The Death of a Prince

A/N: I would like to apologise for taking longer than usual to update my fanfic.

Over the years, Prince Adesh had developed a very serious heart condition, the exact same one that had eventually killed his father (though many people at this point believed the rumours Hilah had circulated about Shisht killing King Hasim). As such, Adesh's doctor advised him to maintain a healthy diet, avoid smoking and alcohol and exercise frequently in order to avoid a heart attack. Additionally, he requested that those who lived in the palace try their best to avoid delivering any major shocks to the prince as this would also put a strain on his heart. However, Adesh would meet his end after receiving the biggest shock of his life... and it was all a trick to make his already-fragile heart give up on him.

It was just another ordinary day in the palace. Malik and Janna were now old and grey, and their children were grown up. Despite their age, the King and Queen were no less effective rulers than they had been at the start of their joint reign, which had at this point lasted for fourty-three years. They continued to rule the Tree of Life with wisdom and justice and remained beloved by everyone in the Kingdom... everyone, that is, except Prince Vurugu. Even Hilah, who had hated them with a passion in her youth, had softened to them in recent years. Maybe it was because she had gotten older, or perhaps it was because she was fond of the King and Queen's children; Sahasi and Surak. Whatever the reason, it is safe to say that Hilah was a lot more mellow and a lot less bitter as an old woman than she was when she first discovered that Malik and Janna were married. However, Vurugu almost constantly reminded her about their revenge plan, making sure that she continued with it. Secretly, Vurugu hated his mother, and he had sworn to betray her for his own desires when the time came. Hilah had intended to use Vurugu as her tool to kill Malik and Janna, and they would then rule the Tree of Life together. Vurugu, on the other hand, had absolutely no intention of sharing power with his mother, and he saw her as being weak to wait so long to take her revenge, deciding that he would get her out of the picture soon enough. First, however, he wanted to get rid of his father.

A much-more elderly Adesh was in bed one day at around midday, having felt very tired at breakfast. He felt as though somebody had stuck a knife in his heart; he was in so much pain. Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," the prince uttered weakly. The door opened; it was Hilah. "Hello, husband," she smiled as she entered the room. "Hi, my angel," Adesh beamed. "How are you?". "I think a more important question is "How are you?", Adesh,". Hilah insisted as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Okay, I suppose," her husband uttered. "Just a little bit sore,". "Poor thing," Hilah said genuinely. Her relationship with her husband had not been easy, but by this point, she had given in to her affection for Adesh, something which her younger self never would have done. "Well, darling, I know that it's difficult for you, but I'll always be here to help you. Everyone will. Why? Because you've done so much for everyone else that it's only right that they return the favour,". Hilah then leaned over, and she and Adesh shared a tender kiss. Little did either of them know was that their son was spying on them.

A/N: Well, Hilah, looks like you're getting a taste of your own medicine, lol XP.

"Bleach!" Vurugu thought as he watched his mother and father slowly break away before Hilah gently stroked her husband's cheek. "If I didn't know better, I would say that my dope of a mother was actually in love with my dad. Well, that can't happen if our masterplan is to succeed. I've been outshined by everyone else in my family for long enough. My philosophy is as follows "Do whatever it takes to get what you want, but prey upon the weak before you take on the strong,". Hilah noticed their son in the doorway. "Ah, there you are, Vurugu," she declared. "I'd like to speak to my dad... alone,". "Vurugu," Adesh declared. "Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of your mother,". "But, Dad, this is a very important conversation between us... something that a woman like her could never understand,". "Very well, son," Hilah sighed, kissing Adesh once more before getting up from the bed and leaving the room. To make sure that his mother wasn't listening to his conversation with his father, he listened to the sound of her footsteps. When the "stamp, stomp," sound vanished completely, Vurugu entered his parents' bedroom with a glass of orange juice in his hand. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked at his father.

"Hello, my dear son," Adesh smiled as he sat up. "I brought you a drink, Dad," Vurugu declared, playing the part of a caring son. "It's orange juice,". "Oh, my favourite," Adesh smiled as Vurugu gave him the glass. "Thank you, my darling boy,". Adesh took a big gulp of the drink and handed back to Vurugu, who got up and put it on a nearby table. He then turned back to face his father, who was smiling at him. "I don't mean anything personal by this," Vurugu stated, coldness in his expression. "But when no one was looking, I poured deadly poison into the juice you just drank. The poison should take effect in about fifteen minutes or so,".

Now, what's important to realise is that the drink wasn't actually poisoned, and Vurugu knew this, but this was all part of the evil prince's plan. He knew that the knowledge that his own son would betray him so easily would be the last his already-fragile heart could take, and he would have a heart attack. At this point, Vurugu would leave the room and leave Adesh to die, only coming back in to the room when it was too late. Adesh's eyes widened in horror as he cast his mind back to the night Vurugu was born, when a peddler told him that the newborn would grow up to be a monster. "Vurugu!" he uttered weakly, his heart coming to a halt. "How could you -". But he never got to finish his sentence; he fell back onto the pillow, his face turning very pale. Barely even looking at his father's motionless body, Vurugu thought to himself "Stage one is complete. Now, I'm going to get an alibi so that everyone thinks that my father's death was completely natural, even Mother,".

With that, Vurugu took the half-full glass of orange juice off the table. He went into the adjoining bathroom and poured the remaining orange juice down the sink "I don't even like orange juice really," he thought as he proceeded to destroy any evidence that he was there. "I could've given Dad a poisoned drink, but if a doctor was to use an X-ray, the poison would show up in his body, and I could get found out. So, the best thing to do is to give Dad a regular glass of orange juice and make him think that it was poisoned,". He threw the glass in the bin before leaving the room. He took out a key and slipped it through the keyhole, locking the door. For good measure, he took out a piece of paper, wrote in big, red letters "DO NOT DISTURB" on it and pinned it to the door. As he walked through the corridors, he bumped into his elder cousin, Prince Sahasi.

"Hey, cousin," Sahasi smiled. "Are you okay?' "Er, yeah; I'm fine," Vurugu shrugged. "I was going to come in to visit Uncle Adesh and see how's he's feeling,". Malik and Janna's eldest son explained. "Oh, there's no need for that, Sahasi," Vurugu insisted. "Dad is having a nap, and you really shouldn't disturb him. In fact, there's even a note on the door saying "Do not disturb,",". "Alright then," Sahasi nodded. Then, Vurugu had an idea. He could use Sahasi as his alibi. "Would you like to come with me to the Cookie Café, cousin? You know, considering it's coming up to lunchtime,". "Well, I suppose I could spare an hour, Vurugu," the prince stated. "But we really shouldn't spend too much time in the town centre because we both have duties to attend to,". "An hour is good enough," Vurugu nodded. "But remember, Sahasi; you're not the King yet, so you don't have that many duties to attend to. Besides, it'll be fun. When was the last time you ate a meal outside the palace? More to the point, when was the last time we spent quality time together as cousins?". "Good point, V," Sahasi nodded. "Well, let's go,".

So, the two cousins made their way to the bustling town centre. It had changed quite a bit since Malik and Janna first met; there were far more shops, there were more people there and there were a lot of inhabitants who weren't born at the Tree of Life. In fact, Sahasi's wife, Princess Ananda, was one such person. She had been born and raised in Manchester over in England, and she was the only child of a white mechanic and a white hairdresser. She and her future husband had met for the first time in a pub in Manchester. He had taken a trip to England to visit friends, and the group decided to go to a local pub for their dinner one day, although the prince's bodyguard did not approve of the royal eating such commonplace food.

At one point, Sahasi went up to the bar to order drinks for his friends. Ananda was at the bar at the same time as him, and before long, they found themselves chatting away. The prince introduced the woman to his friends, and Ananda quickly became one of those friends. However, they soon realised that their connection had become a romantic one. By the time Sahasi left to return to the Tree of Life, he and Ananda had committed themselves to a relationship. In fact, they were so in love that Ananda decided to go to the Tree of Life with Sahasi. There, they continued their relationship, with the prince asking for her hand in marriage after three months. By now, the two had been married for slightly over a year, and they were already making plans to start a family.

Sahasi and Vurugu went into the Cookie Café, grabbed a seat and ordered their lunch. Sahasi had a cup of tea,a cheese omelette d a scone (with jam and cream of course), while Vurugu had a Cappuccino, a turkey sandwich and a chocolate brownie. He also got some gingerbread to go, because, in his words, "it's Dad's favourite". At one point, Sahasi was reading the paper and came across a very uplifting article. "Rightful King Returns to the Pridelands," he said, reading the headline. After reading the article in full, he lifted his head from the newspaper and addressed his cousin.

"Vurugu, did you hear about this?" Sahasi inquired. "After years of exile and uncertainty, Simba has returned to the Pridelands and reclaimed the throne. So, the story goes something like this. Remember the stampede that killed King Mufasa? The stampede had actually been planned by Scar, with help from Shenzi and her followers. Mufasa managed to rescue Simba, who was in the gorge when the stampede began, but when he climbed up the steep walls to escape himself, he met his brother. Instead of helping, Scar threw the King back into the stampede, killing him. When the dust settled and Scar discovered that Simba survived, he manipulated the child into thinking that Mufasa's death was his fault and told him to "run away and never return,". He sent Shenzi, Bansai and Ed to kill him, but they failed. So, while the Pridelands was reduced to a barren wasteland under Scar's reign of terror. Simba spent the rest of his childhood, all of his teenage years and his first few years of adulthood in a jungle with his two new friends; the fun-loving Timon and Pumbaa,".

"Then what?" Vurugu asked. "Well," Sahasi went on. "One day, Nala discovered Simba in the jungle, and realised that he was alive. At first, Simba didn't want to go back to the Pridelands and face his past, having been running away from it for so long. However, with some help from the old sage Rafiki and some encouragement from his father's spirit, Simba returned to his birthplace. Horrified by what was before him, Simba confronted Scar, who had just assaulted his mother. At first, Scar pinned the blame for Mufasa's death on Simba, and he actually might have succeeded in killing his nephew had he not his cockiness get the better of him; he revealed the truth about Mufasa's death to Simba. Furious, Simba summoned all of his strength and fought back, forcing Scar to reveal to all of Pride Rock that he was the true murderer. After an ensuing battle, Simba won and threw Scar off a cliff, reclaiming his place as the true King, marrying Nala and returning the Pridelands to the lush, wealthy kingdom it had once been,".

"And what happened to Scar?" Vurugu asked. "Well, after Simba hurled Scar off Pride Rock, no one really knows what happened to him because of how quickly the fire was spreading. Some people believe that the fall had killed him. Others believe that he survived his fall, but was killed by the fire. Some believe that he survived his fall, but when he got to the bottom of Pride Rock, he was confronted by Shenzi and her followers, having said earlier that they were "the real enemy" in a desperate attempt to save his skin. Overhearing him, they turned on him and taunted and killed him when he fell off Pride Rock. At any rate, that evil tyrant is dead and gone,".

A/N: Of course, we know exactly what happens to Scar. =)

"What? Scar's dead?!" Vurugu asked, standing up. "Don't tell me you're devastated, Vurugu," Sahasi said. "I'm not," Vurugu lied. "I'm just... surprised considering that he got away with so much for such a long time,". "Well, cousin," Sahasi stated, taking a sip out of his tea. "Evil beings will always be punished as they deserve. No matter how long it takes, their villainy will always be exposed in the end,". Vurugu gave a sigh. "I need some air; it's... very stuffy in here,". So, he rushed outside, leaving Sahasi a little bit confused, and started to run his train of thought. "So, Scar, who I idolise, is dead," Vurugu thought. "If his villainy got exposed, I better do everything in my power to make sure no one suspects mine until it is too late. I have my alibi, several people spoke to Sahasi and me, so I think the best thing to do is go back to the palace and make it seem like I just noticed Dad's body before anyone becomes suspicious,". So, Vurugu went back inside and convinced Sahasi to pay for their lunch and leave. When they returned to the palace, Sahasi thanked Vurugu for the lunch and went to find his wife.

Ananda was in her and Sahasi's bedroom, doing some cross-stitching. "One last stitch," she thought to herself as she pulled the needle and thread through the aida cloth and tied a knot to secure her stitches. Just then, Sahasi entered the room. Delighted to see her husband, Ananda rose from her seat and ran into Sahasi's arms, kissing him on the lips. "Hello, you handsome bloke," she grinned. "Hello, my beloved," Sahasi smiled, brushing some of her auburn hair away from her face. "How was the café?" she asked. "Very good," Sahasi nodded. "Vurugu seemed a little bit tense though. So, how are you?" "I'm good," Ananda replied. "I'm just doing a bit of embroidery,". She walked over to the seat and showed Sahasi her finished product. It was a design of a baby. "That's lovely," Sahasi smiled, admiring her work. "I couldn't stitch to save my life,". "I'm glad you like it," Ananda beamed. "Should we have a baby in the future, I hope that he or she will also be lovely. I know we haven't had any luck yet in terms of actually conceiving a child, but we still have plenty of time,". "And when we do have children, you're going to be the best mother ever,". Sahasi declared.

Meanwhile, Vurugu entered the bedroom where his father had had a heart attack. He crept in making sure no one saw him, and he made sure that there was no pulse coming from Adesh. When he was certain that it was too late for anyone to save him, he carefully snuck back out of the room and around the corner. He then went back the way he came, opening the door of the bedroom. "Dad, I'm back from the café," he declared. He then entered and purposely dropped the gingerbread he bought at the café on the floor as if he had just discovered his father's body. Vurugu ran out of the room, putting on a horrified face, looking for someone. "Aunt Heather!" he exclaimed. "Hello, Vurugu," Heather said pleasantly. "How are you, my dear nephew?". "Not good; I think there's something wrong with Dad,". Vurugu explained, being a very good actor. "Well, let's go and see him," Heather said immediately. "I hope it's not too serious,". So, the two rushed back to the bedroom. There, Heather saw her brother lying very still and looking very pale. She went over to him; she gave him a gentle shake first and then a harder one. She touched his skin; he felt very cold. Realising that it was bad news, Heather started to cry. "Oh, Adesh," she wept. "My dear brother; why?" She then turned to Vurugu. "Quick, Vurugu; get a doctor," she insisted. Vurugu nodded, feigning sadness, and left the room. Once he was out of earshot, he cackled to himself, delighted at what he was getting away with.

In Sahasi and Ananda's bedroom, they were sitting on their bed, thinking about all the things they would buy for their future children. "And if we have a girl," Ananda smiled. "We would give her a beautiful, little, pale pink dress with a darker pink ribbon. She would also have a cute little bow in her hair,". Just then, there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it," Sahasi smiled, kissing his wife on the forehead before getting up to answer it. When he opened the door, he saw his younger brother Surak. "Hi, Surak," Sahasi grinned. "How are you, brother?" "I'm okay, Sahasi," he frowned. "But something terrible has happened to Uncle Adesh; he's had a heart attack,". Horrified, Sahasi and Ananda left the room with Surak to go and support their uncle. However, it was too late.

"His heart gave up on him hours ago," the doctor explained. "We've tried everything, but I'm afraid Prince Adesh is beyond the point of revival; he's... dead,". After hearing this, everyone in the room started to cry, although Vurugu was only acting the part of a grief-stricken son. "Some doctor you are," Hilah snarled. "If you had kept better track of my husband's condition, he would still be alive,". "Princess Hilah," the doctor said sternly. "I'm a physician; I'm not a miracle-worker,". Everyone went to pay their respects to the dead prince. After a while, Hilah came forward, breaking down into tears. "I'm so sorry," she wept. "Please forgive me, husband. I didn't treat you the best in our marriage, and I see that now; oh, Adesh, I would give anything to turn back time and see you alive again. I didn't even get to say goodbye to you. I love you, and I will never stop loving you. I promise,". She kissed him on the lips, sorrow overcoming her.

Vurugu, who was spying on her, scoffed. "There was a time when Mother was willing to kill in order to get what she wanted," he thought. "Now, look at her. A pathetic, weak old woman mourning the death of a husband that had weighed her down. In fact, I almost feel sorry for her, being so blind to what actually happened, but I'm not about to let her disrupt my plans,". With that, he went into the bedroom and sat next to his mother. "I knew it," he declared. "You're in love with him," "He's my husband, Vurugu," Hilah stated. "Yeah, and your my mother, but that doesn't mean much, does it? What about our plan to take over the Tree of Life, Mother? Does that mean nothing to you anymore?" "Of course it does," Hilah started. "But - ". "But nothing!" Vurugu snarled. "We have waited too long and worked too hard to ensure that I, I mean, that we, will rule the Tree of Life, and I am not about to let you undo our progress,". "Of course we're still going ahead with the plan, Vurugu," Hilah nodded. "But I must mourn the death of Adesh. We shared a life together, we made a child together, and he picked me up when I fell. I'm going to take some time to pay tribute to him, and if you had even a sliver of humanity, you would do the same,".

So, Vurugu left the room, delighted that there was now one less obstacle in his way of the throne. However, the monster felt that he would never be content until the throne was his and his alone.

To be continued...