Thanks for the reviews - interesting to read your discussions... hehe... I know we can't all agree, and we probably see the story of Lion King in different ways, and therefore have different opinions on how or who will become next king or queen and so on. It helps to have an open mind, when reading other's stories. I'm a Scar fan, and some of you are Simba fans... that's just the way things go. So where you may favour Simba in your story, I'm on Scars side ;) also in this one.

And I don't decide from the beginning what will happen, I just write, and things happen as I write them (for example, I never knew about the outcome of this chapter).

anyway, here it is, the next chapter - I hope you don't become too upset about what happens. It's not the last chapter, though... please Read and Review!

Part 17 - No longer unloved

Someone else, not Scar, was ready for a fight now – or so it would seem. Someone who once seemed perfectly normal, but an elder lion with a black mane had twisted the mind. At least the others who were present, thought Kiara had truly gone insane.

Nala wasn't prepared for it, when she jumped at Scar and landed and rolled around on the floor with someone else. She caught the young lioness under her claw – Nala had always been the better fighter - and stared at her, not sure she wanted this to be true.

"Kiara! What are you doing!" she asked and moved away from her daughter. In a corner near the cubs stood Scar, just as surprised as Nala.

"He's… old! He can't fight you, he'd loose no matter what! I always thought you played fair games!" Kiara snapped at her mother, tears in her eyes.

"He started it himself – keep out of this!" Nala snapped back and looked around to fight Scar again.

"I won't… I'm not a cub anymore! Father never understood it, I thought you did…" Kiara looked at her father, whose body was now cold and somewhat stiff. Her father, who was dead, and he would never return. He had loved her, but perhaps too much.

"I can't believe it… you are out of your mind!" Nala said, both to Kiara but also to herself. Trying to understand what was wrong with her daughter.

"Why would you care? It's either me, or noone you fight. I am simply not letting you do this!" Kiara only looked at her mother, didn't even send Scar one glance.

x-----x-----x-----x-----x-----x

Once again he stood outside the 'fight', watching them. But he almost wanted to agree with Nala, telling Kiara she was out of her mind. However… it seemed, as if Kiara actually cared for him! She loved him… he was loved!

"Kiara!" Scar finally called and the young lioness turned towards him. "Tell me one thing…" he was a bit afraid of the outcome, he knew what he wanted to be true, but he had a hard time believing it it himself. He tried to stay as noble in his position as possible, but it was so hard. He never felt like this before – or he never sensed this feeling towards himself before.

"Yes…?" Kiara asked after the now somewhat long pause he made.

"Do… do you love me, Kiara?" he felt his voice wanted to tremble, saying these words, but he kept it calm. She took a few steps closer to him, looked him in the eyes.

"I do…" she then whispered, also having a hard time expressing it. Her mother was in the chamber, and so was Kovu – she loved them both, but in another way. What she felt towards Scar, was deep, something strange. There was something in him, that noone else simply never saw.

"Say it out loud, I want… I need to hear it …" Scar said. Could it be? Then Kiara straigthened up, and spoke it out so loud that the others clearly heard it;

"I love you, Scar… I love you, is that good enough? I love you…" she said, and saw the tear in the corner of his eye. Then he bowed to her.

"Then you are the queen, and there will be no fights. I will take my leave, you shall never see me again – if I must die, I prefer to do it alone." He said, still bowing to her.

"But… not now, not yet." Kiara whispered, but he shook his head.

"That is the way things must happen." Scar stood up again, and sent a last glance towards the cubs, smiling. The others were so stunned, that they didn't move, they didn't do anything to prevent Scar from leaving for good. He held his head high, as he strode past the dead body of Simba, past Nala who still didn't want to believe the words of her daughter – past Kovu, who wasn't sure he would ever become the true king by Kiaras side.

"Scar!" Kiara called and he stopped just before he entered the shadow in the corridor. He turned around, and looked at her, waiting to hear what she wanted to say. "I just need to know – did you ever love anyone?"

"It seems to me… that I may be able to love – you, Kiara. Remember me for that…" he turned around and disappeared in the darkness. He didn't go straight, towards the entrance from the Pridelands – he turned right, towards other corridors and chambers, to find a place to die – lonely as he had always been, but no longer unloved.