The Lion Guard Season 5

Chapter 12: The Kingdom of Cheetahs

{Nguvu's POV}
The tiger, Nishan, left with me but I caught a glimpse of the lion that entered after me. I didn't see him long enough to make out who he is but he looked eerily familiar. We traveled for a while, my mane grew out a lot, almost fully grown, the part of my mane that would cover my underbelly has not grown but the rest has fully grown. We walked over a hill and saw a vast landscape that seemed to glow in the sunrise, it was breathtaking, like all of the Kingdoms I had seen up until this point were. There is a rock wall, similar to what lines the Mountain Pass at the Tree of Life, that surrounds the land and in the opposite corner, a string of caves lines the wall and a large rock protruding from the top of the middle cave. Another rock is in front of that cave and is positioned underneath the protruding rock. It seems to be providing stability. The entire land was covered in green grass and colorful flowers. Small patches of trees are dotted around with luscious dark green leaves. Nishan must have caught me staring because he said "Welcome to the Kingdom of Cheetahs. Come."
He started walking down the slope and towards the string of caves.
"Wait, but what if we aren't welcome here like I wasn't at the Kingdom of Tigers?" I asked
Nishan turned to face me "We will be welcomed. I have visited numerous times to communicate messages between the 5 Kingdoms."
"You mean the 7 Kingdoms?"
"No, I mean 5. I have never been to the Lion Kingdoms."
"Ah, I see."
"Come along, Nguvu."
I followed him into the Kingdom of Cheetahs and began to think. It's been almost 10 months since I started to look for my mother and I never found a hint of her whereabouts. They all told me she was most likely dead and I never wanted to believe it. Now I may be forced to believe it. It took us 3 months to make it here, and Nishan said it normally takes him one month to come here, without my detours. We kept walking and I took it all in. My whole life, I had been wandering, training. But I've never been to any of the 7 Kingdoms, until the Tree of Life. And I wonder, why? He could've gone to the Tree whenever he wanted, and when I got my scar, he was already a powerful force.. so why did he wait so long? Was it solely for pettiness, or did he have a real reason? I kept wondering and before I knew it, we made it to the center of the rock wall, where that massive cliff-like rock was jutting out. Nishan waited there until a cheetah came out and motioned for us to come in. We walked up the rock and Nishan went into the cave. He told me to wait outside in case the cheetahs don't like lions. He went in, and didn't come out for hours. He came out when the sun began to set with a cheetah in tow. It was strange, the cheetah he brought with him looks exactly like Fuli, right down to where the spots are and the small heart on his forehead. Underneath the heart is a 'V' painted in red.
"Are you the lion Nishan talked about?" The cheetah asked "The one who's wandering around the Kingdoms?"
"Yes, I am." I answered "Who are you?"
"My name is Nane, I am the king of the Cheetah Kingdom."
"My apologies if this is a sensitive subject, but that paint looks fresh."
"My father recently passed away." King Nane said, he showed no emotion despite experiencing a recent tragedy.
"You hold your composure well Nane." Nishan said "Our king became a different person after the loss of his kids and betrothed."
"I thank you for your compliment." King Nane replied, still maintaining his composure "Is there a reason for your sudden visit?"
Nishan answered before I could open my mouth "We are searching for someone." He told King Nane "A lioness."
"I see.." King Nane said "There was a lioness that passed by not to long ago. Tell me, what does this lioness you are searching for look like?"
Nishan looked to me, waiting expectantly for me to answer. I did. "The lioness we are in search of has green eyes, her fur is 2 shades lighter than mine and she has a diamond shaped marking right where the heart mark on your head is."
"I see..." King Nane said "The lioness whom passed by had similar features to the one you described,"
"Really?!"
"Yes, however, she was injured and I could not make out the mark on her head, I couldn't tell if there was a diamond or if it was something else."
"It's a good start," Nishan replied, not letting me speak which I found mildly infuriating "Do you happen to remember which way this lioness went?"
"I do," King Nane answered "She headed off eastward, toward the Serval's Den."
"The Serval's Den?" I asked
"The Kingdom of Servals," Nishan replied quickly "We like calling it the Serval's Den."
"Why?"
"It was originally a complex den system for servals, then other animals migrated there and made their homes there." He answered
I just nodded, then I looked to King Nane and said what I refrained from saying the entire meeting "You know, I met a couple of cheetahs 10 months ago and one of them looks very similar to you."
"Really?" He asked, curiously "What were their names?"
"One of them is named Azaad," I said
"Azaad?" King Nane asked "I know him, he was always a free spirit. Normally, cheetahs wait until they are adults but he couldn't wait."
"And you're telling me this 'Azaad' lives at the Tree of Life?" Nishan asked
"To my recollection," I answered "Yes. But why is that important now?"
Nishan arched his eyebrows and growled at me, like what I asked was inappropriate. "Listen lion, when I ask a question, you answer it. Without question."
"You are NOT my father, you do NOT tell me what to do." I snapped back "And even you were, I'd never listen to you."
"King Majaran's words were to accom-"
"They were to accompany me, not to act as my guardian." I interrupted "Do as you were ordered to, and no more."
Nishan growled but didn't say anything.
"You mentioned 2 cheetahs before, did you not?" King Nane asked, cutting the tension "Who was the other one?"
"Her name is-"
"Unimportant, as we got the information we needed and will be leaving now." Nishan said
I growled, at the peak of my rage "That is enough Nishan! You do not speak for us! If you want to leave, then leave! I will have an amazing time explaining to King Majaran why you left me when he specifically said to accompany me. When someone asks me a question, I answer it not you."
"You are a lion!" Nishan yelled back "How can anyone trust lions?!"
"So that gives you the right to interrupt me when THE KING asks ME a question?!"
"It gives me the right to stop this before we waste the day."
"No it doesn't." I growled "Just because I am a cub doesn't mean that I will talk the day away. You will stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours."
"You think you can tell me what to-"
"This is MY quest," I reminded him "I have every right to tell you what to do. And it's not like I'm requesting you to give your life to me, I requesting you to give me my space and I'll give you yours."
"Fine, I can respect that." Nishan growled
I turned to King Nane "My apologies your majesty. To answer your question, the other cheetah I met was named Fuli."
"Fuli?!" King Nane was taken aback, and stood there deep in shock.
"Is something wrong, your majesty?" I asked
"Fuli is- or rather was my sister."
"What?" I asked, shocked. Nishan stayed quiet.
"Yes, we went on a vacation one day and we lost her..." King Nane said, he looked down for some time then asked me "Does she live at the Tree of Life?"
"Yes, she does."
"They took her in after we lost her?"
"No, the Pridelands did." I answered "As far as I know, she was raised in the Pridelands."
"I see," He said "If I ever meet the king or queen of the Pridelands, I'll have to thank them for taking care of my sister."
"I can thank them for you, if you would like."
"I would love that." King Nane said "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"I'd like to send someone with you," King Nane said out of the blue
"May I ask why?"
"I would like to send a message to the Tree of Life." King Nane said "Since you are going there after you find this lioness, I would like him to accompany you."
"You don't have to your majesty, I can-"
"Nonsense!" He interrupted "I insist. He knows the way to all of the 7 Kingdoms. He will help greatly on your journey. Consider it my thanks for letting me know my sister lives."
"Well then, thank you your majesty."
"You're welcome," King Nane said "By the way, you never told me your name."
"Oh, it's Nguvu."