V

A PROMISE

"Dad?"

Simba and Kopa were back at the Pridelands at the river near Pride Rock. The King gently set his son down in the grass.

"Hmm?" he replied.

Kopa turned around, staring up at Simba almost gravely. "Do...I-I mean, could you take me up t' the top of Pride Rock...tonight?"

His father's eyes widened at the question, but soon softened once more.

"Yeah...that'd be great!" Simba finally responded suddenly as his front legs left the ground in a kind of half jump, voice filled with joy. Kopa giggled, but the King went on. "Er, but the tradition is going up there," he nodded his head up to the Kingdom which was about a mile or two away. "when the sun rises. I know you don't like to get up early but it's to explain-"

"I know, I know." Kopa cut in. "Take me up there during another sunrise, but I wanna go up there tonight...ya know, so we can see the stars and stuff."

Once more, Simba couldn't help but his expression softening with love, and he grinned. "All right." he said gently. "We'll go up there. Tonight."

"Promise?"

"...Promise."

"Yeah!" Kopa cried anxiously as he turned around while leaping up into the air, and he bounded off through the grass, down near the river bank.

"Simba!" Nala called as she came running over to him.

As they came together again, she said, "I was so worried. What hap-"

He quickly interupted so as not to cause anymore frantic feelings. "Shh, it's OK. We just had a little...accident." and he nuzzled her lovingly. "It's OK. Nothing really happened. We're here now."

Nala forced a weak smile, showing signs of relief, when suddenly Zazu came flying in.

"Your highness! Oh it was dreadful! The prince almost died!" he cried, fluttering around, frenzied. "They were about near death! Kopa almost died and so did Simba! Thank the heavens Simba was able to push your son - who almost died-!"

"You already said that," Nala said flatly, eyes half-closed in annoyance.

"-he was able to push him up the branches! Oh how scary it was! I was just saddened I couldn't do anything about it," he yelled, huffing and puffing. Taking a few breaths, he finally screamed out, "They almost DIED!"

Simba rolled his eyes as he shook his massive head, though he couldn't help a small grin form. He quickly batted the majordomo away before the rambling could go on.

"Hey, I'm taking Kopa atop Pride Rock tonight. He asked me to."

"That's great!" Nala cried.

Kopa was running through grass still, when he spotted Pimbi right by the river. Smirking to himself, the lion cub abruptly cut through the air, landing on the prarie dog.

"Ah!" cried Pimbi in surprise.

"Ha!" Kopa replied as he scrambled on a rock, then turned around to face him. "Too fast for anyone, eh?"

"You were lucky," the small animal huffed.

The prince laughed, before bregging, "Dad and I were rushed through a river! He saved me, though," he exclaimed proudly as he sat, puffing out his chest.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yup. And I met an Outlander!"

"Really?" Pimbi asked, nose twitching.

"What a raging ball of choked up furry!" Kopa laughed, before extending his claws as he playbowed. "She was vicious!"

"Well I don't wanna get between you and your vicious friend there..." the prarie dog replied with a wink.

"There he is!" Timon said.

The pair came over.

"Don't think we've forgotten what you two did!" Timon exclaimed as he leapt off the snorting warthog.

Kopa sat up, taking a front paw and lifting it over his shoulder, as if trying to casuall, innocently scratch his back. "Yeah, uh, sorry 'bout that, guys,"

"You know, that really hurt our feelings," Pumbaa suddenly said, sniffling.

"Yeah," Timon whimpered, his voice weakening then.

Kopa and Pimbi glanced at one other, surpressing laughter.

"It's OK, Pumbaa ol' pal," the meerkat assured as he patted his friend's back. "Nothing a batch of grubs can't fix, eh?"

"Oo! Love grubs! Especially the slimey kind!"

"Slimey? Are you kidding? It's the crunchy ya want!" Timon snapped.

"No, I don't think so. Slimey's best!"

"Crunchey for sure,"

"Nope!"

"Yeah!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"You know," Pimbi said, his fingers - or claws - tapping the ground as he rested his chin on his other elbow. "Not that I don't find this conversation interesting, it's just...I think it's boring." With that the prarie dog dropped into his hole. "Gotta get back t' diggin', bye Kopa!"

"See ya!" Kopa called.

Pumbaa and Timon blinked at each other, before carrying on their argument.

"Crunchy!"

"Slimey!"

Kopa laughed quietly to himself, before taking off to Pride Rock.

Back at the Kingdom, the lioness were bringing up an argument among themselves. When the news had gotten to them - it didn't take very long - about what had happened to Simba and Kopa, they began talking about what to do about the near Outlanders.

"They're out of the Pridelands, aren't they? They're obeying the law, so there's nothing wrong!" one growled.

"I disagree," another replied. "What if they decided to come and get young Prince Kopa?"

"Why would they wanna do that?" a third asked.

"Because he's prince!" snapped the second.

A pale lioness exclaimed, "Just look at what the hyenas had done! They weren't allowed in the Pridelands, so they stayed near them. In doing so, they finally took over the Kingdom with Scar. These Outlanders are capeable of anything!"

"Well I think...!"

And the conversation went on, so that the words of one lioness were covered up by the sentence of another. They were all at the main pathway, where there were many shady trees to protect them from the afternoon's sun. That's when the King and Queen were walking over.

"Simba!" one lioness finally shot out, and the rest fell silent. "Nala! What do you think about the Outlanders being so close?"

"Um," Simba started.

Before he could go on, everyone began to state their opinions, all at the same time. Finally Nala's roar silenced them once more.

"Silence!" she snarled. "We'll talk about this later!"

With that, the lionesses muttered under their breaths to each other, what they thought should or could happen.

"Sire, Majesty" said Zazu calmly, back to his normal self - he had been perched atop Simba's back the whole time. "The pride is getting restless."

"I can see," Nala remarked.

"May I suggest a meeting tonight?"

Simba nodded. "Yeah, that'd be good."

"Simba," Nala then said, but the King wasn't listening.

"Announce it to the pride and then go get Rafiki."

"Simba."

"Maybe he could help."

"Right away," Zazu replied, before flying off to the lionesses.

"Simba!"

"What?"

"Our son?"

"Kopa? What about him?"

Nala shook her head in disaprovel. "You promised to take him up to the top of Pride Rock tonight, remember?"

"Oh no," Simba suddenly said to himself, eyes wide as he stared out at the savannah, almost in shock.