Fuli's Journey [Moved To AO3]

Prologue

3rd Person's PoV
   "Pssst. Fuli, wake up." a voice calls out. A pretty, golden-furred King cheetah opens her emerald-green eyes to see a young lion's amber ones inches away from her.

   "Kion!" Fuli exclaims, bolting upright.

   "Shhh." Kion urges. "Follow me. I wanna show you someplace special, just me & you."

   Fuli was puzzled as she followed the adolescent lion through the Pridelands night. Okay, so maybe she's had a small crush on the red-maned lion cub since the Battle for the Pride Lands. A part of her had been relieved when he turned down Rani's proposal, although why still confused her.

   Kion nosed some thick willow branches away to reveal a stunning clearing. The full moon lit up the pond that took up one corner, and in the center of the clearing was a hill dotted with the white petals of moonflowers. Little fireflies twinkled in the branches and above it all, the stars swept across the heavens.

   "Oh, Kion..." Fuli breathed. "It's beautiful."

   "There's a reason I brought you here." He said laying down on the hill. "I turned down Rani's proposal because... I already knew who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. You."

  For a minute, Fuli couldn't breathe. All this time she was scared to drop hints of her crush on him because he was the King's son; a prince. And now, he was saying he's felt the same way! Blushing deeply, Fuli approached the young Prince, the stars mirrored in each other's eyes.

   "Fuli, my dad's trying to pressure me into marrying Vitani. But, I talked to her. She has eyes for one lion and one lion only. She said that if both of us weren't gonna be happy together, she would talk to my dad. So, Fuli, would you have the honor of becoming my mate?" Kion asked, hope and immeasurable love brimming in his eyes.

   The cheetah bounded over in two hops and nuzzled his cheek.

   "Oh, Kion; I've felt the same way. I never showed it because I was afraid of how you were gonna react." Fuli began. "Of course I'll be your mate. Let's keep this a secret for now. Let's spend the rest of the night watching the stars."

~-~-~-~-~-~Translations~-~-~-~-~-~

Fuli - Fast/Speedy
Kion - Leader
Rani - Queen
Vitani - At War