For the next few weeks, Sarabi and Taka had met up and spent time together, all while avoiding Mufasa whenever he came looking for his bride-to-be.

Once Taka had gotten them something to eat. Sarabi's eyes shined with amazement. "You know, if you spoke with King Ahadi and Queen Uru, you'd be a wonderful hunter for the Pride. That would get you on the King's good side."

Taka laughed as he dug into the food. The thought in his mind, never leaving.

"I can barely find them." Taka replied as he swallowed.

Sarabi purred as she licked his cheek. "I can always tell them to meet you at the Watering Hole. They know where that is. Or I can tell them to meet you at the border."

Taka nuzzled her with a smile. "We'll see."

*TP & TR*

Mufasa sighed heavily as he watched his future mate speak fondly with Sarafina. It had just been announced that Haki asked Sarafina to marry him and all of the Pride gave their blessings. His mother and father had been overjoyed.

The wedding was set to be just a few days after his and Sarabi's wedding.

"Hey, Muffy!" Haki said with happiness. "Looks like we're both going to be married lions in two months. I can't wait to be married to Sarafina. My whole world."

Mufasa nodded slowly at his best friend's words and listened as Haki excitedly chatted on about the wedding. He wished Sarabi could be that excited like Sarafina and Haki were for their marriage. But she never expressed happiness or joy at the thought, always remaining silent.

He could never find her when she went out for her walks that somehow always became extended. At first, he looked for her because Uru wanted to teach her Queenly lessons and hunting lessons, but then he wanted to find her because he wanted to spend some time with her. Talk about their future, maybe even talk about cubs and how many they wanted.

Of course all males wanted sons, but Mufasa somehow found himself wanting a daughter. From what his father had told him, all cubs were treasured, no matter the gender. But Mufasa never saw a son in his future, always a daughter; maybe a son after a daughter.

He just wanted a little girl, who looked like her mother, to spoil rotten.

Haki had once expressed how he and Sarafina spoke about cubs, and agreed on having two cubs. Two cubs which meant both genders or one. Mufasa wished Sarabi could speak with him about the same subject simply because he wanted to be able to communicate better with her.

"Mufasa?"

Mufasa shook his head as he realized he was being spoken to.

His eyes widened when he saw Sarabi with wondering eyes and his heart fluttered with hope. Perhaps she wanted to spend time with him? This could be their chance to talk about the future and he didn't want to hope too much, but it was impossible.

In the background, Sarafina and Haki stood with loving smiles on their faces, but they could feel on what could happen next.

Both dreading it.

"Mufasa, are you listening?"

Mufasa shook his head and smiled lovingly at her. "Yes." he replied. "What did you need, Sarabi?"

Sarabi shifted nervously on her paws. "I was wondering if we could talk. About the future."

Those words sent hopeful butterflies through his stomach as he nodded happily. "Of course we can! I was hoping we could as well."

Somehow, Sarabi was wishing she could be talking with Taka about this.

*TP & TR*

Uru watched her son and his future mate talk about the future and her heart ached as she realized this must be painful for Sarabi. She could tell the lioness didn't want to even touch the subject with her son but what could she do?

Ahadi came up behind his mate and sighed heavily. Her heart still ached over Taka. His heart was too but they had to be strong for Mufasa. What would've happened if they weren't? They would barely be there for their son, barely raising him if they didn't.

The King padded over and nuzzled his mate, smiling softly when Uru nuzzled back. "I know it's hard to watch Sarabi be with our son when she expressed her true feelings. But what can we do? Mufasa must have a Queen!"

"He'll always choose Sarabi." Uru mumbled in reply as she nodded.

Ahadi sighed heavily. "Look, I'm no expert in what you lionesses may want, but I know she doesn't want this future."

She couldn't help but laugh when he said that, remembering when he asked her if she wanted to be with him above all the other males who were much better choices than he was. To her, if he didn't think he was good enough, he was the right one.

"Are you sure? You seemed to know what I wanted."

Ahadi chuckled at his mate and rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

Down with the two future rulers, Mufasa was happily listening on to what Sarabi was saying. He took in whatever she wanted to say and nodded. She wanted equal power (which could be done) and wanted a say in big decisions (again it could be done), and most importantly didn't want to have to tell him whenever she was going in terms of fear for her safety.

"I can make sure that's all done! But the last one? Might take some time."

Sarabi laughed at his words and Mufasa purred. "I wouldn't doubt it."

The golden prince shifted nervously as he cleared his throat. Now they could speak about having cubs and how many they wanted. In terms of cubs, two would be enough for him. But he wanted Sarabi's opinions about it.

"I have another topic."

Sarabi looked over at her future mate and arched a dark eyebrow. "What would that be?"

Mufasa smiled weakly. "How do you feel about cubs?"

The lioness had to keep her jaw from dropping. She never thought about having cubs but she supposed if she thought about it, she'd picture having Taka's if she could.

Slowly, she regained her composure. "I never thought about it, to be honest."

"Well, would you like to talk about our future?" Mufasa gently asked.

Sarabi forced a smile. "I don't see why not."