It’d been two weeks since the Galra invasion began. Almost two weeks since her parents had been murdered in front of them all by the evil Queen Haggar and her wicked son, Prince Lotor. Allura knew why she had been spared: legitimacy. It was painfully obvious that they meant her to marry Lotor so he could claim the throne of Altea through her. What confused her was why they hadn’t marched her to the altar at sword point. Do they want the illusion that it’s a love match? As if I could ever love him after all that he and his mother have done?! 
	Whatever their reason, she was using the time she was given. She was not kept confined to quarters, though large swaths of what was rightfully her – and her parents’! – castle was now off-limits to her. The surviving royal guards were few but loyal. And they were working on a plan.
	It was hard: there were so many more of the invading Galra troops than there were of them. Allura worked with Captain Shiro – the highest-ranking surviving officer – and a few of his hand-picked subordinates: Keith, Lance, and Hunk. They all knew the castle well, knew the layout of the surrounding land, and had the loyalty of the citizens. The only problems were the sheer numbers and, damnably, Queen Haggar’s twisted magic.
	But they kept at it. The suggestion was made that maybe Allura should marry Lotor, if it meant lowering their guard, letting them think they’d won, perhaps even reducing the troop numbers stationed in the castle. The very thought made her stomach twist and churn, but she would have made the sacrifice if it was the only way. Shiro was adamant that it shouldn’t come to that. When pressed, he said only, “The act of marriage itself gives him legitimacy. We shouldn’t let that happen.” But she noticed he avoided looking her in the eye when he said it.
	She was glad that Shiro had survived. Glad any of her guards had, though they were, in effect, being used against her. When she had spat in Lotor’s face at the very suggestion of marriage, she was made to watch one of her guards be tortured and killed. She’d turned away from the gruesome sight, but she could still hear the woman’s screams. “So now you know what further misbehavior will get you, hm?” he’d said. She’d just nodded.
	Shiro hadn’t placated her with platitudes about a guard’s duty or reminded her that she couldn’t have known what would happen. All he had said was, “We’ll avenge her. We’ll avenge all of them.” And that steadied her, gave her a focus and a mission, kept her from falling into despair. She’d fancied Shiro for a long time – many of the court did, though rumor was he took few lovers, and never from the court itself – but she’d never really known him. Not before all of… this.
	When she wasn’t plotting to overthrow the invaders and take back her own kingdom, Allura had little to do but mourn and worry. Sleep was the only respite she had, and she had precious little of it. She opened her eyes each day to terror – of death, of forced marriage, of being found out in her plotting – and closed her eyes to nightmares, the memory of her mother’s and father’s deaths, and the guard’s screams.
	She played up the mourning in public, tread the castle hallways like a ghost who didn’t yet realize she was dead, spoke to no one she didn’t have to. She acted like the broken doll Lotor and his mother wanted her to be. And, as she’d hoped, she began to be ignored by the Galra guards. She always did this, wandering silently around, eyes seemingly unfocused; she was beneath noticing, at last.
	And that was how she managed to “accidentally wander” into a hallway that was forbidden to her now. As if any part of my castle is forbidden to ME! She kept her pace slow and absent-minded at first, but then ran, darting down passages that she knew would take her to her parents’ room. 
	She slowed and ducked into hiding when she saw guards again. She’d come prepared for this, and threw a pebble she’d brought with her, watching it skitter away. The guards were stupid enough to head after it, and she hurried towards the doors, pressing her ear against one to listen in.
	And, as she suspected, Haggar was inside. Of course you took the royal suite as yours. She bristled as she eavesdropped. But what she heard made her blood run cold. 
	The guards were coming back. She retreated hastily to her hiding spot. She let them reclaim their positions, reassure themselves that nothing was going on, then fled back to her “approved” hallways where she resumed her soft, silent, haunted expression and pace. She kept it up all the way back to her rooms, shut the door quietly, and then dropped to the floor. She felt sick. 
	She hadn’t heard much, but she’d heard enough.
	That’s why they’re waiting. 
	Two weeks ago, there’d been a full moon. Two weeks from now, there’d be another. Queen Haggar’s magic must be strongest then or something. Allura didn’t understand how it worked, didn’t understand why this “ritual” she’d heard the evil witch speak of was important, but she didn’t have to. 
	She just had to stop it.
	Somehow.

	The princess looked distracted when he arrived. She’d shown up to one of their normal meeting spots – they had many, of course – and canceled the day’s meeting, then asked to speak to Shiro alone that night. 
	They met in the east wing. It had taken the most damage in the battle, and entire walls and floors had fallen, exposing the rooms within to the elements. If you were cautious and you waited until the guards had their backs turned, you could duck in through an open section of wall, head down a rubble-strewn hallway, up a half-ruined staircase, and into one of the old guest rooms. It was a bit musty, but the fact that it had been closed up before meant that the guards couldn’t see into it now. And no one was paying the east wing any attention. 
	Princess Allura was sitting on the bed when he slunk in, and she jumped to her feet instantly to turn and face him. He eased the door closed behind him. “Are you okay, Your Highness?” he asked. They kept their voices quiet when they spoke here, not quite whispering, even though there should be no one around to hear them. It felt wrong to speak of secret plans in the same tone and volume as an everyday conversation. 
	“For now,” she replied. “But I’ve found out something of Haggar’s plans, and I… I need your help, Captain.”
	“Anything,” he swore immediately. 
	“Don’t say that until you know what I’m asking.”
	“If you command me to lay down my life for you, I will,” he said.
	She squeezed her eyes closed and turned away. “Please, let me explain.”
	“Of course, Your Highness.”
	He watched her take a deep breath. She looked more worn down than he’d ever seen her before. The occupation was finally taking its toll. That, or whatever the witch has planned is truly horrible.
	“I didn’t get to overhear much, but in two weeks, when the moon is full again, she plans some sort of ritual.”
	“Ugh, more of her accursed magic.”
	The princess nodded. “It’s for me. To… check…” She swallowed hard. “I don’t know why it’s important to them, but she said that she must see if… if I’m a virgin.”
	He blinked. “What?”
	“She phrased it oddly: she said she must see if I am ‘able to be with Lotor’ and that it would be ideal if I were untouched.” She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. “I am determined not to be in any sort of ‘ideal’ state for her wicked plans. And that’s why I need your help.”
	He was still trying to figure out why the Galra would care whether she was a virgin or not when that last sentence of the princess’s sank in. He felt his face practically catch fire. “Are you… suggesting…?”
	“I’m not suggesting, I’m…” She paused and looked down at her feet. “No, I can’t order you to do this. But,” her gaze rose to his again, and there was more panic in her eyes than he’d ever seen before, “please, I… if nothing else, I don’t want Lotor to be the first – possibly only – one to ever… She has a purpose in mind for me, and if my being a virgin helps it, then I can’t be, I won’t be, I…”
	The words burst from his mouth. “I’ll help you!” He cleared his throat and licked his lips. “I’ll help.”
	The relief that flooded over her face was deeply reassuring to him. The panic eased back into the same sort of anxiety she’d had when he first arrived. “Thank you,” she breathed. 
	Easier said than done. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but… the circumstances… He took his own deep breath and approached her, unbuckling his belt. “I’m surprised that you’re… I mean…”
	She blushed. “Royal bastards cause complications,” she said, “and… Well, I’ve kissed some people before, sometimes quite intensely, but there was never anyone I was interested enough in to even…”
	“High standards,” he summed up. “Appropriate.” He took a seat on the bed to start getting his boots off. She blinked and then did likewise; she was in a simple gown and boots, no fancy jewelry or tiara, no reminder of rank. But she didn’t need them; even if he’d never seen the princess of Altea before, he would know her as being his superior from a single glance. 
	He stood once his boots were off. She mirrored him. 
	“Are you just doing everything I do?” he asked.
	“Um.” She finger-combed some of her moonlight-hued tresses nervously. “I mean, I don’t know what to do, so…”
	“May I kiss you, Your Highness?”
	She huffed at him in annoyance. “The formal address is hardly necessary, and if you ask for every little thing, we’ll be here all night.”
	He smiled as he stepped closer. “I won’t ever do anything you don’t want me to do,” he told her. “And you haven’t answered the question, Princess.” 
	Her mouth twisted in faint annoyance, but her blush deepened. “Y-yes, you may kiss me, Captain.”
	“You can call me Shiro if you’d rather,” he said.
	“If you’re not going to use my name, why should I use yours?” she replied archly.
	“Fair enough.” His heart was pounding in his ears as he slid his right hand over her cheek gently. It was his prosthetic, a remnant from a bad training accident. But it was skillfully-made, enhanced with magic from a knowledgeable wizard. King Alfor had made sure that his guards had nothing but the best, always, and it was one of many reasons that Shiro was proud to be a member of the royal guard. 
	And, in a way, was this so different a service than that he’d been charged with? He owed his body to the Altean crown. Sharing it with the princess for a night might be an unorthodox way of serving, but he wouldn’t have refused, even if she hadn’t already had his heart.
	This was a fantasy come true for him, thumb brushing her eyemark before he tucked some of her hair behind her ear. His fingers followed the track: over and behind her ear, down, around to just under her chin so he could raise her face to his. He held her gaze for a long moment, still not sure this was really happening.
	And then she leaned forward quickly to press her lips against his. He closed his eyes to savor the moment. This isn’t how I would have wanted this, he thought. Not for you. Not for any of us. But he was determined to give her the best experience he could, under the circumstances.
	He wrapped her up in his arms, let her deepen the kiss. This part she was familiar with, she’d said; let her have as much control as she could. Besides, it was so nice for her to kiss him, even if it was only because she had to. And then he felt something wet trail down his face, and he pulled away in confusion.
	She was crying, mopping hurriedly at her eyes with one hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what… I didn’t mean to…”
	“It’s okay.” He cupped her face in both hands, used his thumbs to wipe at the tear tracks. “You don’t ever have to apologize.”
	“I don’t even know why I’m crying,” she protested.
	“This is a lot. And it’s all wrong. You deserve better for your first time than some dusty, closed-up guest room, giving yourself to a random guardsman in order to thwart a wicked witch’s evil plans.”
	“Y-you’re not random,” she said, cheeks darkening again. “I did choose you to come here, to ask to do this.”
	He smiled. “Thank you, Princess, but you know what I meant.”
	She nodded. “I know we should hurry, given that we’re not even supposed to be here, but…”
	He shook his head. “We’ll take as much time as you need. We have two weeks after all. We don’t have to do everything tonight.”
	“No, I want to. I don’t want to have to worry about it. And her powers aren’t dependent upon the moon; I think its phases just enhance them? Or there’s something else special about the moon’s phase, maybe? I don’t know how it works, but that’s just it: what if she changes her mind? What if the moon being full isn’t as necessary as we think and she does it early, or…”
	“I’ll do anything and everything you want, Princess; you know that.”
	She smiled sadly. “Thank you for your dedication.” She pressed her cheek against his left palm and closed her eyes. 
	He slid his right hand away, down to her shoulder. “We don’t have to be fully undressed if you don’t want?” he offered. Something about the idea of that both thrilled and horrified him. Shoving clothing aside just enough to take her, like she was some busy pub whore who didn’t have time to strip? It seemed wrong, but it also seemed… desperate. Like maybe they needed each other too badly to wait. But that’s not true. And she does deserve better.
	She bit her lip as she thought, and his breathing hitched. He couldn’t help it; there was just something about the gesture that always made him want to kiss her. He gave in, the way he’d always wanted to, and she released her lower lip so she could return the kiss. Her hands slid over his chest up to his shoulders.
	And when he pulled away, she said, softly, “I’d like to feel your skin next to mine.” She was blushing once more, but he just nodded, kissed her cheek, and backed away so he could undress.
	He pulled his shirt off over his head and let it fall to the floor. He started seeing to the lacings of his pants and stopped when he realized she wasn’t moving. He looked to her and she was just staring at him, eyes wide, lips parted faintly, blush pouring down to her neck.
	When she realized he was looking at her, she hastily started fidgeting with the lacing of her dress and half-turned away. 
	He chuckled and finished getting out of his pants, keeping only his smallclothes on. He closed the distance again and grinned at seeing her having trouble with a knot in her laces.
	He reached out. “May I, Princess?” he offered.
	Her hands fell away instantly and she just nodded. “Sorry, yes, th-that’d be…” She sighed.
	He took over undoing the knot. “I’ll be gentle, I promise.”
	“I know. I know I shouldn’t be so nervous.” She finally looked at him again. “I trust you, Shiro.”
	Her using his name with no rank, saying it so casually, voice warm and ringing with faith in him made his fingers still. He swallowed hard, licked his lips, and said, “I’ll reward your trust, I swear to you.”
	“So formal,” she teased gently. 
	The laces were loose enough now; he moved his hands to her shoulders and started to push the dress off. Then he realized he hadn’t even asked first, and jerked his hands away from her. “Sorry! I shouldn’t have…”
	“It’s okay,” she said. “Besides, I’m so nervous I’d probably tear the dress somehow trying to get it off.”
	They both laughed and the tension eased. 
	[more stripping; Shiro realizing he’s going to make love to Princess Allura and how that’s kind of like WOW WHAT]
	It was, somehow, too real to be real, but then she pulled away and said, with red in her cheeks, a twinkle in her eye, and a smirk on her lips, “May I?” He had no idea what she was asking for until he felt her hands on his hips, just at the top of his smallclothes.
	And he chuckled a little and nodded. “Of course, Princess. You know there’s nothing I could refuse you.”
	“Nothing?” she asked with a twitch of one eyebrow. She was already pushing the cloth down.
	“Absolutely nothing,” he confirmed.
	“Would you really die for me?” she asked, hands trailing away as the last protector of his modesty fell to the floor.
	“Yes.” He kept his eyes on hers, but he knew he was blushing. 
	Her eyes trailed away down his body. “I would never want you to.”
	“I know. And that’s why I would.”
	“Such dedication.”
	“The crown has been good to me, to my friends, to all of Altea.”
	She raised her gaze back to his. “Good enough for you to do this?”
	He made a thoughtful sound. “Yes, but I would anyway,” he admitted.
	“If my father had ordered you to sleep with me, would you have?”
	“He would never have.”
	“Pretend,” she ordered.
	“I would have asked what you wanted.”
	She smiled a little. “If my father had ordered you to sleep with him, would you have?”
	He laughed. “He would never have. But!” he said, before she could repeat her order, “I suppose I would have asked why.”
	“Would you have obeyed?”
	He thought about that. “I don’t know. It’s so out of character for the king that I can’t even envision it.”
	“But when I order you to…”
	“You didn’t order me. You said you couldn’t order me to do this, remember?”
	“I’m the princess,” she said, her voice sounding sad. “Could you really refuse me?”
	“I wouldn’t want to.” He took hold of her by the shoulders, but only to try to emphasize to her the truth behind his words. “I’ve had lovers – some men, some women. None of them could hold a candle to you. You are the most amazing person I’ve ever seen, and working with you the last two weeks has only proved to me that my feelings were correct. You’re not just beautiful, kind, and compassionate, you’re also strong, determined, intelligent… You awe me, Princess. And I…” The words stuck in his throat.
	She swallowed hard, her chest rising and falling a bit faster. “Do you love me, Shiro? And I want the truth. Even if you think it will hurt my feelings, even if you…”
	“I do,” he said. He pushed the words out. “I have loved you for a long time now.”
	She stared at him. “And you want me?”
	He nodded. “Of course.”
	She smiled. “I’m glad. I’m glad this isn’t something horrible I’ve asked of you.”
	“Far from it.” He slid his hands down to hers, to hold them and give a reassuring squeeze. “Lay down, Princess.”
	She snorted and pulled her hands away to go to the bed and start turning the covers down. “You love me and you want me and you’ll have me in a little bit, but still you won’t call me by my name?”
	“You’re the princess.” He went around to the other side to help her get the covers down.
	“I wish I weren’t, sometimes.” She climbed up onto the bed, but just kneeled there for a moment. “If I weren’t the princess, this wouldn’t be necessary. Lotor wouldn’t want me and I wouldn’t be a pawn in his and his mother’s plans. I’d be worthless…”
	“Never.”
	She smiled at him. “…to them,” she finished. She laid down on her back. “If I weren’t the princess, perhaps you could have confessed to me before now.”
	He snorted. “I don’t know about that.” He joined her on the bed. “I’m awkward about my feelings.”
	“Truly?”
	He nodded. “About saying them, anyway. I’m used to plain speaking, and something like a love confession feels… awkward with no poetry to it.” He laid on his side next to her, kept his eyes on her face. “I’m no poet.”
	“You don’t need to be.” She reached a hand up to his cheek. “I get very little ‘plain speaking’ in my life. Poetry is nice, but it has its time and its place. And I’d rather you always tell me the truth, in whatever words you need.”
	He studied her face with its faint smile and trusting eyes, and let the truth spill out of him. “I love you. I hate the circumstances that brought us here, but I will do everything in my power to make sure you enjoy this as much as possible.” He laid his hand on her stomach; she twitched a little, but then eased down beneath his palm. He sat up a little, enough so he could bring his other hand to hers on his face, pull it away to his lips, and kiss it reverently. And then he looked at her over the back of her hand, and said, just loud enough to be heard, “Let me love you, my princess.”
[Some light foreplay – and some slightly heavier foreplay]
“I hope it means you like this?”
	“S-so far,” she confirmed.
	“So I can continue?”
	“Yes,” she exhaled. “But…”
	“Hm?” He was nuzzling at her ear rather than licking or nipping [redacted].
	“We should be… I mean…”
	“Impatient, my princess?”
	She bit her lip for a moment. “Worried,” she said. 
	“You won’t be a virgin when we leave,” he swore. “But I promised you my best, and that’s what you’re going to get. You deserve pleasure, not just penetration.”
	“I don’t know if I have time for pleasure.”
	He paused again and raised his head so he could look at her more easily. “Is it time that you’re worried about or something else?”
	She hesitated, then admitted, “You’re too observant, Captain.”
	He shrugged as best he could. He’d seen how she was after Merla’s death. He’d watched her push past mentions of her parents’ murders; seen her pale at the thought of marrying Lotor but agree to it if it was necessary as a tactic. “You blame yourself,” he said, “even though there’s nothing you could have done differently. Do you think it’s wrong to have pleasure now? Because of… of everything that’s happened?”
	“No,” she said immediately, but then, “Maybe. A little.” She swallowed. “How can I enjoy myself when we’re occupied by an invading force, when so many have suffered and died and so many more will as well when the Galra get what they want? Why should I be happy when…?” The tears were coming back.
	“It’s not wrong,” he said. “I know it feels… weird, it feels wrong. But you did nothing wrong by surviving. You have done nothing wrong by continuing to live. And you wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for Haggar’s schemes. You aren’t forgetting everyone by doing this; you’re fighting. You’re fighting against them. Sure, we could do this quick, hard; I could practically force myself on you and get it over with. But you’ve suffered enough, and I… I couldn’t bear to hurt you like that.
	“It’s okay to have a moment of sunlight in the darkness, to help you keep going. And no one who’s died would want your suffering. Even if they did, it won’t bring them back.”
	“I know. I just can’t help it. But you’re right; it’s just hard to let myself…”
	“Pretend,” he suggested with the force of an order, mimicking her earlier command. “Pretend that none of it happened.”
	“Pretend.” She mused on the word and a slight smile began to take shape. “We’re hiding here, so my parents don’t catch us.”
	He nodded and played into the scenario. “The scandal of it, if we were found out: the princess with a mere guard!”
	“Well, he’s a captain,” she said, sounding as if she were correcting him. “Handsome, sexy, lusted after by at least half the court.”
	He barked a laugh. “Your flattery is unnecessary, my princess.”
	“It’s the truth. Really!” she insisted. “Nobles aren’t blind, no matter how much it may seem like it sometimes.”
	He laughed again, feeling himself blush. “I would be an unworthy lover for anyone of high rank.”
	“I don’t think they’d agree.”
	“Hm, let me rephrase. I would be a toy to them, an amusement, an entertaining diversion. I could never be a lover. That’s… at least to me, that implies a level of equality.”
	She frowned. “Do you think you can’t be my lover, then?”
	He knew a trap when he heard it, but he couldn’t lie to her, so he nodded, just once. “I’m not worthy of you.”
	“I think I get to decide that,” she informed him imperiously. 
	Uh oh. “You’re the princess of Altea, the heir to the throne, and…”
	“And I choose you, Shiro. Not because you’re the best of the available options, but because I truly want you. Even before…” she didn’t have to say before what; it would have spoiled the mood even more, “…I wondered what it would be like to be with you. I’m nervous, yes, and it’s hard for me to enjoy myself when we’re surrounded by death and suffering, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want this.”
	She reached a hand up to his chest and rested it there, just over his heart. “I want you as my lover, Shiro. Not just as some tool to avoid an uncertain fate, and certainly not as a toy.”
	And he felt a blossom of warmth in his chest, as if it sprang from her hands and flowed into him. He closed his eyes and focused on it, reaching his left hand to press and keep her hand in place. She’d given him a great gift just now; he hoped he could give her one even half as worthy.
	Then he opened his eyes and leaned in to kiss her again.
	[Things getting very far along; Allura has a very nice couple of orgasms, but if we’re going by the “traditional” definition of virginity, she still is one]
“[…] but…” She bit her lip again.
	She has a request? And one she was shyly hesitant to make. His curiosity burned. “What is it, my pri-…?”
	She stopped him with a finger to his lips. “That’s exactly what I don’t want. It’s… it’s nice to be your princess,” her blush was coming back, “but not right now. I don’t want to be your princess now; I want to be your lover. So use my name. Please.”
	He nodded and she pulled her finger away carefully, as if the mere act of doing so would free him from the implicit promise he’d just made. “May I?” he asked, smiling.
	“Yes, if you say my name,” she told him.
	He dropped his lips to her ear and took a breath. “Allura,” he exhaled, and she moaned softly. 
[redacted, time for the more usual “love-making”]
“Ahh, fu-…”
	“Such language, my princess,” he teased, even though she hadn’t gotten the full word out.
	“Nnnn, no,” she whimpered. “Not ‘princess’.”
	He leaned down towards her and whispered his correction, “My lover.”
	She smiled, eyes still closed, and he kissed her quickly
[redacted]
	“[…], my love,” and doubtless she meant “lover,” meant it only as two people sharing the act of love-making and not as a statement of her feelings, but it didn’t matter. 
[redacted; orgasm time for Shiro at last]
And there was a feeling of completion that washed over him – not just of the act itself, because he’d felt that many times before, but… of himself. Like his life had, abruptly and all too briefly, fallen into place: a sword to its scabbard, a ring to its finger, a hand to its glove. 
	Something about being with her felt more right than right had ever been before. It resonated through him, like he had a bell within him that had just been rung.
	He withdrew from her with reluctance, afraid that feeling would leave as well, but though it dimmed, it didn’t stop. And when he rolled off her, onto his back on the bed beside her, she pursued him, rolling over to snuggle in against him, pillowing her head on his shoulder.
	“I wish all plans were accomplished so blissfully,” she murmured.
	“As do I. But don’t fall asleep. We can’t stay here.”
	She sighed. “I wish we could. I wish I could have you in my room, and keep you there through the morning.”
	He smiled ruefully. “That would be wonderful. Perhaps it will happen someday.” He rather doubted it. No matter how happy she was now, she was a princess. She had the right – under Altean law, anyway – to marry whomever she chose, but also the responsibility to pick someone who would be the best royal consort. And that was all assuming they could oust the invaders.
	He knew he’d do all he could to work towards that end. He’d help her free her kingdom, then watch her choose a suitable partner, probably from another kingdom, to help shore up the now-decimated Altean defenses. He’d go back to loving her from afar, but with the added torment of knowing what it was like to be with her. But that was what would have to happen. That was what would happen, if he had anything to say about it. She’d choose a good partner, not be forced to marry a conqueror.
	She knocked him out of his thoughts with a quiet, “Shiro?”
	“Hm?”
	“Correct me if I’m wrong, but… there’s more than one type of virginity, isn’t there?”
	“Well…”
	She pushed herself up to smirk at him despite blushing. “We should be thorough. Just in case.”
	He arched an eyebrow at her.
	She shrugged elegantly. “We have two weeks, after all.”
	He smiled and reached up to brush some hair out of her face and behind her ear. “As you wish, my princess.”
	She tsked at him. “Shiro.”
	“Yes, Allura?” he asked brightly, tone full of mock-innocence.
	She laughed, and the sound rang through him. He’d never loved anyone this way, and never would again. He knew that. And if this was all the time he’d ever have with her, he’d take it, and not regret a moment.

	She was careful in public. She’d asked Shiro not to say anything, and he’d been as good as his word. She didn’t want to seem callous, gleefully enjoying herself while her once proud royal guards were made to serve the wicked queen and her son. (And she knew she’d never hear the end of it from Keith, Lance, and Hunk – well, maybe not Hunk – if they knew of it, for that matter.) So, during the day, she continued to haunt the castle hallways and slip away to secret meetings where they tried to find a way to rid themselves of the invaders. 
	Weeks with no problem were making the Galra complacent, but they hadn’t yet loosened up most of their security measures. They would though. There was always a gap in the armor; you just had to know where to aim for it. For now, they were focusing on guard shift changes. They didn’t all happen at once; you had to learn when each station was changing over. Those created exploitable gaps. 
	It didn’t help that she had no idea what was going on in her own kingdom. News from beyond the walls of the castle and its keep might as well not exist. Was there a resistance? Was there even anyone left alive? 
	But at night – every night – she made herself not think of those things. Just for a couple of hours. A couple of stolen hours every night with Shiro where she could moan and sigh and gasp, giggle and laugh and smile. Only a couple of hours to spend in his arms, to enjoy the sunlight in her dark. 
	She gave every part of herself to him, over and over again, and felt her trust and affection returned tenfold. Shiro was sweet, considerate, and adorably insatiable. He craved her touches, her kisses, her smiles – and a number of other things besides. He insisted he could never refuse her, but she was the one who felt like she would have given him anything he asked for and then some. He was quickly becoming indispensable to her. She told herself that it was just that “first lover” feeling, that giddy excitement over physical intimacy. 
	But as nights passed, she became aware of how wrong that was. There was something… more. Something she couldn’t explain, like… like his soul was speaking, and hers responded. It was more noticeable during sex, when they were as close as their bodies allowed, but it was always there. If she got to one of their secret meeting spots early – whether for their nightly romps or a daily strategy meeting – she could feel him approach. She could feel when he was near, as if he were a candle flame being brought close to her. I must be imagining it. 
	Her family line was known to be magical. Her own father had been an able magic-user, but she’d never shown any signs of it herself. Could it be that there is some lingering magic in my blood? And that, for some reason, that’s what makes me feel like this? 
	Even if that were true, what could she do about it? She didn’t know how to use it, how to light or extinguish these feelings. If I had magic, perhaps I could do something more about Queen Haggar. She spent fruitless hours trying to summon a fire or even just a light, trying to do… something, anything. Eventually she gave up. She focused on the plans to take back the castle and watched the moon grow full.
	Not long after dark on the night of the full moon, two Galra guards showed up to escort her to the throne room. She tried not to be nervous. There was no way she was “ideal” for Haggar’s ritual now, but who knew how the witch would react to that? 
	The throne room was just as she remembered it, save for the banners of the Galra now draped from the walls. There was a skylight in the ceiling that shone the moon’s light down upon the thrones that had once belonged to her parents. Don’t think of it. Just walk.
	In addition to guards, Haggar had some of her detestable ghouls with her. She called them “Druids,” but they were unlike any druid Allura had ever heard of. They were tall, robed and masked, and she wasn’t sure if they walked so much as floated. They were circled around their “queen” in the moonlight, chanting in stentorian tones, glowing a sort of pink-purple that gave her a headache just to look at. Clearly the ritual had already begun. 
	The royal guard were present as well – no doubt to keep her in line. They were surrounded by Galra guards; all of them could be easily slaughtered at a single word. Something inside her leapt towards a certain direction as she walked in, like a candle flame in the wind. Shiro’s here. She would have assumed so anyway, but she knew it now, knew where to look to find him. She kept her eyes away, focused instead on Haggar and Lotor awaiting her at the front. 
	She was delivered to the dais in front of the thrones, the circle of Druids parting to let her into the center of the patch of moonlight, then closing behind her again. One of them stretched out its twisted hand with its long tendril fingers, reaching for her.
	She wanted to pull away, but she refused to show fear. She had to be strong in front of her guards – and in front of the odious Galra. So she held herself in place through sheer force of will, glaring at the mask of the Druid as its hand pressed itself to her chest.
	A moment. Two. And then a sibilant voice declared from behind the mask, loud enough to be heard by all, “She is not untouched, but she is not with child.” 
	Allura couldn’t help blushing at having that announced, but she arched an eyebrow over at Haggar. “You could have just asked.”
	But the Druid wasn’t done. “Echoes of her lover’s quintessence lie within her still.” It turned away and, thankfully, removed its hand from her. It told Haggar, “She is bound.”
	“No,” Haggar hissed, shoving the Druid’s arm aside and grabbing rough hold of Allura. The Druids all swayed away, breaking the circle now to stand behind their queen. She shoved her hand against her chest, right over her heart, and concentrated. Then she swore virulently and glared at Allura. “You are bound to someone.”
	“What do you mean?” she asked in genuine confusion.
	She gasped – and the royal guard cried out – when Haggar drew a knife from her robes. 
	“Your quintessence is bound to your lover’s. No matter what my son does to you, your body will reject his seed. You cannot carry any life that does not spring from the one to whom you are bound. Which means you cannot give us the child we seek.”
	“Child?!” Certainly she expected that an heir was part of their plan, but Haggar spoke as if that were the plan entire. “You can’t mean to say you invaded my kingdom and destroyed my family so that you could be a grandmother.”
	Haggar growled at her. “You don’t even understand, foolish whelp of a girl. The magic in you is more potent than any seen in generations! Combined with my son, my bloodline could rule the entire world with such power!”
	“Well, I seem to be ‘unsuitable’ for your designs,” she said. “So I suppose now you will kill me, as well?”
	Haggar cackled quietly. “Hardly.” And then her hand lashed out and grabbed Allura’s arm.
	Before she even knew what was happening, there was a flash and she hissed against the pain. Blood welled up from the cut across her left wrist. 
	“You are bound to your mystery lover, but they are bound to you as well. And I will find them.”
	The knife flashed again and Allura cried out and clutched at her gut as she was cut there. The cuts weren’t deep, but they bled well, and hurt terribly.
	“All bonds can be severed,” Haggar said. “I will find the one you are bound to, and cut the tie.”
	“H-he’s dead,” she said through the pain. “You and your men killed him in the invasion!”
	“Stupid little liar,” Haggar sneered. “While you are bound together, his death would mean yours. Besides, his quintessence is fresh within you. You’ve been with him recently. He lives.”
	Allura cried out and fell as the knife slashed one last time, a shallow cut along the front of her throat. She couldn’t speak through the pain, couldn’t do more than weep and pray to the Goddess that she wouldn’t die. Not when it would mean Shiro’s death as well.
	Haggar turned to her Druids. “Find the one whose injuries match hers; that will be the one she is bound to. Take her back to her room; heal her only enough so that she will live. If she’s healed too much, her lover will be, as well. If anyone seeks out any form of healing, search them for the matching wounds.”
	All but one of the Druids disappeared. Two guards came forward to pick her up by her arms. She let them drag her towards the doors, the Druid following in their wake. She could still feel the warmth within her that pointed to Shiro. It was stuttering, but still strong. We are bound together. It all made sense now.
	But if I die, then so does he. 
	She was weak from the loss of blood, but she offered up a prayer to the Goddess. Watch over him. Protect him from Haggar and Lotor. Please.

	Out of the throne room, out of the castle proper, back to the barracks, and he had to wait until the Galra had left before he could let himself collapse to the floor and curl up around his injuries.
	“Shiro!” Keith was the first at his side, of course, followed by Lance and Hunk. “What is it?”
	“Oh my goddess,” Lance breathed. “It’s him.”
	“What’s him?” Keith asked.
	“Don’t you get it?” Hunk hissed quietly, looking around to verify there were no Galra within earshot. “Shiro is the princess’s lover.”
	“No way.”
	Shiro squeezed his eyes shut against the pain, tried to focus on pushing it aside, but he’d already been doing that, keeping himself upright, trying not to wince too obviously, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that each injury inflicted on Allura was happening to him as well. He was now too tired, too hurt, to keep the pain at bay any longer.
	He hadn’t realized. How could he? He didn’t know magic. He didn’t know anything about any of this. All he knew was he loved her with his whole being, that he could feel how unhappy she was through the day and how joyous he made her each night. He thought he’d been imagining that, that he was sympathizing with what she must be going through, but clearly it was this bond between them. 
	“We have to get you healed,” Hunk said.
	“No,” Shiro gritted out through his teeth. “So long as… they don’t know who I am… they can’t use her.” He looked up at his friends. “The instant they find me, Haggar will do whatever it is to… to break the bond. They’ll kill me, then Lotor will do what he wants with her. …We can’t let that happen.”
	“Forget overthrowing the invasion now; we have to get you two out,” Keith declared. “You can go and find allies, bring them back. But if you two stay here…”
	“It’s just a matter of time,” Lance summed up. “And if one of them dies while they’re still bound…”
	“…we lose them both,” Hunk finished with a frown. 
	He didn’t like it, but they were right. Allura’s protection came first and her life was now intertwined with his. He nodded. “Okay.”
	“First, we gotta get you bandaged up, at least.” Hunk said.
	And then there was a wave of … of light, somehow, through him, and he uncurled a little. “They must be healing her,” he said. “It… helps.”
	“So, every night you’ve been sneaking out, you’ve been going to the princess?” Keith asked.
	“Let’s at least get him on his bunk,” Lance pointed out. 
	They helped him stand, and Shiro nodded weakly in answer to Keith’s question. “Yes. She needed my help. We didn’t expect any of this.”
	“So,” Lance said as they half-dragged him to bed, “when you say, ‘she needed my help,’ what you really mean is she needed your…”
	“LANCE,” Hunk and Keith said at the same time.
	“Eh, basically,” Shiro admitted. As they got him laid down and Hunk went to get some bandages, he explained about that first time, about her fears about the ritual. “She thought it was just to check to see if she was a virgin.”
	“So you helped her not be a virgin anymore,” Keith summed up, nodding. “Fair enough.”
	“But that doesn’t mean you had to keep going back,” Lance said slyly. 
	He shrugged. “I’ve loved her for a long time now. And she… needed some time to be happy. Some time when she didn’t have to try to save us all.”
	“We’re trying to save her!” Hunk protested as he bandaged Shiro’s wrist.
	“She doesn’t see it that way. Especially not since Merla.” That quieted them all down. “I didn’t know anything about becoming ‘bound’ to her, and I don’t think she did either. And neither of us knew that was what they were really looking for.”
	“Well, if you hadn’t been with her, she’d probably be in Lotor’s bedchamber right now,” Lance said with a frown. 
	“Let’s not think about that,” Keith said with a shudder.
	“Let’s let Shiro rest,” Hunk suggested sternly. “He needs to heal up, and he can’t even take it easy tomorrow. If he shows any sign he’s not 100%, they’ll know.”
	“Yeah, you’re right,” Lance said. “Get some good sleep, okay? No sneaking off to bang princesses.”
	“I don’t… that’s not… Yeah, okay,” he agreed weakly, unwilling to argue the semantics of Lance’s chosen vocabulary. 
	Keith dropped onto the bed next to him. “I knew you fancied her, but I didn’t know it was full-on love,” he accused him.
	“Sorry.” He normally shared everything with Keith. He knew Keith would understand why he’d kept quiet about his nightly activities the last fortnight, but he hadn’t admitted how deep his feelings had run. That was exactly the sort of thing they normally would have talked about. “I didn’t see the point in… I mean, she’s the princess. If things were normal right now, she still wouldn’t even be talking to me, let alone…”
	But he thought back to everything she’d told him: how he was a common fantasy amongst the court, how she’d fantasized about him even. Still, they both knew that nothing could have happened between them back then.
	“We talk about ridiculous stuff,” Keith said, moving to pull Shiro’s boots off for him.
	“I just thought it was beyond ridiculous. I still thought it was when she first asked me to…” He shook his head weakly and then hissed; even that small motion irritated the neck wound.
	“It’s okay,” Keith told him. “I’m not upset. Sleep, and don’t talk.”
	“People usually don’t talk when they’re sleeping.”
	“Shut up,” Keith said with a thin grin. “Besides, Lance talks in his sleep sometimes.”
	“Lance isn’t necessarily ‘usual.’”
	“I HEARD THAT!” Lance yelled across the barracks.
	Keith and Shiro both chuckled. “Sleep,” Keith told him.
	“Yes, sir,” Shiro replied wryly, but he was already falling asleep.

	It took three days before she was even allowed to leave her chambers. Another three of walking the halls and letting herself openly weep in front of the Galra before she could placate them again. And when she finally arrived at one of their meeting places, she found only Keith and Lance waiting for her.
	“He’s safe,” was the first thing Keith said to her. “But it’s better he not be around you right now. Just in case. Hunk thinks he might have a way to get us some help, so he’s arranging that.”
	She knew Shiro was alive, at any rate, and she could still feel him as the too-distant flame within her, warmth just out of reach. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t nice to hear that he was okay. “Help with what?”
	“This,” Lance said, gesturing to her. “You and our captain, bound together in true love or whatever.”
	She blushed. “I don’t know that it’s ‘true love’,” she demurred.
	“What else would you call it?”
	“This is off topic,” Keith said. “We have to get you two out of here. Away from Altea.”
	“Honestly, this is a lot easier to pull off than trying to overthrow a superior force,” Lance told her before she could protest. “We get you two out, you can get aid, raise an army, come back and free the kingdom! But not if you’re both dead.”
	She wanted to say they were wrong. She wanted to stay and free her people now. But they were right. Her life and Shiro’s being bound together put them in a precarious situation. Every moment here was another moment Shiro might be found out. And, setting aside her own situation, she didn’t want to be mother to the destroyer of the world. So she exhaled and nodded. “Okay. So, what do I need to do?”
	“For now, nothing,” Keith said. “Just keep their eyes away from us. Come back in another two days, and we’ll have something. Right now, we just need to make sure they don’t look too closely at what we’re doing.”
	“Alright. And… will you let Shiro know that…?”
	“You’re okay and you love him?” Lance finished. “I think he already knows, but sure.”
	She blushed again. “I was going to ask you to let him know that I’m sorry. If I’d thought he’d be in danger because of this, I would never have asked him, or any of you to…” She shook her head. “I’m just sorry.”
	“You know he loves you, right?” Keith said.
	“And he’s loyal to the crown and to Altea,” Lance put in.
	Keith continued, “You made all his dreams come true for those two weeks. He doesn’t regret it.”
	Her blush deepened. She wouldn’t have had any trouble saying it to him, but since he wasn’t here, she had to relay it through his friends. “He made all of mine come true as well. And I only regret the trouble it’s caused him. Please, be careful, all of you.”
	“We will be, Your Highness,” Lance promised her.
	She spared them a wan smile and hurried away.

	Shiro kept himself busy, doing the lightest work he could get away with and making sure to keep himself as covered as possible. Fortunately, it was getting chilly out, and the other guards all wore their scarves so that Shiro wouldn’t stand out. The Galra watched them like hawks, looking for the excuse they’d need to swoop in and strip you to the waist to check for the recent wounds.
	Hunk was able to get a messenger bird out. They could only hope it reached his friend. “She won’t have been captured or killed,” he insisted. “She’s too smart and too sneaky.” Once outside the walls, this friend could get them out of Altea. So now it was just up to the guard to get them to that point. 
	They focused on the west gate; the east was the obvious choice, the north too heavily watched (since it led out into the city), and there was no south gate (it had long ago been removed and sealed up). Anyone sent out on assignments near the west gate paid attention to the guards’ routines and reported in to Shiro on them at the end of the night.
	The plan was coming together quickly, but it all felt too slow for Shiro. Every day – every moment! – that he and Allu-… the princess were still in the castle put them both in more danger. It’d been a week and a half since the full moon. He could feel her loneliness as if it were his own; sometimes, it was hard to say it wasn’t. He missed seeing her smile and hearing her laugh, missed making her happy in even those small ways. It’d made him happy, too. Knowing he’d see her every night had kept him going through the days. 
	But he had to stay away from her. Bad enough if they were caught conspiring against the invaders; anyone with her at the time would be a target of immediate suspicion. She sent word to him through Keith and Lance though, and he held onto those messages fiercely. He would lay on his bunk, trying not to itch at healing skin, and imagine her voice saying those words. It was the best – and sometimes only – way to fall asleep.
	He trusted his friends to help her and focused on his end of things. The morning of their planned escape, he had to take several deep breaths to calm his nerves. They couldn’t take supplies; they were counting on Hunk’s contact to meet them. But if they died in the wilderness, so be it. We’d die free, and together. Better than Allura being bred like a prized mare in order to create Haggar’s world-conquering tool.
	He went about his work as usual, waiting for the right moment. Fortunately, he’d been assigned stables, and when the guards weren’t looking – which was often, as they were stationed just outside the doors (the only exits) – it was easy to quietly set things up. When the stable guards changed shifts, he started counting the minutes. He had an hour and a half.
	Of course, by then, the new shift was getting complacent. Nothing ever happened here, the shift change had been unremarkable, and they were bored. So they were unprepared for a lantern to get “accidentally” knocked over and for the horses to bolt. Shiro ran from the building – as anyone would do when there was a fire and horses were running about. The east gate was the closest, and the guards there were just starting their shift change. The tired guards ran to the stables and some of their fresh replacements went with them. Perfect.
	Shiro charged straight at a remaining guard knocked him into the wall, making sure his face took the brunt of the damage. “Night night,” he said as the Galra dropped. He looked up to see fellow royal guards taking out the others, and then turned to try to find…
	There she was, running towards him, flanked by Keith and Lance. “I don’t think we got out unnoticed,” Keith warned as they got within earshot. 
	“So long as we can get the gate open in time,” Shiro said. 
	“They’re working on it!” Hunk called, running up to meet them. “You two just get ready to bolt.”
	“Are you okay, Your Highness?” he asked her. Reverting to the proper forms of address was weird after so much time being anything but formal.
	She smiled. “I will be.” He could almost feel her heart racing, the wary hope she was trying to smother, and a bright burst of joy that was undeniably aimed at him. He smiled back.
	But then there was the unmistakable thwip! thwip! of arrows overhead. Shiro looked up in horror as the royal guards manning the gate mechanism were brought down. The gate, which had barely begun to rise, dropped back into place.
	Lance pressed a sword on him. “We came prepared, Captain.”
	He took it. “Thanks.” More royal guards were coming to their aid. “Protect the princess!”
	“And Shiro!” Keith added, as the Galra charged them.
	The fight was joined and the battle was on. When he killed a Galra, he was surprised to see the princess pick up the fallen guard’s blade. He was going to protest right up until she dropped an enemy with a single stroke. “Remind me not to piss you off, Princess.”
	She laughed, and just the sound was like a blessing laid upon his brow. He couldn’t take the time to savor it though; more guards were joining the fray. 
	This was exactly what they didn’t want, because this played to the superior numbers of the Galra horde. “We need to get that gate open!” Hunk yelled.
	“I’ll do it if I can get some cover!” Keith called back.
	Shiro quickly realized they had a second problem: him. Protecting the princess was the first order of business; protecting him the second. That left raising the gate a distant third, and they were quickly getting penned in. I could… but if he raised the gate, he’d have no clear way down. And if he was trapped here… 
	They wouldn’t dare do anything to me. Not when Allura is so important to them and killing me kills her. He broke for the stairs. She’ll be angry, but it’s the only way. Her safety was more important than anything else. He had to get her out.
	He skidded to a halt when Prince Lotor himself blocked his path. “Going somewhere, Captain?” But there was no time for witty repartee when he launched himself at Shiro.
	And Shiro realized he couldn’t fight the way he normally would. He had to be careful – extra careful – because every injury he got would be inflicted on Princess Allura. He couldn’t decide to take a small strike if it meant getting him into position to deal a larger one because he didn’t want to hurt her.
	He knew she’d say she could handle it. He even knew that she was likely right, especially after seeing her fight now. But he couldn’t do it. He forced himself to do nothing but defend and hope that Lotor would screw up.
	“What’s the matter, Captain? Unwilling to get a little nicked up?” Lotor teased. He was attacking fast, relentlessly. Shiro dodged as best he could, but he mostly had to block. He couldn’t take the chance of getting hit.
	If there’d been time enough, he could have won. No one could keep up that pace for long. But his sword was knocked away and the tip of Lotor’s blade was at his throat. “Yield.”
	“Shiro!” That was Keith, and the next words from his best friend were, “Alteans, Stand Down!” And Shiro cursed under his breath as he heard them obey.
	“STOP!” Lotor commanded, and his men did as ordered. The prince just smirked at Shiro. “I thought so.”
	“Thought what?” he asked, playing innocent.
	“You there, guard!” Lotor barked. “Come here and let’s see the captain’s left wrist, hm?”
	A Galra came over and yanked his sleeve up, but Shiro just shrugged at the revealed (and still healing) scar. “I get hurt sometimes. Don’t we all?”
	But he felt a cold shiver go down his spine. It wasn’t his reaction, so it had to be Allura’s. And he quickly found out why: Haggar and her Druids were approaching. 
	“Strip him to the waist,” Lotor ordered.
	Shiro stood still while the Galra guard obeyed. “I’m a soldier.”
	“In a kingdom that hasn’t known war in generations,” Lotor scoffed.
	“That doesn’t mean my life was without incident.” He waved his right arm in demonstration. “I’ve been badly injured before. It happens. Or did you miss the scar over my nose, too?”
	His scarf and shirt were removed, baring him to the chilly air. He had more than a few scars, but of course the neck and gut ones stood out as the most recent. Lotor tsked at him. 
	“Captain. Really now?”
	Shiro shrugged again. “Well, we can’t all be as pretty as you are.”
	Haggar strode forward and thrust her hand against his chest, right over his heart. "This is the quintessence I felt in the princess," she confirmed. "We have both ends of the bond now. Take him to the dungeon."
	“No!” Allura’s anguished cry was almost like a new wound to him.
	Haggar seemed quite pleased. “Just in time. Breaking bonds is done at the new moon, three nights hence. Your bond will be severed, and then the princess will be ours.”
	Lotor sheathed his sword. “I’m looking forward to it.”
	“Take the princess to her chambers,” Haggar ordered. “She is not to leave for any reason. I want guards on her door at all hours.” 
	Shiro cast a last look at Allura. “I’m sorry.”
	She was on the verge of tears. “No, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have… Oh, Shiro, I’m so, so sorry.”
	“Don’t give up,” he told her. “Don’t ever give up. You’re the strongest person I know.” And they were pulling him away despite his struggles to stay with her.
	She tried to run after him, but there were strong Galra hands on her arms, pulling her back. She actually pulled free for a moment, and he saw a look of fury stain her face, felt fire leap in her heart… just before Haggar touched her forehead and she slumped into unconsciousness. The fire dimmed away. She was alive, but that was all he could tell now.
	“Get them both out of here,” Haggar said. 
	“And the rest of the royal guard?” Lotor asked casually.
	“The dungeons as well; there’s few enough left now. We’ll let the survivors watch what happens to their dear captain, and then they can join him in death.”
	Shiro cursed. His friends, his love, the entire kingdom: everything he was supposed to protect, and he had failed them all. He stopped struggling.

	Allura didn’t turn to face whoever it was coming into her chambers. It was usually just a guard dropping off food or taking away her tray. The only reason she ate was because she knew she was still connected to Shiro. If I lose too much weight, I won’t be able to bear a child. Maybe it will kill me before it’s even born. She wouldn’t let Haggar conquer the world through her. But, for now, she still had the thinnest sliver of hope. It was hard to hold onto, and she cried more than ever before, to think that everyone’s deaths would go unavenged, that the Galra would win. But so long as Shiro and any of the royal guard were still alive, she clutched at that last straw. 
	The door shut again. She was still looking out the window. The new moon was tonight, but for now the sun was still in ascendance. All she could think of was Shiro’s voice: “It’s okay to have a moment of sunlight in the darkness, to help you keep going.”
	I wish I knew how to use all this magic the witch claims I have.
	“Don’t fret,” a voice said from behind her. 
	She gasped and whirled to it, falling from the ledge to her feet. “Lotor! What are you doing in here? Get out!”
	He walked towards her instead. She moved away from the window. “I came to see how my bride was faring.”
	“I’m not your bride.”
	“You will be, in a few hours. We’ll have the ceremony right after the ritual.”
	“While your men kill Shiro.”
	“Yes,” he agreed, as casually as if he were discussing what dinner might be. “Though I prefer to imagine him dying later, during the honeymoon.” 
	“Ugh, you make me want to vomit.” She was still backing away, moving so she’d have somewhere to back up to.
	“There’s no reason for things to be unpleasant,” he told her. “I could make you very happy, if you let me.”
	“Why would I want anything to do with you? You and your bitch mother…”
	“Language,” he tsked.
	She continued over him. “…invaded my kingdom, killed my parents, and want to take over the world! You mean to use me as breeding stock for your despicable plans, and I’m supposed to be overjoyed?”
	“You won’t want for anything,” he told her, still advancing.
	Her back hit the wall near the doors to her bedroom. “Except justice for those you’ve killed, peace for my kingdom, freedom and love for myself.”
	He shrugged. “You’ll get over it. Especially once you’re used to me.” His right hand hit the wall next to her head and he smiled predatorily at her. “Did your precious captain make you moan for him?” He grabbed her chin to force her face up towards his. “I’ll make you scream for me.”
	She pulled her face from his gasp and tried to move away, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “You will be mine. It’s inevitable. Why fight it?”
	“Maybe you’re right,” she said. “But I’m not yours yet. Get your disgusting hands off me.”
	His eyes narrowed. “Do you think you’re in any position to issue orders?” 
	She wrenched herself from her grasp and fled to her bedroom, tried to shut and lock the doors between them. He pushed the doors open before she could manage it, and she stumbled backwards. 
	“Is that how it was with your handsome captain? Did you order him to please you? Did he do so because you were his princess?”
	“No!” But Lotor’d hit close to home. Shiro’s voice, throaty and deep, his eyes on fire as he’d murmured, “My princess,” and how the raw emotion of it had thrilled her. 
	“I’M the one who’ll be giving the orders, Princess,” and his voice made a mockery of her title. He was still advancing on her, and she had the terrified vision of him taking his wedding night early.
	She tripped on her rug and fell, hitting the floor. Lotor stood over her, triumphant. She flailed for a weapon and found her chamber pot tucked under the bed. 
	“Before you know it, you’ll be obeying me because you want to,” he said. “Because you’ll crave the pleasure I give you.”
	“NEVER!” she shouted and she flung the chamber pot’s contents at him.
	He stiffened in shocked outrage and when he opened his eyes again, they glowed with hatred. “I can and will break you, since that seems to be your choice,” he promised her, dripping piss. “You’ll regret this, I promise you.” And he turned and stormed out.
	She dropped the chamber pot and laid on her back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, breathing hard. She heard the main chamber door open, shut, and lock.
	She scrambled to her feet and double-checked. She checked hiding places, in case his leaving had been a ruse and he was waiting for her to let her guard down so he could come at her again. Only once she was convinced he was truly gone did she let out a shuddery breath and sink to the floor in the middle of the room. 
	She pulled her knees to her chest, buried her head against them, and sobbed.

	He could still feel her. The despair was sharp in her, like a blade pointed at her heart. He wished he could help her, that he could take that pain away for her. But even if he knew how to do that, he felt even more hopeless than she did. 
	He was left chained in the dungeon, given nothing to eat and only a little to drink. She sustained him somehow, kept him strong through their bond. He wasn’t sure how she was doing it, but he knew that she was. He just hoped it wasn’t costing her too much.
	Just before dark, he thought he heard something. Footsteps? Light, not the tromping clod of the Galra. He waited, but there was nothing. He shook his head. I imagined it.
	Then there was the sound of marching boots, the scrape of the key in the lock, and the door creaked open. He expected guards, but they had an unexpected surprise with them: Lotor, dressed fancy and full of smug victory. Shiro made sure he didn’t look impressed.
	“Come along. You are, in effect, the guest of honor.”
	He arched an eyebrow. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t get my invitation to the party. And I haven’t a thing to wear.” He gestured at himself, still shirtless, in just his pants and boots. “Guess I’ll have to stay here.”
	“You could,” Lotor agreed. “Mother doesn’t need you present to break the bond. But I’ve decided you should be there. The bond will be broken and then I’m going to stab you in the gut so you can watch me marry your precious princess as you bleed out on the floor.” 
	“Sorry, you want me to watch or you want her to watch?” Because he’d felt her spike of fear and disgust earlier, felt it spiral into panic and then break down into sadness, and he was beginning to get a suspicion as to why.
	He shrugged nonchalantly. “Both. Guards.”
	They came forward. His hands were chained together, and that chain was hooked to another which was fastened to the wall. They unhooked him from the wall chain. “Walk,” one of them said, shoving him towards Lotor roughly.
	“Don’t think about trying anything,” Lotor warned him.
	Shiro snorted. “You can’t kill me yet.”
	“I can make you hurt,” he promised.
	Shiro stopped walking when he reached Lotor. The urge rose up to headbutt him, to try to get his arms over him and the chain around his throat… but he behaved.
	“Good boy,” Lotor said dismissively, as if speaking to a dog. “Let’s go.” He turned and walked out of the cell. Shiro followed him, the guards marching just behind him.
	He had nothing to say to the Galra prince, but apparently Lotor was in a chatty mood.
	“So you’ll really march to your death because you don’t want to hurt her?”
	“Yes.”
	“That why you were so defensive in our little bout in the courtyard?”
	“Yes.” Oh, if my wounds wouldn’t become hers, things would have been much, much different.
	“You love her that much?” he asked dismissively, as if he were speaking to an idiot child. “A man like you must have had any number of lovers, but she stands out? She must be exquisite in bed.”
	He was trying to make him angry. And it was working, but he wouldn’t let Lotor know that. “I love her,” was all he said, trying to keep his voice calm.
	“Ah, well, I suppose I’ll get to find out for myself soon enough.”
	“No.” He shouldn’t have spoken.
	“You think not? She will be mine, repeatedly and often.”
	He bristled but tried to keep it from showing in his posture or voice. “It won’t be the same.”
	“It hardly matters. I’ll do whatever I want with her regardless.”
	“Why are you doing this?” he asked. “Trying to rile me up so I’ll… what, attack you out of anger so you have an excuse to hurt me and therefore her? Did she put you in your place earlier? Tell you she hated you, that she would never give herself to you? Are you doing all of this because your wounded pride wants some petty vengeance?”
	Lotor whirled on him. “Silence!”
	Shiro smiled and shrugged and dutifully remained silent. Lotor stormed ahead and the guards shoved him to make him pick up the pace. It was cold comfort. In a way, he’d rather Lotor got his way, because the alternative was a lifetime of him forcing himself on Allura, of her suffering and misery and pain. But maybe that’s inevitable anyway.
	For now, he was defeated. There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t stop himself for looking for chances though; it was too ingrained in him. And he couldn’t stop his heart from leaping when he saw his princess again.
	Her hair was long and flowing like the absent moonlight. Her dress was elegant but not ostentatious, light on the gilt and beads and gems. She didn’t need them, in his opinion; her eyes were jewels enough, when she smiled. Her hands were chained in front of her, just as his were, and those lovely eyes downcast.
	Her head shot up and she gasped when she saw him. “Shiro!” She glared at Lotor, and the pain in her face was covered with steel, as if she’d lowered the visor of her helmet. “What are you doing?”
	“Teaching you a lesson, my dear,” he told her. “The first of many.”
	Haggar huffed. “His presence is not required.”
	“I require his presence,” he snarled at his mother. “She will watch him die at her feet once your ritual is completed.”
	She shrugged. “Druids of the Four Directions, close the circle and hearken to the shadows,” she intoned.
	It was already a chilly night, but Shiro shivered for an entirely different reason now. As soon as the Druids circled up, they began their unholy chanting and started to glow that same sickly pink-purple that made his eyes hurt.
	And then, twin bolts of pink lightning shot out: one to him and the other to Allura. He gritted his teeth against the blast but it didn’t hurt – at least, not physically? It felt like it was poking at him, as if he were a woven tapestry and this lightning bolt was a questing finger, trying to find the weakness in the weave. He squeezed his eyes closed and tried to make the sensation go away, but it was pointless. The magic probed at him regardless.
	“More,” he heard Haggar hiss. 
	The strange feeling increased, as if they were trying to poke a hole straight through him. It was uncomfortable, and he could feel Allura straining against it as well.
	“HARDER!” the witch’s voice demanded.
	It was a knife now, sharp, surely able to cut through the warp and the weft of him. It felt like it was distorting him somehow, twisting him, but… but there was nothing like cutting or breaking.
	“Mother, what is it?” Lotor asked.
	“We will break the bond,” she insisted.
	“No, You Won’t!”
	Shiro opened his eyes and turned to see what was left of the royal guard of Altea marching into the throne room. Keith was leading them, with Lance, Hunk, and someone Shiro hadn’t seen before by his side. They were wearing a green hooded cloak (though the hood was down to show off shoulder-length light brown hair) and spectacles. Strangest of all though – they were glowing, a vibrant green like sunlit summer grass. And they weren’t the only ones.
	Keith was red like the heart of a fire, Lance the blue of a clear mountain lake, Hunk golden and warm as the sun itself. Every one of the royal guards were glowing some color or another, and Haggar actually drew back at the sight of them.
	Keith was the one who’d spoken, and he continued now, taking a single step towards Haggar as the rest of the guard stopped. “You could break a bond between two people, but not between all of us!” he declared. 
	Lance spoke now. “We aren’t many, but we believe in Shiro and Allura. We believe in the strength of their bond to each other.”
	“We believe in them like they believe in us,” Hunk said. “They’re meant to be together, and we won’t let you break them.”
	Now it was the stranger’s turn. “The strength of their belief in the princess and the captain is stronger than your wish to see their bond broken… especially with my magic helping out.” She grinned crookedly. “All they needed to know was how to channel that strength against you.”
	The pink-purple disappeared and the sensation of being probed with it. “Kill the wizard,” Haggar directed. “We’ll see how strong they are without magic on their side.”
	The royal guard drew swords – Galra-made swords. They fought their way here from the dungeons?! Shiro was full of amazement, of gratitude, and, for the first time in ages, of hope.
	And then he felt a surge within him of something he didn’t have words to describe. Allura. He looked to the princess.

	She was as surprised as anyone to see the royal guard come marching in, but that wasn’t what had her widening in eyes: it was like something was welling up within her, something golden and good like all the light from the sun, moon, and stars put together. 
	She’d never thought of herself as magical before all of this happened. She’d thought she’d be the first ruler in generations to have no recourse to such things. But perhaps it had simply been locked away. Perhaps it had simply required the right key.
	Her guards – her people – believed in her so strongly that they could hold back the Druids’ twisted magic. They cared about her and her happiness, they supported her bond to Shiro despite the fact that it had endangered them all. They placed their faith and trust in her. 
	She would not let them down.
	And from that same place deep inside of her, she felt more than just warmth and light: it was power. It was strength. And it would not be denied.
	The chains on her wrists snapped like dry twigs. And as Lotor and Haggar turned towards her in shock, she raised her hands: one towards the witch and the other towards her son.
	And some force within her echoed forth from her hands and pushed the two of them away. The Druids and Lotor’s guards were buffeted backwards as well, and the royal guard cheered as they charged. She ran to Shiro.
	“How are you…?” he asked.
	“I don’t know,” she admitted, grabbing hold of his chains and yanking them off as if they were made of paper. “I just know that I can.” She looked him in the eyes. “Fight, Shiro. Don’t worry about protecting me.”
	He nodded. “As you wish, my princess,” he said, eyes alight with love and awe. He was like a roaring hearth on a cold winter day to her, and it seemed to strengthen her even more.
	Shiro turned towards the Galra guards who had escorted him from the dungeons; Allura returned her attention to Haggar.
	The witch was getting to her feet, and Allura could feel her. Where Shiro’s love was a cozy fire, Haggar’s hatred was the wind of a winter storm: ice cold and howling with rage. It was almost as if she were a walking shadow, a being of concentrated darkness. 
	Allura focused and pushed her away again, pushed against her and her ghoulish Druids from all sides, trapping them in a box of invisible force they could not escape. She didn’t want them free to hurt the royal guard.
	“Allura!” and she turned to Shiro’s voice. He tossed a sword to her, and she caught it, swung it, and pointed its blade at Haggar’s throat.
	“You will never harm another innocent soul!” she promised the witch.
	Haggar roared and the invisible cage Allura had generated shattered and dissipated. The Druids came at her in a flurry, but she pushed them away: one, then another, then she impaled the third on her sword and blasted another back into a couple of ready Altean guards. 
	Their new wizard friend captured a Druid for her, as if invisible vines had wrapped themselves around it. Allura threw the wizard a smile as she swung her sword through the evil creature’s neck. 
	She cried out once as a blast of almost pure darkness hit her and made her stumble. She heard Shiro hiss in pain, but she couldn’t afford to be distracted right now, because Haggar was still attacking. Allura tried to focus her strength and power on the blade in her hands and she raised it as if to block a sword attack. She had no idea if it would work, but the next blast hit the steel and ricocheted away to the ceiling. 
	“I will have your power!” Haggar screeched… until a large chunk of stone ceiling block, knocked loose by the blast, fell and crushed her with a sickening crunch. 
	Allura was breathing hard as she pulled the magic back from the sword. But she couldn’t rest long: there were more Druids yet, and she could hear more Galra running down the corridor outside the throne room. With a defiant cry – “For Altea!” – she launched herself back into the battle.

	“You wanted to see what a real fight against me was like?” Shiro asked. The guards had been easy, stunned by the princess’s attack; taking them out was child’s play. He’d tossed the first sword he got to Allura (as he’d seen, the princess definitely knew how to use a blade), and took the second for his own. And that just left Lotor. Shiro grinned at him as the Galra prince drew his blade. “Now you’re going to find out.”
	“I was so looking forward to making you suffer,” Lotor said. “But I suppose I’ll have to settle for this. Victory or death!” he cried as he attacked.
	To look at them, it would seem as if Lotor had the upper hand: fully clothed, with his own sword that he was used to wielding, and he hadn’t been starving away in a dungeon for the last few days. But there was one advantage Shiro had: he knew how Lotor fought, and Lotor had no idea what Shiro was like in a true battle.
	Lotor went for speed over strength, an unusual tactic for the Galra. Shiro dodged, blocked, allowed him to let his guard down a little. He barked a laugh in Shiro’s face. “Still protecting your lady love?” Lotor swung his blade.
	Shiro ducked and came up inside the evil prince’s guard and jammed the butt of his sword into his stomach, hard. Lotor was knocked backwards, nearly doubled-over, and Shiro whirled the sword around to point its tip at him. “And I will protect her for the rest of my life,” he agreed.
	A blast must have hit Allura, because pain bloomed through one side of his body. He hissed through his teeth, and Lotor took it as an opening. He roared and launched himself at Shiro.
	Shiro met the reckless lunge, pushing his strength behind the sword. 
	Lotor snorted. “You think to match me for strength? I am Galra!”
	“You’re a sniveling coward,” Shiro growled at him. Though he was right: the Galra were known for their strength. But he had a plan. 
	He roared and pushed Lotor back just enough to break out of the stalemate and get his sword up. Lotor launched himself back into the fight.
	Shiro could wait. He felt renewed, invigorated, and he was sure it came from Allura. He didn’t have to look at her to know. It was like she was glowing and he was basking in her radiance, and it gave him an inner strength he could never have had on his own. 
	He blocked and dodged, pressed a few attacks but didn’t expect them to really connect. And, as he’d known would happen, Lotor began to tire. His own relentless attacks were wearing him down. 
	Shiro now pressed his advantage. Lotor pulled up the dregs of his energy to match and meet him. “I… won’t… let you… WIN!” he roared. “I beat you once and I will again!”
	“You beat me once,” Shiro agreed.
	Lotor swung.
	Shiro ducked under and up again, this time to bury the sword in Lotor’s gut. And he looked him in the eye as he told him, “But you can’t beat us.” 

	With their princess’s magic and the reinforced bond between them all, the royal guard of Altea managed to either kill or run off the invading Galra troops in the castle. They retook the capital from the occupying Galra force amid the cheers of the citizenry. 
	The wizard turned out to be Hunk’s friend, who went by Pidge. She was a very learned magic-user (though still technically in training) and, as Hunk had said, very sneaky (she had first freed the royal guard from the dungeons after all – even Shiro had barely heard her go past his cell). 
	Funerals were held, starting with the king and queen. Princess Allura personally attended every guard’s funeral and gave a speech at a memorial service in the capital for all who had perished in the invasion. She swore that the fallen would not be forgotten but reminded all her people that the dead would want the living to continue on. “They would want to see us strong and happy. And we shall be.”
	The magic of the royal Altean bloodline was special, different than that of normal wizards, as it derived from the Goddess Herself. Pidge helped Allura select a priestess and a wizard to help teach her how best to use her power. She also found some of her father’s old notes from when he’d been learning his spellcraft, and having this connection to him helped her. She also found letters from Queen Haggar, putting forth her son as a viable marital match for his daughter. There were drafts of his replies, but though the language was different, they all came down to the same thing: his daughter would choose her own spouse, and he would not foist a husband upon her. No doubt his refusal sparked the invasion, but she cherished her father’s insistence on the matter.
	Pidge was offered a job when she had finished her education, and awarded a medal. Keith, Lance, and Hunk were given medals as well, and Keith promoted to head of the royal guard, with Lance and Hunk as his captains.
	Princess Allura became Queen Allura on the same day she married Shiro, who was now crowned Prince-Consort. The whole kingdom celebrated their wedding and their queen’s coronation, though she and her new husband took time to stop at her parents’ memorial stones. The now-Queendom of Altea flourished once more under Allura’s care. She and Shiro lived happily ever after.
~*~The End~*~