Miss Queen B: I wanted to do something different instead of a sappy romance story so I thought it would be cool to write a story using the darker side of love: the fights, the lies, and the cheats. Heheheh.

Note: Think of this as the fourth part of my last story, "Life is Never Easy 3: Light in the Darkness," so most of my Oc's will be in this story as well. Also, Ed does talk a little but even with that I'm still trying to keep him in character.

Chapter One

Unexpected Split

"Loving you was easy, losing you was hard. Loving you is still easy, but knowing you are no longer mine, is the hardest of it all." –Unknown

It was the biggest news that hit the clan since the day they were allow back into the Pride Land with Scar as their King. But that was a long time ago and it was nothing compare to the news of the unexpected break up between the Matriarch, Shenzi, and her life time friend/boyfriend Banzai.

It happened so suddenly to a very unlikely pair.

Sure they were different with one having a bad temper and the other being the leader of the clan, but somehow, like their friendship, they made their relationship work. Everywhere they go they look like they were join by the hip with their eyes fogged with "True Love." They thought they would be together til the end of times, get married, and start a family since after all, the clan needs the next Matriarch to be born.

So what happened between them that made them split a week ago?

Not even Ed, their best friend, knows the details of what went on that afternoon. He sat there next to a tree for hours, scratching his noggin and trying to figure out what in the would could possibly cause Shenzi and Banzai to break up. Of course, he was a little upset because with the three of them being friends since they were pups you would think one of them would talk to him about it. But, no, like always they think with him not being a bright hyena wouldn't understand the emotional drama each one was going through.

Ed leaned back against the tree and tried to remember the details that happened a week ago.

Flash back

It was a sunny day making it two months now since the clan left Pride Rock and settled in a new land far south. It was a nice patch of land with a large waterfall, waterhole, grasslands, trees, and a giant cliff full of caves. Food was still a little trouble to get with the herds being about a couple hours away, but they didn't complain.

Ed was leaving his cave after a long morning of practicing his speech and grammar. Even though he can talk again he was still having a hard time pronouncing words and completing sentences without stuttering. He was on his way to meet his girlfriend, Silet, for the afternoon hunt with some of the other clan members.

He sat there waiting for her to show up when Banzai walked out of his cave looking a little nervous.

"What's up, Ed" Banzai asked, sitting next to him.

"Nothing, you?" Ed asked.

"I was wondering if you've seen Shenzi around" Banzai asked,

"No" Ed said, plain and simple, he didn't want to stutter and spit so he would always keep his sentences short.

"Oh, well, if you see her tell her I'm looking for her" He said, biting his lip.

"Why you nervous" Ed asked.

"Well, there something I needed to ask Shenzi and I don't know how to tell her" Banzai said, rubbing the back of his head.

"What is it" he asked.

"I'll tell you later after I talk to her" Banzai said, walking away, "have fun with the hunt"

Ed waved good-bye and continued to wait for Silet. He smiled, feeling he was the luckiest hyena in the world to have a sweet, kind, and beautiful female to love him for the way he is. Her friends didn't approve of this relationship saying she could do better and find a male that wasn't an idiot and have good genes to give her strong pups, but she learned not to listen to them and live her own life.

Ed let out a lovely sigh from thinking about her when someone taps him on the shoulder. He flinched and turned around to see Shenzi smiling at him.

"Hey, Shenzi" He said.

"Hey, Ed" she said. "Have you seen Banzai"

Ed noticed something different about his friend, but he couldn't put his paw on it. Shenzi was smiling but she seems to be glowing. "I saw him going that way" He said, pointing to the direction Banzai went.

"oh, good, I needed to talk to him about something"

"Like what" Ed asked.

Shenzi smiled, "Let's just say, I have wonderful news to tell him," and with that she walked away.

Ed scratches his head and wonders why she or Banzai can't tell him what was going on, but he stops thinking about it when he saw Silet coming over with a sweet smile on her face.

"Good afternoon, Ed" she said, in her sweet voice while giving him a soft nuzzle.

Ed grin and nuzzle her back, "how is you" he said.

"That's how are you" Silet corrected him. "And I'm fine"

"Sorry" Ed said.

"Are you ready for the hunt, I'm starving"

Ed nodded and started walking over to the other side of the land where all the other hyenas that were going to hunt were waiting. He spotted Shenzi and Banzai talking, but a female hyena interrupted Shenzi about something. They were too far away for Ed to hear what they were saying, but by their body movement, the female needed Shenzi to see something. Banzai looked a little disappointed and said something as he pointed in some direction. Shenzi nodded, gave him a quick kiss before taking off with the female. Banzai smiled a little and walked off.

He sometimes wished he could read lips like Silet and her friends so he could figure out what they were saying to each other. But whatever it was couldn't be that bad.

Boy, was he wrong,

It was around the evening when he returned with hunting team carrying food back for the entire clan. The air seems a little thick for some reason and everyone was out in the field, separated in little groups and whispering things to each other.

Shenzi and Banzai were no where to be found.

For a clan full of hyenas that normally laugh, joke and play, they were just whispering to each other with concern faces.

"Funny, how come everyone is whispering to each other" a male hyena asked.

The hunting team dropped their food and took off in every direction to ask what was going on. Ed looked around to see some of them taking a step back with their eyes wide open and mouths slightly ajar when they heard the news.

"wow, whatever is going on, it's sure making a big impact on the clan." Silet said.

"Did you guys hear the news" Silet's friend asked, running up to them.

"What is it, Gossip" Silet asked. Gossip wasn't her real name but her nickname. Her real one was just a little too embarrassing to say in public.

"Oh man, you're not going to believe this" Gossip said, shaking her head a little bit while holding back her laugher.

"What is it," Ed asked.

"Shenzi and Banzai broke up"

After that Shenzi wouldn't come out of her cave and her brother, Shenzen, would have to go in there just to make sure she was getting food and water. Banzai moved out and spent most of his time sleeping in the tall grass around the water hole.

Neither of them would talk about it. Ed, who lives in the cave he shares with Silet next to Shenzi's cave, could hear her cry the first night of the break up. It must've been lonely for Shenzi without Banzai next to her to keep her warm. Banzai was no where to be found but heard that he was sleeping in the tall grass. The next day, Shenzen moved in with Shenzi for family support. Again, Shenzi wouldn't talk about it and Ed couldn't get anything out of Banzai's mouth either.

The clan couldn't cooperate well without their Leader telling them what to do and without a proper second in command leader the clan looked a little lost. No one could take the Matriarch's place without Shenzi's permission even if it was temporary.

Ed sighs again as he looks over to the left at the thin river that connected the waterfall with the water hole. Banzai was somewhere at the water hole which he was going to go visit since the quick temper male hasn't shown his face to the clan for the past week. Shenzi was still hiding in the cave with Silet keeping her company.

Ed growled in frustration and rubbed his throbbing noggin from all the thinking. His best friends are depressed and cast themselves out from him and the world, the clan is a big mess, he has no idea how to get his friends back together and top of all of that, the clan has no leader.

(How could it get any worse) he thought.

His ears' twitch from a sudden noise and he turned his head to the east to see a small clan of hyenas traveling toward his home. Strangers from far away probably here to steal their home.

"Spoke too soon" Ed said...

Miss Queen B: the chapter a little short but they will get longer in the future. If you want to know why our favorite couple broke up then stay tune for chapter two.