1.9. Shaping the Future

“The pride to the west says it is interested in arranging marriage contract with you. Have an excess of daughters, apparently.”

Agano nodded along to Zuzu’s words. She had proven to be a valuable ally, despite their shaky beginnings, and her ability to fly around the kingdom and tell him of problems and issues before they arose was valuable beyond compare. He hated to admit it, but he was glad she had blackmailed him into the whole thing. “That’s… which pride, again?”

“Silly Agano! Always forgetting!” The bird clacked her beak at him in mock chiding. “Are the Vyo Pride. What you care about, is now offshoot of Ndona Pride. Current Queen is daughter of brother to Mohatu.”

“Really?” The lion’s eyes lit up at that, and he was paying even more attention than he had been. A way to incorporate the old lineage into his own and make his position even more secure? Of course he’d pay attention. 

Zuzu bobbed her head at him, preening at the attention. “Yes, yes. Half-brother to Mohatu.”

Agano frowned. “Half-brother? I was under the impression adultery by kings was forbidden.”

“Is, is indeed. But wasn’t King who did it – was his perfidious Queen. Lafua thus not royal, not an heir, and not a problem.” A tilt of her head. “Well, was problem, but quickly fixed by sending him away. Marry off into Vyo Pride. Married their Princess, became Consort.” A shrug of her shoulders. “Problem fixed.”

The King tilted his head in acceptance. This Vyo Pride wasn’t exactly a direct link to the Ndona Kings, then, but it was close, and he’d take what he could get. “Fine. Send them word we should talk, enter negotiations. They can bring the girl in question to the border between our territories, and I’ll bring Mufasa – we can take the measure of each child and work something out.”

“Done, done!” 

And then Zuzu was off, wings whirring as she flew back to the west. Agano watched her go, feeling satisfied with the work for the day. If all went right, his son would be married to a… well a sort of remnant to Mohatu’s line. He might have liked a direct descendant, but beggars could not always be choosers. Still… he looked over his shoulder to where Daemane was sprawled on the sun-warmed stones of Pride Rock, cooing some story or poem or what-have-you at the cubs, all three of whom watched and listened in rapture, even if they weren’t quite old enough to understand half of what she was saying. Agano’s eyes stayed on one cub in particular – Shauku – as the wheels in his mind began to hum along. He might not be able to get Mufasa directly tied into the old lineage, but there might still be a way to bind the bloodlines later on. Huria had female cubs, and they had the necessary royal heritage to qualify for betrothals, and they hailed from his own sister. Agano was sure Daemane would insist on arranging some marriage for her son at the very least, and he could beat her to the punch by pairing Shauku to one of his nieces. 

A smile fluttered onto his face as he considered it, and then he nodded to himself and stood, heading for where Huria was lying some distance away, caring for her own litter. She watched him approach, one ear flattening back as he came within hailing distance. “That smile never bodes well, brother. What’s on your mind?”

“Just realized I never paid enough attention to your cubs, dear sister.” He looked down at them, and they looked up at him, eyes wide and innocent. “Which is the older of the girls?”

Huria raised a brow. “Why?”

“Humour me.”

Pursing her lips, Huria pointed to one of them. “Sarafina is. She’s oldest of the litter, actually. Her sister Nyota is youngest of them all." Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Now your turn to give: why do you even ask?”

“You wound me, Huria. Wouldn’t I show interest just out of our sibling bond?”

“No. It’s why you haven’t previously. You’ve been too busy mucking around with being king to pay me much heed.” Her sour expression was softening into amusement. “Come on – what game are you playing this time? Tell big sister what’s eating at your brain.”

He felt uncomfortable, suddenly. It bothered him that what she said was true: he had indeed only cared when it aligned with his own interests. “Well…” He’d just have to make an effort to be a better brother to Huria in the future. Maybe he’d even try to be a good uncle to her cubs. “You see, I had a thought…”

Huria listened to him, and when he finished she closed her eyes as if seeking patience. “I can see you have an unquenchable need to tie yourself as tightly as you can to this land. To do it, you’d even ask me to put my own daughter through what I fought so hard to escape.” A dark look shot his way from between her slitted lids. “You’d ask me to choose her mate for her.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds horrible.”

“That’s because it is. It is a deplorable practice that should be done away with completely. Please forgive me for not agreeing to the plans you ask. Sarafina will keep her choices, as I wish her to.”

Agano chewed his lip, torn. He deeply wanted to make this happen, to put Shauku’s future securely where he wanted it to be – because then he could arrange for whatever Shauku bred to be married to Mufasa’s line, thereby securing the kingdom once and for all. It was so very important to him that Agano finally took a deep breath and looked Huria dead in the eye. 

“I am not asking, Huria – I am telling you how it is going to be.”

Her look became pure death, and she showed teeth at him in a way he’d never seen her do before. “You would dare to do to me what Father tried to?”

“No, it’s not like that. This is completely different.” He actually took a step backwards from the baleful glare she was focusing on him. “Look – Daemane is going to want an arranged marriage for her son, simply because Mufasa is getting one, and she is going to insist on equal treatment for her brat.”

“That isn’t my concern.

He sighed, looking away from the hot anger in her eyes. “I know how you feel, and I understand it… but this has just become a term of you staying here.” 

“What.” Claws slid from her paws, her voice flat.

“I hate to do this, but you know how much this means to me, how much we both need this land. We can’t lose now, not when we’re in this so deep. If Daemane has her way, she gets Shauku some foreign royal female, and that outside pride will then have an interest in what goes on here. I’ll have no real authority over that female, and through her, Daemane may be able to get word of the truth of things out to that other pride, and convince them to come here and force us out – and it would make sense for them to do that, because that runt of hers is the true heir to the throne here. They could have a daughter on the actual throne, and not just a marriage to a second son.” Huria paused, and Agano pressed forward, eager to make her see. “They’ll kill us and that will be that – you and me and your cubs will all die, or be driven out to die somewhere else. This all hinges on keeping Daemane and her son under our control. If we had killed the cubs back at the beginning, it wouldn’t be an issue, but you had to have a conscience.” 

At the deadly flash of her eyes, he mollified his tone. “And I understand why you prevented me from it. It was the right thing to do – but it also made things harder for us all, because the boy especially is a constant threat to our safety, and it’s clear that for all his small size and weakness, he isn’t going to die of his own volition. He’s a survivor, and because he is, we have to act to prevent Daemane using him against us.” He pressed closer to her, needing her to understand. “We can’t afford a war, Huria. We can prevent it by one simple thing, and that is making it so Shauku marries within the pride. Your cubs are the only ones with royal blood, so it has to be them, and the older one is the proper one to use. Daemane can’t argue with the proposal – well, she can try, but there’s really no legitimate way for her to get out of it.”

Silence descended on them both for a long time, and it was Huria who finally broke it, her voice strained and raspy with emotion. “I won’t forgive you for making me make this choice, for putting me in this position, Agano. I won’t forget it, either.” Her ears sank, pain in her every line. “But you speak the truth, even if I don’t want to hear it.” She shot him a look of loathing, which wounded him deeply to see. “So you can have what you demand from me: Sarafina will be Shauku’s.” She sketched a mock bow at him before turning her back to settle in again with her cubs.

“Your will be done, Your Majesty.”
_______

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Artwork & story; characters Daemane, Huria, Nyota, Dhambi belong to me. 
Elements from the story relating to The Lion King including its associated characters (Mohatu, 'Lafua', Mufasa, 'Shauku', Sarafina, 'Agano', Zuzu (C) Disney.