Part One

Allura was having a bad day. She had been taken prisoner, brought to Doom, and locked in Lotor's room. Thankfully, the Prince of Doom was not at home; he was on a mission for his father somewhere else in the galaxy.

At least he won't be back for a few days, she thought, so I won't have to deal with him!

She hoped her friends would come for her soon. Just being in Lotor's room was creepy!

She yawned. Might as well try and get some sleep. She switched off the light and crawled under the covers- all the while trying not to think about whose bed it was!

Lotor was having a bad day. He hadn't wanted to go on that stupid mission in the first place! The mission was now complete; but, he had not slept in over 48 hours.

I can't wait to get home and crash, he thought. They're not expecting me, so I'll have plenty of time to just relax!

After ordering the robot soldiers not to announce his return, Lotor slunk off down the hall to his room. He was a bit surprised to find the door locked. He shrugged, and entered his personal pass code.

Allura was just drifting off to sleep when someone rattled the doorknob. She froze. Had they come to fetch her for some reason? Shouldn't they know that they had locked the door?

A rectangle of light stretched across the floor. She could see the silhouette of a tall man. It couldn't be! Or could it?

The man did not switch on the overhead light. Instead, he closed the door and stumbled over to the bed. He was on the opposite side of the large bed from Allura. He switched on a bedside lamp.

It was Lotor! As yet, he had not noticed her, and she wasn't about to draw attention to herself! He sat on the edge of the bed and removed his boots. Next, he removed his helmet gloves, and sword belt.

Please, Allura thought frantically, don't let him strip completely!

Lucky for Allura, he stopped at his pants and headed for the bathroom. She heard running water, and then Lotor brushing his teeth. Finally, the bathroom light switched off, and he headed back toward the bed.

Uh oh, Allura cringed, I'm in for it now!

Lotor slipped under the covers and switched off the light. He sighed and nuzzled into his pillow- time for some well deserved rest! He stretched out and. . .

"Eek!"

Lotor was out of bed with his sword drawn and the light on within seconds. Then, he saw who was in the bed, and his jaw dropped. He blinked several times and pinched himself- hard.

"A-Allura? What in the. . ."

"Th-they said you were away, Allura stammered, clutching the blankets to herself. "They said you'd be gone for several more days! They locked me in here!"

Under almost any other circumstances, this would have been Lotor's dream come true. Unfortunately, his sleep-deprived brain was in a different mode than usual. He would sort out all of this later; but, right now, all he wanted was a few hours of rest!

Allura watched in shock as Lotor got a spare blanket from the closet, grabbed his pillow, and moved over to a chair.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to get some sleep. Would you mind keeping it down over there?"

Allura thought she must be hearing things! "So, you're going to leave me alone?"

"Look," Lotor gave an exasperated sigh, "I haven't slept in two days. If I don't get some rest soon, I swear I'll have a nervous breakdown! So, let's just call a truce for tonight, okay? I'll harass you tomorrow, when I'm awake."

Allura just nodded. At least I'm safe for tonight, she thought.

"Hit the light." With that, the room was dark and silent once more.

Hagar grinned evilly. She had been saving a surprise for when the prince returned. Now was as good a time as any. . .

"You're not asleep yet, are you, Lotor?"

"Go 'way, witch! I'm sleeping!"

"Hagar," Allura squealed from the bed, "what are you doing here?"

"I have a little surprise present for you both!" The witch snapped her fingers, and they were all suddenly in her lab.

"Hagar," Lotor sighed, "if you had any decency, you'd let this wait until morning."

"Decency?! ME?!" Hagar began laughing hysterically.

"Silly me," Lotor muttered, scowling.

Finally, Hagar was able to calm herself. She wiped a tear from her eye and crossed over to a cabinet.

"I came across a unique artifact recently," she explained, as she searched the shelves. "It was in the plunder from planet Muhayyel. It has a very intriguing history."

When Hagar turned around, she had a peculiar looking set of manacles in her hands. Lotor had nodded off during the story, so Hagar rapped his foot with her staff. He woke with a start and glared at the witch.

"Excuse me," Allura interjected quietly, "but, what are those for?"

"These," Hagar said dramatically, "are the Shackles of King Ukala!"

"The what?" Both Lotor and Allura looked at her blankly.

This was not quite the reaction Hagar had expected. Fear was what she was going for, or perhaps even just shock. Surely they had heard of the Shackles!

"Well," she huffed, "I'm not going to bother explaining it to you- you'll soon figure it out on your own, I'm sure. Have fun!"

With a motion surprisingly quick for an old woman, Hagar shackled Allura's right leg to Lotor's left leg at the ankle. No sooner had the latches clicked, than the shackles shimmered and disappeared.

"What was that all about?" Lotor jerked his left leg, and Allura was almost pulled off her feet by a tug on her right ankle.

"Oh, I assure you," Hagar cackled, "the chains are still there. Their magic binds you without need of physical substance."

"Why are you doing this?" Allura pleaded.

"I'm tired of listening to Lotor mope and pine over you while you pretend to ignore him. You can thank me later!"

With that, the witch snapped her fingers and Allura and Lotor were back in his room. Lotor turned to Allura.

"Tell me that was just a weird dream."

Allura pulled her right foot sharply to the side, causing Lotor to stumble.

"Nope."

Lotor sighed. "Could this day get any worse?"

Just then, the door to the room flew open, revealing the Voltron Force.

"Freeze, Lotor," Keith scowled, "Allura, are you all right?"

"Umm. . ." Allura wasn't quite sure how to answer that. Physically, she was unharmed; but, she wasn't exactly thrilled with her current circumstances!

"Come on," Keith encouraged her, "you can tell me later! Right now, let's get you out of here!"

As Keith grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door, Lotor began to follow. Keith pointed his blaster at the Prince of Doom.

"I thought I told you to freeze."

"Well," Lotor said matter-of-factly, "as much as I would like to let you go and pretend this never happened, I'm kind of attached to Allura- literally."

"Huh?"

"It's true," Allura repeated the leg jerk from earlier. This time Lotor landed flat on his back.

"Ow."

Allura ignored him and continued her explanation. "Hagar put some kind of magical shackles on us. I'm afraid I don't know how to remove them."

Everyone turned to stare at the prone Lotor. "Don't look at me," he winced as he sat up, "I'm just as clueless as her."

"Great! Looks like we're stuck with Prince Pain-in-the," Allura glared at Lance, "er, neck?"

"Well," Keith shook his head, "at least we can use him as a hostage on the way out."

An alarm suddenly began blaring out in the hall. The space explorers didn't need to be told twice- it was time to go.

"Lance, Hunk," Keith ordered, "keep a close eye on him. If he tries anything funny-"

"Don't worry," Lotor rolled his eyes, "I'll be just as unamusing as you."

Keith glared daggers at the prince, and then turned to lead the team out of the castle. He heard Lotor addressing one of his captors behind him.

"Say, could I get you to knock me unconscious? Please?"

"Not a chance."

Part Two

The small group huddled in the shadows of the corridor. Before them lay an open stretch that passed right in front of a security station. Keith pondered the situation for a moment, then turned to his companions.

"Where's Lotor?"

"Um," Hunk gestured toward his shoulder, where Lotor's head lay, "I think he's asleep."

Lance grinned. "I think he's drooling!"

Hunk elbowed Lotor, who sat up with a start and shook his head vigorously. He scowled at Hunk and mumbled something about keeping people awake being cruel and unusual punishment.

"Lotor," Keith whispered, "how do we get past those guards?"

Lotor glanced over at the guard desk. "Crawl," he said simply.

"What?"

"Look," Lotor explained, "they're all facing away from the corridor, watching the security monitors. If you crawl along the edge of the desk, the cameras won't pick you up and they'll never even know you were there- if you're quiet."

"Are you sure?"

"No," Lotor said sarcastically, "I've only spent most of my life sneaking out of here!"

Through amazing self-control, Keith managed to keep from yelling at the Prince of Doom. Lance stifled a laugh and earned a reproving look.

"All right," Keith began, "let's move out in single file. I'll go first-"

"Question." It was Allura. "How are Lotor and I supposed to crawl in single file with our ankles chained together?"

"Is it possible for two people to crawl side by side without being detected?"

Lotor shrugged. "I don't know. I don't usually have company."

Keith glanced over to the desk again. There were five guards, each one armed. Each space explorer had a blaster; but, that still left them outnumbered by one.

"We're going to have to chance it." Keith outlined his plan. "Lance, Hunk, Pidge, you three cross first. Next, we'll send Lotor and Allura. I'll hang back until they're across. That way, if we're spotted, we can attack from both sides. If things start looking bad, get the princess out of here! Don't worry about me."

Slowly, they began to cross in front of the desk. Lotor and Allura were half way to the other side, when a pen rolled off of the desk. It bounced off the top of Lotor's head. He bit his lip to keep from cursing and giving them all away.

He looked to the side, only to see Allura with one hand clamped over her mouth and turning a disturbing shade of purple! She was shaking with pent up mirth. Lotor just scowled at her.

Back on the other side of the room, Keith tensed as a guard leaned forward after the pen. At the last moment, he turned to continue his conversation with a fellow guard. His fingers close around the chain holding the pen to the desk-top and pulled it back up.

Keith let out the breath he had been holding, and watched Lotor and Allura cover the remaining distance to the other side. He cautiously followed.

Lotor punched a code into a panel and the door slid open. They all shuffled into a small alcove and the door closed behind them with a hiss. Directly in front of them lay. . . another door! They all looked at Lotor.

"Well?"

"This one is a voice activated lock," Lotor explained. "That door behind us is sound-proof."

"You can open it, right?"

"Well yeah," the prince stared hard at his feet, "but. . ."

"But what?" Allura was getting impatient. She wanted to go home!

"Could you guys not listen to my key phrase?"

"You're in no position to bargain," Keith warned, "just open the door."

Lotor sighed and stepped forward, Allura in tow.

"Request admittance."

"Please state key phrase," a mechanical voice prompted.

"This is Prince Lotor," he clenched his hands into fists and ground the next words out between his teeth, "impudent whelp and bumbling idiot." The door slid open.

"Let me guess," Lance was grinning from ear to ear, "you got to pick your own phrase!"

Lotor swung around to face the space explorer. His eyes narrowed to thin yellow slits that seemed to glow ominously.

"Umm. . ." Keith stepped between the two, "let's move on, shall we?"

Keith gave Lance a warning look as they passed through the doorway and into a hangar. The look quite clearly said, "Don't press your luck."

The Voltron Force had only brought four lions with them. Keith insisted upon keeping an eye on Lotor and Allura personally; so, all three ended up in the cockpit of Black Lion. Keith sat in the pilot's seat, while Allura and Lotor stood, hunched over (there was no room to sit), in the small space behind him.

Allura stood as far away from Lotor as space, and the shackles, permitted.

"Am I really that bad?" The prince looked genuinely hurt.

"Sorry," Allura sighed, "I've been having a rough day."

"No kidding. You too?" The sarcasm wasn't quite as biting as usual. At first, Allura thought she was imagining it; but, then, Lotor said something Allura would never have suspected. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She just stared at him.

"What?"

"I don't know, you're just being so. . ."

"Nice?"

"Well, yeah."

"I figure I've all ready acted so out of character that it couldn't hurt. You know, cooperating, not sounding the alarm. . ."

Allura smiled. "You know what? I think I like you better when you're sleep-deprived! Besides, I guess this is better than being chained to Zarkon."

"Gee, thanks."

"I didn't mean that in a bad way," Allura flushed and changed the subject. "So, what kind of a mission were you on, anyway?"

"Yes," Keith put in over his shoulder, "do tell."

"Nothing important." He shrugged.

"Go on. . ."

"Basically, my father could have sent a robot to do it. It was just more amusing to him to send me because I didn't want to go. He gets a kick out of making me do things just because he can. I guess he has a need to enforce his 'power' over me."

"I'm sorry," Allura said quietly, "I guess I never really thought about what it must be like for you, having to do everything Zarkon says."

"Hey," Lotor piped up defensively, "I don't do EVERYTHING he says!"

"Since when?" Allura shot her comment back at the Prince of Doom.

"Several times- but if you're going to be like that I won't tell you!"

"Well," Allura shouted back, "that just breaks my heart!"

"HEY!" Keith's reprimand quieted them both instantly. "I'm trying to fly up here! Just put up with each other for a little longer and we'll be back to Arus, okay?"

"Sorry," they mumbled simultaneously and then glared at each other, "YOU started it! Hey! Stop saying what I'm going to say!"

Keith rolled his eyes. Having these two stuck with each other for who knew how long was sure going to be fun!

Part Three

The moment the Voltron Force and Lotor entered the control room of the Castle of Lions, Nanny rushed forward and pulled Allura into a crushing embrace.

"Oh, my darling Princess! I was worried sick about you!" Just then, Nanny noticed Lotor. "What is that fiend doing here? And half-naked, too!"

Everyone, with the exception of Lotor himself, had completely forgotten that the prince was still in nothing but his pants!

"He... uh..." Allura was at a total loss for words.

"Never mind," Nanny huffed, "you can tell me all about it later. Right now, we must get you to bed!" The robust woman clamped her hand onto Allura's arm and began hauling her off to her room. Lotor sighed and began to follow.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Nanny jabbed a finger viciously at the Prince of Doom. "You keep away from my baby or I'll- I'll," she fumed.

"Look lady," Lotor said placatingly, "I'd love to do exactly what you're suggesting! However, there's some kind of spell binding me to Allura. Wherever she goes, I kind of have to follow."

"It's true Nanny," Allura confirmed, "he'll have to come with us."

"Perhaps," Koran suggested, "they could take turns resting and we could all rotate watching them-"

"Nonsense," Nanny scoffed, "I will make sure nothing happens to the Princess." She glared pointedly at Lotor.

"That won't be necessary, Nanny," Allura broke in calmly, "I can take care of myself. I'm sure Lotor will behave himself. You don't mind sleeping on the floor by the bed, do you, Lotor?"

"Allura, I would sleep UNDER the bed- just so long as I get to sleep!"

Everyone stared at Allura as if she had just sprouted another head. Had she really just said that?

"I'm not sure that's such a great idea," Keith frowned, "we can't trust him."

"Like I said before," Allura was beginning to lose her temper, "I can take care of myself!"

"Oh," Keith's voice was dripping with sarcasm, "is that what you call letting yourself be taken prisoner?"

"That was uncalled for," Allura was really angry now, "you can be such a jerk!"

Surprisingly, it was Lotor who stepped between them before the situation escalated any further. "Hey! You," he pointed at Allura, "know that he's just stressed out because he was worried about you. And you," he turned to Keith, "know perfectly well that it wasn't her fault."

Now, everyone was looking at Lotor. He looked very confused for a moment.

"Did I just break up a fight?"

"Y-yes," Allura stammered in disbelief.

Lotor sighed and rubbed his temples. "I REALLY need some sleep!"

Allura handed Lotor one of the pillows from her bed. She had finally convinced Nanny, and everyone else, that she would be fine. She had a laser pistol, and her room had recently been moved into the center block of the castle. It would be nearly impossible for Lotor to escape and kidnap her.

She watched as Lotor scanned the room. His eyes looked sort of glazed, and Allura wasn't sure he was actually seeing anything. He lay the pillow next to the bed and sat down.

Allura caught herself staring at his bare chest. Stop it, Allura, she scolded herself, it's not proper! Still, he IS very easy on the eyes... She shook her head and cleared her throat.

"Hmm?"

"I'd like to change into my nightgown now, so turn around." Lotor obligingly turned to face the opposite direction and even covered his eyes. "No peeking!"

"It's not like it's anything I haven't seen before," Lotor mumbled, "well, actually, in a way it is..."

Allura chose to ignore the comment. "okay, you can look again." She began to turn down the covers. "Would you like a blanket?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"Well... um... good night, then." She switched off the light.

"Good night."

The room was suddenly very quiet. After a few awkward attempts, they both managed to lie down. Allura heard Lotor sigh contentedly as his breathing became slow and even.

Allura rolled over and was startled by a grunt and a mumbled curse. She fumbled blindly for a few moments, and then the light came back on with a small click. She gasped- when she had rolled over, she had dragged Lotor's left leg up onto the bed!

"Oh! I'm so sorry!"

"S'okay," he mumbled, "jus' woke me up 's all..."

Allura looked at the scene again and couldn't help laughing. She sat up and leaned over the side of the bed.

"I don't think this is going to work," Allura mused out loud, "I mean, we can't have this happening all night."

Lotor wiggled his toes and managed a sleepy smirk. "So, what do you suggest we do?"

That was a good question. Allura absently reached out and touched one of Lotor's toes. His foot jerked back. "Hey! That tickles! What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh! I..." She blushed and fumbled for some kind of explanation. What had possessed her to do that, anyway? "I guess I wasn't thinking. You have cute little toes," she finished lamely.

Lotor arched an eyebrow. "Okay... Anywho, I would like to get some sleep- this week."

"Of course," Allura took a deep breath and blurted, "maybe you ought to move up onto the bed."

Lotor's eyes widened, "Are you serious?!"

"W-well," Allura was bright red now, "I don't see why not. If you stay on your side and I stay on mine, there's no problem, right?"

I can't believe I just said that, her mind screamed, what is wrong with me!

Lotor was thinking much the same thing. "Are you sure?"

No!! The little voice in the back of Allura's mind was having a fit. Tell him you changed your mind! Say it was a stupid idea! Say anything but-

"Yes," Allura said quietly.

The Prince of Doom shrugged. "If you say so." Allura began scooting to the far side of the bed, and Lotor climbed onto the recently vacated side. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, the appeared to think better of it, and shut it again. He shut off the light, and the room was plunged into another still and awkward silence.

Allura drifted to sleep sooner than she thought she would. She was having a very strange dream...

She was walking in a field of flowers, much like the one near the lake by the castle. She reached down for a particularly beautiful flower and fell- and kept falling. All around her was blackness; she suddenly felt very cold and alone. She reached out and brushed up against something warm. She grasped a hold of what some small part of her consciousness told her was an arm, and pulled herself toward the warmth.

"Allura..."

She sighed and spooned herself against the warm body. Body?

"Hey, Allura? Um," there was that voice again, "you might want to wake up now."

She hugged the strong arm tighter and nuzzled her face into the shoulder. Now, someone was gently shaking her.

"Allura, wake up!"

She groaned and opened her eyes. There really was an arm there! A blue arm!

SMACK!

"Ow!" Lotor rubbed his cheek. "That's it! I'm moving back to the floor!" He began to step off the bed and then fell when his shackled ankle caught in the sheets. He spouted a muffled string of curses.

At about this point, Allura realized that it was she who had wandered to the wrong side of the bed. Then, that dream had been real? She could feel her cheeks and ears burning!

"I should have just left you asleep," Lotor grumbled, "but no! I decide to wake you up before you get too friendly! I mean, it's not like it was bothering me..."

"Lotor?"

"What?!" When he turned around, his expression was so fierce, Allura almost wished she hadn't said anything.

"I'm sorry," she said meekly, "I realize now that this was my fault. Why don't you come back to bed?"

"So you can hit me again?"

"No. We'll try something different. Come on," she patted the mattress, "I'm really sorry. You didn't deserve that. We'll sleep back to back or something." She felt like she was trying to coax a strange animal to come closer so she could pet it.

Lotor looked at her suspiciously for a moment, rubbed his cheek again, and shrugged, "All right, but this is the last chance, okay?"

Allura nodded, and Lotor got back into bed. They lay back to back.

"Your back is nice and warm," Allura murmured.

What did I say that for?

"Thank you- I think." Lotor chuckled and Allura could feel his deep laughter resonating through his back. "I'll add that to my mental list of compliments from you."

Now Allura laughed. "You've been keeping track?"

"Yeah, let's see... There was 'I guess this is better than being chained to Zarkon'- I took that as a compliment, anyway. 'You have cute little toes.' Oh, wait! Before those two you said that you thought I was being nice. And now, 'Your back is nice and warm.'"

"I see," she grinned, "well, good night, sweet prince."

"That makes five. Good night, beautiful princess."

Part Four

Allura woke and stretched. She could hear Lotor's quiet breathing. She rolled over to look at him.

His long white hair spilled across the pillow. Allura wondered what it felt like. She caught herself reaching over to run her fingers through it.

No, she chided herself, just leave him be! What if you wake him up? How would you explain it? At the same time, a little voice in the back of her head told her that one little touch couldn't hurt.

She finally reached over and tentatively stroked some of the hair on the pillow. From a distance, the hair looked silky, but the actual texture was more coarse. It gave Allura the impression that if it were short, it would be bristly. ~It's almost more of a mane than just hair!~

"What time is it?" Allura jumped- he was awake!

"I'm not sure. Pretty early, I guess..."

Lotor grunted and nuzzled deeper into the pillow. "So why are you up?"

"I'm usually up early," she explained, "so I know I'll be awake for practice."

Lotor muttered something that sounded like "oh joy" then stretched and sat up. He yawned and ran a hand through his hair. Then, he turned his gaze to Allura. "What now?"

"Well..." Allura blushed, "I, um, have to go."

Lotor chuckled. "Okay... So, let's go."

Allura gaped at him and then punched his arm. "You pervert! I am NOT taking you in with me!"

Lotor held up his hands in self-defense, "Okay, okay! Calm down! I was only kidding..."

"Sure you were," Allura sniffed, "anyway, I have an idea."

The maids' quarters of the Castle of Lions had a communal bathroom. Allura hurried to a stall, closed the door, and slid the lock into place.

"Just hurry up, okay?" Lotor sounded decidedly nervous. Allura stifled a giggle. "It's not funny," Allura could just see the pout on his face, "how would you like to be caught standing around in the men's room?"

"Relax," Allura said as she opened the door again, "no one is up yet."

She walked over to a sink and washed her hands. By the time Allura had finished drying her hands, Lotor was practically hopping from foot to foot! Allura was about to try calming him down again, when she heard the door open behind her.

The maid blinked. "I, uh, pardon me, your majesty! I guess I'll come back later..." She was gone as suddenly as she had appeared.

Allura knew she must be about the color of Keith's jumpsuit! She turned to see Lotor smirking like the proverbial cat.

"What are you grinning like an idiot for? I thought you didn't want to get caught!"

"You know what she thought we were doing in here, right?"

She glowered at him. "You wish! Let's get out of here!"

Back in her room, Allura began pacing, Lotor always a few steps behind. She had just begun to think of thousands of reasons why this was going to be a lot of trouble. She began to think out loud.

"What about when I have to shower? I don't want to have to keep using the maids' bathroom, either! And what about my public appearances? Then there's always-"

"Can we stop for a minute," Lotor pleaded, "I'm getting dizzy. Besides, it's not all about you, you know. I have needs, too. Just look at me! I was pulled off of Doom with nothing but a pair of pants!"

"Nothing?"

She was pleased to see him flush. "You know what I meant!"

She sighed, "You're right. We'll have to find you some clothes. We'll figure everything else out later. Give me a few minutes to get dressed, and we'll go borrow some clothes from one of the guys."

"No offense to your idea or anything, but I don't any of 'the guys' are the same build as I am."

"It's just for now," she explained, "we'll find something better later."

"Stop laughing, Allura!"

She couldn't help it! Lotor was practically swimming in the clothes he had borrowed from Hunk. He'd had to add a hole to the belt to keep the pants from falling down, and the legs were just a little short. The yellow shirt fit across the shoulders, but was baggy everywhere else. They had been unable to find any shoes, so he was still barefoot.

He looked, Allura thought, very much like a little boy who had been playing dress-up- a grumpy looking little boy!

"Calm down," she scolded, "it's only temporary! After practice we'll go find you something else, okay?"

"You mean shopping?" Lotor made a face, "I hate shopping for clothes!"

"Of course not!" Allura looked shocked. "I can't be seen with you in public!"

"Then what-"

"My grandfather used to have an elite royal guard," she cut him off, "I saw a picture once. One of the guards was some kind of hybrid, his old uniforms are still around here somewhere. He looks about your build in the picture."

They walked into the control room and over to the rest of the Voltron Force. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge just looked at them, then at their frowning captain, and back. Keith looked like he had just found out that Allura had robbed a bank or something!

Uh oh, she thought, He does NOT look happy! What did I do now?

"Allura," Keith continued to frown disapprovingly, "what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, Keith? We have morning practice!"

"You don't," he said simply. "I've suspended you from the team until we figure out this whole 'shackle' thing."

"What?! Why?"

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to fly Blue Lion with Lotor attached to you. We've discussed it-"

"We who? I wasn't here," she fumed, "don't I get a say in this?! I mean, what's he gonna' do? He is totally unarmed, and you know that the lions won't let anyone hijack them! Remember when Bokar tried?!"

"Relax, Princess, it's all in your best interests-"

"RELAX?! I hate it when people plot behind my back! What do you really know about my best interests anyway?! I'm not speaking to you anymore!" She turned away and crossed her arms.

"Wow," Lotor mumbled, "and people think MY royal tantrums are spectacular!"

"Allura," Keith pleaded, "you have to understand that we're only concerned about your safety!"

Allura turned to Lotor. "Tell Keith that I'm not some porcelain doll! I can look out for myself!"

"Why do I have to be the middle man?"

Allura just glared daggers at him. Lotor sighed and turned toward Keith. "She said to tell you-"

"I heard. I can't believe you're behaving so childishly, Allura."

"Come on, Lotor," she sniffed haughtily, grabbing his arm, "we're leaving."

"Um, bye, I guess," Lotor called back over his shoulder as he was dragged out of the room, "see you later!"

"Well," Lance shook his head, "that went well."

"I TOLD you we should have talked to her first," Pidge piped up, "she always gets mad when you tell her she can't do something just because she's a princess and she'd be in danger!"

"She'll get over it," Keith stated, though he didn't sound particularly convinced. She'd blown up like that before! Defended herself, yes, but a tirade?

"Gosh, I hope so," Hunk sighed, "I sure hate seein' her all upset."

"Come on, team, we've got practicing to do."

Reluctantly, the other three pilots followed their captain over to their chutes. They were all stopped for a moment by a comment from Hunk.

"Say, what happens if we get a robeast attack?"

On to Parts 5-8