beginning to set on his reign and on his life, but her… her time was just beginning, the sun preparing to rise on her reign, on the rule she would bring for Jangwa.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Queen Asya trembled, her body shaking. She was in pain yet she could not call out to anyone for help. No one was in the chamber. At least nobody that she knew of and she didn’t have the strength to open her eyes. She had been lying on the floor of her chamber – her and Aricin’s – for a long time. For all she knew she hadn’t moved during the night.

Then suddenly a strange scent filled her nose, but… it wasn’t so strange at all. She knew the scent well. Aricin, her mind thought. What is he doing in here?

Then she remembered, vaguely, that her mother had been in here. She had smelled her scent, a scent she could recognize in her sleep. But then, wasn’t she asleep? She even thought her mother had laid a paw on her forehead. Had she? Didn’t she also hear her mother speak to her? She hadn’t responded, she knew that much. She was too weak to reply. If her beloved mother tried again by laying a paw on her head, still nothing, then she left, got Aricin and told him what was happening.

Was that why he was here, why she could smell his scent? Was he here to make sure she was okay? Why would he need or want to take care of her? Surely her mother could do that, or one of her sisters. But they all had their duties to the pride and the kingdom.

What of Aricin? He was King. Did he come of his own will or did Mother force or guilt him? Then again, did it matter? He was here, wasn’t he? She had no idea what he was doing. Maybe it was better she didn’t know. In all the time he had been here he was still a stranger to her, as much as she tried to get to know him and feel something for him.

Pain shot through her body. Her mind filled itself once more with memories, one in particular that set her on the path to meeting the lion who was in her – their – chamber. She remembered her father, the late King Malka, and how he had once again altered her life.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The young Princess had no idea that merely six moons after that talk her father would become seriously ill. One of the elder lionesses told her, her sisters and her mother that it was possible he was nearing death, if not now then soon, very soon. The news had made her mother and sisters gasp in shock, surprise and fear.

But she, Asya, had remained rooted to the place where she stood, not looking at her siblings, her parents, or the lioness who gave them the news. Instead she walked out of the cave, down to the nearest waterhole and stared at her reflection. Her heart pounded hard in chest. She could hear it in her ears and she felt the blood – the blood of a King and Queen, of leadership on both sides of the family – flow through her body. It was then she knew that she had to come to a decision that would impact the rest of her life. It would also change her family and the pride she’d been born and raised in.

Your time has come in a small part, Asya, she told herself. When he passes the power he has held will be directly put upon you and your shoulders, but you can take part of it now and slowly embrace it as the days continue. Which is it going to be? Are you going to dishonor your father and have one of your quiet and inexperienced sisters take the throne? Can you imagine how Jangwa would do under Themba or Mila?

She shook her head, but the thoughts continued to race and surge through her mind like a hard rainstorm. As much as she loved her dear sisters the words in her mind were correct. Neither Themba nor Mila had been trained to rule. If one of them was firstborn, then it would be different. But they weren’t, she was.

Asya bowed her head and closed her eyes, tears threatening to form. But she couldn’t cry, not yet, not now. Her father wasn’t dead yet. But he might as well be, she thought to herself, heavily pained. He’s ill. That’s as close to death as actually dying itself.

She lowered her head down to the water and lapped slowly, musingly. The cold liquid chilled her, filled her throat and went down with ease. She shivered. The water, her thoughts, her father’s predicament… It was all real and the talk she’d had with her father six moons earlier ran through her mind again. Her future was coming, had come in part. She had two choices: Take the throne of Jangwa or give it to Mila or Themba. Asya knew that the pride loved her sisters, but they weren’t fools. They knew who the next leader was supposed to be in the event of the King’s death.

That event is coming… isn’t it?

She drank again. This time the cold water sent shocks and shivers all through her body and an image of her father’s dead body, lying in the royal chambers, flashed through her mind. What if his time was now? What if he had passed while she was out here, pondering to do the right thing by her family, her pride, and herself?

She raised her head and turned tail, running back to the caves as fast as her strong legs could carry her. When she finally arrived in her parents’ chamber, the place where she and her sisters had been born and still slept – in the far back of course – her heart continued to pound. It echoed in her ears and she kept hearing it as she stared down at her father. He was breathing. He was still alive. But he looked so weak, so frail and older than his years. He looked nothing like the strong and moderately old lion she’d known all this time. It was a sad sight, but she had to be strong. She had to let him know that she had made a decision at long last.

She lowered her head down to her father’s ear. “Father…”

He stirred and managed to speak. “Asya…”

“I’ve decided…” She swallowed. Tears threatened. “I have decided to rule after you, Father, as the next ruler of Jangwa… as its Queen.” The moment the words left her mouth she believed them and wouldn’t take them back for anything.

Malka, in his pain, smiled. “Y-you… will make a wonderful ruler, my Asya.”

She smiled and laid the side of her face down on her father’s black and slightly graying mane. It was soft against her cheek and his deep purr filled her ears. Was he giving his blessing?

As if reading her thoughts, he said, “Yes.”

A tear slipped down her cheek, landing on his mane. “I love you, Father,” she whispered.

He opened his eyes a little before closing them again. As he did, he said, “I love you too.”

Asya smiled and stepped back. She was about to leave when her father spoke again. “Wait, Asya… there is something you should know.”

The Princess returned to the King’s side, looking down at him with confused eyes. “What is it, Father?” she asked gently. His death was imminent, approaching fast. She hoped not too fast.

“You will be a good Queen, I know it,” said Malka. He was about to say more when a cough interrupted him. “Forgive me,” he said, shutting his eyes against the pain. He felt her lay a paw of comfort on the side of his face.

“It’s ok,” she said kindly.

He braced himself, both against the pain in his body and what he was about to say. His next words would change his eldest daughter’s life. Spirits in the stars give me the strength, please, he prayed desperately.

“Father,” he heard Asya ask worriedly, thinking he had slipped into some kind of sleep state.

“I’m still here, Asya,” he said softly. “I… I just don’t want you to think ill of me. After all, I’ve placed this tremendous responsibility of being Queen, and so early at that, on your shoulders.”

She shook her head. “It’s not your fault,” she said quickly.

“My not being sick is, but what I’m about to tell you… I suppose that is.”

“And… what is that?”

There was a stiff pause in the atmosphere of the royal chamber. Then the slowly weakened King spoke again. “Long ago, before I came here, I stayed in the realm of a kingdom called the Pridelands. Its ruler, a lion named Chaka, was kind enough to give me sanctuary until I was well enough to move on. I told him that, for his kindness, if I ever found a kingdom of my own and had cubs, I would look upon the Pridelands and its rulers as my allies and vice-versa.”

Asya nodded. “The Pridelands,” she said, running the name of the kingdom over her tongue.

“Yes. The King has five cubs, although I imagine they aren’t cubs anymore. They’re grown up, like you and your sisters. King Chaka’s children are Princess Nuala, her twin brother Prince Jelani, the third born is Prince Aricin and the youngest of the litter are Prince Mohan and Princess Jyotika.”

“Five royals,” Asya mused.

Malka managed a weak chuckle. “There’s more than just King Chaka’s family. He has two sisters who have mates and cubs, and all of them are probably grown up too.”

“The Pridelands are very fortunate.”

“They are, my dear, but unfortunately, there, or maybe still is, a crisis of the royal succession.” He paused, swallowed, and did his best to stare at Asya intently, perhaps searching her eyes.

Mixed feelings ran up Asya’s spine. Where was her father going with this? She couldn’t rush him. Whatever he was trying to say he needed to get out on his terms, not hers, though her patience was slowly dwindling. She was never patient, like her