"Whoa, slow down, mtoto!" Wazi laughed as her young cub ran and tumbled around the small cave they were sleeping in. She chuckled in a slightly weaker tone as she lay down on the ground, coughing just quietly enough so that her daughter couldn't hear her. A bit of blood leaked onto her paw from her mouth when she coughed, but Wazi managed to conceal it in time.
"So... what story do you want to hear tonight?" she asked with an eyebrow raised. Her cub was still hyper, saying "ooh, ooh! The story of the great kings! Please, Mama, please! It's my favourite!"
"Ha ha... I know. It's mine too." Wazi said warmly as she rested on the ground. Her daughter quickly clambered up her back and lay on her head, gnawing lightly on Wazi's ear as the latter chuckled. "Do you want to hear it or not?"
"Yes, please... please?" the cub slipped off Wazi's back and tucked herself under her mother's paw. "Alright. I'm ready, Mama..."
In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The lion sleeps tonight...
In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The lion sleeps tonight...
"Okay..." Wazi said, using her paw to clear the leaves and branches that were blocking one of the holes in their cave. It let in the bright moonlight, both she and her daughter looking in awe at the millions of burning balls that rotated around it.
"Look at the stars..." she said quietly. "The great Kings of the past look down on us from here..."
"All of them?!"
"Hm... that's right..." Wazi said. "And whenever you feel alone, Kifa, what must you always remember?"
Kifa cleared her throat and spoke in a confident, proud tone as she shouted "I am Kifalme! Daughter of Princess Wazi of the Pride Lands!"
"That's right, my little warrior, you!" Wazi laughed as she dragged her daughter squealing into a tight, ticklish embrace. The cub laughed as she playfully tried to escape her mother's grip, saying "come on, Mama! Not fair! Not fair!"
"Life isn't fair, darling..." Wazi chuckled, before her eyes went wide and she suddenly began coughing and spluttering violently as she pushed Kifa back. Kifa's ears sank miserably as she saw the blood coming out of her mother's mouth and staining the ground as she talked. Her mother had always tried to hide this, but Kifa knew about it. She always did, but she would never let her mother know.
Wazi turned back to her daughter, wiping the blood from her lips as she groaned out a laugh, lowering her head down as she said "I think... I think it's time to get some rest..."
Kifa nodded, becoming happy and cheery again as she snuggled next to her mother, looking up at the stars as her mother closed her eyes. "Mama?"
"Yes, mtoto?"
"Are those stars really the Great Kings?"
"Of course, darling..." Wazi said as she opened her eyes again and licked her daugther's head lovingly. "Those stars will always be there to guide you when you need them, Kifa..."
She hesitated for a moment, before saying "and so will I..." as she lowered her head. Kifa chuckled at the thought of this, before tugging on her mother's ear again. "Mama...?"
"Ugh... yes...?"
"Will we ever go back to the Pride Lands?"
"Well, I... um... oh... you will... yes... one day, Kifa..." Wazi forced a smile onto her face as she held her cub close and they both went to sleep. "One day..."
Many Years Later...
Kiara and Simba both climbed back on to the edge, with the others surrounding them to express their relief. Zira was gone, the princess was safe and the war between the prides was finally over.
As you go through life, you'll see
There is so much that we, don't understand
"Kovu..." Simba said softly, prompting the young, scarred lion to nervously step away from Kiara. To his surprise, Simba smiled warmly, saying "I was wrong... you belong here..."
And the only thing we know
Is things don't always go, the way we planned
"Let's go home..." Simba kept the warm smile on his face as he looked at the other Outsiders. "...All of us..."
But you'll see, every day, that we'll never turn away
When it seems all your dreams come undone
The sunrise welcomed a new day, and a new era, to the Pride Lands as the now-united pride sat together in a circle as Kovu went with the King, Queen and princess to the edge of the rock.
We will stand by your side, filled with hope and filled with pride
We are more than we are, we are one
The animals on the ground below cheered and cried out as the entire pride joined in the royal family's roaring, while the clouds opened to let the sun shine down gloriously on Pride Rock.
We are one, you and I
We are like the earth and sky
One family under the sun
As Simba looked up, he felt a tear stream down his cheek as he heard his father's voice echoing proudly from the sky. "Well done, my son..."
Tears of pain, tears of joy
One thing nothing can destroy
Is our pride, deep inside, we are one
"We are one..."
THE LION KING
ASCENSION