Author's Note: Here is the first chapter of the story. I thank you all for taking interest in my fan fiction. I promise to give you something to read and enjoy along the way to finishing this piece of work.

Chapter 1: The Mwanga Cub

Kion was walking through the area he was in, which was part of a jungle. He was walking with Rani, his mate, as they decided to take a stop at a small pond.

"This is quite refreshing," Rani spoke in her beautiful voice to him.

"Yeah," the King of the Tree of Life nodded. "A day without duties, we could use some more of those."

"Indeed," Rani agreed. "While my brother and the Night Pride take charge, we are taking a day off. But, tomorrow, we need to be ready for our duties again."

"I guess so," Kion nodded with a smile to the lioness.

At that moment, they heard some crying as they looked around the jungle area they were in.

"What's that sound?" Rani asked him. "I've never heard that noise before until now. It sounds different from an animal's."

"It does," Kion agreed with her. "Let's check it out."

The King and Queen walked towards the source of the crying. They passed through a group of vines that hung over a cave and they stepped inside.

A small beam of light was enough to make them see the source of the crying. They stopped frozen in their tracks upon seeing a small raised platform with what looked to be a baby cub on it. They looked to the left and saw a female of the same species that was lying on the cold floor of the cave, near death.

"Hevi kabisa," Kion breathed out.

"You can say that again," Rani agreed with a nod to him.

The female managed to open one of her eyes, and she saw the two lions standing in front of the platform with her child on.

"Please…" she spoke in a strange language to them, one they couldn't understand properly.

"Huh?" Kion cocked an eyebrow. "What is it saying?"

"More like a 'she', Kion," Rani realized.

Kion looked at her as if she was crazy. "How do you know it's a she?" he asked dumbfounded.

"Because of the appearance," the Queen explained.

"…Protect…him..." the female tried to speak to them again, and they could only understand little of the language. "Please…defend him…"

"I think she wants us to raise it," Rani realized as she looked to the cub on the platform in the cave.

The female clearly knew the words as she nodded sadly to the Queen.

Kion was still dumbfounded on how his mate could understand the creature.

"I beg you…" the female whispered to Rani. "Protect…him…" She then closed her eyes and didn't open them again.

Rani could not believe it. Another poor life has been taken by time. Sometimes, life can be cruel and quick to death.

First, she saw her grandmother pass away in front of her, now this creature. How many more will pass away to the afterlife in front of her?

"You okay, Rani?" Kion asked her and nuzzled her cheek.

"A little…" Rani whispered, accepting his comforts. "I can't believe I saw another life pass to the next life. It's too much for me to take in."

"Even if it's a creature we barely even knew?" Kion asked.

"Yes," Rani nodded.

Kion hummed, and he looked up to the child on the platform. He walked up to the platform and hopped on its surface.

Immediately upon seeing him, the unknown cub stopped crying as it stared into his eyes.

Kion looked at Rani as she hopped onto the platform as well. She watched the cub in curiosity as it stared right back at her in its own curious expression. The cub seemed to have a crest around its neck.

The cub gurgled to her before raising its small hands, in trying to reach for her.

Rani blinked as she unwillingly lowered her head for the cub without her own movement. The cub touched her soft fur and it wanted to snuggle up to her.

Rani smiled and lifted the cub onto her back with her teeth, carefully like how a mother would do to her cub, and she could feel the baby snuggling into her warm fur comfortably.

Kion was astonished of her that she wasn't afraid of it. "Wow…" he could only utter to her.

Rani smiled to her mate. "He needs a home," she decided. "And I think the Tree of Life is a good place for him."

"How do you know it's a 'him'?" Kion asked, and then found the question ridiculous as he rolled his eyes. "Never mind that, you know because of the appearance."

"You got it," Rani smiled to him and she carefully stepped back down from the platform and she looked at Kion. "We're going home now."

Kion nodded, and they left the cave with the female body behind.

After a long walk home, Rani and Kion were met up with Makini who greeted them warmly.

"Welcome back," she said. "How was the trip to the jungle?"

"It went alright," Rani responded with a smile to the mandrill.

"What's that on your back, my Queen?" Makini couldn't help but ask upon noticing something small on the lioness' back.

"I don't know," Rani answered truthfully. "We found him in a cave in the jungle. We're not sure which species he is."

"It's really a boy you say?" Makini asked her.

"By the appearance, yes," Rani nodded.

"Huh, interesting," Makini mumbled as she rubbed her chin while looking at the child on Rani's back. She looked closely to the crest that was hanging on the cub's neck. "It looks like a crest," she noted to Rani.

"Yes," the Queen nodded her head slowly, to not disturb the cub's sleep. "I think, maybe it is where he has his name."

"If I could have him for a moment," Makini said slowly, "I can see what his name is."

"Sure thing," Rani smiled to the female mandrill.

Makini stepped up beside to Rani, and raised the cub slowly with her hands, careful as to not disturb him. Makini had her two fingers underneath the crest as she inspected the jewelry.

Once she was done, the mandrill smiled to Rani as she returned the cub to the Queen.

"His name is Leon," she told the lioness.

Kion blinked, finding it oddly familiar with their species. It sounds like 'lion', if there was a letter change in it, he noted to himself.

"Well, that's nice," Rani smiled as she looked to the cub on her back. "Now that we know his name, it'll be easier to be his parents."

"Whoa, wait what?" Makini whispered in shock. "What do you mean, 'to be his parents', my Queen?"

Rani looked at the young mandrill advisor. "He needs a home," she explained to her. "And the Tree of Life is the perfect place for him to be in peace with us."

"Can you explain to me for this sudden decision?" Makini asked, wanting to know.

Kion stepped up beside his mate. "There was another one of the same species in the jungle cave," he explained. "Rani heard her words of begging to protect this cub. We came to the conclusion of raising him as our own."

"Huh," Makini hummed as she smiled while folding her arms. "If you put it that way, I guess it's alright with me."

Rani smiled to the mandrill as she spoke. "I think we should do an announcement to the residents tomorrow," she told Makini.

"That sounds more like it," Makini agreed with a nod. "Better later than sooner while the Tree of Life residence is taking a break. I'll be making some preparations early tomorrow."

"Thank you," Rani thanked the mandrill with her smile still present.

"And thank you for showing me this cub," Makini added.

Rani nodded to Kion as she walked into the Tree of Life while Kion stood at his place with Makini.

Makini noticed his uncertainty expression as she spoke to him. "Is something the matter, King Kion?" she asked him.

"Well, it's just…" Kion started to say. "Why did she want us to be parents immediately upon seeing the cub? I'm just unsure about the sudden decision of this all."

"That's perfectly understandable, my King," Makini nodded to him. "But, let me show you something regarding the cub. Come with me."

Kion followed Makini to the far right side of the Tree of Life as she led him through a group of vines—which was just like how he saw the Lair of the Lion Guard back home—and stepped through it with the teenage King coming right behind her.

There was darkness in the cave, as well as some dust that made him sneeze a little and rub his nose with a paw.

"I think they could have dusted this place up a bit," Kion said, remembering how Bunga told Rafiki at the Lair in Pride Rock.

"Hmm, yes," Makini agreed, and she did the exact same thing as Rafiki had done to remove the darkness and dust from the cave with her staff pointing to a small hole of light as wind came through the cave and cleaned it.

"Whoa," Kion breathed. "I am still not sure how you and Rafiki can do that," he admitted to Makini.

"That's just a little trick he taught me," the mandrill replied with a shrug. "Now, come forward, my King. Let me show you a painting of the past."

Kion did as instructed as he stepped up to a wall with paintings of an upright standing species instead of lions. He tilted his head a little to the side as he saw two paintings of two of the same, but different species in a fighting position.

"What is that?" he asked Makini curiously, pointing to the two fighters on the wall painting.

"That's something that has happened a long time ago," the mandrill explained. "That species has been fighting each other for thousands of years."

"Why?" Kion asked.

"Because of their clans' different destinies," Makini explained to Kion. "Let me explain some of its history."

"Please do, otherwise I'll be very confused," Kion told her.

"Then, let me begin," Makini cleared her throat. "Long ago, there were two males of their respective clans who fought over the Mwanga and Giza within their clan. The words mean 'light' and 'dark',"

"While they fought, their parents tried to break the fighting from continuing to be violent. Their parents were lions. The lions took their sons back to their clans without much effort. They did not see each other for a long time until they had grown into adults,

"As the two males met each other again with their own pride of lions, their fight raged across the lands known as the Pride Lands."

"So, they fought in my home so many years ago?" Kion questioned.

"Yes," Makini confirmed with a nod. "As the males of the upright species fought, they clashed with both of their respective aura in the fight. The aura they had resembled very much the light and darkness in their hearts. They tried to kill each other, which ended in a powerful clash between their clans' strongest attacks. The attacks nearly destroyed a large part of the Pride Lands, but the Lion King managed to stop the two from continuing their battle,

"Now, with the two of the species, which was known as Watu, at the brink of death from their great fight, the Lion King banished the Watu from coming to his land again."

"Hevi kabisa," Kion breathed out in shock. "They almost destroyed the Pride Lands from their fight?"

"Indeed," Makini nodded to him. "Before the Watu was banished, a prophecy was made which foretold the coming of two of the last members from their clans, the Mwanga and the Giza. The child of the Mwanga will bring forth a new age to the Pride Lands, while the child of the Giza will bring destruction to the kingdom. And that ends the story for now."

"Hevi kabisa," Kion breathed again. "I mean…wow…to almost destroy my home into total destruction was something I never imagined they would do."

"Yes, it's a lot to take in," Makini agreed. "Come to think of it…didn't the cub named Leon look like a Watu?"

"Hmm…" Kion hummed as he rubbed his chin with a paw. "I think so. He looked like a newborn of the species."

"If he's a newborn," Makini said worryingly, "then he might become stronger than his ancestor that fought his enemy in the Pride Lands." She looked at the King seriously. "King Kion, I have on request to ask you."

"Sure thing," Kion nodded.

"If this cub you found is indeed a Watu, do not…and I repeat…do not make him come into contact with a fellow Watu of a different clan," Makini begged him. "If he do otherwise, do not make history repeat itself if it comes to the worse."

"I will," Kion nodded. "I promise to not let him out of my sight. I think Rani will do the same."

"Good," Makini smiled thankfully to him. "That's all I ask for you two to do. Now, I think the Queen is waiting for you, right?"

"Oh, right!" Kion realized as he sighed. "She is most likely waiting in the Tree right now."

"Then, let's not make her wait any longer," Makini smiled to him as they left the cave.

Kion walked into the Tree of Life as he spotted Rani curled around the Mwanga cub, as to not let him be cold on the ground. He smiled as he walked up to her and laid down on the ground and slept soundly in his sleep soon after.

I wonder how this new life will bring us…