by one the assembled animals placed a paw on the shoulder of the young leopard. Bakari had the safety that he so desperately needed. As Simba watched Kopa bend over to speak to the leopard his memory drifted back to a day years before.   

       Before Simba had left the jungle he had gone to speak to Tafari and Tafari’s female cousin Leena. Tafari and Leena had been sad to see Simba leave yet had known it was Simba’s destiny. For Leena the pain was greater as she and Simba had once been in love. For one brief summer Leena and Simba had allowed themselves to be together in the jungle paradise. The teenagers were so much in love the leopards had accepted it. After a time reality had set in bringing an end to their romance. Shortly before Nala’s arrival in the jungle Leena had married a leopard of her parents choosing and Tafari had ascended to the throne on his mother’s death. On the night Simba left the jungle he had promised to help the leopards if they were ever in need of it. A promise that was remembered at a time of crisis when all hope seemed lost.

      Slowly days passed. With rest, medicine, food and plenty of talking Baraki’s physical and emotional wounds healed. Kopa and Imoo spend a lot of time with their new friend, exploring the kingdom and sharing adventures. With his natural agility Bakari easily climbed the many trees, giving the lions quite a fright when he leapt down.

      As the days passed Kiara slowly developed a crush on him. With his natural charm, handsome features and the fact he always treated her as an equal the young princess fell head over paws. Kiara often spent time with Bakari when Kopa and Imoo were occupied with royal duties. One afternoon while Kiara and Bakari were exploring the river he showed her how to cross a river by climbing over the trees. From the far side of the river Kopa watched the pair a lead weight descended into Kopa's stomach as he realized his sister's feelings for Bakari. That night while the pride slept Kopa took Bakari to the top of Pride Rock.

“Bakari, Kiara has a crush on you,” Kopa said facing his friend.

“Kiara is a wonderful cub, I enjoy spending time with her,” Bakari replied smiling.

“Kiara is a sweet cub but naïve. She may like you but her heart is that of a cub. I won’t forgive you if you hurt her.”

“You're a good brother Kopa. I care for Kiara as family nothing more.”

“I'm glad we understand each other,” Kopa replied breathing a sigh of relief.

“I would be a cruel creature to take advantage of the crush of a cub,” Bakari replied.   

 

 

 

 

 

    Training of kings 

   Two months had passed since Bakari had arrived in the Pride Lands. One bright morning Simba and his friend held council at the very top of Pride Rock. Bakari spoke first, describing his home in detail before stopping short.

“When I arrived I wasn’t quite honest with you about how I escaped. The truth was my Father did tell me to come here. What I didn't tell you is that I spend five days in captivity.”

“How then did you escape?” Nala asked breaking the stunned silence.

“I was helped by a lioness the same age as me.”

“Why would she help you?” Simba asked, a glimmer of suspicion in his eyes.

“She had white fur with purple eyes. I didn't get to find out much about her, she told me is that she was a virtual outcast and the male leader was her father. In a way she was as much a prisoner as I was.”

“Bakari you should have been honest with us from the start,” Nala said.

“Nala is right, we would have understood the circumstances, we all know how badly a white lion can be treated,” Simba replied bitterly.

“That poor girl she must have a terrible life,” Nala replied, her voice laced with sadness.

“I have to return. Whether my parents or my sister live or not I have to reclaim what is mine.”

“I will help you,” Kopa said standing up. “I will go with you to fight.”

“So will I, the three of us together stand a better chance than you alone,” Imoo said proudly.

        Standing proudly together the three youngsters looked an impressive sight as fire burned brightly in their eyes. Looking at their son Simba and Nala felt their hearts swell with pride at his genuine desire to help another. In that moment they saw the young adult he had become. With a graceful nod of their heads Simba and Nala gave Kopa their blessing. Next to them Aketch sat in silence as the news sank in. A thousand thoughts swirled through her head, happiness and understanding mingled with fear for her friends. Feeling Imoo's eyes on her the young lioness spoke up.

“Kopa as your fiancé I can understand why you want to help Bakari. I’m just not sure you should personally go, as heir.”

“Aketch you don’t have to worry about me, I’m a good fight I’ll be back before you know it,” Kopa replied with a confident grin.

“What the three of you plan shows the strength of friendship,” Simba said breaking the silence. “I speak for all when I saw how proud I am of your planned course of action, we will provide any help you require.”

_____________________________________________________________________

       The decision of the youngsters to help Bakari was kept a closely guarded secret within the pride. This need had been drummed into the heads of Nassor and Kiara. In the hours between dusk and dawn Bakari, Kopa and Imoo trained hard, working on their fighting skills, tracking and stealth. Imoo came into his own, using all the training he had been given by his parents. While his methods were tough yet effective, often the trio would collapse from exhaustion when they arrived home.

       At first Aketch helped with the training along with Sudi, Akil and Dumisa as each animal had their own unique skills. In a short space of time the Elephants Graveyard became a major training ground with many of the wild dogs playing the part of adversaries. With his small form Sudi was often chased by the cats or took on the role of spy when Imoo was teaching about how to gather information. With all the friends working together the days of their cub hood seemed to return. Though all still tried to have fun ever increasing adult responsibilities had restricted them in recent months.

         As the days turned to weeks the combined pressure of training and the simple fact that Kopa would be leaving began to put a strain Kopa and Aketch’s relationship. Though betrothed Kopa was still treating her as a friend even when the pair went on formal dates. Torn between caring for Kopa as a friend and her love for him Aketch began to feel anger at his treatment of her.  

      Arriving home from a hard night of training Kopa, Imoo and Bakari were met by Aketch who had a less than happy look on her face.

“So what time do you call this Kopa?”

“Just before sunrise, what have I done?” Kopa asked innocently.

“We were supposed to be going on a date,” Aketch snapped angrily. “I guess you just forgot.”

“Awe Aketch I'm sorry, we had an important piece of training to finish. We can go out tomorrow if you want to.”

“Putting all this training before the need of you fiancé and breaking a promise, I never thought I'd see it.”

“Aketch cool it, the training is important, I said I'm sorry!”

“Aketch our training is important, Simba and Nala understand that, I suggest,” Bakari began.

“Stay out of this leopard you are the cause of this. If you had never come begging for help then……”

“AKETCH THAT IS UNFAIR!” Kopa roared with rage. “I am a Prince, bound by duty to help those in need.”

 “Kopa,” Aketch began her eyes burning with fury.

       Taking a look between the pair Imoo and Bakari took to their paws, running away as fast as they could from the fighting. Facing each other alone Kopa and Aketch felt the tension cracking.

“Kope you shouldn’t go with them, putting Bakari before the needs of your own kingdom, what happens if you get killed?”

“I have to! A promise was made by my Father. When this kingdom need help the most my father returned. I can’t explain it, helping Bakari is giving back for the recovery of this land,” Kopa replied angrily. “I expected you to understand.”

“I am trying to Kopa but we never spend enough time together just the two of us. I know we didn’t expect to be betrothed but you could at least make an effort to treat me in the way a prince should treat his girl!” Aketch cried, tears of anger and pain running down her face

“What happened to us Aketch?” Kopa whispered softly. “We used to be the best of friend. Me, you, Imoo, Akil, Sudi and Dumisa, as cubs we had so much fun. Ever since the ceremony things have been bad between us. Why did something so good turn into this?”

           As Kopa’s word began to sink in Kopa and Aketch looked at one another, with a mixture of sadness and regret shining in their eyes. Tears ran their cheeks as both began to understand what had gone wrong. In their

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