Chapter 3: Atonement

After what seemed like an eternity of mining, the slaves were taken from the mine and back into their cells. Lotor staggered into his cell and collasped on the floor. His knees were weak from all the standing and banging into the mine walls. His arms felt like they were going to fall off from the weight of the pick tool he was forced to use. It took him several moments to catch his breath. He lay on his back staring up at the ceiling. Water dripped from the cracks in the stone falling next to his face. His body ached. He was beginning to wonder if the constant nagging pains would ever stop. It was finally beginning to dawn on him that this was his fate. He might have started out life as a prince, but he would end it as a slave.

"Allura," he whispered under his breath. "If you'd just give me one chance, I know I could make you happy. I would give you anything your heart desired."

He closed his eyes and thought back to their last encounter. It ended the way their encounters always did, with Allura fearing and hating him.

"Don't come near me! Get away from me!" Allura cried out as Lotor got closer and closer to her.

"Why do you always run from me? We belong together!" He shouted back in frustration.

"You're a monster! You're just like your father! I don't want to be with you!"

"Allura, don't you understand? It's my father you fear. I can change things. I can destroy my father, and you will never have to live in fear of him again. We can be together and heal the wounds of our worlds."

"I could never be with you. You'll toss me aside as soon as you grow tired of me and my people will be enslaved."

"That will never happen. You are the only queen I could ever want. Come with me, and I will see to it your people are kept safe. You would never have to risk your life as the blue lion's pilot anymore. I can make you the queen you are meant to be."

"No. It's a lie. It's all a lie! You're just saying to trick me into marrying you. I won't fall for it. I'd rather die than marry you!"

"I can't let you die. I won't let you die! Don't you understand we were meant to be together!" Lotor shouted grabbing Allura's wrists restraining the frightened princess.

"I can't let you go. I won't let you go! I won't give up until I make you mine!"

"Stop! You're hurting me!" Allura screamed feeling her delicate wrists being crushed in the prince's iron grip. Losing his composure further he shoved Allura against the wall of her bedroom nearly crushing her body against his. She let out a cry feeling one of her wrists twist painfully in his grip.

Realizing what he had done, Lotor immediately released her from his grasp. Allura fell to her knees shaking and crying. The prince looked down at his hands. "What have I done? Damnit what have I done?"

Allura struggled to get to her feet as Lotor backed away from her still shocked at the fact that he had hurt her.

"Don't you come near me you beast!" She cried.

"I don't want you to be afraid of me. I didn't mean to hurt you. It was never my intention to hurt you. Allura, don't you understand? I love you."

"Love? Love?! You don't know what love is! You can't force someone to love you! You can't use fear and intimidation against a woman and expect her to love you! Go back to your father you monster! I hate you!"

Before the prince could respond he heard several hands pounding on Allura's bedroom door. "Get away from her you bastard! I'll kill you if you lay a hand on her!"

Knowing he was outnumbered Lotor backed away from Allura and went to make his escape through her window. He looked back seeing her huddled on the floor weeping uncontrollably.

"I never meant to hurt you Allura. I do love you. I only wish I could make you believe that." He said as he fled from her bedroom. Once again he would have to face his father empty handed.

Keith and his friends finally kicked the door in to find Allura on the floor clutching her injured wrist. Keith ran toward the window but Lotor was already gone.

"Lotor! You bastard! I'll rip you apart with my bear hands!" Keith roared.

"I'd like to see you try you little fool." Lotor muttered to himself hiding behind a tree. He rushed to his ship and quickly took off. He feared the verbal barrage that awaited him.

"Damnit! Why did I grab her like that? I hurt her. Instead of convincing her to come back with me all I've done is made her hate me even more. She'll never come to me now! And my father will never allow me this chance again. I've screwed this up just like I screw everything up! Damnit all!"

The flash back ended in his mind. He closed his eyes hearing her spiteful words echoing in his head. All he did was look down at his hands realizing how rough he'd been with her. He shook his head with dismay.

"No wonder she hates me. All I've ever done is hurt and frighten her. My father wanted me to be a conquorer and a tyrant like him. I wasn't raised to love. Yet I've fallen in love with the very enemy my father wanted me to destroy. And now he has condemned me for it." Lotor said to himself and sighed.

"Well damn him then. I may have never been able to convince Allura I loved her, but I can at least go to my death knowing I told her how I truly feel about her. At least I can have that one comfort in hell. That and knowing my father won't be too far behind me."

A few days has passed, though for Lotor he'd lost track of time. He couldn't remember if he'd been there for a few hours or a few years. He was in hell. His days were spent mining lazon and his nights were spent in a cell surrounded by those who hated him most. From one of the most powerful princes in the druel empire to a lowly slave, how could it have come to this. All those thoughts kept playing in his head as he drove his pick into the hard walls of the cave. The other workers continued to harrass him but they'd grown weary for the most part of beating him up. Had the numbers not been so great, they would have stopped sooner because Lotor would have beaten them into bloody pulps. Unfortunately the numbers game favored the other slaves.

He wanted to drop his tool and rub his aching shoulders. His entire body was covered in bruises and lacerations. There was one comfort he had besides the thoughts of his beloved Allura. He no longer had to deal with his father. And he was pretty sure his father was happy no longer having to deal with him.

He continued his work until his right arm would no longer agree to function for a moment. The pain became so great he had to stop. He dropped the pick and began rubbing his aching right arm. The moment he stopped he felt the snap of a whip against his back. His shirt had basically been ripped a part from all the fights he'd gotten in so he was forced to work without one. His back already had several stripes from the lashes he'd taken over the past few days.

"Who told you to stop working slave!" A guard shouted as he brought the whip down across Lotor's back. That did it. He wasn't going to take this anymore. He picked up his mining tool and turned around belting the guard in the face with it. In a rage he began mercilessly beating the guard with the pick. Seeing the commotion other guards raced in to subdue his rage.

Lotor was a man possessed as he started swinging his tool at the guards who approached him. His eyes were wide like that of a wild animal fighting for its freedom. They produced shock spears but that did not deter him from lashing out. The first few shocks had no affect. His adrenaline was pumping wildly through his system blocking out the pain. But one shock to the neck quickly ended his rampage. His nerves were stunned by the blast and the former prince fell to the ground unconcious. Kargos marched toward the guards seeing Lotor on the ground motionless.

"What happened in here?" He demanded.

"He killed one of the guards."

"Take him back to his cell. And see to it he isn't fed. We'll see how much he wants to fight after he's been starved for a while." Kargos commanded.

While the ogre leader's back was turned, a young woman looked out of the corner of her eye seeing Lotor dragged off by the guards. The moment Kargos turned around she quickly turned her attention back to the wall.

Back on planet Doom, the reception celebrating King Zarkon's marriage to princess Coralle was just ending. The castle was becoming quiet once more after hours of feasting and drinking. Zarkon escorted his new bride to their marriage chamber.

"My dear, there is something I must attend to before the honeymoon. I will not be long." The king said.

"Of course my king." Coralle replied.

Leaving Coralle, Zarkon headed for of all places, the castle dungeons. The king descended the castle halls until he came to the dark and dreary prison cells. There was one prisoner in particular the king had interest in visiting. This one was kept isolated from all the others in a small cell. There was only a small flickering torch provided as light. But drules had excellent night vision so this did not hinder the king from seeing his prisoner.

Zarkon ordered the door be opened. The prisoner was chained in the cell so there was no worry of escape. There in the darkened prison sat a man who looked suprisingly a great deal like Lotor. Except he was older than Lotor and his hair was not white, but grey. At one time it had been a brilliant silver hue, but the years spent in isolation and darkness had dulled its brilliance. Around one of his ankles was a rusted metal shackle chained to the floor. He sat with his back against the wall. His eyes were closed until he heard the cell door slowly creak open. He got to his feet as Zarkon entered the cell.

"Amazing that after twenty three years you've still got the will to live. I must say I admire your spirit to have survived this long." The king said haughtily.

"If you've come here to kill me, then kill me and be done with it. It isn't enough that you have robbed my daughter of her father. It isn't enough that my people were robbed of their king. It isn't enough that you destroyed our family." The man said gruffly.

"I'll end your pathetic life when I see fit. But that is not the reason I'm here. I thought it would amuse you to know I have taken a new bride. A bride who will give me the heir I should have had in that worthless son of mine." Zarkon replied.

The man's yellow eyes flashed expressing a deep seeded anger that had grown within him for decades. "You have the audacity to call him your son." The man growled.

"He always called me father didn't he? I believe that makes him my son. Or should I say, made him my son." Zarkon said with an evil chuckle.

The stranger's eyes widened at the last statement. "What do you mean...made?"

"That's why I've taken a new bride. My son is no longer with us. Princess, or rather I should say, Queen Coralle will give me an heir that will be molded in my image." Zarkon answered coldly.

"You heartless bastard..."

"Don't blame me for what happened to the boy. If he had been the son I wanted him to be he would still be here. Now he is no longer any of my concern. Lotor would not have survived the fate I sent him to. Now that he is no longer a problem, I can finally rid myself of two very painful thorns in my side. I will launch an attack on planet Arus. Soon I will destroy Voltron and princess Allura will be nothing more than a bad memory in my brain." Zarkon said.

"You lie. He's not dead. If nothing else you would keep him alive just to torture me." The man retorted.

"Oh I did enjoy the knowledge that he started out as ruthless as I was. But ever since he laid eyes on that wench Allura, everything was ruined." Zarkon replied.

"You cannot stop destiny. They were meant to be together and you know it."

"I already have stopped destiny. Lotor is dead. Of that I can be sure. No one leaves the slave planet Carnos alive." Zarkon said.

"You sent him to Carnos! You monster!" The man shouted as he rushed at Zarkon. But in his anger he forgot that his ankle was shackled to the floor. The length effectively hindered him from reaching the king. His hands reached out for Zarkon's throat to no avail. The wicked king only laughed.

"Well, I see you've got some fight left in you after all." He replied walking away from the prisoner. "Perhaps in another twenty years I'll see fit to bestow mercy upon you and end your suffering."

The man fell to his knees trying to fight back his anger. "No. He's lying. Lotor can't be dead. He can't be. He and Allura must be together." He thought to himself.

He sat back against the wall fighting to drown out the words Zarkon had planted in his mind. "This is nothing more than a lie to break my spirit. He is not dead. You cannot stop destiny...brother."

Lotor found himself back in his cell. His eyes opened slowly as he began to stir. He looked up to find Kargos standing outside his prison. He had a whip in his hand. His expression was one of pure malice.

"You killed one of my guards you little bastard." He snarled.

"Forgive me if I don't observe a moment of silence." Lotor growled.

"It's not your silence I've come for boy. You're going to repay this loss with your pain. Take him!" Kargos barked.

Three guards entered Lotor's cell and forced him to his feet. Though he was still too weak to struggle, Kargos wasn't going to take any chances. The three brutes forced him from his cell. Kargos stood behind him and began lashing him with the whip. The other prisoners watched as Kargos admininstered the brutal torture. Everytime the whip came down Lotor gritted his teeth determined not to make a sound. He wasn't about to let these slaves see him in agony. But after all the pain he'd already endured and the relentless sting of the whip cutting into his flesh time after time he could no longer hold his tongue. He cried out in pain as the whip lashed mercilessly against his back. Blood began to pool as it dripped from the fresh lacerations in his skin.

After a few moments Kargos grew tired of the young drule's screams and stopped flogging him. "Put him back in his cell." The ogre leader ordered.

The guards shoved Lotor back into his cell where he fell to the ground shaking from the immense pain. Kargos slammed the cell door shut leaving the prisoner to endure the after affects of the lashing.

"Tomorrow we'll see how well you work half starved and with your back on fire." He growled and left.

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