Chapter Ten: Missing Assassin
"Prepare the army! We move out at dawn!"
Within moments of their return home, Simba had wasted no time in scouring Pride Rock to rally his pride for battle. At the sound of the uproar Kovu emerged from the den and moved towards Simba but, catching Nala's eye, changed direction.
"What's happened to Simba?" asked Kovu.
"I guess seeing the mutilated bodies of his mother and the other lionesses have really affected him," replied Nala sounding distasted.
Kovu looked down at his paws sadly: "They didn't deserve that," he said. He looked up and over at Simba, who was standing at the edge of Pride Rock gazing up at the moon above.
"Kovu, by the way, did you tell Kiara about the attack?" asked Nala.
Kovu shook his head: "No I haven't. I didn't want to worry her, what with her pregnancy and all."
"You're right," said Nala. "We'd best not tell her about the deaths. She's in such a delicate condition right now and the news of her grandmother's death might really damage her emotionally." Kovu nodded his head in agreement.
"Kovu!"
At the sound of his name, Kovu turned to see Simba motioning him over to a corner.
"I'd better go see what Simba wants," said Kovu, moving away from Nala and heading over to where the lion king waited.
As he approached him, Kovu was shocked to see that the tearful, fragile king he had been expecting was instead replaced by a king who sat upright, with a hard look on his face, showing not even a single sign that he was a lion who had just lost his beloved mother.
"Kovu, I have something very important to tell you," said Simba. Kovu said nothing but remained motionless, waiting.
"You know very well that we're at war Kovu." Kovu nodded his head.
"In light of this I am making you the captain of the army," finished Simba.
Kovu froze; he could not believe his ears. He had just been made the pride's captain.
"I – I – I don't know what to say sir," spluttered Kovu. "I'm honored."
Simba smiled at him, "I know you'll be great. You've got so much experience." Kovu's smile faded; he knew from where he had gotten so much experience; from the days his mother Zira had been training him to kill Simba.
Simba seemed to realize what Kovu was thinking and ruffled his mane with his paw. "Kovu, that past is long since behind you. You're a good guy now," said Simba. "You're family."
Kovu smiled at his king; reassured beyond any doubt.
Simba turned away from Kovu and moved towards the rest of the lionesses.
"Everyone!" he called, "tomorrow begins the greatest battle of all our lives! Together, we have all come through immense trials to be where we are now; we defeated Scar and an army of hyenas when we reclaimed the Pride Lands as ours and we put a stop to Zira, who sought nothing but the division of our prides. However, this time, we now face enemies who threaten to not just divide us but wipe us off the face of the Pride Lands all together and I say: WE WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"
The lionesses turned to each other, with smiles on their faces; listening intently to their king's speech.
"Ever since those tigers came into our lands they have caused nothing but death, pain and destruction! Now I say: NO MORE! They may be powerful; they may have a leader who, I'm sure, would gladly cut off his enemy's head and drink their blood! But will we hide away and let them drive us out of our own home?"
The lionesses roared in unison; declaring no in one voice.
"Then by our own sweat and blood, we will go to that gorge tomorrow and WE…WILL…WIN!"
From a distance it could have been excused as an explosion but, at the sound of Simba's words, all of Pride Rock's roars detonated together; sending flocks of birds hurtling from the treetops.
"Get some sleep," called Simba, through the noise. "We head for the gorge at the break of dawn."
The next morning, even before the sun had fully emerged from under the horizon, Simba's pride were already wide awake. There was no laughter, not even a small chuckle; all the lionesses' minds were focused on the battle that lay ahead of them. Simba and Kovu were inside the den, making their final preparations before leaving.
"I'm going Kiara," said Kovu, turning towards his wife.
"Kovu…" said Kiara, sounding worried.
"Please don't worry so much Kiara, I'll be okay. I'll be with Simba," said Kovu, trying his best to sound reassuring.
Simba also turned to his daughter.
"Kiara, if we don't fight them now then they'll resort to killing. You don't want to raise your cubs in that kind of an atmosphere, do you?"
Kiara shook her head and got, slowly, to her paws. Simba was amazed as to how big she had gotten. She kissed her father and nuzzled him gently before turning to Kovu to whom she also kissed and reluctantly parted with. Both Simba and Kovu smiled at her one last time before leaving the den.
The walk to the gorge seemed endless; the pride walked in silence as the sun gradually made its way to the top of the sky. Simba, Nala and Kovu walked side-by-side while the rest of the lionesses followed behind in four groups of four. Hours passed and soon the faint outline of the gorge grew larger and larger until the group found themselves staring down into it.
"Where are they?" asked Nala, scanning the gorge.
"Maybe we're early?" suggested Vitani.
"No we're not," said Simba, looking up at the sky. "The sun is at its zenith. That means it's noon and that means that they're late."
"What do we do now?" asked Vitani.
"We wait," said Simba. "Let's get down there."
Following their king, Kovu and the lionesses clambered down into the gorge.
"Everyone, assume the formations!" shouted Simba.
Without delay, the lionesses arranged themselves in the formation of four-groups-of-four, which Simba and Kovu had designed for them. As Simba had explained to him, Kovu had captaincy over two of the groups while Simba retained command of the remaining two as King and General. Minutes passed and still there was no sign of the tigers until, at long last, the sound of thudding paws became audible. Simba and Kovu, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the four groups, looked at each other and nodded before turning to face the oncoming army.
Khan walked in front, leading his army forwards; his eyes were fixed upon Simba who met his gaze unflinching. Simba saw that he was succeeded by a host of twenty tigers which meant that the tigers held the advantage of one more fighter than them. When they were less than fifteen feet apart Khan came to a halt, as did the rest of the tigers. For a moment, both of the leaders gazed at each other, as if threatening the other to be the first to blink, then:
"It ends here Khan," said Simba.
"You're right Simba. This is where it ends for you and your kind," said Khan.
"Where is the one who killed my mother?" asked Simba sternly.
"Shiba? I'm afraid she won't be joining us today," replied Khan, with an evil smile.
"Then I guess I'll just have to settle with you," declared Simba. With those words, he moved down into a fighting stance; Kovu followed his lead as did the rest of the pride.
"Time to die kingie," smiled Khan, mockingly. "Attack!"
With an eruption of roars, the entire tiger army surged out around Khan, who watched them tear towards the pride. As the tigers surged towards them, Simba turned to Kovu:
"Ready Kovu?" he asked.
Kovu smiled at his king and turned to face the tigers, his face set and ready.
"LET'S MOVE!"
With those words, Simba darted towards the oncoming force with Kovu by his side and his army at his back.