Yay I'm back! And a lot sooner than I thought I would be J

Thanks to Teddi 8341 who gave me the wonderful title; Forced Perspective

I hope that you all enjoy the new version of Sorry for Running

Chapter One: A Pride All Our Own

"Hey look, we're one" Kovu said softly as he gestured towards their combined reflections that were shimmering in the water with his muzzle.

"What?" His golden companion said confusedly. She had heard that phrase somewhere, but where...

"Come on, let's get out of here!" He said excitedly as he sat up. Kiara stared up at him in confusion, was he asking her to leave? Leave her home? Her family?

"We'll run away together!" he exclaimed taking a jump away from her before sticking his front paws out and his rear in the air "and start a pride, all our own" the last part was almost a suggestive purr.

"Kovu…We can't..." Kiara said uncertainly, doubting whether she could really leave her life in the Pridelands behind. It was all she had ever known, where she had grown up. How could she leave it all behind?

"Why not?" He asked. His question caused Kiara to sigh. How could she explain it? She was afraid to leave everything she had ever known behind. She was afraid to leave her home and never be welcomed back. To simply put it, she was afraid. But how could she explain this to Kovu? He was an Outlander who was trained not to fear. Fear would be an emotion that he did not know or understands.

"We just can't..." Her voice trailed off, trying to find a less cowardly explanation "we-we can't just leave, what about our families? We both have duties to our prides"

Kovu looked at her with a raised eyebrow, he knew that wasn't the real reason. He could tell by the uncertainty that laced her voice but nevertheless he decided to go along with it.

"Duty to our prides? Kiara, my duty to my pride was to kill your father, something I don't want to do and as for you, I distinctly remember you saying that you didn't want to be queen because it was 'no fun'" he said casually, slightly mocking her at the same time without meaning to.

"I said that when I was a cub! I've grown up now, I have responsibilities that I just can't walk away from" Kiara shot back with a frustrated glare, curing herself for ever telling him that.

"Kiara, I'm willing to walk away from everything I know and care about, abandon my family just so we can have a chance to be together. Why aren't you willing to do the same?" He asked her, his eyes looked at the golden princess with love and longing

"Do you not love me the same way I love you?" He asked with a hurt and sad tone to his voice.

Hearing him say that broke Kiara's heart.

"Of course I do Kovu" sighed Kiara as she walked over to him and nuzzled him.

"Then why won't you come with me?" He asked in a soft whisper as he returned her affection.

"Because..." She said as she pulled away and looked at Pride Rock. The majestic rock had become a silhouette next to the rising moon on the horizon. It was at that rock that she had been born and raised, where she had made so many memories with her parents, grandmas and aunties. How could she just walk away from all that?

"Because...?" Kovu asked, echoing the very words Kiara had just spoken.

"Because I'm afraid!" She said angrily at the Outlanders ongoing inquiry "I'm afraid to leave behind everything I know! I'm not like you Kovu, I can't just venture into the unknown fearlessly...I'm not strong like you are..." her voice that had first started out angry soon turned into sobs. She just couldn't do it. She loved Kovu with all her heart but fear of what she didn't know was holding her back.

"Kiara" came Kovu's soft voice bringing her out of her sobs "I understand that you're afraid, I really do, and I promise you if we leave together I will always-no matter what- I will always protect you"

Kiara looked up at Kovu and smiled with tear-rimmed eyes before nuzzling him. Kovu gladly returned her affection. Kiara sighed into Kovu's mane before asking:

"Are you sure we have to leave?"

"Kiara, I know you don't want to leave but it's the only way. Your father will never trust me nor will he ever allow there to be anything between us" Kovu sighed as he pulled away from their embrace to look Kiara in the eye "and if my mother realised how I feel for you she would hate me and do everything in her power to hurt me for betraying her...and the most effective way to do that would be to hurt you...I won't put you in dangers way"

Kiara sighed again as she buried her face into Kovu's mane. She knew he was right, if they stayed with their prides they would not have the relationship that they wanted. If they stayed here she would never again feel his loving embrace, smell his sweet scent or hear his loving voice. She didn't want to lose him and the future they could have because of her own silly fears.

Kiara found herself looking into deep emerald eye of the lion that she loved.

She knew what she wanted.

She knew what she had to do to get it.

It was official. She and Kovu were abandoning their prides to start one of their own.

-TLK-

The ground was muddy from the rain that had been previously pouring from the clouded dark grey sky. Vultures circled the area, waiting for the lions to drop off like flies so they could easily feed on the carcasses.

Below them two prides were battling. Pridelanders against Outlanders, one fighting for revenge and the glory of ruling the magnificent Pridelands. The other pride fighting in defence and because they refused to live in unity with the other pride.

The battle had gone on for hours but it had finally spiralled down to between the two leaders. Zira, leader of the Outlanders and forever faithful follower of Scar. And Simba, the king of the Pridelands.

The two lions were surrounded by members of their own pride, trapped inside a circle where they would have to end this battle. Zira paced in front of Simba, trying to get him moving so they were circling each other. But Simba knew better than to turn his back on an Outsider. Finally, Zira's patience ran out and she lunged at Simba. The male saw her coming and raised his paw in attempted to swat her away. It worked, Simba's paw collided with Zira's shoulder and it was enough to push her away. Zira stumbled to the side and let out a furious growl when she saw that Simba's claws had ripped away at some of her shoulder flesh. She launched at him again, this time when he went to strike her away, she side stepped him. Simba ended up striking thin air and Zira ended up behind him.

Not willing to lose her opportunity, Zira leapt at Simba from behind. She landed on his back and the sudden weight made Simba lose his balance and fall over. Zira then began to rip at his neck with her fangs. Simba growled with pain and quickly pushed up his rump and Zira rolled off. When her weight was removed Simba tried to regain his composure but Zira didn't let him. The minute she was on all four paws she attacked him again.

Simba was fighting an uphill battle. Victory was practically impossible, mainly due to him being exhausted. During the whole battle Simba had been fighting with his pride, fighting beside them like a true king should. Zira on the other hand had been a coward and sat all high and mighty on top of her large boulder and let her lionesses fight him. He was tired and wounded. She had never been more alive and ready to kill.

Zira tackled Simba to the ground, around them the Pridelanders became tense, they knew if their king lost this battle they would all lose their lives. Zira raise her paw in the air to deliver a finishing blow when suddenly she felt Simba's hind legs push her in the stomach. Before she realised it, she had toppled over Simba.

Simba quickly got up and stood over her, Zira shuddered as it dawned on her, she had lost and was about to pay for it with her life. Simba raised his paw and with one quick smooth motion he sliced her throat with his claws. Thick crimson blood ran out of the gaping wounds and trickled down the fur of Zira's neck.

In her last few moment of life Zira saw her own life flashing before her eyes. She remembered all the years of torment that she endured from the cubs her age, they all bullied her because she looked different. Her muzzle was too long, her eyes were too big and crazed. Nothing was good enough for the cubs of Pridelands. And for years she was alone, that is until Scar took pity on her and befriended her, a friendship that turned into something more. Maybe that's why she had always been so deathly loyal to him, he had shown her kindness, given her love and respect in her time of need.

But perhaps she was too loyal to Scar. When she birth his son Nuka he had nearly casted the cub out. Nuka was born sickly weak and would never make a great king like Scar. Just thinking of Nuka filled the dying lionesses with anguish, he was her only cub sired by Scar but she kept pushing him aside like he was nothing but worthless dirt. Yet, despite Nuka's constant neglect, he always tried so hard to please her. He did anything that would make her smile, he worked harder than anyone in the Outlands, he tried harder than anyone Zira knew. But she could never give him the praise that he seeked. All because Scar deemed him pathetic and unworthy, so she did too.

Zira's thoughts then turned to Vitani, her only daughter who was sired by a rouge who was passing through the Pridelands during Scar's reign. Zira would never interact with rouges, let alone mate with one, but certain circumstances forced her to do it. A few days before Zira mated with the rouge she had a miss-carriage, Zira was afraid that if Scar found out that her conception had failed he would leave her. So Zira took desperate measures to make sure he would never learn about their lost cub. Which meant mating with a complete stranger.

Then there was Kovu, he wasn't even her biological son and yet she loved him more than her other two cubs that she birthed. She remembered the day that she and Scar found Kovu, he had been lying next to his deceased mother (who appeared to have died of starvation). The young cub looked like mini version of Scar so she and Scar both took it as a sign that he was to be the heir of Priderock. Oh if she had known that Kovu would someday betray her she would have killed him then and there so he could be with his mother.

Thinking of Kovu was making her bitter and being so bitter was wearing her out. She could feel the shadow of death creeping over her. Her vision became clouded and her breathing became heavy. Weakly and slowly Zira shifted her position so she could look at the last person on this earth that mattered to her. Her only living child; Vitani. She could see her daughter staring at her with tear brimmed eyes that she refused to let fall.

That's my girl thought Zira proudly even in times of grief she refuses to look weak

At long last Zira let go of her last breath and died.

The air around Zira's body was filled with silence. The Outlanders found themselves filled with fear, their leader was gone, what were they to do know?

"Get out of my Pridelands" growled Simba, his voice was hoarse and his body was shaking from exhaustion. He wanted nothing more than to collapse on the muddy ground beneath him but he knew that would make him look weak in front of the enemy.

"Are you deaf? I said GET OUT!" He roared when he realised that the Outlanders hadn't moved. The Outlanders jumped back at the sound of his voice before they sprinted away. Simba watched them all head back to the Outlands, all except one.

Vitani.

"This isn't over Simba" she challenged "I will avenge my mother"

"And you will die like she did"

-TLK-

Meanwhile….

Kiara and Kovu had reached the edge of the Prideland territory. The second that she and Kovu walked past the giant Umbrella Thorn tree that marked the east boundary she knew that by Pridelander law, she was no longer considered a member of the Pridelands. She and Kovu's would be rouges. Somehow the thought of not being a Pridelander filled her with fear. If she left she would be stripped of her title and everything she knew.

Kovu saw the conflicted look on Kiara's face and moved closer to her.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked

"As ready as I'll ever be" she responded, her voice held some excitement but over all a lot of anxiety. The idea of leaving with Kovu and having an adventure away from her father's watchful gaze was exciting. But the thought of leaving…..not so much.

"Hey, as long as we're together, we'll be alright" comforted Kovu as he gently nuzzled his mate. Kiara's only response was a nod with a nervous look in her eye. Then together, they both stepped past the border of the Pridelands.

It was official, Kiara and Kovu were rouges. She would never be welcomed back.

Somehow that filled her with more dread than the thought of losing Kovu.

-TLK-

Vitani slowly lead the Outlanders back into the Outlands. She found herself growling bitterly as they headed back 'home'. This was not meant to happen. Her mother was meant to kill Simba, not the other way around. Today was meant to be a day her entire pride could rejoice in. Simba was meant to die, any Pridelanders that were still loyal to him would be banished and then they would live happily ever after with Scar's proud spirit watching over them. No today certainly did not turn out how it was supposed to for Vitani and her Outlander sisters.

Instead Simba lived

And her mother died

The Pridelanders won

And the Outlanders lost

Scar had not been avenged

Only failed

Vitani continued to wear her growling bitter face all the way back into the Outlands till they reached their Termite den. For years Vitani had called this place home, it had been her refugee, her safe haven but now it just felt empty. She had no one.

Scar was dead

Nuka was dead

Kovu was a traitor

And her mother was dead

Vitani had lost practically everyone she had ever cared about. All thanks to Simba. It was Simba who killed Scar the true king of the Pridelands, it was Simba who crushed Nuka under those logs and it was Simba who murdered her mother right in front of her. Simba had taken everyone she had ever loved.

Sure she still had her pride but it wasn't the same as having her mother and brothers. She still had her aunt Hakia but there was no point in lying…..there was most defiantly something wrong with that lionesses.

Speaking of that lioness….

At that very moment Vitani's aunt approached her. Vitani could see that the older lioness (who looked just like Zira except her muzzle was shorter and she had green eyes) had been crying. Her tear rimmed eyes and the tear stains down her face were clear evidence of this. Hakia sat by Vitani and the two shared a wordless moment, both to enveloped in their grief to speak.

"How are you coping?" asked Hakia gently, breaking the silence. Vitani was slightly taken back by the gentleness in her voice. She and her aunt rarely spoke and that was mainly due to Vitani thinking that Hakia was insane. But now Hakia seemed calm and…..normal. Perhaps Vitani had prejudge her aunt too harshly.

"I'm, I'm going to be fine" Vitani manage to choke out "I'm just going to miss her…"

And that was it. Vitani couldn't hold back her grief anymore. Within a few days she lost practically her whole family thanks to Simba. He had taken everything from her and now she only had her aunt.

"It's not fair!" sobbed Vitani as she hung her head.

"I know sweetheart I know" soothed Hakia as she nuzzled her niece trying to comfort her "I promise you we will get our revenge, we will get it together"

-TLK-

Slowly the exhausted Pridelanders returned to Pride Rock. Once they were inside their comfortable den most of the lionesses collapsed on the hard stone. The ones that still had strength began to lick clean their wounds but the more wounded and tired ones just lay there, eyes heavy and breathing hard.

Simba entered the den last, he had been procrastinating the whole walk home. Zazu, his stooge, had not returned with any news about his daughter. She had disappeared before the battle and he knew it was to look for Kovu. He had hoped that she would be back in the den, safe at home. When he realised his 'baby' girl wasn't in the den he was filled with panic. His fear must have been seen because his mate quickly came to his side.

"Simba, what's wrong?" Asked Nala when she saw the concerned look on her mates face.

"It's Kiara….She isn't home" he said, his voice was filled with worry. Nala found herself chuckling slightly and shaking her head at her mate's worry for their daughter. He was always overprotective of their only daughter, even when there was no reason to be. Even though this situation would make most parents worried, Nala found that she wasn't. Kiara wasn't stupid, she wouldn't ever put herself in a situation that would cause them to become sick with worry. She was taught to know better than that. Besides, Simba did enough worrying for the both of them. Someone in their relationship had to be the relaxed parent.

"Simba there is no need to worry" Nala said softly trying to reassure her mate "I'm sure there's nothing wrong"

"So why isn't she home?" he asked

"Simba, it's been raining for hours some of the pathways home have probably been washed away, I'm sure the only reason Kiara isn't home yet is because she's trying to find a safe way back" reassured her mate.

Simba sighed knowing full well that there was a big chance that what Nala was saying was right. Kiara was probably on her way home right now, she was just trying to find a safe way. Simba found some comfort in Nala's logical reassurance.

"You're probably right but just so you know, when she does come home she is going to be grounded for the rest of her life"

Nala laughed at Simba's planned punishment for their daughter, knowing fully well that he would not be able to act on it. The mate couple went into the den and lay down with the other Pridelanders and began to lick their wounds. Nala looked towards the den entrance and smiled softly to herself.

Kiara is going to come home...I can feel it

In away, Nala was right. One day Kiara would come home.

It just wasn't going to be as soon as Nala thought it would be.

Yay!

I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much happier with this chapter it defiantly out shines my first version :)

Also, now that I've planned out all the chapters I know exactly how long this fanfic is going to be. In the plan it's going to be 45 chapters and I'm going to have Kovu in it more too! So; 1 chapter down 44 more to go

Please tell me what you like and don't like about this new chapter

And I will hopefully be updating soon :)