Chapter Eight

Keith knew where to find her. Their guests were long gone but she'd disappeared before the end...around the time Bethie and Jack had left on their honeymoon. He'd just put Ethan to bed and although the castle was usually cavernous, it felt even more so with the thought that Bethie wasn't there.

Allura was curled up in his study in her favorite chair, her ballgown nothing but a memory as she was dressed in an faded jumpsuit that had not seen an iron in at least five years. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows and her sock feet were resting on the edge of the seat as she hugged her knees to her chest. Her neat bun had been shaken out and she'd held back her long thick hair back with a simple ribbon, but as usual, strands came free and wisps framed her face. The moonlight traced her perfect profile as she looked out the window and for a moment, he felt as if he was looking at a window to the past, at the Princess she'd been. When she turned her head, he half-expected her to snap at him like she used to and he smiled when he recalled their first exchange.

But then her lips curved into a tender smile that she had just for him.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he said.

He sat down in the armchair opposite her, tracked to where her eyes had been focused on. It didn't surprise him that she'd been looking at the spot where their son's plaque was. He remembered then what he had in his pocket but he took his time telling her what he'd discovered.

"He would have been really happy for Bethie and Jack," Keith said quietly.

"I missed him a lot today," Allura said. "I couldn't help wondering what he would have been doing had he been here. Dancing with Alana, teasing Bethie. He and Olivia might have been married themselves and had little kids of their own."

"There are a lot of things that Ethan could have been."

"I know."

Keith dug into his pocket and held out his palm for her to see. Allura's brows knit together as she looked down at the small blue penknife that he'd thrown into the lake the day before their son's memorial service. It had been done at the heat of the moment when he raged against fate for taking his son away. He never had the chance to give Ethan the knife and that one act had torn at him. But that night, when he'd tucked little Ethan into bed, he noticed that the boy had something in his hand. Keith tugged it free and had nearly dropped the familiar blue object onto the carpet. He knew it wasn't Sven's because it was too new with hardly a scratch on it.

"I was putting little Ethan to bed and he was holding this," he said.

"Did Sven leave his out?' she demanded. "I swear next time I see him..."

"No," Keith interupted her. "This isn't Sven's. This is...was Ethan's knife. Well it was meant to be his, but after...after the service, I threw it into the lake..."

"But...how did little Ethan get it then?"

Keith just gave her a look. Allura put a hand over her heart and she turned her eyes back out to the lake and the willow tree. Her eyes shimmered with tears, but she didn't let them fall. She never liked to. Keith just stayed where he was, turning the knife over and over with his fingers.

"He was there then," she said, a tremor in her voice. "In a way."

"Yes. He was."

"Bethie would be happy to know that."

"I'm happy to know that," Keith said.

Allura stared at him across the small space between them, saw the pain that he was valiantly trying to hold back. He lifted his eyes to meet hers, his gaze like a caress on her face. Never one to fight the pull of him, she got up and settled herself down on his lap, her cheek resting against his.

"We've lived a lot," she said.

She put her hand over his heart, felt its familiar rhythm under her palm and found it hard to believe that after all this time, she found that she had never stopped needing him or wanting him. She knew some married couples grew apart as they grew older, but not her and Keith. They argued plenty, but that was their relationship. They never argued badly enough for them to separate, though Keith had spent a few nights sleeping on the couch in his study, but a few nights out of twenty-five years was not bad.

She needed him, she always had, and to grow old with him was all she wanted. Her handsome, head-strong Commander Porterfield had become a wise and patient King but underneath it all was Keith. Just Keith. And she would love him until her days on Arus came to an end, of that, she was certain.

"We've lived enough for several lifetimes," he agreed. "Just having to deal with Lance alone cost me a decade of my life."

She laughed.

"That idiot."

"If anyone tried anything against that idiot, you would be leading the charge to defend him," Keith teased.

She only snorted.

"I remember when I first saw the five of you. If I could have, I would have loaded all of you up in the torpedo bays and shot you right back out into space. And I would have put Lance in first...then you."

"I never would have guessed."

"I was irritated with the fact that you were there, but I graduated to pissed off when I saw how polished and sharp you were. You were all sharp corners and shiny boots back then, Keith. Not that things have changed much."

He tugged on her messy ponytail and eyed her faded jumpsuit.

"Fashion was never your strong suit," he said dryly. "Anyway, whatever came out of your mouth was colorful enough to make you memorable."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"If that helps you."

Allura laughed and Keith just shook his head, grinning at her.

"Who knew that getting punished would lead to the best assignment I ever had?" he said bemusedly.

"What did you do anyway? What did the golden boy, Commander Porterfield do that was so bad that the Garrison had no choice but to bust him down to babysitter for a shrewish Arusian Princess?"

Keith blinked.

"You don't know?" he asked.

"It never came up in conversation," Allura said dryly. "When I wasn't arguing with you, I was falling in love with you, and when I wasn't doing either of those things, I was at death's door."

"Was shrewish the word you used?"

"Seriously, Keith. What did you do?"

He sighed.

"It's no great mystery, Allura. I disobeyed direct orders and I got charged with insubordination."

"What kind of direct orders?"

"I jettisoned a cargo hold full of grade A metal ore because it was too heavy."

"That's it?"

"It was Drulian ore."

Allura winced. Drulian ore was some of the best in the galaxy and at that time had been impossible to obtain. She couldn't help snickering as she imagined the Keith from days of long ago, earnest and honorable, dumping cargo as precious as that.

"It's not funny," he grumbled.

"Why did you dump it?" she inquired curiously.

Now he looked angry as he remembered.

"It was a choice between dumping my crew or dumping the ore. They told me to dump the crew. I chose the ore."

"Good choice," she said, caressing his face. "I would have guessed you made that chose. You always were my conscience, Keith."

"Just doing my job. Though for a while, you made it real hard for me to do it."

"Oh, please. Like you wouldn't get territorial if the Alliance sent a couple of young upstarts to Arus and then they started to boss you around. Look at it from my position," she retorted.

"Your position was not as good as it is now," he argued. "You needed us."

"Of course we did, but I was too bullheaded then to admit that..well at first. You were the first one I couldn't help but like. You saved my life over and over again...and you took what I dished out without even blinking an eye. You were a glutton for punishment, husband of mine."

"Don't think it was any scheming on my part to get to where I am today," he said dryly. "I figured arguing with you would only make matters worse."

"You argued plenty," she pointed out.

"But I could have argued a lot more. You had a bad attitude and a chip on you shoulder the size of the Blue Lion but I sucked it up and just reminded myself that we all had a job to do."

"You saint," Allura said haughtily. "Well, you were unyielding, stubborn, and more than a little bossy."

"Takes one to know one," Keith shot back.

"Very mature, Keith."

He started to retort, but then he laughed, shaking his head at her.

"You can still do it," he said. "You can still get a rise out of me in under a minute."

Allura grinned.

"Since I know you so well now, I bet I can do it in less than thirty seconds."

"One of the many perils of being married to you." He tapped her chin gently with his finger. "You know, I don't remember when I started to think of you as more than just a royal pain in the ass, but that's just the way things turn out with us. Everything just kind of happened."

"Like it was meant to be," she said softly. "I couldn't have done any of this without you, you know. Just thinking what might have been if I had lost you that night Hagar had poisoned us gives me nightmares."

"And Hagar doesn't?"

"She's nothing now. I have my own sorceress," Allura said with a smile. "Then, I wonder what might have happened if we were too stubborn and pigheaded to tell each other how we felt. Don't you think about what might have been?"

"No," he said honestly. "Because I've already got my hands full with dealing with what is. I never knew you to be much of a daydreamer, Allura. You're getting softer the older you get."

"Watch it."

Blue eyes stared into brown and he put one hand on the back of her neck to pull her closer so he could kiss her. Soft lips and a soft touch...some things never change. Allura ran a hand through his unruly hair, a corner of her mouth tilted upwards bemusedly. He looked at her, waiting.

"Would you change any of it?" she asked as she curved her body against his, maneuvering to get closer.

Keith thought back, of all the happiness he'd had over the years and of the woman he shared all of that with. There was hurt and there was pain: the suffering he'd felt when he thought that Sven had died saving him, being faced with the long lost ghost of his father, watching his father hurt the woman he loved...the past was full of incidents that he wished he could forget. Then, there was loss of his only son, a loss he would be mourning for the rest of his life. There were plenty of parts in his life--of their life--that had left a scar but at the end of it all...

"No, Allura," he answered, his arms tightening around her. "I wouldn't."

She smiled.

"Me, either," she said before his lips captured hers.

The End.

Thanks for making it this far and going on this journey with me. I hope that you were able to enjoy reading these stories and getting reacquainted with these characters and then being introduced to their families. I really loved writing Black Arus and Black Arus 2 and I can't tell you how sad I am about ending it, but all things must come to an end. Anyway, thanks for sticking it out. It was long and it was tough, but in the end, I hope that it was worth it.

~Rayne
11.01.04

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