Spoiler Alert: This chapter contains a lot of spoilers the movie. Read it at your own risk.

Dan woke up the next day after fainting. Despite his obvious state of weakness, he was strong enough to take walks around the cave. In the past, he had studied feline movement; However, the study was very different from putting it into practice, so his first exercise was to learn to move on all fours.

To Kiara, who had stayed in the cave looking after him, it seemed very strange that Dan moved awkwardly, because, at that age, any cub would move very simply.

"You must move one paw at a time" she said looking at him and encouraging him.

Dan tried that for a few minutes, although the effort finally paid off: he learned to walk on all fours.

"I see you're better Dan" said Kovu, who had just arrived with something in his mouth, "Well, breakfast!"

Kovu deposited a few pieces of what looked, while it was alive, an antelope. Like the day before, Dan was still quite hungry, and he began to devour some of the meat quite willingly.

"Ummm, it was really delicious" said Dan, "Thanks"

"There's no need to give them, Dan," Kovu said. Dan breathed a little relieved.

"By the way, I'll take over Simba's duties today" Kovu added, "If you're feeling better, you should go out, Simba wants to talk to you."

Nervousness ran through Dan's furry body as he replied:

"Why does he want to see me?"

"I don't know, he just told me that he wanted to get to know you better" he replied, and then left the cave.

'Knowing him better' sounded more like 'questions' to Dan. However, he must not disobey if he wanted to stay there for a while.

"Don't worry about my dad" Kiara said, "He can be a bit strict or overprotective at times, but he has a good heart"

"Okay, I'll see him" Dan replied a little more relieved. Completely recovered, he headed out of the cave.

Simba was already there, watching the beautiful view of Pridelands from the top of the Pride Rock. He seemed happy about what he saw. Slowly, Dan walked towards him.

"I was waiting for you, Dan" said Simba without even turning around, it seemed as if he had felt the presence of the cub, "Sit next to me, please"

Without wanting to disobey, he did so. There was a brief moment of silence. Dan turned his attention to what Simba was looking at: Pridelands. A vast area with a large amount of plant and animal life. If someone asked, it was something worth trying to draw.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Simba asked.

"Yes, it is" Dan replied, he was completely agreed.

"However, not all kings always enjoy these views: A king's time rises and falls like the sun" explained Simba, "Do you know what it means, don't you?"

Dan thought it for a while, but something similar came to his head, it is something that happened in all lives:

"Because they die, don't they?"

"That's right, it's part of the cycle of life" Simba said looking at him.

For a moment, Simba remembered the moments he shared with his father and everything he learned from him. He felt like he was in Mufasa's place. Then, an idea came to his mind:

"Dan… what would you think of being a prince of Pridelands?"

"I?" Dan said with a face between amazed and nervous, "No, I don't think I'm capable of being something like that..."

"Hahaha, calm down: I was joking" Simba laughed, but at the same time, he was surprised at Dan's humility "Wow ... Contrary to me, you are humbler than I was"

"Seriously?"

"Yes ... when I was a cub, I wanted to be king, I wanted to be seen throughout the Pridelands..." said Simba, but he fell silent at one point.

"And what happened?" the cub asked out of curiosity.

Simba took a deep breath and then said:

"My father, Mufasa, was betrayed by my Uncle Scar, he killed him. Then, he made me feel like I was the one responsible for my father having died because of me"

Dan felt bad about that revelation, he did not believe that such a good family of lions could have suffered such a betrayal from one of his members. He felt just like him.

"Oh, sorry" said Dan, "But, what did you do?"

"I went very far, I wanted to escape out of fear" replied the lion, "Until a couple of friends helped me and raised me"

Dan was interested in that part of the story: it was very much like his own.

"I learned to eat differently. Well, as a carnivore I did not fit among the insectivores" continued Simba, "After years, Nala went to seek help, finding us after years"

"And then you came back, didn't you?"

"At first no, I was still afraid of being blamed. But then, my father appeared in the sky and told me to remember who I really was. And then I knew: I was his son and the next king "

Dan was paying close attention to the story Simba was telling. The way in which he related that his father appeared to him from heaven… does it have something to do with the vision he experienced before waking up transformed?

"And then, I came back and faced my uncle" Simba continued, waking Dan from his imagination, "At first, I was scared. But then I remembered that he was the killer. So, I fought against him and he fell to the bottom of there."

Simba pointed to the bottom of the Pride Rock. Coming closer to see, it seemed like a great height to Dan.

"Did you kill him?" he asked.

"No, his allies betrayed him and killed him" Simba replied, "When we faced each other, he blamed the hyenas saying that it was all their plan to take the Pridelands. The hyenas heard him and betrayed him when he fell"

"So, they killed him ... I understand"

There was at least a minute of silence. Then Simba said:

"Now you know my story: it's good to get to know each other by being honest. It is the best way to gain confidence"

"Woah," Dan said, "What a story. You seem to have had a tough family ... "

"Yes, that's how it is. But you always have to forget the bad past, even with the family"

Dan was more self-righteous than he ever was after hearing Simba's story. If he really wanted to live there, he had to be honest… he had to tell Simba at least. He prayed that everything would work out for him and that the king would keep his secret from him.

"Simba" Dan said fearfully, "You said we must be honest ..."

"I said so" said Simba looking at the cub with a smile.

"Well then, I… I have to tell you something. Please, I need you to hear it "

"I'm all ears"

"Well ... I am, or at least before I was ... human"