She fell to the ground unable to keep standing. Smoke clung to the air, darkening everything. She could barely breathe. Ash coated her tongue and throat and it was harder to gasp for the air she desperately needed. She had a vague feeling she would die. After all her endeavors, she would lay here and die due to smoke inhalation. Would any of the lionesses find her before she died?
She struggled to get up but her limbs refused to move. She coughed feebly as her lungs filled with ash. She lifted her head slightly but could barely keep it up from the ground.
Suddenly a movement just beyond her sight made her turn her head. A hazy vision was before her. The only clear sight she had was of glowing green eyes. Did he return to finish her off? Before she could even find the strength to fight to her feet, her head slumped and everything went black.
He had it all planned, it would be a simple endeavor to wipe Simba off the face of the earth. He would lead the great lion king to his death while most of the lionesses were on the hunt. He knew where he would take the soon to be deceased. A large gorge that was not far from here. With the right elements the king would be dead before the lionesses returned. Which in turn he would have a convincing story to appease the those simpletons.
He turned his attention to Nala and her new cub, Kiara. It would be nice to have his own mate and cub. Nala was a beautiful lioness and her daughter would grow to be just as pretty. He could pretend to be the little cub's father instead of being a great uncle to her. Yes, Simba would have to be taken out of the picture. And also if he kept Kiara from challenging him for the throne, he could remain king without argument. It was a genius plot if he didn't say so himself.
Beware my nephew, your time as king is done, he smiled to himself as he padded out of the den.
The morning of the planned murder was warm and inviting and left not even a hint of the terrible event waiting to unfold. The lionesses prowled down from Pride Rock on their hunt, following the gazelle. Scar and Simba stood upon the highest point and watched as they slipped through the grass and vanished out of sight.
Scar looked towards his nephew in silent anticipation. This was his moment, but before he could speak about anything, Simba spoke first.
"I have pressing business near the gorge, seems a sighting of hyenas was witnessed there, would you join me uncle?" The young lion looked up to him with trust.
Scar grinned to himself in his thoughts, perfect, "Of course, Simba. Always a pleasure to help my favorite nephew."
Simba scoffed, much like he did when he was a cub, "I'm your only nephew."
"All the more reason to help out, after all you are the only king as well," Scar kept the bitterness out of his voice. He had to keep his eye on the prize.
"There is that," Simba conceded.
Scar smiled at his nephew. The young lion was such an innocent compared to his father, Mufasa. This should make the betrayal all the easier.
"Let's go before the hyenas decide they're higher up in the food chain." Scar padded past his nephew, his tail twitching with the anticipation of seeing the little king's demise.
Simba followed after his uncle, his steps full of confidence he didn't feel. How could he possibly follow in his father's footsteps? Now, more than ever it felt like an impossible feat. He was grateful that he had Scar to help advise him. True, Zazu was a good advisor but still he was a bird. He needed someone who knew more about the king's ways of dealing with problems. So he went to his uncle for help when Zazu's thoughts on the matter were vague.
He watched Scar as he moved among the lionesses who had stayed to protect Nala and their daughter, Kiara. His uncle was so poised as he greeted each of the lionesses. If only he had known of the madness that lied beneath. It might've changed the events of that day.
As the sun rose closer to midpoint, Simba and Scar had reached the gorge. A herd of wildebeest were grazing near the lip of the gorge. Simba scanned the area but saw neither hide or fur of hyenas near the grazers. He looked over to where Scar was standing, looking down into the gorge. He joined his uncle and gazed down into the rocky pit.
He scanned the ravine and thought he saw the grayish-brown hide of a hyena. He leapt over the side and skidded down the steep slope. He failed to notice his uncle not following behind for he was too focus on what he had thought he had seen. He reached the bottom and as quietly as he could, moved through the rocky base of the gorge.
Scar waited until his nephew was too far in to seek escape along the sides. Then he made his move. Slinking silently close to the herd, he leapt at the most panicky of them and it caused the others to take alarm. The poor beasts turned away from the lion who followed close to their heels, snapping and growling at them, further causing panic.
The animals charged over the lip of the gorge plunging down the steep slope. Their hooves thundered over the rock echoing down the gorge. Scar chased the herd up to the lip then slowed and watched his plan charge down the gorge. He turned away and ran along the edge until he found another way into the chasm without having to go all the way down into the gorge with the wildebeest.
Simba was closing in upon the strange hide when suddenly the earth shook beneath his paws. He looked down at some rocks bouncing across the ground then his eyes were drawn up as he saw hundreds of wildebeest coming down upon him. He turned and ran as fast as he could. Before long he was flanked on all sides by the stampeding herd.
He looked for a way out as he ran. Panic was filling his body with adrenaline and he charged along until he saw the perfect spot to escape the herd. He changed direction and made a mighty leap towards a small ridge along the gorge. His claws sank into the rock but he was short of the edge of the ridge. His back paws skittered across the rock face trying to seek purchase.
Simba knew he would fall soon, when he spotted his uncle stepping up to the edge of the ridge.
"Scar! Help me!" he called as he felt his claws beginning to slip.
Scar hesitated for a moment before sinking his claws into Simba's paws. He felt a thrill of satisfaction when Simba roared with pain. He leaned close while pulling Simba up a little.
"Long live the king," he whispered against the young lion's ear and before Simba could react to this message, Scar threw him off of the ridge.
Simba let out a roar of disbelief as he fell to his death on the rocky base below. And if the fall didn't kill him the many trampling hooves of the wildebeest had finished off the young king.
Scar waited until the stampeding herd moved further on down the gorge. Then he made his way down to where Simba had fallen. He had to make sure that his troublesome nephew was truly dead. He soon reached the corpse of the dead king. He walked around the body, seeing that it had many broken bones and blood was pooling around where said bones jammed out of the flesh.
He felt a slight pang of regret as he saw the battered body of his nephew. He reached out a claw and ran it along a lank of mane that covered the smashed in face. He then shook off the melancholy and left the body to rot in this miserable grave.
The moon had just started to rise as all the lionesses gathered at the base of Pride Rock to receive the news that Simba was dead. It was hard to believe that they had lost Mufasa and was a shock that Simba had followed so soon. They glanced up to their new king and began to wonder but kept their thoughts to themselves. Scar was a dangerous lion despite his lack of great size.
He looked down at his subjects and was proud of himself. He had killed both Simba and Mufasa. Now Pride Rock and the Pride lands were all his. He kept his face schooled to an uncle in grief over the death of his poor nephew. He gave them a boldface lie that Simba had died in a fight against a pack of hyenas. To make the story more believable, Scar had slashed at his own flesh.
He watched as the lionesses sobbed and grieved for their lost king. Even the cubs who were present sobbed. All except Scar and Kiara cried, but she was too young to understand that her father was gone. And Scar was celebrating his brilliance. Now he had to convince Nala to let him adopt Kiara as his own daughter. Daughters never turned against their fathers.
Soon the lionesses headed up to the large den. Nala followed behind the others with Kiara clutched gently in her muzzle. She turned her head as she saw Scar walk up to them. She gently placed Kiara on the ground between her paws. She stared up at Scar worrying if he had come to kill her cub. But the fear was put aside as he began to speak.
"I would like Kiara to think she has a father, through me," he looked down at the cub in question as she wiggled away from the protection of her mother's paws.
"Why? You are her great uncle," Nala was a little confused by such a request.
"It would save you having to answer to questions about not having a father." He replied.
Nala considered this for a moment and decided that he was right on that point. Kiara could grow up knowing she had two parents and might never ponder about the loss of her father. But she knew she would be lying to claim Scar was Kiara's father. How could she make the statement a little more true? Then the idea of being Scar's queen entered her mind. She would still have her title of queen if she became Scar's mate, instead of a lower rank if she just remained as Kiara's mother.
As she thought about it, the idea became more promising. Kiara could have a father and she would still be higher than the other lionesses.
"All right, but on one condition," she said feeling that she was the one holding the power and not him.
"Name it," Scar prompted her.
"Make me your queen, and you can claim Kiara as your daughter." She smiled at her demand.
"Done," Scar smirked, knowing he got the better deal. He had a more secure holding in the pride.
He lowered his head and looked the young cub in the eye, "We'll get along well, won't we my daughter?"
The cub let out a giggle, not knowing she was staring into the eyes of madness. But she would learn her mistake of trust soon enough. She cuddled up against Scar's paw and fell asleep.