TLG: happy ever after

Chapter 4: Duties of the king

As the sun rose from the east, its light started shining upon the kingdom. Bright beams signalled the start of a new day. This one, however, was meant to be more intriguing than usually. Today marked the first time in many years the Tree of life had a reigning king.

"Good morning, your highness!", Rani playfully greeted Kion, who had already woken up and was now stretching. She slowly got up and hopped off the pedestal.

Kion looked over his shoulder when he heard the queen. "Hey there, Rani!", a smile appeared on a young lion's muzzle. Am I still sleepy or does she look really gorgeous today? That thought came to his mind unexpectedly and caused him to blush slightly. He turned around to face the brown-furred lioness, admiring her.

"Something wrong with my fur?", Rani asked when she noticed Kion's gaze fixed on her.

"You look absolutely... purrfect", Kion said under his breath, yet loud enough for Rani to hear. The last word came out of his mouth with an actual purr, catching the queen completely off guard. Her cheeks immediately flushed red, to the point that it was noticeable despite her dark fur.

"Aww, thank you, Kion!", Rani could barely master a simple response. It took her a couple of seconds to calm down. "You don't look bad yourself...", she made a little pause as she came closer to him and nuzzled her snout against his cheek. She then finished her sentence, whispering in Kion's ear: "...my fierce king."

That wasn't the first time the two have flirted and complimented each other since his return to the Tree of life three days ago. Both of them were on the same page about dating and neither doubted the other's interest or intentions. However, they haven't had time to have the talk due to Rani's queen duties and overall preparation for Kion's ceremony. They were no longer teenagers, yet such sudden affection from Rani was a little overwhelming for the adolescent lion.

Kion melted, left totally speechless. It was his turn to blush again. His heart rate instantly doubled, his tail started wiggling uncontrollably, his body trembled slightly. He opened his mouth but couldn't come up with anything to say.

As Rani pulled away, she chuckled seeing her mate's reaction. Ceasing the opportunity, she said: "Damn you look so cute!", and without any hesitation gave him a smooch on his nose. Kion's golden-yellow muzzle got so red that in nearly matched Rani's fur colour. He looked as he was about to faint.

"Brrrr...", he made a noise while shaking his head, trying to regain his composure.

"Was it too much for the young king?", Rani asked, this time calmly, just to make sure she didn't cross any lines.

"Uh, uh...", Kion still couldn't think straight. "No... well yes, but it's ok. It felt good, fantastic even. You just caught me off guard.", finally the king was able to speak properly.

Rani giggled. "Don't think that I only teased you... I mean, I did, but I truly found your reaction amusing. I'll keep doing it, if you don't mind."

"Not at all.", Kion said as the couple was heading outside. "Just not around others, please. I don't think that would be a very good look for a king.", he joked.

"No embarrassing you in public, got it!".

They exited the den and glanced around the surrounding grasslands. "Excited for your first official king duties?", she asked.

"I think I've already carried out my first task."

"Which was...?"

"To make the queen smile", Kion winked at Rani. They both laughed and continued walking towards the watering hole. "But yeah, I am excited. What's on the queen's agenda today?"