Entry 319: "True Character Part 1"

I emerged from the den of Pride Rock and felt the warm golden light from the sky basking over my presence. Sure enough, the sound of laughter echoed in my ears. I walked to the tip of the promontory and followed that familiar laugh down below. There, I found Simba and Nala running all over while that Zema fellow chased them around. With much exuberance and joy, he caught the two cubs at once, and they lied there with wide smiles. Simba barely contained himself as he talked with Zema while Nala stood over his back and playfully tugged on his ear. They all were having so much fun, and they looked so happy. I couldn't bring myself to break them up just to play with me. But still… I felt irritable the longer I watched them. And for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to act on it.

"I can always find you here at that exact spot whenever you're melancholy. You're so predictable."

I looked over my shoulder to find Scar there with an accusing smirk over his face. As he approached me, I looked away and sighed. "And you always can't help yourself and humor my moods, much to my displeasure." Scar came to my side and briefly looked down to find the cubs playing with Zema. "Looks like this rogue's a big hit with the little runts," he said.

"Yes. He sure is," I replied solemnly.

"Oh, how cute! The king's jealous!" Scar taunted.

"Stop it. I am not jealous."

"It bothers you that Little Simba likes a complete stranger more than his own father. Am I wrong?"

I scowled in reply, but I didn't say anymore. Denying the truth even further would make me look stubborn. "Why don't you do the natural thing? Chase him away?" Scar suggested.

"Excuse me?"

"We know nothing of this lion. Has he even said where he's from?"

"He saved my son's life. Royal protocol states that all debts must be paid. Letting him rest the night was the least I could do."

"Hmph. You're far too trusting. You never know when that will come back to haunt you. I'd sure hate it if anything were to happen to you."

I glared bitterly at Scar's wry words as he wrapped his arm around my waist and gave me with a playful, toothy grin. "If that should happen, I promise to take good care of dear Sarabi for you."

"Hmph," I scoffed, forcing a smile. "There's no need, though I appreciate your offer."

"Whatever you say, Brother."

"Your majesty!" a voice called.

Scar and I turned around to find one of the lionesses urgently running to us. "What is it?" I asked.

"A guest from the Destinylands had just arrived and request an audience with you," she reported.

"The Destinylands? Very well; I shall see them at once."

Shortly behind Pride Rock, I had met with Sarabi while Scar rested on top of a nearby boulder to watch. "I wonder what this could be about," Sarabi whispered to me.

"Yes," I replied. "I can't help but feel a little nervous."

"Well, well, it looks like our 'guest' has arrived," Scar declared.

We turned to our right to find the lioness who gave us the report escorting a familiar face at her side. "Busara?" we gasped simultaneously. Sure enough, it was the grey, leonine shaman of Destiny Rock. And his reappearance back in the Pridelands was a little unsettling. Of course, it was good to see him again, but I couldn't help but wonder what brought about his presence…

"Why, welcome back, Busara," Sarabi greeted. "How have you been?"

Busara appeared to brush off Sarabi's greeting and remained intensely focused onto me. "Busara, what's the matter?" I asked. He quietly snarled at me in reply before he finally spoke. "What… happened? How is it that there's a lion with your face running around?" In an instant, I felt my body tense up for a moment. I was paralyzed by the confirmation of my intuition. "Subaru," I murmured.

"Yes. That's precisely what he calls himself," Busara replied. "So, you do know something about him, just as I thought."

"What has Subaru been doing?" Sarabi wondered.

"After several weeks of investigation, we finally tracked all the clues to him. We believe that he is responsible for the act of the recent serial killings that's been happening recently."

"Serial killings?!" Sarabi gasped.

"So, that's what Subaru had been doing all this time," I confirmed to myself.

I never thought he would go this far, regardless of him being a part of me. To shed so much blood and end so many people's lives was something I could never fathom. But, I could hardly tell myself that I hadn't thought of that on many occasions. There was much that I resented, that I despised, during the course of my life. I was betrayed, shunned, condescended upon, and vengeful of many people, and in a corner in my mind, I demanded their debt at my expense. I wanted compensation for how I was treated, but it wasn't a thought I particularly acted on the majority of the time, if not at all. But, Subaru was doing just that, and I was sure that he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Sarabi garnered Busara's attention and spoke with him. "Have any others suffered these serial killings? How often do they happen?"

"I last heard that he reached as far as the desert pride far east," Busara explained. "We patterned his activity to assaults soon after nightfall. Considering his dark coat, he's very difficult to track. It's not to say he doesn't do anything in broad daylight, but night raids are more common. His targets are completely random; from the reports, he ranges from mutilating small birds to ruthlessly slaughtering several members of a single pride."

"My God," Sarabi gulped.

Scar nudged me by my shoulder and gave me an accusing grin. "You've quite the vivid imagination, don't you?" he teased. In response to his rude, snide remark, I snarled at him to keep him quiet. "Mufasa, I thought Subaru would be after us," Sarabi said to me.

"Subaru's doing exactly what he wants, unrestrained by me, his good conscience," I answered. "He's free to do any and every vile act I could never bring myself to do. In a sense, that's the one thing we still have in common: we both want to make the most of the life we have."

"So, a hedonist at heart, huh?" Busara purred. "This is all just one huge problem. I always known you to be strong, Mufasa, but you practice restraint in accordance of your situation. Subaru has nothing holding him back; he's sure to be a difficult foe."

"I understand," I nodded. "I appreciate letting us know what's going on. We'll be on high guard if and when Subaru reappears around here. Killing me is his primary objective, after all."

"Do you think you'll be able to defeat him?"

I didn't reply. I didn't know how to respond to that question. We were one once. I could imagine what the beast was capable of because it took me over quite a few times. But, even then, I was shaken at the limitless possibilities he could discover. It was evil itself, the epitome of sin. And I couldn't envision that darkness at all… not anymore. I asked myself why. Why was this happening? Why was I forced to fight the beast from the outside? Why?!

After our meeting was adjourned, the majority of the pride shortly departed the kingdom to hunt. The huntresses circled around Sarabi and Kigali as they discussed their strategies. Nearby, I lied comfortably atop of a grassy hill. I peered listlessly toward the horizon of the land around us, searching for any disturbances that were visible out there. Specifically, I still had Subaru on my mind, so much that I hoped to spot him. I wondered if he was nearby out there. Or was he still contemplating how to terrorize the innocent? Was he still out there living a life I had dreamed of… a life outside the Pridelands?

Scar and Busara were both comfortably lying against the side of the hill underneath me. Busara stood up and turned to me with a curious stare. "Mufasa, who was that other lion that was playing with our children?"

"That would be Zema. He saved Simba's life, so I offered him to stay with us for the night."

"Zema… I thought that was him."

"You know him?"

"I've journeyed with a lion by that name a while before I settled down at Destiny Rock. We parted ways since then. It's odd that he did because he was particularly insistent on accompanying me. I tried several times to ditch him wherever we went, but he always managed to find me."

"What was he like when he was with you?"

"A pain was what he was," Busara scowled. "His stupidity knew no bounds, even to the most common of senses. He always smiling, laughing, and went about without a care in the world. I admit that he was useful in most situations, though. But still, he was such a lazy ass that simply took advantage of me and steals the majority of the food I caught."

Scar entered the conversation and replied, "Hmm, if that's all he is, then I guess there's nothing to worry about, after all."

"But, I haven't seen him in years," Busara continued. "Who's to say he hasn't changed? And besides that, there's that other side to him, perhaps his real self."

"His real self?" I repeated.

"I only seen it once or twice, but I never seen him open his eyes other than those times. When you see them, you'll know… why he's infamously known by the moniker, 'Blue Ice.'"

Blue Ice. I wondered what that might mean. I had always known a mysterious, uncomforting feeling around that lion, but now I felt my body growing tense and apprehensive. I was grateful for him saving my son; I really was. But, in the same time, I wondered who he really was like. Was he truly as good and kind as he seemed if he wields the name, "Blue Ice" Zema?

"Heh. You sound as if you were afraid of him," a voice called.

I jumped as soon as I heard myself say that. It was my voice, but I didn't say anything out-loud. "Honestly, what makes you think that, Mufasa?" Busara hissed.

"But… I didn't say that," I slowly replied, shaking my head.

"Heh, heh, heh. Of course you would never say that."

I suddenly felt an unsettling force weigh down over my body as I stood up and slowly turned around. Both Scar and Busara quickly rose to their feet as well as soon as we all stood face-to-face with the beast, Subaru!

It was Subaru, I thought! He came that close to us without being detected by our instinctive senses; it wasn't possible! "Isn't it nice to see you three all together?" Subaru grinned toothily.

"What are you up to, Subaru?" I growled.

"This world… never ceases to surprise me," Busara murmured, visibly astounded by Subaru's resemblance to me.

"Busara… my favorite lion in the world," the beast laughed. "Yes… you and I grew up to be like brothers, haven't we? So much more than a certain someone…"

Subaru turned his attention onto Scar, giving him a rather sly, ridiculing grimace. "Much more than the failure, the dead weight, the weakling."

"What are you getting at?" Busara wondered.

"I mean how I've grown to favor you over that joke. I can't begin to tell you how much I wished that you were born in place of my dear brother, Taka. Isn't that right, Mufasa? You know I am."

"That's not true at all!" I roared defensively. "I would never…!"

I stopped in my sentence when Subaru approached Scar who both gave one another a similar, analytical stare. "Everything you think I am is true," he said. "A beast that stole your 'right' as king. But, what you call 'right' never existed to begin with." Scar briefly twitched after my shadow said that. "You never were acknowledged as a true heir, but our father pitied you just enough to let you live… because he saw a piece of himself in you. After I had returned from my supposed grave, little by little… I took back the life that I and only I truly deserve. But, I kept you around on a whim, telling you that I loved you with all my soul just to make you feel better."

"Is that… what you really think?" Scar replied, his body slightly shivering.

"You were crushed, weren't you?" Subaru smiled wickedly. "You were totally destroyed when I took away your last chance to become a king after me. You ran off and bawled like the spoiled brat that you are, didn't you?!"

"Brother, don't listen to him!" I roared.

I tried to lunge at him, but he easily slapped me away with the back of paw. After I sprawled down the hill briefly before I dug into the grass with my claws to stop, I looked up to see Subaru stand by Scar's side and hug around him. "I don't hate you, though," Subaru continued. "I just enjoy having you around, just someone I could bully and torment. Given the circumstances, you have every reason to hate me. You probably want me dead, so much that you want to do it yourself; but there's just one problem." He pulled my brother's face to his, their noses touching. Scar gradually began to lose his composure as the beast burned his eyes into him, and he helplessly trembled from his legs to his jaw. "Your worst fear," Subaru answered venomously, "is the thought of me killing you. That is because, deep down… you still love me." Subaru then dug his claws into the side of Scar's face and threw him high over the other side of the hill!

"Brother!"

I rose back on my feet and charged after Subaru. But, he quickly faced me and lunged after me, butting me hard in my chest and sending me flying upward! The air knocked out of me, I was unable to recover and fell hard the hillside, bouncing several times as I descended to the base of the hill. After I finally came to a stop, I staggered about as I slowly stood back up. The form of Sarabi quickly came to my side to help me stand. "Mufasa, are you hurt?"

"Brother…" I murmured.

Then, someone else came to mind, and I looked up the hill to see Subaru and Busara locked in arms and rolling down the hill. After they reached the bottom, Busara vaulted Subaru from him with his hind feet. But, the dark lion landed on his feet easily. Busara roared as he ran after him and leapt after him with his silver claws. However, Subaru managed to catch him by his right arm with his mouth! He threw the ashen lion aside and let him roll over the ground. Then, he ruthlessly pursued him and swiped him with one great slash underneath his face that send him high into the air only to fall hard over his back again. Sarabi, the rest of the pride, and I growled after Subaru in provocation, but Subaru simply faced us with a wide grin. "Are you looking for a fight with me, your precious king?" he taunted.

"There's no way you're our king!" one pride member shot back.

"You'll say anything not to anger me, won't you all? You never want me, the scary 'beast,' to turn against you, right?"

"Stop talking as if you are Mufasa!" Sarabi roared. "He's right here, with all of us! Leave, or else we'll attack! I doubt you can take this many of us at once!"

Busara shortly came to our defensive line along with Sarafina and the pride defiantly stood behind us with their full support. The twenty of us easily outnumbered the lone Subaru.

Still, Subaru was yet to be intimidated, his grin unwavering. "You've yet to witness my wrath. I have no conscience; I have nothing chaining me down from doing the unthinkable." In an instant, Subaru surpassed the speed of a cheetah, suddenly appearing inches in front of us! This caused us all to jump away from him to gain ground for a counterattack. Subaru easily predicted this and went after Sarafina first! In one overhead slash from his right claw, he struck through Sarafina's chest like lightning, four crescents of blood drawn from her! She wailed in agony as she collapsed instantly from the attack. "Sarafi-!" I cried. But, Subaru continued on by grabbing her by her hind leg and threw her into me, knocking me off my feet. I got back up and frantically examined the wounded Sarafina. She was hurting so much that tears were flowing from her eyes as fast as the blood she was losing. "You'll pay!" I heard Busara roar. Enraged, Busara went on a mad rush after Subaru to avenge his mate. But, Subaru spun around and struck him hard across his face. Busara didn't fall over, but he was instantly disoriented and unable to regain control of himself as his nose began to bleed. The beast started to continue his onslaught over him, but he was countered by Sarabi's tackle. Trying to gain momentum before he could recover, Sarabi continued after him. She threw her paws into his black mane and took him up in the air with her. But, to our dismay, Subaru recovered and dug his claws into her arms. Exercising full control of her movements in midair, Subaru pulled Sarabi into a somersault, driving her hard into the ground! Finally, he pressed his claw hard over her face, pinning her down and threatening to crush her head entirely!

"Sarabi!" I cried.

The pride were shocked at Subaru's incredible strength, so much that they hesitated to help. "Don't bother helping now," he threatened. "Or I will crush her head in like a melon."

"He's too strong," I thought. "He's able to inflict this much damage in single attacks and influence the battle into his favor, even when he's outnumbered."

"Now, give in quietly, dearest," Subaru hissed. "Whisper my name for me. Wallow in love for me, oblivious of who I truly desire."

I was in torment and rage as I watched Sarabi suffer underneath his weight. And I looked down to see Sarafina clinging to my arm, trying hard to fight her pain and cease her crying. I stroked over her neck to comfort her, and I focused my attention back onto my despicable shadow. "There; do you see?" he said to Sarabi. "There's who I truly love. She was originally my betrothed, so it's only natural."

"That's enough!" I roared. "Stop messing with everyone's minds!"

"I often imagine what it would have been if I had chosen Sarafina as my mate. I regretted not choosing her many times. At times, I thought I must have been out of my mind to choose a killer over the perfect beauty."

"I said, that's enough! Don't you dare say that I don't love Sarabi! And you wouldn't do this to Sarafina if what you said was true!"

Finally getting his attention, Subaru scoffed at my in reply. "Look at her. She's clinging to you; she wants you to help her. Poor Busara isn't on her mind at all right now. She wants you. Are you going to tell her differently, that her love for you isn't real just like you told her before? Can you honestly deny that you never harbored any lingering affection for that girl?"

"That's not…!"

"Oh dear. This doesn't look good at all."

Subaru and I followed that new voice by the base of the hill to find Zuhura and the rest of her generation, Simba and Nala, and the one who led them, Zema.

Subaru stared in wonder of Zema, one he hasn't seen before. "Who the hell is this?"

"Just a simple lion passing through," Zema replied coolly.

The dark lion loosened his grip over Sarabi and turned completely around to face him. "Are you going to try to beat me as well? The lot right here weren't able to."

"Then, I'll just try my luck. Otherwise, you'll try to hurt these kids here."

Zuhura and Busara's oldest daughter, Kayura, both pulled their respective sibling back with them while Mwali and Kiruu snarled collectively after our enemy. "Stand your ground, you two," Zema said. "I'll take care of him." He was going to fight him alone? We tried to attack him together as a team, but he broke us up easily before we made a move. How could he believe he could make a difference by himself? Subaru laughed, "You must be very eager to die." In a flash, Subaru ran at Zema with his claw hovering over his head. He flung a powerful slash down at him. But, to all of our shock including Subaru's, Zema countered by throwing his left paw to successfully clutch Subaru's right paw, bringing the dark beast to an abrupt halt in his strike! Their claws still locked together, Subaru tried hard to push Zema back, but the smaller lion refused to budge an inch. Their arms violently shook as the two lions' opposing forces continued pushing against one another. "You're strong, all right," Zema purred, a smile still worn. "And you have a good head on your shoulders for you to get around so many of your opposition. But, this was your mistake."

"What is?" Subaru snarled.

"You attacked me first."

Before he knew it, Subaru was pulled forward to Zema, pulling him out of his favored position. Zema then gave him a clean and hard strike underneath the side of his jaw, sending him sprawling in midair! Subaru instantly recovered and landed on his feet. But, I noticed that he slightly staggered over his arms just when he landed; as soon as I saw that, Zema quickly came at him before Subaru attempted to and wielded his left paw to jab at his right arm. Subaru winced in pain and shortly fell over it, and Zema quickly got behind him and bit into his right hind leg. Subaru roared and fell onto his belly after Zema pulled him by his leg. Immediately, Mwali, Kiruu, and Kayura ran into the struggle. Mwali went to Zema's side and bit into Subaru's left hind leg while both Kiruu and Kayura each held down his front arms with one paw and kept his head down on the ground with their other paws. In seconds, the four of them had caught and overpowered Subaru!

Subaru tried hard to break free, but the four of them simply strengthened their hold over him. I was amazed. Zema had led them into a successful capture of Subaru, my 'beast,' when I couldn't. I wasn't quite sure how he did it, either. I looked to see Busara literally dragging himself to us, most likely to see if Sarafina was alright. While I was watching the fight, she must have lost consciousness. I decided to let Busara tend to her while I followed Sarabi, who had just got back on her feet, to Zema and the others. We watched as Subaru finally gave up struggling but roared out in anger. "How?! How did this happen?! Dammit!"

"Kayura, knock him out," Kiruu said.

"Got it," the black lioness nodded.

With that, Kayura struck Subaru hard in the back of his head. The dark lion's head fell hard on the ground and he slowly shut his eyes, falling unconscious.

The threat over, everyone let go of Subaru except Zema, who kept one paw over his head. "Well, I say this puts an end to everything," he smiled affirmatively.

"So, I see," I replied. "But, how did you manage to beat him?"

"Oh, you don't know? He's you, so he shares your same weaknesses, y'know."

"My weakness?"

Zema explained, "Subaru likes to dash around a lot rather than wait for the attack to come to him. His wit allows him to alternate his attacks according to the situation in close-range combat, so he's not one to plunge in headfirst without a plan. However, his weakness gradually grows because of his body weight."

"His body weight?"

"Yep. His weight would eventually weaken the strength in his legs to the point that it's hard to stand upright. So, the logical thing would be to take out your opponent quickly before you wear yourself down, right?"

"Zema told us to stay put until he sees that opportunity," Kayura continued. "He attacks his legs to make him stagger over himself, and when he gets a grip on his hind leg, that's when we pin 'em down."

"I see," Sarabi nodded. "I never noticed that before. That's a brilliant tactic; thank you for helping us."

"You're too kind," Zema bowed in reply.

Zuhura and the cubs came to join our conversation while the rest of the pride circled around us in relief. "You were great, Zema!" Simba exclaimed. "You're, like, the greatest hero I ever seen! Isn't he, Dad?"

"Huh?" I gasped, pulling from my thoughts. "Oh, yes. Just amazing, son."

"So, what do we do with him?" Zuhura wondered.

"We take him back with us to Pride Rock," I said. "I'll have Jumba the Elephant help us in building a suitable cage to keep him in."

"Yes, I suppose that's all we can do now," Zema nodded.

"You go on ahead; I have to check on my brother."

I began to walk a couple of steps while I stared down at the ground with a deep sigh. I had never felt so dejected and inadequate than I did now. I went at this situation the same way I have always did with everything else before now. How was it that a complete stranger, a random nomad that just showed up out of nowhere, was able to make that hopeless situation work to our favor… when I couldn't? And I was even frustrated with myself for not being able to defeat my shadow. I was unable to discover a weakpoint in Subaru's attack pattern before it was too late for me to make a difference. I wasn't even aware that I had that weakness at all. I felt so weak… powerless… incomparable next to Zema, and my own son named him a hero. And as I looked back, I watched how everyone was in awe and gratitude of Zema's cheerful presence. I was grateful that he was there to help; I really, really was. But… it wasn't me. I didn't do anything. For the first time in my life, I felt useless.

I proceeded to run up and over the hill to find my brother sitting still and staring hard at the ground below him as blood ran from the side of his face to a small puddle in the grass. "Scar!" I called to him. He didn't respond; his body remained stationary like a stone statue. I quickly approached him and observed the wound Subaru gave him. I was in sight, but still my brother didn't react. I purred to him, "Scar, let's go. It's over now; Subaru is caught. That wound needs to be treated, too." Again, Scar refused to respond. Was he so lost in thought that he had no idea I was here? He wore such a solemn, degenerate expression over his face, much like a face I had worn when I was thinking of Zema. I wondered if he was still thinking about what Subaru had told him before. He put one paw over his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "I'm sorry I let him hurt you, Brother," I purred. "But, you shouldn't listen to him. I never meant to make you suffer; I tell you that I love you, don't I?" I proceeded to lick over his bleeding cut over his face. Apparently, that made Scar finally respond to my presence, and he slapped across my face to stop me. I pulled back in shock of his attack and stared right into his cold and dark green pupils. "Don't try to make it better after what you did," he hissed.

"What do you mean? I never did that to you."

"Subaru is your shadow, a part of you. How can you say you didn't hurt me?"

"I am nothing like Subaru!" I cried. "I would never hurt you or say those things!"

"But, you were thinking it… right?"

"What do I have to say to help you understand?" I asked in desperation. "What can I do? Please tell me that."

"Nothing… except just leave me be. Don't you already enough of a life to be involved in mine?"

Defeated, I bowed down my head while my brother walked off on his own. Then, I looked up to the sky in search of someone, someone who may have an answer. "Does my brother not want to be part of my life anymore? Tell me please." My plea fell on deaf ears. There was no answer. Only silence.

Later that day, we all returned to Pride Rock. As I said, I requested Jumba's assistance in building a tightly-built cage made from deceased elephant bones. I watched him carefully to make sure the cage was tight enough that he couldn't escape after he had regained consciousness. He was angry and wild at first, running about and trying hard to ram his body through the tall bones. But, he soon stopped before he hurt himself and lied down comfortably in the middle of his prison.

I slowly walked a full circle around the cage, keeping a sharp eye on Subaru while he was focused on me. "Why imprison me? Why not just kill me?" he said.

"I'm not all that sure myself," I replied sharply. "Everyone would be better off if you were dead."

"That's true. So, why…?"

"Because I want to ask you a few things. I want to know who gave you that name."

Subaru visibly twitched and wore a disgruntled visage in reply. "So, you were suspicious from the beginning."

"Being that you spent some time outside the border, I wonder. I think you have some sort of link to the ones who claim themselves to be the Rainlanders… and this other pride whose members I met the other day. I doubt that you're directly involved with this pride, but perhaps you may have led them to this direction somehow…"

"Maybe, maybe not," Subaru bluntly replied. "I'm not telling you anything else."

"That's fine. But, there's one thing about you that I'm very aware of."

I stopped in place and gave the dark lion a well-deserved, taunting grin. "It's your temper. Like me, you want to live life to its fullest. As long as you're trapped in here, you can't. And I know full well that if I am denied something… I get mad."

Subaru roared and quickly lunged at me. But, I predicted his attack, stepped back, and watched a futile attempt of him struggling to get out his cage, his arm reaching after me. "I'll destroy you, I swear it," he snarled ferociously.

"Just stay put in here. In time, I'm sure you'll give up and tell me everything you know."

Fully assured that Subaru was no threat, I ventured back to the kingdom to see how everyone was doing.

After I had climbed up to the promontory, I stopped to find both Sarafina leading Busara out the den. "Oh, here you are, Mufasa," Sarafina said. "Tell Busara it's alright that he can spend the night here."

"Oh, yes. Feel free to rest," I replied.

"There, you see? Come on and spend some time with our daughter."

Sarafina slowly padded around to the opposite side of Pride Rock. With the help of Rafiki, Busara was able to treat everyone Subaru had wounded with proportionate green leaves spread over the scars and attached with tree sap. Sarafina was alright, it seemed; I was worried for her back there. But, I was still afraid of her emotional turmoil, which obviously stemmed from her current relationship with Busara. "Mufasa, understand that I have to report back to Destiny Rock about the condition of Subaru," he said.

"We just caught him; I'm interrogating him for another issue right now. Afterwards, I'm not sure what to do with him just yet. Just hold off on your report for now."

"Maybe…"

"Besides, Sarafina was really hurt back there. I'm sure she wants you to be close by right now. And don't you want to see how Nala's doing?"

"Oh, you're right. I've been working for so long that I tend to forget my priorities as a husband and father. Thank you."

With that, Busara proceeded to follow after Sarafina to join her, and I watched him go with a thoughtful, enlightened stare. "Priorities as a husband and father…"

I peeked inside the den to find Sarabi lying on our throne, licking over the light scratches on her arms. I approached her and met her with a light head-nuzzle to comfort her. "How are you feeling?" I said.

"A little better," she sighed. "I just never felt so weak before now."

I stepped over Sarabi and lied down next to her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm not as strong as I once was. I was a slayer, a trained killer to be hired in times of war. I'm not even qualified to return to be one anymore. That's not a bad thing, but… today was when I was made completely aware how much I've weakened over the years."

"Yeah. I know what you mean. I'm grateful of Zema's help, but I still hate that he managed to beat Subaru when I couldn't."

"The both of us were pitiful out there, weren't we?"

We looked at each other and laughed at our own self-pity. Sarabi let her head rest over my shoulder while I rested one paw over hers. "Are we losing our touch?" she purred. "Is our reign slowly coming to an end?"

"I don't know," I replied solemnly. "We can only do our best next time."

"Next time…"

I could feel the light skepticism in her voice; I could hardly believe those words myself. We both were collectively unable to defeat Subaru and were rescued by a nomad we had just met the other day. If Zema wasn't here, that may had been it for us. Maybe it's just as Sarabi said; we're losing our touch. Maybe after Ru-gal, Vumi, and the Diviners, we didn't have anything left to give. Was this as far as we could go as king and queen? What was happening to us? And what will happen to us now?