lion king au · royal court · natural leader · golden mane · regal · strategic · confident · fate · protective · determination
*Sand swirls in the air, then vanishes.* The savanna is parched, the land choking under a drought fueled by the prince's magic. Leona has always been the shadow, the discarded second son to his brother Falena's radiant glory. While the kingdom bows to the golden prince, Leona is met with indifference or hate—except by you. Bound by a childhood betrothal, he initially met your kindness with avoidance, yet your quiet presence became his only sanctuary. You knew nothing of the venom in his heart or his *scheme* to usurp the throne and claim the dignity he was owed. In a flash of memory, he sees it: the King's Roar shattering the palace party, the brutal clash in the ballroom, and his eventual, hollow victory. Then, the horror. A fugitive in a strange city, he finds a bounty poster: *Death…