Author's note: Hi people! So, how are you guys doing? Anyway, this is my first big story. I've been meaning to do one for a while now, and I finally got an idea. This story follows the basic plot of The Lion King, but there is a major difference. Everything remains the same till after the stampede...I won't give too much away now, you'll have to wait and see how this story unfolds. All I can say is that Timon and Pumba won't be a part of my story. I'll try to keep it interesting, it will be much darker than the original, I love cliffhangers, and they will frustrate you sometimes. But don't worry. I'm not giving up on this story. And I may be a little too descriptive, so forgive me for that. I just can't help myself sometimes. And I like Nala a lot as a character, so she will be featuring a lot in my story. I am a little new, so give me all the advice you can in a REVIEW! I really hope you read and enjoy my story!

Disclaimer: I do not own the events of The Lion King. I also do not own Mufasa, Sarabi, Simba, Nala, Scar, Tojo, Tama, Chumvi, Kula, Mheetu or Sarafina.

Anyway, enough chit-chat. On with the story!

Chapter 1: A Runaway Prince.

He ran. He ran for his life. His thoughts were a mess. He knew what he had done, and the thought made him suicidal. But he didn't want to die this way. He could feel the hyenas snapping at his paws. "What will your mother think?" His uncle's words had pierced through his heart. He could never go back. They would throw him out. Or worse, they would kill him. He knew he had committed the worst crime of all.

Murder.

But at the moment, he couldn't afford to think about it. He raced through the gorge, at a speed he didn't know he was capable of. He squeezed through holes, jumped in and out of tiny caves, and climbed walls of hardened rock. He tried everything, and yet, every time he looked back, there they were. He finally made his way to a sheer cliff.

He knew that there was only one option.

He jumped to what he thought was his death. He closed his eyes, waiting for his destiny. Instead, he found that he had landed in something. Something painful. He looked around, and realized that he was alive. And for the first time since the stampede, he felt grateful. The hyenas, foolish as they were, jumped in after him.

"Oww!"

Simba heard the painful yelps behind him, but he himself was too hurt to care. On another day, he would have found the hyenas' antics amusing. But today was different. Today, Simba had lost the one person who had always been there for him. And to make matters worse, he knew it was his fault.

"If you ever come back, we'll kill ya'!"

The voice carried through the barren desert. Simba already knew that his fate was sealed. His head was reeling. He wanted to keep running. He wanted to be as far away from his home as possible.

And then, it all sank in.

He would never stand on top of Pride Rock again. He was no longer a prince. He would never see his mother again. He would never see Nala again. But he had no choice. They would hate him if he went back.

'It is better to die a hero than to live long enough to see yourself become the villain,' Simba thought.

Simba ran through the day. He ran till the sun began to set. He ran till he could run no more. He knew he would become buzzard food in a matter of minutes. He walked for a few more minutes, and stopped. He felt something soft under his paws.

Grass.

Simba looked around to see a place he had never seen before. There was grass everywhere he looked, and animals of all shapes and sizes were dancing around in the bushes. It was almost as beautiful as the Pridelands. Almost. Simba's heart gave a tight squeeze when he thought of his home. He thought he heard voices nearby, but he didn't care. Gathering all the energy he had left, he dragged himself to a nearby tree, and drifted off into one last memory.

"Simba! It's time for your bath!"

"Mom! It's no use! I'll get dirty again anyway!"

Simba groaned as his mother picked him up by the scruff of his neck and laid him down in her paws.

"Okay Simba. Let's make a deal. If you let me give you a bath, I'll tell you a story. Deal?"

Simba tilted his head and thought for a while.

"Deal."

After what seemed like an eternity, Simba finally finished his bath.

"Mom! You promised!"

"Hmmm okay. Now let's see." Sarabi thought for a while. "All right then. I'll tell you the story of the brave princess Uru."

Simba stared up at her expectantly. "Uru was a naughty cub, much like you. She always used to run around playing with her friends. Everything was fine, until one day, when something tragic happened. Uru's mother, the queen, met with a hunting accident, and she passed on and joined the great kings and queens of the past."

"And then what happened?"

"Uru was distraught. She cried herself to sleep many nights. All she wanted was to see her mother again. She wanted to be with her mother again. She didn't step out of the cave for weeks. But then she came across a rogue. His name was Ahadi. When she got to know him, she realized that he had watched both his parents die with his own eyes."

Simba's mouth was agape. He couldn't ever imagine what it would be like to watch his own parents die.

"The princess then realized that she was still lucky enough to have her father and her pride. She swore to be the great queen that her mother was. And from that day, Uru wasn't sad anymore. She was happy that her mother would take care of her and watch over her from the stars."

"Really?"

"Yes. You see Simba, sometimes, in life, you may not get what you really want. I may not be here for you all the time, Simba. And when things are going wrong, I want you to look around you, and thank the great kings for what you have. Understand, Simba?"

Simba smiled. "Yes, mom. Wherever you are, you'll always love me, right mom?"

"Of course, sweetheart." Sarabi cooed. "You are my heart, Simba. You are my Kopa…."

Under the setting sun, an adolescent lion and his best friend ran through the plains, having the time of their lives. "You'll never catch up, Tama!" The lion snickered and raced ahead towards their favourite tree. He knew he was faster than her. But suddenly, the lion found himself in mid-air and landed with a thud. Tama raced past him. "You snooze, you lose, Tojo! I did it! I finally won!" By now, Tama was rolling on the ground, unable to contain her laughter. She finally managed to look up to Tojo, expecting him to resort to his usual sarcasm. But what she saw instead was a serious expression on his face. She followed his sight and finally found what Tojo was staring at.

There, hidden in the grass, curled up in a ball, lay a lion cub.

"Wha.. Who… Who in the world is that?" The words barely escaped Tama's mouth. The Grassland Pride was famous for taking in rogue lions and sheltering them, but this was an entirely different situation. He was only a cub. "Is it alive?" asked Tama.

"Barely. What do we do, Tam?"

"I don't know, Tojo. You're the prince around here, aren't you?"

Tojo raised an eyebrow and looked at her skeptically before picking the cub up by the scruff of his neck. "I think it's better we tell my father about this. Knowing him, our pride will probably have a new member." Tama nodded knowingly. King Bahati was very generous. A bit too generous at times.

The two teenagers took the unconscious cub to a nearby waterhole. "Turn him over, Tama." Tama did as she was told and Tojo splashed water on the cub's face. Tama ended up drenched.

"Was that really necessary, Tojo!" Tojo only grinned, his blue eyes sparkling, and Tama pounced on him, as they rolled into the waterhole, laughing all the while.

Simba opened his eyes slowly. His vision was still hazy as he tried to get up, but he felt an unbearable pain shoot up his back. He heard laughter nearby, and it confused him. "Where.. am I?" he muttered, to no one in particular.

"Hey , look Tojo, the kid's up!" said Tama, before a wave of water crashed into her. "Tojo! You're the prince! You have more important things to do than splash me all day!" Tojo smiled at his friend and climbed out of the waterhole.

Simba was terrified. He did not expect this at all. Standing in front of him, was an adolescent lion, with a half-grown brown mane, and golden fur, like his own. All of a sudden, a young lioness leaped out of the waterhole, and onto the lion. Simba jumped out of his fur, and tried to scream, but all that came out of his mouth was a tired moan.

"Cut it out, Tama! You're scaring the little guy!" said Tojo. Tama giggled and walked towards Simba. She nudged him on the side.

"Hey there! What's your name? Where are you from? Where are your parents? How did you get here?" Simba merely blinked. Tama was jumping around in excitement. She loved cubs!

"Oh, Tama," Tojo let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head. "Give him a little space!"

Tojo slowly approached Simba. "Hey there, buddy. I'm Tojo. And this goofball here is Tama." Tama rolled her eyes.

"So, what's your name?"

Simba did not know how to answer this question. What if Tojo recognized the name? What if they took him back to the Pridelands? He knew he couldn't go back. He was the exiled prince. Simba knew that he couldn't let anyone know his real name. Only one name came to his mind.

"Kopa… My name is Kopa."

Author's note: So, how did you like my very first chapter? Poor Simba, eh? For all you Timon and Pumba lovers.. well, I'm sorry. Simba joining another pride seemed much more interesting to me. And I know Kopa is Simba's son, but I couldn't think of a more perfect fake name for Simba, so, sorry again, I guess.. I'm a Kopa fan too, but I had an idea and I just went with it. If you have any problem, let me know in the review. I'm pretty sure you guys know which movie one of the lines is from. And yes, I know Tama and Tojo are supposed to be Simba's age, but I thought I'd make them older. I'll probably update once every two weeks. If I can do better than that, I will! My story is going to be really long, I have a lot of (hopefully) interesting ideas for this story :D.. And your feedback matters a lot to me, so PLEASE REVIEW MY STORY! The next chapter will probably be up on the 3rd of May. (Sorry, I need to write my exams too, you know :P)