silence

A/N: I can't believe there's only a few chapters left until the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

Chapter Seventeen

"I got the amulet." Her voice is hoarse and devoid of emotion. Kat had been asking questions about what happened with her mother, the second she came back out into the hallway. And Tommy and Dr. Campbell were now looking at her. Dr. Campbell takes the amulet from her hand, wordlessly.

"Are you sure you're okay to do this?"

"I'm fine Tommy." Dr. Campbell sits up on the bed, setting the ice pack she had on her head to the side. She closes her eyes, holding the amulet between her eyes. The amulet glows bright red for several minutes, before returning to normal, and Dr. Campbell opens her eyes. She doesn't say anything, staring into space.

"Dr. Campbell?" Tommy touches her shoulder, which causes the doctor to shake her head, blinking rapidly.

"I'm sorry."

"Do you know where Jason is?"

"He's in the woods. That's all I was able to get. There must be a spell preventing the amulet from finding his exact location."

"It's okay. We'll gather the other guards, and search the woods." Tommy says, before leaving the infirmary with Kat.

Kimberly could only hope that they reached him in time. She wanted to believe that he was okay, but then why would there be a spell making it so they couldn't find his exact location. His sister was in all likelihood behind Jason's disappearance, and that couldn't mean anything good.

Her thoughts are interrupted by Dr. Campbell getting up from the bed. "Where are you going?"

"To make some tea. Judging by your demeanor earlier, I assume you wouldn't want to be around the queen right now."

"You would be correct." She sighs. "But should you be moving around?"

"I specialize in healing potions, princess" Dr. Campbell walks into her office.

"Jason!"

Kat climbs over a cluster of rocks in her way. She doesn't know how long they've been looking for, but it felt like a while. She inhales, stretching. The bushes rustle behind her, and she turns around. "Jason?"

No response. She places her hand on her sword, just as someone comes through the bushes. She presses her sword into the person's chest, before seeing who the person was.

"Tommy!" She drops her sword, groaning. "You scared me!"

"Sorry. You were pretty fast with that sword though."

"You say that like you're surprised. I always was better with a sword than you." She teases before walking away. She hears him climb over the rocks, running to catch up with her.

"Hey!"

A smile makes its way onto her face, stifling a laugh. He finally catches up to her. "Are you not going to say anything?"

"Do I even need to say anything?" She smiles at him.

"Ouch."

She laughs, before she looks over to find him staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing. There's just… something I need to talk to you about."

She stops, turning to look at him. "What is it?"

He stammers, looking at the ground. She bites her lip, "Tommy."

Then she sees something over his shoulder. It looked like the pants leg of a guards' uniform sticking out of a bush.

"Tommy."

"I'm sorry. I just-" she pushes past him, walking towards the bush. She pushes through it, finding Jason lying unconscious in the grass. His sword is lying close by, with blood on it. There's a cut in protective gear revealing a gash on his side. If not the rising and falling of his chest with every weak breath, she would've thought he was dead.

"Kat!"

"I'm fine! I found Jason!"

Tommy finds them both, helping her lift him off the ground.

She tries not to worry too much. But it was proving easier said than done. Dr. Campbell must notice her distress, as she puts her mug down, saying, "I know you're worried about Jason, but the other guards will find him."

"But what if they don't find him in time? Those woods are huge, and it's already been nearly an hour."

Dr. Campbell doesn't say anything in response, and she doesn't get the chance to. As the door opens, Billy rushes into the infirmary. He's out of breath as if he had been running. "What's wrong Billy?"

"The queen wants to see you princess. She says it's urgent."

She resists the urge to groan, not missing the face Dr. Campbell makes. She stands up from the chair she had been sitting in, begrudgingly following Billy to her mother's location. Her mother was sitting at the dining room table, dismissing Billy the instant he arrived with Kimberly. Her mother smiles at her, as if they weren't yelling at each other less than an hour ago. "Please take a seat. It is important that you eat in your… condition."

She wants to argue, sure that something was up for her mother to be acting this nice. But she also knows that her mother was right about her needing to eat. So she takes a seat at the table grabbing herself some food. "Good."

"Cut the act." She mumbles under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I said cut the act." She says, a bit more forcefully. "What is the real reason you wanted to see me?"

The smile drops from her mother's face, returning to her usual expression. Which was a cross between a frown and anger. "You're right. I have something to discuss with you."

Her mother pauses. "I recognize that you have feelings for Jason. But it is important that you marry a prince of royal lineage, and not be distracted by things such as… love."

"But I don't want to marry a prince. You married for love, why can't I?"

"My marriage to your father is not the same thing as whatever you have going on with this guard. Your father was a prince, and we just happened to have also been in love. And our marriage brought our kingdoms together, and you must do the same while you are still young." She shakes her head. "Think of our image here."

"So our image is more important than my happiness."

"Yes!"

She scoffs, standing up from the table. "Where are you going?! Come back here! I am your mother!"

"I already told you, I don't have a mother anymore. And you are a disgrace of a mother." And with that, she walks away from her mother for the second time today.