Sins of the Past

Part 11 Mothers and Daughters

Word was sent to the Pride Lands that Nala had made it safely to Ni's pride. Pride Rock was at a loss without its Queen, its hunting leader. Doa was a decent hunter and did her best to coordinate the lionesses. But it wasn't the same.

Simba tried to be comforting to Vitani as her stomach grew bigger. But she did not return his affections. She knew that Nala would eventually return, and Vitani's place was not next to the King, it was hers. It pained Vitani to see Simba so loving towards her, only for him to receive nothing but coldness from her. Simba was also feeling the pain for his broken heart. Nala his Queen had run off. She would be back, but still Simba knew she was taking comfort with Ni to get back at him. Ni's Queen had died delivering cubs. There would be no reason he wouldn't oblige Nala if she told him what Simba had done.

Then there was the pain of Simba's love for Vitani. She had shut him out. She had chosen to be miserable so that Nala would come back to him, when she came back to him. No matter what Simba told her, Vitani didn't change. This broke Simba's heart even more. He had failed in preserving the peace Kiara had brought to Pride Rock.

The months passed agonizingly slow. But it was eventually time for Vitani's cubs to be born. She growled and roared at the lionesses around her. Kovu sat before her, he was uneasy…

"Maybe I shouldn't be here…" Kovu said as Vitani's pains grew. "Doa didn't want me for her birth…"

"You are staying here!" Vitani roared at her brother. "After all I'm like this because of you… This was all for you, remember! You're going to stand there weather you like it or not!"

Simba nervously paced outside. Vitani had chased him out of the den.

"Is there something I can do?" Kovu hesitantly asked.

"No! Worthless male! There isn't!" Vitani spat, as she cried out in pain. "Just remember that when Kiara gives birth… You can't do a damned thing as you watch your love scream in agonizing pain!"

"We're all here for you Vitani, for emotional support," Kiara tried to reassure her.

"Yes, well that's nice. But you're not the one doing the work…"

Vitani's roars echoed throughout the den. One final push and Vitani's cub was born. Exhausted, Vitani lay down, her paws covering her face. She did not want to see her cub. Doa and Kiara cleaned with wiggling healthy newborn, they laughed and cooed as Vitani just laid there. Her physical pain was over, but the emotional pain had still not passed.

"Vitani?" Kovu asked her. "Don't you want to see your cub?"

"I have no cubs…" Vitani muttered, her paws still covering her face.

"Your cub is here Vitani," Doa said gently. "Don't you want to see him?"

"Her. My cub is a girl…" Vitani growled.

"No," Kiara corrected. "Your cub is a boy Vitani. Here, I'll place him at your side so he can nurse…"

"An ugly brown blob…" Vitani groaned, her paws still coving her firmly shut eyes. She could feel the little cub pawing at her side, looking for milk…

"Please Vitani, just look at him," Kiara said.

"Fine…" Vitani relented. The cub had found a nipple to suckle, causing Vitani to become more relaxed. She took her paws off her face and turned to look at her cub. A golden yellow boy. Just like Simba… Vitani burst into tears, crying violently into her brother's chest.

"Doa, go get my father," Kiara whispered. "It's going to be okay Vitani. You don't need to be so upset…"

Simba rushed into the den. He had never seen Vitani in such a state. She didn't even look like the same lioness he knew. He motioned for the lionesses and Kovu to leave. He lay next to Vitani, embracing her with his paws…

"Go away!" she cried. Vitani struggled a bit in Simba's grasp, but not too much, so as not to disturb her cub. Her sobs muffled by Simba's mane. She gave up struggling and just cried.

"I love you Vitani… I love our son…" Simba told her.

"Nala will hate me…" Vitani cried. "All she ever wanted was to give you a son… And now I have one… I've stolen her dream Simba!"

"She will be okay…"

"No she won't! My mother took your son from you… He was just a tiny cub. So small, so helpless… She took them all! All the sons! She killed every male cub! Every last one! She thought nothing of it, killing them in front of me… And we all just sat there and watched. The mother would cry, but none of us did… Not once, never! She said it was just so easy. Just snap their necks and cast them aside! Most of the time she would eat them… Did Kovu tell you that we ate the rogues too? She would eat the cubs. No one else had the stomach for that. She couldn't let good protein go to waste now could she?! She would have done the same to Doa's cubs… She would have… She would have killed my cub too and eaten him! Why Simba why?! Why would she do such a terrible thing to such a poor little helpless creature…?"

"I don't know Vitani, I don't know…" Simba said as tears fell from his eyes. Tears of pain, tears of sadness, and tears of regret…

Vitani's tears had run dry. She now just lay in Simba's arms, worn out from everything she had been through. Her body needing rest.

"Have you thought of a name for our son?" Simba asked the exhausted Vitani.

"Only girl names…" she said sleepily.

"How about Kitoto?" Simba asked.

"Why do all your cubs have K names?" Vitani groaned. "Kitoto is fine…"

Vitani then wiggled out of Simba's grasp, curling herself around her newborn son. She gave Simba a halfhearted kick and fell asleep. Simba got up and let the rest of the pride back into the den. He was still haunted by Vitani's words. Had Zira really been capable of such widespread infanticide? To kill her own pride sisters' cubs? To kill Simba's son, a potential competitor, was one thing. But to kill all the other male cubs? It was unimaginable. Was that all Vitani could see looking at her own cub? That it was marked for Zira's gallows?

Kiara was due any day now. It pained her that her mother had still not returned and that Vitani could hardly stand the sight of her own newborn cub. Zazu flew in with the morning report. Nala had been spotted near the border. She was finally coming home after nearly three months of being gone. The pride waited in anticipation for the return of their Queen…

Nala walked slowly up to the looming rocks. She could see the joy in the lionesses' faces and the mixed feelings in Simba's. As she got closer, it became apparent that Nala was heavily pregnant, her belly swaying from side to side a she walked up towards the den. Simba felt a knot in his stomach. He and Nala had been sleeping together more now that the feud with the Outsiders was over. But they hadn't been intimate while Nala was in heat. Nala had gotten pregnant with Ni…

"I forgive you Simba," Nala stated, walking up to her husband, kissing him, nuzzling her head in his mane.

"I forgive you too Nala," Simba replied. "Come. Let's talk…"

Simba led Nala past the peering eyes of the pride into the main den. Nala saw Vitani outside laying in the shade. She looked like a shell of her former self. Her blue eyes dead to the world around her. Vitani turned away as Simba and Nala passed. Nala felt a deep painful cramp in her stomach. Seeing Vitani like that was truly upsetting…

Doa was in the den with all the cubs. Simba took Nala over to them.

"This is my new son: Kitoto," he told Nala.

She smiled down at the newborn cub who reminded her so much of Simba when he was younger.

"He's just three days old, but Rafiki says he's healthy…" Simba stated.

"I'm so happy for you Simba," Nala said, kissing her mate on the cheek. "You've always wanted a son…"

Doa could see that the two needed to talk alone.

"I'll take the cubs out for some fresh air," Doa stated. "Come on boys…"

Madoa and Makovu followed Doa out of the den as she carried Kitoto gently in her mouth. With the King and Queen alone, they now could speak freely.

"I was selfish and stupid," Nala started. "I just still see Zira when I look at Vitani… And I couldn't fathom you being with her over me…"

"I know, I know…" Simba said calmly.

"I didn't let you speak last time. You should go first…" Nala said as she started to cry.

"No Nala, just let it all out. You have more to say than I do…"

"Okay," Nala sniffled. "Ni sends his regards. Well, he would have sent his regards. He got sick a couple weeks back and didn't recover. His son is now king…"

Simba nodded his head. The lump in his throat was getting bigger.

"Did I mention I was selfish and stupid?" Nala asked rhetorically. "Well I was. All I could think of was getting back at you, so I went to Ni, cried my eyes out and had an affair with him… I honestly thought I couldn't get pregnant or if I did I would just lose the cubs like all the times we had before. I didn't think they'd make it this far along. I wanted to stay at Ni's pride because I wasn't sure the trip back here would be good for the unborn cubs. But after Ni's death and with Kiara being due so soon, it was well past time for me to leave. I'm sorry I betrayed you Simba. But I'm not sorry that I'm pregnant. You know I've always wanted more cubs. And now hopefully I will have them…"

Simba smiled down at his beloved mate.

"I'm happy for you Nala," he told her, kissing her on the forehead. "Vitani knows how much I mean to you, so she's… not seeing me anymore. She wants us to be happy…"

"Thank you Simba," Nala said, kissing her mate, her beloved. Her everlasting joy in this world.

After Nala's words with Simba were over Kiara came into the den to see her mother. Kovu and Simba had gone out on patrol. The lionesses were out hunting. Kiara was babysitting the cubs.

"I can't believe that I have a brother," Kiara said as she snuggled the little golden lion cub. "And my unborn cubs already have two half-brothers!"

"Yes, the Pride Lands are alive with new life…" Nala agreed. "And soon you'll have another sibling…"

"Yes," Kiara stated. "But I worry about you Mother. I see you flitch in pain, grabbing your abdomen. Do you think you might lose your cubs? Even though they are so far along?"

"It's a possibility," Nala admitted. "Though the pain is similar to when I had my miscarriages, it's not as strong. I'm hoping they can make it to term…"

"You told me Mother that you thought you couldn't have more cubs because you were so stressed about the Outsiders. That that constant worry lead you to miscarry…"

"Yes. I believe that was the case…"

"Did you have these pains at Ni's pride?"

"No."

"Then something here must be bothering you Mother," Kiara stated firmly. "What is it?"

Nala sighed. "When I was at Ni's pride, I had forgiven Simba. In my mind that was all that I needed to do to move on," Nala reflected. "But now that I'm here, I realize that alone did not solve everything. How long has Vitani been this way? She looks… dead inside…"

"She started becoming more distant after you left," Kiara replied. "But she's gotten much worse after the birth of her son. She doesn't call him by name. She hardly looks at him. She hardly does anything anymore. Only Kovu can get her to talk most of the time."

Nala looked sadly at her daughter. It pained her to that her happiness was at Vitani's expense.

"She really loves Dad," Kiara told her mother. "Dad loves her too. I cannot tell you what to do Mother. You need to make your own choices. But if you lose your cubs over this will you blame her? Vitani will blame herself. She thinks she has stolen a cub from you. A cub that should have been yours. A cub Zira would have killed because it interfered with her plans. Is all this drama, all this stress, is it really worth it Mother? Can't you both be happy? I fear the alternative will be misery for everyone…"

Nala reflected on the words of her daughter. They were so wise, for one so young, so naïve to the rest of the world. For Kiara everything was simple, everything was fixable. Even this broken, mangled mess Nala found herself in. Was there truly any real reason why everything had to be so complicated?

"I will speak to Vitani," Nala stated.

"Good," Kiara smiled. "Ouch!"

Kiara winced in pain, grabbing at her stomach. She felt a rush of fluid from under her tail…

"I think I've gone into labor…" Kiara groaned.

"Here, give me the cubs," Nala said, taking them into her lap. "You will be just fine…"