Note: This is possibly going to be the last chapter of this story for a little while because I have to prepare myself to be ready to move halfway across the country to attend uni in September and so I hope that this one will suffice for the time being. I know it's rushed slightly but it's been sat untouched for the entirety of the lockdown and I wanted to get this one done before I start university in like 3 weeks. I hope you guys enjoy it :)

Song/s: Isolation by Alter Bridge

Chapter 35: Isolation

"Forgive me if I speak out of turn here, your Majesty, but what was going through your head when you agreed to travel to Plun-Darr? Especially given how they have been with us in the past – with you yourself!"

I sigh, almost pained at what the White Lion Elder has just said to me. Drumming my claws on the table in some annoying rhythm, I study him as I sip at my mug of hot herbal tea. I am just about aware of the multiple pairs of eyes that are practically boring into me, and the headache that feels like my skull is splitting open isn't exactly helping my temper very much.

"Elder Kesari, we've been at peace with Plun-Darr since before my daughter was born; it's the Mutants that are our issue, and need I remind you that they are no longer legally permitted to be on that planet anymore?"

Kesari sits back in his seat, huffing in disapproval as I stare him down over the rims of my glasses. I know that the majority of these Elders disagree with the rules that I've come up with and the alliances that I have successfully made with the leaders of other worlds.

I've put so much time and effort into every single one of those alliances over the past few years; I've sacrificed a lot of precious time with my family to be sat all day in meetings or spend hours on end in front of a computer combing through endless emails.

"Your Uncle Saturnus would disapprove, Sire. He's tried to give you advice on multiple different occasions but you have never accepted him. Why is that?"

I growl at him. How can he even think to ask such a deep, personal question?

"What makes you think that you have the right to even mention that man? My uncle has kept undermining my authority and command ever since the day I was put on the throne. He refuses to acknowledge his great nephew who is his future King. As far as I'm concerned, Saturnus is no longer an Elder and that decision is one of the best ones I've ever made."

Kesari scowls heavily, and I swear that I see the lion's eyes darken. He fidgets slightly, his ice-blue eyes fixated on me. What is with him? The white lion stares me down, and I can swear that others would be able to sense the tension in the air.

"So first Saturnus, and now Az'takvis? You know that, during a meeting of this importance, all Elders from a Species needs to be present. You've got me and I'm the White Lion Elder; the other Elders are the ones from the following Clans…" He lists them off one by one, staring daggers at me

"Cave Lion, the Transvaal, the Katanga, the Tsavo, the Cape Lion and the Senegal Lion."

I stand up again, trying to keep my composure. However, I notice Kesari staring at me intensely, just trying to find one little thing to make a dig at me with. I'm just about to say something when Lysander steps in, and I promptly sit back down again.

"Elder Kesari, may I remind you that you are in no position to speak to the King like that."

Kesari looks at the old Barbary lion in disgust and is snarling slightly as Lysander's grip on his arm tightens slightly, which only makes me feel uncomfortable with the current situation; I personally know Kesari's Father and his family is known for their shockingly short tempers which is the exact reason why Kesari replaced his Father for the job.

"Well, Prince Lysander, I'm sure you already know this but has it occurred to you that King Lion-O is in fact a drug addict?"

I almost choke on my tea then, causing it to come spurting out of my nose as I give a sharp cry of pain. Damn, that tea is hot!

"Lion-O? Do you care to explain this to them? Or do I have to?"

I glare daggers at the white lion out of pure rage – a look which he returns with equal malice. I get to my feet as he decides to threateningly approach me.

"It appears that you're also going through some very intense withdrawal symptoms right now. So what was it? Catnip? Or was it something harder like the heroin that those humans brought from their home planet?"

That's when he decides to quite literally shove me in the chest which takes me by surprise; I stumble and fall backwards over my chair, holding in my cry of pain as my aching head slams into the floor.

"HEY! GET OFF MEYOU DAMN QARSIPIR!"

Lysander rushes to my side and helps me up, and I see Kesari in an enraged state, kicking off at Orion who is trying desperately to get the Elder in handcuffs.

"Elder Kesari," Orion gasps, struggling for all he's worth with the irate lion, "You are under arrest for assaulting the King and resisting a…"

There's a sudden wet crunch and Orion's delicate nose erupts in a spray of blood as Kesari roars in rage, clawing at the snow leopard's eyes and ears. Two other ThunderGuard troops run up and help pin the violent Elder down, all whilst he's screaming obscenities at me and Orion.

"Are you alright, Orion? That looks like it really hurt."

The snow leopard wipes his bloody nose on the back of his hand, leaving his ivory-coloured fur streaked with the startlingly bright red fluid. His ears are pressed back against his head and his tail is swishing in anger.

"That's because it did, the little stuck-up prick…" the leopard growls, glaring at the White Lion whose eyes grow wide with shock at the realisation that he's being arrested. I pat my friend on the back.

"Go and get yourself to the Med Bay, Orion. I'll be fine."

He nods gently in understanding and is escorted out by the remaining guard, after which I turn back to the Elders who are still present but before anybody even gets the chance to say anything, Kesari interrupts again.

"Before these brutes cart me off, you really should know who was responsible for your poisoning, Your Majesty…"

I look at him over the rims of my glasses again, but he doesn't seem fazed by it whatsoever. As a matter of fact, he seems quite pleased with himself with how angry he's made me.

"Of course, I can't really tell you if these guys take me away, can I?"

I scoff.

"Whatever it is that you have to say, Kesari, I don't want to hear it right now; I have more important things to discuss, such as revoking your title and status as an Elder," I say pointedly, and then I turn my attention to the two huge Barbaries that are restraining him, "Guards, take him out of my sight…I'll deal with him later…"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Guards haul Kesari out as he kicks and roars, and I turn my full attention back to the matter at hand. My fellow lions are all looking quite uncomfortable now, and to be honest, I don't blame any of them in the slightest; I myself would be uncomfortable with what we just witnessed.

"Right, where were we?"

"I believe that you have some explaining to do, Your Majesty…"

I blink. Unexpected? Kinda, but I guess that I had that coming. I take a deep breath, only stopping at the sharp pain in my gut.

"Well, as you are aware, I was gravely injured around sixteen months ago; both of my legs were shattered and I'd had to have my ribs cracked because of how critical a condition I was in and the fact that my heart kept stopping during the surgery. I was in agony when I woke up eight months later and, as a result, I was prescribed with Tramadol to manage the pain…obviously, I got hooked on it…"

Lysander gently places a hand on my shoulder. "Nobody here is judging you, Lion-O." he says in Barbary, "They know of the pain you've been through recently."

I nod before continuing.

"And two weeks ago, I travelled to Plun-Darr to talk about an important issue regarding one of the lion clans. Whilst I was there, I was dosed with Atroxin by the Mutants and have spent the past week recovering from the toxin that was ravaging my body. It's with the sheer luck and hard work of my friends that I am still here to stand before you today."

Their faces are all ones of pure shock at this news; it's quite obvious that they weren't expecting to hear that. The circumstances surrounding my "disappearance" weren't made public aside from being told to Lysander, Trion, Aslan, Tocho and Zemar, as well as the other High Council Elders.

"And no, I have not been to rehabilitation because Pumyra is overseeing everything concerning it."

They talk amongst themselves for a few moments and I take the time as an opportunity to refill my mug with the herbal tea; I do so and stir a spoonful of honey into it in order to lessen the bitterness of the beverage.

Letting out a yawn that betrays my lack of sleep last night, I sit back down in my seat and sip at my hot brew, after which the Elders ask me a couple of questions in regards to the alliance.

"My King, is the alliance with Plun-Darr still standing strong? We would totally understand your reasoning if not."

"Rest assured that it is indeed standing strong still. I won't let one little incident tarnish what I worked so hard towards…"

"Your Father would be very proud of you if he heard that, Your Majesty."

Hearing this, I can't help but smile slightly at Tocho's words. The other Elders all appear to agree with his statement which, if I'm honest, is a bit of an honour to be told something like that.

"…Sire, you're bleeding…"

I look down at myself upon hearing this and see that my white shirt is indeed tainted with a spreading blot of startlingly bright blood, which must obviously mean that the stitches on my stomach have torn.

"…shit…Well gentlemen, I hate to cut this meeting short but I have a medical emergency that I have to get attention for…" All the while, I can feel the blood soaking into the palm of my hand and dripping from my fingers. Damn, it's serious…

They look concerned as Lysander approaches at a swift speed, getting me to lay down on the floor as he presses a towel on the wound. He glances up at the other Elders.

"Tocho, you call for Lady Pumyra and Lord Tygra. Trion, I need you to find me the medical kit. And Aslan, I need you and Zemar to help me."

Tocho leaves then, and I try to keep myself distracted from the feelings of worry that are eating away at me. The wound being torn open again means another minor surgery to clean it out and re-stitch it, which in turn means that I will most likely need to spend another two or three days in the infirmary. I groan at the thought of that - I've already spent so much time there in the past two years.

A few minutes before Tocho returns with Pumyra and Tygra and by the time he does, I feel dizzy. Damn, I've lost a fair amount of blood to feel like this…

"Lion-O, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can hear you just fine…" I groan, "I just got on the wrong side of the White Lion Elder…"

The puma shines a little torch in my eyes, I assume to check my pupils' reaction to the light.

"Well, there's no sign of a concussion so that's a positive but we are definitely going to need to clean that wound out again. And I'm afraid that you know what that means…"

I groan again, this time out of frustration.

"Please don't put me under again… I don't think I'll be able to cope with coming out of the anaesthesia again…"

I don't want to have another surgery but I know that it needs addressing and urgently too. Pumyra presses a gauze against the wound which makes me gasp at the feeling of the pain and blood, and she doesn't look very happy with what she sees.

"That blood means that there is something that is definitely seriously wrong here…" she says as she wraps a bandage around my abdomen to keep the gauze in place, "What did I tell you about strenuous physical activity?"

I groan as the puma helps a medical aide to put me onto a stretcher, and I realise that my wife is going to be worried sick about this; I've been injured so many times in the past two years and I don't know how she is going to react to hearing about this.

- (BORDER) -

I look around and find myself alone in a large corridor. It's dark and the metallic thrumming is the only indication that I'm on some kind of ship, especially when I glance out of the window and end up staring into deep space with Plun-Darr below us. What is this? Why am I here?

A sudden noise catches my attention when I hear a door open along with two familiar voices so I follow the sound, eventually turning a corner and coming face-to-face with Jackalman and Vultureman. I feel the anger rising at the sight of the two mutants; the ones that caused me to nearly lose my husband to a violent death.

"I didn't realise that he was still alive…"

"Caw! You're dumber than I had ever imagined, Jackalman. Although Atroxin is toxic to Barbary lions, it takes at least a few days for it to kill…"

"Hopefully it takes less time than that…"

"The only way for that to happen is to do something…"

"I'll get Slithe to dose Lion-O with more Atroxin; that should…"

"No, you buffoon! That will counteract the first dose!"

Atroxin? Oh, the cruel bastards! I run through them and through the door, where I'm greeted with the sight of my husband laying in a black body bag, covered in the blood that streams from his mouth and nose. He's struggling to breathe though and I growl in anger at the pain he's in.

"You'll…you'll never…succeed, Slithe…"

Slithe turns around to look at Lion-O, and it's only then that I see the barbarically serrated knife that the Mutant is clutching. He runs it along his fingers as Lion-O's eyes go wide with horror.

"No, Thundercat…We Mutantsss have the upper hand now. We may have failed to kill you before but today isss…different…you ssee, we have the Sssword…"

I see the Sword hanging on Slithe's belt, a length of material tied around the Eye as the weapon gives a muffled growl, almost seeming angry. Slithe sharpens his knife then before turning to Lion-O, unaware of the black powers that are covering his hands.

"The…The Thun…dercats are go…going to save me, Mu…Mutant…"

"I doubt they will get here in time, cub…"

My husband growls defiantly, before roaring in agony as his stomach lurches and he pukes; it's alarming how much blood comes out of him. Just how much Atroxin did they give him?

"You…you seem t…to be forg…forgetting that I'm not…I'm not the pathetic…man-child that you knew on…on Third Earth. I…I don't…I don't know what topical bullshit Mumm-Ra fed…you before he was def…defeated, but I'm f…f…far more powerful than you've ever known me to be…"

Slithe cackles at Lion-O's courageous words before approaching his side and, the second the reptilian Mutant touches the lion's ridiculously short fur, a black spark jumps from Lion-O to Slithe, who screams as the black fire covers his torso and arms.

"What kind of dark, wretched sssorcery is thisss?! It burns!"

"That…That's my…my her…heritage…My p…ower…"

Slithe growls and I'm sure that I see the burning hatred for the young Barbary in his eyes as his grip tightens on the knife.

The scream that tears from my poor husband's throat as his belly is cut open along the scar is heart wrenching and accompanied by my own shrieks of agony as I sense this happening to him.

I sigh as I run my fingers through Lion-O's thick mane as the lion peacefully sleeps, still under the affects of the anaesthesia. I've lost count of how many times he's been in here over the past few years; his luck has been really bad recently.

However, I can't help but feel extremely worried about how he's going to feel when he wakes up. The heart monitor is showing a normal heart rate for a Barbary lion so that's a relief, but just the fact that he was hurt again has pissed me off and I'm still in the right mind to go and tear Kesari a new one.

Pumyra takes a seat next to me as she offers me a glass of mixed berry squash which I at first politely decline, but decide it's better for me to drink the beverage due to the temperature in the room - it's the height of summer and the mercury has soared to a whopping 35 degrees Celsius which is nearly unbearable.

"The bleeding came from the inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery which was torn when he was pushed over. Luckily for him, the blood loss was not severe enough to be a threat but there are chances that he's going to be somewhat groggy when he wakes up, due to the anaesthesia and the blood loss."

I sigh as I listen to the medical report. He's extremely lucky that it didn't end up being as serious as it looked, but he's still going to feel it when he wakes.

It's then that I hear his low groan and watch as his eyes slowly begin to open. The mix of emotions on his face tell me exactly how he's feeling and I only just manage to grab a bowl before he starts being violently sick.

I rub his back and try to help him calm down, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

It takes a little while before his stomach settles down, and so I then manage to get him comfortable as he looks at me.

"I didn't want to be put under again…"

I stroke his mane as I hold his hand. "I know you didn't, but they didn't have a choice because you were bleeding into your belly."

"Oh…"

He looks like he's struggling to stay awake so I stay with him until he falls asleep again before slipping out – I have something that I need to take care of.

I make my way through the bowels of the Lair until I come to the guarded door of the prison ward, and the two guards positioned on those doors move to allow me to enter. I make my way past the holding cells to the one in which Kesari is in, and upon seeing him, I growl in fury.

"Ah, my Queen, it's about time that somebody came to release me…"

"I'm not here to do anything of the sort, Kesari…but I am here to ensure that your punishment is fit for what you did to my husband; to your King."

Kesari scoffs, which only succeeds in making me even madder. I grab the lion through the bars of the cell and drag him towards me, close enough to feel his breath on my face.

"Listen here, you wretch. You injured the King of New Thundera, which is a highly punishable crime. You're lucky that Lion-O decided to just revoke your title and status because it could have been a hell of a lot worse for you.

"Now I don't take light on people who injure my mate, especially if he's spent the past two years in constant pain. And now you've gone and made him suffer yet again…"

Kesari stares blankly at me and then growls, showing his fangs.

"Remember your royal protocol, cheetah…you're not supposed to be holding me like this. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that the King deserved what he got. The way that you're being aggressive with me suggests to me that he's not been satisfactory whenever he's mated with you recently which doesn't surprise me…He's never performed to standard with anything…"

In that moment, I see red and nothing can stop me from striking the white lion around the face and on the throat as I roar.

"Nobody insults my husband and King like that!"

The look of hatred on his face takes me by surprise, almost as much as it does when he pulls me towards him and seizes a handful of my golden mane.

"Well, he's always been an incompetent cub when it comes to ruling…let's just face it, he's a pathetic excuse for a King but he got lucky with such a pretty wife like you…"

He drags a claw down my cheek, making me squirm and growl in discomfort at the offending intimacy of the touch. I try to slap his hands away from me but it's no use because he pulls me closer.

"All you cheetahs are strangely beautiful…you could have married one of your own kind but you decided to wed and mate with a Panthera leo leo-thundaris…I don't understand why because he's nothing special…"

I feel his fingertips tracing my hips and waist, and I can't help but growl and snarl at the sensation. I try to slap him away again but he roughly grabs my hand and bends my wrist back as I cry out.

"Kesari! What the hell are you doing? HELP!"

Tears of pain trickle down my cheeks as he continues to bend my wrist back, but I still try to free myself from the crazed white lion. Lion-O really made the right choice to strip him of all his privileges as Elder of the White Lions. With a swift kick to a certain part of his anatomy, his grip on my starts to loosen off then I'm suddenly pried away from Kesari as one of the guards hits the lion on the head.

"How dare you touch the Queen in that manner, you freak?!"

Kesari growls as he backs away, the rage showing on his face. He glares daggers at me, and then he growls even louder.

"You know what the prophecy says about him…but you don't know who it is that's responsible for his poisoning, do you? Well, Cheetara, it happens that you have a snake in wolf's clothing…"

Hearing this confuses me.

"What the hell do you mean, Kesari?"

"That Sebastian, have you ever considered that he's a bit of a shady character? I think you should have Orion check him out…"

"I know exactly what you're trying to do, Kesari, so it's not going to work. Sebastian is one of my husband's closest friends and I know that he'd never betray him like that. We know it was the Mutants so there's no point to try to claim otherwise."

He scowls heavily as I leave, deciding that I had better go to check Lion-O again; when I get to the med bay, the lion is propped up against his pillows whilst sipping a mug of hot herbal tea and working on his tablet.

Reading over his shoulder, I see that what he's going through seems to be emails and new proposals. Before he can react, I pluck the tablet from his grasp and take his glasses off him.

"Hey, I was busy!"

"And you've just had another surgery, so you should be resting right now…" I say as I place his glasses in their case on the bedside table, before scrolling through the tablet.

"A few new laws and stricter regulations in regards to the Humans, huh?"

"I'd know if you hadn't have taken the tablet…"

I look at him - he's still quite pasty and looks tired. He knows that he's supposed to be resting after an operation so I don't know exactly why he has been staring at his tablet for God knows how long.

"I know I'm supposed to be resting but I have extremely important things that I have to deal with before the end of this week. I'm expected to attend a few meetings this week too and I need to be present for them."

I look at my husband in such a way that he shuts up pretty quickly.

"Lion-O, so help me, I will cable tie you to the dining room chair if you even try to leave for the council meeting. An artery in your stomach somehow burst open and you can't risk it happening again. Let me handle the meetings with the Elders and Orion will handle the council meetings. You need to heal and doing those things will just put your body under more strain."

"Pumyra has told me that I'm allowed to go back to the suite-"

"Where you will immediately be laying on the sofa and relaxing. I'm not going to take no for an answer."

His face turns sour but once we're back in the suite, I get him sat down on the sofa and open the windows and door to the balcony to let the cooling breeze in.

"If I see that you've moved from there I won't be very happy."

"I'm going to have to move when the kids get home from school otherwise they're going to literally smother me."

"Yes, but as long as I don't catch you trying to work on your tablet, everything will be fine. Read a book, watch a movie or the news, but you're not to do those papers. I'll tell the Elders that you're not to be disturbed."

He groans, shifting slightly. I grab him another cup of tea which he sips as he watches the news, and once I start running my fingers through his mane, he relaxes and starts purring happily.

"Oh and by the way, Kesari is going to prison."

"I should hope so and all…"

"He tried to pin your poisoning on Sebastian."

"That's a crazy idea if ever I've heard one. I myself know it was the Mutants who did it…He hurt me and Orion so God knows who else he'd hurt if he had the chance…"

I go quiet then and he can sense that something is wrong; I can tell from the look on his face.

"I went to try and get some answers from him and he attacked me too…"

"The little bastard…"

I take his cup from him upon seeing how pale his knuckles are and how much his hand is shaking.

"I had a very snotty email from Kesari's father asking why his son had been arrested… he wasn't very happy with it…"

"No, I can't imagine that he was…now, are you hungry? Snarf made some chicken noodle soup for you."

"Go in then, I'll have a bowl."

I hear it up on the stovetop for him and give it to him as he continues to watch the news; once he's finished I take the empty bowl and help him get comfortable on the sofa, after which he falls asleep, giving me plenty of time to read through those important emails and documents.

—(BORDER)—

Later that night in the Asiatic Lands

"I hope you have good news for us, Kesari, or we will be bitterly disappointed in you."

I scowl as I look at Az'takvis and Saturnus. They both look extremely judgemental and it's really pissing me off. I begin to pace back and forth in front of the older lions, growling to myself.

"I managed to aggravate Lion-O enough to lower his guard enough to hurt him but that 'personal guard' of his stepped in and restrained me before I could deal any heavier damage to him. He had a pair of Barbaries take me to the holding cells where I tried to convince his little whore of a wife that it was actually the Crown Prince of Plun-Darr that tried to poison him…turns out that she's not as persuadable as we'd hoped she was…"

The Asiatic lions listen carefully, and I think it's so funny that even Lion-O's own uncle wants him off the throne.

"How did you get out?"

"It was an inside job…one of the Guards was on our side and helped to…dispatch…the other Guard."

Az'takvis nods in approval and gestures to his servants to refill his goblet with mead. I too take a tankard of the offered beverage and take a heavy drink from it before wiping my mouth.

"And there's one thing that we can do to get him to abdicate."

"Go ahead, boy; I'm listening…If it works out then you will be on the throne within days…"

I grin widely before beginning my explanation.

"I assume that you have heard that the Barbary lions are still around and obviously they are because our King is pure blooded Kashī Barbary. But the point that I'm getting at is the fact that there's a whole village hidden in the Northern Mountains, near the summit. The entire remaining population of Kashī Barbary lions live there, so I doubt that a forgotten clan would be missed if they were to suddenly go…extinct…"

"But how are we supposed to be able to find the village? Only the Barbary lions know where it is and there's no way that Lion-O would be stupid enough to tell us where it is…"

"No, you're right…that's why we're going to have to wait for one of his kids to pass by on their way home from school tomorrow afternoon…"

"I get you…I thought my ancestors rid Thundera of those corrupt, dangerous lions but I guess I always believed wrong…"

I watch as the Asiatic Elder gets up, walks over to a cabinet and opens it, drawing a huge, incredibly shiny sword that looks like it has dried blood in the cracks in the metal.

"This is the exact same sword that my ancestors used when hunting Barbary lions and it's not been used in over two hundred years…" he runs a finger down the blade and inspects the dried blood, "He was haled a true hero by all of Thundera after each successful hunt…the blood is still beautifully present on its blade and it's time to add to it…one final massacre to wipe the stain from the land…the King will die and by God, we will feast tomorrow night…"

A series of cheers erupt in the small chamber, and the atmosphere is chaotic but I love it. Hearing the voices of many people who all believe in the same ideals together…it's amazing.

Saturnus takes a sword out of his robes then and with an almighty roar, he points it skyward as he screams "Death to the King! Death to the King!"

Az'takvis turns to look at everyone as he stands up on the rug in front of the fireplace which happens to be made out of Barbary fur.

"The Barbary lions are pure evil and we are doing the bidding of the Gods to rid New Thundera of them! Will you join me in this purge? We shall cleanse the earth they walk upon and then we roast Lion-O on a spit over a fire!"

"Death to the King!"

"Death to the King!"

"DEATH TO THE KING!"

—(BORDER)—

The next afternoon…

"Katzeran, come on, we're going to be late! You know how angry your Father will get if you're not home in time for the meeting"

I don't listen as I push my way through the thick brambles. The thorns snag on my fur but I brush them away as best as I can. I can however hear Cougartha and Jaskari telling me to go further though.

"Katz, stop."

I turn around when I feel Raphael grab my wrist; the snow leopard looks nervous as he tries to pull me back, "My Dad and your Dad will both kill me if I don't get you home soon! You know how important that meeting is!"

I push his hand off my wrist then as I growl.

"I don't get why you have to follow me everywhere, Raphael. I'm not a cub anymore and I can take care of myself!"

"You know that I'm training in the ThunderGuard and that I'm going to be your personal guard when you're older and when you're King."

"I'm not the King yet, so I don't need you to protect me!"

"No, you're the Crown Prince of New Thundera which means you're still in danger. Your Father asked me to train for this role, and I have been since you were eight years old!"

I push the older snow leopard away from me and run off into the bushes, listening to my friends who are eagerly egging me on. I can hear the footsteps behind me, knowing that Raphael is struggling to keep up with me through the brambles.

"Katzeran! I will tell your Father that you're disobeying me!"

"I'm a prince, you can't tell me what to do!"

I keep running, trying to reach my full speed as their voices fade away until all I can hear is my own footsteps and the sounds of the forest.

I skid to a stop and look at my surroundings, and only then do I realise just how dark it is here. I feel my heart pounding in my chest as I spin around, trying to find my bearings but I can't. I'm lost.

"Raphael? Raphael!"

I shout at the top of my lungs but all I can hear is the echo of my own voice mixed with the calls of various birds. Damn it! Dad is going to kill me when I get home!

I choose one direction and start to walk that way before I stop. Straining to listen, I can just make out the sounds of footsteps approaching from behind. I turn around.

"Raph-"

The person who steps into the light isn't the person who I was expecting, or rather, hoping it to be.

"Uncle Saturnus?"

The old lion looks at me as he steps towards me. "Why, Katzeran, you're a very long way away from the Lair, aren't you?"

I shuffle uncomfortably. Dad doesn't like me being around Saturnus but he's never actually told me why, just that I'm too young to know and understand.

"Well, I doubt that your Father would be very happy to learn of his son being so far from home when he's supposed to be at home in half an hour for a meeting with the Lion elders, huh?"

"No… I need to be going now…"

I turn away, and a sudden sharp pain around the back of my head knocks me face-first down into the dirt and I end up with a mouthful of mud and grit.

"I told you to not hit him so hard, Saturnus."

"I know but it felt good to get that anger out…the little freak looks just like his Dad…"

I push myself up, blood dripping from my nose as I see my great-uncle with an unfamiliar lion.

"So, it seems that our little plan is coming along well…Kesari, you grab the kid…we have something important to handle…"

I'm picked up by the back of my shirt as a gag is forced into my mouth by a white lion who I recognise as Kesari, and I'm then blindfolded and sling over his shoulder.

"If you get to kill the King, then I want the pleasure of throwing this little rat off a cliff-face on the mountain …"

"Why not shave his fur and leave him to freeze to death? It's far more painful and he'll suffer for longer…"

I squirm harder then. I need to warn Dad! But how can I? I should never have ran away from Raphael… I should never have been so stupid…

"And now for the next phase of the plan…come on, boys! Off to the Lair we go…"

To be Continued