Scar looked down at the Pride Lands from his rock ledge. His long, black claws slid slowly over the cold, hard stone. His cold green eyes scanned the lush green land without taking in any of its beauty; only greed glittered in their green depths. He thought only of power and control, of becoming King at long last.

The brown lion smiled coldly. Everything was in place. The hyenas were waiting to startle the wildebeests and start the stampede. Mufasa and Simba would fall under the hooves of the wildebeests, and no one would ever suspect innocent Prince Scar. And he would be King at last.

Zira, I wish you were here to see this. He surprised himself with the thought. Scar's cruel smile faltered, and his heart skipped a beat. Zira. Thoughts of the dark tan lioness filled his head. Even after a year, he still missed her with an intensity that almost scared him. He had pushed her to the back of his mind, filling his mind instead with ways to secure the throne. He had tried not to remember her.

And yet, whenever he was least expecting it, memories of her voice or her smile would return to him. He wished he could simply forget her; the pain of losing her was as strong as ever.

He sighed, shaking these thoughts from his head. He got to his paws, shook out his black mane, and descended from his ledge, making his way through the Pride Lands. He found Simba playing with Chumvi and Kula. "Simba, come here." He called out to the cub. The Prince spoke a few words to his playmates and trotted over, a smile on his face. Scar told the Prince, "Come with me. I have something to show you."

Simba nodded, a look of complete trust in his brown eyes. "Okay!"

Scar smiled cruely. "Follow me." As he led the cub away, he thought to himself, The sun is about to set, Mufasa.

Sarafina was watching Nala play with Tama. Mheetu was sitting next to her, watching a butterfly with a smile. Suddenly, he turned to his mother and asked, "Why doesn't Tojo like us?"

The question caught Sarafina off guard. "What?"

Mheetu repeated, "Why doesn't Tojo like us? He never talks to me or Nala, and when I asked him to play earlier, he acted like he couldn't hear me. Did I do something wrong?" His blue eyes were filled with concern.

Sarafina felt a pang of anger. He shouldn't have to suffer for my mistake. "You haven't done anything wrong, Mheetu." She said firmly. "Tojo's mother and I had a... disagreement some time ago, and she's passing her dislike of me onto her son. Believe me Mheetu, this has nothing to do with you. Don't worry about it."

The concern faded from Mheetu's eyes. "Okay." His gaze returned to the butterfly. He crouched, his eyes narrowed mischievously. He pounced at the butterfly, which flitted away from his paws with a sort of lofty air about it, as if to say, That was easy. Give me a real challenge next time. Mheetu laughed and batted at the butterfly with an outstretched paw. Sarafina smiled at her son's antics. Why can't Shinda see that our cubs are so much more important than our quarrel?

Tojo was sitting with his mother, the birds sleeping around him. He was getting a little concerned for one, Cheki. He seemed clumsier than the others, and was apt to walk into things. I hope I can help him. He thought worriedly. He knew nothing of birds and their illnesses, and Cheki was too young to talk to him and help him figure out what was wrong.

Suddenly, he saw the tall grass in front of him and Shinda shiver and part to reveal a trembling Nuru. "Mu-mufasa is dead!" She wailed.

Shinda gaped at the lioness. "What? What happened?"

Nuru explained in a trembling voice, "Th-there was a stampede in the G-gore. Mu-mufasa and Si-simba both got trampled."

Tojo froze, horror welling up in him. Simba... is dead? Memories of his friend ran through his head. The Prince was always so energetic, so full of life. He couldn't believe that the cub was dead. He hardly noticed as Nuru continued, "Scar's making a speech tonight. As Mufasa's brother, he's next in line for the throne." He didn't listen to her words. The only thing he knew was that his closest friend was dead.

Tojo felt tears pricking at his eyes. He closed his eyes, the tears sliding down his cheeks. You were one of my only friends, Simba. I'll miss you.

Sarafina listened to Scar's speech in stunned silence. I still can't believe they're gone. She thought numbly. Between her paws, Nala was hunched over, crying.

Sarabi had her head hung in defeat, her face scrunched up as though in pain, obviously fighting back tears. Sarafina felt a pang of sympathy for her friend. She just lost her son, her mate, and her throne all in one quick moment.

Scar was speaking in a quiet voice, "So it is with a heavy heart that I assume the throne." He opened his eyes, their green depths strangely emotionless. "Yet, out of the ashes of this tragedy, we shall rise to greet the dawning of a new era." Eerie laughter reached Sarafina's ears.

She, along with the rest of the Pride, looked up to see hyenas ascending Pride Rock as Scar continued, "In which lion and hyena come together, in a great and glorious future!" He turned from his stunned Pride and climbed onto Pride Rock. He approached the edge, raised his head, and roared loudly for all to hear, sealing his claim to the throne. He was now King Scar.

Sarabi left, walking back to the cave with the air of a lion many times older than herself. Sarafina looked down sadly, a tear sliding down her face. Poor Simba. He was too young to die. Just like Dania...

Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her. "What do you think, you're doing here?"

Sarafina turned wearily to see Shinda glaring at her. The former rouge replied in a tired voice, "I'm mourning the loss of our King. Isn't that why we're all here?"

Shinda glared at her, Tojo standing between her paws. "You're not welcome here." She snarled. The rest of the Pride said nothing, simply glaring at Sarafina with eyes red from crying.

Sarafina understood immediately. Nala's position as Simba's Betrothed had been all that made the Pride tolerate Sarafina. Now that Simba was gone, Sarafina was no longer welcome. She thought for a moment of calling Sarabi out, to ask for her support against the Pride, but rejected that idea almost immediately. Sarabi had been through enough. She dipped her head. "Very well." Sarafina picked up Nala by the scruff of her neck and turned away from the others, walking away without looking back, tears pricking the back of her eyes. Great Kings, why do they hate me? Oh Zira, I wish I'd gone with you.

Poor Sarafina's got it rough. So now Scar is king, he still misses Zira, and Shinda's a jerk. Not that that wasn't already clear. A few more chapters 'til we get back to Zira's POV, sorry. You're not missing much, I promise.

Sarabi, Scar, Zira, Sarafina, Mheetu, Nala, Tojo, Chumvi, Kula, Scar's speech (c) Disney

Vunja, Kuuma, Nuru, Shinda (c) Me