Prologue
The Beginning of the End
Twinkling specks of light dotted the night sky brilliantly, casting the savannah in a state of darkness but providing the golden king spectacular views. The red headed lion could never stopped being impressed by the lands' beauty, a rare gem that king Simba could hardly believe he'd been born to rule. The pridelands were finally at peace once again after the joining of the prides, and although Simba thought he'd never say it, for once there was no major issue to worry over. The new pride-sisters were sufficient hunters, in cover and out, and were proving the king ten times over how useful and trustworthy they turned out to be. Simba hated to admit it, but he actually liked Kovu. He was arrogant and inexperienced, yeah, but the dark maned lion that resembled so closely to the lion in the king's nightmare was a fast learner. In fact, Simba found him to be – "Simba?" Rounded ears twitched at the sound of the cream lionesses' voice, the lion turning his head only slightly so his ruby eyes landed squarely on the voice's owner.
Simba allowed a small smile to capture his features at the sight of his mate, the golden king dipping his head in greetings. "What are you doing out here?" His blue-eyed mate, Nala, asked as she came to sit on pride rock's ledge with her mate. Simba sighed, allowing his gaze to once again travel up to the stars. "Just… Thinking." Nala chuckled lowly, rubbing her head against her mate's. "That's not an answer, your majesty." The cream queen teased playfully and Simba couldn't help but to roll his eyes. "I'm thinking about Kiara." As predicted, his mate only gave him a confused stare and he sighed. "I'm not going to lie; Nala, you and I are getting old. I can't always be out on patrol or run back and forth over hippos fighting at the watering hole. It's too much." The golden king's vision slowly settled on the kingdom below, dimly lit and constantly demanding to be appeased. "I was thinking about how Kovu and Kiara would do taking over… If they could handle it? I mean, I always thought I'd give my crown to…" The king paused, his tongue unable to push out his thoughts. "Kopa?" The queen whispered, a vacant expression clouding Nala's eyes. Simba nodded, scraping the stone under his feet with thorn-like claws. "Even if he hadn't… You know… He was born after Kiara, and I don't think I could rip away the crown after pronouncing her my heir, anyway." The golden king sighed, plopping down carelessly onto the cold stone floor. "I don't know, Nala. I guess I'm just worried about our little girl." His mate licked his forehead comfortingly, but she was just grinning down at him like he'd said something stupid. "Simba, they'll be fine. If she's anything like her father she'll be a wonderful queen, and Kovu is a smart boy, he'll figure it out." Simba managed a fake smile towards him mate. Somehow, Simba wasn't as sure of the blossoming royal couple as Nala was. He nodded to his mate anyway, returning her affection with his own head rub. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Nala smiled wryly, a soft laugh escaping her lips. "So, are you coming inside or are you going to make me sleep all alone?" She purred, flicking her tail over Simba's ear. The King smiled before resting his head on his paws. "In a little while." Nala shrugged, turning her back on Simba and heading for the sleeping cave. "Suit yourself. Just don't come crawling to me when your cold." The great king didn't say anything; he just simply cast his eyes up to the night sky.
That's how they found him when morning came. Sprawled peacefully upon pride rock's ledge, face not curled in pain or sorrow. The absolute worst part, though, that it was Nala herself who found her mate's body. The person she had been talking to mere hours ago, her beloved, her love. How could fate be so cruel to her, a lioness who has nothing but follow the rules, who would have given up anything to save her family? How could the great kings do this to her?