You Never Know.

Prologue.

I anticipated some sort of change in the Pridelands today.

There'd be no more suffering- no hunger, death or hard labour for me and the lionesses. Instead, the land would flourish with lush grass and boast the many herds we'd earned, like so long ago. I knew things would be different, but in a good way. I don't even know how I did it; after all, I wasn't born with the stubborn trait for nothing. My mulish persistence had held off long enough for Simba to reconsider his choice. He had to.

The contentment wasn't relative at all. No other lion would understand the hard times here at Pride Rock- no other pride knew the reality of dragging one of your own back from a usual hunt. And it was something that began recurring. Both Kula and Chumvi's mothers had perished in Scar's reign of terror. Although, as much as I hate to say it, death was the best option for them. They'd suffered far too much during this period, and it was time they were given a break. Unfortunately, this wasn't a short break... It was a permanent. An enduring slumber that led them off the narrow path of life and towards freedom.

Their deaths were a tragic reality, and weren't overlooked. We were all still suffering when my determination had edged me to the point where I left to seek help, but we knew that we had to put their deaths aside in order to move on and make sure that nobody else would subside.

And that was when I had made the best decision I could have possibly made. To leave. Mufasa had granted our wishes in finding some source of help; I had pursued Simba, the deceased prince, during my hunt in the Kusisimua jungle. At that point, I had crossed the Outlands. I was in unfamiliar territory, and warthogs seemed to be the only source of food in that petit kingdom. All it took was a stare for me to recognise my own cubhood friend before my eyes. He was alive!

I had encountered him only to find out that he wasn't planning on returning to the Pridelands- which was still decaying at Scar's own two paws. My patience was, somehow, robust. And now we were home.

Currently, Simba was staring out into the open expanse of the Pridelands. I could see the hurt and fear in his eyes. He was afraid to return home, nobody knew why. But I couldn't blame him for fearing what he had seen with his own two amber orbs.

The lands were harshly desaturated, life ripped right from it. There were no herds like there used to be, no prancing zebra or wildebeest. Not even any leopards or cheetahs of such. Even the buffalo had migrated away from the area, and they wouldn't return whilst the lands were like this. Dry season or not. The gorge was still very visible from where we stood, it still brought back so many despondent memories. Mufasa's death... It was where Malka nearly died during his escape from Scar's hyenas.

There wasn't much in the Pridelands to admire anymore. Only rocks dominated the territory. The Pridelands were dead.

From the little promontory we were standing on, we could see the several hyenas who'd promised their loyalty to Scar. They acted as if they were in debt to him! Nobody was in debt to Scar. Not ever. Although he was the late king's brother, it was his cause life had been drained from the Pridelands. It wasn't even a day after his brother's death, and he had assumed the throne and ordered the hyenas live in the kingdom. I didn't know who were more bossy; the hyenas or Scar. It was hard to negotiate.

Simba's words had earned my full attention at that moment. He curled his lips, licking them. He didn't even look at me, or anything. The flaxen lion had only managed to close his eyes and look down in shame as if he had turned the kingdom into a living hell. And whatever he was going to say, he hesitated at saying it. "H-how long... How much did I miss?"

I stared sadly at him, before shifting my paws in some sort of discomfort. This wasn't a topic I particularly enjoyed talking about- but the kingdom's condition needed to be spoken about in order to be fixed.

"You missed a lot actually," I told him honestly, in order for him to see the severity of the situation. "Some of the lionesses have either died or left, while the rest of us are tightly strapped under Scar's control. There was no other way out than to bring you back."

Simba sulked. "I'm sorry." was all he could stutter out at that moment. "I'm so sorry, Nala. But I'm going to try and change things."

I simpered at his determination, before proceeding to nuzzle him hardheartedly. He nuzzled me back even harder. We both, as observers of the kingdom's state, knew that a battle with Scar and his hyena's was suicide. But what choice did we have? Scar had to step down, before something even worse happened.

We didn't even give each other a proper lover's nuzzle, before Simba's two companions, Timon and Pumbaa, had tail licked us again. Obviously, I was very thankful that they had saved our prince. Elated, and more joyful than any other lioness in the world- my teal eyes said it. However, there were many occasions where the two would not even give us a moment of privacy. It was Simba who'd have to send them away.

And not to mention, they'd slow us both down. We had enough weight on our shoulders as it was, and their sarcasm and obliviousness sometimes irked me. But they were Simba's friends after all, and he'd keep them with him even if the whole pride disliked them. They all stuck together like fleas on a hyena.

"Timon, Pumbaa," Simba happily addressed, ceasing our tender moment and devoting his full attention to them, "What are you doing here?"

The modest meerkat smirked, folding his arms as he slid off of the warthog's snout."Aw, Simba! You didn't really think we'd leave ya' out here on your own did ya'?"

"Well, I guess I don't exist," I mumbled sarcastically, loud enough for all of them to hear. To my dismay, Simba only chuckled.

Timon quickly ended the brief conversation, by stumbling over out feet towards the end of the promontory. He squinted as he stared out towards the horizon, and I had noticed that Pride Rock seemed to have caught his eye. In fact, his eyes merely widened at the spacious kopje. Clearly, Timon was impressed by how large it was. But at the same time, he was disappointed at how ugly the land had become. And I couldn't blame him. Of course he'd dislike it, especially if this was his first time reviewing the kingdom with his own two orbs.

"We're gonna fight your uncle," he began, as to what me and Simba both recognised as another complain- for the fifth time in a row today, "for this? This is-!"

"Yes, Timon. This is my home." the male lion replied with some sort of hope that his friends would remain and support his usurp of Scar.

I couldn't blame him for wanting extra help, we needed all the help we could get even with the lionesses' help. But what of help were a lazy, dumbfounded warthog who had no clue as to what was going on, and an arrogant puny meerkat who couldn't even verse a bird? Once again, I found myself rolling my eyes. At this point, I wanted to die of both laughter and irritation. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Talk about a fixer'upper..."

"No worries, Simba," Pumbaa spoke up, automatically including himself in the conversation. "We're with ya, to the end!"

The trio embraced right then and there, and somehow I couldn't help but allow a little smirk to escape from my muzzle. They were so willing to help each other, it reminded me of how close my relationship had grown with the other lionesses. We had grown go stick together during the times of downfall, even the ones that hadn't spoken had been forced harshly to stick together from what life had decided to throw at us.

The three were inseparatable, and that was something I yearned to have; an unbreakable bond that lead us through whatever. Right now, the only thing the Pridelands yearned was freedom- they were absolutely desperate to even have a taste of not being barged by the clans, lobbed onto the ground once Scar had made his orders. And I'd never forget what Scar had done to me.

He scarred me, and I wasn't willing to tell Simba. But I knew, soon enough, that I'd have to.

I didn't want to cease the affection between the three, because I knew how irritating it was. Though we had to get moving. Ever second wasted, the Pridelands were eroding more and more life away. The lionesses at Pride Rock... tortured.

"We have to get going," I egged them, spinning my body around so that I faced the immense kopje that had roomed the Pridelands' horizon. "The Pridelands is dying every second we waste here."

I didn't even wait for them to react; I simply darted from the promontory we were standing on, and writhed my way down towards the ground. There was no time for arguing, and my sauntering had indicated we were going right now. The Pridelands weren't a joke, and Simba didn't have much time left if he wanted to get Scar alone. His hyenas were usually aligned by sunset, and he'd have their support if Simba hadn't managed to usurp him before then.

My taking off had worked- they were all following me now. It wasn't a surprise, I had learned so much from the adults here during my lukewarm cubhood in the Pridelands. And the incorporation from that was almost essential at this point. I was lucky to be able to remember such brief moments.

We stalked on through the dead grass, pressing ourselves behind rocks and boulders whenever the growling and cackling of the hyenas were heard. Most of them were leaving to go on patrol, but it wasn't needed. We had already gotten into the Pridelands, and no other animal dare to crawl in here again.

Finally, we trespassed and writhed past several hyenas that seemed to be snoring away or were just distracted. As we neared closer and closer, both Simba and I knew that this was the correct moment to plan a strategy. If we crossed at this point on without a plan, we'd miserably fail. There were still more hyenas to get through, and Scar still had backup.

"I hate hyenas..." Timon sounded as if he wanted to hurl. Clamping the log we had hidden behind, he stared at Simba with some sort of hope that we'd just turn around. It was clear in his eyes. Although, as much as I hated to burst his bubble, we weren't turning back. There was no turning back. We'd gone too far to just leave. The decision was final.

"So what's your plan for gettin' past those guys?" he inquired, whispering forcefully into Simba's ear. I was surprised the hyenas were so oblivious to Timon's obnoxious whispering.

"Live bait," was all Simba replied. He stared at both Timon and the slumbering hyenas before us. I immediately understood what he'd meant, and so did Timon...reluctantly.

Once he had realised, Timon promptly frowned at his companion. "Good idea!- ...Hey...!"

"Come on, Timon. You guys have to create a diversion." I was glad Simba was actually making an effort in attempt to overthrow Scar. I merely smiled at him, and he smiled back. I really wanted to nuzzle him at this point, just to show him how proud he made me. But I couldn't, there was no time. We could nuzzle all we wanted once we had the Pridelands back again.

"What do you want me to do, dress in drag and do the hula?" For a moment, I thought he was being sarcastic. Turned out he wasn't. Simba ordered both him and Timon to do exactly what the meerkat had suggested, whilst him and I crept on.

We managed to creep past some more hyenas, until the point where we'd come towards a ledge. Below, Scar's hyenas were aligned in a line like they were every sunset, ready for orders. At the top of the kopje, Scar was lazily hunched on his haunches, his emerald eyes expressing a sort of discontent. I had always known that he was unhappy because of food. He'd probably call the lionesses any moment now.

Simba stared at Scar with rage. And I was glad he saw Scar that way. The king brother had completely torn the kingdom's peace and happiness, as well as its perfect ongoing system. He replaced it all with hyenas and hard labour, as well as a bossy king- himself. Slowly, I craned my head once more to view my betrothed, who was still very focused on Scar. Perhaps he was working out on what to do next.

I'd do anything I could to help, but it'd be Simba who'd be leading this. It was his rightful kingdom after all.

"Nala," he called, his voice as gentle as a newborn cub. I was already looking at him, so all I did was blink. He finally turned to look at me. "You find my mother and rally the lionesses. I'll look for Scar."

I was so keen on following his instructions. I simply nodded, and began to inch down the small ledge towards where I anticipated the lionesses would be. By now, they would've returned from their hunt and be reposing in the den. Surely, Scar'd have sent a hyena or two to guard the small hideout, but I was strong enough to take just a hyena or two. I wasn't a weak lioness, and my mother had always prepared me for occasions such as these; she'd been a rogue after all.

After several moments, I approached the minuscule cave, congested with eight or so lionesses. And I was right. Scar had obviously been intelligent enough to place three hyenas there in front of the cave's entrance, but he was stupid enough to realise that the hyenas could be overthrown any moment by the lionesses. But, knowing them, they probably knew that this action would only result in punishment, and they wouldn't win anything by killing three hyenas.

Perhaps if I had made my presence clear, they'd come out and help me remove the hyenas from this area. Of course they'd flee back and tell Scar everything; they were cowards. But by then, Simba would have everything under control. We had to get there as soon as possible in order to support Simba though.

After another couple of moments, I ambled past the hyenas in a dignified manner. And they did seem to notice me, as planned.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Wait a sec," one of the hyenas barked in a confused tone. "How'd you get out? Scar only fetched that rimmed-ear lioness! Get back in here girly!"

I turned around to meet them. Maybe I could drag this on from here- they thought I belonged in the den with the others, and so I'd let them drag me in. At least I could speak to them, and we could plan another strategy from there.

"Oh, I-I...I'm sorry! I shouldn't have come out," I sulked, putting on an act. I edged closer towards them, and one of the three stepped back. Clearly, he was afraid of me. And I wasn't surprised. If they thought I had the strength to sneak out, and I did, they probably thought I had the strength and skill to do much more. But I wouldn't do anything just yet. "I should go back in, that's where I belong..."

"Nala?"

The voice was undoubtedly feminine. I had to squint, in order to make out who the khaki-beige lioness was. It was my mother of course, we were the only two who had teal eyes in the entire pride. But at the same time, she was quite unrecognisable. So...malnourished and numb. Her eyes seemed more tired than ever, and her voice was laced with exhaustion too. I was beginning to wonder if they even had the strength to fight Scar's dozen hyenas.

Once the hyena gaped back at her, I immediately realised that what she ha done was a mistake. It'd ruin the whole plan.

"Oh, Nala, you're back! Did you find hel-" She didn't even get to finish her sentence, and the hyenas were already barging her in.

"Wait a sec," Banzai, the male hyena, repeated, "What do you mean back? Ed, what's she talkin' about?"

Banzai was far too much of an imbecile to interpret what had just occurred. Ed was worse. Quickly, I covered up my mother's mistake.

"N-nothing! You see, I went to visit king Scar..." I hated to call the lion a king, because he wasn't. It left a foul distaste on my tongue. "He called me, and I kind of left without notice. I'm sorry, mother. I'm back now."

Fortunately, the older lioness had gotten the message. She nodded frantically, tears beginning to lope her orbs. "Yes, yes," she agreed, embracing me as we continued to be shoved into the small den. "Don't ever leave like that again!"

We had entered the den together, and the hyenas were still outside, conversing about who knew what. From the jolly gaze on my maw, my mother could tell that something great had occurred. The other lionesses seemed to notice too, and we gathered together in a corner. Kula and Tama approached us all too, and stood on the outside of the circle.

I beamed uncontrollably as I finally explained everything. "I've returned, finally," I told them. "And I haven't returned alone..."

"You found help?" a dark-coated lioness, who appeared to be the queen's sister and Simba's aunt, asked with some uncertainty. But I could also hear the hesitant excitement in her voice.

I smiled back at her warmly. "Yes, and not just any help," I elaborated. "Simba's alive, and here."

Like dominoes, the lionesses seemed to be knocked over by disbelief. All of them were jawdropped and tear-stained; they were glad and elated that the prince was alive, but also slightly confused and worried. I knew they were all desperate for help, and they'd believe they had help if I told them. But they remembered the incident with Malka and decided to double-check first.

Kula moved closer towards me with Tama, their eyes widened. "S-Simba? Alive?" Kula stuttered, unable to find any words to react. "But that's impossible! How'd you know it's him?!"

"He recognised me first," Suddenly, I remembered my main mission. I had gotten so caught up in explaining everything, and there wasn't much time left. We had to leave right then and there, or the plan wouldn't work. "But that's why we need to hurry and help him take over the Pridelands and restore balance again. If we don't help him now, Scar may very well kill him and we'll have to go through hell again."

"What if we die too?" Behind me, a younger male version of myself stood out. It was my younger brother Mheetu, except he was sired by Scar. He looked nothing like the tyrant, thankfully. He resembled mostly me and my mother during times of fear.

My mother leaned down and pulled him close to her foreleg. "Don't worry, Mheetu. Nothing's going to happen to you, or anyone else. We'll make it through this together now that Simba's back." She turned to the rest of the lionesses and put on a serious frown. "Everyone, let's head out. We've got to help Simba."

"What about the hyenas?"

"We can take on a couple of hyenas," Kula pointed out, a strong expression of determination stitched to her face. "Particularly these."

And she was right. In less than two minutes, the three hyenas that guarded the den were beaten- it was only Banzai and Ed that had managed to escape back to Scar, abandoning the other male hyena that lay on his back, yelping in agony. We all trailed towards where Scar had been standing before.

I could see Simba's visible, crimson mane that stood out from afar. He seemed to be doing a great job at looming over Scar to the point where he'd cowered in a corner. A few inches away, Sarabi lay hurt. Scar probably smacked her, and Simba came to her defense. I was glad I wouldn't have any more explaining to do- she now knew that her only son was alive.

My mother had decided it wasn't safe to involve Mheetu in the center of many hyenas and lions. A fight could break out- and I knew it would, if we were going to exile Scar from his own kingdom. So, together, Tama and Kula led Mheetu back towards the den where the lionesses had taken haven. My mother and I rallied the lionesses onwards and we crept up the slope to where Simba had now gotten Scar in a corner.

"...But they think I'm king," Scar finished in a rather nervous tone once we had safely reached the area. For the first time, Scar actually felt fear. Fear of his own nephew, who was supposed to be dead. He still tried, though, to keep his place. But that wasn't happening. I decided to intervene.

"Well we don't," I reminded him firmly. Both he and Simba noted my rage at that point, but I managed to restrain myself from starting anything so serious yet. "Simba's the rightful king."

The conversation escalated from then, and Simba had begun to threaten Scar. I could see the anxiety in Sarabi's eyes as we helped her up, the once gorgeous amber eyes were now congested with exhaustion and worry. She was worried about losing her only son, and no lioness could disagree with the need for her to feel so. She had lost both her son, who was very young at the time, and her mate who was apparently still dead. Then, the poor lioness had to outwit the horrors of Scar's reign. We'd win the kingdom back, and she'd be safe. And happy. I could promise her that. Our plan seemed to be going along well.

"The choice is yours, Scar," said the true king solemnly. "Either step down or a fight."

"Oh, now Simba..." Scar's tone had always sent shivers down my spine. But this time it was different. I was a little braver since I had the support of so many, but I knew that Scar had gotten both worse and stronger over time. The fight still wasn't balanced; many hyenas were perched up on some small ledges above us as we spoke. The tension was leisurely building once Scar had begun to circle Simba.

"Must it all end in violence?" the old lion inquired in what I had realised as a faked, forced tragic tone. Simba had to reply, he had to do something! Scar was manipulating him once again- like he had years ago. "I'd hate to be responsible for the death of a family member...wouldn't you agree Simba?"

I had understood every from what he had said until it had reached this point. He was talking complete nonsense, and involving irrelevant topics. As the brown, haggard male slinked past me and Sarabi, we couldn't help but shoot glares at him despite our confusion. I suddenly looked to Simba for an explanation or some sort of counter argument.

"That's not gonna work, Scar- I've put it behind me."

"And what about your faithful subjects, have they put it behind them?" Scar approached us again, staring particularly at me and Sarabi. Obviously, there was a dark secret held between the uncle and his nephew. And since they constantly rubbed it in, I wouldn't let it slip. It was a piece of information that seemed essential in this conversation.

"Simba, what is he talking about?" I asked slowly, narrowing my eyes in confusion. What was he talking about? Simba wasn't responsible for the death of any family member.

"Ah, so you haven't told them!" the king shouted with a visible wry smirk. "Well now's your chance to tell them. Tell them who's responsible for Mufasa's death!"

That was where he'd crossed the line. He'd brang up a range of irrelevant accusations, and a range of perplexion. But nobody dared to say anything; most of the lionesses here were terrified, like I was, somewhat. However, I mostly stayed quiet because I had wanted to understand the full story, and my curiosity had driven me to the point where I'd listen to just about anything they said. What was Scar talking about? Wasn't Mufasa overrun by wildebeest? How did Simba know who was responsible for Mufasa's death?

So many questions surged through my mind at once, but I was quickly snapped out of it once I had felt something squeeze my paw. It was quite painful, a tight grip. Once I looked up, I had noticed it was Sarabi. She didn't look at me, or anyone. She only looked down, bracing herself for another attack of tears. Talking about her deceased husband wasn't easy, and I found it so irking that Scar used this to his advantage. Sarabi was, currently, more broken than any one of us, despite her son's return.

Simba stepped forward, really slowly. We all watched his every stride, and every muscle he tensed was another moment of suspense and suspicion for us. He didn't close his eyes, but his expression was a mix of nervousness, sternness and despondency. I hated seeing him like that; any lioness would hate to see their lover like that.

"I am." said he, triggering a range of emotions from the audience of lionesses. All I did was gasp, forgetting everything that Scar had just said. I only focused on the fact that Simba was responsible for his own father's death?

As I studied his face, I could feel my throat begin to choke up and twist so much that I couldn't even breathe. Some of the lionesses had decided they needed to lean on each other- the effect of the comment was too great. Scar, on the side, just snickered to himself, as if this were an amusant moment. He enjoyed every second of our pain, concern and frustration.

"It's not true," I heard Sarabi whisper to her son. She was begging him to deny the fact. How could she live with the one that had killed her mate? Her son was a killer? It was unbelievable! "Tell me it's not true..."

But Simba broke the mold. "It's true."

Then, I figured, that was why he had been so stubborn to return. He was afraid of our reactions, and from some lionesses, the reaction certainly wasn't positive. I heard Jaha, king Mufasa's cousin, shake her head and growl softly. She wasn't fond of the situation at all. I stared back at her, my eyes rimmed crimson. I couldn't say anything, I would've stuttered, and my throat weighed me down.

"You see!" Scar yelled, as a bolt of lightning struck behind him. "He admits it! Murderer!"

I didn't know how to react. I only stood, still astonished. I wanted to sob into my mother's fur, for her to tell me this way all a lie. Simba wasn't a murderer... It didn't make any sense! Simba loved Mufasa very much, how could he do such a thing?

"No! It was an accident!" Simba tried to retaliate, only giving Scar more of a reason to intimidate him.

The bony lion encircled him. "If it weren't for you Mufasa would still be alive! It's your fault he's dead! Do you deny it?"

"No."

"Then you're guilty!"

I found it quite difficult to understand how Simba admitted it just like that. No hesitation, no lies. He just spoke it out. For a moment, I began to feel sympathy for him- he'd had to cope to with telling us. He'd gotten it through his head that many times that he didn't even need to hesitate. But, on the other paw, he was a murderer. It was his fault Scar had destroyed out kingdom, and his fault why Scar had hurt me and the other lionesses.

I suddenly felt dirty; two of the lions who had assumed themselves as my mates had both done bad in their lives. But it wasn't any sort of bad. Scar had destroyed our kingdom, and forced himself onto me, which was why he became my mate. And Simba... was a murderer? I couldn't get it through to my thick head, as much as I repeated it to myself.

"No! I'm not a murderer!" Simba cried, causing some of the lionesses to gasp.

"Oh look, Simba," Scar started, edging him to the tip of the promontory with his hyenas behind him. "You're in trouble again. And this time, daddy isn't here to save you. And now... Everyone. Knows. Why!"

The red maned lion slipped, hanging from the edge. Immediately, my instincts had started to kick in- and my only desire was to charge out past Scar and his minions and save my mate; even after what he'd done. "Simba!"

The lightning was recurring now, because this was the second time it had struck. Currently, it had struck below the promontory, where Simba was about to fall, and started a wildfire that had only accentuated the disposal of any good life left here in the Pridelands.

It had taken several moments, but after Scar had whispered something into Simba's ear, he found himself pinned. It all happened so fast, but it was believable and made sense. Simba wasn't a killer, and Scar had finally decided to spill.

"I killed Mufasa."