Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to someone else, not me. Anything that sounds vaguely original may be mine, however. Please don't sue me, I'm but a poor college student.
A/N: This would be my first post ever, so I apologize for any formatting oddities. As for the story itself, for what it's worth, enjoy it or hate it as you will. My only request is that should you choose to review, please no flames, if you have anything to say, please do so constructively. Thank you.
--Random Reader
Chapter 3: The Smiling Prince
"My Lord Prince, the Rangers have arrived."
Crown Prince Alandor Han Caldon nodded to the Younger. "Thank you, Prince Tiernan," he said amiably. He gestured to the seat across his desk. "Please, little brother, have a seat."
"I'll stay standing, thank you."
Prince Alandor poured himself a glass of wine. "Would you like anything to drink, Tiernan?"
"Thank you, but no," Tiernan replied. "I just came to inform you of their arrival, nothing more. I told them I would speak with them in the Lesser Library."
The Crown Prince sipped slowly from his goblet. "A fine vintage," he remarked. "You really should have some, Tier."
"If there is nothing you need of me, Alandor, then I should be on my way." He bowed shortly, "By your leave, Prince Alandor," and he left the study.
"He seems agitated, my Lord Prince," a voice beside the Heir observed.
"My brother is nervous," the Prince replied casually. "He has a lot of responsibility as the Younger Prince; becoming lieutenant commander of the Royal Guardsmen at his age. We're very proud of him. He feels he has much to live up to."
The man beside Alandor came around to stand before him. "Do you really think the Rangers here will change anything, Alandor? There are those who would want you dead, my Prince, and the Council's presence here will make little difference to them."
"Someone always wants me dead," Alandor returned. "The same can be said about my entire family, Magnus." The Prince snorted. "Caldon has ruled for generations, with or without the Council of the Power. It is my father who wanted them here and while I welcome their presence, if they had declined, I would not have missed them."
"Alandor, our sources are quite serious," Magnus countered gently.
"And so am I, old friend," the Prince replied coolly. "You would do well to remember who is next in line for the Throne and who the advisor is." Alandor emptied the contents of the wine goblet, his point made quite clear to the now pale Magnus. The Prince rose. "My brother has ensured our safety. I trust him with my life, and my family's. He would do nothing to disgrace Caldon." Prince Alandor inhaled deeply and smiled. "I think I should also make an informal appearance in the Lesser Library, don't you think?" He headed towards one of the secret doors, "Measure up these pups who call themselves Power Rangers."
Magnus regained his composure. "Yes, my Lord Prince," he agreed.
----
TJ Johnson walked in front of his Earth teammates as they made their way to the Library. The former Red Turbo Ranger was once the leader and he found that many of his old habits had a hard time dying. Much like Andros, he mused. The now blue ranger watched the team leader carefully. He's doing it again, TJ thought to himself. After all this time...He shook the thoughts from his head.
"Something wrong, Teej?" Cassie asked quietly.
"No," he lied, "nothing."
Cassie shot him a "that's-not-the-truth" look but wisely didn't press the matter further. Now was not the time to show divergence in the ranks.
The page that was leading them halted before two great oaken doors. "Honored guests, please wait here while I make your presence known to His Highness."
Andros inclined his head and the page disappeared behind the doors. He turned to his teammates; TJ noted the still dour expression on the Kerovian's face until Ashley flashed an encouraging smile. Andros visibly relaxed and gave quiet instructions. "Prince Tiernan is giving us the run down of what will happen when we meet the King. There are safety precautions and protocol we must follow."
"So basically, it's like making cracks about assassinating the President," Carlos provided helpfully.
"Can it, Carlos," TJ snapped.
The grinning Carlos smothered a chuckle and obeyed. "Just tryin' to keep things light," he explained.
The page reappeared and ushered them inside. They all bowed deeply before the Prince. "May I present the Power Rangers of Earth; Andros of KO-35, team leader and Red Ranger; Theodore Jarvis Johnson, second-in-command and Blue Ranger; Cassandra Chan, Pink Ranger; Ashley Hammond, Yellow Ranger and Carlos Vargas, Black Ranger." The page bowed again and departed from the room.
"Please, Honored Guests," Tiernan said clearly, "be seated. We have a modest meal prepared for you."
The Rangers sat respectfully at the long table set up in the middle of the room. TJ found it rather odd that they were eating in a library, but by the looks of the room, they were in the main hall of what seemed like a city library. The room was deep and directly in front of where they sat was a stained glass window, which allowed to day's sunlight to stream in.
As if reading his thoughts, the Prince explained, "This room doubles as an Informal Council room. Volumes of Law and Protocol are at our fingertips here."
Servants laid food and drink down on the table and began serving. TJ's stomach grumbled and he realized for the first time since his arrival that the last time he ate was early that same morning; it was now well past 2 o'clock.
"I regret, Honored Guests, that my father has been called away to take care of some matters and will be unable to meet with you tonight as planned. I hope you do not hold such inconvenience against us. My brother, Prince Alandor..."
"Welcomes you to our humble home," a lighthearted lilt declared from the hallway beside Prince Tiernan. A gentleman in the same colors as Tiernan sauntered into the room the rangers were assembled in. His hair was the same wheat-gold as Tiernan's, but his eyes were greener. He smiled at the rangers, "We are honored you could join us, Rangers."
Andros was the first to rise, his teammates followed suit, a little less gracefully. "Your Majesty, we are the ones who are honored."
"Well said, Ranger," Prince Alandor complimented. "Please, I've interrupted your meal. It would not do well if any of you collapsed due to lack of food. What would you think of us?" Alandor shook his head, "I could never allow you to think of us as ill mannered hosts."
TJ wasn't sure, but he could have sworn that the Prince directed that comment at the girls. TJ hoped for the Prince's sake that Cassie especially didn't notice.
Tiernan cleared his throat. "Rangers, may I introduce my older brother, Crown Prince Alandor, first son of Aileron Han Caldon, Heir to the Throne of Soloria."
Alandor shook his head, "You'll have to forgive my brother, friends," he said casually. "He excelled in etiquette when he was in school. Our masters were very proud of him. I, on the other hand, passed, but with not nearly as many colors as this one," the Prince gestured to the Younger. "He's quite accomplished, I'll have you know. He's recently become the Lieutenant Commander of Silver Guardsmen."
The Younger Prince flushed. "Prince Alandor..."
"Hah! You see? He can't even call me 'Alandor.'" The Lord Prince eased himself into a seat before the rangers. His measuring gaze fell upon the red ranger. "Andros of KO-35, is it not?"
Andros nodded. "Yes, your Highness."
"I have heard of your exploits, Kerovian," the Prince explained. "Impressive work." He then addressed the rest of the rangers, "All of you." Brief informal introductions were made and casual conversation commenced.
TJ watched the princes carefully. Tiernan seemed displeased by his brother's presence, but the blue ranger accounted those feelings of ill will to Alandor's comment of protocol and how seriously the Younger Prince took the matter. Alandor himself seemed just as well educated as Tiernan only his area of expertise seemed to be flirtation and courtly graces. He spoke with great ease with Ashley and took particular interest in Cassie.
"Your beauty is exotic to my kind," Alandor had remarked. "Your fine ebony hair and olive complexion..." The Prince continued with his flattery. TJ had to smirk - he had known Cassie the longest out of their team and she could be quite the firecracker, and yet she was letting herself be taken in with Alandor's charm.
Once the ranger team had finished their meal, servants came out again to clear away the remnants. They also brought bottles of wine and set a goblet before each of the rangers.
"My request, little brother," Alandor explained before the Younger Prince could protest. "It would do well to toast this occasion, would it not?"
"Yes, of course, my brother," Tiernan said a little reluctantly.
Alandor smiled, something TJ was getting used to seeing on the Crown Prince's face. "This is Rhovian vintage, one of our allies that flourishes in spices and grapes; a tribute to my father's reign." He raised his glass, "To the Council of Power and to their most honorable ambassadors."
TJ's gaze went immediately to his leader. Andros could be just as coldly polite as the Younger Prince and the blue ranger hoped that the Kerovian would use this time to do so. The red ranger seemed to sense TJ's thoughts and did not try and refute the Crown Prince's claim. They all drank to each other's health.
"And now, so my younger brother does not have a conniption, we shall discuss business." Prince Alandor turned to Tiernan. "Go ahead, Tier, this is more of your sort of thing than it is mine."
"My brother flatters me," Tiernan remarked. "But as you wish, my Lord Prince. In a fortnight, my father will be holding a banquet to honor my brother's Day of Life celebration. Allies from the other countries and planets will be in attendance. It will be quite the gala, but it also comes with the risk of serious assassination attempts. One of the other reasons your presence was requested.
"My father, as I mentioned, has been called away, otherwise he would see you tonight. Instead, he will have a brief audience with you tomorrow afternoon. The rest of the time before then will be used to acquaint yourselves with our capital and if time permits, the rest of our kingdom."
"We would be honored to do so, your Majesty," said Andros.
Prince Alandor rose, and out respect for the Solorian Heir, the others did as well. "If you would all please excuse me, honored guests, but my duty calls me elsewhere. I hope you will all enjoy your visit to our humble planet." His gaze paused as it fell on Cassie and the pink ranger blushed. "Good day to you, Rangers," said the Prince. He nodded cordially to his brother: "I leave them in your capable hands, Prince Tiernan."
----
After taking the rangers on a tour of the Palace, Prince Tiernan brought them back to the guest wing. "If you will please excuse me, Rangers, my duties also call me away. You are free to look about the castle and the grounds. The night life of the city can be exciting, if you wish to sample the faire, I suggest taking along a guide." He inclined his head to them before taking leave of their company once again.
Once the Younger Prince was out of earshot, Andros turned to his team. "You guys can do whatever you want, but I think that I'll call it an early night."
TJ offered his arm to Cassie, "Care to join me on a stroll, lady fair?"
"Watch out, Teej," Carlos advised, "Prince Alandor might have your head cut off for making a move on his girl."
Cassie glared at the black ranger and took TJ's arm, sticking her tongue out at Carlos indignantly. "Let's go," she said.
TJ escorted the pink ranger to the main entrance. "You know, he was right about His Majesty, Cass," TJ pointed out. "He was quite captivated by you."
Cassie blushed and grumbled under her breath.
The blue ranger chuckled. "I cannot believe that you're actually interested," he said.
"Any girl dreams of getting swept off her feet by a Prince Charming," she observed. "Mine just happens to be real." She grinned slyly, "Besides, who said I can't flirt?"
TJ found that he and Cassie had wandered into the Courtyard. The sun was just setting and the three moons of Soloria were rising. "Is this the sort of thing you thought we would be doing when we accepted our Powers from Tommy and Tanya?"
"I never thought anything like this would happen," Cassie admitted. "What Earth Ranger really does? It's not the sort of thing that's every day in our part of the galaxy. Then again, wielding the Power isn't something common for any of us, really," she added with a laugh. Cassie took a seat on one of the stone benches and motioned TJ to sit beside her. "And you, Mr. Johnson? Is this what you wanted?"
"Who can say?" he said finally. In truth, he never imagined that his life would be anything less than ordinary. He had planned to go to college and see where life would take him from there. TJ figured that his teammates, with perhaps the exception of Andros, had had the same notions. "Asking 'what if' is always easy," TJ observed.
"What you make of the cards that are dealt to you is what makes things interesting," Cassie agreed. "This place is really pretty, though."
TJ looked up at the stars. He had seen thousands of them in his day, ones familiar and ones he had never dreamed about. But they all shared the same bright quality; the same kind of wondrous and unique shine. TJ found them comforting. "I'm glad that I got this hand," he said at length. "It's taken me much farther than I probably would have ever taken myself."
Cassie leaned against him companionably. "I don't know about that, Teej. You've got a pretty good poker face."
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Thank you most graciously for taking the time to read these two new chapters. To those who were kind enough to take the time to review, I am most grateful. I shall try and keep this story updated as much as I can. Until next time...Happy reading!!
--Random Reader