shivered. Hasira… I don’t love you. I don’t want you. Please, can’t you just leave me alone?

            Nearby Kovu and Kiara had noticed their son and Hasira. They sensed that Hasira could be trouble. Refocusing their attention on their meals, and giving a confused Mabaki reassuring looks, the Regents continued to eat but Kiara still worried about her son.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The night air covered the Pridelands, the stars filled the sky. All animals were asleep, no creatures stirring. In the warmth of Pride Rock’s den, the entire pride was in deep slumber, some close to keep warm, others not. The cubs slept beside their mothers, wanting to get as close to the adult warmth as they could.

            The Princess Regent however, was unable to sleep and finally groaning softly, she opened her eyes, staring at the darkness. She looked at her mate, who rested on his side, dead to the world. She smiled and leaned over, licking his cheek.

            “We can sleep in from now on, Kovu,” Kiara whispered. “We do deserve it.” Slowly, so as not to wake him, she rose and began to make her way out of the den, carefully stepping over some of the lionesses. When she stepped out into the dark covered land, the coolness of the air struck her in the face. She smelled it, breathing heavily. As she looked around, she spotted a figure on the promontory. Her head tilted for a minute until she knew who it was.

            Baraka… oh, my son, what are you doing out here?

            Shaking her head, Kiara walked up the promontory, shuddering. She felt like she was walking in the paw prints of her late father. It surprised her. She’d walked the promontory many times at night and never felt so amazed. But this night is different, she said to herself. She eyed Baraka, who was very still. She sat down beside him. “Enjoying the air,” she asked.

            Baraka’s ear flickered and he turned, seeing the golden form of his mother at his left side. He sighed and nodded. “There’s a nice breeze. Helps clear the mind,” he said, staring into the lands.

            “Why are you out here, Baraka? You should be asleep,” Kiara intoned but she saw him bowing his head. She put a paw over his. “You couldn’t sleep again, could you? Have another dream?” He shook his head, ‘no’. She tried something else. “Needed to be out here… away from everyone?” That was it. He nodded, ‘yes’ Kiara let out a pained sigh. “Baraka, I know I’ve told you this, your father too, but… Take your time, picking… or choosing…” She stumbled, unable to find the words to describe her son’s situation. He had had this trouble since cubhood. He would play with the female cubs but as far as showing affection such as nuzzling, or a friendly lick, he could never do it. Rafiki said there was nothing wrong with him, that he was fine. She and Kovu always believed that, never knowing that there was something more, something only Baraka himself knew.

            “Mother…” Baraka began, playing at the ground with his right paw. “Please, I know you, Dad, and the others want to help me but I assure you, I don’t need it. Not with the king stuff, yet and certainly not with the other. I am set in my ways.” He tried so hard not to raise his voice. He turned to her, hoping he hadn’t hurt her feelings but she looked at him, almost unmoved with an expression of wisdom he had never seen on her face. It surprised him. She looked older than her years, wiser. “I’m sorry,” he said honestly. “But, really, I’m fine. I just… I just need time? I’m not sure… please…”

            Kiara smiled. “It’s all right, Baraka. You have time. You will find someone…” Before he could reply, she nuzzled him and turned, going back to the den.

            He watched her go with confused eyes. When she disappeared, Baraka felt his heart shatter, his mind racing. He turned back to the skies, looking at the stars. He wondered if the kings and queens of the past were up there looking down on him. He lowered his head, his mane falling, his eyes clouded with coming tears. He felt dizzy. “Yeah, I bet they’re watching over me… Me, a king, with no mate to bring support or take care of the pride in my absence… Why? Why me? Why did my brother find happiness and a family? I don’t envy him at all but… how did he get so… blessed?” He shut his eyes. “That’s the meaning of my name! Maybe Mom and Dad got our names wrong? Or our personalities mixed up? I’m just as knowledgeable as he is! How in the name of all things did he get so lucky?”

            He snarled softly, mentally hitting himself for thinking about his brother’s happiness in the worst way possible. Envy, jealously, anger, pain and frustration… He sank to the cold ground onto his stomach, putting his paws over his head, near weeping. Small tears leaked from his eyes.

            “No… Do not talk like that, don’t think like that,” he reminded himself. “That’s what caused your great-great uncle Scar to feel towards his own brother, your great-grandfather. Don’t let history repeat, Baraka. You’re stronger than that…”

            But now, he wasn’t so sure and he had only been king a day. Could he endure without a mate, without someone to bear the title his own grandmother bore for so long, the title queen? He knew that there were very few good lionesses his age in the pride, at least two who were still single. One, he did love but only as a friend. The other… Hasira… He growled. He wanted nothing to do with her; he could not love her even if he wanted to. The meaning of her name and the way she lived up to it sent shivers down his spine.

            He put a paw on the ground and another over his face, weeping again, the tears coming out of his eyes so hard he fought desperately to keep his composure. He wished his mother hadn’t left. He wished for her to come back and comfort him, like a new mother would comfort her wailing cub. He wasn’t wailing now but he wasn’t far from the act either. He was in pain, a pain he felt no one would be able to understand. He needed someone. He needed a mate. He needed someone who would hold him, kiss him gently, purr reassuringly in his ear and let him know he would be fine as a king, a son, a brother and an uncle. Someone who would understand his emotional suffering… but there was no one.

            Tears fell from his muzzle and onto the ground and he buried his face in his paws.

Chapter 1: The Message

Baraka never slept among the pride. He resided in one of the caves that rested in the far back of the den. The cave served as a private chamber to anyone who needed to be away from the pride for any reason. It was used by the kings and queens of the Pridelands but no past ruler ever used it except for the late King Scar. And Baraka claimed it as his the evening of his coronation. It was big enough with plenty of space to move around. He liked the privacy and quietness it brought. He couldn’t stand being with the pride, feeling their eyes burn holes in his body, everyone thinking the same thing.

            ‘Here he is a king, the son of our Regents, and because of his inability or indecisiveness we have no queen, no heir… And he is to lead and protect us? His bloodline will end if he doesn’t find a lioness. He’ll have failed us all!’

            It took him awhile before he opened his eyes. The so called thoughts of the pride members echoed in his mind, bringing heartache. He sighed and lifted his head from his paws to stare at the emptiness of the cave. He turned to both sides of him, his facial expression full of sorrow and regret. His gaze dropped. He still expected someone to be lying beside him. He longed to hear the soft breathing of a mate, but after six months of ruling, there was no queen, there were no other royal cubs…

            He hit the ground floor with a paw in frustration. Growling softly, he got to his paws and stretched, arching his back, letting out a huge yawn to shake off the sleep. He walked out of the cave and began to make his way out of the main den, carefully stepping over the lionesses. When he reached the entrance, the morning air caught him in the face. He strode up to the promontory and sat down, staring into his lands. The animals were already awake and