Chapter Twenty-One

A/n: I AM SO SORRY! *ducks any projectiles* If it helps, I honestly don't have any excuse for why I left this story for so long. Writer's Block, Real Life….other annoyances.

You all know that I own only the characters that are not part of the Lion king franchise right? That means Amei, Fina, Fasa, Rela, Tryan, Dara, Nyla, Kora, and the entire River Pride are mine.

"Amei?" Tryan came into the cave a few days after the birth of their cubs and smiled at what he found. Amei was asleep on the floor with their two cubs; Rela curled in-between Amei and her brother. The cubs had opened their eyes a couple of days ago, and Sarabi had been frantic in organizing the presentation of the cubs to the kingdom.

"Hmmm?" Amei groaned as she lifted her head, though a smile did form onto her face upon seeing her mate.

"Did I wake you?"

"Only a bit," Amei smiled. Since the birth of their cubs, Amei hadn't had a single nightmare and was sleeping from dusk till dawn. Something that only served to infuriate Dara, and so Amei was more than willing to continue. "What is it?"

"Rafiki's here," Tryan said. "It's time."

Amei nodded and got up slowly, as to not upset the cubs. Grabbing Rela gently by the neck, she saw Tryan grab Fasa the same way. The plan was for Rela and Fasa to be presented first, and then Fina and Kopa would be presented after—as procession stated. As Tryan and Amei walked out of Pride Rock, they saw Kiara and Kovu standing off to the side, their cubs ready for their presentations.

"I thought this day would never come," Sarabi smiled at her youngest. Amei, unable to give a sarcastic comment due to her grip on her daughter, rolled her eyes. That was the same thing her mother said when Amei got mated, so it began to lose its feeling after a while. Though, she had to admit, it was pretty awe-inspiring to watch little Rela be presented to the kingdom.

"She's amazing," Simba said as Rafiki handed Rela back to Amei. He had already presented Fasa, and the darker cub was already back in the safety of his father's grip.

Little did anyone know that there was a lone figure lurking in the shadows. Dara glared at the loving couple. Didn't that little princess know that Tryan was her's? It was time for a little assistance hunting.

000

Four Years Later

It'd been four years since Dara had decided to expand her plot to gain Tryan's heart, and the cubs had grown up beautifully. Rela and Fina were the best of friends, and sometimes the worst of troublemakers. While Fasa and Kopa, on the other hand, liked to spend their time together listening to their lessons.

"Fina!" Amei snapped after catching her niece's daughter try to splash the boys during their time at the water hole. "What did your mother tell you before we left the cave?"

Fina jumped and then looked down, after realizing who was scolding her. It was one thing to be scolded by her mother. But Amei was the queen!

"Well?"

"Not to splash anyone," Fina said dutifully. "But Aunt Amei! Kopa was complaining of being hot. I was only helping him cool off."

Amei couldn't help but smile at the cub. Fina had inherited her mother's coloring through and through, while Kopa was darker with age. It was opposite with her own cubs—Fasa had inherited the light coat of a pridelander while Rela had inherited the coat of her father.

"Ah madam," Zazu flew up to her.

"Yes Zazu?"

"Cheetahs are in the pride land again," the bird said. "I'll be happy to watch the cubs for you, as Simba has requested your assistance in the matter."

"You mean, he needs me to make sure no one starts a war between the two parties?"

"Exactly madam," Zazu nodded and then flew up into a tree as to watch the cubs. Amei was hesitant, as it was her job at the moment to watch over the cubs. She still didn't fully trust Dara, who could often be seen lurking around. After all, that lioness had pushed her into a ravine in order to have a chance with Tryan. In the end, her duty to her home won out and she found herself racing towards the boundary line.

"Took you long enough," Simba chuckled as he met her. "Tryan and Kora are helping out as well."

"Why Kora? This is a regal matter."

"He's most persistent," Simba said and did not say another word on the matter. Amei though jumped to the first conclusion she could think of: a secret matehood. It was wonderful!

Not for you though, a nasty little voice in her head corrected her. Wasn't that your last chance to make sure Dara stayed away from Tryan without seeming like a jealous and overbearing mate?

"Let's go," she told Simba, ignoring the voice for the moment. The two of them met Kora and Tryan by the boundary. There, the two males were face to face with two cheetahs.

"You know the law," Amei growled, making sure Simba didn't offend anyone at the same time. "No other hunters are allowed in the Pridelands while there are cubs under the age of five."

"And how are we supposed to eat?" one of the cheetahs demanded. "You don't expect us to eat in the Outlands do you?"

Simba rolled his eyes. "No, but there are other lands for you to hunt in while the cubs are growing. You've only another year to go. Surely you have the self-control to last that long?"

The other cheetah growled and lowered itself into an attack pose, but was stopped by the first cheetah—the one who answered Amei's statement. It was just as well that Amei was the one bent in an attack pose of her own and Simba was the one with the paw in front of her.

"We'll go," the first cheetah said. "But we'll be back. You can't ban us from the Pridelands forever."

"Not forever," Tryan muttered as he walked up to Amei. "Hey you," he smiled at her. "I'll go take over your cub watching duties for you if you want to relax."

Amei smiled but shook her head. "I should probably get back. Zazu's the one watching them and you know how he gets."

"Ah yes," Tryan nodded and Amei raced back to the waterhole only to find….nothing. No cubs or Zazu.

"Fina?" she called out, hoping the cubs were just playing hide-and-seek causing Zazu to fly to her mother. "Fasa? Rela? Kopa?"

"Here mommy!" the tiny voice of her daughter a few minutes later made Amei almost faint with relaxation. It seemed as thought somehow Rela had managed to get both herself and Kopa stuck in a nearby tree trunk. It took several minutes and the retrieval of both Tryan and Kovu before the cubs were released.

"What happened?" Kovu asked, worried. "Where's your sister, Kopa?"

"I don't know," Kopa said as he looked around. "I don't even know how I got in that tree."

Amei looked over her daughter, who thankfully wasn't harmed too badly. A few scrapes from the tree's bark but otherwise she was fine.

"Rela, where's Zazu?" she asked.

"I don't know, Mom," Rela said nervously, as if she'd get into trouble. Thankfully the bird flew up just as Amei was about to turn around.

"Your majesties. Thank goodness I've found you. The cubs are missing!"

"Bit behind the times," Kiara, who had shown up upon seeing what was going on from her spot at Pride Rock, muttered. Kovu picked up Kopa and motioned with his head that he was taking his son back to the den. Amei nodded and then turned back to Zazu.

"As you can see Zazu, not all the cubs are missing—"

"Yes, that's what I meant," Zazu interrupted her. "Somehow I was knocked unconscious by an unknown force. When I came to, I searched for the cubs upon not seeing them. I saw Rela and Kopa stuck in that tree but I could do nothing to help them."

Amei nodded in agreement as Zazu was a small bird and that was a lot to ask of him.

"I searched for the other two but I could not locate them," Zazu continued. "Upon hearing your arrival, I rushed to your side in hopes that you had located the cubs."

"I haven't," Amei said, a knot of worry stuck in her gut. "Zazu, do you mean to tell me that you have no idea where Fasa and Fina are?"

"Exactly madam."

Amei stared at Tryan in shock and then raced to the den, passing Kovu along the way, where her brother was resting with Nala.

"Amei, what's going on?" Simba asked, noting the worried look on his sister's face.

"We need a Pride Meeting. Now." Amei said, not even looking at her brother as she rounded up all the lionesses—even Dara. As much as Amei hated to admit it, Dara was a member of the pride for as long as she was here.

"Why?" Nala asked as the rest of the party who were by the water hole climbed into the den. Amei turned around and, with a sigh, looked straight at Simba. Simba gasped slightly upon seeing the worry in his sister's eyes. Never before had such raw emotion been seen on Amei's face.

"Fasa and Fina are missing."