The New Generation

Three years later, King Malik and Queen Janna were in their chambers, preparing for bed. "My love," Janna smiled. "I meant to tell you this earlier, but I didn't get a chance because we were so busy. We received a letter from Pride Rock this morning,". "Oh, wonderful. What does it say?" Malik asked. "Er let's see," Janna said, getting the letter from one of the drawers. "Nala gave birth last week, so now, Simba and Nala have two children, and Kiara has a younger brother,". "Oh, so it was a boy then?" the King inquired. "Yes," Janna nodded. "His name is Kion,". "Well, we better send our good friends a letter congratulating them on the birth of their son," Malik smiled as he took his wife's hand. "Actually, now that I think about it, Kion is probably going to have the Roar when he's older,". "The what?" Janna asked. "The Roar of the Elders. The second child of the King and Queen of the Pridelands typically is bestowed with the Roar of the Elders when he or she is old enough, usually at around eight or nine. With the Roar of the Elders, they're also granted the position of Leader of the Lion Guard, the group of people who protect the Pridelands,".

"Ah, I see," Janna nodded. "Scar had the Roar... that is until he lost it after murdering his Lion Guard,". "That's right," the King responded. "The King and Queen of the Pridelands' second born child leads the lion Guard until they either retire or get stripped of their position by using the Roar for evil,". "Let's hope that Kion doesn't end up like Scar,". the Queen uttered. "I don't think he will, to be perfectly honest, my darling,". Malik stated. "Yes, Scar set an... undesirable precedent to say the least, but that doesn't mean that his grand nephew should be coloured with the same pen. It's true that the Roar can lead to terrible evil, I'm not denying that for a moment, but, if wielded by the right person, it is used for great good, and I have every faith in my oldest friend's grandson to use it for great good,".

"Well said, my amazing husband," Janna smiled. "So, how's Ananda doing? She's almost six months pregnant with her and Sahasi's child I believe,". "She's doing well," Malik replied. "She and Sahasi are super excited to become parents, and who can blame them?". "I remember your reaction when you found out that I was pregnant with Sahasi and later Surak," the Queen giggled. "You were so adorable; it was years ago, but I still remember the joyful look your eyes when you found out and I still remember the feel on your arms around me, pulling me in for a kiss,". "I was so happy that I couldn't even describe my emotions at first," the King admitted as he pulled his wife into a loving embrace. "God, Janna, apart from our wedding day, the birth of our sons has been the happiest time of my life,". "I can't believe we're fifty years married this year," Janna sighed happily. "It feels like we've loved each other forever,". With that, she planted a kiss on her husband's lips before they lay down and slipped under the covers of their bed, cuddling each other.

Slightly over three months later, Ananda gave birth to a baby girl, the King and Queen's first grandchild. The baby was the perfect blend of her father and her mother. Her skin was lighter than her father's but darker than her mother's. She had Sahasi's deep, brown eyes, as well as his raven black hair, although hers consisted of a single black curl rather than his straight, short haircut. Additionally, she had her mother's mouth, as well as her petite nose. And her parents had the perfect name for her; Rani. The day after Rani's birth, members of the royal family took turns holding the newborn. The baby was wearing a pale pink dress with a darker pink bow at the front and little pink shoes. "Rani looks a lot like you did when you were younger, Sahasi," Heather noted. "She definitely has your big, emotional brown eyes,". "Well, she does look a bit like me," Sahasi admitted. "But she also has a lot of Ananda's features,". He pointed to his nose. "Do you see this big fish hook of a nose I've got? That's not the type of nose my daughter has; she has my beautiful wife's dainty nose,". Ananda smiled, blushing at the compliment. "I'm so delighted to see our little granddaughter," Malik smiled. "She's so adorable,". "If Adesh was around, he would just love the bones of her," Janna said with a sigh. "But I suppose at least he can watch over her from above and protect her from harm,". Even the once-hateful Hilah was gushing over the baby princess. "She's such a stunning baby," she said, listening to Rani's cooing. "I bet that she would win a prize for being the cutest baby if such a prize existed,".

There was only one royal who not only refused to hold or even look at the baby, but also didn't even bother spending time with the rest of his family. Can you guess who that was? That's right; Vurugu. He was, however, spying on the other members of the royal family. Overcome with jealousy of all the attention Rani was getting, he stormed off, went to his room and slammed the door. His dog, Skull, came over to his master and tried to comfort him, but the evil man immediately pushed him away. "A baby is suddenly more important than I am," Vurugu snarled. "Well, Malik and Janna have insulted me for the last time; the birth of a healthy granddaughter was the last straw,". Vurugu then reached into his pocket, taking out a coin. On one side were the King and Queen's faces, with a crown floating between them. On the other side was a tree with the vigilant look of a soldier on it; the coat of arms of the Tree of Life. Scowling, Vurugu threw the coin into the fireplace, watching it until it was reduced to nothing but a pool of metal. "Everything has to come to an end eventually," Vurugu thought. "And I'll make sure that your rule as King and Queen comes to the most abrupt and bloody end possible. So long, you two, and so long, Circle of Life as well. Once I'm King, there won't be a single person here who doesn't tremble before me. I will be as powerful as Scar, only a thousand times more magnificent, and I will destroy anyone who gets in my way,!". Giving a sadistic laugh, Vurugu opened his drawer, pulling out a dagger. "Actually, someone has got in my way by being born," he noted, his voice as calm and chilling as always. "And that someone is Rani,".

That night, Vurugu peaked out of his bedroom to check that the coast was clear. When he was sure that it was, he snuck out of his bedroom, but not before noticing his whimpering dog. "Shut up, Skull," Vurugu warned. "Or I'll end up in prison,". Closing his bedroom door as quietly as a mouse, he crept down the corridor, carrying the most dim candle possible so that he could see where he was going without being spotted, eventually reaching a door with various stickers on it; it was Rani's nursery. He carefully opened the door, entered the room and closed it behind him. Once he was beside the baby's cradle, he scowled. "Life's not fair, is it?" he thought. "My uncle and aunt are beloved by their subjects and by the members of their family, while I am ignored and stand next to no chance at being King unless I scheme and kill. And you? How could a baby possibly be considered more important than I am? I mean, is this a joke of some description? Alas, I shan't dwell on that for much longer. Well, Rani, the time has come to end your short life; no one will remember you, and I doubt that anyone will even care that a puny baby like you has gone from the world,". With that, he moved Rani's teddy out of the way and lifted the dagger above Rani's crib, ready to stab her to death. Vurugu's plan was working perfectly; he truly was a criminal mastermind. However, there was one slight defect to his plan...

Vurugu had forgotten that his cousin Surak almost always stayed up long after everyone else in the royal family had gone to bed, supervising the Night Pride, who guarded the palace constantly and defended the Tree of Life from harm. Surak was on his way to bed when he saw a light coming from the nursery. Just as Vurugu was about to drop the dagger on Rani, he heard Surak yell "Who's in the nursery?". Immediately, he withdrew his dagger and put it in his satchel, leaving the baby unharmed. "I'm warning you, intruder," Surak growled as he entered the room, brandishing his sword. "I don't take kindly to - Vurugu?". Surak put his sword away upon realising who it was. "Good evening, Surak," Vurugu smiled, feigning pleasantness. "Vurugu, what are you doing in the nursery?' Surak asked, suspicious. "Why, I'm simply coming in to visit my favourite second cousin," Vurugu stated. "Cousin, it's one o'clock in the morning," Surak groaned. "Yes, I learned how to tell the time when I was about five," Vurugu grunted. "If you must know, Surak, I came into the nursery because I thought I had heard Rani crying and I decided to quieten her down, being a loving relative and all that. It's not my fault that babies cry, is it, Surak?".

But Vurugu was speaking a lot louder than he should have been. At that time, Rani woke up and started to wail. Devastated that his niece had been disturbed from her sleep, Surak also noticed something else. "And perhaps you would be so kind as to explain why Rani's favourite teddy is on the floor?" he asked. "It must have fallen out," Vurugu lied. "I didn't even notice it there,". "Why don't you go back to bed, Vurugu?" Surak suggested with a sigh. "And I'll pacify Rani before she wakes the entire kingdom up,". Livid that his plan to murder Rani had been foiled, Vurugu stormed out of the nursery. Surak grabbed a stool and sat on it with Rani in his arms, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just saved his niece's life.

He started to rock the tiny baby in his arms, singing softly to her. Rani's large wails gave way to soft whimpers before she quietened down completely. With a sweet smile, Surak grabbed the newborn's favourite toy, a yellow teddy with a red bow around its neck, and started singing to her, making the teddy dance. "Tonight's the night the teddy bears have their picnic," he sang softly. Rani gave a sweet little coo, clearly enjoying spending time with her uncle. Before long, the baby was fast asleep. After Surak carefully placed Rani back in her crib, he brushed her black curl out of her face and planted a kiss on her tiny forehead. "I love you so much, Rani," he whispered as he tucked the teddy in beside her. "Sweet dreams angel,". He carefully left the nursery, looking back momentarily to make sure Rani was okay and smiling at the sight of the innocent baby sleeping. He carefully closed the door and went to bed himself.

Vurugu, meanwhile, was walking through the corridors, back towards his own room. He briefly contemplates journeying to the King and Queen's chambers to commit an assassination, but he told himself "revenge is a dish best served cold,". He went back to his bedroom, furious about the failure of his plan. However, he quickly regained his composure, telling himself that "the most successful people in history have always had failures along the way to achieving success,". He then settled down and fell asleep. In her room, Hilah also slept soundly, completely unaware that her plan to use Vurugu as her pawn to get revenge on Malik and Janna was about to go horribly awry...

To be continued...