A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers!

Chapter 3: Future Plans

"Kovu. Kovu. Wake up," Simba whispered. When that had no affect, he nudged him on the shoulder.

Kovu sleepily opened one eye and raised his head slightly from the stony cave floor. "Simba," he said groggily. "What in the…it's barely sunrise! Are you crazy?"

"Shh! Kovu, we need to talk."

"About what?" he asked, a little warily. The last time him and Simba had talked, they had been ambused and Kovu had been exiled.

"Just follow me," whispered Simba. The golden lion looked over his shoulder as he exited the cave, silently asking Kovu to come. Kovu rose slowly, yawned, and padded outside under the fairly lit sky. The sun's rays were barely peeking out over the horizon and a few stars were still visible in the multicolor sky. Kovu looked over his shoulder at the sleeping form of Kiara and smiled as he gazed upon the lioness. She had been the one thing that had rid his heart of the evil blackness that Zira had settled over it. Then Simba, who began to lead him up a winding rock path, jarred Kovu out of his thoughts. Where was Simba taking him?

They hiked higher and higher up the rocky path until the two lions were at the very top of Pride Rock. Kovu gasped in wonder as he stepped up onto the summit. He had never been up here before, and the view was amazing! He could see all of the Pridelands from where he was standing. It was a little chilly and a bit windy, but the landscape he could behold was breathtaking.

Simba walked to the edge facing the eastern border and sat down. Patting a spot beside him, he said, "Come, sit, and let's talk." Kovu joined him, wondering was Simba was up to. He seemed to have a pleasant, but at the same time serious, air about him.

Simba was quiet for a few minutes, just gazing across the savanna. He seemed to be deep in thought about what to say. Then, finally, he spoke, "My father took me up here and showed me the entire kingdom when I was a cub. It's been a tradition carried on for generations, from King to King. Look across the Pridelands, Kovu."

Kovu looked and waited. Nothing happened and Kovu was going to ask Simba what he was supposed to be looking at, but the older lion's deep concentration on the eastern horizon held him back. Kovu followed Simba's gaze. The lion remained puzzled until he saw the sun slowly and gently rise over the horizon. It was a breathtaking and spectacular thing! The whole kingdom was illuminated with light and the sky turned shades of orange, yellow, and red. Simba's reddish mane and Kovu's dark mane shone in the early morning sun as Kovu's eyes squinted slightly at the bright light. Sunrises in the Outlands were never like this. "Wow. I've never…I mean…this is amazing."

Simba then slowly quoted his father's words, still so fresh in his memory, "Kovu, everything the light touches is our kingdom. A king's time as ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, Kovu, the sun will set on my time and rise with you as the new king." A smile came to Kovu's face at the thought that this would be his kingdom someday.

Simba looked into Kovu's emerald eyes, like he was searching deeply into the lion's soul, and went on. "Being a king is about responsibility. You can't always get what you want. Taking the road of selfishness gets you nowhere, Kovu. It only causes hurt for the creatures around you. Scar and Zira chose that path…" He trailed off. Kovu's smile faltered.

"…and they ended up dead," finished Kovu, feeling some remorse for his mother, but none for Scar.

"Right. Kovu, the sun is going to set on my time soon. I think it's time that I taught you everything I know. When you become king, I want you to be a wise and understanding one."

"Simba, I will. I promise. I won't end up like Scar or my mother," Kovu replied. Simba saw sincerity in his eyes and smiled with relief. Perhaps Kovu would turn out to be a good king after all like Nala had said.

The two lions talked and began to relax in the company of each other. Simba finished telling Kovu about his cubhood and Mufasa and the story of Scar . He told him about the jungle, and reclaiming the Pridelands. He also told of Zira's and her followers' exile afterward. In return, Kovu shared the story of his past.

"It wasn't easy growing up in the Outlands. Hardly any food or water...and those annoying termites! They were pure torture, especially for Nuka," Kovu grinned. Simba softly chuckled at the thought. Kovu continued, "But seriously, life when I was a cub was...dull. And I had no sense of fun at all. Mother never let me enjoy myself like a cub should. Ya know, sometimes I just wish that things had been completely different. That I had grown up in a place like the Pridelands with good parents and no expectations to avenge an evil king."

Simba reasoned, "But then you might not be with Kiara. And the Pridelands and Outlands would still probably be fighting without you. Things happen for a reason, Kovu."

Kovu let this new realization sink in and realized that Simba was right. If it his life had been perfect, he wouldn't have the life he had now. No Pridelands, no Kiara, no Simba…for the first time in his life, Kovu was truly and sincerely grateful for whom he was.

Simba and Kovu stayed on the summit of Pride Rock until the sun was high in the sky.

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Far away in the Grasslands, Rubani was sitting regally inside of a cliff overhanging and studying his kingdom with worry.

Rubani's kingdom was large and his pride lived in the rocky cliffs that made up the southwestern part of the land. Once you climbed up the narrow path to the very large overhang where the pride slept, the kingdom would lay out before your eyes. Miles and miles of plains were covered with a mixture of tall, savanna grass and short, green grass. Occasional acacia or baobab trees dotted the land near the river that stretched from the eastern border to the western border. Months had gone by with hardly any rain. The river was beginning to dry up, and the animals were complaining. Then a young, nearly adolescent lion cub bounded up to the shady alcove, his chocolate brown fur and black mane that thickly covered the top of his head rippling in the wind as he moved.

"Dad! The winds from the north carry news," said the cub.

"Tell me, Ijayo," replied Rubani as he looked at his eldest son.

"The Pridelands and Outlands have stopped fighting. The Outlanders have joined the Pridelanders," Ijayo informed with evident pride in his voice at delivering this message to his father.

"Impossible," Rubani snapped, shaking his black mane in anger. He looked upon his son in disbelief.

"It's true," said Ijayo. "I heard it myself from a traveler."

The lions heard a soft padding and they both turned their heads as a soft voice began to speak.

"What are you all talking about?" asked Kasura cheerfully as she got up from nursing tiny Kutu and padded up to her mate and older son.

"The Pridelanders," Rubani spat bitterly. Kasura's eyes darkened with anger, but she didn't say anything.

"Now, go on and tell me more," commanded Rubani.

"King Simba from the Pridelands has brought together his pride and the Outsiders. It's rumored that Simba's daughter found a prince, who was an outsider," said Ijayo. He waited for his father's reaction, expecting the worst. Ijayo had no idea why his dad had such a hatred for Pridelanders. He wished he knew so there would at least be a reason for his father's anger. Rubani had been like this for as far as Ijoya could remember.

"I don't care what anyone says, that pride is trouble," growled Rubani, his tail swishing angrily. Rubani looked over the dry grasslands and then at his his sons. Then he smirked and began to formulate a plan…