Prologue

The relentless heat of the blazing yellow Tanzanian sun was what made the afternoon hunting party stop in the middle of their hunting session—to rest. Even a substantial amount of shade did hardly anything to cool down the lionesses, who were effortlessly trying to find a way to withstand the feverish atmosphere; that was caused by the afternoon sun. Uru, queen of Pride Rock, took refuge beneath a large acacia tree. The lion queen contemplated when the sun would set. The queen's big beautiful triangular-shaped chestnut brown eyes, that angled upward, stared up at the clear blue sky. When she seen that the sky was finally starting to darken, the lion queen smiled. It won't be long when the sun sets, the queen of Pride Rock relievedly thought to herself.

Tanabi abandoned the buffalo she had caught and walked over to where the queen was resting. She lied down beside Uru and began licking right beneath the queen's ear. Uru always acknowledged this as her subordinates showing her respect. Uru dismissed the gesture by pulling away and rising to sit on her hunches, above Tanabi, as was her rank—above Tanabi. Tanabi looked up at her queen, and did not avoid eye contact until the queen pulled her gaze away. And when Uru spoke, Tanabi looked up and listened through. She was not allowed speak, unless the queen was finished speaking. That was the law of how the kingdom should communicate with it's rulers.

"Tanabi, is there something we must discuss?" Uru inquired. Her voice was calm, so Tanabi was relieved to see that the queen was accepting her silent request to speak.

"Yes, Madame," Tanabi replied dipping her head. "There is something we must discuss immediately." The lioness' sense of urgency had Uru's undivided attention, and interest. When the queen told her to rise, Tanabi rose. Uru was always in the lead and obeyed by every subject of the Pride Lands; her kingdom. She could tell that what Tanabi wanted to discuss with her was significant because Tanabi knew not to give the king or queen an order.

"You are to not talk to me that way. I am your queen." Uru reminded the younger lioness.

Tanabi didn't flinch.

"Do you understand me?" Uru growled.

In her head, she imagined what she would do if Tanabi retaliated with a smart remark or disrespect; but Tanabi only said "Yes Madame. My utmost apologizes are to you, your Highness."

Uru's eyes narrowed as they focused on Tanabi's face, so that she could find sincerity from the lioness' words, but she received nothing.

"Get out of my sight before I make prey out of you!" Uru bared her teeth and snapped at the lioness. Tanabi sprang back in surprise.

Tanabi bounded away from the queen after realizing that the queen was not in the mood to speak with her after all. She returned to the spot beside the waterhole, where the body of the buffalo remained untouched. The other lionesses were relaxing in the substantial amount of shade that the acacia trees were able to provide for them. Some were grooming themselves while others were eating or sleeping. Tanabi decided to do what she wanted to do the most—eat. She was going to offer some to the queen but Uru was already walking over to Saada. Tanabi was the only one with no one to share the buffalo with.

A small bird with a rather large beak reflected off the surface of the water. And the bird was not a figment of the queen's imaginations. It was Zazu, a hornbill. Zazu was always in the company of one lion who should never be ignored. The attention of every lioness was drawn to the lion walking over the rise of a hill. The lion's black mane rippled in the wind, and his small green eyes rested on the reddish-brown furred lioness; Uru. Uru heaved herself up to her tired limbs as the lion approached her and rested his head on her shoulder. A booming purr rumbled from the majestic lion's threat, and Uru purred with him. Their happy purrs intertwined until the the lion, named Ahadi, pulled away and addressed his pride who were all lying around resting.

"Greetings, my pride. I've come to bring forth very important news," Ahadi announced. "Zazu and I are just returning from Rafiki's tree to deliver to you an important message. Rafiki had a vision, and now we must prepare for the birth of our kingdom's heir."

Shocked gasps broke the surrounding silence. Uru glanced at her stomach, which had became more round and protruding. The lion king was hardly aware of her pregnancy, but had speculated that she had been carrying cubs. Only the vision of Rafiki would confirm that the queen's belief was true. He was a monkey that could connect with the spiritual realm to find the answers to anything that the king of queen wanted to know.

"Let all of you proceed with the hunt." Ahadi said. Slowly, all of the lionesses regrouped, leaving the king and queen alone together to discuss private matters.

"How do you feel about this?" Uru queried, seeing the king's smile fade to show his true feelings in regard to the news. He looked worried and a little on edge. Uru could sense his fear.

"I.. I don't know, Uru. While this is good news, we never know what to really expect from it. Rafiki told me that there was a possibility that you were carrying not one cub, but two." Ahadi told her.

"Well, what's wrong with two?" Uru asked.

Ahadi sighed.

"Uru, I never told you too much about my past, of why I came to the Pride Lands, but I-I had a brother. My father made us both his heir, but my brother wanted to rule alone and find every way to get rid of me so that he could be king, because with us both in power, we were still only princes. There could only be one king." Ahadi explained, being reminded of the fear he had when his brother attacked him and drove him out of the land.

"Ahadi, that's-that's horrible. I'm sorry that happened to you," said Uru.

"Yeah," Ahadi cleared his throat. "If there is two, we can't let them both rule. Only one must be conditioned as ruler, while the other is taught to accept it. I wouldn't want them to go through what I did.."

Uru nuzzled him comfortingly, and their purrs intertwined.

"Don't worry, they won't.." Uru said softly.

A few moons had passed.

The silhouette of the lion king stood on the edge of Pride Rock at ease, watching the sun slowly rise into the sky. He turned and walked towards the cave entrance and peered inside to check on the lion queen. Uru was surrounded by her pride while Zazu aided her through the process of birth.

"Ahadi, I know it is you dat are watching." Rafiki said. The king was surprised that the baboon could sense his presence among the other lions. "Come inside, you big pussycat, and meet de future of your kingdum."

Ahadi entered the cave. His heart began to race in his chest as the lionesses moved aside so that he could meet his offspring. Lying in Uru's arms, there was not one cub, but two—as Rafiki predicted. The cubs were still asleep, snuggled together in their mother's arms. Ahadi couldn't help but purr, forgetting how afraid he was of the idea of having two cubs be his heir.

He brushed his nose against the sleeping newborns, and looked at Uru with happiness filled in his eyes. "I love them," he said.