Chapter 21: Pages 101 – 105.
AN – Hello I'm back for a new chapter. Thank you to the reviewers. You are what keeps me going. So please R&R.
Disclaimer: Disney and HydraCarnia are the owners not me. I'm just 3rd party.
Words in these * * means Simba's words because Simba is telling the story.
"Well… Now that we got this sorted out, should we go looking for Tau?" Kulwa asked. "But the adults told us to stay here." Doto stated with worry in her voice. "I know, but maybe they could use some extra eyes and noses…" said Kulwa. "I'm going. This is all my fault and I must fix my mistake." Zalira stated. "We're coming with you. But Zalira, what about Kiziah and Ayo?" asked Nia. "They're asleep KIbibi should be here any minute now." Zalira answered not knowing that her sisters were awake and listening to them talk. "C'mon, Kiziah! We can'tlet them get too far ahead, or we'll lose them." Ayo told her sister. "We can't follow them! Mom and Dad will get mad, especially Mom…" Kiziah tried to tell her sister. "Maybe, but this is our chance to show that we're important!" Ayo urged her sister. "Show? But how?" Kiziah asked. "I don't know yet. Are you coming or not scaredy cat?" Ayo asked her sister as she was walking out of the cave.
"So how are we going to look for him? Should we divide into two groups?" asked Lia. "No, that'd be too dangerous! We must stick together." Zalira told her. "Hey! Where are you kids going at this hour? It's not safe." asked a voice. "EEEK!" screamed Kulwa and Nia. "Hi Aleela! We're looking for Tau. Have you seen him?" Doto asked. "Yeah, I saw him a few hours ago. He ran to that direction." Aleela answered. "Umm, Aleela… Do you think you could come with us and show the way?" asked Zalira. "Well, sure, why not… It's feel useful for once." Aleela told them. *In the morning at Pride Rock…* "Once I get them into my paws, I'll…" started Subira. "…I'll strangle all of them!" finished Amara while Kamaria just stood and watched. "Oh, Mirembe, what have I done…" Nkosi asked. "Don't worry, Nkosi. We'll find them… somehow…" Mirembe told him.
*By investigating the tracks, Nkosi and his pride found out that Aleela had gone with the cubs, which eased the worry a little. But they couldn't follow the tracks very far before a furious rainstorm broke and destroyed them. Nkosi managed to persuade some vultures to help by promising them whole carcasses to eat. He asked them to fly around and look for the cubs. Several days went by without any information, and the parents were beginning to lose hope… until one day, one of the vultures returned and said he had seen Aleela and the cubs outside of the borders of the Pride Lands. After hearing how the vulture described the location, Nkosi, Subira and Kamaria realized they had been there before. The cubs were heading towards the birthland of Nkosi and his sisters… Nkosi wanted to go and bring the cubs home, but he knew he couldn't leave his kingdom unattended.* "Please, Kibibi! Just for a few days! Most of the animals really look up to you." Nkosi spoke to her. "Of course they do, I'm an elephant. Why can't your queen do the job?" asked Kibibi. "She will try, but she might need your help. You'll do fine, maybe even better than me." Nkosi told her. "I doubt that. Power and responsibilities are not meant for me…" Kibibi started. "Huh? What do you mean?" Nkosi asked. "*sigh* I used to be a leader once…" Kibibi started.
"*Haven't you ever wondered why I live alone? Female elephants usually live in groups. I used to live in a group too… At some point, I became the oldest member of the herd – the matriarch. I led the herd for years, and everything went well. Everybody trusted me and had faith in my ability to search for food and water. Well… Everybody, except my cousin. She was just a little younger than me, and she believed she would have been a better matriarch. She constantly questioned my decisions and tried to make me look stupid in front of the the others. Then one year came an incredibly severe drought. I had never experienced such a drought in my long life! But I still believed there would be water in the place where we had migrated to every dry season. It was a long walk there, and the youngest members of the herd were getting weak and tired… On the way there, we came across a handsome, young male elephant who started flirting with the young girls of the herd. I, of course, didn't like it. The situation was serious! This young male told us that he was going to a water hole that was much closer than the one we were heading to. I had never heard of such a water hole. It probably didn't even exist. The cunning bull was just trying to lure the girls to come with him! My cousin, true to her nature, opposed my decision not to follow the male. I got angry and told her to leave the herd. I was the matriarch! I was the oldest, the wisest, the most experienced! I knew what to do! My cousin was happy to leave. Some of the others followed her. I led the rest of the herd to the old familiar water hole. But it had dried up… Dried up! I panicked and decided to go looking for the water hole the young male had mentioned. I could smell the water from far away. This strange water hole really existed. I couldn't believe I hadn't smelled it earlier. Maybe I had been so stubborn that I hadn't wanted to smell it… Unfortunately, my stubbornness cost my family a great price… My youngest granddaughter… She didn't make it…*" Kibibi sighed as she told her story.
"Oh, Kibibi! I don't know what to… I'm so sorry!" Nkosi told her. "Do you still think I should fill in for you? How could I take care of an entire kingdom when I couldn't even take care of my family?" Kibibi asked Nkosi. "But, Kibibi… You… You did your best. And I'm sure you learned from what happened. You can't change the past, but you can affect the future. And you wouldn't be alone – Mirembe and Amara are going to stay here too." Nkosi reassured her. "*sigh* Fine… But don't blame me if the land is in ruins when you come back. And I hope you, too, learned something from my story. Even we wise, smart ones are wrong sometimes…" Kibibi told him, as Nkosi thought about something. "*Wait a second… Uncle Nkosi, does this mean that she'll be my mate? Your daughter decided to tell him about his father. I'm sorry..! I'm sorry too, Auntie! I was just so angry about the betrothal…*"
AN – So there was chapter 21. If you enjoyed, leave the reviews. Bye see you's next chapter.