The Phantom Princess, chapter 13
"Of ALL the things you could've done, you run off with no protection, playing tag with other rangers that I asked to bring you back, all the while, you got killer robots after you!" Fadus admonished his little sister and she glared at him with anger.
"I am not a child! I wanted to see my planet again, I wanted to live again and I had protection-I had Justin, who has proven he can look after me!" Cerina cried.
"Seri, you didn't tell anyone you were leaving. That's a risk me and Fadus can't do," Shadow countered sternly.
"I don't have to! I'm a princess! I don't need to be guarded like I'm a child. I am NOT a child!" Seri shouted back.
Fadus was mad. He tried to reign in his anger but it was still coming out in his voice. "You are not allowed to leave this palace without the Elite Guard!"
Cerina was cleared angry with that statement. "You are NOT about to command me to obey you! I am NOT A CHILD! Stop treating me like I am! I have managed to get on without either one of you! I am an adult now! It's your problem if you can't see that!" Cerina was ready to leave the castle, get on Omega and fly away from Eltar.
Trini sensed what Cerina was ready to do and she went to her side to try and calm her down with a gentle hand on the princess' shoulder.
"I'm the oldest here, Cerina, and I'm telling you, you are not allowed to leave the palace for ANY reason! Do I make myself clear? Do not make me place you under home arrest!"
"If you do that, I will never forgive you!" Cerina screamed at Fadus. She would not allow herself to be locked away.
The other rangers were clearly torn in staying neutral in this argument.
"We don't have to be that extreme, Fadus. We can make her at least tell us where she's going so we don't worry so much," Shadow tried to reason, staying calm cause the last thing the castle needed was for him and Cerina to start arguing.
"You two want to only see me as that 13 year old girly-girl I use to be. I had to grow up and grow up fast to survive. All I wanted to do was to live for a little bit, just see my planet, to help me reconnect to our people. But I am an adult now who can handle herself against all foes. So if you plan to put me under home arrest Fadus, understand that I won't stay here. I will leave and not come back!" Cerina folded her arms and some of the rangers gasped at what she said.
Fadus opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something. Instead, he sighed as his eyes got glassy. "You're right," he said after a few moments of silence. "I want to do nothing more than see you as your 13 year old self. But time has changed you and I will always feel like I should've protected you better. But we can't change what happened. All we can do is accept what we have now. Shadow's right though. I can't be so extreme with you. You don't need to be sheltered and I'm not Dad. So...just tell us when you're gonna leave the castle ok?"
Cerina looked at her brother like he grew an extra head before nodding and leaving. Zhane was right behind her.
As soon as they left, Shadow looked at Fadus. "Why didn't you let her know about...you know..."
"About what?" Cassie asked.
"It's political stuff," Fadus said, trying to brush it away.
"Well...Fadus has made it public knowledge in the castle that he didn't want to be king." Shadow snickered. "And the way the politics are here on Eltar...it's almost...it's...Kinda hard to explain."
"Can you try?" Cassie asked.
"Hell, I better Shadow. It won't sound like you want to backlash the advisor counsel," Fadus spoke up.
"So..." Fadus took off his crown and sat on the steps leading to the thrones. "Ok... For generations, Eltar always had an Advisor Counsel. The counsel is stuck in their ways, especially when it comes to royal bloodlines."
"Thanks to Dark Spectre, 90% of the royal bloodlines have been eliminated in the entire universe," Shadow interjected. "But the counsel has been blinded or choose to be blinded over that little detail."
Fadus shook his head as he continued. "So my mom was from a royal bloodline that was decimated by a plague that swept through Eltar decades before. My mother and 5 older brothers all died from it, as well as about half the population. I was the sole surviving heir to the Eltarian throne."
"But Shadow and Cerina's mother wasn't truly from a royal bloodline. Technically, yes. But their grandfather rejected the throne and married their grandmother, from a people who had sun-like abilities. Their mother, Solidaia, was a leader of her own ppl, not as a royal, but a leader, like a...um, governor, which Earth has lots of. Dad...Zordon, fell in love with Solidaia and he married her. He was a royal, so it didn't matter if she wasn't...in title. In blood, absolutely."
"So what was the problem?" Zach asked.
"When Zordon died...I was engaged to be married. I didn't want the throne."
"But I did," said Shadow. "I was willing cause Fadus wanted to give up the throne, the crown, all of it."
"But the counsel said nope. All on a technicality."
"Wait. So because their grandfather said nope to the crown, the counsel is holding it against Shadow!?" cried Kimberly. "That's all kinds of wrong! Shadow and Cerina are not responsible and should not have to pay for decisions that were made before they were ever born!"
"I agree. But because the counsel didn't budge on it, I decided to take the throne. I lost my engagement in the process."
"Then she wasn't for you. If she was going to be mad enough at you because you took the throne after the counsel rejected Shadow, then she didn't deserve you," Ashley told the reluctant King.
"Wait, they wouldn't let Shadow be King?!" Everyone turned to see that Cerina had returned, with Zhane. She marched over to her brothers. "That's not fair! Shadow wanted to be King, and they said no!?"
"Cerina, the counsel-" but Fadus was interrupted by his sister.
"No. Blow the counsel! Disband them, tell them they're fired! If they can't get caught up on current events, then they can't advise any King! As long as one parent is of royal blood-Dad-then Shadow can be King!" Cerina folded her arms and stared at him.
Fadus opened his mouth, then closed it
"Fade?" Cerina said softly after a few tense moments.
"You're right." Fadus smiled. "You are right. I can change the laws. Make it so there's no chance of either of you being denied the chance to rule."
Shadow grinned as well. "Well-13 year old Cerina wouldn't have said that to us."
"But a grown-up Cerina would." Fadus stood up and hugged his sister tightly.
"OW! Too…hard!" Cerina got out before Fadus let go of her.
"I can announce to the counsel my intentions for change, to adapt to the times now. If we can't adapt, then Eltar will fall. If they can't handle such changes, then they will be relieved of their duties permanently. With a cycle of pay, of course."
"How do you want to do this?" Andros asked.
"I will go in as King. Shadow and Cerina have every right to be there. Zhane too, he will be married to my sister and become Lord Zhane. Shadow..." Fadus turned to his brother.
Shadow went to Cassie, for he knew what Fadus wanted to do.
"Fadus knows how I feel about you. I asked him to back off because I wanted to take our time. But you don't need to do this."
"Would me being there mean Fadus' point would be made?" Cassie asked. "If so, I can do it."
"It would but I can go in with just Zhane. The counsel doesn't even know Cerina's alive yet. So…the counsel will be in an uproar."
" I can do it. But I assume I can't go in as a Space Ranger," Cassie spoke nervously.
"I got some dresses you can try on," Cerina said. "But we gotta go now and Zhane and I have to change anyway." Cerina took Cassie's hand and guided her to her chambers.
Billy knew he had to ask. "So, what happens after this meeting? How will Cerina's return be viewed?"
"There's going to be questions of how is it possible and is it her, which the surgeons already confirmed it's her. I could end up with no Advisor Counsel. But I'll risk it." Fadus then put on his crown.
Shadow stood up and de-morphed, revealing loose pants, fitted long sleeved tee and his crown.
Cerina and Cassie met Shadow, Zhane and Fadus at the double doors leading to the Advisor Counsel Room. Cerina was wearing a one shoulder simple ice pink colored dress that brushed the floor and she wore a simple braid with her crown. Cassie wore a green long-sleeved gown with white leggings under it since there was a split in the middle of the lower half of the gown.
Fadus nodded and sighed before opening the doors. Inside were the 25 members of the Advisor Counsel.
"King Fadus, why call this meeting AND bring outsiders?" The head of the council asked.
"Trenjor...This meeting needs them. Everyone knows Zhane..." Fadus indicated the Silver Ranger. "This young lady is Cassie, who is being courted by my brother Shadow," Fadus indicated Cassie, who was feeling self-conscious about being pointed out. "And this...you know who this is. This is my sister, Princess Cerina. She has returned. She is alive."
"A lie! Everyone on Altar knows that Princess Carina is dead." Trenjor said with distain. "How do we know that this is even her!?"
"Our surgeons already verified that this is Cerina. She faked her death to save the other rangers years ago."
"Then how did she do it? Why did she do it?" Another member asked.
Cerina stepped forward. "The other Space Rangers had been downed by unknown forces of evil. In order to protect them and our planet, I made the decision to make those unknown forces follow me and fake my death due to the rumors of an unknown edge of the universe enemy trying to bring chaos to our universe."
"Dark Spectre." Trenjor said in a low breath.
With a pointed glare, Cerina continued. "I thought so too. I later learned that Gasket and Archerina were the culprits. I stayed away because they were after me. My death would have been the beginning. They intended to wipe out not only me but my brothers as well, which would have thrown Eltar into a state of Chaos. I couldn't allow that."
"A 13 year old princess should never have been a ranger." One member remarked.
"But King Zordon made that decision, Jusic. We cannot understand his motives, but for sure he never intended on the princess to make such a decision," spoke a younger, salt and pepper haired man. "Princess, welcome home."
Cerina smiled, nodding as her eyes got glassy.
"The increased rumors of the Machine Empire sending a scouting force here in secret has been confirmed by my sister. She returned only to snuff out this alleged 'scouting force' and hopefully to remain her afterwards."
"We are getting off point here, why call this meeting?" an elderly member of the council asked.
"Due to the pooled knowledge that was shared with me by my sister, I feel that we are not adjusting to changing events, not only here but in the universe itself." Fadus took a breath and continued. "The questioning of Shadow's bloodline and now my sisters will come around again. As we have learned, Dark Spectre had wiped out 90% of all the royal bloodlines in the universe."
"When our father, the King and Elder Wizard Zordon sacrificed himself, I had no intention to become King. Shadow was willing. Due to the objections of this counsel holding onto old laws that now have no relevance to current events and on a single technicality, Shadow was not allowed to be King. So I became King, and in that, lost my engagement."
"The council rules still apply."
"They do not!" Cerina decided to speak up. "Hanging onto ancient laws simply because members of this counsel did not like my mother Solidaia, you intend to keep me and my brother Shadow from ever ruling! Are none of you aware that Dark Spectre wiped out 90% of the royal bloodlines in the universe? Or do you not care!?"
The murmurs got a little louder. "We are aware," spoke up an elderly woman with knee-length white hair. "I do also know that Queen Solidaia was still from a royal bloodline. What her father chose to do was never meant to be continued for anyone beyond him. This I do understand and respect."
"Exactly," Fadus agreed.
"Then the purpose of this meeting is to force us to allow Shadow to be King?" replied Trenjor. "This counsel will not allow it."
"You don't speak for all of us," Aloric interjected.
"The purpose of this counsel is to modify the law so if the time came for my brother and sister to rule, there would be no blocks. No objections because of who their mother is. Or who her people are."
" I object to this and want that on the notes!" Trenjor shouted
"Noted," Spoke Fadus. "Now, the change I want to make is this: As long as 1 ruler has royal blood in their veins, in this case, our father, the King and Elder Wizard Zordon's blood in their veins, they can rule. no matter who their other half will be."
15 members of the council stood up.
"I take it that this is a walkout." Cassie said lowly to Shadow.
"It is," Shadow nodded.
Trenjor looked at Cassie and noticed something on her left wrist. "Another space ranger, we did not assign one. Zhane, Andros…and now Cerina are the only ones."
"No. Andros did and I trust his judgement." Fadus then addressed the 15 that stood. "I appreciate all the work you 15 have put into governing Eltar. But I must allow you 15 to go with a cycle's pay advance. I asked that all of you vacate the palace within 48 and none of you will be allowed to rejoin the Advisor Counsel ever again, no matter who rules."
There was silence and wide, startled eyes as the 15 did not expect Fadus to merely dismiss them. With that said the startled members knew that they were beaten and filed out of the room.
"I'm going to assume that you 10 would allow the modified law to happen?" Shadow asked.
The elderly woman, the only true senior-most member of the counsel, smiled. "I believe it will pass unanimously. I believe all of us that remain can agree that this law change is long overdue."
"What would you do now, your highness?" asked Aloric.
"I will remain King. However, I want to make a planetary announcement of my sister's return and also announce that the wedding between her and Zhane will go forward."
"I also think I will shrink the number of counsel members from 25 to 15. I want to also send out openings for all the provinces, with priority to ones that have never been represented on the counsel before." Fadus added as an after thought. "I want to be clear-the threat of the remaining forces of evil still remains. But now, with both my bother and sister here, as well as the new team of Space Rangers and previous rangers hand-picked by our father Zordon, we will end this threat. Eltar will prosper as we move into a new era."
The ten remaining members nodded in agreement.
The members then went to welcome Cerina back.
Celebrations were going on all over Eltar, to welcome home their lost princess. The people of Eltar were also made aware that the threat to her wasn't gone and that her being home put the planet in danger. But the people answered by pledging their best warriors to the Eltarian Militaries to help protect her and their planet.
The celebrations were not even on their minds as Cerina and Zhane were in a private alcove at the South Tower. The two wanted some alone time without dozens of people around them. They sat on the extra wide pillow chair and Zhane held Cerina as she sighed, content with herself.
"This feels right," Zhane replied softly. "You, me, the stars..."
Cerina smiled.
"You know, once we get married, you won't be able to get rid of me." He smiled like a dufus but he didn't care. "So if you want to back out, now is the time."
Cerina laughed. It was a natural laugh, hinting that it had been a long time since she had laughed. "I'll take my chances," she got out.
Zhane hugged Cerina to him. "You're still planning to leave though. To help Justin finish his mission on KO-35."
Cerina sat straight up and looked back at him. "How-?"
"I know because I would do the same," Zhane admitted. "So here's the deal-you and Justin aren't sneaking off without me. This time, you won't be alone out there."
Cerina stared at Zhane, unsure how to respond to that at first. She then found her voice. "You couldn't even handle the Mercerites. How do you think you can now?"
"Back then, we were all children. Now we're all adults. And I managed many tough fights with my charm."
Cerina groaned. "Zhane, even as an adult, Mercerites aren't a joke."
"I know. But you will not go out there alone. Like the vows say, 'For all the ills and the joys in this life, I am yours.' "
Cerina teared up right away.
Zhane reached out to wipe away her falling tears. He stared at her, hoping she saw that he meant those words.
"Zhane..."
Zhane then kissed her, and in that one moment, Cerina gave in and kissed back. She felt how hard it had truly been for him.
When their lips parted, she told him quietly, "Alright. If you die, you can't say I didn't warn you." A smile came to her face.
"Noted." Zhane then pulled her to him for another kiss.
And Cerina had no desire to pull away.
Shadow took Cassie over to the walled off gardens, with multi-colored plants inside. He closed the wall behind them. There was a small table there with two very comfy-looking chairs and food waiting. "At last, some alone time."
Cassie smiled, considering how Shadow had been giving her space. "I am hungry though."
"So am I. Those Advisor Meetings can be boring. And I hate boring." He held out a chair and Cassie sat down. He then sat down in his own chair.
I'm going to change my clothes though. Green's not my color."
"I agree. I can get the royal seamstress her in the morning to design you some dresses." Shadow dug into his plate of yellowish noodles filled with small, colored items in it.
Cassie kinda pushed it around on her plate and Shadow spooned some up. "Try it," Shadow had the spoon at Cassie's mouth and she reluctantly took a big.
The flavor exploded in her mouth and she liked it. It was almost like veggie filled noodles and the sauce was something else. Cassie smiled and chewed before digging into her own food.
There was a comfortable silence between them as they ate heartily.
"So...why did Fadus feel like he needed to be sure you and Cerina could rule without any issues?" Cassie asked.
"It's got a lot to do with my mom and her...um...the word is race, I think."
Cassie nodded, letting Shadow know that he was right.
"My mom's...race was secretive. They never interacted with the rest of the universe, so they were isolated. Rumors about them, they were called, 'Sun-love People' by the rest of the universe, ran amok. They're still like it today. I think."
"Why are they so isolated? And why did your grandfather give up his crown? Do you know?"
Shadow laughed. "Give me a sec here." Shadow cleared his throat. "The planet is called 'Soleilious'. They are the closest to the sun of our galaxy. They felt as if the rest of the system, and the universe as a whole, would taint the 'pure powers' of the Sun."
"But when my grandfather was born, things were wrong, at least, to him. As he got older, he felt like the planet was too isolated for their own good. He felt like, in order to survive long term, they needed to open relations, if not with the universe, then at least our system. By the time he became an adult, he was...um, butting heads with his father, uncles, brothers and grandfather."
"What was wrong?"
"According to my grandfather's journals, women on Soleilious were decreasing. More males were being born over females and it was being noticed."
"Why?" Cassie asked.
"He never really said, He wanted to explore our system, start trade relations. He got denied so many times."
"But when he was about 22 spring years old, He was being pressured into getting married. He was refusing. When he was given an ultimatum to choose, he gave up the crown and all claims to the throne, got into a ship he had built and left the planet."
"His explorations got him to KO-35, and he decided to live there, enjoying the ppl and culture. He eventually met my grandmother and well...here I am." Shadow grinned. "I don't even know if Soleilious still lives. I've never found it."
"Maybe we can try?" Cassie replied hopefully. "Together?"
"Maybe...I'll keep it in mind."
Fadus sat on his balcony terrace as he stared out at the castle walls. Already, word was spreading over the return of Eltar's Princess and that Fadus dismissed 15 of his Advisor Counsel members.
He didn't even realize that his younger brother and sister were having moments to themselves. He wasn't entertaining thoughts on them. He was looking to the future with replacing a few of his Advisor Counsel.
"Fadus?" came Andros' voice, breaking the King's trains of thought.
"Andros, sit, what's wrong?" Fadus asked as he set down his cup.
"I'm worried. I know you 3 put the sword back together. I'm worried that Cerina will take it and run."
"I did think on that. That's why I added security to every possible exit. I'm not taking chances."
"You know-IF she gets out-it's with Zhane's help."
"Zhane wouldn't do that. He's keen on keeping her here." Fadus laughed. "He told me not to go to the gardens."
Andros shook his head. "At a time like this."
"I get it. I ordered everyone away from the gardens. Zhane and Cerina have been denied a chance at courting so if they're getting married soon...well..."
"Fadus!" Andros hissed.
"And you haven't thought of courting Ashley?"
"At a time like this?"
"Well...and you hadn't? Andros, there's more to life than being a ranger."
"How did this get about me and Ashley?" Andros asked.
"Andros, do take some time to show Ashley around. No ranger stuff. Just...court her. She's a lovely lady, and she definitely wants to be courted."
Andros sighed and stood up.
"Goodness Andros, it's not a death sentence. I'm sure Ashley would enjoy some courting time alone with you."
Andros walked off and Fadus smiled.
Fadus then saw Trini walk up to the table and he stood up quickly before both sat down. "Trini. How are you?"
"Doing alright. Happy to see Cerina happy to see her family and Zhane again." Trinity said with a slight smile.
"I'm happy that she's ok. But this Cerina is more...quiet than I remember. Running and hiding can do that to anyone." Fadus sighed. "But she's back, that's all I will focus on...at least on the surface."
"She had to grow up. But the day she first came to earth was the start of my space journey and I am glad. She showed me another side to myself."
"I heard Billy speak of his, and the Aquitian Rangers." Fadus glanced at the garden. "Cerina's perspective will keep Eltar safe for generations to come."
"She reminds me so much of Zordon. He would be proud of her."
"Dad would be. Cerina will run again. She's...guarded. She's expecting something to happen. Did you hear about early this morning? I didn't realize the Elite Guard would be no match for the Mercerites. She proved it to them, disarming them in such quick and fluid motion."
"I didn't. You believe she will?" Trini asked.
"She fears the Mercerites. After everything you two went through, that's with good reason. She is worried no one here can handle them and the loss of life would break her heart."
Trini was worried also but she shifted her thoughts onto something else. "So...how soon will Zhane and Cerina get married?"
"Zhane wanted it as soon as the festival was over. But as soon as this business with the Machine Empire is done is what I'm guessing."
"I don't think Zhane's the impatient one. Cerina is going to be the one wanting to get married asap." Trini giggled at a sudden 'inside joke'.
"Hmm?" Fadus questioned.
"Something Cerina told me a few times. She was going to let Zhane know what he meant to her."
Fadus laughed. "And that is why everyone was warned to stay away from the gardens."
"So...that meeting with the Advisors...didn't go so well?"
"It didn't surprise me. But still a blessing. It was too large. Now, it can be smaller with fresh perspectives."
Many hours had gone by, the night sky fresh and crisp as the moons shone brightly. And in the gardens, in the center of it, Zhane had his arms folded under his head, smile on his face as Cerina slept next to him.
He knew what was coming when the suns broke the night sky. And he wasn't going to let her face it alone.
But at this very moment, he was a happily soon to be married man.
They were covered up but he was ready to slide the covers off of Cerina and go another round. But she was tired and she needed to rest. So he was going to behave for the moment.
Cerina then jerked in her sleep and Zhane immediately put an arm around her to pull her closer. She seemed to quiet down.
He knew Cerina was going to try and leave Eltar. She kept glancing at her ship, as if she wanted to get up and leave. He planned to stay up to be sure she didn't…
Dawn was nearly an hour away when Zhane began to snore. Cerina woke up and gently untangled herself from him as she slowly stood up. She felt sad but she and Justin had to finish his mission, so she left the garden after getting dressed and after going to her room unseen and grabbing her box, she went to the throne room, placed the box onto Fadus' seat and headed for Omega. As she used a side entrance to get into her ship, she was met by Beta and a sleepy Justin and all three headed to the bridge.
The three made it to the bridge and there was Trini and Billy, each in a chair, looking at the three of them. Cerina folded her arms in annoyance as Beta and Justin started up the ship.
"I knew you were going to try this," Trini smiled at Cerina.
"You and Billy can stay put. We got this."
"And you have no idea what awaits you on KO-35. You can use all the help you can get," Billy explained.
Cerina sighed. "Ok. But if you're going to help Billy, you need a morpher."
Beta opened his chest plate and pulled out a morpher, closed his chest plate and handed it to Billy. "It is your Unicorn Thunder morpher. Can't use a zord but that's ok."
"How…?" Billy stared at his morpher, hiding his excitement over having his morpher again.
"The palace has a chamber that is...attuned to the morphin grid. I merely used it to amplify my own connection. Cuts down on the time and weakness that comes with restoring these morphers." Cerina then sat in an empty chair. "Let's take off Beta, before Zhane joins us. Stealth Mode."
Beta did as instructed, the engines silent as the ship took off back into space.
As soon as the Omega Ship did, the doors to the bridge opened and there was Zhane. "Did you think I was fully asleep?" he asked.
Trini and Billy chuckled.
"Zhane, you can't be here."
Zhane kneeled before Cerina and took her hands. "I can and will. You will not be facing anything without me. I'm your husband. I'm allowed to be with you, face whatever waits for you. And sneaking off was not a smart move."
Cerina blushed.
"Now, you and I are going to bed cause battling on little sleep isn't going to end well." Zhane pulled Cerina to her feet and ushered her to bed as she sighed in defeat.