A lion pride is made up of around ten females, and one male. The lionesses hunt for the pride, they protect the pride, and they are unwaveringly loyal to the male. They are his friends, his partners, his advisors, his moral support. They are the heart of the pride, but at its head is the male, the Lion King, the King of the Pridelands. It is his job to maintain peace and balance in the savannah; and it is his job to bring up his male cub to learn to appreciate the roles designated to all living creatures by Nature, so that his cub can take over for him as the Lion King, when his time has passed.
Each lioness bears only one cub, and in nine cases out of ten, it is a female. Only one lioness has the honor of giving birth to the future Lion King, and she is revered as the Queen of the Serengeti. She becomes the companion of the king, and she becomes the leader of the Hunt; and all the other lionesses are unwaveringly loyal to her.
In this way, generations upon generations of lion prides have ruled over the Pridelands from their home in the Pride Rock, a giant precipice that looks out onto the entire savannah.
It so happened that in one generation of the pride, two male cubs were born. There was some confusion at first about who was to be the future king, but it soon became obvious that Scar, the older of the two lacked the strength of a Lion King, who needs to keep the herd of antelopes and bisons moving in the right direction and to keep the hyenas off the savannah. So it was his brother, Mufasa, who was chosen to be trained by the Lion King, while Scar, named after the birthmark on his left eye, was left in the care of the lionesses. Being male, he was not allowed to join in the Hunts, so Scar was left to sulk in his cave in the Pride Rock while his father taught Mufasa about the Circle of Life and the Great Kings of the Past.
As a result of being neglected, he grew cold and unpleasant, and none of the cubs wanted to play with him. So while Mufasa played tag with the female cubs under the watchful eyes of the lionesses, Scar would creep away. No one ever watched over him. He would creep away to the Shadowlands, a place beyond the boundaries of the Pridelands, where he would play with the hyenas.
The hyenas would have killed him when he first ventured into their territory. Scar knew that no one was looking for him, and no one would come to save him. So he had to find a way to convince the hyenas to let him live. He would steal from the Hunt, and take it to the Shadowlands, and the hyenas would welcome him amongst their midst. In time, he found his place as the benefactor of the hyenas, while Mufasa found his place as the Lion King.
Scar and Mufasa had no love for each other. Scar was cold and conniving, while Mufasa had a huge heart and a warm and commanding personality. The lionesses adored him and even all the animals in the savannah worshipped the ground he walked on. With his loving heart and wise judgment, Mufasa rose to be a great king. However he remained critical of his brother's nature, and Scar remained resentful of being slighted even though he was the older cub. Silently, Scar worked to make his brother's job difficult. He encouraged the hyenas to cross into the Pridelands, and disturb the herds. As a result, Mufasa was kept very busy chasing away the hyenas to maintain peace within the herd.
Scar hoped that perhaps this generation of the pride might turn out no male cubs because his generation had turned out two. If it meant the end of the Pride, he couldn't care less. But much to his great disappointment, the lioness Sarabi gave birth to a male cub. And this male cub was named Simba.
Scar took no pleasure in welcoming the young cub into the world. Indeed, he stayed in his cave during Simba's presentation to the Serengeti, presided over by the old baboon Rafiki. Scar had only ever seen Rafiki from a distance, and even Mufasa, who had met him on several occasions, had no idea of his age. But he had always been a trusted advisor to their father, and Mufasa was only too delighted too delighted to send word to Rafiki through his majordomo Zazu that his heir was born. On one fine bright morning, all the inhabitants of the Pridelands journeyed to Pride Rock to pay their respects to their future king as Rafiki held him up for all to see. Conspicuous only in his absence, was of course, Scar.
Simba grew fast, and he was full of mischief and curiosity. He would sneak up behind the lionesses during the Hunt and jump out at the prey before the lioness could pounce, and his mother would have to send him away lest they had to go hungry due to the young prince's mischief. The lionesses were both exasperated of and amused by his antics, and they could never stay mad at his big eyes and wide grin for long.
He was a great favorite among the other lion cubs. He was the youngest cub, and the older lioness cubs adored him and teased him by pulling at his ears and pouncing on him. The only other lion cub to match Simba's wild nature was Nala. Nala was the daughter of Sarafina, the most skilled hunter among all the lionesses, and Sarabi's right hand during the Hunts. Nala was trained relentlessly to be as fierce a hunter as her mother, but she always snuck away to play with Simba. No other cubs were any match to her pouncing skills, and she would always successfully pin every one of them to the ground. During playtime, Simba and Nala became inseparable friends, wreaking havoc together, and playing tricks on the lionesses and the other cubs. No matter how hard Simba tried, he could never pin her to the ground, so he focused on trying to catch her unawares by creeping up behind her and roaring in her ear. However, his roar still had a long way to go, because all they manage to do was send Nala into peals of unchecked laughter.
When he was not troubling the lionesses or playing with Nala and the other cubs, Simba was out with his father. His father meant the whole world to Simba, and he dreamed of the day he would grow up to be just like him. He woke up every morning at the crack of dawn and snuck away from his mother to his father's cave, to jump onto his mane and pull at his ears. Mufasa would laugh and catch his son and ruffle his fur. He played with Simba and spoiled him greatly, but also took him along on his morning rounds of the savannah and taught him everything his father before him had taught him. Simba meant the world to Mufasa, as well, and there was no greater bond than that between father and son.
"Look Simba," he would say to his son from atop the Pride Rock, "everything the light touches is our kingdom."
"Wow," a wide-eyed Simba would breathe as he would take everything in and dream about the day he would be just like his father.
"A king's time as ruler, rises and falls like the setting sun," said Mufasa to him one day. One day, Simba, the sun will set on my time here, and rise with you as the new king."
"And everything the light touches will be mine?" The thought filled Simba with great eagerness and pride.
"What about that place in the shadows?" he asked his father.
"I've told you many times, Simba. That place is beyond our borders. You must never go there."
Simba indeed had never ventured there, just like his father had instructed, but it hadn't stopped him from wondering what mysteries lay there.
"But can't I go there when I'm king?" he pressed on. "I thought a king can do whatever he wants."
Mufasa couldn't help but laugh at his son at times like this, but he knew there was yet a lot to teach his precious heir.
"Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all living creatures from the crawling ant, to the leaping antelope."
"But don't we eat the antelope?" Simba was confused.
"Yes, Simba; but when we die, our bodies become the grass; and the antelope eat the grass. In this way, we are all connected by the great Circle of Life."
Simba never fully understood his father's teachings. However, he cherished the times his dad played with him, and taught him to roar and to pounce. Thus far, there hadn't been much success. On many days Mufasa would take his son along on his morning rounds. First they would receive a lengthy morning report from Zazu, who was a blue yellow-billed hornbill, during which Simba would get very bored. Then Mufasa would take him to see the grazing of the antelope and the wildebeest, receive intelligence from the underground from the groundhog (Simba would poke his head inside the holes), check-up on the tunnel digging activities of the meerkats, and visit the hippos in the watering hole. They would run around through the savannah together and they even played in the gorge, but Mufasa was always strict about being very quiet down there. He said loud noises could scare the wildebeest. Simba wondered what they would do if they were scared. Sometimes they would watch the Lioness Hunt.
But on other mornings, Mufasa would go off to chase the hyenas, and no matter how much Simba begged, he was never allowed to come.
"Don't worry young Master," Zazu would say to a dejected cub, "One day you will be king. Then you can chase those slobbering, mangy, stupid poachers from dawn until dusk."
On one such morning, when his father left, Simba went off to find his playmates. Nala was playing pounce with Wamba, Nyeri and Vitani, and Simba thought he would join them. Then he noticed Nuka was still asleep. Nuka always slept late, and Simba loved to jump on top of her, which would send her into hysterics. He prepared to jump, but found himself being dragged away. When he looked around, he saw Zira.
"Stop disturbing Nuka, Simba," Zira scolded. "It's not funny when she screams her head off."
Zira was one of the older cubs; she was starting to spend more and more time with the other Lionesses. Simba didn't like her too much, mostly because she was always so angry.
He ran off to join Nala and the others.
"Hold it right there," called Zira. "Cubs, playtime is over," she continued in her annoying authoritative voice. She seemed to think she could boss them around just because she was older. "Sarabi says today you will need to Hunt with us."
The cubs groaned in unison.
"Tell her they don't wanna come," offered Simba. "Tell her they want to play with me."
Zira made a face at Simba. "Sarabi's orders, don't dally," she commanded and bounded off.
"We'll play later," Nala said before leaving.
"Why don't you come watch the Hunt?" suggested Nyeri.
Simba thought it sounded like a good idea. But he was too annoyed with Zira ignoring him at the moment.
"Nah, I'll just go play with my Uncle Scar now," he said, and ran off to find his Uncle.
Simba didn't usually spend much time with his Uncle. For one, he never wanted to play. But he did say a lot of funny things.
"Hey Uncle Scar," he had once asked, "When I am King, what will that make you?"
"A monkey's uncle," had replied Scar.
Simba thought that was hilarious.
On this particularly day, Simba began to give Scar a detailed account of the kingdom, but Scar was easily bored.
"I can't wait till I'm ruler of the entire Pridelands!" claimed the young prince excitedly.
"Well, forgive me for not leaping for joy," came the bored reply. "Bad back, you know."
"Hey Uncle Scar, my dad says I can't ever go to the shadowy place out there; not even when I'm king."
"He's quite right."
"Well why can't I?"
"An elephant graveyard is no place for a young prince."
"Whoa!" Simba was immediately filled with curiosity.
"Have you ever been there?" he asked excitedly.
"Simba, Simba, Simba, you mustn't even think about that place," Scar scolded, "Now run along and play."
As the young cub bounded away, Scar knew what was on his mind. If the spoilt brat wandered amongst the hyenas, they were sure to gobble him up. Scar couldn't care less.
"Simba, you should have come to watch the Hunt; I was amazing!" gushed Nala.
"Never mind that, I found out what's in the shadowy place."
"That's no fair," began Nala, "I want to tell you how I-"
"An elephant graveyard," whispered Simba, stopping Nala midway and leaving her mouth hang open.
Simba didn't want to disappoint his father, but the allure of an elephant graveyard was too great. Nala's excitement matched his, and the two cubs resolved to sneak away early in the morning, and be back before anyone missed them. What fun they would have telling the other cubs of their splendid adventure!
And that was how, shivering with excitement, Simba and Nala found themselves face to face with an elephant skull. The sun was just rising over the Pridelands, but the cubs hadn't the faintest idea. They had never seen so many bones in their life. They were awestruck.
"Do you think its brains are still in there?" whispered Nala.
"Why don't you climb up and check?" Simba whispered back.
"No, you go and check." The truth was, having walked through mounds of bones; both cubs were a little scared.
"You're just a scardy-cat," jeered Simba, detecting the edge to her voice.
"No, you're a scardy-cat," she shot back.
"Me? No! I laugh in the face of danger!" With that, he climbed into the eye socket of the skull. Not a moment later he came running out, following by three laughing hyenas.
"Get back!" Simba screamed. "You slobbering, mangy, stupid poachers don't know who you're dealing with!"
The hyenas laughed.
Simba roared – or attempted to. The hyenas laughed even harder. But this time, they were met with a real roar. Mufasa leapt in front of the cubs and the hyenas went scurrying off.
"Simba you deliberately disobeyed me!" Mufasa roared. Simba hung his head.
"And what's worse," he continued, "You put Nala in danger!"
With every angry word from his father, Simba's heart sank lower.
"I was only trying to be brave like you," he murmured.
"Simba, being brave doesn't mean going looking for trouble!"
Mufasa couldn't understand what had gotten into his son.
"But you're not scared of anything!"
"Simba, I'm only brave when I have to be. And today, I was scared. I thought I might lose you." He was speaking softer now. "If Zazu hadn't seen the two of you, I don't know what might have happened!"
"So even kings are allowed to be scared?" Simba asked. Mufasa wanted to be angry, but when his son said things like this, it was hard.
"You know what," continued the cub encouraged by the warm look on his dad's face, "I bet those hyenas were even scarder!"
And with that childish line, father and son were pals again.
"Dad," asked Simba, "we'll always be together, right?"
Mufasa sighed. Someday he would die.
"Simba, can you see the stars?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"My father told me that the Great Kings of the Past are up there. If you're ever alone, you should know that they'll always be here to guide you, as will I."
Simba nodded. His father was speaking in riddles again.
The hyenas of course told Scar the whole story as they munched on the zebra leg he brought them. Scar thought he couldn't care less, but while the hyenas complained about how close they were to having royalty for dinner, Scar realized that he had hoped the hyenas would be able to devour his spoiled little nephew. If Simba was gone, the Pride would go into beautiful chaos right before his eyes, and he would watch their suffering with delight. But then, perhaps Mufasa would just sire more cubs with the younger lionesses and another prince might be born.
"Who needs a king?" the hyenas were saying.
"Yeah, all they do is chase us away from food."
"You would have been a much better king, Scar."
"Yeah, why didn't you become king?"
Scar smiled.
"Well then, maybe it's time to take matter into our own hands." And his scheming mind filled with plans.
"Prepare for the chance of a lifetime," he told the hyenas. "I know it sounds sordid, but you'll be rewarded when at last I am given my dues. So prepare for the coup of the century. Years of denial is simply why I'll be king undisputed, respected, saluted, and seen for the wonder I am. Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared. Be prepared!"
If Simba thought he had gotten off easy, he couldn't have been more wrong. He was grounded for weeks. Nala was given her share of punishment. The two of them were constantly watched. But they were heroes among the other cubs.
"What did the hyenas look like?" asked Wamba.
"Did you actually see elephant skulls there?" wondered Arura.
When Nala would start to give an overblown account of the entire incident, Zira would quietly remind them that Nala was in big trouble.
Simba was learning to keep his head down. He put his heart and soul into learning from his father about how to be a king, and he made an effort not to put one toe out of line. He practiced his roar every day, but he still could not manage it.
One day, when Mufasa was out with Zazu and the lionesses were out on a Hunt, Simba went for a walk with Scar.
"Where are we going, Uncle Scar?" he asked.
"I am going for a walk, and you simply following me."
"Well, I don't have anything to do right now. Do you want to play?"
"Well, shouldn't you be practicing your little roar?"
"It's not little any more, Uncle Scar!" He tried to demonstrate it, but it sounded as soft as ever.
Scar laughed and roared.
"I wish I could roar like you," Simba said, crestfallen.
"When I was your age, I liked to go down to the gorge and practice my roar."
"Really? But dad says I need to be quiet down there."
"Why ever would he say that?"
"He said it might scare the wildebeest."
"Oh, really, Mufasa is so paranoid. If you do manage to scare the wildebeest, that's how you know you've got it right."
Simba didn't want to disobey his father again, but he had been feeling restless for days. Besides, Uncle Scar had assured him nothing would go wrong. He thought he would give it a try from the edge of the gorge and see if anything went wrong.
When Simba roared at the edge of the gorge, it came back at him much louder.
"Whoa!" He had never heard an echo before. He roared again, and his echo came back at him again. There was no sign of the wildebeest. Slowly, he made his way down the gorge, and his roar seemed to get better and better. Simba had no idea that the wildebeest were indeed getting nervous. Simba really had no idea that the hyenas were waiting to hear his little roars. And when Simba did manage to let out a decent roar, the hyenas had simply to snap at the legs of some wildebeests and they went running down the gorge.
When the ground below Simba's feet began to shake, he looked up to see a stampede rushing towards him.
Of what passed next, Simba had little memory of. He remembered running. He remembered stamping feet on all sides. He remembered the thunderous thuds of hooves everywhere. He remembered his dad leaping out of nowhere and depositing him safely onto a rock. He remembered his dad being pulled away by the herd.
He remembered running down the gorge when the stampede was over. Mufasa lay there, not moving. Simba called him, Simba tugged at his ears, his mane, his tail. Simba jumped on him repeatedly, but Mufasa would not stir. He barely remembered the words of comfort spoken to him by Uncle Scar. Thinking back on it, he could never remember if they had been words of comfort at all.
But one thing stuck in his mind for life.
"Look what you've done Simba."
"But you told me nothing would happen."
"And nothing has happened. To you."
Simba stared at him.
"I told you that if you got it right if the wildebeest are scared, but you should have been responsible enough to get yourself out of there."
"What am I going to do?"
"What are you going to do? The Pride can never accept you after what you've done."
"Help me, Uncle Scar."
"Run Simba," said Scar. "Run away, and never come back."
Yet as Simba ran, and the hyenas came up behind Scar, he muttered, "Kill him."
A/N: This is the first fic I ever completed. It was written a few years back. Not my best of piece of work, not that I have a lot. It was gift-fic for a friend's birthday. and just the other day she said this is good enough to be put out there, so I figured why not. This was written before either of us were aware of the books that established the lineage of all the characters, but I think those might be more fanon than canon, but I'm not sure. Naturally, my back-stories are very different from those and I also made up a completely different mythology, which was, after all, the most fun part. I think the names of the OC lionesses are based on national parks in Africa. I can't remember. Also, parts of the fic (especially in later chapters) are inspired by the Broadway musical.
I was a little bit concerned about sharing this because of how much I directly quoted the movie. But that was sort of kind of the point of the retelling. So I italicized whatever I think was probably a direct quote from the movie. So yeah, of course, I don't claim ownership of any of the canon characters or the dialogue in italics.
