Two lionesses dragged a carcass between themselves towards the huge outcrop of rocks in the middle of the Pridelands.

"Let's just take it back to the Pride," one of them muttered.

"The hyenas are watching, Nuka," the other hissed back, "Scar will find out."

Another lioness leapt out to meet them.

"Nuka, Vitani, what's going on?" Nala asked. "Sarabi didn't schedule a Hunt."

"Sarabi didn't," said Vitani, brushing past Nala. "But Zira did."

Nala felt her temper rising.

"Just because she's pregnant doesn't make her the new Queen of the Serengeti."

"It does, if her cub is a male," reminded Nuka.

"And what if she doesn't give birth to a male?" Nala shot back.

"Then maybe one of us will," Vitani said quietly.

Nala was taken aback. "You're pregnant too?"

"No," Vitnai smiled. "Not yet."

When Zira had acceded to Scar's demands of bearing his cub, Nala had felt betrayed. Scar had been a terrible king from the start, and she was puzzled by Zira's loyalty to him. In her eyes, Scar could never be the rightful king. With a sinking heart, she watched as her once playmates, carried the carcass to Scar's lair. They were beginning to follow Zira's lead and blindly follow Scar's requests.

She made her way to the top of the cliffs and watched as Scar divided up the food amongst the Pride and the hyenas. She never understood why Mufasa had always said hyenas should stay in the Shadowlands. Now she could see why. Now that they had the lionesses serving them, the hyenas were multiplying unchecked. At this rate, they might run out of food. Herds were beginning to leave the Pridelands. She had tried to tell this to Scar, but he had lost his temper and thrown her out of his cave.

"Something must be done," she approached Nyeri.

"Like what?"

"Let's talk to Scar. We have to make him see he's not doing this right. Mufasa never sat in his cave all day. He has to be out there, keeping everything in balance."

"Nala, you've tried. He won't listen."

"Well, then let's throw him out. Let's put Sarabi in her place."

"Nala!" Nyeri was shocked at such a suggestion. "You must accept Scar as the king. He is the only male in our Pride."

"Scar never learned how to rule the Pridelands." Her thoughts went to her childhood friend. "I'm sure Simba would have made a great king."

"Oh, and you are so sure about that?" There was an edge to Nyeri's voice. "It's because of Simba that we're in this situation. He went and got himself killed."

Nala was hurt to hear her talk like this. "Show some respect for the dead." She ran off to find Sarabi.

She found her on the grass gazing at the stars. Simba had told her that the Great Kings of the Past were up there. Mufasa must be up there. Was Simba up there too?

"Sarabi, several herds are leaving the Pridelands," she said.

"I know." Sarabi's voice was heavy. "I fear we may have to leave the Pridelands soon. I will speak to Zira about it."

"No!" Nala exclaimed. "You are the Queen of the Serengeti. Don't let her call the shots. She hasn't even given birth to a male heir yet!"

"I know Nala. But you forget, I'm not the rightful Queen either. I have a son no more."

Nala watched as Sarabi walked away. It seemed everyone was giving up trying to stick to the old ways. Everyone was giving into Scar. Even her own mother.

"Nala," said Sarafina, "I think you're old enough to bear Scar a cub."

Nala had never felt she hated her mother ever before then.

"You might as well birth the male heir. Don't you see? You can be Queen of the Serengeti. And who better than you? You, who have been tirelessly trying to maintain peace in the Pridelands while our king sits lazily in his cave."

"No, mother, I will never let Scar touch me."

Nala had been trying to do everything in her power to watch over the Pridelands. She tried to remember everything Simba told her regarding what he had learned from Mufasa. But ever since Zira started calling the shots, other lionesses wouldn't listen to Sarabi, and no one bothered to maintain a balance. They were overhunting for food, and the Hunted even more as the hyenas multiplied. She feared there might be drought on the way.

She must make Scar see reason.

"Yes, what now?" Scar was extremely annoyed at the sight of the young lioness.

"Sir, I fear there may be a drought soon. We are overhunting. Zira is scheduling more Hunts than is necessary."

"First the pregnant antelope and now this," Scar sighed.

"If you kill pregnant antelope, how are they going to sustain?"

"Lots of meat on them."

It was as if Scar didn't even care. He had no vision. He only wanted their ruination.

"Now, run along, I have had enough of you. Stop acting like you know what's best."

This time, Nala really did lose her temper.

"I do know what's best, and much better than you! You know nothing about the Circle of Life!" She was screaming at him.

"I beg your pardon?" Scar was genuinely surprised.

Now that she had said it, she couldn't stop. "You are a horrible king. You have never once even tried to rule over the Pridelands. We have been trying hard to keep it together, and now you're messing that up too."

Scar sensed danger.

"You really do have a mind of your own don't you?"

Nala's eyes narrowed.

"You're henceforth banished."

"What?"

"You heard me. Get out. I don't want to see you in the Pridelands ever again."

Nala didn't move. Scar had the hyenas escort her out.

He supposed she was right. He was a bad king. But he couldn't care less. He had wanted revenge on Mufasa, and he had got it. It didn't matter anymore what happened to the Pride.

By the time the lionesses heard about Nala's banishment, she was already outside the borders of the Pridelands. She crossed the desert, desperately searching for water and for food. The sun beat down on her and made her head spin. Several times she imagined she saw water, but found only sand in her mouth. So when she came upon a rather fat warthog, she thought maybe this was a mirage too.

The warthog had his back to him, oblivious to her existence. Suddenly Nala snapped back into focus. Food. She pounced, but tired as she was, she missed him by inches, alerting him to her presence. The warthog let out an unearthly scream and ran for his life, with Nala on his tail.

Out of the blue, a lion jumped out at her and fought her. Where did a lion come from? Nala couldn't think straight. All she wanted was something to eat, and this lion was in her way. With enormous effort, she pinned him to the ground.

The lion's eyes grew wide in a rather familiar way.

"Nala?" he panted.

Nala jumped back. "Who are you?"

"It's me," the lion replied excitedly. "Simba!"

"Simba?" He was alive? But at this point, Nala's strength gave out.

She woke up to the sound of argument.

"She's a lion. She tried to eat Pumba."

"It's okay, Timon. She's a friend of mine. I'll tell her not to eat you."

"Simba?" she called. "Is it really you?"

"Hey!" he bounded over to her joyfully. "I can't believe it's you! What are you doing here?"

Nala's head was still spinning. "I'm looking for food."

"Don't eat me!" screamed a voice. She looked around to see a meerkat and a warthog trembling.

"Nala, these are my friends Timon and Pumba. There I've introduced you. She can't eat you now."

Nala blinked. Lionesses always made it a point not to get acquainted with animals they preyed upon. It's rude to eat acquaintances.

"Oh you must be hungry!" Simba dragged a leaf over to her. It was full of bugs. Nala stared.

"I know. I know. At first it seems growse. But they're really good. Really. Try one."

Any other time, Nala might have jumped at him and injured him for this cruel joke, but she watched in horror as he slurped down a few worms to show her it was perfectly safe. Her hunger was getting the better of her. The rest of her life, Nala tried to forget what happened next.

Still tired from her excursion in the desert, Nala rested as Simba talked excitedly. He was saying something about Hakuna Matata or something like that, but she wasn't really listening. She was watching him closely. Something seemed wrong. If she closed her eyes, she could see her childhood playmate telling him about his latest adventure; but when she opened them to behold a full grown lion, the spitting image of Mufasa, something seemed very off.

"Simba, what happened to you? We thought you were dead."

"But I told you already. Timon and Pumba found me in the desert. They brought me up to believe in Hakuna Matata; it means-"

"Why did you run away?" Nala cut in.

Simba looked uncomfortable. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Simba," she said softly. "What happened down in the gorge wasn't your fault."

"What do you know about it?" he asked rather fiercely.

"Scar told us you were caught in a stampede. Mufasa died trying to save you, but he failed. We never found your body, but we always assumed the hyenas took it away. They never admitted it though."

"Scar is a liar," Simba growled. "'Go practice your little roar in the gorge,' he told me, 'Nothing will go wrong.'" Simba laughed bitterly. "He said I died, did he? He told me to run. To run away and never come back."

"He set you up!" Nala exclaimed, getting up on her feet.

"What?"

"Don't you see? He set you up to get you out of the way! He wanted to be king! But Simba, you're the rightful king. You must come back with me to Pridelands. Once the lionesses see you, they'll have the courage to stand up to Scar-"

"No!" Simba cried.

"You don't understand. Scar is an awful king. The Pridelands are in ruins. We're at the brink of a drought-"

"Nala, I caused the stampede. I'm responsible for Mufasa's death! I can't go back there. I can't ever go back." Simba ran from her.

"Simba, come back!" she called after him. "It's your duty to the Pride."

When Nala left in search of real food, Timon and Pumba weren't sorry to see her go. But things were not to go back to normal, for she left behind a rather bad tempered Simba. He seemed much less inclined to fun and sat alone all day muttering to himself.

Timon suggested they go to the other side of the river to search for a termite nest. It might cheer him up. Timon decided to swing across a rather weak vine. Simba warned him it might not hold, but Timon didn't listen. The vine snapped and he fell into the river. Simba of course, jumped in and caught him. But when Timon tried to laugh it off, Simba was angry.

"You could have died!" he roared. Timon had never seen him like this before.

"But I didn't. That's the important thing, Simba. Hakuna Matata." Simba walked away.

That night they lay on the grass looking up at the stars.

"They must be fireflies who got stuck in the sky," Timon murmured.

"I always thought they were balls of gas that burned really brightly," said Pumba.

"With you, everything's about gas." The two of them laughed. Simba made an attempt.

"Simba, what do you think?"

Simba didn't want to say. When they pressed him, he said, "Someone once told me that the Great Kings of the Past are up there."

"You mean the stars are a bunch of dead guys?"

"Yeah."

Timon and Pumba burst out laughing. Simba looked angry. He walked away.

"What's gotten into him?" wondered Timon.

As Nala searched for food, she came upon a huge banyan tree.

It had never occurred to Simba to go back. He had caused his father's death; he didn't want to face his mother. But after Nala told him about the state of the Pridelands under Scar's rule, a new feeling came over him. He didn't know what it was, but he suspected this feeling wanted to take him back to the Pridelands. He was determined not to go.

He paced up and down in the grass, arguing with himself. Some old baboon was swinging in the trees above his head singing about bananas. It did no good to his mood.

"Will you cut it out?" he called.

"No." The baboon dropped in front of him.

"Who are you?"

"Rafiki," he said simply. "But the question is, who are you?"

"I'm nobody." Simba walked away.

"You are a lion who walks away from his duties, are you?"

Simba turned around, but the baboon was back up in the trees.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh but I do! Mufasa always said – Rafiki knows what he is talking about."

With that, Rafiki swung away.

"Wait!" Simba called after him. But the baboon wouldn't stop. Simba began to follow him. He mentioned his father. This baboon knew his father.

At last he came upon the baboon sitting on a rock, meditating.

"You knew Mufasa?"

"Correction. I know Mufasa."

"He's dead."

"No he's not."

"What do you mean?"

"Come," said Rafiki, and led him to the water. "Look down there."

Simba obliged.

"I see only my reflection."

He began to walk away, but Rafiki hit him on the head. "Look harder."

Simba looked. He saw his reflection. He saw the stars above him reflected on him. He truly was the spitting image of his father.

Nala wondered why the old baboon had taken so much interest in her. He had pressed her to tell him everything about the condition at the Pridelands and was even more interested in her recent encounter with Simba. But he had pointed her in the direction of food. Hunger finally sated, she wondered if she should look for Simba.

"Nala!" A lion and a baboon were approaching her.

"Simba?"

"I can't go back," he panted.

"Why not?"

"I was foolish. I did something terrible. And I did nothing to fix it. I ran away. I let my Pride down. I can't ever face them."

"Simba, you ARE the rightful King. Everyone makes mistakes. But this wasn't your fault. Scar set you up."

"I didn't want to have to face this, Nala. It's all in the past. I wanted to leave it behind me."

Without warning, Rafiki hit him on the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"No matter, it was in the past."

"But it hurt!"

"Yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it!"

Rafiki made to hit him again, but this time Simba dodged. To Simba and Nala's surprise, Rafiki began to laugh.

A/N: I swear when I was younger, I read one of those thin booklets Disney publishes about Timon and Pumbaa being careless and falling into the river. So that's where that came from. This was the chapter most inspired by the Broadway musical which shows things a little bit from Nala's perspective. I really like the idea of the competent Nala who is capable of running the Pride herself,but feminism doesn't exist in this world, lol. And yes, in this version Nuka is female and she and Vitani are not Zira's kids because I made up the rule that each lioness bears one cub. Once again, the quotes from the movie (or dialogue that is possibly quotes from the movie - tbh I didn't go back and check) have been italicized.