It was mid-day as the princess of the Pride Lands was out walking in the tall green grass. Kiara had stopped to sit under a nice cool shade under a tree a couple meters from Pride Rock. She smiled as she felt movement in her inflated womb. Kiara was now at the peak of her pregnancy. Any day now the Pride Lands would be welcoming the arrival of the new heir to the throne. Kiara then felt her eyes heavy and laid her head on her two front paws and fell asleep.

About an hour later Kovu spotted his golden furred mate and smiled. He walked over and laid down right next to her. He licked her forehead which woke Kiara. She fluttered her eyes open and smiled at the sight of Kovu. "Hey," Kiara said with a chuckle. "How's Pride Land's, but most importantly my, princess doing?" "Great." she responded with a twinkle in her eyes. "And my mini-me?" He asked while scooting over to nudge Kiara's swollen belly. "How can it be a mini-you if it's a girl?" "Then SHE won't be a mini-me. She'll be one of the most beautiful lioness these or any other lands have ever seen." Kovu then turned to look at Kiara right in the eyes. "Just like you." There was a romantic pause as Kovu and Kiara looked at each other in the eyes. They shared a long loving nudge.

Suddenly, Kiara's eyes widened and she pulled away from Kovu abruptly. "Kiara... What's wrong?" He said with a look of worry in his eyes. The golden furred lioness just stared at the ground taking slow deep breaths. It was time. The cub was coming.
"Kiara, love, what's the matter?" The lioness just clawed at the ground. Suddenly, Kiara felt relieve as the pain seemed to diminish. She let out a deep breath, looked up at Kovu, and smiled. "Hakuna Matata" she said with a laugh. "That's the motto!"
She didn't want to worry Kovu at the moment. She at least wanted to get to the rest of the pride so others could help calm him.
Kovu just looked at her, his head tilted with a look of confusion.
Kiara hurried to walk back to Pride Rock. She noticed Kovu was just standing there. "You coming, Kovu?" Kovu seemed to snap out of his daze and accompanied Kiara back.

The couple was right at the steps of Pride Rock as a sharp pain surged through Kiara's stomach. The princess fell to the ground on her side with a yelp. Almost instantly Kovu and surrounding lionesses rushed at her side. "Kovu" she said in between breaths. "The cub... It's on it's wayyy...UUUHHH!" She grunted. Kovu's jaw dropped. It was time. The lionesses helped carry Kiara to the den inside Pride Rock. They made a special place for her at the furthest corner. Nobody except Kovu, Simba, and Nala was allowed to be inside with her. Two lionesses stood guard at the entrance. Meanwhile word spread through the kingdom that their new heir to the throne was on its way.

Back inside the den Kiara laid on her side, her golden furr darkened with sweat. Kovu stood right by her side. "Shhh shh, there, there" he said repeatedly as nuzzling his mate. Nala stood on the other side of Kiara where she coached her daughter to get through this. "Breathe deeply. Let the pain flow through your body and out. Breathe in. Breathe out. There you go sweetheart." Simba stood a couple inches away, watching from a distance making sure Kiara would be alright. Kiara was dripping more and more with sweat. She had never felt so much pain. Still, she did not want to scream. Her baby was on its way. How could she welcome her baby into this world by cries, roars, and screams? She couldn't. Even so, grunts escaped her bared teeth here and there.

Her belly rose up and sank back down. Up. Down. She grunted. The pain increased, then decreased. Seconds later the pain returned worse than the one before.
"Kovu-" Kiara could barely speak in between grunts. She was feeling sharp pains at the moment. "Kovu... Ugh... It hurts...UGH!" Kovu held her paw. "I'm so sorry," the dark furred lion said. Kiara tried to smile but failed as the pain grew intensely. She clawed at the ground. Later her pain decreased and she took deep breaths. This cycle was repeated for a while.

30 minutes later, screams were escaping Kiara now. She couldn't take it. She tried to be as calm as possible but the pain was too much. "MOTHER... *grunt* DADDY, *pant* KOVU... EEUUHHH"
The lioness widened her eyes as she felt the cub coming. "The.. The cub! *pant* it's... It's COMIIING!"
"Okay, now Kiara, take a deep breath and push with all your strength when I tell you."
Kiara nodded as a soft "Mmhmm" escaped her mouth.
Kovu was starting to panic. He paced back and forth. "Kovu, she's doing fine, calm down" Simba assured him. Kovu smiled and rushed right back to Kiara's side.
"Now, push!" Nala ordered.
Kiara's stomach twitched outward as she pushed. She bared her teeth and yelped. "You're doing great, sweety" her mother assured her. Kovu watched as his beloved mate winced in pain. He hated seeing her like this. But... This was a pain he could do nothing about. The soaked princess relaxed as she stopped pushing. "Kiara that was great," Kovu said as he nudged her. "Okay, Kiara, now you need to push as your body tells you. Bring my grandcub into this world. You can do it." As Kiara received a sharp pain in her stomach she pushed again, clawing at the ground. Beads of sweat dripped down her entire body. she moaned as she felt the cub's head slide out of her. "UUGGHHH...AAHH!" Was all that was heard from the cave. The princess stopped pushing.

A couple seconds passed before she pushed again. "KOVU... I... UGH" she panted "I CAN'T... I can't do this!" She yelled as she stopped pushing. The baby's front paws were now out as well. "Yes you can." Kovu cheered. "I believe in you. One more push, Kiara. One more and we will have the family we have dreamed of for so long." Kovu's words gave her strength. Kiara was now breathing fast and short, almost gasping. Then, the lioness took a deep breath and pushed with everything she had. She grunted and screamed. All that was in her mind was bringing her cub into this world. The claw marks she made on the ground were deeper then ever. She pushed, grunted, pushed, sweated, pushed, screamed, pushed. She pushed for about 20 seconds. Suddenly Kiara gasped for air as she felt the cub slide out of her.

It was a girl.

The new mother sighed in relief as she dropped her head to the ground and fell limp with her eyes closed. Nala licked her newborn granddaughter clean. Soft meows were heard from the cub. Kovu and Simba stared in awe at the baby. The cub resembled Nala's light fur with an even lighter underbelly. Her eyes were an emerald green like her father's but had the same facial features as her mother. Kiara was still breathing heavily on the ground, her eyes closed. She wanted to see her child but she had no strength. The princess smiled slightly. She was a mother.

She lay there for about 5 minutes before her breathing returned to normal. She opened her eyes and saw as Nala placed her baby in her arms. Kiara looked at her daughter and smiled with a twinkle in her eyes, her happiness overwhelming her. Kovu nudged Kiara and licked her. "We're parents now," he said. "I love you, Kiara." The new mother smiled at him. "I love you too." They looked at their cub as Nala and Simba came closer. "Congratulations, sweety, she's beautiful," said Nala. Simba was smiling proudly. "What are you going to name her?" Said the king of the Pride Lands. "Shirla" said Kiara with a big smile. "Perfect" said Kovu. Simba, Nala, and Kovu all surrounded Kiara, watching as the new born cub slept in her mother's arms. The long awaited addition to the family was finally here.

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So this was my very first story posted. Just a little one-shot on my favorite movie series ever, The Lion King. Please review! Hope you guys liked it. Oh, and I was thinking of turning this one-shot into a full story... Kind of like a Lion King 3 thing... Idk. You guys decide for me. :)

Lots of love, itsthecircleofLifex