The Kings Secret
Chapter 1
The sun lazily rose across the savannah ushering in a new day in Africa. Dada yawned and stretched as a beam of sunlight fell across her face. As she rose other lionesses around her too started to stir and rise. There was hunting to do, and the day promised to be a bright sunny one. Even with the weather being fare, the pride showed no sign of noticing it.
It had been almost a week sense the death of Mufasa and Simba. It had been a horrific blow to the pride. To lose both one of their greatest kings and his son was a terrible thing. Dada remembered all too well when the news had reached them about their death. Scar had called the lionesses to pride rock by way of Zazu, the Hornbill majordomo. The wound of losing their king was only worsened when Scar had revealed that the hyenas were now allowed on the Pridelands. Even though they had their own area, the other lionesses knew that those boundaries would soon be crossed.
Dada quickly moved out of the cave that the pride occupied to stay out of being under paw of the huntresses. As of late the pride had been a bit edgy, cubs getting in the way were not kindly looked upon. With most of the mothers out hunting the cubs didn t have much today. But today, Dada had a mission of her own. Today, she was going to make a new friend.
Dada was about a month old when Simba was born, and about the same time Nala was born by a lioness named Saraphina. Saraphina was an old friend of the queens, or so Dada s mother had told her. Either way, when the two cubs were born, they were always kept together. When the two of them were old enough to play they were nigh inseparable. It had always annoyed Dada that only they were allowed to be with each other. Dada s mother had explained that Nala and Simba were betrothed, which made no sense to her, be what? had been her response, her mother told her that one day it would make sense.
Dada was the only other cub beside Simba and Nala, which made things very boring for her. The few times that she had seen Simba and Nala she had gotten two impressions. One was that Simba was pompous, self-centered and a trouble maker. The other that Nala was a bit of a trouble maker herself, but was a lot more mature, and pretty cool. But no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn t play with either of them.
Now was different though, when Scar took over, the queen, Saraphina, and Nala started to sleep with the rest of the lionesses. Sarabi (the queen) and Saraphina recently started to go on hunts with the rest of the lionesses, the grief of losing both her husband and son had cost Sarabi dearly. At first Sarabi would only sleep and only get up to eat or drink, but lately she had started to go hunting with the rest of the pride. Saraphina through all of this though had stayed at Sarabi s side, and now that they were hunting again, Nala was left alone with no one to talk or play with.
Dada sat in the shadows near the mouth of the cave and waited for the lionesses to leave, and see if she could catch Nala. Nala had taken to leaving when the lionesses left and wouldn t been seen again till much later that day. Curious to see where it was that Nala was going, Dada was content to sit and wait.
She didn t have to wait for long for Nala exited the cave and slowly made her way down the steep incline that led to the ground. Cautiously, Dada padded after Nala keeping to the shadows still as to not alert the younger lioness of her presence. When Nala reached the ground she trotted off in the general direction of the watering hole. It was difficult for Dada to keep up with Nala and not make too much noise. She was in training to hunt for the pride, so she knew the basics of stalking her prey. But she had yet to get to any lessens of how to run quickly without a sound. But she was successful enough and Nala was none the wiser that she was not alone on this little exploit. As they neared the watering hole Nala slowed down and entered the reeds that surrounded the little pool. Not wishing to be caught just yet, Dada circumvented the pool and settled off to the side of the pool where she could spy on the other cub. Nala was just sitting there looking a bit lost. Several long minutes passed by and just as Dada was about to come out a bird flew by Nala and landed by her paws. Dada stiffened and strained to hear the conversation that passed between the two. The rendezvous didn t last long and the little bird left as quickly as it had arrived. As soon as the bird left Nala angled off to the south and started to run. Dada as quietly as she could, jumped up and started to run after her. The grasslands soon started to thin out and gave way to sporadic stunted trees and patches of plants and thorns. Dada had never been in this area but she had a sinking feeling that she knew just where it was that Nala was headed for, the gorge where Mufasa and Simba had died. Scar had specifically said this area was off limits to anyone. He had said that the stampede had made it extremely dangerous and it was that that caused both Mufasa s and Simba s death.
Not wishing that either of them get into any trouble Dada decided to try and stop Nala before she got herself hurt or worse killed. HEY, NALA, STOP! shouted Dada after Nala. Nala slowed apace long enough to look over her shoulder, seeing Dada, Nala sprinted forward even faster. NO, STOP! IT S TOO DANGEROUS! NO, I HAVE TO FIND SIMBA AND MUFASA! cried Nala frantically.
THEIR DEAD, SCAR SAID SO! AND HE FORBAD US TO COME HERE TO PREVENT ANY OTHER DEATHS! shouted Dada back. The younger cub was not used to running for so long and was not as fast as Dada and was slowly overtaken by Dada. As Dada neared Nala, she started to zigzag like a frightened rabbit. Relying on training, Dada simply ran straight knowing she would intercept Nala in the center soon. As Nala made another cut to the inside Dada took her chance and neatly tripped the younger cub.
Nala rolled harmlessly to stop and Dada pounced on her and held her to the ground. Nala tried to throw her off all the while crying and shouting at her incoherently. Finally wearing herself out Nala laid there sobbing. I-its not f-f-fair! I-it s just not fair! cried Nala. He can t be dead, he just can t be dead! Moving off Nala, Dada sat beside her and put her trying to comfort the distraught cub. Shhh, its ok, its ok. Nala looked up at Dada with tear stained eyes and asked; Why did he have to die? Dada looked off into the distance and said; I don t know. It s a terrible thing to happen. But all we can do is move on. I m sure Simba wouldn t want to you to act like this. Nor would he want to you to go and hurt yourself. Nala turned and looked away and a silence crept between them. Nala curled up still silently sobbing to herself. Dada felt really sorry for her and lay beside her. It must have been hours later when they woke up. The sun was already past its peak and was making its way back down. Nala got up and looked bleakly towards the forbidden zone. Turning towards Dada she said, Thank you. I m better now, thank you for making me feel better. Dada blinked warmly at her and said, You know, we really ought to get back. The others may wonder where we are. Together the two cubs started the long walk back to Priderock. The day had been an interesting one to say the least. But at least it hadn t ended badly. Dada knew that she had just gained herself and friend. And Nala too knew that she was not so alone now as she thought. Together the two friends made their way back home.
It had been almost a week sense the death of Mufasa and Simba. It had been a horrific blow to the pride. To lose both one of their greatest kings and his son was a terrible thing. Dada remembered all too well when the news had reached them about their death. Scar had called the lionesses to pride rock by way of Zazu, the Hornbill majordomo. The wound of losing their king was only worsened when Scar had revealed that the hyenas were now allowed on the Pridelands. Even though they had their own area, the other lionesses knew that those boundaries would soon be crossed.
Dada quickly moved out of the cave that the pride occupied to stay out of being under paw of the huntresses. As of late the pride had been a bit edgy, cubs getting in the way were not kindly looked upon. With most of the mothers out hunting the cubs didn t have much today. But today, Dada had a mission of her own. Today, she was going to make a new friend.
Dada was about a month old when Simba was born, and about the same time Nala was born by a lioness named Saraphina. Saraphina was an old friend of the queens, or so Dada s mother had told her. Either way, when the two cubs were born, they were always kept together. When the two of them were old enough to play they were nigh inseparable. It had always annoyed Dada that only they were allowed to be with each other. Dada s mother had explained that Nala and Simba were betrothed, which made no sense to her, be what? had been her response, her mother told her that one day it would make sense.
Dada was the only other cub beside Simba and Nala, which made things very boring for her. The few times that she had seen Simba and Nala she had gotten two impressions. One was that Simba was pompous, self-centered and a trouble maker. The other that Nala was a bit of a trouble maker herself, but was a lot more mature, and pretty cool. But no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn t play with either of them.
Now was different though, when Scar took over, the queen, Saraphina, and Nala started to sleep with the rest of the lionesses. Sarabi (the queen) and Saraphina recently started to go on hunts with the rest of the lionesses, the grief of losing both her husband and son had cost Sarabi dearly. At first Sarabi would only sleep and only get up to eat or drink, but lately she had started to go hunting with the rest of the pride. Saraphina through all of this though had stayed at Sarabi s side, and now that they were hunting again, Nala was left alone with no one to talk or play with.
Dada sat in the shadows near the mouth of the cave and waited for the lionesses to leave, and see if she could catch Nala. Nala had taken to leaving when the lionesses left and wouldn t been seen again till much later that day. Curious to see where it was that Nala was going, Dada was content to sit and wait.
She didn t have to wait for long for Nala exited the cave and slowly made her way down the steep incline that led to the ground. Cautiously, Dada padded after Nala keeping to the shadows still as to not alert the younger lioness of her presence. When Nala reached the ground she trotted off in the general direction of the watering hole. It was difficult for Dada to keep up with Nala and not make too much noise. She was in training to hunt for the pride, so she knew the basics of stalking her prey. But she had yet to get to any lessens of how to run quickly without a sound. But she was successful enough and Nala was none the wiser that she was not alone on this little exploit. As they neared the watering hole Nala slowed down and entered the reeds that surrounded the little pool. Not wishing to be caught just yet, Dada circumvented the pool and settled off to the side of the pool where she could spy on the other cub. Nala was just sitting there looking a bit lost. Several long minutes passed by and just as Dada was about to come out a bird flew by Nala and landed by her paws. Dada stiffened and strained to hear the conversation that passed between the two. The rendezvous didn t last long and the little bird left as quickly as it had arrived. As soon as the bird left Nala angled off to the south and started to run. Dada as quietly as she could, jumped up and started to run after her. The grasslands soon started to thin out and gave way to sporadic stunted trees and patches of plants and thorns. Dada had never been in this area but she had a sinking feeling that she knew just where it was that Nala was headed for, the gorge where Mufasa and Simba had died. Scar had specifically said this area was off limits to anyone. He had said that the stampede had made it extremely dangerous and it was that that caused both Mufasa s and Simba s death.
Not wishing that either of them get into any trouble Dada decided to try and stop Nala before she got herself hurt or worse killed. HEY, NALA, STOP! shouted Dada after Nala. Nala slowed apace long enough to look over her shoulder, seeing Dada, Nala sprinted forward even faster. NO, STOP! IT S TOO DANGEROUS! NO, I HAVE TO FIND SIMBA AND MUFASA! cried Nala frantically.
THEIR DEAD, SCAR SAID SO! AND HE FORBAD US TO COME HERE TO PREVENT ANY OTHER DEATHS! shouted Dada back. The younger cub was not used to running for so long and was not as fast as Dada and was slowly overtaken by Dada. As Dada neared Nala, she started to zigzag like a frightened rabbit. Relying on training, Dada simply ran straight knowing she would intercept Nala in the center soon. As Nala made another cut to the inside Dada took her chance and neatly tripped the younger cub.
Nala rolled harmlessly to stop and Dada pounced on her and held her to the ground. Nala tried to throw her off all the while crying and shouting at her incoherently. Finally wearing herself out Nala laid there sobbing. I-its not f-f-fair! I-it s just not fair! cried Nala. He can t be dead, he just can t be dead! Moving off Nala, Dada sat beside her and put her trying to comfort the distraught cub. Shhh, its ok, its ok. Nala looked up at Dada with tear stained eyes and asked; Why did he have to die? Dada looked off into the distance and said; I don t know. It s a terrible thing to happen. But all we can do is move on. I m sure Simba wouldn t want to you to act like this. Nor would he want to you to go and hurt yourself. Nala turned and looked away and a silence crept between them. Nala curled up still silently sobbing to herself. Dada felt really sorry for her and lay beside her. It must have been hours later when they woke up. The sun was already past its peak and was making its way back down. Nala got up and looked bleakly towards the forbidden zone. Turning towards Dada she said, Thank you. I m better now, thank you for making me feel better. Dada blinked warmly at her and said, You know, we really ought to get back. The others may wonder where we are. Together the two cubs started the long walk back to Priderock. The day had been an interesting one to say the least. But at least it hadn t ended badly. Dada knew that she had just gained herself and friend. And Nala too knew that she was not so alone now as she thought. Together the two friends made their way back home.