Babar and Celeste were eating breakfast with the Old Lady when Cornelius burst through the door. He leaned against the doorframe and gasped out a few breathy syllables. "Cornelius! Sit down and catch your breath," Babar jumped up from his chair and set Cornelius down at the table. Celeste offered Cornelius a glass of water, which he readily took. After taking a big gulp from the glass, Cornelius stared dolefully into the water. "Are you alright?" Babar asked, concerned. "I sent you for a walk so you could relax."

Having regained his breath, Cornelius looked at Babar and shook his head. "It's the Lake. Rataxes has staked a claim there, and his men are taking the water to Rhinoland."

"What?" Babar shouted, sitting next to Cornelius. "That territory has belonged to the elephants for generations!"

"There must be something you can do," said the Old Lady. "Maybe you could share the land."

Babar shook his head gravely and looked out the window, as if to see for himself that the horrible tale was true. "I couldn't bear to," Babar answered.

"Your majesty!" Pompadour appeared in the doorway, beaming. "You…" When he took a look at the serious faces of everyone at the table, he pulled up a chair next to the Old Lady. "What did I miss?"

"Rataxes has sent his army to take control of the Lake," said Cornelius. The two regarded each other uneasily, then quickly turned to look at Babar.

"So much for a new, tranquil Celesteville," said Babar, imagining his land being torn up and trampled by rhino soldiers.

"There is never a good time for an international incident," Pompadour sighed, looking at his schedule. "It seems Rataxes can only go so long without interfering. I've calculated that to be approximately seven months."

Babar rested his arms on the table. "I know Rhinoland has no lake of its own, but I just could not give up that land," Babar explained. "I was born there. So were you all, and so was nearly everyone in Celesteville. We can't give up the place that is part of our history and part of us." He paused, and looked down at the table. "It is also the last place I saw my mother. If I gave up that land to Rataxes, I would feel like I was betraying her, letting her go."

Cornelius nodded. "It was not far from there that I passed the Old King's crown on to you. It's true that no one has lived on that land for years, but it is so much more than a piece of territory."

"It was the birthplace of Celesteville," Celeste continued. She put an arm around Babar. "I'll give Lady Rataxes a call. Maybe she can shine some light on this."

"Alright, my dear," he sighed. "Clear my schedule, Pompadour. I have to take care of this."

Pompadour looked as though he wanted to protest, but said only, "Of course, Sire. I will speak with Basil." He awaited a response, and receiving none, looked around for Babar, who was leaving the dining room with Cornelius and Celeste. Halfheartedly, he scratched out the appointments on the schedule. As much as that troubled him, he knew that there were greater things to worry about.

In the study, Babar and Cornelius looked over a map. "It was this whole area here," explained Cornelius, tracing a circle around the jungle clearing with his trunk. "I was standing here, there was a banner planted not ten feet away, and a few flags set up around the Lake."

"About how many rhinos did you see?"

"I couldn't say," Cornelius answered, thinking hard. Remember, Cornelius. Remember, this is important for the whole kingdom… He tried to feel the jungle heat, the leaves surrounding him, and see what he saw when he was observing the rhinos from his hiding place. "Ah! Probably 70 or 80."

The outlook was not so bleak after all, Babar thought, looking at the area. "That doesn't sound like enough of an offensive to attack Celesteville. Rataxes knows that it would take more soldiers than that to invade the city."

"Maybe that piece of land is all he wants. He might not be interested in attacking us. I'm sure he knows as well as we do that the area is deserted."

Babar was insistent. "Deserted or not, that land belongs to the elephants. He could be trying to establish a blockade, and force us to pay a toll for our own water. Or maybe it's something more. Regardless, we can't let Rataxes move onto our land without a fight. Send for the Elephant Army. We'll easily outnumber such a small outpost."

"At your command, Babar," Cornelius left to deploy the troops.

Babar collapsed into his chair. This was not how he envisioned things to be. He had entertained high hopes of being able to take things slowly so he and Celeste could await the birth of their first child. Now he feared that a dark cloud would hang over the coming weeks and months, and he would be consumed in a brewing land dispute with the rhinos. He hunched over the map, looking blankly at the disputed territory, outlined in red. How he wished that he could instead give his people the happy news that there would soon be an heir to the throne, instead of having to inform them that Rataxes and the rhinos were encroaching on Celesteville!

Looking to the wall, Babar focused on a plaque of his mother. He had had it commissioned years ago to hang in the study, so it could be as if his mother were with him, able to see how far he had come. But he felt now as though she wasn't there with him anymore. "Mother, I promise I will not let Rataxes take our home away. I promise."

After Cornelius sent for the troops, he went upstairs to fetch his hat. On his way back down, he saw Pompadour still sitting at the dining room table, nervously arranging his ascot with his trunk, paperwork spread across the table. He looked on the verge of panic. Cornelius felt a sense of pride as he made his way outside to await the troops. Too old, am I? Not to old to lead the army! That's not a job for the faint of heart, like some of us around here… He shut the door behind him and looked in the dining room window. The smile disappeared from his face, and he turned and walked away. Inside, Pompadour looked up from his work arranging finances to cover the new baby as well as the beginning conflict against the rhinos. Seeing no one, he shrugged and returned to his paperwork.

Meanwhile, Celeste sat by the phone. She was unsure what to say when her close friend Lady Rataxes answered the phone. There was no simple and tactful way to say that her husband had come into the Elephant Land and claimed territory that had belonged to the elephants since long before they were born. Celeste was just reaching for the phone when the Old Lady rose from her rocking chair to show Celeste her latest handiwork: a white baby jumper with little green leaves embroidered on it. "How do you like it? I think your little one will be adorable."

That brought a smile to Celeste's face. For a time she had become so consumed by relations with Rhinoland that she had forgotten that she was carrying the heir to the throne. "It's beautiful, Madame," she said, pleased. "And so soft! Thank you." The Old Lady left to place the jumper in the chest of drawers in the baby's room.

Once alone, Celeste took a deep breath, picked up the phone and dialed before she could talk herself out of it. She had always preferred action to idle planning. "Hello?"

"Hello, Louise. It's Celeste. How are you?"

"Wonderful, thank you! Things are better than ever!"

Celeste worked hard to hold in a disdainful laugh. So not only has Rataxes taken our water, but the good times in Celesteville are following it. But Celeste was not going to hold it against her long-time friend. The two had an unspoken agreement not to blame each other for turmoil between their husbands. "Really? Why is that?"

"Oh, first of all, tomorrow is my anniversary. I couldn't be more excited! You won't believe what I've gotten Rataxes."

"Well –"

"It's a horn warmer! It's yellow with little tiny palm trees all over it. And you'll never guess what he's getting me. Go ahead and try, but you won't believe it!"

"He –"

"I'm definitely surprised. I can't believe it either. It's not like him to pull through. He did get me the Moon though. It still looks beautiful, doesn't it? Anyway, I knew I'd really have to push him to make sure he knew what I wanted."

"So –"

"As soon as I told him, he went away without another word, just a great big smile on his face! I'm over the Moon, I guess you'd say." Lady Rataxes paused to sigh dreamily. Celeste was quiet. Lady Rataxes spoke up again. "Don't you want to know what it is?"

Celeste was growing impatient, but knew that Lady Rataxes was always this way when she was overjoyed. "Yes. What is it?"

"It's going to be a big, glamourous, state-of-the-art swimming pool!" When Celeste did not give her a response right away, Lady Rataxes continued, hoping Celeste would be happy for her. "I've always wanted one, but I never thought to ask for one before. It never occurred to me that he would say yes. Don't ask me how he's going to do it, but… that's my Rataxes!"

"I don't think I need to ask," Celeste remarked softly. It was no longer a mystery where the water was going. "Louise, I'm surprised you could keep a pool in Rhinoland. Every time I've visited it has been so hot and dry. It's amazing that you still have your River!"

"That it is."

Even though Celeste knew that once the Rhinos set their minds to something, they would stubbornly pursue it forever, she was still going to make an attempt to change her friend's mind. She did not want to have to lay the guilt and blame on Lady Rataxes for the invasion of the Lake and surrounding territory, but what else was there to do? Babar was equally bound and determined not to let the land go. "Louise, don't you know you're always welcome to come and swim with us in the ocean by Celesteville?"

"Oh, but I wouldn't want to impose. And besides, I want to swim every day, and I can't come all the way to Celesteville every day!"

"Why do you need to swim every day?"

Lady Rataxes collected her thoughts, and shared them in a voice much softer than her usual dramatic manner. "I want to lose weight and get a nice tan for Rataxes. When you and Babar came to visit, I saw the way Babar looked at you, and I only wished that Rataxes would look at me like that! Not that it's any surprise. You looked stunning. Absolutely radiant! What did you do?"

"You see, I…" Celeste came so close to telling Lady Rataxes that that day the week before, the news that she would soon have a baby was still quite new. She wanted so much to tell a friend outside the palace that there would soon be little elephant feet running around, that a little prince or princess would be added to the family. Deciding that this was not the time, she held her tongue. "…I can't say. It must have been the new dress I had on. But tell me, haven't you and Rataxes been getting along?"

"Sure, we get along. But everything I say goes in one ear, out the other, and onto Basil's notepad. Basil shows me more attention than Rataxes does most days, and that's only because we pay him to! As long as I've known you and Babar, you've always seemed to have something there. You were friends who loved each other too. But it seems like no matter what I do, Rataxes is never truly interested in me, or anything I have to say. So I hoped maybe, just maybe, if I looked my best for him, he'd get excited about me like he did when we were young, before I was the Queen. When I was lovely Louise."

"I'm sure Rataxes loves you as much as ever," said Celeste. "He just may not be the best at showing it, with his gruff exterior."

"He loves playing general. He makes that clear enough. He gets so excited over his silly maps and action figures. And he's been out directing the army all day. I wonder what that's about."

"He's… it's a mystery." Celeste could not bring herself to talk about the invasion and land dispute. If Lady Rataxes did not know yet, Celeste was not about to ruin her perfect day by telling her.

"I just wish I knew what he was thinking. All I can do is hope that now he will love me like Babar loves you."

Celeste hated to think of her friend being unhappy, and wishing her husband was more like Babar. Celeste began to miss Babar as well, feeling he was being pulled away by work. But such was the life of a king. "He's your husband. He'll let you know he loves you. Sometimes you might have to look for it."

Cheering up again, Lady Rataxes answered, "You're probably right. Tomorrow is our anniversary, after all."

"There you go."

"I better be going. So much planning to do with the new pool!"

"Yes, of course."

"Good to hear from you, Celeste. Stay in touch!"

"I will. Bye for now."

"Bye-bye!"

The phone went dead and hummed for several seconds, but Celeste still held it in her trunk. When she let it fall back onto the cradle, she felt a wave of nausea come over her. Even though she believed part of it was the baby, she knew most of it was the land dispute. It was bigger than two kings. It was bigger than two kingdoms. It was about her husband and her friend unknowingly battling over the water in order to be closer to someone who seemed to be drifting away.

If Lady Rataxes wanted her husband's attention, and Babar wanted to feel closer to his mother, then Celeste felt she was losing touch with both of them. Especially Babar. She had barely seen him at all that morning, which was rare after months of leisurely breakfasts and strolls through the garden together. She thought of the idyllic day out the week before, when even Babar and Rataxes seemed to be able to tolerate one another. Just when it seemed like nothing could go wrong, Babar was suddenly spending the whole day listening to lists of tasks, barely even breaking away to say hello or give her a hug and a kiss. It was impossible for Celeste not to understand how Lady Rataxes felt, especially since she was now in the same boat. Now that Babar was spending more time on his war than on her, and his child. She never would have imagined that she could miss Babar so much after waking up next to him and later sharing breakfast with him that very morning. Just like relations with Rhinoland, her relationship with Babar could change a great deal over the course of a day.

She went downstairs for something to drink, but seeing the water come out of the tap put her off. She sat at the table and tried to fill in a crossword puzzle to pass time. It couldn't hold her attention. Seeing Cornelius go by with the captain of the guard and later Pompadour and Troubadour with a growing list of detailed plans to finance the defence again aroused her frustration. After years of being Queen, she knew that not being able to spend as much time together as they would like was part of being the royal family. When was enough enough? She couldn't draw a line for Babar or Lady Rataxes. To make matters worse, she felt she could tell neither of them why she felt so alone.

After putting the phone down, Lady Rataxes jumped up to look out the window again. The workers had already finished creating a large rectangular pit just outside her window. She couldn't wait to see it filled with water. "Maybe one of these days I can even get Rataxes to put down his silly dolls and take a dip with me." She looked out the window to see Rataxes and Basil giving the pool a look over while simultaneously directing soldiers bearing great barrels of water. "Not that that's likely." She sighed and went back to looking at her book, filled with pictures of rhino couples casually sipping colourful drinks and enjoying their pools.

"We're set to fill 'er up, your Rhiness," announced Basil with a quick salute.

Crossing his arms, Rataxes looked pleased. "Good. Ready boys?" The soldiers raised their barrels. "Okay, pour them in!" The soldiers poured barrel after barrel of cool water from the elephants' lake into the pool.

As the water rushed in, cascading against the hard brown dirt, Basil shouted over the torrents, "It looks like your plan was a success."

"You can say that again. We might actually have a good anniversary this year. All I can think about is how happy Lady Rataxes is going to be."