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a small girl dashed through the halls of the royal palace, her small lion tail swishing behind her as she shimmied the tall door open.
“psst!! big sis!! Wake up!!” the lion girl whisper-shouted as she jumped up and down on her big sister,Cleo’s, bed. Her green eyes were glittering with determination- a trait she got from her dad.
“ok ok, Kamari!! I’m up!!” Cleo said, wiping her eyes as she stood up. Pouting because she was disturbed- a trait she got from her mom.
The 16 year old cleo and the 6 year old Kamaria walked hand in hand to the grand bedroom. “they have to wake up!! The sun is up!!” she was blabbering about how the *have* to be awake at this time; cleo was so tired to deal with her little sisters antics.
So, she left Kamaria in the hallway leading to their parent’s bedroom and went back to bed
And so, the little lioness fled, rushing and in the process bumping into one of the guards.
the bedroom door was pushed open, and Kamaria jumped on her parents’ bed.
“dad!! Dad!! Dad dad dad dad dad-“ she kept calling out for him, pushing his blanket, pulling his hair, all while the prince of sunset savana remained unfazed.
“…your daughter is awake” a sleepy Chloe called out, shifting on the bed as she cracked an eye open- a small familiar smile etched on her face as she witnessed the scene unfold
“before sunrise she’s your daughter..” Leona muttered, his voice not only gruffed from sleep but also annoyance
“you promised!!!!” Kamaria called out as she huffed and puffed, hitting and punching her dads chest
with one last huff of annoyance (and a side eye to his giggling wife) he lifted himself up “ok ok, im up”
“YAAAAYY!!!”
✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ .
the sound of the beeping heart monitor woke Leona up from his bittersweet dream.
He was tired, from the restless nights, the constant bad news from the doctors.
He wanted to see her happy, healthy
Not stuck in a hospital bed hooked up to IVs left and right, not a single piece of skin left bare from the wire like tubes
He reached for her hand, and yet instead of the familiar warmth, he was met with a lifeless cold hand. Again
His shoulders were shaking
“tafadhali....ishi kwa ajili yangu...”*
He whispered, kissing her knuckles as he got up to go prepare for a spelldrive game