"Aha, the wanderer returns!" she said delightedly.

"Yes. I'll have my throne back now, if that's alright," I said defensively.

"Just standing in whilst you, er, did what you had to do… Whatever that was."

"Yes. Thank you for your, help," I forced the word out through gritted teeth.

Shuku stepped down and took her place among the other lionesses. Before I'd had a chance to speak, one of the lionesses put a question to me.

"Is it true? Is Usiku gone?"

"Yes, that is true."

"And what of Mtifu? Has she been killed?"

"No, that is not true. She is keeping her distance to avoid such questions in the face of her loss."

There was a short silence as they all contemplated this move.

"Do you have any other questions?" I asked.

"Only one," piped up a young lioness who had remained in our pride even when the rebels had left.

"Go on," I encouraged her.

"What is it you plan to do – with Usiku now?"

"With Usiku? I plan to leave her be."

This was not greatly received.

"Why, would you not have that so?" I asked.

"She is responsible for the death of two pride members," smiled Shuku, wickedly, "most would not see that as a suitable punishment."

"I don't see that a punishment should be fixed before we know the full details," I announced. Most of the pride wouldn't disagree with that, and none objected to what I said.

"But the Pride know the details," said a dismayed Shuku aloud, "I told them the story."

"You told them your story," I reminded her, "that can't be taken as the truth until I've spoken to everyone. Or do you know better than me because you were there whilst it all happened?"

I asked the question, trying not to give away that I knew she had been present, but to give her the sharp shock of wondering whether I knew all the same. She backed down, accepting that what I said was right as the pride saw it, though she gave me an icy stare as she did so. I suspected this was in response to my suggestion that she knew more than she was letting on, though I hadn't made it blatantly clear.

"Will you tell us the story then?" asked Hulo.

"I will, to the best of how I understand it happened."

I did so, omitting only the details of Timon and Pumbaa's practical joke, and Shuku's presence. The others sat and listened, not questioning. The atmosphere was again thick. If I didn't know better, I'd have half been expecting there to be a mutiny there and then. Yet, somehow I knew, there was something bubbling under which I sensed, yet couldn't quite put my claw on what it was. One thing I knew, was that I had to get to the bottom of it, for my own peace of mind.

The morning dawned the next day, and I had remained in Pride Rock to try and keep a lid on things. It seemed the rebels had left sometime during the night, and I was happy for it – at least without their presence any other lioness who felt the need could come up and talk to me personally without worrying what others would think. As it was, a couple did come up to me, admitting to me that they felt the loss of Usiku hard, and that they had grown used to her presence, as well as pledging their allegiance to the pride no matter the consequences.

But a morning at Pride Rock always meant one thing – a patrol with Zazu – though for once I was more than prepared to take this patrol, needing as I did the chance to discuss what had been happening with him. I was eager to see his take on things, especially as he had been indirectly involved in the 'false alarm' incident. So we set off, away to the border, across the Serengeti, deep in discussion.

"What do you make of it all, Zazu?"

"Sire, I just don't know. It seems Usiku was trapped in a dead end situation, and she was always in trouble, and the River Pride, well, the River Pride I…"

"Hey, Zazu. Slow down."

"Sorry Sire. The River Pride – I rather think they were after revenge towards you rather than Usiku."

"Really?"

"Yes, Sire. You heard Usiku say, didn't you? That Jimbala wasn't so much interested in what he had as what he could have?"

"Er…"

"Well, he saw her desertion as more of a persuasion on your part than being on her own head, I believe."

"Yes… Then he set out to make me pay for it… But why kill Ella? And why even bring Usiku into it if he didn't care about her anymore?"

"Pure coincidence, I'd wager. As for Ella, well, I'm thinking he was after your Tanabi sire."

"Tanabi?! Oh dear!" I wondered how I'd react if it had been Tanabi who'd been killed. Badly, probably.

"Yes, you see? If he'd have got Tanabi, where'd you be right now? Mourning for the death of your prince. He'd have you where he wanted you – at his mercy, totally. But for now, his plan hasn't worked perfectly."

"It's had some desired effect – it's unsettled the Pride still further. Something's gonna happen – for good or bad – you mark my words Zazu."

"What do you plan to do about it, Sire?"

I thought for a moment, "for now, I can't do anything. I mean, I have reason to believe that something strange is going on with the rebels…"

"Yes, I wondered that too."

I looked at him for a moment. "Why's that?" I asked.

"Well, the network of flamingo's who set red alert the other day, they… they get frustrated and worried quite easily. If someone wanted them to panic and spread the word, all they'd have to do would be to whisper a word in one of them's ears and it'd be all over the Pridelands like a swarm of flies."

"So where do the rebels come in?"

"They'd be among the few who know of the flamingo's manner. The River Priders certainly wouldn't."

I was thinking hard.

"And another thing – if the flamingo's rumours are spread like wildfire, could that explain why Timon and Pumbaa were involved in this supposed crisis?"

"Possibly, Sire. I'm not sure that fits totally though, they seemed to be sure where you were going. It's too convenient that all that was chance."

"Yes, I agree… I really need to find those two. Could you help with that Zazu?"

"Certainly, Sire. Where would you like me to tell them to meet you?"

"If you find them…say…among the acacias at high afternoon sun."

"I'll do that. What are you going to do?"

"A couple of things I must attend to. I'll see you later Zazu."

He flew off, surveying the landscape from his great height. My plans didn't amount to much. There were a few things I now wanted to do. One was to visit the Eastern border, to see if there was anything there suspicious, or a chance to converse with a River Lander and force them to divulge any information which might be useful. The other thing had been bothering me for some time. When I'd met Rafiki one day, he'd made a prediction to me about how Usiku would bring trouble. Well, he'd been right, and now I needed to know more. Whether he would tell more was a different matter entirely, however. I decided to visit him first, mainly because I wanted to delay a visit to the Eastern border for as long as possible.