The Lion Guard: A Dark Secret

Chapter 41

Fuli blinked. She rubbed her eyes with her paw, blurry from sleep. She looked around, checking her surroundings. She was at the sleeping spot. The rest of the Lion Guard were asleep - thank the Great Kings and Queens.

Her gaze found it's way towards Kion. She suddenly gasped at the horrifying thing she saw.

His scar was bleeding out onto the ground. His body jerked suddenly and sharply inhaled. "Stop... please..! Stop...! Help..."

Fuli quickly got to her paws. She suddenly fell back down when she felt the pain in her paw from her injury. Ugh. Stupid injury.

She got up again, favoring her injured paw and limped over to Kion. She was about to wake him, but stopped. If I wake him, he'll just tell me he's fine. He will just refuse to let anyone help him like he always does.

She then thought of something, an idea that she had entertained before. She looked around, careful not to wake the Guard as she started walking. She stepped lightly to avoid her paws crunching on any dry leaves or grass - that could wake the Guard. 

She broke into a light trot after she was a good distance away from everyone, not going too fast due to her injured paw. It was hard to see in the darkness of night - Fuli didn't know when she'd reach her destination but she hoped it would be soon. She trotted, favoring her injured paw and tasing the air, trying to catch a certain scent.

She soon felt familiar terrain under her paws similar to what she felt when walking towards the Tree of Life. It wouldn't be long, she knew. She picked up the pace as much as she comfortably could and breathed, taking in the cool, crisp air.

She then slowed the pace - she didn't want to bump into something and hurt herself. That definitely wouldn't be ideal. She then stopped when she suddenly saw something. Only a few pawsteps away was the Tree of Life. Only at that moment when she was close enough she was able to see it due to the darkness. She breathed a sigh of relief. She was lucky to have seen the Tree right before she crashed into it and could potentially hurt her injured paw.

She gingerly took a step forward. She could feel the giant Tree's roots under her paw, confirming that it was the Tree of Life. She then walked forward, staring to make her way inside the cavern-like space. The dim light from the moon and stars left and she was momentarily left in darkness. But soon, it lit up with green, glowing mushrooms.

This was the Tree of Life all right.

The further she walked into the space, the brighter it glowed. Soon, she could make out a lioness sleeping peacefully inside. Janna, Queen of the Tree of Life, she knew.

Her sleep seemed peaceful - it looked like the best sleep the queen had gotten in who knows how long. Being Queen of the Tree of Life must've been a lot of work and who knew how often she would get rest like that. A teensy bit of guilt squirmed inside Fuli, but was soon replaced by the feeling that one gets when they know they have to do something.

She sat down. "Queen Janna," she said, her voice not coming out more than a whisper. The queen didn't respond. Instead she lightly stirred and tilted her head the other way, obviously still asleep.

Fuli sighed and guilt squirmed inside her once more. "Queen Janna." She lightly raised a paw and gently tapped on the queen's shoulder. "Janna."

"Hmm...." Janna began to stir and not long after, her eyelids finally fluttered open. "Who is this..." Janna murmured drowsily, not fully awake.

"It's Fuli," Fuli could so much as whisper. What if the queen was upset? Worse, what if the Night Pride found her here? They were already hostile... what would they think if they found Fuli here in the middle of the night?