Intertwined

by MinisterSweetGoodKid

Nkosi and Hisani are two different kings, but have a common problem. They suffer from bad marriages. What follows from these bad marriages is something that will change these kings and link their kingdoms forever.

21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Having new cubs in the pride was like breathing the air after a day of good rain. Such a sweet smell… And that's how the lionesses interpreted their new members' presence. It also was like tasting good clear clean water from a waterhole, like rain falling on dry grass, making it green and healthy again. To the lionesses it was as though the pride had been dead, devoid of life for four long years. But in those four years the pride only suffered three deaths, the most recent being nearly half a year ago.

There was the cub Kali, who drank the poisoned water on the north side of the kingdom, and Kali's mother, who did the same for suicidal purposes, for the fact that her only cub was gone, the grief too much to bear.

Then there was the king's father, who many believed to be dead, though there was no evidence of that. The pride had come to the conclusion, as did most of the kingdom that the former king just simply disappeared. Hardly anyone ever mentioned the late ruler since. There was no reason. He was gone, his son was in charge.

Things were different. There was new life in the pride, new cubs that would become part of the legacy that was the Eastern Valley and, if God and nature willed, would carry on the legacy that had been standing and living in this realm for many generations.

Almost immediately after the three cubs were born, the pride was quick to notice different and startling things about them and their parentage. The first lioness they settled on was the one who had given birth to a son.

She was one of the socialists but not a gossiper. She'd also, though no one ever knew, wanted to have life beyond her own. She didn't want her ancestry, which, like so many of the others in the pride, was descended of the first king's pride, become extinct when she died. She wanted her line carried on and she'd found the way to do it: a simple rogue who was wandering one of the borders. She'd been in her time when she discovered him. He pleased her and gave her what she wanted: A cub. He'd given her a son.

When some of the lionesses first looked on this cub they'd been surprised to see that his fur wasn't the color of his mother's, which was a light medium desert tan. Instead, the cub's fur was dark gray. They thought of his eyes and what they would look like, as his mother's was blood red. What had been his father's? They never asked questions about the lion she'd been with. All she told them was that he was a rogue.

One week after the birth of her son, the lioness named him Adawa.

The whole pride knew what it meant: Hostility. When he opened his eyes they were blood red, like his mother's. With the grayish markings of his rogue father, the blood red eyes of his pridal mother, many of the lionesses had a feeling that 'Adawa' would live up to his name, but they had yet to see his personality. That wouldn't come for awhile yet, but the question had filtered through every one of their minds. Would Adawa, with such markings, such eyes, and such personality when shown, live up to his name?

Then there was the other lioness, the one who had birthed twin daughters. She was a dark sandy gold color, with eyes that were the color of the sky at night. When the lionesses approached her to see her daughters they were surprised to see that neither newborn had her mother's fur. Instead, they had the fur of their father, whoever he was. They speculated that the father was a rogue, a rogue of a brown reddish color. The cubs inherited their father's fur color, but what of their eyes?

A week later, the same week when they'd discovered Adawa's eye color, they knew of the twin daughters'. One, the eldest, who was named 'Tisha', had the eyes of her mother. Her sister named, 'Safiya', had light green eyes. The eyes of her father, the lionesses decided.

Either way the cubs were beautiful like their mother.

They also learned the meaning of the girls' names, though Tisha's had two. One was 'strong-willed', which the lionesses hoped she would be as she grew. The second caused them worry and they had no idea what she would be like when she started talking, walking, interacting with her sister and the other cubs. The second meaning was 'menace'. With a cub holding the name 'hostility' the one thing the pride didn't need was a cub with a name so similar, and a cub with the name 'menace' was indeed similar.

Then there was the last cub, Nyari's cub, Nyari's daughter as they'd come to learn. That cub was the one that put the entire pride in a state of confusion and other emotion. Upon first look it was clear that Nyari's daughter was different from the other newborn cubs. First off, the fur of the cub was brown, dark brown… Brown like (many shuddered as the thought, possibility, and idea came to them) the king's.

But it was impossible, right?

Many of them asked one another about it in the grass. The thought alone was frightening to even consider. The king was married… married to his queen. Surely he wouldn't…

But after they'd seen Adawa's eyes, seen Tisha's and Safiya's eyes, and had stepped into Nyari's cave to see the eyes of her daughter, nearly every lioness had to talk it out aloud to each other, away from all, including the royal lions and lionesses. One of them had thought she was going to pass out from surprise, surprise which was now shock.

Nyari's daughter's eyes were crystal blue, but not just any crystal blue… they were the same crystal blue color as King Nkosi's. Was it possible? What they'd seen was no lie or trick of their minds. Nyari's daughter had the eye color of the royal line. According to their history, the first king himself had crystal blue eyes and nearly every royal lion and lioness after him.

What was even more shocking was that Nyari had named her daughter 'Jahzara', which, they knew meant, blessed princess. That was the final blow. So it was true.

Their king had an affair with Nyari. Nkosi, their leader, was the father of Nyari's cub, the father of Jahzara.

Hardly anyone had known what to say to this, but they told the other two mothers. Surprise had come across their faces, but they didn't speak a word either.

What was there to say, amongst any of them? They'd been looking to this lion for guidance, leadership, righteousness, everything his ancestors stood for only to discover that he had cheated on his wife with another lioness. But for what reason, and was he alone responsible? Could any of them expect Nyari had had something to do with it? For many years they had either seen or heard of the past leaders, be they king or queen, treat their mates with love, devotion and respect. Never was there a trace of deception or deceit in them. No sign that they had been unfaithful to their mates.

So what was the deal with Nkosi? Did he not love his wife? Was Nyari, in what they perceived among themselves, so desperate for cubs that instead of going with a rogue, she seduced the king? There were so many questions, but the fact that the other two mothers didn't go to the king first, but Nyari did, left room for speculation.

They wouldn't ask the king. And there was no real evidence, other than the cub Nyari had birthed, to confirm their thoughts.

A few weeks after the births, a few lionesses talked to the queen.

"Have you seen Nyari's cub yet?"

"Doesn't the child look like Nkosi?"

"She has his eyes, crystal blue."

But Sauda, in spite of herself, would shrug their questions off. To her own surprise, she'd kept her 'promise' which really wasn't a promise, to not tell the pride that Nkosi was the father of Nyari's cub. But the questions from the lionesses were simply too much.

She was angry with Nkosi. It seemed that's all she ever was when it came to him. But was it really wrong for him to be a father, even if he fathered a cub with another lioness? Would she be selfish if she kept him all to herself, like she had wanted to from the start? Heck, she was being selfish. He wasn't, really, but she wouldn't admit that.

The continuing questions and statements from the lionesses were running rampant, so rampant it made her want to snap. She couldn't contain the fact that she knew and that she wasn't disappointed. She was, more than that she was furious.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"The cub is Nkosi's," she said, straightforward.

That alone was enough to shut the lionesses up. They looked at each other then back to her.

"And the cub does have Nkosi's eyes," she added.

These words from the queen herself were a revelation. So it was true. Their thoughts were confirmed. Their king had cheated on his mate with another. They didn't ask the queen whether Nkosi seduced Nyari or the other way around. How would she know? Instead, they only talked about their thoughts regarding Nyari and her cub to themselves, but one thing was for certain and their conclusion was clear.

The conclusion, at least in part, was whether Nyari or Nkosi seduced the other no longer mattered. What did matter was that a grave sin had been committed.

The conclusion in full, because of the sin, the result of it being the presence of Nkosi and Nyari's cub, the cub was illegitimate and not fit to one day rule the Eastern Valley.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

In the few months after the birth of her only granddaughter, Nadia felt something. Something she hadn't felt in nearly four years. It felt like the warmth of the sun on her body when she sunned herself in the grass or on the rocks that lingered around the kingdom. The feeling was easy to understand and she gladly welcomed it. Her mate's line, her son's line, was officially being carried on in the form of the little brown cub, who, now was suckling at her mother's stomach.

Alongside Radhiya, the former queen watched Nyari and her daughter from their positions in the warm air not far from the caves.

The love that shined in Nyari's eyes was the same kind of love that had shined in both Nadia and Radhiya's eyes four years before, when their lives were different and not rocked by loss and tragedy, when their kids were little. The two older lionesses looked at each other with smiles then their gazes went back to Nyari who nodded at them gratefully. They were alone, free to talk, and in the case of Nadia and her friend, remember when times were just like this.

The atmosphere around them was calm and quiet; the sounds of the birds of the air could be heard, even though the sounds were incredibly soft. Neither lioness said a word, but thoughts ran through Nyari's mind. She had thought that once the pride saw Jahzara, saw the likeness of Nkosi in her that they would terrorize her with words of disgust, looks of disdain, but so far none of that happened. But she could see it all in their eyes, especially Sauda's.

She shook her head and forced her mind to think of something else. She found it. After Jahzara's birth, Nkosi had decided to make a big change. Nyari remembered that conversation. It had happened the night of Jahzara's presence in the world…

"Are you sure, Nkosi?" she'd asked. "The pride will notice."

"I know, but Sauda won't and if she does, she can't say anything. I hate going into the royal chamber, hate keeping the façade that Sauda and I are something we're not. If the pride wishes to talk about it, they can and that includes anything negative." He reached out and touched her paw with his. The look in his eyes was certain, serious and filled with the love she'd seen there ever since they spoke their feelings. "I no longer want my place to be where it doesn't belong. Let's face it, Nyari, our daughter needs her father." His eyes fell to the small female version of himself. A smile crossed his face. "And… I need her," he paused and looked up at Nyari, "and I need you. I've waited too long for this. Not just to be a father but to share a cave with a lioness I actually love. And I do love you, Nyari. It's only been a few hours but being a father has made my feelings for you rise even higher. I am connected to this cub and not just by blood. I want to make sure that Jahzara knows she has a father who will never leave her, who will always be there when she needs him." He stopped, his gaze falling, along with his ears. His paws clutched at the flat ground.

Nyari noticed. "What is it, Nkosi," she asked gently.

It took him a moment to respond. Then, "As of this moment, I'm not staying in the royal chambers."

Her eyes grew wide. "What?"

"You heard me," he said softly. "I'm not staying in the royal chambers anymore. From now on I want my place to be here… with you and Jahzara. As far as I'm concerned, you are my family. You and Jahzara are the royal family. You and I may not be married, but Jahzara does have royal blood flowing through her, and I, as her father, have every right to stay with her and care for her as best I can. I won't separate myself from you or her."

She smiled and nuzzled him…

Now Nyari wished Nkosi was home, but she knew that his duties were important, that they needed to be done. She looked down at her side to see Jahzara had finished suckling and was snuggled up against her. She smiled and licked her lips, feeling the dryness. There was a waterhole only a few feet away. She turned to Nadia. "Nadia, would you mind watching Jahzara while I drink from the waterhole?"

The former leader smiled. "Bring my granddaughter here," she said.

Nyari gently picked her sleeping cub up into her mouth and walked to Nadia, laying the cub in the old lioness's paws. "Thank you," she said then left to the waterhole. She dipped her head down to drink, the water cool and refreshing to her parched throat.

"Nyari," said a voice from behind her.

The lioness cringed. Somewhere in the back of her mind she expected this, but it still unnerved her. She spoke without turning. "Sauda…"

"Turn around. We need to talk."

Nyari shut her eyes, gritted her teeth, and fought the urge to say no. Bracing herself she turned, her eyes opened and faced the 'queen' with her head held high. "What is it, Sauda?" She tried to keep the sudden irritation out of her voice.

"Your daughter is my mate's cub."

She bit her tongue. She wanted to point out that Nkosi was not her mate, but that would give Sauda reason to prolong whatever she wanted to say. "Yes, Nkosi is Jahzara's father," Nyari said plainly.

"Hmm… He told me that he was the father of your cub before it was born. He didn't deny it."

"I'm not denying it either." Nyari shook her head. "Is there a point to this, Sauda?"

The green-eyed lioness smirked. "I take it he's staying in your cave?" She walked passed her.

Nyari watched. "He is. He wants to be close to Jahzara."

"And this has nothing to do with you?"

"Well, he loves me; he loves our daughter, so…"

Sauda faced her and sat down. "After I told him of my infertility, he said that –"

"That he would find a lioness his age that's in perfect health? Yes, I know all about that."

She eyed her, her head tilted a bit. "He held nothing back from you about us, did he?"

"He was honest."

"You too, I bet. You care for him."

Nyari fought a rueful chuckle. "Of course I do."

"Do you love him?"

It was the question Nyari had been waiting for. Unlike the lioness in front of her she wouldn't have waited so long to tell Nkosi that she was infertile.

Sauda asked again. "It's an easy answer. Do you love Nkosi or not?"

Nyari looked at her with a point blank stare. "Compared to you… Yes, I do love him."

"And yet he married me."

"He didn't have a choice. His father betrothed the two of you. He couldn't say no to the king's will."

"Neither could I."

Nyari didn't speak.

Sauda did. "Nkosi will declare your daughter his heir…"

"What choice does he have? She is his. His blood flows through her."

"And what makes you think the pride, let alone the kingdom, will accept her?"

Nyari met her eyes. "She's the only one. There's no one else."

"They won't see it that way. The pride certainly doesn't."

"It'll take time."

Sauda smirked. "No it won't. You haven't heard? Nkosi hasn't either?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?"

"The pride seems to have… deemed your child illegitimate."

Nyari's eyes snapped. She felt her blood boil. "She isn't!" Her voice was a low, suppressed hiss. "How do you know this?"

Again Sauda rose up and walked passed her, talking as she did. "I'm the queen, remember? I hear things."

She was afraid to ask, but she had to know. "Do you agree with them?" The air around her grew still, felt hot and sticky. Her tail twitched and her heart pounded a little.

"Why should I?"

Beating around the bush… Nyari closed her eyes tightly, and willed herself not to speak.

"There's been talk that you seduced Nkosi, or that he seduced you."

Nyari knew this was coming but she still willed herself not to reply.

Sauda continued. "The way I see it, his choice was his own. He chose you to bear his…"

"Watch your step," the lioness warned. "Do you agree with the others in the pride that my daughter, Nkosi's daughter, is illegitimate?"

"Well, I'm queen, you're not. What do you think?"

At this Nyari whirled around, facing Sauda both irritated and frustrated. "Oh for the love of all things, just answer the question!" she snapped.

Sauda laughed in a way that made Nyari want to strike her. She came up to and whispered, "Of course I do."

And without waiting for a response, she walked away.

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After her conversation with Sauda, Nyari was worried. She was even afraid to tell Nkosi, for fear of what he would do. She had yet to see the violent side of him and she wasn't sure if she ever wanted to. He wasn't a violent lion by nature, but if anyone he loved was threatened they would see a violent side of him fast. But had Sauda threatened her or Jahzara directly? Was it a threat at all? The look in the queen's eyes, the way they seemed to narrow and bore themselves into her own clearly suggested that something was amiss.

That very same night she and Jahzara were lying in her cave, Jahzara asleep at her mother's side. Nyari looked down at her daughter and licked the cub's forehead. It had been three months now since her birth and already she was growing. She had yet to interact with the other cubs in the pride and that worried Nyari. She knew that the two mothers wouldn't be so keen to accept Jahzara or let her play with their cubs. They were acting like the rest of the pride only ignoring her and not slandering her or Jahzara to her face. A part of her wished they would, that they wouldn't have to keep their dislike of the whole matter a secret. She wondered if Nkosi knew or sensed that the pride was uncomfortable with his 'illegitimate heir' in their cavern.

She yawned and was about to lay her head down to sleep when Nkosi came in. She looked up with tired eyes and a tired smile. "Hey."

He came close, nuzzled her and licked her cheek. Then he leaned over to the sleeping Jahzara and showered her with the same affection, adding a fatherly purr to the mix. He met Nyari's gaze again. "Hey, care to come with me for a moment?"

"What for…?"

"I wanna show you something. My mother is waiting outside. She said she'd look after Jahzara."

The older lioness stepped up next to her son. "It's all right, Nyari."

Reluctantly, she carefully rose and looked down at her cub, then to Nkosi and his mother. She watched as Nadia gave her a reassuring smile then lay down next to Jahzara, who, in sleep seemed to know who was near her and moved closer. Nyari relaxed. She knew Nadia would never harm her cub but the rest of the pride… She shook her head and addressed Nkosi. "What's this all about?"

He just smiled. "Follow me."

She did as he said and followed. They stepped out of her cave, walked to the far back of the den, walked up a few small ledges that lay near the back and, to her surprise, walked near to the royal chambers. Nyari felt her stomach drop, her throat tighten. Why were they –? Her mental question ceased as Nkosi stepped inside the cave, strode to the center, turned and sat down. He looked at her almost proudly.

She followed his lead and sat. She felt odd, almost uncomfortable, in this chamber. "Why are we here, Nkosi?" she finally asked.

"How would you like it if this became your new place of rest, yours and Jahzara's?"

Her mouth fell open. "What? But, Nkosi as you well know this is the royal chamber. I'm not royalty."

"Our daughter is."

"Well, to you, me, your mother and Radhiya, yes, Jahzara is but –"

"Sauda moved out."

This caught her by surprise. "What, when?"

"This afternoon, she told me that she hates being in this chamber and that she misses being among the lionesses."

"Oh, well… that's unexpected."

"I know, and with this new development I was thinking that I since I've slept in here for all my life, as did my father and many other royal cubs, why not let my – our – daughter do the same. This cave is just as much hers as it is mine."

When she didn't say anything he walked toward her. "You may not be queen to the pride, but you are my queen. And as the mother of my heiress, and the lioness I love, you have every right to share this cave."

"Are you sure?"

He nuzzled her and kissed her cheek. "I am, and my mother is in agreement. I told her."

Nyari nodded and touched her tongue to the side of his face. "I'll go and retrieve Jahzara."

The transition from just a simple cave in the main den to the royal chambers itself did not go unnoticed. Though Nadia did her best to contain the surprised lionesses, including the other two mothers, Radhiya spent much of her time controlling her daughter.

"It's none of your business who Nkosi allows to stay in the royal cave, Sauda. You moved out, remember?"

The queen just rolled her eyes, annoyed that her mother was telling her, the leader, what to do. Shut up! She'd wanted to say that so many times… "He moved out first, Mom!" she complained like a stubborn cub.

"You didn't give him much reason to stay. You weren't patient enough. You knew he needed time and didn't give it to him. You didn't express your concern over Nyari when she got hurt. Nkosi stayed in that cave during that time was because Nyari has no one else."

"Yes, but you forget, oh, Mother, that Nkosi started sleeping with Nyari after that."

Radhiya rolled her eyes. How could she have failed in raising her own daughter? This wasn't how it was supposed to be! She managed to speak, her voice almost quivering. "That shouldn't matter."

"Oh, so you agree with what he did, with what he did to me?"

"Sauda, sweetheart, Nkosi doesn't love you. He didn't want to continue giving you a life in which both of you would be miserable. He loves Nyari and Nyari is the mother of his child, the child who is heir to the throne."

Her daughter scoffed. "Yeah, much of the pride won't see it that way. They don't."

"Then maybe you should start encouraging them. One of the jobs of being queen is that you encourage your pride. You are the queen, Sauda. Act like it!"

"Mother, I don't approve of what Nkosi and Nyari have done. I don't approve of their daughter."

Radhiya bowed her head and shook it with regret and pain. "Then don't expect me to side with you."

Sauda walked passed her mother. "I know you won't. You've been on Nkosi's side since this started."

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At six months of age, Jahzara, the daughter of King Nkosi and the lioness Nyari was intelligent, smart, witty, but also kind and, like all cubs her age, curious. But at six months, she would never understand the reason why she got 'unusual' or 'angry' looks from the grown-up lionesses in her father's pride. The only ones who were kind to her were Grandma Nadia and Grandma Nadia's friend, Radhiya. To her surprise, the lioness known as Radhiya had told her that she was like a parent to her mother.

"And as the daughter of the lioness I love like my own, you can call me 'grandma' too," the light medium brown lioness said, her eyes shining kindly at the young cub.

Jahzara was happy to have an extended family. Her second grandma, as she'd quickly come to love as much as her first, often watched over her and the other cubs. The other ones her age, at least two, treated her as though something was wrong with her. The horrible truth was, in their eyes and the eyes of their mothers, something was wrong with Jahzara.

Before the four cubs could learn to get along with one another, play, and form any kind of friendship, the mothers of three of the cubs – Adawa's mother, along with the twins' Tisha and Safiya's mother – told their children not to even play with Jahzara, though she would be among them every day.

They were told the reason why: That Jahzara's father, the king, did something bad to the queen, and the lioness, Nyari, Jahzara's mother had conspired to steal the king away from the queen and that Jahzara would rule in the king's place one day, though her mother was not queen.

Then they were told in terms their young minds could understand: Jahzara's parents had done a bad thing and they were not to make friends with the cub of two bad lions, even if one of them was king.

Adawa was quick to understand and often gave Jahzara a lot of grief. He teased her, bullied her, and tried on more than one occasion to pick a fight.

"Your mother's not even the queen," he'd sneered to her one day, his blood red eyes sparkling coldly. He walked around her, watching her closely. "What business does your father have boasting about how you're going to be queen?"

Jahzara never had any replies. She'd heard the lionesses talk about her parents and her like they were an unhealthy piece of meat. She'd ignore Adawa's comments, but it never stopped with just him.

Tisha, the cub with light red-brown fur and navy blue eyes, also ridiculed her, mocked her, saying that with her mother not being royal, she wouldn't do well ruling anyone or anything. "That is, if you rule over us one day," she'd paused to laugh, "which you won't, as the king, your daddy will see that you're unfit and weak."

That comment, and others like it was something Jahzara hated and she defended herself any way she could, other than resorting to fighting. She'd told her mother that she wanted to claw at Tisha and Adawa.

Her mother only licked her forehead. "I know it bothers you, Jahzara, but Tisha and Adawa… They don't know what they're saying. They don't know the truth. It's their mothers who keep telling them these things." And Sauda probably has a lot to do with it too, she thought to herself.

Jahzara leaned into her mother's chest, hearing the soft beat of her heart. "Why, Mom…?"

Nyari hesitated but she felt her daughter deserved some of the truth, at least for now. She would tell the rest when Jahzara was older… She's just a cub, Lord… She found her voice. "Listen to me, Jahzara, your father and I love each other very much, and we love you very much." She nuzzled the cub. "You and your father are the light of my life."

"And you and Jahzara are the light of mine," said Nkosi.

The two females looked up, and Jahzara got up from her mother's paws and trotted to her father. "Dad," she said, rubbing herself against his forelegs.

Nkosi smiled and nuzzled her, purring. "How's my girl?"

She turned to her mother then back to him. "Better."

He glanced at Nyari who sent him a look that said, 'She was teased again'. He nodded and put his eyes back to his daughter. "Why don't you go and see your Grandma Nadia for a moment? I need to talk to your mother."

Jahzara smiled weakly and went off to find her father's mother.

Nkosi walked up to Nyari, licked her cheek then settled beside her. They didn't speak for a moment, their thoughts churning. Both knew what the other thought and it was Nkosi who broke the quiet.

"You know, I would talk to Adawa's mother and Tisha's but…"

Nyari understood. She always did. "You may be king, but they won't listen?" she said not as a question, but a statement, a true one. She blinked and nodded. "Yes, and I've been fighting the urge to do the same." She sighed heavily and a large wave of emotion filled her. She rested her head on his maned covered shoulder. "We knew the risks, Nkosi… What we would face and what Jahzara would face, even before she was born…"

"Still… I never expected such… hostility…" He felt Nyari tremble and shake at the word, and he too was surprised. That last word. Hostility… the meaning of Adawa's name… He shook off the shiver that came up in his spine and continued. "You're right. We knew the risks, but it's so unbelievable. I thought the pride, my pride, was above this, above all of this." He shut his eyes and felt her nuzzle him, kiss his cheek.

"We'll get through it, Nkosi," Nyari said quietly, her voice soft. "And we'll get Jahzara through it too. We'll get through it together. We're a family."

He didn't say anything. He only nodded and kissed the top of her head, resting his chin there, closing his eyes and uttering a prayer in his mind. His prayer – That she was right about everything.

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Unlike her twin, and the gray cub Adawa, Safiya treated Jahzara differently. She wasn't one to believe that Jahzara was bad or that her parents had done a bad thing. She was only a cub and like her sister and Adawa, did not know the truth, but she'd made up her own conclusion, her own reasoning.

She'd seen Jahzara with her parents and saw that there was a family bond, one she and her sister and their mother would never experience, because her father, whoever he was, wasn't around, never had been. All her mother had told her and Tisha was that their father was a wanderer but a lion, who, if he'd been a settler would have loved them dearly.

Safiya often wondered if the same could be said for Adawa and his mother. Adawa's mother never talked about his father to him, but what Adawa relayed to her and Tisha, (Jahzara being excluded from this, only to learn it from Safiya later) was that his father was a lion, who like Tisha and Safiya's father, was unable to settle down, but loved his mother and "would have loved him too," his mother had said.

To all of this, Safiya found herself envying Jahzara, but not in a bad way. If anything, she considered Jahzara lucky. More than that, she saw and often felt the affection of the king like the father she never had. In her cub mind, Jahzara was no different than her, her sister or even Adawa. Didn't they all live in the same pride? Weren't they part of it and weren't they supposed to look out for each other as a family?

Safiya hated the way her sister and Adawa treated Jahzara and took it upon herself to defend Jahzara from the others' constant teasing and bullying.

To this, Jahzara was surprised. She expected Safiya to be like her sister, Tisha. Safiya's way of behaving reminded Jahzara of her own and she was grateful to the lioness cub she considered a friend for helping her.

Tisha, however, despised her twin for the kindness she showed Jahzara.

"Do you even understand what she is, Safiya?" Tisha had asked her sister one day while they lay near a waterhole.

The mirror image of Tisha answered without a second thought or hesitation. "What? What is she, Tisha? I'll tell you what she is… she's a cub, like you, me and Adawa. I don't see what the big deal is, or why our mother insists that she's nothing! So, she has a father and a mother, that's more than what both of us and Adawa have. Jahzara has a complete family. The rest of us don't, and according to our mothers our fathers didn't want to stick around so we could be a family! You honestly believe that Jahzara is bad because her father is the king but her mother isn't the queen, just a pridal lioness like our mother and Adawa's mother? Why is that so bad? Think about, sis, and think real hard…" Safiya took this opportunity to pause and catch her breath. She'd never been one for speaking so much, but this had been coming for some time.

"And what is that?" Tisha asked, rolling her eyes. Why was she –

"We may not be his children, but the king does love us. We should consider that a blessing."

"Oh please, Saffy…"

"Don't call me that."

"Why, you allow that so-called princess to call you Saffy."

Her sister's eyes narrowed. "Because she has been given the honor to do so, you haven't."

"So, what, until I 'change', I can't call you that?"

"Until you learn to respect others and not listen to EVERYTHING our mother tells us."

Tisha scoffed and smirked. "Good luck with that."

Safiya's face was covered in regret. "Then you'll never be able to call me 'Saffy'."

"Just as well, it's too girly for you anyway."

Safiya ignored that and continued her argument. "Jahzara is one of us and whether you, Adawa, Mom, Adawa's mom or anyone else likes it or not, Jahzara will be our next queen. She will lead us."

"I won't have her lead me or order me around."

"I'm sorry to hear you say that."

"Why do you even care?"

"I am clear minded, it's the meaning of my name, and you? I thought you were supposed to be strong-willed… Guess you're the other, the second meaning of your name."

Tisha raised an eyebrow. "You mean menace? It does have a ring to it…" she said with a small grin.

Safiya's eyes grew wide in alarm and shock. "You wouldn't?" she asked, her voice quiet, horrified.

"I have, actually. It fits." She looked behind Safiya to see Jahzara. A cold smile came across her face. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

She walked passed Safiya, Safiya watching. Her blood ran cold and she ran up to Tisha, putting a paw on her flank. "You won't…" she breathed. "I won't let you."

Tisha looked back at her with a scowl. "You gonna stop me? What about Adawa? Think you can take on both of us? What would Mom say?"

Safiya gritted her teeth. "I don't care. I won't let you hurt my friend."

"You're too caring… You're weak that way and one day it will get you into trouble. Just try and stop me, sis. I'm older than you."

"Only by a few minutes, that's what Mom said."

"Doesn't matter, I'm still older." Her ear twitched and she turned in time to see Adawa already starting to tease Jahzara. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she didn't want to miss it either. She had to stop Safiya's pestering. She put her eyes back to her. "You keep up your friendship with Jahzara and there will be problems." She drew her face close to Safiya, surprised that she wasn't worried or scared. For a young sister, even a twin, she had a lot of strength. "If you're going to play protector with our supposed future leader, go ahead and do it, but just remember the future isn't set the way we think it is."

Safiya watched Tisha leave and she shook herself from the fear she felt at her sister's words. Whatever the future held for any of them, as Jahzara's only friend, and knowing the princess would do the same for her if she were in the same situation, Safiya would watch over Jahzara. The way she saw it Jahzara didn't deserve Tisha and Adawa's cold treatment. She didn't deserve the lionesses' scrutiny of her or her parents, either.

When the time came for Jahzara to take over the Eastern Valley, Safiya would without, a doubt, accept her as the true heir and the rightful queen.

So help me God…

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

From the moment Jahzara was born, and he set his eyes on her, Nkosi had sworn to himself that he would never allow his duties as king to take control of him… ever. If anything, the moment his crystal blue eyes looked into hers, the promise he'd made, he put into practice every day since her birth. He knew time had a way of passing and that in good time; his daughter would be one year old, then two, then three.

Even now, as often as he could, he was watching her grow up, Nyari alongside him. He wasn't sure if he should deem himself a lucky lion but he felt it right, no matter how others saw him, Nyari or Jahzara. He would confess it before God, and often did when he watched the sun rise or when he would leave the caves to do an early patrol.

He often told himself and his mother that he would not be like his own father, and leave the kingdom when things got rough. "Things are bound to be hard," he told her. "I know that, I've always known that but I won't allow it to affect my judgment or my love for this pride. The pride and the kingdom have suffered enough with the loss of one king due to hard times, and as God as my witness, I won't let it happen again."

There was another reason he wouldn't allow his duties to fall on him and drag him down the way they did his father and forced him to leave – Jahzara, his daughter, his blessed princess. "… Jahzara is my daughter and she is my heir. If I allow this," – he turned his head around, gesturing to the lands – "to get to me and the pressure of it enables me to leave, then Jahzara will have no chance at taking over after me. I know the pride won't allow it. The animals, I'm not so sure, but I think Rashid has made it clear to those who come to him that the cub with my colored eyes, that looks so much like me, is next in line to the throne."

This, he also told his mother, and Nyari. She, too, needed to hear it. She nuzzled him and whispered in his ear, to which he replied by licking her cheek tenderly.

Now, on this early morning, Nkosi looked out over his kingdom, breathing a sigh of relief and peace. He felt a sense of hope he hadn't felt since he took the throne. He knew the reason. He had an heir, not a son, but a daughter. It'd never mattered to him the way it mattered to his late father. He would train Jahzara as best he could. He would train her in the way she should go. He would train her to be a good ruler.

All future training aside, one thing nagged at him, especially in these last few weeks – Jahzara carrying on the Eastern Valley legacy. His ears fell forward and he shut his eyes. He didn't want to think about it but as the years passed, it would have to come up eventually, and a solution would have to be thought up too. There was only one male in the pride, a male who would grow up alongside his daughter. The male was still a cub and would in a few years be a full grown lion. But there was no way Nkosi would consider having him rule with Jahzara.

The very thought of it made him sick.

The gray male cub known as Adawa would never rule as king to Jahzara's queen. He just wasn't fit. Not only that, but Adawa lived up to his name – hostility. There was no chance that Nkosi would allow everything he and his ancestors worked for disappear under the name of a lion who was cruel in every way.

Nkosi wished that as time passed Adawa wouldn't be like his name, but he feared that when Adawa had grown, he would continue to be exactly the way his name suggested. Though years away, Nkosi was not about to put his daughter through a betrothal, let alone a marriage that would have no thought or feeling, he simply wouldn't. And that was the reason he and Nyari got together in the first place. It was the whole reason Jahzara was here now. Because his father, the late king Habari, had betrothed him and Sauda. His father didn't know about Sauda's infertility, but that wasn't the point.

To join two souls together without considering the consequences was wrong. To join two souls who had no business being joined was worse.

Nkosi grunted and scolded himself. He wasn't sure what he would do about the future but he would worry about it another time. This was the present. His daughter was still a cub and he would watch over her and love her, the way a father should. No question about it, he was a lucky lion.

He turned his head towards the ramp and near it, the cave in which the lionesses and his mother slept. And there in the chambers inside that cave where his precious Nyari and their beautiful daughter also slept in peace. Emotion filled his chest, his heart and rose up into his throat. He wished he was with them, in the cooling comfort of the royal chambers, holding Nyari close, feeling Jahzara curl up to his neck, her head buried in the softness of his mane. They were with his family and he loved them dearly.

After a moment he turned his attention back to his lands, the illuminating light and glow of the sun spreading to all corners of the kingdom, or what he could see from his perch on the stone. He flexed his paws along the ground. He was wide-awake, and couldn't go back to his chambers and sleep, as much as he wanted to. He wanted to get his patrolling done. With a soft sigh and a small grunt, he rose, walked down the ramp, stole a quick look into the dark cave, and left.

The light of the sun made his dark brown fur a few shades lighter, made his black mane easy to see from a good distance. He yawned and shook his head. He had only a few goals in mind this morning. He would patrol the borders, tend to any issues the animal leaders had with one another with the help of Erevu, dismiss the advisor, and return home to spend the rest of the afternoon with Nyari and their daughter.

That would be the perfect ending to his day and the very thought of it made him smile.

"God, thank you for them," he said softly.

He wouldn't worry about the future or what it held.

For now, the future of everyone, including himself, his kingdom, and his pride was secured. It was secure in his daughter, Princess Jahzara.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Author's Note: Okay in case you somehow forget the meaning of the other three cubs: Adawa 'Hostility', Tisha 'Menace', and Safiya 'Clear minded, pure'