directed against her dead mother surprised her. She lowered her ears. Her words were true. The anger in Akase’s body intensified, and with her claws still buried in the tree, she dragged them all the way down. She did it a few more times until, after one last scrape, she panted heavily and sank to the ground.

            “Mother!” she hissed again, her body heaving up and down. Hot tears fell from her eyes and down her cheeks. Her mind was tired, her body soon to follow.

            Akase clutched blades of grass in between her paw digits. Just as her mate hadn’t been sleeping well, she hadn’t either. The day she found her mother’s torn body in the grass of the Eastlands never left her memory.

            The strange and familiar scent in the still air… Following it and finding a battered body… Blood covered the grass beside and under… Falling over the body and crying… Akase shut her eyes. She had thought about it and hoped that the image wouldn’t come to mind. It was the last thing she needed. When she was in the Eastlands, the image had come frequently in her dreams when she stayed in the pridal cavern, then in her own chambers.

            And being in the Pridelands, the memory hardly came at all. The Pridelands gave her a sense of calm and relief but her first few months were hard. Arif had helped her through it, giving her herbs to help her sleep. They worked and the dreams weren’t nearly as bad. When she fell in love with Arif, was named a Princess of the Pridelands, and gave birth to three beautiful cubs her life had been put back together. She never wanted to let her mate and cubs go. She had lost her parents and to lose them would be unbearable. Her life would simply have no meaning without them.

            “She’d be proud of you,” Arif had said to her one night as they looked up at the stars. It was the night after their wedding.

            “I know,” Akase replied softly.

            Arif had seen her gaze and nudged her gently. “She was there this morning,” he said kindly. She turned to him, to see his red eyes glow brightly in the darkness. “I felt her presence. She’s proud and she wants you to live your life to the fullest.”

            Akase nodded softly and nuzzled him. She had hoped he was right… The Princess sighed. She remembered that night. She had to wonder if her mother was proud. Was she? Was she up there now, looking down on her? What of her father? Was he proud? Was he there with her mother?

            Akase shuddered. She was exhausted and weak but not from clawing the tree.  Slowly, she felt a wave of sleep come over her. She began to close her eyes, hoping a nap would ease her senses. Akase shook her head. The urge to sleep was strong. After a moment she allowed herself to lose touch with reality and the world around her. She flexed her paws in the grass and stretched, rolling onto her side to sleep. Her head fell in the grass, her ears flickering. Her breathing slowed, her body grew calm and relaxed. There was no shuddering.

            She was at peace.

            An hour later, she was still there. No one disturbed her, not even the passing animals. They knew better than to wake a predator from its sleep, especially if the predator was a lioness and a princess. A few more hours passed and Akase was woken by a touch on the shoulder. With tired eyes, Akase lifted her head to see someone standing beside her. She looked up in surprise.

            “Hasira… what brings you here?”

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The king and his advisor walked back from the meeting with the leopard and cheetah delegates.

            Baraka sighed, hanging his head tiredly. The discussion with the delegates had not gone well. For three days they’d argued about the waterholes in their areas and about how much water each species used per day. The cheetahs claimed the leopards used too much and vice versa.

            Kahuni glanced at him. “I’m sorry sire. I wish I could do something…”

            Baraka smiled faintly. “You are. You’re advising me on problems such as that. It’s all I can ask of a good advisor, Kahuni.”

            The cheetah nodded but his eyes were unconvinced. He still wished he could do more.

            They walked on in silence.

            “Sire,” said another voice. “One of the delegates is lying.”

            Baraka turned to see Etana on the other side of him, walking slowly. He smiled at her, feeling relieved that she was there. Early that morning when they walked to the waterhole, he asked her to come with him. She had been surprised but accepted. He was glad. It would give her some insight to how he ran the kingdom. So far, from what she sensed and heard, she was impressed with how he took care of the animals small problems. The cheetah/leopard dispute was the biggest issue so far. She had wanted to help but it wasn’t the time.

            “How do you know that?” the king asked.

            “Call it an educated guess, sire,” she said.

            Baraka only nodded.

            Kahuni looked out of the corner of his eye. He was surprised at how different the king was with the blind lioness. “Perhaps…” Kahuni began thinking but then he cursed softly. It wouldn’t happen. He knew it wouldn’t. Baraka didn’t want a mate and he had made the point clear to anyone who asked, sometimes more than once. Kahuni himself had asked once and received a growl of warning. He never asked again, not wanting to test Baraka’s patience. To let the lions have space and time to talk, Kahuni walked ahead.

            The Lion King noticed his advisor’s movement. He smiled, silently thanking him. “You heard everything then?” he asked the lioness, his voice slightly firm.

            Etana gave a nod. “Yes and as I said before, one of the delegates is lying.”

            Baraka was surprised. He had been going over this matter in his head for over a day. He’d listened to both sides but it was difficult to determine who was telling the truth. “Etana…” Baraka began and she turned to him. He was almost hesitant and swallowed a lump in his throat. “Would you like to come with me tomorrow? If what you say is true, that one of the delegates is lying…”

            She smiled. “I’ll be glad to help.”

            They continued to walk until Baraka stopped. There was something else other than the cheetah/leopard conflict on his mind. Etana stepped up beside him. Ahead, Kahuni rested in the grass.

            “Are you alright?” Etana asked.

            Baraka looked at her. “No, not really,” he muttered and grew silent, his thoughts gathering. “I’m… worried for Arif. He’s not been himself.”

            “How?” she asked in a soft tone.

            “He hasn’t been spending time with his mate and cubs. He’s refusing to answer any questions our parents ask him, even if it’s not about shamanism. I tried asking what was wrong and got nowhere. He’s avoiding, like he has a secret. He told me he does but that he cannot say…” Baraka trailed off and pawed the ground.

            “Arif is a good lion and a good shaman. He’s doing his best, I’m sure.”

            “He does try,” Baraka admitted truthfully and sighed heavily. “I just wish he’d talk…” He felt a paw on his shoulder and turned to see Etana’s blind gaze stare at him.

            “Even if he doesn’t, don’t hold it against him. As a shaman