"Mufasa, you have to tell Simba. You've kept him in the dark for so long.", Sarabi says, her amber eyes fixed on her mate.
The red maned lion kept his eyes closed, his features twisted into pain, grief and nostalgia. He took a deep breath, trying to retort. But he just couldn't.
"Love, I know it hurts, but your son deserves to know the truth. It is inevitable now."
Mufasa let a lone tear roll down his cheek, still refusing to face his queen.
"It's been 5 years Sarabi. 5 years since he left."
"I miss him too."
"It's my fault."
"Mufasa, stop blaming this on yourself!", the brown lioness countered. "Whatever your brother did was for the good of the Pridelands. It was his own choice."
"If I had helped him that day, he would still be here."
"No, he wouldn't.", Sarabi sighed, exasperated. She was just tired of her husband blaming himself for what happened. "Even if we did more than we already did, nothing would change. Nothing would prevent him from making this decision. He said that he would see it through and he meant it."
Mufasa opened his eyes, staring into the distance, recalling the event.
"Muffy, think about it. If he was here, what would he want you to do?"
Silence was all the queen got.
"Simba would find out he had- has an uncle, sooner or later, no matter he discovered the lair of the Guard or not. He has to know what happened and his uncle isn't here with us.
"Think about it."
With that, Sarabi began leaving the royal den and king alone with his thoughts.
"You're right. My brother would like his story to be told. It might not have a happy ending, but it's reason we're here today. The reason Simba is here today. It's all thanks to Taka..."
Mufasa stood on wobbly paws, his stare fixed on the ground. Sarabi rushed by his side, and after a moment of looking each other in the eyes, she spoke.
"It hurts. But we will do this together."
A familiar laugh filled the cave. "I think dat dis story has to be told by de keeper of de Pridelands' history...", Rafiki's voice echoed.
The king and queen's gazes fell on the elderly mandrill sitting on a elevated ledge.
"Rafiki? How long have you been there?"
"Does dat really matter? We have a legend to tell!", he said swiftly jumping down and headed outside.
"It is time!", Rafiki shouted.
"Dad? What's this all about?", the cub asked following his parents down Pride Rock, and to the secret cave he had discovered two days ago.
It was early morning, the African sun still had to paint the savannah landscape in a orange colour. Actually it hadn't even risen yet.
Upon entering the cave, Mufasa stopped dead in his tracks. He took a deep breath and looked down at Simba. "Remember about this place?", he asked and his son nodded. Of course, that was just two days ago.
"Well... I think it time we tell you a story. A story that changed the Pridelands forever."
The royalty continued, and finally found the shaman sitting on a rock protrude above a lake of crystal clear water.
"Ah, de royal family is here! It was about time.", Rafiki said in a warm and cheery voice. The mandill had that most of the time, giving the impression that he took nothing seriously.
He grabbed the staff in his hands and descended from the rocks, and leaded the three lions over to a wall covered in drawings. That permenant grin on his face, he pointed up at them.
"Ahh, yes. De first Lion Guard. Haki. He was one fair lion. And dere's Shujja's, haha! He was being talked of for generations! Hm... I see Fahari over dere. My mother was just a little monkey when he retired. Ah, aha, Kiongozi the First... Kitu the Fierce...
"O, dis one, do you see dis one? Dis my friends, is de brother of King Mohatu, Makosa. He was a remarkable leader, if only he recognised it himself! Makosa is going to play an important role in our story."
Simba, who had gotten bored during Rafiki's murmur of unfamiliar names, got interested again when Makosa's importance got highlighted.
"Finally, we got... Taka. Dis is de main character of our story. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be here, my prince!
"Taka's Guard is deemed de greatest after Haki's. De young Guards achieved more than any other Guard in de history of de Pridelands! Dis is their story..."