face and torso. He caught the man's forearms, only to receive a knee under his jaw, snapping his head back into the wall. Lotor was in too much pain to be shocked at the viciousness of his attacker. He could taste the blood pouring from him and the broken ribs in his chest.
'Impossible. Beaten by a human?' Lotor's numbing mind thought before he received a gut crashing punch that forced the air out of him and knocked him out.
Keith pulled back from Allura's attacker, rage screaming through every muscle in his being begging him to finish the job. Only Allura's whimper brought him back from the brink of murdering this man in cold blood for what he had done to her. Satisfied that the bastard was out cold, Keith walked back to the princess and carefully lifted her off the ground, careful with her small still body. His blood boiled as he watched her beautiful golden hair stain from the blood that had flowed from the cut on the left side of her head. She was unconscious, bruised and beaten.
She was a fighter.
Keith couldn't help the pride he felt when he heard her exchange with unconscious drule as he had silently assassinated the drule soldiers outside in the corridor and in the library. A stab in the neck between the dark green helmets and the collar of their armour had silently dispatched each one without as much as a sound. They didn't see death coming as the awaited their orders. She had kept herself under control, searching for a way out until the man had mentioned a certain princess. She had refused to back down to her fear until he had forcefully grabbed her and started hurting her. The familiar way he spoke to her angered him, it was too intimate. Keith had to keep his bloodlust under control as he quickly stabbed the last two soldiers who were larger than he was. After that, red was all he could see.
Keith had watched the drule's exchange with the princess, noticing that the man seemed important given his dressing. He was no mere general based on the blood red cape, the expensive shoes or the tailored clothes. His prance and his stance were pompous as hell. By his appearance he appeared to not have expected anyone within the long abandoned halls of the Kogane residence. Honestly, Keith hadn't either.
"My charge has been difficult on you, your highness." Allura heard the deep voice in her head and knew it came from the lion in front of them. She honestly had never heard that the lions could communicate with anyone except their chosen soul.
"He hasn't been a gentleman at all. But I am getting used to his obnoxious ways." Allura replied smugly, ignoring Keith's annoyed glance before he turned back to the pedestal.
"I'm no gentleman, Princess. And I never will be. Of that I can assure you."
"What you are and what you will be will depend on how strong you are, young one. Your will to survive is more than enviable. It will change the course of this war." The black lion said cryptically.
"What do you mean?", Keith asked. The black lion disappeared from where it was, as well as the mecha, but answered him anyway.
"There are intruders in this place. They desecrated the ground your family protected for generations for something they cannot have. Find the library that chronicles your ancestors' history. The man you meet there ties your destinies together. That is your first trial."
"There are drules here and you want to test me?! The princess isn't safe here. Can't we do this another time when I get her out safe?" Keith answered angrily, both at the lion and at the drules that had come back for who knows what else. His blood boiled at the intrusion. At the disrespect.
"Young one, before you and I can work together you must understand two things: First, trust is earned. Secondly, you cannot control me. Do what I asked and you will learn more. I will appear to you again."
What had shocked him was the fact that despite the ruin across his domain, this library had survived. It held the chronicles of his ancestors' achievements from the first lord to his father, all neatly organized and untouched. He had opened the seal to this room after they had passed through the protected gate that led the way into the deeper confines of his former home where his father has once taken him. Stopping in front of wall with the lion, he had suddenly felt the need to apologize to the woman he had dragged through hell because of him. It had to be done, but he apologized anyway. As they both had watched, the lion wall cracked and shattered, revealing a tall silver pedestal with what looked like a black key on it. Behind it on a raised platform sat a humongous black mecha with a court of arms on its chest. Keith was in awe and he couldn't take his eyes of it. Allura's grip on his arm stopping him pulled him away from the incredible site in front of him. He looked at her, but her attention was on something else. From the shadows beneath the mecha's feet emerged an even more magnificent creature.
An actual black lion with the deepest coat of black Keith had ever seen.
As he carefully walked out of the library with his precious weight, he knew he had to come to terms destiny his ancestors had only spoken of. What others would think. What was expected of him. He wasn't sure whether he was resigned or furious. As he walked out of the library he felt the air vibrate. Turning back a flash a lightning hit the library, blinding Keith momentarily. When he opened his eyes, all the bookcases, rows and columns were gone. Only the bodies of the drule soldiers and the unconscious man were left.
Furious. He thought to himself. Furious.