Hey there, and welcome back to The Lion King novel. So far, I have one favorite and three follows, and that's good so far. I hope to do as much as I can before I get tired.

Well, an official character from The Lion Guard will show up in this chapter. I won't give away who the character is yet, but I'll explain it some more about this at the start of next chapter.

Uploading Date: August 20, 2019

Enjoy!

...

I Just Can't Wait To Be King

Simba ran as he could from one end of Pride Rock to the other, trying to search for that someone to tell his secret to. It definitely couldn't be one of the adults, for they would know what he was up to. He would be in big trouble, and so could Uncle Scar for telling him about it. No, he would have to tell his best friend only.

One of those places was an outcropping where his mother Sarabi lay with the other lionesses in the pride. She must have gotten back from chasing the hyenas away, looking relaxed already in spite of the new scars on her pelt, and the other lionesses had returned from their morning hunt. Near her was her friend Sarafina, who was giving her daughter a grooming. Her daughter, Nala, was one of Simba's closest friends in the Pride Lands, a young light-furred female with teal eyes.

Nala herself was eager to spend the day with Simba. They would often get into mischief together and hang out together, like going to the watering hole, pretend that other lions' tails were a snake, and practicing fighting. Being friend with a prince certainly had its advantages. It even felt nice to be treated like royalty, even if she and her mother weren't royal like Mufasa and his queen and son.

But today, she had to get a bath from her mother. Fortunately for her, her luck changed. Simba came running into the clearing, greeting the other lionesses as they greeted the prince.

"Hey, Nala," Simba greeted her when he got to her.

"Hi, Simba," Nala greeted back with a smile.

Simba smiled too and darted a bit away. "Come on, I just heard about this great place."

Nala frowned as her mother kept grooming her. "Simba, I'm kinda in the middle of a bath," she muttered.

"You'll have to wait until she's done before going anywhere," Sarafina added.

"And it's time for your bath, young cub," Sarabi said from behind him.

Before Simba could flee, his mother had picked him up and lay him down in her forepaws. She was a huge lioness, the biggest lioness in the pride, and she had the darkest tawny coat out of them too. She began licking him, which made Simba squirm.

"Mom!" Simba whined, fidgeting. If there was one thing in the world that he hated, it was baths. "Mom, you're messing up my mane!" Sarabi smiled as her son wriggled out of her grasp. "Okay, okay, I'm clean. Can we go now?"

"So where are we going?" Nala asked, while her mother washed her rump. "It better not be anyplace dumb."

"No, it's really cool," Simba reassured her.

"So where is this really 'cool' place?" Sarabi asked with a smile.

Simba had almost forgotten that Sarabi was behind him. "Oh, uh..." He felt a little lie forming on the tip of his tongue. "...around the watering hole."

Nala looked up from her bath, unimpressed. "The watering hole? What's so great about the watering hole?"

Simba grinned up at his mother before turning to Nala. "I'll show you when we get there," he whispered tersely.

"Oh," Nala replied, now nodding in understanding. She looked up at her mother with big teal eyes. "Mom, can I go with Simba?"

Sarafina shrugged before looking up at her friend and queen. "What do you think, Sarabi?"

"Well..." Sarabi began. "The hyenas can still be lurking around."

"Pleeeeease?" both cubs asked with big grins.

"But I'm sure we scared them off," Sarabi went on. "So as long as you stay in the shallow end, it's alright with me."

The cubs cheered and jumped around in delight. Simba couldn't believe that it worked; he was going to show Nala the elephant graveyard after all. They were just about to leave when what Sarabi said next ruined their mood: "You can go there as long as Zazu goes with you."

This caused them to grind to a halt. "No, not Zazu!" Simba groaned. The hornbill was going to ruin his plan.

"Either Zazu goes with you, or you don't go at all," Sarabi called, sounding firmer this time.

And there it was, Simba thought with a roll of his eyes. So they had to wait until Zazu came back to escort the cubs to their destination.

...

"Step lively, everyone! Come on! Step up! Let's move as a unit!" Zazu called from above the cubs. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave! When we get to the watering hole, you are to stay in the shallow end."

The two cubs walked slowly along under Zazu's shadow, through the tall savannah grass. Soon, the soft soil underneath them would harden into tough earth once the dry season rolled around, but it was comforting for now. And other than Zazu occasionally humming to himself, it was pretty peaceful.

"So where are we really going?" Nala whispered. "You can't fool me, Simba. It's not the watering hole."

Simba turned to Nala in surprise. If there was one thing Nala knew well about him, it was that he always had a trick up his sleeve. "How'd you know that?"

Nala smiled. "It's not hard to guess. You hate getting in the water. So as I was asking, where are we going?"

"I've heard about this place, Nala," Simba whispered on. "The most incredible, the most amazing - "

At this, Nala swished her tail. "Just tell me where!"

"An elephant graveyard," Simba replied.

"WOW!" Nala exclaimed loudly.

Simba saw Zazu look down briefly at them, so he ran over to Nala's side to shush her. "Shh...Zazu!" he reminded her, eyes darting up to the hornbill.

Nala nodded. "Sorry. How far is it?"

"Not far," Simba replied, but then he realized that he had no idea how 'not far' it was. "My uncle Scar told me that everyone's been there."

"We've never been that far before. What if we get lost?" Nala asked, looking nervous for the first time.

Right now, Simba nearly felt the same way. He actually had no idea if he and Nala would find their way back home. Just the thought of being lost in the middle of the wilderness made him feel very small. It was a very scary thought.

But then again, he didn't want to be scared in front of Nala. He was the future king; kings were always brave and not getting lost. And after all, Scar even said that every lion had been there.

So he declared, "Relax, Nala. My dad and I patrolled the entire kingdom this morning. We don't have anything to worry about."

"Almost anything," said Nala, looking up to the sky. Simba followed her gaze and saw Zazu circling around as if he was being chased by bees.

Suddenly, Zazu began squawking. "We have an imminent threat! Something is approaching!" Then, as the cubs froze from fright, Zazu spoke again, relieved. "Oh, never mind. It's my own shadow." Then he continued the monitoring of the area, not embarrassed at all by his self-interruption.

When the cubs kept walking, Nala muttered, "So how are we going to ditch the dodo?"

"Leave it to me," Simba bragged. "And I'll get us to freedom."

Zazu's shadow grew bigger, and Simba looked up. The hornbill had landed on the ground before them, a big smile on his beak.

"How lovely it is to see the future king and queen," Zazu greeted them as he flew down. "Little seeds of romance blossoming on the savannah...your parents would be thrilled. It's so thrilling, I can just molt!"

Nala's ears perked. "What do you mean?"

"You know, you being betrothed an all," replied Zazu.

"What?" Simba was utterly confused.

Zazu flapped his wings. "You know...betrothed. Intended. Affianced."

"Simba, you speak bird?" Nala asked wryly.

"Meaning?" Simba asked, even more confused than ever.

"Married! One day, you two will be married," Zazu informed them. When the cubs didn't respond, he added a bit more impatiently, "To each other!"

For one long moment, the cubs gave Zazu a look, and then at each other. Then Simba realized what Zazu meant. It meant something along the lines of what Mufasa and Sarabi were to each other: a married couple. He and Nala made disgusted sounds at the thought of it.

"I can't marry her," Simba told Zazu. "She's my best friend!"

"Yeah, it'd be really weird," Nala added. "Plus, he can't eat impala."

"I can too," Simba argued. "I just don't like impala. Plus, you're the one who's scared of rhinos." He turned back to Zazu and declared, "Face it, Zazu. Nala and I are not getting married."

"A monarch who ignores tradition? The conservative way of life in the Pride Lands?" Zazu remarked, while Simba mimicked Zazu's words in a mocking way behind him. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but you two turtledoves have no choice. It's a tradition going back generations."

Simba shared a smile with Nala. "When I'm king, that'll be the first thing to go."

Zazu sniffed. "Not so much when I'm around."

"In that case, you're fired," Simba said with a smirk.

"Hmph!" Zazu huffed. "Nice try, but only the king can do that."

"But he's the future king," Nala reminded Zazu.

"Yeah," Simba said with a smirk, jabbing Zazu's wing. "And that means you have to do what I tell you to do."

Zazu was now getting irritated, his feathers fluffing out. "Not yet, I don't! And with an attitude like that, I'm afraid you're shaping up to be a pretty pathetic king indeed!"

Simba smirked. "Not the way I see it. When I'm king, I won't let anyone tell me where to go, what to do, or even who to marry." He spun around on his heels and made a run for it, Nala keeping up with him. "There will never be a king like me!"

"Simba!" Zazu squawked behind them. "You can't escape from your destiny!"

"Just watch me!" Simba crowed back. "When I'm king, I'll be a mighty king!"

Zazu suddenly put on a burst of speed and landed in front of the cubs. "This would be a setback for the Pride Lands' royal family," he chided the prince. "No one will take a king acting like a cub seriously."

"I'm still growing up," Simba argued back. "I'm working on my roar!" He opened his mouth to roar, only for a meow-like sound to come out.

"Oh, bravo," Zazu said with dripping sarcasm, clapping his wings together. "Shall I give you a grand prize for that roar?"

Simba and Nala rolled their eyes. They caught Zazu off guard by running off yet again. "You know, you're really annoying me, Zazu!" he called over his shoulders. "I won't listen to you when I'm older! I just can't wait to be king!"

Zazu was getting fed up with the disrespect he was getting from the prince of the Pride Lands. He flapped his wings and took off after them, like an eagle homing in on a hare.

"You know what? That's it! I won't argue anymore!" he called down to them. "Forget going to the watering hole! We're going home right now!"

But the cubs didn't pay any attention. They got into the middle of some zebras heading towards the watering hole, managing to lose Zazu in the herd. While Zazu tried finding them among the stripes and hooves, Simba and Nala made their getaway and ran for the watering hole using a shortcut. That included having to be briefly chased by banded mongooses, since they used their tunnels as the shortcut.

When Zazu did manage to spot them, Simba and Nala noticed some ostriches heading towards the watering hole as well. The ostriches seemed to recognize Simba as the prince, for two lowered themselves to the ground and let them ride. The cubs had a good time riding faster than the wind, hearing talk among the ostriches. According to one ostrich, her daughter Asha had her egg protected by a meerkat before she hatched. Once they were sure that they were away from Zazu, they got off the ostriches' backs, thanking them and running off.

They finally reached the watering hole, and it was was packed. Animals were either drinking from the water or relaxing in the shallows. Zebra, antelope, giraffes, buffalo, and elephants drank at the water's edge. Rhinos and hippos rolled around in the mud near the shallow end. Birds used the water in the shallow end to take a quick bath. Even the two only crocodiles in this watering hole didn't feel like eating; what mattered to them was resting in the sun.

"Simba!" Zazu called. He had put on as much speed as he could and flew as fast as he could. "Oh, where are you? Simba! It's my duty to keep you safe!"

Any moment now, and Zazu would soon be upon them. Simba and Nala shared glances; they would have to do something quick, or they would be caught.

"Hello?" Simba tried to call above the noise. "Can anyone help us?"

Not much animals could hear them, though. The only one who answered was a young hippo, saying something to his parents before wallowing out of the mud. In spite of being a calf, he was still bigger than the two cubs combined. "Sure. I'd love to help," he said with a smile. "My name's Beshte."

"You see that hornbill over there, Beshte?" Simba asked. "The annoying one with the blue-and-white feathers and the big red beak?"

The hippo calf named Beshte nodded. "Yeah. That's the majordomo, Zazu. My dad's told me all about him." His ears waggled as he continued. "I've got a lot of questions to ask him. Like my dad always says, you learn something new everyday."

"Then go ask him all the questions you want," Nala persuaded him. "Play with him. Anything."

Beshte nodded and plodded over to Zazu. The hornbill was still among the crowd, trying to ask if anyone had seen Simba. Simba and Nala watched the young hippo approach Zazu before turning around and running.

"Excuse me, young hippo. Have you seen a lion cub with golden fur and amber eyes?" Zazu was asking Beshte. "He's small, but he's cute. And there's another cub with him."

"Yeah, I saw some cubs like that," said Beshte. "But I'm glad to meet you, Zazu. My name's Beshte. I've heard about you, and I've got a lot of questions to ask you."

Zazu nodded frantically. "Ask me only a few. I have two lion cubs to find!"

So Beshte asked away, starting with if Zazu had any children or what his favorite food was. He even asked who the best members of the Lion Guard had been. But as the hornbill was done, more baby animals crowded around him, asking questions of their own. While Zazu was distracted (along with butterflies swarming around him), the two lion cubs made their getaway, running as far from the watering hole as they could.

They had done it. They had ditched Zazu and were going to the elephant graveyard.

To be continued...