Kiara asks me why I'm so protective. Well, she actually calls it overprotective. I just want her to be safe. I know I wasn't when I was her age. That's the biggest reason. I don't want her to be like me. I don't want her, or anyone, to end up like I did.
If she gets into trouble, big trouble, trouble she can't handle herself, I know that I'll try to help. If whatever she's gotten herself into is dangerous enough, she might put her life in danger. I know that if that happened, I'll do whatever I can to get her life out of danger.
Even if that means putting my life in her place.
I never fully understood why my dad had done what he did until I had a child. When I first saw Kiara, I knew I would do whatever it took to keep her safe. I felt that my life had suddenly shrunk in importance. I had a cub, the next generation was there. Now I had to protect it. There is no Scar to worry about taking over. If I die, Nala will carry on until Kiara is of age. Then Kiara will be queen and whomever she chooses to be her mate will be king. She has to be safe.
If Kiara…dies…I don't know what I'll do. Nala is past the age where having a cub is 'easy'. She might not survive another birth. I wouldn't want to chance it. Just the thought of losing my little girl is too much to bear. I couldn't lose Nala as well. My mother went through that and the lionesses tell me she broke inside. She was ten times stronger than me. It comes down to this:
My life, is no longer as important as it once was. I was the heir. Now I am not, Kiara is. She has to be safe. If she is put in danger, life-threatening danger, I will protect her. I might die protecting her. That's not important. Except that, when my father died, it hurt. It hurt so badly. And knowing that it might have been my fault…That had almost destroyed me. She can't end up like I did. She can't go through that pain. She can't blame herself if I die protecting her. She wouldn't understand that keeping her safe is all my life is about. If I die in her place, she would blame herself. I know. I did. If she ever gets in that position, then it's my fault. For ever letting her be put in danger. I have to protect her. Because if I die, she'll hurt; and I can't let her get hurt.
If being a father means being protective, or overprotective, then so be it.