1.6. Taking a Stand

A new day.

The sun was rising over the plains and savannahs, and from far and wide, the animals of the kingdom were heading for Pride Rock, the occasion solemn, for it marked the final end of the old dynasty, and the beginnings of a new one. Mohatu’s line was gone from the lands, and the widowed Daemane had taken a new husband in the form of the lion Agano, and he now wore the mantle of ‘King’. It was his son everyone was coming to see, that child’s presentation. There was hope in everyone’s heart for the future, at last.

Well, except for in Daemane’s heart. She looked down at the cub in her arms and tried to feel for it, but couldn’t. He blinked up at her with his great wide eyes and cooed happily, but she kept finding herself looking over her shoulder, to where her firstborns were cuddled next to Huria. As soon as Huria’s own cubs had been born, she had taken over the care and nursing of Shauku and Nuru so that Daemane could come back into breeding condition again, and live up to her end of their bargain. She had done it, even as it had sickened her, because it was the only way to keep her son and daughter alive. 

And over the last few months, as she had watched her cubs be washed and cared for by a lioness she had come to hate as much as Agano, something had changed within Daemane. She had never been a strong-willed lioness, but as she had watched her own pride slowly disappear, her heart had hardened. When the last went – dear old Dhamira, the one who had been like a second mother to her – she had finally and silently broken inside. Every one of their deaths could be laid at her paws, and she had come to accept that, even if she hated herself for it, it had given her a new inner strength, one she had put to use against Agano and his ilk: she had let them know, unequivocally, that her son Shauku and her daughter Nuru would not be entirely deprived of their status as royals. No, she demanded that they be accepted as siblings to this new cub, this Mufasa – she would allow them to be considered his younger siblings, and their smaller sizes against his would give proof to the lie, but royalty they would stay. Agano had tried to put Daemane in her place, but she had put a paw over Mufasa, echoing Huria back at the beginning, and asked him what he was willing to sacrifice to win the argument. 

“You had my oath under duress, and now I return the favour,” she had said, her claws just barely pricking the newborn’s flesh. “Mufasa can either have my children as his brother and sister, legitimately, or Mufasa will simply cease to exist.” A smile had crawled across her face, as chilly as his had been. “Remember: it’s not a matter of yes or no, as you put it to me, but rather of who lives and who dies. If you refuse my wish here, I have no further need of your son, now do I, and while you may kill me for Mufasa’s death, it won’t change it. You’ll be left without your precious ‘legitimacy’… and my death won’t go unnoticed now. Not now that the people of the land know I married you, took you as King. There will be questions, and somehow I don’t think any answers you give will be very satisfactory. Especially since the invitations to Mufasa’s presentation have been sent out to all and sundry. Would be a bit… suspicious, don’t you think?”

And so she had had Agano’s word – his unbreakable word – that neither he, nor Huria, nor anyone else would retaliate against herself or Shauku or Nuru, and that they would be named the younger siblings to Mufasa. In return, she withdrew her claws from the big golden cub and swore never to threaten his life again, nor to harm him in any way. 

They would play at the happy little family.

Now, the day of Mufasa’s presentation was here, and Daemane couldn’t stop feeling nothing for the boy. Maybe in time, maybe she could, maybe she could put aside who his father was and see him as the innocent he was, but right now she just wanted someone else to take charge of him. It was a desire she knew would be granted, and looked forward to, because the kingdom’s shaman was on her way. Macharia was the leading holy figure in the land, and trusted with leading any and all rites of passage for the lion community, and so Agano had accepted her presence this day.

As the crowd below on the plains swelled, the old mandrill scaled the sharply inclined sides of Pride Rock, bowed to Agano, and then introduced her apprentice to both the new King and Daemane. The small little fellow was named Rafiki, and he was to watch all Macharia did so that he would be able to memorize it for any presentations he would be doing in the future. Even if he was still a child, Rafiki was quiet and obedient, and hung on his teacher’s every word. He, unlike Daemane, was quite drawn to Mufasa. He stared at the cub with his overly large moonlike eyes, and Daemane could see he desperately wanted to reach out and pet the baby, but he adhered to his training and kept his hands to himself. She wouldn’t have minded his touching Mufasa at all, but Agano’s slight glower at the little mandrill said he certainly would mind. 

Then it was time, and Macharia sprinkled dust on the infant, smeared him with the juice of a gourd, muttered some mumbo-jumbo over his head, and lifted him into her arms. With a last nod to his parents, she carried the cub to the tip of Pride Rock and lifted him up for the whole of the gathered animals to see. They went wild at first, but quickly settled down and dropped to their knees, bowing to their future monarch.

Crown Prince Mufasa had been accepted.
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Bonus Art: Mufasa's Presentation

Artwork & story; characters Daemane, Dhamira, Huria, Macharia, belong to me. 
Elements from the story relating to The Lion King including its associated characters (Mohatu, Mufasa, 'Nuru', 'Shauku', 'Agano', Rafiki) (C) Disney.