"Did Mufasa ever frustrate you so much?"
"When I couldn't win an argument," Sarabi said.
Nala and the queen mother sat together after their hunting meeting with the other lionesses. They planned to hunt after the sun had set.
"Two strong-headed mates don't make for an easy marriage, but I wouldn't have had it any other way after seeing the way Ahadi treated Uru."
"Is it is so much to ask for Simba to even look me in the face when I'm trying to tell him that we need him? This isn't a game. I wish…." Nala shook her head. "I wouldn't be so frustrated if it wasn't Simba. At least we knew Scar was insane." She growled and shook her head again.
"Don't upset yourself more. I know he's trying your patience."
"I want a lion. I don't need a cub."
Sarabi pursed her mouth. "Maybe a visit to Rafiki's would be a good idea?"
He could talk to Simba. Nala nodded. "Maybe Simba needs another bump on the head." Knock some more sense into Simba with that shaman staff of his.
Sarabi raised an eyebrow.
Simba listened to Rafiki, and he certainly wasn't listening to her. Standing up, Nala dipped her head to Sarabi. "I'm going for a walk. As much as I enjoy your company, I'd like to be alone."
"I'll be in the den. See you for the hunt." The elder lioness gave Nala a smile as she stood up to leave. "This might be harder for you than dealing with Scar. Time will pass. Don't force it to move quickly. You're both young."
Sarabi was probably right. She usually was. Simba wasn't so thick-headed that he couldn't change eventually, though that didn't soothe her hurt in the present. Nala decided to walk to the watering hole, which had partially replenished itself after the rain that had fallen on the day Scar had been dethroned.
Simba's bachelor life needed to go. She was tired of him saying 'hakuna matata' like it made neglecting the pride okay… Neglecting her okay…
What had she expected? He'd lived outside of a pride for years with the two biggest bachelors she'd ever met. Maybe her expectations were too high for Simba, but he hadn't once asked what her life had been like during Scar's reign. Didn't he care? Was he scared of hearing it? He hadn't been home, after all, to prevent it.
But maybe's it's for the best he doesn't know. I don't think I have the stomach to tell him everything that happened.
Nala's head was too busy. Frustrated tears threatened to roll down her face. But she took a deep breath to gather her nerves when she saw that there were a few lionesses at the watering hole. They'd been absent at the meeting.
Nala drank a bit and listened to the grumbles of the lionesses before she said, "There's going to be a hunt tonight if you would like to join."
A lioness with tan fur and a thin brown stripe on her head snorted. "We can feed ourselves."
Zira irked Nala. Made her skin crawl. They were a pride, and yet there were signs that they were soon going to be a pride very much divided. Zira and her friends had been on a scouting mission when the uprising against Scar had occurred. A few of the lionesses had very young cubs, which were now missing. Sarabi thought the mothers were hiding their offspring for fear Simba would kill them.
He'd never lay a paw on them.
Nala didn't have the patience for Zira today. She twitched her tail. "We'd appreciate your help. That's all," she said as she walked away.
"Don't hold your breath," muttered a lioness.
It was yet another thing that Simba seemed oblivious to. As she walked, Nala decided that a meeting with Rafiki was in order. She didn't think she could go another day with Simba acting the way that he was.
After arriving at Rafiki's, she called for the shaman, hoping that he was home. She sat down at the base of the giant tree. After a few moments, his gray-maned head appeared among the leaves.
"How can I be of service, Nala?" The shaman squinted down at her. He climbed down from the tree. "By de look on your face, I'd say that your mind is full of worry!"
"I need you to talk to Simba."
"About what?"
Nala screwed up her face. She muttered. "About how much of a cub he's being…"
The shaman chuckled, much to Nala's annoyance. "So he's being a bit childish now, is he?"
"He's selfish, too. All he does is play."
"Ah, I see."
"I mean—he does patrol the border, but it's more than that—since Scar died some of the other lionesses have been acting as antisocial as him. They're unhappy that Scar is gone. And there are problems that need to be solved around the Pride Lands. Just yesterday I had to settle a dispute between two groups of birds who wanted to use this one tree for their nests. I didn't know what to do. They weren't happy when I told them no one could use the tree and to go find new ones. What else could I tell them? And they kept asking where Simba was. Last night he didn't return to Pride Rock until dark after he didn't say a word to me all day. I pretended to be asleep, I was so mad… What I don't understand is why he can't be responsible." Nala looked to the side. "And it's more than that. We can't seem to talk without me yelling and Simba shutting down. Is it too much to ask that things somewhat go back to the way they were before he ran away?"
"You have both grown up. Seen tings that shouldn't be seen. You both have more growing to do. These tings take time."
"I know…" Nala perked up. "But you'll talk with him then? Let him know he needs to be more responsible?"
The shaman scratched his side and flicked a bug from his fur. "No, I will not talk to your king—you must talk wit him."
Nala snorted. "He doesn't listen to me! And you're so much wiser than me, aren't you?"
Rafiki rubbed his chin. "I know the love you have for him, but you do not act out of love when you wish to control your king."
Her conversation with Rafiki seemed to be going nowhere. Someone needed to hold Simba responsible. "My king needs to grow up. He's not a cub anymore, singing about how he can't wait to be king. Well, he's a king now. And he's no king."
"Nala, don't you talk about your king so harshly." Rafiki shook his staff at her and the dried gourds adorning it rattled sharply. "He's learning. Just as you are. You must stop your judging."
Feeling the weight of his scolding, the lioness slumped her shoulders. The turmoil in her mind grew. Maybe she was expecting too much. "Sorry. It's just… just…" Nala's face grew warm and her eyes misted. She was at her wit's end and Rafiki wasn't even going to help her. Her body felt exhausted, her energy sapped by her anger and stress. She hadn't slept well the last few nights.
Rafiki raised a gentle hand to her cheek, making her jump. He swiped away her tears. "Now, now. Dry your eyes. When you judge, it clouds dat good sense between your ears. Tell him what is in your heart. Dat is all. This is more than his role as king."
Nala tried to calm herself. She took several breaths. Maybe Simba hadn't listened to her because all she had done was judge him. Would she listen very hard if someone talked to her that way? She remembered how Scar had always complained about what they hadn't done for him, when they'd done all they could. At the end, he'd never spoken without rage in his voice, and what was worse than him shouting was him talking softly…
"You will go to him out of love, yes?"
Slowly, she nodded. "Okay… I'll try." She was still unsure what he completely meant, but she knew the shouting had to stop.
"Come again if he still does not listen. I have my ways," the shaman promised.
Nala let out a breath of relief. Okay, I'm not entirely alone then. I have a backup plan. "I should get back home," she said. "Maybe I'll catch Simba before our hunt tonight."
Rafiki nodded and rested his weight on his staff. "Yes… but der is one last ting."
Nala rubbed the rest of her tears from her face and raised a brow. "Yes?"
Rafiki placed his paws on her shoulders.
"Dear Nala… you are expecting."
"Expecting…? Simba to listen…?"
Rafiki chuckled. "Expecting the next heir! That is who you are expecting!" He pointed to her belly.
What? Nala's eyes widened. "I… I… Are you sure?"
Rafiki smiled and nodded. "You are carrying the future of this pride as we speak."
Nala stared in a daze at the shaman. "Oh…a prince…"
"Or a princess!"
Now? Panic filled her, but she shoved her fear down. A cub, or maybe even a few, were supposed to be joyous moments, especially for a queen, but the pride could barely feed itself. She forced a smile. "Well, that's great." she gushed. Yes, great. Now something else I need to talk about with Simba…
