I'm back with my second story, just as promised! This one was originally conceived as a very short little thing, but since then I've decided to expand it a little.
Maurice ran across the exuberant jungle floor in the direction of the great baobab tree, having just finished all his early morning chores. Neatly folded under his arm, he was carrying something he had picked up along the way as part of his routine – the morning newspaper.
Bubbling on the inside with excitement, he rushed to the very top of the gargantuan tree and ran inside the crashed airplane that served as the royal headquarters, only stopping for a brief moment to catch his breath and wipe a thin film of sweat from his forehead. Then, he pushed open the large patterned curtains that led into the throne room, announcing his arrival to his two colleagues, who were already there. King Julien, as duty would have him, was sitting on his high throne, holding a bowl filled with fruit from which he was enjoying a juicy breakfast. At its foot, Clover attentively stood guard, awaiting orders.
"King Julien! King Julien! Big news have just broken out!" Maurice shouted as he screeched to a stop in front of the seated king.
"Ah ah ah! Hold that thought, Maurice!" Julien silenced him with a single hand wave. "What's the first thing we say when we show up to work in the morning? What we do every single day, man; you're supposed to not be rude and say hi! So say it!"
The aye-aye rolled his eyes. "...Hi, Your Majesty, and good morning," he said to him before repeating to his bodyguard, "Good morning, Clover."
Clover leaned back against the throne's foot and folded her arms, smiling at him. "Morning, Maurice. Big race you've just had, huh? Must be quite the news ya got there for you to be running in like that!"
He nodded. "Oh yeah, big ones!"
"What kind of big? Did somebody clog the outhouse outside that shady-looking pub across town again?" Julien nonchalantly asked him as he shoved a batch of grapes into his mouth. "Man, that'd be the sixth time this month! Whatever, just give Mort a plunger and let him take care of it like always."
Maurice took the newspaper in his hand, then reached up to give it to him. "No, no, it's nothing of the sort! Just read for yourself, you're gonna love it!"
Putting aside his food, the king unfolded the paper and started reading. He almost never bothered to read the newspapers himself (it was Maurice's job to keep him up to date on important events), but if his advisor was looking so thrilled about this one – which was fairly unusual of him – then it was probably worthy of at least a quick look. And so did it prove to be, for the very moment he went over the headline on the front page, he spat out the grapes he had been munching on a second ago.
"SAY WHAAAT?!" his deafening scream of shock rang out through the throne room as he kept reading at a frantic pace, his two co-workers almost blown back from the force. His tail violently swished like a whip, toppling the fruit bowl to the ground and spilling everything over the carpet. "Club Xanadu is arranging a beauty pageant?! The Club Xanadu?! With a huge award to boot?!" Lifting his golden eyes off the paper he peered down at his advisor and bodyguard, his lower jaw virtually reaching the floor.
"It sounds really exciting, doesn't it? Everyone out there is talking about it!" Maurice exclaimed before adding, "Oh, and by the way, a formal request has also been sent in the mail for you. Everything has already been taken care of – they just need you to go over there tonight and give your royal endorsement so they can officially begin!"
A zealous Julien reclined in his seat, contemplating in his head what he'd just learned.
If there was one thing the lemur king knew, it was that anything regarding Club Xanadu always meant business. That place, so christened due to its befitting opulence and dazzling profile, was the newest locale in town – its construction having been completed just mere months ago – and for the short time it had been around, it had already earned its reputation as the most special and sought-after place in the whole kingdom. It wasn't just any run-of-the-mill nightclub; there were many others of its ilk for sure, yet none stood as big or luxurious, or as well-equipped as the grand CX was, making them all simply pale in comparison. To attain such high standards, this massive project had required months of meticulous planning and dedication, plus the combined workforce of much of the lemur population. All of it though, had very much paid off in the best way possible, as it had now become by far the most popular spot in the jungle to hang out. It was practically a requirement for anyone who considered themselves a somebody to go there at least once in their lives, and from the first day it had been founded, Julien himself made sure to do just that about once a week... or two, or four, or seven. He honestly had lost count long ago.
With all of this in mind, he re-read the article again, and then looked at the pictures in between the paragraphs. Beneath the subheading, a big photograph showed a smiling lemur woman on the club's stage, wearing a white, gold-embroidered sash and bejeweled tiara, and holding a bouquet of roses as she posed for the cameras for demonstration purposes. However, while she did look quite pretty like that, she wasn't what the thrilled ringtail was so interested in. Right beside her, several other lemurs were carrying what he had set his focus on from the very beginning: a big, hefty trophy made of pure glistening gold, with rubies, sapphires and emeralds sprinkled out throughout all of its lustrous body, and a plaque on its bottom that read "Miss Madagascar." It was just so gorgeous... like the gods themselves had crafted it in the mighty forges of Heaven! The second Julien had laid eyes on that beauty, he had made up his mind about what he wanted to do.
"So, what do you say, Your Majesty? Are you up for a little toe-to-toe in the name of beauty or not?" Maurice's voice suddenly interrupted the royal's train of thought, pulling him from his fantasies.
"Oh, er, yeah, of course I am! What kind of question is that, dude?" he stammered at first. "You bet your furry behind I'm into this! I mean, that trophy is just so... amazing... like Frank himself had found it in the baby patch!"
Julien and Maurice were indeed showing much positivity about the whole thing. However, the third member of the trio didn't share it in the slightest.
"Pfff, are you guys for real?" Clover spoke like the very situation offended her, "Seriously, who in their right mind would dedicate one single thought to some bland beauty contest, let alone sign up for one? That's gotta be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard..."
"Excuse me? Ridiculous?! Look at this, Clo-Clo, does that look ridiculous to you?" Julien turned the newspaper over to show the article to her.
But the bodyguard was unaffected by this, and she stated plainly as she snatched it from him, "With all due respect, sir, it does." She then pointed at the main photo, or more specifically, the woman herself as her tone changed to a more critical and mocking one. "Just look at her! So happy and carefree with that stupid tiara on her head and that fake smile, and those flowers... She's just screaming, 'ah, look at me, look at me, I'm so nice and cool and pretty and everybody loves me!' Makes you wanna punch all of it right outta her."
"Come on, Clover, no need to be such a killjoy! This could really be a lot of fun for the folks!" argued Maurice.
She shrugged. "Hey, I'm just saying what I think of it. If someone wants to go out there and ridicule themselves by acting all cutesy and dumb in front of a ton of people, that's up to them, and only them. I'll be the one laughing at the end of the day anyway." And with those scornful words, she gave the newspaper back to her king. She had nothing more to add.
Right then, before the conversation could go any further, the curtains flew open as a small brown blur came dashing into the room; its objective: the throne.
"KING JULIEN! Have you read the news?! It's the talk of the town right now!" Mort's shrill little voice rang irritatingly in everyone's ears. With his arms stretched outward, the mouse lemur leaped and soared straight for the royal, only for Clover to grab his tail at the last moment, stalling his momentum and causing him to face-plant to the floor – much to the king's amusement.
"Yes Mort, we were just talking all about that. You're kinda late." Shifting his legs so that he was now cross-legged, he laughed. "Ha ha, this is gonna be so much fun! New plan for tonight, guys – we're going to Club Xanadu and then I'll give 'em my official endorsement or whatever it is they need from me! And also, my brainy parts have just hatched a brilliant idea!" Dramatically, he stood up, looking at each of his peers with anticipation. "I'm not just gonna be a mere spectator on this thing; I'm going to compete in that contest myself! And even better, I'm going to win it!"
Clover snapped her head up at him. "Uh, what?"
Maurice immediately had a look of pure confusion drawn on his face. Perhaps the king wasn't aware of how these competitions worked?
"Um, Your Majesty, I hate to break it to you, but, uh... only women can participate in beauty pageants," he reminded him of that little fact.
"You think I don't know that?" he grinned back. "I know I'm not allowed in; otherwise it'd be super unfair for the competition! Don't worry about a thing though, my genius idea is definitely going to make that awesome trophy mine – er, I mean, ours. I'll tell you all about it when we go there later tonight."
Somehow, none of the three other lemurs liked the way their king had said that. When Julien had an idea – especially one that he wouldn't even divulge to them, his closest friends – that couldn't mean anything good at all. They wondered what he could be concocting in that crazy daredevil mind of his, and a little voice in the back of their heads started warning them that they should probably seek out answers right now, before Julien tried anything stupid that they'd all end up regretting; yet right when they were about to do so, His Majesty hopped off the throne.
"Anyway, we can forget about the whole showbiz thing for now since it's still morning. I'm going off to the watering hole and have a nice, long swim to kill time; it's really hot out there today," he said as he sauntered over to the exit. Parting the curtains, he then looked back at the others with an inviting smile. "You guys coming? I'll bring out the pool floats and a ball so we can play too!"
He didn't need to ask twice! His colleagues happily agreed, but just as they began to leave the room, Maurice found his way blocked by Julien.
"Hold on a sec there, Mo-Mo. There's something very important I need to tell you."
"Er, sure; what's on your mind?"
The silver lemur pointed back at the ruined carpet. "Somebody has to clean that fruity mess on the floor, and it's not gonna be me."
Maurice's face fell along with the line of his shoulders. Of course.
The time to visit the grand nightclub arrived with the sunset, as light gave way to dark and a million stars began to shine brightly in the sky.
Just like it was with every other night, the crowd assembled around the place was huge. Lemurs were hanging out by the area in front of the club's entrance – the gaping mouth of an enormous cave, which sported its logo in the form of an equally big and elaborate neon sign, bright enough to illuminate the surrounding jungle like a rainbow. Here, they chatted about the forthcoming contest and their predictions about who would be lucky enough to emerge victorious, while countless others either waited impatiently in the red-carpeted line to be let inside, or simply chose to stay out here and cool off in the nocturnal breeze, since they knew the possibility of snatching an unreserved spot was all but impossible by this point.
Another, smaller group of people was also currently gathered before Xixi, who as gladly as one could be, was giving out the news on tonight's number-one attraction.
"Xixi here reporting live from the exterior of the crown jewel of nightly entertainment in all of Madagascar: the inimitable, the unrivaled, the one and only Club Xanadu!" she loudly spoke into her microphone for the viewers, "And speaking of crowns; as we all know by now, our beloved King Julien has been requested to appear here tonight and give his official endorsement to this spicy event that the great CX is hosting: a kingdom-wide beauty pageant, where the very best of our lemur ladies will be fighting tooth and nail to prove who is the greatest one of all, possibly to the point of gruesome, yet entertaining savagery!" She gave a laugh as she glanced around the area, putting her free wing over her eyes. "Now, it's only a matter of time before King Julien shows up. My latest sources – which I swear are reliable this time – say he's indeed on his way here!"
At that same moment, every lemur in the vicinity turned away and into the neon-shrouded trail, for there he was – the king and his ensemble just entering the scene, walking the red carpet like elite VIPs.
"Oh, here he comes! Quick, get the cameras rolling – we need a good view of this!" Xixi fluttered her wings with enthusiasm as her team got to work as instructed. "Get ready to set your minds on the competitive mood, folks, 'cause the show's just about to start! Oh, how stirring!"
Making their way through the now-opened path among camera flashes and noisy cheering, the lemur foursome were greeted at the entrance by Butterfish, who had been hired as its most trusted bouncer ever since day one. He stood in front of a stanchion that blocked the way inside so that no one could slip by without proper reservation. When His Majesty came up to him, they shared a cordial hi-five.
"Yo KJ, what's crackin'? All the dudes back in there are waitin' for ya to do yer thing, y'know what I mean?" the stout man drawled lazily.
"For sure, my man! That contest is gonna be sick – and you know who's gonna win that even sicker trophy? Me! Oh yeah!" Julien claimed with total confidence. Maurice, Clover and Mort exchanged puzzled glances.
"He he, that's funny, bro. There's some free skirts an' nail polish an' whatnot in the dressin' rooms backstage, if ya wanna look the part," Butterfish chuckled at his own joke before unhooking the rope and stepping aside. "Anyway, let's go y'all; ya can come in. As always, enjoy yer stay!"
A long tunnel stretched out beyond, which slanted downwards after the first few steps. Thin light strips had been fixed overhead to offset the naturally-occurring darkness, fading at the end once the ground returned to normal. Following this passage, the crew then emerged into the place where all the magic of lemur nightlife happened: Club Xanadu's central chamber. This was an immense cavern extending deep into the bowels of the earth, with limestone walls that reached high as palm trees and spaces wide enough to comfortably house any and all commodities the community could ask for, regardless of their cost or eccentricity.
It was jam-packed in here; a party was in full swing by now. Vibrant strobe lights of many colors, flashing to and fro from lamps installed on the ceiling, painted the walls with laser-like precision. The air was heavy with the scent of freshly-cut fruit and exotic cocktails, wafting over from a crowded bar that took up most of the establishment's left side. Laughter echoed as people played pool and darts in their own little section on the eastern corner, their cheers roaring out in force each time someone scored an eight-ball or landed a shot on the bullseye. Dominating the center of the cave lay a sprawling dance floor, which was ridden with smoke and dancing lemurs: they raved over glassy neon tiles to thunderous techno music, jostling into one another, sweating their worries away like nothing else in the world mattered. Posters and memorabilia of all sizes, incandescent neon fixtures, and huge tropical plants embellished every surface.
To any lemur in need of a good time, this was their definition of nirvana.
"Oh dude, the more I visit this place, the more I fall in love with it! It's like a paradise! A really, really loud paradise!" King Julien exclaimed over the bustle as he and the others made their way across the foggy ground, avoiding dancers (including the odd person who, by the way they drunkenly stumbled around, seemed as though they were on another planet altogether), and waiters who'd sail around serving food and refreshments to the customers at the dining area.
"It is pretty nice I guess, but I think it could use something more – like a big ol' fighting ring, just to give ya an example!" Clover shouted, half-serious, half-joking. "Add that by the pool tables, maybe, and you've got yourself a real deal!"
The ringtail laughed, "Ha ha ha, we do that and this club ends up dead in a week! There'd be no one left to party since you'd have landed everybody in the hospital!"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, at least that'd be way more interesting than the ball of nonsense we've come here for."
Eventually, they made it through the near-endless ocean of bodies and climbed onto the huge stage at the far end of the club, which was were all the nightly shows were held. A long table had been set up in the middle, and sitting behind it were the familiar faces of Ted, Willie, Horst, Pancho and Hector, all of whom were smiling – except Hector of course, who looked like he'd rather be literally anywhere else but there. Each of them had been provided with a microphone for their personal use, plus an ice-cold highball.
When he saw the four lemurs approaching, Ted waved at them. "Oh, there you are at last! Nighty night, King J and pals; and hell of a night it is, am I right? Ha ha!"
"Ted? What are you guys doing here?" Julien asked him.
"Ah, we're going to be the judges for the contest!" Horst said as he took a quick swig from his drink, "I, of course, should be sitting at the DJ booth over there like I usually do, but the higher-ups said they needed some 'recognizable' faces for this or some other thing, so I guess that's my gig for now!"
Their king raised a curious eyebrow. "Oh, is that so?"
"Yes, you bunch of ding-dongs – now can we please get this over with? I just want to go home and finish my damn matchstick sculptures in peace! All this noise, all these annoying people dancing and drinking themselves to death like idiots... bah!" Hector barked and covered his ears, looking as sullen as he'd ever been.
Rude. "Uh, yeah, okay. So how do I...?"
Ted reached for a stack of papers he had beside him and pulled out a pen and document. "With this, of course! All you need to do is sign this lil' paper here, here and here," he pointed at different fields on it, "and then we can officially get this show on the road, ha ha ha!" With his usual easy-going smirk, he gave Julien the pen. Swiftly, he signed everything.
Once it was done, the five judges rose from their chairs; Pancho left to tell the substitute DJ to stop the music, while Ted picked up his microphone. When the electronic tunes died down, every lemur in the club stopped grooving and glanced around the chamber.
Then Ted cleared his throat, and spoke out, "Hey, everybody! Look right over here; the nice guy with the mic! Can I get your attention for just one teensy second?" The club-goers all turned to him. "Okay, first off, we're very sorry for interrupting the party – we all know that having your mood spoiled is the last thing you've come here for – but we have a very important announcement to make! Second," he lifted the document for all to see, "I'm more than excited to say that King Julien has just given his kingly endorsement for the official Club Xanadu Beauty Pageant! Thanks to him, we can now get it started for realsies; doesn't that make all of you just explode with anticipation?"
The crowd immediately burst into a racket of wild cheering and clapping to confirm their answer.
"Cool beans! Then come on; all the brave, pretty ladies out there who want to participate, this is your chance to shine! Sign up right here!" Ted beckoned the female patrons over as his fellow judges began sifting through the paper stack and preparing the sign-up sheet, Willie going backstage with Horst. The music then resumed playing, most of the men returned to their previous activities, and in no time flat, a queue of women had sprung up in front of the table – every last one of them ready to get their hands on that coveted trophy. A few seconds later, Horst and Willie came back, now carrying the grand prize itself. Carefully, they set it down front and center.
"The winner of the pageant will take home this lovely trophy, made of – that's right – solid gold and all the precious stones our miners could find in caves just like this one!" continued Ted as he pranced in a circle around it. "Apart from this physical award, of course, the lucky girl shall also be given the title of Miss Madagascar – the crème de la crème of our kingdom – with all the extra perks that might come with it!" he added with a wink.
King Julien's eyes were round as dinner plates as he stared the trophy down. It was even more beautiful in person; its glossy surface and sparkly stones refracted the strobe lights much like a mirror, blinding the onlookers. He giggled and rubbed his hands mischievously, for the time to put his plan into motion had finally presented itself.
"There it is, guys..." he couldn't keep his voice from quivering, "Feast your eyes on that sexy beauty! And people say love at first sight doesn't exist! Ha!"
Maurice gave him a bored eyeroll. "Oh boy, here we go again..."
"Eh, Your Majesty, can I ask how exactly are ya planning on winning that thing again?" Clover questioned him, "May I remind you one more time that, as a man, there's just no way for you to participate?"
"Oh Clo-Clo, don't be silly, we've been over this already!" Julien waved her off with an unconcerned laugh. "Which brings me to the idea I told you about this morning..."
Clover couldn't help but swallow a lump in her throat as her pulse accelerated. She didn't like where this was going. Not one bit.
She, along with Maurice and Mort, reluctantly accompanied their king as he proceeded to put himself in line. The other competitors gave them strange looks, which they did their best to ignore.
"Um, don't mind us, just following the leader..." Maurice smiled awkwardly at all the girls.
"Guys, this is getting weird. Weird enough that even I think something bad is gonna happen..." whispered Mort.
Meanwhile, Clover's nervous gaze was wandering everywhere, like she were looking for the nearest escape route. The increasingly tight knot in her stomach had robbed her of her speech.
Restless, they waited for their turn...
"King Julien?" Pancho's eyes widened at the eventual sight of him. "Uhhh, what are you doing?" Suddenly he gasped in apparent dread. "Oh gods, it can't be! Please don't tell me you've been hiding a hard truth from us all this time!"
"What?" the royal drew back, and he raised his voice. "Excuse me, my name is King Julien, not Queen Julien, and rightly so! Do I honestly look or sound like a woman to you?"
The red lemur held his hands up apologetically. "No, no, I was just asking, I swear! Sheesh! I mean, you would have too if you were in my place! Right, boys?" he asked the others, who nodded.
Shaking his head, Julien grabbed the pen. At first however, he refrained from doing anything – he held the writing tool between his fingers, its inky tip hovering just an inch over the sheet.
"I really do want to get involved and win this thing, but I sadly cannot do it on my own. Which means that I'm going to need some help..." he murmured suavely. "Close help."
And then, with an overzealous smirk that beamed full of pride, Julien turned to his bodyguard.
"Clover, you will be my representative in the contest!" he finally announced, shocking the fur off of every single person within earshot.
For many lengthy seconds, Clover didn't react at all. It was like her brain had gone into lockdown, or her heart had even stopped beating in her chest. But then, she stumbled back, staring at the lemur before her as if he had gone utterly insane, taking the silence between them to try to compose herself and come up with something – anything – to say. But she couldn't. Her mouth was just hanging agape in utter, silent disbelief, her voice lost to the shock – until at long last, one single word managed to force its way from her lips.
"...WHAT?!"