A Heart's Desire

Chapter 2: A Strange Illness

Some time had passed since Kion's coronation and both young rulers were still adjusting to their new roles as king and queen.

Rani and Kion had joined the lion guard on their morning patrol while the night pride rested. Rani should be resting with them but she insisted she come with Kion and his team. She mainly wanted to spend some time with Fuli. The two had grown quite close in such a short amount of time. They were best friends and Kion couldn't help but smile at them acting like sisters.

As they continued to patrol, Kion had a strange feeling deep in his gut. It hurt, burned even. He felt hot and his muscles ached. His eyes felt itchy as they turned a little red. His head started to pound with each passing moment and his chest felt tight. He made sure no one could see that something was wrong. Thankfully everything seemed fine. No one was in danger and nobody needed help in some way. Kion felt worse and worse with each step. Fuli was the first to notice something was wrong.

"Kion? Are you ok?" she asks.

Kion stops and barely looks over at her with half-lidded eyes when he suddenly collapses.

"Kion!" Rani yells as she runs to his side.

"Is he ok? What happened?" the others ask.

Rani nuzzles Kion desperately trying to wake him up.

"We need to get him back to The Tree Of Life. Help me get him on Beshte's back but be gentle," Fuli orders taking action.

The others do as she says and they take him there. When they arrive, they immediately get Nirmala and Makini to help Kion and try to find out what's wrong. Everyone waits anxiously for results. Fuli couldn't sit still. She paced nervously around the den under the tree. She didn't care if it made Bunga dizzy. She silently prayed that Kion will be ok.

"Any idea what's wrong with him?" Rani asks.

Makini shakes her head. "We're doing everything we can but nothing seems to be working".

"It is strange to become so ill in such a small amount of time. We hope it doesn't get any worse," Nirmala continues.

No one wanted to fear the worst but Fuli already was. She had seen Kion's illness before. It happened to someone she loved dearly. The memory couldn't stop tears prickling her eyes. Rani walks over to her and sits beside her.

"He'll be fine. He has to be," Rani whispers.

"My mother had the exact same sickness as Kion," Fuli stutters as she tries not to cry.

Rani's eyes fill with hope, "So you must know the cure. You must remember it. How did your mother get better?" Rani asks.

Fuli breaks down into tears. It felt like the past had come back to haunt her.

Rani looked confused, "She did get better right?"

Fuli couldn't answer. Rani couldn't help but cry too. The two friends hug and comfort each other. Everyone was silent. Their worries just got a whole lot bigger.