Mufa blinked open his eyes. As usual, his mother, father, and littermates were sleeping next to him. Another day! He yawned, stretched, and rose to his paws gingerly so to not awaken them. He stepped out of Pride Rock to see the sun was just rising, painting the sky with reds, oranges, and purples. The light reached further and further with every minute Mufa waited there.

I'll go to the ledge for a better view.

He walked over to the ledge of Pride Rock, walked to the very edge, and sat down. He admired the sunrise. It made a reoccurring thought pop up in his head once more:

Everything the light touches will be mine someday.

He continued to gaze upon the pretty sky that now resembled one of Rafiki's paintings. Eventually the light reached Pride Rock, lighting up the tip of the ledge that stretched outward. Mufa gazed down at his paws as the light began to touch them. He waited for a few more minutes. The light stopped reaching any more for a few minutes. He wondered why.

He closed his eyes, taking in the lovely morning air. It had rained the night before, so the air was even sweeter. He must have spent a while like that, because when he turned around and opened his eyes, he saw the light had stretched way further than him. His gaze rested on the shadow he cast that followed the light for a little bit then stopped. As he moved forward to head back into Pride Rock, the shadow moved forward too, blocking out some of the light. I wish shadows didn't do that, he thought to himself.

He walked back to the entrance of Pride Rock's main den area. I can't wait for my royal lesson today. Mufa now took regular royal lessons each day to prepare for becoming king. He knew he would be ready for the future. His future.

He sat down and waited. What to do until my parents awaken...?

Suddenly a flash of fur barreled into him, knocking the wind out of him and sending him tumbling down the rocks to the ground. It happened faster than he could comprehend. He landed on top of something- or someone.

He heard a groan. "I'm sorry Mufa. I tried to break our fall the best I could. Are you hurt?"

Mufa quickly got to his paws. He had landed on Kubwa. Mufa looked around his own body for any scrapes or bruises. "No."

"Great! I'm so sorry I knocked you down the rocks. I just woke up and was so excited for the day and I didn't see you until it was too late. I tried to break our fall so you wouldn't get hurt." Kubwa paused and a small groan emitted from his throat. "I'm happy you're okay." Kubwa got to his paws and groaned again.

"Kubwa, you should be more careful. That kind of recklessness could get someone hurt," Mufa criticized.

"Sorry." Kubwa dipped his head. "I'll be more careful next time." He began to walk away, slightly favoring one paw.

"Kubwa, wait up!" They turned to see Kiara walking out of the den. "Remember, I have to find Mtoto first before you can go running around the Pridelands. Wait here." Kiara walked down the rocks and past Mufa and Kubwa. She began to walk towards the galago forest, the elephants' home. Kubwa stopped and sat back down. Kiara didn't appear to notice Kubwa's favored paw.

Mufa took a few steps forward. "Are you okay, Kubwa?" he asked, genuinely concerned for his brother. "Maybe you should go see Rafiki."

"It's just a little sore from the fall, but the pain's starting to go away. I'll be okay," Kubwa replied.

Now that Kubwa said so, Mufa's concern melted away a little. He'll be fine. And besides, the pain will probably teach him not to do that again.

They both sat next to each other in silence. They were both waiting for their mother to return. Mufa so he could have his royal lesson, and Kubwa so she could bring Mtoto back to keep an eye on him while he played throughout the Pridelands.

They heard steps. Then Mufa felt something bump into him, a lot lighter this time. He turned around and saw his sister, Imani. She backed up. "Sorry! Who was that?"

"It's me, Mufa. Kubwa's here too." Ugh, I was doing so well. This time I said 'Kubwa's' instead of 'Kubwa is.' And I used 'it's me' instead of 'it is me.' I know they're my family, so I don't need to be formal with them, but practice makes perfect, right? And besides, maybe I will need to talk formally with them someday, maybe when addressing a crowd with them or something. After all, they're royalty too.

"Sorry guys," Imani apologized guiltily.

"It's okay," Kubwa said.

"Just walk slower next time since you can not see," Mufa added. Kubwa shot him a glare. Mufa wondered what he did wrong. He knew Imani memorized her way around Pride Rock, but beyond that was all a mystery to her. And they were just outside Pride Rock, the border of the boundaries of Imani's knowledge.

It wasn't long before Kiara returned, Mtoto following behind her. Kubwa looked excited. Mufa was too.

"Hey Kubwa. How's the morning been for ya?" Mtoto asked with a smile on his face.

"Great! Can we go get Ruka and Haraka?" Kubwa asked eagerly.

"Sure. Let's go." Mtoto walked off, Kubwa trotting eagerly alongside him.

Mufa rolled his eyes. The first thing Kubwa did in the morning was go seek out his friends to play. Always playing and having fun all the time, but nothing ever serious. When Kubwa gets the Roar, will he be prepared at all to lead the Lion Guard? Mufa would always prepare for his future, though he wasn't sure Kubwa would do the same.

"Mufa, are you ready for your royal lessons?" Kiara purred.

Mufa eagerly looked up at her. "Yes!"

"Okay then." Kiara started to walk.

Mufa followed her. "What are we doing?"

"You'll see." They walked through the plains. Mufa took in his surroundings - the green grass, the blue sky and the birds flying in it. They walked until they came upon a large tree with a thick brown trunk and lush leaves. It was surrounded by tall grass with a large watering hole nearby. Three animals stepped out of the tall grass. One was a chimpanzee, one was a red rock hare, and one was an aardvark. "This is Tumbili..." She motioned with her head to the chimpanzee. "...Sungura..." She motioned with her head to the hare. "...and Msaada." She motioned with her head to the aardvark. "I have instructed these three to help us with our lesson today."

Tumbili marched closer to Mufa. "It's the middle of the dry season and the watering hole's almost dry!" he shouted angrily.

Mufa looked back at his mother. "But it's the wet season." I said 'it's' instead of 'it is'! I really need to sound formal, especially in front of the Pridelanders, my future subjects. Even when I'm confused.

"This is just pretend. It's practice for when you will be in this situation as king. What will you do in this situation?" Kiara asked.

Oh, okay.

"The elephants are using up all the water!" Sungura shouted.

"The hippos too! There's none for us!" Msaada added. "The large animals are using it all up!"

"They do need more water than you do, due to their size," Mufa reminded them.

"Where are your priorities?!" Sungura shouted.

Mufa tried to come up with an answer. "Well, elephants and hippopotamuses are very important to the Circle of Life. We should prioritize-"

"Mufa," Kiara interrupted. "Every animal is important to the Circle of Life, no matter the size."

Mufa knew from her words that he should change his response. "We will figure something out." As he said that, Mufa himself tried to figure out the next thing to say. "I know the elephants and hippopotamuses use much water. But we will all have to find a way to split it equally. We should have a designated time of day for every type of animal to drink. Hares get the watering hole at sunrise, aardvarks mid-morning, chimpanzees at noon, and elephants the afternoon."

Tumbili, Sungura, and Msaada all looked at each other, thinking. Then they nodded. "It's a good idea, but what will happen when the water runs out?"

"We will find new water. The elephants can smell it."

"If there was more water and they can smell it they would have found more by now," Tumbili told him.

"Yeah, but-"

"But what?!" Msaada shouted angrily.

"We could try-"

"What?!"

Mufa knew he was beginning to lose his composure. His tail twitched with irritation at these animals' difficulty to please. He turned back to his mother. "Are real Pridelanders like this?" he asked.

"Not all the time, but they can be."

Mufa was half relieved at her answer. Not all the time, that is a good thing. But they can be... I just hope I don't have to deal with this often.

"What will you do?" Tumbili blurted out, causing Mufa to turn back to him.

"I... I..." Mufa tried his best to think of an answer. He didn't want his mother disappointed at him on his first try. He wanted to make a good impression. "I will ask zebra Queen Dahabu of the Backlands if she could share her watering hole during this dry season."

"And what if she says no?" Msaada asked.

"It is highly unlikely she would say no, considering she has shared her watering hole with the Pridelanders in the past," Mufa told them.

Msaada looked at Tambili and Sungura. He nodded. Tambili and Sungura did too. "Very well. Thank you, King Mufa." They all dipped their heads and disappeared back into the tall grass.

"This will get harder as you get older."

He turned to his mother. "You're kidding, right?" In that moment he forgot to be formal. Kings do not say 'you're kidding, right?' They use words in a proper way.

"As you progress in your royal lessons, satisfying the 'animals of the Pridelands' will get harder and harder. But you did well today considering it was your first try." Kiara smiled proudly. "Well done, my son."

Mufa beamed with pride. I did good on my first try! It was what he expected of himself, and he was thrilled for it to be true.

"Is my royal lesson over now?" Mufa really hoped the answer was no. He adored listening to his mother talk and demonstrate how to be a good ruler.

"Yes," she replied.

Mufa was disappointed. "Aww. It was shorter than usual."

"I know. But some days it's just like that," Kiara told him. "And besides, you should go out and play. I have to go tend to some royal duties, but you can go hang out by the watering hole as long as you don't stray far from it. Make some friends." She began to walk away.

Mufa turned to the watering hole nearby. He saw the usual animals hanging about, refreshing themselves with a cool drink. Giraffes, elephants, gazelles, buffalo, baboons, chimpanzees, painted wolves, caracals, servals, zebras, cheetahs, flamingos, egrets... The Pridelands truly was home to a lot of life. And it'll all be mine someday. That thought made him happier.

He walked slowly and not very eagerly towards the watering hole. But he would do as his mother said. He's stay close to the watering hole and 'make some friends.' He approached the water, the grass thinning and eventually giving way to beige dirt. Once he was only a stride away from where she water began, he sat down. He looked around, scanning the animals in his vision. Anyone my age here..?

Suddenly he felt something crash into him, knocking the wind out of him and sending him plunging into the water. Water rushed up his nose. He resurfaced quickly - the deepness of the water at that particular spot was only half his height. He felt the painful sting of the water inside of his nose and couldn't help but let out a growl of pain. What happened?!

"Oh- I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

He looked up and saw a painted wolf about his age looking down at him as he sat in the water. He quickly trudged out and shook his fur purposely at the painted wolf.

Then a baboon, caracal, and flamingo about the same age rushed up to the painted wolf. "We were just playing tag and it was an accident!" the caracal meowed.

"Accident smaccident." Mufa rolled his eyes, the water in his nose causing him pain. Then he remembered he was supposed to be extra proper in front of the Pridelanders which were to be his future subjects when he became king. "I mean- You should be more careful next time-" he stuttered, embarrassed.

"Chukua didn't mean anything. It was an accident," the baboon protested.

Mufa took a breath, trying to keep his cool. "Accident or not, you should be more careful. With that recklessness someone has the potential of becoming injured." The painful sting of water in his nose was starting to go away.

"We were just playing," the flamingo squawked.

"Yeah. Chill." The baboon pointed with his hand in another direction. "C'mon guys, let's go play somewhere else."

The baboon, caracal, flamingo, and painted wolf walked away. They didn't seem particularly happy. Mufa rolled his eyes. It's not my fault everyone my age here is like... this. Mufa paused in his thoughts. At the start I wasn't so proper. I keep messing up occasionally. Why? He thought and thought, but then caught himself in the previous thought. I thought 'it's' and 'wasn't'! Maybe to speak formally all the time, I need to think formally too! This was obviously going to take some practice, to reshape his entire thoughts, but Mufa could do it. He could do anything.

What to do for the rest of today...? he asked himself. He wished he could still be in a royal lesson right now. Even better, he wished he could fast forward to the future to where he was king of the Pridelands. Someday I will be king, he told himself dreamily. Then he snapped back to reality. But not today. So what do I do for now? He turned to walk somewhere else, but then remembered what his mother said: stay near there. Mufa would obey, but he hoped she would come pick him up soon. He didn't want to spend his entire day near animals that acted like that painted wolf, baboon, caracal, and flamingo.

He sat down. He figured he'd just daydream about being king until Kiara returned. He imagined his royal ceremony. All the animals of the Pridelands gathering around Pride Rock while Rafiki dipped his finger in red paint and smeared it across his head. This paint would not be permanent -obviously it would have to be washed off later in the day- but the tradition that made him king was. He imagined animals cheering: King Mufa! King Mufa! All hail King Mufa... He got lost in his thoughts.

"Mufa!"

Mufa snapped out of his thoughts as two familiar birds flew in front of him. It was Zazu and Kasu. Zazu was a hornbill with blue feathers, white under feathers, black beady eyes, and a bright orange beak. Kasu looked just like him, except young, smaller and with reddish brown eyes.

"Kasu, report," Zazu ordered. Kasuidia -or Kasu for short- Zazu's son, had hatched to Zazu and his mate Mpenzi right before Mufa and his siblings were born. After Zazu completes his journey through the Circle of Life, Kasu would take his place and carry on his role in the Circle of Life. He wasn't a particularly upbeat bird, but he always got the job done.

Kasu sighed exasperatedly. "Prince Mufa, come to Pride Rock. Your uncle Kion, aunt Rani, their friends Bunga, Fuli, Beshte, Ono, and Makini." His voice was less then enthusiastic.

"And..?" Zazu pushed, still flapping his wings.

Mufa was about to squeal; really?! But then he remembered to stay calm. He would wait until they were done talking, then show his excitement.

"Oh... and Kion and Rani's son Nyota, and Bunga's mate, Binga, and their daughter, Bila," Kasu finished in a yawn.

"Next time, use 'king,' 'queen,' or 'ruler' in front of a ruler's name," Zazu noted. There was a slight eye roll from Kasu.

I think they're finally done. "Really?! Kion and Rani are here?!" he asked excitedly.

"Yes. Follow us back to Pride Rock." Zazu and Kasu flew alongside him as he ran as fast as he could back to Pride Rock. He had never met his uncle before. Kiara and Kovu said he was there when Mufa, Kubwa, and Imani were born, although that was obviously too far back for any of them to remember.

This time he didn't take in the wondrous surroundings of the Pridelands, relishing in what would all be his someday. He just ran and ran, so eager to meet his uncle. He is a king too! He ran and ran. His excitement spiked once he neared Pride Rock. The shapes of many animals started to come into view. The one he focused on the most was a golden lion with a red mane that he never remembered seeing in real life before. He only saw him in paintings created by Rafiki. He was thrilled to finally be meeting him for real.

I can not wait to meet Kion!