A/N:

Call me crazy, but I wanted to start a new fic. :3 Yep. I've had this idea for a while, and wanted to let it out. And no, this is not the next fic I've been talking about - that won't be published until it's finished. Anyways... I'll explain more at the end. Enjoy. First part's a prologue.


"Mommy, could you tell me a story, please?"

A lioness cub set her front paws on the dozing figure before her, causing the fully-grown female to open one eye sleepily. She huffed, exhausted from the day's hunt, but turned to look at the hopeful expression on her daughter's face.

"Again? I told you one just last night. Why don't you play with prince Mfalme—it's a beautiful day out!" The lioness placed particular emphasis on the word beautiful, seemingly too tired to relate one of the many histories of the Pridelands that her own mother had taught her. She set her head back down on her paws as she thoughtfully studied her energetic offspring.

"But mom, I don't want to talk to Mfalme right now. He's spending too much time with Zuri, and she's not very nice to me." She pouted slightly, hoping to get her mother's attention.

"Well, sweetie," she started, attempting to explain as well as she could, "one day Zuri and Mfalme are going to get married. Maybe they just want some time alone." Her daughter didn't appear to be any less disheartened.

"But mom, I like him. Maybe I want some alone time with him too. I could be his bestest friend ever!" she grinned momentarily, but her smile quickly faded into a vaguely sad expression, "… If he would let me…"

"Mmmm." The lioness sighed, worried for the little cub. She drew her daughter close to her with a paw. "There will be many lions out there, Aina. Someday you'll find one just for you."

"Like who?" The cub asked innocently, jumping onto her mother's back and nestling her head into the lioness' warm, comforting fur. For several seconds all was silent as the younger lion bathed in her mother's thick, dusty scent.

"Why, I don't know!" the lioness responded warmly, smiling at her only daughter as she suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground with a small thud. "You'll have to find out for yourself."

"In fact"—she paused for a moment—"I think I know just the story to tell you. It's about a lion… and a lioness like you."

Aina appeared amazed, her expression immediately betraying one of emphatic excitement. "Tell me, tell me, tell me! Please, mom, please!"

"Well, I don't know… for a young cub like you…"

"Come on, Mom! I'm old enough! Tell me, please." The cub again placed her paws on her mother's shoulder, looking dejected.

"Oh, alright," she chuckled, seeing no choice but to relent—the look on her daughter's face was simply too much. "Well, it's been a while since my mother told me this story. But the way I remember… it went something like this…"


A lioness walked through the desert late at night.

It wasn't the best time to be out, nor was it very comfortable. The cold wind of the landscape ruffled her fur, and the arid dryness parched her throat as she marched forward purposefully. At first she appeared to be alone, her slim figure barely noticeable as a dark silhouette in the midst of the blackness. The shadows practically enveloped her, almost as if they too were spirited, vicious beings. Which, really, was all too familiar. There were other malicious creatures living here, which set the atmosphere into one of dread and unsettling quiet. The soft tread of her footstep quickly echoed off into oblivion, the very landscape trying to dim and eventually mute any traces of moving, cacophonous life. To be alive was a gift rarely given here, which was evident by the stumps of the many long-dead trees scattered and peppered across the gently rolling, dusty dunes—the remnants of grassy knolls and meadow-blanketed hills.

She stopped there, studying the landscape around her with eyes like eagles', her brow furrowing and her expression morphing into one of serious calm. There was nothing here; not now. Even the crepuscular, twilight-thriving life forms had disappeared… presumably deep into their burrows, though they could have vanished out of the mortal realm completely. That was, really, the only possible explanation. The heat-bleached, snow-white skeletons of several unfortunate animals littered the barren ground, and there was no prey in sight. Only a few bats, barely visible in the sky, and some night-creeping moles. Perhaps an owl here and there as well. But these were off the menu, even if she was able to catch and skin one. But she wasn't, so the point was dreadfully moot.

More moments passed in utter silence, any hint of noise quickly being drowned out by the screeching dirge of the wordless night. The full moon was blotted out by the inky, mournful clouds, which had appeared good-naturedly but never dropped their precious cargo—rain—to the moisture-lacking land below. She looked to her left solemnly and nodded. A signal.

Another lioness appeared in the midst of the shadowy landscape: her friend. A young, pale-pelted female with plenty of determination and drive—that much was clear simply from her presence there, in the midst of the affecting solitude. She approached the vista of a large sand hill and stared off into the distance, her features glazed and listless with morose seriousness. But it was all in vain. Not a single animal or game trail was spotted between the two of them. Only emptiness. It hadn't always been this way, unfortunately... but this barren shell of a kingdom was now the truth, and it was what it was. Devoid.

"Nala, do you think we should return?"

There was a pause as the older lioness pressed her lips together, thinking. As much as she hated coming back empty-handed—or empty-pawed, as the case may be—there didn't appear to be much choice. If they stayed out much later their absence was bound to be noticed. Notwithstanding the fact that if there was no game now, there would almost certainly be nothing later. Their chances of returning successfully were slim to nil.

"What else can we do? The land's destroyed. There will be nothing to return to unless something is done."

"That's a rather pessimistic point-of-view."

"Yes, but you know of nothing else, Nyota."

"… That doesn't mean we can't have hope, though," the younger lioness commented quietly, the wind gently ruffling her soft, young fur as she looked longingly over her shoulder… towards the only home any of them had ever known.

"We can't continue like this forever… and if the king doesn't do something we all will starve. It's up to us to tell him something's wrong." The more senior huntress contradicted her statement flatly, turning around and heading off stealthily towards the rest of the pride. Nyota frowned diffidently but followed, her ears flattening slightly as she did so. She was the very youngest of the hunting party, which was one of the reasons why she had absconded from the cave and ventured into the vast unknown in the first place. In addition—of course—to the fact that any extra help would prove valuable to the former queen Sarabi, who was the leader of the hunting group. Yet her paw prints were so much smaller than Nala's, the latter of whom was barely out of adolescence herself. There was certainly a lot for her to learn.

"Sometimes I want to leave Pride Rock. There must be better places for us. But Scar isn't doing anything about it, and it sickens me."

"King Scar," the younger lioness stopped momentarily, attempting to get Nala's attention. "And hold no animus towards our leader. Why should he seek to destroy us?"

"I don't know!" she growled stubbornly, "but I don't think we should stay to find out."

"Mmmm… perhaps." Nyota dismissed her halfheartedly, clearly possessing no further desire to argue… lest they get into trouble.

The pair of friends crept through the shadows, hoping that the darkness would blot out the light shades of their pelts. The sparse, dry grass under their paws receded, the vegetation which remained having been hopelessly trampled under hundreds of hooves, feet, claws, and paws. They were nearing Pride Rock, the formerly boisterous hub of their kingdom. Blackness was cast over each crevice, the entire place emitting a disquieting aura of sad, depressive gloom. There was only one visible sign of life in the atmosphere: the steady breathing of the single lioness awaiting them. Alas, the huntress' ears were so sharp, and the stillness so complete, that they could even hear her heart beating several yards away—which was why the empty-handed hunt was especially disappointing.

"How did it go, girls?" the lioness queried surreptitiously, glancing around and scanning for any potential sources of danger. Luckily, most of the pride, as well as the filthy beasts which mingled therein, were sound asleep.

Nyota exchanged a sad, questioning glance with Nala, who only shook her head sadly.

"Same as today's hunt, my queen"—she bowed her head respectfully towards the ex-monarch—"there's nothing out there."

"Well, that's unfortunate," the eldest of the trio pressed her lips together tightly, dismayed. She wasn't actually the queen anymore, but it was still a kind gesture on Nala's part. Nyota bashfully followed suit, dipping her head low in front of Sarabi.

"Get inside, girls. Wouldn't want Scar's guards to find you out here this late."

"Agreed," the lionesses interjected simultaneously, all too eager to head to the den, which was filled with peaceful murmurs and the sounds of snoring. It was dangerous to be out past nightfall—not only was it the law, but it was also common sense. The night gave rise to vicious beings…

However, the two were suddenly stopped short, and they froze in their tracks as another silhouette approached from afar, the heavy thud of trudging footsteps gradually waxing and tickling their ears as they listened. Sarabi was already gone, and didn't appear to hear anything, but the two remaining huntresses intuitively turned their heads, trying to focus their vision on the oddly-shaped figure that was slowly appearing through the darkness blanketing the outside world.

Indeed, Pride Rock was like the eye of a typhoon—a single place of shelter in the midst of the wastelands. It was to here that the lionesses inevitably returned. Yet this wasn't just a lioness. A sharp and pungent scent quickly wafted past their noses, causing their mouths to inadvertently water. Something was amiss. In fact, now that they thought about it, there was a rather odd sound accompanied with this figure. A sort of strange… scuffling… could it be…?

"Oh, for the love of…"

"What is it, Nala?" Nyota piped up timidly, still baffled by the creeping, lumbering figure that seemed to be dragging itself across the ground. She took a harder sniff, and finally stiffened as realization spread across her face. It was another lioness—that much was obvious. But, unlike Nyota and Nala, this particular one was not hunting in secret to earn the hard-working huntresses a meal—oh no. The skinny, emaciated female was trying to bring back food for another… her mate. At least, the pride considered them to be mates, since she stuck to him like dew to a leaf. But it wasn't actually official… yet.

"Waff do you fink you're doing?" the foreign arrival replied, her teeth gritted around a heap of antelope flesh. Somehow, this huntress had succeeded in returning with one of the practically non-existent prey animals that still roamed the lands freely. Nala cocked her eyebrow, both surprised and irritated.

"We were talking to Sarabi about important matters, Zira."

"Right," the lioness spat back disbelievingly, having dropped the limb of the carcass she was carrying on the ground with a short thump. "Well, could you cease these important matters of yours and help me?"

"Why should I?" Nala asked indignantly, not seeing why she should even budge.

"Heh, don't play that little game with me, prick. I've got half a mind to report you to our king as it is. You aren't supposed to be out this late without express permission."

"Come on, Nala," Nyota pled with her friend, who was glowering at their adversary angrily, "we don't want to get in trouble again." The older lioness only looked at her with a glare that told her to remain quiet.

"Why do you even do this to yourself? You go out late at night, and waste your energy hunting for someone who doesn't love you. I mean, look at what he did to you!" The young huntress motioned to the skinny lioness' right ear—a painful-looking notch, probably from a claw, cut through its rim.

"That's none of your business!" Zira's voice rose profoundly, clearly provoked. Indeed, Nala would have continued… had it not been common sense that irritating Zira was a grave mistake. Her flyaway fury and often accusatory reactions were immensely hard to soothe and placate, and often lead to physical attacks. She paused for a moment, her features tetchily twisted into an expression of cross frustration.

A pause followed.

"That's better," she finally smirked, sensing the vagabond huntress' diffidence, "now bring this to Scar's cave, and don't wake him. Otherwise I'll make you and your little runt friend sorry for breaking the law."

Nala rolled her eyes imperceptibly, irritated by her strict, gung-ho outlook: especially concerning her soon-to-be-mate. She was younger than Zira, and technically had to do whatever she commanded; 'respect your elders' was how she had put it, and Scar was there to back her up on this point. The worst part was that Zira seemed to hold a particular grudge against the young lioness, for reasons she didn't quite understand. But at the same time, it wasn't just her, either. Besides this, Zira considered herself the queen, and condescendingly demanded that everyone fall in line behind her. Whenever Nala—or anyone else, for that matter—made even the slightest mistake, a shower of threats and appeals to the king would shower down upon the unfortunate party. Sometimes she would even attempt to take matters into her own paws, by vainly endeavoring to punish any who even remotely opposed Scar's will. But in Nala's case, the crazed lioness was usually chastised for doing so. Scar would often pardon and vouch for her in the strangest ways possible, and then Zira would reluctantly relent to her mate's will and pretend to go easy on the young adult female.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Zira chirped, butting into her reverie as she nudged the dead animal towards her inferior with her nose. "And remember—service with a smile. Be happy to serve a king as merciful and kind as ours."

"Or as tyrannical as ours," Nala muttered under her breath, picking up the limp and pallid body in her jaws. She narrowed her eyes a final time at Zira, before turning around and heading up to the cave. Secretly, she cursed her luck—going up to the king's den was always immensely uncomfortable. Why wasn't Nyota chosen to go? She would have made just as suitable a choice. But no. Zira still allowed the youngest lioness to catch some rest in the den, and nothing more was required of her.

Finally she reached the summit of the promontory, taking a staggered breath as she ventured into the darkness within…

"Here I go…"


I'm assuming that you liked it - otherwise you wouldn't have read all the way through the chapter. If you didn't, leave a review and point out where I went wrong. XD Anyways, a few short announcements.

1. This is a Nala/Scar fic. I figured I'd save that until the end, so I wouldn't turn away all my readers before they even bothered to read through my first chapter.

2. This is not the "Madness of King Scar" scene from the musical. This is a completely seperate, AU world - and a full-length fic.

3. There won't be any graphic lemons; however, I have the plot mostly planned already. This is still rated T for mature themes later on, so have discretion.

4. This is my first attempt at a full-length romance story. I tried to keep Nala in character (and will continue to do so throughout the fic), but this is my first time writing for her. So let me know how I did. ;o

R&R or F&F (fave and follow) - whatever floats your boat. This will probably be on the backburner until Trampled's over, so it may be a while for an update. Just throwing that out there. ~Peace.

- Twin (: