Chapter 1
A young Mufasa and a young Naanda looked uncomfortably at each other, their heads slowly turning to look at their parents and other family.
To Mufasa, his father and mother, the king and queen of the Pridelands, and his younger brother. King Ahadi; a loving but rumored to be very harsh, queen Uru; outcasted but highly regarded as one of the kingdom's best lionesses, and prince Taka; the young prince who everyone couldn't get enough of.
To Naanda, her father and mother, and her older sister. Sekou; the king of a small section of the Pridelands that had not been given to Uru's royal family, Acacia; the queen of the untouched land, and Sarabi; the oldest of the two lionesses birthed by these two. Naanda was the youngest, therefor defied the tradition of being queen, but for reasons that were kept secret from the rest meeting here today.
"Mufasa," Ahadi's voice tightened his eldest son's posture as he peered down at young Naanda, who didn't look like she was too willing to be upright when she was feeling so awkward, "say 'hello' to your new mate". Just the mention of that word, such a word used for such a major relationship which needed major thinking about had already been thrust upon him and this lioness. Mufasa took a good look at Naanda, as he never had done before.
She was round for a teenager, growing into a feminine figure early on in her years. Like her sister, she had tawny-beige fur, a white underbelly and muzzle, ruby eyes, a salmon pink nose, and black tail tuft. Naanda was beautiful, sure, but this young thing was in no way ready for a mateship. Especially when it depended on her becoming queen of the Pridelands.
Mufasa looked back at his father from the corner of his eye, and could only think about how his father thought they could grow into loving each other as they got older. Ahadi glared as he normally did, forcing Mufasa to look back down at the lioness before him. "Hello, Naanda" he greeted softly, alerting her ears.
Naanda looked at the prince and did her best to place a smile upon her face. Through her nervous dry throat thanks to all the eyes staring at her, she felt the need to do what her parents thought best of her to do. "Hello, prince Mufasa" she replied quietly, barely above whispering level. Naanda looked past her parents and towards Sarabi, her older sister; her comfort; her support. Sarabi's ears were pinned back, fully aware of her sister's delicate nature and sensitive soul, therefor she knew that Naanda was only doing this because of her need to please her mother and father.
Sarabi, on the other paw, was not so easily pleasing so Sekou and Acacia as her younger sister. Most would think she would work even harder to earn respect and hate her sister, but it turned her into the opposite. Sarabi felt no need to please her parents to the point where she didn't even try, and focused on helping her little sister ease into the role of confident, and elegant queen for the future of the Pridelands.
"I assure you, Sekou and Acacia, that Naanda and Sarabi will receive the best accommodations while they are visiting Pride Rock" Uru's smooth voice swept the mood out from under their feet and replaced it with an enticing one. Naanda, nor Sarabi, had ever been to the main part of the Pridelands. Event the mention of the name made the sisters' ears perk in excitement and fascination. Uru smiled at the young lionesses, while Ahadi remained stoic and serious.
"Please see to it that they are, your highness" Sekou replied to Uru, receiving a nod from the lioness.
"Well then ladies, shall we?" Uru proposed. The queen picked herself up and started walking, her mate following beside her silently, Taka following close at paw, leaving the three alone for a few moments before they started to walk forward.
Sarabi couldn't help but loom behind the future king and queen, who were uncomfortably walking beside each other in silence, and look to her mother and father. Their ruby eyes pressed against her like needles. "Do not forget, Sarabi, that prince Zebenjo awaits for your arrival to the Pridelands more than anyone else" Acacia pointed out.
How could she forget about that prince?
"I know" she replied shortly, her chin protruding outwards as a sign of dislike on what they were to say to each other before they left each other. Sarabi only waited for her parents to leave before she would move quickly to catch up to the wandering felines headed back to Pride Rock. There, she would meet the true royal family, and then the family that her entire life was used for to keep at bay.
