Adabu.

            Njozi lowered her head, a tear falling down her face. “Yes, they were, brother,” she said, her voice weak. “I don’t know what they were arguing about but…” At this Njozi stood and turned from them, unaware that her legs were shaking. She didn’t speak for a while then suddenly she shook her head, feeling it pound, her heart along with it. Telling the dream was worse than having it. She began to sob and fell to the ground on her stomach, putting her paws over her face.

            Adabu and Adisa ran over and tried to console her. The Princes’ purred soothingly, using the same method their mother used when they were sad or upset.

            “It… it’s not possible right?” Njozi asked, choking back another sob. “Or… Have you noticed how they haven’t been talking?”

            “Yes, we have,” said Adisa quietly. “We’ve wondered why but it’s not our place. We don’t know what’s going on.”

            “They probably wouldn’t tell us anyway,” Adabu noted. “You know how adults are. In their eyes we’re too young to understand.”

            “Maybe,” Njozi said doubtfully. “So, whatever’s wrong, they’ll work it out.” She looked up at her brothers, tears streaming down her face. “They have to work it out, right? They need to work it out.” Worry and slight hysteria entered her voice, making it drift. “It was just a dream, right? It’s not gonna come true. Dreams don’t do that…”

            Hearing the tone, the brothers gently nudged her up to her paws. They walked together; Njozi’s head resting against Adisa’s shoulder as Adabu lead them to a waterhole. He walked in and Adisa followed with Njozi. The color on her face was almost pale.

            “Drink some water, sis,” said Adabu kindly.

            The princess nodded numbly and began to drink but when she lifted her head up again the orange color in her eyes was different. They looked shattered and torn. Adabu walked up to her and she leaned against him. They climbed out of the water and on trembling legs, Njozi fell in the grass. Adabu rested beside her, licking her on the forehead gently. He then looked up at Adisa. The second prince understood and ran to their friends.

            Adabu stared at his sister. His worry increased. He had never seen her like this. He prayed that this wasn’t a bad sign but he had to wonder. His parents were hardly talking to each other. That morning they woke to find their father gone. Adabu shivered. Njozi’s whole body was shaking. He moved closer but was stopped by a paw on the shoulder. He looked up to see Sharif staring at him.

            “Let me look after her, Adabu,” said Sharif kindly.

            The prince couldn’t speak. He was stunned, and smiling he rose, nodded his thanks and joined the others. He stood in-between Adisa and Dhani. Sabiha was beside Adisa. The four cubs felt helpless.

            Adabu and Adisa exchanged worried looks, both thinking the same question. Could their parents work it out? They had to for the sake of the cubs. Then another question came, sending cold shivers from their heads all the way to the tips of their tails. They gave another glance to each other, their eyes fearful. What if their parents couldn’t work it out? Would they separate? What would happen to them? Could they choose between their parents?

            “Adabu…” said Adisa fearfully. His mouth went numb and he sobbed in Sabiha’s shoulder.

            “Adi-” Adabu couldn’t finish his brother’s name. He collapsed and put his forepaws over his face, tears falling.

            Dhani lay down at his side and licked his face. She looked up at her sister. Together they turned to Sharif, who met eyes with them. They didn’t speak. There was nothing they could say.

            Though in emotional pain, the royal cubs’ minds had another question but the answer was too painful to think of.

            What if Njozi’s dream came true, and what would the outcome be of their parents’ argument?

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

“Are you sure?”

            “Yes, I’m sure. Please?”

            “Go, Akase. You’ve taken the hunt now for two weeks. You need a break and I need to lead once in awhile. Go rest and if you need, take a few more days.”

Akase drank deeply from a waterhole, and lay down in the grass, her head on her paws. She felt guilty for leaving the party but her mind was clouded with thoughts of her mate and his behavior. When she woke that morning, along with their cubs, Arif wasn’t among them. She growled and splashed the water angrily with a paw. Grunting, she rose and wandered idly through the grasses.

            Her cubs came to her mind unbidden, and Akase found herself smiling. Her children were growing fast and their birth was one of the few happy memories she had in the Pridelands. Arif had been so thrilled and happy then…

            The Princess bowed her head. Arif still refused to talk to her and anyone who asked him what was wrong. Akase shrugged. Was there something wrong with him or the cubs? She trembled. She hoped the cubs were alright. She hoped he was alright. In that moment, she wanted to go to the Tree of Life and talk to her mate. She shook her head. That would interrupt his and Rafiki’s work. Not wanting to do such a thing, she kept walking.

            As her paws touched the grass, Akase looked at the sky. Her eyes filled with pain and her heart suddenly ached. “Mom… Dad… Are you proud of me?” she asked, her voice a whisper.

            Her throat tightened. She rarely thought of her deceased parents. She’d known her mother her whole life, knew her father as a cub, but still had fond memories of him. She saw much of him in her eldest son, Adabu. When her father died at the paws of a cruel rogue, whom her father led away from his family, Akase remembered how her mother had been crushed at his death. When Akase was old enough her mother said that she was with her mate in his final moments. His last words were that he loved her and their daughter.

            Akase sniffed. If anything ever happened to Arif she would go on for the sake of her cubs. Her mother had done the same. For four years of her life, Akase and her mother traveled from kingdom to kingdom searching for a place to settle down. None of the lands seemed right so they kept searching. Akase still remembered the suggestion she’d made to her mother to go the Pridelands. She also remembered her mother’s reply.

            “Let’s give the Eastlands a chance,” she had said.

            And Akase had bowed her head, nodding softly. She remembered sleeping under a tree while her mother had gone to walk around the kingdom. That was the last time she ever saw mother alive.

            The next morning…

            Akase stopped and stared at the grass, her eyes burning. Her heart began to pound again, the beats louder than before. It was like a strange, eerie echo. The fur along the back of her neck bristled involuntarily. She growled and her tail lashed behind her.

            “Mom… if only you had listened to me, you would be here now!” she hissed. “You would see your grandchildren… You would see my mate… You would be part of a pride…” Without realizing it, she clawed at the grass, her teeth bared. With a snarl and sudden wild eyes, she looked around the area, searching for something to vent her frustration and pain on. Then she saw a tree nearby.

            Akase ran towards it, sat down on her hind legs, and scratched the tree with angry strokes. Strips of bark fell from the tree and onto the ground.