Rob returned back to the hospital that same morning. He found Dr. S outside laying stretched out on a warm patch of grass, soaking up the sunshine. The snake doctor perked up once he realized his friend was back and asked with anticipation if he was successful in getting a good night's sleep. Rob told him about the failed attempts to knock him out and talking with Julien and Maurice but hesitated to talk about the coma part of the conversation because no matter how careful he was with his words, Dr. S's feelings on the matter was probably going to come up anyways one way or another.
Rob considered being upfront, telling Dr. S everything and asking him plain and simple how he felt about the comas but fear held him back. It always held him back every time he had thought about discussing the matter with his friend, even though he wasn't entirely sure why. He used to know the reason, back when he first started to care about the snake doctor's feelings. Back when he realized that he cared about Dr. S and considered the two of them friends but wasn't sure if Dr. S felt the same way. Wasn't sure if Dr. S cared about him at all or if he was just another hunk of meat to cut open without a care in the world.
Rob wasn't afraid of that anymore. He knew they were friends now, that Dr. S cared for him deeply. He knew before Dr. S pledged to protect the kingdom, before saving him twice in a row. He knew and yet he had remained afraid. He was still afraid. Question was, what was he afraid of now?
.
.
.
Rob skipped the coma part of the conversation and went right into the apologies exchanged and the reconciliation between him and Julien. How Julien had come up with reading him a bedtime story to help him fall asleep and how that had actually worked. With Rob sleeping soundly on Julien's shoulder.
"What?!"
Dr. S and Rob heard a familiar high pitched voice exclaim right before Mort came flying out the nearest window, landing on the ground and looking around frantically before spotting Rob, then pounced. Landing square on Rob's chest, pushing the larger lemur with enough force to send him falling flat on his back.
"Ow! Mort!? What the hell!?" Rob demeaned, sitting up some and rubbing the back of his head.
"I'll ask the questions here, slobber mouth!" Mort snapped, clenching tight unto Rob's chest, looking at him through manic eyes. "Now, what were you thinking sleeping on my King Julien!?" He demanded, gripping Rob's fur even tighter.
"He's not your Julien!" Rob snapped back. "And I wasn't thinking! It was an accident! A disgusting accident that will never happen again!"
"Sure it was! Fine, we'll go with that." Mort said sarcastically, making it perfectly clear that he didn't believe a single word Rob was saying. "Oh, I'm sure King Julien had quite the reaction to this 'accident'." Rob glared in response.
"How did King Julien react?" Dr. S asked with great concern, for he had his doubts that Julien was truly no longer repulsed by Nurse Phantom, perfectly picturing in his mind a look of pure disgust on the king's face upon finding out about the accidental physical contact.
Rob's face softened at his friend's concern and he said bashfully, "He...knew before I did. He let me stay where I was."
"Liar!" Mort accused. "There is no way, no how that King Julien didn't freak out and shove your slobbery self away!"
"He didn't shove me away! He said that he did try to move me at first, that he was grossed out by the drool but apparently I kept almost waking up and he ended up giving up. Cause he didn't want to risk waking me up after finally getting me to sleep. That I looked peaceful and that I deserved a good night's sleep." Rob snapped back at first, then his tone softened as he recalled the act of kindness. Then it hardened again as he snarled at Mort. "I'm the one who woke up screaming! I'm the one who pushed myself away from Julien! Julien's the one who told me that he wasn't angry, that he knows that it was an accident and reassured me that I'm not a creepy pervert!"
"Sure he did."
Then the two lemurs glared at each other in tense silence while Dr. S looked back and forth between them, wanting to say something but lost for words, until…
"I think they came from over here."
All three of them heard a voice coming from nearby. A deep, masculine voice that Mort would have recognized anywhere. A voice that, at one point in time, had made his heart swell with joy, his belly feel like a million butterflies were fluttering inside. A voice that he was so sure he would never hear again. He turned and saw the owner of that voice coming towards him.
"Zora?" Mort said with breathless shock. For it was indeed his former lover, Zora and she wasn't alone. Rob himself barely knew Zora from her brief time living in King Julien's kingdom but knew her companion all too well.
"Uncle King Julien..." He said with breathless dismay, for walking beside Zora was indeed the former tyrant king himself, Uncle King Julien.
"You!" Mort snarled, once more glaring daggers as he marched over, closing the gap between himself and the couple. Then he stopped and pointed an accusing finger at Uncle King Julien, demanding to know, "What are you doing here?"
"To discuss important matters with my nephew, that's what." Was Uncle King Julien's curt answer.
"What kind of matters?"
"The kind for Julien to know first, ya little shit stain." Uncle King Julien said with a snarl.
"Why you..."
"Stop it, both of you!" Zora barked at them. Then her tone softened as she implored of Mort, "Mort, I swear we're not here to hurt King Julien. We are here to tell him something very important, something that you'll find out about soon enough but it's important to me that Julien's the first to know."
"Ha! A likely story but you can't fool me! I'm not letting that demon near my King-Hey!" Mort objected before Rob picked him up and placed a paw over his mouth. Mort squirmed and yelled muffled protests which Rob ignored as he calmly asked Zora,
"Quick question. Does Julien have to be the only one to receive this news first?"
….
So there they were, Mort, Rob, Uncle King Julien, Zora, Maurice, and King Julien all gathered together in the throne room while Dr. S stayed outside on the plane's nose, peering into the room through the windshield.
"Are you really okay with them being here?" Uncle King Julien whispered to Zora with concern while looking across the room at Mort, who was still giving him the evil while still being held by Nurse Phantom, he too giving the older Julien a dirty look.
"As long as Julien's here, that's what matters." Zora whispered back. Then she added, "Besides, it would probably be more trouble then it's worth to try and keep Mort away from him anyhow."
"Mmm, good point." Uncle King Julien agreed, for they both knew how scary protective Mort was of King Julien, glad that at least Nurse Phantom was holding him back. Didn't know why Dr. S had tagged along but brushed that question aside for the time being. For there were much more important matters at hand.
"Okay, lay it on me. What is so important that you had to come all the way here to tell me in person instead of just, I don't know, writing a letter?" King Julien asked with irritable impatience, wishing for the discussion to be over and done with as soon as possible so the couple could leave him and his people in peace.
"Because this is too important to just tell you in a letter. Because the reason we're here is...we think that I might be..." Zora spoke firmly at first but her confidence waned as she went. She turned her fearful eyes away from the younger Julien and bit her bottom lip. Then look back to him, closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Then told him with as much confidence as she could muster, "I'm pregnant."
"...What?" That one stunned word was the only one that King Julien could say. He had to heard her wrong. He must have heard her wrong. There was no way, no how that she could really be...
"I'm pregnant, Julien." Zora repeated with more confidence this time.
"Oh…oh...oh." King Julien said as the information slowly sank in. And then he fainted.
King Julien knew the meaning of the word pregnant, having finally received the birds and the bees talk sometime between getting his kingdom back from Koto and Clover and Sage's wedding. Fed up with hearing about his belief in the baby patch, Clover started angrily telling King Julien about the facts of life. He didn't believe her. Then Maurice joined in to help Clover. Julien didn't believe him either. Finally, after lots of arguing and skepticism and drawings on a chalkboard, Julien finally believed his friends were telling him the truth and not just pulling a weird joke. He stared in silence back and forth between them as the pieces finally clicked together in his brain. And then he had proceeded to faint. So yes, Julien knew about pregnancy. He knew that it meant in a few months, there would be….
"A baby?!" King Julien exclaimed as he awoke, sitting straight up from where he had landed on the floor, surrounded by everyone.
"Your majesty, are you alright?" Maurice asked him with great concern but Julien looked past his friend to stare wide eyed at Zora and his uncle, pointing a shaking finger at the couple while stammering,
"Ya-ya-you, you two are having a ba-ba-baby!?"
"Yes Julien, we are." Zora solemnly said.
"And that's why we needed to speak with you in person." Was Uncle King Julien's snippety addition but then the expression on his face changed to a more nervous one. He started fidgeting with his paws, sounding more anxious then ornery as he told his nephew, "We can't live in Feartopia by ourselves. Neither of us know...if something happens..." Fear flashed in his eyes as he stumbled on his words. Then he scowled once more, mustering more confidence as he said, "The point is that we need to live with other lemurs and on this island, there are two options. The Mountain Lemur Kingdom...and your's."
"Wait, are you asking if you two can live here to raise your...your..." Maurice asked anxiously, then stopped, for he couldn't say the last word. The very idea of Uncle King Julien with a...it shook Maurice to his very core.
"Yes, okay!? We're asking if we can stay here to raise our baby!" Uncle King Julien snapped. "We've talked it over and we figured out that this kingdom is our best option!"
"Ha!" Mort exclaimed. Rob had let go of him when King Julien fainted, so he was free to march over to Uncle King Julien and say with pure contempt, "If you think that King Julien believes you for even one second, then you got another thing coming, buster!"
"If you don't believe him, then believe me!" Zora said sharply to Mort. Then she turned to King Julien, her tone softened as she said to him, "Believe me when I say we are telling the truth. That we need your help." King Julien was taken aback by how vulnerable she sounded, the fear on her face and within her eyes. Eyes begging him to listen. He stared back into those eyes, helplessly lost for words.
Meanwhile, Mort still had plenty to say, snapping at Zora, "King Julien doesn't believe you either!"
Both Zora and Uncle King Julien opened their mouths ready to snap back but were beaten to the punch by King Julien himself snapping,
"Shut up, Mort!"
Mort winced back as if he had been slapped. "But-but King Julien…!"
"I said shut up!" King Julien yelled once more, then said at a lower volume in the same harsh tone, "And let me think!" Then he took a breath.
Inhale.
Exhale.
"Okay. Let's say you two are telling the truth. Let's just say, okay?" King Julien added with extra exasperation when Mort opened his mouth to protest, grateful when he shut it closed. "Why is my kingdom your best option? Why not The Mountain Lemur Kingdom, where everybody doesn't hate your guts?" Was his confused and frustrated question, looking from Zora to his uncle.
"Clover does and she's their queen now, remember?" Was Uncle King Julien's snippy answer. "Believe me, if it was only Sage in charge, we would be asking him and welcomed with open arms in a snap." He snapped his fingers. "But unfortunately, it's not just him and I don't care how much hippie dippy shit he sprouts, he's never going to change Clover's mind! She's never going to let me live in her kingdom!" He stated with bitter conviction.
"But you think that King Julien will let you live in his?" Maurice curtly countered.
Zora admitted without shame to King Julien, "You do tend to be more lenient then Clover, so yes. We figured we'd have better luck with you."
"I...I need time. Time to think about this." King Julien said in a daze, starting to walk towards the curtain separating first class and coach.
"Your majesty..." Maurice said in concern. Mort and Rob opened their mouths, ready to express their own concerns.
"I just need time. Time to...to think this through." King Julien insisted, placing a paw on his head as his thoughts swarmed within, disappearing behind the curtain. A moment later, everyone heard his horrified shriek, all rushing into coach to see what was the matter. They found him at the door leading outside, staring out in petrified horror. Everyone crowned around and looked out as well. Then Dr. S came slithering on the outside of the plane, stopping at the doorway and asking with grave concern,
"Mr. King Julien, are you alright? What's going on? What are you all staring at?", seeing that everyone else had gone wide eyed as well. Then he looked in the same direction. "Oh."
For a large crowd of lemurs surrounded the base of the baobab tree, some talking to their neighbors in hushed tones, all looking worried as they looked up at the plane. Xixi flew over the anxious gathering before landing among them, holding microphone up to her beak as she dramatically reported,
"Xixi here, reporting live! Asking the questions on everyone's minds! Why, oh why is Uncle King Julien here? What nefarious scheme is he up to now? And what sort of terrible disaster should we be expecting this time?", her own anxiety becoming more apparent the more she spoke.
"King Julien dies and his uncle becomes king and we all die on the inside!" Was Willie's panicked prediction, appearing next to her while wildly waving his arms.
"Thank you for your input, Willie."
Meanwhile, back up in the plane.
"Wow. Quite the crowd, huh?" Dr. S said awkwardly to King Julien, doing a bad job of hiding his own unease.
"How did you not notice all these lemurs before?" Maurice angrily asked the snake doctor.
"...Too caught up in the drama?" Dr. S offered lamely. He also would have shrugged his shoulders if he had any.
"Half the kingdom must be down there! What am I gonna tell them!?" King Julien fretted to Maurice. Then switched to a mock happy tone. "Hey guys, you know how things have like, majorly sucked like a lot around here lately? Well, Mr. joy sucker himself is back and he wants to live here and I don't know what I'm gonna about it! Isn't that great?!" Then switched back to sincere panic mode, grabbing Maurice by the shoulders and violently shaking his friend as he screamed, "I can't tell them that!"
But then King Julien was struck by an idea. He stopped shaking Maurice and looked expectantly at his friend. "But maybe..."
"No. Way." Maurice told his friend firmly, knowing exactly what he had in mind.
"But-but you have such a way with words, Momo." King Julien said with fake flattery. Maurice wasn't paying it.
"No."
"But...but I don't wanna!" King Julien whined.
"Oh, for the love of Pete!" Zora said in exasperation, shoving her way through and sticking her head out the doorway to proclaim to the crowd, "I'm pregnant! Uncle King Julien and I are here because I'm pregnant and we're asking if we can live here to raise our baby!"
Cries of dismay rose from the crowd, blending together into one deafening roar. After all they had been through, now this? After all that monster had done to them, to King Julien, was King Julien truly considering let him back into their lives? But then they had to consider the baby. Even those who thought the worst of him knew that King Julien would never turn away a pregnant woman, not even one carrying his uncle's child. Oh dear Frank, Uncle King Julien fathering a child. The very idea made stomachs turn. In other words, nobody was happy with the news.
Except for Ted, he was ecstatic. He had loved Zora and Uncle King Julien as a couple ever since reading his love letters to her and seeing the love between them when they met in person.
"Oh my stars, a baby! I can't believe it! I...I..." Ted's gushing petered off when he saw several of his neighbors had gone silent and were giving him dirty looks. Looks that bore down into his very being, wiping the ear to ear grin clean off his face.
"Uh...I mean...oh no, boo..." He rose up a fist and said lamely, fooling no one.
"You are dead to me, Ted." Pancho snarled at Ted, glaring like he was trying to burn a hole through his head. Uncle King Julien's Operation Footstool program swarmed in the forefront of his mind as he glared amber daggers at a lemur who he thought was his friend.
"Pancho..." Ted said desperately, seeing the pain etched deeply on his face.
"Dead!" Pancho shouted in Ted's face before walking away with fists clenched tight at his sides and inferno blazing in his eyes.
Back in the plane, King Julien was glaring at Zora, though his gaze wasn't nearly as hostile as Pancho's. "What the heck, Zora?!" He demanded of her.
"What? You said yourself that you didn't want to tell them, so I did it for you." She explained in a matter of fact manner, shrugging her shoulders. "Everyone was going to find out one way or another, might as well get it over with."
King Julien opened his mouth to make a counter argument but then shut it again, for he didn't have a counter argument.
Then they all heard Xixi screaming at an increasing volume until there was a loud bang against the outside of the plane. Then Xixi came flying in through the doorway and landed in front of King Julien.
"King Julien, is it true? Is Zora really having Uncle King Julien's baby?" She asked anxiously.
"Yeah...yeah, it's true." King Julien said awkwardly.
Xixi scowled, then turned to Uncle King Julien, demanding to know, "Then why are you here!? Why don't you leave us alone and go grovel to the mountain lemurs?! You never tortured them and you know Sage will let you stay, no questions asked!"
"Have you all forgotten that Clover is married to Sage and is the mountain lemur's queen now?! It doesn't matter how he or they feel, she's never gonna allow me to live in her kingdom, end of story!" The older Julien snapped back with exasperated conviction.
"Is it?" King Julien asked meekly.
"What?" His uncle asked, confused.
"I mean, maybe...maybe you two should talk things over with Clover. And Sage too." King Julien cautiously proposed.
"Have you not been listening!? Clover. Loathes. Your uncle!" Zora reminded him, slow and exasperated.
"But she doesn't hate you or the baby! Yes, Clover is rough, extremely rough but she's not heartless! She...and she's coming back here any day now and I'm not gonna try and hide you guys from her and I'm pretty sure the peoples are not going to able to keep their mouths shut! So yeah, Clover's gonna figure out what's going on one way or another, so we might as well invite her and Sage over and get it over with!" The younger Julien desperately reasoned, Zora's words about his people finding out and being once again reminded of his friend having sparked the idea in his brain.
Both Uncle King Julien and Zora opened their mouths to make counter arguments but then shut them, for neither had a counter argument. The couple looked at each other, Zora letting out a defeated sigh and nodding her head. Then they turned back at King Julien.
"Augh, fine! We'll talk to her!" Uncle King Julien begrudgingly conceded.
"Okay, okay good." King Julien said to them, feeling a tiny bit better for at least having a plan. Then he turned to Xixi. "Xixi, you'll be like a whole lot faster then a letter. Fly to The Mountain Lemur Kingdom and let Clover and Sage know that they need to come here today! Like, immediately! Go girl, go!" King Julien ordered her.
"On it!" Xixi said, taking flight and going out the door.
King Julien really didn't want to cut Clover's downtime short but this was a really important matter and she deserved to know what was going on.
He knew that her opinion on the matter was going to be a very angry one but his heart told him that she could consider giving the living arrangement a chance if for nobody else then Zora. Because even though there was a dark cloud of doubt that Zora really was pregnant, there was possible that she really was and that possibility however big or small would reach Clover's heart. For even though she was capable of being quite cruel and cynical at times, Clover had a good heart that truly believed in justice. And there was no justice in dismissing the pleas of an expectant mother.
If Clover did allow Zora and Uncle King Julien to live in her kingdom, it would ease everyone's hearts. Including those of King Julien's peoples, who dreaded the thought of their former king coming back into their lives and their current king didn't blame them one bit for feeling that way. King Julien didn't want his uncle back either but he also didn't want to turn him and Zora away if they had nowhere else to go but if Clover couldn't be swayed, then would he allow them to stay in his kingdom?
.
.
.
He prayed that it didn't come to that.
By the time screeches were heard and the approaching silhouettes of hawks were seen, the sun was dipping down towards the horizon, it's light casting long shadows over the animals waiting anxiously around the baobab tree. By that time, just about the entire kingdom was gathered there and were in on King Julien's plan. No matter how unfavorable their opinions of him were, everyone unanimously agreed that Sage would welcome Uncle King Julien and Zora with arms wide open. While on the flip side, their opinions were less unanimous when it came to Clover. Some believing that her compassion could prevail and that it was possible she would begrudgingly allow the couple to live with her while others were dead set on her being a heartless bitch who would leave them high and dry to deal with the couple themselves. So there was a whirlwind of mixed emotions when four hawks landed among the gathering, Clover and Xixi on Shadow's back with Sage and two other mountain lemurs on the back's of their hawks.
Immediately after touching the ground, Clover hopped off Shadow and looked frantically about until she spotted King Julien, who had come down from the plane along with the others and was now among the crowd. Julien had hardly spotted Clover when she came rushing at him, tackling him into a tight hug.
"We came as soon as we could." Clover said apologetically.
"Th-that's okay, your kingdom is quite the ways away." King Julien reassured her in good humor, then adding tenderly, "Really, I'm glad you're here.", before gladly returning the hug. The two friends stayed like that for a moment or two before pulling apart.
"Sorry to cut your break short." King Julien said, awkwardly apologetic.
"This is far more important, your majesty. I'm glad you told me.", Was Clover's solemn response. This troubled Julien and he thought to himself with sad concern,
"But your happiness is important, Clover."
"We've got to schedule more fun visits." Julien told Clover humorously, who gave a short amused snort and smirked in spite of herself.
"Heh, yeah, that would be great." Clover said wistfully. Then the smirk was gone and she was once again serious as she told Julien, "But right now, we've got more pressing matters at hand.", looking over Julien's shoulder. He followed her gaze and saw his uncle and Zora, the couple looking uneasily among the crowd, who kept their distance. Clover and Julien made their way towards them.
"So, we met again." Clover sternly addressed Uncle King Julien, her narrowed eyes critical as she looked upon her old enemy.
"Believe me, I ain't exactly thrilled to see you either." Uncle King Julien surly said to her, scowling right back.
"Greetings." Sage said, suddenly appearing beside Clover and startling King Julien. "Congratulations on the joining of your two souls creating a most wondrous miracle of the universe." He told Uncle King Julien and Zora in a whimsical manner.
This earned him an eye roll from Clover and puzzled looks from everyone else.
"Uh, are you congratulating us?" Zora dumbly asked.
"Oh yes, cause you're going to be such a great parent. Real father of the year material right here." Clover said obviously sarcastically and directed at Uncle King Julien, earning her glares from both him and Zora.
The younger Julien got between them, wearing a nervous fake smile and asking, "So uh, Clover, what's with the uh, entourage?" He nodded towards the two mountain lemurs who had arrived with her and Sage and were remaining close to their hawks. Both looked like typical mountain lemurs, tall with short black and white fur with muscles that looked like they could pull a full grown tree right out of the ground and throw it like a javelin. One was fat and had amber eyes while the other was leaner and showed one green eye, the other either gone or covered under the eye patch he wore on the left side of his face.
Clover looked over at her subjects then back to King Julien, giving her friend a small smile as she said, "They're here to help escort your uncle and Zora back to our kingdom, where they will be staying."
"What?" King Julien asked with breathless disbelief and he wasn't the only one shocked. His subjects had gone silent so they could hear his conversation with their visitors both expected and unexpected, so they too had heard Clover's words and they too stared at her in utter bewilderment as did Uncle King Julien and Zora, all stunned into momentary muteness. All except King Julien, who incredulously asked his friend,
"Wait, hold the phone. You're seriously going to let my uncle, who you hate...loathe...despise more then anybody live in your kingdom, just like that? I don't...I don't understand."
"It's simple, really. You know the saying 'keeping your friends close and your enemies closer'? Well, this way I can keep your uncle very close." Clover explained in a calm, calculated manner with a dark edge to her words. Then she turned to the older Julien and narrowed her jungle eyes. "And you will be kept close. You will be under surveillance at all hours, day and night. You will not be permitted to leave village grounds without an approved escort. You will follow my orders, you will respect my authority and be a good citizen who causes no trouble. Do I make myself clear?" She told him firm and commanding and letting him know without a shadow of a doubt that it wasn't a request.
Uncle King Julien looked her in the eyes and solemnly said to her, "Crystal clear."
"Good." Clover then turned to Zora and told her in the same severe tone, "You're under surveillance as well and the same goes for you."
"Hey, why does she…!?" Uncle King Julien started to object until Zora laid a firm paw on his shoulder, causing him to startle and look at her in confusion.
"I figured as much. I won't be any trouble either." Zora said calm and subdued. She then looked to her lover and told him steadfast and gentle, "I'll be fine, really. We'll be together and safe, that's all that matters."
After a moment or two of reluctance, slowly the older Julien's body relaxed under Zora's touch and his eyes softened under her gaze. He mirrored her own tender, concerned look, gently laying a paw over her's that was on his shoulder. They stayed like that for some moments and it was all the younger Julien, Clover and others close by could do but stare.
Then the lovers let go and the older Julien turned back to Clover, once again hardened as he grumbled,
"We won't cause any trouble."
"I'm holding you both to that." Clover said firm and final.
"Clover?" Clover heard from behind. She turned to see King Julien staring at her once more but before she could react, he rushed over and tackled her into a tight hug.
"Thank you. Thank you so much." He said soft and sincere, his words low and raspy as he was overcome with joy, relief, and gratitude among other emotions.
Stunned at first, Clover hugged her friend back. "Of course. It's really the smarter arrangement and...and you've dealt with that demon far too much already." She said calmly at first, then whispered in anger and sorrow as she thought about all the pain her dear friend had endured because of his uncle, squeezing him tight. King Julien thought about his uncle too, letting out a sigh of relief as he melted into his friend's embrace.
They pulled apart and King Julien turned to his uncle and Zora to quickly gleefully tell them, "Congrats on your new home!", before turning to his subjects, joyfully proclaiming, "You heard her right, peoples! My uncle and Zora are gonna stay in The Mountain Lemur Kingdom!"
While King Julien's people were relieved that their former cruel king wouldn't be living among them again, most all were still greatly concerned that either a helpless infant would be in the old bastard's care or that it was just another one of his tricks. But knowing that Clover and the mountain lemurs would be keeping close tabs of him helped make them feel a little better. For no matter what their individual opinions of Clover were, all knew that she didn't trust Uncle King Julien for one second and that she would truly watch him like a hawk ready to strike him down at the first sign of trouble. So they were able to feel some joy along with their current king.
Watching King Julien, Maurice, and others, seeing the relief on their faces, warmed Clover's heart. That warmth spread throughout her body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes like she was sitting by a well tended to campfire soothing her cold, aching bones. Her friends and all the other citizens of King Julien's kingdom, they were the reason she was doing this, they were what made it worth while and she smiled at that, small and sincere,
From nearby, she heard Sage reassuring Uncle King Julien and Zora that, "Don't worry. Just as the seasons change, so too will Clover's heart. In time, it's drawbridge will open forth and will allow you two to truly bloom along side the fruits of your love." His words were like gasoline poured unto the imaginary campfire, making grow much too large, it's fuzzy warmth now annoyingly, scolding hot. Clover's softened expression hardened, her smile flipped into a snarl as she clenched her jaws but before she could say or do anything, a voice with a similar accent to her own made itself known.
"So that's it then?"
Clover turned to see the mountain lemur with the eye patch coming towards her, glaring at her through his one jungle colored eye.
"What are you going on about, Campion?" Clover asked harshly. Campion, captain of the mountain lemur army and who Clover had chosen to be an escort that day. She had a bad feeling she knew what he was talking about but prayed that she was wrong.
"How you're really going through with this without considering your people's feelings, that's what!" Campion told her in outrage, his bellow piercing through the surrounding chatter.
Heads turned, animals went silent and King Julien came back towards Clover, growing nervous as he asked her, "Clover, what's he talking about?", but before Clover could give an answer, Campion gave his own.
"I'm talking about how no one in our kingdom besides 'our dear king and queen' wants that monster living with us!" He explained, describing Sage and Clover with bitter sarcasm before switching back to sincere bitterness, pointing a finger towards Uncle King Julien, he and Zora just as taken aback by this outburst as anyone.
"Fine, yes, the whole arrangement isn't very popular with our people, okay?!" Clover begrudgingly admitted to King Julien.
"That's an understatement! No one and I mean no one besides you two agreed to letting the old bastard into our home!" Campion pointed an accusing finger at both Clover and Sage, who unlike everyone else, remained perfectly placid.
"Campion, I don't like this either but this is not our decision to make..." The other escort timidly told him, tentatively taking a step away from her hawk.
"Shut up Minerva!" Campion snapped at her. Minerva cowered back, laying her hands on her hawk's ruffled gray feathers, the bird's body tense as he glared amber daggers at Campion.
"Don't you tell her to shut up!" Clover snapped at Campion. "She's right! This is not your decision! So do as you're told and shut your bleeding gums!"
"No!" Campion snapped back in defiance.
"But-but I don't understand! Why are you so against my uncle living with you guys!?" King Julien asked, shaken and confused and desperately hoping to defuse the situation. "I mean, yeah I totally agree he's done some pretty messed up junk but he's never done anything bad to you guys...right?" King Julien looked to his uncle, the idea making him increasingly nervous, hoping that it wasn't so. "Uncle?"
"No, I haven't! I swear! At least...I don't think I have..." Uncle King Julien said with great conviction at first, to his nephew, to Zora but that confidence waned and he racked his brain, desperately trying to remember any past encounters with mountain lemurs before Zora, before The War of The Beasts, where he had briefly worked with his nephew to take down Koto so he could later steal his nephew's throne for himself. The Mountain lemurs were grateful to be rid of their cruel king, so they weren't angry with him over that and he couldn't for the life of him remember bumping into any of them before. Then again, he had done so many horrible things over the years, it was entirely possible that he had done something to a mountain lemur or lemurs that he didn't remember, that Zora didn't know about but Campion did. His eyes went wide with horror, the possibility punching the wind out of his lungs, breathlessly asking Campion, "Did I?"
"No, you haven't harmed any of us mountain lemurs." Campion grumbled. Seeing the relief wash over the older Julien's face deepened the scowl on Campion's and he snapped, "But you have committed vile crimes against countless others and I will not stand for a monster like you living among my people, not again!" The older Julien winced back from his words.
"Wait, again? Are you...talking about Koto?" Maurice asked, the pieces of the puzzle starting to fall into place.
"Yes." Campion said darkly.
Koto, the former tyrant king of the mountain lemurs. Koto, who lead his people to lay devastation and death across countless lands, slaughtering countless innocents. Koto, who conquered all of the kingdoms on the island, forcing the captured citizens to be unpaid interns, who he planned to kill once they had completed the giant statue of Koto himself. Koto, who was defeated when all the other kingdoms plus some unlikely allies banded together as one army. Koto, who was crushed to death by his statue, which King Julien accidentally toppled over. Koto, who still haunted nightmares across the island including those of his former subjects.
"We don't want someone like him among us, never again."
"Campion, please. Yes, Julien did terrible, terrible things but believe me when I say that he's not the lemur that he was. He's different now. He's changed, for the better. Please, if you would just give him a chance to prove it." Zora implored.
"Oh wow, why didn't you just say so? That changes everything! Of course he can stay with us! Let's give him a big welcome party with punch and cookies and while we're at it, Clover can make him top royal advisor! No, even better, Clover and Sage should step down and let him be king! Wouldn't that be just swell!" Campion told her in an over the top, blatantly mocking, sarcastically happy manner.
"Okay, I get it, you don't believe me." Zora told him with a bitter snarl.
Campion switched back to his sincerely cynical tone. "You're right, I don't and why should I? Cause you say so? Cause he says so?"
"He doesn't just say so, he acts so! If you could just see him..."
"Oh, I'm sure he acts plenty sweet and loving with you. Tells you that he no longer has any desire to torture innocents or kill his nephew or be king again all because your love has redeemed him, that he's kind and gentle now all because of you. Bet that makes you feel real special, doesn't it? Makes you wanna do anything to make him happy, doesn't it?" Campion inquired, so sure of himself and what he was implying. Clover had a bad feeling of what that was and thought darkly to herself, "Don't you dare..."
"What are you saying?" Zora said with snarl, having a bad feeling about what he meant, wanting to hear him say it out loud.
"I'm saying that monster planned to use you and your child to weasel his way back into this kingdom so he can then kill King Julien and steal his throne!" Campion proclaimed. Clover could have strangled him until he turned blue right then and there, her trembling fists clenched tightly at her sides.
"Julien's not using us! He came here for us, asking for help so that we can safe!" Zora earnestly argued.
"He came here for himself and you know it! For the love of...you lived under Koto! You know what bastards like him are capable of and yet you're still allowing one to control you!"
"My Julien's not controlling me! He loves me and I love him! I love that he can admit he was wrong, that he's rethinking so much and trying so hard to be a better person!" Zora continued to argue passionately, softening as she spoke of her lover. Then her scowl returned and she said snidely, "Maybe you would see that too if you just gave him a chance!"
"I'll give him nothing!" Campion snapped back. Then, his demeanor changed. His scowl flipped into a smile, his jungle eyes became tame and his voice took on a gentler tone as he told her, "But I am giving you something. A chance to leave that brute. Leave him, come back with us. We'll take care of you and the baby, we'll help you raise them..."
"I'd rather raise them with their dad." Zora said with a steadfast snarl as she looked Campion dead on. Campion's smile flipped back into a sneer, his jungle eye became feral once more, narrowing it and saying to her with composed fury,
"So, you're really choosing him over your child then?"
"I'm choosing both." Zora told him, her snarl unyielding even as she felt his words boring down deep into her heart like knives. Meanwhile, Uncle King Julien was fuming. His body trembling, his fists tight at his sides, an inferno blazing in his eyes while his mind scrambled to find the words to express his roaring rage. Zora then grabbed him from behind and he could feel her body trembling as she held him close. He looked and saw that she had started crying while continuing to glare at Campion and he felt like knives were boring down deep into his own heart. For a moment, the inferno in his eyes was put out and his expression softened into sorrow. Then he looked over at Campion and that brought the blaze back into full force.
"You shut your fucking mouth!" Uncle King Julien snapped, arguing passionately, "Zora has been doing everything she can for the baby, doing everything possible so that they'll be okay! She cares about them so much, don't you fucking dare say that she doesn't!"
Campion was taken aback for a moment, then snarled, "Why you..."
"That's enough!" Clover shrieked furiously, marching over to stand toe to toe with Campion. "You have gone way out of line, solider! I'm ordering you to stand down and shut up or face severe punishment! Do I make myself clear?!" She glared at him through feral eyes and it was all Campion could do but flinch and stare back at his queen in silent shock. Then he narrowed his eye and looked out over the surrounding crowd, sneering as he said,
"Oh, like how this lot wants to punish you?" He turned back to Clover at the last word.
Clover's eyes went wide, then quickly narrowed, saying with a dangerously low snarl, "That has nothing to do with you being an insubordinate ass!"
"Oh but I think it has everything to do with the current situation! After all, this lot isthe reason you really want to take in the old bastard and Zora, aren't they!? Them and King Julien, who you know would never turn his uncle and Zora away if they had nowhere else to go or even think of separating them cause he's that much of a soft hearted sod who has to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, even cruel bastards who have proven time and again that they don't deserve it! So you want to take that dilemma off his paws and spare his feelings and those of his sniveling subjects cause you're racked with guilt for leaving them! You feel like you have to make it up to him, to all of them no matter what, your own feelings or those of your people be damned!"
"I left them for dead! Lemurs are dead because of me! So yes, this is me trying to make it up to everyone and even if it wasn't, they still shouldn't have to deal with the monster who tortured them!" Clover passionately argued.
"So you'll torture your own people instead?" Campion snidely snarled.
Clover punched Campion square in the jaw, sending the large lemur slamming down to the ground.
"You have never dealt with Uncle King Julien's cruelty. They have!" Clover snapped, spreading out an arm to point out the crowd. "So Zora and him are going to live in our kingdom. End of story! So shut the fuck up and get over it!" Her jungle eyes were feral, her teeth bared as she sneered down at Campion from where he lay in the dirt.
Slowly, Campion propped himself up to all fours, looking up at Clover. Darkness shadowed his face, baring his own teeth as he stared at her for a moment or two. Then suddenly, he bellowed out a raging war cry and lunged towards her.