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Kiara's Sahifa   Fan Fiction Main   The Rogue, Part 3

The Rogue, Part 3: A Love Not Meant To Be

By Abmis 1

Check out the pictures accompanying this story in the Fan Art section.

     Waridi awoke with the dawn. She was stretched across a warm, flat rock in a cluster of kopjes. There were other lionesses strewn about, some curled up, some stretched out, and others twisted like pretzels in seemingly unbearable positions. Dozing on the highest rock was Chuki, who oftentimes stayed up all night on his high perch bellowing into the darkness at anything that even smelled unusual. This resulted in him sleeping heavily until noon.

     She snuck away with all the silent leonine grace she could. She approached Chachari and nudged her. "Mother. I'm going on my walk." she whispered. Chachari groaned and mumbled "That's nice," and fell asleep once more. Waridi smiled and nodded to herself. Her plan had worked flawlessly.

     All her pride was familiar with the fact that Waridi always took a morning walk to warm her muscles before the late-morning hunt. It was the perfect cover-up for what she was about to do: Find Jak in the desert. It was forbidden and exciting and made her giddy as she trotted to the borders of the Oasis.

     As she emerged into the Outlands, she felt as if she saw them for the first time. She felt reborn since meeting Jak, and looked at the world like it was brand-new and everything was wonderful. The sunlight splashed onto the rich red dunes and craggy kopjes as the sky turned from deep purple to red to brilliant blue. She welcomed the warmth that surrounded her, and treasured the warmth inside her heart.

     She walked at quite a steady pace, glancing back and forth constantly and lowering her nose to the ground to catch his scent. His face, his scent, the feel of his fur would never leave her memory. She quickened her pace when she found his scent and eventually spotted him. He was staring at the ground and etching something into the sand with a claw on his left paw. Waridi assumed he was either bored or deep in concentration at what he was doing.

     "Hello, Majaka," she said. He lifted his head and looked at her, stunned. "Waridi? I thought I'd never see you again," he said unsmiling. "I need to talk to you. Come with me to the Oasis," she said. "But I'm not allowed." he replied. Waridi chuckled slightly. "Just steer clear of my parents and we'll be fine. I'm the princess, remember? The others can't question me," she said confidently. Jak smiled and wiped his paw over his drawing, erasing it, as he followed her. The drawing was of the only thing on his mind: Waridi.

     It had been hours since the two had began their "talk". Time seemed unexistent when they were together. They had walked several times around the perimeter of the Oasis, doing nothing but rambling on, almost akwardly, as they did so. Finally Jak said: "Well, Waridi, we've walked about 10 miles around this jungle. We've chewed over how great the weather is and how you grew up, but I reckon that's not the reason you came to talk to me." They continued strolling along, keeping alert in case they saw Chuki or Chachari.

     "Well, Majaka..." she started. "Jak." He corrected. She nodded. "Jak. I wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday. No one has ever had the courage to stand up for me before, especially to my Father," she said almost nervously. This was so new to her, talking on such equal levels with a lion. "You're welcome, Waridi," he replied. Waridi turned away, as a thought came to mind. "I know what you must be thinking. Poor little princess. What does she know about misery?"

     Jak shook his head. "No. That's not what I was thinking. What I was thinking was, 'What's gonna happen to this girl if no one stands up for her?' The way they treat you . . . no one deserves that." he said seriously. Waridi looked at the ground. "Well, it's how everyone is raised here. Most of those fools think it's the only way. It's like they have no ideas of their own, no imagination. And I'm trapped in that world. All the while I feel like I'm standing in a crowded room screaming and no one even looks up."

     Jak cringed at the thought. "I have very few memories of my past. But I do know I was loved. Everyone deserves that. It's not a want, it's a need. Your father is starving you of that need." Jak said, suddenly stopping to look her in the eyes. "Why do you think cubs obey their parents?" he asked. Waridi turned away. "Oh, I don't know. Fear?" she said. Jak looked disgusted as he shook his head. "No. They obey their folks 'cause they love them. Do you love them?" he asked.

     Waridi backed up, shaking her head and chuckling. "Well, you're being very rude! You shouldn't be asking me this," she said in amazment. It astonished her that he would even ask her such a personal question. "You didn't answer the question." Jak said, smiling mischeiviously. Waridi laughed again. "It is an unsuitable thing to ask." she replied, reciting all the etiquitte she had learned as a cub. "It's a simple question. Do you love your folks or not?" he said playfully.

     Another nervous giggle sounded from Waridi. "This is insane! I don't know you and you don't know me and we are not having this coversation at all! You are rude and uncouth and presumptuous and I am leaving now," she said quickly. Jak nodded and smiled throughout her insults. Waridi presented her paw to shake his. "Jak, Majaka, I have sought you out to thank you and I have," she said, shaking his paw. Jak nodded and added playfully, "And you've insulted me." "Well, you deserved it!" "Right. I thought you were leaving." The situation was almost comical as they remained together, forelegs pumping up and down as they continued to shake paws.

     Finally Waridi said with an impish grin, "I am leaving," and the two parted for only a moment until she turned and said, "Wait! This is my part of the desert! You leave." Jak giggled at this comment and said to her, without any intentions of leaving, "Well, well, well. Now who's being rude?" There was an awkward silence until Waridi noticed he was unknowingly doodling in the sand again. "What are you doing? It's so annoying!" She said without any harshness at all. Jak backed up, allowing her to see his sketches in the sand.

     Waridi approached the drawings slowly, commenting: "So what are you, an artist or something?" Jak chuckled at this. In the little memory he had left, he remembered being called worse than that. When Waridi got closer, she studied them in awe. "Well, these are rather good. They're very good, actually." Jak looked proudly over his work. They were pictures from his fogged memory, pictures of giraffes, strange jutting rock formations, and a beautiful lioness that kept popping into his memory and then disappearing behind the fog again. He did not know this, but the lioness was Kwahedi, his sister.

     After admiring each one for quite some time, Waridi looked Jak in the eyes. "You have a gift, Jak. You do. You see people." Jak looked at her with a piercing, unblinking gaze and replied: "I see you." "And . . . " Waridi said, straightening up and awaiting a compliment. Jak continued to be serious. "You don't love them," he replied.

     "I'LL KILL HER!" Chuki roared. "If she's beyond the border again, I'LL KILL HER!" he raged, pacing and huffing. It was past noon, past the late-morning hunt, and not even Mpalio knew where she was. Something was up. "It's that damn rogue who cuffed me yesterday! She went to see him! If I see that ruffian, I'll tear his head off!" "Come, now, dear. Calm down. She may have fallen asleep after heading out so early," Chachari said, desperate to calm her husband.

     The other lionesses watched this spectacle from a safe distance. Two of the younger ones gossiped quietly. "I heard that rogue's a real hottie! I don't blame her!" the lioness said to her sister. The other lioness grinned. "I've never known Waridi to be a flirt. Who woulda known?" "It's weird. She's so separated, always going off by herself. She really doesn't have a single friend" "Don't forget about that charming little fox. Always calling her mistress and ma'am." "That doesn't count."

     The whispering continued until Chuki stormed toward the group of lionesses, who bowed quickly. "Arise, you idiots! And find her! NOW!!!" he roared. The lionessses scattered immediatly as Chuki yelled after them: "And if you find that rogue, bring me his head and I'll free you!" The lionesses perked up. If they killed Majaka, they'd be free to leave the restrictions of their torturous pride.

     Unlike either of them had planned, Waridi and Majaka ended up spending the whole day together. It was now sunset, and they lay contentedly beneath the blood-red sky on a desert precipice. "I remember vaguely one time, that me and two other cubs...don't ask me who they were...snuck away from home on a dare and spent 3 days lost in some jungle. When we finally got back, we were in so much trouble...It was great!" Jak said with a laugh. Waridi laughed along with him.

     "Why can't I be like you, Jak? Just head out for he horizon whenever I feel like it! Say we'll go to that jungle someday . . . even if we only just talk about it." She smiled at him, but he was serious again. "No, we'll do it. We'll eat nasty bugs, and swing on the vines 'till we throw up, and run races on the river bank, right in the surf." Waridi laughed through all of this. The thought was so adventurous, so forbiddden and fun.

     "Oh, and you'll have to run like a real lion, none of that fancy trotting you did this morning." Jak added. Waridi smiled, shocked at this. "You mean . . . actually run?!? Scandalous! I love it! Will you teach me?" "Sure, if you'd like." "Teach me to race like a real lion!" Waridi joked.

     Jak got a mischievous grin on his face as he got up and grabbed her paw. "C'mon, we'll do it!" he said as he lead her down the cliff. "Jak! No! I couldn't possibly . . . wait! Wait, Jak! No!" Waridi protested as she was led to the ground. When they got there, Jak released her paw and smiled. "Now, watch closely."

     Jak explained what he was doing as he got into the perfect starting position. "You gotta crouch back so your legs'll act like a spring board. Then stiffen your muscles, focus on your goal, and get your mind ready. See that baobob? That's our goal, that's where we're gonna run to. Now it's your turn." Waridi got into position, crouching down, focusing, etc. as Jak instructed her. "When I say go, you run like hell to that baobob and don't taked your eyes off it." Waridi nodded, and Jak said slowly: "Ready, set, GO!"

     The two were off. Jak was ahead in seconds, the wind protesting his speed and screaming all around him. He noticed Waridi was going just a little faster then a trot. "That's PITIFUL!" he yelled back to her. "Speed up, pretend like you're leaping again and again." Jak took a long, graceful stride and called to her: "You see? It's easy!" Waridi got a determined look in her eyes as she sped up, going agaist everything her Mother ever taught her about the proper way for a lady to run.

     Jak smiled as he saw Waridi get the hang of it. "I'm doing it! Jak, I'm RUNNING!" she said excitedly. "Told ya!" Jak said to her. Soon the lions were neck and neck, and soon Waridi even passed Jak. Streaking through the desert without fear, without limits and with joyful spirits, they were a sight the glummest of creatures would smile at.

     Waridi reached the baobob first, crashing to the ground out of breath and laughing hysterically. Jak bowled into her seconds later and they layed panting for a few moments. "What fun! I've never known such joy!" Waridi exclaimed. Majaka smiled at her. "How is it that you were raised in such a narrow-minded society and survived this long?" he asked.

      "It isn't easy," she replied. "You know what, Waridi, I think you were mailed to the wrong adress," Jak said. Waridi nodded. "I was, wasn't I?" She said with wonder as the stars began to arrive. Just then, a shooting star streaked across the sky, tail blazing. Jak smiled. "I remember someone telling me that whenever a stooting star appears, it is a soul going into heaven," he said, noticing it and settling down. Waridi smiled, sitting down next to him. "I like that."

     Waridi had heard something different. "Aren't we supposed to wish on it?" she suggested with enthusiasm. Jak smiled. "Alright." The two lions closed their eyes and wished their fondest dreams would come true. After the silence, Jak turned to her and asked: "What did you wish for?" She didn't answer, and the two gazed at each other under the twinkling stars. An incredible warm and peacefully strong feeling surged through them, and their heads began to lean close to each other.

     Jak closed his eyes and prepared to kiss her, leaning in so close he could feel her hot breath on his muzzle. He was trembling with anticipation when he felt Waridi pull away, and he opened his eyes in confusion. Thinking of her society, her family, her duty as royalty, she knew it could never work. She answered Jak's previous question, "What did you wish for?", with 4 simple words: "Something I can't have."

     She shook her head sadly and felt the tears coming, so she turned and fled to the Oasis that kept her prisoner. "Waridi, Wait!" Jak yelled, running after her. But it was too late. Before he could reach her, she had disappeared into the darkness of her lands without a trace.

     To be continued...

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