Something to Fight For

Knight after Knights

"You thinking about him?"

Adelaide made a face and looked up at her sister. "No!" she protested. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you're not usually this quiet," Sasha said.

"Maybe I don't have anything to say."

Sasha eyed her sister warily. "What's going on?" she asked.

Adelaide shrugged. "I-I don't know," she answered. "There's just...something about him that just made me..."

Sasha smiled and squeezed her sister's hand. "It's OK to be confused," she said. "I mean, you've had boyfriends in the past but... none of them made you feel like this?"

Adelaide shook her head. "I don't even know what this is," she said. "We're no one to each other. He's a Prince, for crying out loud, and sure, it's OK to have a fan-girl crush on a royal, but come on, fan-girl crushes are easy to push aside."

"But you can't get him out of your head?"

Adelaide looked hopelessly at her sister. "What am I going to do?" she asked.

"You need a distraction," Sasha said. She stood and walked around the table, pulled her sister to her feet and wrapped an arm around her. "Helping a teammate re-adjust to the 21st century will do just that. Besides, Ivan needs you now more than Prince Philip."

Adelaide sighed and rested her head against Sasha's shoulder. "You're right," she said, shaking her head. "Ivan needs us now. Besides, what are the chances of seeing him again?"

Sasha pressed a kiss to the side of Adelaide's head. The last, and only time, she'd seen her sister so downtrodden were when Caleb and Jessie had missed her birthday because of work, normally Adelaide would've let them pass seeing as their jobs were so important but they had made her a promise, and the MacMillan family always kept their promises.

"Well, it was a thoroughly entertaining afternoon, perhaps we shall see each other again soon," Ivan said suddenly. He bowed to them and turned to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" Riley asked. "You're part of our team now."

"I have not joined your team," Ivan said, looking from one ranger to the next. "I am a Knight of Zandar. When I pledge my loyalty, it is for life. I'm sorry, I cannot make such a decision so hastily." He nodded once and then walked off.

Adelaide folded her arms and looked up at Sasha. "You were saying about Ivan needing us?" she asked.

"He just needs time to adjust," Sasha said. "Think of this way. He's been trapped inside Fury for more than eight centuries, and now he's been busted out only to realise everything he lived for is gone. His country, his king, his guard. Give him some space, and he'll come to you."

"But he doesn't have a choice," Shelby said. "None of us did. He is the Gold Ranger."

"We all have a choice, Shelby," Sasha said, shaking her head.

"Sasha's right," Adelaide agreed. "We need to give him some time to come to grips with everything. Then, and only then, will he know what to do."

"What if he doesn't join us?" Shelby asked.

"Then he doesn't join us," Sasha said. "But at least he's not on Sledge's side."

The Rangers looked considerate and then nodded.

"So, what do we do in the meantime?" Riley asked.

As if to answer his question, the alarms sounded loudly around the base.