âSo, weâre doing this?â Allura asked, a hint of concern shadowing her features.
Keith nodded firmly. âWe made a promise,â he reminded her, although his voice didnât quite meet the level of energy heâd hoped for. âYou know we canât back out now without causing a huge uproar.â
Allura balled her right fist, gently pumping it in the air before letting her hand drop helplessly to her side. âOf course,â she sighed, âas the Queen of New Altea itâs important for me to set a good example. I have to fight the urge to walk away!â
âItâll be a distant memory before you know it,â Keith offered with a smile, âso donât worry about what might go wrong, okay?â
Apparently that was the right thing to say, because he was quickly rewarded with a warm, breathy kiss from his beautiful wife.
âShall we get ready?â she smoothed, a playful wink teasing future possibilities. âIf we wrap this up quickly, maybe we can have some alone time afterward.â
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Keith didnât remember his missions with the Blades being so difficult to prepare for. Rations were always light, and there was never the need to put anything on the ship they couldnât carry on their person. Even the communications devices were significantly less complicated.
Now there were lockers full of all kinds of paraphernalia. He was thankful they had a large enough space cruiser to carry all of it, since at first he thought theyâd have to use one of the lions to manage it all.Â
But stealth was required here. They didnât need any unwanted attention, which a giant metal cat would certainly draw. No, they wanted to get in and out with as little fanfare as possible, and an old Earth ship was the way to do it.Â
Finally, once theyâd determined they had enough food to last them at least a month, and as many gadgets as they could carry to ensure they were in touch at all times, Keith and Allura called for âlights outâ so that everyone could get a good nightâs sleep.Â
It was late into the night before they themselves retired to their bedroom, the weary couple collapsing on the bed in such a state that they both fell asleep instantly.Â
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Early the following morning, all five of them enjoyed a hearty breakfast before piling into the cruiser. It was a mercifully short trip to their destination, having stayed in the moonâs orbit for the last few days. Theyâd mapped out a spot to land the tranport nearby, and transferred to a hovercraft to move stealthily toward the entrance to the giant fortress they were charged with infiltrating.Â
âAllura, you take the front,â Keith ordered, but with no inkling of pulling rank over his partner. âIâll bring up the rear.â
The queen saluted him mockingly. âYou always do, sir.â
If they didnât have an audience, Keith would certainly have aborted the mission then and there. Allura had a way of teasing him that always proved to be distracting on his part. Granted, thatâs what got them to this point in the first place.
As they arrived at the front gates, the spires of a castle loomed over the high fence. The walls were imposing, for certain, but not impenetrable by any means. He reached in his pocket, extracting their ticket to get in.Â
Grabbing his wifeâs hand, he leaned in and whispered, âAre you ready?â
Biting her lip slightly, she nodded emphatically. âLetâs do it.â
With that, he turned to the other three, who had been waiting impatiently for permission to rampage the kingdom laid out before them, and with a flourish of his hands announced âYour mom and I kept our promise. Welcome to Disney World, kids!â
