Chapter 1: Dreams and Nightmares

A new light, a new day, another chance to spend time with the ones you love. And there was one lion that a certain someone wanted to spend time with today.

It was a particularly beautiful day today. The sun was shining, the clouds were rolling, and everything was at peace across the entire savannah. Across hundreds of miles laid fields of tall yellow grass with scattered trees here and there.

A lion was running through those fields. He had strong, subtle features, a gold pelt of fur, and a red flowing mane. The lion was being pursued by a single figure. It was a lioness. The lioness had cream-colored fur, slim, graceful features, and an expression that would take your heart away. She kept on him as they ran faster and faster, more playful than serious.

"You can't catch me, Nala," the lion shouted with joy. He moved gracefully across the grasslands as he went, taking care to not go too fast.

"Oh, I'm gonna get you, Simba. You can't outrun me," the lioness called back, laughing as she did.

They kept running but the distance between them was getting smaller as Nala sprinted to catch up with him. She had wanted to do this for a long time.

They ran and ran, happiness filling their hearts. They went up and down hills, past trees, over boulders, and across streams.

Finally, after some time, she had closed the distance and jumped right on top of his back. She fell on him and they rolled. They rolled over and over, laughing with joy as they did so, until they came to a slow stop. Simba was on top and he smiled as he looked at her he saw her beautiful blue eyes.

"You've never stopped wanting to do that, have you?" he asked. His voice sounded smooth and gentle as Nala heard her mate speak. She smiled back.

"Of course and I never will stop while you're still happy about it," she replied. After all, they had been doing that to each other since they first met as cubs.

"Well, I'm still happy, aren't I?"

"Yeah, we still are."

They stopped talking and stared into each other's eyes. Everything fell silent as they saw their mate's eyes. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity to them, their hearts filled with love that would never end.

Simba and Nala had loved each other for as long as they could remember. Growing up, they spent lots of time together apart from the other cubs. Even separated, they just couldn't stop trying to be with each other. When Simba had supposedly 'died', Nala's whole world had shattered into a million pieces. He was her best friend and they had something special.

Finally, seemingly regretting it, Simba broke the silence. "I, uh, have to go," said Simba.

Nala frowned as she heard him say this. "What? Why? Where do you have to go at a time like this?" she asked.

Simba got up and started walking away. Nala sat up and stared at him. Nala was confused. What was happening? Why did he have to go at a time like this? This was a perfect moment for just the two of them.

"I just have to go," Simba replied.

"I don't understand. Where do you have to go?" she kept asking.

"I have to," Simba replied again.

Suddenly, Nala couldn't move. "What the…?"

She tried to move but just couldn't. Her feet were stuck in their spots and no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't move. Panicking, she looked at Simba. "Simba, wait!" she shouted. He stopped, turned his head, looked at her for a second, and continued walking away.

"Simba, come back. Help!"

Simba just kept walking away. He got smaller, smaller, and smaller.

"Simba? Simba! SIMBA!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly, it started getting darker. If Nala wasn't already panicking, she sure was now. "Please," she whimpered. Then she started to cry. How could he leave her now? Why would he leave her now? Nothing made sense. It was all becoming a blur.

It got darker and darker and she was still screaming for him, her lifelong mate, her best friend.

It got it blacker and when it was almost completely black…

She heard a voice in the darkness. It was calling to her and it sounded very familiar.

"Nala, wake up. Nala!" Nala woke up with a start to find herself looking at a pair of amber eyes. She recognized that it was Simba standing over her, a look of worry on his face.

She sat up and tried to find where she was. She was lying on top of the platform where the royal family sleeps inside of Pride Rock. Below her, she saw the rest of the pride below her including Simba's friends Timon and Pumbaa. However, instead of being sound asleep, they were all stirring, waking up.

"Simba," she said, "Simba, what happened?"

"You were having a nightmare, Nala. You were screaming for me. Are you alright?"

Nala could now clearly see that her mate was worried. He loved her with all his heart and she knew he would never leave her and she would never leave him either, no matter what.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," she replied.

Nala breathed in and out, trying to steady herself. She felt something wet on the ground and looked down. A small puddle had formed and the lioness wondered how that got there.

Almost as if hearing her ask the question he said, "You were crying and seemed hurt, so I woke you up. You sure you're all right?"

Nala looked at Simba and smiled. "Yeah, I'm better now that you're here. You always make me feel better when you're here."

Smiling back at her, Simba looked around the den and announced, "Everything's alright, guys. You can go back to sleep now."

Turning back to Nala he said, "Let's get some sleep. Don't want to be tired tomorrow, now, would we?"

The lion went back to Nala and lied down next to her. He aligned himself to her body and, with one paw, pulled her close until she was inside the curve of his body. He wrapped his arms around her body and she felt warmer, happier, and more protected now that she could feel his presence. She heard the sound of his breath, his rhythmic heartbeat, and felt the rise and fall of his chest against her back.

Content, she fell asleep and let her mind wander again. She thought about what just happened and tried to not let the worries get to her.

In a few hours the sun would rise and a new day would begin for them all.

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