Chapter 1

...All the Creatures

"Look around, Kovu...what do you see?"

In the middle of a great grassland, known to its inhabitants as the Pridelands, two lions sat on top of a small rise, surveying the lands around them. One, the lion that had spoken, was a regal, powerful thing, his golden pelt of fur and expansive brown mane shining in the morning sun, and rippling slightly in a gentle breeze. Powerful muscles lay beneath a lean figure, suggesting a hidden strength beneath a rather skinny figure. His calm, protective gaze as he looked across the plains gave him an air of someone who watched over this land...and, as king of the Pridelands, that was exactly what Simba did.

Seemingly satisfied with the condition he saw his great land in, Simba turned his brown eyes to the lion beside him, the one he had spoken to. Kovu was in many ways similar to Simba, but at the same, different in many ways as well. His pelt was a deep brown, as opposed to Simba's golden hue, and his mane was a deep, jet black, and not as expansive as Simba's, although it was not a withered, scraggly thing, either. The muscles beneath the darker lion's fur were even more prominent than Simba's, suggesting that, even though Kovu was small, and still very young, he could take on the best fighters with few problems. His green eyes seemed to carry a strange depth to them. On the surface, a kind soul rested, but deep down inside this lion, something darker was hidden away...something that was most likely extremely dangerous.

Those same green eyes were currently taking over Simba's former task of looking over the expansive land that surrounded them. All around them, green fields stretched for as far as the eye could see, dotted with occasional tree, rocky outcropping, or water hole. To the southwest of the two lions lay a strange, unique and wondrous rock formation that was both the heart of the Pridelands, and the home of the pride of lions Simba ruled. It was Pride Rock, and for the two lions, it was home. To the west of that home, way off in the distance, a long, narrow gorge marked the edge of a desert, that also marked the western borders of the Pridelands. To the south and east of Pride Rock there was little more than endless plains, where the herds the lions hunted to survive could almost always be found grazing. And then, finally, to the north, in the direction the two lions had headed, the grasslands eventually gave way to a barren wasteland, filled with canyons, ravines, and various valleys, all of which were littered with massive skeletons. It was known as either the Elephant Graveyard, or the Outlands, the two forbidden areas separated by a large, fast-flowing river. It had long been considered a very dangerous place by the Pridelanders.

Simba waited patiently as Kovu observed the land around them, obviously considering the question carefully, attempting to think it over diligently, lest he unintentionally give an insulting or disrespectful answer. This was Simba's kingdom, after all. As Kovu's gaze grew less and less focused, Simba smile widened. Kiara had certainly taught him a valuable lesson with this young lion. He had badly misjudged Kovu based solely on his upbringing, and now he was attempting to correct that mistake. The dark lion may have been raised as a vicious, thoughtless killer, but he had a kind heart, and now, having seen both sides of his own personality, Simba could tell that Kovu was struggling to put his dark past behind him.

Finally, Kovu came up with an answer. "I see your land, Simba. I see all the Pridelands, a paradise that has been created by your rule...and your father's."

Simba smiled, although he inwardly winced at the mention of his late father, Mufasa. Leave it to Kovu to come up with an answer that not only answered his question, but slipped in lavish praise on himself, and his method of ruling the Pridelands. Simba had been looking for a more honest, possibly confused answer, but he inwardly scolded himself for harbouring such false hope. He's newly mated to my daughter, he told himself, what else could you have expected? Managing to suppress a sigh, he turned to Kovu. "That was nice, but it's not what I was looking for," he finally said in response to Kovu's answer.

Kovu kept his gaze focused on his king, and new father-in-law, but his posture fell slightly. He had obviously been hoping that he had said the right thing. Simba decided to put the young lion out of his misery. "Do you know what I see, Kovu?"

Kovu made no obvious response, but his eyes brightened with curiosity. It was obvious that he wanted to know, but kept from prying out of respect for his king. Simba sighed...it was going to be tough to get Kovu used to the idea of ruling his kingdom one day, but Kiara was his only child, and...

Shaking his head, Simba forced his train of thought away from its present course, and put it back where he needed it. "I see a delicate balance...one that exists between all creatures in the Pridelands, from the smallest insect, to the largest elephant, and everything in between. And as king, I need to not only see this balance, but understand it, respect it, and maintain it. That, above all, is a king's most important duty to his land. Do you understand?"

Kovu's head fell, and he drifted into thought once more. "I...think so," he replied hesitantly. "But...I was told that, as lions, it is our right to be above the other creatures, and to take what we want."

Simba frowned. When he had decided to have this talk with Kovu, he had been worried that Kovu might have had that sort of mindset to being king. If the young, balck-maned lion sitting before him was going to succeed him, he would need to understand what being a king truly meant. "Scar thought like you've been taught, and that was the way he ruled while I was in exile." His normally gentle, passive voice had adopted a sad, almost devastated tone, as memories of his once-utopian home being turned into a barren wasteland rose to the forefront of his thoughts. "In the end, all it did was turn the Pridelands into a wasteland, and turn the lionesses...and even the hyenas...against him. Scar's greed and hate destroyed him, and any chance he had of keeping his place as king. That is why I fought him Kovu. Not because he did not deserve the throne, and not because the throne was rightfully mine, but because he was destroying everything I held dear, and I could not let him do that any longer."

Kovu remained silent, his head bowed as he listened. Simba knew that, his whole life, Kovu had been taught to look up to Scar as some sort of half-father figure, half-diety, to be respected, revered, and followed at all costs. Zira had told him that he always meant to be Scar's successor as king of the Pridelands, a tale Simba was mildly sceptical of, although he had to admit the visual similarities between his old uncle and the young lion before him were nothing short of astounding. And even though Kovu had learned the error of both his own ways, and his mother's ways, he was still shaking off those last ties to his dark past, and Simba knew, from first-hand experience, that it would neither be easy nor pleasant to move on, but he would be a better lion for it.

Finally, the younger lion looked up. "Why are you telling me all this?"

Simba smiled. Now they were getting somewhere...now they had reached to core reason behind this walk-and-talk session. "I've taken you out here today, Kovu, and shown you my entire kingdom, and the responsibilities associated with being king, because it is something my father did with me, before he...died." Simba quickly recovered from his brief falter, continuing on before his memories could bring him down again. "I'm telling you all this because Kiara's my only child, my only successor. And with you as her mate, you will, one day Kovu, become king of the Pridelands."

Kovu seemed surprised by this sudden declaration. "What? But, I...you..."

Simba could not suppress an open laugh at Kovu's stunned face, and his feeble stuttering. "But you have no relation to me, right?" he suggested, Kovu nodding, proving that Simba's assumption on Kovu's objection was well-placed. "Okay, let me explain: When a king steps down from the throne, whether it be because of death, or because they just want to live out the rest of their lives in peace, the throne usually passes on the eldest male child of the king, right?" Kovu nodded, although his expression showed he was still not quite following. "Now, Kiara is my daughter, but at the same time, she is my only child. Because of this, she is the only successor to the throne. No matter what happens, when I pass the responsibilities on, she will become queen. And, since you are my daughter's mate, that will make you king of the Pridelands, even though you hold no direct relation to me."

Kovu seemed to absorb all this information for a few seconds. Simba waited patiently, knowing he had just given the young lion a lot to think about. When the king really thought about, it was probably almost too soon to put all this responsibility on Kovu, the dark lion was barely an adult. But when he thought about it, his daughter, Kiara, was even younger, technically still an adolescent. And yet, he had long ago taught her the responsibilities she would eventually have to face when she became queen, just as his father had taught him when he was a cub, too.

Finally, Kovu let out a long, slow breath. "Wow, I really found a keeper in Kiara, didn't I?" he finally said, managing a weak smile at his attempted humour.

Simba was inclined to initially take the comment the wrong way, his instinct to protect his daughter at all costs firing up. But he had learned the hard way that being over-protective of Kiara would never end well, and as such, he forced himself to suppress it, and see the lighter side of Kovu's remark. "Yes, she's a fiery one...she gets that from me, unfortunately." Simba gave Kovu a warm smile to show that he was willing to look at the situation light-heartedly as well. "Just remember that she's partially your responsibility now, as much as she is mine, and her own. So if something happens to her, you will be the first one I'll come after." Simba's latest statement with light-hearted, but firm at the same time. It was a simple reminder that he was protective of his only child, and would do anything to help her, even if it meant dealing with Kovu in a far less than pleasant manner.

Kovu laughed. "Trust me, I know. But still," he added. "I love her, and I would do anything for her. I must admit, I never really thought about her status as future queen until now, but if being with her means shouldering the weight of the entire Pridelands, then I guess I have little choice."

Simba smiled at Kovu's little declaration. The circumstances under which Kovu and Kiara had met may have been...unfavourable, but now, even Simba could tell that Kiara had made a brilliant choice in her mate. But a hint of doubt still seethed in his mind, as it would in the many of any parent. Kiara was still his daughter, and despite the fact that was almost fully grown, and filled with a wisdom beyond her years, she was still his daughter, and he was still afraid of letting her grow up and head out into the world on her own, still afraid of...

"Sire!"

Two manes swirled as both lions swivelled their heads, looking back towards Pride Rock, the general direction of the source of the voice. Approaching them fast was a small, blue-feathered hornbill bird, one both lions recognised immediately; Zazu, Simba's majordomo and advisor, was the only hornbill that would fly towards a pair of lions, whilst the look of panic on his face was reserved for another matter entirely.

Simba's face immediately grew serious. Zazu, while being a meticulous planner who hated the slightest thing out of order, rarely panicked. For the little bird to be in such a state of distress meant he believed that the matter was serious. "What is it, Zazu?" he asked quickly, not bothering with any formalities.

Zazu somehow managed to point an awkward wing to the north, whilst at the same time remaining airborne, a trait the bird must have perfected as part of his duties to the king. "A rogue...sire. A rogue has just entered the Pridelands, sire!"

Simba's frown deepened, although it was now a frown of confusion instead of his former alert stance. "A rogue, Zazu?" he repeated sceptically. It was not like Zazu at all to worked up over such a small matter. "You're in a huge flutter over a lone rogue?"

This time it was Kovu's voice that answered Simba, as the young lion followed Zazu's pointing wing to the north. "He's not alone, Simba."

Now Simba's head turned, following Kovu's gaze out to the north. Having already ventured north of Pride Rock, the Outlands were not that far away, and from their small rise, the two lions could easily see the distance to where the golden grasses gave way to flat, rusty earth, which was almost always undisturbed.

Except for now.

Now, the normally lifeless wastelands were partially obscured by massive dust clouds, obviously caused by something - or someone - kicking up huge clouds of dirt and dust as they made their way into the Pridelands...at speed.

Simba frowned as he finally spotted the small figure Kovu had found; a lone, unfamiliar lion - definitely a rogue - sprinting away from the jagged ravines of the Outlands, and straight towards Pride Rock, as though his life depended on it. Why would a rogue enter another lion's territory at such speed? Did they perhaps not realise that they had encroached on someone else's territory. But what confused Simba most of all was why the rogue was running so fast, and constantly looking behind him, almost as though...

...as though he was being chased.

It was only then that Simba was able to see through the thick dust clouds the rogue was kicking up in his desperate sprint, and realise just why the lion was running as though his life depended on it...because his life really did depend on it!

Close behind the rogue, and closing in fast, were no less than six hyenas, and now that Simba could see them, he also realised that he could hear their vicious barking as they hunted their prey. Simba felt a low growl form in the back of his throat at the sight of the creatures. Hyenas had not seen in the Pridelands since Scar's death, and Simba's ascension to the throne, but within the last few months, they had returned and set up a small pack in the Outlands, which had been abandoned since Simba had merged the Outlanders pride with his own - under his daughter's advisement. And they were exactly as Simba remembered them from his cub-hood - vicious, selfish scavengers, all too willing to break Simba's laws and enter the borders of the Pridelands to poach on his territory, despite there being enough food in and around the Outlands for them to get by. And here they were, once again flouting Simba's law banning them from his territory, even if it was to catch another outlaw in the process.

"We have to help him," Kovu finally spoke up, causing Simba to turn and look at him questioningly. "It's hard to tell from this distance, but I think that rogue is injured. He can't escape those hyenas...we have to stop them before it's too late!"

"What?" Zazu sounded even more confused than Simba felt at Kovu's declaration. "It's a rogue, Kovu...you can't possibly expect Simba to put his life on the line for a lion who's not even part of the pride!"

"Zazu's right, Kovu," Simba stepped in. "That rogue may have entered the Pridelands, but even so, he cannot expect assistance from us."

"Look at him, Simba!" Kovu shouted. Simba gave him a stern look, but obliged, hearing an almost pleading side-note in the desperation that he could not ignore. Sure enough, even from this distance, Simba could see that the rogue's desperate stride was off-balance, and had poor rhythm, as though one of his legs was not able to hold it's usual weight. The rogue also looked exhausted, suggesting that he had run all the way through the hyena-infested Outlands to escape, and the hyenas were taking full advantage of it. Rather than chasing him down directly, half of the group was splitting up, flanking around him, slowly trying to herd him in. The hyenas were obviously aware of the laws they were breaking, and were trying to reign in the rogue before he could get far enough into the Pridelands to alert any others to his presence.

As Simba took all this in, Kovu continued. "In case you forget, Simba, I was a rogue once, too. You took me in when I had nowhere else to go...doesn't this rogue deserve that same chance?" He paused for a few moments, then ploughed on. "And besides, I honestly do not believe he's aware that he has entered your territory. He's just trying to escape from the hyenas, probably completely unaware of what he has done."

Simba took all this in as quickly as he could. If he was going to make a decision, he'd have to do it fast, or the hyenas would make the decision for him in a couple of short minutes. Kovu did have a valid point, Simba had granted him at least temporary sanctuary when Kovu had asked for it. But then, the only reason he had done that was because he had saved Kiara's life that very same evening. Simba held no such debt to this other rogue. It was also possible that Kovu's other theory was correct, and that the rogue, in his desperation, had completely missed the fact that he had just entered another lion's territory, his sole focus on escaping the hyena ambush. And the hyenas themselves...

"Why?" Simba finally asked, causing both Kovu and Zazu to give him confused looks. "Why do you care, Kovu? What is it about this rogue, a complete stranger, that makes you want to help him?"

"Because," kovu said, bowing his head slightly. "Because I understand how he feels, Simba. And I believe that he should be given a chance, at least until we know who he is, where he's from, and why he's here."

Kovu's words resonated with Simba, but he was still unsure. Rogues were generally loners because they had betrayed their previous pride, or simply run away. The former was far more likely, but Simba himself had, as a cub, run away from the Pridelands, believing he had committed a terrible crime, one that he still struggled with whenever he remembered it. With his train of thought, Simba fell to his trusted method of deciding a difficult situation; What would Mufasa do?

Simba thought hard on this, digging up various memories of his childhood, and using those memories of the time he had spent with his father to attempt to figure out what his father would have done, were he in his current situation. But it was hard to do...Mufasa had been taken from him so soon, Simba had very few memories to work with, and they all left him so emotionally drained that it was nearly impossible to keep his mind on the subject at hand.

"Simba," Kovu's voice once more filled Simba's hearing. The desperation from before was gone, the young lion was now simply pleading with him. "You just told me that as king, you have to respect all the creatures...doesn't that mean we should also respect those who are not necessarily from the Pridelands?"

The words penetrated Simba's mind, but he barely understood them, for they triggered a particular memory, one Simba had been using to teach Kovu how a king of the Pridelands was supposed to behave...

"But dad, don't we eat the antelope?"

"Yes, Simba, but let me explain...when we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so, Simba, we are all connected, in the great Circle of Life."

...we are all connected...

The mild flashback ended almost as quickly as it had started, but his father's words echoed across the years, reminding Simba of a valuable lesson his father had taught him.

And with that, the king's mind was finally made up. "You're right, Kovu," Simba finally said. "The rogue does at least deserve a chance. And besides, the hyenas are the ones who are knowingly breaking my law. Let's go get him before the hyenas do!"

Author's Notes:

Welcome to "Lost Rogue" everyone! My biggest, boldest project to date!

I will start off with by getting the worst news out of the way. Quite simply, I was apalled with the way the no-longer-viewable "Victory's Curse" was recieved, and I am still licking my wounds on that one, so some new policies are in order for this story.

Quite simply, this chapter is not only the first chapter, but a 'teaser' of sorts. While it IS the beginning of the story, I have absolutely no intention of posting any more until I see SOME constructive feedback!

You can flame me all you want, but the last time I left you free to wither review or ignore my story without penalty, I was so dismayed by the LACK of feedback that I ended up losing all passion and desire to write the story, and that was how "Victory's Curse" was cancelled.

This is not so much holding you hostage for reviews as it is a plea: I do not want to lose interest in this story, and my interest is greatly fired when I see those view counts matched with a solid review count as well, as it tells me that not only am I passionate about my story, but there are others out there who are, too! And that is the best encouragement anyone can give!

And the old "can't be bothered reviewing" is absolutely no excuse! If you can be bothered reading 3,500 words of text in a single chapter, you can be bothered writing a 50-word review, it's really that simple.

I know I'm going to get flamed for all this, but just remember, it's not for me...it's for my story, and through that, it's for YOU!