Allura was asleep, her hair fanned out on the pillows, her body close, seeking his warmth, for the night had been chilly, and somehow the bedding had been knocked to the floor.
Z'aale awoke, feeling refreshed, regenerated. He looked at his sleeping wife beside him and smiled. He already desired her again, but he would let her sleep awhile longer, for he knew he had kept her up last night. He took his finger and traced her mouth and her face. He thought that he had never felt skin so soft before. And her face still held the look of a virgin, even though she was one no longer. His feelings for her were intense. He couldn't help but be entranced by her very presence. She was the queen of his heart, he thought, and he was the slave.
By the stars, he had never felt so before! He found that he liked to watch her sleep, and then wake her up gently with his kisses. Her eyes would become luminous, filled with the stars, and she would smile gently, knowing what he desired. He loved her. Again, he wanted to make love to her, but thought the better of it. Besides, he had to enter in the evidence.
Careful not to jostle her, he eased of the bed, covering her with the blankets off the floor, leaving one of the sheets behind. This sheet had what he needed. He padded over to one of his bags(he had brought them in sometime in the night) and produced a small medscan.
He activated it and proceeded to scan an area of the sheet. The scanner emitted a small beep indicating it was finished. Z'aale looked at the data contained inside, and then hooked the scanner over to a personal laptop and let the data be downloaded into his Registry. He looked at the data with satifaction. It read:
Charon time 0.220 M'aarisyaut record of data -- DNA evidence -- data to follow........Data found -- DNA match positive.....match to M'aarisyaut partners listed below........King Z'aale Zarkon Lessat-House of Lessat/Planet Doom/Denubian Galaxy.....age: 46 standard years, 800 Drule...planet of origin: AdenPrime..........................................next...............................................Princess Allura Elyse Leone-House of Alfor/Planet Arus/Denubian Galaxy.....age: 20 standard years....planet of origin: Arus.......................................................next..............................................DNA evidence concludes M'aarisyaut was consumated by the above partners. endThis document signed/marked and sealed in the Registry of Zarkon as an official Royal doc........backup copies on file..............transmission..../query/.....transmission recvd. .......end....
Z'aale smiled. Now it was official-she was his Queen. Arus was now his! He would kick those Garrison people off and that Prime Minister too! Hmm....wait. He had an idea... Looking at Allura sleeping, he thought,
......Why not throw a ball for her? Celebrate her becoming my Queen and the accquisition of Arus. Stars know I haven't held court in ages! Yes,I think that would be excellent.I can show her off to the galaxy and I could invite the prime minister and let him suffer! It would almost be as good as having Alfor there! Z'aale grinned. Yes, it would be excellent!
He would summon his coord and get him to make arrangements and to extend an invitation (actually command) to all his top officers and his court members - what was left of them anyway. And he would send an invite to the Prime Minister of Arus. Of course, he would demand he come - under threat of annihilating Arus. Perhaps by then, Jarius would have caught the spies by then and he would have an excellent time with that. He would put off the invasion of Arus temporarily until after the ball. There was no need to hurry. He decided to stay here on Aden with Allura for another week so he could have her to himself.
Z'aale went into another room and opened up a comm channel to Doom and instructed his coord as to his instructions. The coord acknowledged and promised that everything would be perfect. Z'aale thought that it had better be.
He broke the link and checked with Jarius about the spies. Jarius reassured him that he knew where the spies were now and his men were ready to trap them.
Z'aale frowned. Jarius was an excellent officer, but he was not to be trusted. He was too smooth, too calculating, but he did get the job done. Z'aale let him know when he would return and quit the comm.
He padded quietly back to their bedroom and shut the door behind him. The room was still dark, although it was daylight, thanks to the solar shades upon the windows. He looked at her again, noting that she had flung the bedding off in her sleep. He decided at last to join her. Z'aale climbed in and joined her, holding her tightly up against him, her face next to his. Allura murmured sleepily, '....Z'aale....mmm....." and wrapped an arm around him.
He whispered, "V'aal Ce'la, S'auh'eya."(good morning, my beloved) She just smiled at him. If there was any hint of sadness behind the sparkle of her eyes, he didn't notice. He only saw her glow and sparkle, her beauty flashing out again at him, tantalizing him. He could not resist, so he kissed her.
Later...
When she awoke later, he was gone. Allura felt both disappointment but mostly relief. She stretched and yawned, feeling somewhat rested, for Z'aale had kept her up late. She arose, went to the closet and selected a robe. Slipping it on, she noticed something on the dresser. It was a jewelry case, evidently. Allura opened it and saw a pair of priceless earrings made from the gems of Beale-a planet long extinct. Allura knew that these earrings cost a fortune, for the gems were very rare. She picked up the note beside it. It read: To my Allura..these are for you-the first of many gifts...love Z'aale..
Allura sighed again, and shut the case.No 'gift' of his would ever move her. Placing it on the dresser, she sat down on the bed and wept bitterly. This was what she had tried to avoid ever since she was of marriagable age-being kept-being pampered-like a pet! It was the reason she always ran from Lotor-because she knew how easy it would be to give in-to let herself be pampered, spoiled-in exchange for her favors. And now through no fault of her own, she was here, being given gifts by the man who killed her father, who frightened her from the moment she saw him at her father's castle.
Unwelcome Memory
She remembered how Zarkon had come to Arus under a truce between the attacks, offering her father a peaceful end to all the fighting. Her father grabbed at the chance, despite Coran's misgivings, and invited him to Arus.
She was sixteen then and was still as idealistic as her father was. She hoped that Zarkon would truly want a peaceful end to all the fighting. But then they saw each other. Alfor had introduced them, trying his best to be cordial and civil to his guest.
She remembered Zarkon taking her hand and kissing it in a courtly manner, but his eyes-his eyes held a lustfulness, a greediness, perhaps even a possesiveness. She was civil to him, but she held back a shudder. She prayed that her father would not surrender to him. Which he didn't. And everything went downhill from there...until the Garrison pilots came and resurrected Voltron.
And now? She was his wife and he supposely 'loved' her. She hated him to the very depths of her soul. That was the reality of it all. Allura arose and went into the baths to wipe her face off. She would never let him know she cried.
She was getting ready to dress when Z'aale walked in without knocking, came up behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, He held her tightly and said, "I see you have seen my gift, S'auh'eya...do you like it?"
Wanting to please him, she said, "Yes, Z'aale, they are very beautiful...thank you."
He turned her to face him and said, "They are not as beautiful as you are, Allura..."
He kissed her and then looked her up and down. He murmured, "I am very tempted not to let you get dressed, Allura, but I know you must be hungry.Get dressed and we will eat together."
She noticed as with everything, this was a command, not a request. To her dismay, he lay upon the bed, obviously not going anywhere. He said with a smile, "Please, S'auh'eya, do not let me stop you from dressing.I wish to watch you-you cannot fault me for that."
Allura turned towards the closet and bit her lip as she selected something to wear. Obviously, Z'aale didn't like what she selected for he arose and came up beside her. He said, "I do not like that on you, let me see what is in here."
He rummaged through the closet and found what he was looking for. It was a beautiful gown, light and comfortable, yet elegant. Allura had never seen it before.
Z'aale smiled and said, "Another gift from me, S'auh'eya-I desire you to wear it for me. I had many things made for you."
He went back to his position on the bed. Allura knew she couldn't make any excuses, for Z'aale wouldn't hear of them, so she undressed in front of him, trying to ignore his prescence. Unfortunately, she couldn't for long, for Z'aale had stopped her before she could put the gown on. He arose again and walked up to her, murmering, "S'auh'eya, I believe i have changed my mind.We will eat afterwards."
Rise Into the Abyss: Chapter Four