Chapter Nine: Ultimatums and Decisions
Zahara was still overwhelmed by what had happened just a while ago with Makani. All this time, she'd only paid attention to Mohatu while Makani was blindsided completely. How could she be so cruel to him and not see it? She'd tried so hard to win Mohatu's affections, and in the process she'd completely ignored someone who didn't need to be won over at all! She walked back home with her head spinning from the war that raged inside her. Should she forget about Mohatu completely? Should she be content with being Makani's mate, now that she'd found such happiness with him? She needed to talk to her mother about this. She would know what to do. So she walked slowly to Pride Rock thinking about the whole situation. As she reached the mouth of the cave, she found Mohatu waiting for her.
"Zahara, please listen to me," Mohatu said. "I don't want to hurt you! If I marry you, I won't be happy! And if I'm not happy, I won't be able to keep you happy. I want you to be with someone who loves you and cares for you. Forgive me for causing you this much pain. That wasn't what I wanted at all."
Zahara looked at him and said, "I understand, Mohatu... But I wanted that lion to be
you. I
still do! Ever since I was a cub, I was told that
you would be the one I'd have to spend my life with! I was supposed to be your Queen! And I
loved you because my whole life, I was told that you were going to be my mate! Now you suddenly decide to take that away from me? How can you even
think of doing that? Would you have forgiven me so easily if
I had done this to
you?"
Mohatu looked at her sadly and said, "I don't know the answer to that. Telling you that I would have been able to forgive you would only be too easy for me. And it certainly won't make you feel better."
Zahara was completely taken aback by what she'd just said, and also by what Mohatu told her. He really was being completely honest with her, but it was too late. She realized how her head had been filled with dreams while he kept sulking about it... Shouldn't he have told his parents earlier about the whole thing? If he was this unhappy about it, shouldn’t he have let her know about it? She was his close friend! Couldn't he have confided in her? Couldn't he have said, just once that he didn't want to marry her? She was still so terribly confused about what she'd found out today. She was still trying to process it. Then she remembered how hurt she was when Mohatu had finally confessed about how he felt. An anger such as she'd never known consumed her. She couldn't let him get away with this!
"I don't care what happens to your precious girlfriend, Mohatu. But I
will tell you this. You
will be punished for hurting me the way you did, and
severely. You
will marry me and make me your Queen! Or I will rally the lionesses and lead them against you! They will not spare you for what you've done to me! Choose now! Tahiti? Or your Kingdom? You have a day to decide! I want your answer by sunset tomorrow. If I don't get one, I'll deal with you as i see fit!" Zahara said angrily.
Mohatu looked horrified to say the least. This lioness wasn't the friend he knew and cared for. She was consumed by her anger at the moment. "Zahara, you don't mean that!" he said. "Please reconsider! You wouldn't want to fight your friends!"
"I mean every word, Mohatu. You
will pay for what you've done! You have
no idea how much you've hurt me! I will
never be able to forgive you for this!" Zahara said. "It would be stupid of me to blame Tahiti... She didn't do this deliberately! But
you... you knew
all along how unhappy you were about this! You could've told
anyone! You could've told
me! But you
didn't!
That's what hurts me most! Now get away from me! I need to talk to my mother." Mohatu stepped aside and watched her go in. Then he walked away towards the meadows as he thought of how angry and hurt Zahara was. He looked back at Pride Rock one last time before he wandered into the sunset.
Inside Pride Rock, Gaea was awakened by her daughter. She looked up and found Zahara looking at her in a very resolute manner. "What's going on, Zahara?" she asked her daughter.
Zahara sighed and said, "I want you to help me rally as many lionesses as you can. We're going to make Mohatu pay for what he's done to me!" Gaea was stunned at the resolve in her daughter's voice.
"What has he done to you, Zahara?" Gaea asked her. "Tell me now so I can do something about it and help you!" Zahara laughed in a hollow sort of way. It scared her, and more importantly, it worried her.
"Ask me what he
hasn't done, mother... He just plucked up the courage to tell me that he doesn't
want to marry me at all! He
never did! And he tells me that he's
sorry! He took
everything away from me and he expects me to
forgive him! Well, that's not going to happen! He will have to pay for all the pain he's caused me. I asked him to choose between me and Tahiti. If he chooses
me, then everything will go according to plan. If he chooses
her, we'll rally the lionesses against him and take his Kingdom away from him! He deserves it!" Zahara spat. Gaea was shocked at the anger in her daughter's voice. She didn't know what to tell her at the moment, but she didn't have to. Someone else beat her to it.
"What have you
done, Zahara?" Makani asked her. He looked horrified to say the least. "You
can't be serious! You've asked the impossible of my brother! How could you do this?" Zahara was completely taken aback by Makani's anger. She didn't know what to tell him. "Answer me, Zahara! Why did you do it?" Makani asked her angrily. "Why did you threaten him?" Zahara couldn't reply. "Zahara, please... I know you're angry... and you have every right to be! But this is just too much to ask of him!" Makani said, softening a little. Zahara still didn't reply and looked away. She didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment, least of all him. Makani sighed and left to find his brother.
Mohatu was sitting under a mangrove tree when he heard the slight flapping of wings. he looked around to find little Zuzu flying around him.
"Hey, Zuzu," Mohatu said tonelessly.
"What's wrong, Mohatu?" Zuzu asked him.
"I don't want you to worry about it for me, my friend... I'll be fine... I just have a big decision to make, and I just don't know how I'm going to go about it," Mohatu said.
"Oh... What do you have to decide?" Zuzu asked eagerly.
"Ah, Zuzu... It's too long a story to tell right now... But I promise you... if I ever live through this, I'll tell you all about it," Mohatu said as he laughed sadly. Zuzu nodded at him and flew back to her nest. Mohatu sighed and got up to leave. The enormity of his decision weighed heavily on him. He sighed as he thought of how much pain he'd caused Zahara... And through all this, he hadn't once thought of Tahiti... He knew he'd have to tell her soon. He went all around the Pridelands trying to find her. He found her by the river.
"Hey, Mohatu," she said as she nuzzled him lightly. Mohatu smiled at her and sat down beside her. They looked at the horizon for a minute and then looked at each other.
Mohatu sighed and said, "I've got a decision to make, Tahiti... and I want you to promise me that no matter what I decide, you won't hate me."
Tahiti was puzzled as she asked, "What happened, Mohatu? What kind of decision do you have to make?" Mohatu didn't answer her immediately. Tahiti couldn't be swayed that easily. "Tell me about it, Mohatu," she said firmly.
Mohatu sighed and said, "It's about Zahara. My parents had decided to betroth me to her when we were cubs... I didn't like it, but I was asked to wait before i decided anything... And now, I
know I don't like the idea... And when I told Zahara about it, she got very upset and asked me to choose between the two of you... If I choose her, everything will go on the way my parents intended it. If I choose you, she'll rally the lionesses against me to take my Kingdom away from me."
If Tahiti was surprised, she didn't show it. "Then what's the problem? You know what you have to do!" she said as calmly as she could.
"But I
love you, Tahiti... I can't do this to you and betray what I feel for you! I can't do that! I
won't do that!" Mohatu said firmly.
"This Kingdom is your ancestors' gift to you! They lived and died protecting it! Don't give it up because of me! I will never forgive you if you do! We should be glad for the time we had with each other. I will cherish it for the rest of my life," Tahiti said calmly.
"How can you let go so easily?" Mohatu asked her in shock. He hadn't expected her to let this go so easily.
"Because I know you will never forgive yourself if you lose your Kingdom! You will love me, I know... But you will never forgive yourself for hurting your family," Tahiti said.
"You didn't make this any easier on me!" Mohatu said as he laughed and got up. "I have to go, Tahiti. The decision will have to be made tomorrow. And I'll let you know as soon as I decide on anything. Meet me here at sunset tomorrow," he said and he left.
As he walked back, he ran into Makani who smiled at him slightly as he said, "I need to talk to you, Mo."
"It's about Zahara, isn't it?" Mohatu asked sadly.
"I know she's put you in a difficult position, Mo, but you have to understand that she did this only because she'd been told ever since she was young that she would end up with you! That's all she ever wanted! But if you don't want the same thing, Mo, then I won't ask you to forget your happiness and choose Zahara. But if you decide to choose her, Mo, then please promise me this... Promise me that you will keep her happy, no matter how unhappy it makes you! Treat her with love and respect like you would Tahiti. Let her not regret having dreamt of being with you... Don't hurt her any more than you already have!" Makani said.
Mohatu looked at his brother and sensed how serious he was about this. He didn't know what to tell him at the moment. Then he lowered his head and sighed as he said, "I promise I will do everything in my power to keep her happy if I choose her. That's the most I can guarantee, Makani, and that's the most I can do under the circumstances. I need to be alone right now... Forgive me if I sound rude, but I have a lot on my mind and very little time to sort it out."
Makani nodded as he said, "Just remember what I told you." Then he walked back home.
Mohatu nodded at his brother, and as he watched him go, he realized Makani was more upset than he was letting on. Then he smiled at his brother's concern for Zahara. It was touching to say the least. But soon it dawned on him that it might be something more, and it didn't make him feel better because he now realized that he'd hurt his brother more than he had hurt anyone, even though unintentionally.
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