Chapter Six On Patrol and Time with Mufasa

A month passed and the bond between Simba and Nala seemed to weaken. Nala did not like her duties as Queen. Simba would often ask her to accompany him but his requests sounded more like orders. Nala had also tried to assist Kanya in treating the sick and wounded but Nala clashed with the Chief Medic because Kanya only used the most conservative treatments on her patients. Nala knew more of the newer more recent treatments but Kanya would not let her use them. Simba and Kanya continued to exchange information and often did not tell her things. Simba had sided with Kanya when she reported how Kanya had kept things from her. As her bond with Simba, weakened her bond with Mufasa grew. He started telling her what she must do. Yesterday, he had told her about the Circle of Life. He also told her as Queen that she could act as an informal advisor and that she had to nuture the relationship with his son. "A King and Queen must build a bond of mutual love and respect for each other. They must look to each other and consider their spouse before themselves. If you treat Simba like a King Nala and respect him, I am sure that he will treat you the same way." Well she had tried and it had not worked. Simba acted like a tyrant not the wise and benevolent king she thought he was. She treated Mufasa like a king but it was not hard. He was kind, gentle, and respectful.

"I may have to consult Kanya on the health and welfare of all my advisors including you, Nala, " Simba told her when she complained about Kanya . "She does have some authority over everyone regarding health matters and that may mean that she will not always tell you everything regarding me. You will just have to accept that. And there is something else. You must not question Kanya's judgement. She has come to me regarding your interference. She has complained that you have disagreed with her treatment of some of the lionesses. I will not allow you to assist her as a healer if you do not accept her judgement."

"Simba she only uses the most conservative of treatments. She will not use the newer medicines. She has mostly been an administrator the last few years. I am a better healer than she is. She may put someone's life in danger."

"Nala, just because she uses conservative treatments does not mean that she is not a good healer. So far, she has done everything right. I will not have you questioning her judgement. I have made her Chief Medic and you must accept that. And as for your duties, you have been neglecting them. You must take over more of your duties as queen. You will spend more time taking lessons from my father and Zazu. And you will start accompanying me on patrol in the mornings. You need to get up early."

So Nala was up extra early today and staring out at the plains of the Pridelands extremely dissatisfied with the route her life was taking. She heard soft steps padding behind her . She turned around and saw it was Sarafina, her mother. "Hi, Mom," Nala said. She sounded depressed.

"Nala, what is wrong?" Sarafina asked. "You seem so unhappy and you are always arguing with Simba. And you are always questioning the chief medic. You only seem happy when you are taking lessons with Mufasa."

"Mom, I do not want to be Queen and I do not want to marry Simba. I want to leave Pride Rock and work as a healer. I want to see my son. I miss him."

"Nala, your son is better off where he is. He is in the only home he has ever known. And Simba sent you to the Medicine Pride so that you could use the duties of a healer as part of your job to serve him and our pride as queen. You have responsibilities and obligations, Nala. Because the Pride sponsored your training, you need to serve them."

"Mom, why can't I serve them as a healer?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Nala. You were betrothed to Simba when you were just a cub. He is your destiny. Simba only indulged you because he thought you would settle down once you got your training over with and he thought it would be good to add to you knowledge as queen. He did not mean for you to be the Chief Medic of the Pride."

"Mom, I cannot accept this."

"Darling, you must. Most lionesses would love to be in your place. Simba will be a wise and just king. He will mature. Just give him time. And give your relationship a chance. The two of you will grow to love each other just as Mufasa and Sarabi did. I still miss her. When I had to leave your father's pride because he did not make me queen, it was Sarabi and Mufasa who took me in. And when they found that you were the daughter of a king, they were overjoyed at your birth. You were meant to be their son's wife. So you see, Nala, since Sarabi and Mufasa let us into this pride you owe it to both of them to marry their son. Your place is with Simba as his queen. So accept your place in the Circle of Life and be happy with it. Very few of us have our destiny mapped out so neatly."

"Yes, mother. You are right," Nala agreed.

"I am glad we had this talk. Now if you continue to have problems, you know I am there for you sweet heart. You just come and talk to you old Mom anytime."

"Yes, I promise I will." Sarafina nuzzled her daughter and left. Nala hung her head in defeat. There was no way she could get out of her obligations.

To make matters worse, Simba appeared before her with a scowl on his face. "Are you ready to join me, Nala?" the young king asked. Nala looked at him and could not help comparing him to Mufasa. He felt short when it came to his father. He did not look like he was intelligent or even benevolent. He always seemed unsure of himself. And when he was around her he always looked unhappy. She felt she had to tiptoe around him. "You could at least pretend that you are interested in joining me for patrol, Nala," Simba spoke sharply."You must keep your mind on the task at hand instead of thinking about how you dislike it."

"Would you quit ordering me around, like I am one of your servants? I am going to be your wife, you know."

"Please keep your sentiments to yourself, Nala. We are going to have company today. I invited Chief Medic Kanya to join us on patrol. As a healer, she needs to know the layout of the Pridelands."

"Can't Rafiki show her the Pridelands? Why does she have to join us?"

"It is my wish as King, Nala. Kanya is one of our most important advisers. She needs to know about the health of the animals in the Pridelands. And as queen, you need to get along with her. Your feud with her is damaging the Pride. One of your jobs here is to be a role model for our subjects. This walk will give you a chance to spend some time with her."

Nala fumed but was silent. "Good morning, Your Majesties." Kanya greeted them. "It is a lovely morning to go touring my new home. King Simba, I have heard that the Pridelands is a lovely place. I can hardly wait to see it. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to perform this duty. Queen Nala, I am glad to see you are going on this patrol here too. It will give me a chance to see how both of you interact with the animals of the pridelands and to see their emotional state. Emotional state plays an important role in maintaining one's health.'"

"I am glad, you could join us today, Chief Medic Kanya. Knowing the emotional state of our animals will help you to perform your medical duties. Queen Nala and I are grateful to have you as our Chief Medic. Aren't we Queen Nala?" Simba slapped Nala's rump with his tail. She answered in a dull tone. "Yes, it is good to have you here, Chief Medic Kanya." The trio stopped by the watering hole and continued to the savannah.

When they came to the savannah, they were greeted by the elders of the wildebeests. "King Simba and Queen Nala, the buffalo are going into our grasslands. It is King Boma and his herd. Could you talk to them? And the cheetahs grabbed one of our foals. Aren't they supposed to stick with the game to the South?"

"Give me a few days to think about this," Simba replied "and then I will give you an answer."

"But this is critical. The buffalo may take all of our grass and we need more patrols to keep track of the cheetahs."

"All solutions take time, my subjects. I will give you a message in a few days."

"We don't have a few days, King Simba. If you cannot solve this problem, we will leave the Pridelands and you will have to hunt your game elsewhere." Nala was appalled. Simba could not even think quickly a pressing problem for a new king.

Nala stepped forward and spoke. "Elders of the Wildebeest, I will talk to King Boma and his herd. They can move to the tougher grasslands of the west. We will send some of the other lionesses to patrol your area to talk to the cheetahs. Please rest assured that we take your problems seriously."

"Thank you, Queen Nala. We will wait for your report. " The wildebeest bowed to the trio of lions and left.

Simba turned to Nala. "You do not undermine my authority as King in front of my subjects. They were asking me for solutions, not you. We are supposed to appear as a united front, but as king I have the final say on things. You made me look weak, Nala. The rest of the animals will laugh at me behind my back."

"You were not trying to listen to them and solve their problems. You were just leaving them hanging in the air. At least, I came up with solutions."

"You should have consulted me before promising the wildebeest anything. We can go to King Boma and talk to the buffalo herd, but I may not be able to spare lionesses to go on patrol to look out for cheetahs. In the future, consult me before proposing anything to my subjects. Now I have to come up with a solution to the cheetah problem before I even have a chance to think about it! You have made my job as king harder when you are supposed to be helping now on when we go on patrol, I will talk and you will say nothing unless you ask me permission to speak."

Nala closed her mouth and nodded. "Your Majesty, may I have your permission to speak?' Chief Medic Kanya asked. "I may have a solution to the problem with the cheetahs."

"Yes, Kanya go ahead."

"We will talk to the cheetahs your majesty, but why don't we make a proposal to them. We could share some of our kills with them or let them hunt in a wider area, if they become our guards for the Pridelands. They could help patrol the Pridelands and guard all of the animals against poaching. If they work with us, then we could keep a balance among the herds and everyone would benefit. We could also send Zazu and some of the lionesses to do guard duty with them. We use cheetahs to do patrol duty in the Medicine Pride."

"Kanya, that is an excellent solution. Thank you so much. We will talk to the buffalo first, then I will have Zazu set up a meeting with the cheetahs and tell them this proposal. Nala, Kanya just showed me right this moment how a proper Queen should behave. She does not argue in front of her king but asks his permission to speak and proposes a solution but allows him to make the final decision. You would do well to emulate this behavior in the future. Now we will go and talk to the buffalo."

Nala pretended to comply but she was seething inside. There was no way that she could marry this martinet. She was being trained to help Simba run the Pridelands and they were supposed to rule together. She did not want to be his simpering little wife that would just wait on him and raise his heirs. He had just humiliated her inf front of the Chief Medic. Even now the two of them were talking and ignoring her. It seemed Kanya was much more suited to be Simba's Queen. They deserved each other. She was aching to get home and talk to talked to the buffalo and finished the tour of the Pridelands. Kanya kept asking Simba questions. It seemed she wanted to flatter the king like a syncophant. Nala remained silent and bitter. When Simba tried to ask her opinion, she told him to go ahead with his own. In fact, she commented wryly "Why ask me anything? Am I not supposed to agree with you and not even think?"

"No, Nala. When we are not in front of our subjects or in private, you can give me your opinion. You are after all one of my advisers."

"Maybe you should give me a set of queen rules, Simba. I'll memorize them and act like one of your lackeys." They were now at the foot of Pride Rock.

"You need to quit arguing with me, Nala." Simba said. "but tomorrow I will have a discussion with you on your conduct. Excuse me ladies. I need to get Zazu to contact the cheetahs." The King climbed Pride Rock and went into the den.

"I have to go see my patients, " Kanya said. She walked to a small group of rocks behind Pride rock. This was where her office and the medical cave was located.

Nala longed to talk to Mufasa. She decided to look for him. She saw he was talking to Kanya near the medical rocks.

"I really did great Mufasa.' Kanya bragged. "I suggested that Simba make the cheetahs guards." She related the story of their encounter with the wildebeest. "I am really getting along well with Simba, Mufasa. I am so glad I was able to help him."

"I am pleased you are getting along with my son and your king." Mufasa remarked.

"Nala does not get along too well with him I'm afraid. She kept arguing with him. And when he tried to discipline her like a proper husband should, she just continued arguing. You will need to talk to her about her wifely role, Mufasa."

Mufasa roared at Kanya and she backed away. "The relationship between the King and Queen is none of your business Kanya unless one of them has a medical problem that makes them unfit to rule. You would do well to keep your mind on medical matters."

"You are right, Mufasa. I am truly sorry. Listen, will you help me with my patients before you have your lesson with Nala?"

"Yes, Kanya I will."

"Thank you, Mufasa." She nuzzled Mufasa's cheek and put her head in his red mane. Mufasa backed away. "You must not do that, Kanya. I like you as a friend but I am not ready for that type of relationship just yet."

"All right, Mufasa." She nodded to Mufasa and the two of them walked to the Medical Rocks. Nala turned around shocked. She realized that Kanya was in love with Mufasa and had designs on him. And what 's more the thought of Kanya being with Mufasa in that way irritated her.

That evening she was wandering the Pridelands with Mufasa. Mufasa had been helping with the patients and he accompanied Zazu to look for the leaders of the cheetahs. Zazu, Mufasa, and Simba would be meeting with the cheetahs tomorrow to tell them of the guarding proposal.

Tonight, Mufasa spoke about the stars being the Great Kings and Queens of the Past. He told her that if he ever needed guidance, she could seek it from them. Then he told her about cultivating a relationship with her husband. "The bond between a husband and wife is the most important one a lion can form. It must be tended to like a plant. Nothing must interfere with building the bond between you and your mate, Nala. Through the bond formed between a husband and wife, the family remains strong. And as King and Queen, you and Simba must show that you have a strong bond. A pride is only as strong as the bond of its leaders. This creates stability in the Pride. Lionesses are more Soft Nala. You need to be loving and caring towards Simba and I guarantee you, he will respect you more and treat you better.

We lions have to be aggressive in order to protect the pride so it is important for a lion to come home to a loving and affectionate wife. If you are gentle towards Simba, Nala, you will cause him to be gentle towards you. You will encourage his softer more gentle side. Sarabi and I had to nurture our bond, Nala. We had our differences, but we realized that our marriage bond was the key to maintaining our family and the peace and stability of our kingdom. And nurturing that bond built up the love between us, Nala. I hope you and Simba have the same type of bond. It will be one of the greatest gifts you cangive to your mate. Talk to Simba about your marriage bond, Nala. You two have not established one yet and there are too many differences between you."

"We are going to meet tomorrow morning to talk about it. Mufasa."

"That is very good, Nala. I am supposed to meet with the cheetahs tomorrow along with Simba and Zazu. I will make sure that Simba talks to you about your marriage bond. And maybe, you would like to accompany us to meet with the cheetahs."

"Simba did not ask me to,Mufasa."

"Nevertheless, I will suggest it as part of your training as queen. And Nala, what is going on? You seems so unhappy since you have been back here."

"I do not know if I can be a good queen, Mufasa. And I do not love Simba yet. And I miss my son." She burst into tears. Mufasa put a foreleg around her and she cried into his mane.

"It takes time to develop as a queen and as a good mate, Nala" Mufasa said as he held her. "Just give your relationship time. And maybe I will have a talk with Simba about letting you see your son." Nala moved out of Mufasa's embrace.

"Thank you, Mufasa. I guess I had better go back now. It is getting late." She hugged Mufasa.

"Nala, all this talk about marriage has made me lonely. Will you stay with me tonight? I enjoy talking to you."

"Yes, I will." The two lions lay apart from each other but talked. They looked at the stars and fell asleep on the savannah. Nala had not had such a good night's rest since she had come to the Pridelands. In the morning she awoke and Mufasa was still there. It was early.

"Nala, we had better get back. And it would be better if we did not walk into Pride Rock together. You had better go first. Simba will be concerned about you."

Nala agreed. "I liked being with you, Mufasa."

"I liked it too. We will do it again sometime. Now, You had better go back to Simba." Mufasa watched as Nala mounted the steps if pride Rock. Why did he get this feeling of warmth in his stomach everytime he thought about her?

Nala came back to Pride Rock. Simba was up on the Rock waiting for her. "Where were you, Nala? I was very concerned for you. How can I protect you if I do not know where you are?"

Nala looked at the young king. She wanted to retort that he had not shown much concern for her until now. But she decided she would take Mufasa's advice." I am sorry. I fell asleep on the savannah last night. I was near Pride rock, so I was perfectly safe. I will try to tell you if I plan to do such a thing. Listen, Simba I am sorry for the way I have treated you. I should respect you as the King. Can we have breakfast and discuss how we should get along?"

"Yes, of course. I accept your apology , Nala. I will have the lionesses bring back some fresh antelope."

The meeting went well. Nala agreed to be more submissive to Simba and not to question his judgment. He agreed to let her voice her opinion as long as she asked him to speak in front of others. He also agreed to discuss any conflicts with her in private. He also agreed to be a little less formal and said she could call him, Simba instead of "King Simba" or "Your Majesty". Then she asked him to accompany him to the meeting with the cheetahs. She told him she needed to attend negotiations as it would help her training as queen. Simba thought it would be a good idea. He even told her that he might ask her opinion at this meeting.

Nala accompanied Simba and found that she liked attending the meeting. She asked Simba if she could speak about how long the guard's shifts had to be. She gave the suggestion of three hours when there were enough guards and five when there were a shortage. All of the leaders thought it was a great suggestion and praised the queen for coming up with such a good idea. Mufasa positively smiled at her. Mufasa's smile warmed Nala's heart.

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