This is my The Lion King story, based on some characters I've adopted on Deviantart :) Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter One

The Blessing

The hot African sun began its slow ascent into the sky and the chill of night was burned away. The birds began to sing from their tree top perches and the ground began to haze as the sun's rays burrowed their heat within it. A roar startled several of the singing birds into flight.

"Get this thing out of me!"

A dusky lioness lay on the cool floor of a cave, her razor sharp claws digging futilely into the hard rock below. She was panting heavily and her swollen stomach heaved with every breath. Her violet eyes were fixed on a tawny lioness by her side.

"For Kings sake, Imani, didn't you hear m-ahhh!"

She let another pained roar and buried her face in the dirt that had gathered on the cave floor. She couldn't take it anymore. She had been in labour ever since the sun had set the night before and she was so tired. She wanted to rest, but the blasted shaman refused to let her. She kept telling her to push and to keep going.

The lioness, Imani, narrowed her own light green orbs at her patient. "I keep telling you, Ashia, the cub will come when he is good and ready. I can't force him out of you."

Ashia sighed and a tear rolled down her cheek. "But I'm so tired."

Her voice was weak and bordered on pathetic. Imani rolled her eyes and shook her head. She had been a midwife to many of the lionesses in the pride, but Ashia's was certainly the loudest, and the longest, birth she had ever attended.

"Stop whining like a cub." She muttered. "Just get on with it."

The pregnant lioness gave her an incredulous look. "Get on with it? Do you know what this feels like?"

"Yes, I do. I birthed my own three sons in silence and on my own. I didn't have someone here to hold my paw."

Ashia growled low in her throat and looked away. She locked her gaze onto a stone lying not too far away. She could feel another contraction creeping up on her and she really didn't want to do it again. She felt as though every muscle in her body was quivering with exhaustion but still her cub refused to enter the world.

Stupid thing.

Imani checked the female's progression and sighed in relief. About time. One more push and the cub would finally be born, and she could leave Ashia and her complaining behind.

"One more push."

Summoning all her strength, the lioness bore down and pushed as hard as she could. She couldn't see what was going on, but she heard the soft thump as the cub slid out onto the ground. She lay her head down on the ground and thanked the Kings that the earth under her cheek was cool. She needed it after that night.

Imani approached and severed the umbilical cord with her sharp claws. With another swipe, the sac was broken and the cub was free from its bindings. Almost immediately, a loud wailing began to fill the cave. It was the cub announcing his arrival into the world.

The shaman carefully picked up the youngster and placed him beside his tired mother's side. She then turned and left the two alone. After all, a mother needed time to bond with her child and Ashia wasn't exactly the mothering type.

'Perhaps she'll surprise us all.' Imani thought, glancing back at the cave with a small smile.

The cub's mew continued as the new mother lay on the ground. Her brow began to furrow and her brow deepened with every cry. Finally she sat and glared at her new child. It didn't last long though. She paused and studied the cub.

His pelt was dark brown and dotted with pale markings forming the same pattern that had attracted her to the cub's father when they first met. She tilted her head a little. She couldn't see much of herself in the child. His nose. He had her pointed nose, though his was the same colour as his father's.

Perhaps he would have her jade eyes. The little orbs were still closed tightly and she knew that they wouldn't open for another couple of weeks. She could wait.

Leaning forward, Ashia tentatively licked her cub. The tiny lion gave another cry and moved towards the source of the lick. In spite of herself, the new mother smiled. This cub was hers! Her little…actually she had been calling him a 'he' but she wasn't sure.

Pulling the baby towards her, she gently nuzzled him so he was led back. She gave him belly a soft lick and checked him over. Yes, he was a boy. Her son. It felt strange to even think it but this little golden ball of fluff was her son.

"My boy." She whispered. "My blessing."

The baby mewled again and wriggled in his mother's grasp. Ashia carefully moved him back to her side and positioned him so he was able to have his first feed. Sharp teeth latched onto her and she found herself actually holding back her growl. She never did that.

Everyone in the pride knew that she was bad tempered and unlikely to censor her actions or words in regards to how aggressive they were. But here she was, fighting her instincts because of this little boy. She had heard that motherhood changed lionesses and she had never believed it until now. Now she had one of her own and she could already feel herself changing; for him. She had no intention to fight it. If she had to change to be the best mother she could be for her baby boy then she would.

She studied the baby and marvelled at his tiny paws. It was remarkable to think that one day she was that tiny. A part of her wondered how he was going to grow up to be big and strong. A realisation shot through her that that was down to her. Panic began to seize the lioness for the first time since the baby was born.

How was she going to do it? She wasn't exactly a model citizen. She was bad tempered and had shown several times that she had a bad mouth. How exactly was she going to raise this little boy to be a kind and decent lion?

Perhaps Obi could help. Her brother. Her kind and loyal brother. If anyone could help set this cub on the right path, Obi would be able to. He was King Duna's right hand man after all and had demonstrated his loyalty to the pride and good heart numerous times.

The cub detached himself from his mother's teat and let out a loud mew. Gently Ashia pulled him round to face her and the tiny cub waved around his paws. The new mother pushed her muzzle into her son's pale paws, her dark brown nose resting mere inches away from the cub's pale orange pointed nose.

She stared at his brown lidded closed eyes and smiled. The brown continued to just under his ear and the paler lower lid, the same colour as his toes, mirrored the brown but it also trailed down to his lower jaw. The pale markings continued across his tiny body, joining up his toes with his underbelly fur and tail. He also had a pale upper muzzle while the lower part was the same shade of brown as his upper eye circle and the dots on his tiny ears.

He really was a handsome baby boy and Ashia was immediately convinced that he was the most gorgeous baby lion within the pride. She couldn't wait to show him off to all the other mothers. She was probably biased, but the new mother didn't really care. He was her son and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to show him off with pride.

"My baby boy." She muttered, licking up the cub's belly. "I probably should name you."

The cub mewed as if in response and Ashia chuckled. "Soon, baby. Soon."

She laid her head down next to him and watched as the baby began to suck on his own paw. She had probably done that once, in fact Obi had told her that she had, but she couldn't help but think that this behaviour was unique to her son. He was the most precious thing she had ever seen.

Her son didn't look a thing like her. He was brown while she was a dark coffee colour and his markings were pale and crossing across his legs and stomach, while hers were brown and were stripes that crossed down her back. She had freckles painting her cheeks and he didn't. Her toes were all different shades of brown, and his were the same pale colour. In fact, apart from nose shape, the only thing they had in common were the dot markings on their ears.

However she found she didn't care. He was hers and she would his mother for as long as they both lived. She would do anything for him and he was perfect in her eyes. She would fight anyone who dared say otherwise.

The cub yawned and moved closer to Ashia's head. He snuggled into her cheek and the lioness smiled. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Before she knew it she was asleep, dreaming of a time where her son was older and they and Obi played together in the savannah. She had a smile on her face that night.

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