A Heart's Desire

Epilogue

Two dark furred lions sat in the shadows of the night. The younger of the two stared north, only glancing at the setting moon occasionally to see how much time had passed. The other paced back and forth behind him. He finally stopped when he notices the changing colour of the deep black sky to a paler shade of blue. He nudges his nephew, but he does not move. Not even flinch.

"Baliyo, its been days. He's not coming back," Surak mutters solemnly.

"So he was right then. They did kill my sister".

Surak sighs and looks at his nephew. He opens his mouth to say more but Baliyo beats him to it.

"Save it uncle. Azaad told us that if we confront Kion and his lion guard, we would be dead. He said he could prove to us that if we hid and he confronted them later, we would know. They killed him too Surak. Azaad is dead".

"Do you think there's a chance he ran away or that we are missing something or-"

"I had a bad feeling about the Lion Guard from the start. Rani too until our grandmother convinced her that they were not a threat. It was all part of Kion's little game for power and we fell right into it".

"So what do we do now?" Surak asks.

Baliyo lets out a frustrated sigh and faces him, his body stiff from sitting for so long, "I don't know. We will think of something. For now, we will let the Lion Guard have their moment in the sun. Let them let their guard down. In time we will strike...and it will leave a painful scar".

"That is not our way of life, Baliyo," Surak tells him gently.

Baliyo's eyes harden, gleaming with anger and hunger for revenge. Surak had never seen him like this before. Not once. This was a different kind of look, one that even made him shiver. It was if his soul had darkened and twisted him into something he is not. Where was the quiet, shy but cheery little lion he had watched grow from the day he was born? Even when Baliyo's parents, Surak's brother and sister in law, had died, Baliyo was still able to rise above the grief he and his sister had to face. The same with Queen Jana. Surak and Rani were the only family Baliyo had left.

"They claim to follow this Circle of Life but killing my sister is the complete opposite of that!" Baliyo snaps, "If they won't follow the rules about life and death, why should we?"

"Our family would not tolerate this kind of thinking!" Surak replies harshly, "Shame on you".

"They are gone, uncle. An eye for an eye. A life for a life. A death for a death. This is our new way of life. I will do it alone if I must".

Baliyo trudges past his uncle, eyes on the horizon. He was heading down a dark path, one that will only cause him more pain. Surak wanted to protest but the young lion had already made up his mind. With a heavy sigh of defeat, Surak follows his nephew. He will not let him suffer alone. It was the least he could do for their family even if Baliyo was the only one alive. As the two lions walk further away from the Tree of Life in search of something or someone to aid them in their quest for revenge, Surak could not help but feel his heart ache. They were leaving the only home they had ever known, leaving their friends behind too. Nirmala was still there, he was sure of that. He wanted to drag himself and Baliyo back home, learn more of what really happened, the night Rani died. He couldn't help but feel they were missing something. In the end, he did nothing. He let himself follow his nephew into the beyond.

There was no turning back now.