Chapter 8: Return
CSIMentalistTLK Lover: Thanks for reviewing again, I absolutely LOVE your reviews! I read Ch. 20 on "You Take the Good with the Bad," and… Kovu's gone? NOOOOOOO! I loved that little guy… I actually teared up when he was announced dead! Please end the story on a good note! I beg you!
Iheartninhago2010: Well hey there! It's okay you haven't seen the story until now, I TOTALLY get that! And I'm updating so… I hope you like the chapter!
After a while, Tama and Tojo finally separated, both spent. They nuzzled a little bit again.
"Tojo… I love you." Tama said. Tojo could swear he saw her eyes enhance for a moment. He smiled.
"I love you too, Tama." Tojo said, bumping heads with Tama. They started purring a bit. He sighed.
So this is love. This is what love is like. Tojo thought.
"Simba! Why won't you tell me why Tama won't become Queen? It's her rightful place!" Nala yelled. Tojo and Tama rolled their eyes.
"Because, Nala. Sometimes there are events in life that are too traumatizing for anything! Our father's death has affected her greatly!" Simba snapped. Tama got up, shook out her fur, and walked towards the two quarreling lovers. Tojo was close behind her.
"It's not her fault…" Nala said softly. Tama stopped.
"What?" Tama asked.
"Tama, I found out something while under Scar's rule. He killed your Uncle Simba." Nala said.
"Well, he may have killed Uncle Simba but how does this affect our father's death?" Simba asked.
"Oh Kings above… Simba, it's not our fault." Tama felt her eyes fill with tears. Simba cocked his head. Tama looked at Tojo.
"It isn't. The day after Mufasa's death I went to inspect the body. He had claw marks on his paws. Puncture wounds, not scratches or cuts. It was like… like he was thrown off a cliff." Tojo said softly. Tama put her head down, remembering the day of her father's death, and how he had fallen. He was yelling, like he was…thrown off a cliff! Tama snapped her head up, her eyes blazing with fury.
"Scar killed him!" Tama snapped. Her eyes began filling with tears. She roared as two tears fell off her cheeks.
"Tama, calm down. Please." Simba nuzzled his sister. Tama turned away.
"Where are you going?" Tojo asked.
"I need time to think. I'll be back before sunrise." Tama said as she walked away. Tojo almost went after her, but Nala stopped him.
"She needs time, Tojo. Not comfort." Nala said. Simba nodded in agreement.
Tama walked to a small hill. She looked forward. She wanted to cry, but her tears wouldn't come. She wanted to roar, to scream, to get her anger out, but her body wasn't cooperating with her. She finally lied down. She then felt something heavy on her back and yelped. She got up and started trying to get whatever it was off.
"WHOA DERE GIRL! Easy!" A mandrill yelled.
"What the…? Will you get off of me?" Tama asked. The mandrill did just that, but started dancing and chanting.
"Will you knock it off? What does that chant mean anyway?" Tama asked.
"It means you're a baboon, and I'm not." The mandrill laughed.
"I think you're a little confused." Tama said.
"I'm not confused, you don't even know who you are!" The mandrill said, still dancing around her.
"Then who am I? And will you cut it out?!" Tama snapped.
"One, you are de Princess of de Pridelands. Dwo, can't cut it out, it'll grow right back!" The mandrill laughed.
"Who are you? How do you know I'm…?" Tama left her question to hang.
"Mufasa's girl?" Tama looked at the mandrill, who said, "Bye!"
"Wait, wait! Wait up!" Tama called after the running mandrill. She followed the monkey.
"You knew my father?" Tama asked when she caught up with the monkey.
"Correction, I know your father." The mandrill said.
"I'm sorry to tell you this…" Tama broke off to take a breath, "But he died… a long time ago."
"Nope! Wrong again," The mandrill laughed, "He's alive! And I show him to you, you follow old Rafiki, he knows the way!"
Tama followed the mandrill through the nearby vine patch she knew well. She knew where they were headed, the nearby pond.
Rafiki motioned for her to stop and said quietly, "Shh," he paused to move some grass out of the way, "look."
Tama came to the water's edge and looked into the water and saw nothing but her reflection.
"Its not him. Its my own reflection." She said.
"Nooo," Rafiki paused to put a finger in the water to create ripples, "look harder."
Tama then saw her father looking her in the eye. She gasped.
"You see? He lives in you." Rafiki said.
"Tama…" Tama heard her father say. Tama looked up to see her father's golden silhouette against the gray clouds.
"Daddy?" Tama asked. Mufasa looked at his daughter critically.
"Tama, you have forgotten me." Mufasa said.
"No, how could I? I can't forget you!" Tama said.
"You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself Tama. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life!" Mufasa said. A golden light started shining around Tama.
"How can I go back? I… I'm not who I used to be." Tama said softly. The golden light then warmed. Tama felt her father's love.
"Remember who you are. You are my daughter. You are the one true Queen," Mufasa paused, looking at his hurt daughter, "Tama, remember who you are…" Mufasa started to disappear, as did the clouds.
"No! Daddy! Don't leave me!" Tama called, chasing the leaving clouds.
"Remember…" Mufasa said.
"Daddy!" Tama called.
"Remember…" Mufasa said.
"Don't leave me…" Tama finally stopped, sitting. Rafiki returned to her side.
"Jeez! De weather, huh?" Rafiki asked. "Yeah. The winds are changing." Tama said. "Yep, change is good." Rafiki said. "I don't know about it though. I've been running, my brother's been running," Tama got hit over the head with Rafiki's stick, "OWW! What was that for?" "Does it matter? It be in de past!" Rafiki said. "Yeah, but. It. Still. Hurts." Tama said, holding her head, and then checking her paw for blood.
"Oh, de past can hurt. But you can either run from it, or learn from it," Rafiki tried to hit Tama over the head again, but she ducked, "aha! See? Now what are you gonna do?"
"First, I'm taking that stupid stick!" Tama took Rafiki's stick.
"No, no, no! Not de stick!" Rafiki said. He saw Tama running.
"Where are you going?" Rafiki called.
"I'm going home!" Tama yelled.
"Haha! Go on! Get out of here! AWOOOOOOOO! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Rafiki said.
Daylight came to the jungle. Tojo lifted his head as he woke up. He noticed one thing; Tama wasn't back like she had promised. He stood up, panicking.
"Simba! Nala! Wake up!" Tojo yelled. With his luck, Simba and Nala didn't wake up, Timon and Pumbaa did. Timon looked at Tojo.
"Tojo, what's going on?" Timon asked.
"Tama isn't back. She said she would be back before sunrise!" Tojo said. Finally Simba and Nala stirred. They also noticed Tama was gone.
"What? Where's Tama?" Simba asked.
"She's gone." Tojo said.
"That's strange." Nala said. They heard Rafiki laughing.
"You won't find her here! Haha," Rafiki said, "The Queen has returned."
"I don't believe it. She's going back." Tojo said.
"Going back? Where?" Timon asked.
"To Pride Rock." Simba said. They looked to the tree where Rafiki just was.
"What? Hey! What's going on here," Timon began, "who's the monkey?"
"Tama's gone back to challenge Scar." Nala said.
"Who?" Pumbaa piped up.
"Scar." Simba said.
"Who's got a scar?" Timon asked.
"No, no, no, it's Tama and Simba's uncle." Tojo said.
"The monkey's their uncle?" Timon and Pumbaa asked in unison.
"No!" All three lions said in unison.
"No," Nala said more calmly, "Tama's gone back to challenge her and Simba's Uncle Scar to take her place as Queen." Timon and Pumbaa had a blank face.
"Don't you get it?! Tama needs us! NOW!" Tojo ran away.
"C'mon guys." Simba said, following Tojo. Nala followed shortly after.
It didn't take Tama long to tear through the desert that separated the jungle and the Pridelands. She ran at full speed. As she stepped one foot on the dead ground of the Pridelands, she looked around. Her heart sank. It was dead, desolate. There was no food, no water, at all.
"What has he done?" Tama asked. She placed herself on a perch that looked at Pride Rock. Her eyes narrowed.
You're dead, Scar… Tama thought as she growled.
"There you are!" Tojo said. Tama turned her head to see Tojo. She smiled and bumped heads with him as he stood next to her. Simba, then Nala, shortly followed him.
"My Kings! It's horrible." Simba said.
"I know." Nala said.
"But this is my kingdom," Tama said, "if I don't fight for it, who will?"
"I will." Tojo said.
"It might be dangerous." Tama said with a smile.
"Danger? Ha!" Simba said.
"We laugh in the face of danger!" Nala said.
"Ha ha ha!" Tojo said. Tama smiled.
"I see nothing funny." Timon said.
"Timon, Pumbaa, you made it!" Tama said.
"You're gonna fight your uncle… for this?" Timon said.
"Of course, this is my home." Tama said.
"Talk about a fixer-upper. Well, we're with you till the end, Tama." Timon said.
Tama smiled, turning her head, then feeling a rush of nostalgia rush over her.
I'm coming home. I'm not running away anymore. Tama thought.
Tama is back in the Pridelands! YAY! Did ya like it? I hope you did! Review and tell me how you liked it!
Next time: The battle for Pride Rock ensues!
