Chapter 14- A Question of Queens and Their King

I put my head down low, making sure the rest of my body followed, my tail streamlined to fit my form. The progress I'd been making was rapid as I let myself go to my new instincts. I'd found controlling them a little easier, the more I let them take control for the moment. In this situation, I was working without fault, focused on my target. Though they suspected me nearby, it was clear to me that they had no idea where to pinpoint. I resisted the urge to let out a warning growl, wanting to keep my stealthy pursuit through to completion. Although it was light, I moved behind my target like I was their shadow. Still I went undetected. Without blinking, I readied myself to pounce, knowing that a strike was moments away. I felt the energy build in my legs, surging through my body until I was ready for the moment. It felt like I moved at the speed a bullet would leave a gun, leaping out from my cover. The distance between my target and I evaporated, like it was never there. Their body remained still, unknowing of the danger just behind it. I made contact. The two of us tumbled together, the thudding along the floor was the only sound other than intent growls. Seeing as I had been growing in my time with the lions, I was evenly matched with my opponent, hence the constant struggle for power between the two of us. To the victor, the spoils. Having fought hard, I was rewarded with a surprised face looking up at me. The target was breathing hard, having exerted themselves plenty only to end up in this position, being held down, my full weight aiming to keep it that way. I growled down with a smirk, the victory feeling so sweet.

However, my success didn't last. Before I knew it, the role had been reversed and I couldn't find a way to struggle back up, having pushed myself so hard to score the win initially. My reversal of fate had come at the doing of none other than Nala, who smirked back at me "Ah, so close, but I guess you'll never really get to pin me. Maybe next time." She giggled, winking before she licked at my forehead playfully, finally getting off me. As luck would have had it, that day, we were allowed to be outside and play together. Inja had been given permission to rest from hunting and instead keep an eye on the two of us. Inja had been grimacing almost the whole time. Even as Nala and I played, I couldn't help but wonder what was ailing the young lioness.

After our latest sparring session, I wandered over to Inja, Nala in tow. "Are you okay? You look like you're in pain." I frowned with concern. It wasn't so obvious when she was laying down as to what was injuring her.

The kind feline smiled at the two of us and shook her head "I'm fine. I just managed to hurt my paw whilst hunting yesterday. I'll be fine to go again next time, don't you worry about me. If anything, I'm happy because I get to spend time with my favourite little friends." She stuck her tongue out for a moment, chuckling to herself. "The king himself said I would be ready to go for the next hunt. Sarabi agreed with him, so I guess they know what they are talking about. I don't think the queen would make me go out again before I was ready. I'm actually surprised that king Scar got some of us actually in leading roles for the hunt. I guess it's to build experience though." She shrugged, finishing after realising that maybe she was losing the attention of the cub next to me.

My mind clicked into gear, trying to analyse the situation as if I were at a veterinary appointment, except this time, I had to think what should be done rather than watching the qualified veterinarian. "Your paw...how does it hurt?" I asked, looking at the paw she alluded to. "How well can you stand on it?" I asked, seeing the swelling that had been caused by the inflammation. The older lioness stood up and looked down to me as if nothing was bothering her "Put some weight on it or try and move it around please. I need to see your range of movement in it, see where the pain is." Inja was looking at me like I was an alien, but still complied, sucking in air as she felt the pain of having to move it, though much to my relief it didn't seem agonising to her, suggesting that there hadn't been too much damage. "Thanks, you can rest it again. Inja, I don't think you should hunt for at least another few days after this, and maybe when you do go, put yourself in a more supportive role. From the looks of it, you've caused inflammation to your annular ligament. That's why it hurts to stand on it or move it too much. Without anything that I can really do, the best thing I can suggest is resting it…maybe I cold talk to the monkey…uhm…Rafi?" Nala shook her head and told me the primate's name. "Oh yeah, Rafiki. I could see if he could make something to support your paw whilst you're resting it." I suggested, smiling back at the lioness.

It was at that moment I realised I had been back in my element, assessing and diagnosing an issue with an animal. It made me feel good, though I barely noticed the reaction I was getting until I had finished, when both Nala and Inja were staring at me as if I had been speaking a different language. I gave them a questioning look "Sorry, Tishala, I just…I'm not sure I understood all of that. I'm even less sure how you know what that means." She commented, leaning towards me with a smile "Just what was your old pride like if a cub can be speaking like that?" She hummed curiously, imagining what life I used to lead. Of course, she was far from the actual truth, but with both of them wondering, I started to work out a fabrication that they would believe.

"My pride were good healers. To be good at healing, you need to have a good understanding of the body. Of course, as my parents were the rulers, they might have to tend to other animals as well. I was still learning, so I'm not perfect by any means, but I know some stuff." I explained, earning another chuckle from Inja.

She replied to me "I just don't expect such sophisticated words to come from someone as young as you. They must start teaching you early. It's like I'm speaking with a fully grown lioness." Again, she chuckled. "You are just full of little surprises, aren't you?" She raised a brow in my direction. Her smile faded a little bit as she started speaking again "Even if you are right though, I don't think they will let me rest for more than today. It was only because queen Sarabi insisted that I was able to rest today." Her smile was a little weak. It was obvious that she agreed she needed more rest, but would have to follow her orders.

I shook my head as I rested my smaller paw on top of her affected area, "If they don't let you rest it, then you run the risk of injuring it further, maybe leading to permanent damage. I think more of the lionesses would be upset that you couldn't help with a hunt ever, compared to only being unable to help for a little bit before returning at full strength, right?" I raised a brow at her this time, smiling as she nodded, agreeing with my advice.

The whole time, I had almost forgotten Nala had been watching me, just trying to work out what I was doing, and how I picked up this knowledge. The look in her eyes told me she was impressed, maybe even a little bit fascinated with it. "So, your parents taught you all that?" She asked. I nodded and gave a bit of a sheepish smile. "So that's why you were so bad at play fighting when you first got here." She commented, grinning at me. It took me a moment, but I clocked that she was teasing me soon after.

It wasn't long before my attention turned back to Inja "So, I haven't seen Rafiki in a long time, but if I do see him soon, I'll ask if he can do anything. If not, then I guess you'll be here looking after me and Nala, right?"

"If I'm not told I have to go hunt, then it is likely I will be asked to watch over you. I heard that Zazu is working harder than ever. It's like there are more problems to deal with now that Mufasa is gone, but there's less animals, which doesn't make sense. I don't know, things are just weird at the moment." She frowned, switching back when she remembered her younger audience "Nothing to worry about though! I'm sure that the king just has to get used to being king." She insisted, trying to shelter us.

All of us looked around when we heard some of the cackles of hyenas nearby. They would occasionally come around to check on all of us, although they were starting to become a bit more wary of me ever since they saw what I could do to them. The fact I was always growing put them on edge, knowing it wouldn't be a huge amount of time before I was able to match them consistently. I didn't think of attacking them, of course, but they knew the threat was there if they set me off. It wasn't clear if Nala was fully aware of what I had done. Since I had made an agreement with Sarabi to tell her everything, I had generally remained on an even keel.

We spotted a few hyenas looking over from a distance and frowned at them, Inja's figure clearly more intimidating than Nala or I due to her larger size. After a brief staring contest, they retreated away. "What's their problem with us? We're just playing." Nala huffed, sounding fed up with the constant surveillance that we were under. Nala pulled me away from Inja.

As I was being dragged away, I looked to our carer "Uhm, sorry, best friend talk." She rolled her eyes with a smile and waved us away, closing her eyes to take a little nap. Once far enough away, Nala leaned in close to me and started whispering "Can you take me to where you and queen Sarabi go? I want to think about Simba too." She explained. The request caught me by surprise, with the topic having come out of the blue. "Can you at least ask?" She almost pleaded. The saddest face she could muster was enough to make my heart almost melt right there and then.

I leaned in to rub our cheeks together, both of us purring "I'll ask, but I can't make any promises, okay? Scar wouldn't like that we go there anyway. We don't really do much there. Normally we'll just sit and stay quiet for a long time." My ears started to fall back "I think about him from when I knew him, y'know?" I asked, receiving a small nod from the other cub. "It's just that one day he was here and the next…just gone. I feel like maybe I could have done something to help. I mean, I don't know what I could have done, but maybe just being there I would have been useful in some way." I continued.

Nala pushed herself against me "Me too. Simba was my best friend. I miss him so much. It would have been cool to be his friend when we got older and he was being king, wouldn't it?" She gave a somewhat rueful smile. "Friends with the king. We would play and hunt all day. It would be amazing." The thought of what could have been had perked up the other cub.

Joining in was easy. With the mood lifted, I took a chance "What about when Zazu said that you two were going to be married when you're older?" I smirked, causing her expression to shift a little into mild disgust.

"Ew, I already told him that I couldn't marry my best friend, it'd be too weird." She chuckled "I'd rather marry and Aardvark." The cub joked before her expression shifted to a smirk again. "I remember when you and Simba were K-I-S" she started.

Unfortunately for her, I was able to cut her off fast "No we were not!" I protested, putting a small whining tone to my words. I playfully batted a paw towards her.

The teasing didn't stop there though "Queen Tishala and King Simba." She cooed, giggling afterwards. Before long, the playful cub was bowing to mock me, changing her voice to become far more refined than she had any need to. "Your majesty. I will follow you to hunt the antelope." She grinned, knowing all the buttons she was pressing. I prepared to pounce at her, leaping with a sort of war cry, getting a hold of her. Because she had already thought of a counter, both of us were trying to push against each other, standing on our hind legs, moving back and forth until Nala gained the advantage, pushing me onto my back, not for the first time.

Unlike the time before though, I was able to get out of the hold, resuming my efforts to try and win this one. Despite the worrying things I had seen in my dreams, I never felt as if I was going to put Nala in any danger through my own doing. We swung our paws at each other, trying to gain an advantage. Through our little growls there was still the laughter and occasional teasing words from Nala as she reminded me of the rather tender, if innocent moment that Simba and I shared on one of his final days. "Cut it out! I was just helping a friend out!" I called out rather breathless. That was the opportunity that she needed. A second invitation wasn't necessary as the other cub bowled me to the ground, using her forepaws to push me down harder, asserting her victory over me. "Okay, okay, you win! I still don't want to be married to Simba. And we weren't kissing!" I finished, looking pleased with myself that I'd finally been able to say it in full without any interruptions.

Regardless of what I said, Nala continued to give me an amused look, purring as she stood above me, unphased by any of the arguments I came out with. She had set it in her mind. Even if she knew it wasn't the truth, it sparked enough of a reaction from me that she would insist on it being the truth. "Well I guess maybe we'll never know for sure, but it looked like you liked him." She purred, collapsing on top of me, forcing the both of us to giggle, only shifting so our noses were nearly touching, her face above mine. "Still, I think you'll be a good queen. I don't know where your king would be though. The king has said you'll rule after him, but you've gotta find someone to be your king, right? Or else how are you going to have a future king or queen of your own?" She seemed to be quite serious about this, no longer joking around with me.

The topic of becoming queen was already odd enough for me. The mention of any heirs I might have made my stomach do flips, my face going red at the thought. It wasn't something I'd considered often, though I guessed it wouldn't be that uncommon a thought if they knew who the queen was going to be, always thinking of the line of succession. "Do I have to think about that kind of thing now? We don't even know if I'm going to be queen ever. Scar could just as easily change his mind and find someone else."

Nala shook her head "I don't think so. I asked mum. She thinks that you will be queen after he isn't king anymore. I think mum thinks you'll be nicer than Scar." Her smile told me she was telling the truth. "If you did have a king, what would you call your cub?"

Both my brows lifted as I was asked that question "I really don't know. I've never thought about it. I think if that was ever going to happen, I'd try and decide with the other lion." I suggested before shuddering. "Please, no more talk of marrying or cubs." Even if I had adjusted to being the opposite sex to what I was originally, talking of being in that kind of role still made me feel very uneasy.

Despite my protests, she continued along the same lines "Do you think Simba would have wanted you to be his queen? He and I were best friends, so we couldn't, but that does mean you could have been." She explained, gesturing with her paws as she looked down at me with a smile.

"I really don't know, because he didn't like me like that. He barely knew me. I'm not sure I could even be queen. I just don't think I would do it right." I reasoned, trying to back myself out of this corner.

She was insistent though "If you're not sure why don't you just ask queen Sarabi? Everyone likes her. She's a great queen, mum said so." She beamed, not bothering to move, even if she was just piled on top of me "But if you don't wanna be queen, you can just tell them that too." She shrugged.

My saviour came from the voice of Inja, who called us over. When we turned to face her, we saw she had been joined by the aforementioned queen and Nala's mother. "I think you two have some hunting lessons to get on with." She gestured to the two older lionesses as they gave her approving looks.

"Thank you Inja. I will see to it that you get extra rest. I hope these two weren't any trouble otherwise?" She responded with a shake of her head, mentioning that the two of us were a delight. Sarabi's eyes locked onto mine as she spoke up again. "Come with us, we have much to cover today."

The four of us had been travelling together, split into our usual pairings. "Inja told me you knew how to help heal her." Sarabi commented, smiling to me. "She said that you told her you learned from your family. Perhaps we can make some use for that knowledge, although we'll have to wait until you're older. You already have a lot of responsibility to learn. Though I'm sure Rafiki would be happy to share some of his own knowledge on healing to a young, enthusiastic mind."

I wondered if Sarafina and Nala had similar conversations with each other, or if they could talk about less serious things. I didn't mind though. Since telling her everything, Sarabi had made it her mission to teach me for leadership. We'd both agreed it would be good for me to know what to do if I did ever take some form of leadership. The result had ramped up my training with the lioness. So, not only had Scar increased my learning hours, but so had Sarabi, although it still felt quite easy going with her.

I watched her walk alongside me, almost envious of her longer strides "What are going to do today?" I asked, wanting to mentally prepare myself for it.

The lion queen responded "Just what we have gone over many times. I'm afraid a lot of this will just be practice. Of course, we will need to 'refine' some of the lessons our king may have taught you." She winked, hinting at the moral adjustments she would make to what I had learned with the king. "Is that okay with you, heiress?" She teased, though not in the same way Scar would tease me. I was able to smirk back at her, even if I still wasn't a fan of being referred to with that nickname.

Having given it thought, it seemed a little strange that the others had accepted the position Scar gave me so easily. There wasn't any conflict I had noticed. I didn't know if all the lionesses were actually okay with it, or if they were just following their king's word. I knew that I was getting on with most of them, forming at least small friendships with all of them. I did this all on Sarabi's request. One of the days, she shared with me the importance of knowing all the members I would be leading. If they always had a positive impression of me, it would make my life a lot easier.

Sarabi nudged me along as I had stopped because of my own thoughts, shaking myself out of it before going along. "Showing you care for others, like Inja, is admirable for someone so young. It seems that your parents were raising you for their kingdom well." She smiled to me, though there was a hint of sadness in her voice when she said it. "It's a good thing that you're in this pride to be a better hunter. We have the best of the best in the Pridelands." She winked, purring her response to me, having a certain amount of pride in that statement, as she was the leader of those hunters.

Without much more distance covered, I realised we had been taken to the watering hole. The change there was noticeable compared to my first full day in the pride lands. It was like the area was becoming starved of life. Still, we appreciated the drink the water provided us, lapping up the cool liquid on another hot day. For Nala and I, the heat was a bit easier to deal with; we didn't have as much bulk to carry around. The heat affected us less. However, the two adults would be conserving their energy a bit more in the heat, knowing they would have more work to do later. "Okay you two, we are going to meet back here and see who has learned the most, okay? Tishala, you're with Sarabi. Nala, my little troublemaker, you're with me." Sarafina purred, nuzzling her daughter again. Sarabi and I mimicked them before we turned to leave.

Before we could though, we felt our ears perk as a new voice entered the vicinity "I hardly think that's fair." The voice drawled. Its owner was the lion I hoped I wouldn't have to see until later that day. He came into view, emerging from a hidden spot with that smile. "The queen teaching the future queen. Young Nala getting taught by the common hunter." He shrugged, inspecting his claws. The insult wasn't aimed at me, but it still stung. I looked to Sarafina and saw that she had barely flinched, not wasting time by reacting.

Sarabi stepped forwards "Sarafina is one of our finest hunters. Perhaps if you had been present at any hunts of late, you would understand that all of them are anything but common." She responded, clearly hiding a smile of satisfaction at making a dig towards the king. His face contorted into fury for a split second, only to recede to mild annoyance. "Sarafina knows what she's doing as well as I know what I'm doing." She finished, gesturing for me to follow as she started to walk past.

Though he didn't raise his voice, the anger that was bubbling inside was evident in his response "Yes Sarabi, I know what you are doing." His tone sounded sinister, as if he had worked out something we didn't want him to know. I couldn't help but feel a pang of fear run over me. As a result, I didn't waste any time following her away to begin our lesson.

With Scar still in hearing distance, Sarabi spoke as we all walked away from him "I am teaching the next generation of this pride to hunt, Scar." I let out a little chuckle, though I was careful of my volume, not wanting him to hear. Sarabi let her smile show as she looked to me, making our getaway from him. I had to wonder what he was doing in that area in the first place. My mind wandered over it as the queen and I settled in the place we would be starting. "First thing to go over again, is how to stalk your target without them knowing. I know we have discussed how to keep your movement quiet, but this time I think we should emphasise your timing and position. I have said this before, but it helps to be down wind." She had said it before; so many times it ran the risk of becoming a constant droning in my head.

Her expression changed to that of a determined smile "Okay lioness, stage one." She instructed, an almost military tone replacing the usual powerful, yet caring voice I was accustomed to. Of course, she had shown this side of herself before. With her command, I adjusted my own expression to compliment hers, having a fierce gaze in concentration. I got into the perfect position to start, sneaking into the longer grass, concealing myself to the untrained eye. I didn't have to look, but I could tell that Sarabi holding a proud smile. The lesson had begun.

The longer the lesson had gone on, the more ground we seemed to cover. I was sitting up on one of the rocks as I watched Sarabi explain to me how to get the optimum first strike. I could feel my body aching a little bit, but by this point, I knew how to push through it well enough that it didn't bother me. As she explained what to do, she was trying to give a demonstration of each moving part, before trying to get me to use all of the information to try myself. This would repeat several times, as I would miss little elements of it, which according to the queen, could be the difference between a successful hunt and a hungry pride to come back to.

Despite my growing frustrations because of my inability to perfect this technique, Sarabi was quick to praise me for aspects I did get right. According to her, my balance was exceptional, even if I wasn't holding the best line when striking. She insisted it would take time and that I shouldn't worry about not getting it because it took most learners a long time before they would be even close. The only reason I felt extra pressure was because of Scar's insistence that I would lead hunts when he deemed it appropriate. The trouble was, nobody knew when that would be, so I had to work hard just in case I would be asked to hunt the next day.

My teacher gave examples and stories of some of her best hunting memories and insisted that even if I were placed into a hunt too early, my 'sisters' would look out for me. No doubt, she would have something to do with that. I was reminded that all the lionesses would protect each other if danger reared its ugly head, and the same would be expected of me, but to a greater degree if I were to become leader.

Having been shown again what to do, I prepared my attack, getting into what I thought was the right position. My confidence was cut when Sarabi shook her head. "No, not from there. I don't want to risk you hurting yourself because you jumped off a rock." She warned, though I decided to just hold the pose instead. I was becoming impatient with how long this one area took. In my concentration, I had forgotten the warning she gave, instead going for that attacking dive I thought was intended. The height of the rock was greater than I thought and so I lost my balance whilst falling through the air.

As I collided with the ground, I grunted, though it wasn't all that painful, maybe just a scrape. I coughed as the dust went up my nose and in my mouth. I cleared it away with one final sneeze before opening my eyes. I looked around curiously. Sarabi was nowhere to be seen, yet she was right in front of where I landed. "Sarabi?" I asked, trying to spot her around, but with no luck. "Sarabi?" I tried again, but this time a bit louder, concern etched on my face. I took a deep breath before shouting out "Sarabi?" My head was going from left to right, my body going in slow circles around a small perimeter, trying to find the lioness that I was in the care of. I had no luck.

It was only once I took a minute to compose myself that I realised something else. The area was lush and healthy. It was like when I had been in the Pridelands before Mufasa's death. The only thing absent from this picturesque scene was any animals besides myself. Again, I looked around, hoping to find anyone else that I might know. I'd have even taken Scar at that point "Is anybody here?" I called out, hoping for some response, but the sound of my voice just went dead, and the silence dominated.

I made the decision to try and find someone. I reasoned with myself that there may have been others at pride rock, so I started making my way there. I didn't sprint, but I did feel the need to run, wanting answers sooner rather than later, as well as a need for some company. Even in its beauty, the empty Pridelands was eerie. Even if it took me some time, the sun didn't seem to change position by the time I got to pride rock, scaling up and reaching the mouth of the den. I stepped in to find that there was no evidence of anyone being around. In fact, it appeared as if this den had never been lived in. With the natural darkness the cave brought, I didn't want to stay in there much longer, so ended up backing out of there.

I turned to look to the ledge on pride rock, feeling like I was meant to make my way to the edge. Once I was there, I sat down, my tail curling and then uncurling as I took in the view. I felt lonely, but I also had the feeling I wasn't actually alone. It was odd to hear and see nothing when there was an entire mass of land sprawling out ahead of me. I took a look down from the edge to see that there was no evidence of hyena activity.

The next thing I cold feel was a familiar rush of wind go by me, although, as before, it seemed like it was controlled, keeping itself swirling around me, a deliberate attempt to get my attention whilst also messing up my fur somewhat. I sat there for a couple of moments, just waiting for this wind to stop. It never did. I closed my eyes and could feel it spin around my entire body, keeping a precise line around me as I could feel some frustration boiling within. I made no other move, except unsheathing my claws. With lightning fast reaction, I swiped around, finishing by facing the opposite direction. This time when I looked into the den's opening, I could see a lion.

This lion was standing there, calm, unmoving as I studied it, trying to make sure I wasn't seeing things. My gut told me this lion wasn't real. This was only confirmed when I could see a faintly glowing outline around him. My mind flicked back to when I had been told about kings of the past and how they were always watching over us. Was it possible that this was one of those kings? Why had he come to me?

"Who are you?" I asked, taking cautious steps towards him. I'd been told that the kings of the past protected animals, but I wasn't about to take any chances. Once I got closer, I could see he had a kind smile on him, which did calm me enough to ask again "Who are you?" He looked to me directly after I asked. The more I looked, the more this lion reminded me of Mufasa; enormous size, but not the kind of size that made me fear him. I felt his power, his presence, forcing nothing but respect from me.

Finally, he responded "I am a former king of these Pridelands." He responded, keeping his response a bit vague. Normally this would have annoyed me and caused me to be rather blunt in asking which specific king this one was, but I reminded myself that it probably wasn't all that important. "Young cub, it is nice to finally meet you." He bowed his head with grace, lifting again so that he may look at me again. At this point, I was more than a little confused, just staring blankly. This had confirmed to me that the kings of the past did exist, and for some reason, at least one had taken some interest in me.

Flinching back to life, I bowed down to the king, standing up again once I was told to rise. "Your majesty. Forgive me, but why are you coming to me?" I asked, stepping closer again. He walked past and gestured me to sit beside him at the edge of pride rock. Sitting next to him, I looked up and waited to see if he would answer.

"I have come to you to tell of something important. The king must rise. You must be the one to help him rise." He requested, keeping his eyes out ahead.

My ears fell back after hearing that "You want me to help king Scar rise? So, does that mean I help him when he wants to take over more lands beyond the Pridelands?" I asked, my concern evident.

The king of the past looked to me with a soothing smile and shook his head "No. Only the true king must rise." He responded.

I was at a loss for words, unsure where this mysterious lion was trying to lead me "Uhm, no disrespect, your majesty, but shouldn't you know that Mufasa has joined you?" he nodded slowly "Then if you know how he got there, you must know that on the same day, Scar became the true king." I reasoned, though the old king's expression had not changed.

He shook his head once more "My descendant, Mufasa's son. He is the true king. The true king lives." His voice boomed with enthusiasm. I wasn't quite as energetic, the news coming as a bit of a shock to me. I didn't even know if this was real or if this was a concussion induced dream from not listening when Sarabi told me not to pounce from a rock. I didn't know what to believe, and it was evident that the king noticed my hesitation to believe. "He is far from here. You must find him, but only when you are ready."

Within me, I started laughing, almost in hysterics. Even the noble, unmoving king raised a brow at my reaction "Why are you telling me if I'm not even ready yet?" I asked, coping with the situation in a very poor way.

"You will know when you are ready. This is your purpose."

If looks could kill, even this king would have been glad he was already a spirit. "Are you telling me that I was taken away from everything I knew so I could find Simba?" I was enraged with this possibility.

The king neither confirmed nor denied it, choosing to go on with his planned speech "Your purpose for being here is not your destiny. You have not come here just to be used. Your life is still your own." He said. It didn't do much to calm me or answer any questions. In truth, I didn't think I would ever get told why I had been put where I was.

Frowning, I looked at him. "When I've done this will you tell me why I was picked to be here, like this?" The king gave a slow nod, looking to me with a stony expression as he started to fade.

"Find him. You must find him and make him realise." He instructed as his voice faded with him, in the end only a whisper of it being heard on the wind, all broken up.

"Find…must fi-…a-…-alise."

I lifted myself off the ground and looked ahead to see Sarabi. The foliage was back to how I remembered it. The time of day hadn't changed from before. I was left stunned. I looked around some more, then focused on Sarabi. The queen was smiling at me, but all I could do was give a blank stare in return, taking in all her features again. She was there. I listened to the sounds in the air, hearing birds, even an elephant in the distance. Sure, it wasn't quite as loud as when I first arrived, but it wasn't the utter silence I had just experienced.

My thoughts drifted over to it. Had I even experienced that? Did it really happen, or was it just my subconscious taking me for a ride at that point? "Tishala." I was knocked back into the world by Sarabi, the lioness leaning down and licking my cheek before rubbing our cheeks together. "There's no use looking so surprised. I told you not to leap from that rock." She chuckled, making sure all the dust was off my face from where I'd landed. "Sharpen up, we can't have our heiress out of action, now can we?" The lioness reminded me. I looked at her up and down once more before finally returning to how I was. "So, next time, what do we do?"

I sighed and responded "We listen to the advice we're given. Sorry mum." For a moment, neither of us realised the slip up I'd made. Then, when both of us made eye contact again, we realised what I'd just said. My face burned red with embarrassment.

Seeing this, the lioness had a small smirk "Did you just call me mum?" She asked, raising a brow as she got lower, her face closer to mine.

Completely flustered and trying to look away, I shuffled back and shook my head "No. I didn't call you mum." Backed up by a feeble laugh on my part.

She continued to drag herself closer, the amusement written all over her face "Oh? Then what did you call me?"

"I didn't call you mum, I called you…mu-uun?" I replied, unable to come up with something convincing on the spot. That was the best I could do when being pressured like that. "I said I'm sorry, mun." I reiterated, though the shaky tone I had was doing nothing to convince her. I had to face the smirking lioness, seeing as her tail was flicking a little, demonstrating her amusement even more. I closed my eyes and sighed "Fine, I called you mum. It was an accident, I swear."

Sarabi started laughing even more "You're talking as if I would be offended to have you as a daughter. I'm sure your parents are smiling down on you right now. You know I will look after you as family." She nodded. Without exchanging anymore words to each other, we embraced again, a mutual understanding only solidifying the bond that we had further. The two of us purred as we stayed in our embrace, savouring the peaceful moment we were allowed to have. As far as we were concerned, the world could wait until we were done. For a second, I thought of the bond I shared with my mother back home and how it compared. We were close, very close, but there was something about the way this mothering lioness showed me affection that got right to me. Maybe it was just both of our animal instincts taking over, but I could tell just from that embrace that she would give her life for me, and I would do the same.

Little did we know, we weren't alone. A pair of eyes were fixed on us, their expression that of pure malice. Yet, behind the malicious intent, there was the spark of an idea forming. Before either of us would have had a chance to notice it, they had slinked away.

A few minutes later, we let each other go, though my subconscious persuaded my body to stay closer to Sarabi than I normally would have been. I was still purring, and so was she, suggesting that this was an acceptable move forward. "We need to get you back to the den so you can rest before Scar takes you for his lessons. First though, we need to find Sarafina and Nala. Are you ready?" She beamed to me as we both got in a crouched pose, ready to dash away to find them.

Finding those two didn't take long thanks to my keen sense of smell, or at least that's what Sarabi was telling me. I knew she'd found them well before I had. Naturally, Nala and I got involved in another little battle, with Nala coming out on top once again. Once we broke from it, we agreed it was time to head back.

On the way back, I was walking alongside Nala, whilst the two mothers were walking behind us, chatting amongst themselves. No doubt they were talking about the two cubs in front of them, how they adored us. Nala was oblivious to it, instead pulling me into a conversation with her. "Do you think that we'll get to play again tomorrow? Because if Inja can look after us, it means we can. I was thinking that we see if we can play by the watering hole. If we have a grown up with us, then there's no way they'll say no, right?" She smiled to me, staring intently as she waited for an answer.

"Yeah that could be fun. Maybe that's all I need to beat you; a new place to try it." I winked, causing the other cub to roll her eyes, nudging me in a playful manner.

"We've played there before. It's just you were new. Besides, it's not a new place that you'll need to beat me. You just need to catch up…still." She blew a small raspberry before giggling. It was impossible not to join in, creating quite the little ruckus.

Sarafina took a notice of this and with a raised brow she asked, "And what is so funny to you girls?" A smile was starting to grow on her face.

Nala and I looked back to her mother and grinned. "Nothing. We were just talking." I giggled again, looking at Nala as she was joining in with a response.

She nodded "Yeah, we're just talking, mum." The two of us continued giggling to each other, my stomach almost hurting I'd been laughing so much with her. Before we turned our heads back, I caught the endearing smile Sarabi was directing my way; a genuine, heartfelt smile. Nala leaned in to whisper in my ear, barely making out her words in between the giggling "Hah, they have no idea!" The excited cub grinned.

The little conversations continued in the same fashion all the way back to pride rock, where all four of us went into the den. Sarafina and Nala laid down together in one spot. This time, I set down with Sarabi, but rather than it feeling a little like an intrusion, it felt like a home comfort, with family. For a while I tried to protest against her insistence I needed to sleep, but soon I gave way to her reasoning, knowing that she was right. Her point was proven as my muscles throbbed with fatigue. "Tishala, I won't tell you again. You'll find it much easier to finish Scar's lesson if you get some rest. You will have some food before going." She assured me.

As my eyes started to close, I murmured out "Okay."

She purred softly "Sleep well, sweet cub." She started gently grooming me, the pleasant feeling it brought only helped me drift off. Despite the rather confusing, potential meeting with a king of the past I had, which I still wasn't convinced was real; I knew I had to get some sleep.

I needed all the strength I could get. I had a feeling Scar's lesson was going to test me.

A/N: Well, here's another chapter for you guys. Hope you like it. I do not own The Lion King, tht goes to Disney. As I said before, I aim to get at least one chapter a month out, but there may be times I am able to release more. If that is the case, obviously that's good news for readers who want to see more. I would really really appreciate it if you gave a review on what you thought. I love hearing back from all of you on what you liked/disliked (So I can work on getting better), and what theories you may have for the future. See you all next time!