Na'al carefully seated herself inside the den. Her joints weren't so bad this morning, but she didn't want to agitate them any more than necessary. The disease took whom it would, and it was an old enemy she'd known since cubhood. Nothing new in the least.

What was new was her father asking her to meet him here, in one of the dens exclusively for the royal family, in private. She was somewhat nervous about this meeting even though she was an adult in her own right and a Guard as well now. The lioness had no idea what this could be about.

Lutum watched his younger daughter enter the den. He winced inwardly at her obvious care - it hurt, to see your own child ill - but this was all for the best. The brown lion held his peace as she settled down and looked up at him. He could see that she was nervous, unsettled by his sudden request. Well, she should be. What they had to discuss was going to change her life in a very big way.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked. Nothing, and yet not nothing. To be honest, Lutum was as scared as his daughter about what he had to say to her, and wanted to put it off as long as possible. Then there was the concern of a parent for his child with a terminal disease, even if that plague's hold was light as of yet.

Dad was not good at small talk, and the fact that he was trying was all sorts of nervewracking for Na'al. She'd much rather that he say what he had to say and be done with it, instead of drawing things out for her.

"I'm okay Dad," she answered. "Today's a better day, but you know how it is." And he should, he was at least twice her age and had twice as much experience in the Kitwana'antara. Hopefully he'd just get to the point.

This time Lutum did wince. Na'al's voice was sharp and he knew she was going to run out of patience. She didn't often, but as her father he did seem to get the sharp end of her temper more often than most. Not necessarily a bad thing, overall, but he supposed he should stop pussyfooting around.

"I'm glad to hear it," he told her. Then he cleared his throat, buying a few more precious moments before he opened the real discussion. "You're...you're the only lioness in our family to be actively ill, you know."

Yellow eyes narrowed as her father cleared his throat. It wasn't something he did often, only when he was nervous and really didn't want to have a particular discussion. But his next words surprised her. What did it matter that she was the only girl who was diseased? And really, could he have picked a more depressing topic?

No, wait. She wasn't the only one. "What about Grandmother?" Na'al asked. The Queen had the disease too, worse than she did. And she was Queen. That should count for a lot more than Na'al!

"Well, yes. Your grandmother does also have the disease. But your aunt doesn't. Your sister doesn't." He paused, gathering his thoughts and his courage. "And that's why your grandmother has decided to name you her Heiress."

There. He'd finally said it.

"Heiress." Na'al echoed the word flatly, blankly staring at her father. Oh sure, she knew Grandmother wasn't really her grandmother, because Father and Aunt Eione were adopted, and that Grandmother had been trying for years to have her own litter, but things just hadn't seemed to work out yet. Sure, there was Modya, but he hadn't managed to solve the problem yet.

Even so, the navy lioness had never once imagined that she would ever be called upon to fill that lack. That she could be the next Queen. Obviously her parents weren't arguing, or Father wouldn't be here, having this discussion with her now. But...was it what she wanted?

Lutum watched his daughter carefully, knew she was quite surprised by this turn of events. For himself, he couldn't say it was totally unexpected. He'd known that Nawiri had hoped Eione might fill the role, but his sister hadn't shown any signs of illness. And with the Queen getting older and still no litter in sight, it was hardly a surprise that she'd held some hopes for his own children, especially when Na'al had shown clear signs of disease. The monarchs, after all, had to be diseased or they couldn't possibly emphathize with the pride.

"I know it's a big thing, and a change from the life you expected, but you are the best candidate," he offered quietly. "There's nothing wrong with having a Guard's understanding, though you'll want to learn some basic Healing as well. You'll also have to pick your Royal Escort - the Queen would like both of you to be presented at the celebration next moon, to reassure the pride."

She was only half-listening to his words, though she did hear some of them. Best candidate, sure, she supposed she was. Healing...yes, the Queen traditionally aided the Healers, and Na'al only knew basic first aid in case of injuries on the border.

Royal Escort, however, brought her mind back to the present. "I have to pick?" she asked, incredulously. She knew that betrothals were something that happened in the pride, and obviously the Queen could pick her own King, but just as Na'al had never seen herself as Heiress, she'd never thought about who picked the Royal Escort.

A real grin spread across Lutum's face at what his daughter finally chose to focus on. Ah, youth. He remembered how he'd felt when he and Taanisi had first become mates. Hopefully she'd be able to find her own joy.

"Of course you get to pick. He'll be your mate and King eventually, so who better to decide?" he told her. "Just remember that he'll also have to have the disease, and that the King's responsibilities are for the protection of the pride, coordinating Scouts, Guards, Warriors, and Spies. So picking someone who knows a bit about those will be most helpful in the long run."

Na'al nodded as the situation became more real the longer her father spoke. It all made sense, a lot of sense. Even the fact that she'd get to pick her own mate. Which was more than she'd feared, given that her father was a Duke. Huh. This would make her mother a Baroness. Which was...appropriate. Or a Duchess? She apparently had some studying to do.

"Well...there is a guy that might work," she told Dad, eyes twinkling as she thought how incredibly surprised Maji would be when he found out about this. He was a Guard, with some Warrior training, which wasn't surprising given who his grandmother was. She liked him, and they'd spent a fair bit of time together already considering that both of them were diseased, yet refusing to let that get in the way of their duties.

"Is there now?" Lutum was intrigued now, because Na'al hadn't once mentioned such a lion before. Perhaps the Queen's timing had been better than he'd thought.

"Perhaps you should tell me a bit more about this person..." he told his daughter, now fully relaxed.

"Maybe I will..." she said right back, a grin on her face. Maybe this really could work out.