Spring 4476:

Six years had passed and the twins were now sixteen and their sister Lilandra was twelve. The family had stayed busy over the years with the occasional vacation but for the most part Lion-O kept ahead of things and listened to the people and elders when he had matters that pertained to governing. Cynthia was with him for a few announcements through the years and she also kept up with her duties as the kittens grew older. The alliance was growing stronger as well and the rulers met every year or so on one of the planets for conferences to hammer out things and keep up with things that were happening. That there was peace between the Thunderians, Mutants and Lunatacs was one thing that had everyone relieved and it held strong, despite a few problems here and there which were easily settled.

As the twins grew older they were put through more sword training and were often in the balcony of the throne room watching Lion-O when he did his audiences on days when they were out of school. Cynthia was staying busy with her own business and also helping teach Lilandra things that she had to know. Lioness-A was often helping with that as she was training her daughter Ligana on these sorts of things.

"Did we get everything taken care of?" Lion-O asked Cynthia when she came into their office after a meeting or two while their kittens were in school.

"Almost everything but it's coming along," Cynthia said with a sigh. She glanced at him a moment. "What's your plan for the twins when they get older?" she asked. Lion-O frowned as he leaned back in his desk chair.

"I'm having to think about that a little bit more," Lion-O said. "I know that the Sword will respond to both of them if need be but understanding how to divide the duties is a bit challenging." He frowned. "It was mentioned that both Leonydas and Laeonyx can take the trials like what I went through and they can inherit their positions once they pass them."

"What are these trials?" Cynthia asked as she sat down. He sighed.

"The Trials are the ones that the Lord of the Thundercats goes through to prove that they're fit to command and also be the leader of the Thundercats as well as being king," Lion-O answered. "Due to how it was on Third Earth, I didn't have that many trials to go through. There was a Trial of Strength against Panthro, a Trial of Speed against Cheetara, a Trial of Cunning against Wilykit and Wilykat and a Trial of Mind Power against Tygra."

"Wow," Cynthia said as he nodded.

"And last but not least was the Trial of Evil against Mumm-Ra," he added as she blinked. "All of the trials were while I was unarmed as well."

"That part I wasn't aware of along with that of you going against Mumm-Ra," Cynthia said as he nodded.

"Wasn't pleasant but I managed to beat him," Lion-O said and showed her a picture from that day. Cynthia eyed the crown a moment.

"Where's that crown?" she asked.

"In with the rest of the treasure," he said. "It's only used for the crowning after a Lord completes the trials."

.::~*~::.

Summer 4481:

Five years later found the twins turning twenty-one and beginning to prepare for the trials as it had been decided that they would do them together. The Elders' Council had raised some questions on this but understood that Lion-O wanted his sons tested together to prove that they were both fit to inherit the positions they were to take.

"Why together?" Cynthia asked. "And who are they going against?"

"It's so they can both assume their roles although Leonydas will be the Lord for a few years until it's time for him to take the throne from me when I retire and Laeonyx will work with him on that," Lion-O replied. "They already understand this. As to the trials themselves they're going against Panthro, Cheetara, Tygra, Wilykit and Wilykat together, Pumyra and Bengali along with Jaguarus. It's basically the ones I went against with the addition of the last three."

"I heard Jaguarus was doing one of them," Lioness-A said. Lion-O sighed.

"Lynx-O is going to be monitoring them and reporting the results to me but I'll know from the Sword letting us know how the twins do," he replied.

"Why isn't Lioness-A doing one of these?" Cynthia asked. Lion-O frowned at this.

"If you want to do one sis by all means go ahead. It would be a challenge for the two and Father said you could do one if you wished," he said as Lioness-A smiled at this.

"I'll work out something for it and let Tygra know as well," she said. She frowned a moment. "What's Sindaris going to be doing for this?"

"He's in charge of the course and keeping onlookers from interfering with the trials once they start. He's working on a set-up of the course following Lynx-O's instructions and it's at the grounds we use for the Thundercat testing," Lion-O replied. "He didn't want to try and test the twins but this was something that will work."

"Works," Lioness-A said. "I looked up how Father did his and that gives us something to go on for the set up and the number of days for it." She showed him a note then.

"This is lasting a week regardless," Cynthia said.

"There's not going to be a Trial of Evil though," Lion-O said as he lowered the note. "And from what both Jaga and my father have said to me, that's fine. The trials will test the pair fully and by doing so, it'll prepare them to go against evil whenever they do come across it."

"Fair enough," Lioness-A said.

"When do the twins start the trials then?" Cynthia asked.

"Sometime in July. I want to let them enjoy the holiday and then come back to prepare for the trials," Lion-O answered as she nodded.

.::~*~::.

Later that morning the twins came to see their father and found him working on papers in his office. He looked up as they entered.

"What's going on Father?" Leonydas asked.

"Not too much but I did want to warn you about the trials that are coming up," Lion-O said as the two sat down before eying each other.

"Are we doing them together or separate?" Laeonyx asked.

"You're doing them together," Lion-O replied as he came around to the front of his desk and studied the boys, who were both mirror images of him minus the green eyes Laeonyx had. "I've only recently learned that you two can do the trials together and we're going to do it this way. It will prepare both of you for the duties that you will have once you're anointed," Lion-O explained. "I know that Leonydas will take the crown while Laeonyx will be the Lord but until it's time for me to retire from the throne, both of you are going to be working together on the Lord duties." The twins nodded at this.

.::~*~::.

A month later found the twins starting the trials at the same fields where the Thundercat trials were always held and where Lioness-A had taken hers so long ago. Both Leonydas and Laeonyx were wearing training uniforms as they got ready to go against Panthro. Lion-O wasn't there but Lynx-O and Tillen were there to oversee the trials. The trials would start with Panthro, Cheetara, Wilykit and Wilykat, Tygra, Bengali, Pumyra, Jaguarus and then Lioness-A being the last one to test them. There were to be two trials a day with the trials lasting a total of four days. Although Lion-O's trials had taken five days total, it was easier then to do them one a day. With the twins it became apparent that doing two a day would work better overall. Cynthia was still at the palace with their sister Lilandra doing some other things and Ligana was with them while Tigonidus was watching the set-up and helping Sindaris and Silano with the patrols.

At one point during the trial with Panthro, Cynthia came to the control room to see how things were going and found that Tygra was there along with Bengali.

"Is it going to work out to have the twins take two trials each day?" Cynthia asked.

"For the twins it's probably easier to do two a day and we've prepared for that. With Lion-O we did one a day cause there was only the five of us doing the trials and then the Trial of Evil wrapped it up and it sort of turned into an all-day thing for them. Without that trial we were able to simplify it here," Tygra told her. "Cheetara is waiting and Wilykit and Wilykat are setting theirs up to start tomorrow morning if the twins pass these two today."

"And Lynx-O's on the field surveying this with Sindaris and Tillen," Cynthia observed. She watched the screen closely then.

"Nervous?" Bengali asked her. She shook her head.

"I know Lion-O trained our two boys well but seeing this in action is something else entirely. I wasn't aware that the trials were part of what it took for Lion-O to keep both his title and crown," she answered.

"It's been like that for years and was developed as a way to test the Lords and be sure they were actually fit to command," Tygra told her.

"I see," Cynthia said. "He told me of the ones he took with you and the others that were with him," she said as he nodded. "That one against Mumm-Ra sounded tough though."

"Going against Mumm-Ra without the Sword of Omens wasn't easy but Lion-O showed us he had the guts to win the battle and trial to be crowned," Tygra told her. He watched her a moment. "He hasn't said when he wants Leonydas to take the crown yet, has he?" he asked. She frowned.

"Nothing to me on it but that could be because he hasn't exactly figured it out yet himself," she answered. "By us having twins it kind of changed the way things were done for so long. He's had to figure out what will work for both the twins and for us."

"Fair enough," Tygra said. "It's rare that twins were born to the royals and then Claudana had Lion-O and Lioness-A and that surprised the elders at the time. Then you and Lion-O had identical twin boys and that really complicated things."

"We weren't planning on having twins but I don't think Lion-O and I would change a thing on it," Cynthia said with a smile.

.::~*~::.

Word came in a couple of hours later that the twins had aced the trial against Panthro and his Trial of Strength and were now waiting to begin the trial with Cheetara. Cynthia found Lion-O in his office and she came in as Lilandra joined her.

"The boys passed the Trial of Strength and they're moving on to the Trial of Speed," Lion-O said as she smiled as Lilandra grinned.

"How hard is that one going to be Father?" Lilandra asked. He frowned.

"Both Leonydas and Laeonyx will have to race against Cheetara and the course is supposed to be about five miles long and it's set up similar to an obstacle course with the last two miles against Cheetara in a race," he replied. "Sindaris laid out the course for them and they've been on it during their training runs with me so they should be ready."

"Do we know what kind of trials the others are doing?" Cynthia asked.

"Bengali, Pumyra, Lioness-A and Jaguarus are working on theirs right now but it might be something in line with their abilities," Lion-O said as he paused. "Jaguarus has stealth and Father thought he'd be good to test the twins with that and they've been watching him. Lioness-A's ability has been tracking and she's laying out a course now. She hasn't said much of what it is she's doing."

"Was she good with that?" Cynthia asked. "I haven't seen her use it in a while." Lion-O nodded.

"She's gone on a few missions here and there to keep it up and she's done fine with it. Her daughter's learning it from her," Lion-O said. A buzzer on his desk went off and he answered it.

"The Trial of Speed has begun and Sindaris is watching the course and will relay info to the control room on the progress," Lynx-O said as Lion-O acknowledged it. He called the control room and the Thunderguard there forwarded a view of the course to his office. Cynthia came to glance over his shoulder while Lilandra read a book nearby.

"That's going to test the boys," Cynthia said as she eyed the course. "Are they going together?"

"Yes," Lion-O answered. "They have to complete them together. It's the only way to do this correctly." He stroked his beard thoughtfully. In the last few years, his beard had grown in and his mane had thick streaks of gold in it. Lion-O glanced at his mate and saw that her hair was going silver but her green eyes were still bright. "I know about the question Tygra asked earlier," he said quietly.

"You haven't come up with an answer to that yet have you?" Cynthia asked him. He sighed heavily as Lilandra got up a moment.

"I'm gonna go visit Ligana for a while," she said, seeming to know her parents needed a moment, as Cynthia nodded before she left. Lion-O sighed as he leaned back in his desk chair.

"Usually most of the Lords take the crown after a few years and when they're ready to take a mate and settle down," he said as she frowned. "But due to the twins this is an unusual situation so we're having to go a different route on it altogether."

"Such as having the twins do the Lord duties together for a while?" Cynthia asked as he nodded.

"That was one of the ideas," he said. He frowned a moment. "I figure by the time they're in their late twenties one or both of the twins will be married and I can probably step down then and be an advisor to Leonydas as he takes on some of the kingly duties until it's time for him to take them on fully. Laeonyx keeps the 'Lord of the Thundercats' title and will pass it to his son or to Leonydas's son. They're going to have to work out what to do with that on their own but I trust them to do the right thing."

"That could work," Cynthia said. She considered it a moment. "What of Lilandra then?" she asked.

"Give her some time and we'll see what comes of everything with her," Lion-O said. "I feel as though there might be more to things with her being so much like you." Cynthia nodded. Their daughter had the same reddish brown hair like her mother and the green eyes but there were faint markings around her eyes and on her arms that were of her father.

"She's attracted a lot of attention of some of the Barbary males here but she's not showing that much of an interest in them right now," Cynthia said. She frowned.

"What?" Lion-O asked. She sighed.

"While we were on Third Earth waiting out the end of the war, I got a call from Ce'Nedra while you were still recovering in the med-bay," she said. "She said that Garion's aunt had gone through one of their prophecy books and found something that seems to suggest that Garion's line and ours are to join together."

"How?" Lion-O asked in surprise. Cynthia shrugged.

"It wasn't made known at the time as I was pregnant but since Lilandra was born Polgara seemed to think it was indicating our daughter and the crown prince of Boktor as the two that would join together and it makes the most sense," she said.

"That's Garion's son Geran," Lion-O marveled. He paused as he thought of something. "Lilandra was paying some close attention to him as he was to her the last time that we met with the other rulers on Boktor," he said as she nodded with a smile.

"I saw it and so did Ce'Nedra and we've encouraged them to keep in contact," Cynthia said. "Despite the age difference they get along well and the twins like him as a good friend." She chuckled. "They may like him as a brother-in-law too eventually." Lion-O chuckled as he went back to work on some things.

.::~*~::.

Toward sundown the news came in that the twins had beaten Cheetara in the Trial of Speed and they were coming back to the palace to rest before meeting Kit and Kat for the Trial of Cunning in the morning. After that it was the Trial of Mind Power with Tygra and he'd been resting to prepare himself for it. And as it happened, Tigonidus had inherited his father's powers as well and was learning how to handle them. He wasn't joining his father for the trial but was going to watch it to see what to do when that time came for him to test someone. Lioness-A had been wise in letting her mate rest before his trial came up and she had Ligana helping her set up for her trial at some point.

The following morning found Leonydas and Laeonyx taking the Trial of Cunning and Lion-O was at the training grounds to watch part of it with Lynx-O.

"Jaguarus is preparing for his trial after he sees to one or two things," Lynx-O said as Lion-O nodded as Tillen joined them.

"I know you've got to be proud of both of them," Tillen said as Lion-O smiled.

"Cynthia and I are proud of both of our sons," he said. He watched the twins carefully as they were busy trying to figure out how to outsmart Wilykit and Wilykat. It didn't take long before the twins won the trial and went to get lunch and found their father waiting for them.

"Father?" Leonydas asked as he got a plate and sat at the table where Lion-O was.

"When did you get here?" Laeonyx wondered.

"I've been here most of the morning watching the trial with Wilykit and Kat," Lion-O replied. "You two worked together and that paid off."

"I'm not even sure what we're supposed to do for Uncle Tygra's trial," Laeonyx said. Lion-O frowned.

"He's going to test your minds and make you see and think things that aren't there so be wary," Lion-O warned them as they frowned. "It's how I was tested by him for my trial. He probably knows I'm telling you this but if it helps, then remember it."

"That's something to consider," Leonydas said as his brother nodded. "What of the other trials?" he asked.

"Those are strictly for you as I only went against Panthro, Cheetara, Wilykit and Wilykat plus Tygra," Lion-O said and sighed. "It was only us at the time that I did the trials. The last one was the Trial of Evil but there's not one of those for the two of you."

"You're not going to be here to see that trial are you?" Laeonyx asked. Lion-O shook his head.

"I've got to get back to the palace to join your mother for a function with the elders but they know where the two of you are," he replied. He rose up then and looked at the twins. "I want to hear about this trial when you get done and are back at the palace tonight. You two are doing well and I am very proud of you as is your mother and sister."

"Thanks Father," Leonydas said as Laeonyx nodded. They talked amongst themselves as Lion-O joined the honor guard to head back to the palace.

.::~*~::.

At the palace later that afternoon found Lion-O joining Cynthia for the elder function and he saw that his sister was also present for it.

"The elders know where Tygra is right now and they're good with just me here," Lioness-A told Lion-O as he nodded as he saw Cynthia greeting a few people.

"Where's Lily and Ligana?" he asked.

"Visiting with some of the daughters of the elders in another area," Lioness-A told him. "They won't have to be here the entire time." He nodded and walked over to speak to a few of the elders as she found a glass of wine and joined Cynthia.

"I see Lion-O got here to meet with the elders. I was worried on him making it after he went to the training grounds this morning to watch our sons," Cynthia said as Lioness-A nodded.

"They passed the trial against Wilykit and Kat and are going against Tygra now," Lioness-A said as Cynthia smiled at the news. Lion-O came over to see Cynthia as she squeezed his hand.

"You did good preparing for this one," Lion-O said as Cynthia nodded.

"It didn't take that much to set up," she said quietly as she waved to a lioness. "Were the boys ready for that trial against Tygra?" she asked.

"I think so," Lion-O replied. "They were nervous about going against him. If they pass his trial, they'll go against Pumyra and then Bengali tomorrow. Jaguarus is after Bengali with Lioness-A to round out the end of the trials for the twins."

"I knew she wondered if she could test the twins and I'm sure she's relishing this chance. But why wait to be the last trial for them to take?" Cynthia asked.

"Way Father wanted it set up," Lion-O replied. "We weren't sure she could test the twins until he said that she could and it took her a while to get a test set up." He sighed as he sipped some of the wine. "I'm just glad that there's not a Trial of Evil for them to go through. The one I went through was difficult at best."

"So you've told me," Cynthia murmured as they spoke with Linkor and his son Bannon when the two approached them together.

.::~*~::.

Leonydas and Laeonyx won the trial against Tygra without much trouble and were home that night to rest and prepare for the remainder of the trials. Knowing that they would have to go against their aunt later was something that weighed heavily on the minds of the twins but they were prepared either way.