I don't own ThunderCats! I don't own ANYTHING, not even my own truck!

ThunderCats: Sword of Kings

Chapter XI: Love in His Eyes

For the past three days, Lion-O was starting to notice that Cheetara wasn't around him as much anymore. He was still thankful that she retained her Cleric status, but she seemed to be assigned to other Cleric duties.

This didn't mean that Claudus allowed his son to wander the palace unprotected. He had two members of the Palace Guard follow the prince wherever he went. Lion-O wasn't comfortable with the distance his father was trying to put between Cheetara and himself, nor did he like that these guards reported directly to Grune the Destroyer.

Today was different for Lion-O, as Claudus had arranged for his son to have lunch with the daughter of one of Thundera's noblemen. Leonessa was a young lioness that was close to Lion-O's age, her hair a shade darker than his and styled in an elaborate braid.

As they ate, Leonessa kept going on about the latest gossip that was circulating around the court. Lion-O tried to tune her out as he kept eating his lunch. "My father's new boat could hold enough food and water to last us month," she said, "and it has every modern convenience. We plan on going sailing next week; you should really join us."

Lion-O swallowed a bite of his food. "I'll have to think about it," he said.

Leonessa motioned for one of the servants to refill her glass of water. "I must admit, Your Highness," she said, the servant pouring the water in her glass, "I was surprised that His Majesty had invited me here to luncheon with you."

Lion-O watched her take a sip of her drink. "I'm sure it was," he muttered under his breath.

She smirked as she took another bite. "In fact," Leonessa said cheerfully, "I am happy as well. I have no doubt that my father will approve of us."

Lion-O felt his entire body freeze at that. "I'm sorry," the prince said. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Lion-O made his way into his father's study, seeing Claudus himself and Leonessa's father in deep discussion. When Claudus saw his son barge through the wooden doors, he and his guest turned suddenly.

"Lion-O?" Claudus said surprised. "What are you doing here? Why are you not with Leonessa?"

The prince took a calming breath. "I need to speak with you, Father," Lion-O said, "alone."

Claudus nodded before regarding the noble. "If you'll excuse us, Leon." Leon nodded and then left the study to seek out his daughter, closing the door behind him. Claudus regarded his son silently for a moment. "Now Lion-O, what is so important that you had to interrupt us?"

Lion-O gazed at his father sternly. "Is it true? Are you trying to arrange a marriage between me and Leonessa?"

Claudus sighed. "I'm not surprised that girl couldn't keep a secret," the king muttered. "Yes, Lion-O, Leon and I are arranging a marriage between you and Leonessa. Your lunch with her was for the two of you to get to know each other."

"Did you think to wonder if I wanted to choose who I wished to marry?" Lion-O asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Of course I did," Claudus reassured him. "I thought that eventually, marrying Leonessa would be your choice."

"And what if I don't want to marry her?" Lion-O continued to press on. "What if I don't love her?"

Claudus sighed. "I understand how you feel, Lion-O," he said softly. "When I met your mother, it was not love at first sight. We were both angry that our lives were being arranged by our parents, but then things started to change." The king placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "We began to talk, and we soon realized that we had developed feelings for one another."

"Is there a point to this story, Father?" Lion-O asked.

"There is," Claudus said. "It took time for Leona and I to fall in love, and our wedding was one of the happiest days of our lives. I know the same can happen to you and Leonessa."

Lion-O narrowed his eyes. "And what if it isn't like you and Mother? What if you're wrong?"

Claudus sighed as he removed his hand. "At least give it some thought, Lion-O," he said before dismissing his son.

Lion-O left the study, his mind in disarray. He couldn't help imagine the wedding his father and Leon they would eventually arranged. He and Leonessa, dressed in groom's attire and a flowing white dress respectively, standing in front of the altar with all of the nobles and governors in attendance.

His fantasy ended with a certain cheetah girl taking the place of the lioness.

Cheetara watched as the Wileys giddily played in the royal garden. It was good to see the children finding peace, even when the palace was attacked only three days ago. She only hoped that this peace would last forever.

Her thoughts kept drifting to Lion-O. It was all surreal when she thought on how he prevented her from losing her Cleric status and how he had even stood up to General Grune himself. WilyKit had said that it was because Lion-O loved her. That thought had kept her up a few nights. Could she actually have a place within her prince's heart?

"Cheetara!"

The Cleric turned expecting Lion-O, but saw Prince Tygra approaching her. She wondered why he came to see her. Cheetara bowed respectfully. "Your Highness," she greeted him.

"Oh c'mon, Cheetara," Tygra said playfully, "you know you don't have to do any of that formal stuff with me."

She ignored the playful tone. "Do you know how Lion-O is doing?" Cheetara asked. After three days of not seeing her charge, perhaps the tiger prince could tell her any news of him.

"He's having lunch with some courtier," Tygra waved his hand dismissively. "But that's not—"

Cheetara couldn't hear a word after that; her body froze and her mind had gone silent. All she could think about was of some random nobleman's daughter alone with her prince. The Cleric could only imagine said courtier's intentions.

"Cheetara, can you hear me? Hello!" Tygra's voice had driven her away from those thoughts and brought her back to reality. The prince looked at her worriedly. "You okay, Cheetara?"

"Yes," she quickly lied, "I'm perfectly fine."

"I'd say you're far from fine," Tygra said. "You looked like you were about to throw-up for a minute."

Cheetara blushed for a moment. "It must have been something I ate. It's nothing to stop me from my duties."

Unexpectedly, Tygra grabbed her right hand with both of his. "I don't want to talk about duty; I want to talk about us."

"Tygra—"

"No," Tygra said firmly, "let me say this first. Ever since I first saw you, ever since I gave you that Day Astrid, you have always been on my mind."

Cheetara narrowed her eyes. "I'm sure you say the same thing to those courtiers," she said sternly.

"That's not the same," Tygra protested. "They're not you, Cheetara. I don't feel about them the way I feel about you."

The Cleric shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tygra," Cheetara said, "but that's not possible. I took an oath when I became a Cleric; my oath must always come first."

Letting go of her hand, Tygra narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Really?" he sneered. "Funny how your oath seems to fly right out the window when Lion-O's around."

Cheetara narrowed her own eyes. "What's that supposed to mean, Tygra?"

"I think you and I know exactly what it means," Tygra growled. "Ever since he showed up, you've practically followed him around like a love sick puppy."

Cheetara couldn't keep the blush of her face. "That's not true! Lion-O was taken from his old life and brought into another. I'm only trying to help and guide him, plus he was almost assassinated. I'm his bodyguard, Tygra!"

"Really?" the tiger sneered. "And just how far do these bodyguard duties go exactly? Let me guess, you just do more than guard his body, right?"

The accusation behind his question was the last straw. Cheetara had suddenly visualized herself taking her staff and striking the tiger prince in his handsome face, violently delivering blow after blow over and over again. She closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths before she stared hard at the prince in front of her.

"You don't know anything," the Cleric seethed before turning on her heel and walking away.

Tygra wasn't done however. "Lion-O's going to be married," he called out. He revealed a cruel smirk as he watched the cheetah freeze in her tracks. "Father is arranging a marriage between him and Lord Leon's daughter. So whatever delusions you had of you and Lion-O, you might as well forget about them."

For all she knew, Tygra could be making all this up just to get a rise out of her. Cheetara refused to look back as she resumed her brisk walk, her nails digging into her palms as she balled her fists. The Cleric rounded the corner before she slumped against the wall, a heavy stream of tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Cheetara?" she heard WilyKit's voice call out as both Wilys turned the corner to see her crying. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," WilyKat said worriedly, "we saw you talking to Prince Tygra. What did that jerk say to you?"

The cheetah quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "It's nothing important," she almost croaked. "I'm fine; I just need to be alone for a while."

The Wilys shared a worried look before nodding and running off back to their playtime. Cheetara forced herself away from the wall and continued onward. With each step, she tried to push all her thoughts away from Lion-O and his arranged marriage.

Eventually, she heard the clang of metal on metal. Cheetara followed the noise to the training yard and saw that Lion-O was there. He had a sword in his hands and was hammering the blade profusely on an armored training dummy.

Cheetara had never seen him so angry. "Lion-O!" she called out to him.

The lion prince ceased his attack and turned to see the Cleric approaching him. "Hey," he said as she came within arm's reach.

"Are you okay?" Cheetara asked concerned. "You seem angry; did something happen?"

Lion-O looked away ashamed. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said quickly. "I'm fine."

"Tell him that," Cheetara referred to the training dummy.

Lion-O sighed and returned his sword to the weapons rack. "I need to get out of here, Cheetara."

"What do you mean, Lion-O?" Cheetara asked.

The prince turned back to the Cleric. "I mean," Lion-O said, "that I need to get out of the palace, even if it's just for one day."

This statement shocked Cheetara. "We can't, Lion-O," she said. "After everything that has happened, it doesn't seem to be a good idea to be outside of the palace."

"It'll just be this one time," Lion-O said, trying to convince her. "Besides, I'm confident that you and I can handle anyone that tries to mess with us."

Cheetara didn't seem so sure. "I don't know…"

Lion-O sighed. "Look," he said, "I just really need to get out there for now. I just need to take my mind off some things."

Cheetara couldn't help but think of her confrontation with Tygra. "Okay," she said, "let's go."

Wearing hoods over them to keep their anonymity, Lion-O and Cheetara spent the day wandering the streets of Thundera. The pair had enjoyed various pastries and sweets and had seen many spectacles; Cheetara almost fainted when she saw a jaguar swallow a sword.

Eventually, the sky turned from the clear blue to a dusky orange as the sun began the end of its day long trek. Cheetara realized that she needed to get Lion-O back to the palace before evening supper.

"Lion-O," she said to him, "it's getting late. We need to head back."

Lion-O thought for a minute. "We can't right now," he said. "There's one more thing we need to do first."

That was when he took his protector's hand and pulled her along with him. Lion-O navigated the streets and through the various markets. It didn't take long before Cheetara realized that they were nearing the Ring, nearing the place where she first saw her prince.

Instead of going to the Ring itself, Lion-O took her through a passage between one of the buildings and up some stairs. They eventually reached the roof and Cheetara couldn't think of why the prince would bring her here.

What she saw took her breath away.

The sun was close to setting over the horizon. The beautiful sky of twilight had shown a light over the slums, making even the dirtiest buildings show an inner beauty.

"This is amazing," Cheetara breathed as they sat on the edge of the roof. "I've never seen anything more beautiful."

"Yeah," Lion-O said, "me neither."

But the young prince wasn't talking about the sunset. All he saw was the sunlight reflecting off her blonde hair and beautiful fuchsia eyes. Cheetara had noticed this and couldn't help but blush.

There has been something that has always been on his mind. "Cheetara," Lion-O said, "why did you join the Clerics? You've never exactly talked about your past at all."

Cheetara seemed hesitant for a moment. "After what happened," she said, "it was the only thing I had left in my life."

Lion-O didn't like how she said that. "I used to live in a village with my mother and father," she continued. "Ever since I was little, I could run as fast as I can now as a Cleric. My mother said that I was special, that I would join the Clerics one day. That was all I could dream about back then."

Cheetara swallowed hard. "Then the lizards attacked us. One of Slithe's lieutenants was leading a raid on our village for supplies. They killed anyone who got in their way…even my parents."

Lion-O's heart sunk when he heard that, of all the things that could happen to a child.

"I was hiding under my bed when the attack was over," Cheetara continued her story. "A lizard came into my room and he saw me. All he did was stare at me for a bit, and then he left a loaf of bread next to my bed before he left." She smiled at Lion-O. "You were right about those two lizards, not all of them are our enemies."

The Cleric looked back at the setting sun. "Once they were gone, I left my home. Even after all the death and destruction around me, all I could think about was the one thing I had left: my dream to join the Clerics. So, all by myself, I walked all the way here to Thundera, and I made my dream come true. My mother always said I would do it, and I only hope that I made her proud."

"You did, Cheetara," Lion-O said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know that she and your father would be proud of the woman you are today."

Cheetara couldn't help but notice the look in his eyes, the look that made her heart skip a beat and the butterflies in her stomach flutter. She couldn't see the sunset anymore, all she saw was the love in his eyes.

"My father is trying to arrange a marriage for me," Lion-O said suddenly.

Cheetara nodded. "I know," she said sadly, "and…and I wish you all the happiness in the world, Lion-O."

"But I don't want to marry Leonessa," Lion-O proclaimed. "I don't want to marry any of those spoiled noble girls," the Cleric blushed as the prince cupped her cheek with his hand, "not when I already know who I really want to be with."

They both couldn't help but lean closer to one another, their mouths only inches away from each other. "We can't, Lion-O," Cheetara whispered. "We're both from two different worlds, and I swore an oath."

"Do you really care about that right now?" Lion-O asked, looking deep into her eyes.

With one word, Cheetara sealed their fates. "No."

With that, Lion-O claimed her lips with his. Cheetara returned the kiss with all the raw passion she could muster, running her fingers through his fiery mane as she did. Blissful warmth spread through their bodies as they clung to each other.

They only parted when air became their only concern. Their foreheads touched as the prince and Cleric tried to catch their breaths, their eyes never looking away from each other.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," Lion-O whispered.

Cheetara smiled. "So have I," she whispered back.

Lion-O's peripheral vision caught some movement on the streets below. "It can't be," he gasped.

Cheetara looked at him worriedly. "Lion-O, what is it?"

"It's her!" the prince said as he caught sight of a familiar puma wearing the same brown dress. "It's Pumyra!"