AUTHOR'S NOTE – Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! That really means a lot to me. And you really flattered me! :) Here comes the second chapter. This time it was even harder to write as there are quite many descriptions. Hope you enjoy. ;)

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

CHAPTER 2: The ceremony and Kovu's decision

Darkness slowly faded away as the sun began to rise, turning the sky deep red. Golden rays of light touched the plains of the Pride Lands. A soft breeze sent some leaves and blossoms flying through the air. The herds awoke. Gazelles, antelope and giraffes were grazing, zebras went for a drink, and a clan of cheetas lay in the grass, their little cubs playing with each other.

Then a long loud roar was heard and all the creatures turned their heads to the south, from where it came. It was King Simba calling for them. One by one, the animals all got up and began to march towards Pride Rock. As the sun climbed higher, the herds were gathering in front of the majestic rock. There were zebras, monkeys, elephants, birds, giraffes,... a variety of animals as far as the eye could see. They were all looking up to the edge of Pride Rock where Rafiki the wise mandrill was standing. Behind him, they sighted King Simba and Queen Nala. Everyone was excited to know what they were going to announce.

Rafiki lifted up his stick and turned to Simba and Nala. The royal couple then moved aside, and between them, Kiara and Kovu came into view. Simba and Nala bowed to them as the couple stepped forward. Kovu and Kiara sat down in front of Rafiki who waved his stick above their heads. Then, the mandrill picked up some pumpkin juice with his thumb and painted some little symbols on both Kovu's and Kiara's foreheads. And with that, he declared them King and Queen of the Pride Lands. Rafiki bowed to them, and so did the hundreds of animals as well. Kovu and Kiara proudly looked down upon their subjects, then stepped towards the edge of Pride Rock and let out their loudest roar. The herds cheered and shouted in acceptance of their new rulers.

As soon as the animals had all calmed down, the ceremony went on. Simba and Nala had sat down in front of the cave to join Zazu, Timon and Pumbaa who were watching from there. Next to them, there stood Vitani with Ari and Lina lying at her paws. Now while Rafiki was motioning the herds to wait, Kiara and Kovu walked over to them. Kiara quickly nuzzled her parents who were smiling proudly at her. Then she joined Kovu who was nuzzling his sister shortly. Vitani then bowed a little to her brother and sister-in-law and looked up again with an embarrassed smile as she wasn't used to such ceremonial acts. Kovu nodded and picked up Ari by the scruff, Kiara did the same with her little daughter.

The royal couple turned around and stepped towards the edge of the rock again. Rafiki laid down his stick to pick up their son. As Lina was firstborn and therefore heir to the throne, she was to be presented at the end of the ceremony. The mandrill turned to face the herds and held up Ari at the height of his chest. The fact that he wasn't held up higher gave the animals to understand that this little cub was not firstborn. But naturally, they let out cheerful screams for him and stamped until Rafiki motioned them to calm down. He then gave Ari back to Kovu.

Now Rafiki took the little Princess into his arms. He bent down to pick up some more pumpkin juice and moistened her little forehead with the red liquid. The cub looked up at the mandrill with a cute smile. Kiara beamed with joy at that moment. Then Rafiki turned around again and held up Lina high above his head. The herds cheered even louder than before, elephants started to trumpet, monkeys were jumping up and down, birds flew around wildly, and the massive drumming of hundreds of hooves sounded. Little Lina curiously looked at the animals. And as they slowly began to calm down again, her gaze wandered towards the sky. Just at that moment, the clouds were moving away from the sun letting it shine down on Lina's rust-golden fur. Now the animals became completely quiet and one by one, they all bowed down to their Princess. Lina stared in amazement and began to smile again.

After a while, the little cub jiggled around in the mandrill's hands, and so Rafiki took her down into his arms again and turned around. He gave Lina back to Kiara while the animals got up again. Kovu and Kiara, who held Ari and Lina by the scruff, nodded at their subjects to signal them that the ceremony was over. So, the herds slowly began to leave the rock and go back to their grazing. As the royal couple walked towards their cave, little Ari still wore a confused look while his sister smiled. No one had noticed the short glances of disappointment in Kovu's eyes...

Three days after the ceremony, Timon and Pumbaa decided to finally set out on their journey back to the jungle. It was hard to say goodbye, though they were really looking forward to seeing their former home again. Pumbaa even started to cry again.

When the warthog finally had calmed down, Kiara said: "I'm really gonna miss you two. You were an important part of my life, though it took me a while before I learned to appreciate it. You will stay in my heart forever. Maybe we'll see each other again some day."

"Alright, alright, stop it, before you bring Pumbaa to tears AGAIN!" Timon shouted.

Kiara chuckled a bit and looked at Kovu who said: "Take good care of yourself. I haven't known you for as long as Kiara and her parents have, but I'm glad I got the chance of having you as friends. You were and will always be fantastic friends. I wish you all the best and hope to see you again. Goodbye, Timon. Goodbye, Pumbaa."

"Goodbye, you two." Kiara said.

"Goodbye... Queen Kiara." Pumbaa sniffed and bowed. "Goodbye, my King."

Timon rolled his eyes at those unnecessary formalities. "Let's go, Pumbaa," he sighed and patted his pal's snout. "Goodbye, you guys. Remember, 'when the going gets though....', err... well, let's stick to 'Hakuna Matata'. Bye now."

With that, the meerkat and the warthog turned around and slowly made their way down the rock. At the foot of Pride Rock, they wanted to wait for Simba and Nala who just finished saying bye to Vitani and their closest friends. Then, they came out of the cave and walked over to Kiara and Kovu. Nala nuzzled her daughter.

"Bye, Kiara," she said and softly licked her cheek. "Bye, Kovu. I'm sad I can't watch your cubs grow for the next time. But I'm so proud of you two. I'm sure you will do just fine."

"Bye, Mom. I'm gonna miss you."

Then Nala stepped back and Simba approached his daughter with a smile. Kiara smiled back and rubbed her head against her father's mane. Simba nuzzled her and finally said: "Bye, Kiara. Remember, the Great Kings are always there for you. And while we're away, we'll be there, too. We're always there to help you. We are one." Kiara nodded.

"Bye, Kovu." Simba added. "Bye now, you two. Rule our lands with all your wisdom. And take good care of Lina and Ari. Tell them their grandparents can't wait to see them again. We are proud of you and know we can be even more when we return."

"Thank you, Dad." Kiara nuzzled him once again. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

Kovu smiled and nodded at his parents-in-law. "Take care of yourself. Bye, Nala. Bye, Simba."

Simba and Nala smiled at them. Then they didn't want to let Timon and Pumbaa wait any longer and turned around to leave. And as they and their two friends were walking further and further away from Pride Rock, Simba looked back at his daughter once more. Kiara still watched the four of them go for a long time.

That night, while everyone in the cave was fast asleep, Kovu suddenly opened his eyes. Again, he was pondering one and the same thought as the nights before. Kovu lifted his head from his paws and looked to the right. Kiara was lying next to him, with her right foreleg curled up under her head, and the other one protectively holding the two sleeping cubs. Lina was lying on her right side, Ari on his back. When Kovu looked at his son, he began to smile. He had made a decision. Yes, it was the right thing to do. Kovu got up on his feet and quietly stepped down the small stone platform on which the royal couple slept. Cautiously, he passed by his sister, who was sleeping underneath, and made his way out of the cave, always looking back to make sure no one woke up. Once he was outside, Kovu headed straight for the huge lonely tree a short walk away from Pride Rock. Rafiki's tree.

Rafiki usually was awake at night. Actually, nobody knew if he ever slept. And also this night, he was still sitting there in the treetop, gazing at the many paintings he had made, listening to the whispers of the Great Kings blowing in the wind. As he noticed Kovu climbing the tree, he turned around.

"Rafiki, can I talk to you?" Kovu began, sitting on a lower branch. He had decided not to approach him yet in case he was busy.

Rafiki bowed. "Ah, Kovu. What brings you here so late?"

Kovu had now climbed the tree and sat face to face with the wise mandrill. "I'd like to ask a big favor of you."

"What favor might that be?"

"I want my son Ari to be heir to the throne, instead of Lina."

Rafiki gasped. He was totally unprepared and surprised at such a request. "But... why would you want that? Your daughter Lina is firstborn and therefore destined to be the future Queen. The Great Kings have chosen her to rule."

"But I'm King now and I want my son to be King after me."

"What about Kiara? Is this her wish as well?"

"Of course, Kiara agreed." Kovu lied. Rafiki had a strange feeling about this. He couldn't certainly tell whether Kovu said the truth or not. But even if he had decided over Kiara's head, he was King and had the right to make whatever decision he wanted.

Nevertheless, the wise mandrill tried to remind him of the decision made by destiny once again. "Kovu... are you absolutely sure about this? The Great Kings have their reasons. The ceremony has already confirmed their will. And so has this..." He pointed to one of his paintings on the tree. It showed a rust-golden colored lioness, looking to the right, and a bright red line above her head which seemed to shine even in the darkness. This was Lina. Underneath, indicating that he was born after her, there was a painting of Ari, also looking to the right. Rafiki pointed at the red line above Lina's head. "I reassured them Lina will be next in the line."

Kovu looked at the paintings for a short while and simply replied: "Then change it. I'm sure they will agree."

"You are about to make a grave mistake, Kovu. The Great Kings have chosen her, and so has destiny. You cannot defy destiny." Rafiki tried again.

But Kovu repeated: "Just change it. I am your King and this is my decision."

Rafiki wanted to say one more thing, but then he nodded and bowed to him. "Alright, I will," he sighed. "Though I can already see there's some big misfortune to come out of this."

Kovu smiled. "Thank you, Rafiki. And don't worry, I don't think we need to have another ceremony. Good night then." And with that, he jumped off the tree and made his way back to Pride Rock.

Rafiki still watched him go for a while. Then with a deep sigh, he walked over to his paintings and put on his fingers above Lina's head. He hesitated for a long time. And as he finally began to wipe off the red line, a loud roll of thunder sounded. Rafiki looked up to the skies where dark clouds began to gather, covering the bright stars. The wise mandrill hung his head and sadly shook it as he continued with his work...

End of Chapter Two

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

AUTHOR'S NOTE – Thanks, I'm glad you keep on reading. Hope you liked it. ;) Please review, no matter if you like it or not. I don't know when the next update is going to happen. As you know, I'll be away from July 29th to August 4th. So please be patient. ;)
Another important note (especially to the other authors): I had to change one of the names I wanted to use, because I found out it was already taken in another piece of fanfiction. As the new name is going to appear in the third chapter, and I wouldn't like to change it again, I already want to reserve the copyright for the name "Takita". So, do not use this name, or, if it is already taken, please inform me about that.
Sorry for the long note. See you! :)