A Dark Secret

Chapter 12

"Ha! Nowhere for you to go!" Gozi exclaimed as he pounced on Fuli. He pinned her in a way that it would be really hard for her to wiggle out. They were doing battle training to teach Gozi fighting moves for the next attack from the nearby lion pride.

"Good job Gozi," Fuli told him at he got off of her. She shook the dust out of her fur and got to her paws. "Now, for the next move, I'm going to try to sneak up on your blind side. You have to keep moving around so you can still see me at all times. Then, duck down to the side and roll under me. Aim your paws at my underbelly." Fuli then demonstrated the move, pretending she was fighting another animal.

"Okay! Got it!" Gozi and Fuli then sparred, Gozi doing the move mostly, but tripping over his paws at the last step.

"Good try Gozi, but try not to trip. In a real battle the enemy won't just wait around for you to get back up," she reminded him.

"I know," he replied. Gozi then tried to hide a yawn, but Fuli saw it. They had been battle training all day, at Mwepesi's orders.

"You look tired. You should go get some rest," Fuli said. The sky was now darkening, and the first stars started to appear.

"Okay, if you say so Fuli." Then Gozi went back to his den, actually the den he had to share with all of the other cubs in Swift's Clan. Fuli didn't like the fact that her father made all the cubs share the same tiny den. It was very crowded in there at nighttime. And there was a considerably large amount of cubs in Swift's Clan. She then went to her den her father set aside for her. He and her mother originally asked for her to sleep with them at night, but after Gozi had told her of her father's treachery, she didn't want to sleep anywhere near her parents. She told them she wanted a den of her own. Her parents agreed and set aside a den for her. Slowly but surely, she felt herself drifting into sleep.

Fuli was scared. She didn't know why she was scared at the moment, but she was still scared. Fear pulsed through her veins as she saw a white furred lioness with amber eyes standing in front of her. The lioness put her paw on Fuli's heart as she began chanting something.

"Nipe nguvu yako, nguvu ya Kishindo.
Nipe nguvu ambayo inakuja nayo.
Nitie nguvu na nguvu hii.
Nipe nguvu na nguvu hii.
Nipe nguvu zote ulizonazo.
Ipe roho yangu nguvu ya Kishindo chako."

Fuli saw a bright orange glow coming from the lioness's paw. The lioness then removed her paw from Fuli's heart and put her paw on her own heart.

"Nipe hii sasa.
Nguvu hii Nguvu hii mpya Ipe roho yangu.
Nipe nguvu hii mpya, nguvu mpya.
Ipe moyo wangu.
Nitakumbatia nguvu hii kwa shukrani.
Asante Wafalme Wakuu na Malkia kwa kunipa nguvu hii."

"Yes," she snickered. "The power is mine now. Lions, take him back to the prison.

Why did they refer to me as 'him?'

"We will still be able to use him as a fighter for the pride."

Fuli was afraid. The lion tried to pick her back up, but before he could, Fuli tried to Roar. But it wasn't the Roar of the Elders, it came out as a squeak. Wait what? Why did I think I could use the Roar of the Elders?

The lioness laughed. "Pathetic!" Then the lion shoved her towards a cave. Fuli didn't know what was happening. Then she looked down at her paws. She was shocked. They weren't hers - they were Kion's. What?! She looked at the fur on her shoulder. The Mark of the Guard didn't look like hers - it looked like Kion's. She saw her reflection in a puddle for a split second. She saw Kion in her reflection. What?! She barely had time to stop and stare at the reflection, because the lions continued shoving her to the cave.