Chapter 29 Life Goes On

A few days had passed since Nanny's funeral. It was early in the afternoon. Allura decided to show Lotor the castle stables. She was slowly coming back to her usual self much to her friend's relief. The two arrived at the stable where the horses were eating their hay and feed for the day. A silver dappled mare whinnied happily when she saw Allura approaching her. The princess smiled and walked up to the mare. She patted her head kindly.

"This is Izabelle." Allura said.

"I've seen that horse before. You were riding her when we talked back in the cave. Is she yours?" Lotor asked.

"Yes. Technically all the horses here are mine, but Izabelle is the one I ride the most. These horses are decendents from those brought from Earth a long time ago when people began to explore space. At least that's what I've been told." Allura answered.

"She's beautiful. They all are. What about the red one there?" Lotor asked pointing to a reddish horse several stalls down from the other horses.

"That's Flame. I haven't been allowed to ride him. He's one of the few breeding stallions we have here. Nanny was always afraid he'd hurt me. He's never acted agressive toward me at all. But he has to be kept seperate from the mares or they'd be roaming pregnant all the time. It's not something he can help. It's just how nature programmed him to perpetuate the species." Allura explained.

"We only keep a few males intact. The rest of them are gelded." She continued.

"Gelded?" Lotor asked.

"They're rendered sterile and unable to produce offspring. It also tends to make them more docile and easy to handle. They're not as territorial as stallions are." Allura answered.

"Is that why Flame is so hard to handle...because he's a stallion?" The prince inquired.

"Yes. Though he's never one tried to hurt me, Coran and the others don't like risking me riding him. Only very experienced riders have been allowed to ride him, and he doesn't seem to respond very well to them. He's only been ridden by men, and he doesn't seem to like men very much. He's not a bad horse. I just wish the others wouldn't think he was." Allura said with a sigh.

"Perhaps he needs a woman to work with him. Then he wouldn't feel so hostile." Lotor suggested.

"I'd love to be able to work with him, but that's out of the question right now. Coran's afraid he may hurt me, even if it's not intentional." Allura replied.

"It's a valid concern Allura. It is possible he could become frightened, and in an attempt to escape he might hurt you." Lotor said.

"I know. The men who have tried to work with him get very frustrated and either get too stern with him or they give up all together. He'd be a very good horse if only he was given a patient trainer." Allura sighed.

She looked at Izabelle and gently patted the mare's nose. "Izabelle is the safest horse for me to ride. I love her, but sometimes she's just too docile for me. I'd love to be able to ride Flame at a full gallop and feel the wind blowing across my face. I've often dreamed of being able to do that."

"Maybe after all this is over with, there will be time to work with him." Lotor said.

"I don't suppose you've ever ridden a horse before have you?" Allura asked.

"Um...no. I really don't know that much about these animals. To be perfectly honest, I never had a chance to really know about any such things growing up under my uncle." Lotor answered.

"Would you like to learn? I could teach you." Allura said.

"Allura...I don't know that's a good idea. I was raised to be a warrior and conquoror, not a horseman." Lotor replied feeling a bit sheepish.

"It'll be all right. There are horses here who are made for beginning riders. I learned to ride on Izabelle, although I think she might be a little too short for you. We'll have to find you a larger horse." Allura responded.

In the back of his mind he was pretty sure he would regret doing this, but it was a way to bond with Allura. He would have been foolish to refuse such a chance. "Well, I can at least give it a shot." Lotor said with a nervous swallow.

"Devin!" Allura called.

A young man with shoulder length brown hair hurried past the stalls toward the princess. "Yes highness."

"Could you get Zepher ready? I'm going to teach prince Lotor how to ride." Allura said.

"Yes your highness." Devin answered and hurried back off.

"Don't worry. Zepher is a calm horse. He's had children on his back. And I'll be there with you so you'll be safe." Allura chimed happily.

"It's good to see you smile again." Lotor said trying to take his mind of his anxiety.

"I didn't think I'd feel like smiling again so soon. But Nanny wouldn't want me to be sad. I have so many who depend upon me, and I have more than enough support to get through this. I remember Nanny telling me after my parents died, that while I needed to grieve, I also needed to realize life must go on for the living." Allura replied.

"That it must." Lotor said.

Both heard loud clip clop sounds coming toward them. They looked and saw Devin leading what had to be one of the largest horses Lotor had ever seen. His eyes widened at the sheer size of the beast. The horse was all black with a magnificent flowing mane and tail. Its muscles were well defined under its sleek raven black coat. The legs were thick and strong with heavy feathering above the hooves. Metal shoes were nailed the bottoms of its hooves so as the protect the bottoms of them. It was truly a majestic creature.

"Lotor, this is Zepher. He's one of our best and strongest mounts." Allura said as she stepped toward the gelding. She took hold of the reins and patted the beasts neck kindly.

"Thank you Devin. I'll take it from here." She continued. Devin bowed politely and went back to his chores.

"Well, he's certainly large enough." Lotor said still staring in amazement.

"It's all right. Come and give him a pat. He won't hurt you." Allura urged.

"That remains to be seen." Lotor thought nervously.

"Approach him from the side so he can see you. He can see you best approaching from the side." Allura instructed.

Cautiously Lotor approached the monstrous horse and held out his hand. Allura told him to stretch his palm out flat and let Zepher smell him. Zepher's nostrils flared as he started inhaling the scent of the prince's hand. After a moment of sniffing him, the horse licked the palm of his hand.

"That's a good sign that he likes you." Allura said.

"He seems friendly enough." Lotor replied.

"Don't let his size fool you. He's very friendly. I've ridden him myself several times. He's probably one of the largest horses we have in the stable." Allura responded.

"Well, I don't think size will be much of a problem where he's concerned." Lotor said.

"I remember one of the stableboys telling me that in Earth's ancient days, these horses were used as war mounts. Because of their size and strength, they could carry men who wore heavy armor. They could take a great amount of weight on their backs and still run very fast. On Earth they were called Friesians." Allura informed.

"You must know a great deal about these animals." Lotor commented.

"I had a chance to read a lot about them from old Earth books that had been brought to Arus before I was born. I love horses. I come to the stables whenever I have a chance so I can be around them. Well, let's go. You can't learn anything about riding just standing around here." Allura said urging Zepher to walk foward. Lotor quickly moved out of the way and walked beside Allura. Part of him was still a little hesitant about what Allura had talked him into, but he trusted her. If she said she knew what she was talking about, he didn't doubt her on that.

They walked until they were a fair distance away from the stable. Allura brought Zepher to a halt and patted his neck. She got in front of the gelding and instructed Lotor to stand to the side of him. "All right, getting on is pretty simple once you get used to it. You just place your left foot in the stirrup and boost yourself up and swing your leg over." She said.

"Oh, and be sure to grip the saddle horn. That will help give you leverage when you boost yourself up."

"All right." Lotor said grabbing the saddle to steady himself. He got his foot in the stirrup, and with a grunt pushed himself up and onto the saddle. Allura continued to hold onto the reins so that Zepher didn't go anywhere. He stood calmly while his new rider got comfortable in the saddle.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be." Lotor said.

"Zepher's a good boy. He's never given me any trouble getting on him. Though I have to use a mounting aid to get on him. He's much too big for me to get on from the ground." Allura replied.

She took the reins and slipped them over Zepher's head giving them to Lotor. "Now, take the reins in your hands and just relax. I'll lead you around until you feel comfortable enough to control him on your own."

For several minutes Allura led Zepher while Lotor learned to maintain his balance. It felt strange for several moments being on this huge animal and looking down at the ground. The ground beneath him seemed to move while he sat still in the saddle. Occassionally he would feel himself lean from side to side. He tightened his legs around Zepher's girth to keep himself in place. He had to admit for a few moments he felt a bit nervous. He didn't know if it was fear of falling off and hurting himself, or falling off and looking totally foolish in front of Allura.

"How are you doing up there?" Allura asked.

"I'm managing." Lotor answered trying to look his most confident.

"Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it with practice. Once you do we can go for rides together." Allura said.

Back in the castle Coran and Danzar sat in the command center discussing plans for the alliance between Arus and Namoria. Coran was hesitant to approach the subject of marriage, and Danzar understood that. While the relationship between Lotor and Allura was going well, Coran was still cautious about rushing things. While he himself felt more secure about the relationship between the two, he knew full well the people of Arus would most likely not be as understanding. It would be enough of a shock to know that their princess was marrying the man who had many times tried to capture and enslave them. To accept that he'd changed would take some time, and quite a lot of it if Coran surmised correctly. But the people would learn to accept the relationship. They'd have to. Things had gone too far to turn back now.

"The people of Namoria are not a war like race for the most part. They are very much like the people of Arus. They seek only a peaceful existance. We have weapons, but nothing like those of the Druel Empire. Where the technology is concerned, they certainly have the upper hand on us there. Even with Voltron as our defense, I fear that even he will not be enough. We will need both the people of Namoria and Arus to fight together if we are to have even the slightest hope of fighting Zarkon." Danzar said.

"I agree. The people of Arus are mostly farmers. They've more knowledge of harvesting crops than they do of fighting soldiers. They will need much training, and we've little time to do it in. For now Zarkon has yet to make a move, but I know that this inactivity will not last long. At any time he could unleash this monster you speak of against us. And while I feel Voltron can make a strong defense against it, I do not know that he could hold against the armada that you have heard about. You say Zarkon is gathering all the territories of the empire together. If this is indeed his plan, then I do not know how long we will hold out." Coran replied.

"We should begin things here on Arus. Perhaps bring the strongest from Namoria to Arus as well and begin training as soon as possible. Genar is trained in several forms of combat, as I'm sure Lotor and Kaladan are as well. Avian, while his skills are not quite as refined, he still has knowledge he can share about vessles and survival combat. Many will need to know how to fly fighter vessles as well as handle swords and other weapons. And all will need to be quick learners. We've no time for them to learn perfectly. They'll have to do the best they can." Danzar added.

"Yes. Keith and his team can also help train the recruits. We'll need weapons too. We've several blacksmiths on Arus who can forge swords and axes. We'll need blasters as well. I'm not sure how many we can procure, but I'll do what I can." Coran replied.

"We've blacksmiths as well, and we have some advanced weapons. I'll have all we can spare sent here to Arus. We should begin this as soon as possible." Danzar said.

"Yes. The more time we can devote to preparation, the better. At least then we have some hope of making a stand against the empire." Coran finished.

In the castle gym, several members of the Voltron force along with Kaladan, Avian and Genar were working out. They all sought to keep their daily routines as close to normal as possible. Keith and Hunk watched in amazement at some of the feets Genar was able to perform.

"I've seen guys do one handed push ups, but I've never in my life seen a guy do push ups while he's doing a hand stand. I knew Druels were strong, but damn." Hunk commented.

"It takes a great deal of physical strength and mental discipline to do that. I'm druel and even I am not capable of that kind of excersize." Kaladan replied as he himself was quite astonished at the feat.

"Genar's been doing stuff like that pretty much his whole life. And while he can hear us, he's completely focused on what he's doing." Avian added.

"What else is he capable of doing?" Keith asked.

"I've seen him balance himself on one hand and hold a sword in the other. He's got a combination work out and meditation room. He actually balances himself on poles the width of his hand ten feet in the air while holding a sword. He has all this incense and trickling water and stuff. Says it keeps him focused during his work out and helps him relax." Avian answered.

"I meditate quite a bit when I'm stressed. Maybe he can teach me a few things." Hunk said.

"What do you do to relax, Avian?" Lance asked.

"I mess with my ship. I'm constantly finding ways to improve the technology and upgrade the weapons system. Unfortunately she's running out of room for improvements. I can only go so far with an old doom cruiser. I started working on her years ago, and she went from a broken down piece of shit to what I affectionately refer to as Celestial Grace. She's my baby. Lucky none of those doomites did serious damage to her when we got here. There would have been heads rolling for sure if she got seriously scratched up." Avian said.

"You do anything else?" Hunk asked.

"Yah...women." Avian said with a mischevious smirk.

"Heh, that sounds familiar. Something you and Lotor share in common. It was well known he had quite a harem of women on Doom before he changed." Lance said with a chuckle.

"Eh, harems are overrated. I don't like the idea of having a bunch of females packed in a small space. Gets dangerous you know." Avian replied.

"Are you kidding me? You wouldn't want to be surrounded by beautiful women all the time?" Keith asked puzzled.

"Hell no. Trust me, it ain't the fantasy you've been led to believe it is. Yah, sure I've had a few threesomes in my day. Nothing wrong with that, but you keep females around you constantly, and it'll drive you insane. One thing I don't need is having to deal with thirty or so women getting their monthly visitors... all at once. You have no idea how dangerous it can get when you have so many women syncing their cycles together. Instead of a bunch of women, you got thirty psychotic females out to kick your ass. I've seen what happens to guys who don't know how to handle it. And believe you me, it ain't pretty. No thank you. I prefer to just let em run wild. Makes it a hell of a lot safer." Avian answered.

"But you are technically an heir to the Namorial throne. What if something happened and you were required to produce an heir." Hunk questioned.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, and hopefully I'll never get to it." Avian said with a shrug.

"So you don't ever intend to get married?" Lance asked.

"No. I don't want to be tied down to one woman, and I don't want one woman tied down to me. I happen to like being a bachelor, and I intend to do it as long as possible. Hell, I'll be single til I die if I can possibly help it. I'm a wild stallion, and ain't no woman gonna tame me." Avian boasted proudly.

"Never say never Avian." Genar said as he ended his work out and got back on his feet.

"Look Gen, you do what makes you happy, and I'll do what makes me happy. You've got Nomey, and I'm happy for ya. I, however; do not intend to be tied down to one woman. I'm not about to be domesticated." Avian replied.

"I don't control Nomey, and she doesn't control me. We don't try to overrule one another. We coexist with each other as any mated pair should." Genar stated.

"Whatever." Avian said with an indifferent shrug.

That evening everyone met for dinner. Allura and Lotor were the last to arrive. Everyone noticed the prince was walking rather gingerly and somewhat bent over as he walked with a pained expression on his face. Confused glances were exchanged until Allura began to speak.

"He's not used to riding yet." She said with a quick but to the point explanation.

"First time riding eh?" Avian asked with a chuckle.

"Is it that obvious?" Lotor said with a pained groan as he sat down.

"Little advice for the next time you ride." Avian said.

"And what would that be?" Lotor asked trying to get himself comfortable.

"Pad the crown jewels." Avian replied.

"I'll be sure to remember that...if I ever ride again." Lotor said.

"Don't be silly. You rode Zepher very well. You just need to get used to it that's all." Allura chided gently.

"You put him on Zepher?" Lance asked.

"Well, he was too big to ride Izabelle." Allura answered.

"No wonder he's sore. Zepher's huge." Keith said.

"Even Hunk couldn't ride Zepher without being sore for at least a day." Pidge commented.

"Ahem, if I may," Coran interjected.

"Yes Coran." Allura said politely.

"King Danzar and I have been discussing the alliance between Arus and Namoria. We both agree it would be the best for both our planets to join forces. I am in the hopes that alligning forces will perhaps encourage other worlds who have been oppressed by the empire to join us as well. But everyone here must understand that this alliance will not come easily. The people of Arus will most certainly not be too enthusiastic about fighting along side Druels. As I am sure you are aware of the history between our people and the druels of the empire." Coran explained.

"I know this alliance will be difficult to accept for your people at first. I understand the destruction and despair our kind have brought to your people. And my brother Zarkon has been the most taxing of all upon the people of Arus. But I feel that it is best for both our races to band together to fight those who would bring us all to our knees. As the people of Arus have suffered at my brother's hands, so have the people of Namoria. What you see before you is all that remains of my father's line. What Zarkon began with my father Keltor, he continued down to the last child. All my brothers and sisters save for myself were slaughtered. Their children, all my nieces and nephews were also killed. All but three of them survived. Avian, Genar and Kezrin are the only nephews I have left. And my daughter Leena and my son Lotor are their only cousins." Danzar added.

He took a brief pause before continuing. "I myself ended up a prisoner on planet Doom for most of Lotor's young life. My brother raised him and tortured me with the news of his corruption. My daughter and son both were robbed of their right to be raised by their father."

Danzar turned to Allura with a solom expression. "I know that you also lost your parents because of my brother. I sometimes wonder if I should have put a permanent end to Zarkon's evil when I had the chance. I know many demanded I kill him, but my father...his father did not believe in anymore blood shed. So I exiled him from Namoria instead of putting him to death."

"Your majesty, I don't hold you responcible for what Zarkon did to my parents. He was the cause of their deaths, not you. And while I cannot condone the life you son lived before he met you, I can understand now that he did not chose that life for himself. Zarkon stole him away from you. He took away your right to raise your son." Allura said as she turned toward Lotor.

"And I realize now that if you had not been stolen from your true father... you and I would have had been given the chance to know each other as we were meant to. There is something that I need to say to all of you, you especially Lotor.

Everyone looked at Allura with a curious gaze. "I agree that Arus and Namoria should be united and this alliance go through. So...I feel that this should be done the right way. If we are going to fight along side each other, our planets should be united. I've given this a great deal of thought over the past few days. This needs to be done right. And the way to properly unite our planets is through... marriage."

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