-1Final Decision

It was a long and smooth ride as they crossed the border of Sudan. They were now in the country with the majority of the space they had to cross. Left and right there were feline merchants. Mfalme and the mandrill kept an eye on the road, and by morning, they were almost to Egypt. Vitani practically sprung awake, and took in the view. She asked what the merchants were doing, and Kuva told her they were bartering. Vitani asked,

"What's bartering?" And to that, another rider, a royal tutor for Kuva, and now Vitani, if she wanted, said,

"Bartering is giving something to someone, and getting in exchange something of equal value." Vitani didn't quite understand. Kuva made it simpler,

"Trading." Vitani got it, and Kuva whispered to the tutor so as not to aggravate Vitani,

"She hasn't been educated." The tutor nodded, and whispered back,

"Then she'll be glad I'm here. She, like you, will have her duties, and some of them require decent knowledge, especially about the country she will rule." Vitani then asked,

"Hey, what are stars? I've heard three theories, but I want to know for sure." The tutor explained it, and it took quite a while, because he also had to explain the nature of astronomy and whatnot. It was all very confusing, but she understood eventually. They were coming up to the Nile River, and Mfalme said,

"That is the Nile River, the most important part of any Egyptian civilization." Vitani nodded, and as they crossed a bridge over the river, they went into the desert and over a dune. On the other side of the dune was a massive city, built mostly out of sandstone, but with a lot of metal as well. As they passed, Vitani could have sworn she heard one of the people say,

"So, he's finally found a mate." She also saw a male wink at her, but just spat arrogantly. She never was one to accept flattery. As they passed the last of the houses, they came to a large iron gate. It opened to allow them access, and when they stopped, Vitani was in awe. The palace was amazing. It was mainly constructed out of sandstone, and as they entered, she noticed bronze statues of the previous kings and queens. Kuva said,

"I'll give you the tour later." And winked at her. Even though she didn't accept flattery, it was her future mate so she didn't mind. Vitani was led up a flight of stairs, and shown to her room.

"This is your sleeping quarters. I hope you enjoy life as the queen." Kuva said, and they actually kissed for the first time. The kiss was parted by Mfalme saying he needed to talk to his wife, and Vitani was left to her room. She entered it and was amazed. She had only ever slept on stone before, but here, they actually had beds. There was a great view of the city, and the room was spacious. She was feeling drowsy, so she decided to lay down. She fell asleep very quickly, thanks to the comfort of the bed, and had a very pleasant dream. She woke up to a tap on the shoulder 2 hours later, thanks to one of the slaves, who told her that there was a big meal in her honor in about 30 minutes.

"Thanks." Vitani said. She got directions to the banquet hall, and headed there immediately. When she arrived, preparations were still under way, and one of the slaves noticed that she was early. She found it very hard to be polite, since dead skin from the heat was irritating her body. Eventually she couldn't stand it any longer, but luckily for her, the slave who saw her understood her problem, and solved it, as well as grooming her at the same time. She had been a mess. She thanked the slave, and entered the banquet hall in time for the meal. The banquet hall was very impressive, and so was the feast. She wasn't used to eating so much.

"Wow, all this might not be good for me, since I like to stay in shape." She said.

"Don't worry, mistress." A butler-like slave said. "Everything you see before you has been prepared with the utmost care so as not to provide a more than healthy amount of energy." Vitani wasn't used to the treatment she was receiving, but she wasn't complaining. After that feast, Mfalme asked Vitani and Kuva to follow him to the throne room. They stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the city, and Mfalme roared to signal a gathering. All the city folk gathered, and Mfalme began to explain his intentions.

"People of the city, earlier today, I'm sure you noticed the young lioness in our transport. Starting tomorrow, after she is wed to my son, the couple will take mine and my mate's places as rulers of Egypt." He said. The crowd cheered for the new lovers, and Mfalme called them back in. He faced Vitani, and said,

"I want to make sure you feel at home, so let me know if something is bothering you, ok?" Vitani nodded. Vitani then asked permission to have her friends and family invited to the wedding. Mfalme immediately ordered the nearest avian slave to fly to the Pride Lands and deliver an invitation, which he wrote up and gave to the bird. The bird took to the skies, and was going pretty fast.

Back at the Pride Lands, Kovu was pretty depressed. Suddenly, a hawk touched down with a slip of paper folded in its beak. The hawk presented it to Kovu, who read it anxiously. Once he got the message, the hawk took off, and Kovu spread the word.

Over night, something got to Vitani, and she couldn't shake the feeling. She had a feeling that was unfamiliar to her. She knew what it was, though. She was homesick, but she couldn't do anything about it. She hadn't counted on that being an affecting factor when she made this decision. She felt really stupid then. She decided to try to find a way to comfort herself, so she left the room into the main hall. As she walked into the room with the drinking pool, she saw Kuva drinking from it.

"Uh, Kuva…?" Vitani asked. That made Kuva turn around, and he responded,

"Good evening Vitani. Can I do something for you?" Vitani just stood there, and it was clear she was depressed. Kuva then asked,

"What's wrong?" Vitani replied,

"I miss my family." She sounded like she was on the verge of tears,

"And my home." Kuva walked over to her and said,

"I see, yes. This place is nice, but if you don't grow up here, it just can't be accepted as home. It's too unique. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you here." At that point, Vitani couldn't hold back the tears any longer, and Kuva put his paw around her, and allowed her to cry into his fur. Kuva then continued by saying,

"Yes, I know all too well that it's very hard to adjust to." Vitani was surprised by that, and asked,

"Didn't you grow up here?" Kuva then said,

"Only during my adolescence." Vitani asked,

"Why didn't you live here as a cub?" Kuva replied,

"I was born here, but taken away by your mother. Apparently she needed someone for you, whom she was expecting at the time. I got back here as an adolescent, and continued to grow up here. I was homesick for a while, even though I grew into an adolescent in the Outlands with Zira." Vitani understood. She then made her decision.

"I'm sorry, but tomorrow, I want to go home first thing in the morning." Kuva understood, and said,

"I'm going with you. This place, it's too much for me." Mfalme heard voices, and came into the room to see what the commotion was about. Mfalme asked,

"What's going on here?" Kuva responded by saying,

"Vitani wants to go home tomorrow, and I'm going with her." Mfalme was shocked. He turned to Vitani and asked,

"I don't understand. Isn't this what you wanted?" Vitani replied,

"I thought it was. It's wonderful, but I'll never be able to call it home. It's too much of a change." Mfalme said,

"I see. Well, if you want to go home, I shall take the responsibility of getting you there." Vitani smiled and said,

"Thanks." Mfalme then called the avian and told it to send another message to the Pride Lands. When the bird left, Mfalme told Vitani,

"That way, your family will be expecting you." Vitani thanked him again, and Mfalme said,

"You should get some sleep." Vitani was kind of unsure about that, and told Mfalme that her homesickness had prevented sleep. Mfalme then said,

"Wow, you miss them more than I could have possibly guessed." He then walked off, and told Vitani & Kuva to follow him. He walked into a room where an eagle about 5 times larger than the largest one Vitani had ever seen was perched. Mfalme said,

"If what you said is true, we need to get you home as soon as possible, or you could have an emotional meltdown. This bird can take you back to the Pride Lands." He then walked closer to Vitani and said,

"Take care of my son." Vitani nodded, and she and Kuva jumped up some ledge like stairs and got on the eagle. Mfalme then commanded the eagle to go to the Pride Lands. The bird took off, and flew toward Kenya as fast as it could. It only took a couple hours to get there, and Vitani and Kuva got off. They were in the savanna right in front of Pride Rock. It was about 2:00 AM according to the position of the moon, and Vitani and Kuva scaled Pride Rock and entered the den unheard. However, Vitani was extremely tired, and when she yawned, all the lions woke up. They all looked at Vitani, who said,

"Hello." After she said that, she laid down and fell asleep. The lions decided to talk to her in the morning, but they still couldn't believe she actually decided to come back.