Just for the record, I hated The Wedding Crashers (Yes, I mean the movie) :D

Quite a turn of events in this chapter! But more are yet to play out...

Disclaimer: I do not own The Lion King or anything of it, just this story and my O/Cs Zale, Salaam and Alkili.

~10~

The Wedding Crashers

Kura did not believe what he had just heard. The royal wedding?! What the hell is going on here?! Did everything he had worked against just succeed? Did Simba not really talk to Malka about it after all? His adrenaline kicked in from the most unlikely, unexpected news. The bird had seemed quite taken aback by his outburst.

"Uhh...yeah...it's...." he began, but was quickly interrupted by a flash of yellow and dark red whooshing past them.

"KURA! THIS WAY!" Simba shouted.

Ignoring a second of confusion, Kura dashed off after him, soon sprinting in step with him. They were racing across the open plains, seeming to head towards a large rock formation.

"Simba, what's going on?!" Kura shouted in his ear as they ran.

"I tried talking to Malka; but he wouldn't have any of it! He said that he wouldn't let his bloodline come to a dead end!" Simba shouted back through the wind they were tearing through.

"So how did all of this happen?!"

"I don't know! He just stormed off in anger, so I went to look for you! But he didn't tell me that he was planning on going ahead with it behind my back!" Simba growled angrily.

Kura felt and shared his anger. It was just a blatant insult and offence to try and marry Kiara to Alkili when Simba had specifically told Malka not to. He may have agreed to it once, but he did make it clear that he had changed his mind about it. Malka's approval alone was not sufficient after that, yet he went ahead with it anyway. Kura was furious. His heart was thundering in his chest. His blood was boiling in rage.

"HOW COULD HE DO THIS?!" he yelled angrily.

"I don't know, but he has some guts!!" Simba shouted back.

Simba was taking him towards the giant rock, which was now just a small stretch away. At the base of it was a rocky slope, coming up from the ground and bending around the left side of the mass of stone. Kura ascended the slope, following the curve, the sharp determination clear in his eyes. The path kept curving right; straight into the middle of the rock itself, taking himself and Simba into a small cave. Trusting Simba's guidance, Kura continued to follow him through the cave entrance, only to find two snarling lions in their way. They were probably Malka's guards from before, or some of his other ones, but it didn't really matter, they weren't on Kura's side. Simba and Kura skidded to a halt in the cave before Malka's cronies.

"Your majesty, we don't want to do this..." one of them said coldly to Simba.

"Then get out of my way..." Simba growled lowly at them.

He made a move to go around them, but they got in his way again. Kura felt pure rage from Simba, and he knew that this wasn't going to be pretty.

"If you value your life, then move!!" Simba growled at him again.

They didn't have time for this. Luckily, Simba saw this and surprisingly delivered a blow to the lion's face.

"KURA! MOVE!" Simba shouted at him.

He understood immediately and bounded past the crowd. The other lion tried to stop him, but Simba quickly forced him down to the ground. Kura continued out of the cave on the other side of the rock, following the path that continued up the rock to the left. He sprinted his way up, finally making it to the summit of the rock face, only to be greeted by total horror. A crowd of about ten lions and lionesses were gathered right before him. Further away were Kiara and Alkili, both facing each other, looking completely hopeless. Leo was standing a little away from them on the left. Positioned behind the supposed "happy couple", facing towards Kura, was Malka himself. Kura's heart had sunk. Were they already married? Was he too late? He didn't care. He pushed past the cheerful crowd viciously. He made it to the front. With a hugely summoned effort and a small hope for the best, Kura jumped right between the two. Malka glared at him in shock.

"STOP!!!"

The crowd fell silent. Looks of utter surprise were exchanged. The King was slightly bemused, but mostly furious.

"How dare you..." he growled at him ferociously.

"HOW DARE YOU GO AHEAD WITH THIS!!" Kura shouted back at him, feeling nothing but pure disgust and anger towards him.

Malka just sat and snarled at him, his fury plain in his eyes. Kiara and Alkili were just completely stunned. Leo got himself up in a prepared stance. The shocked whispers among the crowd were ignored.

"What makes you think you can still go through with this when Simba had withdrawn his approval?!"

"I have no choice!!! There is no one for my son here; I will not have my bloodline ceased!! It was nothing but ignorance on Simba's behalf!! And if I'm right, it was ALL YOUR DOING!!!!" Malka roared at him.

"MARRIAGE IS NOT SOLEY FOR DESCENDANTS!!" Kura yelled back, "IT SHOULD BE FOR LOVE, FOR HONOUR AND FIDELITY!!! AND IT IS MOST CERTAINLY NOT FOR YOU OR ANYONE ELSE TO DECIDE FOR OTHERS WHO IT SHOULD BE BETWEEN!!!!" he roared, unleashing his anger and rage.

His heart was pounding. His head was reeling. His fur was sweating. Malka just glared at him with the coldest look he could give. How blind and insensitive was this King? How could he not know the main purpose of marriage? Wasn't it something that everyone knew? It disgusted Kura to see such ignorance and immaturity from a King.

"You will not interfere in this wedding..." Malka growled at him again.

"No, Dad!!" Alkili suddenly burst out.

Malka turned to him with angry, surprised eyes.

"What did you say?!"

"I said NO!! I'm not getting married!! It's my decision to make, not yours!!!" Alkili yelled angrily.

Kura was quite surprised to see him like this; he came across as quite a timid, cautious person. Now he was snarling viciously at his father.

"How dare you talk to me like that!!? I am your father and I know what is best for you!!!"

"NO YOU DON'T!! YOU HAVE BEEN TOTALLY IGNORANT TO MY NEEDS EVER SINCE MOM DIED!!! YOU'VE NEVER LISTENED TO ME!!!"

"YOU WILL BE SILENT!!!" Malka roared back at him.

Shockingly enough, Malka went ahead to marry the two. There was really nothing Kura could do now. The adrenaline was tearing his nervous system apart. One idea came to his head. It was the craziest, most unstable thing he had ever thought of. It would absolutely rip his heart in half if he did it. But he had to stop this. Kura damned himself and grabbed Kiara by the scruff of her neck and held her at the edge of the rock face.

"ALL OF YOU GET BACK NOW!!!" he painfully forced himself to shout.

Everyone's reaction, their horrific gasps and shrieks just fuelled the guilt inside Kura, tearing him apart inside. He couldn't bear to look at anyone. He had never been so ashamed in his life. He had threatened to kill someone he had feelings for, just so her life would be stable again. Kiara was just utterly scared. She was shaking in his grasp. Kura felt nothing but fear and total confusion from her. It killed him inside. Before he went any further, he whispered a soft "I'm sorry" to her. He noticed Leo edging his way forwards.

"I SAID GET BACK!!!!!"

He immediately obeyed. But Leo kept the look of hatred on his face. Kura shared his feelings for himself. He was disgraced, and it all got worse when Simba had joined them. He would never trust Kura again. He didn't want to know what Simba would think. Kura just thought that it was too obvious that their relationship was dead now. He couldn't take it anymore.

"If anyone comes near us....she gets it..." Kura painfully squeezed out of himself.

It was too much to bear. But Kura had to get out, and quickly. His mind had to go absent without leave in order to escape this situation. Taking one last breath, Kura jumped backwards, still holding Kiara. He ignored the shocked looks on everyone's faces as they both began to drop off the rock. As they passed the edge on their way down, Kura swiftly unsheathed his claws and forced them into the craggy rock. He quickly pulled Kiara in close as the exhilaration of the drop eased and he slid down the rocky side. Kiara screamed a little, but it wasn't that long a way down, as they both dropped onto the path that Kura had followed previously. The entrance to the small cave was in front of them, and Kura wasted no time at all.

"COME ON!!!" he yelled fiercely, sprinting ahead.

Kiara complied without question. He could still feel the confusion and fear radiating from her, but as much as it pained him, he had to ignore it. If Kura wanted them to escape safely, he had to shut everything away; his feelings, thoughts and emotions, no matter how tormenting it was. They emerged from the cave, skidding to turn sharply down the path to the ground.

"AFTER HIM!!!!" came Leo's voice from above.

Kura's heart was beating violently. The adrenaline was coursing through him like lightning. His mind was forced to be kept blank. All that was required was action.

"HURRY!!" Kura yelled.

At last, they made it to the ground. Without a second glance, Kura spotted the gorge he and Simba came through and made a beeline for it. He quickly glanced around to make sure Kiara was close to him. She was right beside him; but what he saw drove him to run even faster. They were a good distance from the rock now, but Leo along with a good number of Malka's cronies had now reached the ground and was trying to catch up. Kura forced himself to sprint even faster, shouting to Kiara to do the same. A rumble sounded. The light grew dimmer. Sparing a look at the sky above, Kura saw the clouds beginning to cast a shadow on the land, as well as rain. It was a home stretch to the gorge now. They weren't very far away. But dread swallowed Kura's heart as he saw one cloud taking a familiar shape out of the corner of his eye. It was forming into a small, pointed shape. Kura had seen it do this before in his repetitive dream, and knew all too well what the outcome would be. What was worse, it pointed straight for the cliffs in the gorge.

"KIARA, MOVE FASTER!!!" Kura shouted again, but more fearfully this time.

They were almost there now; but the lightning had beaten them to it. In a quick and blinding flash, a thin, white line struck the Cliffside, followed by a crash of thunder. The rain was lashing down heavily now. Kura could see a huge lump of rock beginning to dislodge from the rest of the cliff through his wet mane. In a second he would be right in the way of its landing.

"QUICK!!!!" he shouted again.

With a desperate summon of energy, Kura and Kiara sprinted right under the plummeting rock just before it crashed into the ground and wedged in between the walls of the gorge; leaving an infuriated Leo on the other side. The two automatically ran and checked themselves at the same time to see if they were still alive. To Kura's surprise, he saw that he was still running, but was still afraid of Leo being able to find a way past the obstruction. He told Kiara to keep running through the gorge far enough. After about thirty seconds, the rain was falling too heavily and they agreed that they should find a cave to stay in. Kura spotted one on the right wall and bounded towards it in relief. The instant feeling of nothing on their fur hit them right away as they escaped the downpour. Kiara collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. Kura noticed that she was now relieved instead of scared, but he couldn't focus on that, his own feelings were getting in the way. His blood boiled through the ice jabbing at his fur.

"We...we made it...." Kiara breathed.

"AAARRRGHHHH!!!!!!" Kura roared furiously, and pounded the wall of the cave with both his paws.

Kiara jumped in fright and gazed in shock at him.

"K...Kura...?"

"Every damn thing I do for this Pride..." he growled, "it all just doesn't work out in the end!!!"

"Kura...what are you talking about...?"

"ALL I DO IS TRY TO HELP!! AND IT'S ALL THROWN RIGHT BACK IN MY FACE!!!!!!"

His anger had clouded everything. He just felt rage at his pointless attempts to make things better. Nothing worked. It never did.

"Whenever I stood up for Sabini at the waterhole, I just had your Dad yell in my face! When I helped win the fight against the outlanders, he shouted at me again!! Salaam just forced me into a big quest for the dead, and now I can't show my face again to pretty much every lion I've met because of what I've done!!!!"

Kiara just stared at him in shock. Kura's clenched paws remained on the wall of the cave just after hitting it. All that was heard was his heavy, hard breathing and the rain pouring down outside. His paws slid off the wall and the two remained silent for a while. Kura allowed himself to calm down and collect himself.

"Kura....." Kiara began softly, approaching him.

Kura remained facing the wall, not responding.

"...you don't know all that you've just done for me...."

"I threatened to throw you off a damn cliff..." Kura said painfully.

"But I know why you did..."

"No, you didn't! You thought I was going to do it!" Kura replied hurtfully, turning to face her with sorrowful eyes.

Kiara said nothing in response. She could only stare at him.

"And...I don't blame you..." Kura added in his painful tone, "...I don't know why I did that..." he said, his voice crackling.

Now that he had gathered his senses and left his anger, Kura felt nothing but pure, emotional torment. He had threatened to kill the one he had feelings for. And, although it wasn't his intention, he felt that it was just so she wouldn't marry Alkili, and be open for him, instead. This, of course, was not true. He knew in his heart that he did it just so Kiara could be happy and lead her own life, but this was twisted into making him feel that he did it out of selfishness. It was such an extreme move, too...but I didn't know what else to do! Kura thought to himself, Oh, I'm such a fool...she'll never accept me anymore...I've just made a disaster of everything...

"Kura..." Kiara began again.

He hung his head in shame.

"...in a way, you risked my life...just to save it...I would've been doomed to have my life set out for me, if it weren't for you..." she whispered gratefully to him.

Sadly, her words had no effect. Kura could still recall the pure fear that Kiara felt at that dreadful moment. It totally devastated him to know that he had done such a reckless, idiotic and dangerous thing, to risk Kiara's life on purpose. Kura knew that this would haunt him for years to come, if not forever.

"It...It's not something that I would do..." Kura told her sorrowfully, still hanging his head despairingly.

"Kura....it's Ok....I understand...." Kiara told him comfortingly, stepping closer to him.

But Kura could still not bear the fact that he had done such a thing. Her kind words didn't reach his broken heart, so he remained the way he was. If only I didn't mess things up...but I just can't seem to manage that, Kura thought hopelessly, maybe if I just wasn't there...I wouldn't screw up her life as much...

"I...I have to go..." Kura told her painfully.

"What?"

"You would be safer, if I wasn't in your life...if I wasn't there to mess everything up for you..."

"Kura, no! You've no idea what you've done for me!! Please!!!" Kiara pleaded to him desperately.

Sadly, Kura did not see from her perspective. He had recalled everything he had to do with Kiara, and thought that he had just made a mess of those times for her. It pained him even greater to walk past her towards the cave mouth.

"You'll...you'll be much better off without me..." Kura said weakly, "I'll take you home...and then...I'll..."

"Kura, no...Please!!" Kiara begged him again.

Kura could not comply. It had to be the end, if Kiara was to be safe.

"You can't leave!!! I don't want you to..." Kiara continued, her voice starting to crack.

Kura kept heading to the mouth of the cave.

"Please....you...you can't leave me..." Kiara said weakly after him, tears now forming in her eyes, "I...I need..."

Kura stopped dead in his tracks, yearning to hear that last word Kiara was going to squeeze out. Now all he felt was surprise and longing, combined with the one Kiara had for him. She began sobbing softly. Kura turned around and gazed sorrowfully at her. She looked heartbroken. Feeling a mix of regret and longing, Kura began to tread back to her. He took the crying princess in his forelegs and wrapped her in a tight, comforting hug. She...she needs me, Kura thought, reading her strong emotions. He did nothing but be there for her in response. As they gently pulled their heads away very slightly, Kiara tangled her tail around his own. She had ignited a passion within him, and him her, which he could feel without his power. After taking one desiring gaze at each other, their eyes slowly closed. Their heads slowly came together again, but this time toward each other. Kiara moved a paw up to his mane and grasped it tight. Their lips slowly protruded as they both gave in to the one feeling that had been biting at them both for so long.

"YOU!!!"

They both jumped away. Kura turned around to see where the uproar came from, but all he could make out was a furious Leo and a claw coming across his face.


Dun Dun DUNNNN!!!!

So Kiara speaks her true feelings at last. But what will happen now? Kura has been apprehended. Will things all play out fine in the end? Doesn't look that way!!

Sorry if I didn't really describe things too well here, I did my best :D

Thanks to the usual reviewers, though it would help if there were more *cough* :P So yeah...not much else to say...tell me what ya think ;)