ASHES ↠ b. barnes [II]

twenty one

PICTURING HERSELF IN THIS POSITION, was something Allura would never have done.

She had a good life in Jupiter before the war, and even through it had she managed to find the small bits of positivity and laughter at the jokes that would mostly be told by her younger brother. Here on earth, her joy had been the blue eyed man who sat next to her, in the same uncomfortable position that she seemed to be in, as fifteen Jupiterians sat on the chairs by the round table and stared at the two.

Some had nostalgia in their eyes, others sadness and others the small fear of betrayal. But what called James's attention the most, was the amusement written all over the blonde's face, who hadn't separated from Allura since the first hug she gave her by the door.

"So, you and a human, Allura?" She smirked, the others not surprised at Lana's bluntness as they rolled their eyes. The blonde was sitting next to Allura, to her right. Next to her, was Pearl and then other Jupiterians, looking at him with what James could call "judgy purple/yellow/pink eyes".

He had had a lot of women back in his day, but he had never gone as far as to meeting their families. And even if he had, he was willing to bet all the money that he didn't have that it wouldn't be like this.

"W-We're figuring it out." James spoke, his voice hoarse as he tried not to screw anything up. Allura turned to him, and sent him a reassuring look.

"Figuring it out?" A Jupiterian asked, his purple eyes still skeptical as they landed on who he once had acknowledged as the princess. He remembered how immaculate the Ljós family always was, always portraying wide smiles that held their planet's hope— until they held heartbroken expressions, tears covering their faces, and their planet's doom like ashes between their fingers.

"I'm sure Pearl told you about how delightful my stay here was." The Jupiterians went quiet with Allura's sarcastic tone, Lana only smirking at her best friend, who she once had called a sister. Pearl rolled her eyes.

"The basic. Not the details." She said. "Not like you gave me any details, but we know HYDRA well enough." Murmurs of agreement were heard among the crown, as Pearl and Lana encouraged Allura to speak up— the older woman insisting with her gaze that she do it without her infamous sarcastic tint.

"It's a complicated story, really. I don't want to bore you all with the specifics, but I do want you all to know something-"

"No, you're not royalty here, Ljós." A woman and a man said at the same time, thinking of her father. Allura thought about glaring at them, but she didn't want to make her situation worse.

"Nor would I expect to be." She said, widened gazes analyzing her. To be honest, she wasn't even sure if she was ready to be royalty— even if they had gotten down on their knees to beg for leadership, her life was complicated enough, and taking a charge as important as that one would most likely finish messing it up.

"Then?"

"Then?" Allura asked in disbelief. "I have been here longer than any of you have, thinking I was the only one of my kind. I'm sorry if I thought that Jupiter had been destroyed and worried for everyone's safety." Her bluntness made Pearl sigh, but feel glad that a bit of the fierce Allura she had known was coming back the longer she hung out with her people.

If only she could be a little more patient.

She turned to the blue eyed man next to her. "Let's go, James. I'm sorry I even dragged you here."

Lana rolled her eyes at her dramatic friend, sending glares to her fellow Jupiterians and holding Allura's arm.

"Allura, stop. We're all just nervous and don't know how to go from here."

"Maybe call Ezekyel and make this a fair sharing of insults." She mumbled.

Ok. Maybe she was being a little petty. But with the stress from the women eyeing Bucky and her own people assuming that she'd just make them go into a dictatorship the moment she walked through their door, was enough to make her appreciate the quiet life she had been leading with James just a week prior to this.

"Ezekyel is here too?"

"Would it make a difference?" Allura asked, raising an eyebrow at the man, who she could just now remember. He was one of her teachers when she was younger, and she almost chuckled at the fact that this had always been their relationship.

The man looked down slightly, and sighed.

"Alright, alright. We're sorry. You hear us and we hear you?"

"I was talking first, so I'm just gonna switch that up a bit." James kept his snort, liking this version of Allura that he hadn't seen since they were in their cell in HYDRA and she was asking him about her planet's history and the other way around.

"So, like I was saying. I just want you to know that I do not intend to come here and lead anyone into anything. I'm merely glad to see that people keep surviving the war." She stopped. "And, to apologize for my father."

The room went quiet.

"He wasn't always the best. But this decision was just horrid." She stopped, looking down at the knot in their throat. "I understand if you won't forgive him. I don't need a signed paper on his favor. That'll be up to all of you. But I do want to admit, that I knew him, and he wasn't a bad person." She stated, sending them a small smile. "Also, I offer my support for whatever you need. I know Pearl has lead everything splendidly." She sent a wink to the woman, who smirked slightly.

"And that's all. You can speak now." She told her former teacher, her eyes holding a strength that James felt proud to see.

She didn't need to lead her people, but she would still have their backs. She had put great effort into forgiving her father, no matter the pain he put her through when he almost disowned her, or when he refused to listen to her. He was still the man who played with her by the lakes, and spun her in circles as they danced at elegant parties. He was still the man who'd hug her when she was sad, and wipe her tears with his finger, carefully putting her to bed and giving her a soft kiss on her forehead.

He was still the man who loved her through it all. And even though stress and hopelessness got to him at the very end, Allura chose to see the other 99% of who her father had been.

And she didn't need everyone to agree with her. She didn't need her people to clap at her decision, or Pearl to nod at her and give her a speech about why she was right or wrong.

She just needed her own consent, and as she apologized for her dead father, did she realize that she had forgiven him years ago.

A bit of closure for Krystopher and Allura Ljós. They left on horrible terms, and she's just given herself the time to think about it.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! We're almost done with the first part 💃

Stay safe!

- evanescence2016