✥ It's Time; Chapter Fourteen ✥

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

"Oh dear.." Allura muttered, her arms finding themselves tucked against her chest. Everyone's minds were spinning as they tried to digest what they had seen, taking it with a side of sympathy. What they had just witnessed, felt, and experienced - it made them angry. Angrier at the Galra then they all were before.

Hunk was kind of confused, but he got the gist, and he didn't like it.

Lance was talkative about his disgust, but unusually eager to see what would happen next. He didn't like that he wanted to know, but he wasn't going to mind that part of himself.

Pidge was staring at the screen, their arms folded and their eyes narrowed. Their mind gears were grinding, trying to predict what would happen to you. As well as this, they were pondering if they even wanted to continue watching.

Shiro, well, Shiro was relieved, but only just a sliver. He had hoped he didn't get Y/n hooked up to a machine for a non-justified reason, but now he didn't know what he felt.

He saw himself able to make you laugh, even after the absolutely rotten interaction you had just gone through. But, as well as that, he saw you getting beaten down and tossed around by your superiors, the people who you said were treating you "decently enough". He was your only cope, and he felt a swell in his heart for the sister he never had.

As for Keith, he was silent.

No one plots homicide out loud.

His mind was punching the walls, bursting at the seams, trying to wrap itself around what it was processing.

Y/n and Lotor, in a relationship she didn't want to even be in?

Lotor asking her if she would be with him after a few pathetic, nonsensical minutes?

Y/n, an angel forcing herself to endure such hell so that she could have a chance to return to her home planet?

It made him want to engorge the entire Galran Royal Family in the fiery pits of oblivion, lit by the fires of his own lion and caused by his own doing. His teeth were grinding behind his lips, his eyes barely peeking beneath his thick bangs as he stared at your point of view, paused as his comrades took time to think.

"I don't know if I can watch this anymore." Hunk whined, resting his head in his hands as to hide himself from the screen.

"I know we're all uncomfortable here, but if we stop now, we all know we won't come back." Pidge muttered, then Allura nodded with hesitation.

"Doesn't mean we have to like it." Keith growled. It was the only thing his mind could come up with, other than words that would ruin the innocence in everyone around him. He kept his argument on his tongue, but all they needed to know was written on his face.

The Princess tapped the screen with restraint in her joints, as if she never wanted the clip to see the light of day again, but she did it nonetheless.

Like ripping off a bandaid, the whole team looked up to observe the bloody, battered scrape underneath.

«[..Last Chapter Continues, In Y/N's Memories..]»

It took Lotor an entire month to finally come and take you away, which from a future glimpse, you wish he had never even seen you on that one cursed day.

You walked the halls with him that very month for a "surprise", even though his presence after so long was a shocker all on it's own. The time was spent with him denying you the location you were headed to, and you frowned at looked at your bare, dirty feet most of the time.

Lotor was a.. somewhat decent person, and you were almost sure he'd make someone else happy someday. However, you knew for a fact that the person you spoke of was not yourself. Lotor didn't even know your last name, let alone your favorite color or your musical preference.

You didn't even want to be here, but he couldn't know that.

You had to pretend to accept his feelings, "even though they will only last until he learns about my personality" you thought. It's a pure miracle, in your humble opinion, that he fell for your looks, which is a bad way to love in itself.

Even though you were very new to love and all of it's wide concepts and triggers, you were certain that someone's visual appearance is a douchey way to fall in love with someone you just met. Not to mention you were very tattered in aesthetics and hadn't been clean in too long of a time.

The held your life like a fragile egg in his clawed hand.

"Am I allowed to speak?" You asked nervously. He nodded assuringly, momentarily distracted by the dilating statistics on the purple screen in front of him. You gulped awkwardly but held your posture, fearful of the potential places he could be taking you. The Galra had nearly everything on this ship, from pitch black prisons to bloodlust arenas to mental-torturing labs.

"What are the Galran customs for romance? I wouldn't really know..." You asked him, walking and jittering. He chuckled a bit and pinched his fingers, closing the distraction of the screen and sending it away for the rest of your time. He turned to you as you both strolled down the dark, dim-light hallways of the Galran ship.

"First and foremost, we tend to call our lovers 'mates'."

Mates? That sounded almost wrong, and straight out of a bad fictional romance book you read in middle school.

"Males get to choose which female he wants during 'choosing season',"

You gulp. Is this some sort of alpha/omega thing that you simply didn't catch onto?

"Galran mates are bonded for life. The higher statuses get to choose amongst the pool of options first, so I selected you briefly. A lot of low-tiers wanted to snatch you away, I'm sure." Lotor explains, and you feel a little flattered. Emphasis on little. "Nonetheless, what about humans? How does your kind go about courtship?" He asked, glancing at you curiously.

"I'm a prisoner who has nothing but useless knowledge to this race, an infamously sour attitude and mangled looks." You gestured to what the ship had made of you so far. "It would be nonsense to choose me."

"Did I ask for your life story or did I ask for something else?" He asked gingerly, a small note of impatience stringed to it.

"Humans are a way longer and more intricate story." You blurted immediately, gesturing your arms with little effort. He kept the silence as he stared at you for a few awkward seconds - they made you want to tie a noose.

"The only nonsense is your statement,". You are attractive for your species' standard, and an ideal image to represent the Galra empire. Now, elaborate please." He demanded, sighing as he responded to your previous comment. The speech was ended by him taking your hand wordlessly, holding it tight and without your consent.

You began to think more on what he had previously said. He could technically do that, for he was the Prince, and you his prisoner. And to add onto the suffering, according to him you were "bonded for life". Was that really true, and did it apply to you, a human?

"Well, humans act on their emotions if they decide that they like another human. Then if they're brave enough, they ask that someone out for a date. In that stage, they are girlfriend and boyfriend, or boyfriend and boyfriend, or girlfriend and girlfriend." You explain, "They go on lots of dates and learn about each other, and if they like each other enough to fall for each other and stay in love for a long time, they get married and have a ceremony.

"Then they become husband and wife, or husband and husband- you get the idea- until they die or divorce, which is separating because they don't love each other anymore." You said. He was clearly beyond confused, showing like ink on a book that you wanted to shelf and run away from.

"You treat this 'love' as if it is a... a system rather than an emotion. A very complicated system. Is love a skill-requiring process for you, not a feeling?" He asked, his hair ruffling lightly from a surge of wind caused by an opening door down the hall. You reflected on his question, looking at the floor as he stopped dead in his tracks.

"I can't be so sure myself." You admitted. "I haven't been in love in a long time."

"But you love me." His sentence was more of a reminder that a question, and you nodded furiously and apologized for your stupidity.

Suddenly Lotor grunted, having stopped walking altogether, fear gleaming in his eyes. You froze, anxiety beginning to spread inside your brain as you thought up every negative outcome of the situation. If Prince Lotor of the Galra Empire was worried, that couldn't be good for you. He then returned to his previous stance, gripping your wrist tightly.

The next thing you saw made your blood freeze in your veins, your breath catching your throat as you stood as stiff as a board. The infamous witch, Haggar, turned the corner, with two ill-postured druids dragging close behind. She glanced at you, gleaming yellow eyes that hid under a cloak began meeting your {eye color} irises.

Haggar then looked at the Prince. Lotor struck a new surge of defensive confidence and stood straighter, genuinely glaring daggers at the dark, double-marked witch. He was stopping your blood flow from reaching your hand, but you were too fear-struck to complain.

"...Ah. Who is this, Prince Lotor?" She asked, a look showing to be very amused yet almost concerned, considering she could bring an infant to tears with her rare, toothy grin. You shuddered, but Lotor moved his hand from yours to your shoulder to hold you still, hoping you wouldn't show her the fear radiating from your wide eyes.

"So it speaks. She is my mate, and we're headed to the tailor to get her new textiles. Although, I'm being quite rude, doing all of the talking. Why don't you introduce yourself, Y/n?" He spoke through clenched teeth, placing his hand on your mid-back to lightly present you forward. You stumbled, almost falling head-first at the witch's feet. You were terrified to say the least, her mere appearance intimidated you to the point your throat grew dry with a lump.

"My name is Y/n L/n. It's truly an honor to be chosen by Lotor, he makes me happy." You lied, so nervous you could purge. How you hated saying those false, sinful words, making you want to snatch your throat violently and cover your mouth in instant regret. You retreated hesitantly back to Lotor's side, grabbing and holding his hand anxiously.

"Now if you'll excuse us-"

"The girl lies." Haggar growled as she interrupted him, raising her arm and pointing a razor-nailed finger at you. Words of retaliation were about to roll off of your tongue, but she began shooting crackling quintessence into the air towards you, capturing you frozen in fear. The stream of weightless black magic seeped into your forehead and trickled out of the other side, making a wave of cool yet excruciating pain course though your head.

"What do you mean? What are you doing?" Lotor asked angrily, glaring aggressively at the witch. You were in too much agonizing discomfort to question why he wasn't defending you; he was busy looking at the images of a certain mullet-head beginning to flicker into the air as he spoke.

"Examining her emotional memories. She holds feelings for another, your highness." She hissed, and Lotor glanced down, upset and betrayed by at your writhing figure. You were now on your knees as you bent over, scraping at your scalp desperately, tearing at it in attempts to make all your agony disappear.

That was fun while it lasted.

"She holds a space in her heart for a human boy with black hair and violet eyes. You may have selected her, but she is human, and she hasn't accepted her fate just yet."

"Yet?"

"Yet," She confirmed, making all of your Keith-related memories fade into the cold air. "because I can help with that."

You couldn't hear any of it, but if there was something you were 100% certain of, it was that none of it was helping you in your plan to fool the Prince. The pain whipped your head around and you writhed about the ground, bending your back and slamming your elbows into the metal. You were about to let out a blood-curdling cry for help, but the pain ceased completely.

You glanced up at the speaking duo, tuning in as they ignored your existence for a brief moment.

"Give me a few specolian movements, I will have a spell fool-proof and ready for use." Haggar grinned the aforementioned sickening smile, making your pre-built anxiety swell to a grand extent. Sweat beaded on your forehead and rolled down your cheeks, dripping off of your chin in identical trails from the previously fallen. Your mouth hung open as you panted, and Lotor grabbed you by your shoulders and shoved you onto your feet, almost throwing your back out.

"I chose you, out of all of the Galran females that merely dream of being in your shoes, and you can't discard your little earthling romance for the Prince that can accolade you like a Queen?!" He spat as he dragged you along, snatching your bicep and tugging it angrily. You yelped out, silencing yourself before you began to cry again. You couldn't surrender, not now, despite how badly you wanted to go back to your cell and never see this greedy, anger-clouded Prince again.

"I-I'm sorry! I don't know what's happening, I-I-" but before you could finish, you saw a flash of violet. You felt an expected yet shocking addition of tears breach your swollen ducts, just another wave of fresh tears crashing upon you and drowning you out.

You were in pure distress, fear adding to the mix in uneven, tear-inducing spurts. He was so kind at first, one might have believed he wasn't completely like, if not worse than his father.

"Good thing we'll be taking care of this minor issue soon, you will just have to wait and see if you behave." He grumbled, dragging you by your now-bruised arm as he guided you back towards the direction of your cell.

Because of that Witch and her poisonous words, you now had a bruised arm and a "mate" inebriated on anger and betrayal. He threw his hand against the scanning pad, letting the doors slide open and show them an empty, dull, pitch-black room.

Lotor then grabbed your face by the cheeks, making you wince from the subsiding pain in your slow-healing, black-and-blueing skin, and claimed your lips with as much passion as he had patience; None.

He released you moments after, leaving you gasping for air, then forced you in by a point of his finger, letting the doors shut behind you. You were beyond scared, very helpless, and already planning what you would say if you had your journal in your shaky, callused hands.

"We're gonna escape in two weeks, it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay..."

2 Weeks Later

Shiro was beyond livid after hearing your story. Even two weeks after it happened, he was still pissed at even the thought of what you went through.

He went out of his way to throw slander at Lotor every chance he could take. He wanted to protect you, to have the power he lacked and make him shoo away, but he couldn't. It made him brood every time you were with him, every time he fought in the ring or sat alone in the cell. It also made your escape a lot harder to plan, which enhanced his stress greatly.

But now, he was gone.

He escaped, and you didn't.

Shiro was free, and you... you were here.

In hell.

You had gone to a little meeting with Zarkon discussing your "new purpose" merely minutes ago, where you had nearly been whipped for the position you were in.

Your head was spinning beyond control, forcing stress, anxiety and fear to blend together not-so-smoothly.

You were just waiting at this point.

Waiting for your mate to say something. For him to come take things out on you, as he sometimes did.

You were terrified. To add to your fear of the unpredictable next few minutes, in fact, any upcoming day could be the one Haggar spoke of. The thought of what spell she was talking about, what hex could be brewing for you made you.. it made you so depressed that you could vomit on thought. Sure, you could try to stand up for yourself, but what would be the point?

What would be the point of trying anything?

I tried to escape, I failed.

I tried to lie my way out, I failed.

You were about to break down for the first time today, and the seventeenth time this week, when the doors slid open.

His expression- especially his eyes- screamed something absolutely pissed. Poison dripped from his glare, and without anything to gain, you forced yourself into the back corner of the room.

"You tried to escape? You want to escape me, love?" He asked with a calmness that made you want to cry, for you knew his relaxation was a hoax.

"I'm sorry!"

"If you were sorry, you wouldn't have even thought about trying to escape this ship. This is where you belong, you're never going back, when will you let that sink in?!" He hissed.

"No, no, stop! Leave me alone! GO AWAY!" You screamed, too tired to thrash as he bent down, grabbing your hand gingerly, then squeezing it tight with vigor. You whimpered, looking into his toxic indigo eyes.

"It's time." Lotor growled.

.-+*°*+-.

{3057 Words}

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net