Disclaimer: I do not own the Lion King. This brilliant masterpiece was created by Disney. I just own the plot of this particular fanfiction.
In the once great Pridelands, a lioness nervously paced as her mind raced to find a solution to her problems.
Nala had left the Pridelands with the permission of King Scar. To the king and the hyenas that kept the pride in check, a lioness leaving on the claim that she was going out to find more prey was all too common after King Mufasa's death.
Her true mission had been much more important. Sarabi and the elder lionesses had charged her with finding a male lion to take on Scar and end his tyranical rule. Nala had found many males, but all had refused to fight a challenging opponent with only a few rapidly aging lionesses and a barren territory as a prize.
That was the main problem with finding a challenger. Most male lions were able to overlook the uninhabitable condition of the Pridelands on the promise of finding a more livable area. What most male lions didn't want to have a pride consisting of old females beyond their prime with very few young lionesses.
After a hard journey Nala had been able to find a male. Simba had somehow survived the stampede that had presumably killed him and King Mufasa, making Scar the next in line as king. He was young, strong, and appeared to care about his pride; the perfect replacement for his mad uncle.
What Nala hadn't counted on was that Simba had failed to grow up. The young male had refused to leave the sanctuary of his new jungle home, even if it meant sentencing his pride to a slow death at the paws of Scar.
I thought he would be the next king, Nala thought sadly. I thought he would live up to his destiny and be mature enough to take his rightful place.
Now there wasn't even any hope of going out again to find another male. After the one night she had spent with Simba, Nala had been returning back to the Pridelands with company. She was pregnant with his cubs and would soon be unable to leave the Pridelands without damaging her litter.
As the only lioness able to travel hard and fast around the land in search of a male lion, all hope would be lost until her cubs had grown enough to be left on their own.
Don't think of that now,Nala scolded herself, focus on the cubs.
It wouldn't take long for her pregnancy to be known to the rest of the pride. After that it wouldn't take Scar long to guess the true purpose to her frequent long-distance hunts that rarely turned up any food.
Nala's only hope lay in Scar's disturbing infatuation for her. The king wasn't satisfied with Queen Zira and only kept her as his mate because she had given birth to Nuka, his only heir. When Nala returned from her failed mission she discovered that Zira's second pregnancy had resulted in twin cubs, Kovu and Vitani. These cubs weren't Scar's children, but rather those of an unnamed rogue that had been lurking at the border of the Pridelands several weeks prior.
Scar had nearly killed Zira in his terrible fit of rage, leaving her bruised and bloodied upon the floor. Queen Zira had only been allowed to live because of Nuka and both Kovu and Vitani were lucky that the king had taken mercy on their innocent souls and had adopted them as his own.
Zira and her youngest litter were lucky that Nuka was the future king.
Future king.
Nala stopped her agitated pacing and laughed quietly to herself.
That was the answer!
Perhaps, if she was blessed enough, one of the cubs she gave birth to would be male. Who could be a better ruler of the Pridelands? Her son would be a direct descendant of King Mufasa and Prince Simba, the true heir to the throne.
Yes, Nala thought, Simba has saved the Pridelands. Just not in the way he expects.
Armed with a new plan to take down Scar, the light gold lioness set off at a brisk pace back to Priderock. Now was the perfect moment to put the first stage of her scheme into action.
Scar watched coldly as Zira cleaned Kovu and Vitani. Her blind devotion in her mate had been stricken in that fit of rage, but the queen found excursions for her mate and blamed it on herself for her injuries. She shouldn't have gone off with that rogue anyways. Maybe then she could have given her king a healthy litter of cubs that were truly his.
Nuka hung around the entrance to the den, bored out of his mind but not daring to complain. After watching his father hit Zira that way drained any desire to whine about being the only cub in the Pridelands, save for his new half-brother and half-sister.
"Nuka." The small cub jumped as his father's harsh voice rang through the uncomfortable silence of the den. "Come here."
Nuka gulped and fearfully padded up to Scar, his eyes trained on his paws to avoid that piercing bright green stare. "Yes, father?"
"Don't answer to me in such a fearful way," the older lion snapped, glaring at his son. "If you are to be future king you need to be cold and ruthless. Weakness in a king leads to challenges from other males, which results in your downfall. How old are you?"
"Six months, father." Nuka, although he quivered in fear, managed to return his father's sharp gaze.
Scar drew back, satisified. "Six months," he mused, "old enough for a lion to go on his first hunt."
Nuka's ears perked up, eager to do anything to please his father and prove himself the rightful heir to the throne. "Really?"
"Of course." Scar turned to Zira. "Do you think our son is ready?"
The queen purred, pleased that her mate had gotten over the betrayal she so regretted now. "Of course, Scar. After all, Nuka has his father's strength."
Scar nodded, oblivious to the lioness' fanatic obsession with him. "Good. Come Nuka, you will be hunting with the lionesses, supervised by the hyenas, of course."
Nuka swallowed nervously. "Hyenas?"
"Do you really expect that the future king would go out with only a few ragged old cats to protect him from harm? The hyenas will make sure nothing happens to you." Scar's eyes flickered as he looked out into the overcast skies overhead.
Some of the lionesses weren't happy with his rule. As king he tried hard to make sure that all of his subjects were happy. But he was only mortal, and even kings made some mistakes.
Several of the older lionesses that couldn't let go of the past viewed Scar's faults as madness and there was talk of an usurpation among those who loyally and rightfully followed the one true king. It was better to make sure hyenas were out there on that hunting trip to protect his only heir; who knew what those lionesses would do to his only biological son if he was left unprotected.
Scar waited for Nuka to leave Priderock in the company of several lionesses carefully flanked by Banzai, Shenzi, and Ed. These hyenas, although slightly dim-witted, would kill to protect their future king.
King Scar waited for the hunting party to leave before he began to prowl after them, intent on shadowing the group to see if his son wasn't as big a disappointment as he appeared to be.
"Scar." The dark lion growled in his throat and turned around, coming face to face with Nala.
Even he had to admit, the young daughter of Sarafina had really grown since he had come to power. Her pale gold fur shone even in the murky sunlight that filtered in from the overcast skies overhead and her once scrawny form had become lean and lithe. She was indeed the most beautiful lioness in the pride.
Scar nodded firmly. "Nala." He had tried to seduce the lioness before and that had resulted in a firm rejection and a large slash across the face. Never again would his lust for her cloud his judgement, however irresistible she was.
"I had a lot of time to think when I was out hunting," Nala purred, slipping in close to the king, her golden form wrapping around his body. "And I've come to a decision."
"Oh?" Scar's eyebrows rose in interest. He grinned smugly, running his tongue over her cheek, not noticing her slight shudder at his touch. "What have you decided?"
"That I was a fool to resist you, to reject you. Zira was a fool when she cheated on you." Nala leaned her muzzle in close and whispered in the lion's ear, "I think it's time you properly punished that slattern and gave her a taste of her own medicine."
Scar purred wickedly as both lions retreated to the privacy of a small dark cave off at the back of Priderock. King Scar, so caught up in his lust, didn't see the victorious gleam in Nala's eye as he played right into her trap.
Nala nuzzled her two newborn cubs, silently wishing that their father could be here by her side. If this had turned out the way she wanted it to it would be Simba at her side and not Scar, and she would be a queen, not the mother of the King's 'illegitimate cubs.'
"One moment Nala," Scar licked her ear with all the lust he had displayed that nightmaric hour she had laid her trap, "I must attend to Zira."
The dark lion padded past Rafiki, paying the baboon no heed as he reluctantly left the two cubs that he considered his 'true heirs.'
Nala sighed in relief and watched her two cubs in peace, praying that this cub would be the saviour of the Pridelands.
Kiara was the younger twin. Her golden fur was a perfect mixture of her parents' colors; her coloring almost uncanny to Prince Simba's but slightly lighter. Her amber eyes were closed as she slumbered peacefully, unaware of the hidden dangers that lurked just outside the den.
Her elder brother moved fitfully in his sleep; perhaps having nightmares of the important part he was going to play in the circle of life one day. For now he just an innocent cub. He was the same deep gold as his father with Nala's extremely pale underparts with his mother's blue eyes and a minuscule tuft of brown fur on his head.
"Congratulations on the new cubs, Nala," Rafiki said in his strange acent as he packed up his belongings. Somehow he knew that he lioness was about to give birth and had magically arrived just as Nala had gone into labour. "Old Rafiki knows that the new prince and princess will grow up healthy and strong."
"Thank you, Rafiki." A ghost a smile flashed across her face. "You can always ask what their names are if you're that curious."
"All right den," the baboon leaned forward, squinting slightly. Those two cubs were beginning to look remarkably similar to another cub he had helped deliver so long ago, in another life. "What are da names of the new prince and princess? Old Rafiki is indeed curious."
Nala nuzzled the female cub. "Her name is Kiara, after my mother's mother. And our little prince over here," she paused to lick the male cub's tiny tuft of brown fur, "is Kosa."
"Kosa, eh?" A tentative beam of sunlight broke through the thick clouds at that very moment, shining down on the two cubs. Kosa's small tuft of brown fur lit up in the sunlight, turning a soft muted red, like King Mufasa's mane. The old baboon leaned back with a slight chuckle. "It fits the true future king."
With a mischievous wink Rafiki bounded away into the Pridelands, chanting softly to himself in his peculiar language.
"Kiara and Kosa," Nala repeated the names tenderly, each cub wriggling slightly in their sleep in response to their separate names. "Sleep tightly my two."