Chapter Six

Alana woke up to Jason's quiet voice calling her name. She could feel him shaking her gently and she opened her eyes slowly, the ache in her head making that one movement very painful. Jason was staring down at her, an ugly gash on his forehead and his makeup smudged off, but otherwise, he looked like he was feeling better than she was. A quick glance around told her they were in a small room, a single window high up and the orange rays of the setting sun cast a square shaped shadow on the floor at her feet. There was a single door made out of a solid metal and from what she could see, was the only way out. She could hear some noise coming from above their heads, but nothing familiar that gave her even the slightest hint of where they were. He helped her sit up, his hands gentle and when she started to sway, he directed her to lean against the solid wall of his chest. She rested her head back on his shoulder, closing her eyes against a wave of dizziness that was threatening to have her throwing up right then and there.

"What did they do to us?" she asked hoarsely.

"I don't know what they did to you, Lana, but I feel fine," he said, concerned. "I checked your head and there are no bumps that say you got whacked on the head. Whatever made us pass out like that was not done by force."

"What was it...?"

"Since you were out longer than I was and seem to be feeling some after effects, I'd say that it was something magic related. Rathul is the man we want to talk to about this. Maybe he's got the same kind of control over this magic as Merla does."

"We can only get so lucky in one lifetime," Alana said, sitting up and rubbing her head.

Jason stood up behind her and walked around the perimeter of the room, his hand sliding across the wall. Alana took deep breaths to still her racing heart, sweat dripping down the side of her face as she struggled to keep her insides in. She could not move more than a few centimeters at a time without nausea making her forget where she was and unable to think beyond getting control of her own body. Jason must not have been far off the mark when he suggested this was magic related because that was the glaring difference between the two of them: she was of the Royal bloodline and he wasn't.

"Are you still feeling sick?" he asked, crouching in front of her.

She looked up at him, her blue eyes watery and he managed to get out of the way before she threw up on the spot he had just been in. It was then did Jason discover that he was a sympathetic vomiter.

The door opened and Rathul walked in, wincing when the smell hit him.

"I apologize for keeping you in such poor conditions," he said, gesturing for them to go through the door. "I had to make sure that the bar was secure before I brought you out of here. Princess, I am sorry for having taken such a harsh actions towards you. I did not realize you were so sensitive."

"Then it was magic," Alana said, her hand clamped tightly onto Jason's arm. "Could you make the room stop spinning?"

Rathul gave a nod and it was as if her nausea was lifted right through her head. Eyes wide, she let go of Jason and regarded their host.

"You can teach me, can't you?" she asked.

"We will talk later," Rathul replied. "Please, come with me."

"Our makeup..." Jason said.

"There'll be no one around to notice that you are not Drules...although, there has been talk that the two visitors had a strange air about them."

"It didn't bother the females too much," Jason said, with a look at Alana.

Rathul led them out through the back and to a waiting groundcar. It was rusted and looked like it was on its last leg, but when the door opened, the car could have been a part of the Royal fleet. Comfortable seats, pristine upholstery, and even a telescreen built into the side wall. Romelle was waiting for them inside, relief evident on her face when Alana entered. She gathered her niece in her arms, holding on tight.

"I was imagining the worst," she confessed. "You two have been more trouble than the twins in the few weeks we've been together. My poor heart can't take it."

Jason put a hand on Romelle's shoulder.

"You're as strong as a horse, Aunt Romelle. This was a walk in the park."

Rathul shut the door and studied all three of them. There was a kindness to his face now that Jason and Alana had not seen in the bar where he had been like a statue and he looked much older under the bright light of the groundcar. His midnight black hair had streaks of white in it and wrinkles bracketed his strong mouth. Had it not been for the eye patch, he would be straddling the line between handsome and pretty, but with it and the scar bisecting his eye, he was sure to draw more than a few eyes.

"Lotor sent you," he said. "I recognized his ship. For a moment, I thought the Prince had returned and I cannot tell you the gladness that was in my heart when I believed that. He has been long missed in this quadrant but no matter what I do or say, he will not return."

"He is content where he is," Romelle said carefully. "What is your relationship with Lotor?"

"I was his double," Rathul said. "When he was younger, Zarkon feared that there would be many attacks on his heir so they found me to play decoy for the Prince when he had to make public appearances. Can you not see the resemblance?"

They looked closely at him and did see that he resembled Lotor enough to pass as him. The same face shape, bone structure, though Rathul's mouth was less cruel, more prone to smiling than sneering. Anyone who knew Lotor could see that this man was not Lotor by the gentleness in his face.

"You...you're different," Alana said haltingly.

"Yes, I was only a good decoy from a distance," he said. "My parents always said it was a good thing I resembled the Prince because I would not have made a good soldier. I felt things too...strongly."

"Your magic," Alana prompted. "Is that what separated you from them?"

"Yes. Hagar sensed it in me from the beginning and she taught me how to control and use what I had. It was our little secret because she did not want Lotor or Zarkon to know. I'm not sure what she meant for me, but she died before I could ask. Despite the differences between us, Lotor and I became close friends. I may not have agreed with what he did, especially to you Senator Van Voorst, but I knew that the bond that tied me to him meant that he would do anything for me and I for him."

Jason and Alana glanced at Romelle in time to see her lips thin and her eyes darken at the mention of Lotor's past crimes, but she avoided their gazes.

"You were there then, through it all?" she said.

"I was."

They stared at each other.

"Can you teach Alana how to use her powers?" she asked.

"I can," he answered.

"Will you?"

Rathul nodded, once.

"Like Lotor I have much to atone for and I want to set it to rights. The fact that he sent you to me means that he wants to do the same and I will abide by his wishes this one last time. I should have taught him mercy at a time when it was needed, but I wanted to sustain my livelihood. It was selfish and I was young..."

"You loved him," Alana said quietly.

"I did." Rathul looked out the window. "I do."

"What can you tell us about Arus and its magic? Lotor said you had that information," Romelle said, anger bubbling up inside her at the thought that this man actually loved Lotor when he was the monster that she knew.

Rathul tilted his head to once side as he regarded the Senator, his yellow eyes appraising. Romelle tilted her chin up and met his gaze head on, hiding nothing of her feelings towards him or his former master. He sighed and seemed to sink into his seat even more, crossing his legs as he began his story.

"Hagar told me about Arus when I asked why Zarkon wanted it so badly, a seemingly insignificant backward world with a legend that hardly anybody remembered anymore except for us. You all know how Voltron was created, by a group of scientists and priests who wanted to protect the planet, but a millenia before that, Arus was a young planet just bursting with power. It became a threat to the rest of the universe as its uncontrollable power lashed out at other worlds, destroying lands and killing people. I don't really know the details of how Arus did that, but finally, the Arusians got together and fought the planet back.

"The planet never harmed them and they evolved to become a part of the magic that was Arus. With time, they learned to control their lands and its magic and pushed that raw power to the Core of the planet. The same Core where Voltron was created, the same Core that Hagar and Zarkon wanted. Eventually, parts of that magic evolved and became controllable to the Arusians, but something in it must have made your ancestors, Princess, turn their backs on it and imprison it all in the Core. Perhaps, the raw power was never one to allow itself to be kept down and leaked into the more manageable magic. Or perhaps they found that as useful magic is, its black side was not worth the effort."

"Black part?" Alana said.

"Magic has two sides, like all things, for balance," Rathul explained. "There's a white and a black. Magic that destroys and attacks is black magic whereas magic that creates and defends is white. There is no white witch to save you...anyone who can control magic has a good dose of both sides. A powerful witch, a sorceress or sorcerer, can control both sides and maintain the balance to get what they desire. Voltron is an example of a perfect balance. While it can destroy, it does so in defense. In Voltron, we find the perfect balance."

"Is that why she needs him? To use that balance for herself?" Jason asked.

"No. Voltron is contained magic, not something that can be siphoned off for one's own use."

"She wants the Core," Romelle said. "And Voltron can take her there."

"Yes. Well, at least that's what I would guess," Rathul said. "From my understanding of Hagar's teachings, Voltron is a part of Arus as surely as a tree that grows on its surface, but having been created in the place where magic is in its purest form, Voltron has an inherent immunity against it. Of course, I could be wrong about this, but I would not bet against me."

"The Core," Alana murmured. "What is the royal family's role in this?"

"Your family must be from the line of sorcerers who trapped the magic in the Core. I would say that as a failsafe, they passed on their powers to their progeny just in case the day came when it would have to be imprisoned again."

"But I don't even know how to call up this...magic," Alana protested. "How can you expect me to be able to push back the greatest power this universe has ever seen!"

"Not by yourself perhaps but with your mother and siblings, you may be able to," Rathul remarked.

"What about my family?" Romelle asked. "Could my children be affected as well?"

"I sense magic in you, but your branch is too far removed from the main line, and like I said before, the magic is in the land. You and your children have been too long away from Arus. I don't think the magic will affect you, at least not to the extent that it will affect the Princess and her family."

"Does Merla know all this as well?" Alana asked.

"She does," Rathul replied. "We learned from Hagar side by side."

"You know her well," Jason commented.

"Too well. She is a cunning adversary. She will not go down easy and she is the most powerful sorceress I have ever seen. I have but a fraction of her power."

"If she gets into the core, it's all over," Romelle said, rubbing her eyes. "There's no stopping her then."

"Teach me," Alana said. "Train me and make me a weapon to defeat her."

Rathul looked tired as he met Alana's earnest eyes.

"It will be difficult, Princess. You are older than I was when I started and time only ensures that old habits die hard. You're going to have to learn how to live all over again. Once you tap into your magic, you can't bottle it up."

"Then you can call me the High Priestess of Arus," she said obstinately.

That made him smile.

"Then I suppose I shall."

the legend will continue...