Marriage of Convenience

Part 8

The next morning, Lion-O decided that he wanted to eat breakfast in the dining room. He was tired of being cooped up in the bedroom. So when Cheetara emerged from the bathroom that morning, he told her his idea.

Cheetara clutched the towel tighter to her chest and leaned against the wall. “Are you sure?”

Lion-O nodded his head. “Yeah, it’s time I get out of here. We should let things get back to normal as much as possible. If I had done it sooner, than maybe you wouldn’t have to be meeting the lion clan this evening.” He pulled up some work papers to his face.

“It would have happened sooner or later,” Cheetara remarked as she walked into the closet. The cheetah left the door half-opened, so she could continue talking to Lion-O. Shedding her towel, she retrieved a uniform. “Does this mean that you are going to start going to the clan meetings?”

Lion-O lowered the papers and leaned over to peer into the closet. He frowned when he couldn’t see anything. “Not yet. I would rather wait to see if I could walk again. I don’t want the Mutants or Lunatacs to find out about my paralysis. They might decide to attack.” The lion leaned over as far as he could.

“Yeah, and we certainly don’t need that.” Fully dressed, Cheetara grabbed a pair of her boots and turned off the light. Lion-O quickly sat back up and pulled the papers back to his face, his heart racing.

Cheetara closed the closet door and sat on the edge of the bed. She put on her boots. “We better get going to the dining room.”

Without waiting for him to ask, the cheetah gathered his papers and placed them on the desk. Lion-O pulled the wheelchair closer to the bed and slid into it. Cheetara started to push him out of the room, but he stopped her. “I’ll do this myself.”

She smiled at him, a proud statement on her face. “Okay, Lion-O.” She walked beside him down the hallway and got into the elevator with him. As soon as the elevator started moving, Lion-O’s mind began having flashbacks. Memories that he had forgotten came back...images of Cheetara and him in the elevator after returning home from 3rd Earth.

When she saw him close his eyes and gasp, Cheetara knelt beside him. “Lion-O? What’s the matter?”

“I’m having flashbacks,” he murmured.

“What are you seeing?”

Lion-O opened his eyes and looked at her. “You and me...in this same elevator...in a rather heated moment.”

The elevator stopped, and the doors swished opened. Cheetara stood as Lion-O grinned at her. She joked, “Well, you can think twice if you think we are going to repeat that! I’m starving!” She smiled back at him as she raced down the hall.

Lion-O laughed and followed her as fast as he could. He found her waiting for him in front of the dining room doors. They both entered the room laughing and out of breath.

Hearing the commotion, Snarf and Snarfer peered out of the kitchen into the dining room. They saw Lion-O and Cheetara laughing and talking to the other Thundercats who were already seating around the table. The snarfs glanced at each other. As they went back into the kitchen, Snarf said, “How sad! It must be hard for them to put up an act for us.”

Snarfer nodded his head in agreement. “I know. I feel so sorry for them. We’ve got to help them quickly. I don’t think I can bear to see more of this.”

“Don’t worry, Nephew. We’ll think of something. Snarf, snarf.”

*****

Later that evening, Cheetara stood beside Lion-O in their bedroom as he sat working at his desk.

“How do I look? Do I look nervous? Do I look like I’m hiding something?”

“I think you’ll be more comfortable in your Thundercat uniform,” Lion-O said.

“Why won’t I be fine in this?”

“You’re wearing your robe.”

Cheetara looked and realized she was indeed in her robe. She had taken another shower, so she would present herself better in front of the elders. She grabbed her uniform off the bed and went into the bathroom to change much to Lion-O’s chagrin. Not too long after that, she came out with it on.

“You look much better now,” Lion-O commented.

“Thanks,” Cheetara said wanly. She sat down at her vanity and ran a brush through her hair. “Is it just me or have Snarf and Snarfer been acting strange today?”

“I noticed that too. At breakfast, they kept giving us sympathetic looks and babbling about making mistakes.”

Cheetara nodded her head. “Yeah, and this afternoon while I was on monitor duty alone, Snarf came in. He was saying that I shouldn’t be afraid of anything...that I should trust my feelings.”

“Why would he say something like that?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Personally, I think Snarfer brought back silky fruit instead of candy fruit. Maybe they’ve been eating it by mistake.”

Lion-O narrowed his at her. “Cheetara!”

“Okay, okay, so that can’t be it. Tygra would sniff out that stuff a mile away.”

When he stared at her again, she frowned. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t say stuff like that. I’m trying to lighten the mood. I’m so nervous. It’s going to be hard meeting with the lion elders.”

Lion-O, in his wheelchair, rolled over to Cheetara. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re going to be fine. I have faith in you.”

Cheetara turned to him and smiled. “Thanks. I need the vote of confidence.”

The two stared in each other eyes. His strong, brave eyes met her soft caring eyes. Hidden emotions rose in both of them. The attraction between them was obvious. The two moved close to each other and kissed.

Before they would give each other quick innocent kisses on the cheek or lips, but now this was a fierce passion between the two of them. Each move closer to each other wanting more of each other’s kisses. Lion-O pulled her onto his lap, his mouth and hands still exploring. Cheetara closed her eyes and breathed in his musky scent, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pushed all thoughts aside except his touch. She couldn’t fight it anymore. No, she wouldn’t fight it anymore. And in one single moment, the cheetah put all of her trust in her life mate.

However, a knock at the door prevented them from going any further.

“Cheetara, the elders are here.” It was Tygra’s voice that came through the speaker.

Cheetara slowly broke away from Lion-O. In a whisper she said, “I guess I better go,” as she kissed the small scar on his face left from the accident.

“I’ll see you when you get back.”

Cheetara nodded, got up and left. A moment after Cheetara left, Lion-O decided that he would not wait until Cheetara returned. He would rather sees how his wife’s announcement went over with the elders. So, he rolled his wheelchair out of the room and entered the control room. Tygra was in there on guard duty. He turned around.

“Lion-O? I thought you were going to stay in your room until the elders left.”

“I decided to watch from here. I would prefer it if I watched alone.”

Tygra wasn’t sure why, but he wasn’t going to go against his lord’s wishes. He nodded and left the room.

*****

Cheetara entered the room. There were the Lion elders, Luther, Lavarius, Lanardi, Lionel, and male lion she hadn’t seen before. He was younger than everyone else. Everyone stood when the Lady of the Thundercats came into the room.

“Hello, Luther, Lavarius, Lanardi, Lionel.” Cheetara said and looked at the other lion in confusion.

“Hello, Lady Cheetara, this is Lamar. He’s our newest recruit. Although he is young, he is very wise.”

Cheetara smiled at him and extended her hand out for him to shake. “Pleased to meet you.”

Lamar took her hand and kissed it. “The pleasure is all mine, Milady.”

Cheetara gracefully removed her hand and sat down at her seat in the council room. The others sat down with her.

“Elders, I’m sorry to have you meet this late, so I’ll get straight to it.” Cheetara said. “A few days after Lion-O and I returned to our honeymoon, he was in an accident. The accident caused him to be in a coma for a week. When he came out of it, he was paralyzed from the waist down.”

The elders displayed emotions of shock and disbelief.

“Oh, no,” Lanardi gasped.

“Is it permanent?” Luther asked.

“We’re hoping it’s not. He’s going through physical therapy treatments.”

“Can we see him?” Lamar asked.

“No, he doesn’t want to be seen.”

“I see. Permanent or not, he’s going to have to come out. He can’t stay in hiding forever,” Lavarius said.

“I and the other Thundercats know this, but my husband wants to see if he can walk. Tygra told us he should be able to walk in six months,” Cheetara explained.

“In case of an attack, who is in charge? Who will use the Sword of Omens?” Lamar asked.

“Tygra is in command if we come to battle.”

“Can he handle that?” Lamar asked.

Cheetara eyed Lamar curiously. “Tygra is a good fighter and has been working with the sword. If we should fight, I’m confident Tygra could lead us.”

“Don’t worry, my queen. We will not let this information leave this room. We’ll confirm to the others that Lord Lion-O is ill.” Lionel said.

“Thank you. Thank you all.” Cheetara said gratefully. “If there aren’t any questions, I guess we can go about our business now and close this meeting.”

The elders looked around to see if they had anything to say, but they didn’t. They all got up and decided to leave. Lamar was the last to step out, but then he stepped back in.

“May I have a word with you, my queen?”

“About what?” Cheetara asked.

“I’m also a psychologist. If you want to talk about this, I’m here to listen.”

“I don’t think so. I’m just fine.”

“Lady Cheetara, this is a burden to you. You cannot lie about that. Having your husband, whom you just married, paralyzed. You two haven’t even started your life together, and now it’s face with a tragedy. You can’t honestly say that your life is fine.”

“No, I cannot, but I can handle it.”

Lamar walked over to Cheetara and sat down beside her. “How can you handle the possibility that your husband may be paralyzed for life? That’s a burden for you mentally and physically.”

Cheetara raised an eyebrow at Lamar. “What do mean physically?”

“Well, you are a young, beautiful, vibrant woman. You need a man that will satisfy you mentally as well as physically.”

Cheetara became angry. She got out of her seat. “What are you saying?”

Lamar stood up and took Cheetara’s hand. She quickly removed it.

“I can give you what you need. You don’t need the Lord of the Thundercats. He’s useless, an invalid, a crip.” He quickly pulled the cheetah close to him, so she could feel his body and he her body against his. “He can’t satisfy you the way I can. Come on, leave him so you can be with me, and perhaps I can be Lord.”

Cheetara broke from Lamar and slapped him. “How dare you say this to me! How dare you say such horrible things about my husband! Your Lord! You are not to repeat the awful things heard in this room tonight! Get out of here now before I have you arrested!”

Lamar kept his calm and walked to the door. “If you change your mind, you know where to contact me,” he said and left.

In the control room, Lion-O watched the whole scene unfold. He turned off the monitors in the control room, fury and sadness overcoming him at the same time. He rolled out of the room and took a different direction to his bedroom so Lamar or Cheetara wouldn’t spot him. When he entered his room, he kept the lights off. He moved his chair to the window, looking out at the dark sky as he thought to himself.

Maybe Lamar is right. I am a crip. I’m worthless like this. I should let Cheetara go. At least then, she would be happy. Happy to be herself: vibrant, active. She deserves someone just like that. I’ll tell her tonight.

Cheetara entered the bedroom. It was dark, save for the moonlight coming through the windows. The cheetah walked under one of the arches.

“Lion-O? What are you doing in the dark?”

“Just sitting here, thinking.”

Cheetara walked to him and put a hand on his shoulders. “About what?”

“Oh, it’s nothing important. How did it go with the Lion elders?”

Cheetara took her hand off Lion-O’s shoulders. She turned on a light by the lamp and sat down on the bed. “It went all right.” She wasn’t sure if she should tell him about the incident with Lamar.

Lion-O rolled the wheelchair to her. “What did they say when you told them I was paralyzed?”

“They were shocked of course. They understand and will not let the word get out to the public until you are ready.”

“Good. Anything else?” Lion-O asked, wondering if she was going to tell him about Lamar.

“Um, the elders said that would tell the other clan elders that you are ill. So, we shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

Lion-O knew she wasn’t going to say anything. He nodded. “If you’re ready, I want to go to bed.”

Cheetara got up and pulled the covers back. She walked to the dresser drawer and pulled out his clothes. She helped Lion-O change clothes and get in bed. Cheetara went to the bathroom to change into her nightclothes. She stepped out, turned off the lamp, and got in bed beside Lion-O.

“Good night, Lion-O,” Cheetara said and turned on her side, her back to him.

“Cheetara?”

“Yes?”

Lion-O used his hands and turned Cheetara around on her side, so she was facing him. “I want to thank you for all you have done. I couldn’t have made it this far without you.”

Cheetara was touched by his words. She reached out and stroked his face. “You’re welcome.”

“I also wanted to say that if you want to leave me, you can. I don’t want you to think you have to stay because of my condition. I want you to be happy and loved. I won’t hold anything against you if you leave.”

Shocked at his words, Cheetara sat up and switched the lamp back on. She turned to him and remarked, “Lion-O, I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here with you. I’m happy just being with you.” Cheetara knew she had to tell him everything. She didn’t want to keep it to herself anymore. She sucked in a breath before finally admitting, “I…I love you.”

Lion-O was stunned by the remark. “You do?”

“Yes,” Cheetara smiled. Tears formed in her eyes. “For the longest time. How else do you explain how easily I agreed to marry you?”

Lion-O stroked the side of Cheetara’s face. “I didn’t know. I have been in love with you too, since I can remember. I wanted to tell you when we married, but I wasn’t sure how you felt.”

Softly, Cheetara said. “You do now.”

Lion-O pulled Cheetara forward and kissed her. He then smiled at her. “I’ll never be able to convey to you how happy I was when you agreed to marry me. I had wanted to get close to you for a long time, but I didn’t know how. But when we had that conversation in the kitchen, I went for it all. I didn’t think another opportunity like that would come about. So when you agreed to marry me, I wanted to hurry and go through it before you backed out.”

Cheetara propped herself on an elbow and gazed at him. “If you felt that way about me, then why did you date all those women?”

Lion-O grinned and kissed her again before answering, “To make you jealous.”

“Ah! Then you didn’t actually ‘lose’ your schedule book that night, did you?”

“A well-planned ruse between me and Snarf.”

Cheetara shook her head but smiled. “Well, it worked,” she admitted. The cheetah leaned over him and gave him another kiss.

Lion-O wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down to him. The kiss intensified as they moved closer to each other. Their emotions were never as high as it was now. Cheetara pouted when Lion-O pulled away from her and looked in her eyes searching for something. She realized what it was he was looking for and whispered, “I trust you.”

Knowing the answer, he kissed her again, more ardent than the last time. They were both happy, in love and free to explore each other.

Only for a moment did Cheetara pull back. In a breathless state, she asked, “Your hips aren’t hurting, are they?”

Lion-O shook his head. “No.”

She turned around to turn the lamp off feeling a sudden coldness around her. The cheetah quickly laid back down, almost completely on top of him. “Good because I wasn’t going to have any sympathy for you anyway,” she whispered in her most sultry voice.

“You’ve never been as sexy as when you’re mean to me,” he laughed. He then kissed her again, letting the oldest ritual of marriage take place.

*****

The next morning, Lion-O awoke at the usual time...an hour before sunrise. Cheetara slept peacefully on top of him, her head under his chin. He ran his hands through her hair gently with a huge grin on his face. This was the first time that he had woken up before her, and he liked it. The lion could smell cinnamon and apple scents in his wife’s hair, no doubt from her shampoo.

Lion-O felt his wedding band get caught in her hair. He untangled the mess and played with the ring. He was amazed at how most men thought that marriage put a ball and chain around them. It was different for him. For the first time in his life, he felt free.

Lion-O was also surprised that his wedding band had even survived the accident. But when he had woken from his coma, that was the first thing, no the second thing he noticed. The first was Cheetara’s smiling face. And now, the lion felt naked when he had to take it off. He knew that would be exactly how he would feel if Cheetara had decided to leave him. But now that everything had been said, he knew that their marriage would survive, no matter what problems they would have to face in the future.

Cheetara stirred under his arms, taking him out of his thoughts. “Are you awake?”

“Yes,” she murmured. “I’m just enjoying the moment.”

“Good, then you can move your cold feet.”

She sighed and moved her feet away from his own feet. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes popped open. Not willing to get her hopes up, but her heart still racing at the possibility, Cheetara put her feet back on him.

“Cheetara! Your feet are like ice!”

The cheetah sat up and pushed herself away from him. “Lion-O! Do you realize what you just did?”

“I know. I’m sorry, but you’re feet are...cold,” he finished. His eyes widened as realization dawned on him. He quickly pushed himself up to a sitting position.

Cheetara pulled the covers off his feet. “Can you move your toes?” Her eyes began to water when she saw them move. She turned back to him and cried out, “You did it!”

They embraced each other tightly. “We’ll get Pumyra or Tygra to give me another check-up to see exactly what’s going on,” Lion-O said.

Cheetara pulled away just far enough to look into his eyes. She put both hands on his face. “I want you to listen to me for a moment,” she quietly remarked. “It doesn’t matter to me if you don’t ever walk again. I’ll love you paralyzed or walking.”

He smiled and took her hands off his face, leaving them clasped in his own. “You don’t have to tell me that, Cheetara. I know.”

They cuddled together and talked until the sun’s rays began shining into the window.