The Sun was now sinking in the Serengeti, and the moon was taking over. A blanket of stars spread through the Serengeti skies as animals contemplated the moonlight's sparkle. A dark shade of grey was spreading, coming from a large kopje in the distance. A distant call sent the animals into their homes, scaring them. On the promontory was a large and majestic gold lion, claiming his new kingdom and lionesses below him, roaring too. Only three were not lionesses, and that was one warthog, a meerkat and a bird.

They watched as their leader took steps down with determination and a smile. Lionesses walked past with only grins and relieved sighs. The kingdom was now filled with peace.

"Simba," cooed a lioness as she walked over towards the full-grown lion. Her fur was a pale tan and her eyes were glowing with happiness. She nuzzled him tenderly, then bumped heads with him, before allowing another creamy lioness to nuzzle him affectionately.

After walking through the crowd of lionesses, the lion referred to as Simba walked over to a mandrill that held a long stick. He cackled quietly before hugging him tightly and releasing a huge smile across his face.

"You were born to be de king, Simba." he praised as he wrapped his arms around Simba's mane.

"What about the hyenas? Did they survive? What if Scar survived?" questioned Simba, concerned.

Just because he over-threw his old uncle, didn't mean he was dead. Was he did? Would he re-unite with the hyenas? Simba's brief thinking moment was interrupted by Rafiki, the mandrill, who poked him on the shoulder and pointed towards the scattering hyenas.

"Does that answer your question, Simba?"

Simba nodded slowly before walking over to the warthog, meerkat and bird. "I'm glad you guys came with me," he sighed in relief, looking at his friends. "None of this would be possible without you." he quickly added.

"Aw, Gee, Simba!" exclaimed the meerkat, hopping from the warthog's head and onto Simba's head. "You deserve it!"

"Yeah. You haven't seen your family for so long - and now you're the king!" smiled the warthog as he elbowed the bird. "Looks as if we've got a new friend, Timon!" He referred to the meerkat, who hopped from Simba head and contemplated the bird.

"Guess so," he said, rubbing his chin. "Your name, birdie?"

"Zazu," the bird replied, hastily. "You don't have to stare at me," he said and took off, back to his home.

"Don't worry, Zazu's always a stubborn one!" cackled Rafiki, appearing behind the thick layer of smoke.

After hours of commemorating the king's return, the pride decided to sleep, for they would hold the ceremony of Simba picking his new queen. Sarabi knew it would be Nala, she knew her son too well and by the looks of it, her only son and his best friend's daughter had fallen in love. Nala believed she had an equal chance like the other lionesses, but a little bit more because of the love she and Simba expressed the other night.

The pride entered the den, drenched and soaked from the hard rain that fell. As Simba lay on the floor, his mother nudged him with a warm smile. "You sleep there now, Simba." she beamed, motioning to the royal platform that her and her lover used to sleep on.

"But... it's yours. I'm not king yet until I find a queen, mom." insisted the golden lion. Sarabi cocked an eyebrow before pushing her son up.

"Come on, Simba, dear. Me and Mufasa slept there days before Ahadi let us become the rulers of the Pride Lands." she reminisced. "Now go."

Simba groaned as he stood up, glancing a few times at his mother, who shot him a look and motioned to Nala, who walked into the den. Simba rolled his eyes; he knew what she went and walked over to the young lioness.

Nala noticed her lover and then smiled, with an eyebrow mischievously raised. "Hello Simba," she smiled, before brushing her tail along his chin, her blue orbs sparkling as she drew her attention towards her pride-sisters.

"Umm... Nala! Nala, wait!" his shout caught her attention and she turned around, staring at him intently. Simba blushed before speaking sheepishly. "Would you like to sleep with me on the platform?" He looked down to his paws before having the courage to look back up to her again.

"Of course, Simba." she replied before making her way over. She waited for him to lay next to her before closing her eyes and falling asleep. Simba already knew who he was going to pick for the next day tomorrow. Behind the kopje were two small caves, where Timon and Pumbaa slept in. They snored and only dreamed about grub.

"Crunchy, crunchy..." muttered Timon as he stretched his legs.

"Slimy... and ... Satisfying..." snored Pumbaa who rolled onto his back. The moon was slowly disappearing as the sun rose in the horizon, bringing light to the Serengeti.

~O~

Under the tall kopje remained some of Scar's followers. His most loyal follower, Zira, had given birth to two cubs. They were only weeks old and the youngest, named Kovu, was to be Scar's heir. He wasn't Scar's real son, but he was Scar's step-son. Zira turned to her lionesses, frowning. She was a grayish-tan, with a dark dorsal stripe running down from her head to her neck. Her blood-red eyes brought terror to anyone that met them.

Zira was beautiful and graceful, but also clever and thin at the same time. It didn't take her a second to realize who had returned to usurp her favorite king, for Scar had told her the history of his life. The way she heard it, it was harsh and she had seen Mufasa as the bad one, who had abandoned his brother.

She also had cubs that were Scar's real blood-line, named Nuka and Vitani. Scar had never loved Nuka, because he was born weak and bony. But despite his appearance, Scar knew Nuka could be strong, and trained him but soon gave up when Nuka couldn't do anything. He tried again with Zira, but this time, Zira bared a girl named Vitani. Scar didn't want a female. He wanted a male.

Despite his attitude towards Nuka and Vitani, Zira could never think to blame Scar, for she loved him too much. Possibly more than her own cubs.

"Lionesses," she began. "We must leave. Simba has returned and we cannot disobey Scar and join his pride. If he knows we're here, he'll kill us."

Two lionesses, cousins of Zira, picked up Vitani and Nuka whilst Kovu hung from the jaws of his own mother. They began to slink away, glancing back and making sure nobody had seen them.

They reached a dry and deserted land, infested with termites and dry shrubs. There was barely any water, or food and there was no herds. There was a huge termite mound, bigger than the lionesses and so they inhabited that place.

"I swear, my beloved Scar, we will get our chance..." she said to the sky before entering the den.

Continue to Chapter 2