She was pleased to hear that, he could tell, but saw that something bothered her.

            “What’s wrong?” he asked softly.

            “While I was in Baraka’s chambers looking after Etana, something came over me.”

            Kadiri’s brow furrowed. “Oh? What was that?”

            “I’m not sure, but I felt… warm, and not just inside but out, too. The warmth was all around me, and in the cave. At first I thought my mind was playing tricks to help me move past the idea of Hasira no longer being here…”

            “Sweetheart, I know she’s your sister but it’s good that she’s gone. She’d have tried to kill Etana again. Baraka acted in her best interests and all of ours.” He shrugged. “With any luck, she won’t return.” He growled quietly. “If she knows what’s good for her…”

            Dailia walked closer to him. “It’s okay. I know how you feel. I will miss her, but when mom died she was never truly happy. What was there for her to be happy about? I’m just glad that mom didn’t give me a name similar to Hasira.”

            He nodded in agreement and asked her to continue.

            “I was afraid to feel such warmth, but it was so soothing, peaceful, as if saying Etana would be alright. Saada said she felt the same warmth the next day when she looked after her.”

            Kadiri was amazed but not surprised. “When you fell ill, Rafiki and Arif could only dull the pain with their medicines. But Etana came in and said she could help. She didn’t explain how. Takata did that after she healed you.” He shivered. “I’d been so afraid I was going to lose you and I really didn’t want a lioness I had known only a few days to come near you. Etana put her paw on mine and walked away. The moment she did, I was warm and some of my worry was gone.”

            He had never told her this, possibly thinking there was no reason to. She understood. If it had been him, she would have too. “Etana is an incredible lioness, Kadiri.”

            “Yes, she is. We’d be lucky if she became our –”

            “Our queen?” she guessed with a raised brow. “I agree. She’s perfect for Baraka and he likes her.”

            “He has feelings for her, but does she have feelings for him?”

            She rested her head against his mane. “We’ll find out soon, I hope.” She purred lovingly.

            He sighed and purred back. He was so lucky to have her and she him after everything she suffered as a cub. And like her, he hoped Hasira would find some happiness. But their main hope, the same as everyone else’s, was for their king.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The cubs’ time in the savannah was quiet and peaceful. Njozi told her brothers and friends that she was feeling better though her spirit still needed to heal. Sharif and his sisters knew that Njozi needed time alone with her brothers, and walked away while the three royals talked privately.

            “Have you had any visions?” Adabu asked, concern filling his face.

            When she shook her head ‘no’, Adisa wondered. “If you’re worried about Etana, don’t be. She’s fine.”

            Njozi pinned her ears back and turned from them, her head hung low. “I’m not worried about her,” she said after a silence and turned back. “Not like I was at first, but that dream…” She remembered the cold rain, the harsh pain of claws, bites and kicks, as though she experienced it all herself while watching the forms of lionesses battling in the darkness. “I had no idea it would be Hasira and Etana. My dreams never reveal those the dreams are about.”

            Adabu licked his lips. “Well, if they did, it’d be…” He paused, searching for the right word, “…too easy?”

            She smiled faintly. Her brothers would do and say anything to make talking about her vision experiences easier and better. She looked at Adabu. “Yes, I think that’s it. It would be too easy. Not everything is revealed in full. We have to figure some things out for ourselves.”

            Adisa nodded. “That’s true. How else do we learn?”

            They muttered their agreement and Njozi continued. “When Saada told Dad to tell Uncle Baraka, that’s how I knew.” Seeing the looks on their faces, she explained. “Think about it. Of all the lionesses in the pride who is the one person, aside from Grandma, Dailia, and Saada, Uncle Baraka can speak with?”

            “Etana,” answered Adabu.

            “And, again out of all the lionesses Uncle Baraka’s and Dad’s age, which lioness hated Etana for no reason?”

            “Hasira,” Adisa stated.

            The brothers looked at each other, their eyes wide, their facial expressions shocked. Adabu spoke, stammering. “But, Njozi, how could you have a vision about Hasira and Etana? You’re not that close to either of them. I’ve only spent time with Etana once, but…” He stopped in mid-sentence; his mind calling forth the day the blind lioness had taken him to a waterhole and told him a story that had yet to be completed. “But it was enough,” he said quietly then spoke aloud. “Njozi is it possible that you got vibes from me because I spent nearly the whole day with Etana. Is that enough for you to have a vision like that?”

            She thought about it hard. “It is possible… then there was when Etana healed me of my… heartache over mom and dad’s problems, but yeah, that, too, could’ve been enough to give me a vision.”

            Adisa shuffled a paw. “Adabu, Njozi… I’ve been thinking.”

            “What’s up, Adisa?” the oldest prince asked.

            “I keep getting this feeling that Etana’s presence means something, and this isn’t the first time I’ve felt it. I mean… surely you two have seen how she and Uncle Baraka talk, how comfortable they are with each other, and how protective he is of her.”

            “Yeah…” Adabu said slowly. “I’ve been noticing that too. He likes her, and I think she likes him back. You don’t think that –”

            Here, Njozi picked up. “You mean if there are feelings between them, Uncle Baraka will marry her, and she’ll be not only the Pridelands long awaited queen, but our aunt?”

            Adisa nodded firmly. “I was thinking that, yes.”

            “So was I,” said Adabu.

            Njozi pondered. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’d be excited if that happened. I think Etana would make an excellent queen, and mate for our uncle. She’s kind, caring…”

            “She’s everything anyone could ask for,” said Adisa. “And like you and everyone else, I’ve hated seeing Uncle Baraka miserable. With Etana he’s happy and at peace with himself and others.”

            “At least he gave Hasira a fair punishment… banishment…” Adabu said as he shivered slightly. “She always scared me. I feel sorry that Sharif, Dhani, and Sabiha are related to her, but at least their mother isn’t like her, you