The moment Scar died, the clouds broke open. It was like the very Circle of Life had rejected Scar, and life could resume now that he was gone. The last of the rain doused the remaining flames around Pride Rock, and silence reigned on the battlefield. The lionesses below looked up at me. I saw Sarafina and my friends among them, with wounds no more serious than a couple of gashes. I knew they were waiting for some great speech or action, but I didn't know what to say. Instead, I just roared. I stood over Scar's body and roared into the sky. All the lionesses echoed me, and our cries rang out into the night.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Shenzi and the other hyenas. They were clustered to the side of Pride Rock, chattering to themselves and looking at me. I found Shenzi's gaze and looked at her pointedly. She barked at me and turned, summoning the others to follow her away from the Pridelands. The lionesses watched them go and glanced at me to see if I would signal an attack, but I stayed silent. Zazu landed on a rock beside me.
"What are we going to do now?" I asked. As much as we used to tease him, Zazu knew more about how the pride ran than anyone but Mufasa.
"The king is dead. Long live the queen," he said.
"What? Me?!" I said, but I didn't have time to discuss it further. Malik and the others were streaming up Pride Rock, and they filled the platform around me.
"You did it. You killed Scar," Mwali said. She and the other lionesses piled around me. Some of them kicked at Scar's body, and others just celebrated. I saw Malik waiting politely behind them and broke through the crowd, butting my head across his cheek.
"You're okay," I said.
"You're okay," he said. I turned back to the lionesses, who were already whispering amongst themselves.
"We have to rebuild. But we have no king," I said. I snuck a peek at Malik. It was crazy to think he'd say anything. He had his own pride to lead.
"You lead us," Mwali said.
"I can't lead you! I don't know anything about leading a pride," I said. They needed someone who knew what they were doing. Zazu would be a better king than me.
"We want you," Tarishi said.
"We want the peace lion. You brought us peace," said another.
"I came back and started a war!" I protested.
"But now there's peace," Mwali insisted. "Look, even the sky wants you. The sun is out. It's a sign." The lionesses looked at the open sky and added their agreement.
"This is ridiculous. Tell them I can't lead. You're an actual king," I said to Malik. He smiled maddeningly and bowed.
"Sorry. I couldn't tell a queen what to do," he said. I nudged him back up.
"What do you think you're doing? You stop that!" I said.
"Whatever the queen demands," Malik said. I pretended not to hear him.
"We have more important things to do. Is anyone hurt? Is everyone accounted for? Where are the cubs?" I asked.
"They're right there," Laith said, and she poked her tail in the direction of the four cubs, who were pretending to attack a dead hyena. The other lionesses set to work moving the fallen tree aside and dragging away the fallen hyenas. I moved among them, helping them get things in order. They listened for my orders and looked to me when they didn't know what to do. And then I knew. Like it or not, I was the queen.