Hello all, and welcome to the chapter. I was frankly surprised by the urgency in some of the reviews for me to update once again, so here I am. Note, if the cursing in this story, "offends" you, I apologize, but it's part of characterization and the general tone of the story. I will not be taking it away. That being said, thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter, and PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO KINDLY LEAVE ME A REVIEW! Well, I have blabbed enough, so without any further ado, here is the chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!

"What do you mean he LEFT?"

Athena shriveled back, trembling against the wall of the den, her sapphire blue eyes not withholding the fear that was rapidly growing inside of them.

"He…he…he left the Pridelands. He said he had to go because Mommy and Daddy were going to force him to marry someone he did not want to. Is this true Grandpa?"

Simba sighed, and turned to Nala, who sported a slightly concerned and slightly angry expression on her face. The lioness gave her mate a quick nod, and Simba turned back down to his granddaughter.

"Yes, Athena, it's sadly true. Your mother and father did something unacceptable, and I am going to have to have a very long word with them." Simba then turned to his mate. "Nala, could you watch Athena while I have a heated discussion with my daughter and son-in-law?"

Nala immediately shook her head in negation. "No way Simba. I have just as much, if not more, right to yell at the two of them than you do."

The red-maned king of Pride Rock nodded submissively. His wife still had him absolutely whipped when it mattered most, such as a moment like that current one. "Alright, but who is going to watch Athena?"

"I will. Go deal with my idiot brother."

Nala grinned as she realized to whom the voice belonged to. "Thanks Vitani."

"No problem. Now go."

-TLK-

When Steele finally regained consciousness, everything was black, and his senses were dysfunctional and numb. It took all of the willpower that he could muster to try to open his sapphire blue eyes.

Soon, his eyelids began to flutter slightly. After much more effort, he blinked several times, and his vision was finally clear and alert. The former human made a quick scan of his surroundings.

It appeared he had been moved, as he was no longer in the familiar Eastern Forest, but in a dense jungle, tall green grasses bursting out of the ground, and palm trees the size of some skyscrapers towering over the area. It was at that moment when Steele decided that he would attempt to stand up.

However, as soon as he even tried to move, sharp, piercing pain began to course through his entire body, penetrating even his very soul. Steele screamed, and returned to his previous position

"Yeah, I wouldn't do that if. You were basically dead when I found you, and if you do too much, you could still possibly end up that way."

Steele sharply moved his gaze to the left, and he saw a young lioness, about his age, standing guard over him. She had grey fur, and light blue eyes, with a sharp ferocity to them the likeness of which Steele had never seen. He tried to speak, gagging slightly, but he was eventually able to speak, his voice rough, gravely, and deep.

"Thanks…for the tip."

The lioness grinned in amusement, the ferocity in her eyes not dimming in the slightest. "Glad I was able to help. So, what exactly got you into that situation?"

"What…situation?"

The young lioness shrugged. "You know, the situation in which I find you lying on the ground, a river of blood flowing from your lifeless body, yet you still miraculously have a pulse."

Steele worked up the energy to narrow his eyes before he spoke. Hatred radiated off his very being. "I run away…betrothal…wolves…attack."

The lioness clacked her teeth before nodding. "Yeah, those overgrown Chihuahuascan do quite a bit of damage."

"Like I…didn't…know that."

The lioness chuckled lightly. "So what pissed them off?"

"So many…questions."

"Just answer."

"Be…trayal. My friend…dark…betrayed me."

The lioness grimaced slightly. "That's rather harsh. Damn that guy to hell then!"

"So what are you…doing here?"

The young lioness shifted uncomfortably. "Similar to you actually. I was a princess in my old pride. But then those idiots decided to betroth me to some prince that I didn't know in some faraway pride without even consulting me."

"Sounds…familiar."

She chuckled, and then continued. "Well, I decided I wasn't going to let the bastards decide what I do with my life any longer, so I ran away. I lived in the jungle for about two weeks before I found you."

"How long…was I out?"

"About a week. I covered your wounds and gave you water."

Steele managed to form the amount of energy required to smile slightly. "Thank…you."

The lioness smiled, finally feeling appreciated for once in her life. "Don't mention it. So what was the name of the lioness you were supposed to marry?"

"What was…the name…of the lion…you were supposed to…marry?"

The lioness sighed sadly. "His name is Unio."

Steele's eyes widened in shock at the stunning turn of events. The future he had run away from had just saved his life. And she actually wasn't annoying!

"That's what…my biological…parents…called me."

The eyes of the lioness also widened in shock, before she sat down to contemplate things. "Well, this is quite the surprising turn of events."

"It sure is…Skye…but please…don't call me…Unio…call me…Steele."

Skye smiled at him. "Well, the previous arrangement no longer matters. We're both outcasts now, and we both need to survive."

"I think…a banana…could have figured that…out."

Skye laughed at Steele's joke, and the young lion smiled. This would not be so hard to manage after all.

Well, that will be all that I am going to write at this current moment. Thank you all so much for taking time out of your busy lives in order to read my humble story here. As I mentioned previously, PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO KINDLY LEAVE ME A REVIEW! Well, I have babbled enough, so I am going to end this here. Take care, and thanks for reading!

-Tex-