Akili, Prince of Giraffes
This is just a short scene I wrote while trying to flesh out these characters for my Kindle Vella story. It didn't make it into the Vella, but I liked it too much not to share.
His long neck aching, Akili the Giraffe sat hunched over his desk, his books pushed aside, rolls of maps and decrees piled on the floor beside his chair. The blazing sun shone in the open window, lighting the pale stone in his hand and illuminating his delicate and desperate work. With short, steady strokes, he formed the letters of his wish, writing out the words that he hoped would change his life, and save his kingdom.
The quill pen ran out of ink and he set the stone down on the worn wooden surface, his neck popping as he straightened up and rocked his head from side to side, the tiny bells strung around his ossicones tinkling as he moved. He liked that sound, but if this worked, he would have to trade his prince's bells for his father's crown. A worthy sacrifice, but he would still miss the music.
Someone rapped on his study door and he turned back his task, dipping his quill into the stone well of ink mixed with his own blood.
"C-c-come in," he called, his ears swinging backward as he frowned. Damn stutter. Well, not for much longer, if he did this right. He began to write the last few words.
The study door opened, and from the near silent steps that approached his chair, he knew it wasn't any of his kind. Hooves made sneaking around very difficult, and since the only people besides Giraffes allowed in the palace were Lions, Akili didn't even need to look up to know who it was.
"Hello, N-Niko," he said.
The quiet pawsteps faltered.
"You could get me in a lot of trouble, using that name," Niko said, whispering to disguise her normal deep rumble. "What if I had been someone else?"
"I knew it was you," Akili said. "N-no one else would waste their t-time on the d-d-defective prince."
She didn't argue, walking around the desk to stand across from him, the butt of her spear thumping once against the floor as she waited. Akili finished the final stroke and set his quill aside, blowing gently on the stone to dry the ink before he placed it upon the desk. Leaning back in his chair, he stretched his neck again and rolled his shoulders, watching Niko as she stared straight ahead, her chiseled face impassive. On a whim, Akili crossed his eyes, stuck out his long, purple tongue, and waggled his ears back and forth.
"Your Highness, that is not fair," she said, long canines gleaming as she smiled. Akili grinned back at her, his personal protector and his only true friend. She did not mind his stutter, did not get impatient when he struggled with a word. She knew what it was like to be different.
Niko had been born Zunika, meaning Dark Beauty in the Lions' ancient language, and she was both dark and beautiful, if you did not mind the mane, and the scars. Niko, although a Lioness, had the full, dark mane of an adult male Lion, and deep, puckered claw scars on her breasts. Akili was pretty sure they were self-inflicted, but it was clear she did not want to talk about it, so he never asked.
"What can I do for you, my friend?" Akili asked.
"Reconsider," she said, glancing down at the wish stone on his desk. "You know what happened to the last person who made a wish at that well."
"Actually, I do not, and n-neither do you," Akili said. "My g-great uncle vanished. No one knows what became of him. For all we know, his w-wish was granted."
"It is still foolish and reckless," she said. "What if you vanish, too?"
"Then I will be n-no worse off than if I did n-nothing." Akili slid his chair back from the desk and stood, his long legs and neck raising him to a towering height. "I have no other ch-choice, Niko. If I am to be k-king, I must not appear weak or d-defective."
"Your Highness would make an excellent king," Niko said, "but there are others who could rule. You do not need to risk your life for the crown."
"Did my b-brother tell you to say that?" Akili asked, his ears flicking back.
"No! Why would you--"
"He has the m-most to lose if this wish c-comes true," Akili said, the bells on his ossicones tinkling as he shook his head. "Forgive me, my f-friend. I know you would never b-betray me. You do not know what he has p-planned, or you would never s-suggest allowing him to have the c-crown. He will d-destroy the k-kingdom." He paused, taking a slow breath and trying to calm his racing heart. Stress just made his stutter worse.
"Akili, why would he do that?" Niko asked, her voice low. "I know you and Imdaro have never gotten along, but--"
"I f-followed him, Niko," Akili said. "More than once, into the b-badlands. He was m-meeting with Hyenas."
"No!" she gasped, recoiling a step. "That is treason. It is a violation of the alliance."
"He does not c-care," Akili said. "He wants to end our alliance with your p-people."
"But without the Lions..." She trailed off and Akili nodded, his bells chiming solemnly.
"The Hyenas will r-return. I overheard him t-talking to someone in the g-garden the other night. It was too d-dark to see who, but the Hyenas have p-promised him an army."
"And what does he need an army for?"
"To r-rule his new empire," Akili said. "He wants to c-conquer all the other k-kingdoms, the Antelope and the Z-Zebras--everyone."
Niko shook her mighty head, her ears flat against her skull. "The Lion Council will never stand for this."
"And who is g-going to warn them? You and I?" He paused, waiting until she raised her amber-green eyes to his. "They will n-never listen to us. The only w-way to stop Imdaro is for me to get r-rid of this d-damn stutter. And the only w-way to do that, is this." He picked up his wish stone, the dry ink a dull brown in the sunlight.
Niko shifted her large, padded paws, her black-tufted tail lashing from side to side. "I still do not like this, Your Highness," she said, "but I cannot see an alternative."
"Then it is s-settled," Akili said, bowing his head as he removed the golden bells from his ossicones. He unclipped each of the wide, golden collars around his neck, and the bracelets around his wrists, placing all of his royal finery into one of his desk drawers. Well, not quite. He had four pairs of earrings in his large ears, but they were just simple hoops, not very valuable and more trouble to take out than they were worth.
"Must you do this now?" Niko said, stepping in front of him as he headed for the door. "If we give it a bit more time, perhaps--"
"Niko, my f-father is d-dying," Akili said, choking on emotion as much as the stutter. "He ordered it be k-kept a secret for as long as p-possible, but he grows weaker every d-day. I do not have t-time to wait."
"Oh, Akili," Niko breathed, reaching out toward him for an instant before drawing back. "I am so sorry."
"Thank you, m-my friend," Akili replied, his own heart aching as he longed to break custom and embrace his friend, but such things simply were not done. "C-come to the well with me?"
"At your side, always, Your Highness," she said, bowing her head.