The way to the shallows was much more difficult than it had been earlier that afternoon.

For one thing, without the light of the sun to focus on it was difficult to figure out which direction to swim. While the water was dimly brighter than the deeps there remained a murky kind of darkness that surrounded her, making it difficult to navigate. Even the typical warmth that characterized the brighter waters had chilled with the coming of night.

Another problem was the current. It had changed and was now working against her.

Allura cursed under her breath. If this kept up there was no guarantee she would be able to get back to the palace before morning. She'd have preferred to keep the whole trip under wraps if at all possible, but even Keith would have little to argue about once she came back with several months worth of magic in her bag.

The water cleared and became somewhat brighter as the moonlit shallows came into view. The princess smiled in relief. It was clear sailing from here. Even Keith had never managed to follow her this far before.

"PRINCESS!"

Turning, Allura was surprised to see Keith swimming after her. His face suffused with exhaustion from swimming against the current.

His tail moved furiously as he crossed the last bit of distance between them and finally caught up with the being clearly out of breath, Keith still managed to find the energy to speak.

"What the devil do you think you're doing?!"

Allura's shoulders stiffened.

Keith's tone was different than usual. Normally he spoke in irritation when he caught her sneaking out. But this time his voice was filled with anger.

"I already told you I-" she began.

But the red merman didn't seem to want to listen. Instead he grabbed the princess by her forearms and tugged, hard, towards the deeps.

"We're going home, now!"

Allura pulled back, surprised to find that Keith grip on her arm was much firmer than it had been before.

"NO! If I miss this chance now I'll have to wait a whole year before I can-"

"And you think that's a good enough reason to sneak out in the middle of the friggin night?!" Keith snapped. "To pick up stupid trinkets that'll fall apart after a week anyway?!"

The princess felt her face redden in anger.

"They are NOT stupid trinkets, they're the key to restoring my civilization! And if you had just let me go out and collect them earlier I wouldn't have to-"

"ENOUGH!"

They both froze. Allura stared at Keith in shock, as the guard allowed his face to harden.

"We're going back." He once again tried to pull her away from the shallows only for the princess to remain firm.

"Keith, please!" she begged. "I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone I was going, but I need these shells! I-If you're worried about me, then you can come with me!"

The merman froze.

"So, please, just let me go. If I don't get them now I'll have to wait a whole year for the shells to absorb the amount of magic they have now."

Keith hesitated. His eyes glanced between her and the dim light of the shallows that lay just a few laps away. His gaze seemed to glaze over as he stared at it.

"Keith?" Allura asked as she tentatively touched his shoulder.

Snapping out of his mesmerized state, he violently shook his head before saying. "N-No, we're going home."

"Why?!"

"It's too dangerous!"

"But you'll be there with me! I'll be fine so long as-"

"I'm not going near that place ever again!"

Silence passed between them.

The princess stared at Keith in confusion.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?"

Keith averted his gaze. "I-it doesn't matter!"

Wrenching her arm from his grip Allura swiftly backed away from him, "I think it does!"

The red merman didn't reply.

"So, because YOU'RE scared of the shallows that means I shouldn't be allowed near it, is that it?!"

Keith reached out for the princess's hand.

"Allura, please."

She backed away, anger and indignation written into her features.

"You didn't listen when I said please. So why should I?"

"Th-this is different!"

"Different how?! How are your personal feelings anymore important than my own?!"

The merman didn't reply.

"That's what I thought." she spat. "You can go home if you want, but I have something more important to do! Coward!"

With that the princess turned tail, nearly smacking Keith in the process, and swam into the shallows.

"Princess, wait!" Keith reached out towards her retracting figure. "Allura!"

The second she hit the shallows Allura immediately began collecting shells into her bag. She snatched them up furiously with barely a glance. Shutting out all other distractions hoping that the fevered action would help distract her from the stinging tears that blurred her vision. Or the unbidden emotions that bubbled up with them.

He doesn't care. Allura thought spitefully. He never cared.

The tide picked up as time went on, but the princess ignored it.

This whole time he was worried about himself. Not me, my civilization, the other's, or anyone else. Just him.

Allura's grip on her bag tightened as it threatened to rip from her shoulders. The current was becoming unnaturally strong but she stubbornly fought on.

Only a few more shells and she'd be ready.

As more of the princess's energy went towards fighting against the tide, her anger gently began to subside. Memories of her words drifted back into her mind now seeming to carry a much harsher tone than they had before.

Had she… been too harsh?

Keith surely had his reasons for being afraid of the shallows. That fear was the main reason he had acted son unreasonably about her going to collect shells there. Even so she hadn't acted unreasonably… right?

Afterall, Keith could have just been upfront about his feelings. A-and there was no reason for him to try and prevent Allura from going. Unless he was projecting his fear on her. Which was… completely possible.

But he had no reason to be afraid of the shallows. At least as far as she knew. Then again it occurred to Allura that she really didn't know anything about Keith.

He had just shown up out of the blue one day. Or rather he showed up in Shiro's bedroom. After sneaking into the castle.

The black and red mermen were having a hushed argument when she and Coran stumbled across them while checking up on Shiro. Coran almost snapped the poor boy's neck.

Allura had learned from Shiro that his clan had found Keith when he was younger, and allowed him to swim with their pod. He had been too young to take part in the hunting party that ended in the clan's demise, hence why he was spared.

It had taken some convincing to get Coran to allow the boy to stay in the palace. The manservant had only relented when Keith agreed to act as a guard for the princess alongside Shiro.

Though she had had her doubts at first, Keith had proved himself as being worthy of her trust. Overtime they became friends. Or at least that was what Allura had thought.

When her trips to the shallows had started, he had begun treating his duties as her guard much more seriously. He'd begun following her around the palace grounds, practically acting as her second shadow. It had been endearing at first, but quickly grew to become an annoyance. Allura began to feel that Keith didn't trust her.

But if Keith was afraid of the shallows… that would explain everything.

It was a dangerous place, and if Keith was more fearful of it normal it would certainly go to explain his excessively protective behavior.

Once she got back to the castle with the shells, the princess was determined to sort out this whole thing with him. She certainly owed him an apology for the way she'd spoken to him, but she also couldn't allow him to go on controlling where she went like this.

As she picked up one final shell, Allura had to brace herself against a tide that threatened to push her into a wall. The underwater storm was getting stronger. She'd have to settle for what she had managed to collect so far and make her way back to the palace.

However the storm had a different plan.

The current that had flowed toward the deeps now flowed into the shallows with ten times the force. Allura wasn't strong enough to swim against it. Returning to the palace would be impossible.

A piece of coral dislodged and flew through the water. Allura screeched and ducked just as it flew over her head and smashed against the rocks of the shallows. The choppy waters were tossing her about like a ragdoll.

Shelter. She needed to find shelter. If she could just find somewhere to duck into and wait out the storm. Allura's eyes scanned over the once familiar landscape searching for an opening, an overhang, anything.

Debris seemed to be swarming the waves forcing the princess to divide her limited energy between hunting for shelter and trying not to be skewered by shrapnel. A piece clipped Allura's shoulder as the water threw her against some rocks.

Red mist filled the water.

Allura's mind blurred and darkened. The current carrying her away as her consciousness faded. All she could feel as the world went dark was the weight of the shells in her bag. And a pair of strong arms wrapping around her.

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

"Princess," Keith brushed the silver lock from Allura's face. "Please wake up."

Finding her had proven difficult with the sudden seastorm and the sight of his princess floating belly up in the water nearly stopped his heart. He'd managed to get ahold of her before she was carried away by the current. Now they sat in a dark sea cave as the current continued to rage outside.

Allura lay on the floor, her shoulder bandaged with a strip of seaweed. Just looking at the injury prompted Keith to touch the scar on his own shoulder. He could only hope a similar mark wouldn't adorn her skin.

Keith's attention riveted back onto Allura as she groaned and stirred.

"Princes?" he leaned in closer, his voice dripping with concern.

Slowly, Allura's eyes cracked open.

"Keith?"

"Oh thank, Neptune." The good hung his head in relief. "How do you feel?"

"A little… A little dizzy…" She pushed herself up but flinched as pain shot through her arm.

Keith steadied her. "Are you sure?"

"Y-Yes. I think I must have hit my head."

His hands immediately flew to her scalp where he located the offensive bump on the back of her head. Thankfully the injury didn't appear to be serious.

"Does it still hurt?" Keith asked eyeing the groggy princess.

"From my head or shoulders?"

"Both."

Pausing, Allura took stock of herself. Though her head still hurt it was more of a minor headache than a serious cranial injury. While she still winced in pain when she moved her shoulder it was far from debilitating.

"Not seriously." she replied and braced herself for a lecture.

"Oh.. Alright then."

The princess stared at the guard in confusion as he backed away deliberately avoiding eye contact. Normally, Keith would have immediately begun scolding her for her reckless action. Especially now that all of hi misgivings had proven justified.

"We'll have to wait for the storm to pass before returning to the palace. Until then, you should rest."

"What about you?"

"I'll keep watch." Keith hesitated before moving closer to the entrance of the cave. "There are still predators around. We-I need to keep an eye out for them."

"Wait!" Allura reached out and stopped him. She wasn't certain as to what she was going to say, or even why she had even felt the need to keep him close.

The only thing that sat clear in the princess's mind was the memory of Keith, her own stubborn red-scaled bodyguard, staring into the shallows with a glassy far off look. A stare that reminded Allura of a frozen terrified child that was staring death in the face for the first time in their life.

Keith turned to her, his face impassive, almost as though it had been carved out of stone.

"W-what is it? Did you need something else?"

The princess hesitated.

She wasn't used to dealing with a distant professional, Keith. Even when speaking to her formally there had always been a tint of warmth to his voice. But now his tone was colder. Almost as though he was speaking to a stranger.

Allura hated it.

"Stay… stay here?" she asked quietly.

It was all the princess could say to keep him there. Deep inside of the safety of the cave. With her.

Keith was afraid of the shallows. Allura could tell by the way he had acted before. She didn't know why, or how deep the fear went only that despite that fear Keith had come after her. If he hadn't the princess had little doubt of what her fate would have been.

There was no way Allura could let him go off by himself. Not until she was sure that he was alright.

The merman hesitated, and glanced worriedly at the cave's entrance.

"It'll be safer if we stay together." she pushed. "Besides, you… you must've swam against the current to get here right? You should rest."

Hesitantly, Keith moved away from the entrance and back towards to the princess.

"A-Alright princess. If that is what you want."

Relief washed over Allura as he took a seat just a few feet away from her. Just having Keith closer to her seemed to make their hiding place feel just a bit safer.

She scooted closer, to the point that both of their shoulders touched. Keith flinched at the contact before freezing as Allura linked her arms around his own.

Leaning her head against his shoulder, the princess took solace in the feel of Keith's skin against her own before linking her fingers into his hand.

"Keith?" she whispered.

He took in his breath sharply.

"I'm sorry."

"Wh-what?"

Tightening her hold on his arm the princess repeated herself.

"I'm sorry. For what I said to you." She didn't dare look at his face. "I-I was angry and upset but that doesn't excuse anything. I didn't… You aren't a coward."

"No. You were right. I am a coward."

"No you're not!"

Keith didn't reply.

"Listen I… I don't know why you're scared of this place. But despite that you came in here to get me. You saved my life." Allura hugged Keith's arm tighter. "You don't have to tell me what happened. You don't' have to tell me why you hate the shallows so much. I just… please don't think you're a coward for being afraid. Please."

She felt the warmth of Keith's free hand placing itself over her own.

"I… I still endangered your mission. You needed those shells for your magic. Everyone understood that. I understood that. But I… I couldn't stand it. It was too much like… LIke before…" Keith squeezed his eyes shut and tightened his grip on Allura's hand.

He could still remember that day.

The way his family's blood had filled the water.

The fang that tore into his shoulder.

And later how he had waited and waited for Shiro and his hunting party to return. Only for no one to come. The desperation, the loneliness, the all too familiar feeling of helplessness.

Finding Shiro had eased his worries.

But then he'd met the princess.

Their relationship had been purely professional at first. Keith had largely agreed to assist her and Coran merely because Shiro had sworn to do so. Over time, however, Allura proved to be a fascinating woman.

Her determination to rebuild her people, her decisiveness, and courage. She had lost nearly everything, and yet she soldiered on with her head held high. Keith couldn't help but grow to admire her.

Inevitably, when she began to frequent the shallows the unwarranted memories and fears returned.

He had lost his parents in the shallows. Then he lost his adoptive clan. He had nearly lost Shiro.

Keith silently pulled the princess into a hug, clinging her to his chest.

"I-I can't lose you Allura." He buried his face in her silver mane. "I'm sorry. I had no right to keep you from doing what you needed to do. But I… I can't lose anyone else. I don't think I could handle it."

Allura allowed herself to be held. Quietly accepting the mermans words as they flowed out.

"It's okay." she whispered as she rubbed circles on his back. "I'm still here. You won't have to be alone anymore."

Closing her eyes, Allura smiled..

"I'm not going anywhere."