Chapter 48. Punish without mercy

Asafa took a walk with both Tukufu and Mohatu.

A day had passed since his talk with Tukufu, and today he called out both of them to the test them.

First he would give a final test to Tukufu to see if he truly had changed.

At the same time, he would give the last test for Mohatu if he truly was fit to become the next king.

"I have something to reveal to you Mohatu." Asafa said.

"Father, if this matter only concerns my elder brother, then should I be in your company?" Tukufu questioned. His tone had changed to a more respectful one, in regards to his brother.

Although he limped, because of his lost foot, he could still walk in a pretty normal speed although he couldn't run fast nor fight.

"It concerns you as well." Asada said, before turning to Mohatu.

"Normally, I wouldn't reveal this to anyone, but you're the next king, and to make sure that you can safeguard this land against all obstacles, I have to reveal this to you."

Both Tukufu and Mohatu looked at their father seriously.

"It's regarding what happened in the crocodile attack." Asafa said, looking at the expressions of his sons.

Tukufu instantly felt a hint of fear in his chest as he realised what his father was about to reveal.

Tukufu took in a breath and readied himself for what was to come, the truth.

But this is what he had done, and indeed, Mohatu deserved to know this.

"Tukufu was the one that sabotaged your expiditon." Asada revealed.

He wanted to see if Tukufu was truly repentant when his evils deed was revealed, would he find excuses or would he take responsibility for his deeds.

At the same time, he wanted to see how Mohatu would react and respond, to see if he had it in him to be a king,

Tukufu stared at his brother with a glint of intelligence that he had in his eyes, but this time there was no greed nor arrogance in his eyes, he awaited his brothers respons.

Mohatu turned silent for a while, thinking about what had been revealed.

The truth is, he had noticed Tukufu's sneaky behavior during their battle, but he didn't want to believe the suspicions he had in his heart.

In the end, Tukufu tried to sacrifice himself to save him. So Mohatu came to realise that he didn't care whether his suspicions were true or not, since his brother was willing to sacrifice himself.

And it was his duty as the eldest brother to help his younger siblings. So Mohatu did what he had to do, and he didn't regret it.

But having his father confirm his suspicions made him frown.

'Why did father tell me this?' he wondered as he looked at his brother.

Mohatu saw worry and hope in them. Mohatu understood that Tukufu hoped for his forgiveness but at the same time worried how he might respond.

Mohatu turned to his father.

"Why did you reveal this to me." He asked.

"As the next king, I want your advice on what we should do with him." Asafa said seriously

That's when the gears in Tukufu's head started working overtime.

His father had already decided what to do with him yesterday, which means he just lied about his intention to Mohatu, Why?

Tukufu first believed that Asafa revealed this to Mohatu so that Mohatu could be aware of the potential threat that he was, but that didn't seem to be the case either, otherwise he would've said it in private or made his intention clear.

That's when it clicked in his mind, his father was probably testing both their responses.

Tukufu's face lit up while his eyes still carried that hint of intelligence.

Mohatu also suspected that his father wanted something else, but he couldn't put his finger on it, in the end, he decided to play along.

"Tukufu, is what father claimed true?" He ended up asking his brother.

"Indeed brother... I did have the intention to kill... All of you...." He admitted with heaviness.

After a few second of silence, Tukufu did something he had never done before.

"Brother, I'm sorry." Tukufu said, he didn't care about his father's test, right now, he was seeking the forgiveness of his eldest brother.

Mohatu looked surpised. He knew the troubling personality of his brother. This was the first time his brother had seeked forgiveness for something he did, and with such genuinity.

"Father, no matter what, in the end, he tried to sacrifice himself for me. I trust Tukufu with my life. Pleace have mercy on him." Mohatu ended up pleading his father.

"And what punishment would you give your brother?" He asked.

"I would... Overlook it this time." Mohatu said.

Asafa frowned. Some kind of punishment should given in such a case, even if it is only symbolic. After all, as a king, he had to make sure that there was law and order.

"Why?" Asafa asked before jumping to conclusions.

"Because, right now, no one amongst my siblings know about this. I already had my suspicions but I didn't say anything, because in the end, if this is revealed... I know that some of my siblings won't be able to understand and overlook this..." Mohatu said as stood his ground.

Asafa waited for him to continue.

"And revealing it might cause a rift between our siblinghood and the pride itself. There might even be mistrust between us. My siblings arent wise enough to see these things. In the end, the pride itself might succumb to inner turmoil in the future as the mistrust grows. I would forgive him and keep it as a secret, not only because I feel like he regrets his actions and has improved!" Mohatu explained before turning his sight to his brother, whose face was shocked.

"I would also do it for the sake of future peace and harmony of our pride. However, if he does something like this again, I would punish him without mercy." Mohatu said seriously, right now, he was giving his honest advice as a future king, even though he wasn't sure about his fathers true intentions.

"Maybe you're right!" Asafa said before he started walking, neither confirming nor denying what Mohatu said.

Tukufu was surprised to the core. He knew that he was the most intelligent amongst his siblings, but his arrogance had made him miss so much. He realised that even though he might be more intelligent than Mohatu, Mohatu's wisdom had reached places he could only dream of.

Mohatu was thinking about the relation between the lions in the pride, and how it might effect the pride down the line.

Tukufu had realised during the battle that Mohatu was more fit to lead the pride because of his bravery and willingness to protect others, but now he realised that Mohatu was also the wisest sibling, and fit to lead as king because of that aspect as well.

As for Asafa, he turned his back and started walking while hiding his smile that reached from one ear to another.

He was happy with both their responses.

His thinking differed from Mohatu's, but he was very happy with his mature answer.

Asafa could punish as he wanted, because he himself could hold up the pride on his own, so for him it was easy to punish ih if he wanted to.

But to Mohatu, even though he was the strongest and wisest amongst his group, he had siblings that were emotional and temperamental, that would act without caring for consequences.

If Mohatu one day became king and there became a political disorder in the pride between him and his siblings, that could destroy the whole pride. So his answer came for preventing that.

His answer was no less impressive than Asafa's own reasoning.

Neither of their reasoning superior to the other.

So Asafa really realised that his son had matured. In fact he had come to the conclusion that Moahtu was ready to be king, as he also showed his willingness to punish without mercy if Tukufu did something similar ever again.

A heavy load had been liften from Asafa's shoulder as he felt that he raised good sons.

"Hahahaha!" Tukufu started laughing crazingly as he realised how blind he had been.

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So this is the result, I wanted Tukufu to mature and have character development. I felt like he has so much potential, now that he lost his foot and all his physical capabilities, that closed the door of kingship on him, which might've helped him mature more. What did you think of all this? And about Mohatu's and Tukufu's brotherhood that seemed to deepen?

Also show some powerstone love baby!