The Lion King 3

Chapter 7 ~ Friendship, Hardship, Complications, and Peace

Thau woke, still very sleepy, next to Mkali. She was comfortable, but she didn't want to get embarrassed again, so she scooted away. He soon followed, rolling over, now facing her. He yawned, but continued to sleep. It was quite early, so no one was awake, except, of course, Mufasa. He watched with a smirk on his face, giggling to himself. "Shut up," Thau mouthed, hoping her brother would get the picture. It was the first time Mkali and Nzuri had been allowed to sleep so close to the royal family, because usually the other lions were in a separate cave, but they and their parents, siblings if any, were allowed to sleep there when they wished because of their new status.

Mufasa still didn't stop, so the young lioness scowled and tried to go back to sleep. It was difficult being so close to a cub she'd hardly met, but they'd become friends quickly and she tried to focus on how safe she felt beside him. He was very warm, comfortingly warm, and he was quite strong, so when he began to grab on to her unconsciously, she felt happy and deeply protected. She soon drifted once more into dreams, now so happy she didn't want to wake up, but someone kept shaking her. She opened her eyes. It was her mother, tears running down her cheeks, eyes filled with worry. "Thau, are you OK? Can you hear me?" she asked franticly. Thau noticed that everyone looked scared. She got up and nodded, confused.

"Why?"

"Well, we thought…you know…..with Tula and…well…." Kovu struggled for the right words.

"Oh. No, I just slept in is all." She looked up innocently at her parents, trying to reassure them that she was fine. Kiara just nodded, getting over her initial shock, then relaxing. She walked away with Kovu, once again off to their job. "You can play with your friends today, they'll show you around. Just make sure you have permission if you leave Pride Rock," Kiara called over her shoulder, smiling. Mkali looked delighted and scrambled up to Thau. "You want to go see my friends?" he asked eagerly. "Sure," she agreed, beaming. She hurried after her betrothed, excited to be out of the musty old cave. They reached a group of young cubs, around the age of Mkali and Thau. Mkali smiled and introduced each one. "This is Jasiri," he said as he came to a dark grey male lion with a jet black tuft of fur on his head and dark blue eyes. He had a very light brown underbelly. He simply nodded, not looking her in the eye. "This is Siku," he added, nodding to a female, large for her age that had creamy gold fur and yellow eyes with a light brown tuft on the end of her tail and a light cream underbelly. She didn't look at the princess either. Then came a male lion so dark brown, you almost thought it black, yet you could tell he would blend well in the bush and serve him in hunting. His small mane was pitch black, which showed the difference between his pelt and the dark color. His eyes were unseen, because he continued to look at his paws, eyelids seemingly covering them completely. "And this is Mwitu." Mkali finished, standing beside his friends.

"Why won't you look at me?" she asked, confused and almost hurt. All the eyes snapped up and she noticed that Mwitu had strange violet colored eyes.

"Uh….we didn't want to upset you, Princess," Siku explained.

"Please, don't call me princess. Treat me like any other cub you just met. I didn't want to be a princess, that's why I jump at the chance to leave the cave or run off if I can, which is how I got hurt." She looked each of them in the eye, then her eyes drooped sadly and she slowly walked away, giving a slight nod in farewell to Mkali, then running off, back to the cave, or at least that direction. Her betrothed raced after her, getting in front of her to get her to stop.

"Wait, they decided they'll treat you normally. Come on, you'll have a lot of fun." Thau thought for a moment, then nodded and they walked back to the group. Siku smiled.

"We're sorry we hurt your feelings, Thau. We won't do it again." The small, second in line cub sat down and smiled, too.

"So, what do you want to do?" she asked, unsure what they usually did because she had been separated from other cubs since birth.

"Well we can all be bored and talk while we sit around here," Jasiri explained. "Or we can ask one of our moms or dads if we can go off Pride Rock and into the grasslands around here."

"I choose off Pride Rock, definitely," Siku decided.

"I have to go with that choice, too," agreed Mkali.

When Mwitu didn't say anything, Thau got a little nervous. All he did was watch her with his very strange eyes. She tried to focus on the conversation.

"Me, too. It gets boring here!" the others smiled. Thau liked most of them already! Except she couldn't really like Mwitu very much…she brought her mind back. Mkali was talking.

"So then we can go ask either Siku's mom, Jasiri's mom, my mom, Thau's parents, or Mwitu's dad. What do you guys think?" he asked, acting like a very good organizer. Thau smiled slightly, and then it was brought down by Mwitu still staring at her. She turned her head away, trying to ignore him. The rest of the group had decided on Mwitu's dad, which she would like because then she could meet this strange lion's family. She wanted to uncover his mind, but it would be difficult.

The small group hurried along the way to Mwitu's father, Mfalme. Thau was happy with these friends and she raced Siku there for fun. It ended in a pinning match over who won, and they tumbled to Mfalme's paws. Thau had pinned Siku and she looked up at the huge lion. He was the largest lion any of them had seen. His dark fur mixed with his dark purpley eyes looked dangerous, but with a certain kindness in them. This was obviously who Mwitu took after in his family, because he looked like a younger version, but with lighter eyes. They were very strange, and seemed almost…not lion. This confused Thau a lot, because she had never even heard of these fur or eye types. She looked up at Mfalme with a gaze full of honor, respect, and bravery. He smiled down at the two cubs. "Who might you be?" he asked, a great kindness in his deep, strong voice.

"I'm Thau, daughter of the mighty king Kovu and the forgiving queen, Kiara, granddaughter of the great Simba and the gentle Nala, second in line for the royal throne of the Pride Lands," she tried to say, but it came out as a squeak. His smile widened. He now looked at Siku.

"And you?"

"Siku, Kuvutia's daughter." She also seemed intimidated. Thau stepped off of her chest quickly, letting her up. Jasiri, Mkali, and Mwitu ran in now, skidding to a stop and making a bit of a dust cloud. Mfalme looked at his son. He raised an eyebrow questioningly at him.

"Dad, these are my friends," he said, gesturing to all of them. Thau had never heard him speak before, but it sounded wonderful. His voice was smooth, like a flowing river. It was nice to hear it, but she snapped herself out of it.

"Friends with the princess? That's new. Who are the ones that didn't run into me?" he joked lightly, winking at Siku and Thau to let them know he wasn't mad.

"They're Mkali and Jasiri." He gestured to each one as he said their names. Mkali stood beside Thau now, watching the large lion.

"Mkali…isn't that who Princess Thau was betrothed to? And your brother Mufasa to…"

"Nzuri. She is kind," she stated, because she couldn't really say anything else. She hardly knew her. Mfalme nodded.

"So why did you five come?" he asked, lying down near them.

"Can we go off Pride Rock? We want to play in the grasslands," Mwitu asked his father. He nodded.

"But be careful. Thau doesn't need leaves on her for nothing." All of the cubs looked at her then, curious. She tried to back away but realized that was silly. She had hoped no one would notice her wounds, for they were well concealed because the ones in noticeable places had healed. Most were on her underbelly, while a few were on her legs.

"How did you find out?"

"I have my sources; everyone here is linked to at least one gossip chain, and I'm guessing you're linked to the head of one." He gave a small smile the walked away, towards the main cave. The cubs raced to the stream that ran quite close to Pride Rock, eager to play. Mwitu had stopped staring at Thau, but he was still acting strangely. The small cub felt as if everyone kept looking at her scars. She didn't mind so much, but then she noticed that they were going easy on her in the games they played.

"What's the big idea?" she asked, frustrated as Jasiri once again 'tripped' and fell so she could catch him.

"Uh…I'm not very good at this game?" he tried to say, but it came out more like a question. Thau frowned.

"Yeah, right. None of you are trying your hardest! Just because I was hurt a long time ago doesn't mean you have to go easy on me now. Let's try this again. You guys are going to try your hardest, ok?" she asked, eyeing all of her new friends. They all ended up nodding except Mwitu, who was sitting there, looking bored. "What about you, Mwitu?"

"If I tried my hardest we'd be here all day," he boasted, puffing out his chest slightly.

"Yeah, right. I could catch you easily, even if you were trying your best," she challenged, teasingly.

"Prove it, Princess."

"I will. And don't call me Princess. I have a name." Siku stepped between them.

"OK, so on the count of three, Thau will chase Mwitu until she catches him or gives up. Ready? One. Two. THREE!" she yelled. The two cubs dashed off, sprinting through the bush. Mwitu climbed up rocks then leapt off them sometimes, just to annoy her. Other times he would be on one side of a tree stump and she's on the other, he goes the opposite way she goes. Eventually, Thau had cornered him between two trees and a thorny bush behind him. She approached slowly, careful not to let any space out of her reach where he could escape from. Then she pounced, landing on top of him then rolling over in a quick, fluid motion and catching him off guard to pin him. "I win." She stepped off of the larger cub and he stood. He started to smile, the first time she'd seen him do so, then the others barged in.

"Who won?" asked Jasiri.

"Prin- I mean Thau did." She smiled. Maybe Mwitu wasn't so bad after all. She smiled and walked home with the others, because the sun was close to going down.

Half a Year Later…

That morning, Thau woke once again next to Mkali. Mufasa finally actually slept now, and did it comfortably next to Nzuri. Thau and Mufasa had grown quite a lot in the past six months, and were now the size of adolescents. Thau was still small for her age, but that would never change for any runt. She smiled at the still sleeping lion, his mane finally all the way around his head, but not a full fledged mane yet. The same went for Mufasa and all the other males at that age. She watched a bit more, then walked out of the cave to watch the Pride Lands wake. She saw a mother elephant gently wake her baby, a cheetah going to the waterhole with her cubs, and a gazelle helping her little one to stand. Her gaze softened as it landed on Tula's burial place. She came to sit beside him and bent her head in respect. "Oh, Tula, you would have loved growing up. Everything got so nice just when you weren't here to enjoy it." She closed her eyes gently, a single tear dropping to where her brother's body lay deep in the earth to keep the Circle of Life going. She opened her eyes slowly, hearing someone behind her. Her instincts kicked in and she turned quickly to leap at whatever was coming. It was Mwitu, obviously just woke up with his black mane still messy. He stared in shock at the angered lioness, then relaxed as he saw she had thought him a threat. Thau looked down then turned back to her brother's grave, beckoning him with her tail to show he could approach as well. He sat beside her.

"Sorry I startled you," he began.

"It's fine. You didn't mean to." He opened his mouth as if to say more, but he rethought it and stopped himself. Thau smiled. She gave him a friendly nuzzle under his chin, then walked off, towards the stream. He sat there a bit shocked for a moment. "You coming or what?" she asked, grinning. He smiled too, and they ran off to their favorite spot to play before. Thau stopped for a moment, waiting for him to catch up, and then said to him, "Let's go somewhere else today. I found a really nice spot." She led the way to a small cave, but she showed him a tiny tunnel that was just wide enough to fit a full grown lion in. She followed the tunnel, sometimes turning down a path you would have never noticed until you go through, and they ended up in a larger cave than before, but not too big. It had holes big enough to let light through, but nothing bigger than flies in that lit up the secret place. It had a small pond with smooth rocks to step on to get across the other side and there were little fish in the water. There were also a few other animals, but you couldn't see them that well. Thau rubbed her forehead on Mwitu's side, then jumped onto the stepping stones until she came to the middle, then looked back at him, cocking her head. He ran after her, the two best friends having a great time. Mwitu pushed her into the water, and then leapt in after her, splashing her. When he got to the surface a soaked Thau was staring him in the face, then she pushed her paws towards him and splashed him back. She started laughing, but he kept it going. She jumped out of the water, clinging to a rock, and then shook herself dry. Mwitu soon followed, but he was pushed onto his back onto solid ground when he shook because he wet her more. Thau had pinned him many times, no matter how much bigger and stronger he was. She had lithe, quick movements. The same ones that had helped her in her early cubhood still served her now. She also had a very muscular and strong body for a runt or a female, so that helped as well in a fight. Her scars from the hyenas reminded her that if you lost a fight, the consequences could be very bad. She smiled slyly down at him.

"Lucky try. You caught me by surprise."

"Sure I did," she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She stepped off, her tail dragging along his chest as she did. She looked back, and then walked into the center of the room-like cave. She sat and watched as Mwitu stood. He walked up and sat beside her, setting his head on top of hers. She shook him off gently, grinning.

"I need to tell you something," he said, growing a bit serious. She nodded so he knew he could continue. "Over these couple months, we've become great friends, you're the only one who really understands me. Everyone thought I was a jerk before, never talking. But you changed their minds. I wanted to tell you…that I think I…I think…I love you, Thau." She sat for a moment, shocked at the revelation, but then she realized how brave he had been to tell her this and she smiled.

"I think I love you, too, Mwitu." He let out the breath he'd been holding in a sigh. He smiled.

"But what about Mkali?" he asked.

"I never wanted to marry him. I wanted to be friends from the start. That's all we ever were. My father said if either my brother or I ever fall in love with someone else, we can be with them instead." Mwitu nuzzled her affectionately, more passionate than before because it wasn't right then, but it was now. Thau nuzzled him back, and then licked his cheek as well. He purred, then it was time to head home.

Thau made her loved one stay outside the cave for a moment, then headed to her father, but she was stopped by Mkali. "Where have you been all day? It's nearly sundown."

"I need to-"

"No, we have to go with Mufasa and Nzuri to the waterhole. I said we would. Come on."

"Dad, I need to speak with-"

"Whoever it is can wait. We need to go," Mkali insisted. Thau stared angrily at him.

"Let me finish one sentence, will you?" she yelled, still angry. He looked a bit shocked. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled, but there's something important I need to tell my father." He nodded and stepped aside. The young lioness padded up to her father. "Dad, I need to talk to you…alone." He gestured for her to lead and followed silently. They reached a place where no one was in earshot. "Remember the day I got betrothed?"

"Yes, how could I forget?"

"Well you said if I ever fell in love with someone else, I could be with them, and I have."

"Who? Jasiri? Roho, Tahadhari, Mlinzi?"

"No…Mwitu."

Kovu sat there for a moment, then said, "He is strong, and if he loves you I have no choice but to give my blessing." She smiled, feeling a lot better. Thau rushed up to her father and gave him a tight embrace.

"Thanks, Dad." She stepped back and walked off, him still following until they got back to the cave. She continued a bit so she was closer to the two male lions. They turned to face their king. Thau sat, ready to reveal her feelings for Mwitu. Kovu eyed the three lions then began.

"Mkali, over the time you have been betrothed, have you fallen into true love with my daughter?"

"No, sir, but our friendship has grown well and I think of her as a sister," he answered, unsure of what he should have said.

"Well Mwitu has, and Thau has fallen in love with him as well. I promised when I arranged the marriages of my cubs, that if they ever fell in love with someone else I would let them become betrothed and they could be together. That time has come for my daughter," he announced. Mkali's face twisted into disappointment, but then became acceptance under the gaze of the king, but otherwise he looked at the new couple with a wretched hate. "I will tell the others and the animals of the Pride Lands at the ceremony, which I'll call for as soon as you want." The two nodded, while Mkali left to go to the main den. When her father left, Thau ran to Mwitu. She was overjoyed at being allowed to be with him. She nuzzled him fiercely, enjoying the feeling of him nuzzling back with just as much happiness. When the two parted, Thau looked up at him, a smile on his face and his violet eyes glittering. Those eyes were her favorite physical feature about him, many more, beautiful things in his heart. Soon, the mighty roar of a male lion rung out, calling the Pride Lands together to a sacred ritual. Mwitu and Thau were waiting in the same cave she had been in with Mkali, but now she wasn't so shy. She kept giving Mwitu last minute pointers. No one could see who was in the cave with the princess, so they were all waiting as well, anxiously awaiting the new royal couple. As they stepped out of the cave, a couple gasps ran through the crowd. The two of them both ignored the staring and continued on towards the old shaman, Rafiki. Mufasa and Nzuri were watching from not far away, next to Simba and Nala. Kovu and Kiara were ahead, where the ceremony would end. When the couple reached the mandrill, he shook the gourds over their heads and spread the juice of one over each of their hearts, eternally bonding them to each other. Thau reached out to lick his cheek, comfortable right next to him. He returned the lick warmly. They purred, nuzzling each other for a moment, then walking side by side to the edge of Pride Rock where Kovu and Kiara waited for them. Kovu roared mightily and then turned to Mwitu. He looked a bit nervous, so Thau licked his cheek. He gained confidence, then let out a roar so loud, it felt as if thunder had come out, but the storm didn't come. Thau smiled wider and roared with him, then all the animals joined in, cheering. She nuzzled him gently, feeling his muscles ripple along his side as he roared. Nzuri and Mufasa came up to them, too, and roared beside their family. The former king and queen also joined their relatives.

Thau woke sleepily in the cave, pressed close beside Mwitu. She snuggled closer because it was a cold night and he was a comforting warm. She curled up beside him and continued to sleep, comforted by his presence. She dreamt of darkness…something trying to hurt her pride…she tried to attack it, but she sensed gentleness inside its heart. She couldn't hurt it, but she drove it away. This made her ache inside, for she…missed it. She tried to find it, whatever it was, but it was difficult to find and had traveled far away…she eventually found it, but when she tried to bring it home, her family fought her back. Tears streamed down her face. She didn't want to hurt her family, but…..Then she woke, still being haunted by the realistic dream. Mwitu was gone from her side, sitting near the entrance to the cave. She sat beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder and watching the sun rise above the horizon. He licked her head, then pulled away gently. Thau's eyes grew somber. She knew something was wrong, but what? She tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of her stomach and walked past him. He looked up at her, watching her go. Thau was going to the waterhole, to relax. She looked down at her reflection, a scared lioness that looked like her evil grandmother. She shook her head. That wasn't who she was inside.

"Who we are and who we seem to be are two very different things, I learned that with Mwitu. Why can't I accept that for myself?" She shook her head and started to walk back. She heard a roar, one that was calling for help. Thau raced along the quickest path home, to see that Mufasa was being attacked by Mwitu. Her eyes widened and she put herself between the two. She didn't draw her claws yet, though. She turned to her betrothed, anger filling her eyes. "Step down, Mwitu." He paused for a moment, conflicted, then looked behind him. He turned back, his eyes seeming hollow, the life almost sucked out. He numbly attacked, pushing Thau out of the way. She looked up, watching the fight. Tears were flowing from her green eyes. She forced herself to stand, then pounced on top of her beloved, trying to distract him so Mufasa could free himself of his grasp, but Mwitu simply scratched Thau across one of her old scars, making more scratches as well. He didn't even seem like he was feeling anything, not pain, not joy, not anger, he just fought. Thau fell off of him into a crumpled heap on the ground. She was bleeding badly now, old wounds opened. She looked at Tula's grave and thought, I will not lose another sibling. No one can take Mufasa away. Then she stood once more, limping, and unsheathed her claws. She hated to hurt him, but she had to save her brother. She crept into a good position, then threw herself into the thick of the fight. Thau got under Mwitu and pushed upward so he flew up, landing not very far, but it got him off Mufasa. She limped closer, and looked at his eyes, the same ones that had once given her such joy. She crouched and landed on his stomach, pinning him, one paw raised and ready to strike, but she couldn't do it. She now saw pain in his eyes, he didn't want to hurt her either. But then why was he doing this? Her eyes clouded by confusion, the young male relaxed slightly, but he couldn't take his eyes off her wounds, seeing how he had hurt her. Simba burst through a bush, followed by Nala, Kovu, and Kiara. Nzuri came also, obviously having led them to where Mwitu had attacked. Mufasa was wounded quite badly, his right foreleg beyond repair. Thau felt her parents and grandparents gather around her, all snarling at the attacking lion. Mwitu backed away slowly, knowing when he was defeated. Kiara watched him a bit more, then stood beside Mufasa and Nzuri. Mwitu looked up, his lovely violet eyes staring into Thau's. They seemed to be full of regret and anger. Her eyes softened for a moment, feeling his sorrow, but then her gaze wandered to her injured brother, and they were once more full of hate. Simba and Kovu stepped forward, fully showing their anger.

"Get off of our territory. Now," Kovu growled. The rejected male lowered his head, then dragged his paws as he walked away. Thau felt as if part of her was going with him, but she ignored it. That day she was re-betrothed to Mkali. The male lion had grinned as they roared with her family, but her heart and mind were elsewhere, with the dark-furred lion that walked through her dreams...

End of Chapter 7