Before I tell my side of the story, I just wanted to say a few things. I'm inherited to the the land of the Pride Rock. I'm only five years old, so it doesn't really matter. My mom always have told me that even though I'm a girl, I should really think about looking over my land's lions, even at very young age. But it all started here at the Pride Rock.
It was when the sun was just starting to rise when I woke up. I ran outside and looked over the land that I was inherited to when my parents had died. But when the sun was out completely, the light covered every inch of the land, all except one place. There was a dark, shadowy place at the corner and it looked as though there were some kind of skeleton there. I jumped in surprise when I heard my dad's voice say, "That dark place over there is quite a dangerous place. You're entitled to everything that the light touches. That dark part, you wouldn't be inherited to it if your mother mated with some other lion at the Pride Rock."
I looked up and asked him, "What do you mean?"
"Let's just say that your mother is from the Pride Rock and I'm from over there. When your mother chose me over other lions, your grandfather, Simba, got so furious until I proved myself to be worthy to stay at the Pride Rock," dad had explained to me, rather in a rushed way.
What was so unique about my dad was that he was the only one at the Pride Rock who had black mane. I knew that my mom was from Pride Rock, but never have I knew that my dad would be from some other place.
I asked him with a little hope in my voice, "Can we go there, daddy? Can we? Right now?"
My dad looked down at me and gave me a faint smile, saying, "Sorry, Daisy. We're not going there any time soon. I'm no longer welcomed by my family over there. Also, it's too dangerous with the hyenas that my father once used to control as his army." He gave me a kiss on my forehead and walked away.
For several hours, all I did was just walk around, bored and bummed about not being allowed to go to that one place I was "inherited" to, so my dad said. But when I saw a pig and some kind of a weasle, I pounced on them to see if I could kill them myself. Before I could even catch them, they turned around and saw me pouncing on them. The weasle screeched, "Pumbaa! Run for your life! A lion's after us!" With just that, they started to run as fast as they could.
When I was so close to catching them, I crashed into one of the lions. I looked up and saw that it was my grandfather. I started to laugh weakly as I said, "Hi, grandpa."
My grandpa was Simba, the one who everyone thought was dead years ago because of what one of my great-grandpa had said. Apparently, he had some extra help to distract the hyenas when he had to reach his uncle to fight for his rightful place as a king. At least, that's what I heard.
The pig named Pumbaa cried out, "Grandpa?"
The weasle started to laugh as he said, "Simba, ol' buddy! You have got to be kidding me! You? A grandfather?"
"Timon! Pumbaa! You know better than to behave like little kids!" Simba told them with a small smile. He turned to me and said, "Daisy, before you try to go on and kill other animals, remember these two words. Hakunna Matata."
Making a face, I repeated, "Hakuna Matata?"
As he nodded, Pumbaa, Timon and my grandpa started to sing, "It means no worries! For the rest of your days. It's our problem-free philosphy! Hakuna Matata!"
When Timon and Pumbaa walked off, continuing to sing the song, grandpa crouched down and told me, "The thing is, it's really circle of life. My father always used to tell me when I was your age that lions kill and eat other animals, but in the end, they eat us when we die and turn into grass. So no matter what, it's every animal for itself. Okay?"
While he ruffled my fur, I laughed as I told him, "Okay, grandpa!" I gave him a kiss and said, "You're the best."
I ran back to where the other cubs were and when I spotted Daniel, one of my closest friends, I quickly whispered in his ear, "C'mon! There's a place that I'm inherited to, but my dad says it's too dangerous for me to go. He also says it's off limits for me."
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Daisy?" Daniel asked me with uncertainity.
"What are you two talking about?" my mother's voice asked.
"Uh, wandering around in the fields by ourselves," I quickly told her.
My dad walked over and told us, "Then Zazu has to go with you."
"Dad! We don't want Zazu around! He'll just ruin the fun!" I cried out.
Grandpa walked over and lied down as he told me, "That's what I thought when I was your age, Daisy. Wanted to wander around with Nala with no body around. Ended up making a huge mistake when we finally managed to get rid of him by dancing around while singing of how I couldn't wait to be king. Scared the heck out of my dad doing that, too. If he was alive, I would tell him that I'm sorry for doing that."
Daniel and I started to get interested. Daniel asked him, "How did he die, sir?"
"Let's just say that I was in middle of a stampede, and when Zazu told my father of what was going on, he started to freak. He jumped in and managed to rescue me, but died himself in the stampede," grandpa told us. Yawning, he called, "Zazu! Come over here!"
Zazu flew over and said, "What is it, Simba?"
"After all these years, you still don't call me 'sire' like you did to my father! Some respect I get from you, Zazu. Any way, that's not the point. I want you to keep your eyes on Daniel and Daisy. They say they want to play in the fields, supposedly, but I suspect they'll end up doing what I did when you had to keep your eyes on me and Nala when we were young," grandpa ordered him.
Zazu nodded as he quickly said, "Yes, Simba."
My dad kissed me on the cheek as he said, "Remember, Daisy. We're doing this only out of love. You're a young cub who is inherited to rule this land when you grow older."
Daniel and I ran off with Zazu just over our heads. Daniel whispered to me, "How are we going to get rid of him? You told me that one of the places you were inherited to was even off limits for you!"
"What's off limits?" Zazu asked in alarm.
"That place with some kind of skeleton that doesn't have any sunlight hitting it," I told him rather sheepishly.
Zazu groaned as he said, "You have got to be kidding me, ma'am!"
"Nope. Now get lost, Zazu," I told him and ran off with Daniel.
After running around in circles, we managed to lose Zazu. Daniel jumped on my back and we were rolling down a hill, laghing. When he was the one landing on top of me, he declared, "I win!"
That's when I saw it. The huge skull that seemed like a home for some other animals, but dangerous ones. Getting up, I edged closer to it in awe, but Zazu appeared out of nowhere in front of me and cried out, "What are you thinking, Daisy? This is where the hyenas live!"
"And how do you know?" I snapped.
"Because your grandfather and your grandmother came here as little cubs after they managed to ditch me," Zazu yelled. "Any way, this is a dangerous place!"
Laughing, I declared loudly, "I laugh in the face of danger!"
"That's what Simba said when he was young!" a new voice said and it came from behind me.
Three hyenas came out of the skull and Zazu got in front of me and Daniel in a protective way, demanding, "Get away from these kids, Banzai! Keep Ed away, considering Shenzi and you're the only ones with the brains!"
I grabbed Zazu in my mouth and started to run with Daniel running right behind me. The only problem with that was, I wasn't even thinking about where we were going that I led Zazu, Daniel and myself to a cornered place. The one named Banzai said, "And you led yourself and your little friends to quicker death, kid!"
There was a loud roar and my dad came leaping in front of us. He landed on top of the three hyenas and yelled, "What the heck are you thinking attacking my flesh and blood, Banzai? And as for you, Shenzi, haven't you learned anything while my mother raised me while controlling you hyenas? I wouldn't expect Ed the dumb-dumb to catch up with anything quickly!"
"That boy is your kid, Kovu?" the female one asked.
"Not Daniel! The girl! Daisy is the one you were about to attack, Shenzi!" I have never seen my dad like this before in my life. "If you try to attack my daughter again, I'll kill all three of you!"
When the hyenas ran away, I whispered, "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were talking about this kind of danger."
My dad didn't even look at me as he said, "I never expected you to act like this, Daisy. Imagine what my sister and my brother would say if Shenzi, Banzai and Ed tells her that I'm back. Not to forget to mention my brother." He glanced down at me just for one moment and said, "C'mon, Daisy. Let's see what your mother has to say when she finds out that you came here."
I started to feel afraid as I asked him in a small voice, "Are you really going to tell her?"
My dad thought for a moment before he said, "Maybe not tonight. Your grandfather passed away, so she might not want any more bad news for today." When we got near to our home, my dad stopped walking and told Zazu, "Can you take Daniel home? I want to talk to Daisy alone."
Zazu nodded, replying, "Yes, Kovu." He looked at Daniel while saying, "C'mon, Daniel. Time for your to get to your parents."
When they were out of earshot, I asked, "Am I in deep trouble, dad?"
"Why did you disobey your mother and I, especially when I told you to stay away from that place! I had the feeling that those three would be there, and the last thing I wanted to do was show up to let them know that Scar's son was still alive and well!" was all my dad screeched.
I quietly said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
My dad pulled me closer to him and whispered in my ear, "At least you're okay, Daisy. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you." Laughing, I pushed my dad's head and we were rolling down the hill as we laughed, pushing and fighting in a playful way.
Next day, I hung out by myself in some sort of alley with a lion that I have never seen before. The lion suddenly asked me, "You're Kovu's kid, aren't you?"
I ran up to her and asked, "How did you know my dad's name?"
The lion smiled at me as she said, "My name is Vitani. I'm your aunt. Well, kinda. Your father was actually adopted, let's just say, into my family until Scar, my dad, got killed by your grandfather. Let's just put it this way. My dad killed your great-granpa and as a revenge, your grandpa killed my dad. Your father was supposed to be my family's way of getting back at your grandfather for killing my dad by making him rule the land and handing the land over to us."
Laughing, I said, "No way. Not my dad. He would never do that to the lions of Pride Rock."
My aunt, so she says, got up and stretched before walking off. She shrugged and told me, "Whatever. If you don't believe me, then you don't. But I've got a small present for you. Wait here for few minnutes." She walked off and left me in that deserted place. After a minute or two, I heard loud thundering noises from the opposite direction that aunt Vitani walked off to.
When I looked over, there were huge buffaloes charging right towards me. Startled, I started to run while screaming. When I found a huge rock, I climbed up there as fast as I can and jumped to the nearest tree. Just as I grabbed a branch of a rock, the buffaloes started to go right past me and the tree I was clinging onto was shaking with no end. When I saw Zazu flying over the heard of buffaloes, I yelled as loud as I could, "Zazu!" Zazu looked down at me and I could have told that he was panicking. I yelled, "Get my mom! My arms are getting tired! Hurry!"
Zazu flew away as quickly as he could and came back only a minute or two later. He came down to where I was hanging and told me quickly, "Your mother is on her way! Hang on!"
When Zazu flew off once more, I saw a lion from distance running down the hill. When the lion got closer, I realized it was my mother. When she got closer, I couldn't hold on any longer that I started to fall in middle of the stampede. Just before I hit the ground, my mom grabbed me by my neck and started to run while getting hit by some buffaloes. She climbed onto a dry mountain and dropped me off at a place big enough for me and started to climb further up herself. Just before she left me there, she told me, "Wait here, Daisy. I'll come get you as soon as the stampede is over."
She started to climb higher up, but just when she was so close to the top, I saw her falling to the ground. As soon as she hit the ground, the stampede was over. I ran down the hill, the way that my mom brought be up, but I could not see her through the cloud of dust. Another buffalo ran past me, and that's when I saw my mom. She was lying there, lifeless and motionless. I crouched down beside her and stayed with her. Soon, Zazu came by and spotted the two of us. I heard him say, "Kovu won't be happy about this!" With just that, he was gone.
Of course, it didn't take aunt Vitani to come back after Zazu flew off. When she arrived, she told me, "I'd run for it if I were you, kid."
Looking up, I asked, "What do you mean?"
She rolled her eyes as she asked, "Isn't it obvious, kid? Your dad will be so mad that your mother had died just because she tried to save your life. I mean, she couldn't even save herself while at it! Think about it, kid! She's dead because of you!" She looked away as she said, "Run for it, kid, while you can. I think your dad's on his way. I mean, you did send that bird to get your mother for you, right? I suspect he went to get your dad at the same time."
I ran as fast as I could and slid down a hill into the field of thorns. I ran through the field, avoiding the thorns, and ran out into the desert. That was the last time I ever saw the land I was inherited to. It was finally good-bye world and my new life began.
I was knocked out in the desert, but that was all I could remember. I only woke up when it seemed as though the heat cooled down and felt cold water against my face. When I woke up, there was a warthog along with five penguins. As I got up, I asked, "Who the heck are you guys? I never seen you guys at the Pride Rock."
The warthog said, "Well, the penguins are little nuts, but as for me, I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I'm Jim Bob, as everyone calls me."
One of the five penguins that seemed to be the leader said in Spanish accent, "And we are - "
All five penguins suddenly cried out at once, "Los Amigos!"
Jim Bob looked at me as he said, "Told ya. Little nuts."
The leader turned to Jim Bob and cried out, "We ain't nuts, you iffy puffy goofy hog!"
I started to walk away as I told them, "Thanks for the help, any way."
The penguins ran in front of me, yelling, "Where are youg going? Do you have a home?"
"I used to, but not any more," I told them. "I lost the land that I was inherited to."
"Hakunna Matata," six of them said to me at once.
My ears twitched up and they finally had my attention. I sang, "It means no worries! For the rest of your days! It's our problem free philosophy! Hakunna matata!"
The leader penguin suddenly asked, "Where'd you get that from?"
One of the other four penguins said, "We didn't expect you to know that!"
"My grandpa taught me before he died," I told them. "Along with two of his friends. Timon and Pumbaa, I think their names were."
"Pumbaa? Is he still alive?" Jim Bob asked.
"Yeah. Why? You know him?" I asked with curiosity.
"Not really," he responded. "Let's just go."
On the way to some place, guessing the place they lived, I asked them, "Do you guys have any food? I'm kind of hungry. Didn't eat anything before I left Pride Rock."
The penguins and Jim Bob threw some bugs over as they said, "Those are what we call food. Try one." When Jim Bob saw that I looked grossed out, he assured me by saying, "I've heard from one of Pumbaa's family members that a lion named Simba once live off on bugs. Quote on quote from that lion was that the bugs didn't taste so bad."
I picked one up as I said, "I can't believe my grandpa actually did this!" I closed my eyes and ate one. After swallowing it, I smiled down at them, saying, "Hey! My grandpa was right! These aren't that bad, after all!"
For years, I have lived with these so called "amigos". Well, the penguins and the pig, to be exact. But I've grown to be an adult lion and I was at the age where I was just right enough to have the land of Pride Rock passed on down to me. Only problem was, I had verry little memory left of it.
One day, I was just dozing off in the sun when I heard the penguins crying out at top of their lungs, along with Jim Bob screaming. By the sound of their scream, they sounded like total nut-cases, but I could have told right away that they were in trouble. I spran up onto my feet and started to run towards where their screams came from. I jumped over them and saw a male lion getting ready to pounce on them. I gave him a huge roar and demanded, "Get any closer to my friends, and I could have sentenced you to death!"
The lion growled at me, "You and what army? That pig and the penguins?"
Jim Bob's voice angrily asked, "Did he just call me a pig?"
"Jim Bob! I have this in my hands, so keep it down!" I snapped. I turned back to the male lion as I snapped, "I'm the real deal when it cones to the real inherited lion of Pride Rock! In the name of Mufasa, my great-grandfather, back off!"
"Your great-grandfather is Mufasa? The one who saved Daisy's grandfather, Simba? Ha! What a laugh! Give me a good fight and I'll believe you when you beat me!" he told me with a laugh.
He and I jumped on each other and the fight began. I managed to scratch him in the face several times, but he was the one who scratched me the most. When he had won and landed on top of me, he bared his teeth. Breathing hard, I asked, "How did you know my name, though? I have been away from Pride Rock since I was a very young cub."
"What do you mean? I don't know you!" he cried out.
I took a deep breath and said, "My name is Daisy. In relation of Kovu."
The male lion got off of me and cried out, "Oh my god! I can't believe you're still alive! Vitani told everyone you disappeared when your mom died in a stampede! Everyone thought you'd be dead by now! What have you been living off of, for crying out loud?"
I backed off as I asked, "Who are you?"
"It's me! Daniel! Remember we ran off after we managed to ditch Zazu? Remember, Daisy? We got in so much trouble when we ran into hyenas!" he cried out with excitement in his voice.
Suddenly, his name hit me with a big blow. I yelled, "Daniel! Oh, man! It's been ages!"
We jumped around in excitement and started to ask eachother questions at the same time. Suddenly, I heard Jim Bob's voice calling, "Uh, Daisy? What's going on, pal?"
I called over my shoulder, "Jim Bob! Amigos! Come over here! Meet my friend from my home land!" It took awhile for Jim Bob to get to us, but the amigos got there right away.
The leader of the amigos snapped at Daniel, "Without her at your town, you'll be nothing but iffy, hiffity, poofity, poop!"
When Daniel gave me a look that asked who this one was, I told him, "These are amigos. They're bit crazy, but you get used to 'em after a long while." When Jim Bob arrived, I introduced them to eachother and they didn't seem bit surprised.
Daniel suddenly asked, "You coming back to the Pride Rock?"
Shocked, I asked, "What? Why would I go back there? I barely think about it any more! The only thing I think about here is what my grandpa taught me. Hakunna Matata."
"But you have to come back, Daisy! You're our only hope!" Daniel cried out helplessly. "Vitani is destroying our land and she was related to Scar, one of your great-grandfathers! He did the same until your grandfather returned to claim his right place as a king! Now, it's your turn to return to claim your right place as a queen!"
I yelled at him with frustration, "I don't want to go back! At there, I have so many things to worry about! At here, it's different!"
"Your father is struggling! He is getting beaten by his step-sister every single day, Daisy! Do you want to live rest of your life knowing that your father is getting beaten up? That's he's close to his death because of his physical treatment?" he snapped at me, but more of a yell.
I snapped at him in a loud tone, "Can you stop talking about dad? I left because if I stayed at the Pride Rock, he would never forgive me!"
"What could you possibly have done, Daisy? What did you do that you say he will never forgive you for?" Daniel hissed.
"You will never understand. That's in my past, any way," I told him in low voice. I turned to the amigos and Jim Bob as I told them, "Can I just hang out with my friend for awhile? I have a lot of things to catch up on with him."
The leader said, "What ever you say, amiga!" He yelled at Daniel, "Remember what I said, you iffity, poofity, proon!" He cried out, "Let's go, amigos!"
I could have told that Jim Bob was having doubts about going with those penguin guys, but he just followed them with no choice. When they were out of earshot, I asked, "Has dad been treated that bad by aunt Vitani?"
He nodded as he told me, "Let's talk some where else, but the topic ain't gonna come back until much later. I want to talk about how you have been doing all these years when I thought you were dead. Especially how you have survived all these years."
I led him to a pond near by and we just drank out of it. I walked past him with a smile, only to come running back to jump back in the water. I the water, I saw Daniel's expression. He looked freaked out but I could have told that he was trying to keep calm, like he did when we were young. I jumped out right in front of his face and pulled him down with me as I went back inside. He and I came back out together and we both shook off water out of our fur. He pushed me back into the water and ran off as he laughed. All these years, I wished to see my friend once more, smiling and laughing. Finally, I got my wish and it was so long that I have waited to see this moment.
After hours of laughing and running around, we finally calmed down and talked. He begged, "Daisy, please come back to Pride Rock. We all need you. Especially your father."
"I told you I don't want to go back," I told him.
"Why are you being so stubborn? I don't remember you being like this at all!" he yelled.
I yelled back, "Then why are you trying to get me to go back to the Pride Rock when I don't want to? Answer me that, Daniel!"
Screaming, he snapped, "I'm not even going to try any more! We all needed you! I go off to look for help and when I finally find someone who has great power, she won't even help her best friend! If you don't know who I'm talking about, I'll tell you who I'm talking about! I'm talking about you! And I'll tell you another thing! Your father wanted to see you and now that he thinks your dead, he doesn't even have enough stregnth to get around! He won't even talk to anyone, because he's so upset about losing his only daughter and his only wife that he loved so much, Daisy! I couldn't go on seeing him like this, that's why I tried to find someone!"
With just that, he ran off. At that point, I didn't know what to do. I was so lost with what Daniel just have told me. Was I to go back to Pride Rock or was I to do nothing?
For hours, I wandered around the fields and I knew that there was a monkey following me. I asked him, "Who are you?"
"I am Rafiki," the monkey told me. "I was a friend of your grandfather, Simba. Daisy, I'll tell you one thing right now. If you look deep in your heart, you'll hear several voices telling you what you should do, but you're blocking the voices out with fear. Did you know?"
I started to ask what he meant, but there was a strong wind that hit without warning. I looked up and there were clouds that formed into a huge one. It made three figures of three seperate lions. I heard an unfarmiliar voice saying, "Daisy, I'm your great grandfather. It runs in your blood that you are to run the Pride Rock."
Suddenly, my grandfather's voice told me, "Daisy, you know where you belong. Go back to the Pride Rock and lead the lions out into freedom like I did around your age. You know where your heart belongs, so follow it. Listen to it closely."
My mother's voice soon said, "Do this for me. Please. It wasn't your fault that I died. It was someone that you know already that have done this."
I cried out, "Who? Who would it be if it wasn't me, mom? You died because tried to save me from that stampede?"
I heard her voice say, "Just go back to the Pride Rock. Sooner or later, you will find out. Go free them, love. Do this for me." With that, the clouds disappeared.
The monkey started to laugh as he said, "That was so strange!"
I responded, "You're strange, dude." I grabbed his stick and threw it far and wide. When he went after his stick, I ran off.
Behind me, I heard his voice yell to me, "Go, Daisy! Go free your kind!" I heard his wild laughter and I was running into the darkness to get to my land. My land that I called my home. The Pride Rock.
It took me all night to get to Pride Rock, but I was there by morning. I heard Daniel's voice asked, "What made you change your mind about coming here? You said you wouldn't come."
I smiled at him as I said, "I couldn't let my childhood memories go to waste. Something told me it was right thing to do to come back." I frowned as I asked, "Why are you here? This is dangerous."
"I laugh in the face of danger! Ha ha ha ha!" Daniel told me sarcastically.
I heard the leader penguin's voice said, "Yo, amigo! What you laughin' about, boy? This don't look funny! Look at the place!"
I turned around and saw amigos and Jim Bob. I cried out, "Why are you all here?"
Jim Bob told me, "These nut cases wanted to come, so they dragged me here."
I looked back at where the big rock was as I asked Daniel, "Any thing I need to know before we apporach the Pride Rock itself in general?"
Daniel slowly said, "Yeah. About that. It's taken over by hyenas and they're protecting Vitani, making sure no one gets to her to over throw her. That's where we all need you. You're the actual lion that was inherited to this land. I mean, for years now, your family has been kings and queens of this land and now it's your turn, since it's you that have the actual power."
I looked over to the penguins and at Jim Bob. The leader said, "Oh, no! We ain't ready to be dead, amiga! C'mon, big guy! Don't make us be the live bait!"
I told them rather quickly, "I'll give you guys a whole bunch of fish if you guys survive after creating a diversion for me! After all, if I manage to throw my aunt off, I'll become the queen of this land! Fishes will be back. You'll see."
The leader cried out, "What are you waiting for?" With just that, they ran off to create a diversion. When all the hyenas were finally chasing them, it was time for aunt Vitani to get out of my way to make myself the rightful queen.
When I reached the top of the rock, someone farmiliar was pushed towards me in a harsh way. My dad's voice weakly told someone completely different, "I told you I can't do anything, Vitani! With Daisy and my wife dead, I can't do anything! I own nothing. What more do you want?"
Vitani screeched, "I told you to get all the lions and hunt for food for my family and the hyenas, idiot!"
I jumped in front of him and gave a loud roar. Everyone backed off, all except my dad, who had lied there on his side, weak. I snapped at her, "No one talks to him like that! Especially not when I'm back to take back the land! My grandfather may have ran away as well when he was my age, but I see now how bad the land might have looked back then!"
"Kiara?" my dad asked in disbelief.
"No! I am so certain that you died in that stampede years ago!" Vitani yelled.
I helped my dad up onto his feet as I quietly told him, "No, dad. It's me. Daisy." I didn't turn to face Vitani as I snared, "You told me that my dad would kill me if I sticked around, aunt Vitani! Look what is happening now that I have returned!"
Vitani looked shocked but she burst into laughter. She said calmly, "Oh, so it's you, isn't it, Daisy darling? I thought you'd never come back, so I took the heritage of this land back to my family!"
The amigos and Jim Bob came running up to me, screaming. The leader yelled, "You crazy by asking us to be live bait, girl? Amigos can't handle such big buisness with the fatty here!"
I saw Vitani making her escape as I snapped at him, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Distract them even more while I get my aunt to fight her for my rightful place as the queen of this land."
I ran off to fight here, but she was trapped. She turned around and smirked at me when I reached her. Vitani said, "So, you survived! I thought you died just like Kiara, your mother."
"And yet, you told me to run before dad started to yell at me," I snared. "I'm back and guess what? He ain't yelling."
I didn't notice when the other lions arrived, but I did notice when I heard my dad ask in shakey tone, "About what, Daisy?"
I turned around, quickly and swiftly. Suddenly, fear started to fill me up as Vitani snared loud enough for everyone to hear, "Tell them, Daisy! Tell them how your mother died!"
I looked away painfully as I told everyone, "She died because of me."
There was a moment of silence. Shocked, my dad whispered, "What? What did you say?"
"She died because of me, dad! She died because of me!" I yelled. "I was stuck in middle of a stampede, so I sent Zazu to find mom as he flew over me! I asked him to get mom and next thing I knew, she was coming after me! She saved me, but she didn't save herself! She died trying to save me! That's why I didn't come back to the Pride Rock! I was afraid that you would hurt me, dad! I was in hiding and amigos and Jim Bob helped me forget about all my worries! They helped me forget about my past! Now I'm back, there is no turning back!"
Vitani gave an evil laugh as she told everyone, "See, everyone? Your real soon-to-be-queen is really a murderer! Is that what you really want? She killed her own mother the second I was gone when I told her that I was going to get a surprise for her!"
I thought for awhile. The surprise. Sudden stampede the second she was gone. Coming back without a single scratch. It all added up. It was the stampede that was the surprise and her plan was to get me killed instead of my mom, but when her plan backfired, she decided to get rid of me by making me afraid. I sneered, "You planned it all along!"
She asked as though she unexpected that, "What?"
I yelled, "You planned it ever since I was a little kid, you witch! You tried to kill me when I was just a cub!"
"What? You tried to kill my daughter? What did she ever do to you?" my dad snapped.
She sneered in low tone, "It's not what she did! It's what her family did! Kovu, have you forgotten already what Simba has done to our father?"
"Simba had right to kill our father! Scar did nothing more than bring misery to these lions' families! What did you expect?" was the only thing he yelled back as his argument.
"You made promise to mother that you would fool that Kiara girl into falling in love with you just so you could hand over the land to us so mother could make their lives miserable once more, especially Simba's life! Yet, you failed us!" Vitani said.
Sadness filled my heart as I asked, "Is that true, dad? Did you really try to fool mom so you could make these lions' lives miserable?"
My dad couldn't make eye contact with me as he painfully said, "I'm so sorry, Daisy."
Vitani pushed me off the cliff but I managed to grab on. Beneath me, the hyenas started a fire and Vitani whispered in my ear, "Remember when your mother fell to her death? This is where you fall to yours, Daisy dear!" She clawed into my paws, but just before she let go, I swung around and stood behind her.
I turned to dad and yelled at him, "I can't believe you would do that to mom!"
"You don't understand, Daisy!" he yelled back.
Before he could continue, I snapped at him, "I don't want to hear from you right now." I turned back to Vitani as I snared, "Bring it on! I'll fight until one of us die, Vitani! This is to death! Understand?"
She smiled in an evil way as she cried out, "Yes! Now this is what I call a fight!"
She and I started to scratch and hit each other, mostly in the face. During the fight, the fire appeared from behind us and the last thing I heard from my father was calling my name with fear. The hyenas attacked me from behind without warning, but the lions jumped into help me out. My father was the first to jumpe in. He scared half of them away and he roared, "If anyone hurts my daughter, I will be the one to kill them! Scram or fight me!"
As my father fought off the hyenas, I ran after Vitani, who was running from the fight the second I looked away. We were at the top and she turned around in a fierce way. She yelled, "Now you went way too far! You should have never come back!" When she tried to pounce on me, I jumped just before I got hit and jumped off of her back to where she was standing before.
I asked her, "Is that all you have? I thought you wanted a real fight so I gave you one. Instead, you call the hyenas to do your work."
Vitani pushed me hard and turned me over before she started to choke me hard by my neck. She snared at me, "Your family ruined my family's life! Now you will pay with your life, Daisy!"
I threw some hot burning ashes into her eyes to get her off of me, which had worked, but it took her only few seconds to recover after I got up. When she jumped on me once more, I ducked quickly to avoid her attack. When I did, she had got over me and to the edge of the cliff. When she tried to catch her balance, I told her, "Revenge is not the answer, Vitani. Oh, one more thing." I shoved her as I called, "Good-bye!"
She landed on the ground and I saw that she had survived. The problem was, the hyenas closed in on her and they ended the fight by knocking her unconcious and dragging her out of the land. Finally, the land was back to my family. The rain started to pour in and the fires went out.
When I went back down, Daniel ran over to me as he cried out with glee, "I knew you could do it, Daisy! I just knew it!" When he jumped on top of me, we went rolling down the hill, but this time, I was the one to land on top of him.
Smiling, I declared, "I win!"
I got off as Daniel and I laughed, but I stopped when my dad came walking up to me. He whispered, "I'm so sorry, Daisy. After I gained your grandfather's trust, I had to choose between your mother and my family. That's why Vitani went after you and brought out my darkest secret that I wanted to keep in the past."
I walked over to my dad and gave him a hug. I quietly told him, "Everyone makes mistakes, dad. I just wish you would have told me when I was a cub."
Rafiki came up to me and said as he put a hand on my shoulder, "Daisy, it's time to go up to the Pride Rock. This might be my last time seeing another lion in your family take their rightful place as a king or a queen."
I hugged Rafiki as well as I told him, "Thanks for showing me where my heart belongs, Rafiki."
Zazu landed on my shoulder as he said, "It's time, madam." I nodded and I climbed back up to the top of the Pride Rock. When everyone stared at me, I gave a loud roar and everyone roared back.
It took several weeks for the grasses to grow back and for the wild animals to return, but it was worth waiting. When all those weeks were gone, we finally had some food that we could eat and not many animals were killed in the process. I finally had a cub of my own and my partner was my closest and the best friend in the whole entire world, Daniel.
