Be Careful, Princess!

[divsalley]

sorry about the HUGE amount of time this is taking... the tenth chapter is giving me quite a hard time... but i definitely haven't forgotten about this and will be updating soon... thanks to all who've read this fanfic and left their comments.

[TheWhistlerify]

Sure thing. The more you take your time with it the better it will turn out. =]

[Arani]

This is a wonderful story! You've done a great job!

[divsalley]

[quote="Arani"]This is a wonderful story! You've done a great job! [/quote]

Thanks! Will be updating the next chapter soon...

[TheWhistlerify]

I saw you posted and got all excited thinking you uploaded another episode =O

Take your time =D

[divsalley]

[quote="TheWhistlerify"]I saw you posted and got all excited thinking you uploaded another episode =O

Take your time =D[/quote]

I'll be updating today... does that get you excited??? lol... Glad you like this story, and I'm thinking of doing another one soon.

[TheWhistlerify]

well... YEAH =o
I developed so many theories about what will happen I'll name the ones I was right about once I read it =]

[divsalley]

Chapter Ten: Mistakes and Amends

Uru knew that Mako had somehow found out what was going on, but she wasn't going to reveal it herself. So, feigning a calm she didn't feel, she looked at Mako and asked, "What're you talking about?"

"Don't play the innocent lioness with me, Uru... It won't work! I had to force Ansara to tell me everything, and she did!" Mako said angrily. Uru looked around instantly and found a wounded lioness. Mako had struck her with incredible force. Anger coursed through her veins like poison, clouding her judgment. But as she looked at Mako once again, she steadied herself.

"Why did you do this to her?" Uru asked angrily.

"She got what she deserved. She was helping you overthrow me, so she was punished," Mako said flatly.

"Overthrow you? Who gave you an idea like that? You tyrants are the same! You worry that the creatures you oppress will one day turn against you and fight back! Did it never occur to you that if you'd just taken good care of them, they would've cooperated?" Uru asked him. Mako laughed heartily at this.

"Taken care of them? What's in it for me? I stole this Kingdom from my dear old brother... He got it from my father, who foolishly divided our Kingdom instead of just making me King. I didn't just want to be King, Uru... I wanted to be the only King. For so long, I'd been the Prince... And I would be just that... a Prince. I would never be a King. What was the use of being born to the King and Queen, when everyone else knew that it would never amount to anything while someone else had been chosen? And on what grounds? Because he was older? I had as much a right to that throne as my brother. Then why was I settling for second best? My parents didn't even think they owed me an explanation... They just thought I'd understand... They took me for granted. But now, they fear me! They fear me because of what I've become! They will never take me for granted again!" Mako said with a maddening edge to his voice.

"What you've become? You want me to tell you what you've become? Look around you, Mako! None of your subjects are loyal to you! You don't inspire loyalty or respect! You inspire spite! Your subjects hate you! You only think about yourself!" Uru said angrily, unable to control herself.

"What did you just say to me?" Mako asked her angrily.

"You heard me, Mako... I meant every word. And yes, I did want to help him overthrow you. What do you say to that?" Uru said as she thought about what she'd just done. She didn't want to reveal this, but after hearing what he'd just said, she was so infuriated that she lost control. Mako looked infuriated to say the least.

"How dare you speak to me that way? I am a King! Who are you? A lonely lioness who was thrown out of her Pride! Whoever raised you did a very poor job of imparting important lessons to you! You're supposed to grovel at my feet, begging for forgiveness! Instead you're defiantly insulting me! You will be punished!" Mako said as he walked towards Uru angrily.

"I am the Princess of the Pridelands! I am the daughter of the Great Mohatu and his Queen Tahiti! Don't you dare underestimate me and my abilities! I came here with a purpose, and I'm going to fulfill it! I'm going to overthrow you, and return this Kingdom to its rightful ruler!" Uru said as she looked at Mako with determination. Mako must've noticed this because he stopped suddenly.

"There is no rightful ruler, Uru... My nephew died a long time ago," Mako said as he smiled slightly. Uru bit back her retort because she didn't want Mako to find out about Ahadi. Why was she protecting him after his harsh treatment of her? She had no idea... "And now, Uru, you will pay the price for what you've done!" Mako finished. Uru watched carefully as Mako approached her. "Not only will you lead your friend straight into my trap, you will also help me ensure that my Kingdom goes to my sole heir personally," Mako said with a leer in his voice.

"You have no heir," Uru said flatly.

"I will after I'm finished with you. That will be your punishment," Mako said, as if enjoying himself thoroughly. Revulsion filled every cell of Uru's body as Mako approached her. She had to fight back. She couldn't let Mako do this to her. As he approached her, she readied herself to attack. She took one swipe at his face with her paw and watched as he growled in pain and fell. Uru took this chance to get out of the cave, where they were alone. But before she could leave, Mako had pounced on her. She struggled to get out of his grip as he smiled at her evilly.

"You're helpless now, Princess," he said mockingly. "No one is coming to save you." Uru's jaws clenched in anger as Mako enjoyed his momentary triumph. But before he could do anything, she pushed him off using her hind legs. Mako fell on the stone floor with a thud. Uru immediately ran out of the cave, but she could hear Mako follow her. He tried to attack her again but she was ready. She clawed furiously at his chest and watched as he charged at her again. She slid out of the way just in time to avoid being pinned down by him. Then he charged at her and dealt a powerful blow. She would've recovered had she not crashed into a tree from the impact. She winced as she tried to get up, but Mako was standing over her, ready to block her every exit. Mako bent over her and said, "That was impressive, Uru... You put up quite a fight. But unfortunately for you, I won." Had Uru not been in so much pain, she would've roared and charged, but for now, she was in pain, and quite helpless.

***

A furious roar rent the air as a young lion paced around, weighing his decision. "She was wrong to leave home the way she did... That's why I was so harsh with her. I had to be!" Ahadi told himself. But no matter how many times he tried to reassure himself, the hurt look on Uru's face crumbled his resolve and made him feel terribly guilty. It was very unclear to him as to what he should do to fix this, but he knew that he had to apologize to Uru. He shouldn’t have been that harsh. Just as he was about to go see her, he heard the beating of paws against land. He turned around instantly and found, to his dismay, a completely strange lioness.

"Who are you? What're you doing here?" he asked her.

"It's Uru... she's... she's in trouble! Mako... he... he knows," Avina said as she tried to catch her breath. Ahadi's body stiffened at every syllable.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Mako injured my sister and forced the truth out of her... Mako knows you're here, and that Uru's plotting with you. He was attacking her when I left... I had to find you... You can help!" Avina said.

"How do you know about me?" Ahadi asked her, bewildered.

"It doesn't matter! Uru is in trouble and she needs our help! We don't have much time!" Avina pleaded.

"Lead the way," Ahadi said sternly, his anger at Uru completely forgotten. They sprinted across the barren plains towards the scene of the battle. Ahadi's only concern now was Uru's safety. Mako wasn't the forgiving type. He only hoped he wasn't too late... As they ran towards the den, he could see two silhouettes in the distance. One of them was unusually still. Mako was bending over Uru and telling her something. Uru tried to move, but she seemed badly hurt. As Mako bent over again, anger coursed through Ahadi's veins as he realized what Mako was about to do. He roared thunderously and charged at Mako. It was clear that he'd caught Mako off guard. That was enough. His attention was no longer on Uru.

Avina rushed to Uru and carried her on her shoulders. Then she came to Ahadi and said, "Thank you."

"Take her back to where you found me. Find Kona and tell her that Ahadi sent you to tell her that the time has come. She'll understand. Go, now!" Ahadi told her. Avina got away as fast as she could with Uru on her shoulders.

"Now who are you?" Mako asked Ahadi.

"Trust me, Mako... if you don't recognize me, then I'll remind you so well that you wouldn't dare to forget!" Ahadi said angrily. "Think back... Think back to the day you killed my parents in battle!"

"The only pride I attacked was the one living here! But no one survived!" Mako said, a little surprised.

"I survived!" Ahadi said firmly. "I, Ahadi, son of Aku and Zara... the Crown Prince of these lands, survived! And now I have returned to defeat you and take my rightful place!" Ahadi roared. Mako stood rooted to the spot. He hadn't thought about this at all... He hadn't ever considered the possibility that Ahadi had survived and would return.

"Then you'll have to fight me for this Kingdom!" Mako said as bravely as he could. But in truth, he was weighing his options.

"I'm more than ready to fight you," Ahadi said as he readied himself to fight. Mako looked around to see if there was any way to escape. The lionesses of his own pride had surrounded them. Mako watched helplessly as two lionesses carried Ansara to safety. He knew for a fact that his treatment of them wasn't going to help him now. What he saw next shocked him even more. Lionesses from his father's pride were surrounding him now... his mother among them. Mako finally had a sliver of hope.

"Mother! Mother, come on... You can't possibly want me to lose this!" Mako said weakly. Ahadi laughed heartily.

"You're despicable! What kind of a son are you to rob her of her other son?" Ahadi asked him. "You're not getting out of this, Mako... You will pay for your crimes!" Ahadi finished and charged at Mako, knocking him over. Mako rose quickly and slashed Ahadi across the face. Ahadi roared in pain, but recovered soon and hit Mako twice as hard, throwing him off balance.

"Get up, Mako! Get up and fight!" Ahadi yelled. Mako roared and gained speed as he charged at Ahadi. The force of the pounce sent both of them rolling painfully across the plain, each trying to maul the other whenever possible. By the end of it, both of them stood facing each other, mauled and exhausted, panting for breath. Mako found it slightly painful to stay standing up, but if he collapsed now, he'd be declared defeated. So he tried charging at Ahadi, but just as he was about to get to him, Ahadi slid out of the way and watched as Mako crashed painfully into the hard earth. He was unable to get up. The lionesses were goading Ahadi to go for the kill, but something stopped him. After all these years of waiting, when he'd finally been given the chance, he couldn't bring himself to kill Mako. The image of his parents flashed before his eyes. Would they have wanted him to become a murderer on their account? Would his father ever forgive him for causing Ni and Kona that much pain and suffering by making them watch as he killed their surviving son? He slowly walked towards Mako as he deliberated this.

"I know what you've done, and I'll never forgive you for it... But I won't become a monster like you by killing you. My parents would've wanted me to let you go, and so I will," Ahadi said dramatically and walked away. Kona walked up to Ahadi and nuzzled him affectionately.

"You did the right thing, Ahadi," she said slowly. Then she walked towards the spot where Mako lay...

"Mother?" Mako asked weakly.

"Yes, Mako... It's me... Please, my son... let go of your resentment... Do not die a monster... You were once an innocent cub, free of hate... To me, that's how you'll always be... Leave in peace, Mako... For me... Please," Kona said softly as she nuzzled her son for the last time. Mako smiled at her slightly and then closed his eyes, never to get up again.

Everyone present stood still, trying to let the facts sink in... Mako was dead... and a new beginning lay ahead of them! But for Ahadi, there was a lot to be done. So he walked back to check on Uru, who was weak, but recovering fast.

"I want to apologize," Ahadi said slowly as he looked at Uru. "Forgive me for judging you so harshly. i shouldn't have done it."

Uru smiled at him as she said, "It's alright... You were partly right, actually... I did hurt them... and I'll be going back soon." Ahadi looked crestfallen as she said these words. he was hoping that she felt about him the way he felt about her. He'd never be able to explain how worried he was about her before he got to her.

"So... when will you be leaving?" Ahadi asked her sadly.

"As soon as I recover," Uru said evasively.

"Will I ever see you again?" Ahadi asked her hopefully.

"Well, I was hoping you'd join me... We could merge this pride with mine... My parents would be happy to welcome them," Uru said slyly. Ahadi sighed in relief and nuzzled her, hoping to let her know how happy he intended on making her... It would be a beautiful union.

[TheWhistlerify]

So I was right about Uru's 'punishment', about Mako forcing the truth abour Uru from Ansara and about her inviting Ahadi and his pride to join the pride landers. =O

Can't wait for the next one

[divsalley]

[quote="TheWhistlerify"]So I was right about Uru's 'punishment', about Mako forcing the truth abour Uru from Ansara and about her inviting Ahadi and his pride to join the pride landers. =O

Can't wait for the next one[/quote]


Yeah, you were... In any case, there's the epilogue to be taken care of... and that'll be done today... I'm glad you've liked it so far...