Edit: Sorry, if the first couple of chapters are boring and not so inetresting. They get better, I promise. Enjoy! :)
Chapter I
"Why, you little brat! That was the perfect meal! And you just had to make noise and get in the way, didn't you!" Kikatili yelled at her daughter.
The young cub slowly backed up against a large rock, cowering in fear of her mother. "I-I'm s-sorry, mother. I didn't m-mean to. I just got kind of nervous…"
"Do you want us to starve to death? That one zebra could've been wonderful for this week. And you let it get away!"
The cub winced as her mother brought her face closer to her own. "No. I-"
"Silence!" the lioness raised her paw up with her claws extended, and slashed at the helpless cub. The small lioness held back a painful scream. She tried to get away, but her mother slammed her paw down on the cub's tail and sank her claws deep into the skin. "The only place you're going to is home!"
Kikatili picked up her daughter in her mouth, not by her scruff like she is supposed to, and pressed down a little, making the cub yelp. The mother started walking towards the small, cold, dark cave.
She set her cub down on the floor in a very non gentle way. "Tomorrow, I will go hunt on my own and you will stay here. I've had enough of you this week." She gave her daughter a cold, hard stare. Her daughter hated how her mother's bright green eyes bore into her blue eyes. But, her light brown hair tuft, with was a lot darker than her pelt color, sort of covered both her eyes since it was pretty messy.
The girl curled up into a small ball and drifted into a dreamless sleep.
The little lioness waited until her mother was completely out of sight and hearing range. She slowly walked out of the cave, still aching from the unpleasant hunt the night before. She stretched, but winced as she realized it was a big mistake to do so. The cub went the opposite of the direction her mother went, and headed into the greenest part of the savannah that she was banned to go to. I'm pretty sure I'll make it home before she does. It takes a while to find an isolated zebra or antelope out there, she told herself.
As she ventured the Pridelands, she began to wonder what it was like to live in such a beautiful place. The grasses were as green as jades. The water sparkled like sapphires. Though, the sunrise made the river seem like it was made of burning gold. Oh, and the fresh, clean air was amazing as well.
She knew that the same sun that warmed her back was the same that warmed her at home, but in the Pridelands, it wasn't as intense. It actually felt great. The cub saw the large, golden-blue river. She ran up to it and took one sip. The water was cool, fresh, and delicious. She decided to take a long, refreshing drink. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was. It surprised her that she still hadn't died from going without water so long. Even though she was still a young cub, she couldn't even remember the last time she had drank water.
"Wow. You must be really thirsty." The cub jumped back, frightened. She looked up to see a male lion. He was maybe a couple of months, maybe a year, older than her. He had golden-yellow fur, aqua-green eyes, and a brown tuft on his head.
The little lioness's ears lowered. She couldn't help but feel scared of the stranger. She started backing away slowly. The older lion raised an eyebrow. He then understood what was going on. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. What's your name?"
The little cub opened her mouth to speak, but snapped it shut. She didn't know wether she could trust this lion or not. The boy decided to introduce himself first. "Okay, then. I'll go first. My name is Kopa. Now, what's your name?"
The young lioness gathered just a little bit of courage. Only enough to speak quietly. "My name is…." again, she didn't say.
"I can't here you. Say it again pleased." Kopa lowered himself down to her level to look into her eyes.
"I said that my name is Nyota," the cub said a little louder.
"Oh, well, nice to meet you, Nyota."
"Nice to meet you, too, Kopa." She sat up and sighed with relief. Hopefully, she had just made a new friend. Well, her first and only friend.
"I haven't seen you around before. Are you one of those cubs that never comes out of Pride Rock?"
"What's Pride Rock?"
Kopa chuckled. "Guess not. It's where I live. Wait, are you...an Outsider cub?"
"N-no. I'm not allowed to go there. Or here." She whispered that last sentence to herself.
"I didn't think you were. You don't look like any of the Outsiders I've seen before they were banished. Where's your mother?" Kopa asked, looking around.
"She's out hunting. She won't be back until after dark."
"Oh. Do you have any friends with you?" Kopa said. Nyota shook her head. "Well, now you do."
Nyota's ears percked up. She smiled. "Really?"
"Definitely. How about I show you where I live?"
Nyota nodded. "Okay."
While they walked, Kopa told Nyota stories about his adventures as a younger cub. Some had to do with a certain cub, who he seemed to care much about. He mentioned that he hadn't seen her after he got older. He also taught her how to play 'I Spy'. Which they also played. Just then, a large stone cave came into view. "Here we are. Pride Rock."
Nyota gasped. "Wow. I've never seen anything like it. Do you really live here?"
"Yep. My dad's the king of the Pridelands."
The little cub stopped dead in her tracks. "K-king? You mean King Simba?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
"Some lioness my mother knew said that Simba is an evil, power obsessed murderer."
"That's not true. My father is a very kind, overprotective king. He would never murder anyone. He only hunts for food. It's not murdering. Who is this lioness you speak of?" Kopa asked.
"I don't remember her name. But it was something like Nira. Mira. Kira. Or something like that. I can't remember. But, if you say that your dad really isn't anything like what she described, I believe you." She gave him a smile.
"Great. You should meet my family first. They aren't bad at all. Come." He ran towards the large rock. Nyota followed. As they made their way up, they passed a few lionesses sitting on rocks under the shade of trees.
Nyota must've been a little too excited. When they almost reached the top, she yelped a little too loudly. "Kopa looked back. "What's wrong?"
Nyota put her head down. "Nothing. I probably stepped a sharp rock, or something," she lied.
"Oh. Okay," Kopa said. Not sure whether she was telling the truth or not. He stared at her a second longer before he started to walk again.
When they reached the top, a male lion with a reddish-light brown mane walked out of the lion den. He stretched and yawned. After he did, he greeted his son. "Good morning, Kopa. Who's your friend?"
"Mornin' dad. This is Nyota." He gently pushed his new friend foward with his paw.
"Hello, Nyota. I'm Simba." The king smiled warmly at her. All of these kind smiles she recieved that day made her feel weird, but in a good way. Maybe.
"Hi, King Simba." She said nervously. Behind the king, a beautiful lioness walked out.
"Good morning, Kopa. Who's this?" She smiled kindly at the small cub.
"Good morning, mom. This is Nyota."
"It's nice to meet you, Nyota. My name's Nala."
"It's nice to meet you, too, Queen Nala."
"Please. No need for formalities. You can just call me Nala," The queen said.
Nyota nodded. Then added, "You have very pretty eyes."
Simba's mate smiled at her again. "Thank you dear. You do, too." Nyota beamed at the complement. Whatever animal she ran into, or even her mother, had said her eyes were weird. They were dark blue, with a mix of purplish colors, and silver flecks.
"Hey, mom. Where's Kiara? I want her to meet Nyota." Kopa looked around to see if his little sister was anywhere in sight.
"She's out with Anga and Gem. Zazu is out there with them aswell. They won't be back until the sun starts to set."
"Oh. That's too bad. I really want to meet her. I have to be home before dark. My mother will be finished hunting and on her way home," the female cub said.
"Oh. I was hoping that you would stay over for dinner. We could maybe get to know you better if you stayed. Maybe tomorrow?" Nala suggested.
"Um, mom. I think Nyota may need to eat breakfast. Her stomach was growling nonstop on the way here." Kopa looked down at his friend, who suddenly seemed interested in the ground, but agreed with him.
"Well, the lionesses left not to long ago. Nala was going to go catch up with them. Maybe you can stay a bit longer to eat something that'll fill you up?"
The cub gave him a huge grin. "Yes, please."
"She sure can eat," Simba whispered to his mate as they watched Nyota eat the zebra leg with rapid speed, while Kopa ate half of one at a slow speed. "Hey, Nyota. When was the last time you ate or had water?" Simba asked as the cub licked the remaining bones.
"Umm,"she couldn't lie to the king. "Um…...three weeks ago."
"Why so long ago?" the king asked in a worried voice.
"Well, where I'm from, there's not a lot of food. But I don't know if it's worse than the Outlands or not. I'm not allowed to go there."
"Where do you live?" Kopa's father asked worridly.
"Over the river and through the tall, dry grass. Then there should be a whole bunch of dry land and dangerous stone walls. I live in one of the caves."
"Oh. Do you think I can bring you home and talk to your mother about living here in the Pridelands?" Simba asked. He started to wonder if there was a reeason why this young cub and her mom lived awat from everyone else. She clearly wasn't an Outsider.
"No! Er, no. She's very, very busy. And she really needs to rest once she gets home and and eats."
"Oh. Um, okay then. Are you sure?" He didn't want Nyota to grow up in a dangerous place with a scarce amount of food and water. He decided it'd be a good idea to see her mother the next day if possible.
"Yes. Very sure." She laughed nervously. She looked behind the king and saw that the sun was about to set. "I have to go. Thanks for the late breakfast. I had fun today. I might see you tomorrow. Thanks again!" she called as she ran out of the lion den.
She really hoped that her mother would get there long after her. Crossing the river slowed her down a bit. She couldn't find the log she had crossed earlier. It must've been farther down the river. After she made the choice to dog-paddle across the river and crossed it, she ran as fast as she could to her cave. She dodged many falling jagged rocks about the size of her head.
Nyota was relieved when the cave came into view and was completely abandoned. Or so she thought. As she started to walk in, a harsh toned voice came from behind her. "Where have you been?!"
Nyota jumped and turned around slowly. "Nowhere…"
"Don't lie to me, girl! Tell me where you were." Kikatili striked her cub's back harshly with her knife-like claws.
"Ah! I was at the Pridelands!" Nyota said in pain.
"I told you not to go there! They are all murderers!"
"No, they're not! They fed me and weren't mean even though I was a stranger. King Simba isn't a killer, either! I met his son, wife, and Simba himself!"
The older lioness roared and threw her cub aside with her paw, her claws extended. "Don't you ever yell at me again, child! Next time you disobey me, the cosequences will be even more intense!" Kikatili growled. She picked her cub up just as harshly as the night before, and set her down inside the cave. "Tomorrow, I will train you to be like me:Strong, fearless, powerful, and show no mercy! When ever I go hunting, I will be home before the sun sets. And when it's your turn to llearn to hunt, you will wake up before sunrise!"
~0~
That night, Nyota dreamed that Kikatili and her went to the Pridelands. They killed every living creature in sight. But, when it came to the lions, Nyota remembered that she wasn't a killer and turned her back on Kikatili. Her mother was furious and attacked them with the Outsiders, who came out of nowhere, and almost won. Nyota fought alongside two Outsiders who turned their backs on their own pride. One female, and one male. One male lion was being attacked by multiple lionesses from the Outlands. He was stronger thanthen. He had a light brown mane, and a golden pelt. Before he won, the leader of the Outsiders pounced on his back and slashed at him while the others held him down. Before anyone could reach him and help, the lioness killed him. Nyota screamed his name, but no sound came out.
A/N I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter. I only accept constructive critism. And if any of you have ideas, feel free to share and I will think about puttin into the story. Thanks :)