Chapter 8:
Won't Believe Lies
Miles from the homeland of the Meadowlanders, a cream-pelted lioness lay on the tip of the striking rock formation; Pride Rock. She was gazing upon the savannah below, already becoming dry and desolate. Under the reign of the new King, Scar, things had decreased considerably. Sarafina was glad for her son's sake that she had given Mheetu to a safer future. Although guilty about lying to those who had known of the expectancy, she told herself it was for the better.
She was beginning to deteriorate in health, as was the rest of the pride, excluding Scar and his no-good hyena bodyguards. They were always well-fed and happy. It was despicable. A king should value his pride, try to serve them and keep them healthy and safe. Not ignore them and be selfish and lazy. That's what Scar had become.
Sarafina was very troubled. The herds, unhappy with the new ruler, were starting to leave the Pridelands. Drastic changes were happening, and nearly everyone was upset. Things were beginning to just fall apart, come crashing down and no one was trying to stop it.
"Mother!" A sweet voice rang out from behind Sarafina, and she turned as Nala bounded up. The harsh life hadn't affected the cubs much yet, too young to understand many of the problems. Nala looked as playful as she had been since Simba and Mufasa's death, which although wasn't her usual self, was not as depressed as the adults.
"Yes, dear?" Sarafina smiled, letting out none of her more depressed feelings. The movement of her muzzle felt stiff, she hadn't smiled in some time.
"What are you doing up there?" Nala asked, sliding to a stop beside her mother. She peered over the lands below, looking slightly nervous to be on the ledge. "I thought we weren't allowed."
"Just admiring the view." She replied, licking her daughter's head. Although it wasn't a complete lie, she wasn't really admiring the savannah. "And I'm allowed here, because Scar likes my company." She cut it off quickly, ending that subject.
"Oh. Mother, can I ask you a question?" Nala looked back to Sarafina, her wide turquoise eyes full of boundless curiosity and a slight wariness.
"Of course, little one. What do you need?" Sarafina nuzzled the cub.
Nala hesitated for a moment, as if struggling to find the right words. "Mother...why is my brother gone?" She stared up at Sarafina, completely serious now.
The pale lioness didn't reply right away, a pang of grief slicing through her heart. "Nala, he was stillborn." She sighed quietly, turning her head to look again at the stretch of grass below. She hated to lie, but she could tell her daughter. Not yet. She feared Nala would try to find her brother, and maybe get hurt or even killed in the process.
"But, I met him! You named him Mheetu, and he was alive." Nala protested, remembering her first meeting of her brother.
Sarafina closed her eyes for a moment. "He...he died a bit after you saw him. I told you after I returned from my hunt." The hunt in which I took him to his father...
Nala looked unconvinced. "He couldn't have died, though." She meowed, upset. "He was my brother, so he was strong." Her voice trembled, and she rose quickly to her paws. "Didn't you bury him?" She seemed to have given up her protesting, though her eyes gleamed with a strange light.
"Further from Pride Rock, I cannot remember, little one." Sarafina lied again. Oh, it was so painful to lie to her daughter. She stroked her tail against Nala's beige-toned flank. "Don't yet these trouble you." She soothed.
Nala let her ears droop, and she gave a half-hearted smile. "I'm going to play with Tama now." She announced softly, then turned and trotted away. Nala just couldn't believe her little brother was dead. She remembered her mother's return from her make-up hunt the night Mheetu was born. Yet, she smelled of soft grass and milk-scent underneath the scent from her gazelle kill.
Nala's paws skidded on the stones. That was it! The scent of living cub, not death-scent! Her ears rose, and her eyes brightened. She was sure of it...
Mheetu was alive!
She had already made up her mind, he must be living. All the clues pointed that it was so. She wasn't just imagining it, she was sure. And Sarafina had returned less upset than she should have been…in fact, she had appeared relieved before Nala had raced over her, before she had spotted her daughter. Her expression had hastily changed to one of mourning. It had made Nala wonder…and now she realized why. Sarafina had been lying.
Nala skidded over the stones in her excitement. She promised herself she would search for her brother. And nothing would be able to stop her. Not Scar, not any of the new laws or anything about the Pridelands. She knew she could.
Determination and excitement flared inside the young lion cub. Heartbeat quickening, Nala sped down to the savannah and towards her friends, thrill building inside her.
