Simba's Pain

by MrToast101

Simba has always been bullied and had a hard life. All he wants in life is to find love and have friends. What happens when he runs into an unlikely lioness one day that is responsible for causing him more pain than anyone else and how a friendship blossoms from the feelings of pain and regret that will change their lives, and the lives of everyone around them forever...

10. Chapter X

Simba's Pain Chapter 10

By Mr_Toast

Chapter 10… Double digits… So the 3rd trial is about to take place! But surely that's not all… It's not like Mufasa will just hand his kingdom over so easily? Well… Let's just leave that part to Mufasa. So like I've said multiple times now, this is the final trial. Now there will be more after this. I also think I remember saying something about making this story 15-20 chapters long. So while the trials are over, there is still much to come. So with all that said and done, Enjoy!

Simba felt something nudge into the side of his face ever so gently. He was exhausted and was tempted to just ignore it. However, Simba realized that his day was far from being over. He still had another trial to take, his finale trial, and surely the most challenging. Knowing it had to be sunset by now, Simba forced himself to get up.

Simba opened his eyes to see Nala's worried glare looking down at him. Simba gave her a small smile, before attempting to get up. He was able to get up on his paws, but found it hard… harder than he would have expected.

Every muscle in his body ached. Having used all his energy earlier in the day to make sure that he could get Kula safely back to Pride Rock, he left none for the afternoon. Simba had expected there to be some rule against giving two trials inside of a certain limit so that a king couldn't make the trials unfair.

Everyone saw Simba get up and start to make his way towards the tip of Pride Rock. No one would have expected a few hours to fly by so fast, and upon looking outside, their fears were confirmed as the sun was just above the mountains. Slowly, Sarafina, Mheetu, and the other adolescents made their way outside, wanting to know what torment Mufasa had planned for his son. It was weird. They wanted to know what the trial would be, but at the same time, they didn't.

"Prince Simba" Mufasa said, turning around, sensing the prince's arrival. Simba bowed his head in respect, letting the king know he had his attention and that he could continue. "Tonight, you will take your third trial" Mufasa added

"I have tested your scenes, and your ability to survive and keep a member of the pride safe at the same time, but I have not tested your decision making… at least not to my standers" Mufasa said, before looking past Simba to the six young adults and one cub behind him.

"Malka. Chumvi. Tojo. Nala. Tama. Kula. Mheetu. Step forth" Mufasa said. Upon hearing their names, they all felt their confidence drain away like the blood of a fresh kill in the rain. Not wanting to delay the trials in any way, they all stepped up and formed a line.

"Today, I will kill one of you" Mufasa in a serious tone, letting everyone know he wasn't joking while looking at Simba, then the rest of them. Fear… Everyone looked at each other to see what he meant, hoping to find out that the king was just playing some kind of joke. He surely wasn't going to kill them… but then again… he was the king. Who could stop him? Sarafina knew he was up to something. Surely he wasn't going to kill one of them, not unless he wanted to be met by an army of angry mothers… so what game was he playing... If he so much as touched one of them with the intentions of hurting them, every lioness in the pride would rally against him.

"And Prince Simba will tell me who to kill" Mufasa added after seeing he had successfully struck fear in each and every one of them.

Simba was frozen. He couldn't do this. He couldn't tell his father who to kill. Telling his father who to kill would have been no different than if he was going to kill them himself. He may be able to navigate tunnels and survive storms, but he couldn't tell his father who to kill.

"Prince Simba. You will have five minutes to tell me who to kill. If you have not selected anyone at the end of five minutes… I will kill everyone" Mufasa said. That was it. Simba was done for. He couldn't tell him who to kill. It just wasn't right. But if he didn't… then everyone would die.

This was an impossible question. No matter what answer he chose, someone would die. And if he didn't choose at all, everyone would die. "Your five minutes start now" Mufasa said, knowing that his son would fail.

Simba looked at each of the lions in front of him. Malka. Chumvi. Tojo. Nala. Tama. Kula. Mheetu. His friends… his family. But one of them was going to die, and it would be his fault. They all gave him looks of pure fear.

Simba kept looking into their eyes, knowing that this would be the last time he was going to be able to see a pair of those eyes with life in them. Simba closed his eyes and let his head drop. He had always known what needed to be done. Sometimes he didn't know how he would do it, but he always knew what needed to be done. But this time, no matter what he did, someone would die, and it was his fault.

"Four Minutes" Mufasa said as he watched his son shake his head, a clear sign of total confusion. Mufasa saw the way his son was acting and knew he was going to fail. Simba might be strong and have good senses, but he didn't have what it took to mentally be a king.

All kings must be ready to sacrifice someone from their pride if the situation calls for it. It's something that no king wants to do, but all good leaders must be ready to lose a man. The answer was so simple, but he knew that Simba didn't have what it took to find such an answer.

Who would he kill? A young cub he hardly knew? No. Mheetu was Nala's brother, and she'd never forgive him. Malka? No, Tama would never forgive him. Tama? Nope… Malka would never forgive him. Chumvi? No, Kula would never forgive him and vice-versa. Tojo? Nope, No one would ever forgive him. No matter who he picked, it would cause him to ruin his relationship with them. And Nala was out of the question.

"Three minutes" Mufasa called out, watching as the prince starting to fail under such pressure.

The group looked at Simba and knew he was in a mental war. They all knew that if he couldn't come up with an answer, they would all die. "Simba pick me!" Tama yelled out, willing to sacrifice herself for everyone else.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'll do it, pick me" Malka said, knowing that there was no reason as to why he should have a higher chance that everyone else.

"No! I'll do it" Tojo said. Being the only one not in a relationship, his death would be the easiest to overcome.

"Shut up!" Simba yelled, sounding enraged, simultaneously punching the solid rock ground as hard as he could, and heard a slight crack in his right paw. Everyone went quiet again at hearing his voice, knowing that whatever emotion was behind it was one they had never heard from anyone before.

"Two minutes" Mufasa added.

'Who damn it!? Who!? That son of a… grr… No! No one is going to die! No! Not today! Not ever! I will have died long before them!' Simba thought, sounding as if he had gone off the deep end. He started to go off in deep thoughts of how messed up his father was, that he let time get away from him... again...

"One Minute" Mufasa called out. The group began to get uneasy. At this point call who you hate the most and work it out with everyone else or else everyone is going to die. Simba wouldn't let anyone die, so to let them all die didn't seem logical either.

'Why can't it be me! … … … … why can't it be me? … … … … Maybe it can be! He said one of us. I am one of them! Plus he looked at me! Hah! Yes! The answer is me!' Simba thought, knowing that he would be the only logical answer. If he killed anyone else, it would show he was unworthy of leadership. A good leader is always ready to sacrifice himself for the lives of his teammates. The leader was part of the team, and any good teammate would sacrifice themselves for the life of another, no matter if they were a leader or a follower.

Mufasa began the countdown to failure, not surprised that his son was going to fail."Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two-" "I choose my self!" Simba shouted, startling everyone. Mufasa stood there in disbelief. The prince was correct.

The young lions that stood before him stood as stiff as wood. Simba had just blurted out an answer at the last second, and their king had stopped the count down. This was it. Would they live, or were they all going to die?

Nala shed a tear upon hearing him say that. She honestly would join him in being killed. She couldn't live in a world where Simba wasn't. One way or another, she was going to make sure she had a way to stay with him, even if it was in the afterlife.

"Correct…" Mufasa said, still awing at how the prince answered right. "You have answered correctly Prince Simba. Congratulations, you have passed the final trial... and for anyone still wondering, I never had any intentions to kill anyone…" Mufasa said. "That will be all" He finished before walking into the cave, leaving behind the worlds most confused, relieved, frighten, and scared lions. He didn't expect Simba to pass this trial, not in the slightest, but it was far from over. Simba may have what it takes to be a king, but he still needs to learn how to think like a king, act like a king, Rule like a king. Mufasa continued on his way, knowing that the next few months to come would be some of the worst months of all their lives... the trails were just the beginning...

Wasting no time, Nala ran towards Simba, but Simba pushed her away… Nala stumbled back confused. For a second there, she honestly thought that he was going to be killed, and wanted nothing more than to be by his side.

"Simba..." Sarafina said as she approached the young lion, praying to the lions of the past that he wouldn't snap. For the first time ever, he looked broken. It was as if after all this time, that trial was what had broken him.

"No" Simba said as he tried to turn around, but felt Sarafina grab him by his mane and pull him back so he was facing him again. "Stop" Simba said, sounding irritated as he tried to swat her paw away, but Sarafina didn't let go. Simba could have easily broken free and landed a few good hits on her if he wanted to, but he knew better than to do something like that.

"No. You're not going anywhere but inside that cave to go get some sleep" Sarafina said glaring into his eyes, sounding as if she was his mother. Simba wanted to protest, but looked over her shoulder and saw everyone had taken a few steps forward and were concerned about him.

"Fine. But can I have a moment with Nala first… Alone" Simba said loud enough so the others could hear. Nala's spirit skyrocketed upon hearing this but was still confused. Moments ago she had been harshly rejected by him, and now he wanted to speak to her.

Sarafina nodded and let go. Sarafina knew that there was nothing she could do for Simba in a time like this. He never talked about what was bothering him, or at least just never told anyone in detail, so she didn't even bother trying to ask.

Sarafina turned around, and took the remaining six lions back into the cave, leaving Simba and Nala alone. It was officially night time now and it was dark outside, so Sarafina knew that they wouldn't stay out too long. Simba gave Nala a weak smile that anyone could have seen threw, hoping for some unknown reason that his half-assed attempt to cheer her up would work.

Nala saw his poor attempt at cheering her up and wondered what was going on in his head right now. First, he pushes her away, then wants to talk to her, now he is just smiling at her to cheer her up. Nala watched as his smile faded and he started to look around, unsure of what to do.

Nala slowly started to approach him, wanting to make sure that he was ok. Nala had been able to catch his eyes for just a few seconds at a time and saw something in them that made her feel uneasy. The usually reassuring look in his eyes was gone and had been replaced by something else, only she didn't know what that something was.

"You ok?" Nala said in a voice just above a whisper and she stopped a few inches away from him. She saw him hesitate slightly, a clear sign that he contemplating slightly on what he would say to her. Nala knew that he wasn't ok and that he was hiding something, but she was determined to find out.

"I…" Simba started but didn't know what to say. "What if… I was wrong" Simba said breaking eye contact and turning around. Simba felt Nala's paw start to turn him around and he didn't even try to fight back. Nala was the only person Simba didn't feel the need to try and break away from. Simba let Nala turn him back around, and met her gaze once again.

"You overthink things Simba. If you choose wrong, then you would have just simply failed. Your father said he was never going to kill anyone. It was just to put pressure on you. But you didn't fail, so why would you let the fact that you could have failed bother you. We were never in any danger" Nala said trying to help him realize that no one was ever going to die.

"But-" "No. It was just a trial. We're still here and that's all that matters" Nala said cutting Simba off before he could continue thinking about things that could now never happen.

"Ok" Simba said. The idea of them dying because of him faded, but then their words started to echo in his head. 'Simba Pick me!' 'Don't be ridiculous, I'll do it, Pick me!' 'No! I'll do it'. Those words were haunting his head right now. His friends were willing to die for him and the rest of the group, but he could never let that happen. He wouldn't let them die.

"Come on, Let's get some sleep" Nala said moving her face into his chest to give him a little nuzzle, something she had done countless times before. Simba smothered those thoughts. He took those thoughts and applied Nala's logic. That would never happen. It was just a trial so there was nothing to worry about.

"Nala?" Simba asked.

"Yes?" Nala responded, noticing that his voice sounded much calmer and relaxed than it had before.

"What now? I've completed the trials… but now what…" Simba asked. The past month had really just been preparation for the trials, and now that he had passed them, what was next?

"I don't know. King Mufasa will probably tell us" Nala said, taking a step back to make eye contact with him. Nala looked in his eyes and felt a wave of relief wash over her. The spark of light had returned inside his eyes, a sign that whatever had been bothering him, had passed.

"Something Isn't right…" Simba said in a shallow tone. Nala watched as he broke eye contact and look towards the cave to observe someone of the inside.

"What?" Nala said, lifting her paw to his cheek and moving his head so that his gaze met hers. Whatever plans they had to go back into the cave and get some sleep had been postponed.

"This can't be it… This just seems to easy. He has something else planned. I know it" Simba said. Nala took a moment and thought about what he said. Instead of being happy that he passed, he was skeptical.

"Maybe you're right, or maybe you're wrong. Look all I know is that you've passed and by the looks of it we'll have a lot of free time on our paws" Nala said smiling at the idea of finally being able to spend more time with her favorite lion.

"I hope I'm wrong" Simba said. Nala smiled at him and was delighted when he returned her smile. But Nala noticed something that was out of the ordinary. He had a playful look in his eyes. She had never played any games or done any kind of lovey-dovey stuff with him before, and was starting to feel like it was never too late to start.

"Whatever you're gonna do, Just do it already" Nala said with a chuckle and watched as his pupils dilated and he sprung forward. Caught off guard, Nala was pinned to the ground in a matter of seconds. "I didn't mean for you pin me!" Nala said angrily. She didn't mean to be so harsh, but she was just an emotional wreck right now and her anger found its time to shine.

Simba quickly got off of her and back up with a guilty facial expression. He had seen that they used to play that game a lot and knew that Nala was really good at it, but it upset him that he had upset her. Nala got back up and glared over at Simba, but her glare quickly turned to a look of pure concern when she saw that he was a few feet away for her, looking down with a guilty expression as he fidgeted with his paws.

"Simba… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so harsh towards you" Nala said as she approached him and was somewhat relieved when he looked up and met her gaze.

"I'm an idiot" Simba said in a guilty tone. He knew that he should have asked her first, and even with her apology he still felt like a jerk for pinning her.

"You're an idiot for thinking you're an idiot Simba. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that..." Nala said as she approached him and rested her face into his chest, finding it welcoming, safe, warm, and comfortable as always, but something wasn't right… Kula…

Nala hadn't noticed, but Kula's scent was all over Simba. Nala was still not a hundred percent on board with the idea of him sleeping with other females, even though it was normal.

"You… Slept with Kula… Didn't you…" Nala asked as she smelt one last time to confirm he smelt like her.

"Yea… Look she is scared of storms and I just wanted to help her" Simba said feeling even more guilty.

"I know. It's ok. I'm just not used to sharing… Anyway, I think it's my turn now" Nala said with a smile as she started to nuzzle into him, removing Kula's scent and replacing it with her own. Nala couldn't stop herself from doing this. It was an instinct after all.

"Why do you like to nuzzle me so much. And why do you like my chest and neck so much?" Simba asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Because I love you" Nala replied, not even taking the time to fully address the question. Simba rolled his eyes at how she was acting. She was so busy nuzzling him that she hadn't even realized that she was beginning to get carried away, and even starting to purr a little.

"Nala" Simba asked as he forced her away from his chest with much resistance, but at the same time getting her attention. "Why do you like to nuzzle me so much? Besides the fact that you love me" Simba said, knowing that there was another reason. He wasn't complaining, not one bit, but he had noticed that Nala really liked to nuzzle into his chest.

"Because… Well, it's just so soft, warm, comfortable, safe, and welcoming. And every time I nuzzle into you I feel like all the stress and worry in my life goes away, and I'm truly at peace for a short amount of time." Nala said before pushing back towards him and continued her assault on his chest. Simba chuckled slightly upon seeing how she was acting. He would never understand the females and their obsession over his coat. Nala, Tama, and Kula seemed to enjoy his coat for how soft and welcoming it was.

"When was the last time we kissed?" Simba asked as he wrapped an arm around her. Nala was a little surprised to hear this. This new more outgoing Simba was new to her. The Simba she had first met would have never dared pounce on her. Would have never have dared to hug her without permission, or bring up the topic of kissing unless Nala wanted to talk about it. Nala smiled slightly, happy that things had changed for the better.

"Just now" Nala said as she broke the hug, took a step back and caught his lips just as he had finished processing her words. Nala was doing mental backflips right now. What she had said was so romantic and perfect, while Simba… eh… he was trying to understand what she meant by 'just now', seeing as it had been more the forty-eight hours, but then realized that her plan was to say 'just now' and then kiss him to make it all romantic and stuff.

Nala was enjoying the kiss for a solid three seconds until she realized that Simba wasn't returning it. Nala nipped his lip ever so subtly, getting his full attention. Realizing his mistake, Simba quickly returned the kiss as to not irritate her any further.

Nala got a daring idea. She was going to test Simba. She wanted to see what he would allow her to get away with since he didn't care about the nip on the lip. Nala broke the kiss and pushed Simba over until he was on his back, and she gently pinned him so that he was lying down on his back, under her. Not really expecting him to resist at all, she continued.

Nala started to playfully nip at his jawline, careful to not upset him or cross any lines. Simba was a lot bigger and stronger than her, and male lions didn't allow lionesses to fall too far out of line, but Simba was different. Simba let Nala do whatever she wanted. Nala had full control over him which was weird.

After finishing nipping at his jawline, she started to play with his mane by running her paw through it and lightly pulling it. She was surprised to see that he was letting her get away with whatever she wanted, and what surprised her, even more, was that he was playfully swatting at her head, a sign that he thought they were just playing a game. He was totally relaxed and comfortable with what she was doing.

Even though the males were all young, Malka and Tojo would have never let her do this. An adult male wouldn't have let her pushed them down, a sub-adult wouldn't have allowed the mane pulling, and an adolescent wouldn't have allowed the jaw nipping. So why Simba?

Doing one last thing to test him, and probably the most suicidal, Nala pinned his shoulders to the ground harder this time and stood over him triumphantly, a clear sign that she was trying to enforce dominance over him. But like before, Simba didn't seem to care, he was just playfully smiling at her whilst making little flailing motions with his paws towards her head. Clearly, he thought this was some kind of game.

Nala got of Simba and helped him back up. "Why didn't you try and stop me?" Nala asked as she got up really close into Simba face, and was surprised to see that he was the one who submitted and backed up.

"Stop you from doing what?" Simba asked, clearly oblivious to what she was trying to do.

"Stop the pushing over, the jaw nipping, me playing with your mane, me pinning you down, or getting close into your face. Any male wouldn't let a lioness do any of that, and you clearly have the strength and experience to force me to submit to you" Nala asked as she roughly ran her paw through his mane, trying to agitate him.

"Because I could never force you to do anything. That was just all play and stuff. I don't really care what you do to me" Simba replied, and earned a shocked look from Nala.

"But… what… you're not serious. No male could possibly have that kind of patience and respect for a female" Nala said. It was just basic social hierarchy at that point, something even Simba understood. Males are the dominant gender in lions and that was finale.

"I am. I guess I'm not like the others" Simba said with a smile as he sat down. In a desperate last attempt to agitate him, something which was beyond stupid for a female to do, Nala tried to challenge Simba by acting like she was going to pounce on him, acting as if she wanted to fight him, but saw that he just stood there and smiled at her. Nala honestly didn't know what to say. He had so much power and authority, yet he didn't use it.

"Why don't you fight back?" Nala asked as she lightly patted his face with her paw in a futile attempt to annoy him…

"Why would I?" Simba asked as he didn't even flinch towards her paw.

"What would you do if another male tried to claim me as his mate?" Nala asked. At this point, it was instinct, not personality… No male lion, not a single one would stand by and allow another male to steal his mate or mates. The was almost like lion law, and there was no way that Simba could possibly let something like that go unanswered.

Simba chuckled a little at first before finally speaking up. "I wouldn't have to do anything. I have a feeling that if another lion ever physically touched you in a romantic way you would kill him before I got the chance to ever move" Simba said rolling over submissively to Nala, playfully swatting at her legs.

Surprised by him rolling over, and surprised by his response, she knew he was right. She chuckled a little as well knowing that if Malka or Tojo ever tried to make her submit, it would be the last thing either of them did.

"You're so weird" Nala said as she playfully put a paw on his head. Simba and Nala were having the best time of their lives right now. For the past month, they had done nothing but worry about the trials, and before that, they were worried about getting Simba accepted by the other cubs. So right now was the first time since they met that they had nothing to worry about.

"What are you two doing…" Asked a voice behind them. Embarrassed, Nala quickly turned around and made it look like nothing had ever happened, but Simba didn't really care and continued to lie on his back as he looked towards the source of the sound.

Simba and Nala both met the gaze of a very curious, and suspicious Tama, who looked to be watching them.

"Just messing around" Simba said as he took a swat and Nalas back right leg. Tama was wondering what was wrong with Simba. He was submitting to Nala, and he could easily win a fight against her. For example, this was like a Hippo making way for a turtle.

"Ok…" Tama said as she semi-cautiously approached Simba, wanting to see how he would react to her compared to Nala. Tama stood so that she was looking down at Simba who was still on his back, to where he was in front of her and they could just look straight up and down at each other.

Tama was utterly shocked to see that he threw a paw out in the air, playfully swatting at her as he had previously done with Nala, having no intention to connect any of his 'strikes'. Tama smiled a little and did the same thing. Just like Nala, Simba was a lot bigger than her, and Tama was starting to have a little to much fun with Simba to where Nala had to step in.

"Ok that's enough" Nala said, trying to make it sound like she wasn't disturbed by their little game. Like before, she wasn't jealous, just didn't want to share. She was possessive.

"Ok, I was wondering if I could stay with you two tonight" Tama said with a hint of hope in her eyes. Red flags and warning sirens went off inside of Nalas head, while Simba saw nothing wrong with her request.

"Sorry, But n-" "Sure" Nala was saying before Simba cut her off by accepting Tama's request. Nala knew her promise, but this was unacceptable. This was about to become war. Simba was Nala's male and Nala's male alone, and she was about to make it known... as if it already wasn't known well enough.

"What is with you and Kula?!" Nala said sounding frustrated, but not angry yet. Her outburst caught both Simba and Tama off guard, causing Simba to roll back over and get up in case anything went wrong between the two lionesses. "You two always want to sleep with him and I'm sick and tired of it. All I want is to remove you and Kula's foul scent from his coat and spend some quality alone time with him, but nooo, you just have to interrupt and ruin everything!" Nala said this time, in a quiet but angry voice so she didn't wake anyone up inside of Pride Rock.

"My foul scent?" Tama asked confused, not angry. As far as Tama knew, there was nothing wrong with her scent. The only thing that differed about hers was that it belonged to her...

"Yes. It's all over him. Every day I remove it, but it just miraculously happens to find its way back on to him, in the exact same spot every time. It's so strong and pungent on him! I mean -" Nala was saying before she was cut off.

"Nala, Stop" Simba said in a clearly authoritative tone. Simba knew that Nala had done nothing but worry for the past few days for his safety, and wanted nothing but alone time with him. He understood that right now she wasn't thinking clearly, and he was going to show her that his heart belonged to her. "Tama, I'm sorry, but not tonight. Check to see if either Chumvi, Malka, or Tojo are available, or worst-case scenario you'll just have to stay by yourself tonight" Simba said with sincerity in his voice.

Tama wasn't angry. She too understood what it was like being away from someone you were in a romantic relationship with, and how you wanted nothing more than to be with them. She would excuss Nala's outburst this one time though, as Tama was not known to be submissive… to anyone...

"Good Night" Tama said as she gave Simba the lightest, most gentle nuzzle she could have possibly given him before returning the den. Simba returned his glance towards Nala and was surprised to see she had a guilty look on her face.

"I shouldn't have yelled at her. If you want… you can… spend the night with… her" Nala managed to say, knowing that it would be hell for her, but it would serve as punishment for her actions.

"No, you shouldn't have" Simba started. Nala felt her heart sank upon hearing this. He was going to make her pay… "But I love you far too much to let you be alone" Simba finished with a smile. Nalas heart lifted its self back up, and she walked over towards him and buried her face deep into his chest.

"Let's stick to our original plan of getting some sleep" Nala said, wanting the day to be over before she had the chance of messing anything else up.

"Good idea" Simba said as he nuzzled her back, filling Nala's heart to the brim with happiness. The one thing Nala didn't like about Simba was that he didn't Nuzzle back that often, so right now she was happy that he was nuzzling her back, but to be honest, he was a far better kisser than nuzzle. Maybe she could teach him… Heh, teaching Simba to nuzzle would be something Nala was going to enjoy.

Not wasting any more time, the two young lovers made their way to the back of the cave and lied down. After a minute of kisses and nuzzles good night, the two fell asleep, leaving only one lioness in the entire pride awake…

Sarafina had stayed up to witness their 'moment alone' and didn't know that Simba's definition of a moment was over an hour. With heavy eyelids, she too made her way towards her usually sleeping area, wrapped up her youngest cub Mheetu into a protective hug, and fell asleep herself.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Nala slowly started to wake up and opened her eyes to see nothing but golden fur in her view. Wiggling ever so subtly, she got a good sense of where she was. Safe is Simbas arms. She moved her head out of his chest and looked up to see that Simba was still asleep.

It was almost noon, and she looked around to see that the rest of her friends were starting to get up as well, all expect Kula. The trial about surviving in the storm left both Simba and Kula depleted on energy, and would most likely get to spend the day just resting.

Nala looked from one side of the cave to the other and noticed that Tojo was sitting alone in the far corner of the cave. Nala followed his line of sight to Chumvi and Kula, who were next to each other, as with Malka and Tama, but looked away just before he got to her and Simba.

Simba and Nala were the only ones who were really sleeping with each other. The others were just sleeping next to each other, but Nala was safe and sound inside of Simbas arms, being in full contact with him.

Nala remembered back to their conversation the night before, about how Tojo said he would leave, but she was able to convince him to stay by saying she would bring Ariya over. Ariya was much like Nala, just a lot less aggressive and had a coat a few shades darker than her.

She was very nice and Nala knew that Tojo saw something in her. Maybe he didn't love her or have some huge crush on her, but he saw something in her that was worth a shot and made him stay. At first, it seemed obvious. Just cross the river to the east and enter the Riverside pride's territory, but then she would be a trespasser and could get in huge trouble for that.

The Baobab pride was the friendliest and most accepting pride that the pride lands knew of, but even they didn't take well to trespassers. Nala didn't know any of its members though, so she quickly went back to the idea of the Riverside pride.

Then it hit her. She could ask Zazu to deliver a message, but the only problem was that she hadn't seen him in a long time. She briefly remembered seeing him when she was really young, less than a few weeks old. The only reason she remembers him was that she kept thinking about how his beak looked like a banana. Luckily, Pride Rock offered so much protection that the lionesses didn't have to leave to give birth out of fear of predators.

The pride lands were the safest area in probably all of Africa, and Pride Rock was its centerpiece. Having cubs being born inside Pride Rock, the chances of a Newborn being killed by a predator was nearly impossible. The cave made it to where another animal could only attack from one side, and the animal would have to make it past an entire pride of lions before doing so.

Nala tried to think of who she could ask, and then she thought about Rafiki. Rafiki knew everything. Literally. He knew just about everyone in the pride lands, every name of every past king, and had an incredible amount of wisdom. Surely he would know a way to contact the Riverside pride.

Nala broke free of Simba's grasp with ease, waking him up in the process. This was the first time she had ever wanted to leave his grasp. Not that she didn't enjoy it, but because Tojo's patience was wearing thin and she needed to get Ariya over here.

"Hey" Simba said in a tired voice as he attempted to get up, but Nala gently put a paw on him telling him to stay down.

"Hey. I'm going to visit Rafiki. Stay here and get some sleep" Nala said as she gave the side of his face a gentle nuzzle.

"Won't be easy with you" Simba said as he let his head fall back onto the floor and let himself fall back asleep. Nala was touched by his comment and wanted to stay with him. Being able to sleep in with him all day was something she had always wanted to do, but just like every other time, something important came up.

Nala gave Simba a little kiss on the cheek before making her way out of the cave. She took a deep breathe in, before breaking out into a jog towards Rafiki's tree, hoping that he would have a way to contact the Riverside pride, or at least know someone who could.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Rafiki was meditating in his tree, listening to the voices of the lions from the past, when he heard someone calling his name from outside his tree. Rafiki opened his eyes and jumped up. For his old age, he was still very active and acrobatic, and swung down from his tree and landed right in front of Nala.

"Rafiki, We need to talk. It's Important" Nala said.

"Important you say?" Rafiki said as he observed how she was acting.

"Yes. I need to know if you know any way to contact the Riverside pride. They're on the other side of the river that lies on our eastern border" Nala said, giving him all the details.

"Ah! Da Riverside pride. Yes, I know of da Riverside Pride. King Asante and I go way back" Rafiki said, waving his hand from left to right as he said 'way'. Not to be rude, but Nala wasn't here to listen about his past, she only needed to know if Ariya could stay with them for a while.

"That's great Rafiki but I just need to know if you can contact them in any way" Nala said, trying her best to sound polite.

"I can do many t'ings" Rafiki said as he jumped back up into his tree and sat on a lower hanging branch so that Nala would still be able to see him.

"Ugh, No, That's not what I meant. Look Tojo wants to leave the pride because there is no longer anyone here that he can fall in love with. King Asante has a second born daughter that we met a while ago. Her name is Ariya and I think that if Tojo falls in love with her, He'll stay. At one point, Ariya had a crush on him and it seems that Tojo may have liked her at one point too." Nala said, trying to avoid all the games and whatnot Rafiki was known for saying.

Rafiki thought about it for a moment. Bringing another female into the pride would benefit them all, but at the same time, times were hard in the Riverside pride right now, and king Asante might not be willing to give up his only daughter to the pride lands.

"Hmm… It would be nice to have another female in da pride, and you do all already know 'er... I'll see what I can do" Rafiki said as he looked into Nala's pleading eyes. Nala's eyes lit up even further upon hearing this, but her mood was only short lived. "But I can make no promises. The Riverside pride is going through some difficult times, an I don't t'ink king Asante will be so willing to give up his only daughter" Rafiki said in a much more serious tone.

"Oh, well let's hope she can come. Our pride won't be the same without Tojo" Nala said in a saddened tone.

"Yes… Welp! Enough with all dis gloom and doom. Tell me, How are Simba and Tama doing?" Rafiki said, knowing he was going to be picking a bone that no one would dare touch.

"What do you mean 'How are Simba and Tama doing?" Nala said in a serious and suspicious voice.

"Well, de are great friends and what not. I was just asking how de they're doing" Rafiki said with a smile, making it sound like he didn't know about her problem with the other girls right now.

"Oh, yeah well they are just friends. And they are doing good" Nala said, still a little uneasy about the entire topic. She had had enough of Tama and Kula for one week and was just ready to return back to Pride Rock to check on her lion.

"Ah, well dat is always good. Anyway, I t'ink you look ready to leave" Rafiki said. In the last minute or so, Nala had subconsciously started to shift towards back a bit, making it look as if she was ready to leave.

"Yea. Well thanks for all your help, but I seriously got to go" Nala said as she turned around and jumped down for the tree and broke out into a run towards Pride Rock before Rafiki even had the chance to say anything.

"Ah, Young love… Young Love…" Rafiki muttered, before returning to his meditation.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Nala had run all the way back to Pride Rock without any incident, but the first sign of trouble she saw, was when she arrived at Pride Rock. Upon entering the cave, Nala saw that Simba wasn't inside, and she hadn't seen him by the water whole when she was coming in.

Nala turned her gaze towards where Tama should have been and saw that she wasn't there either. The only person who was in the corner was Malka. Nala didn't even need to guess whether or not Tama was with Simba, because she knew that she was.

Nala didn't mind the fact that she was, but she wanted to spend the day with Simba… Alone… as in just her… nobody else. Nala walked over to Malka and nudged him with her muzzle. Malka turned around and met Nala's gaze.

"If you're wondering where Simba is, He's out for a morning trot. Yes, Tama is with him. Where? He is taking the third trial off to the left of the waterhole" Malka said before turning back around and closing his eyes to rest.

Nala stood there a little confused as to how he knew all of that, or as to how he knew she was going to ask all of those questions. Nala gave him a weirded outlook, before turning around and running off to find Simba. She knew that he probably just wanted to hang out with her and he had every right to, it was just that she had planned to spend the day with him.

Nala exited Pride Rock, went towards the water whole, took the third trail on the left and saw fresh paw prints. Nala knew that they couldn't be any more than five minutes ahead of her, and they were only trotting.

Nala broke out into a run. If they were truly trotting, then it would only take her a few minutes to catch up with them.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Nala had been running for around four minutes when she started to make out Simba and Tama's figures trotting down the trial. She could tell that they were having a conversation, based on the way their heads were moving, but it was impossible to make out what they were talking about at such a distance.

Simba looked over to reply to Tama when he saw something else move in his peripheral vision. "Something's following us" Simba said as he slowed down and turned around. Tama did the same thing, ready for a fight and whatever was coming her way, but was surprised to see that is was only Nala.

"Simba!" Nala said once she was in shouting distance. Simba smiled at her and started to walk her way.

"Hey Nala" Simba said as she slowed down to a walk, and approached him. The two shared a short little nuzzle, before turning back towards Tama who was waiting for them.

Simba and Tama continued with their trot, now with Nala next to them. "Anyway, To answer your question, She's cute, charming, pretty, and all that, but I just never saw that… spark in her I guess" Simba said towards Tama. Nala choked on her own saliva upon hearing this. Simba calling another girl cute, charming, and pretty was rather unsettling to her.

"Who?" Nala asked suspiciously. Whatever they were talking about she was determined to find out.

"Huh, Oh, Tama was asking me if I ever had a crush on either Kula or her. The short answer is no. When I saw them I saw potential great friends and stuff, but there was never that extra spark of feeling I got when I saw them" Simba said turning his attention towards Nala. Relieved, Nala let herself relax, but soon wandered what he meant by the 'extra spark'.

"What do you mean by 'extra spark'?" Nala asked. Clearly, she had the extra spark. That was why he had a crush on her and not the others, yet she had no clue as to what that spark was.

"Well, it was the feeling I got in my chest every time I laid eyes on you. That uh… the energetic feeling in my chest. Almost like a spark" Simba said, trying his best to describe it. Unfortunately, a feeling wasn't something you could explain, you just had to hope the other person knew what you were talking about.

Nala smiled to herself upon hearing this. It made her happy to know that Simba saw something in her that he didn't see in the others. Something that made him choose her over the others. She didn't know what it was, but that question would be better to ask in private.

"Simba, weird question, and you will probably have no idea as to what I'm talking about, but do you ever remember when you were young, seeing a lioness who looked similar to Kula and I, but she had fur a few shades darker than mine? She didn't have a tuff of fur on top of her head like Tama does, and had green eyes" Nala asked, wanting to see if he knew who Ariya was.

"Uhh… maybe. Actually, yes. She was kinda like you just with a darker coat. What happened to her?" Simba asked. He remembered seeing her in the cave went he was scavenging for leftovers for around a week, but one day she wasn't there and never showed up again.

"Her name is Ariya, and she is from another pride. She was visiting us for a little while before she went back home. The reason I'm asking is she may be coming back, for a longer stay" Nala said.

Tama took a moment and thought about this. It wasn't that she didn't like Ariya, she was actually like a best friend to her, but she was confused as to why Nala would want to invite her. Nala was already possessive of Simba, so why did she want to bring another lioness into the equation…

"Why is she coming back?" Tama asked, wanting to see why Nala would risk the chance for even more competition.

"Well I'm not sure if she can or not, but… uh, Rafiki said times are hard for the Riverside pride right now and it might be better for her if she stays with us" Nala said, not wanting to say anything about Tojo. Tojo would tell everyone his problem when he felt like it if he even wanted to tell them at all, so she decided it best to let him tell everyone when he was ready.

"Well I hope things get better" Tama said. Things must have been really bad for a dad to want to send his only daughter away to keep her safe…

"Yea" Simba added, having no idea as to who Ariya really was, what the Riverside pride was, and what kind of hard times they were going through. Unfortunately for him, he knew very little about the things they knew. Having not been with them until recently, he missed out on a lot.

"Anyway, what do you guys have planned for today" Nala asked, hoping that they had just planned a morning trot.

"Well Simba and I are taking our mourning trot, then he and I are going to train, then he is going to teach me basic first aid, then… well, we haven't planned that far ahead yet" Tama said. Nala put on a causal face, but in reality, she was not in a good mood. She had planned for this to be her day alone with Simba, and it wasn't even mid day yet and someone had already messed it up.

"Oh… so you guys will be busy most of the day?" Nala asked, with a hint of sadness in her voice. She already knew the answer, yet it was almost like she wanted to confirm her fear.

"Yup" Tama responded, not having heard the sadness in her voice. Simba looked to his left and saw that Nala looked sad. She was looking down at her paws, watching them impact the ground while she jogged. Simba realized that he must have missed something in the conversation, as she had not appeared this way moments ago.

"Care to join us Nala?" Simba said, in an attempt to cheer her up. Nala was happy to hear his requests, yet it wouldn't be the same as if they were alone. Also, It didn't help that he would actually be doing stuff instead of being able to focus on her, yet it was time she could spend with him nonetheless.

"Sure" Nala said flashing him a smile, hoping he didn't catch her saddened expression that she wore a few seconds ago. She watched as he returned the smile before looking ahead once again.

The three of them trotted for another four to five minutes, before finding an opened out area that Simba liked. The two lionesses watched as Simba trotted around the clearing, patting the ground every few feet checking for something. "This will do" Simba said as he motioned for Tama to come up to him. Apparently, this was the 'training' part of the day, yet Nala had no idea as to what kind of training they were talking about.

"Alright, give me everything you got" Simba said as he took a defensive position. Nala watched as Tama went to pounce on him, claw unsheathed and baring her teeth, just as she would do if she was taking down her prey. Nala watched as Simba dodged her, and Tama started to violently lash out, attempting to cut Simba with each strike, yet Simba just dodged her with ease.

Nala saw that they weren't playing. Tama was actually trying to hurt Simba. She was putting power and force behind each blow, attempting to make them connect. Nala felt a feeling she had never felt before, a feeling of pure fear and rage. Another lioness was attempting to hurt her male, and some thousand-year-old instinct was digging its way to the surface.

Just as Nala was about to jump in and join Simba's side, something made her stop.

"Stop, Stop, Stop…" Simba said as he caught Tamas' arms and used his strength to slow them down instantly. "Same problem as last time. You need to focus. You're just randomly striking with no technique, hoping that one of your blows will land" Simba said as he let go on her arms and took a step back.

Tama thought that she was doing better, but clearly, she wasn't. "Well, then was should I do" Tama asked. Nala watched confused as to how they were talking so calmly. Not ten seconds ago Tama was trying to kill her, yet with three words they were best pals again.

"Well first off, you need to observe your opponent, Size them up. Don't take this the wrong way but I'm a lot bigger and stronger than you. So I don't know why you're trying to herd me around when I could easily overpower you. You need to wait for me to strike, and during the time I'm bringing my arm back so I can strike again, that's when you go" Simba said, watching as Tama nodded her head.

Nala realized that this was a fighting lesson, yet it just looked so real. Nala watched as Simba slowly pretended to strike Tama, but she would dodge it, and just as he was bringing his arm back, Tama would also slowly pretend to strike, just as he had told her. They did this a few more times, a little faster each time so Tama got the hang of it.

"Now you're getting it. So in any scenario, a hippo is going to win against a lion when it comes to strength. But if the Lions use proper technique, then that's when the lion can use the hippos strength against him. Cause him to put all his effort into his offense, but save none for his defense" Simba said making sure she understood where he was coming from.

"Yeah. I uhh… I don't know… It's just that I'm afraid of losing. Because loosing would mean I would die, and well then… I'm dead I guess. I either go full offense or full defense, I can never do both if you get what I'm saying " Tama said looking down at her paws.

Tama felt a paw under her chin that lifted her head up and moved its way towards her cheek. Tama was now looking deep into Simbas eyes, peering through the gateway to his sole, thoroughly studying it. "Tama" Simba said with a serious voice, and wore an even more serious facial expression. "It's the person that's willing to die, who will win that fight. And I know If I'm going to have any life anymore, it's because I'm stilling willing to fight… and die…" Simba said in a voice that gave Tama goosebumps and sent shivered down her spine.

Tama felt weak at that moment. Simbas words echoed in her head. The way he said that made him seem so strong, so brave, so wise… Tama stared in awe into his eyes, before finally remembering to blink.

"Thank you" Tama said, closing her eyes and letting her head fall. She didn't really know why she said she was thankful, nor did she know what there was to be thankful for, but what he had said just made her find some new confidence that she had previously been unsuccessful in obtaining.

Nala saw how Tama let her head rest in Simba's paw. She didn't know why it made her feel so uneasy. Literally, all she was doing was resting her head on his paw, yet something inside of Nalas head told her to break up their little moment.

Just as soon as their moment started, it was over when Tama attempted to pin Simba by running into him and trying to flip him over, hoping to catch him off guard. Tama's efforts were short-lived, as she found herself being the one pinned on the ground. Tama stared up at him in amazement. She knew that there was no way that he could have know she was going to do that.

"Lesson two, Expect the unexpected" Simba said with a smirk.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

The rest of the morning went as planned. Simba finished up with with the fighting lesson and got to working with Tama on basic first aid. He taught her how to stop intensive bleeding, what to do if someone passes out, and the different material you can use to make a bandage.

Tama had just left to return to Pride Rock. Her mother wanted her back by noon for some kind of hunting demonstration thing. Nala was finally alone with Simba and was about to ask him what he would like to do before someone else beat her to it.

"Hey, Simba!" Kula said. Nala turned around to see Kula trotting towards them. Just as she thought she would have some alone time, Kula showed up. Nala expected Kula to stop but was surprised when she ran straight into him and pinned him.

Kula let her arms relax and fell on top of Simba, before rolling off to the side. Nala observed that something was different about her. She seemed to be more playful and friendly today. Not that she wasn't ever playful or friendly. But she just seemed a lot more towards Simba in particular.

"You ready?" Kula asked as she got back up and pinned him once again. Nala's entire body went stiff upon hearing the words 'You ready?'. This could only mean one thing… Simba and Kula had made plans for the afternoon already…

Something about Kula made Nala uneasy. She seemed to be far too happy and cheery. She was laughing and smiling whilst pinning Simba to the ground, almost like… almost like she was flirting…

"Kula, hate to break it to ya but I have plans with Nala this afternoon. Sorry, but maybe another time?" Simba said he slowly started to push her off him. At first, Kula was a little disappointed, but she knew that Nala wanted alone time with Simba and she could always come back later.

"That's ok, and anytime works for me" Kula said as she got off of him. Kula bided him a farewell and departed into the bush.

"What was that all about?" Nala said she approached Simba. She had never seen Kula act that way before, and she came across almost as flirtatious.

"Oh… uh… can't say" Simba said. He had promised Kula he wouldn't tell anyone, and that was what he was going to do.

Nala went to counter but decided it best to not push it any further. Nala had run into a problem. She had been spending the entire day trying to get Simba alone and didn't have any idea as to what she wanted to do.

Nala walked over to Simba, who was still on his back, and got over him with her front paws beside his shoulders and her back paws near his back paws. Nala looked deep into his eyes, trying to spot if anything told her that she crossed a line. She wasn't all that surprised to see that he was just giving her a curious look.

Slowly, Nala brought her face closer and closer towards his, until her muzzle every so lightly contacted his. She felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest. For some unknown reason, she was extraordinarily nervous right now. She quickly felt Simba return the kiss, just as gently.

Nala was incredibly nervous over such a small kiss. She had given Simba plenty of kisses before, but she hadn't been this nervous before, not even during there first kiss. Nala smiled as she remembered back to that fateful night...

Nala wasn't sure if she had ever given such a gentle kiss before, but soon that would all change. Nala deepened the kiss slightly and felt Simba do the same. Deepening it one last time, ever so slightly, she felt Simba copy her. The kiss lasted only a minute before the two separated for air.

After a quick breather, the two were back to kissing. Countless minutes went by as the two continued to kiss, depending on the kiss every so often. They were losing track of time and had absolutely no idea as to how long they had been kissing... or... at least Nala had...

An hour later, they were still kissing… Same position, yet the kiss had been deepened tenfold at this time and it was way more passionate. They had only broken it for air, and Sarafina had been sitting in the bush watching the two for the entire hour. At first, she gave the young couple their privacy, but after fifteen minutes of non-stop kissing, she knew that they weren't going to stop anytime soon, and an hour later she was still waiting for them to stop.

Sarafina could only wonder how the two had been able to keep this up for so long. They had to have set some new kind of record by now. Sarafina was watching her daughters behavior, more than the kiss itself. She watched as Nala continued to play a dangerous game with Simba. Currently, Nala was pinning Simba to the ground and lording over him as if she was the dominant lion.

Sarafina watched in amazement as Simba seemed to not care about the way Nala was acting, and just seemed to go with it. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Nala broke the kiss and lifted her head. The two young lions used this time to catch their breaths as they stared into the other's eyes.

"I love you" Nala said as she let herself fall on top of Simba and snuggle into his fur. Standing over him like that for over an hour killed her legs. It was still a few hours before sunset and Nala still had much planned.

"I love you more" Simba countered.

"I love you the most" Nala said as she nuzzled deeper into his chest, smirking at what she just said.

"Well, I love you more… then the most… yeah" Simba replied, having no idea as to what he just said.

"But you can't love me more if I love you the most" Nala said.

"Well I do" Simba replied

Nala opened her eyes to see that the sun had moved a lot during the time they shared their short little kiss. "Uh, Simba… How long were we kissing…" Nala asked as she got up. It felt like maybe a minute, but the sun was in a completely different position than before.

"I'd say about an hour. Maybe a little more" Simba said. Nala stood up quickly and took a few steps back, and started to pace around. Unlike Nala, Simba was actually keeping track of time.

"What!? Why didn't you tell me!" Nala said as she gave him a dumb look. Nala didn't understand why he would lie on the ground for over an hour and just continue to kiss her. The kiss seemed to only last a few minutes for her.

"I thought you knew. And you were purring really loud. I didn't want to disturb you" Simba said. Nala hid her face in embarrassment upon hearing this. She didn't know why she purred, she just did and could never control it.

"Sorry…" Nala said as she gave him a weak smile. "I guess I just got lost in the moment" Nala added.

"I didn't mind" Simba said with a smirk. Nala smiled and rolled her eyes. She was going to have to get used to Simbas newer sense of humor and his more outgoing attitude.

"We should probably head back before my mother comes looking for us" Nala said as she looked at the suns position once more, not knowing that Sarafina had already found them.

"Won't be necessary…" Sarafina said as she exited the bush. Nala turned around and went pale upon seeing her mother. Her first reaction was that she was in deep trouble for staying out too long and not telling her where she was. Nala left early in the mourning to go visit Rafiki and only came back to check for Simba, never telling her mother where she was, or where she was going to go.

"Mom I can explain. So this mourning I was -" "No need to dear, you're not in trouble. Kiss your boyfriend goodbye for now and head back to Pride Rock please" Sarafina said politely, cutting Nala off. Nala felt a little embarrassed that her mother said to kiss her boyfriend goodbye, even though she just spent over an hour kissing him non-stop.

Nala gave Simba a quick little peck, before moving to turn away. She paused, however, and turned back around and place 'one last' kiss on his muzzle, before placing another… then another… then one more…

Sarafina cleared her throat rather loud as to get her daughters attention and tell her that she was waiting. Nala broke the kiss and gave Simba a little nuzzle before leaving for good this time, heading back to Pride Rock.

"We need to talk" Sarafina said in a much more serious voice this time. Simba looked back towards her, fearing that she was bringing some news about his fathers next steps to screwing him over.

"Is it about my father?" Simba asked, fearing that she would say yes. He was relieved to see that she shook her from side to side upon hearing him, but he soon wondered why she sounded so serious.

"No, It's about you actually. You've changed and I just wanted to talk to you" Sarafina said in a much more relaxed voice, and with a slight smile.

"Oh, so what's wrong with me?" Simba asked casually. He may have changed, but his past still made itself known in the way he talked and acted

"Nothing. I just wanted to have a chat with you" Sarafina said. She knew that he would never fully recover and that there would always be that little bit of his past that would hold him back in some situations, but she was going to work to minimalize that to the best of her ability.

"Oh" Simba said awkwardly. He didn't really understand Sarafina. He knew she was his friend and all, but he almost never talked to her or socialize with her in any way. He felt like he used to know her well when he was really young, but he was unsure of it and didn't want to ask her and make it all weird.

"So things are finally looking good for you. The others have accepted you, you've passed all the trials, everyone is safe right now" Sarafina said testing Simba, wanting to know how much he trusted her with the truth. The truth was that the others had accepted him, everyone was safe, but he was far from being done with his father. Sarafina knew Mufasa and knew that the trials weren't the only thing he would throw at Simba. Simba may have passed the trials, but he still had no clue as to how to be a king or how to run a kingdom.

"Yea, Yea, All is good" Simba said lying with a smile. He trusted her, and she knew almost everything there was to know about him, yet for some reason, he just felt like lying to her would be the better solution.

Sarafina sighed loudly upon hearing this, alerting Simba that she didn't like his answer. "Everything isn't alright Simba, and you know this too. You know it as much as I do. It's your father" Sarafina said, removing her smile and putting on a much more stoic face. Simba let the smile on his face relax and turn into a somewhat less stoic expression that what Sarafina wore.

"Yea… I don't know why I even lied there. You know everything about me really, and yea, It's my father. I know he will have something else planned for me. I mean the last trial is proof. It was so short and too easy to be a 'final trial'" Simba said. Sarafina nodded, telling him he was right.

The last trial may have seemed hard, but at the end of the day, it was just one question. A question that would have taken little thought by anyone who had what it took to be a leader. As much as they both hated to admit it, they knew Mufasa had something else planned for him.

"Aside from that, you need to be careful" Sarafina said, confusing Simba in the process.

"Careful of what…" Simba asked, unsure of what he had to be careful about.

"Careful around Tama and Kula. Apart from Nala being jealous and possessive, I do agree that some of the things you do with them would annoy just about anyone" Sarafina said, making Simba feel somewhat guilty now.

"Like…" Simba asked, wanting to make sure he wasn't doing anything that was considered cheating. The one thing that truly terrified Simba was the idea of hurting Nala. Whether it was physical or emotional, it would all be pain in the end.

"You spend a lot of time with them and are really close friends with them. Really, Really close friends with them. I know you don't like them the same way you like Nala, but if she found out some of the things you've said to them, like confessing you loved Tama like a sister, she would most likely lose her cool" Sarafina warned Simba.

"Whaa… How do you know I told Tama I loved her…" Simba asked in disbelief. He and Tama were the only two in the area, and he was sure of it.

"Overheard you. I know you don't feel any romantic connections to her, but if Nala ever found out that you said 'I love you' to her regardless of how it was used, she would go crazy. She is too young to understand right now, and I just want you to be careful before she started to get suspicious and finds out too soon" Sarafina said, making sure he understood her this time.

"Oh…" Simba said feeling dumb at that moment. "I don't know what it is, but I have this weird connection with Tama. One I don't have with anyone else. I don't know if it's trust… or… love… but sometimes being around her just helps me understand some of the problems inside of me" Simba replied guiltily. The more he talked about it, the more he realized that he could possibly be doing something wrong.

"Simba there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone has that one person in their life who helps them overcome their struggles, and you have done nothing wrong. I don't want you thinking that you need to exclude her from your life, that would only hurt you both. The truth is Tama feels the same ways towards you. I don't fear that you're going to fall in love with her, I fear that my daughter will take this all the wrong way and do something stupid" Sarafina said, hoping Simba understood where she was coming from this time.

"I feel like Nala doesn't understand how much I love her. She fears that either Kula or Tama with capture my heart as she did, but no matter how many times I tell her or show her that I love her and only her, she continues to try and prevent me from spending time with them" Simba said sounding somewhat hurt. "I love Nala and want to be with her. Tama and Kula are great friends and I want to stay friends with them too. I fear that at one point I'm going to have to choose to stay with Nala, the one who I love, and lose my two best friends. Or stay with my two best friends, and lose the one I love" Simba said shutting his eyes tight and letting his head fall.

Sarafina felt awful for Simba. He was torn between his love for one lion and his friendship with two others. Sarafina knew that this pain was caused by her daughter. Sarafina also knew that Nala would never intentionally hurt Simba, but she had still managed to do a good number on him nonetheless.

"Nala would never do that" Sarafina lied. The truth was that Nala was stupid enough to do something like that, yet Sarafina didn't want to make him worry.

"Stop lying! You know damn well enough that she would, and she will!" Simba snapped, in a voice that was a mixture of pain and anger. Sarafina sighed and closed her eyes. Simba knew the truth and he was right. At some point, Nala would give him an ultimatum and it would destroy him.

"I do, and I'm working on that" Sarafina said calmly, watching Simba as he looked like he was falling apart from the inside out. She looked at the broken cub with a deep sadness in her eyes. This was one of those situations where you had to be careful. One wrong move and everything would go south real quick. All Sarafina was trying to do was prevent Nala from doing something stupid without interfering too much.

"Sorry, I… shouldn't have yelled at you like that" Simba said calming himself down. No matter what, life would always be hard on him. First, it was a lifetime of rejection, then the trials, and now an over-possessive girlfriend that threaten to ruin his friendship with his two best friends.

"It's ok. Kula wanted to talk to you by the way… and I'm sure Nala won't like it so…" Sarafina said. She had no idea why Nala was so possessive, but she was about to find out.

"I'll see what she wants. In the meantime… could you maybe to talk to Nala and see if you can't help her in any way?" Simba asked, hoping that Sarafina would be able to help her since he couldn't.

"I'd be happy to…" Sarafina said. She nodded and went off towards where her daughter would be. Nala was heading in the direction of Simba's hideout, even though Sarafina told Nala to head back to Pride Rock, so that's where she would check first. Without looking back again, Sarafina broke into a light trot towards Simba's hideout, preparing to unload on her daughter...

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Nala was lying around Simba's hideout, day-dreaming of her golden brown cub... adolescent... when she heard someone approaching her. She got up excited, thinking it would be Simba, but he excitement quickly turned to fear upon seeing her mother trotting up to her. Upon first glance, Nala could tell she was pissed…

"Mom? Is everything alrig-" "Shut your goddamn mouth" Sarafina barked, cutting Nala off in the most hostile voice Nala had ever heard her mother use. Nala's ears laid flat against her head, and she cowered away from her mother upon hearing her voice and choice of vocabulary.

"Now It seems I was far to easy on you with our last chat, so I'm going to make sure you understand this time!" Sarafina yelled at her daughter. She knew her daughter was going to hate her after this, but in the long run, she was doing her a favor by helping her not do something that might end up hurting her relationship with Simba.

"First of all, Simba is not cheating with you. Not with Tama nor Kula. He loves you and only you. Secondly, you're killing him Nala. Right now he is torn between his love for you and his friendship with Tama and Kula. You are putting him under so much stress he feels like he is going to have to choose between either you or them. Now Please, Please, promise me that you will lay back. I don't understand why you have to be so possessive of him. Simba loves you Nala. He always has and always will. I never told you this but you two used to sleep together, play together, and be together all the time when you were a newborn. He was about a month old at the time and I was still nursing him. I always knew you too would have a strong bond, So Please, Please! Don't mess this up" Sarafina said.

Nala stood stiff as a board, not knowing what to say or do. Her trance, however, was short-lived as she soon burst into tears, running into her mother's chest crying her eyes out. Sarafina felt bad for making Nala cry but pushed those feelings aside. She knew they were beyond the point of gentle words. For if Nala messed up, there would be even more tears in the future.

After countless minutes of Nala crying, her sobs turned into hiccups. Sarafina held her daughter but made no maternal gestures towards her to soothe her nerves. Sarafina wanted Nala to learn something today.

"Mom… what where Simba and I like as cubs?" Nala asked. She didn't know about Simba when she was a newborn, and until now she thought… well, I guess she thought that a newborn Simba had just been at his hideout… as dumb as that might have sound.

"He was honestly like a brother to you. You guys were too young then to talk, but you guys could almost communicate with your eyes. Simba would keep you company while I ate and ran to the waterhole for a quick drink. At first, I believed that you two would grow up to be brother and sister… but one day that all changed…" Sarafina said in a hurt tone. "One day, you and the rest of the newborns begin to talk. I was thrilled, but Simba still didn't understand. He tried to talk with you guys, but he had trouble with his words. I… I spent to much time teaching you that I forgot about him" Sarafina said, pausing to wipe to tears away from her eyes… tears of guilt. "He… He finally said his first word a few days later but by then you guys were far ahead of him, and because of that you didn't like to play games with him. That was when you stopped seeing him as a brother and tried to avoid him as much as possible. It broke my heart to watch him suffer in silence, watching as you and the rest played and spoke using your new found grammar" Sarafina said, remember how it all started. "I tried to teach him, and it worked, but it was never enough. He then knew how to talk, but not how to play. He was always one step behind you guys…" Sarafina said, swallowing a lump in her throat before continuing. "He was a confused cub as well. He spent most of his early days looking for his mother. He looked around and saw you guys had your own mothers, but he was having trouble finding his because… well… you know. One day he gave up looking for his mother, thinking that she must have abandoned him, and started looking for a new mother. He was too scared to approach Chumvi's mother and first went to Malka's mother. He tried to get her to accept him as her own, but she already had a cub to worry about, we all did. Then he tried Tojo's, Kula's, and Tama's mothers with the same result. Then finally, he came crawling back to be, hungry and dehydrated. I accepted him with open arms, but he was too scared to be around you. He thought you were like the others, so he waited until late at night before he would suckle. Thinking his mother abandoned him and giving up the search, he spent most of his days playing by himself. He would either chase his tail or count to ten most of the time. The other mothers began to think that there was something wrong with him, that he was born… uh… slower than the rest of you, and forbade you to play with him. This was the main reason they rejected him. They thought that there was something wrong with him, and decided it best to let natural selection do its work. Then he began talking to himself, which he never stopped doing until he met you. This was when the other mothers told me that I needed to get rid of him. That he was a bad batch and didn't have what it took to survive. I refused, but eventually gave in as the others cubs started to associate him with you, and I couldn't let you be hurt because of my past mistakes. So I made another mistake that day... I put him here one day and told him to come back every night for food. At first, he was confused and tried to follow me back, but I needed him to stay back. It killed me to do this. Keep him in isolation, but it was the only solution. I had little hope that he would survive. With no mother to teach him how the world worked, I feared that he would fall victim to nature quite easily. I visited him at noon every day to make sure he was ok, but as the days went on he only seemed worse and worse. Physically he was fine, but us lions are social cats, and being in isolation was doing a number on his young mind. I prayed that you might see him as a brother once again… but you never did…" Sarafina finished, finally revealing the sad story of Simba's early cub days.

Sarafina could feel Nala shaking in her arms, most likely crying again. Now she regretted telling Nala. She knew that it would have been too much for her to handle, yet she told her anyway.

"I'm a terrible person…" Nala said. "I don't deserve to live…" She said bursting into tears once more. "I could I have prevented it… I could have stopped it all before it even started…" Nala said feeling like she had been punched in the gut.

"It wasn't your fault… It was mine. I spent to much time teaching you new words, that I somehow forgot to teach Simba. If I had put you side by side together then none of this would have ever happened. But Nala, what's done is done. Simba was too young to remember any of that, so it was almost like it never happened. You have Simba now. So don't lose him" Sarafina said deepening the hug.

"I can't believe I did that to him…" Nala said. She knew she was young, but still, how could she have been so cruel at the age to force Simba away like that.

"Whether you believe him or not, It's all in the past" Sarafina said breaking the hug and taking a few steps back.

"Nala. I want you to understand that if none of this had ever happened, then you wouldn't be dating him. If things went normally, then he would be your stepbrother, and the option of dating would be discarded" Sarafina said, trying to make Nala feel a little less guilty.

"Mom… How did Simba find out about his mother…" Nala asked. Sarafina winced upon hearing this. The day Simba found out about his mother was one of the darkest days in Sarafinas life. Sarafina took a moment to prepare her self to tell Nala something that would be unsettling to both of them. Then the memory started to flood back, and Sarafina started to recite what happened…

(Flashback) (Ok, so, Simba is still young and has trouble with his words, So when he so instead of saying 'L', he makes a 'w' sound. Same thing that applies with his R's. He isn't that hard to understand, and you probably won't need this. This is just to help you understand him a little better)

A very young Simba was looking around Pride Rock for someone to play with. He looked over at the cubs and saw they were all playing together, plus they never wanted to play with him. The mothers were tired and were resting, so they wouldn't pay any attention to him, but there was this strange Lion who was really big and had a lot of red fur around his neck and chest… his father.

Simba trotted over happily towards his father, thinking that his own father would surely want to play with him. Simba trotted up towards Mufasa's sleeping figure and stared down at him excitedly. He had never met his father before, so this was almost like a whole new experience.

"D-d-dad-ey" Simba tried to say, and finally manage to say the word he was looking for. Mufasa opened his eyes to see his son smiling happily at him. Mufasa sighed in annoyance. It had only been about two months since Sarabi's death and he still hadn't moved past it, and his murderous son wasn't helping at all.

"D-dad-ey! Pway wit me!" Simba said as he jumped up and down excited that he got his fathers attention. Mufasa gave him a stern glare, telling the young cub to back off, yet Simba was too young to understand.

"No" Mufasa said as he rolled over trying to ignore Simba. Simba ran around him and tried again.

"Pwease. I… got no f-f-friend. A-a-and… I w-want to pway weally badwy" Simba said jumping up and down again. Mufasa was done with Simba right now, so he was going to tell him off in a very cruel way.

"Simba. There is a reason for that. You are a mistake. You should have never been born" Mufasa said. Simba's happiness came crashing down, and he gave his father a hurt look.

"W-wat do u m-m-e-ean daddy" Simba struggled to say.

"I mean that I don't love you nor want you. Now leave, and never come back" Mufasa said harshly pushing Simba away.

Simba fell back, and tried to catch himself, but started to stumble back further and further until he fell down the hill leading up to Pride Rock.

Simba twisted his legs badly, nearly breaking it, and was unable to walk, let alone get back up. He let out a serious of cub cries calling for help… but no one ever came…

Minutes turned to hours as Simba laid at the bottom of Pride Rock to injured to even stand up. He had been crying out for hours now, yet still, no one had come. He was starting to get hungry, but he was severely dehydrated from being in the sun all day.

Sarafina was out hunting, unaware of the situation going on. After hours of being stuck at the bottom of Pride Rock, Simba finally gave in to the fact that no one would come and rescue him. He struggled to get on his feet, the pain in his leg almost unbearable.

Simba tried to walk up the hill that led to Pride Rock, but it was too steep for him to climb even on a good leg. Simba was now so dehydrated that he had no idea what direction he was heading, he was just walking in some random direction, hoping that he would run into help along the way.

Sarafina was walking back from an unsuccessful hunt, when she saw a beat up, dehydrated, and scared Simba limping through the Savanah. He was so dehydrated that he couldn't even walk in a straight line. Sarafina quickly bolted towards him, running faster than she had ever run before. When she stopped before Simba, she picked him up by the scruff and started to run towards the nearest source of water.

Luckily, he wasn't too far from the waterhole, and she dropped in a shallow part and let him cool off, as well as hydrate himself. Sarafina spent a few hours trying to nurse Simba back to health, and after the scariest few hours she had ever experienced, she had finally done it.

She had fed him, giving him a bath, and checked his leg over. She looked down to see that Simba was in her lap, fast asleep. Sarafina watched as he stirred in his sleep, before turning over to look back up at her.

"W-why did Da-ddy not wanna pway wit me?" Simba asked, confused by his father's actions.

"He is going through hard times right now" Sarafina said, having a bit of trouble understanding him with all his slurring and poor articulation.

"Is it b-becawse mommy le-ft me?" Simba said. Sarafina sighed, as she knew he would be too young to understand, yet she should probably tell him anyway, he had a right to know.

"Your mother never left you Simba… she passed away not too long ago…"

(End Of Flashback)

Simba used to have a much stronger bond with Sarafina, but it was almost like he had forgotten her… maybe he was just too young to remember…

Sarafina finished talking with that last memory, The memory of having to tell a two-month-old cub that his mother had died.

"Oh…" Nala said brushing around an old stone, before noticing the engravings on it. She looked down at it and realized that it was one of his old friends. She looked around and spotted a few more, but ever since he had met her, he seemed to have forgotten about them… just like her mother…

"Now promise me that you won't mess this up Nala. This is the last straw" Sarafina said, killing the sadness in her voice and letting her glare return to her face.

"The last straw?" Nala asked. She didn't understand what Sarafina meant by 'the last straw'.

"Yea, because you're treading on thin rock young lady, and if you keep this up I won't be the one to punish you next time" Sarafina said. Nala didn't know why, but that last part was rather unsettling to her. She would rather not know what it meant.

"Yes, mother…" Nala said. Satisfied, Sarafina stepped aside, telling Nala that she could leave. Wasting no more time she broke out in a full sprint towards Pride Rock. She needed to make sure she hadn't messed things up to much, and that she could fix this before it became a serious problem…

Ok, First off, I want to apologize for this taking so long. So hope Y'all enjoyed this chapter, and next chapter we'll be meeting some new lions… *hint* *hint*. So if you guys got any comments or suggestions, don't be shy and send 'em my way and I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as I can. I'm hoping to have this next chapter out in a somewhat timely manner, so with that all that said, Y'all have a good one. Mr_Toast Out!