| Chapter Eleven |
Hope ran through the Pridelands innocent and carefree. She worried for nothing, lacked nothing, and was denied
nothing. She was a princess, after all. She had royalty and nobility in every gene, both Pridelander and Outsider. Her
father was Timusa, Prince of the Pridelands. Her father’s adopted brother was Jothra, the Wise One and King of the Izusa
Kingdom. Their parents—her grandparents—were Kovu and Kiara, the King and Queen of the Pridelands. Her mother
Leandra was a distant relative to queen mother Nala through her mother Sarafina. Hope was the daughter of the king
and therefore would one day choose the next king and rule at his side.
But there was also the Outsider side of her family through her grandfather King Kovu. He and Grand-aunt Vitani were
the children of Zira (Hope’s great-grandmother), the erstwhile queen of the Outlands and Scar’s queen during his short
reign. Although Zira did have two cubs with Scar (Nuka and Nisei, neither of whom had any known offspring), Kovu and
Vitani’s real father had been Scar’s older cousin, an Outsider noble named Azori. After the disappointing litter of Nuka
and Nisei, Scar had asked Azori to give him a real heir. Scar and Azori’s natural fathers had been brothers, Scar’s being
Zek-Ara, the legendary king who founded the Outsiders, and Azori’s being Mazor, the king’s warlord.
Zek-Ara’s queen had been a lioness named Uru, and their only son had been born Taka, later called Scar. After Zek-Ara’
s death, Uru and Ahadi, the Pridelander king who had recently lost his first queen Rae in childbirth, took each other as
mates. And so Mufasa and Scar had been raised as brothers by Mufasa’s father and Scar’s mother during the earlier
period that the Pridelanders and Outsiders had attempted to live together.
It had taken Hope quite some time to hunt down and weave together all of this legacy and she was proud of every bit of
it. To others it seemed a waste of time, an overcomplicated jumble of sticks or even just randomness. But Hope didn’t see
it that way. To her it was like a beautiful spider web, with many strands working together just so, holding her in the middle.
To some, everyone was just an accident, but to Hope, nature had been working very hard for a long time to produce her,
and so it was worth remembering.
She was well aware, after all, of the nature of her name. She was the bridge, the bond, the blood seal of a relentless
fight for peace that had been going on for generations. Princess Hope was part Outsider and part Pridelander. She was
proof that her father Timusa (who was half-and-half) was not a fluke or an accident, that the line could continue. She was
the symbol of a new solid kingdom with a common heiress and hope for a peaceful future.
And so she ran, and so she played, day after day of uninterrupted cubhood bliss. At the moment she was running from
her friend Bela. Now where had that energetic young meerkat gone? Hope stopped as she arrived at the clearing they
had been playing around all morning. She began looking in the various places her playmate could be hiding at.
“Beeeeelaaaaa. Where aaaaaare youuuu? Are you in the gopher hole? No? How about under this log? Hmmm. Did you
climb the acacia tree? I don’t see you, so you must be hiding under one of these rocks. Now, which rock, the left one or
the right one? Hmmm, I wonder…”
“The left one.”
“Thanks.”
Hope lifted the rock and the indignant meerkat popped out and protested, “Hey, no fair!”
Hope and Bela both looked around to see who had given away the hiding spot. It took them a moment to notice Jozay in
the tree above them. Although Jozay and Hope often refered to each other as ‘cousin’ out of respect for the loving
adoptions made in the generations before them, it was obvious to anyone that they weren’t actually related. Hope was
mostly Pridelander and part Outsider, while Jozay was mostly white Izusan and part… well, ‘grey gypsy’ was the term
Hope occasionally heard but never used herself, since it sounded a bit mean when she heard it spoken by others.
The young prince laughed as he jumped out of the tree and tackled Hope as a way of greeting. They wrestled for a bit
before Jozay let his ‘cousin’ win. He laughed up at her. “Now, Hope, you’re going to get me all dirty before I go see my
dad and grandpa.”
“As if you care. Here, sit up and I’ll get you clean.”
“Oh, fine.”
Hope started to groom her best friend but soon yelped in excitement. “Jozay! Your mark! You… you’re the Destined
One! Congratulations, I knew you’d get it!”
As Jozay blushed, Hope and Bela both took a step back, bowed as the said, “Live long, O Prince Jozay.”
Hope tried not to laugh out loud as Jozay smiled. “Blessings in the name of Sozo, Hope and Bela. Rise… and give me a
hug.” The two hugged the newly marked Destined One. "Thanks you two. I’d love to stay and play for a while but I have to
go find my dah at Pride Rock”
Hope was a little confused. “Okay… isn’t your mom here?” She could tell by Jozay’s expression that she was not. “You
walked all the way here by yourself? Across the desert and everything?”
Jozay backed up and turned to leave. “Um, I’ll tell you the story later, okay? Have fun with your game!”
nothing. She was a princess, after all. She had royalty and nobility in every gene, both Pridelander and Outsider. Her
father was Timusa, Prince of the Pridelands. Her father’s adopted brother was Jothra, the Wise One and King of the Izusa
Kingdom. Their parents—her grandparents—were Kovu and Kiara, the King and Queen of the Pridelands. Her mother
Leandra was a distant relative to queen mother Nala through her mother Sarafina. Hope was the daughter of the king
and therefore would one day choose the next king and rule at his side.
But there was also the Outsider side of her family through her grandfather King Kovu. He and Grand-aunt Vitani were
the children of Zira (Hope’s great-grandmother), the erstwhile queen of the Outlands and Scar’s queen during his short
reign. Although Zira did have two cubs with Scar (Nuka and Nisei, neither of whom had any known offspring), Kovu and
Vitani’s real father had been Scar’s older cousin, an Outsider noble named Azori. After the disappointing litter of Nuka
and Nisei, Scar had asked Azori to give him a real heir. Scar and Azori’s natural fathers had been brothers, Scar’s being
Zek-Ara, the legendary king who founded the Outsiders, and Azori’s being Mazor, the king’s warlord.
Zek-Ara’s queen had been a lioness named Uru, and their only son had been born Taka, later called Scar. After Zek-Ara’
s death, Uru and Ahadi, the Pridelander king who had recently lost his first queen Rae in childbirth, took each other as
mates. And so Mufasa and Scar had been raised as brothers by Mufasa’s father and Scar’s mother during the earlier
period that the Pridelanders and Outsiders had attempted to live together.
It had taken Hope quite some time to hunt down and weave together all of this legacy and she was proud of every bit of
it. To others it seemed a waste of time, an overcomplicated jumble of sticks or even just randomness. But Hope didn’t see
it that way. To her it was like a beautiful spider web, with many strands working together just so, holding her in the middle.
To some, everyone was just an accident, but to Hope, nature had been working very hard for a long time to produce her,
and so it was worth remembering.
She was well aware, after all, of the nature of her name. She was the bridge, the bond, the blood seal of a relentless
fight for peace that had been going on for generations. Princess Hope was part Outsider and part Pridelander. She was
proof that her father Timusa (who was half-and-half) was not a fluke or an accident, that the line could continue. She was
the symbol of a new solid kingdom with a common heiress and hope for a peaceful future.
And so she ran, and so she played, day after day of uninterrupted cubhood bliss. At the moment she was running from
her friend Bela. Now where had that energetic young meerkat gone? Hope stopped as she arrived at the clearing they
had been playing around all morning. She began looking in the various places her playmate could be hiding at.
“Beeeeelaaaaa. Where aaaaaare youuuu? Are you in the gopher hole? No? How about under this log? Hmmm. Did you
climb the acacia tree? I don’t see you, so you must be hiding under one of these rocks. Now, which rock, the left one or
the right one? Hmmm, I wonder…”
“The left one.”
“Thanks.”
Hope lifted the rock and the indignant meerkat popped out and protested, “Hey, no fair!”
Hope and Bela both looked around to see who had given away the hiding spot. It took them a moment to notice Jozay in
the tree above them. Although Jozay and Hope often refered to each other as ‘cousin’ out of respect for the loving
adoptions made in the generations before them, it was obvious to anyone that they weren’t actually related. Hope was
mostly Pridelander and part Outsider, while Jozay was mostly white Izusan and part… well, ‘grey gypsy’ was the term
Hope occasionally heard but never used herself, since it sounded a bit mean when she heard it spoken by others.
The young prince laughed as he jumped out of the tree and tackled Hope as a way of greeting. They wrestled for a bit
before Jozay let his ‘cousin’ win. He laughed up at her. “Now, Hope, you’re going to get me all dirty before I go see my
dad and grandpa.”
“As if you care. Here, sit up and I’ll get you clean.”
“Oh, fine.”
Hope started to groom her best friend but soon yelped in excitement. “Jozay! Your mark! You… you’re the Destined
One! Congratulations, I knew you’d get it!”
As Jozay blushed, Hope and Bela both took a step back, bowed as the said, “Live long, O Prince Jozay.”
Hope tried not to laugh out loud as Jozay smiled. “Blessings in the name of Sozo, Hope and Bela. Rise… and give me a
hug.” The two hugged the newly marked Destined One. "Thanks you two. I’d love to stay and play for a while but I have to
go find my dah at Pride Rock”
Hope was a little confused. “Okay… isn’t your mom here?” She could tell by Jozay’s expression that she was not. “You
walked all the way here by yourself? Across the desert and everything?”
Jozay backed up and turned to leave. “Um, I’ll tell you the story later, okay? Have fun with your game!”
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