Chapter 2: The truth

The evening was a lovely time for cats, especially big cats with a desire for something special. Kovu came to his cave, his face was full of pride and satisfaction, he thought that this night, he would find a mate in the lioness that was presented to him and his brother Mamlaka, he strides into the cave and found nothing, to his surprise, there was no one there and the monkey servant who was supposed to dried up the lioness and present her to Kovu in his cave was tied up in vine and his mouth was gagged. He muffled to the shocked Kovu and point at the hole on the wall where the lioness crawled out. He saw her ducking in the grasses and slipping away from priderock, he followed her from behind but when he saw a pair of hyenas guards standing in the way, he called to them, distracting them from seeing the lioness. "Guards!" The hyenas turn around to see prince Kovu not knowing the lioness was running away, "There's a servant tied up in my cave! Well look into it." the hyenas ran to Kovu's cave leaving him to run after the lioness, strangely, she went to the slaves quarter at a water pond she took some water into her jugged, thanking a pair of lion slaves there and ran far away into the night. Kovu look on at the lioness, amazed and seemingly hypnotised by her beauty, he was soon released from his fantasy when he heard a loud crack in front of him.

"Oh i'm sorry, i'm so sorry! I never expect to see you...here. The...the whole place is...everyone..." The lioness with blue eyes and a hair tuft on her head spoke in excited when she saw Kovu, couldn't control her excitement, she ran to her older brother, the lanky, thin and scuffy maned lion with reddish brown fur, she hug him and shake him telling how happy she is to see Kovu here, leaving the lion prince in confusion. "I knew he would be here, did i tell you that he will be here one day?" She said to her brother who was rather half scared by now, "What is she talking about?" Kovu asked the other male lion who was suttering in fear in front of the prince. "Well, i...i...i don't know what she's saying your majesty." the lioness's excitement was shattered almost immediately upon hearing the two males words. She turned to Kovu with disbelief in her eyes, "They didn't tell you? You were born of our mother Sarabi. You are our brother." She said something that was unbelievable to the ears of the prince, he couldn't believe it, how can a prince be borned from a mother of the slaves? The male lion, her older brother stop her there and trying to get her to go home with him, "uh, um, Vitani we should really be going now." He tries to get her away but she refuses, her tomboy nature would usually overruled his clumsy, cowardice. "I know who i'm speaking to Nuka, and i know who you are. You are not the prince of Africa!"

Vitani shouted right into Kovu's face, provoking Kovu's rage, slowly building up in his head. "What did you say?" he asked in confusion, couldn't believe how a slave was daring enough to speak such words into his face, denying his position as the prince of Africa. "My mother put you in a basket to save your life!" She reminded Kovu of his infant times, a time which he can't remember but the luxury life in the care of king Scar and queen Zira, "Save my life from who?" He asked her, wanting to know what proof does she have to support her statement, thinking that she is deluded but she seems to be calm and exact. "Ask the lion you call father!" She snarled at him, fighting to get out of Nuka's grip, she finally broke free and ran begging at Kovu's feet, "God save you from the river Kovu, you are our brother. You are..." Before she could continues any further, Kovu throws her off and roar at Nuka and Vitani, "I said enough! You will regret this night." He coldly turn around and walk away, thinking that his business here is done, but when he took his first steps away from Vitani, she sat on the ground, face down like she was looking at something precious, like a lion cub as if it was her own. "Sleep now my baby. Be still now don't cry, sleep as you rock by the stream. Sleep and remember my last lullaby so i'll be with you in your dreams." Kovu stops immediately when he heard the lullaby she was singing, it was very familiar to him, he had heard it somewhere before. But he can't remember, he turn his face around and saw Vitani's face, her tears were falling from her eyes just like the lioness that once saw before he fell asleep in the darkness then to be found again by the queen.

He felt fear and something that no words can describe, he ran away in fear, half terrified by how much truthfull Vitani's words were, her lullaby but at the same time he was fighting back distant memories, fighting back what he refuses to believe in, can it be that he is actually a son of a slave? Does it mean that he is also a slave as well? Running across the savannah he saw a place where he felt safe, priderock, where he grew up and spend the entire only life he knows at. In the care and teaching of king Scar and queen Zira, under the starry sky he ran into his room where portraits depicting him as a corageous, valiant and noble lion trampling over his defeated enemies, this was everything he ever wanted. Tired and exhausted, he fell asleep, hoping to calm his nerves. But no matter how hard he tries, he would eventually know the truth...

Kovu openned his eyes and saw himself as hierylglyph portrait and his father king Scar was gigantic like a lion god, Scar roared to the hyenas and they ran to somewhere only Scar knew. Kovu thought that the hyenas were aftering him, he ran away hiding in the bushes and saw the hyenas were running to the place he had just left, the slave quarter. The hyenas murdered countless lion cubs, infant ones, who had barely begin their lives. Kovu was appalled at the barbaric actions of the hyenas at the order of Scar no less. Among the carnage, he saw three lions were running away from the slave quarter, they look awefully familiar to him. He ran after the three lions to a riverbed, where from a bunch reeds, he saw the lioness rocking her youngest cub asleep then put him in a basket before letting it drift out to the river. She wept at her own action and so was Kovu, he couldn't hold back his own tears when he saw such a sight. That was when the scene of the riverbed disappear and he was once again being chased by the hyenas again, they cornered him to a dark land where he fell into a deep abyss with the lion cubs they hold in their mouths. Deep down the pit were jaws of hungry hyenas preparing to feast on the lions.

Kovu woke up from the nightmare, he breath heavily and thought that he can't run from the past anymore, he must know, he remembers when he was a young cub, Mamlaka and him were forbidden by their father from going to a shadowy place called the Elephant Graveyard. He ran straight to the elephant graveyard under the blue diamond sky, finding his direction with the stars above. And finally he was there a place where there were only skeletons of elephants and other creatures. Kovu knew a large pile of bones on the other side of the graveyard, when he saw it, it was unspeakable terror flows through him. The pile of bones was a pile of infant lion cubs, eaten and threw away by the hyenas. Kovu collapsed to the ground and cried at the sight, could his father be that evil? He suddenly felt a warm paw patting his back and a familiar voice. "The lion's pride grew numerous. THey might have risen up against us." It was Scar looking at his son with a face of heavy heart. "But tell me father you didn't do this?" Kovu look at Scar with what little hope he had left wanting to know that his father didn't want this or at least didn't order this. "Kovu sometimes, for the greater good. Sacrifices must be made." Scar reasoned with Kovu with the excuse of sacrifice but his son wasn't buying it. Looking at the pile of lion bones again, Kovu knew that he could have been one of them. "Oh my son, they were only slaves." Scar gave Kovu a hug to calm his son down, but his words made Kovu resentful of his father, the prince back away from Scar and ran far away from the king.

For a full night, Kovu was no where to be found at priderock, instead, he was lying at the riverbed, where queen Zira found him, he disappointed, his faith shattered, his sense of purpose was gone. The next morning queen Zira came to the riverbed and found her son, she was worried about her son's well being, seeing how he had learned half of the truth of who he was, she sat next to him seeing how her son was heart broken at his family. "Is this where you found me?" He asked, Zira tries her best to bring his mind together but it was of great difficulty, "Kovu, please try to understand." Kovu look at his reflection in the river, "So...everything i thought i was, everything i am was a lie." His words were like hammer on Zira's head, she holds Kovu close to her trying to convince him to let go of his past. "No you are our son and we love you." But still Kovu was being troubled by one thing. Did Scar know that Kovu was slave lion cub or not? If he did why did Scar choose Kovu to be in his family? "Why did he choose me?" Kovu asked his mother wondering if she had hidden the truth about Kovu's real identity from Scar since the very beginning. "We didn't. But the gods did. This is your home, here the river brought you, and it's here the river meant. To be your home, now you know the truth, love. Now forget and be content, when the gods send you a blessing, you don't ask why it was sent." Kovu sigh at his mother as she nuzzles him motherly.