Zira

I woke with a start when Scar stormed in. He was in one of his moods again. What was it this time? Scar had been king of pride rock for many years but Pride Rock had deteriorated to a near wasteland. Every year he tried and failed to keep it at bay, but the hyenas had scared away the other animals, and the circle of life had slowly halted.

"Why did I ever go there!" He muttered to himself. He swatted a rock hard against the cave wall out of anger. I flexed my paws, unlocking each joint, and slowly got to my feet. Scar's tail flicked and he turned around. His beautiful green eyes met my own. Misery and regret filled his every feature.

"Zira, I need to talk to you" His normally warm and loving face had been replaced with one of agony. He looked like a completely different lion to the one I knew.

"Scar, what's the matter?" I spoke softly to him.

"Just come" He stalked out of the cave mouth. I stretched my swollen belly and followed his pain filled steps. The tiny bundle in my stomach kicked out in protest as I moved my pregnant body outside. He led me up the path to the top of Pride Rock and motioned to the land below. I hadn't left the cave for a week and the sight that had met my eyes had made me gasp. How had this happened?!

The sky had turned a cold iron grey, as had the earth. Every towering green tree I had once known had shrivelled up and died. The rivers had turned from the once beautiful cascades to a dirty brown trickle. No animals roamed the empty plains, only bones of others. Vultures circled ahead and lionesses roamed aimlessly, searching for any kinds of scraps and Hyena's cackled as they chased a young cub around a sandy hollow. This is not the place I had once known.

"It's all my fault Zira" He spoke softly as he looked out over his kingdom.

"Scar, you can't blame yourself for this. We all knew this would be a hard summer before you came into power, nothing you have done can be too blame" I said reassuringly.

"Yes I can, it is my fault Zira, I didn't mean for this to happen, I-I thought I was doing the right...but I was wrong...so wrong" He hung his brown head in shame

"Scar, what are you talking about?" I asked. With sunken eyes he turned his back and stalked off toward a deep hole in the rocky wall. I padded after him patiently. He sat facing away from me as if he couldn't bear look at me. I deliberately placed myself at his side and sunk to my paws.

"Please tell me what's wrong Scar" I nuzzled into his side. He let out a long sigh then looked at me.

"When I was a cub, I was always over shadowed by my brother. He stole everything from me, food, water, attention, everything. That's why I was so skinny and scrawny while he grew stronger by the day.

"One day I decided to prove myself... I went out to the Elephant Graveyard, a place so dangerous even my father, the king, didn't dare go. In my mind, it was perfect. I thought if I showed that I was braver then Mufasa, they would crown me next in line, or show me more respect at least. When I got there I saw the thing the other lions feared. A rouge lion called Jikel live there lived amongst the bodies of the dead. Jikel had been exiled from the pride after his mate had kitted. The cubs were not his own, so he killed them...and her. My father had banished him to the outlands, in rage Jikel attacked one of the male lions and fled. He's probably still out there somewhere if we looked. Jikel had sworn revenge on my father and swore to do whatever it takes to destroy him...He saw me." I stood there, transfixed to the story; I could not believe what I was hearing.

"I ran, but he was faster, I jumped, he jumped further. Everything I did he stopped me. Eventually he had me cornered. Jikel clawed me with what felt like the strength of twenty lions. He got me right in the eye" Scar nodded to the jagged pink mark that ran across his left eye.

"I had lost so much blood fighting him, I fell. He snarled and drew in for the kill. I knew I was done for. All I could think of was if anyone would even care when I was gone. He let out a triumphant growl and was about to finish me when a loud bark echoed across the clearing. Three hyenas leaped from the hangover above me and attacked him with as much force they could muster. I somehow found the strength to get back up and crawl away. I could feel myself about to collapse so I hid in one of the grey bones. The smell of blood would have lead the lion straight to me, but I couldn't think. The sounds of the fighting had stopped; I could hear paw steps coming from within the mist. I didn't know if the hyenas had won or if Jikel would burst from the fog to finish what he started. When it was the Hyenas that came back I wasn't sure whether to be thankful or just as afraid. The biggest one demanded to know why I was on their territory. I told them who I was and they were very interested in me when they found out I was the king's son. They made a proposition; if I supplied them with food they'll do something for me in return. I agreed. When I returned to Pride Rock my father was worried about me, but he didn't crown me of course, and Mufasa didn't even care I almost died, he thought I had just gone to the Water Hole and was making it all up. He thought I had got the scar from tripping to close to a rock near the water.

"So every couple of days I would go to the Graveyard and give them food, eventually they grew old and asked if instead I would bring the food to their sons. It seemed reasonable enough so I did. This went on far into the rule of my brother, but it wasn't until...Simba was born that they thought of something. They wanted me to convince Simba to go to the graveyard in the hopes to lure Mufasa to them. They thought if they killed the two of them I would be crowned king and would get them into Pride Rock. They wanted to be equal with the lions and rule alongside us. Earlier that day Mufasa and I had a massive fight and I was so full of hate at the time, I agreed." I could see the regret in his eyes as he spoke. I was too stunned to move.

"So I told Simba that there is a place where only the bravest lions go and if he went he would be the bravest of all the pride. So he went there , what I wasn't expecting was he brought his little friends Nala and Zazu. The Hyenas had cornered the three of them in the same place I was attacked all those years ago and tried to kill them. They would have succeeded to if Mufasa hadn't of showed up. They tried to kill him but they all got away. Still filled with spite, I devised a new plan... a plan I regret to this day. The Hyenas would startle a large herd that dwelled above the gorge and I would get Simba to practice his 'growl' down the bottom of the gorge. He would growl and the stamped would start. Simba will think he stated it and run. I would get Mufasa and go the gorge and rescue him... It worked.

"Simba hung to a tree and Mufasa leapt to save him. He got Simba onto a small rock wall; he himself had to climb onto another rock face... I...I waited at the top of the wall...he saw me...I was just so full of hate...I...I" Scar voice faltered. I looked at his face and saw a glistening tear roll down his scar and drop to the floor. I nuzzled him again as another tear spilled down his face.

"He begged me to help him... and I mocked him. I grabbed his paws and whispered to him... 'Long live the king' and I...I...threw him to his doom...the herd trampled him to death "I couldn't speak. Even if I could what would I even say?

"I prowled down to inspect and heard the sound I will never forget until the day I die. It was Simba. He was crying, begging his father to wake up. At the time I thought nothing of it but now it haunts me and will always haunt me. I came around the corner and watched as Simba gently shook Mufasa's body, begging him to get up... I felt nothing...Then he started screaming for help. Desperate he ran around pleading for somebody, anybody to help. That's when he realised. He just sat there and cried. That's when I came in. With no mercy what so ever I told him the king was dead...and it was all his fault. He asked me what to do, I told him to run, and never return. And he did. He ran as fast as any cub could go. The hyena's appeared at my side. Feeling nothing I told them to kill him. I told them to kill an innocent cub. And they did it. They dove into the gorge and chased him into a thicket. After a while they returned and told me they had done it." Scar collapsed shaking onto the floor. I wanted to comfort him, but I felt like I hardly knew him anymore.

"I returned to pride rock with the body of Mufasa to claim my reward. I was king. I lied to you all, told you it was an accident, and released those mutts on you" He spat the last words.

"Those filthy creatures I let loose upon this land, our land, have destroyed it. They've eaten everything, the animals left alive have fled. The plants have died because of the hyenas waste mixed with the fact there's no rain" He shook angrily.

"I single handedly broke the circle of life!" Scar's claws raked the stone beneath him. I began to lick his ear soothingly. My tongue rasped over his soft fur, running over the placed he had not groomed in weeks.

"I...killed my brother" His voice caught in his thought as more tears spilled over his cheeks.

"I'm sure he knows it's not your fault, if it weren't for those damn hyena's you wouldn't have done it" I tried to reassure him but my words were falling on deaf ears.

"I hated him, but I never wanted him to die like that. I'm a monster. If Mufasa were still here the pride lands would be thriving. Being king just wasn't worth it"

"If you didn't owe that debt to those mutts you would have been the greatest king this land would have ever known. You would have been ten times the king Mufasa was. Scar, you tried to do the right thing by letting the hyenas live here, they have just abused their rights, now it's time to be a king and realise what needs to be done" He sat there and blinked at me.

"When did you become so wise Zira?" He pressed his body into mine. A tiny kick from inside my belly startled us both. A tiny little paw was just visible through my stomach. Scar's face softened back to the loving gaze of the lion I loved as he nuzzled my belly.

"What shall we call it?" I asked him. He thought hard for a second.

"If it's a boy...Kovu" Scar decided.

"What if it's a girl?"

"...You decide" His green eyes glittered. I stretched before slowly clambering to my feet. Scar looked like an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he lead me back to the nursery. As I stepped through the mouth of the cave a loud annoyed yowl echoed across the landscape. Anger flare in Scar's eyes before he returned his gaze to mine.

"I've must go, I have business to take care of" He licked me between the eyes than stalked out of the nursery. I watched him go before settling myself down in my nest. Vitanni stirred as I sighed and began to mew hungrily. I nosed her over to my belly and began to think hard. I had always assumed Simba's death had been an accident, I never thought anyone could be cruel enough to deliberately harm a cub, but now my own mate is directly responsible for the death of a cub. Not just any cub, his own kin even. My emotions were scattered. How could I be in love with a lion that killed his own family just to be king? Vitanni kneaded my soft stomach hungrily, the tiny tan cub no bigger than my paw. I smiled at the little bundle. Nuka lay snoring in the corner of the cave, he had just grown old enough to leave the cave yet stayed here most days to keep me company. His grey pelt nearly blended in with the rock behind him. No matter what happens, Scar is still theses cubs' father and still my mate. I will always love him even if he has a dark past. I lay back down and was nearly asleep again when an angry yowl echoed across the pride lands. Was that Scar?