I don't own the Lion King

So guys, its been a while since I wrote a Lion King fanfiction, but I'm glad to say that I AM BACK! This fanfic is based off the story "Scar's Return" but it's mostly going to cover the events that led up to the ones in "Scar's Return" and also the origin of my OC, Zuri. So I hope that you guys enjoy this story as much as you enjoyed "Scar's Return" :)


She could not sleep. Ever since Scar had given his eulogy on the death of her mate and son, Sarabi had nightmares about them. Her head shop up from the ground and her vision gradually cleared. She thought she saw Mufasa and Simba right before her eyes before they materialized into the forms of the sleeping lionesses that were with her in the den. This was not the same den that she had shared with her mate and Simba. Sarabi had transferred herself and some of the other lionesses into another cave. She looked around when she saw Sarafina, sleeping soundly with her daughter Nala, and two cream colored lionesses named Nalia and Kya.

Even though she found herself in the cave, her heart continued to palpitate against her chest. She stood up on four paws and walked out of the cave for fresh air. As she stood at the open mouth of the cave, she breathed in the cool night air as if filled her lungs and managed to relax her a little bit. Slowly raising her head, she looked at the navy blue sky. There was not a star in the sky. Could this mean something? There were always stars when Mufasa was around but now, there was nothing.

"Sarabi?" a female voice reached her ears as the former queen turned around and saw a cream colored lioness approaching her. It was none other than Nalia, one of her loyal followers during Mufasa's rule and a good friend of hers after Sarafina. Sarabi could not help but smile back at her. Even at the toughest of times, Nalia would have a small smile on her face.

"Good evening Nalia," Sarabi greeted her with a nod while Nalia gave her a bow. "Come now," she said, "there is no need to bow to an old lioness like me."

Nalia raised an eyebrow, "young, old, queen or not, you will always be a queen to me," she smiled.

"Oh you," Sarabi chuckled as Nalia sat down next to her. The two lionesses remained silent before Nalia spoke.

"I sympathize with you Sarabi," she said, "I may have no experience with a mate nor have I ever had a cub, but I can understand the pain that you are going through."

Sarabi couldn't look at her. Tears made their way into her eyes and they threatened to escape. She put a paw over her face and tried not to sob, but the thought of her mate and son being trampled over a herd of wildebeests stabbed through her heart. Nalia placed her paw over Sarabi's back as she heaved in heavy sobs.

"Sarabi, Sarabi," Nalia whispered, "Mufasa nor Simba wanted you to suffer like this."

Sarabi's crying subsided as she wiped the paw over her tears and looked at Nalia. "When my mother passed away, she told me one thing: 'I want you to find a mate, have cubs, take care of them, and enjoy every single minute of your life. I don't want to mourn for my passing because I will be in a better place.' That's what she told me, and I more than sure that Mufasa and Simba do not want you to mourn like this."

Sarabi gave her a weak smile. "Oh how can I Nalia? Mufasa and Simba meant the world to me. I-I just can't live without them."

"And we can't live without you Sarabi," Nalia tenderly stated. "Scar does not seem like the type of ruler Mufasa was, even though he has not started to rule yet."

"Yes," Sarabi nodded, "only time would tell."

"That's right," Nalia said, "whatever happens, we have to be strong. We cannot let Scar nor those hyenas walk over us like we are a bunch of termites."

"You sound really sure of yourself," Sarabi told her.

"Come on Sarabi," Nalia urged her with a gentle push with her snout, "Mufasa would have wanted us to be stronger, the way we were when he was still alive. Okay, so his death was a shock to us-"

"'Okay?'" Sarabi echoed the word as she looked up at Nalia with a reproachful look. "My mate, the king is dead and all you can say is 'okay?'"

Nalia got up from the ground. She could sense that she had upset Sarabi and that was something that she did not want to do, even in the condition that she was in. "I-I-I'm sorry Sarabi," she said as she took a couple of steps back, "maybe we'll talk about it tomorrow." On that note, she turned around and disappeared into the cave.

Sarabi's ears dropped when she saw her friend disappear. She hadn't mean to snap like that but she felt like she could never get over the fact that her mate and son were dead. She didn't know if she was going to be strong enough to live through this.

She just didn't know.