The Lion King: The Secret Prince

Chapter 8

"You can't be serious?" Ayari said glancing at Vitani then back to the lion below him. This lion had just randomly attacked them and then she comes out and says he's her brother? This whole situation seemed completely messed up to him and he was lost for words as he stared at the serious expression on Vitani's face.

"Do I look like I'm not serious?" Vitani questioned and Ayari had to admit she looked pretty serious. He also wasn't stupid, he knew better than to mess with a lioness when she had that whole 'I'll rip your throat out' look on her face. It wasn't something he wanted to risk right now.

"You think you could get off me?" Kovu replied. Ayari frowned and reluctantly let him up. He was still cautious though, maybe because he's doesn't appreciate being attacked for no reason.

"How about you explain why you just attacked me like that?" Ayari demanded.

"I didn't recognise you so I assumed you were attacking my sister." Kovu said, studying the lion.

"Kovu we were just talking." Vitani explained.

"Ayari, Vitani!" Kiara called out, surprising them. She emerged from the grass along with Tojo, Tama, Afua and Boga. They'd heard the deafening roars from the hideout and immediately came to see what was going on. "What's going on?" she asked, before she noticed Kovu standing there. He smiled once he saw her and Kiara could not believe her eyes. She hadn't seen him in days, so naturally she was happy to see him and to see him alive.

"Kiara, you're alright." he said giving a sigh of relief.

"Kovu!" she said, absolutely ecstatic. She ran over to him and gave him an affectionate nuzzle, surprising many of the lions around them. "I can't believe you're here." she said, pulling away from him.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you, to see you're safe." he said but they were interrupted when Tojo stepped forward.

"I don't mean to be rude princess but who is he?"

"Oh this is Kovu, he's Vitani's brother and my mate." she explained, still beaming with joy.

Ayari's frown deepened a little. He wouldn't have expected Kiara to have a mate at her age. But then again he's older and he hasn't even found one yet.

"How did you manage to escape?" Kiara asked, turning back to Kovu.

"Your parents helped me, they sent me to find you and keep you safe." he told her. "Beside's I missed you." he revealed.

"I missed you too." Kiara said and Ayari rolled his eyes.

"Sorry to interrupt you two love birds but since you've been there, you can tell us exactly what's going on." he said to Kovu. He glanced at the lion for a second before looking over at Vitani. There was something he needed to know.

"Tani, have you seen her?" he asked and Vitani looked up, confused, Ayari too, seeing as he recalled speaking that name. "Our mother, do you know she survived?" he wondered.

Vitani sighed and said "I do, I had to knock her out when she prevented me and Kiara from escaping." and that wasn't and easy thing to reveal.

"I see." he said, before turning back to Ayari.

"Kovu this is Ayari, he's agreed to help us. He also saved my life a couple of days ago." Kiara explained, introducing him to Ayari. "If it weren't for him I'd have been dead days ago." she mentioned, trying to keep things calm. She could see and feel the tension between them, so she wanted to prevent any sort of male dispute.

"Thank you." Kovu said, but that didn't change his impression of him. Ayari didn't reply.

"I'm ok too you know." Vitani said, distracting them both. "Nice to know my life concerns you." she joked.

"You know it does sis. You're all the family I've got left." he said with a small smile. "Anyway," he said, returning to a more serious tone. "The lion that's taken over Pride Rock is called Jitu and he's keeping the rest of the pridelanders captive in the den, including Simba. He seems to be after Kiara and that can only mean one thing." he said.

"Yes, I agree." Tojo said, he could see where Kovu was going with this.

"What does it mean Tojo?" Boga asked.

"This Jitu plans to kill Simba but he has to kill Kiara first because she's his heir. Only then can he take Pride Rock." Tojo explained.

"We can't let that happen." Vitani said.

"I have no intention of letting that happen." Tojo assured her.

"Oh really?" Ayari scoffed. "How do you plan on doing that because the way I see it none of you have any fighting experience what so ever. We won't stand a chance against this Jitu and his followers. Pure luck won't win us a battle." he complained to the older lion. This is had been coming since Tojo and his pride arrived.

"You have no idea what we're capable of." Tojo countered, walking closer towards Ayari.

"You have no Idea what I'm capable of!" Ayari yelled advancing on him. But just before they clashed Kiara placed herself in front of them and the two stopped, just inches away from her.

"Stop this!" she ordered. "We'll find a way Ayari, I'm not giving up on my pride." she said, staring deep into his eyes. Without saying a word Ayari growled and stormed off, anger practically radiating off of him.

"Ayari, wait!" Vitani said as he walked past her, but he moved away not interested.

"Just leave it." he snapped, refusing her help. She watched him leave, a bit taken aback by his sudden coldness. His behaviour surprised her, considering what she'd observed earlier that day. She thought she might've developed feelings for him but they seemed to have faded away after his sudden mood change.

"He's right Tojo." Afua said, surprising them all.

"Oh my god, he speaks!" Tojo said sarcastically, making Afua frown. This was the first time they'd heard him speak in nearly a year. Afua ignored his comment and continued.

"We have no idea how to fight. You might but the rest of us don't. Tell me, how are we supposed to save the pridelanders in our state?" he questioned, giving Tojo something to think about. He groaned and went to leave, beckoning the others to follow.


They all made their way back to the hideout in silence, Kovu, Kiara and Vitani walking at the back. After Ayari's angry outburst Kovu had noticed Vitani's reaction and wondered if she'd been hurt by his rejection. When he'd seen them out in the field they'd definately looked friendly. Suddenly he stopped, realising there was something important he forgot to mention to her, regarding their parentage.

"Vitani," Kovu said, calling her back. She stopped and looked over at him.

"What is it Kovu?" she wondered, frowning.

"I need to talk to you, it's important." he said.

"Kovu, Vitani?" Kiara said, noticing the two converse over her shoulder.

"Don't worry we'll catch up." he assured her. Kiara nodded and continued to follow the others. The moment they were out of sight he turned back to Vitani.

"Tani, that lion I mentioned, Jitu, he's our father." he revealed, not hesitating at all. "He's the one that saved our mother from the river." he told her.

"No, that's not true Kovu, It can't be." she denied, shaking her head. "It doesn't make sense. What does he have against Simba?" but when she thought about it she answered her own question. What didn't he have against Simba?

"Tani it's the truth, they said it to my face. My guess is he saved her so she could continue her quest for revenge. He's our father and as soon as he has Kiara he's going to kill her and Simba." he said. Vitani's eyes widened, but she was less than surprised to hear that.

"That's not going to happen." she said with a look of determination. "Zira's taken too much from me, I'm not going to let it happen again." and she was adamant about that. She wasn't going to let Zira kill the one pride that still connected her to Kopa and the friendship they'd shared.


Later that night everyone was asleep. Ayari hadn't returned yet, needing some space to think things through. Kiara was settled beside Kovu, wanting to be close to him after all the days they'd spent apart. However, she soon woke up and saw that everyone was still asleep. She looked around for Ayari and noticed he still wasn't back yet. She's worried about him, he was so angry when he stormed off and she'd hate to think he's left her. He's been like an older brother to her and right now she needs him. She can't afford to lose him, not when she's so close to saving her pride.

She sighed and went to settle down again. But before she did she noticed Rafiki was still awake. It looked like he was meditating, but with Rafiki it didn't matter. If you needed someone to talk to, he was always available. He was sitting on a small rock underneath a tall tree, trying to gather his thoughts. It was no surprise to him when he felt Kiara approach and sit beside him. He grinned when he opened his right eye. There she was, right beside him with something playing on her mind.

"Is something troubling you princess?" he asked.

"Yes Rafiki. I'm losing hope that my pride can ever be saved. Ayari's stormed off and the other pride is a mess. No one seems to be cooperating with each other." she mentioned. "But that's not all." she said. "I've been thinking about my brother a lot, wondering what he'd do if he were here."

Rafiki opened his eyes the moment Kiara mentioned her brother. He wasn't aware Simba had revealed it to Kiara. He glared up at the sky, wondering what else he hadn't been warned about.

"So you are aware of the child that came before you?" Rafiki said, disguising his surprise.

"Yes, my parents told me about him the day the pride was attacked. All I know is that Zira killed him before I was born and that it's part of the reason we're in this mess today." she said, exasperated. Everything had happened so fast that day.

"Oh there was more to your brother than that." Rafiki laughed. "Rafiki remembers the time when your brother was born. Ah prince Kopa. It only seems like only yesterday that Rafiki presented him to the kingdom." he begun to tell her. "After the tyrannic rule of Scar his birth brought so much joy back into the Pride Lands. With a new prince the future was secured."

"I see." Kiara said, laughing at Rafiki's behaviour.

"The kingdom was thriving and Kopa managed to touch the heart of everyone he met." he continued, but little did they know Ayari was listening in on their conversation. He was amongst the grass keeping hidden. Despite what his mind was telling him, he needed to hear this.

"When he died the kingdom was heartbroken. Every creature gathered at Pride Rock to mourn him and over time their hearts eventually healed. But there was one heart that never healed." he said, looking at Kiara now. "That heart was your fathers. Anguish clouded his mind and darkness slowly took over and it stayed with him for a very long time. But thanks to you Kiara your fathers heart has slowly begun to heal and the darkness has been expelled from his mind." and Kiara smiled at that. "The only reason your parents decided to keep the truth from you was because they feared if they did, they would lose you too. They wanted to protect you so you wouldn't share your brothers fate." and he placed his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

"Thank you for telling me this Rafiki." Kiara thanked and with that she left, her mind peaceful and at ease.

After Kiara left Ayari decided it was time he left too, he'd heard enough. He backed up, trying to be as quiet as he could. But right before he got away he stepped on a twig, snapping it in half. This attracted Rafiki's attention and when the young lion turned around he found Rafiki standing before him, arms folded.

"Oh," Ayari laughed nervously. "I was just uh-"

"You were eavesdropping." Rafiki said.

"What? Of course not." Ayari denied.

"Don't lie to Rafiki, he has eyes everywhere." the mandrill teased. "So do you remember who you are yet?" he asked.

"What do you think?" Ayari questioned rhetorically.

"Ok, then what did you think listening in on that conversation would do?"

Ayari bowed his head. "I just wanted to know what Kopa was like." he replied and Rafiki widened his eyes in surprise. "Do you think you can help me remember?" he wondered.

"Discovering your past is not something I can help you with. Only you can find out who you are." Rafiki explained. "If you truly want to remember the only place you can look is in here." and Ayari watched as Rafiki placed a hand on his chest, symbolising his heart.

With that Rafiki picked up his stick and left, leaving Ayari to think about what he'd said. He'll pray to the great kings in hope that he'll come to understand.

Silence took over the moment Rafiki left and all Ayari could hear was the rustling of the trees in the wind. He slowly walked away, thinking hard about what Rafiki had said to him. He gazed up at the stars and once again received that familiar feeling, like there was something about them he was supposed to know. Whatever it was, he couldn't recall and he looked down at the ground frustrated.

"How am I supposed to remember who I am from the inside?" he said to himself. "I just, I just want to know." he said, tears forming in his eyes.

He gazed up at the sky once again and shouted "I just want to know who I am!" he bowed his head again and whimpered "Please I just want to know." with tears streaming down his face. He opened his eyes and stared down at his two front paws. He lifted the right one up, revealing it's shape indented in the ground below.

He stared at the paw print for a while until suddenly he collapsed on the floor, the world around him turning black...


"This is so not fair. They're my friends why I can't I see them anymore?" the cub complained to the much older lion in front of him. It was sunset and he was walking through the grass with the lion, heading home.

"You've disobeyed me too any times, that's why." the lion replied. "You will not leave Pride Rock unless you have an escort with you is that understood?" questioned the older lion.

He stopped and sat down, refusing to move. The lion noticed he wasn't following and looked back at the cub over his shoulder. "Get up." the lion ordered.

"No. If I can't see my friends then I'm not going home. I have no friends at Pride Rock and you don't even spend time with me!" he yelled.

"Need I remind you that you have a new brother or sister on the way, you can play with them." said the lion.

"But I want to have my own friends and you've taken them away from me, you've taken all the fun away from me!" the cub shouted. "You don't care about me all you want to do is make my life a misery." he complained, going right up to the lion now.

"Now you know that's not true. You're my son of course I care about you, that's why I don't want you sneaking off when I'm not around." the lion explained, trying desperately to make his son understand.

"But you're never around dad. You don't know how unhappy I am there. I never get to spend time with you and no one else seems to care." he complained, glaring at his father. Tears formed in his eyes as he said "I hate it there, I hate being there and I hate you!" he snapped, shocking the lion completely.

He turned and ran off into the grass, not bothering to look back. But on his way he stepped into a paw print that was obviously his fathers. His tears dropped onto it as he glared at the shape below him. The last thing he wants to be when he's older is a replica of his father. With that young cub continued running but his father called out for him.

"Kopa, Kopa come back here!" he called out but the cub refused to return, so the lion followed after him...


Ayari's eyes opened the instant that memory ended. His heart was pounding and his breathing was rapid. Shock instantly took over as he processed this heart wrenching revelation. He had not expected that.

"No that's not possible, it's not possible." he whispered to himself, unable to comprehend what he'd seen. "It's not me, I'm not Kopa, I can't be." he denied, unable to see the truth in it.