Chapter 6-
Tranquil Times
"Lahana?"
"Yes, Mistress?"
Allura hesitated, "Do you have any idea where Prince Lotor is at the moment?" Lahana looked at her with surprise. She definitely wasn't expecting this.
"Yes, princess. The prince is currently in his chambers doing the usual paperwork. You know, princely duties?" Lahana hesitated as well. "May I ask why you want to know, or do I ask too much?" Allura paused to think it over.
"I just want to talk to him. Will you show me where his room is?" The young woman was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with the Arusian Princess. She placed her hand on the princess' forehead gently.
"Well, no fever anyway," she mumbled to herself. The princess just gave her an annoyed look. "Oh, all right, but if you two get in a fight again I can't stop you. He is my master you know."
"Just take me to him." Allura flatly stated.
Although she hadn't forgotten her friends' horrible deaths, her main concern now was to see how her people were fairing. She needed to make contact with the castle but Lotor had forbidden her access to the transmission room. Now her only hope was to persuade the Prince into letting her send a message to Arus. And that, she knew, would mean that she had to offer him something in return. Luckily, she had a plan.
Lotor put his pen down with a heavy sigh. Along with all the fighting and slave management he still had to deal with all the state of affairs, which usually dealt with tons of paperwork to write or fill out. This had to be one of his most hated job requirements. He looked at the stack of papers he had just finished and then to the stack that he had yet to do. His head dropped. The pile he had yet to do was about three times the height of the stack he had already done.
"What a way to spend the late hours," Lotor mumbled wearily to himself. He sighed and went back to work. There was a sudden knock at the door and he was thankful that it had saved him from his work. He didn't bother to look up from his desk but told the person to enter. There was the sound of the door opening and closing then silence. He waited for a moment then looked up from his desk. To his utter surprise Allura was standing in front of the door. His shock was quite evident.
Lotor quickly composed himself and looked at her suspiciously. "What are YOU doing in MY room?" he asked with obvious distrust and annoyance.
"Is it such a crime to come and speak to you? That's all I came for, to talk." Lotor raised an elegant white eyebrow. This was very unlike her. She was up to something. "I wanted to speak to you about a compromise. Are you interested?" She raised her eyes from the floor only to meet Lotor's stern gaze, clearly uncomfortable. He studied her for a second more then nodded.
"I'll hear you out. There's no reason I shouldn't, is there?" he motioned for her to take a seat in the chair next to him. Lotor was still upset with her since their last argument and he honestly wasn't so sure he wanted to hear what she had to say, not yet anyhow. Allura fidgeted in her chair slightly, drawing the prince's thoughts back to the present.
"Prince Lotor," she said trying to make her small speech proper. "I wish to make you a compromise."
"So you've already stated, princess," he said flatly. His annoyance was beginning to become evident to the young princess. He just sat there chin in hand, legs crossed very elegantly, and a small scowl was evident on his lips. It was quite obvious that she was either boring him to death or he was still upset with her – or more probably both. She hesitated for a split second and then decided to speed things up a bit.
"This is a very small deal Lotor, it is not anything truly major," she paused waiting to see his reaction...nothing happened. "Since you wouldn't let me send a message to my planet that is my part of the deal, all you have to do is let me into the transmission room. In turn, I will......" she hesitated greatly. "........"
"Well?" Lotor asked his anger now showing in his voice as well as his features.
"I will agree to spend a day with you. Willingly." Allura said hurriedly. Lotor looked at her incredulously. He was already in a bad mood and that did it.
"I don't need to make such a bargain with you! I am master here! You will do what I say or you will do nothing at all! I decline your offer!" He stood angrily and walked to the opposite side of his room trying to keep what was left of his temper under control. Allura slumped back in her chair with an angry sigh and a glare at the prince, all pretences and regards for personal safety dropped.
"You don't control me, you know!" she said angrily. "You may have me prisoner but you don't own me!" He turned around arms crossed.
"Oh, yes I do! Ever since I gained control of you and held you here you became my property. My prize of war!" As Allura stood and trudged towards him she looked about ready to kill him. As she came to stand right in front of him she lifted her head to look him in the eyes and to better give him a piece of her mind. That came as a shock. She had never looked up at him from so close. He was much taller than her and she found his eyes strangely beautiful, even when full of such terrible anger. Allura quickly pushed those thoughts into the back of her mind and resumed to fume at him.
"I may be here, and you may say you own me, but you never will. You can't own my heart, my body yes, but not my heart or mind. Try to convince me otherwise and I assure you, you will get no where." Lotor was in awe at her bravery. Very few men, and even fewer women would ever stand up to him like that. Especially when they were that close. His temper cooled quite a bit in that moment amazingly.
The Dark Prince stared at her for a spilt second more then turned away from her and walked back to his desk. After a few silent moments, Lotor spoke.
"You may send a message to Arus," he said softly. Then his voice became firm again. "But you cannot give away our position or anything else of the like, strictly a personal message. Understood?" Allura's mouth dropped open in surprise.
"Yes..."
"Now understand that I am not doing this because of your deal. It was more of an impulse. So your little speech got you nowhere." Then he mumbled under his breath, "Not the first half anyway." Allura stood there not saying anything. After realizing she was still there he slowly turned his head to look at her.
"Why are you still here? I would have thought you would have left by now." She hesitated for a minute then moved closer to his desk.
"I was curious as to what you're doing at such hours of the night." He watched her unblinkingly for a moment before waving his hand over the piles of paperwork on his desk.
"This -- the most boring part of being a monarch." He sighed after his remark and went back to work. She saw this as an opportunity to have a real talk with him if she could stomach it. If she could learn more about him maybe she could figure out a way to get to him, or maybe even turn him to her side. She was reluctant but this was the best and safest way to find out.
"Really? I thought the worst part is all the tutoring. That and no freedom to be who you really are." he studied her carefully then decided his work could wait a few minutes more. He turned around in his chair once more and tried to think of a reply. This was a change of pace for the prince. He was perplexed at her actions. Funny, he thought. Her moods change almost as quickly as mine! Lotor barely resisted a smile.
"That was bad as well, but I had very few real tutors. I attended a military academy. Very strict, worse than tutors even." She took her chair once more as well.
"At least you don't have an over protective Nanny and adviser. They won't let me do anything." Lotor gave a small laugh.
"So I've noticed. It always seemed like one of them was in my way while pursuing you." Allura had to nod in agreement despite herself -- he was right after all. There had rarely been a time at the Castle of Lions that she had been allowed to be alone for any substantial amount of time since the death of her parents at the hands of Zarkon. That was the extent to which Nanny and Koran tried to protect her.
Allura looked back to the papers piled high on the desk. "I never had to deal with so much at once that I recall . . ." she looked up at him questioningly.
Lotor shrugged, a faint scowl tugging at his lips. "Well, it just so happens that my father tends to dislike this particular duty anymore and sends the more mundane tasks to me to be completed. If this was only my own affairs that I was dealing with, it would take a great deal less time -- and paper."
They both paused and Lotor glanced at his clock. "It's getting late princess. It may be wise for you to get to sleep. I will see you tomorrow no doubt. Good night." Allura stood and walked to the door.
"Good night," she said just loud enough for him to hear. As she walked down the hall to her chambers she couldn't help but think of how nice it was to talk to someone who understood how she felt, one who experienced the same kinds of things, even if it had been only a very short conversation. Even if he was her enemy, he knew what she was talking about and that was one thing she could never share with her friends on the Force. They would have been understanding but they could never have truly understood. Her temper had waned when Lotor had granted her request. That was unbelievable! How he changed his mind so quickly and in such a manner. It had been a pleasant talk, but still she wondered how he could change so quickly. When he had destroyed the lions he had been so cruel, so evil, and yet twice before he had seemed kind and actually showed signs of having a sense of humor. It was as if he were two separate people. Allura decided she liked this new personality the best. As she lay down to sleep her thoughts continued to stray to the Prince of Doom.
He was almost done. Just a couple more papers to go. Lotor sat back in his chair and took a small break. Immediately his thoughts went to the short conversation he and the princess had. It was hard to believe that she had actually wanted to talk to him. After all that had happened he would have thought that would have been one of the last things she wanted to do. It was amusing though. He had to admit that it had actually been...fun. Now if only he could get her to talk to him like that more often.
As he finished the rest of his work his thoughts did not go entirely to the princess but ahead to the trouble he would have when the war was over. His father would realize that he had been lying to him and there was sure to be trouble.
"I suppose I'll just have to deal with that problem when it presents itself. No use of worrying about it when there's nothing I can do." He sighed once more and decided it was about time for bed as well.
Lahana made a last minute check of the slave quarters then headed out to check up on the princess. She was glad to see that she was sleeping soundly. And she really wanted to ask how her chat with the prince went, but she would have to wait for morning to find that out. Her next stop was the prince's chamber. When she looked in he was asleep as well.
"Huh, both of them look like they're all right so I guess whatever conversation they had was a good one. That's hard to believe! The way they fight, I was afraid that they would hurt someone, but I guess I was wrong. And thankfully at that! Oh, I hope these two can manage to get along or I'll have a very big task ahead of me. Well, as if I don't already!" she gave a soft chuckle.
"Good night everyone." she said softly upon reentering the slave quarters.
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