Chapter Twenty-Nine
Devonn: Enroute to Doom
Devonn was enroute back to Doom. In the uproar that followed the discovery of his attack, he had escaped. He was not in a very good frame of mind. He wished that he had killed the pilot and Giselle. If things had gone to plan, he would have had Allura,and he would have have had his revenge upon Lotor. But,again, he was interfered with! One day, he would obliterate Arus and he would personally kill the Voltron Force one by one and make Allura watch it all. Damn them to perdition! Hagar would be the first to feel his wrath for her treachery. At least Lotor's brat would be dead. There would be another time. He would be successful sooner or later.
Arus
Lotor held her hand. He watched her still face. She was hooked up to everything imaginable - heart monitors, IV's, oxygen, the works. He hated seeing her this way, but at least she was alive - for now. He sat beside her, took his hand and touched her face gently.
He leaned close to her and said, "Allura, I'm here."
Allura seemed to not hear at first and then she murmured, "My angel..you are here. I will depart soon with you."
Lotor's voice caught in his throat for a moment and he said, "No, Allura, it's me, it's Lotor..I am alive..open your eyes, my sweet."
She frowned, "No..a trick..you're dead..told me..I'm dying.."
Lotor became anxious. "No! Please, Allura..open your eyes! Feel my hand? I'm real! Please open them." he choked back a sob. "Please live for our daughter, our son...for me.."
His head bent in sorrow. She wasn't listening to him. Suddenly, he felt a light touch upon his hair. He looked up and saw her eyes open. He gasped, "Allura!"
He looked up and found that her eyes were open. She said weakly, "You have come."
Lotor touched her face again. "Please, Allura - believe me.I am not dead!"
She frowned, "If you are not, then you only used me..don't - l-love me.."
He felt her tremble. He said, "No! I love you more than life itself! I am bound by a promise."
Allura closed her eyes and said, "What promise? What promise could keep you away from me - from Skye? What - promise could make you lie to me?"
Lotor said sadly, "A promise I made Akira.."
She opened her eyes in suprise. "Keith? What does he..?"
Lotor shook his head. "In exchange for Voltron's help to rescue you, I promised that I would leave you alone - let you live your own life, maybe marry someone who would make you happy." He sighed heavily. "I did not know you were pregnant. No one told me of this."
Allura half-sobbed,"I - I believed you dead! I haven't wanted to live and now--you're alive.."
Lotor could see Dr. Gorma looking on worriedly.
Lotor said,"You must hate me now. I truly thought I was doing the right thing. I - I had to see you one more time before - before..."
He couldn't say it. Allura touched his hands. It took a lot of effort. She said, "I don't want to die now - now that I know you live still."
Lotor saw color come back into her face - not all the way, but more normal looking.
She said softly, "I find I cannot be without you..life has no joy without you. I tried to live for Skye, for Arus, for the baby inside me, but I didn't want to have a future without you."
She smiled faintly and said,"As ruling monarch of Arus, I release you from your promise."
Lotor looked at her and said, "But, Allura, I didn't exactly endear myself to your captain in the other room..I - I wanted to kill him..A part of me still does."
She said quietly,"Lotor..you know it does no good to be so angry. What would it gain if you revenge yourself on Keith? It is my decision whether I want you or not - not Keith's and not yours. He will understand. If he does not, then he does not."
She closed her eyes and gripped his hand. She said wearily, "I am so tired, Lotor.."
He said, "Please hang on..I don't want to lose you again."
She said, "I'll try, Lotor.." then she exclaimed, "The baby..where?"
Lotor smiled and said, "He is fine. A baby boy."
She smiled, "Really?"
Lotor said, "Yes, my sweet.."
She murmured, "..look just like`you.." she started to drift off to sleep.
Lotor murmured, "He will be like his mother.." He leaned over and kissed her gently. He sat back and kept holding her hand.
Dr. Gorma watched them, and as he did so, he noticed that her vital signs were improving - oh she was still in critical condition, but she was improving. It was as if Lotor were giving her his strength, his will to live. Dr. Gorma did not know what to think about this man who had terrorized them in the past, but it was obvious that he loved the princess with all his heart and soul.
From the peaceful look upon the princess' face, she felt the same.
Giselle was sitting up in bed when Keith came into the room. He said, "Giselle, you ok?"
Giselle, her face covered by a dermamask, said, "I will be when they take this thing off..it's very hot."
Keith smiled, he had experiences with dermamasks before - they did an excellent job of healing skin tissue, but they were uncomfortable.
Keith sat down beside her and Giselle said "Is the princess all right? They would not tell me."
Keith said, "She delivered a baby boy.."
Giselle said, "Oh, is he..?"
"He's in an incubator, but as far as I know, he is well."
Giselle hung her head, "I should have let him know."
Keith suspected who, but asked, "Let who know?"
Giselle said, "His father."
Then she realized her slipup and said, "I mean..uh.."
Keith said, "I know, Giselle, he's here."
Giselle gasped, "He is?"
Keith's eyes hardened."Yes, and he about killed me - just about what I'd expect from Lotor.."
Giselle could sense the anger in Keith's voice and saidquietly, "You hate him, don't you?"
Keith snapped, "Damn right I do! He's chased her for years..trying to make her marry him against her will. He threatened Arus,everyone with destruction if she wouldn't..and now he's raped her and she has his child!"
Giselle was angry. "How would you know, Keith? How do you know it wasn't as she said. Then Giselle started to sob,"Maybe you love her too."
Keith didn't mean to make her cry! He put his arms around her and she pushed him away.
She snapped, "Go away!"
He said quietly, "No."
Giselle said, "She does love him, Keith. She does -" then she blurted, "The same way I love you."
Keith was shocked. "You mean that, Giselle?But you never-"
She exclaimed, "How could I? How could you love someone as deformed as me? That's why I wore the veils. Devonn had cut me up with my own knife for warning the princess about him. I can't be loved by anyone - not like this."
Keith said softly, "But you wanted me in here."
She said sadly, "I wanted you in here because I was covered with this mask. I wanted to tell you, even if it meant heartbreak. I know you can't love someone as scarred as me. I didn't say it to make you feel bad. When Devonn attacked me, I thought that I would die, and the one thing that I regretted not doing was telling you how I felt."
Keith didn't know what to say. Between Allura, Lotor and the baby and now this, he felt like he was going through an emotional mixmaster!
He said quietly, "You are not deformed, Giselle."
She said, "If you've seen me without my veils.."
He cut her off. "I saw you without them. When Devonn attacked you, your veils were gone. I saw your face and it was not deformed."
She gasped, her hands flying to her face. "You saw! Oh stars, no!"
She started to cry in earnest and Keith wrapped his arms around her.
He said, "All I seem to do is make you cry."
She said brokenly, "Oh leave me alone! I'm so ashamed!" Taking care not to hit her dermamask, he lifted her chin and kissed her gently.
Giselle gasped and then she snapped, "I don't need your pity!"
Keith said, "That was not pity, Giselle."
Before Giselle could reply, a medic came in and said, "Are you ready to remove the mask?"
Giselle said, 'Keith, you need to leave."
The medic said, "No, he doesn't need to leave. This will only take a second."
The medic bent over Giselle as she protested wildly. "I don't want him to see!" But before she knew it, the dermamask was off. She covered her face in her hands so he wouldn't see her scarred face. Keith gently placed his own strong hands around her wrists and pulled them away firmly.
Giselle cried, "No! You're as cruel as Devonn! Stop it!" The medic looked puzzled. Keith spied a hand mirror on a nearby dresser and he asked the medic for it. The medic handed to him and he grabbed it with one hand. Giselle placed her free hand and clamped it over her face, weeping. Keith held the mirror to her face and said, "Giselle, open your eyes."
She said brokenly, "N-no.."
Keith said, "Please look."
Giselle sighed. What was the use? He had already seen her face. What did it matter now? She removed her hand and steeled herself for the hateful image that she knew she would see in the mirror she knew Keith had. She opened her eyes and gasped. Her face! It was as before! She brought her hand up to cheek. It was smooth. She looked herself up and down. No scars crisscrossed her body. She looked at her arms, smooth and beautiful.
She looked back into the mirror and said, "Am I dreaming?"
Keith smiled and said, "No, you're not. Dr. Neelson here did your dermasurgery."
The medic grinned and said, "Yes, and despite your other injuries, you did well. Your scarring was not deep. Any doctor could have done this surgery."
Giselle looked to the medic and said, "T-Thank you.."
The medic said, "Please, no thanks is needed..." the medic smiled and left them alone in the room.
Tears ran down Giselle's face.
She said, "Devonn said there was no way I could be cured."
Keith said, "Well, he lied." Then he smiled into her eyes and said, "But I'm not.." He took a deep breath and said, "Giselle, it's hard for me to express myself..but I was attracted to you when you wore the veils. When you spoke, your voice was like music and your laugh made me laugh. You're witty and intelligent."
He thought to himself. ..geez, Keith, you're blowing this! He blurted, "When I saw you without the veils, all I could see was someone I cared about was being hurt. I care about Allura. I always have and I always will. But we are close friends - never much more than that. It could have been more, but.." He took her hands and said, "I would like it to be more with you, Giselle..I - I don't know quite how I feel, but I truly care about you.."
He leaned over and kissed her.
Giselle smiled and blushed. "You mean that?"
Keith said, "Yes."
Giselle frowned, "What about the Princess and Lotor?"
Keith grimaced, "If she dies, then Lotor has sworn to kill me."
Giselle asked, "And if she doesn't?"
Keith said, "I'll still protect her as the Knight of Arus."
Giselle said, "Maybe she will not need protection from you, Keith..she will have it from another..it is her choice, not yours to make."
Keith said bitterly, "If she lives."
Giselle echoed his thoughts, "Yes, if she lives.." and both of them just sat there holding hands and saying a silent prayer for the Princess' life little knowing that it had already been saved.
To Chapter 30 Epilogue
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