Chapter 12- The King and I
The Pridelands in their current state were a little menacing at night. The only reason I was able to brave it was the fact I had Scar with me. Whilst he was intimidating, he was teaching me. Even I couldn't see him letting me come to too much harm. Being by his side like this, it left me feeling conflicted. I was sure that Sarabi and Sarafina would not approve of the lessons taking place in the dark. Whilst it was true that my sight was perfectly fine in the dark, the danger that came with the night were greater for me. The night air seemed to have a certain thickness about it though, like there was greater pressure at night than the carefree light of day.
The walk through the lands had been largely silent, with Scar occasionally saying a few words, nudging me with a paw to make sure I was listening each time. "Have you seen how there are less animals around at night, Tishala?" He asked, finally speaking something other than his repeated love of being king and how I would love it too. "Most are sleeping. When you lead your lionesses to hunt, you will find greater success at night." He advised; his voice rather monotone, flat as he was trying to educate me. "Of course, it won't be too long before you can hunt. I will tell Sarabi that you will be leading the hunts soon after you have joined in." He continued to inform me. I wasn't taken by the idea of leading a group of lionesses who were undoubtedly better than I would be, maybe ever.
I found it hard to think of myself leading them to any extent "Wouldn't it be better for a grown up to do that?" I questioned, looking up to him with a little worry in my voice. I didn't care that I was exposing a vulnerability to him, I had to keep myself out of the firing line of the other lionesses. Not all of them would be understanding of the situation like I knew Sarabi and Sarafina would be. Some of them knew me very little and wouldn't trust a young lioness to lead them when they had more experience. It wasn't as if I had shown amazing promise to them either. I hadn't even been on an official hunt with them yet. I still couldn't picture being on a hunt yet, so being told I would be leading them did nothing to make me feel confident about it.
He looked a little amused at my response, those green eyes locked onto me, scanning for any discomfort that he could absorb for his happiness. "That is why I will tell Sarabi to teach you what she knows. Then, we can…" he held the last syllable, rolling his eyes as he tilted his head away, eye off me finally "make a few improvements to her advice." He grinned, a low purr rumbling from his chest as he thought over the future "We will have greater success in catching our prey, feeding our pride." He reasoned, though it sounded like he was referring to himself rather than the pride. "Remember, you will have to do what I say, or else the lionesses will never listen to you. You have to show them you are the most powerful, but also the smartest. Another important note is that you will do what is necessary to keep them at your command, even if it means you have to make them fear you. I expect you, as future ruler, to keep the respect and fear instilled much as I would. By whatever means necessary." He had made many gestures with a paw before that, but the one he used to finish it, curling his paw up as if crushing something in his palm, it unnerved me.
He looked to me again, his eyes wide as he questioned "Do you understand?" Giving me no choice other than to nod. I couldn't say no to him. I was in the darkness, alone with him. I didn't want to face the consequences of saying no to him. It may have been different if I had Sarabi or Sarafina with me, but as we were alone, and I was considerably smaller than him, my chances were slim. Knowing the corner I was in, Scar had a stern look on his face, though I could almost feel a smirk emerging. "I'm glad we have an understanding. It wouldn't look good for the king and heir to be seen disagreeing. It certainly wouldn't be a good idea for the heir to do something like…go against the king. It may have some unfortunate results. It would disappoint me greatly." He let his voice roll over each word, sounding almost sad at the thought of being disappointed. It didn't take much for me to imagine just what the consequences were, or at least what I thought the consequences could be. If he wasn't in front of me, I would have shuddered just from the words.
Despite my dark interpretation of what he was saying, he was still being relatively pleasant to me, even leaning down to offer me some comfort. He wasn't graceful with his movements, but he was attempting to try and act as a caring parental figure. I froze on the spot as he let our cheeks rub against each other. I didn't return it, mainly because I was still very uneasy around the lion. It was hard to get a proper read on him. For so long, it looked like he hated me, then it seemed he was just irritated by me. I didn't expect that to jump from a somewhat playful malevolence to him wanting me to be is successor. It just didn't seem to make sense in my head. He was trying to be nice, but I was expecting a lash out of some sort.
When I didn't return his affection, I expected a retaliation, assuming he was just wanting to be liked by someone. I was sure he would offer some hurtful words or something of the sort, but instead he continued walking on, looking back to me with a serious, but calm expression "Come on now, there is still more I wish to educate you on, princess." He ushered me over, the two of us making our way through the savanna at night as if that little moment had never happened, even if it was playing on my mind repeatedly. I stuck close to him as he would continue to give me his own version of the lessons I assumed Simba would have had from his father, or at least he was planned to have.
It turned out, my thoughts wandering to the fallen duo showed. My ears had fallen back and my tail was hanging low. These details didn't evade Scar either, a raised brow on his face as he directed his attention away from the path in front. For a second it looked like he might be comforting towards me, but that thought soon went when he spoke "If you are going to cry, cry afterwards. I am not your parent; I am your king. You cannot show silly sniffles when you are ruling. It will be taken for weakness. What did I say about showing weakness?" He asked, waiting for an answer from me. I paused to think over what had been said, though I couldn't shake the downtrodden expression from my face. Before I could respond though, the lion king was chuckling to himself, his lips curling as his teeth bared in his growing laughter. "I realise I didn't tell you what would happen." He giggled before turning and getting his face right up to mine, those green eyes felt as if they were piercing through me, forcing me to break under the pressure. "They will rip you straight from the place you were meant to have in life. It won't be pleasant, it won't take long and it won't be fair!" I stumbled away from him, feeling my heart beat faster by the second. He was grinning, making it clear he was happy with my terror towards him, like he was achieving all his goals. "With my ideas, I can make you into the leader you will need to be. Survival is always making sure the leader is head of everyone else. Remember that." He turned and continued walking.
Regardless of how shaken he had gotten me, I had to follow, knowing it would be ever worse for me if I was in the dark alone. "H-Hey, wait for me!" I yelped, sprinting to be by his side again. Just as I got there, I gave myself some distance again, not wanting to risk another surprise like he pulled moments before. "Couldn't you have told me during the day?" I asked, still feeling my heartbeat race.
Scar didn't even bother to look towards me as he responded "Timing is important, Tishala. If I had told you during the day, you wouldn't be able to see the wonders of the night. All the opportunity…" he trailed off, looking into the distance where I could only assume was potential prey. I wasn't looking anywhere but at him, unable to relax in his presence. "Ah, I have your first real lesson. Show me your hunting skills." He drawled, waving a paw in circles to his left, though he was looking ahead. I took my eyes off him for a moment and spotted in the dark, a couple of elephant shrews. I couldn't help but think that was odd. They were asleep, but I knew somewhere that they would have little burrows to sleep in. The fact that they didn't, as well as the fact they were out in the open didn't seem right to me.
The two of us padded closer, careful not to make a sound. I was stopped in my tracks as Scar put a paw out to stop me, leaning down whilst looking ahead to the rodents. His eyes didn't leave their sleeping forms as he spoke to me "I want you to show me you can hunt. Bring me back the bigger of the two and then I will know you are on the right path." He sat and waited for me to go and do that.
I gave him a look that suggested exactly how I felt about doing that "I can't do that, they're sleeping. They're not meant to be out here. It isn't fair to do that." I argued, keeping my voice low as I didn't want to alert the sleeping animals. I knew Scar wouldn't be happy with my reaction, so he would have been furious if I had woken them up so they could get away from him. "I can't do it Scar." I rebuffed.
It was rather foolish of me to think he was going to listen and then relent to my arguments, allowing me a pass. Instead, a paw rested itself on my head, forcing my ears lower as he guided my sight away from him and back to the sleeping shrews. Now they were closer, I could see how peaceful they looked. I was surprised they looked peaceful, considering they weren't in their normal home. "You will do this, Tishala." Scar warned, gripping me a little tighter. "I know exactly what you need to do. You know what you need to do. If you refuse, then I will have no choice but to kill them both myself." I forced his paw off me and stepped aside, shaking my head at him, looking horrified at the suggestion. "How would you feel, being responsible for the death of two innocent shrews, when it could have been just one? Dare I say, Nala and Sarafina would be shocked. I don't think Sarabi would even be able to look at you anymore. Wouldn't that be awful? Now…" He pulled me in again "it wouldn't even be mentioned if you do what I ask of you. If I were a smart lion, which I may be, then I would listen to the king when he asks something of you." He let his tone get darker as he gave me the instruction. Off you pop, go!" He nudged me ahead.
I was fighting the urge to just run, knowing I would have been caught and doomed both of these peaceful animals. "Don't forget, if you can't do it, I will." He reminded me, though I wasn't sure if he actually said it or I just imagined it. I crouched low, taking a look back to Scar as he was sat back, his smirk a permanent fixture, gesturing with a single digit that I keep going. I calmed myself down to an extent, slowing my breaths, letting my heart rate slow at the same time. I felt sick to my stomach at what I was being asked to do, but as I'd defused my high emotional state, I felt like it was all coming naturally to me. I stopped thinking for a moment, just letting my senses take control for a moment. As I inhaled, I caught a distinctive scent, picking it to be the elephant shrews. The closer I got, the better detail of them I could see. I didn't know if it was just because they were curled up, but they both looked chubby. One of them, the male, was definitely larger though.
I paused again, realising that I hadn't checked where the wind was blow. It was then that I noticed I wasn't in the wrong position, just reminding me of how strong some of these knew instincts were and how well they had absorbed Sarabi's advice. I crouched lower, feeling my sight improve as it seemed as if I had locked on the target. I got my claws out, making sure my tail was down. In that moment, I forgot about their mortality, I forgot about Scar's request. I was just a predator hunting her prey. With what felt like a swift leap into the air, I launched ahead, making the wise decision not to shout out my attack. Before I knew it, I had the shrew in my claws, already digging in to draw some blood. Of course, this caused it to have woken up, screaming as it alerted its partner. I heard an encouraging call from Scar in all the madness. That call combined with my somewhat possessed state meant that I didn't even think before I lurched my head forwards, jaws open and shutting quickly around the poor victim's neck. In my paws I could feel the tensing of muscles before everything went limp. The sound of bones crunching almost sounded like a beautiful ballad to me in that moment. I let go, looking down at my first caught prey. I had a smile on my face, though I hadn't controlled its arrival. I didn't realise how fast my heart had been beating, the adrenaline of the moment getting to me.
I felt myself twitch, moving my head in the direction where I saw the other shrew. It was panicking. Without a thought, I licked my lips, getting a taste of some of the blood I had drawn. The fact it was from my own doing gave a wave of satisfaction and seemed to make the taste addictive beyond what I had tasted before. The shrew wasn't wasting any time in trying to escape. It ran right past me, letting me watch as it scuttled away.
In that moment, I realised where it was headed and snapped out of my predatory haze, a look of terror on my face as I called out to it "Wait, don't-" I stopped when I knew my cry didn't make a difference. Scar got a hold of the rodent and finished it off before I could do anything. My mouth was hanging open as I could feel some tears start to come to my eyes, blurring my vision. It didn't matter though; the lasting image of a limp body in his jaws was still as clear as it ever could be. I looked down, knowing it couldn't be any worse, but I was proven very wrong. My tears fell because I was looking down, but what I saw was my own victim. The lifeless body beneath me did nothing but bleed out some more, staining some fur red. His eyes were anything but expressionless, like I'd hoped. Instead, I could see the terror in them. The helplessness he must have felt in that final moment, the panic. I hadn't taken a life before. It was all so surreal. The way in which I did it, I could see. I could view exactly where I had sunk my teeth into, dealing the fatal blow. I was speechless, heartbroken, devastated. I couldn't believe I had taken an innocent life. "You said you wouldn't get the other one." I sobbed, not even sure if the other lion was listening to me.
For a few minutes, I sat there, crying over the life I had taken. I kept as quiet as I could because I didn't want Scar to notice too much. I could hear he was enjoying his catch, having devoured it whilst I had been sitting there. The rush of the hunt had gone from me completely. It left me out of energy and out of any enthusiasm or optimism. He was by my side a moment later, giving me a small expectation, he was going to say something about how I did what he asked. Instead though, he just took my victim in his jaws and got to work eating that as well. I cringed at the sounds of bones being snapped by the force of his bite. There was no offer to me, or any words until he had completely finished. "Now no one will even notice they were there. You see? It wasn't so difficult." He tried to assure me, though it was clear he hadn't taken notice of just how much this had affected me, or he just didn't care.
I sniffled in response, trying my best to hide the sadness from my voice "They were sleeping. That isn't fair." It felt as if there was a lump in my throat, making it harder to keep my words from croaking "I can't be unfair like that." I continued, though he had just consumed the evidence that I clearly could be unfair like that. When I looked at him, he had sussed just how capable I was of carrying out such a task. I could almost see the cogs in his mind turning. It got me a little worried as to what he might have me do next.
With a cold look away from me, he cleared his throat before speaking "Life isn't fair. If you are a rodent and don't want to get caught, don't sleep in view. If you are going to insist on being fair, always make sure it is for yourself. There is your need to eat, so it is fair that you take the opportunity presented to you." He huffed, looking up at the moon as it provided little illumination for the land around us. "Your hunting still needs major work before you may lead. Any cub could catch a sleeping rodent. And Tishala," he looked to me, his expression no warmer than before "if you are fair to everything, there will always be another who can take advantage of that and overthrow you. Be the fairest to your needs and yourself." He reiterated, taking his eyes away from me again. "I would be embarrassed to know my heir was too weak to keep the position I trained her for."
He and I left the scene; Scar unaffected by this, but I couldn't even look up from my paws as we walked away, feeling so terrible for what I had done. In my head, the sound of those bones being broken just played on repeat, haunting me the whole time we made our way along. I thought about what Scar said, and although I wasn't, I did feel like I was responsible for both of their deaths. It was unfair, but my protests wouldn't be listened to by Scar. I couldn't tell anyone else either, fearing that they would question my respect for the circle of life I had been told about so many times since I had arrived. The lion king and I were of different mindsets, but for some reason, he seemed determined to mould me into his own vision.
The vision that came to mind was sickening to me as I was still trying to recover from what I had done. I managed to remain strong enough to not cry in front of him. He hadn't mentioned it to me, so I assumed he was choosing to let me off this once. It wasn't exactly subtle; how much I had been crying. The rest of the time Scar was guiding me, I barely said any more than a yes or no, all of which were in agreement with him. I couldn't find my voice to argue, leading me into a quiet trance where I recalled my actions, but felt no emotions at all. I didn't feel the adrenaline. I didn't feel the sorrow. I couldn't take in any of what Scar said, but it sounded much like he was repeating points he had already made. Even being called princess didn't shake me from this state, despite his best efforts to emphasise that title to me.
We finally returned just over an hour after the hunting incident and I felt flat. We stood at the mouth of the den, both of us facing each other, just giving me an extra reminder of our size and power difference. "Tishala, we will start your training as soon as you wake tomorrow. I will make sure Sarabi knows everything she is to teach you for leading a hunting group." He explained, not an ounce of care in his voice. Looking at me, it would have been clear that I was not okay, but his only concerns were furthering his own visions for the pride. "Now, go on, I will speak with you when I need to. No doubt those two lionesses will be awake waiting for you anyway." He sounded disgusted at that "Now remember our little secret." He started to grin at me "Wouldn't want to upset them, would you? So, let's keep it between you and me." He suppressed laughter, but I could tell he was being serious enough that I wouldn't like the consequences.
With a newly frightened expression on my face, I nodded and turned to run into the den, not even looking back to see where he would go off to. I spotted Sarafina within seconds, but she was asleep, with Nala tucked in with her. I looked left and then right and then remembered that Sarabi would be where she normally was. I could hear her whispering me over, having already spotted me. I followed the sounds to find the adult lioness. She had her usual warm, thoughtful smile on her face, happy to see I was back. I hadn't felt as happy as I did in a long time, barrelling into her. Her paws caught me before I could do too much. As soon as I was in her grasp, she started to groom me, her tongue brushing over my fur to clean what she could. I realised that I hadn't cleaned off what blood had soaked into some of my fur around my mouth.
Suddenly, I was filled with worry. I was going to be found out because I didn't even think to clean myself and she was going to taste the blood and know what had happened. I was going to be cast out, chased away, left alone. At least, that is what my mind was telling me as her tongue got to my ears. Sarabi though, knew that something was wrong before getting to the blood stains. I hadn't been purring, blocking out any of the pleasant feelings I normally got when I had my ears being groomed like that. She lifted her head, using a paw to make me do the same. Even in the den's near pitch black, I could make out her face. There was concern etched on her, making the lioness tilt her head as if it would draw the answers out of me. "Tishala, is everything okay? Normally you would be purring by now." She asked, leaning in to nuzzle at me, though I turned my head away a little bit so she couldn't get the bloodstain. I didn't want to risk it. It was a brief touch between the two of us and when I looked back to her, she was still concerned, but I could also see a tinge of hurt in her eyes. That made me upset, but I had to stay strong, trying to channel some of Scar's advice. I didn't want to hide it, but I was too worried, feeling the need to look out for myself. "I know something is wrong. I can see it in your eyes. Is it something Scar did to you?" She asked, her voice becoming a little more authoritative, though she was careful not to intimidate me further. I shook my head in response. I was kay with that, it wasn't a lie. "I cannot help you if you don't tell me. You understand I just want to help you, right, Tishala?" She questioned, waiting for my answer.
Before I knew what was happening, I could feel all the emotions of that event bubble to the surface. I lost clear vision as my eyes were flooded with tears, the lump in my throat returning. Using her maternal instincts, Sarabi held me close, which only allowed me to let all my emotions out. The grief I felt, the guilt, all of it. I rubbed my face onto her, wiping the tears, though more just kept coming to replace the ones I wiped away, causing her fur to become damp. I cried into her, trying to soften the noises so I wouldn't disturb anyone. Of course, I could hear that some of the lionesses in the den were waking up to see what had broken their slumber. I feared they would be in a bad mood with me, but I didn't hear anyone question it. Sarabi was doing her best to comfort me, though she didn't say anything, her touch was enough. I must have been weeping for several minutes before I started to slow it down, finding all the emotion I had expelled had made me exhausted, mentally as well as physically. I had been clutching as Sarabi, but my grip loosened significantly when my cries turned to muffled sobs.
I pulled myself off her, looking around to see the many faces of other lionesses, which worried me further; until I saw they were looking as concerned as their leader did. All of them, they didn't show even a little bit of distaste towards their early awakening. I felt all those eyes on me in a different way, almost uplifted by it. "You can tell me, little one. I want to help you, especially if it troubles you as much as it appears to." Sarabi offered up a little smile, trying to pull the problem out of me. I looked around again to see all others were waiting to hear as well.
I shook my head, sobbing still, though the lioness holding me just nodded and I followed suit, knowing it would be best if I told them. No matter Scar's threats. He couldn't do anything if he didn't know I had told anyone. "I-I…" my bottom lip trembled as I felt fresh tears coming to the surface, the lump in my throat making it almost impossible for me to say anything without my voice cracking, just adding to the scene I didn't want to cause. "When I….when Scar…" I tried to start again, but had very little success, shuddering as I was breathing in, shaking even as the thought of saying it wasn't a pleasant one.
I felt the others had gotten closer, hearing a few whispers in concern for me, mentioning Scar in a context I couldn't quite make out whilst I was in the state I was. Sarabi ignored their whispers and nuzzled into me, purring as she tried to elicit a similar response from me. I tried and did feel a little calmer. "Take deep breaths. Take your time. I want to know what happened to make you feel this way." She assured, lifting her head to give me some space again.
I did as she asked, taking deep breaths, even if they were still shaky, gulping down as I tried to talk in a clearer manner "Scar was showing me the Pridelands at night. H-he was giving me lessons…he said that I'm. He said that I'm his. His heir." I looked away from the lioness holding me, knowing that there was a chance it could really upset her, knowing that her son was meant to have still been heir and that all of a sudden, a king she didn't want had chosen an heir that wasn't theirs. Even if she had accepted me into the pride so easily, this wouldn't be news she wanted. I could hear some hushed gasps when I said that, my ears falling back as I felt very self-conscious, announcing that to everyone.
I could feel her stare on me, forcing me to lift my head and look up to her. The expression I saw wasn't as shocked or upset as I imagined, but I guessed she was hiding it in front of all the other lionesses. I could see she wanted to ask more on that, but she surprised perhaps everyone, myself included when she did speak up "Please, continue." She asked of me.
With a rather scared expression still on my face, I nodded "Well, later on, we were talking about hunting skills." I paused as I could hear small murmurs around me, many of them questioning why a cub such as myself would be talking hunting with a lion as opposed to a lioness. I was nudged subtly to continue "Well…" I stopped as I could feel all the emotions returning. I fought them off as best as I could, deciding to just focus on Sarabi's eyes, nothing else "he showed me that some animals are easier to catch. He pointed to some small elephant shrews." The tears came into my eyes, but couldn't beat gravity, falling down the side of my face before getting soaked into my fur. "He told me to hunt one. They were sleeping." I choked up a little "I-I didn't want to, but Scar said I had to…I was too scared to say no." I started bawling again, but refused to stop now I'd said as much as I had "So, I hunted one of them…a-and it's dead now!" I cringed just at saying that, a near constant stream of tears as I was finding it hard to breathe slowly. "T-then Scar got the other one." I cried out, though I was still careful of my volume, wary that Scar would somehow hear otherwise. I hadn't noticed that several lionesses were all around Sarabi and I, like it was extra protection or more comfort. "Sarabi, I'm sorry. I know that I didn't follow the circle of life, I know it wasn't fair. When I said that to Scar, he just told me that life isn't fair and I should make it fair for myself, but I feel so awful and I was so scared about telling you please don't be mad at me." I whined, clutching at her again as I felt I couldn't look into her eyes anymore, as if I had betrayed her completely.
I should have realised that I wasn't going to scorned for this. However, with emotions running as high as they were, it was impossible for me to think anything other than a bad result. I was anxious to hear any of them speak, knowing that Sarabi would be the first to voice her opinion. Indeed, I was correct "Child, I am not angry with you. I realise how intimidating it can be to go against the order of your king. In your position, I am sure all of us would have done the same thing. Please, do not blame yourself for this." She tried to calm me again, but sighed as she continued "It is true that you interfered with the circle of life, but sometimes that is just the way things go. You and I know this already. If you are showing as much sadness as you have been, then I am not worried. I know you respect the circle, so please do not think otherwise." Her words were soothing, though I still had some issues to address.
"But when I did it…I didn't feel bad, so what if-" I was cut off before I could finish my question.
"What you felt when doing that, it is quite normal. I would have been more concerned if you weren't having this kind of reaction. I am glad you feel this way about taking a life that wasn't meant to be taken. We are all sorry that you do feel this bad though." She gestured for me to look around at all the faces that were showing nothing but support. Whilst I thought about it, I realised that it was basically a sort of sisterhood with how quickly they were wiling to lend their support and care for me.
I was about to speak again when a voice I hadn't heard so far that night came to the forefront "Yeah Tish, we know you're not mean!" The voice's young owner squeaked, Nala leaping into view as she got right into my face, refusing to wait for a reaction from me before she gave me a friendly little nuzzle. "You're too much like me and mum and everyone else nice. You're not mean like a hyena. You can think of good ideas like I can. I'm the smartest though…and the fastest!" The lion cub had gone off topic a little bit, but if anything, she lifted the mood of the den, even getting a smile from me. Her way of being in the situation made me admire her a little bit, stepping out from Sarabi's hold to return the nuzzle she gave me "Mum and queen Sarabi and me won't let you get mean. We promise." Nala beamed with pride, lifting her chin up as she grinned.
Sarafina stepped in to be seen rolling her eyes at her daughter with an amused smile on her face "Once again, my daughter is right." She chuckled, though there was a seriousness to what she said "With all of us looking after you, we know there's nothing wrong with you. You are going to grow up to be a beautiful, strong lioness. It's this pride's duty to make sure." She said to me, though a little louder so all others could join in agreement, either nodding or their murmurs suddenly having a positive tone to them. It seemed that the positive energy ran in the family with those two, albeit with Sarafina's being more reserved; her age likely the reason for that.
The queen pulled me in again, though I was a much calmer picture than before, snuggling into her whilst soaking in the supporting smiles the others were giving "So you see? There is nothing to worry about. We are all here for you. Nala is especially there for you." The lioness gestured to the other cub, who was being pulled away by her mother, insisting that she went back to sleep. "Hmm, I think you should sleep too. It is very late for you and you look like you need sleep the most." She licked to top of my head as I felt my eyes getting heavy as if on cue. Before I knew it, I was falling asleep, not even trying to fight it.
My eyes opened to see I was back in my house. Where I had been living as a human. Much like the last time, I was on my bed, the windows closed, a warm orange glow coming through to illuminate the room with the same warmth. I looked and saw all of my things still in place; my books, clothes, bag, everything. I felt my heart rate increase as I remembered what was going to happen next. I looked to my door and waited for it to swing open. When it did though, it opened faster and with no squeak. Despite the less creepy way the door opened, I still felt a great sense of foreboding though as I could see past the door frame. The orange glow of the sun had gotten into the hallway, though it was lacking in the kitchen as I got there, the windows at the back of the house the wrong side to catch any direct sunlight.
I couldn't explain it, but I felt as if something was guiding me through my house. Whatever it was, it didn't show itself even though I could feel its eyes on me. It started to feel like I wasn't being guided, but instead puled by this invisible watcher. I felt my fur bristle, alerting me that there could be danger nearby. It wasn't as if I needed to be told twice. After what happened last time I was in this dream, I was prepared for a lot of hyena attacks. Somehow though, I doubted they would be coming this time, at least not in the same volume. "This way." A voice whispered in the still air, though it seemed as if it was carrying through the room. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but not as clear as when I had heard voices in my dreams before. It was like it was trying to entice me in rather than instruct me. This only added to the uneasy feeling I was getting from it.
I felt controlled to go in the direction the voice had been going towards, though I knew exactly where it was going to be anyway. Of course, just a moment later, I was facing the bathroom door, having it closed right as I was looking at it. My heart sank and my fears grew as it slowly opened, creaking as it did. The lighting in there was dim, as it had been last time, but there were the occasional flickers from it. I didn't take much notice of it at first, but when I started looking in at the flickering light in there, some images were shown to me. The first was of all the hyenas I had encountered. All of them were baring their teeth at me and although they were not moving, their image held just long enough to make me anticipate a scare. Whilst it didn't happen from them, the next image wasn't any better. It showed Simba. He was running from hyenas, headed for a steep drop. I recognised the steep drop, but couldn't exactly place it. The distance he was from the hyenas, he looked doomed for sure, only making my fear turn to sorrow. I could only feel confusion as the next image showed Simba, Nala and myself. The three of us were stood with each other, though we all looked a little older. As that image was changed with another, I looked away for a moment. When I looked back, I nearly gasped as a rather close up, life sized version of Scar was grinning at me in a way that would have been even more unnerving if he were there. Just as I got used to it, another image of him lunging for me, accompanied by a mad laughter that filled the house, causing me to duck down and cover my ears.
I looked up again to see all the images were gone and I entered the bathroom. The door didn't close, much to my relief. I was drawn to look in front of the mirror. I half knew what to expect; the flickering lights showing images of me as a human as well as myself as a lion cub. In the first instance, I was correct, seeing my old human self, standing there, motionless until I lifted a paw up, the corresponding hand doing the same. I blinked and instead I was met with my reflection as it would be if I looked into the water. In fact, the background scene in the mirror showed the water hole I had been to many times. I spotted in the background other lion cubs playing and a horn-bill overhead, keeping watch. Before I could watch any further, the sight changed again. I could see myself, but an older version, a grown-up lioness. As such, it made viewing the background more difficult, but there were other lions there. I didn't have time to admire my grown form though. Before long, there was the same scene, but in the dark of the night. The lion in the reflection was Scar. He was looking to me, smirking before he turned his head, looking in a different direction behind him. There, I could see Nala and myself. We were still young, but not much older. I wasn't sure what to make of it.
It looked as if the two of us were sparring with each other again, but it looked a little bit different. Nala seemed less relaxed and I seemed very focused. As I watched, I saw that Nala wasn't attacking at all, instead trying to dodge each attack she could. The more I watched, the more concerned I became. After a while, I saw that I had gotten her, striking heavy blows before pinning her. My eyes widened as I realised what I was about to see, shaking my head as my mirror self's jaws opened. Before I could see that happen though, I shouted out "Stop!" And the whole scene did stop, even fading so I was just left with my own reflection again, the mirror catching the bathroom instead of the watering hole.
I didn't feel right though, something was amiss with that. I figured there was more as I hadn't woken up. I turned away from the mirror, looking around the bathroom as the lights had stopped flickering and had gotten brighter as well. As I was about to call out, I felt a breeze rush through my fur, swirling around my ears as I heard the less creepy voice speak to me "You must not give up." The words echoed a little bit before fading.
As soon as the breeze had gone, the lights went off and I heard the door slam, as well as a low growl come from close by. Being on the bathroom counter meant that as those eyes revealed themselves, I was eye level. The eyes were green, glaring back at me as the voice came from them "You are never to disobey me again." The voice of Scar commanded, holding the menacing gaze upon me "Your king doesn't like to be disobeyed." He warned, snarling.
My eyes shot open and I looked to see that I was the only one in the den as well as Sarabi, who gave me a little squeeze and a soft nuzzle as I woke up. "Looks like we weren't wrong in saying you needed sleep. Everyone else is outside." I looked to the exit, seeing the bright light of day. It was comforting to see that, after what had been happening. Sarabi though, wasn't moving me out there, but cuddling me close "You wriggle a lot in your sleep. I always thought Simba would be the champion of that, but I think you might just outdo him. What were you dreaming?" She asked, though it didn't seem like she was thinking the dreams were bad.
I yawned and smacked my lips together, licking them just to add some sort of moisture there "Huh? Oh, uhm…I had a dream about playing by the watering hole…that's all I can really remember." I explained, though I was holding back. Thankfully, she wasn't able to see that.
She nodded "Okay, well that makes sense as to why you were kicking a lot, young lioness." She gave a small smirk, if only for a second. The peaceful comfort was interrupted by the lion king himself.
Scar didn't even need to say anything for Sarabi to sigh and get up to go outside without me. This move clearly made Scar feel giddy, the lion chuckling to himself before he laid beside me. With the memories of the night before still fresh, I wasn't feeling brave enough to give him a scowl. "Training for leadership is tiring, is it not?" He teased, a claw scratching over my head as soft as he could manage, though it was still forceful enough there was a small amount of discomfort coming from it. "Now that she is out of here, I have another secret I can tell you about Sarabi." He hummed the last word, definitely excited about having someone to gossip to. "I could never tell the hyenas. They're not such good secret keepers as you are. Who better to tell than my own living heir?" He grinned, making me feel a similar kind of sickness to the night before.
I stretched my forelegs out a little bit and yawned again before asking "What do you have to tell me?" I asked.
"Well, I am glad you asked." His voice rolled over the words, having expected that response from me anyway "Sarabi, she despises any cub that isn't Simba. It is understandable, of course, she expected her child would become king and is resentful that it was her cub and not another. I see I rescued you in time before she could do anything to you. After all, a king has to protect his future." He spoke with great joy in his voice, convincing himself and leading me to question if that was true or not.
I couldn't help but ask a question "Why has she been really nice to me so far then?"
He smiled, having expected that question "Well how else is she going to gain your trust?" his brow raised as he waited for a response, but seeing as I didn't say anything quick enough, he leaned in "Now, my Scar-ess, I need you to keep a close eye on Sarabi. Find out anything interesting and tell me. Do that and I will take you on a night hunt again. I know you enjoyed it." He teased, knowing I definitely didn't enjoy it. "If you don't though, well, I really don't think you will let your king down, so I will just leave it to your imagination what might be done." He sighed with a smile "Oh the imagination of youth." He grinned, trying to get under my skin.
I hadn't given much away in terms of my reactions, but Scar seemed to know what to say anyway. "Okay Scar." I sighed, defeated, much to the delight of Scar, his smile growing by the second.
He patted my head "There's a good lass." He dropped the drawling tone to become a little more spritely in front of me. The lion stood up, gesturing for me to join him "Of course, our little secrets will remain secrets. Not even sharing with Nala, understood? She wouldn't know what to do with any information. She is just a cub, but you're much more than that, aren't you, princess? Are we in agreement?" He asked, raising a brow as his smile faded. I didn't want to see an angry Scar ever, let alone just after waking up, so I nodded, getting a semi sarcastic response from the king. "What wonderful news."
A/N: Here you go then. Only reason this didn't come out sooner was because of procrastination. As always, the disclaimers; I do not own Disney or lion king. As always, I would absolutely love if you left a review of some description. They mean a lot to me when I get them. And the more the merrier! Until next time!