A/N: Hey everybody! Heh, heh, sorry I didn't update over the weekend! I could've, but I was so attached to the Playstation…SSX3 is a pretty good game. Who else has it? Who else has tried it and liked it? Well if you do, then you know how I feel. But now don't despair any longer, 'cause here it is…Chapter Twenty-Six!

Chapter Twenty-Six:

On the fourth day after her return, Kiara lied on her belly atop the same boulder, staring intensely at her cheerless reflection in the murky water. She had somehow managed to leave Pride Rock during the daytime without anyone noticing.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't take her mind off Kovu. She felt guilty for his loss; she knew she could've jumped into the river and saved him. But no, instead she merely watched his helpless limp body sink beneath the surface.

She didn't even become aware of the fact that she was crying until a tear drop fell into the water. She thought back to the night he kissed her, remembering how wonderful it felt. She recalled how before that, she'd told him how fearless he was. And it was true, nonetheless. He died saving her.

No, Kiara thought, he's not dead. He made it out of the river and now he's looking for me. But then, why was he taking so long?

''Kiara.''

Kiara gasped and bolted upright. She turned around to see her father standing there behind her, looking serious and concerned.

''Daddy-I-how'd you find me?''

''Forget about how I found you; what're you doing here?'' Simba asked firmly, brows furrowed.

''I-I,'' Kiara stammered, searching her brain for a false answer, then sighed. What was the use of lying? ''I just wanted to be alone,'' she confessed.

''Why here?''

''B-because…'' a lump rising in her throat cut her off.

''Is there something you want to talk about?'' Simba asked gently. He hated to see her so miserable.

For a minute, Kiara looked straight into her father's eyes, the same eyes that she had inherited. She remembered that when she was cub, before all this happened, she was able to tell her father whatever she felt. But now she was older and experiencing a lot more. Could she still talk to him the way she used to?

''Oh Daddy!'' Kiara breathed, fresh tears spilling from her eyes.

''What is it?'' asked Simba, frowning in concern.

''He-he's gone! He saved me from his mother and brought me all the way here even though he was hurt and now he's gone!'' Kiara explained shakily between sobs.

''Who, Kiara?'' Simba asked, perplexed.

''K-Kovu!''

''Kovu…helped you escape?''

''Y-yes.''

''And so what happened?''

Kiara took a deep breath and clarified to Simba the events that occurred during their journey. She couldn't stop the tears from coming back when she reached the part about the ambush. The entire time Simba listened carefully, astonished by what he heard. It was hard to believe she was still alive after all that she'd been through, though he was beyond relieved.

He also understood that he too had been wrong about Kovu and if the young lion was here now, he would thank him for everything he had done.

''And this whole thing started because of something Kovu said about you…murdering someone that meant a lot to him…'' Kiara concluded.

Simba sighed and looked into the river; it was time he told her of Scar.

''You see, Kiara, I didn't exactly murder anyone…I would have never done so unless necessary. Scar was someone who had a heart that couldn't be altered. He had his mind set to one thing: overthrowing my father and becoming King…''

It was his turn to tell Kiara what happened in the past about his disdainful uncle. Kiara comprehended everything he said. If only she'd known this before so that she could've made it clear to Kovu, who had obviously heard an entirely different version. She learned that Simba only meant to put an end to Scar's immorality and take his rightful place as king, not to kill him, the way Scar had done his own brother. Zira had told Kovu this in a way that would make him loathe Simba and the Pridelanders.

''I'm just so sorry you had to go through something that had nothing to do with you,'' Simba said apologetically as he nuzzled her.

''How touching, a father-daughter moment,'' rasped a cold, bone-chilling voice.

Simba looked up and saw none other than Zira advancing on them from the side, the members of her pride beside her.

A/N: Good, I finished, but with great difficulty, thanks to my obnoxious siblings. Even my fourteen-year-old sister is acting like the four-year-old! It's really bugging me and I'm starting to get a headache. But I must update—for you guys!