A/N: Told you I'd update sooner than the last one. I have a feeling that at this point I'm more than halfway done the whole fic. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Lovers Apart

The lioness cub kept her eyes to the ground as she walked, making sure to avoid the gazes of the hyenas that seemed to be everywhere these days. Nala knew that even looking at one of them would remind her of the last day she'd spent with Simba, barely a week ago. Had she even said goodbye to him that night, or had she simply allowed Zazu to lead her home from the Elephant Graveyard? She couldn't remember, and she didn't want to. Everyone in the pride had taken the news of the deaths hard.

She stopped when she reached the stone that her mother, Sarafina, had placed as a boundary line. Sarafina feared that if Nala got too close to the gorge, she would meet the same end as Simba and Mufasa. She could barely see the gorge from there, but it would have to do. Finally lifting her eyes to the chasm ahead, she dropped the spray of wildflowers from between her teeth. "I wish you could be here with me, Simba," she whispered. "I miss you so much."

Nala continued looking at the gorge, deep in thought. She hadn't even known that Simba was going there that fateful day. If she had gone there with him, would things have turned out differently? Or would she have been just another life lost in the stampede? Her concentration was broken when she heard a voice from behind her. "What are you doing?"

She turned around, slightly surprised to see Scar, the new king of the Pridelands, followed by a small group of hyenas. She faltered under his intense stare, feeling as though he had intruded on a private moment. "I was leaving these flowers," she said, "for-- for Simba and Mufasa." He shook his head, placing a paw on her back in what was clearly supposed to be a comforting gesture. Nala only winced at the feeling of his partway-extended claws between her shoulder blades.

"They're dead, Nala," he said, pushing the flowers into the dust with his free paw. "And that's something we all have to get used to." She felt as though she could never get used to it; never truly accept the fact. With that thought in mind, she promised Simba that she wouldn't forget him. If she had to, she'd come to the gorge every day to show how much she cared. He was her best friend, and he was worth it.

Nala sighed as she left the clearing she had spent the night in, wondering what to do. The cold shock from the night before had faded away, but a feeling of betrayal and sadness remained. She felt as though she could have dealt with last night's news had it not been for Siri. She worried now that she might act rashly upon seeing the young lioness; though Siri had had nothing to do with it. Nothing was stopping her from returning to Simba but herself.

She loved him; she couldn't deny that. She wouldn't have stood by him for so long if that were untrue. Everything about him brightened her life, giving her a secret joy and making her feel like the happiest being in the world. His cheerful and confident nature, his love of life; these things had always made her feel that they fit perfectly together. But now she saw that she wasn't the only one who had felt this way.

Tamaa. Still a mysterious figure that seemed to lurk in the recesses of her mind; Simba's first real love. What had she been like? Almost unconsciously, she weighed herself against this lioness on an imaginary scale. Nala knew nothing about her, only that she had been first. Yet this was enough to tip the scales in her favor. Was she only a last resort to Simba, someone he would have passed by had he and Tamaa remained together? Against her will, she imagined those two together: living in paradise and passion, cut off from the world around them, while she scrounged for food in a desolate wasteland.

What had happened to make Tamaa leave him, though? Simba had called it a "misunderstanding on both parts", though this told her nothing. Had Tamaa wanted to be his mate, but Simba refused? Or had Tamaa left him on her own, herself being the one who wasn't ready to commit? These thoughts simultaneously frustrated and frightened her, as she realized that she couldn't even determine which path her own mate was more likely to take. Yet whatever the cause, Tamaa had left, and Siri was born.

Thinking of that lioness gave Nala a feeling almost like an unpleasant taste in her mouth. She knew that this was unfair; this situation wasn't Siri's fault at all. Yet the young lioness made an easy scapegoat for her distress. As she mulled over this, a new thought came into her mind. Was Siri really even Simba's daughter? All of her confused, stricken thoughts could be based on an unfounded assumption. There was no way of knowing for sure, though, and this did little to comfort her.

She noticed with surprise that Siri was out hunting a short distance away from her, though the sun had barely risen in the gray sky above. Nala watched curiously as Siri stalked through the tall grass, not looking as nervous as she had the first time she had been seen hunting. Her movements still seemed awkward and unnatural, however, and Nala assumed that hunting was not something she did very often. Why was she doing it now, then, and so early in the morning?

As Nala watched the lioness chase a solitary gazelle until a stand of trees shielded her from view, she began to understand, or at least thought she did. Did Siri feel guilty for causing her departure the night before, and was using this hunt as a way to make it up to Simba? She wanted to tell her that she didn't need to push herself so hard, that Simba wasn't angry at her, but couldn't do it. She didn't feel up to speaking to Simba or Siri right now.

She turned to reenter the jungle, her thoughts still racing. What would happen when they returned to Pride Rock? Would Siri go with them? Would they be able to tell the other pride members about the situation? Nala shook her head roughly, trying to clear her thoughts. This was all too much.

Simba darted in front of the zebra, attempting to distract it while Tamaa came in from the side. The zebra ended up running in the opposite direction than Simba had intended, however, and managed to escape before Tamaa could catch up to it. She collapsed onto her side with an exasperated sigh. "Well, there goes my meal for the day." Simba lay on the ground next to her, catching his breath.

"I thought it sounded like a good enough idea," he said. "I guess it was smarter than we thought."

"You know what else sounded like a good idea?" Tamaa asked, not expecting an answer. "I told my dad about you." She stared amusedly at Simba's surprised expression. "Figured that if he knew about you, he'd be more likely to stop worrying about me." She shook her head. "Yeah, I was wrong."

"What did he say?" Simba asked. He had never seen Tamaa's father Hifadhi, but from her descriptions and complaints about him he seemed to be overly protective of his daughter. For a brief second he wondered if he had told her to stop seeing him, but decided that that was unlikely. For all her complaining, Tamaa seemed to admire Hifadhi and mostly listened to what he told her.

"Same old thing," she replied. "Places like this can be really dangerous, you shouldn't trust rogues, I'm only looking out for you, et cetera, et cetera." She sat up, pushing a tuft of fur out of her eyes. "He finally said that it didn't matter, as long as I was careful. At least he realizes you're not trying to kill me or something."

Simba got up as well, slightly uncomfortable because of Tamaa's complaints. Without warning, another thought of Mufasa came into his mind. He was sure Tamaa never felt like this. She hadn't ever asked him about his past, and for that he was grateful. "We should go try again," he said, attempting to change the subject.

"All right," she said, "but this time, I'm gonna distract it, and you'll be the one to bring it down. Okay?" He nodded. "Then let's go. I see another herd right over there." The two lions took off, Tamaa in the lead and Simba coming in from the side. The herd scattered, but one zebra fell behind. Simba began creeping stealthily around it, hoping to get close but remain unnoticed until it was too late.

As Tamaa lunged in front of it, making as if to pounce, the zebra unexpectedly charged toward her. She saw this at the last second, quickly dodging to the left. The sudden movement caught her off balance, and she skidded several feet down a small rocky incline. At this the zebra ran off, glad to have escaped with its life. Simba picked his way down to her, relieved to see she was mostly unhurt.

"Just a few cuts," she said casually, stretching out her forelegs to inspect the damage. "Could've been a lot worse." Tamaa suddenly groaned, an annoyed expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" Simba asked.

"You know how paranoid my dad's been lately," she replied. "He's gonna think you did this to me!" She shook her head. "So much for being careful, huh?"

"You can't be serious," Simba said. "Why would he think I'd do that?" Tamaa shook her head.

"I don't mean he'll think you physically did this," she explained. "He thinks that me hanging out with a rogue is dangerous. He's gonna blame this on you; I know it!" She sighed. "Oh well. Guess I'll just have to deal with him later. Whatever happened to that meal?"

"You didn't have to do that," Simba said, looking up as Siri dropped her kill in front of him. "I was going to go hunt for both of us." Siri said nothing for a few seconds, her eyes shifting to the direction where they both knew Nala was.

"I had to," she said. "This is my fault. If I hadn't... brought that up yesterday, you and Nala wouldn't-- wouldn't be like this." She had turned her face to the ground as she spoke, looking up when she finished.

Simba laid a paw on one of hers. "Stop blaming yourself," he told her. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine." In the back of his mind, he wished that Siri hadn't told him about Tamaa. But of course there was no way he could say that to her without causing her more guilt. "You worry too much."

"But what if Nala decides she doesn't want to be with you anymore?" Siri asked, her paws shifting nervously under his. Her voice was low and shaking. "What if she leaves you?"

"Don't worry," he reassured her. He looked back to where Nala was. "I know that won't happen."

"How do you know?"

"We've been together for a long time," he responded. "We've been through a lot. Our relationship's strong enough that it wouldn't fall apart over something like this." Simba paused, as though reflecting over what he had said. "Nala's strong enough. She just needs some time."

"I hope you're right," Siri said. "If I found out that everything was ruined because of me, I'd--"

Simba held up a paw, motioning for her to be silent. "I know I'm right."

Nala drank from the waterfall as the sun set, deep in thought. The vibrant colors painted across the sky were reflected in the flowing water. Fireflies were coming out, and night flowers opened, spreading their fragrance in the sultry air. It all reminded her of that night, which seemed so long ago. This was the kind of night she had pictured before she and Simba returned to the jungle, but she hadn't thought she'd be spending it alone.

Memories of the night she fell in love came flooding back to her. She and Simba had acted almost like cubs; everything in the jungle seemed new and wonderful. She realized now that it hadn't lasted very long, for shortly after that they had gotten into an argument, and the next morning they had returned to the Pridelands to challenge Scar. But that one night of discovery, of happiness, had had a profound effect on her. Nala knew she would have done anything to relive it. She turned from the waterfall, looking toward the direction where Simba and Siri were. She knew what she had to do.

As she entered the clearing, however, she was surprised to find only Siri, alone. "Nala, it's you," she said, surprised. "Simba was just looking for you." She paused, rubbing the ground with a paw. "I think he said something about going to the waterfall...."

"Thanks, Siri," she said, turning around. Had they crossed paths without realizing it? The way things had been going, she wouldn't have been surprised. "Hopefully I'll be back here soon. I mean, we'll be back here soon." As she walked through the trees, she wondered what she would say. She was ready to come back to him, though how to put that into words? When she reached the waterfall, however, she knew exactly what to do.

Simba was drinking from it, his back turned towards her. Her eyes lit up, and she began sprinting in his direction with cubbish joy. He turned around at the last second as she pounced him, knocking them both into the water. Nala climbed to the banks dripping, as Simba shook the water from his mane. "I warned you I'd get you back for that someday," she said teasingly.

"Does this mean 'apology accepted'?" Simba asked, shoving her with a paw.

"Do you even have to ask?" she replied. She looked into his eyes, speaking sincerely now. "I'm sorry, too. It was kind of-- no, it was really wrong of me to just run like that. I mean, Simba, I trust you completely. I love you." He pointed at the sky, where the first stars of the evening were shining above.

"Still a few hours left of today," he said. "Who says we can't still enjoy ourselves?" She nodded, but then frowned.

"What will we do about Siri, though? What will we tell the pride?" He rubbed his head against hers.

"We can think about that tomorrow, Nala," he said gently. He waved his arm, indicating the darkening expanse of jungle surrounding them. "But for now, the night's all ours." She smiled as she walked off with her mate. Right now, Siri and Tamaa weren't important. Nothing was but them and their love. This was their paradise, and they were the only ones left in the world.

Tamaa entered her cave just as the sun was beginning to set. Hifadhi looked up from his meal. "Look, I know what you're gonna say," she said, standing so that she was still just a silhouette at the cave's mouth, "but hear me out, okay?" She stepped forward, revealing the cuts and scrapes on her forelegs.

"How did that happen?" he asked, stepping forward. The cuts weren't deep and she didn't seem hurt, but it still worried him. Since they had entered the jungle, he was constantly on his guard. This was the only safe place they had, and any danger there would mean disaster for them.

"I was hunting a zebra with Simba, and long story short, I fell down this hill," she said quickly. "I know you think he's dangerous because he's a rogue, but it wasn't his fault, honestly. If you blame anyone, it should be me."

"I'm not going to blame anyone," Hifadhi replied, "yet. If he encourages you to take risks, I don't think you should see him anymore. You know, you're the only one I have." He looked at her steadily. "We can't act as though life here is easy; we have to be careful. I don't want something like what happened in the valley to happen again."

"Could you stop bringing that up?" Tamaa replied, an annoyed edge to her voice. "I want to forget about that. Every time I think of that hyena, I just get.... I want to kill her. I want to watch her die!" Her claws were now extended, and her voice was rising in volume. "My life isn't easy, no matter what you think!" She paused for several seconds, calming down. "Every day I think about those hyenas, and every day I have to pretend I'm fine, like it's all right. Simba doesn't even know. He goes around like his life is perfect, and where am I? I'm in hell."

Hifadhi didn't know what to say; he had never known the extent of how Tamaa really felt until now. "I won't talk about it if you don't want me to. But you can't forget about something like that." She said nothing, lost in thought.

She knew she couldn't forget, but every day she tried. Simba was the only thing that kept her mind from drifting back to that day. His carefree personality brought her back to easier days, when she and Laini would play together and Makali's name meant nothing to her. Tamaa couldn't imagine losing him. Hifadhi didn't know that, though, as far as she knew. He didn't know how they had planned to become mates, how they had already met in secret for the past few nights. But if he found out, she didn't know what he'd do.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. I think this was one of the better chapters I've written for this fic. Anyway, reviews would be really great. The next one'll probably be up by Friday or Saturday, so I'll see you then!