A Heart's Desire

Chapter 4: Long Live The King

Hi everyone,

Unfortunately, I feel like I have to have a break from Wattpad for a while because I have recently been targeted by Trolls. Bullying like this is never acceptable and it is sad that it exists at all especially on a site as great as Wattpad. No one should have to deal with Trolls spreading rumours. I don't know them and it's sad I've been a victim of their sport. I will be back when I am ready to write again. Thank you for your support. Your friendship means a lot to me.

Please be aware of the following account names:
@meanflowergirl
@UrMum_isGay
I've been told these are fake accounts of @2CuteGuineaPigs

Please avoid any other accounts that are spreading rumours.

Day five and already Fuli was fed up with everything. It was bad enough everything was almost on repeat. Get up. Patrol. Eat. Royal duties. Some arguing. A lot of worrying. A small run. Back to royal duties. Worry again. More arguing. Patrol. Sleep.

"For Rani and Kion. For Rani and Kion," Fuli mutters as the penguins and the polar bear argue about their ice slide for the second time that day.

It was early morning, a little after patrol. Fuli would much rather be anywhere than here right now. Heck, she would rather go swimming in mud than handle this arguing, and lack of sleep didn't help either.

"Guys! Please, we already talked about this. Whenever you throw an icy party, you need to understand that there will be bigger animals wanting to go on the slide," Fuli begins as she glares at the penguins before looking at the polar bear, "but since you did break their slide, you should probably help them make a new one. A bigger and better one perhaps".

"That's a great idea!" They cheer and start to waddle off, "Thank you Queen Fuli! Tell Rani and Kion that we're thinking of them!"

Fuli smiles and nods. She sighs when they're far enough away and rubs her jaw which was hurting from smiling so much. Baliyo chuckles when he approaches her.

"Doing ok, Fuli?" He asks.

Fuli groans and rests her head on her paws, "How does Rani and Kion stay that composed while smiling...all...day...long?"

"It's tough I get it. I'm sorry that you have to do this. I should be the one stepping in".

Fuli lifts her head and looks at him, "Baliyo, I understand that you didn't want to do this. It's hard and you've never really be trained to rule or have any experience at it. Also, you must be worried sick about Rani".

Baliyo nods.

"How is she anyway?"

"The same".

Fuli sighs. If Kion didn't get better soon, the kingdom could lose faith in her. What good is a king or queen who can't rule? That's why Rani asked Fuli to take her place...at least for a little while.

"I hope they get better soon. I don't want to lose either of them..." she whispers.

"You and me both".

More animals march themselves towards Fuli as they argue with each other. Fuli and Baliyo couldn't help but feel tense at the group. This had to be the worst issue yet! And these crowds of animals coming to their rulers for help to solve their problems was never this bad until Rani had temporarily given up the crown. Baliyo roars and the crowd silences.

"What's got you all riled up?" Fuli asks.

Everyone tries to explain it all at once and another argument breaks loose.

"This is chaos," Baliyo says bewildered by the amount of arguing.

"It's been like this for the past few days Baliyo!" Fuli snaps, already getting sick of the noise, "mind giving me some help with this one?"

Baliyo nods and together they get the situation under control. It takes them almost all day.

Fuli slowly trudges to her den, eyes heavy and stomach growling. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this tired. Perhaps the time when she ran too much and the vultures tried to attack her? Thankfully Kion and the others were there to save her.

"Kion..." Fuli whispers, "He's always been there for me when I needed him. I was there for him when he needed someone to lead the guard when his temper was getting the best of him. I wish there was something I could do to help him so he can help Rani".

She looks up at the sky. The stars shined brightly against the dark blue endless sky. It was going to take a miracle to save Kion now. Unless they somehow found a cure, Kion was most certainly going to die. The fact was hard to accept and it pained Fuli that Kion's fate was inevitable. She had seen his illness before. Her mother had it and there was nothing Fuli could do to save her.

Fuli finds her den and lays down. She wraps her tail around herself and her stomach growls. What happens if Kion does die? Will Rani ever have the strength to rule again? Fuli's stomach growls again. Louder this time. She's never been this worried or stressed before. She has her friends to worry about and a kingdom to look after. How could she keep this up? Also, she's a cheetah. Cheetahs prefer to be alone. It's in their nature to look after themselves and no one else but this was one of this was one of those rare times when she wished she could have someone rely on. She can't look after a kingdom and herself alone. She needed help.

The next morning, Fuli woke to the sound of something being dragged across the floor. She was a little surprised to see Azaad dragging a dead gazelle into her den.

"Hello?" Fuli says a little surprised.

"Oh! Fuli! I'm sorry if I woke you. I had a feeling you didn't get to eat yesterday so I hunted you a little something," he explains.

Fuli's eyes light up as a smile forms on her lips. She had forgotten how hungry she was.

"Thank you Azaad. I really appreciate this," she says.

"You are welcome," Azaad replies, sitting down.

Fuli gets up and eats the gazelle. She didn't notice Azaad looking at her curiously. He gets her attention by clearing his throat.

"How has being queen been going?" He asks.

Fuli groans, "Its hard and stressful. I'm honestly thankful for all the help I can get. I am definitely not cut out for royal stuff. I hope I don't have to keep this up for too much longer".

"I think you are doing a marvellous job. You are a natural. You just need to get used to it. Besides, having a cheetah ruler is a nice change from the regular lion rulers".

"No. Rani and Kion have the kingdom's trust and they don't hesitate to follow their orders. They don't trust me. They may do what I say but they come back later in another predicament".

"That's where you're wrong. Rani was born with their trust because she was a princess and had grown up in these lands. Everyone trusted Kion because he was born a prince and loved Rani. You were not born royal so you had to earn the kingdom's trust. You have earned it and you deserve to be queen more than anyone I know," Azaad replies.

"I don't know Azaad. I think it's better if things go back to the way they were before. It's what's best for everyone," Fuli explains.

She quickly eats the last of the gazelle, says goodbye to Azaad and leaves for another long day of ruling.

Azaad sighs, "A queen should never doubt her capabilities".

Fuli heads over to the Tree of Life as she makes her way to her usually spot to begin her duties. She wasn't surprised to see Rani dead still beside Kion. Fuli didn't want to admit it but Kion was looking worse. His breaths were shallow and he looked pale.

"You doing ok Rani?" Fuli asks quietly.

Rani looks over her shoulder, still snuggled up next to her king, "Not really".

"Everyone is worried about you Rani. The arguments are worse than usual and-"

"They'll settle...trust me".

"I don't want this Rani..." Fuli mutters.

Rani sighs, "No one does. Royalty is scary. You need to put your kingdom before yourself. Just please do this for a little longer?"

"Fine but I don't want to do this forever".