Trial

"There you have it! That's a confession and not only for the murder, but also for poisoning her for several days!"

"It wasn't." By now Simba's voice had a become angry. "He said nothing about murder so far and if you won't stop interrupting, he will never get the chance for that!"

Enraged Chumvi opened his mouth to respond, but bit back on saying more and sat down between the lionesses. After a previous outbreak at the very beginning of Kenua's story the lion's untampered voice had attracted their attention and some of them had stopped their slumber to join and listen the interrogation.

For a moment the king kept looking at him, then he turned back at the rogue. "Proceed. I want to hear, what happened at the night Chagina was killed."

"Of course, your majesty", Kenua said with a light bow of his head. Despite his still tricky situation it was hard for him not to grin at his prosecutor. It seemed like this trial wasn't exactly moving towards the outcome that guy had hoped for. So far Kenua had told the king and his feathered adviser, that he indeed was guilty of wearing down Chagina, the way he had done it and also why. "Well, at first it was a night like the ones before", he continued. "I was just about to get Chagina's daily dose, as my father stopped me from doing so. He said that wouldn't be necessary today. He said, it would have been enough and it would be time to look for the next one on our list."

"But weren't you here for revanche?", the hornbill asked.

"Oh, we were! Seeing Chagina suffer from the dreams I brought her… I can't even describe the satisfaction in that", Kenua assured him, ignoring Chumvi's angry growling. "That lioness had taken part in the betrayal and murder of my mother after all and reminding her of that day by day was my revanche on her."

"But memories don't kill. If it wasn't you, how did she die?"

"We were about to leave and had already reached a tree close to the border, when my father suddenly turned around. It was totally against our plan, but he said he wanted to meet Chagina face to face. That he wanted to hear from herself, if by now she finally regretted her actions. I told him that was a bad idea, but he insisted. So, I had no other chance but to follow his order. I snuck in here and managed to awake her without anyone else to notice. She saw me standing in the den's entrance and just as I had hoped, followed me. At first, she probably thought, it would only be one of her dreams, because she asked no one to come with her, but soon she realized that it was very real. She had noticed I wasn't the 'Askari' from her dreams. Even shouted at me to stop and asked for my name. Like that she followed me straight towards the border, but as I reached the tree, there was no sign of my father. Once more that wasn't according to the plan, so I stopped right there. When Chagina reached me, I had no idea what to do, but then… she recognized me. And my name became the last word she ever spoke…"

Unconsciously he took a short break and noticed the silence surrounding him. The quiet whispering of the lionesses had disappeared. For a second, they looked just like cubs listening to an exciting tale and remembered him of his meeting with the little lioness a while ago, but then Chumvi growled and spoiled the moment.

"I can't tell how he managed to climb it", he continued, "but in that moment my father dropped from the tree and pounced at her. He must have broken her neck because she was dead before she or I even realized what happened. After he made sure she was dead, he told me to drag her body back to Pride Rock and drop her on her sleeping place. That was everything but a simple task, but to be honest, I was too afraid of him to complain or even reject his order at that moment. I did what I was told to do and dropped her… next to you." He looked at Chumvi. "I guess due to the exhaustion of dragging her all the way I was a little louder than usual, so that you woke up."

"Chumvi?" The king looked at Kenua's prosecutor.

"Yes", the lion hissed. "I saw him standing over my friend's corpse. Unfortunately, I was too drowsy to follow him as he fled. Instead I checked on Chagina, but she was already…" A tear appeared in one of the lion's eyes, but it was gone before anyone could notice it.

"What did you do, after you fled from the den?" Now Simba looked at Kenua again. "Did you return to your father?"

"Yes", he confessed. "What other choice did I have? There was nowhere else I could have gone. And after all, he was still my father." And our revanche was far from completed, he added in his mind, but kept himself from saying it out loud.

The king nodded. Then he bent down and had a quiet conversation with the hornbill. "Very well", he said after they finished and stood up looking around those present. "You all have heard the story this rogue has told. It sounded quite convincing to me, but I want to know your opinion as well, before I pass judgement. Everyone, who believes him, please stand up."

With rising tension Kenua watched, as lioness after lioness followed the kings order and rose… or didn't, like Chumvi and one of the lionesses who had accompanied him in his chase after the rogue. In the end there were eight of twelve lions standing.

"In that case…" Simba took a more dignified posture. "As king of the Pridelands I call you innocent of the murder of the lioness Chagina. But for aiding your father in said crime I cannot allow you to stay in my kingdom or to enter it ever again."

"As you wish, great king." Lowering his head into a deep bow Kenua exhaled. That was exactly what he had hoped for. He was already about to ask, if he could leave, as a yet unheard voice sounded.

"There you are Simba. I want you to meet someone." A lioness came walking from the Pride Rock. "Oh, I'm not interrupting something, am I?"

"We where just done, dear", Simba replied and walked up to her. Unfortunately, he was more than wrong with that, because as Kenua got up, he saw, who he thought to be the pride's queen and right behind her no one else than the lionesses he wanted to see the least at this moment.

. . .

"You!", Heba gasped.

"Kenu? What…?" As surprised as her mother, Jua stared at the rogue sitting there surrounded by the majority of the pride. He looked even scruffier then usual and his expression very similar to the one of a cornered gazelle.

"Uhm, you… know him?", the lion with the red mane, who the queen had told them to be her mate asked perplexed.

"Of course, I know him!", her mother shouted before Jua could stop her. "He murdered my former king and father of my daughter!"

"Murdered… But I just… Wait a moment. Who are you and what in all the great kings' names is going on here?" The king's eyes jumped from Jua and her companions to Kenua, back to Heba and finally stopped at his mate.

"They're guests. The ones who aided Kion at the border to the Outlands", Nala told him. "I wanted you to meet them earlier, but when Zazu came, I thought it was about something important, so I waited till you were finished."

"My name is Heba, my king", Jua's mother introduced herself after a questioning look Simba gave her. "I'm the leader of a pride on the other side of the Outlands. You may know us as Ushindi's pride, what we were called until our king's death."

"There you have it, Simba!", the brown lion in front of Kenua cheered. "He's guilty, just as I said!" Additional to his outcry the lionesses started to discuss the happenings loudly until the king put an end to the tumult.

"STOP IT!", he shouted and all eyes turned at him. "We're not getting anywhere like this!" Despite the authority in his voice he managed to sound friendlier, as he turned to a lioness sitting next to him. "Tama, take Chumvi and two other lionesses and bring this rogue to one of the caves beneath Pride Rock. If you can, seal it. If not, guard it. Make sure he doesn't escape until I decide how to deal with him. I need time to think about this."

"Of course." She nodded and took a step towards Kenua. "Follow me, but don't do anything stupid. Chumvi still looks like he wants you as his chew toy."

Jua held her breath. His claws extended, Kenua stood there, giving her mother a deadly glance. For a moment she feared, he would try to fight his way out, but then he simply growled and bared his teeth at them, before he did as he was told.

"I'm sorry for all this", the king said, after Kenua had been led away and approached Jua and her mother and Usiku, who stood a few steps behind them. "Luckily situations like this are not very common in this kingdom. You said, your name is Heba?"