The Greatest Gift Part Ten
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The Greatest Gift
A Voltron Adaptation by MoiraOriginal story by Philip Van Doren Stern
Story adaptation for the big screen by Frank Capra
Further adapted by me, borrowing from both the authors’ classic tails.
This is a stand alone tale, not pertaining to any other story I have done.Legal Stuff
Voltron, Defender of the Universe and its characters property of World Events Productions, Ltd. ‘The Greatest Gift’ originally written by Philip Van Doren Stern. Story adapted for the big screen by Frank Capra. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Original characters and storyline are property of the author, please do not use, reproduce, or repost without permission.Rating NC17
The NC17 rating due to sexual situations, violence, drug use, and strong language.
So, if you don’t care for that kind of stuff, stop now! You’ve been warned.
And yes, even with all that, is really is a Christmas tale.So, if you dare, grab a fresh box of Kleenex, a cup of cider, dim the lights, and dive in.
The Greatest Gift
A Voltron Christmas Tale
Part Ten
Time of Reckoning
Allura is in the same small snow covered house although this time it’s different. She is now by herself and the house is warm and inviting instead of cold and foreboding. The house is tiny, but more welcoming than any room in the castle. It is beautifully decorated for Christmas, no surface left unadorned. She wanders over to the tree which is covered in all sorts of ornaments. At its top is an exquisitely crafted porcelain angel with its head dipped and arms outstretched. She moves to the fireplace and notices the three stockings hanging there. She runs her hand along them and reads the names. Angelica…Little Angel….and finally…Keith. Allura’s hand freezes on his name. “Where am I?” She wonders aloud. “Is this Keith’s house?” She hears laughter and following the sound, reaches the back door and opens it.
“Keith, you monster! You don’t fight fair!” A woman’s voice calls out.
“Winning isn’t about fighting fair.” A mans voice answers from behind a berm. But is it Keith’s? It’s similar but different… deeper…older. Suddenly a barrage of snowballs rocket across the yard.
“Hey! Ouch, ouch! Oh you’re in for it now!” The woman’s voice warns from behind her embankment of snow. She leaps over the top and runs across to her attacker’s hiding place armed with a snowball in each hand. Allura takes in the beautiful woman as she sprints across the yard, deftly dodging snowballs as she goes. The woman is stunningly beautiful with long, fluid jet-black hair floating all around her. She jumps onto his berm and lets loose her snowballs. “Ha! Counter attack landed.”
He laughs. “Attack now!” From overhead snowballs rain down on her head. She ducks, shielding herself with her arms. Like a flash he launches from behind his hiding place tackling her to the ground. Allura’s heart stops at the sight of the man. He looks just like Keith, same size, same build, same face, although covered in a light stubble. Same hair, just a little gray. Is it him? Is it Keith … just …older? He rolls with her on the ground eventually pinning her, hovering over her. “Give up?”
“Commander Keith Paladin! I will never surrender!” The woman defiantly looks in his eyes as Allura now too sees his eyes and chokes. They are Keith’s eyes.
He lowers himself over her. “You cannot escape. You’re mine now.” She looks back up to him, face softening as his lips grow closer. His tone turns soft. “I love you Angie.” He kisses her and she responds, kissing back. It’s a kiss that Allura has seen many times in her dreams only she was the one… Allura starts to tremble seeing Keith obviously in love, lost in an intimate moment with the woman he loves.
A heap of snowballs rain down on the couple from overhead breaking the moment. “Hey! You’re supposed to be on my side.” Keith flips off the woman and tackles a small boy who is holding a bucket over their heads. He grabs the boy and wrestles him down to the ground, the boy giggling in hysterics as Keith tickles him through his coat. “I’ll teach you to double cross me! … Hey!”
The woman now has Keith’s legs and is pulling him across the snow freeing the boy. “Get him, son!” She cries. The boy grabs more snowballs from the ground and beings pelting Keith with them.
Keith is shielding himself from the barrage laughing. It’s a laugh Allura has never heard from him before, one of utter joy and ecstasy. “Alright you two, you’re in for it now.” He flips up in a single, deft move, one Allura has seen him do many times before and lunges out, grabbing the boy with one arm then spinning and tackling the woman, pinning them both down to the ground under him. “Now I have both of you!” He gets a demonic grin. “What to do with you?” He starts to tickle them. The laughter that fills the yard is intoxicating, yet for Allura it brings despair. Is this Keith’s future? He’s so in love with this woman and the child and they in turn, in love with him. Is this what he would have had? Was I keeping him from all this? He loves her and she, him. Allura should be happy for him, yet she cannot deny the jealous hatred growing within her as her stomach ties in knots.
“Okay, okay already! You win!” The woman laughs. He stops his attack, sitting up.
“Weaklings!” He leans back, folding his arms across his chest.
“Weaklings? She lunges at him grabbing at his ribs and begins her own onslaught. “Get Daddy!” The boy joins in the tickle attack. Daddy? They immediately have Keith in an uncontrollable roar of laughter, unable to fight back from the attack. The two are soon both sitting on top of him tickling him to death.
“Okay, okay I… give…up.” He blurts out between laughs.
“You’re so cute when you turn bright red like that.” She smiles turning him an even brighter red. “Even better.” She leans in and kisses him. “Come on boys, I’ve got cookies inside!” She stands up, reaching down helping Keith up. As he stands he pulls her into a bear hug.
His son starts orbiting them. “Come on! I wanna cookie! I wanna cookie!”
Keith lets go of the woman and grabs his son on his next pass flipping him upside down and holding him that way, feet flailing in the air. “Okay, let’s get your cookie.” The boy giggles in pure delight still hanging upside-down as Keith pins him that way under his arms in front of him. The woman moves in behind and wraps her arms around Keith’s waist and tickles her son eliciting a stream of giggles from him as his feet flail in the air. They walk to the house together, matching stride. They walk right past Allura as if she wasn’t even there. Allura drops to the snow below. She has never seen a family with more love, Keith’s family. Her heart breaks right there and she weeps.
When she looks up it is suddenly nighttime. She gets up and makes her way inside. The house is now only lit up with candles, the flickering light from the fire, and the twinkling multicolored lights from the tree. She wanders around taking in the quaint beauty of it all. She has never seen anything so beautiful. Her stomach soon knots up again. Has this woman been able to do what she has not? Get Keith to enjoy Christmas? She hears their laughter from another room. Looking around again, there is no doubt. She has.“Hi.” A small voice calls up to her.
She looks around and sees Keith’s son sitting by the tree looking at her curiously. “Hi.” She answers. He can’t be more than four.
“Wanna play?”
She is suddenly taken aback by how much Keith’s son looks just like him. “Uh, yeah I’d like that.” She walks over and sits down on the floor beside him, amazed. He really is a miniature Keith with large doe like eyes and absurdly long lashes. Eyes so dark you could get lost in them.
“Are you a friend of my Mommy and Daddy?”
Allura doesn’t know what to say so she just nods. “What’s that?” She points to a stuffed animal in his lap.
He lifts it up to her grinning. “It’s my black lion! Santa gave it to me. My Daddy met him!”
Allura shakes her head and blinks. “Your black lion?” She smiles at the thought of Keith giving his son the toy. “Your Daddy met Santa?”
“Yeah, Santa gave him our presents to give us cuz he was really busy.”
Allura smiles, stroking the toy. “So what’s his name?”
“Blackie. He’s just like the one I saw.”
“You saw a lion?”
“Yep, a big black one!” He swoops the lion around in front of him. “When I’m asleep he takes me for rides.”
“He does?”
“Yeah, I climb on his back and he leaps up high in da air and we swoop around the sky.” He demonstrates with the stuffed lion.
“You ride on a black lion in your dreams?”
“Yep. I told my Daddy. He said that was neat.”
“Is it like the lion he flew?”
“You can’t fly a lion silly.” He giggles.
“You can’t?”
“No, they can only take you for rides like this.” He swoops the stuffed lion around again.
“So your Daddy didn’t fly lions?”
“My Daddy’s a soldier. He can’t fly.”
“He can’t?”
“No, he hurt his hand as a kid so he can’t fly.”
“He what?” Her mind is trying to puzzle out the mystery.
“His hand don’t work right.” He lifts up his little hand and makes a fist and then reopens it. “See.” He smiles at her. “You’re funny, everyone knows that!” He starts to giggle.
Allura gets caught up in his innocent laughter, giggling herself.
The boy looks at her, grinning. “What did you get from Santa?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen yet.”
“You haven’t? You are silly.” He giggles again.
“And you’re a cutie.” She winks.
The little boy blushes and runs a hand into his hair, embarrassed: the gesture immediately recognizable to Allura. The boy pulls at his long black hair staring at the floor. Oh my god! She reaches out, putting a hand under the boy’s chin lifting his little face to hers. Her eyes taking him in again. Is he? “My name is Allura, what’s yours?”
He looks at her totally confused. “Keith, silly.” She drops her hand, stunned. He giggles again. “Arura?”
She smiles. “Yes, Allura.”
“I never heard of that name.” He points to the circlet on her head. “What’s dat?”
“What?” Her hand reaches up to her head. “Oh this, this is my circlet.”
“Circ…what?”
“It’s like a crown.”
“A crown?” His big eyes grow even wider. “Are you a Queen?”
“No...” she earns a frown from him. “I’m a princess.”
“Wow! Really?”
Allura smiles. “You are just too cute!” He snaps the stuffed lion to his face but Allura catches a glimpse of his flush before it disappears into the fur. “Yes, and I live in a castle with a big black lion guarding its gate. Just like yours.” The little boy curiously raises his head back up, looking extremely bewildered. “Yep, there’s a black one and a red one and a…”
“A green one and a yellow one and a blue one.” He finishes.
“Well yes, but how do you…”
“Do you ride them too?” He holds out his lion to her.
She takes the stuffed lion from him studying it. “In your dream… do you ride all the lions?”
“Sometimes. But I like the black one the best. He’s my favorite.”
“Yes. And I believe, he likes you the best too.” She bonks the lion’s nose on little Keith’s nose. Just as it hits he dissolves away, as does the house and the warmth and she is now back outside sitting in snow covered woods, moonlight the only illumination. She can hear the sound of gunfire in the distance and people approaching as she ducks behind a tree and listens.
“I’ve got a heat signature over there, Sir.” A voice speaks and Allura looks around seeing a unit of Drule soldiers. One looks right at her, but doesn’t seem to see her. “There he is.” A soldier jumps down into a ditch and yanks out a child. To Allura’s horror it is the same boy, a little older, but unmistakably him. “Keith!” She cries out running to him. But it’s no use, she is merely a spectator again.
“Well, well, well. Would you look at that?” The patrol captain chuckles. Then to Allura’s surprise little Keith raises a gun and shoots the man holding him in the ribs. The man falls.
“Run, Keith! Run!” Allura screams. Little Keith makes a break for it but the Drule captain levels his gun at him. Allura tries to grab at the man’s arm but her hands just pass right through him. He pulls the trigger, hitting Keith in the leg and bringing him down to the ground.
“Noooo!” Allura runs to the boy.
The Drule captain laughs again. “Definitely his father’s son. Take him!”
They converge on Keith walking right through Allura. A man grabs Keith, lifting him up off the ground. As Keith’s eyes then focus on the men he goes into shock. Suddenly in the distance adding to the constant shrieking of babies crying, there are sounds of more laser blasts.
“Lets go, they’re going to need help to bag that Paladin and this one might just do the trick.” The Drule captain laughs as they make their way to the fighting. Allura watches, helpless, as little Keith is kicking and screaming the whole way in spite of his injured and bleeding leg. “Yep, definitely his fathers son.” The Drule laughs.
They reach the fighting and the Drule captain calls out. “Oh Paladin! I have a present for you. Looks just like you too. A little short though.”
Allura then sees the man he is talking to. It is the man who is the image of Keith, gun drawn, defending his wife and two small babies. “Keith’s father?” Allura breathes. She notices all around them the wreckage of a Drule robot battalion smoldering in the snow.
Keith’s father trains his gun on the Drule captain. “If you so much as lay a hand on him so help me…”
The Drule captain grins. “Oh sorry, I didn’t know. Too bad I already shot him then.”
“You bastard!” Keith’s mother spits, leveling a gun on him as well, shielding the screaming babies.
The Drule captain laughs. “Oh come now, I only winged him, he’ll be fine, that is if you cooperate and come with us.” He eyes the woman.
“Never!” Keith’s father yells.
“Fine.” He puts his gun to little Keith’s head.
The woman lunges forward. “No! No, don’t hurt my baby.”
The Drule captain sneers. “Will someone shut those kids up?”
To Allura’s horror, two of his men aim their guns towards the babies. “Nooo!” Allura screams running between them and the babies. They open fire the shots going right through her. There is suddenly silence. Allura spins and wants to wretch for nothing resembling the two beautiful raven-haired babies remains.
Keith’s father snaps, leaping out and grabbing the Drule captain who is holding the gun to Keith and snaps the man’s neck instantly. He turns on the man holding Keith and shoots him point blank in the head, the man dropping little Keith to the ground as he falls. He turns on the rest of the unit, taking them all out.
Allura sees a Drule officer appear out of the woods and using the diversion, grabs the raven-haired woman from behind and drags her off. Keith’s father finishes the unit off, only to hear maniacal laughter coming from above. He turns and to his horror sees his wife being lifted away in a hovercraft. The craft is taken into a larger ship as the door closes and the ship rises into the air. “Noooo!” The man screams, falling to his knees as she disappears into the sky. Allura’s eyes go to little whimpering Keith, lying crumpled on the ground, his eyes darting from the ship carrying off his mother and the blood stained snow where the remains of the babies are scattered. Allura goes numb. “Is this what happened, Keith?” She drops to the boy, trying to hold him but she can’t. “Oh Keith, is this what happened?”
There is the sound of more deep, roaring engines, a huge firefight erupting in the night sky as the Drules make a hasty retreat having got what they came for. The new Garrison ships land and troops make their way to the scene.
Allura scoots back as the man approaches gathering his injured son in his arms.
“What the hell happened here?” One of the men from the Alliance ships asks as he walks up to them.
Keith father winds up and decks him, knocking him out cold. The others give him a wide berth. He goes to the car and sets Keith down on the seat tending to his leg.
Keith’s father then walks to where the babies are. He kneels down beside them, taking off his coat and laying it down beside them. He begins to sob as he reverently places their tattered remains into his coat, trying desperately to get every drop of their blood from the snow. Every soldier stands in silence, not quite wanting to believe the scene before them. Allura weeps. There is no doubt, those were his children, Keith’s siblings. “Keith! Oh god Keith, I’m so sorry.”
After a long while the man carefully wraps up the babies in his coat and cradles them in his arms. “I love you my little Christmas angels.” He sobs as he slowly stands up. He walks to little Keith carefully bending down and lifting him up as well. Little Keith grabs on, wrapping his arms around his father’s neck, nuzzling his tear soaked face into his father’s hair. “Let’s go home.” He whispers to his son.
Allura awakes, remembering the entire dream, putting the pieces together from her other dreams. The bodies were Keith’s parents, the babies were Keith’s siblings. I…I was Keith. She stumbles across the hospital room to the window looking out into the beautiful afternoon snowfall of Christmas Eve. Falling against the cold glass, she slowly slips down its face smearing it with her tears. All those nightmares she has been having were Keith’s nightmares, Keith’s private Christmas hell. How could she have been so cold to him? “How… could I have been so selfish?” She weeps, lying fetal on the floor, calling out to him. “Forgive me Keith.”
Romelle walks in and finds Allura a muttering, crumpled mess on the floor. She calls for the doctor and together they put her back into her hospital bed. The doctor begins administering another sedative as Romelle crawls in beside her, hugging her distraught cousin until she finally drifts off to sleep. She wishes she had comforting words to say, but she cannot think of anything. Instead, she just holds her.
Keith snaps awake from the same ever-present nightmare of his youth. He is completely disorientated. His head is pounding his hand going to his scull to find a bump. It all soon comes back to him. He was fighting Lotor when… they were attacked by those wild men…and then… then…
His eyes slowly focus in the room… no, not a room he discovers…a cave. He tries to move only to find he is bound hand and foot. He then begins to slowly make out some shadowy shapes far off in another section of the cave huddled around a fire, each wearing a pelt of one of the green saber cats. Keith starts to go to work on the ropes.
“Where is that man that was with him?” Lotor bellows as he enters the castle, servants running behind him trying to tend to his wounds.
“We do not know Sire” Yurak was careful to keep his distance, but not quite able to keep the mirth off his face.
Lotor glares at Yurak, more than ready to remove that look off his face for him. “Well find him! I want his head!” The servants all scurry around Lotor trying to bandage his wounds. “Get away from me!” Lotor takes a swing at them.
Merla’s entourage approaches from another hall she has a laugh at him and unlike anyone else doesn’t hide it. “Hahahaha! So your future champion got the best of you? And I wasn’t ever there to see it. Hahahaha…”
“Shut up woman!” Lotor barks. “I’m in no mood for your games.” He storms off.
Keith eventually manages to work the knots free from around his feet and legs but he doesn’t want to make a move just yet, not until he knows who or what he is up against. He wraps the ropes around him to look as if he is still bound and waits.
The large bear like man enters the cave carrying a large piece of meat from a kill, handing it off to another to prepare. He makes his way towards where Keith is stopping about ten feet away squatting down in front of him, and studying him intently. He lets out a snort and moves to the other side of the room sitting down cross-legged on a pelt and begins sharpening his spear, all the while keeping one eye on Keith.
This isn’t good. This man is obviously more than I can easily handle in a fist fight especially with an injured leg. If he can take down one of those things with just a spear, I really don’t want to have to fight him. Two others enter the cave and move up to Keith. The younger of the two holds a hand-hewn ax in his hand and stays near Keith’s head while the other, an older man, moves to Keith’s leg and rips open his pant leg, fully exposing the wound. Keith flinches as he begins to clean it out.
“Hold still.” The older man grumbles. “The wound is deep but it will heal.”
Keith takes a breath and relaxes letting the man treat him. Not like he has much choice in the matter. The man is obviously skilled in medicine. He produces a compress of leaves and begins packing the wound with them.
Yet another pelt clad man comes in the room and stands to look over Keith. “Why are we helping him? He’s one of them you all saw that!”
“Yes.” Another enters. “But we also saw him try to kill Lotor and that makes him a friend.”
“I don’t like it. It stinks of one of Lotor’s traps. He’s a spy I tell you!”
“A spy? You think Lotor would allow himself to get cut up just to put a spy in our ranks? Be serious. Lotor wouldn’t waste his time on us.”
“He’s a spy! We should have left him in the field to die or better yet be eaten!”
“Calm down!”
“Calm down? Don’t you tell me to calm down! You’re getting soft, you all are! Lotor will get us!” He pushes his way towards Keith, shoving the two men beside him away. “I’ll settle this!” He draws a dagger and places against Keith’s neck.
Keith quickly tries to form a plan. If he got the dagger then what? He’d have to fight his way…
Shwoop! A spear pierces through the air logging into a hunk of wood against the outer wall, the staff vibrating just in front of Keith’s attacker’s face stopping him cold.
All eyes in the room shift to the bear of a man still sitting there coldly staring forward. The bear man slowly rises and walks up to the attacker who is now too petrified to move. The bear man grabs him by the scruff of the neck lifting him away from Keith and effortlessly tosses him aside. He grabs his spear and with a swift yank pulls it free. He looks at Keith a moment then walks back to the other side of the cave resuming his ritual sharpening.
Keith is stunned. Not because of what just happened but for what he saw in the bear man’s eyes. Behind the pelt, the shaggy hair, and beard were oh so familiar eyes. The eyes of a long time friend and teammate. But the eyes were hollow, much like Allura’s. “Hunk…” He breathes, the word just sounding like a breath.
Then from across the room his booming voice fills the cave. A voice oh so familiar, yet totally different, this is not the jolly Hunk he knew… this man has suffered. “The Lion’s spirit has spoken. He is a friend.” The bear man simply spoke simply before resuming his sharpening.
After he is all bandaged up, the others exit cave leaving just Keith and the bear man alone. They sit and stare at one another for a long time.
“You did not kill the lion warrior. Why?” The bear man asks.
Keith then understands, this man knows he was free of his bindings this whole time yet didn’t say a word. “He is not my enemy.” Keith softly replies.
“Who is your enemy?”
The word forming is foul on Keith’s lips, he almost spits it out to get rid of the taste of it. “Lotor!”
The bear man slowly stands making his way to Keith and extending his arm out towards him. “Come.”
Keith, knowing he has been found out, extends his hand up to the man, the rope twisted around it falling to the ground. The bear man firmly takes hold of Keith’s hand and pulls him to his feet, Keith taking most of the weight in his good leg. Whatever herbs the medicine man packed his wound with are doing an amazing job of numbing the pain.
“Come, you must go. Many here will want you dead. You are not one of us.”
Keith nods in understanding. The utter fear these people must live in as they eek out an existence under the shadow of King Lotor must be immense.
The bear man leads him out of the caves grabbing up Keith’s sword on the way out, Keith following behind wary of all the eyes upon him. All sorts of people, men, women, elders, children, and the maimed all seeking shelter in the caves, these lion warriors protecting and providing for them. Keith’s heart swells with pride. These people are the soul of Arus, valiantly fighting to be free. “I will try.” Keith silently promises them. “I will try…”
The bear man leads him outside and down a winding path to where some horses are waiting. Another Lion warrior approaches Keith. “We will see you out of the forest. You are on your own after that.”
The bear man reverently hands Keith his sword giving Keith an intense stare. “Lotor.” He spits.
Keith’s eyes become slits and he slowly partially draws the sword out of its sheath eyeing the blood dried there. “Lotor…” Keith sneers slightly smiling at Blue Boy’s blood on his blade. He snaps the blade into his sheath and extends his hand to the bear. “Thank you.” Hunk.
One of the men produces a set of armor from one of Lotor’s men. Keith pulls on the pieces and carries the helm.
They mount up and ride off in silence everything that was needed to say already said. They escort Keith to the edge of the forest and show him a trail that will give him cover most of the way back to the castle. Keith salutes the men, puts on the helm and continues on his way on foot. It is dusk when he makes his way on to the castle grounds, the pathway the Lion warriors showed him doing its job well. Keith imagines they must use it when conducting supply raids. He sees a group of soldiers casually heading back to the castle proper and falls in amongst their ranks, blending in with the crowd as best he can. Luckily for Keith Lotor’s armies are a mixture of both commissioned soldiers and mercenaries for hire so no one really pays much attention to him in his half torn up armor.
Keith makes his way into the castle itself, all senses on full alert, no time to screw up now. The castle however, is relatively empty. Very odd… Keith wonders why until he hears two guards talking, both angered that they are on shift and not able to go to the arena and watch tonight’s mystery fight.
Lotor will be at the Arena. So that’s where I am headed. Keith finds a new energy to his step blocking out the dull pain in his leg. One of us dies tonight, Lotor! Keith weaves his way through the crowd of people as he meets as he gets close to the arena, everyone to busy chatting with one another wondering what this suddenly scheduled arena battle is all about.
He makes his way to the darkened royal box, a heavy drape drawn closed screening it from the arena. He quickly scans the area, no one is there yet. Good, Keith decides, he can hide in wait and then…
“Keith?...is… is that you?” A soft quivering voice comes out from the shadows behind the screen to one side of the royal box.
“Allura?” Keith breaths, making his way to the screen and removing his helm.
She rushes up to the fabric that separates them, tears coming to her face. “I thought you were dead. Lotor said…”
“Shhh… I’m fine.” He reassures her with a soft soothing voice. He lifts his hand up to caress her face through the fabric. “Please don’t cry, my princess.”
She can’t help but to nuzzle into his hand.
“And the trap is sprung! HAHAHAHA….” Lotor’s maniacal voice fills the royal box.
“NOOOO!” Allura screams as Keith jumps back towards the railing drawing and readying his sword.
The box fills with Lotor’s goons all laughing and grinning like idiots. Lotor moves to Allura and with his dagger quickly slashes thorough the fabric with one hand and grabs Allura with the other. “Oh what lovely bait you make, my dear.” He takes her lips with his, his hands forcefully pulling her firmly to him. He comes up for air to smile devilishly at Keith. “I knew you couldn’t resist my little sweet princess. Once you have a taste…”
“You bastard! “ Keith growls his hand clenching around the grip of his sword. Lotor’s goons all move in closer each leveling either a gun or other weapon at Keith holding him at bay.
Lotor laughs at having found his opponents weakness. He spins Allura around so they are both facing him, so Keith can watch Allura’s terror ridden face as Lotor plays with his dagger at her breast.
All Keith can do is watch. Having seen the scars on Allura’s body he knows Lotor has no problem cutting her. Keith grits his teeth, his knuckles going white around his sword.
Lotor’s dagger finds the fabric covering Allura’s breast and makes a show of cutting it free. His hand restraining her to him quickly moving up to grab a handful of her. “Yes lovely… she is so lovely.”
It’s all Keith can do to keep calm as beads of sweat begin pour down him, his whole body on fire with rage.
Lotor traces the dagger point over her, firm enough to leave a scratch. Then he moves the dagger lower to her belly and then lower, tracing a line just above her pubic bone.
As the guards turn to lustfully watch their King, Keith sees his chance. He lashes out taking two down before they even know he is attacking. The remaining guards all turn on him two large pistols now leveled at his head, Keith freezes.
“Don’t kill him…” Yurak pushes his way to the front smiling from ear to ear. “That honor is for King Lotor and for King Lotor alone.”
Keith is loosing it. He is caught. They hold all the advantage now, a deafening silence looms between them when suddenly Allura’s scream pierces out from behind the guards. The guards shift giving Keith a full, unobstructed, and horrific view of Allura writhing in pain as Lotor draws the blade along the large scar on her stomach drawing blood as it passes.
“Hahahahaha….” Yurak laughs. “Look at the poor little princess... aww that’s gotta hurt.” The guards all have a laugh as Keith’s whole body shakes. He closes his eyes and mentally calls out to her in his anger…”Allura be strong… we will beat him… Allura…” But he gets nothing in return. Keith then hears a thud which snaps his eyes open to find Allura thrown down against a chair, utterly terrified, and Lotor smiling over her.
Lotor strides up to Keith. “So now where were we…Ahhhh… He turns to the drape which a servant quickly pulls open revealing the crowd of the now full stadium. Lotor raises his hands to his people who all rise to greet their king. “My people, for your pleasure tonight I give you a fight between the Lord Paladin and myself…” The crowd goes wild. “TO THE DEATH!” The crowd losses it completely becoming riotous in their seats. The noise is deafening. Lotor then turns to Keith and bows. “After you…My Lord…” Lotor rises with a cocky grin plastered on his face, one Keith can’t wait to make him eat.
The guards take a step back to give Keith some room Keith takes a deep breath and leaps over the railing to the arena below, landing like a cat sword at the ready only slightly favoring his leg his adrenaline levels so high, pain no longer matters.
Lotor quickly follows deafly landing fifty feet away he draws his laser sword and begins to stalk Keith. The crowd never returns to their seats. The King himself is in the match, a rare day indeed. Lotor starts to laugh as he circles Keith. “So, how it your leg, My Lord? HAHAHAHA…” He continues to laugh.
Keith ignores him, focusing on the attack he knows is to come.
“Are you going to make me wait all day? Very well… Aghhhhhhh!” Lotor charges at Keith with a simple straight attack. Keith readies himself and prepares for a possible fake. He is not disappointed. At the last second Lotor pulls back and changes target. Keith manages to deflect the blow bringing his blade around for a counter strike. It grazes off Lotor’s leg.
“Heh heh heh… I underestimated you, Lord Paladin.” Lotor’s eyes turn to slits as he hatchs a new plan. “So you like my little Princess do you? Hahahaha… Do you want her for yourself?”
Keith’s rage starts to run over… He moves to attack swiping at Lotor’s head which Lotor easily parries away. He swings around to Lotor’s side, Lotor dodging just in time. Lotor then takes a swipe at Keith’s injured leg just grazing it, but enough to send a wash of pain through Keith.
Lotor, getting the reaction he wants continues. “You sure you don’t want a fresher woman? She does have an awful lot of miles on her”
Stay focused Keith…he’s baiting you… keep… mind focused.
Lotor charges in and they exchange a volley of attacks and parries. Each keeping up with the other, the blades moving so fast they seem more like a blur. The two spring apart each breathing hard, each again searching for an opening.
Lotor sneers, wiping a sweaty brow. “Do you truly want my used up leftovers?”
At that something in Keith’s mind switches off. He goes numb. He looks down to the earth no longer feeling any pain. When his head comes up and his eyes level on Lotor, the King visibly stutters, lips parting in surprise. The Keith he was fighting is no longer there. Keith removes the bulky armor that he was wearing as he slowly stalks his pray circling like a lion on the hunt. Soon he is down to just the red uniform that now feels like home to him. He flips the sword around deftly in his hand then charges in with unimaginable speed. It’s all Lotor can do to block the hit… If that were Keith’s intent. But Keith flips around at the last minute, his feet suddenly in Lotor’s face hitting him with the full momentum on the run squarely in the jaw as he flies past him. As Keith lands his sword takes a sweep behind him, cutting Lotor across the back just before he hits the ground from the first kick. Keith swings around as Lotor fights to get up and kicks him in the head again sending him flying.
Lotor’s men quickly jump into the arena running to their King’s aid, Yurak coming between his fallen King and Keith. “I have been waiting for this moment since you got here.” Yurak sneers as he levels his sword at Keith. Keith doesn’t respond. Words are now meaningless to him. All he sees is a new opponent. He cracks his neck and attacks and in three moves Yurak has been speared on his sword. The others all charge in and Keith pushes the now lifeless Yurak into two of them. He then whip kicks around into another while goring a fourth with his blade. He recoils into himself like a spring ready to strike again at the closest target. One soldier dares to move and Keith is on and off him like a shot taking an arm with him.
Lotor has just the time of the distraction to regain himself getting to his feet he rethinks his strategy. He sorely underestimated this man and Lotor is now far from how he was in his fighting prime, now so painfully obvious as this human walked all over him. Some more guards approach and Lotor motions for them to surround Keith. Soon Keith is surrounded on all sides and all the men jump him at once. Keith fights them off, killing one immediately and insuring another will never procreate. He is going for a third when Lotor’s hit lands, an overhead chop to the collarbone dropping Keith to his knees. Two guards then grab him from behind and restrain him, allowing their King to open up on him, letting loose a fury of punches and kicks. Then they let the now battered and bloodied Keith drop to the ground.
Lotor laughs. “What a match this was!” He raises his hands to the roaring crowd and then turns to the royal box to see the look of utter horror on Allura’s face. Allura looks on to Lotor almost pleadingly. “My silly little Princess, he does deserve to die honorably.” A sharp searing pain shoots through Lotor’s entire body as he looks down to see the tip of a sword protruding from his gut. He looks up again at the princess, her look of pleading gone, replaced by a look of utter contempt. “She tricked me… she….” Lotor gasps.
Keith’s voice sneers into Lotor’s ear. “You underestimate people to much, oh great King.” Keith gives the sword a twist, reveling in it when a burning fire scorches into him from behind, making every muscle in his body seize up then release limp. He drops to his knees behind Lotor, his mind fuzzing out.
“Hmmmm… so, my husband I see you have had you fun?“ Merla walks up to Keith kicking him over with her heel. “Honor is for fools…” She gestures to a medical team that rushes in and quickly goes to work on their King. She gives Keith a last perusal, running the barrel of her smoking gun over his body. “What a pity… so promising.” She turns and strides away… “So promising… THROW HIM IN THE PIT!”
Allura is in stunned shock. Everyone around her is in a frenzy. She can’t move, she can barely breathe. The man that was to be her salvation smote down before her eyes. Keith! Her mind screams out. “Keith! Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me…”Nanny soon finds her, wrapping her up in her cape and tries to usher her away. “Come my baby. Come…”
“No Nanny, I must see him… I must…” She looks back out to see him being drug along the ground by his ankles by two overgrown goons, off in the direction of the Pit. “Nooooo…. Noooo….noooooo…..” Allura screams.
Merla looks from the arena floor and smiles at the princess. “Merry Christmas, Your Highness.” She calls up to her and breaks into a maniacal laughter that continued to resonate in Allura head.
Keith awakens, he body broken, as he is being drug off to die in Lotor’s very own Pit of Skulls. His body long ago switching off. They reach the side where a crowd of onlookers has gathered and without so much as an announce of ceremony, drop him in. The crowd above letting out a roar or approval. Keith feels his body weightless for a moment but doesn’t really feel the hit. All he knows is that it feels wrong. He closes his eyes. “I’m sorry, my Princess.”
The castle medics and mystics work on their King feverishly to stop the bleeding, using every trick of modern medicine and magic they can to piece him back together. If by some miracle he manages to survive he will never be the man he was. His body will just be a shadow of his former self.
Merla enters the King’s room to see him laying on the grand bed all sorts of tubes and equipment attached to his body, a container of smoldering incense at his head. “So, my King, will you live?” She runs a hand along his body. “And all this just for a pretty face… I am disgusted! Your male bravado will be your undoing if it hasn’t already.” She walks towards his head not knowing if he can hear her or not. “Lotor you’re a pig!” She rubs her swollen belly. “Your son will grow up to be the man you could never be! I will see to that!” She reaches out to him with her mind. <I hope you die!> She then turns on her heel and strides out of the room, her cape billowing behind her.
Allura again stands staring out the window of the cell like room. Nanny has done all she can to comfort her, to no avail. She looks out over to where the Pit lies imagining him there, body broken. Did I bring this upon him? She questions herself. I have brought nothing but pain to everyone in my life. I’m weak, I’m so weak. She leans her head upon the glass. Trying to touch the Pit with one thought in her mind. “I will avenge you, my Lord. That I promise.”
Not quite knowing how she got there, she finds herself standing in front of the closet where Nanny stores her meager wardrobe and the thing she is really there for, the blue liquid that her body craves almost as much as her mind craves the release it provides. She places her hand on the door of the small closet and drops her head, hating the need she has developed for this… this stuff. She remembers the first time Lotor gave it to her mixed with some wine. She had felt odd and weak and he had raped her again, but this time it hadn’t hurt nearly as much and she’s found herself able to forget what was happening to her even as he was on top of her. The pain afterwards was excruciating, but Lotor had given her another ‘drink’, this time giving her the blue liquid without diluting it. The pain had vanished and the cycle that followed was as simple as that. Sighing heavily, knowing the inevitable, she opened the closet digging behind a stack of clothing and finding the fresh store of vials all neatly capped. So pretty the liquid was, really. Such a calming hue. She reaches towards the vials and hesitates yet again. Is this who she has become? Is this really the fait of the Princess of Arus? Tears form as she realizes that she can no longer deny the need inside her for the numbing relief. She takes the first vial before she has a chance to think further, downing it instantly. Taking another and another, she continues until half of them are gone and she is nearly staggering from the effects.
In another world not so far away another Allura awakes again. In her gut she feels as if something is terribly wrong but she cannot say what or why. She gently crawls out of the hospital bed trying not to wake Rommelle who is sleeping next to her. She goes to the window and looks out to the lake shimmering in the moonlight. Something is wrong but… feeling anxious she sneaks out of the room and begins aimlessly wandering the halls of the castle only to find herself at Keith’s room. Her hand runs along the door. The door is cold to her touch. How many times has she walked past it before taking for granted that he was there inside, always at the ready to come to her aid whenever called upon. She touches the control panel and keys in an access code, the door swishing open before her. She hesitates a moment before the darkened empty room. How many times had she wanted to step through this doorway to see him, to tell him how she truly felt, but she never dared. How many times had she stood right here in the middle of the night to just feel his reassuring presence? She tentatively takes a step. The room is as cold as the fear gripping her heart. She takes a deep breath as her eyes acclimate to the darkness, the moonlight shining in from his window the only illumination. To her surprise she sees the usual order of his room is lost. The room is absolutely trashed. Everything that used to sit in neat stacks on his desk is strewn about the floor. Even the mattress on his bed is slightly askew. She makes her way over to his bed and falls onto it. His scent still strong in the mattress. Why Keith why? She hits his bed in her utter frustration. Why would he? How could he…? She just can’t imagine Keith ever wanting to kill himself.She then catches a glimpse of black fur poking out of the cubby at the foot of his bed. She reaches it and to her amazement pulls out a very worn looking black plush lion, just like the one she held in her dream. Her dream…Keith’s dream? Keith’s lion? How could I have been so insensitive? All this time I just thought he was just being a jerk about Christmas. I’m sorry, Keith I’m so sorry! She pulls the lion in close to her breast. All this time I was having Keith’s dreams. That was Keith’s Christmas… Ohhh how horrifying! No wonder he hates Christmas. And all I’ve done is give him even more grief! I drove him to this… She moves to reverently replaces the lion in it’s cubby only to find a notepad in there. She bites her lip, feeling guilt for intruding into his most private space. She gingerly pulls it out her eyes tearing instantly as she reads.
My Dear Ally,
Oh Keith did you?… Was this meant for me…? She reads the date scrawled on the top. It was dated the night before the accident. The night she confronted him in the coach. Allura’s fingers touch her mouth, lingering. It was the night he dared to kiss her lips.
I know you are growing frustrated with me, and you don’t understand where my head is. I can’t say myself. I can’t seem to be able to talk to you anymore and I don’t know why. Allura, I don’t mean to hurt you I’m just inept when it comes to expressing my feelings.I’m so afraid, afraid of us, of what that means. My responsible mind keeps telling me that it’s impossible, improper, and detrimental. Yet, my heart. My heart is screaming out for you. That’s why I’ve been avoiding you Ally. It hurts too much to be with you and not be with you. I’m sorry Ally. But I need to tell you, I want to tell you
The note ends mid sentence. Tell me? Allura cries searching the ceiling for answers that aren’t there. Tell me what? She drops the pad, crumpling back down into his bed. Keith my love… I need you… I miss you… I LOVE you… you can’t leave without me…. She opens her mind again searching, ever searching…
Keith? She lifts her head up from the mattress and she pulls herself up. I feel you… I’m coming Keith.
A scantily clad Allura carrying a tray of goodies makes her way though the halls of the castle. Lotor’s men all taking notice approvingly of the very revealing number she as chosen to wear, forgoing her usual cape. She hides beneath. She arrives at his door and the guard stops her. “No visitors. By orders of Queen Merla.”
Allura saunters up to the man rubbing suggestively against him. “Well I have orders from the King to be with him tonight and I do not intend on breaking them.” She purrs at him grabbing hold of his most prized possession. “I can see you when I’m done, if you like.” She gives him a squeeze.
The guard wraps his arm around Allura’s bare waist and pulls her to him. “I’ll be waiting.” He huskily replies and takes a bite of her neck.
She smiles lustfully at him as he opens the door for her and disappears into the kings chambers.
Allura quietly glides into the royal chambers, tray in hand. This room would have been her parent’s suites if they had lived to see the birth of the new castle. She remembered Nanny insisting she live there but to her it was too big a room for just her. To big and too empty. Instead she chose a smaller room for herself, one she figured she would have had if her parents were still alive. She would often come into these rooms and imagine what it would have been like, how her mother would have decorated it. She can almost see how their room would have looked on this Christmas Eve, a large tree at its center, no doubt the castle’s children playing all around. Zarkon crushed that dream and then his son crushed the rest when he took over. She slowly approached the large bed dominating the center of the bedroom. Luckily for her the servants apparently have all been ordered to leave.
“I told you to leave me alone!” A gravelly voice erupts from the bed.
She defiantly continues to walk forward. “You asked for me tonight my King?” She coos as she reaches the bed.
King Lotor’s eye’s don’t seem to register her at first but then he smiles. “Allura…” He breathes out her name like a prayer.
“Majesty.” She answers running her hand along his arm. She saw the state he was in when he was first brought in. He must be in agonizing pain, his injuries grave indeed. The dressings on his wounds are soaked with blood. If this were any other man she would feel pity for him, but she doesn’t. Lying on this bed is the one man who destroyed her life, destroyed her dreams, destroyed her planet, and destroyed her soul. And she feels as though she let him. She is week. Instead of fighting him she just curled up in defeat. She watched him kill the captain and she ran. She watched him kill Coran and she ran. She watched him beat Nanny to a pulp and she ran. Well tonight she would run no more.
She smiles down at his pathetic form. “May I please you, your Majesty?” She smiles at him.
Lotor almost laughs but catches himself before he injures himself further. “My Princess…”
“Shhhhh…” She smiles. “Let me comfort you…” She sets her tray down and climbs up a top the bed soon straddling the king. She lightly brushes his bare skin alongside the dressings. “Shhhhhhh…”
“Allura…” Lotor’s eyes almost roll back in his head. “Allura, my beautiful princess.” He closes his eyes. “You are loyal to me.” He starts to breathe deeper as her soothing hands relax him. “You are not like the rest of them. You know who your King is.”
Allura smiles as he relaxes. She starts to hum a little soft Christmas lullaby as her fingers dance along his skin.
“What is that you’re singing?”
“Hmmm…oh a Christmas song… it’s called Silent Night…” she continues to hum.
“It’s beautiful… like you… Allura. You should have been my Queen.”
“Hmmmm…” She continues to trace circles on his skin with one hand, the other reaching for the tray. Her fingers sneak under the cloth covering, finding what they seek.
“You and I could have ruled the Galaxies side by side. Why did you have to…?”
“Shhhhhhh….” She continues to hum.
His eyes flash open as he looks at her. “You could have had it all! I would have given you everything! Anything you would have wanted would have been yours. Everything!”
“Everything?”
He reaches up with his weak hand to take hers in it. “Yes, everything.”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “But…” she pulls her hand free from his. “Everything but what matters most in the world. The thing you have taken from everyone. Freedom!”
His eyes instantly flash with rage. “How dare you! You!” He sputters. “You have no place to say…”
“Exactly. I have no place.”
“Your place, Allura, was by my side.”
Allura rolls her head atop her neck. “Very well.” And with one powerful thrust she buries the dagger she had hidden on her tray into his chest, burying it all the way to the hilt, piecing his heart. “Together… in death.” She sneers as the blood pours out of him.
She slowly turns her head away, sliding off him and wanders to a secret passage at the other end of the room. Not looking at him again or acknowledging the faint sounds of his gurgling coming from behind her. The winging passage takes her to her destination, outside. She heads off into the darkness to her final end, the bridge over the pit. Looking down she can see Keith’s broken body laying below. She closes her eyes, no longer feeling a thing, the drugs having numbed her completely. She no longer has any fear, now having sealed her fate. She stretches her arms out to her sides as Merla’s blood curdling cry can be heard in the distance, slowly growing closer.
Keith slowly looks up and sees Allura. He tries to stand but cannot and falls back to the ground in a pool of his own blood. Allura sways on the bridge and then steps off the edge falling into the pit, a hundred feet below.
Allura wanders lost in a daze still only clad in her hospital gown ever searching for him. She eventually finds herself drawn out on the bridge over the water. She looks down into the depths felling his presence so strong. “Keith I know you’re down there. I can feel you. Why? Why did you leave me? Keith I…I…miss you.” She closes her eyes and stretches her arms out to the cold breeze. Why did you leave me? She starts to sway body growing so cold and numb, but she doesn’t feel a thing. I love you…
A pair of strong arms quickly wrap around her sweeping her off her feet, cradling her to a huge warm chest. Half conscious, she mutters. “Why did he leave? Why did he…” Her head falls limp as Hunk holds her in his arms and carries her back to the castle.
“Ally! Nooo!” Keith pulls himself along the ground to her crumpled and bloody form. Eventually reaching her, he pulls her into his arms, her limbs falling into unnatural angles. “Ally…Ally…” He weeps.
“Keith, did I escape?” Blood is pouring out of her.
“Yes Princess, you escaped. Hold on okay. Help is coming.” Keith brushes blood soaked blond tresses from her face.
“I’m sorry Keith. I had to help you.”
“Shh… Princess save your strength.” He cradles her in his arms
She looks up at him, meeting his eyes. “Keith, did I escape?”
“Yes Princess.” He strokes her face.
She slightly smiles. “Thank you, my Lord.”
“Princess? Ally, please save your strength.”
“Keith, did I escape?” Her voice is fading.
“Yes Princess, you escaped.” Keith tries not to cry but cannot help himself, his tears beginning to flow.
“Keith, did I escape?” Her voice now just above a whisper.
“Yes Princess, you escaped.”
Her eyes slowly drift shut. “Thank you, Keith …Keith, did I escape?”“Yes Princess, you escaped.”
“Keith, did I escape?” Her last words just barely more than air.
“Yes Princess…”
She stops breathing.
“Nooooo!” He pulls her bleeding and battered body to him, rocking her back and forth. “No Ally don’t go… don’t leave me again.”
A single ear piercing shot rings out from above. He hears it just before he feels the sting in his back. A burning fire radiates through his whole body. He snaps up, the pain unbearable and then he feels nothing. His body wavers as he falls forward onto her and everything goes black.
End of Part TenHome, Fan Fiction, The Greatest Gift, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
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