Hey there, and welcome back to The Lion King: The Novel. So far, it seems to be doing okay, but I'd like to do better. And this chapter will introduce our villain of the story, so...be prepared.

I forgot to mention that this will contain just a few nods of The Lion Guard as well. And yeah, it'll tell about how Scar got his, well...Scar. While I thought that it was kind of stupid at first, the show did explain the affects of the scar.

Uploading Date: August 20, 2019

Enjoy!

...

The King's Brother

In a cave below Pride Rock, Scar was stewing. The kingdom was celebrating the birth of the brat they called "Simba". In fact, it was so loud that the cave walls seemed to vibrate from the noise. Was it too much to ask for some peace and quiet in his own cave? All that fuss over one stupid little cub. It was completely disgusting and very typical of Mufasa to do.

Scar scraped his cave's floor with his claws. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a mouse sniffing nearby, looking for something to eat. Even if it wasn't a buffalo, at least he had something to eat here. If he were out on the savannah, he would have been a good hunter if it hadn't been for the scar over his left eye. He had been deemed to not be a good hunter by the older lions, so he was never brought out for hunting, not even for lessons. In his cave, however, he was a wise and mighty hunter in his own eyes.

He slunk towards the mouse, making sure that it didn't notice him or sniff his scent out. As he was right behind the mouse, he lifted his paw and slammed it down onto the small creature. The mouse squeaked and wriggled when Scar gripped its tail between his toes and lifted it up to his face.

"Life's not fair, is it, my little friend?" the lion muttered, watching the mouse trying desperately to escape its predator. "While some are born to feast, others spend their lives in the dark...begging for scraps. The way I see it, you and I are both the same." He slightly released his grasp on the mouse's tail. "We both want a way out."

The mouse seemed to wriggle free and tried to leap away, but Scar caught it again. Jealousy was gnawing at the inner core of his being. It should have been him who was greeting the animals out there, not Mufasa. And as if it weren't bad enough, his son had to be born. But that wasn't all. In the past, his father Ahadi had always showered Mufasa with praise and attention while leaving Scar out in the cold. Ahadi had given him the top position of the Lion Guard, a band of lions that protected the Pride Lands and their way of life...as a consolation prize of sorts.

But ever since he used the Roar Of The Elders to wipe out the Lion Guard, persuaded by a strange lion, Scar felt as if his life was getting worse. The strange lion had betrayed him (back when he was known as Taka) by giving him a scar through a cobra bite, telling him to work with him to get the cure. Scar killed him and the cobra too, but the venom was slowly affecting his thinking and emotions, and Mufasa and Ahadi seemed to joke about the scar, calling him that as well. To blazes with going to the Tree of Life, he thought bitterly. If wanting to be king meant bearing the venom and losing his sanity, so be it.

"You see...I will never be king. And you," he added with a smirk, holding on to the mouse's tail, "shall never see the light of another day. Adieu."

He opened his jaws and was just ready to eat the mouse whole when a flapping of wings filled the cave. Then a familiar scolding voice echoed in the cave, demanding, "Didn't your mother ever tell you to not play with your food?"

Scar glared around at who had interrupted his meal. It was a familiar blue-and-white hornbill bird with a large red beak, holding his head up with an important flair. Zazu was almost as bad as his brother and twice as annoying with his pompous attitude. He also seemed to be constantly nervous, even though no lion in the pride was to gravely harm or eat him.

"What do you want, Zazu?" he grumbled.

"I just wanted to let you know that King Mufasa has requested an audience with you," said Zazu, bowing as he usually did to Scar's annoyance. "This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. He is on his way, so you'd better have a good excuse on missing the ceremony."

As Zazu talked, the mouse slipped out from under Scar's paw and scurried into a hole.

"Oh, look, Zazu," the lion griped with a pout, "you made me lose my lunch."

Zazu scoffed. "You'll get more than that when the king gets here," he said, folding his wings over his chest. "He's as mad as a hippo with a hernia."

Then Scar gave Zazu a creepy smile as he leaned in. "Oh, I quiver with fear," he hissed as he started to stalk toward the hornbill, who now looked frightened.

"Scar...Scar-Scar-Scar-Scar-Scar-Scar...don't look at me that way," Zazu stammered, backing away from the stalking lion.

But Scar didn't. Even if he wasn't to be king, that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself, and that involved hurting creatures smaller than himself. "Are you hungry, Zazu?" he drawled. "Maybe we can share a bite together."

With the word "bite" escaping his lips, he pounced. Zazu squawked and tried flying away. Scar swiped his paws to try and swat the hornbill to the ground.

"You can't eat me!" Zazu squawked with fear. "It's forbidden to eat a member of the king's court!"

But Scar didn't care. With a sneer, he swiped his paw as Zazu tried to fly away, catching him and sending him to the ground. He stepped towards the dazed bird and pinned his small body with his paw, opening his jaws to take a bite.

"SCAR! Release him."

Scar looked up from his catch outside the cave. There he was: Mufasa, king of the Pridelands. He was a large male lion, bigger than Scar. He looked a lot more well-fed too, muscles rippling from under his golden tawny coat.

Zazu's beak popped out from under Scar's paw to say "Impeccible timing, Your Majesty!" before Scar released the bird, who ruffled his feathers.

"Why, if it isn't my big brother who's descended from up high to mingle with the commoners," Scar said with a false smile.

But Mufasa wasn't smiling. "First, I don't want to see you treat Zazu like that again. He is my top advisor, and you will show him kindness and respect. And second, Sarabi and I didn't see you at the presentation of Simba," the Lion King chided.

Scar put on a surprised facade. "That was today? Oh, I feel simply awful!" He reached up and scraped the rock wall with his claws, making a screeching sound. "Must have slipped my mind. Of course, I mean no disrespect toward His Majesty...or Sarabi." His green eyes seemed to gleam at the name he uttered. "As you know, brother, I have tremendous respect for the queen."

It was never comfortable to be in the same area as the brothers when they argued. One could feel Mufasa's anger and Scar's indifference at the same time. Zazu was one who could do just that.

"Well, as slippery as your mind is," Zazu spoke up testily, "as the king's brother, you should've been first in line!" But a snap from Scar's teeth sent the bird flying away and hiding behind Mufasa.

"Oh, I was first in line," Scar said with a bit of a growl. "But don't you remember, Zazu? I was first until the precious little hairball was born."

"That hairball is my son," Mufasa retorted, "and your future king."

Scar smirked. "Oh, I think I'll go practice my curtsey." At this, he began to walk away, not wanting to deal with his brother and the annoying bird.

"Don't turn your back on me, Scar!" Mufasa growled. Scar's blatant disrespect and contempt was starting to irritate him.

"Oh no, Mufasa," Scar replied with a smirk over his shoulder. "Perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me."

With a thunderous roar, Mufasa charged forward until he blocked the cave entrance, the brothers locking eyes with each other. "Is that a challenge?" he snarled.

It was no secret that Scar had once challenged Mufasa for control of Pride Rock. The battle was fierce between the two brothers, taking place on a stormy night, and Mufasa had won. Scar had lost, the scar over his eyes having been reopened until it was red, and his behavior had gotten worse.

Scar rolled his eyes. "Temper, temper. I wouldn't dream of challenging you." With a smirk, he couldn't help but utter, "Again."

"Pity," Zazu snapped from beside Mufasa. "Why not?"

"Well, as far as brains go, I got the lion's share. But when it comes to brute strength..." At this point, he lifted his gaze to glare at Mufasa at this part before walking past them. "I'm afraid I'm at the shallow end of the gene pool. And the great Mufasa will always reign."

"Not always," Mufasa responded. "One day, it will be Simba who rules this land. As I have said, Simba will be your king."

"Then long live the king," Scar muttered. Then he slunk away, feeling thirsty and not wanting to stick around with Mufasa any longer.

Mufasa watched him go with a sigh. Though it didn't end with any fighting, he still felt tense after their meeting. This was not how he wanted things to do. He had hoped to hear of a good reason why Scar had missed out on the ceremony, to bond together as they once had when they were cubs. Sadly, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"There's one in every family, Sire," said Zazu, flying up to rest on Mufasa's shoulder. "Two in mine, actually. And they always manage to ruin special occasions."

Mufasa shook his head. "What am I going to do with him?"

Zazu smirked and replied, "He'd make a very handsome throw rug."

"Zazu!" Mufasa chided, but he couldn't help but smile.

"And when he gets dirty, you can take him out and beat him!" continued Zazu, making Mufasa laugh. Then he continued, stating his dream solution, "Or why not just throw him out of his den with your teeth and claws? I'm serious! He should've been thrown out of the Pride Lands a long time ago."

This time, Mufasa stopped laughing and smiling. No matter how disrespectful or snide Scar had acted, he was still Mufasa's brother. He wasn't sure what had made Scar act the way he was acting now, but he still wanted to help him.

"He's my brother, Zazu," he reminded his advisor. "So this is his home. As long as I'm king, that will never change. I will help him back on the right path, even if it kills me."

"As I said, there's one in every family," replied Zazu. "Why, one of my cousins thought that he was a woodpecker. He slammed his head into trees, and goodness knows that hornbill beaks aren't built for it. Because of this, he had concussions regularly, and - "

He stopped and looked around. Mufasa was gone.

Zazu sighed. "And of course, you're gone."

...

The rain had come to Africa, showering the land with rain and storms. It was still the wet season, so it rained every few days. The grass remained green, but no animals came out to graze just yet. Lightning flashed across the sky, and the thunder rolled.

In a baobab tree, Rafiki the mandrill was at work. After the ceremony, he had returned to his lone baobab tree, painting a picture of the newborn prince. He had done this with Mufasa when he was younger, just as his own teacher had done so with King Ahadi.

Rafiki hummed as he continued his work, finishing on the facial features. He chuckled, knowing that he was getting the cub's feature's right. Then, remembering the ceremony, he gently smeared the painting's forehead with a little paint.

"Simba," he murmured with a chuckle. This cub was going to have a good future ahead of him, he was sure of that.

To be continued...