A/N: Hello dear readers, once again I'd like to thank you all for the lovely reviews. I already have the rest of the story planned out, I even know the last sentence! But now it's a matter of writing it all down, and filling in the details and how some of the events will happen. Usually I just let the story and characters play themselves out, the only real thought I give it are the actual events. Then of course, typing it, (btw I went back and read some of my earlier chapters and the little typos in there are hilarious but annoying, what was I thinking?), and posting it on the site, which doesn't take too long. Anyways, this is a chapter about Jolina's wedding day. We have followed her through much, and now she is to be Queen of the Pridelands. There is no action and the such in this chapter, but I thought you would all appreciate an intimate account of Jolina's special day. Also this is a look into the life of the new pride and we meet some new and old faces! So enough of my babbling and on with the story!

Chapter 21: The Wedding

A month had passed since Jolina and her friends had defeated Sinjun's gang. Many of the land's creatures had been happy and excited to be released from the cruel reign of the rogues. All of the creatures had a great respect for King Mohatu, who always did his best to solve conflicts between the animals so that there was little reason for bad blood between the different clans. A group of six rogue lionesses had turned up two weeks after the foundation of the Pridelands, and in accordance to the new laws, had been allowed membership into the pride. The lionesses, who ranged in color from dark tan to light cream, had adjusted nicely into the pride, most of them being quite friendly, and they all possessed a great respect for Jolina, the soon-to-be queen. Two of these lionesses were with cub and had been thrilled to learn that they would give birth to the first cubs to be born in the Pridelands. Jolina had been named lead huntress, for her unique strategies, and exceptional tactics impressed even the older and more experienced lionesses. Due to her leadership, and the effective teamwork of the hunting party, they never came home empty-handed and the pride was well fed.

Jolina had assumed her habit of rising at dawn, hours before anyone else woke, and this morning was no exception. She couldn't get over the beauty of her new home, it captivated her just as the stories her mother had told as a cub did. And this land was everything she had imagined the kingdom in the stories to be and more. Every morning she stood on the promontory of Pride Rock, which it had been suitably named, and watched as the sun rose over the horizon, its rays of light seeming to reach out and touch all the corners of the kingdom. Oh how she wished her mother were here, especially on this day. For today, Jolina and Mohatu were to be wed, and Jolina crowned the Queen of the Pridelands. She could see many of the animals already grazing their way toward Pride Rock for the ceremony that afternoon. She admitted to herself that she was nervous, for being Queen was no easy task, but something inside her whispered that this was her path, that maybe, this was who she was meant to be. Jolina took a deep breath of the crisp morning air, and continued to gaze at the sun rise over the beautiful land.

A stranger, or should we say an old friend, had turned up in the Pridelands around the same time that the new lionesses joined. Mohatu and Jolina had been shocked and thrilled to see their old friend, who had turned out to be Rafiki. The only explanation he would give as to how he's escaped the oasis was and found them was,

"Life works in mysterious ways, don't you dink?"

Jolina often paid him early visits, something she had also done while living with him in the oasis. He had happily settled into a large acacia tree, even bigger than the one in the oasis, that was located near the western border. When Jolina got to the tree, she saw that Rafiki was meditating, but sensing her approach he opened his eyes and smiled,

"Ahh Jolina, how are you on dis special day?"

"Good morning Rafiki, I'm well, if not a bit nervous. How are you?" she replied.

Rafiki continued to smile at her and said,

"I am well, but why are you nervous?"

Jolina gave a little sigh and answered,

"It's just that... Mohatu is such a wonderful king, and I want to be a good mate to him, and a good queen to this land, but...I'm afraid I'm not suitable to be a queen."

Rafiki pondered for a moment, and then answered her,

"I dink dat you will be an excellent queen, and I also believe dat if you searched your heart", he placed a finger on her chest, "you will find dat you were born to do dis."

Jolina cocked her head and was about to ask him to explain what he meant, when the mandrill began shooing her away.

"You have much preparation to do for de ceremony."

Jolina smiled,

"Alright Rafiki, see you at the ceremony."

And she turned and began to walk back to Pride Rock.

When Jolina approached Pride Rock, she was met by a frantic group of lionesses.

"Where have you been, Jolina?!" Ilanga exclaimed.

"We have so much work to do and so little time!" another excited lioness shouted.

And with that she was whisked away by the excited group before Mohatu could see her, because as was tradition, the bride and groom were not to see one another before the ceremony. The lionesses took Jolina to a secluded waterhole, where they unceremoniously dunked her into the water, and began bathing her with scented oils that they had acquired from Rafiki. Zuria, Kanya, and Eme all watched in amusement as Jolina was poked, prodded, and scrubbed. She was much too polite though to ask them to stop, and so endured the torture. The lionesses who had spent so long just struggling to survive were thoroughly enjoying this moment of "girl time", and were happily chatting and gossiping when a particular orange lion approached.

"Hey ladies, mind if I join in the fun?" Izogie asked.

Some of the lionesses giggled and batted their eyelashes at him.

"Izogie, what are you doing here?" Kanya snapped.

"Oh, nothing, just come to see how her majesty's bath was coming." he replied with a grin.

This earned him a nasty glare from Jolina, but then his attention was caught by the scented oils, and a mischievous look played across his face, and he said,

"Say are we getting her ready for the wedding or the honeymoon?"

Jolina's jaw dropped and her cheeks burned a deep red. Some of the lionesses were shocked too, but a few handful of the younger ones, continued giggling.

"Izogie!" Zuria gasped.

Then Kanya spoke up,

"Don't mind him Jolina, he's just jealous because he wanted you for himself."

Izogie laughed and replied,

"Oh yeah, kinda like you want Strawberry all to yourself! Do you like em' blonde Kanya?!"

This time it was Kanya who wore a mortified look, then she angrily pointed her paw and snarled,

"OUT!"

Jolina was relieved to see a couple of the older lionesses begin to shoo him away.

"Alright, alright, I'm going, I'm going." he replied.

Then he turned his face to Jolina, for once he was serious and said,

"But seriously Jolina, you're going to be an awesome queen." but the serious expression melted as he added,

"Speaking of which, when should we expect a little Mohatu Jr.?"

There was a collective growl from all the lionesses and Izogie trotted off, laughing.

After her "bath", Jolina and the other lionesses were laying out on some rocks in the warm sun, Jolina allowing her now squeaky-clean fur to dry. It was noon and the ceremony was to be in two hours. As Jolina half-listened to the contented lionesses chattering away, some animals approached them. There were six of them, and they were the leaders of six of the animals clans in the kingdom. A leopard stepped forward, and bowing said,

"We have come to present these ceremonial flowers to her majesty, in hopes that she will honor us by wearing them in her wedding."

As the leopard spoke, each of the animals presented a long chain of beautiful flowers, each clan's the color that represented them. The leopard's chain was of red flowers ,symbolizing justice. The wildebeest presented an orange chain, for peace. The cheetah clan gave her a yellow one, which stood for happiness. The giraffe's was a green chain that stood for life. The elephants, a blue chain, for wisdom. And from the zebra clan, a beautiful chain of rich purple flowers that symbolized royalty and honor.

"Oh, thank you all. They are lovely, and I shall be honored to wear them." Jolina said to them.

The clan leaders bowed their heads in respect and left. The lionesses went absolutely giddy over the beautiful flowers, and once again Jolina was pulled into their happy frenzy, as they finished the last minute preparations.

Mohatu stood at the top of Pride Rock with Rafiki, waiting. All the gathered animals grew quiet as Zuria and Kanya came forward, and then parted, revealing Jolina. She was radiant, her fur shone, and her amber eyes sparkled. The animals cheered as Ejira joined her and he ascended half-way up Pride Rock with her, then she continued on, and came to stand next to Mohatu. When Rafiki held up his hand, the cheering stopped. Rafiki then began chanting and reciting the wedding vows.

"I do." Mohatu said, looking into Jolina's eyes.

"I do." Jolina answered.

Then Rafiki presented two long necklaces. On one, was an assortment of leopard, cheetah, and lion claws, along with a crocodile tooth, and an eagle's feather. The second necklace was made of white shells, multicolored stones, and bright pink flowers. Mohatu took the chain with the flowers and shells, and placed them gingerly over Jolina's head where they hung around her neck. Jolina repeated the same thing with the other necklace, and placed it over Mohatu's head. Then Kanya and Zuria came forward again, this time carrying a crown, woven of beautiful, pure white roses. The chains of flowers that the clan leaders had given to Jolina by the clan leaders had been attached in six separate strands to the back of the crown. Rafiki took the crown and placed it gently on Jolina's head, so that the rainbow of flowers cascaded down her back, and flowed past the length of her body. Rafiki turned to the animals of the kingdom and proclaimed,

"I now present King Mohatu and his mate, Queen Jolina, de first queen of de Pridelands!"

And with that, all the animals went wild with cheers, cries, and the pounding of feet and hooves on the ground. Mohatu and Jolina nuzzled, then stepped closer to the tip of Pride Rock, and together gave a loud roar, to which the members of the pride joined, and the animals cheered all the more at the sight of the new King and Queen.

A/N: I hoped you enjoyed and didn't think it was cheesy. I also hope that you understood the visuals with the necklaces and Jolina's crown with the flowered chains attached. If you did not, let me know and maybe I can explain it to you better, and next time will hopefully give you a better visual. Anyways, I truly hope you enjoyed sharing this special day with Jolina, and I hope you review. Btw if you noticed the coloration of the new lionesses, that's how "Pridelanders" of the future generation got their looks. The next chapter is coming soon! Till' then *Nantsingonyama*