Chapter 10
Kiara's point of view
"And where do you think you're going princess?" my father asked as I followed him outside this morning
"I want to go with you" I smiled up at him and he sighed
"Kiara you cannot come with me" he told me and I frowned I wasn't going to accept no for an answer without a fight but we've had this same argument many times for the past couple of months and he's not changing his mind.
"But why?" I demanded
"Because you ran off on your own-" he said and I suppressed an eye roll, can you believe he grounded me this long for chasing after a butterfly?
"But that was two months ago! I won't do it again I promise" I pleaded looking up at me through batting my lashes at him but he shook his head no
"Den. Now." He said firmly and I groaned exasperated as I abided and watched as my father left without me yet again.
"Couldn't convince him, huh?" my grandma asked as she sat by my side
"No, but I'm not giving up, I'll try again tomorrow" I tell her confidently and she chuckles
"You remind me so much of your mother-" I whipped my head towards her and she closed her mouth realizing she had said too much
"Can you tell me about her?" I asked
"Kiara we shouldn't-" she shook her head
"Please grandma" I practically begged, my father would never answer any of my questions about my mother and every else would refuse to speak about her "I think I deserve to know at least something about my own mother" I said with tears building up in my eyes and she sighed pulling me close and nuzzling me
"All you need to know is that she loved you with all her heart and you were her greatest joy" she told me, her answer though comforting raised even more questions in my head but before I had a chance to ask, Kula and Tama approached us "I have to lead the hunt, will you be a good girl and stay inside the den with Tiifu and Zuri?" she asked and I nodded giving her a small smile
"Bye mom!" Tiifu nuzzled her mom
"Be good kid" Tama said nuzzling her back
"Bye mommy!" Zuri said as Kula licked the top of her head, I sat quietly watching the exchange when I felt my grandma nuzzling me
"Love you, sweetie" she said
"Love you too grandma" I smiled nuzzling her goodbye
"Wanna go play outside?" Zuri asked after the adults left
"Come on Kiara, it'll be fun" Tiifu said with a smile
"You girls go ahead" I said smiling back at her "I don't want to get in trouble with my dad" I said, they nodded understanding and ran outside the den chasing each other and laughing, truth is I don't feel like playing right now, so I just laid in the platform closing my eyes and humming to myself hoping I would dream about the mother I know so little about.
Kion's point of view
"I'm heading out now" mom told me ready to go on her daily hunt told me "Remember you must-"
"-Stay inside the cave until you return…" I finished with a sigh, I'm not allowed to go outside the den when she's not around because it's too dangerous and I'm still not old enough to with her on hunting trips so every day I have to stay inside the den for hours until she come back, the last thing I want today is to stay inside a small cave with no one to play with but I will obey her like I always do
"Yes, baby" she sighs "We'll play outside once I come back, I promise" she pulls me close and licks the top of my head
"Okay mama" I smile nuzzling her
"I won't take long I promise" she smiles back at and my smile faded as I mumbled a sad "Bye…" she stops and turn back to me
"Kion…Would you like to go on your first hunting trip today?" she asked smiling
"Really?! Can I with you?" I beamed and she nodded "Let's go then!" I jumped on my feet and ran out of the cave.
"This is nice, isn't it?" she said as we walked through the jungle
"It is" I smiled looking around and up at her and without having to ask she answered
"I figured that if I bring you with me you'll behave just as well as you when you stay home alone" she said with a smile
"I will mom, I promise" I nodded "and I'll even help you hunt"
"Leave the hunting to me for now" she chuckled "you're only four months old, remember?" She said tickling me and I laughed.
After walking for hours without any luck at finding prey we went to have sip of water and while I drank I noticed our reflections "mom...why don't we look alike?" I asked
"Cause you look like your father" she answered and continued drinking
"Really?" I asked turning my head to one side "what color will my mane be?"
"Probably red like his…" she said looking away thoughtfully, I know her parents passed away and she doesn't like to talk about it and I wanted to ask her more questions since it was the first time she ever mentioned my father or anyone from her past but she quickly changed the subject "come Kion, we still have find food" she says and I followed after her "and I'm afraid it's getting harder by the day" I looked up at her and, though she tried to hide it with a smile I could tell that her eyes were filled concerned and for the first time I noticed how tired my mother looked, I may not have a dad but I'm lucky to her as a mom and one day when I grow up I want to take care of her like she takes care of me.
Simba's point of view
I went back to home and saw my daughter curled up in a ball inside the den it wasn't like her to sleep during the day and I saw her friends playing outside, she lifted her head as I approached her but she looked away from me "you okay princess?" I asked her, she was silent for a moment but then she turned to look at me, her eyes were red and watery and I grew concerned "Kiara, what's wrong?" I ask nuzzling her and sniffled
"Daddy… I want to know what happened to my-"she began
"Be careful Tama!" Kula called frantic
"Kula we have to hurry!" Tama snapped at her, I whipped my head around and saw them carrying my mother on their backs
"mother" I breathed out before making my way towards them "what happened?" as they sat her down on the ground I could see the bloodstains on her fur
"A buffalo attacked her during the hunt…" I heard Kula saying as I watched my mother's chest the rising and falling slowly
"Grandma!" Kiara cried making her way towards her
"Rafiki is on his way here" Tama's voice cracked, I turned to the two lionesses and noticed that the two of them were covered on my mother's blood and my stomach dropped
"She's lost a lot of blood..." I say patting my daughter's back, I laid my head next to my mother holding my weeping daughter in my arms as I heard my mother take her last breath, for a moment I felt like a cub again it brought me back to my father's death but I couldn't allow myself to break down and cry, I had to be strong for my daughter.