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Chapter III

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lion King; I only own Fuwele and Brasta; Strike and Haraka belong to my dear co-writer StrikeTheWolf.

Kopa's POV:

I woke up the next morning to see Fuwele lying a few feet away. She was lying on a rock, looking straight at me and smirking for some reason. "What?" I asked, a little confused.

"You awake enough to leave, Tojo?" she asked, still smirking. I got to my feet groggily and said, "Leave? Where would we..."

"I have to get back to my pride; I'm sure my parents would like to meet the lion that saved their daughter's life, don't you?" I froze; her parents meet me? What if they knew who I was? What if Zira knew where they were?

"Um, uh..."

"What?" Fuwele said, raising an eyebrow "Is the mighty Tojo too scared to meet the King and Queen of the Desert Pride?" If I didn't know better, I would say she was flirting, from the way she looked at me; I brushed the idea off and said, defiantly, "No; I will meet your parents. Lead the way."

Fuwele led me over about five miles of wasteland before we reached a tall ridge. It was obvious this was the one she was talking about; the red cliffs in front of us were marked by five caves at the ground level. I could see over a dozen lions and lionesses basking outside the caves. As we approached the caves, a couple of sentry lionesses approached us. "Who is this one, Princess Fuwele? Another rogue?" one of them asked, giving me a very hostile glare. I was tempted to take a few steps back, but stood my ground. Thankfully, Fuwele stepped forward and said, "Stand down; his name is Tojo, and he saved me from a pack of hyenas." The two shared a look, then gave me analyzing stares.

"Tojo, hmm? As I asked before, are you a rogue?"

I gave them a blunt look. "Yes, but I haven't always been a rogue. Why I am now is my business." The lionesses just sighed and turned around to head back towards the main cave. I waited anxiously for a few minutes, until the two lionesses came back.

"You have some explaining to do, Tojo. It's time to meet the King." I gulped, looked at Fuwele, and headed towards the largest cave.

Brasta's POV

"Brasta! Come here." I sighed, and headed towards the entrance of the cave to be met by a strange sight; my sister, accompanied by another lion. He looked like a rogue, if only by the scars that covered his fur. I felt a surge of protectiveness for my sister, and distrust for this new lion. I know I sound paranoid, but I'm not; I'm just a world class cynic. I suspect the worst in people, and hardly trust them at all. If you're wondering how I ended up this way, I'm only Fuwele's half-brother; my mother was killed by a pack of hyenas when I was younger, along with quite a lot of the pride. They were led by two rogues named Drake and Sadic. Needless to say, I'm a little jaded. It took me months to trust and get to know the other rogue, Strike. As I approached my sister, I had only two thoughts on my mind; who was this rogue, and why was he with my sister? My curiosity spiked, so I headed out for the throne room; but was called upon by one of the chamberlains. Well, I guess I'd get a front row seat.

Fuwele's POV:

We walked into the throne room behind the two escorts. I sighed with anxiety as I got nearer; my father could be a little overprotective at times, but if Tojo had saved me, then why all this caution? I just couldn't figure Dad out sometimes. I noticed Tojo wince slightly at a ridge in the tunnel; I moved closer to him, "Tojo, are you okay?" I whispered.

"Yeah- I'm fine, Fuwele." He said with a slight pain in his voice.

"Look, I know you're a rogue and all- but seriously, you're still hurt; and I know those herbs only last for about 12-20 hours-"

"Look, I'm fine." he said, stumbling. I leapt forward and caught him. I looked up at him with concern, and said, "No, you aren't; now just lean on me and I'll support you until we get to the main chamber." I said, giving him a stern look. "Fine." He said, sighing. I had to admit I felt sorry for him; he was used to taking care of himself, and now I have to help him with simple things like walking. I'd have to make that up to him later. We reached the throne chamber, and I noticed my dad sitting on the rock that was his throne... and he didn't look that happy. I noticed Brasta and Strike were flanking him; It appeared this wasn't a private meeting. I gave Tojo a concerned look, and he gave me a nod; so I went to join my place next to my father.

Dad gave Tojo a stern glare before he spoke, "I am Haraka, king of the Desert Pride, father of Princess Fuwele and Prince Brasta." He motioned to both of us in turn. "What is your business here, rogue?" He added that last bit with contempt.

"I am Tojo, I saved your daughter's life, and in turn she healed me and offered to show me her pride." Tojo said evenly back.

"Did you have any knowledge of our pride before meeting my sister?" Brasta asked in his usual defensive state.

"No, I did not."

"Then why did you save her?" Brasta asked in a sharp tone. Tojo was about to answer when Strike cut him off, "The same reason I protected this pride Brasta; just because we are rogues doesn't mean we live without honor and morals." Strike said, giving Tojo a warm smile. Brasta shot a nasty look over at Tojo that I couldn't identify.

"Yes, but that said-" Brasta started to speak.

"I AM KING HERE! Fuwele, please answer me; did Tojo save you or not?" Dad said demandingly.

"Yes, he did; he jumped in with no knowledge of my status or name and risked his own life to save me father. Now are you going to turn him away, or offer the reason why your only daughter is alive a place to stay?" I asked, growing bored of the proceedings. I noticed Brasta give me a skeptical glance, while I saw Strike nodding his head in approval. Dad turned towards Tojo.

"Fine. I will allow you a place to stay; but I reserve the right to exile you if anything goes... shall we say, amiss?" my father said in a tone that made me shiver. Tojo began to speak, "I accept your terms, King Hara-" at that point he collapsed. There was a moment of silence and staring before Strike stepped forward.

"Well, don't just stand there! He's been badly injured! Here, I'll take him to my den; Fukele come with me after you gather the necessary herbs." He turned to my brother, "I would suggest you help her Brasta." Strike said, giving my brother a warning glare. I noticed my father just shake his head and leave the dais. I ran out with Brasta half-heartedly following behind me; Yes, I knew why he was so cynical, but he could really be way too suspicious some times.

Kopa's POV:

I woke up in a mostly empty den. I took in my surroundings and noticed that I wasn't in the throne room anymore... how had I gotten here again? Then I remembered; I had blacked out again. I mentally kicked myself for presenting myself as weak before the King. I looked around to see three figures: a light brown lion with a tawny gold mane and blue eyes, along with another lion with jungle-green eyes, tan fur, and a dark brown mane, and Fuwele standing right over me. "You're awake." The tan lion said bluntly. He had a very suspicious look on his face, and he looked as if he thought I was likely to attack him any second now.

"Thank the gods! Tojo you've gotta stop scaring me- I mean people like that." She said in a concerned tone.

"How long was I out?" I asked, fear growing.

"A day and a half at the most; you had a pretty bad fever running, probably a disease from one of those hyenas." the light brown one said with an almost brotherly tone.

"A day and a half!" I said, astounded. I tried to sit up, but Fuwele pushed me back down. "Tojo, everyone already knows about your condition, so you can just rest until the morning." She said sternly but caringly.

"I'd listen to her, Tojo. Fuwele is the best healer we have." The brown one said. I looked at him and nodded, "If you don't mind me asking... what are your names?" I asked. "Oh, I'm sorry; my name's Strike Shadowstalker, but my friends call me Strike." The light brown one said in a slightly jovial tone.

"And I'm Brasta Septim, but I go by Brasta." The dark yellow lion said in a tone that was both polite and hostile at the same time. "Well it seems you're better, so I'll just leave now." Brasta said, walking out as quickly as possible. Once he was gone, Strike looked at me sympathetically. "Forgive him; he's not very trusting of other people, especially if he feels protective of someone he thinks the new person is getting close to." Strike said.

"Well, I have some things to do... so I'll just leave the two of you alone." Strike said, giving Fuwele a wink. As he walked out, I noticed the black canvas of the night sky, dotted with thousands of tiny gems. Fuwele must've noticed my staring, because she asked, "Do you want to get a closer look?" I nodded my head, and she helped me get up. We sat down next to the den entrance. The stars always held a special meaning to me, if only because I liked to think that at least Vitani was looking out at the same star... and that just gave me hope. I was drawn out of my thoughts by a slight nudge from Fuwele. "The stars are beautiful tonight, aren't they?" she said, eyes glistening. When I looked into her eyes, I knew now why she had that name... 'Crystal.'

"Yeah, they sure are." I said, snapping my head back right before she could catch me looking at her. Suddenly, she moved a little closer to me. "Tojo, I don't mean to pry, but... what was your life like, before you became a rogue?" she said, her voice getting serious. I would've been defensive, seeing as I had only know her for half a day at the least- but something about the situation just made me open up to her.

"Well, I was happy in my pride until a vengeful lioness with a grudge against my father attacked me and tried to kill me. After that, I exiled myself, leaving all of it behind to protect both myself and my family." And Vitani, I mentally added. "The hardest part is knowing that they all think I'm dead..." I said sadly, for the first time in a while letting that emotion in. I stopped myself from crying, but couldn't help but shudder. She must've noticed because she put a friendly arm around me. "Hey, it's okay; besides you have a new home now, here. And we all have pasts that are worth hiding, but thank you for telling me; I know that must've been hard for you to do." I just thanked her and we sat there like that staring out into the night, I must've dozed off, and for the first time in a long time I had a peaceful sleep.

Vitani's POV:

Okay, I'll be the first to admit Kovu is a little bit cute, but that doesn't mean I have to like him. He was at that age where all he wanted to do is run around and cause trouble, I almost got yelled at because he jumped head first into a termite mound. Exhausted, I walked back to my makeshift home, setting myself down next to Lati. I smiled and curled up next to him. Just before I went to sleep, though, I happened to look up in the sky; it looked like a star was fading in and out. I didn't want to think about what it could mean so I just went to sleep. Thanks to Lati by my side, I was out like a light... you can imagine the rest.

Well, that was a long chapter! Like it? Hate it? Review!