DISCLAIMER: Hello guys!
Well… here it is. My first try of a Lion King based fanfic.
First of all, a big thanks to Nal-Nay, Meowx93 and Th3Gh0stWr1ter for writing really entertaining stories. And for inspiring me to write my own story.
About me… this isn't the first attempt of me writing a fanfic (though it is the first take on the lion king) I wrote a handful in the past, but none of them ever went public, except one which was structured like an episodically TV series. I had it written down 22 of 32 "Episodes". But like a lot of shows, I cancelled it after the pilot.
Now to this story…
I do not really have a plan how much of TLK 1 I will show in the first part. This is as a three part structured fic. At first, I planned it as a single long story. But then I realized just how much built up I had to do to get everything to the status I wanted until we get to the original part that is running through my mind.
As you already noticed, English is not my native language. But writing it in my home language would only mean for you to not understand it. So I hope you can excuse some of the grammar mistakes (definitely not all of them).
Also apologies to Th3Gh0stWr1ter and Jhonny2b, the first two chapters may read a lot like the ones you did in your stories. I just realized when it was already to late. I never intend to steal any material from anybody. You may notice some references to TV Shows and Movies, but I would never intentionally steal from any fanfic writer.
By the way: I don't own the Lion King or any of its franchise products. All of it belongs to Disney.
… away with the story.
Heirs
Part 1: I just can't wait to be king; I don't want to go to paradise.
Chapter 1: born the same, yet worlds apart
"Nants ingonyama bagithi baba"
It hailed through the beautiful landscape that was the African savannah. The sun began to rise and introduced the flora and fauna to a new day with its irresistible heat. Rhinos, meerkats and antelopes lifted their heads and bodies towards the sky and starred into the distance.
"Nants ingonyama bagithi baba"
Sithi uhhmm ingonyama
Ingonyama
Siyo Nqoba
Ingonyama
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Huge swarms of flamingos wandered through the sky directly over a group of elephants. Antilopes jumped through over the ground overlaid with fog. Giraffes wandered over the now sun filled hills.
From the day we arrive on this planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
Herds of Zebras marched along as colonies of ants carried leaves over tree branches.
There is far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
The herds of elephants kept moving as they were surrounded by peacocks and other various birds. It now came clear in which direction they were going. They all headed into the direction of a huge rock formation which enthroned like a castle over the mostly even landscape. This was where the masses of animals were going. For this wasn't exactly another normal day in the animal kingdom.
It was the presentation of the new born prince of the pride lands.
All the different kinds of animals assembled in front of the giant rock. Monkeys were standing beside giraffes; cheetahs took their places beside zebras. And mice right beside elephants. A blue hornbill flew directly over the massive assemblage directly in overseeing the scene with a smile. It landed on what looked like a long ledge. Right at the feet of a majestic looking lion with golden fur and a crimson red mane. The bird vowed to him and received an approval nod and smile. The sky was now filled with a blanket of clouds which only occasionally let sunlight through its gaps.
It's the circle of life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle
The circle of life
In the middle of the crowd opened a small alley as the animals stepped slowly aside. A small stroke of sunlight shined upon a mandrill making his way through the assemblage. In his hands he held a staff which was decorated with strange looking fruits. The baboon made his way up the boulders coming face to face with the waiting lion. As the two met, they greeted each other with a friendly hug.
They now paid their attention to a lioness lying down just a few feet away from them. In the embrace of her front legs, she held a small bundle of hair which she licked with her paws. The ball of fur turned around and revealed itself to be a small cub. The mandrill smiled at it and waived his staff like a rattle over the cubs head. It instantly started swinging its paws at it before the baboon removed the stick. He than raised one of the fruits, he brought along, into the air and broke it in half. With one of his hands, he took some of the juice and stroke it over the cubs' forehead. He than took some dirt from the ground and distributed it over its head again. The dust caused the cub to sneeze and made its parents grow and adored smile while they nuzzled.
After that the baboon picked up the little lion and carried it forward. He made his way to the end of the ledge as all animals held up their breaths in anticipation. With a final smile he lifted the cub into the air and just in time before another stroke of sunlight came through the blanket of clouds and settled directly on the cub and the mandrill. All the animals present burst out in joy and amazement. The noise was just indescribable and ear-battering.
The lion and the lioness joined the two on the side and gave out their roar to show their dominance. Seconds later the rest of the pride, which lied in the background started to join in and marked the end of the ceremony. It definitely wasn't a day like any other in the pride lands.
It took a while until the assemblage completely dissembled. But when it finally did, the mandrill already made its way back to what he called his home. A huge acacia tree in the middle of the veldt. Clouds could be seen in the distance which showed a thunderstorm approaching anytime soon. As he wandered up to the tree, his eyes drifted towards a small den just a few meters away from his home. It was just enough for a small single animal to fit in. No one would suggest that it would be used by any animal in the pride lands. The baboon let his head sunk a little as he spotted movement inside the den and walked closer.
"What is wrong?" he stated as he lifted his head inside. "Did yu' hav' anoder fight today."
"Go away!" A small fragile yet angry voice responded from inside the den.
"Yu' know every animal of the kingdom was at pride rock dis' mournin'. It would hav' been de perfect opportunity for yu' to set foot in here." The monkey went on. "I mean—yu' finally could hav' met the new prince."
Slowly the shadow inside the den moved and the figure inhabiting it stepped forward. It was another male lion cub, yet older than the prince from earlier on. His fur was of a pale shade of cream but had some sort of a dirty style to it. Even for his young age, his body already seemed to be torn up. A piece from his left ear was missing and a small scar wandered down behind the ear on the same side.
"So? What?" He replied with a tired expression on his face. "It's not like they want me anyway." He continued. "Let alone the fact that I don't care!"
The mandrill smiled even though it was forced. "Mwehu! Yu' hav' been aroun' here only for a month now. King Mufasa took yu' in because of how helpless yu' wer'. Yet yu' started getting' into trouble wit' odder cubs and members of the kingdom every day. Yu' got to start getting' in touch wit' em' or else yu' gonna' end up alone again."
The cub growled lightly and walked back into the den "Sometimes- I wonder if that's a bad or a good thing!"
Life in the pride lands continued. The days became weeks, and the weeks formed a month. The young lion that once was lifted over the animals' heads grow into a very playful cub, even in this early stage. His parents soon learned to pay attention to every of his doings, and of course to keep him out of trouble.
A new day dawned and as usual—the young prince got up early and padded up towards the mouth of the den which his pride called their home. He took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh mourning air as he was ready to start the new day.
"And just where do you think your going young man?" A deep but yet caring and warmth voice called out to him.
Busted! He thought. With his ears dropping to the side of his head, he turned around to see his mother smirking slyly at him. "Uhm—nowhere—I was just going to—to take a walk and a drink." He smiled back with a wink to the pale lioness.
"You know that your father and I don't want you to sneak out the den this early and alone yet." The queen smiled but gave him a good idea of what she really wanted him to do. It was almost as if she tried to stare him down. Stay out of trouble mister! "But if you're really thirsty. I'll escort you down there."
"Thanks mom!" The cub smiled. But inside his head, he cursed. Aww man, I got to think of better comebacks. Or else mom will always get the best of me every time.
Mother and son padded down a small sideway form pride rock as the pride lands slowly came back to life. Fog still lay upon the grass which, in combination with the warm African sunlight, gave up a beautiful sight. It didn't take long for them to arrive at a small waterhole nearby. The young prince immediately sank his tongue into the cooling liquid and let it run through his throat. His mother watched him from the side as she rested her head on her front paws.
"I don't know what you were about to do Simba— but remember that today is the day, we are supposed to spend the day together. There are other cubs in the pride I would like you to meet." Already she knew her son so well that she could tell that he was up to no good. But today was the first day of him socializing with the other cubs. However she held some concern over the idea. Sarabi didn't have the impression that her son would have problems bonding with the others. But she held concern about what the other cubs would think of him. She remembered when Mufasa and scar met her and her friends for the first time. "Are you finished?" She then asked the golden furred cub who lifted his head and nodded.
"Yes mom!"
The day went by and soon young Simba and his mother left their den to wander of to the back side of pride rock where several lionesses lay down all carrying cubs inside their mouths and on their backs. As Simba came around the corner and spotted the scene in a few yards away from him. He felt an unpleasant feeling growing inside his stomach. He felt nervous.
And it wasn't the kind of nervousness he had when making up an excuse or a story to not make his parents to become mad at him. This was the real deal.
Oh my god, what if I end up making as total idiot out of myself? What if they don't like me? What king am I going to become if everyone hates me? It hammered through his mind. This was a feeling he was really unfamiliar with. He usually was used for being true and confident. Some might even call it cocky.
Normally, a cub was kept with its mother for the first weeks. It barely leaves the mothers side until it is safe to appear alongside the rest of the pride. For Simba—this day was today. His eyes wandered back to the group of young and adult lions that by now had locked their eyes on him and his mother. A lot of them held adored smiles on their faces, some of them even bowed a little. The young prince sat down right beside Sarabi who greeted the rest of the lionesses and introduced her son to all of them. Simba on the other hand looked around and spotted two male cubs wrestling in the distance.
That looks like fun! Well… here goes nothing! He thought and padded over to them. "Hey guys! What's up?" he greeted and asked at the same time, the two cubs stopped and now glared at the newcomer with irritated eyes.
"Hey—uhm… can we help you?" One of them replied and got back on his feet. His fur was of a dark brown, while the underside had a pale golden colour. Giving the size of him, he seemed to be at the exact same age then Simba, maybe just a few days younger.
"Yeah! The game that you two played looks interesting. I wondered if you would let me join you."
"Who are you?" A calm yet declining voice came from the side.
Simba turned around towards the other cub who answered his request. At first, he thought he was looking into a reflection of himself and gasped. But indeed, the cub he looked at could have easily been his twin brother. The facial expressions, the size the body physiques… all were the same. The only thing that set them apart was the fur. The other cubs' fur was darker in tone. Also the tuft on his head was a bit bigger then Simbas.
"The name's Simba! What's yours?" The young prince replied and lifted up his chest in pride. Sure they heard of the future king, time to impress them.
"Tojo! That's Chumvi!" The Simba look-a-like replied. His voice seemed the least not impressed by the name.
"So… can I join?"
He looked towards Chumvi and raised his eyebrows. "Sorry! This is only a game for two!" Simba let his ears hang down a bit and his mouth drop open a little.
"Come on guys! It will go easy on you. After all… I am the future KING!" He said with a cocky smile and lifted up his muzzle with closed eyes.
The one called Chumvi just rolled his eyes with a small annoyance and went two steps forward. "We got who you are. Don't think that this would impress me. Just because you think you will be king doesn't mean that we have to let you play with us." He snapped back.
In just a few seconds, Simbas heart dropped from his chest into his knees. Great! Playing the future king card was such a good idea. Simba suddenly came to realization that being of royal birth didn't mean to burst it out to everyone. He led his head hang for a bid… but he quickly realized. I got to recover from this one. "Sorry guys. I didn't mean to upset you or anything. Look—uhm… maybe we can play next time around." He forced a smile to make up to the two cubs.
"Next time, try to be more polite that time." Chumvi replied.
The prince turned away from them and walked on a slight bit defeated. This was the exact same thing, he was being afraid of. Those two cubs were not going to be friends with him forever. Next time I talk to some, I better keep my mouth shut and…
SMACK!
Simba tumbled and fell over to the front. His muzzle kissing the dirt on the ground. He must have been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realized he was bumping into something, or someone.
"Hey! Can't you watch where you're going?" A female voice called out to him.
Goody, the next good first impression! Simba got back to his feet and felt someone moving under him. He turned and his breath stopped immediately. He looked directly in a pair of aqua coloured eyes that belonged to a cream furred female