The Lion Monarch Book 1: Mohatu

Chapter 3: A New Journey

~~~4 Months Later~~~

     It's been months since Kusho took over as king, and the kingdom has fallen into ruin. He's ordered that almost all food brought into the kingdom be given to him. The citizens of the kingdom are starving, and a lot of the vegetation around the kingdom has died. Several citizens were even dying or leaving, and to be honest... I had been thinking of doing the same thing. I was currently walking through the kingdom, trying to find my uncle. Earlier today, he asked me to meet him on one of the balconies. Even though I still lived in the kingdom, I felt like I always had to be cautious while walking around. Kusho made the castle feel... unsafe. No one ever knew whether Kusho would calmly walked past them or lash out in anger and attack them. A dark hue glowed over the kingdom, and made easily. Luckily, I was able to make it to the balcony without any trouble. I found my uncle who stared out at the city, looking slightly smaller than usual due to the lack of food.

"Uncle Lengo? You asked me to meet you?"

"I did... it's about your brother. I think he needs to be taken off the throne..."

"I hate to admit it, but I agree. But are you suggesting we take him off the throne? How would we even do that? we're not going to... hurt him, are we?"

"No, not unless we have to." I looked up at him, nervously.

"Uncle, what does that even mean?"

"Look, Mohatu, you should be the on the throne- not your brother. We need to convince him that he needs to take a step back from the throne. Him being king is killing this kingdom and it's people. My wife- your aunt- has already gotten sick. She barely made it through, and I'm not going to sit around and wait for someone else to get sick of even worse. You could fix this kingdom, and he needs to be dethroned."

"What if he doesn't want to? I have a feeling he's not going to wanna go willingly."

"Then that's when we're going to use force. One of us needs to challenge him. If we engage in a challenge with the king and win- we have the right to take over the kingdom and become the new king. I could do it and win, but I think you should do it. You're younger, you're part of the original kingdom and you would make a better king."

"Lengo- do you realize what you're talking about?! This is literally treason, and we could get killed for this. We can't challenge him."

"Yes- we can. You've grown strong and wise beyond your years. You can take him on and win."

"Look, we just can't... okay? I'll talk to him about it the whole situation, but I don't know that he'll be willing to listen. Let's just talk to him first." My uncle sighed and turned away before finally agreeing- though he wasn't happy about it. We walked out of the castle, and started looking for Kusho. The citizens looked so unhappy, but smiled when they saw me. I looked around cautiously before seeing him take food from a small cub. The small cub looked as through he was about to cry before looking up and smiling at my uncle and I. My brother turned around to see who it was, before lowly growling and trying to walk away.

"Kusho- wait, I wanna talk."

"That's King Kusho to you." He replied in an angry tone, continuing to walk.
"Fine- King Kusho- we need to talk. It's about the kingdom."
"You need to listen, Kusho." My uncle said in a stern tone and Kusho turned around angrily.
"And what exactly is there to talk about?!" He snapped, and I took a step back.
"Well, um... can we talk somewhere a bit more private?"
"No! If you have something to say- then say it right here, in front of everyone."
"A-are you sure? I don't know if we should talk about this in pu-"
"Speak." He growled, and a crowd began to circle around us.
"Okay... um-" I took a deep breath in and tried to calm down, "I think there are some... improvements that could be done to better help the kingdom."
"Oh? So you think I'm doing a bad job as king, huh?"
"Well, n-no, It's just that some of the citizens are starving and I think there's something that could be do-"
"This is a challenge, isn't it? So you wanna challenge the king, do you?!"
"No- Kusho, stop. It's not a challenge, I just want to talk."
"Listen to him, Kusho." My uncle said, visibly upset.
"SHUT UP! YOU HAVE ALWAYS HAD IT OUT FOR ME, OLD MAN! YOU'VE NEVER LIKED ME, MOHATU WAS ALWAYS YOUR FAVORITE!" He screamed at our uncle before turning to me, "And YOU. You are NOTHING, but you've always been mom and dad's favorite... I could never be the best. You guys always looked down on me because I was small- because I was WEAK. But I'm not weak anymore, and I have the strength to beat you now."
"Kusho- stop, this isn't you. I don't want to fight you." My brother looked up at the castle and saw my parents looking down at us, and he turned to them.
"YOU SEE THIS?! YOU'RE FAVORITE SON IS GOING TO GET PUT IN HIS PLACE. GATHER AROUND CITIZENS, AND WATCH YOUR PRECIOUS PRINCE FALL AS HE CHALLENGES THE KING!" He screamed before lunging at me. I jumped backwards to try and dodge him.
"Uncle Lengo, please! Help me, I don't want to fight him!"
"I don't think you have a choice, nephew. You must fight him, and save the kingdom." I looked at him before looking at my parents. My father nodded at me, as if he wanted me to fight my brother and take over the kingdom. I looked at my brother and took a deep breath, knowing what I had to do. I knew I could win in a fight against my brother, but I never wanted to fight him. I wanted us to be friends... I lunged at my brother and scratched his left shoulder. He roared and continued to try and attack me, but his attacks were in vain. I managed to dodge all of his attacks, and woefully scratched him in the face. He stared at me angrily, growling before trying to jump up and attack me only to be hit in the face again and smacked to the ground. I put my paw on his head so he couldn't get up.
"I'm sorry, brother... please forgive me. I never wanted it to come to this...." I said, with great sorrow in my voice. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but held them back.
"This is it, Mohatu. Claim your kingdom, you won!" My uncle said excitedly, having watched me use the moves he taught me during the fight.
"No... I can't."
"Wow..." Kusho coughed from beneath me, "Too much of a coward to finish the job or take the kingdom, huh? I always knew weak... but I didn't know you were this weak." He laughed.
"I'm not a coward, Kusho. A true test of strength of having self control and showing mercy, something you don't have and that you've never done. The reason I don't want this kingdom isn't because I think I would be a bad king- I don't want it because I don't think it's my place to rule. You were born as the first son of King Malik and Queen Imara, it is your birth-rite to rule this kingdom- not mine. And I don't think it's fair of me to take that away from you, even if you are a terrible king. You wanted to call out fight a challenge, and if that's true then I get to be the new king. But instead of doing that, I'm going to leave you to your people. They will decided your fate..." With sadness yet confidence, I looked out at the citizens who stared at us, "Citizens of The Tree of Life- hear me now. This is your king, and his vows to take care of you were a lie. He has done nothing but ravage the kingdom, and destroy everything. He has stolen food from you all, and some of your friends and family have starved and suffered. I know that there are some of you who believe I should be the king... but I am not your king. It's not my destiny or right to rule. I am leaving this kingdom, to get away from this tyranny and to frond myself- live a life of adventure. But I care about this kingdom and it's people, so I leave the king to you. Whether you make him king again, chase him away- the decision is up to you. He's made decisions about your lives, now you will make some about his." I removed my paw from Kusho's head, watching him stare at me in anger. I said nothing more to him and walked past my uncle who stood in disbelief. As I began walking toward the borders of our pride, my parents caught up with me.
"Mohatu, wait!" My mother yelled and I stopped to look at her, "My son, you can't leave. What will we do without you?"
"You have the rest of our family, mother. Father will always be here for you, as will Uncle Lengo and his wife. And Askari is one of the finest guards this kingdom has produced. And Kusho is capable of change, I know he is. And if isn't going to rule this kingdom, I know Askari or someone else can. And they'll do great and the kingdom will prosper. You don't need me for that."
"But I will miss you, Mohatu. You're a ray of light in me and your father's lives."
"I'll miss you too, both of you." I replied as my father put a paw on my shoulder, and spoke with melancholy in his tone.
"There is a time in every male's life where he needs to find who he is. It's not something anyone can tell him or figure out for him. He must figure it out on his own. If you want to leave and find yourself as I once did, then I wish you well on your journey and find what you're looking for." I hugged them both, a small tear running down my cheek as I knew this might be the last time I would ever see them again.
"Thank you, I love you both. Thank you for raising me and taking care of me for all these years." I smiled as I began walking away. Tears streamed down my mother's cheeks, and I refused to turn back. I knew that if I saw her crying, I might stay. I went through the mountain pass and when I crossed through to the other side, the kingdom was no longer visible and I had gone across the border. I was now officially a rogue...