|
Zawadi was given as a Christmas gift by a distant pride. She did not have a name, and was appropriately named Zawadi, meaning "gift" in Swahili by her new pride.
Every day is a deadly game for Queen Zawadi. Born of common blood, Zawadi was gifted to the pride and was lucky enough to be adopted by the late Queen Sraja, who had no daughters of her own. Sraja raised her like a princess, giving her preferential treatment and the best training she and the pride could provide. However, Zawadi was never expected to become the Queen after her adopted parents stepped down. Prince Rogun was handpicked to become the next king, and whoever he chose as his queen would take her place as matriarch. Zawadi refused to resign herself to life as a subordinate lioness, possibly forever taking orders from a queen that was not even trained for the position. Zawadi threw herself head-on into any challenge she could find, training both her mind and body to become the ideal queen.
Zawadi waited patiently as her adopted mother became older and eventually died, and Sraja's second-in-command Audila took her place as queen. Audila was a very old lioness at the time of her ascension, and had no blood ties remaining in the pride, which gave Zawadi the opportunity she was waiting for. Zawadi came to Audila with every last reason she could think of as to why she should be named the next queen. Audila agreed with Zawadi, and on the day Audila died Zawadi became a queen.
A little over a year after Zawadi took her place as queen, her father reached 15 years old and graciously stepped down from his place as king. That day, Queen Zawadi began her rule alongside the new king Rogun. By the time Rogun became king, Zawadi was already a well-respected ruler and firmly ingrained in her role. This was exactly according to Zawadi's plan, as Rogun now had few lionesses to choose from that could compare to Zawadi's hunting prowess or leadership skill. Even fewer had the respect and loyalty of the pride that Zawadi had. Just as Zawadi predicted, Rogun did not choose a new mate and instead chose to keep Zawadi as the queen of his new pride.
Little did Zawadi know, her struggle as queen was only beginning. Her new king turned out to be nothing like the kind old king her father was. This new king was strict, forcing the pride to work hard and delivering harsh punishment to any lion who didn't follow his rules. Any cubs deemed unworthy to Rogun were promptly chased or sold the second they could leave their mothers' sides. Rogun no longer allowed travelers or visitors in his territory, keeping his pride isolated. The queen does everything she can to undermine Rogun and rule over her pride with the same love and fairness her parents did, but finds it more and more difficult each day. To make matters worse, her "sister" Mihrimah challenges Zawadi's rule on a daily basis. The queen knows her position is threatened, but can only hold off Mihrimah's onslaught until she finds a way to retaliate.
5/16/15: Zawadi gave birth in the early dawn to the first deira cub in the pride. The little female was the only cub in the litter, which the pride usually saw as a disappointment, but not this time. The queen beamed with pride when she showed her family the newest arrival and announced that she had crowned her heir, Princess Sraja.
Zawadi loves snacking on otters. A good way to make her forget why she was upset is to surprise her with one....or two.
|
