Chapter 2: The prince's doubts

(At night, while everyone was sleeping...)

Dan was having a restless sleep that had nothing to do with exhaustion from playing all day with Kovu. Rather, it was his dream...quite strange:

He didn't see his body, but strangely he felt taller than before, as if he had grown. He also carried some flowers in his mouth that he couldn't let go, as if he wanted to take them to someone. Then, he was able to notice that he was climbing some rocks...

"Pride Rock" he thought as he continued to climb in his dream.

He could see a splendid sunset view from the top (which was strange, since he was almost conscious of being asleep): the green fields, the shine of the sun on the water, the freshness of the wind on his fur... but everything remained. complexed when he noticed that there was someone else watching everything: it was a young lioness of medium brown color. Turning around, Dan noticed that her chest, muzzle, wheels, and paws were also tanned. Her nose was light brown and her eyes were orange. Seeing him, she smiled.

Dan (or at least, who moved by him), left the flowers in front of the lioness.

"These are for you, Sarabi" he told her.

"You shouldn't have bothered" she replied, giving him a kiss, "Thank you very much..."

Dan felt a tickle on his head, which woke him up: he could notice that he was next to Kiara and little Koda had brought his little muzzle close to his head.

"Koda..." Dan muttered happily upon seeing his new baby brother. With that image in his head he was able to go back to sleep without dreams.

(The next morning...)

Dan woke up early with no problem and had come out of the cave so he could watch the beautiful sunrise over the Pride Lands. To tell the truth, he had taken that habit, because he always wanted to see that what had happened to him up to now was not a dream.

"Good morning Dan" Kovu told him, who had also come out of the cave.

"Good morning...dad" Dan told him.

"So...watching the sunrise again, is it?"

"Yes, it is very nice"

There was a minute of silence, when Kovu knew he had to tell him.

"Dan" he said to his adopted son, "I talked to Simba, Kiara and Nala last night. We all thought that…"

"What?" asked the cub, quite confused.

Kovu sighed before saying it:

"Don't be surprised, but... we believe that Koda can be a great leader of the lion guard"

"Well, I think so too, but…"

"That means, that you will be the heir: the next king"

How does one feel when you receive the news that he would be king? It's hard to describe the feeling: Dan felt proud, but at the same time quite insignificant, why him? He was very proud of his new family, but accepting that position...was like a big stone on his back.

"But I... I can't..." he said

"Not now, but one day you will be," Kovu told him, "Dan, I know you're feeling nervous about this news, but Kiara and I are confident that you and Koda can look after the Pride Lands as King and Leader, do you understand?"

"I suppose..."

"Okay, we'll continue this talk later... Now, go have fun with your friend Shany. You'll need some time to relax."

"Yeah, I need it..." Dan muttered.

(Later...)

In the distance, the Pride Rock looked quite imposing and was colored by the brilliance of the sun. Not far from this wonder, a small scene was shown: a pair of lion cubs were running trying to catch each other.

"Cheater" laughed Dan.

"Slow" laughed Shany.

They both ran across a stream; then between the rocks and finally between the tall grass. It was then that Shany hid in hopes of catching his friend.

"Umm" said this, when he saw that his friend had hidden, "Where is she?"

He wandered through the undergrowth, detecting every movement and trying to listen for any noise that would give her away. Twisting and turning, he scoured every inch trying to find her. Out of nowhere, the cub leaped towards him.

"I have you!" she yelled, pouncing on her friend.

They both rolled across the grass, fighting to be the winner. When they stopped, it was the male who was on top of her.

"No, I have you Shany" he said.

"Impressive, Dan" she told him, "You've improved"

"Well, after losing twice in a row before… the third time is the charm, isn't it?"

"Ha, yeah… this, can you…?"

"Oh, I'm sorry"

Dan got off Shany, somewhat embarrassed about that. There was a minute of silence from both of them, until they were interrupted by a shout in the distance:

"Young prince!" it said, "Wait!"

Then Zazu came flying somewhat exhausted, as if it had followed them for hours.

"Uff, I'm not as young as before..." he muttered tiredly.

"Zazu, it was not necessary for you to make an effort to follow us" said Dan.

"Forgive me prince, but I must make sure that I do not go to..."

"... the elephant graveyard or to the Outlands" recited Dan as in a song, "Zazu, after what we went through, you know that I would never disobey again"

"Ah, what a joy! At last, a young prince who is as noble as he is prudent will surely be a wonderful king"

"Zazu, don't say that ... " Dan finished, somewhat uncomfortable, "For me, the one who is a true heir is Koda, I... I don't think I can"

Then Dan ducked into the tall grass, not looking back.

"Well done, Zazu" Shany said annoyed, and ran after Dan.

"What did I say?" the bird wondered, as he watched her go.

Shany went through the grass looking for Dan. After going a bit, the grass ran out: she had reached a small oasis; to one side, there was a small tree, and beneath it rested a rather large rock. At the top, Dan was lying down and looking at his own reflection.

"Dan, are you feeling okay?" Shany asked him, stepping closer to him.

"Yes, I'm sorry for leaving you behind" he replied, looking at the cub's reflection, "But... I must fix my mind"

Shany sat next to him.

"Are you still thinking about it?" she asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Something like that ... I don't know how to explain myself, but ... I don't feel like I should be the heir, what should I choose?"

"Didn't you tell me you carried it in your lion's heart?"

"Yes, but..."

"It's Koda, isn't it?"

"Yes. Frankly, he would be a better king than me. I mean ... it's truly family. I am adopted, why do I have to be first in line? I don't think I deserve it and… I don't think I'm capable of so much…"

"Dan, I think you can do it. Come on… you saved me, your grandfather, your uncle and many more of the hunters, who else could do that?"

"Yes, I know. But you were there because I had escaped in the first place… It was my fault"

There was another minute of silence in which Shany thought it best to consult with someone. It couldn't be Simba, since he would be far away, back on the Pride Rock. But they were close to someone else...

"What if we go see Rafiki?" Shany asked him, "Maybe he understands this better..."

"Well ... I wouldn't do any harm to ask" Dan replied, "I just hope he's not too busy"

When the two cubs were about to leave, Zazu came flying.

"Please wait" the tired Zazu shouted, but they were already leaving. Then, he said to himself: "There is no doubt that these are for each other"

(Near the baobab tree…)

Dan and Shany were running in a who came first competition. The two were very evenly matched, moving with skill and agility across the field, until… Dan bumped into someone.

"Ouch" he told himself. Then, he turned against the one who crashed, "Sorry, I should have looked before ..."

"I'm sorry too" said the individual: it was a mandrill smaller than Rafiki. He was standing on two legs and he has a red nose. Maybe he was not much older than Dan or Shany.

"I should have been more attentive... I was looking for some herbs and..." he said.

"Yes, well ... then let it be forgotten... eh ..." said Dan.

"Well, my name is Rahisi, I came here to learn from Rafiki... my uncles know him, he taught my cousin Makini before"

"Are you a cousin of Makini?" Shany asked, reaching where they were both, "The real Mjuzi of the Tree of life? It's great!"

"Yes, although being Mjuzi here I don't think it's going to be my thing… I only came to learn because my uncles advised me. The truth is, I don't think I'm capable of so much..."

Dan looked at Rahisi's sincere face, realizing that she felt the same way he did.

"The only one who doubts yourself is you, Rahisi" said a voice, and Rafiki appeared at the top of his tree, "Hello everyone, I am glad to receive visitors"