INTRODUCTION (CHAPTER ONE):

Ahadi slowly stepped out of the Pride Rock's den. Today was the day he would officially become a young male adult at his own ceremony. His father had prepared this occasion for seasons. Although he was going to be a lion in a few seconds, he really was two seasons younger than an adult. Mohatu, his adopted father, was worried about his pride being too small. There was a lack of adults ever since there was a fire which killed half the pride, including Mohatu's mate, the queen.

"This is it!" he whispered quietly, "Now, I will be a real lion!" Ahadi stared around at the gleaming eyes that were fixed on him. He noticed a snobby lioness, called Tashia, looking in his direction, sulking tremendously. Probably jealous, he though with a snicker. The rest of the pride had bright smiles on their faces.

"Ahadi!" roared Mohatu, "As my son, and the prince of the Pride Lands, do you accept the position of becoming a full member as an adult in the pride?" Ahadi took a deep breath in. Two more words could change the respect he got from the pride- "I do".

Puffing out his chest, Ahadi opened his mouth to say the glorious words, when there was an abrupt yelp coming from an approaching lioness. "King Mohatu! Oh King Mohatu!" called Ninka hastily. "It's... It's-" she continued. Mohatu whispered, "What is it? This ceremony is important Ninka!"

Ninka hung her head. "Uru... She... She's in the hyenas' territory! They snatched her! But... I couldn't reach her... They took her down a tiny tunnel." The king flashed his eyes at his son. "Go get her... you're small enough, you're skinnier and smaller than most of us. Save the cub my son!"

"I will!" Ahadi promised. He dashed away to the hyenas' territory. He knew the way, because he once made the mistake of exploring there as a cub. Fear filled the teenage lion's heart. This is no time to be scared Ahadi, he scolded himself.

After reaching the small, narrow tunnel, the prince crawled down to see a shivering cub, looking half starved. Furious, Ahadi snapped, "Uru! You should know that when the hyenas are not guarding you at the moment, you could escape! Not wait around for someone to save you!"

Uru was crushed. "Well believe me smart lion! I do know better! If you sniffed the air, you could tell that they are patrolling the area and you managed to get in here by chance! But a small cub like me would never make it out alone!" she growled.

Ahadi was ready to open his mouth and defend himself, when he realized Uru was right- He was being careless and self-centered, he wanted to impress Mohatu and become an adult and his incomplete ceremony. Before he could gently apologize and explain himself to the cub, he hear the short laughter of laughing hyena, patrolling right by the entrance of the prison-like tunnel.

Sadly, Uru was ready to continue quarreling. "Hey! Are you listening? I'm not done with you-" she began, when Ahadi used his tail to cover her mouth and silence her. "Shh..." he whispered, "I can hear a hyena near us." Uru rolled her eyes, she was not impressed. "Don't worry, stay by my side and I'll protect you if they come down in the tunnel" he added. Uru's expression changed suddenly. Her eyes gleamed and she blushed. Pff, Ahadi thought.

Uru crawled under his small, not fully-grown mane, making herself comfortable. "How come I never noticed you in the pride before?" she asked softly. Ahadi stood as still as a board and softly replied back, "Because... I don't know! Just be quiet.. the hyena has nearly passed by us.. let's escape now."

Swiftly the two escaped and headed back to the Pride Lands. But for Ahadi... something in his life had changed... He had a feeling that great responsibility was to come apon him.