forgot the looks on their faces as they had tried to harm him. 

“What were you thinking?!” Came the voice of Arien once more, as the lion made his way over to the two cubs and yanked Elewisa off Areesa. “If I hadn’t been patrolling this bit you two would be hyena snacks by now!” 

Elewisa looked up to his cousin calmly, a single eyebrow raised. “She’s hurt.” He muttered, pointing a paw in Areesa’s direction. “You can lecture me about it all you want, but we need to get her some help first.” And for a cub of only a few months, Elewisa’s voice left no room for argument. Arien sighed, taking a closer look at Areesa. “That’ll leave a nasty scar.” He muttered, more to himself than anybody else. Then he picked up the sobbing lioness cub by the scruff of her neck and beckoned Elewisa to follow him. 

It was night fall by the time Arien and the cubs reached pride rock. Areesa had been taken to Rafiki for the night, and Elewisa was left to his own devices when they neared the den. The dark cub padded up the rock side, his pelt allowing him to blend in perfectly in the shadows of the night. He had no interest in being caught sneaking back in. Oh, the lectures he would get! He slincked his way past the night watch. On his way into the den, he spotted a shadow of a movement. It was of a pelt that was all too similar to his, and Elewisa watched with mild interest as his father paced back and forth in the entrance to the den. Unsure of how to proceed, El stood there in silence for a moment, trying to come up with an excuse as to why he was just now getting back when it was well past sundown. 

“Psst!” He heard after a few moments. Elewisa turned to find his older brother Gainell hiding out behind the small outcrop of rocks that surrounded the den. “Why?” Was the only thing Elewisa could manage to say. After the day he had had, and the vicious lecture he was sure to receive once news of his adventure spread, El was in no mood to play his brother’s games. 

“Dad’s upset!” Gainell said in a tiny voice, peering cautiously over to where their dark shadow of a father still paced. Elewisa let out an exasperated sigh. “Father is always upset.” He remarked to his brother. As far back as Elewisa could recall, his father had never been a particularly jovial fellow. Quick to anger, quick to lash out, and never one to apologize, Elewisa had few fond memories of the lion Gainell looked up to so much. 

Still standing behind the rocks, Gainell scoffed. “He’s stressed out. It’s not like you’re making his life easier. We should do something!” He insisted, finally finding his bravery and stepping out from hiding. Before Elewisa could argue against the idea, for he had no intention of interacting with his father, Gainell was padding out into the open and calling out to the king. 

El plastered on a fake smile. If he pretended to have been hiding out with Gainell just outside the den, he wouldn’t receive much scolding. That was how he ended up cheering on the father that he could care less for as Gainell pleaded for their father to smile.

Chapter Three

Gainell slipped silently behind his father, attempting to echo every paw step as if it would help him in emulating the majesty of the king. He had awoken that day before the birds had begun their singing, and had sat patiently next to the sleeping king until he had arisen for the day. His father continued to ignore his presence, though Gainell could feel that he was beginning to get agitated with the smaller shadow that followed him. Gainell ignored the warning signs, however, and instead focused on not losing his father as the king continued to try and jilt him. 

He had witnessed now at least ten different animals who had come in to complain to his father of this mess or that. A fight had nearly broken out between two rams when Gainell had suggested that they simply share leadership of the herd. 

He had been ‘escorted’ out of his father’s meeting place after that comment and once the rams had calmed down. Now, the oldest prince waited near the foothills of the kajobe, his temperature rising thanks to the persistent rays of the sun. He had been sitting there waiting for his father to reemerge ever since slightly after dawn, when he was made to leave, and still there was no sign of his father. Gainell wondered if it really took so long to settle one dispute, and then he concluded that this must be the reason his father was always so irritable. How could he not be, when he was forced to sit through such drivel for so long? 

One day, that’ll be my job. Gainell thought, though he didn’t dread it. The first prince was actually looking forward to it, mostly because he believed himself more than capable of doing well. 

This was why he was still sitting outside his father’s meeting place, waiting. If nothing else, Gainell believed that this would showcase to his father his patience. A virtue that Elewisa often times lacked. 

Hoofs sounded behind him, and Gainell barely had time to move out of the way as the two rams trotted out of the shadows, snorting at him as they went by. Not too long after their departure, his father finally emerged from the meeting. 

Gainell looked up at his father with hopeful blue eyes, only to find the green glassy and dull. His father looked down and acknowledged his presence, but said something that sank Gainell’s heart.

“You’re not to come to any more meetings. I’d ask you to leave, though you may sit here if you’d like, so long as you keep out of the way.”

“But father-”

“No.” 

And that was that. It had taken Gainell weeks of begging and prodding to be allowed a single day to see his father in action, and he’d barely gotten a glimpse before he’d been kicked out. Tears burned in the corners of his eyes, but Gainell refused to cry. His father hated crying cubs. He gave his father a curt nod, before turning around and marching away from the kajobe. 

He would find another way to show his father how serious he was about becoming king. There were many alternatives to simply sitting down for meetings, and Gainell contemplated all of them as he continued down a random path, too distracted to realize where he was going. 

“Ah!” Said a voice in surprise as two blurry figures tumbled on the ground in front of him. This was then followed up with giggles. Gainell rolled his eyes, mild irritation beginning to prick at him. That voice belonged to none other than Areesa, but it was not because of her that Gainell suddenly felt the urge to change directions. Wherever Areesa went, Elewisa was not far behind, and Gainell dreaded having to deal with his brother today. 

Too late. He had been spotted. 

Elewisa had Areesa pinned to the ground with a vicious grin, one that made even Gainell uneasy. The oldest prince often found himself questioning just how Areesa could stand to be around his obnoxious younger brother. “Point!” El declared, before Areesa kicked him off of her and motioned to Gainell. 

Gainell sincerely contemplated running off, but felt himself glued to his spot. 

“Well well, brother. How goes the training with father? Shall I bow and refer to you as ‘my liege’ everytime you walk past now?” 

Both El and Areesa snickered at the comment, but Gainell would not take the bait. Instead, he gave Elewisa a peachy smile in return and bit out with “Only if you’d like- as my younger brother I wouldn’t dream of being so formal with you, El.” 

He hoped the comment would stop El from questioning him about why he was back so quickly, even though Gainell had proudly stated days earlier that he would be shadowing their father for the entire day. 

The trick worked, though Elewisa didn’t appear to be completely convinced. The lion dropped the topic all together in favor of a new one. Turning back to his partner in crime, Elewisa said, “You should tell him the story.” 

Gainell of course had no idea of what the two were speaking of. He rarely spent any time around them to know what they might be referring to. Areesa gave Elewisa a smirk in response, then turned her attention to Gainell. “Zazu brought back news from home, and boy does it make for a grand story. I’ll tell you all about it, if you’d care to listen.”

She was giving him an option, and Gainell thanked her in his thoughts. Areesa might have been attached to the hip with his brother, but she was aware of his faults, and the fact that Gainell wasn’t too fond of him. Seeing as he had nothing better to do now that he had been dismissed, Gainell decided to take a chance and spend some time with the two. “I’d be delighted.” He responded to her. 

This was how Gainell ended up hearing the story of the great Anan Dejen- an older half brother of Areesa who had taken on a vicious rhino (with the help of others) and defeated the rhino, though he lost a paw and gained many scars in the battle.

Gainell was of course only half-paying attention to the story. His mind wandered to thoughts of being proclaimed crown prince, and how he might achieve such a thing. Gainell wanted more than anything to prove to his father that he was able, but how was he to do that if his father was never around to see? He was still too young to achieve something like fighting off an enemy of the pride lands, and he had no knowledge in governance beyond what he had seen his father do. He entertained several thoughts, but ultimately dropped them