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1.10. Storm on the Horizon

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Rated because blood drips.
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Life became less rocky in the days that followed. Kona was able to move about more freely, as was her wish. Daemane got to tend to her cubs – all of them – and came to forgive Mufasa for the sin of being his father’s son. Agano began to find his way as a King, and started to earn the respect of the animals in his kingdom. Days followed nights, and time moved on.


The only moment of upset came when Kona gave birth to a son, and while the new boy’s golden colour drew a frown from Daemane, the handmaiden insisted she had mated with a rogue on one of the long walks she was now allowed out to take. 

“I wanted to experience motherhood. Everyone else in the pride is, so why can I not?” she had snapped at Daemane when the Queen pushed her on the subject. “The rogue was golden-furred. So what? It’s not that uncommon.”

Daemane could not argue with that, and after a time, let the matter die.

For her part, Kona came to find that her role as mistress to the King was not quite so odious as she had thought at first. She might have hated Agano for taking over the kingdom, and for his part in the disappearance of their former pride, but she was pragmatic, too. Agano lavished her with attention and gifts, let her wander where she would in the lands – she did not know that when she did, Zuzu followed and kept an eye on her – and granted most any request she asked of him. She might not love him, but Kona was beginning to relish her new role. Yes, it was dangerous, and carried severe penalties if she was caught, but she much preferred her freedom and this comfortable life to being stuck on the slopes of Pride Rock day in and day out.

Agano himself kept up his courting of Kona, and even if he had started out only wanting to woo her to make Daemane angry and hurt – what better way than to turn her only ally to his side? – he quickly found he actually liked the lioness herself. She was the opposite of Daemane: pretty, compliant, and soft-spoken. He found himself seeking her out not out of some petty quest for revenge, but because he enjoyed her company and he wanted more of it. Although he would never admit it, aloud or to himself, the King was indeed smitten with Kona, and wished deeply that he could cast Daemane aside and take Kona as his queen; she was much more suited to him and his temperament than the striped lioness ever could be. He was smitten, and no one who suspected the truth could argue that this was exactly a bad thing – the more time he spent with Kona, the calmer and less temperamental the young lion became. 

And so, things settled into a comfortable rut, for several years, with few complaints from anyone, even Daemane. Seasons passed, the cubs grew out of infant spots and onto restless legs, and the pride prospered.

Until the day a rogue appeared on the borders.

He was a huge brute – nearly twice the size of Agano – missing his left eye, and he prowled about the edges of the kingdom, picking off members of the herds and generally defying the King’s laws and authority. He did not speak at all to anyone, and never gave a name, and so the pride dubbed him “Scar”, for the copious ones covering his pelt and face. Agano wanted to run him off, but his sister’s mate Jangili cautioned against such a move. 

“We don’t know enough about him,” he said. “He is quite a monster, and I am not sure how good a fighter he will turn out to be, or how cunning he is – if we charge in now, we may end up being the ones run out and not him. It would be smarter to wait and watch him, and see if we can find any weaknesses to exploit before we move.”

The King could not disagree with that, and so he held back from outright attack. Worry ate at him, though, that this interloper might be his undoing, and he kept Zuzu in the sky as much as he dared, hoping her sharp little eyes would see something about this rogue he could use. Yet even she had to be careful, for the huge lion had not come alone; vultures kept on his tail, eager for the half-eaten kills he often left behind, and they would kill Zuzu if they caught her if for nothing more than to see to it that their free meal ticket came to no harm. So while the King held back, the rogue made himself at home, hunting the herds Agano claimed and marking the edges of the kingdom as his own territory. 

And Agano could only hope no tragedy would come from the waiting.
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Artwork & story; characters Daemane, Kona, belong to me. 
Elements from the story relating to The Lion King including its associated characters (Mufasa, 'Agano', 'Jangili', 'Scar', Zuzu) (C) Disney.
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© 2015 - 2024 Kirroc
Comments12
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Kona hated him and says she still does but is willing to let that slide because it suits her purpose. Nevermind he was going to kill Daemane and her niece and nephew as well as killed the whole of their pride. Great sister there. I can also see her becoming too big for her pawsize and going Hagar on the queen. And gee why would Daemane be suspicious, one day her sister is virtually chained to the den, the next she’s basically allowed free roam and has a cub who suspiciously looks like the king