beat.

            She smiled and nuzzled him back, also with affection. “Thank you, Arif.”

            Together, heads against the other, they watched the sunset on the promontory…

“Arif, are you alright?”

            The voice of Baraka made the Prince jump. “What? Oh, sorry. I was… thinking.” He turned and stared Baraka in the eyes, his face serious. “You ask me who I am…” He took a deep breath and let it out. “My name is Arif, son of Kiara and Kovu, Regents of the Pridelands. I am a Prince and shaman of the Pridelands. I am also the father of Prince Adabu, Prince Adisa, and Princess Njozi. I am the mate of Saada…”

            Baraka’s mouth dropped. “Arif, what did you say?”

            “I’m the mate of Saada.”

            “No, you’re not. Your wife’s name is Akase.”

            Arif made a confused face. “Didn’t I say that?”

            “No.”

            With no words Arif looked around until he saw a waterhole a few feet away. He ran towards it and plunged his head into the cold water. Baraka followed and watched from a distance. When Arif pulled his head out, his mane was dripping wet, his whiskers the same, but the look in his red eyes was frantic. He was stunned by what he had said. Saada… She wasn’t his mate, Akase was. Arif swallowed and shuddered. What in the world possessed him to say that he was Saada’s mate? He was afraid to move. He looked to Baraka, confused and pleading.

            The King walked over and stood beside Arif. He watched as his brother put his head on his shoulder.

            Silently, Baraka led him home. The walk was quiet, but it didn’t last long. Arif finally spoke, his voice eerie and far away.

            “I shouldn’t have said that but I’ve been… thinking about her… a lot.”

            “You have?”

            “Ever since I told her I had a message to keep and that it was hurting me to keep it from everyone, even Akase.” He sighed painfully. “Baraka… I still like her. She gave me the strength to talk to Akase. I was…”

            “Yeah, and Akase thinks you’re cheating on her but I told her the night you two went your separate ways that you weren’t. We all know you love Akase.”

            Arif shut his eyes. “I’m not so sure of that anymore, Baraka. As I’ve said many times Akase doesn’t understand my position. Saada… She does and it’s so easy to talk with her. She knows me too well.” He heaved a sigh. “Baraka I was hoping to avoid this. Saada and I have always been close, almost as close as Kadiri and Dailia, but we were friends, nothing else. Yet now I…” He stopped and cried quietly.

            Baraka remained silent. He didn’t know what to say. He also knew how close his brother and Saada had been over the years. But was Arif all but admitting that he no longer loved Akase? That he might possibly love Saada? From his point of view it made sense. Saada understood Arif better than anyone. So, what now? Would Arif and Akase reconcile? Given everything that happened, Baraka foolishly prayed they wouldn’t. Things wouldn’t be the same if they did. It’d be worse. Arif didn’t deserve the treatment Akase was giving him. He didn’t deserve a mate like her.

            And the cubs… the king shook his head sadly. They didn’t deserve a mother like Akase. He knew they loved her but how could they love someone who despised their father’s work? And what of their father and Saada, did they know about that? If they did, what were their thoughts?

            Baraka stared at his brother. There was no time to ask these questions, even in his mind. He could do that later. With a gentle nudge and jerk of his head in the direction of their home, the brothers resumed their walk.

            By the time they arrived at the den, Arif faced his brother. “There is more I must tell you but for time being…”

            Baraka smiled warmly and gently. “It’s okay. You can tell me later. For now, let’s go inside and get some sleep.”

            Arif nodded and walked in. Baraka prepared to follow but was stopped by a voice. He had to smile and turn.

            “There is more he will tell, Baraka. He’s a good lion with a strong and independent mind. He’ll have hard times now, but in the end, he’ll be alright.” Etana was awake, her eyes open and her head on her paws.

            Baraka gave a deep nod. “I still worry for him. He is my brother. I will help him when he asks but only then.” He looked at her. “Sleep well, Etana.”

            She smiled. “I will and you do the same.”

            He walked into the den and made his way into his chambers. He stopped at the entrance, turned, looking around the den. The pride was sleeping contently. In the darkness he managed to see Arif, his cubs crowded around beside him. A few feet away from the Prince and his family, was Saada. Baraka smiled sadly. He would’ve been happy if Saada were his sister-in-law, the wife of his brother, and mother to his nephews and niece. Baraka’s ears fell and he turned again, going into his chambers.

            Once inside he went to the wall and lay down. He sniffed loudly and a few tears leaked from his eyes. He felt sorry for his brother. He wished things had been different. He wished Arif had married Saada. He knew Arif’s life would’ve been easier, and he knew deep down that Adabu and his siblings loved their mother but it wasn’t the same kind of affection a cub had with its mother. He counted himself and Arif lucky that their parents never went through anything like Arif and Akase.

            Then there was him. He was also lucky that he didn’t have his brother’s problems, but he was saddened and shaken. While Arif had someone to love, to turn to, or at least he had before all this, his brother, the king himself, still had no one. Or did he?

            “No!” Baraka reminded himself with a quiet snarl, “no one!” His green eyes snapped for a moment then moistened.

            As he did so many times at night when he prepared to sleep, he put his head down on his paws, closed his eyes and sniffed.

            He felt his emotions gather in his throat and let out a pained whimper.

Chapter 11: Confrontation

“Njozi, are you sure you want to do this?”

            “Yes, Dad… She needs to know.”

            Arif sighed. He had been home for a week and every moment he spent with his children. He played with them, told them stories of the past, something Njozi and Adisa thoroughly enjoyed. He was still surprised at the cubs’ attitude regarding his work. They had no need or want to judge him. They only said that they understood.

            On the night of the seventh evening, Njozi wanted to talk to her father privately. Adabu and Adisa, in their never ending support and love, went into the den, leaving their father and sister alone in the still warm air.

            Arif had looked down at his daughter, seeing an animal both familiar and strange. Yet now, as he looked at Njozi in the morning sun, the strangeness and the familiarity remained. At a silence, he spoke.