Simba awoke quite late the morning after Zira's failed assassination. He had been so excited by what happened that he stayed awake asking his father questions about Zira. Mufasa on the other hand wanted to sleep and after growling at Simba, the young lion got the message and stayed quiet. He did not fall asleep for another hour.
Simba slowly walked out of the cave and noticed that the sun was fully up over the horizon and quite high up there, usually he was up right when the sun was coming up. Simba gave a big stretch before looking around to see that all the lions were resting in the sun enjoying the sun. His father was no where to be seen so he ran over to his mother who was striking up a conversation with Sarafina.
"Does your face hurt much?" asked Sarabi a little worried after seeing Zira swipe at Sarafina who now had a few cuts on her face.
"No I am quite alright, it was more of a push than a shove," said Sarafina.
Well I am glad she did not try to kill you, you know that Mufasa went out to see her body and found it gone right?" asked Sarabi.
"No I did not know that," said Sarafina.
"Her trail was easy to spot though, he said she must have been trying to get back to Scar. He thinks she probably did not make it," said Sarabi.
"Well I hope that is the case, she deserved it for trying to kill our king," said Sarafina.
Before Sarabi could speak again, Simba ran up and jumped on Sarabi's back and playfully bit her ear.
"Simba can't you see that I'm having an important conversation with Sarafina?" asked Sarabi.
"I know but I can't find Dad, and you're the next best thing to attack when he's not around," said Simba.
"Oh he's at the top of the rock surveying the savanna, you may go see him but please be careful when climbing up it," said Sarabi.
"Yes mother," said Simba who then ran off to join his father.
Mufasa was enjoying the sun at the top of the rock with Ban'ai who was complaining about Zira's rudeness to him.
"I cannot believe she called me that. She is one evil feline let me tell you, I hope her death was slow and painful so she can know what it feels like," said Ban'ai.
"I don't blame you, but we don't know for sure if she is dead or not, her trail led back to the outlands and I don't want to risk you going over there, not after what they did to you last time," said Mufasa.
"Oh yes, those hyenas are evil," said Ban'ai.
Mufasa was about to say something else when Simba snuck up on his father and attacked him. It scared Mufasa so badly that it knocked the wind out of him. Ban'ai jumped up in fright and fell down the rock before realizing he could fly and quickly flew back up to see who had attacked the king like that.
"Did I scare ya dad?" asked Simba.
"Yes you did son, what are you doing here?" asked Mufasa.
"I just thought that I should hang out with you," said Simba.
"I'm actually glad you thought about doing that Simba because I really need to talk to you," said Mufasa.
"About what? Let's just say I'm really sorry I would not stop talking last night, I was just curious," said Simba.
"I know you're sorry for that, but there is something else I must talk to you about," said Mufasa.
"Oh," was all that Simba could bring out of his mouth since Mufasa made it sound very important and was ready to listen.
"Son if you ever have a lion who tries to overthrow you, kill them on the spot, don't banish them for as you can see I made that mistake now I am paying for my life because of it," said Mufasa.
"Why don't you just go to the outlands and kill him, then all your problems will be solved?" asked Simba.
"Because he has most likely made friends with the hyenas and there are many of them, one lion cannot fight against all those brutes," said Mufasa.
"I see what are we going to do now then?" asked Simba.
"We will keep our eyes open for any suspicious activity and Ban'ai should report anything out of the ordinary," said Mufasa.
Simba looked down at the savanna watching all the animals as they grazed or talked to one another about their problems. Many probably did not know what happened last night unless the assassination was successful. Simba wondered what was going on with Scar at the moment, was he cooking up another scheme or had he found out about Zira and was now crying over her dead body. He would probably never know.
"You are very important to me Simba, if I ever loose you, I don't know what I would do. So remember to stay brave through any problem, and rise up against your foes. For who knows, maybe one day you will be a greater king than I or any of your ancestors ever were," said Mufasa.
"But I don't think I'll be that great," said Simba.
"How do you know, you have not tried to rule yet?" asked Mufasa.
"Well I remember Zazu telling me that I had an attitude that showed I would be a pathetic king," said Simba.
"But where is Zazu now huh?" asked Mufasa with a slight smile. Simba giggled a little at his father's statement.
"Well as the king's new advisor I must say that that Zazu fellow sounded like a selfish person who only cared about himself. So I must say this to you Simba, you will make a wonderful king no matter was some stuffed bird turned rigor mortis thinks of you," said Ban'ai.
Mufasa laughed at Ban'ai's remark and turned to Simba who was trying to hold his laughter in. Mufasa fixed that by tickling his son and pulling him by the tail.
After a few minutes though, all joking was put aside as Mufasa told Simba about his early years as king. How Scar once had a kind soul and never thought about killing his brother. How he met Sarabi one morning while hunting and fell in love with her instantly. How he found Zazu after saving his life in some mud, and how his father told him about the great kings of the past.
It had been a wonderful day as they talked til the sun went down and Simba had to be carried down the rock because he had fallen asleep at his father's side.
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It had been three days since Zira had been attacked by Mufasa and in those three days Zira slowly drifted in and out of consciousness. She finally awoke that third day full of pain and found herself in a strange place.
"Where am I?" she asked weakly.
"Your in my cave, Shenzi found you three days ago near death, I had a shaman save your life," said Scar.
"It wasn't a baboon named Rafiki who did it was it?" asked Zira in an annoyed way.
"No another one who wishes to remain anonymous, but she told me to tell you that you need to rest for at least a week to regain your strength," said Scar.
"A she, oh my I never knew there were female baboon healers," said Zira.
"There are a few and she was traveling at the time, luckily she was around when we found you," said Scar.
"Well no matter, I am glad I survived that awful attack by that brute, although I am surprised that you let me live since that was my last chance," said Zira.
Scar smirked at her and then bent over at her eye level. "The only reason I let you live is because I love you," said Scar.
Zira gasped in astonishment and stared at the evil lion who wanted to become king. "Are you serious, so we will really love each other if we both become royalty?" asked Zira.
Scar nodded. "Ever since I have met you I have always found you attractive that is why I saved your life," said Scar.
"I am glad you think that, and while I was trying to return to you after being attacked, I did think of a new plan that will actually most likely work," said Zira.
"Oh and what is that?" asked Scar.
"Have you tried to get all your hyenas in a battle against the pride?" asked Zira.
Scar sat there for a moment, surprised by the idea and wondering why he had never thought of that one before. It sounded like a good plan too.
"No I actually never tried that," he said. Scar then looked around until he saw Shenzi sleeping nearby. "Shenzi!" he said aloud.
Shenzi quickly jumped up and ran to Scar. "Yes sir, what is it, if its about that mouse I ate yesterday I am sorry I did not offer you some I was just starving," she said.
"No it's not about that, I want you to round up every hyena and tell them to meet me over here in the morning," said Scar.
"Yes sir," said Shenzi who was not sure what it was all about but was still willing to do Scars bidding.
Scar then turned back to Zira. "Because of that wonderful brain of yours I'll bet the pride will be as good as ours in no time," said Scar.
Zira then laughed the most evil laugh anyone could hear from a female lion. It was so contagious that Scar joined in and their voices echoed through the walls.
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It was late morning at Pride Rock and Simba and Nala were busy chasing a butterfly until it flew over the rock and disappeared on the horizon. Simba growled at it and kicked some sand.
"Well our play time is over now," said Simba.
"No its not, we can still do other things, like wrestle," said Nala who then attacked Simba and pinned him on the ground like they had done before reaching the elephant graveyard.
Simba growled at her and leaped up to playfully attack Nala but Nala won again and Simba was again lying on his back looking up at his playmate.
"Well I can see that you will be a great hunter," said Simba.
"Yeah and it looks like you'll be lying in the grass all day watching us hunt," said Nala.
"Hey I'll hunt too," said Simba who then got up after Nala let him back up.
"Yeah right," said Nala teasingly.
Simba growled and attacked again. This one caught Nala off guard and he was able to pin her down before she could even lay a claw on him.
"Well you won that round but the next ones are mine," said Nala who then walked off.
Simba was about to pounce again when he heard the flapping of wings and Ban'ai flying full force toward Mufasa.
"Sire I was out patrolling," said Ban'ai as he tried to catch his breath.
"What did you see?" asked Mufasa worriedly.
"Scar sent all the hyenas of the outlands here, I think they want to fight," said Ban'ai.
Mufasa growled and ran over to the ledge to see; sure enough he could see hyenas coming straight towards them. They were so numerous that they looked like a cloud of black smoke enveloping the savanna.
"Everyone follow me, except Simba and Nala, stay here don't show yourselves," said Mufasa who then ran out to the pride lands with his lioness's right behind him.
Simba and Nala watched them go as they hid behind a boulder hoping that the hyenas would run back with their tails between their legs.
Mufasa soon came to an area where he could negotiate with the hyenas and waited for them to come closer. Once they were at the right spot for talking, Mufasa spoke to them.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
"We were sent by Scar to fight whoever is against him so he may be king of pride lands," said Shenzi.
"Then Scar must be leading you to your deaths for you will all die if you do not turn around," said Mufasa.
"We will never turn around, this is our home now," said Banzai.
"Then prepare to fight," said Mufasa who then yelled attack and both the hyenas and the lions clashed together.
Simba and Nala watched quietly as they saw Mufasa kill five hyenas with one swipe of his paws before ten more would be on him, biting and scratching until Mufasa finished them off. They saw the lionesses fight for their life as some fell to a mass of hyenas and never rise again. They saw Ban'ai fighting as well by pecking out eyes and pulling out hair. Usually a hyena would try to bite him back but Ban'ai was too quick and would fly high in the air and attack another one.
"Do you think they'll win?" asked Nala worriedly.
"I hope so," said Simba.
"Oh look it's the cub sandwiches," said a voice from behind them. Simba and Nala turned around to find both Shenzi and Banzai licking their muzzles ready to attack and kill.
Run!" cried Simba who then ran as fast as he could through the savanna. Nala did not follow him though; she ran another way toward a small cave she knew of at the back of the rock where no one could reach her. It of course worked and Banzai was left to pace the cave waiting for her to come out.
Simba on the other hand had not thought about the secret cave and was still running through the grassland with Shenzi hot on his tail. Simba ran as hard as he could, hoping to find a safe place to get away from Shenzi's evil teeth. He thought about turning around and scratching her once but knew that would only make her angrier.
Ban'ai was still trying to avoid the teeth of hyenas as he flew high up in the air and was lucky enough to look in the direction to where Simba was. He saw the young cub running with Shenzi right behind him and no safe place to hide for many yards. What was even worse was that Simba was heading straight toward a gorge and had not noticed it yet.
Ban'ai had to do something. Quickly he flew toward Shenzi in hopes of pecking her eyes out so Simba could be saved. But he did not fly fast enough. Simba did not even see it coming until he looked in front of him and saw the gorge. Simba did not stop fast enough and a second later, he felt himself falling into thin air.
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A/N: Okay I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that I am leaving for Florida on the 30th and I am not going to return until the 17th of January so I left you all with a nice cliffhanger so you can look forward to the next chapter once I return. The good news is that I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico. Okay that was dumb. Anyway I am sorry to tell you all that and you may call me a spooty spoothead or a meany. Well that's all I have to say for now so I hope you liked that chapter and please review and I will see you all in late January. Havea Happy New Year too.
