Two years had passed since Asili's exile. Crown Prince Ahadi had grown but his distance from the pride and his bitterness remained. Zuzu had become his only friend in the pride, but even her eternal cheerfulness could not stay his grumpy mood for long. Mohatu and Safi seemed baffled by his behavior. They'd done what they could to try and integrate him with the pride once more but nothing they did could sway their cub.

His parents didn't seem to know how to act around him anymore. They tiptoed around him, choosing their words as carefully as one would walk on ice. Ahadi unsheathed his claws impatiently. They didn't understand. Neither of them realized how hard it was to be scarred for life, to lose his best friend because of what his parents had done, to see murder in the eyes of a loved one. To be plagued by that day for the rest of his life. They didn't get it.

One day before Ahadi's solitary walk around the PrideLands, Safi's voice sounded behind him. "Ahadi, come here." The Crown Prince looked over his shoulder, wary of more tense small talk. His parents both stood behind him, trying to look somber but with bright eagerness and joy in their eyes.

Ahadi was baffled but approached them. "Yes?" His neck and chest still stung as he sat down. Another reminder that he was scarred for life, and in more ways than one. There was a new smell on his mother, something he'd never smelled before but didn't seem dangerous.

Queen Safi grinned broadly at her adopted son. "Ahadi, your father and I have some very good news. You're going to become a big brother soon!"

Ahadi gaped at her in shock. For so long, everyone had thought the Queen was barren. That was why they had adopted him. "Are you sure?" He was happy, sure, but there was jealousy there as well. To be the true child of Mohatu and Safi, something he could never have... this unborn child had no idea how lucky it was. They would have a true place in the pride, a legitimate claim to the throne. Wait a minute, the throne! Ahadi felt panic seize him. "But who will inherit the throne now?"

Safi glared at the cub. "Ahadi! Is this really the time for that question?"

Ahadi knew he was being rude to ask when they were celebrating a new life, but he had to know. Would his parents really take away what they had promised him simply for not being of their blood. He looked desperately at Mohatu. "Dad?"

The King sighed, then dipped his head. "Your sibling will inherit," he admitted in a low rumble.

The words were like a blow to the gut. Ahadi stumbled back, his mind racing. After all they'd done to give him the throne, to keep it from Chache and Asili, now it was to be given away? Ahadi felt betrayed despite his best efforts. It wasn't his unborn sibling's fault, it was the fault of his parents. "But you promised," he protested dully. He already knew that there was no changing their minds.

Mohatu reached out and put a massive paw on his son's shoulder. "Once your sibling is born they will be able to ensure that the throne is never challenged again. We can't keep you as our heir when there is a legitimate heir available. If we do then our child might challenge for the throne when you are old enough, and you would lose. We don't want there to be any bad blood between the two of you."

Safi added warmly, "The two of you will work together to rule the PrideLands, even if your sibling is the official King or Queen. As long as you support them you will live as comfortably as you would as the King."

Ahadi stared hopelessly at his parents. They didn't understand. They thought they were doing him a favor. "I have to go." He shrugged off his father's paw and turned to bound off. He scrambled down Pride Rock, ignoring Safi calling after him, and bolted through the tall grass. Once he was a far enough distance from Pride Rock, the cub slowed down to a walk. He glared over his shoulder at Pride Rock. Why didn't anyone understand?

The throne was supposed to be his, they had promised it to them. As the eldest child of the Royal Family, he had the same right as any other firstborn to claim the throne. So what if he wasn't theirs by blood? He was still the firstborn. And what about Chache? Their nephew wasn't good enough to inherit the throne but their son was? If blood was truly what mattered to them they would have allowed Chache to inherit. No, it was the child itself. This unborn cub was a source of more love for Safi and Mohatu than Ahadi could ever be.

Ahadi felt a gloom settle over him as he contemplated what had been lost to him.

Two years had passed without incident. Masilahi and her companions had reached the PrideLands and been accepted quite easily into the Pride. After a few months of traveling together and over a year of living in the same Pride, Kupitisha and Nyonda had become like a family to her. Nyonda was her shy little sister, and Kupitisha was a warm and caring mother. There was more of a joker in her than there had ever been in Tamu, more confidence, but Masilahi cared for her all the same.

The young lioness had adopted the persona of Uru permanently. She felt secure from her father's seeking gaze, but she felt a twinge of guilt whenever someone referred to her by her false name. She hated the lie of it, having to pretend to be something she wasn't. Masilahi was who she truly was. Even if her past hadn't been particularly great, she had no reason to be ashamed of what it had made her. The rest of her life would have her living a lie.

The former Princess had been placed in hunting and battle lessons with the other young lionesses of the Pride. While not a particularly exceptional hunter, Masilahi found her true skill lied in battle and strength. The lioness's thick build had been developed into hard muscle. Even at the age of fourteen the lioness was almost as tall as most of the lionesses and just as strong.

Masilahi finally had a home where she could be safe. She had a mother who loved her and a sister to grow up with. But there was still something missing from her life, a loneliness that she couldn't quite define.


Those of you who've read Fall to Hatred probably saw this coming. Poor Ahadi, feeling less loved because of who his birth parents are. Two years have passed as stated, so Ahadi is now eleven and Masilahi is fourteen.