Marriage of Convenience

Part Seven

Lion-O sat up in bed with his personal laptop on his lap. He was reading and working on important overdue work he missed while he was in a coma and whatever business Tygra or Cheetara would alert him to from the elders. A little drained from work, Lion-O closed the programs on the computer, promising he would return to the work later. The Lord of the Thundercats opened up a document of his personal journal, the one he started on when he was on 3^rd Earth. He last typed into it when he was on his honeymoon with Cheetara on 3^rd Earth and thought now would be as good as any for an update. He scrolled down from where he last stopped and began typing.

These past few weeks have been trying for me. I find that I am paralyzed from the waist down. I was in an accident. It’s my fault. If I weren’t driving so fast, then I wouldn’t be in this situation. One thing I do know is that I couldn’t have made it this far without Cheetara.

Cheetara has been through this through thick and thin. I’ve learned that she is very strong. (Physically, I knew that, but I never knew she was so emotionally strong.) Whatever I ask and request she does it with no questions. I try to do things on my own, but she won’t let me unless she knows I can do it. I even shouted at her foolishly because I’m angry with myself. I apologized and she forgives me. Cheetara’s not in here right now. I told her to go run. She was shocked that I told her that and insisted that she stay. I told her to go, since it was so important to her. I wouldn’t have it any other way. She smiled, a beautiful and grateful smile. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and was on her way. Cheetara has been gone for twenty minutes now. I’m not worried. I have Tygra surveying her from the control room while she is running, and Panthro is on air patrol on close watch over her. What can I say? I am a husband worried about my wife.

Though this marriage is arranged, I’ve had feelings for her for a long time. I was ecstatic that she agreed to marry me. I didn’t think she would actually agree to it, but she did. Of course this is a marriage of convenience, and she just wants a baby. She has to stay with me because: 1—everyone thinks we’re in love and 2—the Thundercats will never let her live it down for leaving me in my condition. The elders are insisting that they talk to me in person. I’m beginning to suspect that they know something is wrong. I need more time to decide what I want to do. I can’t reveal myself to the public like this. A Lord of the Thundercats paralyzed. There must be a quicker way for me to walk again, but right now, what I’m doing is the best I can do.

On the topic of my walking, I’ve started on my physical therapy lessons. The first day was tough. I felt like a child learning how to walk. It was hard and embarrassing not being able to hold my body up. I even fell on the rails. Though Cheetara and Pumyra wanted to help me, I refused it. At the end of it, I hated going back to that chair, but I have no choice. I can’t walk, and the wheelchair is my only means of transportation. The only good thing about it is that Cheetara is with me through each session, even though she has every right to leave when I get bullheaded. There is so much pressure on her to be the good wife, and she has given 110%. I don’t know how I can make it through those sessions without her. She’s so encouraging and smiles at the littlest things. When I stood up the first time, even with braces on my legs and me holding on to the rails, she smiled and even became a little teary eyed. She doesn’t even know it, but I love her. I guess I should’ve told her that on our wedding because I did even then and before. Even while I was dating, I was always comparing the woman I dated to her. Or somehow her name would get mention. I love her so much, and yet, I feel I am holding her back…because of my condition. I think I should let her go, so she can be with someone she loves. She doesn’t love me. She deserves better.

“I’m back!”

Lion-O looked up and saw a sweating Cheetara entering the room. “How was your run?”

He saved his work, closed the program, and shut down the laptop. His closed the computer and set it aside.

“Exhilarating!” Cheetara said and entered the bathroom. She stepped out with a towel and wiped the sweat off her body. “It felt so good to get out and run. It really relaxes me.”

Cheetara sat on the edge of the bed and kissed Lion-O on the lips. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For letting me run, even though I had my own personal guard service.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m not stupid, Lion-O. I know you had Panthro watch me in the Thunderstrike II and Tygra in the control room.”

“How…how did you know?”

“I have my ways. Besides, I know you. I’m your wife you know.” Cheetara said and playfully slapped him with the towel. She was about to get up and go take a shower but screamed in surprise when Lion-O suddenly grabbed her and pulled her on his lap.

“You didn’t know me that much to see that coming,” Lion-O said and kissed Cheetara again. He then kissed her neck.

“Lion-O, I’m all sweaty. We’ll do this another time.”

Another time? Where did that come from? Cheetara wondered.

Lion-O pulled back from her. “I guess you’re right.” I shouldn’t have done that.

Cheetara was surprised that Lion-O pulled back. She still wanted to kiss him, but she didn’t want to do something she may regret. She didn’t know how Lion-O truly felt for her. She got off his lap and headed for the shower.

*****

After another daily therapy session, Cheetara brought Lion-O to their room. She helped him get in bed and instead of piling himself with work afterwards, Cheetara made him rest. She noticed he was tired afterwards even though he didn’t want to admit it. While Lion-O slept, Cheetara left the room to give him some peace and quiet. Tygra came to her outside her bedroom door.

“Cheetara, the elders wish to speak with Lion-O.”

“They can’t. He’s sleeping now.”

“They won’t take no for an answer. I tried to get rid of them, but they threatened to come over here.”

“I see. Well, I’ll talk to them.”

Cheetara and Tygra entered the control room. On the monitor was Luther’s face. “Lady Cheetara, I asked to speak with Lord Lion-O. Where is he?”

“My husband is resting at the moment. How may I help you?”

“I prefer to speak with Lord Lion-O.”

“Luther, Lion-O entrusts me with everything at Cat’s Lair. We keep no secrets. Anything you have to say to him, you can say to me,” Cheetara said.

“Milady, is there something you are hiding from us?”

“Why would you say that?” Cheetara asked slightly nervous.

“Well, we haven’t seen our Lord in public in weeks.” Luther stated.

“You’ve talked to him through the monitors.”

“That could be a mere illusion created by Tygra.” Luther said. He knew now the Thundercats were hiding something.

Cheetara became a little upset with that comment. “Tygra would never do such a thing. My husband is ill. He cannot come out in public.”

“It is not only us lions who are concern and suspicious, but the other clans are beginning to suspect something as well. Not even a week after your honeymoon, Lord Lion-O is in some sort of accident, Snarf tells us, and is not seen by anyone except the Thundercats in a week. Then a week and a half after that accident, we do see him and it’s from his bedroom. He didn’t look ill to us. Is there something you’re not telling us?”

Before Cheetara could answer, Luther continued. “Rumors are beginning to spread over Thundera. It would be helpful if one of the clans know what was going on. If not us, then another clan so they can pass the word that all is well about the Lord of the Thundercats.”

Cheetara thought about this. Maybe this would be a better idea. Let one clan know instead of shutting them all out.

“Very well. You and the lion elders come here tomorrow evening. I’ll explain everything to you, but you mustn’t tell the other clans about this. This is very important.”

Luther nodded. “Of course, my queen. I will only bring the elders. We have a new member. He is very bright and wise for someone his age. He has expressed an interest in meeting you.”

“Very well, but that’s it.”

“Yes. We will see you tomorrow night,” Luther said and signed off.

“Do you think you’re doing the right thing?” Tygra asked.

“I hope so.”

*****

Cheetara decided it was best to tell Lion-O about the Lion elders coming over later that evening. She hoped he wouldn’t be mad at her for making such a decision, but she had no choice. As she got ready for bed, she practiced what she wanted to tell Lion-O.

“Cheetara, are you all right in there?” Lion-O called from the bathroom.

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“You seem to be taking quite a while in there.”

“I’m coming out. Do you have to come in here?”

“No, I was just a little concern.”

Cheetara opened the door and stepped out. “I’m all right.” She placed a hand on her hip and asked, “What are you doing?”

“I’m reading some important papers Tygra gave me today.”

“You’ve been working on that ever since you woke up and all evening.”

“I’m just going to work on it a little more.”

Cheetara walked over and gathered the papers up. “No, you’re not reading this anymore tonight. You’ll be more alert in the morning. We have to exercise your legs tonight, remember?”

“I can do this, Cheetara.”

“Not tonight you’re not,” Cheetara said sitting the papers on the desk. “Now lie down.”

Lion-O lied down on the bed as instructed. Cheetara sat at Lion-O’s feet and begin the workout exercise. When the warm-up of massaging both of his legs was done, she picked up Lion-O’s right leg. She gently moved it until his knee was to Lion-O’s face. She laid it back down and repeated the procedure.

“Did you remember to take your medication?” Cheetara asked. Pumyra gave Lion-O medication to ease the pain he would get from time to time around his waist.

“Yes, although I’m not sure it’s really working. Sometimes the pain feels the same.”

“It still helps though because sometimes the pain goes away when you do use it.” Cheetara said. “I hope doing these exercises twice a day is working properly and not causing you more harm.”

“The more I do this, the higher the chance I’ll get feeling in my legs.” Lion-O said.

When Cheetara did the leg exercise for the twentieth time on Lion-O’s right leg, she switched to his left and did the same thing.

“How do you feel?” Cheetara asked.

“With my fingers,” Lion-O said smartly.

“Lion-O!” Cheetara shouted upset. She accidentally dropped his leg. She saw what she did and looked up at him. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right. I didn’t feel anything,” he said dryly.

Cheetara continued the leg exercise. It was silence between them after that. When that was over, Cheetara put his foot down. She got in bed with Lion-O and fluffed his pillows. She set the pillows back behind him. “Are you comfortable?”

Lion-O nodded.

“Good. I have something to tell you. I don’t think you will like it.”

“What is it?”

“While you were napping today, the Lion elders wanted to talk to you. I told them that you couldn’t and that I would pass any message along to you. They got the feeling I was hiding something and nearly threatened to come over. Not only are they getting suspicious, but the other clans are as well. So I….invited them to come over here tomorrow evening. I’m going to tell the Lion clan about your condition.”

Cheetara waited for Lion-O to say something, but he didn’t. He was quiet.

The cheetah looked at him. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

“I guess someone had to find out. Maybe one clan knowing would settle the others suspicions.” Lion-O said calmly.

“Yes, Luther and I agree on that. Do you want to meet with them tomorrow?” Cheetara asked.

“No, I prefer you tell them.”

“Very well,” Cheetara said and brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”

Lion-O looked at her and smiled. “No, of course not. You handled the situation professionally. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you.”

Cheetara laid down on the bed, moved closer to him, and draped her hand over his chest. She didn’t understand what made her do that. Lion-O was quite surprise by it too, but he was not going to complain.

“Do you know how you are going to tell them?” Lion-O asked.

“Not exactly, but I’ll figure it out in the morning.”

Lion-O turned the lamp off, and the two went to sleep.

*****

Meanwhile, Snarf and Snarfer were finishing cleaning the kitchen that evening. They both stood on stepstools at the sink. Snarf would wash a dish and hand it to his nephew, who would then rinse and dry the dish. The two snarfs would often talk to each other to help pass the time.

It was the younger snarf who really wanted to talk that night. Ever since he returned to New Thundera from 3rd Earth, Snarfer had begun wondering about the true relationship between Lion-O and Cheetara. Some odd things had happened on 3rd Earth, even from the beginning of the trip when the snarf had surprised the newlywed couple. Things didn’t make sense, and he wanted to tell his uncle about it. If anyone knew the real truth besides Lion-O and Cheetara, it would be Snarf.

So, abruptly, Snarfer changed the topic of conversation.

“I need to make a candy fruit pie before that candy fruit you brought from 3rd Earth goes bad,” Snarf commented.

“Do you think he’ll walk again?”

Snarf paused for a moment in reflection.

“Uncle Snarf?”

Snarfer’s voice brought the older snarf out of his thoughts. He replied, “I don’t know, Snarfer. I’m hoping he will, but we can’t be sure. I do know one thing...I’m glad Lion-O has Cheetara to help him through this predicament. She won’t give up.”

“If you say so,” Snarf remarked.

Snarf whipped his head to his nephew, a wooden spoon in his hand that he had been cleaning. He waved it at Snarfer. “What is that supposed to mean, Nephew?” he asked indignantly.

“Brr, I just wonder what is really going on between Cheetara and Lion-O.”

“What do you mean by that? What is there to wonder about? Snarf, snarf.”

Snarfer shrugged his shoulders and took the wooden spoon from his uncle. The way Snarf was swinging it around, the younger snarf was going to get hit with it. “Haven’t you noticed all the strange things that have happened between those two ever since they got engaged? It makes me wonder if they didn’t get married just for the heck of it.”

“Snarfer! I’m going to tell Tygra’s that you’ve gotten into his stash of silky fruit again. I‘ve never heard such a cock-a-maney story! Cheetara and Lion-O would never do that!”

Snarfer shrugged his shoulders again. “Well, maybe you’re right, Uncle Osbert, errr, I mean Uncle Snarf.”

His curiosity now risen, Snarf decided to ask his nephew for more details. Besides, if Lion-O had done something as dumb as that, he needed to know. “You might as well tell me now, since you brought it up.” Snarf pulled the plug and let the soapy water drain.

The younger snarf smiled to himself and stifled a giggle. He knew his uncle didn’t like being in the dark, especially when it came to Lion-O. “First of all, didn’t it surprise you how fast those two got engaged? Snarfer, snarfer.”

“Not really,” Snarf answered. “I was so excited that they had finally took a forward step together, no matter how far that step. But you were there at the council meeting when they explained why they got engaged.”

“Well, I thought it was a little drastic. I mean, if you even believe that story about how they admitted to each other how they feel, don’t you think they would have dated a while before getting engaged?”

Snarf finished cleaning the sink and hopped down off the stool. “Maybe Lion-O was tired of dating. Why shouldn’t they get engaged anyway, if they love each other?”

Snarfer dried his hands as he replied, “Okay then. But why did they have to get married so quickly? Don’t you think that is a little odd?”

Still defending them, Snarf remarked, “Not at all, nephew. They just didn’t want to waste any time, that’s all.”

“But he’s the Lord of the ThunderCats! They should have waited and planned out a wedding more extravagant just for that fact alone! Two weeks wasn’t enough time!”

“There’s no need to shout,” Snarf commented. “And there’s no rule that says that the Lord of the ThunderCats has to have a huge wedding. Maybe Lion-O didn’t want all the attention a big wedding would bring.”

As Snarfer raised his eyebrow, Snarf countered. “Okay, okay. So we both know that Lion-O likes attention. Maybe it was Cheetara who didn’t want all the attention. It was her day after all. Unless you have anything else to say, I’m going to bed.”

Snarfer stepped off his stool and nodded his head. “Actually, I haven’t told you what happened on 3rd Earth.”

Snarf’s ears popped up. “What happened?”

His nephew began telling him what happened the first morning he surprised the newlyweds with breakfast. He ended the narrative with, “and she had wet hair!”

After listening to the story, Snarf had to admit that did sound strange and said as much to Snarfer. “Snarf! If I didn’t know better, I would say the two of them slept in separate beds the night before.”

“That’s what I’m thinking too,” Snarfer agreed. “Since I surprised them with my visit, they had to sleep together while I was there. But I haven’t told you everything.”

Beginning to get dispirited, Snarf sat down at the small breakfast nook. He rested his hands in his palms. “What else could you have to say?”

“Well, Lion-O and Cheetara practically spent the whole day apart from each other while I was there. When I asked Cheetara about it, she said that they couldn’t shirk their responsibilities as ThunderCats, even if they were on their honeymoon.”

Suddenly remembering something, Snarf perked up. “Yeah, snarf, but that night you called me to tell me that everything was okay between them.”

“That’s true,” Snarfer admitted. “But thinking back on it, I think it was all an act to trick me. Snarfer, snarfer.”

Snarf’s ears drooped again. “It doesn’t sound good, does it? But it just doesn’t make sense. Why would Lion-O and Cheetara marry each other if they weren’t in love?”

Snarfer shook his head. “I don’t know, Uncle Snarf. I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

“We may never know for sure,” Snarf commented.

The two snarfs fell quiet for a while as they thought of possibilities. After a few minutes, Snarfer snapped his fingers. “I know! Remember when I told you that Cheetara said they couldn’t shirk their responsibilities?”

“Yeah,” Snarf replied.

“Well, when she said that, she had been on a computer, typing. She could have been writing in her personal journal, because she quickly got off when I walked in on her.”

“So?”

Snarfer grunted, “So, maybe her journal entry will tell us what’s going on.”

“Oh no, Nephew! We can’t do that!”

“Don’t you want to help them?”

Snarf meowed and twiddled his thumbs. “Everyone is asleep. We wouldn’t get caught.”

“Come on, Uncle Snarf!” Snarfer ran out of the room, not willing to wait anymore. Snarf cried out and followed him to the nearest terminal room. Snarfer flipped it on and sat down in front of the computer. Snarf sat down beside the chair and watched his nephew get to the journal logs. He typed in ‘Cheetara’ at the username prompt. The password prompt then appeared.

“Any clue as to what her password is?”

Snarf shook his head. “No.” He suggested a word. It wasn’t it. The two snarfs continued trying different words but failed to get into Cheetara’s private journal. After fifty tries, Snarf said, “This is hopeless. Let’s go to bed, and try tomorrow.”

“One more,” Snarfer announced. He thought for a second then typed ‘JTHL’. The screen changed as words began filling it. “We did it,” Snarfer said happily.

Snarf read the password. “JTHL? What the heck is that?”

“The Code of Thundera, Uncle Snarf: Justice, Truth, Honor and Loyalty. Duh.” Snarfer answered.

Snarf shrugged his shoulders and stood on his tail and scanned the entry. At one point, he began reading aloud, “Now I find myself married to the Lord of the ThunderCats no less. It’s an arranged marriage made between him and me. I wonder if it will work out as he thinks.”

“This doesn’t look good,” Snarfer pointed out. The two of them finished the reading the entry and turned off the computer.

“I wish we hadn’t read that,” Snarf remarked.

“At least we know what’s going on now,” Snarfer consoled him. “Maybe we can help them before things fall apart.”