Lion King one-shot. The night after Sarafina and Nala join Mufasa's pride, Sarafina goes out into the night and contemplates her thoughts.
I do not own the Lion King or any of its content. It all belongs to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.
Enjoy the story!
Stars glistened like crystals against the deep, soft background of the night sky. A lone lioness of a cream pelt and mint eyes wandered outside, right at the base of the huge rock home to the governing pride of the Pridelands.
Memories swirled around in the lioness's brain. She took the time and the cool, fresh air to help her clear some parts. Just today, she and her cub had came to this land and had been accepted into the pride by the current ruler of the Pridelands, king Mufasa. A generous offer that they had accepted. After escaping their own pride's destruction and wandering for many days, settling down into a pride was an answered prayer.
A gentle night breeze blew across the grasses, bringing a burst of coolness and bending down the plants so that she might get more comfortable as she laid down. She stretched out her legs and let her stomach touch the long and soft plants beneath her. In a minute the grasses began to absorb the heat from, her body, regaining the warmth that she had lost.
Light twinkling came up above her. The reflection of the bright little dots swam in her reflection as she felt her eyes begin to water. She quickly bowed her head and let gravity pull the tears into puddles under her eyes and let the overfill and spill down her face. She wiped them away, brushing their watery trails and leaving sticky and wet parts behind.
An image of a lion came into her mind. One with brilliant teal eyes, vanilla pelt and a warm expression on his face. Her mate and her daughter's, Nala, father. He had left to go help the others as the fire ravaged their homeland. He had told her and Nala to run and for all she knew, only her and Nala escaped the fire.
A tear fell from her eyes, slid down onto her nose, and dripped onto her paws. In the split fraction of a second during it's fall, the tear became a glowing, reflective orb of the stars. For a fraction of a second, it was like a star, just like the ones up above. Too soon though, it fell onto her paws and the liquid absorbed through her fur, into her skin.
Sarafina turned her head back up to the stars. They seemed to be watching her, each like the light being found in the pupils of creatures. The moon seemed to be watching her heavily, its white, cool surface watching like how a blind eye may focus on something, though it cannot see anything. The night sky and all its wonders were watching her, ready to listen to her prayers.
"Great King of the Past," she started, "Please hear my plea. Let myself and my daughter find peace and happiness in this new land. Let my missing mate, husband and father to our child, if truly lost, may be find his way once more. Please Great Kings, please."
Tears fell freely from her face and onto the plants. The tears split into any individual droplets as they hit the plant coming to a stop and resembling the morning dew that would be forming in a matter of hours, later that night.
It seemed like an eternity till her tears stop forming. Feeling parched, she headed to where the king had said the Watering Hole was. She finally reached it and peered at it from her spot. Clear, crystal water that held her reflection stared back with red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Sniffing slightly and inwardly giggling at her reflection, she stooped down to drink the cold, refreshing liquid, allowing it to coarse down her dry throat and soothe it.
After her drink, she dipped her paw into it and used it to wash her cheeks of the dried tears and to loosen up the skin that had tightened together around her eyes along with the crust made.
Feeling re-hydrated and refreshed, she felt that it was time to return to the den, return back to her daughter. As she made her way back, she took the time to enjoy the evening sky. The black velvet background almost felt like a blanket, a sight for sore eyes. Ascending quietly, not to wake any other lion who is still asleep, she headed towards the cavern where the pride slept.
Before entering, she took one last gaze at the stars. The twinkled back, giving her one last soothing sight before she went in and towards the sleeping body of her daughter. She gently took the cub's nape into her maw and placed her into her paws as she went to lay down. Nala squirmed and turned at the new sleeping spot, but gradually adjusted to her new and warm sleeping spot and snuggled in closer.
Sarafina's last thoughts before shutting her eyes and letting her mind drift into slumber were, "Thank you Kings for listening to my prayers."
Hope you all enjoyed this. My theory for Nala's dad is that I believe that he, Sarafina and Nala came from another pride, one that was wiped out by a lightning strike that caused a fire. Sarafina and Nala escaped, while they do not know if he or anyone else escaping. They wandered till they reached the Pridelands where Mufasa and Sarabi welcomed them into their pride. You can read a little more in my other, prologue story to this, "Strange Places."
Please review and tell me how I did. Sincerely, v.t.7