Zazu sighed. "I'm afraid this may have to be rather a long lesson in history Sire."
There were a few groans from the surrounding lionesses, but I shushed them with a growl. "This is important," I told them.
And so Zazu began. "Well, Sire. As I said, the Pridelanders and the River Pride generally keep their distance. In the long and distant past, there was something of a strong dislike between them. In those days, the River Pride resented the Pridelanders, and the way they took the savannah as their lands, and left their pride to live upon the much less productive and attractive river lands. When the rains came every year, the Riverlands became next to useless when they flooded, and they struggled immensely for food. So much so, that they had to take to stealing in across the Pridelands and attacking the herds within them."
"But what's wrong with that?" said Atala, one of the lionesses who was listening, "If they were so short of food, what King would deny them when the Pridelands are so plentiful?"
"Ah, you see, my dear Atala," continued Zazu, "there was a rivalry. The King of the Pridelands, Hiliki had banished many members of his pride only months before for their continuing disloyalty to him and their lands. These members joined the River Pride, and the rivalry that had existed only intensified. Hiliki would never allow those he had exiled to feast upon his herds."
"HIS herds?!" exclaimed Nala, "No King can claim that! It's against the circle of life. And what had the exiles done to deserve their treatment?"
Zazu hesitated a little, eyes fixated on Nala before continuing, "They had cubs. The fathers were from the River Pride, and Hiliki saw this as extreme disloyalty."
"But there had to be fathers from elsewhere? Surely?!"
"Oh certainly, Hiliki was perfectly happy for rogues to be fathers of Prideland cubs. But he held something against the River Pride that he never fully explained. He seemed to dislike them with a passion. He cared more about keeping them out of the Pridelands than making sure the Pridelands themselves were pure and plentiful as they were meant to be. As a result, the Pridelands diminished and he sparked off a war with the River Pride that was bitter and bloody. It lasted many generations. Until..."
"Yes?" I asked, eager to hear the rest of this interesting history lesson. My father had only ever taught me about the great Kings, but never Hiliki. I had a vague recollection of my uncle Scar mentioning his name, but I never paid much attention to his lectures as a cub. I'd always had too many from my mum and dad.
"Until your grandfather, Ahadi, put a stop to it," Zazu explained. "He realised that the ridiculous rivalry was for the worse, and vowed to right any wrongs and make peace. But not all quarters of his pride were happy. They were not convinced that peace was possible. Equally, members of the river pride doubted any truce could ever be made between the two, such had been the ferocity of the wars and rivalry between the two in the past."
"However, the King of the River Pride was as eager as Ahadi to bring peace. They made an agreement. That all fighting should stop. And that the two prides should try and get on peacefully in tandem."
"And did it work?" I asked eagerly, feeling somewhat proud that my Grandfather was such an important figure in the shaping of the Pridelands I knew and loved.
"Well, to an extent. Antagonism remained between the two prides, and relations were strained. Ahadi had allowed the River Pride's boundaries to be extended, allowing part of the old Pridelands to become River Pride territory. But woe betide anyone who overstepped the boundaries. Such a sacrifice was no mean feat for the great Ahadi to make, and it was not greatly received throughout the Pride, as I have said. As a token of their appreciation, the River Pride sent their princess to live with Ahadi and his pride. She was so young at the time that she knew nothing of it, but lionesses from both sides were displeased. The River Pride were disgusted that their future monarch could be given away so easily, even when the King explained that it was for the pride's greater good in the long term. For their part, many lionesses in Ahadi's Pride were equally as disgusted, and left altogether. Some became simple rogues, other more radical ones even joined other prides, and one or two even had the audacity to join the River Pride itself."
Zazu ploughed on. He had been talking for a long while, but I knew him well enough to realise that he loved all the attention he got, and loved talking almost as much as well. I looked around the other lionesses. Some of the older ones were nodding, as if they knew this story well. Others, including Nala were staring, mouths open, transfixed at this tale. My mind turned back to listening.
"It seemed that all Ahadi's good work could be undone and the war between the two could start again. But common sense prevailed, and they went back to being silent enemies. Neither were spoken of within the other, and the boundaries were guarded vigilantly against any intruders. And so it continued into Mufasa's, and even the beginning of Scar's reign, whilst the River Pride princess grew up under Ahadi, alongside the other cubs Mufasa, Scar, Sarabi and Sarafina. A generation of five cubs meaning the Pride was growing ever stronger, despite the abandoners."
"And who was this princess?" asked Luvani.
I felt I already knew the answer.
"Haven't you worked it out?" said Zazu, "the River Priders had vowed to kill her if she ever came near the Southern border again. For some silly reason, they held a grudge against her, despite it being her who had gained them such an improved land for hunting and letting herds graze. And today their vow was carried out, passed on from them to the next generation. They killed their true Queen and our dear friend Yaya. She had crossed the border into the Riverlands."
A shocked silence hung over the group, and even Zazu looked slightly jaded and upset as he considered the death of the oldest member of our pride. So some silly grudge had led to this? And the worst of it was surely that I was expected to deal with it. How would I manage when a King as great as my Grandfather Ahadi had failed?
At that moment, Mtifu returned with the baboon Rafiki. He gave me a knowing nod, and asked for Yaya's body to be carried to the foot of Pride Rock. Gathered around it, we watched and listened in glum silence as Rafiki performed the final rites and committed Yaya's spirit to the heavens.
"Halala humba heh heh heya heeyahee
Halala humba hela hela hela
Halala humba heh heh heya heeyahee
Halala humba hela hela hela"
Nala stood next to me, silently weeping. "Horrible, just like when we thought you'd died," she said.
This is all for the moment, I'm still in the process of writing. It'd be appreciated if you'd let me know what you think though. Please?!