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Romelle blinked rapidly, trying to force her eyes to adjust as the shuttle door opened onto a brightly lit hangar bay. Oddly, she saw no other alteans around. The few things which were being moved had sentries doing the work. Had she been brought here to work in a different part of the ship? She stood at a prod from the robotic sentry, walking down the ramp ahead of it with her head held high. No matter where she was being brought, she would not be cowed. She would not be meek and submissive like her parents. If her new overseer wanted her respect, they’d damn well have to earn it.The sentry directed her towards a large door on the far end of the hangar, and she stumbled slightly as it shoved her through. The door snapped shut behind her, and she looked warily around the room she’d been placed in. No windows, no furniture or storage, just the door she’d come in through and another door on the opposite wall. Oh, and of course a security camera mounted up in the corner. A decontamination chamber? This must be some sort of research center, though why galran scientists would want an altean servant she couldn’t hope to guess.Or, well, she could but she rather hoped she was wrong. Giving the camera in the corner a level look, she walked into the middle of the room and held out her arms. Panels on the walls shifted, revealing sets of vents, and Romelle did her best not to gag as she was blasted with airborne decontaminants. Eventually the vents stopped blowing, the panels sliding back into place, and the door in front of her opened on its own. She couldn’t suppress a string of coughs as she walked out into a larger room, this one clearly a storage area.Surprisingly, there was no sentry waiting for her. Instead, a flesh and blood person waited, dressed in druid’s robes but devoid of their riphor-like mask. Their face was a vibrant pink, framed by two fluffy locks of starlight hair, and her eyes-“Romelle.” she stepped forwards, the pink of her skin fading to a soft brown everywhere but the two marks under her eyes. “I’ve missed you.”“Allura?” she gasped, and received a nod as Allura closed the distance between them in two quick steps and swept her up in a tight embrace. “I thought you were dead.” she breathed, arms coming up to hug Allura back just as tightly. “What happened? Why-”Allura pulled back, lifting one hand to press a finger to Romelle’s lips. “Not now.” her eyes darted from side to side, and her skin began to tint pink again, until her whole face matched the colour of her marks. “I’ll explain everything once we’re in private, I promise.” she released Romelle completely to take both her hands and squeeze them firmly. “It’s good to see you again.”Romelle smiled, and only barely remembered to school her face into a semblance of the meek compliance expected of her before Allura opened the door to the hallway. It looked much like every other ship and space station she’d been on in her life, purple walls and pink lighting and sharp angles everywhere. Ugly, but the institutional type of ugly that became background noise after a lifetime spent working and living in it. She kept her head down, eyes on the hem of Allura’s robe, the perfect picture of a broken spirit.They passed through a handful of doorways, and Romelle snuck glances at the doors’ operation panels as they passed through. Some of them looked pretty high-tech. It was strange enough that Allura was walking around in druid robes, but how did she have access to seemingly restricted areas? Moreover, how had she known it was Romelle coming? When more alteans were transferred to her previous job they’d usually gotten a bit of warning, but only ever numbers, not names. The galra didn’t care about their names, after all.“Allura.” a raspy voice sent chills down Romelle’s spine, and when she risked a glance up to see who was speaking that chill turned to ice in her veins.“Haggar.” Allura replied calmly, giving the High Priestess a shallow bow.“This is your assistant, I presume?” the edge of Haggar’s robe whispered against the floor, but her footsteps were silent. Romelle kept her gaze firmly on a seam by her feet, and willed her hands to stop shaking.“Her name is Romelle.” Allura said, her tone very nearly sharp.“Did I ask?” Haggar said dismissively, and Romelle froze as cool, weathered fingers gripped her chin and forced it up. Haggar was even more terrifying in person than the stories made her sound, her eyes a swirling gold and face thin and gaunt, red marks stretching down her cheeks and up around the edges of her eyes.“Ah.” Haggar smiled, all needle-sharp teeth as Romelle’s eyes widened, her gaze fixed on the red marks. “I see why you wanted this one, Allura. She’s too clever to be wasted on menial labour.” Haggar released her chin and turned, making a dismissive gesture with her hand. “You may clothe her how you wish.”“Thank you, Haggar.” Allura bowed again, and gestured for Romelle to follow as she turned and lead them back out into the hall.“That was Haggar.” Romelle squeaked a few turns later, and Allura nodded. “High Priestess Haggar.”“Yes. She’s...” Allura paused, then shook her head slightly. “It’s a long story.”“How long?” Romelle frowned.“Fifteen deca-phoebs in the making.”Romelle’s eyes widened. She remembered Allura being taken when they were young, but the thought that she’d been taken by Haggar... well, if nothing else it explained why she had access to such high-security areas. “What did she want with you?” she asked softly. “You were too small to be an assistant, when you were taken.”“She’s been training me.” Allura answered, and Romelle could only blink at the back of her head. “Apparently, I’ve a rare gift.” she looked over her shoulder, and gave Romelle a small smile. “It’s how I got her to let me pick an assistant.”“Assistant.” Romelle echoed dumbly, still trying to wrap her head around everything.“Come, my chambers are right down here.” Allura gestured her around a corner into a narrower hallway, more like the service and access corridors she was used to, and Romelle followed her into, well, it was probably a modest room by galran standards but after a lifetime of living crammed in with at least four people to a room two thirds this size it felt enormous.“This is all yours?” she asked, looking around. It was furnished simply, the desk and chair and bedframe all hard simple lines, but there was a preciseness that left them feeling elegant instead of industrial.“It did take some getting used to.” Allura chuckled softly, shrugging off her druid robe. Underneath, she wore a bodysuit not unlike Romelle’s own, the only notable difference being it seemed newer, and possibly sturdier. “That thing is so heavy.” she groaned, lacing her fingers together and stretching her arms over her head. “I think I’ve an old cloak you can use until we’ve the time to get you proper attire for an assistant.”“Why are you doing all this?” Romelle asked as Allura headed over to the closet door.“Doing what?” she asked, leaning into the closet to rummage around.“Having me brought here, giving me your clothes, offering me your room...” she trailed off awkwardly as Allura emerged with a cloak that Romelle could already tell would be far too short on her. Allura’s pink cheeks darkened, and she looked down at the cloak in her hands, a dull grey version of the one currently thrown across the end of her bed.“Because I remembered you.” she said softly, picking at the fabric of the hood. “When Haggar told me I could pick an assistant, I almost asked for Mother.” her voice dropped almost to inaudible, and Romelle stepped closer. “But then, I realised I barely remember her. All I know of her is that she loved me.”“She did.” Romelle agreed, stepping closer still and lifting a hand to rest over one of Allura’s, curled tight in worn grey fabric. “They both did.”Allura blinked, tearing her gaze from the cloak to meet Romelle’s eyes. “Did?”“You didn’t know?” Romelle’s eyes widened. Allura’s shoulders fell, her expression crumbling into naked grief. “I’m so sorry.” she lifted her other hand to clasp over Allura’s, holding tight. “It was fast, an airlock malfunction. They didn’t suffer.”“Oh.” tears welled in her eyes, and Romelle took the cloak from Allura’s trembling hands when it was fumbled at her. “I didn’t- I never- She told me they were safe.”‘She’ could only be Haggar, and Romelle found herself disliking the High Priestess in addition to fearing her. She tossed the too-small cloak to lay next to Allura’s full sized one, and guided her to sit on the edge of the bed.“How long ago?” Allura asked after a dobosh of choked breaths and murmured prayers to a god whose worship had been outlawed for thousands of deca-phoebs.“Deca-phoebs.”“Thank you.” Allura’s shoulders shook, and she exhaled heavily before raising her head, her face set like stone. “She has nothing to threaten me with now.”Romelle raised an eyebrow in a silent question, and Allura let out a shaky laugh. “It used to be, if Haggar discovered I’d been researching things she does not approve of, then she would throw me in the arena as punishment. Once I got too good to have penitence beaten into me, she started threatening my family.” Allura drew a shaky breath, her lips curling in a mockery of a smile. “Lotor has been missing for deca-phoebs now, and with my parents dead she has nobody left to hold over me.”“Lotor?” Romelle’s eyes went as wide as they’d go, and Allura giggled.“Yes.” she nodded, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear with a soft and genuine smile. “We shared a room, before his exile. He and the second prince were- are brothers to me. You would like him, I’m sure.” Allura’s smile brightened as she turned it on Romelle, and Romelle felt her cheeks turning blue with blush. Allura giggled again, and her fingers brushed along the edge of Romelle’s jaw.“You’re still so pretty when you blush.” she smiled, pulling her hand back to wipe at the faintly shining tear tracks on her cheeks.“You said you didn’t remember much of your mother.” Romelle said slowly, unable to tear her gaze from Allura’s eyes. “What did you remember of me?”“That you were fearless.” Allura’s hand landed lightly atop Romelle’s, where she’d rested them in her lap. “That when the other children were arguing over who’d get to kiss me you marched up and beat them all to it. That your last words to me were a promise.” her hand shifted, fingers winding between Romelle’s. “You said you’d find me someday, no matter where they were taking me.”“Looks like you’re the one who found me.” Romelle chuckled, squeezing Allura’s hand gently. Allura’s smile brightened her whole face, and it was like they were children again, young and innocent and as much head over heels in love as children could be. Perhaps, Romelle realised as Allura laughed daintily, covering her mouth with her free hand, she really was in love now.
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“So, what am I to do?” Romelle asked as Allura led her through the halls the next quintant, skin shifted the same blue as her marks at Allura's insistence.“Whatever assistants do, I suppose.” Allura shrugged. “Fetch things, take measurements, help me keep the lab tidy.”“You've your own lab?” Romelle's eyes widened. It had taken vargas to fully wrap her head around the fact that Haggar had taken an altean on as an apprentice so long ago, and every time Allura casually revealed another facet of her life it set Romelle's head spinning all over again.“Well, Haggar couldn't very well have me underfoot all the time.” Allura flashed her a quick grin, there and gone in a heartbeat. “I handle the research Zarkon demands of her that she considers unworthy of her time.”Romelle opened her mouth, but no words came out. Allura was handling research ordered by the Emperor directly, working in closer proximity to him than any altean since the traitorous Red Paladin of legend. And she'd been doing so for long enough that she didn't even use his title when she spoke of him. “Does he know?” she asked after a few doboshes of silence, unsure even as the question left her lips what she meant. Did the Emperor know that High Priestess Haggar was foisting her tasks off on another? Did he know that other was an altean? Did he somehow know that Allura had no fear of his wrath should he discover her impudence in not addressing him by title?“I'm sure not.” Allura shook her head. “Last time I asked Haggar to let me take credit for my own work I was in the arena for most of a phoeb.” she chuckled, a humourless sound, and brushed a stray lock of hair back up into her hood. “Don't concern yourself with such trivial things, Romelle. It's far more trouble than it's worth, especially here.”“I can imagine.” Romelle muttered, casting her eyes down as a masked druid apprentice swept by in the other direction, grey robes billowing about their feet. “What research are you working on right now?”Allura's eyes lit up, a sharp grin flashing across her face. “Hyper-refinement of quintessence. Zarkon wants it for stronger weapons, of course, but I believe there must be a way to refine it for more efficient healing capabilities.” her lips curled disdainfully around the Emperor's name, but the venom was gone from her voice as soon as she began to talk about its potential medical uses. Romelle nodded along as Allura took off on a tangent, and tried to remind herself that she was supposed to appear a broken-willed husk of an altean. Alteans with the soul ground out of them didn't stare longingly at their superiors, no matter how beautiful they were. Keeping her eyes down hardly helped though, Allura's cloak swished around her ankles with every step, confident in a way Romelle couldn't recall having been since she was young enough to not yet understand what it meant to be an altean in the Empire. Seeing her kithood crush with a stride like that, her chin up and eyes sharp and fingernails shifted ever so slightly to imitate claws... well, simply speaking, it was kinda hot.“Here we are.” Allura stopped in front of a nondescript door in the hall and pressed her hand to its operation panel. “The lab locks here are biometric.” she explained as the door slid open. “I'll have your data put in by the end of the quintant.”Romelle followed her into the lab, and couldn't help gasping as she took in the room. It was larger than she'd expected, the wall to the left taken up by shelves full of materials, the one to the right full of equations scrawled in what must be Allura's handwriting, and what she could see of the back wall seemed to house a long table holding all manner of machinery. The bulk of the space, however, was taken up by a contraption that looked for all the stars like a massive funnel with a catwalk around the upper rim. Ladders lead up to the catwalk at various points, the poles supporting thick bundles of cables wound around them all the way up to the underside of the solid floor, where they split to trace along the underside of the rind and supply power to devices Romelle couldn't see from the ground.“Impressive, isn't it?” Allura asked, flashing her a proud grin. “I designed it myself.”“You designed this?” Romelle asked dumbly, and Allura's smile widened as she turned to grab one of Romelle's hands.“Come, if you're to assist me you must know what I'm trying to do.”“Condense quintessence, right?”“Close. I'm trying to refine quintessence.” Allura's eyes shone as she dragged Romelle around the taped-out circle on the floor under the catwalk. “Compressing it doesn't work all too well, really. Second-crystalline quintessence wants to revert to liquid form when used as a power source, and we've yet to discover a way to take power from it while keeping it at the proper pressure to retain crystal form.”Romelle nodded, doing her best to absorb what Allura was saying. She was supposed to be an assistant, and Allura was right in saying that she should understand what she was helping with. So far, though, she only knew that it had to do with quintessence. Allura kept on talking as they crossed the room, about pressure levels and cost-return ratios and science so far over Romelle's head that for the first time she actually felt like the idiot every one of her previous overseers had assumed she was. After what felt like forever, Allura came to a stop in front of a collection of holographic models on the workbench that did in fact take up a whole side of the room. “And this was the proof of concept.” Allura said, picking up one of the little palm-sized projectors. “These are the blueprints for a currently standard processing room, and this is a rough blueprint of an enhanced one.” she flicked the hologram and it flipped to show a new picture, this one looking very much like the hulking funnel thing in the middle of the room. “If I can get this one to work, and scale it down to fit the current standard room size, we should be able to fit a standard energy cell into something the size of a thumb.” She lifted hers for a visual and Romelle cocked her head.“Wouldn't that make the cell itself unstable?” Romelle frowned, recalling when poor Lexian overcharged a fuel cell and it exploded. She'd not seen the older altean since, but Romelle was certain Lexian had either died or been horribly scarred by the accident.“One of the problems I'm trying to fix.” Allura sighed. “But, now you're here!”“I'm not testing them for you.” Romelle said quickly, and Allura laughed.“I wouldn't dream of asking you to.” she gave Romelle's hand a gentle squeeze, and with that action they both realized she'd not released Romelle's hand in the first place. Romelle felt her cheeks burn, cheeks tinting blue as Allura pulled her hand away and averted her eyes. Her pink-shifted cheeks darkened, though, and Romelle forcibly tamped down on the hope that Allura would want to pursue anything more intimate than simple friendship. They had been kits, knowing love only as it existed between parents and in bedtime stories, and a single passing comment on her appearance meant nothing. No amount of mental discipline could keep her heart from fluttering in her chest, though.“Anyways.” Allura cleared her throat, setting down the little projector. “As my assistant, I'll be bouncing ideas off of you from time to time. Haggar is many things, but a conversationalist is not one of them.” Allura shook her head as if despairing, and Romelle couldn't help but giggle.“Well, Mistre-”“Don't.” Allura said sharply, cutting her off mid-word. “Just, don't.” she let out a shaky sigh and ran a hand through her hair, knocking her hood off in the process. “You can call me Madam in public, but when it's just the two of us...” she looked over at Romelle, and the look in her eyes was like a punch in the gut. “Call me Allura, please.”“Of course, Allura.” she nodded once and stepped in close, far closer than would be considered respectful. A minute shift put her half a head shorter than Allura, and those beautiful pink-blue eyes stared down at her as she lifted a hand to caress her friend's cheek. “Anything you ask.”“You don't have to.” Allura breathed, leaning into Romelle's touch despite the rough calluses on her palms. Her skin was warm, soft, and Romelle couldn't resist swiping her thumb over the spot just under Allura's eye where her marking blended into pink-shifted skin. Allura shivered, eyes fluttering shut and shoulders relaxing slightly as Romelle repeated the motion.“I know.” she murmured, returning to her natural size so she stood nose to nose with Allura. Her friend she'd thought lost to the High Priestess, the girl who had grown up so beautiful Romelle could hardly believe it wasn't the work of a complex shift, living proof that their people were more than the caste they occupied in the Empire. Romelle leaned in, the side of her nose brushing against Allura's, and Allura gasped at the barest brush of Romelle's lips against hers. “I want to.”Allura jerked forward, arms coming up to catch Romelle around the waist and pull her whole body close, and Romelle let one hand rest on Allura's hip while the other came up to the nape of her neck to tangle in her beautiful wilver locks. It wasn't a particularly good kiss, just their closed lips pressed together, but when Romelle cracked an eye open what she could see of Allura's face was screwed up in concentration. Oh, right, Allura had been taken so young she might not have had a chance to kiss anyone.“Was that your first kiss?” Romelle asked when they pulled apart, and immediately wanted to kick herself.Allura giggled though, a musical sound that reminded Romelle of seeing stars from the surface of a planet, and shook her head. “You were there for my first kiss, remember?” she teased. “But, well, Haggar doesn't approve of relationships between druids.” she looked aside, and Romelle guided her face back until their eyes met again.“Hey, it's alright.” she gave Allura her best reassuring smile. “You teach me how to be a lab assistant, and I'll teach you this.” she trailed her hand down from Allura's neck, tracing the curves of her side through the heavy, formless robe. Allura shivered again, and Romelle swore her cheeks darkened slightly.“This being kissing, or...”“Let's stick with kissing for now.” Romelle forced a chuckle, suddenly grateful for the formless grey robe as her prong twitched in interest. Allura was incredibly attractive, after all. But if she'd never even kissed anyone in the deca-phoebs since Haggar took her, then she certainly hadn't done anything like what Romelle wanted so badly to do with her. The thought of being Allura's first and possibly only was a heady one, but she forced her mind out of the gutter and back to the present.“For now?” Allura grinned, and Romelle remembered belatedly how headstrong Allura had been in their youth. Her smile hadn't changed at all.“Let's take it slow, okay?” Romelle hedged, but she could practically see her words going in one ear and out the other. Well, she supposed there were far worse ways this reassignment could've gone than having an altean like Allura determined to get Romelle to teach her about the intimate part of intimate relationships.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Being Allura's assistant was surprisingly fun, moreso than any of Romelle's previous work assignments, even the time she'd been assigned to a hothouse growing all manner of melons. There she'd risen early and spent the day doing hard labour, but the other workers there had been good people and the overseers had been slow to anger, and there had always been plenty of flavourful food. Here she rose when Allura did, and if she happened to wake before then she was free to simply lay in bed until Allura woke. During working hours she helped with research, fetching materials and carrying equipment and occasionally going to retrieve things from other druids. In the evening, while Allura was writing up her reports for the day to send off to Haggar, she tidied up their room. And at night, she had the most caring, beautiful, brilliant altean she'd ever known climbing into her lap to demand Romelle teach her how to kiss.Allura, as it turned out, was an incredibly quick learner. Romelle was, well, impressed wasn't quite a strong enough word considering how Allura was using what she'd taught her. It was a little frustrating though, how quickly Allura picked up on kissing when Romelle was still struggling to learn enough science to even begin to understand what went on in Allura's lab. Allura's project files were all stored in a folder labelled Refinement with a date from a few phoebs ago, but what exactly refining was she had yet to figure out. They weren't compressing it, or filtering it, or adding energy to it, but Allura couldn't seem to explain it in a way that actually made sense. Whatever they were doing, though, Allura seemed to be making good progress. She seemed in high spirits after finishing her daily reports, at least, and Romelle certainly wasn't going to complain considering what Allura insisted on putting that energy towards. By the end of her first movement working with Allura, Haggar seemed like a distant threat. Or, not distant but... remote, like the threat of an airlock malfunctioning when you went through them every day. She shouldn't've been surprised when Haggar called Allura for an audience a movement after Romelle's arrival, the High Priestess was apparently Allura's teacher after all, but the fact that Allura seemed surprised by the summons as well made her feel slightly less stupid on that front.“Remember,” Allura said under her breath as Romelle followed her through the halls to meet with Haggar. “Haggar does not tolerate disrespect, and she views neither of us as her equal.”Romelle nodded, just enough of a motion for her hood to shift against itself. “Eyes down, speak when spoken to. I know the drill, Allura.” she smiled wryly. “It was my life until last movement.”Allura made a soft, pained noise and her right hand twitched back, as if she wanted to grab and hold Romelle's. But that wouldn't be appropriate, for a druid to be seen holding hands with an altean. “Haggar is dangerous, Romelle.” she hissed, her volume the same but tone now urgent. “If she senses any weakness she will use it against us. I've nobody left to lose, but she may think to target those you love instead. You must show her no weakness, Romelle.”“I won't.” Romelle promised, biting her tongue on the statement that Allura had nothing to fear. She'd not seen any of her family in deca-phoebs, and her 'friends' made during other jobs were more like friendly acquaintances. The only person Haggar could hurt her through was Allura, who seemed confident that Haggar wouldn't attack her own student directly. What weakness was there for her to show?Allura came to a halt at a set of larger than average doors, and pressed her palm to the seam where they met. Blue light glowed briefly around her palm, and Romelle's eyes widened as it raced out through the engravings on the doors to a set of symbols she couldn't read. The symbols flashed, and as the doors slid open she remembered to duck her head and let her shoulders slump. Playing the part of a meek, submissive, broken altean had always grated, but if it kept her and Allura safe then she would continue to do it for as long as she needed to.“Haggar.” Allura said, pressing a fist to her chest in salute. “You summoned me?”“I allowed you an assistant so your work would progress faster.” Haggar said, her voice still raspy and brittle but sharp now too, like broken glass or those little volcanic rocks that some species used for tools before being eradicated by the Empire.“The experiments can only run so fast, Haggar.” Allura said, her head inclined respectfully. “The process takes time-”“Which you are using to your own ends.” Haggar spat, and it took all Romelle's strength of will not to flinch back when the High Priestess was suddenly there in front of Allura, grabbing her chin to lift it up and force eye contact. “You think me a fool.”“Never, Haggar.” Allura's hands stayed at her sides, but her fingers curled in the fabric of her robe and Romelle would've bet anything she was hiding the way her nails had reflexively shifted into claws.“Then you think me blind, or illiterate.” Haggar jerked Allura's head to the side hard enough that Allura stumbled, one hand flying up instinctively to press against her jaw. “I have seen your signature in my files, Allura. Files that you have been told time and again not to access.”“And what will you do about it?” Allura straightened, eyes blazing with defiance, shoulders square as she shifted to stand even with Haggar.“You know what will be done to your parents.” Haggar sneered. “Unless you tell me what, exactly, you were doing in those files.”“You already know what I was doing.” Allura's chin lifted slightly, those full lips of hers curling up in a smirk like Romelle had never seen. Gods, but she was beautiful like this, determined and defiant and devastatingly confident. “And those threats won't work on me anymore.”“Oh?” Haggar's face was largely shadowed by her hood, but Romelle was pretty sure she raised an eyebrow. “And why is that, have you ceased to love your parents? The ones who brought you into this world, with all your talent and raw power?”“No.” Allura shook her head. “I loved them, and still do, but they're dead.” a pink-tinged shimmer appeared at the corner of her eyes, but Allura didn't raise a hand to wipe away the budding tears. “I looked it up, they died nearly a centi-phoeb ago.” she stepped forward, hands curling into fists at her sides. “My parents are dead, my brothers are missing; face it, Haggar.” her smirk widened into a grin that held no joy, only a vicious sort of satisfaction that made Romelle's stomach twist uneasily. “I've surpassed the arena, and I've nobody left to lose. You can threaten me all you like, but they're empty.”“Are you sure?” Haggar asked, lifting a hand not towards Allura but to point at Romelle. She had a bare half tick to realize it before black lightning shot from the High Priestess's fingers and everything devolved into pain. She'd come of age with the bruises of boots and whips and cudgels on her skin, she'd felt the burn of a shock-prod and the sharp pain of a cut, even the pain of twisted joints and broken bones was an old friend. This put all of them to shame. The black lightning shot through her body like liquid fire, like a hundred thousand cuts on and under her skin, like the biting cold of space through a poorly insulated suit. She couldn't see past the purple-edged black spots filling her vision, couldn't hear past the awful screech in her ears, couldn't move any of her limbs as they spasmed in agony. Her heart thundered against the inside of her ribs, her lungs burned for air but she couldn't breathe, the screech was interrupted by a broken sob, and what felt like boiling water came leaking from her eyes.The pain stopped as soon as it had begun, and Romelle immediately, instinctively rolled onto her side as her stomach did its best to turn inside out. Her throat burned anew as she retched, limbs trembling with aftershocks of agony, and only as the retches turned to painful dry heaves did she realize there was someone touching her, a gentle voice whispering in her ear. Allura. She groaned, and when she tried to sit up Allura's strong, gentle hand on her shoulder was joined by one on her other arm, supporting her. A more distant voice, dry and cold, made Romelle shiver. She couldn't make out the words, but the voice filled with with dread on an instinctive level. Haggar. High Priestess Haggar. Romelle shuddered and let Allura pull her close, struggling to pick out words as her vision and hearing slowly returned to her. They were arguing, Romelle could tell that much.“You're not that short-sighted.” Allura hissed, the first clear words Romelle could pick out. “You do that twice more and she'll die, and then how will you keep me in my place?” she spat the last words like poison, fingers flexing against Romelle's shoulders.“The arena should more than suffice.” Haggar's reply sounded distant, but the way Allura's arms slid around Romelle protectively at the statement was very much not. Romelle groaned as the pressure on her ribs made them ache, and Allura loosed her hold immediately, though she kept her arms around Romelle, holding her up againt her own body. “You can tell her what to expect once you're out of my lab.” even with her hearing all messed up, Romelle knew a dismissal when she heard it. Her body moved without conscious thought, automatically trying to stand and leave, but the echoes of hot-cold-broken-bleeding pain stabbed through her before she'd moved any significant distance at all.“Shh, don't try to stand.” Allura murmured in her ear, and Romelle tensed as she was lifted off the ground. She was heavier than she looked, moreso than other alteans, and yet Allura carried her as if she were a kit. She did her best to bite back whimpers as Allura's hurried gait jostled her, but wasn't sure how successful she was. The world kept fading in and out, an ebb and flow of light and sound and pain, and every time she came close to slipping under, every time that blissfully dark quiet comfort tried to envelop her, the arms around the backs of her shoulders and knees tightened and claws pricked her skin, dragging her back up to awareness.Eventually she was laid down, head and body supported by something soft, and she couldn't hold back a whimper as a hand pressed down on her chest. “Shh, Romelle.” Allura murmured, other hand smoothing through her hair. “I'm going to make it better.” the hand on her chest began to grow cool, and Romelle gasped as she felt a similar soothing chill rise up from within her own body. Allura swept her hand down from Romelle's chest all the way to her pelvis, dragging the cool relief with, and after several frim strokes down and back up the middle of her torso the chill seemed to radiate through her whole body. Allura lifted her cool hand to press to Romelle's head along with the other, and as Allura's palms settled on her cheeks, fingers splayed over her temple and above her ears, Romelle let out a soft sigh of relief. The chill sank into her head, radiating from Allura's skin down through her skull, and when Romelle's eyes fluttered open she found Allura leaning over her with a look of utter concentration on her face.“Hey.” she mumbled, and Allura jerked upright, those blissfully cool hands leaving Romelle's skin. She shivered at the loss of contact then grimaced as she registered the taste of bile in her mouth. “Water?”“Right here.” Allura grabbed a cup and helped her sit to drink it. By the time the vomit taste was gone and her throat no longer felt like sandpaper, Romelle was able to sit up on her own. She stayed close to Allura though, leaning against her and soaking up the gentle warmth of her body. They sat like that in silence for a while, and Romelle only realised she'd been about to drift off to sleep when Allura cleared her throat and dragged her back to wakefulness.“I'm so sorry.” she said softly.“It's okay.” Romelle smiled, nuzzling into the crook of Allura's neck and inhaling the scent of her almost-floral shampoo.“Romelle.” Allura's voice was tense as she shifted to put her hands on Romelle's shoulders and push her away, eyes locking on Romelle's. “It's not okay. I put you in danger today, you could have died.”“It's not like it's your fault.” Romelle frowned. “Haggar-”“Only ordered my presence, not yours.” Allura said, her voice low and serious. “Romelle, do you even know what she did?”Romelle shook her head slowly. It had hurt, and it had been magic, but she'd not thought on it any further.“That attack, it targets the victim's quintessence. Including what's stored in their core.” her fingers flexed against Romelle's shoulders, like she wanted to squeeze but was afraid of grabbing too hard. “Romelle, I've seen her kill people with that. If she hits you with it again-”Romelle raised a hand to lay one finger over Allura's lips, silencing her mid-sentence. “She won't.” she promised. “I'll not give her reason to.”“Please.” Allura pulled Romelle in close, pressing their foreheads together and letting her eyes slip closed. “Please, Romelle, don't make me lose you too.”“I won't.” she swore, and meant it with every cell in her body.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Not giving Haggar a reason to attack her was frustratingly difficult. Every time Allura snarled at her monitor in frustration, or paced the edges of her lab muttering angrily to herself while a test ran, or simply sat listless on the edge of her bed in the evening instead of working late on her reports, Romelle remembered that it was Haggar who had made her so frustrated and miserable. Kisses and gentle touches worked to calm her down, to an extent, but there was only so much she could do. It certainly didn't help that Haggar was now calling Allura for in-person meetings every few quintants, or that Romelle was no longer allowed to attend those meetings lest Haggar decide to use her as leverage again. Waiting in their room was something like torture, and the fact that Allura never seemed to come back entirely unharmed only made it worse. It was never much, a bruise across her cheek or shallow scratches on the underside of her jaw, but it made Romelle's blood boil all the same. The night Allura came back with claw marks across her cheek and a wet streak of pink in her hair though, Romelle finally snapped.“You can't let her keep treating you like this!” she insisted as Allura fell onto the edge of the bed, none of her usual grace in any of her movements.“Romelle, please.” Allura sighed, head hanging forward. “It will pass, it always does.”“Allura, listen to yourself. It always does?” Romelle sat on the bed next to Allura and took those deft hands in her own. “You must-”“What would you have me do, Romelle?” Allura looked up at her, and Romelle's chest tightened at the look in her eyes. Not familiar defiance or frustration or even anger, but an emptiness that every altean knew all too well.“You must endure.” she said, her voice coming soft. “You must not let her break you, Allura.” she gave Allura's hands a gentle squeeze. “I don't want to lose you to this, not so soon after we've been reunited.”“She has not broken me yet.” Allura's mouth pulled up on one side in a small smirk, a spark of defiance shining in her eyes, and Romelle leaned in to press a gentle kiss to those beautiful lips of hers.“And I will pray to every god, even the forbidden ones, that it remains that way.” she murmured as she pulled away. “Now, hold still while I get some healing gel for your head.”“It looks worse than it is.” Allura insisted, but Romelle kept on heading over to the tiny en-suite bathroom. The little gel cubes were right behind the mirror, glowing a soft gold, and she picked up two. Allura rolled her eyes, but sat still as Romelle smushed the first against her forehead and smeared it up into the wet, bloody bit of scalp where her hair had been torn out. It wasn't big, perhaps the size of Romelle's thumbnail, but it looked painful. The other gel she smeared carefully down along the scratches on Allura's face, watching as the glow intensified over the injuries, the quintessence reacting with Allura's own to encourage healing. It flared especially bright where one claw mark ran through Allura's eye marking, and Allura shivered as Romelle ran the remnants of the cube over that spot a second time.
“Romelle...” Allura breathed, and Romelle leaned in to kiss her as she smeared the last of the gel back over her eye marking. Allura returned the kiss eagerly, almost desperately, hands moving to grip Romelle by the hips. Romelle cooperated when gentle tugs urged her towards Allura's lap, twisting to straddle her and wrapping her arms around Allura. One snaked around the small of her back, and the other came up between her shoulder blades, fingers weaving into the hair at the nape of her neck. Allura pressed into her embrace, her hands on Romelle's hips holding her close as Allura ground up against her. Romelle let out a sound that was half moan half whimper as Allura's prong rubbed against her own, unmistakable even through their bodysuits and robes. “Romelle, please...” Allura trailed off into panting breaths as her hips rocked up against Romelle's more deliberately, the firm line of her prong grinding into the apex of Romelle's thighs.“Yes.” Romelle breathed, and leaned back to pull off the robes that marked her as a druid's assistant. It took a dobosh to wrestle the heavy fabric up over her head and cast it down to the floor, and when she dropped the garment her eyes found Allura's. There was a hunger in her gaze, in the grip of her hands on Romelle's hips, in the way she surged forward to kiss Romelle fiercely, open-mouthed and demanding. Romelle gave freely, only shifting to make space between them when the press of their bodies stopped her from divesting Allura of her own apprentice robe, and they broke apart to breathe when Romelle threw Allura's robe on the floor with her own. Their bodysuits were technically full coverage, and Allura's was even thick enough around sensitive areas to be worn on its own, but after movements of wearing a robe over the top of hers Romelle felt nearly naked. Her bodysuit was thin, and did nothing to hide how her prong strained against the fabric, nor how her slit below was wet and ready. Just this once, she didn't even care.“Drop your shift for me.” she murmured, letting her own blue-shifted skin return to its natural sunless pale shade. Allura tensed below her, and Romelle pulled back as Allura turned her head away.“I'm not sure I can.” she mumbled, and Romelle's eyebrows rose on her forehead.“You don't remember how to un-shift? You did it just fine when I arrived.”“Yes. I mean, no.” Allura grimaced, fingers kneading distractedly at Romelle's hips. “I can un-shift, but I do not know if I can remain unshifted. I've been holding this appearance for almost two centiphoebs now.”“At least let me see your markings.” Romelle said softly, running her fingers down Allura's back and pressing gently where most alteans bore their sensitive marks. Allura shivered, hips twitching up as Romelle stimulated the ones very few alteans could comfortably reach on their own, and when Romelle sat back on Allura's thighs Allura started unzipping her bodysuit. Romelle did the same, and a dobosh later their suits joined their robes on the floor. Romelle guided Allura to lie down on the bed properly, head on the pillow and everything, and took a moment to admire the pattern of mourning-pink marks against her beautiful brown skin. Where her own marks were thick in the middle and convex at the ends, Allura's dipped in a graceful wide V and curled up at the ends nearly into spirals. “Beautiful.” she murmured, running her fingers gently over the mark that dipped into the hollow of Allura's collarbones and curled up over her shoulders just around her neck. Allura shivered under her, eyes roving over Romelle's own display of marks.“You say that like yours aren't.” Allura lifted a hand to trace the band of blue that ran across the bottom of Romelle's ribcage. Romelle couldn't help laughing, and Allura frowned up at her. “They are!”“I know, I know.” she leaned down to kiss Allura, just a quick peck before she sat back up, moving her hands to the deep Vs on Allura's biceps. “But yours are prettier, so elegant.” she traced the little almost-whorl on the front of Allura's bicep and delighted in the breathless gasp it elicited. “So beautiful.” she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to each of Allura's eye marks. Allura moaned, hips bucking up against Romelle's, and Romelle chuckled against her cheek. “Beautiful and needy, huh?”“Says the altean who worked me up in the first place.” Allura fired back, sliding her hands down slightly to squeeze Romelle's thighs right where her marks were. Romelle gasped, slit throbbing as her hips jerked forwards against Allura's.“That's not fair.” she moaned as Allura kept kneading at her marks, sending liquid lust boiling through her veins.“I suppose you'll have to show me what is fair, then.” Allura grinned, and there it was, that fire Romelle loved so much.“I guess I will.” she conceded, legs shaking as she rose up on her knees. Allura's touch on her thigh markings had gentled, but she'd yet to stop massaging the sensitive stripes of blue. Romelle reached down between her legs and grasped Allura's prong with her hand, running a thumb over the narrow tip. Allura gasped, arching up, and Romelle sank down onto her with a moan. Allura's prong wasn't especially wide, but it was good and long, the tip pressing right up against the top of Romelle's channel. She ground her hips against Allura's, and Allura moaned as Romelle gasped for air. “Oh, quiznack.” she gasped, rocking her hips against Allura's again and setting off another burst of intense sensation. “Allura you feel so good.”“Romelle.” Allura said her name like a plea, like a prayer, and Romelle moaned softly as she braced her hands on Allura's hips.“Ready for more?” she asked breathlessly, and Allura's eyes widened.“How- more?!”“Oh come now, Allura.” Romelle managed a smile and a breathy laugh that only turned into a moan at the very end. “Surely you've watched...” Allura's blank stare indicated that she had not, in fact, watched any porn. Understandable to an extent, considering how vile the ones featuring alteans tended to be. “Or, at least read...?” more blank staring. “You're almost twenty one deca-phoebs old and you've never read or watched porn?”Allura flushed and looked aside. “Not in the last centiphoeb.” she admitted. “Haggar doesn't approve.”Romelle felt anger flaring at the implication that Allura had been punished for natural adolescent curiosity, and forcibly tamped it down. “Well then.” she managed a smile, and it may not have been quite happy but it didn't have to be. “I get to teach you all the tricks.” she lifted herself up, almost to the point where Allura would slip out of her, then lowered herself back down. Allura threw her head back with a loud moan, which trailed off into broken gasps as Romelle picked up the pace. It wasn't long before Allura's marks vanished, pink seeming to bleed out from them until it covered her whole body, but that was alright. She knew where Allura's marks were now, what they looked like, and for now that was enough. Plus, Allura's grip had grown harder when she resumed her usual shift and now Romelle's legs were shaking so badly she could barely support herself, the pressure on her thigh marks was so intense. With climax rushing to overtake her, Romelle moved a hand from the front of Allura's hips to grasp her own prong and stroke it firmly.“Allura, I'm gonna-” Allura's nails bit into her skin as her grip tightened further, and Romelle let out a wordless cry as the sensation shocked through her whole body. Her knees gave out, and the starburst of sensation that was the tip of Allura's prong striking her inner barrier sent her over the edge. A rush of heat within her marked Allura's climax a bare tick later, and Romelle ground hard against Allura's hips until her prong began to wilt. Her limbs trembled as she eased Allura's hands off her oversensitive thigh marks and lifted herself off of Allura's softening prong, and she fell onto her side next to Allura with a quiet groan.“That was-” Allura laughed, breathy and delighted as she turned to face Romelle, sliding an arm around her waist. “Is it always like that?”“No.” Romelle shook her head, scooting closer to cuddle up against Allura properly. “There are so many different ways to have sex, even without bringing shifting into play.”“I want you to show me all of them.” Allura said, and it was Romelle's turn to laugh.“Alright.” she agreed, pressing a chaste kiss to Allura's lips. “I'll teach you everything I know.”“I look forward to it.” Allura smiled.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Movements wore on into phoebs, and Romelle's hatred of Haggar only grew. Intimacy of any level raised Allura's mood, but it never lasted once reality came crashing back in, the threat hanging over both their heads that, should Allura misstep, Romelle would pay the price. Possibly with her life, if Haggar's magic lasted for too long and burnt away at her quintessence core too much. Allura seemed very concerned by the possibility, so Romelle didn't try to argue her way into those meetings. Instead, she did what she could to help. Got the room cleaned up, the data entered in the night's report, healing gels ready in case Allura needed them. All those and intimacy were mere plasters on the wound, though. As long as Haggar felt she was secure in threatening Allura into compliance, she would continue to do so. So when she had everything cleaned up and ready, and Haggar's attention was on Allura, Romelle taught herself how to use a datapad to access the station's intranet. She kept an eye out when Allura sent her running errands to other druids, and was rewarded with a careless one who kept their log-in information taped to their monitor. And, so armed, she went digging in Haggar's files. The old ones, dated far earlier than her own birth, some as far back as the days of Voltron.In the end, it wasn't even those records that provided her with the information she was looking for. It was a newer file folder, buried amongst the old, and its incongruous location drew her eye. Allura would be back soon, she should put the datapad away and get ready to greet and soothe her, but the sub-folders revealed when she opened the odd one made her breath catch in her throat. There were four, and three were labelled with a single name, one each for Zarkon and the two princes. The fourth, however, had two. Haggar, and Honerva. Romelle recognised the name, though she'd not known it until recently. Honerva had been Zarkon's wife, before the Red Paladin's betrayal. She'd made great strides in the field of quintessence research, laid the groundwork for the Empire as it stood today. By all accounts, she had been altean. Romelle tapped into the folder, and scanned over the documents within. Even just from the labels... The door slid open, and she looked up with a smile, ready to tell Allura that she'd found it, the information which would shield them both from Haggar's interference.Allura was not alone at the door.“See?” Haggar hissed, gripping Allura tightly by the nape of the neck. “Your precious assistant cannot be trusted, no more than any other altean.”“No more than you.” Romelle snapped back, datapad clutched in one hand as she shot to her feet.“Romelle, don't-”“I know what you are.” Romelle said, squaring her shoulders and drawing herself up to her full height. “I know who you were, Honerva.”Allura's eyes went wide, her mouth silently forming the shape of the name Romelle had told her a few movements ago. The altean deliberately lost within the Empire's history, whose death had marked the end of an era of peace and the beginning of their people's enslavement. The altean who had ruled at Zarkon's side as an equal, and stood before them now with a new name and a shift held so long it had passed out of mind that she was not, in fact, some strange galran subspecies.“You think that will protect you?” Haggar sneered, golden eyes flashing in the shadow of her hood.“I think, Zarkon would rather commit murder than have people remember he married an altean. I think, that if I make this file public to every single member of the army, the only way he could save face would be to kill you and claim you blinded him to the truth with your magic.” her lips curled up in a vicious smirk. “He might even thank me, for revealing a lowly altean had gotten so close-” the datapad in her hand exploded. Romelle shouted, flinging the wreckage away and clutching her hand to her chest. It didn't feel broken, but was certainly burnt. Haggar pointed at her, eyes shining with unmistakable rage.“Allura, do not look away.” she said, the words heavy with magic. “Witness what happens to foolish alteans who seek to disrupt the standing of their betters.”Romelle braced herself, and this time was aware enough to know when her legs gave out under her. She couldn't resist it though, couldn't stop her limbs from convulsing or her mouth from opening in a scream like something dying. Couldn't even shut her eyes, or stop them from rolling up in her head. The dark lightning arced through her, burning and freezing, cutting and bludgeoning, lighting up her every nerve with pure agony. Her lungs ached, her throat tight and full of screams, and distantly she heard Allura pleading. That was the last thing she heard for what seemed like a very long time.---When she came to, every fiber of Romelle's body hurt. There was a weight on one side of her ribs, and warmth wrapped around her hand on that same side, and something soft under her. She groaned softly as the pain in her limbs seemed to pulse in time with her heartbeat, and the weight on her chest vanished abruptly. “Romelle?” Allura's voice was hoarse, sounding almost as bad as Romelle's throat felt. She groaned again and Allura let out a breathless laugh of relief, hand tightening around Romelle's until it nearly hurt. “What ever happened to not giving Haggar reason to attack you?” she asked, and Romelle turned her head to the side before forcing her eyes open.“I had to do something.” she rasped, twisting her hand to grip Allura's right back. “She was making you miserable, Allura. She hurt you.”
“It would have passed.” Allura said, her voice soft and thick with tears. “In a phoeb, a deca-phoeb, it would have passed.”
“I couldn't just let you suffer.” Romelle gave Allura's hand a squeeze. “I thought, if we had dirt on her, we could make her back off.”
Allura laughed, but it wasn't the starlit sound Romelle loved so dearly. This laugh was ragged at the edges, hitched around a sob in the middle, devoid of love or joy. It hurt to hear, and hurt more to know she was the cause of it. “I wish we had more time together.” she murmured, and Romelle turned her head to give Allura a confused frown. “The shuttle arrives in a varga and a half, now. Haggar is sending you away, and sending me back to the arena.”
Romelle's heart leapt fearful in her chest, and she sat up so fast the room spun around her. “She's parting us?”
Allura nodded. “She said, you're going to a facility where druids complete their training. And for every fight I lose, you will undergo another step of processing.”
“What does that mean, processing?” Romelle asked, bringing her other hand over to grasp Allura's as well.
“I don't fully know.” Allura admitted. “But what little I could access said something about quintessence replacement.” a shudder ran down her whole body, and when Allura's eyes opened again they fixed on Romelle's with a desperation she'd never seen before. “Specifically, quintessence replacement in alteans to make them stronger, more galran.”
“But- you said quintessence is a person's soul.” Romelle said slowly, the realisation coming with a slow, creeping sort of horror. “They's going to remove my soul?!”
“And probably make me watch.” Allura said bitterly, gripping Romelle's hand tight again. “But, that only happens if I lose.” her eyes flashed with familiar defiance, hard as starstone and colder than the void of space. “I swear to you, Romelle, I will not lose. I will win my freedom, whatever it takes, and have you brought back to me.”
“And if I'm not the same, when I return?” Romelle's voice shook, and when Allura released her hand to pull her into a hug she realized the rest of her was shaking as well.
“Then I will learn to love whoever you have become.” she murmured, tucking Romelle's head against the crook of her neck. “As you will have to learn to live with the person I become in the arena.”
“I can't imagine you'll change too much.” Romelle chuckled weakly. “You said already that you can beat half the gladiators blindfolded.”
“There is more to the arena than combat, but thank you for the vote of confidence.” Allura smiled, and when Romelle drew back she scooted over slightly on the bed.
“You said we have three whole tocks left, right?” she patted the mattress next to her. “Can we cuddle?”
“More like two and a half now, but yes, of course.” Allura's eyes and smile shone with fondness, and Romelle laid down as she got up onto the bed and laid down next to Romelle, frustratingly on top of the blankets.
“Alluraaa.” Romelle whined, and tugged at the blankets separating them.
“You're being checked on every tock.” Allura brushed a stray lock of hair away from Romelle's face, eyes soft and kind.
“And you're embarrassed to be seen cuddling with me?” Romelle pouted.
“And I know neither of us can keep our hands to ourselves.” Allura corrected. Romelle felt the blood in her cheeks warm. She'd only been thinking about it a little bit, getting her hands on Allura one last time, but she'd certainly been thinking about it.
“Well, we do have a varga left after the next check.” she smiled cheekily, and Allura swatted at her shoulder. “C'mon, Allura.” she coaxed, working her arms out from under the blanket to trace them down over Allura's hips, increasing pressure over the marks on her thighs to draw out a shiver. “Your hands, my mouth.” she slid her fingers over Allura's mark more deliberately this time, and Allura pressed closer.
“We shouldn't.” Allura gasped as Romelle bent to nip at her shoulder where collarbone mark came up over it.
“Is that a no?” Romelle murmured, and Allura shook her head.
“Just, not now. After the check.”
“Alright.” Romelle settled into the mattress and looped her arms around Allura, burying her face in the shoulder of her robe. One varga left, and then they'd be separated for gods knew how long. Not forever, Allura was too strong for them to be parted forever by this, but long enough that Romelle wanted to make the most of the time they had left. “Love you.” she murmured into Allura's shoulder.
“Love you too.”