Chapter Four

They got a room in town because the docking bay was closed and they could not get back to the ship. They knew Romelle would scalp them both when they reported the next morning, but when she heard what they learned, she would forgive them. Alana had worked hard that night to get a bead on Lotor's man Rathul and had found success...but it came at a price.

When they were safely behind closed doors, Jason began to laugh. He threw himself on the bed and laughed himself silly as Alana sulked. She took her yellow contact lenses off and had half her face makeup off by the time he sat up. She was more than a little drunk, but was able to keep her head long enough to get what they needed. What happened afterwards was just extra. Jason had to keep a hand on her arm to stop her from falling on her face on the cobblestone streets, but the haze in her brain was beginning to fade and Alana was beginning to feel exhausted--as well as a little ill.

"I never knew you were such a...a...ladies man," he said, voice on the edge of more laughter.

"Shut up," she muttered. "I did what I had to do to get the information. If I were you, I'd be more worried about the fact that a girl dressed up as a boy managed to get more attention than an actual boy."

"I'll think about that once I get over seeing you lead a cute Drule girl through a dance."

Alana met his eyes in the mirror and rolled her own as he began to laugh again. She gave his legs a smart slap before going back to her makeup removal.

"I got what we needed," she said. "I regret nothing."

"At least none of them tried to steal a kiss."

"God forbid my first kiss be from a Drule...woman," Alana groaned.

That made Jason stop laughing.

"You've never kissed anyone before?" he asked.

"That's what first kiss usually means," she retorted. "I thought you knew that."

"Who are you waiting for? Voltron?"

"No. I just...there hasn't been anyone...kissable."

"Nice."

"I don't wanna hear it, Jay."

He put his hands up. "Not from me, Lana. I'm sure your entire family is relieved you haven't kissed anyone."

"They have other things to worry about now and so do I," Alana said soberly.

She tossed him the bottle of makeup remover and sat down on the bed he just vacated. Peeling off her armor, she felt an ache in her back she hadn't realized was there and stretched out her sore muscles. They had been on their feet for most of the time since they left the ship and though the armor wasn't heavy, she wasn't used to carrying around that much extra weight. Jason finished taking his makeup off and he sat down next to her, lying back and closing his eyes.

"I feel sick," she said.

Jason opened one eye.

"That's what happens when you turn into an ale swigging giggolo."

"You're enjoying this far too much."

He poked at her side with a finger, grinning.

"I really am."

"Take the armor off," she said.

"I'll get to it," he said. "So, how are we gonna do this bed thing?"

The bed was big enough for the two of them, but they had only a few inches between them if they laid on their backs. For Alana, it was too close for comfort. Jason did not seem to mind and she took a steadying breath.

"It's big enough for the two of us," she said.

Jason opened his eyes and there was something in his gaze that made something inside her melt. He sat up and their thighs brushed against each other and it seemed to Alana that the space between them was rapidly closing. She thought he was going to kiss her, but then he stood abruptly.

"I'll take the floor," he said.

Alana wrinkled her nose.

"It's filthy," she said. "I'll keep my hands to myself, I swear."

She meant it as a joke, but the look he threw over his shoulder was searing. Then, he grinned.

"Promises, promises," he teased.

She slid in between the sheets as he took his armor off. She closed her eyes so she only felt Jason get into bed next to her and his arm brushed against hers as he settled in. Alana turned her back to him, swallowing hard.

"Goodnight," he said, his voice tight.

"Goodnight."

"Oh, hey, Lana?"

"Yes?"

"First kiss aside, you realize you are now sleeping with a man."

"I don't know about that. Seems to me I'm sleeping with a boy."

"You've got yourself one smart, unkissed mouth, you know that?"

In the darkness, Alana smiled. At her back, Jason did the same.

There were no new transmissions from Sven or Lance and she was dying to know what was happening with Jack's condition. By her rough count, he should have woken up within the last half day and she hoped that he had. The Black needed its pilot. She knew Sven was not having any luck convincing the Alliance that they should at least send a few squadrons to bolster Arusian defenses. When she put herself in the place of Alliance leaders who did not face any immediate danger from the so-called Lotorians, she could not find a good reason to put her neck out for the Arusians. That angered Romelle to no end because she could not blame them, as frustrating as it was. The Lotorian leader knew what she was doing by attacking Arus at this time. Enough time had passed for most Alliance leaders to have been replaced or conveniently forgotten that Arus had been instrumental in ending Zarkon's reign and everyone, including the Arusians, had been lulled into a sense of peace.

Sitting back down on the pilot's seat, Romelle wondered if Lotor had told them all he knew. He had no reason to tell them the truth, regardless his blood relation to Allura and her children, but as much as she hated it, Romelle recognized that she was looking at a changed man. Her feelings for him would never change, in no way would she find forgiveness for him in her heart even though he had sent her that message through Alana. Yet, she believed what he said about Arus and magic, about Prinoth and Rathul. If he was wrong, they would have just wasted their time, but if he was right...they could see the end of this. It frightened Romelle to think that Arus was like a ticking time bomb and that none of them had any idea of it. Voltron should have been a hint, but like everything else, they had taken the robot for granted.

Sven had tried to describe to her once what it felt like to fly the Blue Lion and he could not find the right words. She had never tried to fly any of the Lions even though Allura had offered it to her because she felt as if she would be trespassing on holy ground if she did. Romelle was not overly religious, but there was something about those Lions that made her soul quiet down. She wasn't going to light a candle for them or anything that extreme, but she respected their power and their mysteriousness. She accepted the mystery as just being a part of the legend of Voltron...sort of like faith. It seemed silly to have faith in a giant robot made up of five Lions, but having seen them all in action, it was understandable. Merla wanted that for herself but something told Romelle that Voltron would fall dead before that would happen. And if Voltron, the Royal Family and Arus were tied as tightly as Lotor said, the end of Voltron would mean the end of them all.

The outer doors opened with a faint hiss and Romelle stood to greet her niece and nephew...but more than two sets of footprints came into the ship. Her gun was in her hand before she could blink an eye and she stood to the side of the cockpit door to greet her unexpected guests.

Alana's exertions the night before pointed them towards one of the smaller bars in the area, where it was known that information would be exchanged and given. It was unassuming from the outside and had they not known it was there, they would have walked right by it. The building was rundown but not delapitated and there was only a small sign with the word "Mog" written in Drulian on it. Alana led the way in and for once, no one paid any attention to the new face. It was not crowded, but it was very dark and it took a moment for her to adjust from the sunny day outside. She led Jason to a table in the front of the room and ordered two ales even though just the thought of drinking one made her stomach turn.

"You look a little green," he murmured.

"Appropriate considering the color of this infernal drink."

Jason studied the crowd, trying not to let his eyes rest on any particular person for two long, but the man sitting in the far corner of the bar caught his attention. He seemed to be drawing plenty of attention from the other patrons as well and a few went to him to exchange a few words, bowing over his hand and such.

"We should talk to that guy," he said to Alana.

"What guy?"

"Over your left shoulder. Try not to be too obvious..."

Alana slid sideways and leaned against the wall, idly looking at the people. She tilted her head to one side to get a look at the man Jason was referring to and found a long, slender man about the same age as her parents, his graceful fingers dancing across the rim of the cup. He had an eyepatch and an angry scar slashing from above and below it and the one yellow eye was focused on the contents of his cup...until he looked up and met Alana's gaze. Her first impulse was to look away quickly but something in his gaze held her. He raised his cup to her and took a drink, only then was she able to look back at Jason who had seen the exchange.

"We've been spotted," she said unnecessarily.

The barmaid came back with their drinks and a note. She seemed to regard them with a new respect as she tilted her head to the man in the corner to indicate who gave them the note. Jason picked it up and read it. Alana watched as a muscle in his jaw tightened and he glanced at her, gray eyes stormy.

"It's in Drule," he said. "I can't read it."

Alana took the note from him and squinted at it. Drule had similar letters to Arusian and she managed to get the gist of its meaning.

"He wants to talk to us about our ship," she said.

"I think it's time we made friends, Lana. Let's go."

Jason caught the man's eye and raised his glass to him. The man gestured for them to come over and Jason stood, Alana close at his heels. They stopped at his table, waiting for him to speak but he took his time studying them, his one yellow eye grazing them from head to toe. He took a swig of his drink before waving them to sit. Jason pulled out a seat for Alana before taking his own, a move that the man did not miss.

"Who are you?" he finally asked, his voice soft and almost feminine.

"Braneg and Lana," Jason answered. "We're travelers. Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"How did you get hold of that ship?" the man continued, ignoring Jason's question.

"It was a gift," Alana answered. "Sir, please...who are you?"

He leaned in closer to them. "I'm the man you're looking for."

"Rathul," Alana breathed.

But before either she or Jason could say anything, there was an explosion and the world went black.