I immediately jumped to my feet. I soon realised that I was in no danger. Thanks to the lack of grass, the fire was not close enough to allow smoke from entering the cave.

Then, it got to my attention that the cave was empty!

Where is everyone? I thought, desperately. Where's mother? Is she okay? What if she's hurt? Or trapped by the flames? Or...?

I didn't want to think about it. I needed to make sure mother was alright.

I ran out of the cave. It was nighttime, but the flames lit up the landscape in its bright-red glow. The smoke was thick and heavy, causing my lungs to burn and my vision to blur.

"Mother!" I cried, my voice weakened by the smoke and my current state. "Mother! Please! Where are you?"

I ran aimlessly, having no idea where I was going. I was getting dizzier and dizzier.

I stopped eventually, coughing and gasping for air. I could faintly hear the sound of yelping hyenas and roaring lions in the distance. I had no idea what was going on.

Suddenly, I saw a group of hyenas marching towards something with a purpose. I hid behind some rocks near me so that they wouldn't notice me. That's when, to my surprise, I saw my uncle, Scar, tumbling down a cliff in front of me.

When he reached the bottom, he lay there for a few minutes before opening his eyes and standing up. He was dizzy and weakened. Despite my blurry vision, I could tell that he had been in a violent fight thanks to the scratches on his being.

The hyenas had formed a circle around him. I couldn't quite tell what was being said, but the next thing I know, he was being pounced on by the hyenas and torn apart.

It was a horrible and gruesome sight. I was extremely surprised by the fact that Scar had been allies with the hyenas. What could he have done for his minions to go against him?

Tearing my eyes away from the horrible sight, I looked up the cliff he had fallen from. At the top, I could just make out the figure of an adult male lion. I could not see his face clearly, but I doubted that I knew him anyway.

My eyes snapped back to the hyenas who had finished attacking Scar and were now inspecting his body. I knew that they would eventually lose interest in him and discover me. There was no telling what they would do.

I snuck off and ran for my life. I was vaguely aware that I was running uphill, but I had no idea which direction I was going.

My running was becoming slower and slower and I had to continuously dodge burning branches and stuff.

Suddenly, I stumbled and fell on the ground, the toxic smoke enveloping me. I noticed the lion standing over me before my vision blackened.

Half conscious, I felt my body being lifted onto something and that something was running somewhere. I became aware of the air becoming clearer and it was getting easier to breath.

Eventually, I felt my body being lowered to the ground and then a soft, male voice spoke.

"Are you okay?"

I forced my eyes open and looked up to see a male lion standing over me. Although I didn't recognise him, I assumed he was the lion at the top of the cliff. I guessed he was an ally, seeing as he just saved my life.

Coughing, I croaked, "Do I look okay?"

The male looked at me with concern on his face. He had golden fur and red hair. His eyes were red, too. He looked healthy and strong, better fed than the pride, only he looked tired and was covered in scratches and soot.

He looked around him, wildly and sniffed the air.

"Hold on a second," he said and ran off.

My head was pounding again. I closed my eyes and groaned. The next minute, the lion was back with a piece of zebra leg in his mouth. The meat was rotting and foul smelling, but it was food nonetheless. The lion placed it by my muzzle.

"Here," he said. "Eat this. It isn't much, but you obviously need it."

I dragged my head up and began to eat, regaining a little bit of strength through every bite.

The lion sat down beside me, watching the fire at Priderock not far off with a worried expression.

After I had devoured the meat, I turned to him, a million questions running through my renewed mind.

The first that came to mind was, "Where did you find the meat?"

"I found it buried under a dead tree," he answered, not taking his eyes off Priderock.

"Oh," I replied. "Must've been the meat that Kula had said she had stored somewhere, but had forgotten where."

The lion chuckled. "That sounds like her."

It took me a few moments for me to realise that, somehow, this lion knew Kula. I was about to question him about it when I felt a raindrop plonk on my nose.

The lion and I turned our eyes to the sky and, sure enough, it had started to rain. A grin spread across the lion's face. The rain soon poured down on our faces, the coolness soothing my flaming body.

The fire surrounding Priderock was sizzling out. I bolted on to my paws, which was a mistake as I was still too weak to move suddenly.

"Mother!" I cried. I turned to the lion. "Did you see her?"

I doubted he knew who she was.

"The last time I saw the other lionesses, they were alright," he said. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

I wasn't sure what was going on. Who was this lion? Where had the hyenas gone? Why had they ripped apart my uncle? Not that I was upset about that. I still felt angry every time I remember what he had done to my father and brother and the rest of the pride.

I was about to ask him more questions, when he got up and said, "I have to go and make sure the lionesses are okay. Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine," I replied. "You go on ahead, I need to go slowly."

The lion galloped off. I followed him taking small, careful steps.

It took me a good few minutes for me to get in the view of the ledge of Priderock. Standing atop it was the lion.

He raised his head to the sky as the rain stopped and the clouds parted and gave a loud, earth-shattering roar.

The lionesses were gathered underneath it. They all gave a loud, unanimous roar. The lion gave one last roar before everything quietened down.

I scanned the crowd, hastily. Apart from lionesses, I saw a hornbill sitting on a rock and (strangely enough) a meerkat sitting on a warthog that did not look like he was there for eating. Near the entrance of the den, I noticed Dr Mandaboon (or whatever his name was) standing there leaning on his stick.

The lionesses all wore expression of exhaustion, yet relief. I knew immediately why. All the hyenas were gone. Not a single one remained. Whoever this lion was, he had saved us. I knew then and there that the lion would help us out of our hell on Earth.

As I searched through the crowd for my mother, I also looked out for the lioness who I suspected had everything to do with said lion being here.

And, sure enough, I spotted Nala standing next to mother. I couldn't help but smugly grin to myself.

As the lion slowly descended from the ledge, I approached mother. She turned around when she saw me coming, a huge smile of relief on her face.

I nuzzled mother for a brief moment, before someone behind her spoke.

"Mother?"

Mother turned around and I saw the lion approaching us, his eyes slightly narrowed in confusion. Mother?

"Who is this?" He asked.

"Ah, Simba," she said. "I want you to meet your younger sister."

So, I decided to stop it here. I've been rather lazy in my updating, but I am currently balancing my summer exams, art homework and school work all in one. I hope you enjoyed it so far. Next chapter should be up soon (hopefully)