Disclaimer: I DO NOT take credit for The Lion King characters or their respective storyline. They are owned by Walt Disney. This story is just a depiction of said story with the characters turned human. Some original characters and ideas will appear, and I will take credit for them as they do. I hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you think of the idea :). Note: this is rated T for possible language and possible slight violence.

The (Human) Lion King—the Retelling of a Classic Tale

Chapter Three: Blessing of the Great Kings

At the end of the day, after all the celebrations had come to completion and the humble townspeople had all returned to their homes, the royal shaman, (or in this case, woman), Renée the seer entered the private quarters of the King and Queen. She cleared her throat and bowed deeply.

"Your majesties," she greeted, her voice low and powerful. The seer was a short, stocky, dark-skinned woman with extremely curly brown hair and dark, almost black eyes. Her neck was adorned with strings of colorful beads that were used, according to her, to contact the spirits. She had been the royal shaman for years and was a close personal friend of the King himself. Michael welcomed her with open arms.

"Renée, it's good to see you. It has been far too long."

"Likewise sire. But might I say, what a joyous occasion to reconnect, yes? Congratulations once again."

"Thank you, old friend. Sarah and I are both tremendously grateful."

"Indeed, we are." Said the Queen as she entered with her son sleeping in her arms. Renée smiled at the sight.

"Oh, the blessed child!" She cooed. "He is beautiful, your highness."

"Thank you, Renée. And thank you for coming."

"Of course, it is my pleasure. I shall bless the boy with the blessing of God and the great kings of the past, as I did for his father when he was a babe." She winked at Michael, who smiled in return. Renée then reached for the baby. "Might I hold him, your highness?"

Sarah gently transferred Samuel to the shaman's arms. Samuel slowly stretched his little arms and yawned, earning adored smiles from the adults. All was quiet as Renée studied the child. She spoke, "may I have a moment alone with him? That is if you don't mind, of course."

"Not at all." The King assured. He placed a hand on his wife's lower back and led her into the next room. "Take all the time you need."

Alone, Renée turned to sit on the large daybed and slowly began caressing the gold beads around her neck. "You have an interesting future ahead of you, my child." She spoke to Samuel as if he could fully understand the words. "You have a greatness in your soul that many only dream of possessing. The spirits have told me you will achieve much sublimity, but not without trial, of course. Every great King must face his share of tribulations. It's how he copes with such tribulations that make him a resilient leader." She closed her eyes and hummed a slow, blessing prayer, lulling the child back to sleep. "There. You are blessed, dear child." She stood to return him to his parents and swore she saw the baby smiling up at her.

…TEN YEARS LATER…

At the very top of the tallest tower in Stolz Palace, a young boy sat by the largest window and watched the sleeping city, quiet and vacant of people in the early morning. His shoes were scuffed but his clothes were pressed and his auburn hair was combed and tidy. He had been sitting up in the tower alone for hours now; hadn't slept a wink. He could no longer be patient. The boy Rose from his dusty seat and sprinted down the stairs two at a time, straight into his parent's large bedroom.

"Dad!" the boy whispered loudly. His father did not wake from his deep sleep. The boy tried again. "Da-ad!" he sing-songed he bounced on the bed and shook his father's shoulder. "Dad dad dad dad dad dad—"

"Alright Samuel," the King slurred, his voice thick with tiredness. "Enough already, I am awake."

Samuel frowned. "C'mon dad, you gotta get up. You promised we would do it today!"

Michael opened one eye to see his ten year old son smiling widely down at him, a small gap between his teeth. His eyes, which were so much like his mother's, were teeming with anticipation. He inwardly sighed. He had to get out of bed sooner or later anyway.

"Alright, alright, I'm up."

Samuel beamed. "Yes! C'mon, let's go!" he bounded out the room full of energy as Michael sat up slowly, exhausted from being woken up before dawn.

"He's definitely your son." His still half asleep wife mumbled from her side of the bed beside him. Michael chuckled.

"Before sunrise, he should just be your son." He kissed his Sarah lightly on the head and let her fall back to sleep. Michael took his time getting dressed, much to his son's disdain.

"Da-ad! We're gonna miss it!" he pulled his father along, barely giving him time to make sure his shirt was buttoned. Michael laughed at Samuel's eagerness.

"Calm down Samuel. We aren't going to miss it, I promise."

The pair made their way to the palace entrance, summons their horse-pulled carriage, and were off. They made it to the outer edge of the kingdom, the eastern wall, in a little under two hours and just as the sun was rising. The guards of the gats saluted and came to attention at the sight of the King and the Prince.

"Good morning, your majesty!" the head guard greeted cordially. "What brings you to this far side of the kingdom so early?"

Michael smiled proudly. "I am showing my son our glorious kingdom, Fredrick." The King said. "It's his first time seeing it from the wall."

The guard, Fredrick, laughed good-naturedly. "Well now, isn't that something? First time, eh?" he asked Samuel. The boy nodded vigorously. "Fantastic! Should be a treat then, yes sire?"

"It certainly is, Fredrick."

"I won't waste your time with my ramblings then!" he unlocked the door that led up to the viewing tower at the very top of the wall. "Enjoy your day, your majesty," He bowed. "Young prince."

"Thank you Fredrick."

Samuel wasted no time in bolting up the stairs, making it to the top just as the light from sunrise Rose over the hills and spilled across the land. The boy's eyes widened in awe. "Woooooow." He drawled. Michael smiled, appreciating the wonder his son was experiencing.

"Take a good, long look Samuel." Michael told him. The roofs and gables in the many villages of Stolz were shining, glistening with the morning dew. In the distance, they could just make out the silhouette of the palace rising up from behind the hills. It was indeed a beautiful sight. "Everything you see before you; every brick of every house, every stone of every road, every blade of grass…everything the light touches is our kingdom."

"Wow," Samuel repeated, mesmerized. Michael continued,

"A King's time as ruler rises and falls much like the sun. One day Samuel, the sun will set on my time here and will rise with you as the new King."

"And this will all be mine?"

"Everything." The King assured.

"Everything the light touches…what about that shadowy place?" Samuel asked, gesturing to a dark section of landscape just to the right of their castle. Michael frowned.

"That is beyond the borders of our kingdom. You must never go there Samuel."

"But I thought a King could do whatever he wants."

"Well, there is much more to being King than just getting your way all the time."

"There's more?!" Samuel's eyes widened with pure innocence. Michael chuckled lightheartedly.

"Of course there is Samuel. Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance, from the livestock we raise, to the people we protect. As Kings, it is our responsibility to understand that balance and respect all the living creatures."

"All of them?"

Michael nodded. "You see son, when we die, our bodies become the grass, and the animals eat the grass. We, in turn, eat the animals so we can grow to be big and strong. So we are all connected in the great circle of life."

"Sire!" a voice called from the ground below. The King looked over the edge of the wall to see his assistant, Ezekiel, waving up at him. Michael turned back to his son.

"Give me one moment Samuel." He turned to head back down to the bottom, but Samuel stopped him.

"Can I go down with you?" he asked sheepishly. "Just to…see what it's like to be King, I guess?" the boy blushed, but Michael laughed and ruffled his son's hair playfully.

"Of course you can!" he boomed, proud to see his son eager to learn the ways of being a King. They made their way to Ezekiel, who bowed in respect before speaking.

"Just thought I would check in with the morning report, since you left before I could deliver it at the palace."

"Fire away." Michael insisted.

"Well, first of all, our neighboring kingdom has finally agreed to finish their…"

Blah, blah, blah. After only a few minutes of Ezekiel's monotone speech, Samuel stopped listening, regretting his earlier decision to accompany his father. Who knew being a King and having to listen to EVERY little problem in the kingdom could be so boring? Instead, Samuel began chasing a butterfly, stealthily moving toward it as the insect landed on a large rock. He slowly pulled a hand-made slingshot out from his pocket, a gift given to him by his uncle. Small pebble in hand, he carefully aimed for the butterfly and released. The pebble flew sideways, missing the butterfly by only a couple inches as the insect fluttered away, much to Samuel's disappointment.

"What are you doing son?" Michael whispered, as Ezekiel was still ranting over the morning report which, in all honesty, Michael had grown bored of too.

Samuel held up his sling shot with a frown on his face and explained, "I tried to hit a butterfly, but I missed and it flew away."

"Here," Michael reached for the slingshot in his son's hands and picked up a pebble. "Let an old pro show you how it's done." He winked, causing Samuel to giggle. The King put his fingers to his lips and nodded his head in Ezekiel's direction, silently telling his son to stay quiet. "Ezekiel," he then called. "Will you turn around for me please?"

"Yes sire." Ezekiel, the ever compliant servant, obeyed and continued speaking while facing the other direction.

"Watch this," Michael whispered. Carefully, he pulled back the slingshot strap and took aim. The pebble flew free at its release and hit Ezekiel square on the bottom. He yelped in pain and jumped comically high into the air as Michael and Samuel burst into hysterics.

"What's going on!?" Ezekiel demanded, voice cracking. His normally poised and proper expression was now flustered.

"Target Practice!" Michael laughed. "Ah, I have a better idea!" he bent down and whispered in Samuel's ear. The boy nodded his head vigorously in agreement to whatever his father had suggested. He ran to the guard tower and returned a few seconds later with one bright red apple in his hand, one which he gave to Ezekiel. Ezekiel stared at the fruit in confusion until realization dawned on him.

"Oh no sire, you can't be serious!" Ezekiel exclaimed. Michael raised his left eyebrow, a look that said are you really going to question the KING? Ezekiel sighed in resignation and whined, "Oh, this is so humiliating!" he placed the apple on his head shakily, and then closed his eyes. "I can't bear to watch."

"Plant your feet firmly, Samuel," Michael instructed softly. "And pull back as far as you can." Samuel did so, straining his arms as much as he could without hurting himself. "Try not to move a muscle. Focus…relax your muscles…aim…and release!"

The pebble shot quickly and precisely, hitting the apple square in its middle and knocking it off Ezekiel's head. Ezekiel ducked and covered his head in a fetal position on the ground as Michael clapped his hands with delight and laughed.

"Did I do good dad?" Samuel asked, smiling.

"Excellent! You're a natural, just like your father." He rustled Samuel's hair playfully. "Now this time we can—"

"Sire!" Fredrick the head guard ran toward them looking frantic. He didn't bother with formalities as he explained, "a band of Turncoats have been spotted in Stolz, near the citadel's town square!"

Michael's expression darkened into a deep scowl, the elation from earlier now gone. He was now on full alert. Fun time was over.

"Ezekiel," the King boomed. The majordomo, who was still cowering on the ground, straightened up and dusted himself off. "Take Samuel home."

"Aw dad, can't I come with you?" Samuel whined.

"No son, this is too dangerous. Now do as you are told."

Samuel stared at his feet in submission. "Yes father."

"You men, follow me!" King Michael directed. The fellow guards obeyed as they all mounted horses and sped off, led by King Michael himself. Soon Samuel was left alone with Ezekiel in a cloud of dust. Samuel frowned in a huff.

"I never get to do anything fun." He pouted.

"Oh young master, one day you will be King." Ezekiel reminded. "Then you can chase those maniac, mangy, stupid traitors from dawn until dusk."

For character references, here is who has been introduced from the movie so far:

Michael- Mufasa

Ezekiel- Zazu

Sarah- Sarabi

Samuel- Simba

Thomas- Scar

Renée- Rafiki

I decided to make Rafiki a female character (just like from the Broadway show) because there are A LOT of male roles in this story already and I like her better as a woman. *shrugs* also, Fredrick the Head Guard is not based on anyone from the Lion King Verse. He is my original character. Reviews are welcome!