A/N: Hey, thanks for the review Simbah. Now, I have to warn you, the next chapter is sad. It contains a character death, and some violence.
Chapter 14- Destiny and Tragedy
In three months, the tension between the Out Landers and Pride Landers had gotten much, much worse.
It was to the point where fights constantly broke out between the former members of different prides, when the slightest thing angered either side.
The white hyenas that had been taking up residence at the Pridelands were very close to Kiara and the Pride Landers believed the lie that they were completely innocent hyenas.
The Out Landers were completely shocked at the sudden rudeness towards them, and especially towards Zahara, who was denied kills from the hunting party, and not allowed to talk to any Pride Landers ever.
Zahara was lucky she could hunt, because otherwise she would have starved.
One day at noon, middle adolescents Mayja and Zahara were running one of their, how to be Queen Sessions.
They were taking a hunt together, and meanwhile Xandor watched from afar, on the roof of Scar's old home.
With white hyenas living in the Pride Lands, the older adolescent often watched over Zahara to make sure she was ok.
He was ¾ grown, and growing. He looked mature and had super strength. But he couldn't know what horrors were to happen next. In the morning the white hyenas were plotting…
"We will strike our first murder today. We will take out Future Queen Mayja and her successor, Zahara! Then we will work on those scrawny brothers of theirs. But today, we shall follow Mayja and Zahara when they go out hunting. We will create a fire around them, and trap them! Then we shall murder both of them, leaving their bodies in the fire, and putting the matchsticks in both of their hands, making it look like suicide. It's brilliant I tell you! Brilliant!" And the white hyenas howled and cackled in evil agreement with their leader, Vladek.
And at noon, they were stalking the hunting sisters in the grass.
They rubbed the matchsticks together and started more and more fire on the sticks, slowly but surely.
Then Vladek dropped the first stick, followed by Igor, and then they went by the hierarchy in the white hyena pack. Soon, Mayja and Zahara smelt smoke. "Hey, sis. It smells like smoke, and where there's smoke, there's…" Mayja and Zahara's eyes widened in fright as they saw the huge flames burning up right in front of them. "FIRE!"
They shouted and ran as fast as their legs could take them from the flames. Xandor gasped as he saw the fire closing in on a golden and a brown lioness, his Zahara! "ZAHARA!" He ran down to the Pride Lands, risking his own life for another's.
The hyenas completed a ring of fire around the young lionesses, who clinged to each other for dear life. "We're doomed!" Zahara cried.
"Zahara, I don't know if I'll make it out alive. But always know, I will watch over you and guide you. I love you Zahara." Her sister said.
"I love you too Mayja!" She responded back. Suddenly the pack of white hyenas jumped over the climbing ring of fire and cackled evilly. "Well, hello, my young lioness friends. Ready to die?" Vladek chuckled.
"No! We won't go without a fight!" Zahara shouted. "If that's the way you want it, then I can just kill you first. Hahahaha!" Vladek pounced in front of Zahara, only to be intercepted by Mayja.
Igor and the other hyenas worked to slash and kick Zahara, weakening her so she would be easy to kill.
Meanwhile, Mayja was losing steadily against the strong white hyena, and roared in pain when he painfully jabbed his claws into the sides of her face.
Now she couldn't see, and would be easy to kill.
Zahara shook the hyenas off of her with a powerful rock of her body. "Mayja! No!"
She struck the big white hyena in the face with her paw, and then kicked him in the stomach.
But he soon got back to fighting and forgot about her older sister for a minute. Mayja was overwhelmed as 99 other hyenas surrounded and attacked her.
Kovu was rushing to the scene of the fight, when he saw a normal colour hyena, a teenage boy, running along side of him.
As he ran, he asked "Where are you going, young hyena? I can save my daughters on my own." with a bit of a harsh tone. "I am Xandor. And I will help you." Xandor paid no attention to the harsh tone in the King's voice.
"Why are you so concerned?" Kovu's voice softened.
"To be quite truthful your highness, I am in love with one of your daughters. Zahara, your daughter. But I promise I will never hurt her, and I am intending to save her and her sister."
Kovu smiled brightly at the hyena who reminded him of himself at that age. "It's ok Xandor. I understand very well. We shall fight together." He said as they approached the ring of fire and jumped over it, narrowly escaping being burned.
Zahara and Vladek were engaged in a fierce fight, as the Igor and the rest of the pack were working on weakening Mayja.
Mayja looked tired and she grew more exhausted with each blow. Meanwhile, the adrenaline filled Zahara with more strength. She and Vladek turned out to evenly matched blow for blow.
That was, until Vladek smirked and tripped her, almost throwing her in the fire.
But Xandor caught her, singing himself in the process and yelping at the burning sensation. "Xandor! You're here!" Zahara smiled for a few seconds at Xandor, but then got focused back on Vladek.
Kovu meanwhile, was trying to divert the white hyenas from hurting his eldest daughter Mayja, but he failed as there where just too many of them. The sound of evil cackling filled the air, as Mayja fainted.
Vladek heard Mayja hitting the ground and with all his strength, shook Zahara off of him, almost sending her flying into the fire until Xandor caught her, burning himself again.
But he shook off the pain and Xandor and Zahara ran to Vladek as fast as they could, as he was about to sink his teeth into Mayja's neck.
But the white hyenas surrounded Kovu, Xandor and Zahara, and pushed them forcefully away, making it impossible to reach her in time.
"NO! MAYJA, MY DAUGHTER!" Kovu screamed as he heard Mayja's dying gasps.
Vladek sunk his teeth in her neck, draining the blood.
As Mayja was in her last moments, she gasped out, "Kovu, Zahara, I love you. Tell Mom and my brothers I love them, I'm sorry, but I must be with The Great Kings…and Queens…" she trailed off as the last of her blood trickled out of her neck.
Her body lay lifeless in Vladek's arms, and he tossed her over to his right, and laughed.
Something clicked inside of Zahara.
She felt absolute rage.
This evil, evil hyena had killed her sister. She roared with the most anger she could and ran through the hyenas and kicked them out of the way, bowling them over into the fire.
"YOU MURDERER!" She screamed in the white hyena's face, and she kicked and kicked, and slapped and slapped him all over again.
She looked at him with hatred filled eyes and sunk her teeth into his chest, not stopping until she found the heart.
She ripped his chest open with her bare teeth and ripped his heart from his chest, and threw it into the fire.
Vladek was dead. She threw his body on the fire, and watched it burn to ashes.
She roared and then leapt forward onto Igor, and scratched his scalp off, so everyone could see the brains in his head. "Consider that a warning to NEVER COME BACK!" Zahara yelled overcome with rage.
The white hyenas ran out of the dying fire, and the flames finally died down to show that it was sunset already. Zahara breathed hard, and then started weeping.
Xandor put an arm around her, just silently fuming. Kovu wept and roared in anguish over Mayja's dead body.
The Future Queen was dead, and Zahara would have to take her place, with a lion who was a friend but who she didn't love. She wept especially at that.
A funeral service was held when everyone had heard the news of Mayja's death.
This temporarily brought the two halves of the pride together to mourn for Mayja, but they would soon be torn apart much more dramatically.
They just didn't know it yet.
That night, Zahara cried under the stars alone.
A cloud soon appeared above her too.
It was in the shape of her sister's face.
Zahara gasped, at the Great Queen of the past before her. "Do not fret, sister. What is the matter?" Mayja asked from above.
"Your death for one thing. My life is a mess. Mom hates me, Grandma hates me. The Pride Landers hate me. I won't ever marry the man I love. I won't have little cubups together with him. Lions, tigers, cheetahs and hyenas will never live in harmony!" Zahara's troubles poured out of her.
"Do not worry for me, Zahara. I am living a wonderful afterlife, with my ancestors, and Great Grandparents in the sky. I even met Mufasa. Such a nice fellow. But don't fret for your own life either, I might ruined it on Earth, but in the sky I will not do such a thing. Your Great Grandparents and me have devised a destiny for you that will love. But you will have to go through some suffering first. I can't tell you anything about it, but you will love it when it turns good. Now I have to go, I'm sorry. Anytime you need me, I will be here in the sky at night waiting for you."
Zahara's tears started again as she would have to leave her sister in the clouds. "Goodbye Mayja." Zahara said tearfully. "Goodbye Zahara. Sweet dreams." Mayja vanished in the clouds. **