Chapter 21 An Heir Is Born

Deep painful screams filled the hot room. Blood and bodily fluids covered the table natia laid on. She was sweating and panting for relief.

She screamed out as an excruciating contraction hit her once more. Saharrah worked hard, at keeping her cooled down. Queen Torlia was by her friend's side, helping as she had done for her daughter-in-law hazel.

Hazel too, was in the room helping. She was standing nearby, ready to help clean off the newly born cub. Torlia pulled up the blanket that covered her lower half and checked her dilation. She had only dilated to an eight, but the cub's head was already crowning. Natia's could feel her womanhood ripping open. It burned and stung with each push of the cub's head.

"Please make it stop pushing. I can't take anymore!" Cried out natia.

She fell back onto the stack of pillows and wept.

"Zarda where are you!" She shouted.

Saharrah turned her eyes away. She was saddened her son was not going to hold his firstborn cub. He wouldn't even know what its gender would be. Saharrah pushed away a tear and continued to wipe down natia's forehead and chest. Natia was breathing very, rapidly.

"You can't let the baby sit inside you. The fluid from its sac is all gone. The cub is suffocating, you must push." Said Torlia.

It wasnt what the young queen wanted to hear.

Natia felt another contraction coming on and pressed up on her elbows. She gave everything she had with one big push. Tiny cries could be heard below. The cub's head was free and his shoulders were next to be seen. He slid out from his mother quickly, once his head popped out. Natia had ripped and was bleeding tremendously.

Saharrah was worried, she quickly found towels to place at her cut and applied pressure. Hazel took the baby from torlia and proceeded to clean him off.

"It's a boy, a boy like zarda. Only he has a black heart shape on his chest. He takes after you too, mama. He's beautiful." Said hazel.

Natia smiled an exhausted grin and fell back on the pillow passing out from the painful struggle of giving birth.

"What do we do to stop her from bleeding? She's gushing out everywhere. I've never experienced this before." Said Saharrah over to Torlia.

The old queen shook her head, not knowing the answer right off. She thought hard on it, then remembered some old customs would take a hot iron and burn it shut. It was going to be painful, but it was better it burned, than bleed to death. Torlia hurried out of the room and sought for meeku.

Luckily, nearby she saw meeku waiting for the cub to be born.

"Meeku I need you to grab a hot iron prod for me, please! Natia is bleeding out and we need to cauterize the wound shut. Go quickly before she passes." Said Torlia.

Horrified from the news he rushed off as quick as he could. Meeku sprinted towards the forging quarters. Luckily, they always kept hot branded irons in the fires for constant weapon making. He grabbed one out carefully, sprinting back to the medical hut. He was met outside the door by torlia. Which she grabbed the iron quickly, and went back inside. The iron had faded some, but it maintained most of the heat in the tip.

Meeku left to stand beside his fiancé arian, and Hazel's teenage daughter theena. She had grown so fast with all the time lost from her departed father and brother.

Screams rang out more fiercely than before. The three of them winced as the terrifying cries filled the inside. The scorching iron had done the job. Natia was no longer bleeding, but she was in great pain. Saharrah packed her privates with wet rags and mother's herb. It was just the thing that would heal the wound speedily.

Hazel passed the cub over to Saharrah to hold. She couldn't believe she finally was holding her grand cub. It made her think back to when she had given birth to zarda and his siblings. How zarda would crawl all over her as a young cub. Saharrah was grateful for those moments, she could never get back the lost year when he and meeku went missing. She definitely would never get time back with her two dsughters teek and zaza.

Saharrah held her grand cub close, as she looked upon his mother Natia resting on top of the birthing table. Torlia had covered her up and placed more herb into her wound. The poor lioness had endured much. Hazel gawked over the precious cub a bit envious. She feared her time as a mother to more piglets was over. Avoiding the tears she spoke to Saharrah.

"Did natia and zarda ever come up with a name for their little one?" Hazel asked as curiosity peaked her interest.

Saharrah shrugged, she and zarda had thrown names around, but nothing ever was determined.

"Natia can share when she wakes up, let us give her a break. Besides, I think an uncle meek would love to see his newborn nephew." Said saharrah, smiling over the cute little cub.

He was bundled up in a lightweight cheese cloth. Quietly sucking at his paws. She moved towards the entrance as torlia opened the front flap. Saharrah passed through and walked over to meeku, who had been in conversation with the two females. He turned to see his mother carrying over a miniature zarda his way.

"Here, uncle meek, someone wants to say hi." Said saharrah, handing him gently over.

Meeku looked upon his nephew proudly. He began to cry, a mixture of emotional tears, some of Joy and others of great sadness. Meeku wished it was his brother holding his son, instead of him. Although he was happy to fill in on his brothers behalf. The tiny cub snuggled up closer to his uncle's chest.

Arian moved over beside meeku, smiling down over the cub, then back up to meeku.

"He's perfect." Said arian the cheetah.

Saharrah couldn't agree more.



"Where's the brides flowers, I don't understand where they disappeared to." Said the she-cheetah ashura.

Arian's mother was running around making sure her daughter's wedding day was going smoothly. She would rather worry with the stressful parts, while her daughter relaxed her mind.

Arian the she-cheetah would soon be married to her first love, meeku of the whitemane lion pride, of Makana kingdom. It wasn't custom for the lions to put on such a betrothal ceremony, but for the cheetahs' coalition, this ceremony meant everything. It was to be a joyous occasion, one that was much anticipated by all.

Too many tragic events in the last year had kept the kingdom in a downcast mood. With the birth of the new future king and meeku's wedding day, it was to be a grand event.

This marriage was meant to happen. Meeku and arian had been courting each other secretly for a while, and rightfully so. It had taken Arian's parents a long time to accept the fact she was with a different species of feline, other than their own kind. Meeku made an effort to go out of his way often to please his new in laws. Finally, wisdom had persuaded a change of heart for them. They eventually welcomed meeku and his family into theirs.

"Mother, I'm nervous, I've never done this before. We lions don't do these things. Do I look okay to you?" Asked meeku.

Saharrah chuckled yes. She fixed his marital apparel, which was requested by the cheetah king and queen, as it was custom for the males to wear. It was a beige tunic that flowed down to his knees, underneath he wore loose linen pants. Upon his head was fashion a Goji berry branch crown.

"If only your father and brother were here. How proud they would be. You look so handsome, meeku. I love you very, much son." Said the old queen.

Meeku nuzzled his nose up against hers, while

Wazingu, arian's cousin, popped his head into the grooms' hut to break up the mother and son moment.

" Sorry to interrupt, but It's time meeku, you need to go stand at your position." He said.

Wazingu is meekus's best lion-man, along with Matiti and mazunga. If zarda and slash were around, they, too, would be joining him. Unfortunately, they had lost both of them. No one knew if zarda was still living, but they were very, certain their mentor, friend slash, was dead. Memories were hard to keep from surfacing, but they did their best to keep calm for the ceremony. They knew zarda and slash would never want them to be sad on a happy occasion as this. Meeku left with wazingu out of the hut as Saharrah went to find her seat. She made her way to the waiting guests. Saharrah sat next to natia and her grand cub, tobi, which means large in the local african language. Natia chose the name, since his head was so large, he ripped her as he was born. It was a simple and adorable name.

The guest, were seated and waiting patiently. They watched meeku stand at the front. Meeku was next to king mapoza under the floral archway. The time seemed to move slowly. King mapoza was ready to give them both away in marriage. Meeku on the other hand, was ready to pass out. His legs were shaking from his nerves. He nearly jumped out of his skin when two kudu horn blasts sounded loudly for the starting of the ceremony.

Everyone's head turned to watch theena the flower girl walked out first, scattering pink and coral colored African daisy's down the aisle. She was dressed in a white fitted silk gown. Her hair flowed long into a shiny brown wavy style. It had been adorned with a white floral crown. She walked up to meeku and gave him a small peck on the cheek, leaving to sit with her mother in the audience.

Next gliding up the aisle were three

She-cheetahs yarima, venus, and cleo. They walked with their arms locked with wazingu, matiti, and mazunga, meeku's best lion and cheetah man. The three beauties were dressed in long fitted gowns the shade of pastel coral, while the males wore the same outfits as meeku. They made it to the end of the aisle and departed ways to stand on the opposite sides of one another. They stood waiting as the bride readied herself.

All the guest stood, as arian the bride appeared. She walked down the aisle with her father caruso by her side. Her lovely white petal gown flowed down her body just right. It was a sleeveless piece, showing off her perfect cheetah spots. Her hair was pinned up into tight curls, with white petals in place around her hair like a crown set for a queen.

Meeku could only see her and no one else. Their eyes met, and they never took them off from one another. Meeku smiled nervously with tears running down his cheek. He was so happy he was experiencing this wonderful tradition with arian. He couldn't wait to finally be with her forever.

Arian's eyes shown bright and beautifully. Her smile was large across her face. She was so excited to be meeku's bride. King mapoza begun the ceremony announcing the marriage of two young lovers to be destined to one another for all eternity, until life takes them away. He finished his part of the ceremony, and it was time for them to exchange vows and give each other a golden nose ring, which was custom to the cheetahs, once it was in, meeku reached out to take his bride and give her a kiss.

He held her tight for a long time. Everyone around them disappeared from their minds as they stayed locked into a passionate embrace. Cheers and horns begun sounding once more from the ceremonies guests.

"It gives me great honor to announce to you all, the new bride and groom, meeku and arian Whitemane of Makana kingdom." Declared mapoza.

Meeku and arian turned to face the crowd as they walked back down the aisle together, hand in hand. It was a pulchritudinous wedding.

********** to be continued in book 4***********

************ Over The Mountain**************