A Heart's Desire

Chapter 9: Duties of the King and Queen

Short chapter today. Sorry! The next few chapters aren't that exciting but chapter 11 will be very...interesting 😁

I also had a karate grading today so I'm sore and tired...I hope I passed the grading

Kion waits anxiously outside the Tree of Life. He paces back and forth, nervous for what the day has to bring. He needed to stay calm and be willing to listen to what Fuli had to say and be open to how she did things. Kion had been sick for too long and things were different now. He had to do things differently now that Rani was gone. He knew that she would want him to do what is best for their kingdom and that is what he will do when Fuli shows up to help him. Kion smiles when his cheetah friend arrives.

"Hey, Kion. Ready to get started?" she says.

"Yeah. I think so," he replies.

"Come on. The sooner we start, the sooner we can finish".

Fuli starts heading towards the usual patrol route and Kion quickly follows. They walk side by side, talking about anything that came to mind. They almost forgot about everything. Rani's death, them leading an entire kingdom and their fight yesterday almost disappeared. It almost felt like when they were cubs and had nothing else to do but talk and play.  Fuli laughs when Kion tells her a funny story about how Bunga accidentally mistook mud for elephant dung.

"He smelt so bad," Kion says as he laughs.

Fuli couldn't walk straight from how hard she was laughing.

"I can't breathe! That is hilarious and dumb even for Bunga!" she says as she tries to breathe.

A scream makes their ears twitch and they instantly stop laughing.

"Help!" a voice cries.

Kion and Fuli run towards the voice and stop at a tree. Above them hung a baboon, hugging a branch that was about to fall.

"Any suggestions?" Kion asks, looking at Fuli.

"Last I checked, neither of us could climb and if one of us stands underneath to catch her, there's a good chance we'll get hit by the branch," Fuli replies.

Kion smirks, "Then it's a good thing I have the roar".

Kion takes a step forward and looks up at the baboon, "Let go of the branch! I'll catch you!"

"I'm scared!" The baboon shrieks.

"Trust me! I will catch you!" Kion calls.

The baboon hugs the branch tighter when it cracks more.

"Easy now," Fuli says gently as she looks up at the baboon, "We will catch you. It's gonna be okay. Now, we are going to count to three and you will let go so we can get you to safety, okay?"

The baboon slowly nods. Fuli slowly counts and Kion gets ready to use his roar. When Fuli gets to three, the baboon lets go just as the branch finally breaks from the tree. The baboon screams in fear. Kion roars, controlling the wind to slow the baboon's fall until she is sitting gently on the ground without a scratch.

"Thank you!" the baboon yells before she runs off.

"Good job," Kion says with a smile.

"I didn't do anything. It was all you," Fuli replies.

Kion shakes his head, "You kept the baboon calm and convinced her to let go. I doubt I could've done it with without you".

She smiles, "I still think you deserve most of the credit but thanks".

They finish their patrol, helping the occasional animal that needed their help. Kion and Fuli arrive at the Tree of Life for a break. Fuli lies down and rests her head on her paws as Kion sits beside her. He never realised how well he and Fuli worked together. They worked together all the time, how could he have been so blind? Their ears twitch to the sound of arguing. Fuli lifts her head and sighs when she sees a penguin and a polar bear heading in their direction.

"They still argue?" Kion asks.

Fuli nods, "The polar bear keeps breaking the slides and the penguins get mad at him because they have to fix it and the polar bear gets upset because they don't make a slide strong enough to hold him".

After lots of arguing and negotiating, Kion and Fuli convince the penguins to make a slide made of ice, supported by rocks and logs. They told them to get the Lion Guard's help if they are struggling. Fuli yawns as they make their way back to the Tree of Life.

"Thanks for helping me today," Kion says.

"No problem," Fuli replies sleepily.

"Don't you go hunting at this time?"

"I rarely have time to hunt myself dinner. I usually just have breakfast".

"And that's it?! You must be starving".

"I'm good, really. I'm just tired and want to go home".

"I understand".

"See you tomorrow Kion," Fuli says as she heads home.

"Bye," Kion replies.

As she walks away, Kion thinks about what he could do to thank her for helping him. After hearing how rarely she has dinner, he knew what he could do to make things easier for her. For now, he will let her go home and have an early night. Tomorrow will be just as hard but he hoped he could make her smile by hunting her a much-needed dinner.