silence

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

Chapter Twelve

She wakes up to a bird chirping above her head. Bianca groans, as this only served to make her current headache worse. She raises her hand above her head, grabbing the little bird in her hand. She squeezes tightly, and the bird squirms, desperately trying to get free. She squeezes tighter and tighter, until the bird stops struggling. She throws the now dead bird across the grass, and it lands several feet away.

She sits up, rubbing her head. Venturing into her brother's mind had taken a lot out of her, so much so that even after a month she hadn't fully recovered. She gets to her feet, stumbling the second she does. Fortunately, there's a tree nearby that she grabs onto to steady herself. Her vision blurs, and her breathing is heavy. Then she hears voices closby, and an idea strikes her. She smirks, stumbling her way towards the voices.

It's a group of campers, not much younger than her. Upon coming into the campers' line of sight, she wipes the smirk off her face. She collapses into the grass on her knees, she even coughs a little for good measure. She wheezes, "help me."

One of them approaches her, kneeling down next to her. "Are you okay?"

"I will be." She lifts her head, placing her hand on his forehead. The color drains from his skin, and her breathing returns to normal. He collapses into the grass on his stomach. His three friends have started to run, but she raises her hands. She stands up, her energy having already started to return. The three fall backwards into the grass, groaning as the color drains from their skin as well.

"What are you?" One manages to choke out.

"I'm afraid you won't live to find out." The three go limp, and she stands up straight. The four bodies turn to dust, as if they had never been there to start with. Bianca waves her hands, her cloak appearing around her frame. She sighs content, before turning around, beginning the walk back to her father's cave.

"Princess?" Kat knocks on the bathroom door, calling for her through the door. Kimberly doesn't respond, continuing to sob as she sits against the door. "Unlock the door."

She still doesn't respond, as her hand trails down to touch her stomach. She had no idea what to do from here. She couldn't go to her mother with any of this. But she also knew she couldn't keep this from her forever. What would happen when she started to show? And Jason? What would her mother do to him when she found out? What would her mother do to her?

"Princess, if you don't open this door, I will kick it down." She stands up, unlocking the door. Kat was a nice girl, but she was still a guard. And if she felt it necessary, she would kick the door down. Kat exhales, tugging at her uniform. "Thank you."

She walks past her, wordlessly, closing the door behind her. "No offense but you don't look so good."

"None taken." She lies down on her bed. "I look how I feel."

The bed shifts as Kat takes a seat at the foot of bed. "Maybe you should eat something."

Even the mention of food made her stomach twist. Her facial expression must change as Kat says, "so that's a no. But you know you're going to have to eat something at some point? You're not just eating for yourself now."

"I know." She sighs, sitting up in bed. "You should really wear your hair down."

"What?"

"Not that you don't look good with your hair up. I just think you would look good with your hair down. I'm sorry if I offended you."

"No no. But I have to wear my hair up. All guards with hair that goes past the shoulders have to. I haven't worn my hair down since-" Kat trails off, biting her lip. And Kimberly could've sworn she was blushing.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing."

She had a feeling it wasn't just nothing. "This is about Tommy isn't it?"

"What? No. W-why would you say that?" Kat splutters, which only serves to prove her point.

"Because you're blushing. And it's obvious you like him. I heard you visited him everyday while he was in the infirmary."

"He's my friend. And I didn't want him to be lonely while he recovered."

"Whatever you say."

After breakfast with the rest of the guards, Jason heads to the training room. He's only trained once in the past two months, as he had been with the princess for a month. Then he spent the last month in a depression. He heads towards the punching bag, beginning his barrage. His thoughts trail to the princess: what was she doing right now? Would he ever get to see her again? Probably not in the queen's lifetime. Did she miss him as much as he missed her? He didn't want her to be sad. He wanted her to be happy.

They could never be together as long as the queen was around. She would never allow for them to be together. However she had found out about them, she immediately tore them apart. She would never allow Kimberly to be happy. 'Kill the queen.' a voice says in his head, a voice that wasn't his. A voice that sounded feminine. 'She killed your mother.' the voice says again. He shakes his head, now recognizing the voice as that of his 'sister'.

"Get out of my head." The voice comes to a stop, and he freezes. Someone touches his shoulder, startling him. He turns around, only to see that it was just Tommy. He relaxes. "Sorry. I thought you were someone else."

"I just came to check on you. We could hear you from out there."

He sighs, attempting to catch his breath. "Are you alright, man?"

He doesn't know how to answer. Should he mention that someone was just in his head? And maybe they still are? But would that make him sound crazy? "I'm fine."

Tommy makes a face as if he doesn't believe him. "Really? You're just… fine now?"

"No." He sighs again, taking a seat on a bench. "I can't stop thinking about her."

"The princess?" He doesn't respond. "I don't know what all went on between the two of you, but I don't think she would want you to be sad."

"You say that like it's easy. I love her, and I can't just-"

"I know. I know. But like Tanya said, what you're doing isn't healthy."

"I know." He whispers low enough that he isn't even sure Tommy heard him.

"Is there something else bothering you?" Was he really making it that obvious?

"Remember I told you about the girl claiming to be my sister?" He nods. "She was just in my head just before you came in here. She told me to kill the queen."

"The queen? Why would she expect you to do something like that?"

"Because… according to her… the queen killed my mother." His eyes go wide. "I don't know if I believe her, she herself said she has a vendetta against the royal family. Especially the queen."

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know. And I don't know how we're going to fight her."

Suddenly the door opens, and someone enters the room. "I think I might be able to help."