Son of a Legend

Part 29: All I Want Is You

Mkali and Taji wake up the next morning.
"Morning, beautiful," He says to her.
"Morning, handsome," she says back.
"I forgot to ask last night, but how did I pass out?" Mkali asks his girlfriend.
"My mom said it was from blood loss." Taji informs him.
"That cut on my leg must have been way worse than I thought. Mkali says, lifting the covers of the bed to look at his right thigh wrapped in bandages.
"Well, we'd better get up before everyone starts assuming things," Taji says, half joking half serious.
This draws a snicker from Mkali. "I kinda don't want to. This bed is super comfortable."
Taji smiles. "If you don't get up, then how are we supposed to do the things that I had planned for us today?"
"Aaaaand I'm up!" Mkali says as he gets out of bed. Taji laughs. Mkali takes off his shirt and grabs a clean one, but what Taji sees concerns her.
"Okay, hold on a second! I have some questions. First, where did you get all of those scars? And second, why don't you have abs anymore?"
Mkali looks down at where his abs should be and makes a disgusted face. "This was the long story I told you about last night. 16 months long. It started the morning that we left to go back to the Pridelands..." Mkali proceeds to take the next 10 minutes to explain to Taji everything about Kopa using Asha to trap Kion in the fire and how Kopa assembled a gang of killers to try and kill Mkali, which is what all the scars are from. Het tells her how Koda caught one of them and that Kopa tried to kill Vitani while interrogating Hukumu. He then told her about the chase that ended with all of the killers being dead and how Kopa was thought to be dead until last night. Mkali tells Taji that Kopa took off running with her body and how Mkali chased him down and killed him.
"I finally avenged my dad last night when I killed Kopa. Then, I brought you back here, and you know the rest." Mkali says to finish his story.
Taji shakes her head. "I don't want to think that people can do these sort of things."
"You and me both, Taj," Mkali says. He puts an arm around her. "But it's our job to make sure that animals like Kopa don't hurt anyone else. As for the second question, I gained 40 lbs when I was on bed arrest. I lost most of that weight, but obviously, I haven't lost it all."
"40 lbs! Yikes!" Taji exclaims.
"Yeah, Yikes is right," Mkali says. "Now, I should probably put this shirt on because my chest is starting to get cold."
They both giggle. Mkali puts his shirt on.
"So, what did you have planned for us today?" Mkali asks.
Taji smiles. She takes off running out of the tree. "Catch me if you can!" She yells back at him.
Mkali is shocked at first, but then he laughs to himself and takes off running after her. Mkali follows Taji's tracks, but once he gets to the forest, he loses track of her trail.
"Alright, Taji! You win! C'mon out now!" Mkali shouts.
Taji runs out from behind a tree and tackles Mkali. "That wasn't really all that fair. Was it?" Taji asks him. Mkali smiles.
"Not really. When I couldn't find you, a million scenarios ran through my head. None of them were good." Mkali says to Taji. Taji smiles at Mkali again and leans down, and kisses him.
"So long as you aren't going anywhere, I'm not either."
Mkali calms down and smiles at Taji.
"So is the rest of the day just gonna be you having fun tormenting me, or what?" Mkali jokes.
"That depends on your definition of 'torment'," Taji smirks at him.
Taji lets Mkali up. The two of them go to the river of patience. Mkali is walking closer to Taji. He is being protective of her.
"Mkali, what are you doing?" Taji asks him.
"Last time we came here, I almost lost you. I'm not risking that again." Mkali explains to her.
"Mkali, he's gone now. And as for his followers, it sounded like you taught them a lesson that they'll never forget." Taji says.
Mkali relaxes a bit. "You're right. You've always known how to get through to me and calm me down. How do you do it?" Mkali inquires.
Taji shrugs. "It's a gift,"
Mkali sees a flower in the ridge on the other side of the river. He sees a log out of the corner of his eye coming down the river.
"Speaking of gifts, I'll be right back," Mkali says. He jumps onto the log, then rides it down to where the trail starts, and he jumps off.
"So, you still remember how to do that, huh?" Taji asks jokingly.
"What can I say? I had an excellent teacher," Mkali says to her. This makes Taji blush just a tiny bit. Mkali hikes up the trail. He gets to the flower, and he picks it. Once he comes back down the trail, there is another log for him to jump on, so he does, and he crosses back over to the other side. He jogs back over to where Taji is, and he puts the flower behind her ear.
"One beautiful flower for a beautiful lioness," Mkali smiles at Taji. Taji blushes.
"You're so sweet, Mkali," she says. The two of them just sit there and talk about what's been going on in each other's lives, and they get to know each other a little bit better. Of course, they already knew a lot about each other.
"I wish that we could just stay here forever. I have something serious to ask you, Mkali," Taji says.
"Well, you know me, I'm all ears," Mkali answers.
"So, you know how I'm the future queen, right?" She asks him.
"Yeah," He replies.
"I was wondering if you'd like to be my king," She says to him.
Mkali's face lights up, but then he looks at the mark of the guard on his shoulder and sighs. "I'd love to, but I have a duty to the Pridelands,"
Taji is saddened to hear this, but Mkali gets an idea.
"What if I stepped down as leader of the guard?" Mkali suggests.
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There's Part 29 for you guys! I'm so sorry about uploading late. I was writing the story, then I got a text from a friend saying he needed help to study for the PSAT. So I hope you guys can understand. Thanks for reading!