A/N: A little one-shot that demanded to be written and published before I'd even started on the fourth chapter of "Journeys of the Spiritual Kind"- Miss Phantom is refusing to cooperate. ;)
They were just in love. Two ordinary souls that for some hidden, secretive reason of life had slowly fallen in love with each other. All they desired was to be together for all of their time on earth. It was as simple as that, to begin with at least.
He had cast an imaginary, wonderful sort of charm on her. It was not because he was fascinatingly handsome or unbelievably courageous and strong, though she certainly thought that, too. The truth was that he listened to her, always. And he seemed to take her extremely seriously; he did not act as if she was much more naive and much less knowledgeable than he was. That fact was crystal clear to everyone, most of all himself, but he never showed it, not once. And the way he looked at her, so intensely with those captivating eyes of his, she loved too. A single glance from him and she felt as if he was looking past her many flaws and seeing a perfect lioness. No-one had ever looked at her quite like he did.
She did not realize it but he loved her as much as she loved him, perhaps even more so. He had been enchanted by her ever since she had become present in his life but he covered his feelings for years, thinking that he was not worthy to earn her own emotions in return. When her fondness for him became apparent, only then did he let the shield that protected his heart melt away. He would always be amazed that a lioness like her regarded him as good enough for her affections. That was another thing she would never find out about him.
So, they were blissfully happily, together as one; for what they assumed to be forever. No-one could deny that they were a lovely couple for even though he would not show his emotions as flamboyantly as she, it was clear they both cherished each other dearly.
His brother noticed the change in him the most and because of this, his relationship with him grew as their own did. He smiled every day, now, content finally with the world and himself.
Then, after months of happy yet quiet times together, she told him. A cub was soon to be on its way. Whenever she remembered his reaction, it was a struggle for her not to giggle. A few moments of stunned silence after the news had been broken then his face had broken into the widest, most sincere smile she had seen. Oh, how he had laughed, almost dancing round her in joy. She copied him, laughing too, until they were both breathless, cheeks flushed.
And then he had pulled her close and nuzzled her lovingly. No words were spoken but she knew, with all her heart, what he had meant.
A few days before the cub was due, they decided to move to a small cave that was situated a small distance apart from Pride Rock, just so they could be alone, in private and enjoy the miracle that was to be bestowed upon them. The King, his brother, did not object in the slightest.
It was sheer heaven just to have his extraordinary presence to herself for a few days. And when it was time for the cub to make its first appearance to the world, he had helped her all the while, whispering soothing words of comfort that never seemed to stop, not for a moment.
The cub resembled her in almost every way- his fur a creamy, light tan identical to hers. But, when his little eyelids had prised themselves open, they both saw that he had inherited his father's mystical, glittering, captivating emerald green eyes. She never forgot how excited and ecstatic he was at this new creation of life; he absolutely doted on their son.
Quivering with barely concealed glee, he begged her for the cub to be named "Dakarai." She had smiled and told him kindly that it suited him perfectly, to which he smiled in reply, then gazed at his son in an almost trance like state of delight.
However, all good things must come to end. But how she often asked herself, were they meant to have foreseen how quickly this one would end?!
She supposed, she always knew, deep down inside that Dakarai was extremely small for his age, on a scale that it sometimes troubled her for endless, worrying hours. She tried to casually dismiss these fears, that they were ridiculous. It always nagged at the back of her mind, especially during the dark nights that seemed to stretch on and on. She never revealed this to him. No. She did not want to frighten him for he was extremely joyful. He would have looked after Dakarai all day and all night, if he had to. And he obviously wanted that.
Still, she managed to persuade him to stay for a few more days in the cave, separated from the Pride. She did not think Dakarai could handle being surrounded by large numbers of lionesses- all that noise and bustle. Better to wait, have a last period of peace and quiet.
Then, that night arrived. The darkest night of their lives. She still shuddered at the slightest thought of it.
She had been sleeping deeply and calmly when, all of a sudden, a frantic nudge in her ribs roused her awake.
"D-Dakarai...s-something's wrong with him!" he had cried, voice wobbling uncontrollably.
His panicked voice had been the thing that had caused the hairs on her body to prickle upwards in alarm. He was always so serene- the only emotion he would let himself convey fully were ones of happiness. Never had she heard him sounding like he was on the verge of breaking down.
She had looked down to her side and saw the still cub. At first, she was sure he was already dead but every so often a chilling, shallow breath of air would sound from him. They were both in despair because they knew it was too late to act, to help the little bundle of joy in their lives.
The image of him at that dreadful point would never vanish from her mind. The tender way he had handled the weak cub, cradling him between his front paws, oh, so gently. And when Dakarai had finally taken his last breath, he had looked up and stared at her. His almost hypnotic eyes were overly bright, showing terrible, brutal agony.
They arrived back home shortly after. No-one ever mentioned anything but they must have known and discussed it privately. A lioness cannot leave a place heavily pregnant and return with no cub, without a horrid explanation. And everyone saw how red her eyes looked and how scarily distant he was to the Pride.
Despite not a word being said about the incident, one day, when all the lionesses were just settling down to sleep, the King had moved closer to him. He murmured quietly in his ear in a hushed, deeply concerned tone. He had responded with what she was sure had been a dry sob. Before she could go to him, he practically ran outside and was not seen until the next morning.
Feeling incredibly responsible for her son's untimely death, she gave him a rushed, apprehensive speech of how her doubts about Dakarai's mere strength to survive had been hidden from him. But, it was only because she cared so much about him, she attempted to explain feebly. She didn't want to worry him.
A few days after her "confession" was when the rows started. They were frustrating yet tiny ones to begin with but they soon grew and grew until they were fiery and deafeningly loud. She couldn't fathom out the reason for his complete change in character. Yes, of course she understood he was grieving tremendously- but could he not see that she was, too?!
The worst by far argument took place at dusk, inside the cave of Pride Rock. Most of the lionesses had not returned from their evening hunt at that time- the King was the only one actually present with them to witness the explosion of emotions.
The row had started with quiet, hissed retorts. It did not take long for that to change dramatically. She had felt the gaze of his brother on her, knowing that he was contemplating with great difficulty whether to throw himself between them or not.
"This is all your fault," her once lover had half roared into her angry face. "Our son died because of you!"
There. That was when it happened. She wasn't aware of actually deciding to do it; it felt like a natural instinct. Just like how to hunt prey.
She had viciously swiped her paw across his face, slapping him with as much force and energy she could muster. She knew that he did not really believe the words of hate that he'd uttered to her. His intent was only to hurt her, to force her to feel even more guilty than she already did. Only when he had reeled back and yelled out loud did she fully realize the seriousness of the act she had just committed.
Her claws had torn savagely into his left eye, his stunning iris covered by the injury. The King watched in horror, for once, at a complete loss as to what to say or do. She stammered her apologies to both of them, though they were mostly directed to him.
He simply stood there silently, with an unnerving, terrifying presence of being deadly calm. The wound dripped large, thick droplets of purest red onto the cold, unforgiving stone floor. He said absolutely nothing and he never would, at least, never to her.
The very same night, she ran away from her home. She needed to escape it all, to forget everything that had happened and everyone around her. The King could not be fooled, though. Almost at once, he alerted the Pride closest to the one at Pride Rock, to take her in until she wanted to come back.
Then, she met Samanya. His mane was ruffled slightly and of a light brown colour, like the earth beneath her feet. His eyes had also received this colour. His father, the King of his Pride had recently passed away, and even though he was a good leader, he was still full of misery. So, she comforted him, as he did her. She knew she could never love another lion like she loved him but Samanya was much sought after company for her. She felt very vulnerable and she supposed he did too, so when he showed some affection towards her, she reciprocated. Truly, they were both feeling lost and needed someone in their time of need and solitude.
But, despite the lonely lion's compassion, she knew, after weeks had passed, that she did not love Samanya. This was not the life she wanted. The thing she was trying to escape from (Pride Rock and its memories) was the very thing she craved. And so, she left and went back to where her heart belonged.
It was too late, though. For the second time, she had fallen pregnant. When Dakarai's father discovered this, it drove him out of her world, forever. That was what she wanted. To erase all that happened between him and her.
The cub was a girl this time and thankfully she was much stronger than her deceased big brother. She was also grateful that she did not inherit any of Samanya's looks- so she could also pretend that her Past had never happened. But she did have the same colour of fur that she and Darakai possessed.
She named her "Nala" because she literally was her gift. The Kings of the Past had eventually allowed her to have a healthly cub, one that she could love and raise all on her own and teach her not to make the same mistakes that her own mother had foolishly done.
She did not try to recover any sort of friendly relationship with her old mate. She had firmly decided to put the Past behind her. Why should she remember it when her life had taken such an unexpected, remarkable, good turn?
The lioness would never discover what that did to the lion that had once enchanted her. Every night, every single night, he would make the journey to the very same cave where Dakarai's birth and death had taken place. It was there where he would finally let himself pour his heart out, with only the Kings of Past looking down from the stars to listen to his never ending grief. He would cry painful, bitter tears of remorse, into the silent night.
For every time he saw her with the small Nala bounding by her heels, it reminded him in the worst way possible, all the events that had affected him. They would remind him with such brutality what he had come so close to achieving.
But, the cruel decision of fate itself, had prevented him from having that life, what he viewed as the most perfect life in existance. All he had that reminded him that it had all happened, that it wasn't some devastating, twisted nightmare was a single scar, running down his left eye...
A/N:- For those interested, here are the name definitions which I found from an African name website.
Dakarai= child brings joy
Samanya= the unknown one
Nala, in some sources means "gift" but some other sources say this is an incorrect defintion. In this fanfiction, however, Nala means "gift." :)
This started as a tiny "What if" idea" which just grew and grew. Please let me know what you think- review, review, review!
Oh and once you've finished "review, review review"-ing (lol) this could you please review the third chapter of "Journeys of the Spirtual Kind"? It's called "Breaking the Rule." Thanks so much! :D