The Lion Guard Season 5

Chapter 2: What Makes a King?

*7 months later*
{Saka's POV}
"Bye Dad! I'm going to play with Duma and Moto!" I yelled
"Alright." Dad said "But be back by sunset!"
"Yeah yeah! Sheesh! You act like we live in a danger zone and not like the safest place in the world!" I retorted
"Saka." Dad said sternly
"Okay Dad. I'll be back by sunset." I relented
"Oh, are you going to Duma and Moto's den?" Amani asked
"No... I'm going outside the Mountain Pass and jumping into the freezing lake!" I retorted sarcastically
"Okay! Have fun!" Amani gleefully yelled
"That's enough." Dad interrupted "BOTH of you can go. Or neither one of you are going."
"But she- daaaad!"
"That's final."
"Fine. C'mon Ama. Let's go." I relented again
"Thank you." Dad said
"Let's race!" Amani yelled
"Yeah!" I agreed "On your marks... Get set.."
"Go!" Amani yelled suddenly.
She began to run ahead of me "Wha- hey! That's not fair!" I ran after her. We kept running to the Mountain Pass
"I going to beat you Saka!" Amani laughed
"You remember what Dad said?" I asked "You know, about how cheaters never prosper?"
Amani stopped and turned around "What does that mean?"
I started running faster " It means you're not beating me!"
"Wha-, hey!" Amani yelled. She started running faster but I was still ahead. We went past the Mountain Pass when I heard someone say "Look! It's another lion! Hey! Please! Help us!" I stopped and turned to look where the voice came from. Walking through the Mountain Pass were 2 lionesses, a sickly looking adult lioness, and a girl. The girl had red-violetish brown fur, purple eyes, a reddish hot pink nose and stripes on her paws and on her forehead. The adult lioness looked just like her, but she had green eyes. The adult lioness was slightly leaning on the girl.
"Oh look! They noticed us!" The girl yelled "Please! Help us!"
I knew I wasn't allowed in the Mountain Pass and Ullu always made sure I couldn't go in but I couldn't leave animals who needed my help behind. That's not what a king does. A king helps whoever needs it and he protects them. So I went over there. Amani was screaming that we would get in trouble but I told her that Dad said to not go in the Mountain Pass not stay away from the Mountain Pass. I came closer and waited at the entrance for them to come. The girl must've picked up on the fact that I couldn't come any closer so she told the adult lioness, who seems to be her mom, to wait and ran over to me.
"Hi!" The girl yelled, she sounded exhausted "Do you live here? Is this the Tree of Life?"
"This is the Tree of Life." I responded "And yes, I was born here."
"Oh, thank goodness! Me and my mom over there have been looking for this place for a while now." The girl explained "She's very sick, you see, and we were hoping that she could be healed here. And also we needed a home."
"Well, you would be welcomed here and we would be happy to heal your mother." I told her "But I'd have to ask the king if you could stay here."
"Could you please ask?" She asked "We'd really appreciate it."
"I'll take you to the king." I said "He's very welcoming. Can you bring your mom?"
"Yeah, I can. She can walk, at least"
Amani was standing there with confusion and anger because I did kinda dashed our plans. I told her the situation and she agreed to help. I led them to the Tree and Amani was making sure the adult lioness was able to walk the whole way.
"We're here." I told them "Can you wait out here? I've gotta tell the king about you before you go in."
"Okay!" She said "Mom? What do you think?"
"I think it is alright." The lioness said "You can let me go. I can stand."
I walked inside the Tree to see both of them sleeping together.
"Dad?"
Dad woke up "Saka? What are do doing back here so soon? Did something happen at Fuli's den?"
"We never made it to their den." I told him
"What?" Dad got up in shock "What happened?"
"There were these animals that needed help." I told him "I brought them here because they wanted to get help and stay here. I thought they should talk to you."
Dad stared down at the floor then walked over to the entrance "Alright son. I'm glad you are showing compassion for others, but next time, let an adult talk to them before you bring them in. You can never know what kind of person they are until it is too late."
He walked outside and started talking to the girl "So, are you the ones seeking shelter?"
"Yes! Yes we are!" She yelled with delight "Me and my mom have been traveling for months and she got really sick. I was hoping she could be healed here."
"Can I speak to your mother?" Dad asked
"Oh, um sure!" She said a little confused "She's over there."
Dad walked over to the sickly lioness "Hello, my name is Kion, I am the King of the Tree of Life. I assume you are the lioness who is ill."
"Yes, I am." The lioness said, her voice was very raspy and weak "My name is Hyria. Me and my daughter have been on the road her whole life. Someone told me about the Tree and I thought this would be the best place to raise my daughter. Along the way, I had gotten sick and my daughter had to bring me here before it got worse."
"Well, Hyria, we would be happy to help you recover but I'm afraid we don't know you well enough to allow you to stay permanently." Dad said "Please try to understand, I would love to welcome you here but we've had problems with bad animals coming and causing problems. I'd like you and your daughter to prove that you will not cause harm before I officially welcome you to the Tree of Life."
"I understand." Hyria responded "We would be eternally grateful to be welcomed to stay. But if it must be like this, we have no problem. We are thankful for your generosity, your majesty. And you, young man, we are thankful for your kindness."
Hyria and her daughter walked off in the direction that Dad had told them they could rest.
"Dad!" I yelled "How could you say that?!"
"What do you mean, son?" Dad asked, trying to pretend that he didn't know what I was talking about
"You told them they had no place here!" I yelled a little louder at him
"Saka."
"And what do you mean 'problems with bad animals'?! You have the Roar!!! You can send them away without even thinking!"
"Saka." Dad said a little louder
"You told innocent animals that they had to prove that they can stay! What does that mean?! Why do they have to prove that they can have a home?! ALL ANIMALS DESERVE A HOME!!"
"Saka!" Dad yelled, finally getting my attention "Come, follow me."
"What?" I asked confused and a little angry "Don't try to avoid this!"
"Saka, I want to show you something." Dad said calmly
I followed him up to a ledge overlooking the entire kingdom. You could see all of the habitats and the Tree in the center. It was a beautiful sight.
"Saka, I brought you here because I wanted to show you something." Dad said "Look over there, what do you see?"
"The Tree of Life. Surrounded by the habitats and the sun right above it." I answered "But what's the point of this?"
"Everything the light touches is our kingdom." Dad said "And as King, it is my responsibility to protect it. I know the things I choose to do won't look right or don't make sense but I have a reason for doing it. I saw how in awe you looked when you saw the kingdom from this ledge. The Tree of Life is a beautiful place and the animals here are some of the nicest I've ever met. But not everyone are nice. In the real world, there are a lot of people who are looking to cause harm. And you can never know who to trust and who will be there when you need them. As future king, one day it will be your job to protect the Tree of Life and the animals who made their homes here. One day, you will understand. I never wanted to say they have to prove themselves but I've seen how far some animals will go to try and cause harm. After the last time, your mother and I had a conversation with the Guard and the Night Pride and we had agreed that we cannot just let animals come in and give them the chance to cause harm. I didn't want to agree but I knew I had no choice. Of course, you know Beshte didn't agree but there was nothing we could do. I'm not saying they absolutely cannot stay here, I'm sure you are right and they are innocent animals, but I cannot take that chance. Some day, I'm sure you will understand, son."
"But Dad. The Tree has always been a welcoming place, that's what we're known for." I said "And this thing that you put in place, isn't it going against it?"
"It is true that the Tree of Life is known as a welcoming place, but it is also known as one of the safest places in the world. A place where animals can come and heal, or raise kids or just live without fear." Dad explained "And they're not getting that if we just let everyone in. There is a standard that we are expected to maintain and it's not happening if we just allow animals to cause havoc."
"But what happens if they accidentally cause harm, like you said Uncle Beshte did?" I asked
"If that happens, then you should resolve the issue. Ask them to be more careful and tell everyone there was a misunderstanding." Dad answered "You should always try to solve the problem at the source instead of struggling at its paws. But that also means you have to use your own judgement when trying to solve problems. What kind of problem it is and what solution would work best. It's an essential skill that anyone should learn, not just a King."
"I just, I don't like having to make animals prove they can stay. That's their right and I don't like taking it away." I revealed
"I know, son. It's not something I wanted to do either but sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do."
"I just don't understand."
"I promise you, one day, you will understand." Dad said "It took me some time to understand."
I looked down, trying to hide my disbelief "Okay."
"Buuut," Dad said, making me pick my head up "I think Duma and Moto are still waiting for you two."
"But-"
"You should go play with your friends, maybe you can introduce them to Hyria's daughter."
"Okay." I smiled. I ran down back to the Tree and me and Amani ran to Duma and Moto's den without getting sidetracked.