"King Kiros, Shaju may be dead, but there's good news," A white lioness came up to the king.

"What is it, Akua?" The king asked the lioness.

Akua hesitated a moment, then said, "Theluji had another cub." Kiros's ears perked up. "A daughter."

"What's her name?" The king asked, though he had already lost interest.

"Taji," Akua responded.

"You know, Akua, this is the Valley Of Kings for a reason." Kiros snarled. "And it will stay that way. There will be no Valley Of Queens, or Valley Of Princesses, or anything like that. So if I do not have a son, then I won't have a daughter, either." With that, the king swished his tail and walked to the far side of the cave.

The next day, the king had ordered Akua and her sister, Amara, to bring Taji away from the pride. 

"You know," Amara said as they walked towards the edge of the pride's territory. "I'm still loyal to Kiros, of course, but this is the worst he's done."

"Amara! How could you say such a thing? The king is just grieving because of Shaju's death. It must be hard to lose a son. He's probably afraid he'll lose her, too." Though Akua hardly believed it herself.

The two lionesses walked in silence for a while, until finally they reached their destination. "It's alright, little one," Amara whispered to the cub. "You are, and always will be, Taji."

"The queen," Akua added.

They laid the young cub down on the grass, in a fallen log, and gave her a couple of pieces of prey. Taji looked up at them with wide, blue eyes. Akua turned to walk away, but Amara waited and shifted the prey so they spelled out a single word: Taji

"You are Taji," Amara whispered. "The future queen of the Valley Of Kings."