Prologue: Memories...
My name is Vitani.
I remember a lot.
I remember, vaguely, the first time I opened my eyes and stared the world in the face. The colors assaulted me and my eyes prickled with the new sensation of sight...
I remember the roar from Simba as we were exiled to the lands beyond the borders. The Outlands. I was still a young cub, as was my half-brother Kovu...
I remember growing up in an arid land almost devoid of food and water. We fought and scrabbled over food so much...
I remember watching Kovu grow stronger and more deadly under the watchful eye of my mother, Zira. I grew stronger as well, training to kill...
I remember feeling immense frustration as I watched Kovu blow his one chance to kill Simba. I didn't know why he hesitated...
I remember the feeling as we hunted the Prideland king on his own turf, and remember the anguish when my brother Nuka, his foolishness getting the better of him, was crushed under mountains of logs...
I remember the hatred toward the Pridelanders for killing him (I wouldn't blame my own brother!) We crossed the border with murder as hard as steel in our eyes...
I remember the battle. Claws and teeth flashing in the darkness as lightning strikes lit the landscape for brief flashes of time. I remember mocking Nala, queen of the Pridelands and leaping onto her with the desire to spill her blood on the wet ground. Somehow she was able to beat me...
I remember when Kovu and Kiara leaped in to stop the fighting. Her words touched my heart like none had ever before. It took all my will to disobey my mothers last order...
I remember watching helplessly as Zira plummeted to her death in to the unrelenting torrent of water below her...
Finally, I remember skipping Kovu's marriage to grieve for my fallen mother. Zira may have not meant much to Kovu, but she did to me. She was my mother. You only get one of those...
Things have changed a bit.
It was one month since that day. We were fully integrated back into the pride. I myself led the hunting party every day. Simba (now Kovu's father-in-law) and Nala continued to rule the lands, Kovu and Kiara (the future king and queen) were living happily together. Seriously, they were (and still are) so deeply in love; it's rare to see them apart. Sheesh. It seems everyone else got a happy ending but me. That's what I thought.
It had been one month since the battle and my mother's death. I was leading the hunting party. I met a lion, and my life changed forever...