The Lion's Babysitter [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 1

A young woman walked through a large stone compound, one hand drifting against the walls of the hallway, her hands trailing along the bottom of the beautiful drawings that had been drawn by the royal mjuzi. 

She paused beside one, in particular, smiling when she saw her face smiling back at her, standing amongst the other members of the guard. Enzi, The Fiercest, stood in the middle, his staff clutched in his hand, his other arm hidden out of sight behind his back. On his right stood two women, the taller one with her hand on the shoulder of the younger. Tish, The Strongest, had been depicted with bands around her wrists and biceps, along with her hippo tattoo on her shoulder. Y/N was the smaller form next to her, and Y/N chuckled. She was the second smallest member of the guard. The only one smaller was Jiya, The Keenest of Sight. And last but not least, standing directly on Enzi's right was Bassel. The Bravest.

Y/N pulled her hand away from the wall and continued to walk through the corridor, her runners silent on the stone floor. 

The hall eventually opened up into the main courtyard of the compound, and Y/N smiled at the sight of the familiar acacia tree that grew in the centre. White and black lines had been drawn on the ground, and even though the sun had only risen an hour or two ago, the recruits and commanders were already lining up, getting ready for a hard day of training. 

Bassel was walking out of his chambers on the opposite side of the courtyard, stretching his arms behind his back as he inhaled the wonderful scent of the morning. He noticed Y/N and waved to her, as he always did, before running off to head out on patrol. He was scheduled to patrol with Enzi, but knowing Enzi, Bassel would probably end up taking the patrol by himself while Enzi did whatever Enzi did. 

Y/N turned into another section of the compound and entered the kitchen, smiling when she saw a familiar dark-skinned man standing by the window, a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He perked up at the sound of Y/N entering the room and smiled at her, raising his coffee in greeting.

"Hello, Sahel," Y/N said. "How are you?" She walked over to the window and allowed her fingers to brush against the underside of a small flower, caressing the velvety leaves with a gentle touch.

"Fine. As good as I can be I guess." The man took a sip of his morning coffee, watching Y/N as she moved over to the small kitchenette to pour herself a drink. "The new recruits are being a little troublesome though."

"I can remember a time when you were like that," Y/N said, a small smile slipping onto her lips. "Something about you thinking that you deserved to be the Fastest over little old me." She turned and rested her spear on the side of the counter, leaning back on the sandstone top as she lifted the cup to her lips. 

Sahel laughed long and loud. Over the last few years, the two of them had managed to grow past the rivalry that had stemmed from Y/N beating Sahel in the race, and had actually grown rather close. He had long grown out of being the irritating boy that Y/N had been raised with and had rose to become a captain of the guards that patrolled when the Lion Guard was otherwise engaged. 

"You'll never stop bringing that up, will you?"

"No," Y/N took another sip of her drink.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and both occupants of the room turned to see Zazu standing in the door, looking perturbed. 

"Miss Duma," Zazu said with a bow. "I am Zuberi, Zazu of His Majesty King Farena. I was sent to inform you that the king has requested your presence immediately. There is an urgent matter that he wishes to discuss with you."