Zira – Envy

I knew I wasn't perfect. I knew I wasn't beautiful. I knew I wasn't normal, but not special. I never really hated anyone until I saw my reflection. I knew others were better than me. I knew I was the oddball – the freak. I had bright red eyes, he sign of evil, but I'm not evil. I'm only a tad bit misunderstood.

I was born to a single mother outside of the Pridelands. I never knew my father, and I'm glad for that. He left my mother heartbroken and pregnant. Loneliness will change someone in bad ways; I should know. My mother loved me when I was a newborn, but once I opened my eyes, it all went downhill. She began taking her frustration out on me because I looked like my father. She even gave me the nick on my ear when I was six moons old.

Aside from the abuse, she trained me…harshly. She taught me life skills like how to hunt, fight, and murder. Thankfully she never fully demonstrated the last one on me. I left her before she could go to that extreme.

Throughout my early life, I saw rouge families and their cubs. I became jealous because their parents loved them; I was merely a punching bag. I also heard about the Pridelands when I was young. They said it was paradise where animals could live happily and harmoniously. I wanted to go there so badly. I dreamt about it every night. When I was old enough to survive on my own, in my teens, I left my mother to go to the Pridelands. Life was better there, and the king accepted me graciously. He sent me to live with a lioness named Sina and her family, She was very kind, and had a daughter that was my age. Sarafina was her name. She was okay, but merely tolerated me. Sina treated me like I was her own daughter; like I was special, which was a new feeling to me. She said that she loved me. I had never heard the word before, and didn't understand it.

One day, Sina asked Sarafina to give me a tour of the Pridelands. She agreed reluctantly, but left me once we were out of her mother's sight. I was okay with that – I was always a loner. I walked and ran around until I reached the waterhole. It was so big, and I saw tons of strange animals. I was used to seeing some of them, like zebra and ostriches, but I had never seen others, like a real giraffe or elephant. I walked around and talked to a few animals, wondering why they were so comfortable around a predator like me.

"Hi there, you must be Zira!" a cheery deep voice shouted. I looked around and saw a golden lion approaching me. He seemed to be a bit older. Another lion followed close behind, but he was smaller then the golden one and had a nasty scar on his left eye. They both had almost fully grown manes, so I guessed they were young adults.

"I'm Mufasa," the golden lion said. "And this is my brother Taka."

"Scar. My name is Scar," the brown lion hissed.

"Right…well anyway, do you want to go hunting with us? Some of the other young lions and lionesses are going." Mufasa asked.

"Sure," I said. I was very happy to be asked by another lion to go somewhere. My life of abuse really messed up my mind.

The three of us walked past the waterhole to a grassy plain. Several other lions and lionesses sat around chatting and playing with each other. I spotted Sarafina play-fighting with a darker lioness. Mufasa ran up to the two and nuzzle the darker lioness. Sarafina looked at Scar with a flirty look in her bright eyes. I heard him purr and strut over to greet her. I growled and walked away with disgust. It seemed like everyone here had a friend or mate, and I was al alone. I knew exactly why nobody talked to me unless they were forced to. Sarafina and all of the other lionesses were normal and pretty. I wasn't – I was ugly. My eyes were glowing red, my ear was disfigured, and I was too skinny. These other lionesses could attract lions, but I defiantly couldn't.

I kept to myself for the rest of the day. I caught several antelope for the pride, and everyone was thankful, but none of the lions gave me a second glance still. Even Mufasa, who was friendly, only treated me like a friend. Scar wouldn't speak to me at all, which hurt me. He was the only one who looked somewhat like me. He was skinny and scarred, but he wasn't ostracized. He was accepted by everyone, especially Sarafina. The sight of the two of them sickened me. She was so beautiful…I hated it. Hated it!

Eventually we all grew up and tragedy struck – Sina died. The worst part was I seemed to be the only one who was upset by it. Sarafina was sad, but got over it quickly. I was heartbroken; Sina was the closest lioness I had ever been to. She was the only one who loved me. She was the best mother ever, and now she was gone. I was alone and lost without her. I didn't have a mate, any friends, or a mom.

On the brightside, Scar began to show interest in me after Ahadi died and Mufasa became king. He stoke to me in ways that I could relate to. He was envious of his brother, just as I was envious of other lionesses. He said that he deserved to be king instead of his brother. Also, one day he told me that if he ever became king, he would make me his queen.

"Why me?" I asked in shock. "Why not Sarafina? You haven't paid any attention to me since I came here."

Scar growled, "Sarafina and I never had love. She found her true love years ago – a rouge named Ni. She's pregnant now with his cub."

"Still, I was never anything special to you. Why would you choose me?" I protested. There was no way I would be a last resort. I still had some dignity.

"I'm choosing you because I'm curious about you. I want to become close to you now, when it matters the most. We seem to have much in common. You're different from other lionesses, just as I'm not an average lion. You're also smarter and use your brain. I like that in a lioness," he purred.

His words soothed over my heart like honey. He was attempting to charm me, and it was working. "I see. What do I need to do for you to take the throne, my King?" I said.

He smiled and his emerald eyes narrowed. "We must kill Mufasa."

Cliffie at the end? :D Not really seeing as we all know Scar kills Mufasa.

Thanks to Savu0211 on DeviantART for letting me use his character, Sina. i did change her character a bit but all credit goes to him!

I also don't own TLK!

~Skyy