There was, Pur decided, no one in the pride worth her attention. Oh, there were lots of noble cubs around, but they were just that: cubs! It was completely unfair that Pur had been forced to grow up with only her own siblings as regular, proper playmates, and now that she was too old to play, there were cubs everywhere. There were even rumors saying that the king and queen were having cubs at long last. Now that was just spiteful.Pur sighed and dropped to the ground with a dramatic, long-suffering sigh. Woe was her indeed! She was an attractive young noble who had been raised to be the perfect noble bride and wife, and now that she was old enough to enter into a marriage, there was no one to marry. The world was so unfair she could just spit! If it wasn't unladylike to do so, that is.
Instead she became moody and would venture out into the rogue lands to sulk dramatically. In her youth she would never have contemplated leaving the pride, but now, it seemed, no one much cared what she did. Life was so unfair!
"Where are you?" she asked, addressing an unknown and unseen lion who would sweep her off her feet like the heroes in the plays her pride delighted in.
Part of what was most frustrating was that her parents were supposed to arrange a marriage for her. That's how things were supposed to go. They would make arrangements for her to marry someone of noble birth, or at least well-placed within the pride hierarchy. Even if he was older than her - or younger - than her, she wouldn't mind as long as he was a socially acceptable match. There could be a certain romance in it.
But her parents seemed to have taken no action at all in that direction. Perhaps it was because they had so many daughters and so few options, but she still thought they ought to make the effort. She couldn't make her own match. That would just be ridiculous, and completely out of keeping with the way things worked in the pride. She refused to do it. Though she imagined Nyota would have no difficulties doing so. Nyota was a scandal unto herself, and Pur sometimes envied her.
She didn't want to go out among the commoners and play in the dirt. For one thing, she was definitely too old to play like that. For another thing, she had never wanted anything to do with commoners. Her mother and aunt had seen to that. But she did wish that she had her sister's fearless nature. Pur could put on a brave, confident, even imperious facade, but it was just that. A facade. Nyota wasn't afraid of anything, and didn't care what anyone thought of her. Pur thought it must be very liberating.
Liberation, however, was not what their society was about. The Suka'Fumo had classes and structure, and no one was ever really free of them except the groundlings. Oh, the lower classes thought the nobles were free to do as they pleased, but they had no idea. It was far more restrictive to be a member of the noble classes than it was to be like them. She would have no choice as to who she married, or what she did with herself. Everything she did would be determined by someone else, and for the benefit of the pride. Being nobility was the most selfless thing a person could be, which was why Pur felt entitled to demand obedience and respect from the lower classes.
Right now, though, she was not really thinking about the lower classes. She knew of them, and dismissed them as her sister's territory. Besides, she could never be with one of them. Not even the king's b*****d son, on whom she'd had such an embarrassing crush when she was younger. If she wasn't going to be with a noble of the pride, she could, conceivably, find someone outside the pride, but they would have to be undeniably and demonstrably noble of spirit.
And such a lion would have to meet with her parents' approval. Not that it would take too much to impress her father, she suspected. He would be pleased with anyone who made her happy. But Mother had much higher standards. Fortunately, Pur's standards were like her mother's, but she knew there was a difference. Her mother would necessarily be more difficult to impress. Pur despaired of ever finding an appropriate male. She just wished her parents would do it for her.
She sighed once more, thinking of all the romantic plays she'd watched where some mysterious stranger would turn up in the guise of some common lion but secretly prove to be the exiled prince of a great pride or something. Such a prince would have to work hard to seek her out, since she didn't go among the commoners and wasn't so foolish as to believe that she would truly find a prince among them. But it would be nice - so nice - if he would just come for her and spare her all this anxiety.
She supposed she could always go looking for her prince, but that would hardly be ladylike. And, for that matter, it would mean leaving the safety of the pride, and she felt daring just for venturing a little into the rogue lands. She didn't think she could manage to stay out there for as long as she would have to in order to find her mate. She also didn't know the first thing about providing for herself. She only hunted for pleasure, and missed as many kills as she made, and couldn't fight at all. She would need to take a guard.
Thinking of that reminded Pur of the stories in which princesses fell in love with their loyal bodyguards. The thought made her snort softly. Most of the guards of the pride weren't bad to look at, but they certainly weren't suitable material for marriage. There was no way it would happen that way for her. No. She would have to rely on her parents - most likely her mother - to make arrangements for her future. She just prayed they would do it soon. She didn't want to be an old maid.
Well, that wasn't likely to happen, really. A match would be made for her, she was certain, if she was just patient. At least, that's what she told herself as she stood up and began to walk back toward the pridelands. She didn't want to stay out too late, or else she might get in trouble.
