A cool breeze blew past the back end of Pride Rock as Sarafina and Nala walked down to join her pride sisters in the grass. Nearby, six cubs leapt around in the sunshine. There were five lionesses watching them: Sarabi's sisters, Sauti and Sanaa; their striped niece, Zenobia; slender Bahari; and brown beauty marked Doa.
"Sarafina!" Sauti cried.
"Congratulations!" they said collectively.
"Thank you." Sarafina blushed.
Suddenly, she noticed the other lionesses' expressions morph into annoyance. There was a lion standing behind her and she recognized his all too familiar scent.
"Hello, Scar," Sarafina said sweetly.
The black maned lion stepped out of the shadows.
"Fifi! Ladies…" the prince greeted them. "Tell me why you're all cheering?" Scar asked.
"Her daughter has been betrothed," Sanaa explained.
"To who?" Scar turned to Sarafina.
"Guess," Sarafina said playfully.
Scar grunted, then exasperatedly cried, "Just tell me!"
"Why?" Zenobia interrupted, "It's not like you're not Nala's father."
Scar became enraged.
"But she will be your niece!" Fifi cried, "Once she marries Simba."
"Simba!" he snapped.
"She'll be QUEEN, Scar! Isn't that wonderful?" Sanaa called his attention.
"Indeed," Scar muttered as he walked away.
Everyone was awestricken, except Zenobia.
"There's a surprise," she muttered sarcastically. "First he skips the presentation, now he's angry about the engagement."
"Zenobia," Sarafina scolded the younger lioness.
"I'm sure Mufasa regrets the day he allowed that traitor to come back," Zenobia growled.
"He is Mufasa's brother," Sanaa replied.
"Well he behaves like a turncoat!" Zenobia blared.
"That's enough!" Sarafina cried.
"But we all know he had something to do with Hasa—" Zenobia was interrupted.
"My brother-in-law came to visit yesterday. He asked about you, Zenobia," Sauti hinted.
"Probably needed hunting lessons," Zenobia said dryly. "In speaking of that, I'd better go." She left to join her hunting party.
As the mothers watched her leave, they noticed that Scar was in the grass with their cubs. Teenaged Mto was talking with him about the rite of passage. Meanwhile, the little ones climbed on, bit, and tugged at the adult lion. All of them were having fun, except for Prince Simba who wanted more attention.
"Uncle Scar! Uncle Scar!" he cried in a tiny voice.
Scar replied by patting the cub on the head without looking at him. Then, Nala strutted over. She purred against Scar's front right leg, and then she climbed between his paws. Simba growled and ran away. Scar looked at him out of the corner of his eye, then redirected his attention to Mto.
"I start training soon and then," he paused as his little sister, Tama, interrupted.
"I get to sing!" she added. Then, she took a deep breath and dramatically piped: "La la kahle."
"He's a natural with the cubs." Bahari observed.
"Because he's a big cub," Doa laughed.
Sarafina continued to watch, and then she spotted Simba on a ledge.
"Simba!" she cried.
He climbed to the tip.
Then, before anyone could tell him to come down, he cried, "Uncle Scar, look!" and jumped.
Scar caught the toddler just in time, and all of the lionesses were filled with relief. Little Simba kissed his uncle and smiled obliviously.
"Simba, you could have…" Scar paused suddenly and put the cub down. Then, he retreated to his cave.
The lionesses immediately went over to their confused cubs.
"Is Uncle Scar mad at me?" Simba asked.
"No dear," Sauti replied, "Let's get you back to your mother."
It was quiet as they returned to den.
Then, Simba asked, "Why does Uncle Scar live alone?"
"Because he's troubled," Sauti replied.
"What does that mean?" he queried.
"Sometimes he feels really sad or angry," Mto explained.
Simba began to look pensive. He stayed deep in thought until they reached the den, where Mufasa and Sarabi were waiting.
"I'll visit him every day! Then, he'll get better soon," Simba said excitedly as he pranced inside.
Sarafina smiled as Nala ran to catch up with her friend. The cubs were growing up so fast. Soon, Mto and the other teens would be gone. She knew their departure would tear at the heart of the pride, but what worried her even more was the thought of Nala becoming an adolescent. She couldn't imagine Simba and Nala without a vision of her and Sundjata casting a shadow that obscured any happy future. Sarafina had done the right thing. She knew that Simba would never become Scar but now…She didn't want to think about the future.
Hi everyone, this is the first story in what has become a sequel series to "The Pride Sister": "Heart of the Pride." The line that Tama sang means "farewell" and is a lyric from the song "Lala" which in the film's soundtrack. To me, it fits the theme of a young lion's departure from the pride. Sundjata is my name for Taka, and Zenobia is Zira.
Thanks for reading!
