Chapter 9 – Kovu's War

(Fisi)

And so I became a rightful Outlander.

I must say that after a few days king Simba was liking me a lot more. And it wasn't even because I helped with the hunts, as there were hardly a few lionesses that had any skill at all, with Nala as the best of them, despite her age. I guess he just enjoyed when I told him the false stories I had once heard about his life, that were a lot more colorful than his reality... He would summon me numerous times to tell him something new, and I was beginning to get bored with it. Simba was kind when he wanted to and his lions had respect for him, but personally I think he was a bit weird with the habit of eating termites and talking to the stars at night. Or maybe it was his father's ghost? Or just the voices in his aging head? I still have no idea.

But the king didn't like everything about me. He got irritated when he saw me hanging out with his daughter's family, especially with his son-in-law. There was some kind of a conflict between them, but it wouldn't be polite if I just asked him about it. Nonetheless, I really liked to spend time with Upendi and I was happy that her parents had nothing against it. They were very nice folks- they really loved each other and their kids too, and Kovu was also a very good hunter, so I guess I kind of became a pupil of his. I enjoyed the hunting lessons he was giving to me and his daughter. Even though it was really hard to find prey in the Outlands and I soon got used to eating rodents and being hungry, Kovu kept cheering me up by saying that my mane was getting bigger every day. Damn, I swear he was almost becoming like a father to me… I liked Kiara as well, even though I was beginning to think that she was the one who needed hunting lessons…

But there were still things about them I couldn't understand, and I simply had to find out and collect all of the elements of my puzzle! So one day I took Upendi to the river. It was probably the only place in the Outlands where you could actually see green grass. So first we caught a few mice for our lunch, we had a little play fight and then laid down to relax. We were both in a good mood, so I decided that this was a perfect time for some investigation. With an innocent voice, I asked her if she could tell me something about her parents. She said okay, so I inquired if she had any idea about why did Simba dislike Kovu so much. Oh… - she sighed sadly. – It's because of the war he and mom started shortly before I was born…

I suppose you can imagine how that answer shocked me! So without further ado, I give to you Upendi's relation about what the Outsiders call 'Kovus war'.


(Upendi)

Okay, I don't really like to talk about it, but since you live with us, Fisi, I think you deserve to know. I'm just gonna give you a general overview of the whole story, cause it all happened before I was even born yet.

So this might be hard to believe, but my dad really is the son of Scar, and he and Zira are my grandparents. Some ancestors, huh? Anyway, after the battle at Pride Rock, the old impostor king decided to make his second son inherit the throne instead of the first one. My father used to tell me how his parents had trained him to be strong and whatever, but still wanting him to be ruthless and coldhearted like them. Well, dad never actually used the words 'ruthless' and 'coldhearted', but I think that's what he meant. So he was the heir, the chosen one, precious to his father who wanted him to walk in his pawprints and carry on his dark legacy. I also know that Scar's first son, my uncle Nuka, didn't like that and so he would always be jealous of my dad and get mad at him. Kind of like Scar was to king Mufasa once, don't you think? Some folks just never learn.

So when everything seamed to have settled down, when my mom grew up here in the Outlands and dad over at the Pridelands, everything changed with one accidental meeting. You know, it actually reminds me of the way we met. Isn't that weird? Or you can also call it romantic, if you prefer. So here's how it was.

When my mom finally became old enough to hunt, the pride decided that it was time for her to try and catch something by herself. Unfortunately, all of her attempts failed, and she became worried that she might have to come back to the mound with empty paws. But then she remembered something- her parents used to tell her stories about the fertile and rich lands in which they used to live once, that were just at the other side of the river. So she crossed it, despite that king Simba had always warned her never to do that, and that was the first time she ever visited the Pridelands. Well, my grandfather was actually right, and I always shiver when I try to imagine what would happen if mom didn't have as much luck as she did that day.

Obviously, she was quickly spotted by hyenas guarding the borders, who surrounded her and were close to ripping her apart as a punishment for trespassing. Thank goodness there was also a young lion leading the patrol, and that was my dad. Kind of like you met up with aunt Vitani, huh? So dad sent the hyenas away, as he felt that the female Outsider named Kiara was more attractive to him alive. If there is something like love at first sight, I think that was it. They spent some time with each other that day, but unfortunately the hyenas told everything to Scar. He got pissed and went to deal with the matter himself, and when dad saw him, he told his new friend to run back home. At first she didn't want to, demanding him to promise that they were going to meet again, and so he did. Left alone to face his father's fury, my dad tried to explain himself, but there was nothing he could do about Scar's stupid anger. He beat him and said that if he ever tries to see Kiara again, he will never become the king. Dad was sad, because he'd been trained for that all his life. Mom on the other hand returned to the Outlands and didn't tell anything to anyone.

After a few days, late at night, my parents saw each other again, and so they began secretly meeting as often as they could. I believe they did it somewhere around the river, who knows, maybe in the same spot that we're lying now? Anyway, not long after, my mom… well, you know. She became pregnant. I guess I caused quite a lot of trouble before even being born… So my parents knew that since they weren't able to keep it a secret forever, they had to make a choice. They finally decided to live together in the Outlands, away from the venomous effect Scar and Zira might have had for their children. Mom was flattered that a prince decided to abandon the throne for her, and she thought that maybe her father would let my dad join his pride, and as he was the princess' mate, become his heir instead. And so they went to see king Simba… But grandpa wasn't very happy to see his daughter pregnant with a Pridelander... In fact, he became furious and exiled them, calling their relationship treachery and 'an inbred abomination to the royal bloodline of king Mufasa'. Yeah, that's exactly what he said! My parents were devastated, they didn't know what to do… Even despite grandma Nala's opposition, the king was absolutely positive. And so they had to leave.

But where in the world could they go? The only place were the Pridelands, but dad didn't want to risk taking his pregnant mate to face Scar and an army of hyenas. So he left her by the river and went to Pride Rock himself, determined to convince his father, using the argument of being his precious heir. Dad says that at first Scar was actually happy that he was going to be a grandfather again, especially that this time his 'better' son was the one to father cubs, but when he and Zira heard who was the mother… Well, let me just say that it was really a good idea to leave mom away from the Pridelands when he told them that.

Again, mom and dad's love met with anger and rejection, but this time it was worse than ever. Did you notice the scar on my dad's eye? Zira did that to him after he confessed to love an Outsider princess. Shocked, he ran away from them, even though they ordered him to stay and forget about his mate. But before he left, they promised to kill all of the Outsiders if he didn't submit. Enraged, Scar ordered Zira to take every lion in their pride and go carry out his order, himself being too cowardly to engage in another battle, so he stayed at Pride Rock along with his hyenas.

So dad found mom again and told her about what had happened. He new his mother was on her way to destroy king Simba's pride. My parents couldn't just leave them to die, so they decided to go and warn them. When they showed up in front of my grandfather, he saw dad's wounded eye and recognized him as Scar's son… He became furious, but when they explained that there was no time for anger and that all of the Outsiders had to prepare for the upcoming fight, Simba was petrified. Grandma Nala had to convince him to make a wise decision, just as she had done years ago in the jungle… They knew there was nowhere to run, so they decided to go meet with the Pridelanders and maybe talk with them to prevent the slaughter somehow…

At that time one of the few ways to cross the river dividing the two kingdoms was a giant wooded dam that separated the Zuberi river from the great gorge. It had been raining intensively for days, and the dam was close to falling under the weight of water, but still that was the place where the two prides met. It was their first encounter for years… And they were all filled with mutual hate as if nothing had changed during that time! My parents were the only Pridelander and Outlander to ever love each other. Imagine, that as soon as these lions saw the other group, no-one wanted to talk anymore.

Oh, it's so horrible when I think about it! At the other side of the dam, my father saw his mother, brother and sister, but they'd already rejected him. They wanted him dead, Fisi! Can you understand that? My pride wasn't any better too- grandpa and grandma just wanted to get back at Zira for being responsible for the death of queen Sarabi and everything they'd experienced during the battle at Pride Rock and later… There were no hyenas now, so all that remained was blind revenge. When the fight began, my parents were probably the only ones to oppose. Oh, I don't even want to think about that! My father later told me how many lions had died that night… It were definitely too many.

But the rain kept on filling the overflowing river, so soon it became obvious that the dam was about to collapse. The generals ordered their pridemembers to retreat… Only one of them stayed behind. That was my father's brother, Nuka. He always hated him because dad was chosen by Scar to be the heir, even though he was only second in line according to tradition. So my uncle was too late to run away from the battlefield. The river ripped the dam apart right under his paws. Nuka died, leaving a mate and their two small cubs. My parents were both left in the Outlands.

Sorry, but I think you can figure out the rest of the story yourself. I'm beginning to feel really bad. Let's just go home, okay?