back to the wall, looking up at the painted forms of the current king and his shaman brother. He put his hand on the painted form of the king and looked across from it to see an empty spot. He did the same with Arif’s. That side had a faded formation of a lioness, the prince’s late wife, Akase. Remorse overshadowed him and he sank to the ground, pulling his knees up to his chest.

            Now more than ever the old mandrill felt like crying. What did the two sons of such a famed royal line do to deserve such loneliness and tragedy? He began to wonder if Baraka was given the wrong name. It meant blessings. Didn’t that also mean that the king was supposed to be blessed to the fullness of his life, to have the happiness royal lions and lionesses before him had? What went wrong, if anything? Then there was Arif… Rafiki knew that what happened wasn’t Arif’s fault. So what did that mean for him and for his family? With so many past royalties, Rafiki watched these twin brothers grow up, and trained one in the ways of shamanism. To see Arif going through loss tore the old baboon’s heart.

            He could only hope now that the brothers would get through their ordeals, settle down with good lionesses and be happy.

            “Mufasa,” Rafiki whispered. “Help your great grandsons.”

            He buried his face in his arms which were wrapped around his legs. For the first time since Scar’s reign he was at a loss for faith.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Baraka could never talk to Etana with everyone around, Hasira especially. The last time he blew up at her for insulting Etana, the gray brown lioness had kept her distance. But that wasn’t the only reason. It was after… He couldn’t think about it. He’d just get angry, which was one of the reasons he was on the promontory, under the watchful eyes of the stars. He hadn’t thought of that in so long. Now he was hoping Etana would join him. Their night conversations were something he always looked forward to. And after hearing what Takata had told him earlier that afternoon, he just had to speak with her. If he didn’t, he would never sleep, and be trapped in the cold.

            A question passed through his mind. What was it about her he found so comforting?

            Finally she was there at his right side. He turned and smiled, his green eyes shining in the dark. “Good evening.”

            She smiled back. “Good evening. Sorry I’m late, my father and I were talking.”

            “It’s alright.” He paused, hesitating. “Etana…” She turned. “Would you mind… would you mind taking a walk with me?” There he said it. And now he waited for a response. Somehow he knew his question shocked her. It did him. He’d never asked her to take a walk with him at night or anyone else for that matter, at least not anyone female. He bowed his head, his heart hammering. For some reason he needed to be alone with her and talking on the promontory where anyone - if they dared - decided to listen was a bad idea. Please… say yes!

            The request did shock her, but she wouldn’t decline. As Takata pointed out just minutes before that in order to tell him she had to do it away from prying eyes and ears. Though none in the pride was the gossip or snooping type, there was one and Etana did not want her eavesdropping. She still remembered Hasira insulting her in front of Baraka. She remembered how angry he had gotten, how quickly he jumped to his feet and demand Hasira apologize. No one, other than Takata, ever did that. Baraka had only known her a day and defended her without question. He had been there when she woke from healing others and herself. It was strange that she trusted him more than any other lion, except Takata.

            She rose, and said, “Let’s go. I need to talk to you about something anyway.”

            He walked beside her down the ramp. When they were in the grass they were side-by-side though slightly apart, but as they walked, Baraka looked at her closely. He thought for a moment that the moon’s light was shining down on her, illuminating her gray coat in a silvery light. She was like a pale gray ghost in the darkness and the glow from the light made her eyes glisten. He felt mesmerized, and then realized he was.

            She must have felt his gaze on her. “What?” she asked.

            He turned away, shaking his head. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He shouldn’t have done that, but could he help himself? Her voice, her presence, and his near constant need to seek her counsel above all others… His emotions started to rise, but sank at his inner demand while his chest grew heavy. No, he reminded himself. It can’t happen! It’s impossible!

            “Nothing, it’s okay,” he only replied.

            She gave no answer but knew something was on his mind. Mentally, she scolded herself. She had to get this out in the open first, and then move on to help him, if she could.

            They arrived at a waterhole a few minutes later and lied down in front of each other near the water. Baraka looked up at the sky, hoping to get rid of any tension. “It’s a nice night.”

            The breeze around her made her nod. “Yes, it is, very nice.”

            He smiled. “So,” he began carefully. “What is that you wanted to talk to me about?”

            Without warning, Etana got to her feet and turned from him. Her head was low and she trembled. How could she tell him? She had been here for two months and had told Baraka so much about herself, but this would hurt him and possibly tear their friendship beyond repair. She didn’t want to do that, but the truth could hurt. She knew that from experience and was about to share that with him now… if she could get the words out.

            Spirits… please help me, she prayed.

            He watched her, concerned. “Are you okay?” he finally asked. When she didn’t respond, he slowly rose but didn’t walk up to her. He just sat down and waited her out. It was clear by her hunched form that she was not alright. Fear etched its way in, sending chills down his back. Was she severely ill? He swallowed, his heart resonating against his ribs.

            Etana swallowed. Emotions filled her and her own heart pounded inside her chest. She gritted her teeth. She had to tell him! Here it goes… “Baraka… I wasn’t born a rogue.” She waited for the explosion, to hear angry and furious words. She would not flinch or cower. She had dealt with the explosions of kings for so long she was used to it. It would not come as a surprise to her if he kicked her out.

            What! Who are you then? I demand to know now! You lied to me!

            Just thinking of it made her flinch. One of the perks of being blind was that she didn’t have to see someone get angry.

            Baraka only looked at her and froze. What did she say? Not born a rogue? Instead of speaking he allowed her to continue. He wasn’t about to explode based on one sentence. There had to be more.

            When he didn’t speak, she continued. “I’m royalty, like you. I was born to a king and queen. And like you, I was the heir or heiress. I also had a brother, a twin, but he wasn’t blind.” She stopped and waited again.

            Baraka’s head was in a whirl, his stomach churning. He tried to grasp this news. Etana was royalty? She was the next in line to a throne, and had a twin brother? How… what… why? His mouth fell open, his heart thudding hard in his chest, his eyes wide. He couldn’t believe it. Was it true? If so, what happened? What about Takata… if he wasn’t her father… What could he say? The words stuck in his throat.

            Carefully, she turned to him and he looked at her. There was pain, worry, and a desperate, pleading look on her face. He simply stared, trying to read it. Was she asking him to give her a chance to tell him everything? What