"Strength arises from silence. Strength arises from being heard. Know when to speak, know when to say nothing." —Balance.

The Lion King: Teal Eyes.

Prologue: Product of a Mistake.

Rated T: Explicit scenes.

Rain.

Rain kissed her back as the gaunt lioness heaved in and out rapidly. She was quite young, but strong. One of the strongest lionesses in the pride, to be accurate. She cried a little as she pushed; the weather didn't help either. Mantler tried to encourage herself, but she didn't have the guts to find her voice. Again, an agonizing roar broke through the skies. She was exhausted: it had almost been an hour since she last arrived. The young lioness licked her lips and grimaced as another sharp pain hit her stomach.

Her legs were curled up with her tail tuft laying in between. Her teal eyes shot open as she continued to push. Mantler had been here for hours—but it was all worth it. The slightest crack of life had just been birthed. Blood was puddled around the lioness and her two cubs, and the mewing continued. She felt the tiniest ponder of their delicate bodies fall onto the blooded leaves that surrounded them.

"Finally," she was relieved in her mind, to birth the newest members of the Kakanika pride, and perhaps the newest heirs—since Mantler's father was the alpha male on this turf. Just the thought of these cubs made her think of the family she had left behind. Ever since she had found out she was pregnant, she distanced herself from her pride-mates, too afraid to expose her largest mistake she had committed in her life. Mating with a rouge instead of her betrothed. But she didn't care; she didn't love the lion she was meant to love. She was in love with another lion.

Tatai.

That was his name. At least that was the name he had mentioned. They were never meant to be, but their last meeting was taken advantage of, resulting in these two little felines Mantler had just birthed. She licked the new products of her and Tatai with a smile, tasting the blood of birth she had just exposed to the world. The rain trickled on them, making the cubs mewl louder.

Mew...Mew...

She sighed out of exhaustion, looking towards her small paws in shame. "What've I done?" she questioned herself, as if she knew the answer. She did, but she didn't want to believe it. Mantler gaped towards the other younger cub that tried to find its way towards her breasts. The lioness extended a claw, wincing as she did so. Did she really want to kill the cubs? She had no other choice—surely she wouldn't be accepted into the pride with these two. Hence, the cubs would be killed by her own father. At the same time, she was proud for bringing new lives to the world, and extending her generation, her father's generation. The lion generation.

Mantler grabbed the first cub, closing her eyes.

Mew...mew...MEW!

The mother's claw slowly penetrated the first offspring. The mewing stopped, the biting stopped...the suckling had stopped before the very moment. It killed her to do so...it killed her. But what choice did she have? Since being betrothed, she didn't have any choice. Since mating with a rouge, she didn't have any choice.

She was only a year old when she was announced of her future mate. A young Mantler was sat beside her mother, staring intently at her father's green eyes; confused and curious. Even so, she managed to grin slightly. It wasn't a normal grin—not a happy grin. It was simply just a grin, a grin that would beg her father to tell her the news. Rudo laughed, giving in to his daughter's grin.

His once brown mane was now streaked with dark brown and some greys, as well as a few whites. His mane was untidy and incredibly long, reaching towards the center of his stomach. Rudo's whiskers weren't as neat as they used to be; instead, they were bent and pointed, almost as if they were damaged. In contrast to this, Rudo's eyes remained a vivid emerald, that made everyone fall in love with them.

Beside Mantler was her mother, Sukari—a strong warrior with strong blue eyes. Her fur was as soft as you could imagine, layered with creamy pelt. Her legs were lightly spotted—cub spots.

"So, Mantler..." Rudo spoke at last, as if he had been waiting for her to do something. As she listened, Mantler re-adjusted her position. "I wanted to tell you that you're being betrothed to the neighboring pride's son: Kuta."

Mantler hissed slightly. She didn't like the idea of being told who she was going to marry. Sukari placed a paw on her daughter's shoulder, giving her a reassuring look that everything was going to be alright. "And, when will I marry him?"

"When you reach sexual maturity. By then, you'll be a developed lioness—able to bear cubs and carry on this pride's generation."

Mantler licked her bloody paw and gaped at the cub. "...A fine ruler, she would've made." she said to herself, watching the other cub suckle. She gulped, and grabbed the second cub. "I would have named you...Sarafina."

The name loosely translated, "Burning Ones". It was a name Mantler chose especially—a name she had always liked when she was younger. Sarafina. The product of Mantler's mistake. The young lioness was now starting to feel a trace of guilt: Had she really deceased the other cub without naming it? Something about Sarafina made her special. It was harsh, but Mantler felt something about Sarafina was worth more than the other cub's.

Mantler peered upwards towards the sky. The rain continued to fall hysterically. This made Mantler think; the great kings were tearing, tearing the death of the first cub—and soon another if Mantler had made her mind up to slaughter her younger cub, Sarafina. Suddenly, Tatai came to mind...

The Kakanika territory was now illuminated by the bright moon everyone called the moon. It didn't bring much light, but enough for Mantler to see where she was going. And where she was going was a secret, between her and someone else only. Of course, she would meet her male—as she did every night. Then she'd return to her pride at the crack of dawn. But today was different.

Today was the day they'd share their everlasting love under the moon.

He couldn't stay any longer. Of course he couldn't—he was a rouge. A passing rouge at that. Tatai had held his place on this turf for many months now, but now was the time to leave. He had to; he was a developing lion. One day, he'd sire his own cubs and have a mate.

The two were only a year and a half old, perhaps a few months until they both turned two. Mantler pressed her head into Tatai's black mane with a smile. She admired his smell, his appearance, his personality. It made her jealous and a little cranky at times too—since she knew they'd never meet again. It was this move that would classify them as lovers. This move, that would prove their love to each other, and it was this move, that would part them forever...in a way.

Mantler lay on the wet turf, her heels a few inches high off the ground. It had been raining earlier, but it had stopped once the moonlight cracked its way into position. Tatai carefully mounted his lioness. She was his. She'd always be. Other lionesses would be his physical mate—to pass on his genes, conceive cubs. But Mantler was his soul mate, his soul mate for life. For pure love and enjoyment.

"I love you, Tai." Heh, Tai. She had always called him that, it was his nickname. The heated lioness felt tears trickling down her face as she shut her eyes. She heard his warm breath behind her ear.

"I'll always love you, May." May was the nickname for Mantler. Only Tatai had used it. Suddenly, Mantler felt her lover penetrate into her, penetrate love. She wore an expression of both pure pain and pleasure. The lioness growled slightly, but at the same time, she enjoyed every bit of it. The fresh scent of mating slowly took up the air, but the couple paid no attention, they only paid attention to themselves. Tatai ran his paw over Mantler's back. He knew exactly where she liked to be touched the most. She winced sensually, calling his name as she did so.

"Tai..." It was a night of pure bliss. They had only met months ago and they had mated. "Take me...Take me to your world."

He smiled at her words and continued to penetrate. It was love they were making, not just sex. Tatai knew he wouldn't experience this again, perhaps mount another lioness, but never would he fall in love again. The male couldn't resist; he wrapped his arms around her belly—she seemed well fed. He held her down by biting her neck, inserting the last few pieces of love her had left into her. He had been in her, she had been in him. They had mated physically, they had made love. They had conceived a new heir, though they didn't know it.

Mantler smiled at that memory. Her Tai. He must've had a family by now, but for sure, he had had become a father of two...well, one now.

Mew...

Sarafina wriggles into her mother's arms, making her mother flinch. Did she really want to kill this cub? She hadn't even opened her eyes yet... Perhaps she didn't need to go home—perhaps she could manage on her own. It'd save her from marrying someone she didn't love, and it'd save her from having her cub killed. After so much effort, Sarafina's life had become Mantler's top priority. It was just those two for life. Mantler had made up her mind, and Sarafina was going to live. She was going to make sure of it.

Slowly Mantler stood up, abandoning the little bundle of fur she had killed almost an hour ago. Yes, it had really been that long. Mantler had been deep into thought. Of course, it was a tough decision to make. If she failed, she failed Sarafina.

Sarafina remained hanging from Mantler's muzzle as Mantler began to saunter. The rain's current was slowly decreasing—which was a relief for the both of them. Just because Mantler had given birth almost three hours ago, didn't mean she was well. She was sure this was the first time she had tripped and collapsed in the mud. Fortunately, Sarafina hadn't been touched once. Mantler's vision was blurry slightly, and this was a problem. How would she be able to manage caring for them both?

Hence, she was quite hungry. She hadn't eaten in three days; surely it was time to catch a meal. But where? In the forest, there were no herds of buffalo or wildebeest. Perhaps boars—but they were rarely found so easily. It'd take a lot of effort to catch one of those, and it didn't really fill up one's stomach. It was only minutes later that Mantler noticed she was still on the ground. Quickly, the lioness erected herself onto her paws, and continued the trail to new life...

[A/N: This took me about an hour and a half to write. I wanted to write more, but it was only the prologue. More things will be explained in the next chapter, if you're wondering about something. But a PM wouldn't hurt, would it? :D I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried new things. So, I hope it was successful. :) Also, I am finally back on Fanfiction, after 4 months of trying to improve my writing, to coping with daily life. I'm really sorry to all my friends here that I haven't spoken to in a while. I hope you didn't think I forgot about you, because trust me—I didn't. I thought of you everyday... Snowflake missed you too. :P

About my writing: I had made a Lion King Fic of Sarafina before, but I wanted to start again. I feel my writing is a failure, so I decided to start again. I also want to delete all my stories, but instead, I'll just re-write them. Tell me if I should leave them on here, too. I will start Giza: Land of Light and Darkness again, too, though I was pretty happy I hit 30 reviews... Oh, damn... :( But still, I hope it'll be better this time around. That story was just a request, but I feel it's more than that.

Names & Meanings:

Mantler ("Slender"/"Skillful").

Rudo ("Love").

Sukari ("Sugar"/"Popularity").

Tatai ("Cunning").

Sarafina ("Burning Ones").

Keke ("Female"). —Sarafina's dead sister.

I take name suggestions, by the way :D Don't be afraid to recommend a name for me.]

[ / © snowflake xx ]