single explanation for the strange behavior. Not knowing his father much, but not wanting to alarm anyone of his findings, Elewisa sought out his older brother Gainell. 

He found the first born playing with his three friends. The other cubs contently acknowledged Elewisa and made their ways back to their own dens when he told them that he wanted to speak to his brother, alone. El was glad for their compliance, and instantly recounted the details of what he had heard and seen from earlier that day to his older brother, who appeared not one bit surprised or suspicious. 

“Father speaks to many lions and animals in all sorts of manners.” His brother shrugged, “Besides- you said yourself you don’t know who she is or what his relation is to her. We shouldn’t go around throwing accusations. It’ll only upset mother and father. Besides-” Gainell fixed Elewisa with his cold blue gaze, “-You may not remember because you were too young, but I was there before mother and father became rulers. I’ve seen the love they have for each other. Why do you think you’re here now, if not for their love? If father didn’t care, he wouldn’t have bothered with another cub after he’d had me.” 

“In short, I beg you not to stir up unnecessary trouble Elewisa.” With that, his older brother marched away from El with the excuse that he wanted to go see their grandmother Nala, leaving the dark prince with nothing but his own racing thoughts. 

Elewisa then resigned himself to admitting that for once, Gainell might be right.

Chapter Two

Elewisa chortled with laughter as his paws became entangled with that of Areesa, who was giving him the most ridiculous face he’d seen in ages. The two cubs tumbled down a small hill together, both giggling. “Ouch!” Elewisa huffed out as he landed roughly on his back with Areesa on top of him. “Oh poor baby!” Areesa said tauntingly. “Can’t handle a simple hill slide?’ She peered down at him, eyes sparkling. “Yeah right!” He responded, pushing her off of him with a laugh. “You’re the one who cried to the heavens just because a thorn got stuck in your paw.” He told her with narrowed eyes, enjoying the explosion of anger he knew would surface with his words. 

Areesa growled at El before pouncing on the cub’s back, her claws digging into the fur. “Let go!” Elewisa yelped as his footing became uneven on the muddy ground. “Never!” Areesa cried, and the two once again went rolling down the plains. This was the third time in four days that the two cubs had found themselves so far away from pride rock. The two landed at the edge of a cliffside with the rushing sounds of the river not too far beneath them. El scrambled after Areesa, who was mesmerized at the edge of the cliff. “How far down do you think it goes?” She asked El without taking her eyes off the turbulent waves. Elewisa shrugged from his place beside her. “No clue, but we should get out of here.” And when she wouldn’t budge, Elewisa took a different approach. 

“Look!” The young cub cried out, his nose pointing down at the banks of the river. Areesa finally broke from her trance, spotting the shell that El was pointing at. She always did love shiny things. “Let’s go get it!” She squealed triumphantly, happy with how their adventure was turning out. 

The only issue was getting to the riverbank. The two cubs stumbled down to the one side and searched around, trying to find anything that they could use to safely cross to the other side. Elewisa wandered about, poking at anything that stuck out of the water in the hopes that it would be stable enough to hold him and Areesa. 

No such luck. From the corners of his eyes however, the young cub spotted the place where the river tapered off in two directions, and from there he could see that there were large bones scattered across the smaller stream that could be used to cross to the other side. 

“Areesa!” He called out and waited as the other cub approached. A moment of silence passed between them, and Elewisa contemplated the choice before him. He could simply go back home now, dragging an unfulfilled Areesa with him who was sure to complain about not getting the shell. That would be the smart decision. The princely decision. The type of decision his father and brother Gainell would approve of. Or, a voice in his mind whispered. You can be a true adventurer, regaling others with the tale of your crossing a bone bridge across an endless river to retrieve a shell for your beloved friend, and Elewisa had to give it to the voice. That idea sounded so much better. Far more interesting and rewarding. 

Without another word, Elewisa headed in the direction of the bone bridge. As he traversed closer, he realized that the bones belong to several elephants. A small warning bell went off in the back of his mind, but the cub ignored it and continued onward, Areesa on his heels. The two cubs floundered, trying to get a good grip on the bones as they braved their way across the bone bridge and onto the other side of the riverbank. 

Elewisa sighed in relief. “Go get your shell.” He told Areesa as he stood guard next to the bones, their only way back to safety. The sun was beginning to set from where they were, and the sky was so cloudy that the riverbank seemed eerily dark. “It’s so shiny!” He heard Areesa yell out as she finally made it to the shell. A smile crept up on the young cub’s face as he watched his favorite playmate pick up the shell as if it were a prize and make her way back to him. “Let’s go.” He managed to make out from her mumbling, and he nodded his head at her, allowing her the chance to cross first. 

The two cubs slowly clawed their way onto the bones and steadily began making their way across the bridge. 

“Ah!” El let out as the river water suddenly surged and one of his hind paws slipped from the bone it held onto. Areesa turned to look at him with wide eyes, until she was sure he was safe. They had almost made it onto the other side when Elewisa felt his heart jump to his throat as he heard the curdling laughter. His fur stood on end as he frantically looked around, trying to pinpoint where the laughter had come from. 

“El….” He heard Areesa whisper as she retreated and bumped into him. In front of them both Elewisa could now see the hyenas who looked all too pleased to have found the two cubs. 

“Well, well, what have we here? Isn’t that one of the little princelings?” One of them said, jabbing a paw at Elewisa who felt himself grow smaller, curling in around himself. The other two laughed maniacally, and Elewisa could feel the quickening of his heart, pounding so quickly he thought it might jump out of his chest. 

“I’d like me a piece of lion for dessert.” Another growled, walking around the first hyena with glinting narrowed eyes. Elewisa gulped down his horror, unable to make his paws move. “How about it, boys?” The hyena asked her companions, and they nodded enthusiastically, giggling all the while. 

“Come here, you.” The she-hyena said, swiping a paw at Elewisa’s head. Elewisa curled in further in on himself whilst his mind roared of his cowardice. He was paralyzed with fear. 

“No!” Came the brave response, quickly followed by a scream of horror. Elewisa looked up just in time to see Areesa jump in front of the hyena’s paw in his defense, and his terror only grew as he spotted the hyena’s claws raking down the side of Areesa’s face. 

“I can’t see!” Areesa cried, her paws clutching at her eyes. Elewisa stood frozen, unsure of what to do. The cackling of the hyenas rang in his ears as he stood there awaiting his doom. 

Except, it never came. In its stead came the fierce roar of a lion. 

The three hyenas jumped and scurried off the bridge, their cackle’s tone turning from bone chilling to frantic and afraid.  “Halt!” Came the booming voice of Elewisa’s golden cousin. The large lion padded over to the now still hyenas, encircling them. The hyenas wore a look of severe displeasure on their faces, as if they had just smelled something foul and could not escape it. Elewisa was finally able to force his paws to move, padding around Areesa, who’s screams had died down into mostly silent sobs. 

As he gazed upon the dark fur that was now stained in red, something in Elewisa clicked. His fear vanished, as if it were never there. He leaned down to help lick the blood from Areesa’s fur, his purr comforting despite the circumstances. 

This lioness, he decided, would never come to harm again. Not under his watch. While continuing to calm down Areesa, Elewisa listened to the scene unfolding behind him. 

“What, exactly, do you three wretches think you are doing on pride lander territory?” Arien was asking, to which he only received snorts of amusement. 

“Not your territory golden boy. This is our border too, and they crossed it!” The she-hyena let out with a growl. Arien didn’t appear fazed, instead his frame seemed to grow ever so slightly as he bared his teeth in retaliation. “Tell your leader that if we see your kind here again, you won’t even have the graveyard to call home.” He spat at them, his claws flying at their backs as a warning. The hyenas scurried off with little howls. Despite the fact that he was saved, and they had on all accounts been defeated, El never forgot the looks on