There has to be an After for Us ~ (shadam / klance)

Chapter 27 - Top-Notch Parenting

"Lance, no!" Allura dropped to knees, crying, the vision of Lance kissing Keith seared into her brain. "How could he? I thought he loved me! How could he betray me?! That bastard!"

Her mother's hand found her shoulder. "Now tell me daughter, are you really crying for Lance?"

The question confused Allura, had her mother not just watched her witness Lance kissing someone else then fall apart? But she had to stop herself and reflect. She'd just accused Lance of betraying her, of being a bastard, but really it's not as if her and Lance were together. They had a flirtation going (one that had been one sided until recently,) but Lance had made no commitment to her. In fact they'd never so much as discussed their feelings for each other. If the Space Mice had told her Lance loved her, she never would've known, would've just assumed his flirting was his usual demeanor and never taken it seriously. So no, Lance didn't deserve this reaction.

Lance's flirting could be aggressive, but he was kind and courageous. He made a point to be there for Allura whenever she doubted herself. He had the biggest heart of any human she'd met. He was dear to her. Enough so that she wanted him to be happy and she didn't begrudge him love no matter whom he shared it with. Of course, who would have ever expected it would come from Keith, but the surprise of that wouldn't cause this hurt.

So then where was this pain stemming from? But she didn't really need to search herself long to know the answer.

"No," said Allura. "I'm not crying for Lance."

"For who then?" asked Melenor. Allura hesitated. "Come now, Allura. Say his name. Don't give it power by avoiding it."

"Lotor," said Allura, the name exiting her accompanied by a full body tremble. "I believed he wanted peace like I did. I thought we understood each other on every level possible. I thought he loved me, but..."

"That's what narcassists do, dear," said Melenor, taking her daughter's hands in hers and drawing her back to her feet. "They pretend to be whatever it is you desire the most. They charm you into believing their intentions are pure so they can feed off your adoration of them. But eventually cracks in the façade start to show and once they no longer get the love and worship they want, they snap and reveal their true selves."

"But the whole time I was falling in love," said Allura, feeling so deeply sickened, "he was committing genocide against my people. How can I forgive myself for being so blind to his treachery?" Now she understood exactly why her mother wasn't proud of her. "No wonder you're disappointed in me."

"I'm not disappointed in you for being fooled by him," said Melenor. "I don't expect you to be perfect, daughter. We all make missteps. My misstep got me killed. No, my disappointment is in how you failed to forgive yourself and move on. How you let the heartbreak and the embarrassment shrink you."

"But how can I be trusted as a leader if the choice I made gave unimaginable power to a maniac?" cried Allura, so frustrated that her mother didn't understand. It was so obvious Allura had poor judgment.

"If you don't like the leader you are," said Melenor, sticking a finger right in her daughter's face, "then get better! The solution to not meeting your own standards is not to try less. It's not to give up. It's to learn from your mistakes and become greater than you've ever been before. That is the real test of a leader. Didn't your Lance give you just this advice?"

It was so clear in Allura's memory... How Lance had held her as she cried and said, "Let me tell you, as someone whose made a million mistakes all you can do is get up and try to make it right. You can't doubt yourself now. We need you. The universe needs you."