Chapter Three

Allura could feel Merla's power licking at the edges of hers. She knew enough to keep it bay because of all the other times Merla had done this to her and in the back of her mind, she was aware that this was Merla's way of teaching her how to use her powers. Asking would not have gotten her anywhere, but Allura spent countless nights wondering just what Merla had in store for her. The time when Merla put her hands on Allura and it felt as if her power was being wrenched out at the root did not happen again, but that display of power had Allura on the edge. She'd saved her loved ones from black magic before, but this time, she knew she would not be able to. A different approach was necessary but for the life of her, she did not know what.

There was something happening in the docking bay that shook the castle's foundation and woke Allura up when she managed to get some sleep. However, the soldiers never took her down that corridor and she had no way of finding out just what was going on. No one spoke to her except for Merla and despite all she had lived through, worry over her family and a sharp regret that perhaps she and Keith had made the wrong decision wore at her. And it showed.

Merla circled the soft armchair that Allura sat in. She'd moved their interrogations to Keith's study, knowing that the location would force memories into the Queen's brain that would make her weaken. Merla had visited Allura's dreams, seen the intimate moments she'd had with her husband in this room, and wondered just how perfect their lives were before she came along. That amused her immensely. With a wave of her hand, she pulled back her power and Allura's slender form slackened. Sweat dotted the Queen's forehead as the strain of keeping Merla back was exhausting and her blue eyes were heavy lidded when she looked up.

"Are you so bored that the only source of amusement you can find is to poke at me with your wonderous magic?" she rasped. "You've taken my power before without any trouble and no matter how hard I try, I know I won't be able to fight you off. If you want to kill me, just get it over with. I'm starting to get bored with what we're doing here."

"Now, now. All lessons have to be learned slowly in order to ensure they be learned at alll," Merla said easily, sitting down on the couch. "I find you intriguing, Your Highness. I think had you been a Drule, we would have taken over the Alliance rather than the other way around. Well...you and your husband that is. Alone, neither of you would have been able to reach the greatness you have now, but together...ah what a perfect team. Almost perfect, anyway. If he had been Arusian and a branch of the royal line, your children would have been powerful witches. "

Allura did not say anything when Merla stopped talking, but she did not avert her gaze. She waited, knew enough about the other woman that Merla decided this was the time to let Allura know a little bit more about what she wanted. She may not have the best people skills but she studied them and knew that Merla, arrogant and cruel as she was, wanted Allura to come around to her side. Why else would she allow the Queen to live, fairly comfortably at that. Merla showed her she could take her power at will, but she did not do that. Instead, she was training Allura, making her stronger.

"I've been called a witch before," Allura said.

"I'm sure it had nothing to do with your magical powers. I would be right in saying that your children have not displayed any talents to this end because your Nanny had been forbidden to teach them. Foolish move, Queen Allura. Had they been allowed to mature and grow into their powers, they might have been able to repel me. I'm powerful but not against three, or even four counting you, witches with your resources."

"And that shall always be my greatest regret. I thought I was protecting my children from powers they could not understand but instead I've put them in more danger than I could have ever imagined. Don't doubt that they won't fight you anyway, Merla. Magic isn't what keeps the universe together, or keeps life going. People do and you are sitting here in this castle, solitary because of what you think you are, but at the end of this life, you will be dust just like the rest of us. Ask yourself why you're doing this and if it's worth it. I've lived on Arus all my life, with all this power surrounding me, with Voltron as my weapon, but I never wielded any of it with black intentions. I was happy with my life, my family, and my kingdom. You are deluded if you think that what you'll accomplish here will make you complete."

"These are romantic notions that only the weak have," Merla said dismissively.

"I'm not weak. I'm realistic and far less arrogant than you are. This power...if it's as great as you say, why has it been dormant all this time? Wouldn't someone have already tried to harness it and use it? Why did the royal family stop practicing the magic that came from this planet? You don't strike me as an idiot--heartless, but not an idiot. Learn from the elders and leave well enough alone. If a people who used this magic for generations decided to stop using it completely, there had to have been a good reason. For all you know, you could be opening the gates of Hell or ripping open a black hole and frankly, I've seen enough trouble for one lifetime to have to deal with that too."

"I have considered that and you are brave to point that out while you are at my mercy. But somehow, I think that if you were in my position, you would want to find out for yourself. You and I, we're not that different, except I reached my full potential and you did not."

"I wish you'd stop throwing that in my face. I'm getting really sick of it. I get it. I made a mistake by not picking up the magic wand and making the Alliance a slave to my powers, but could you just shut up about it?"

If Merla was irritated by her tone, she didn't show it. She studied her red painted nails as she put her feet up on Keith's coffee table, the sharp heels of her boots making scratches on its surface as she fidgeted. Allura wanted to push her boots off and just start planting her fists in Merla's smug face, but she stayed in her armchair, hands clasped tightly together over her bent knee.

"It's the one thing I do not understand of you, Your Highness. This reluctance to explore your magical talents. You could have fulfilled the destiny your ancestors took away from you, maybe even used Voltron in a way that your husband never could. Imagine--magic in the cockpit. It would have been glorious," Merla said.

"Didn't you mention something about romantic notions earlier?" Allura sneered.

Merla waved a hand and Allura felt it like a caress against her soul. It made her shiver and she leaned away from Merla as if to get away from her. Merla smiled humorlessly and did it again, this time making a fist. Allura let out a choking sound.

"Together, we would be quite the team. Greater than you and Admiral Porterfield ever were. The universe would be ours. With Voltron and our powers..."

"I would rather die," Allura said.

Merla got to her feet, yellow eyes blazing. White sparks shot out of their corners as she held out a hand at Allura. Allura's blue eyes sparked as she fought Merla back but her own power was pushed back easily by Merla's magic.

"Fortunately for you, I need you alive rather than dead," Merla said. "Unfortunately, I don't really need your permission to use your powers. I just would have liked it, and some companionship, that's all."

She started to rip the powers from Allura again, but then an idea popped into her head. Crouching down, she looked into Allura's eyes.

"You will regret refusing me," she said. "I won't ask you again."

Allura took a swing at her, but Merla stabbed at her with her power, making the other woman scream in agony as Merla ripped at her powers.

"Before I'm finished with you, you will know what pain really is."

With a wave of her hand, Merla made Allura unconscious. Almost immediately, the Queen began to moan, her eyebrows knitting as the nightmare began. Merla sat back down on the couch, her eyes not leaving Allura's face, and she concentrated as she began to control just what Allura was dreaming of.

She fell to her knees when she found herself looking up at her own face.