Okay before I start this story I have a long authors note to give you so please read this and do not ignore because it is very important.
First my wisdom teeth removal went very well. I first went in crying and wanting to leave but then a few seconds later I got some IV into me that put me to sleep instantly and I felt that I had awoke a few seconds later. The pain was not bad, since they gave me enough vicoden to deal with it and let me say that I do not like that stuff, your body feels like jelly and you have trouble moving, it is so annoying. So all weekend I was too tired to write but now I am more alert and ready to give you all a new chapter and you all probably say. Thank God.
Another thing I must tell you all is that starting on the 17th I will be leaving for Florida. I got accepted into the Disney Internship at Walt Disney World where I will be for five months. I start on August 22nd and go until January 3rd. I do hope however to write at least one chapter a month so you all won't have to wait for so long. So this and the next chapter after this one will be the last before I leave. Oh and just in case you are wondering, I will be a quick service food and beverage employee, where exactly I don't know but I will tell you all when I update after moving in there.
Well now its time to thank my reviewers.
Bounding Jackalope: Thanks for the review and sadly because I have never seen the Lion King on Broadway or heard the song I will not be putting in the Madness of King Scar on so I apologize for that. Hope you like this chapter though.
SunRise19: Glad you liked the chapter and thanks for the suggestions about wisdom teeth removal, ice cream really does help, though not the kind from Dairy Queen, since it's a blizzard and they like to put stuff in it. Hope you like this chapter.
Pichooi: Glad you liked that chapter and thanks for wishing me luck with my wisdom teeth, I am so glad it's over. Well hope you like this chapter.
Nachonaco: Yes Zazu's mom is still alive though I am definitely not going to do that to her, I don't think we will ever see her again either, his sister will keep us up to date though. Thanks for the review.
Space Spy: Yay someone new, thanks for putting me on your favorites and I am glad you like this story, hope to hear more from you soon. Thanks for the review.
Gryfffinrose: Glad you liked the chapter, hope you like this one.
MorpheusDreamer: Thank you for the kind comments and I am so glad you are back. I'm glad you think my writing is improving. Well hope you like this chapter.
Now we finally begin the chapter.
A year had passed since Mufasa's death and the pridelands began looking like a barren wasteland. The trees were slowly dying, the river was lower than normal, and many animals were beginning to move away to greener pastures. Tafari still stayed with me though, yet at times I could tell that he was longing to leave before it got any worse.
After that talk with Tahir the year before, we had told Scar about the problem and he actually went out and talked to the hyenas about it though the problem still stayed because their advisor finch came back a week later with more news about more hyenas. Again Sarabi was forced to go and talk to them and this time, Sarabi told them to just kill the hyenas if they invaded but if Scar complained they had to say it was their idea since Sarabi did not want to get into trouble.
But because of how the hyenas began ruining the land, they caused Tahir's pride to move farther away and soon I was the only one going out to talk to them since flying was faster than walking. I would only be gone for a few hours but Scar treated me like I had been gone for days and wanted to know any thing that was happening in the pride lands the instant I returned.
Nala had grown into a beautiful lioness, her fur gleamed in the sunshine and her eyes always looked sparkling though I could tell that she longed for Simba as she stared out into the pride lands wondering if he would ever return from the dead.
Now that Nala was older though, it was time for her to start hunting with the other lionesses of the pride. I remember that day well because Nala had asked me to join and watch her first hunt. I was of course nervous about seeing another animal slaughtered by the lions but Nala and I were friends and I did not want to let her down.
I followed the lionesses as they began their hunt, searching through the small herds that were left to find the choicest meal. Many of the animals were in a sorry state so it was hard to find the best one for every body but that was when Sarabi found the right one they were looking for.
"Okay do you all see that zebra herd in the distance," she asked the group.
They all nodded wondering which zebra Sarabi had found to be the perfect one to kill.
"There's one in the middle that has a slight limp, we are gonna go for that one, you all know what to do and where to go, Nala you take the flank, it will be easiest for your first time beginner skills," said Sarabi.
I saw Nala nod to her and then Sarabi was off. The herd saw her running and then the rest of the pride close behind and they started to run, including the one that had a small limp, though that one I could tell was having trouble and I knew they would do well to catch it.
I then saw Sarabi jump up at the zebra, trying to bite it in the neck but the zebra bucked causing Sarafina who was behind her to back away before being hit by the powerful hooves. But she did not stop long and quickly ran back toward the zebra where she jumped up and bit down on its side. The Zebra whinnied in pain as Sarabi arrived and bit down on the neck. I saw Nala jump up and bite down on the flank and hold on. I could tell she was not going to give up on her first hunt.
I watched as Nala held on for about ten minutes, the zebra kept kicking and whinnying for each of the lionesses to get off it but the pride had it out numbered.
But suddenly, something went wrong, Nala was having trouble hanging on and a second later I saw her fly through the air and land heavily on the grass. The other lionesses saw her fall but had to hold onto the Zebra. I was glad I came to watch the hunt or Nala would have been left lying there for a while. I flew down to check on her.
When I got there, Nala was trying to stand but was a little wobbly. At first I thought she was bleeding on her paw until I realized that it was from the zebra since she already had a bloody mustache on her face.
"Nala are you alright?" I asked.
"Yeah I'm fine, I just slipped, I had him though, I'm not used to so much blood either, it's hard to hold on with that slippery stuff," she said.
Before I could say anything Sarafina and the rest of the pride came running over to her looking worried.
"Oh Nala are you okay, you did not break anything did you?" asked Sarafina.
"No Mom I'm fine, I just slipped that's all," said Nala.
"Thank goodness, you did very well on your first hunt though, looks like you will be a fine huntress," said Sarabi.
"Thank you," said Nala who bowed to Sarabi and then looked over at the kill. But something was not right, there was another lioness there eating the zebra and she was not supposed to. Nala growled while Sarabi ran over and swiped the lioness in the face.
"How many times must I tell someone to wait their turn," said Sarabi angrily.
The lioness looked up at her and that was when we noticed that we had never seen this lioness before. She was a skinny lion with a long stripe going down her back, her face was long and full of hate, I could tell that she would fight with any one who intervened.
"Well you did leave this zebra so now its mine," she said as she chomped down on it and began eating with the look of hate on her face.
"We only left it to help Nala here, now either get up and leave or let us join you in the feast," said Sarabi.
"No, I have not eaten in days and I say that this zebra is now rightfully mine," the lioness growled as she showed her yellowed teeth.
"But we have not eaten in days either, they hyenas keep eating our food and this is my first kill," said Nala who was now looking devastated.
"Oh boo hoo hoo, listen you little brat, life is hard so get used to it and find your own damn food," said the lioness.
"If you don't leave I will send for the king and then he will decide what to do with you," said Sarabi who I knew was bluffing because Scar would probably just ignore our problem.
"The king eh, well where is he then, I bet he is weaker than you all," said the lioness.
"We'll just see about that once he is through with you, Zazu go get Scar," said Sarabi.
I looked down at her startled; I guess she was not bluffing. "But Madame isn't Scar busy at the moment?" I asked. He was most likely sleeping but he always said he was busy when he was doing that.
"I don't care, just get him Zazu," said Sarabi.
I did not argue again and flew as fast as I could back to Pride Rock. Luckily Scar was awake and having quality time with some bones that littered the floor, he truly made the cave a mess.
"Excuse me sire?" I said nervously.
"What is it Zazu?" asked Scar who acted all annoyed now that he was disturbed from his new friends.
"There is a stranger in the pride lands and she is eating our dinner, Sarabi said you should come and chase her out," I said.
Scar looked down at his bones for a moment before finally looking back up at me. He then growled and stood up.
"Well since I have been doing nothing else today, why don't you take me to him since it sounds like a rogue wanting to take over my kingdom," said Scar who obviously did not hear that I had said it was a her.
"Actually sire its female and she was very rude," I said.
"Then why won't the lionesses deal with her?" asked Scar who now looked like he was heading back to the cave.
"Because she won't leave," I said.
Scar just sighed. "Do I have to do everything around here?" he asked as he began his decent down Pride Rock. I was glad he was actually doing something but I could tell that he still felt it was the lioness's job.
We arrived a few minutes later to find that Sarabi and the lioness were now getting into a fight leaving both of them quite bloody and upset at each other. Scar ran over and roared as he stepped between them and growled.
"What's going on here?" he asked.
"This lioness stole our food while we were helping Nala here and now she will not give it back to us," said Sarabi.
Scar looked at the lioness and stood there for the longest time looking at her. At first we all wondered if he was staring her down to get rid of her until we noticed that he was smiling. The lioness just glared at him while Scar began to circle and study her. We then sensed that Scar was showing a liking to her.
"Tell me what is your name?" asked Scar.
"It's Zira, now either kill me or chase me off I can see that you want to," said the lioness with a growl.
Scar just smiled, I could tell he liked her attitude mainly because she acted just like him when he was mad.
"Actually you don't need to leave, how would you like it if you joined our pride?" asked Scar.
"No you can't do that, we have enough starving mouths here as it is, we cannot afford another one," said Sarabi who jumped in.
"Hold your tongue," said Scar as he swiped at her but Sarabi moved out of the way before any harm was done.
"I would not mind joining your pride, in fact I have been looking for one for a long time, I was kicked out for trying to take over the queens job," said Zira.
"Ah then your in luck because you see I have actually been looking for a queen to help me rule this kingdom," said Scar.
I saw Sarabi turn a slightly different color as she jumped in front of the two and looked at Scar with even more anger than before.
"But I am the queen, I have been helping you rule this kingdom for the past year, your lucky it hasn't sunk to the ground without me here to keep it in check still," said Sarabi.
"Oh Sarabi you don't have to worry about that stuff any more, Zira will be my queen if she wants and you can just lie around and not worry about any thing," said Scar who then looked at Zira. Zira gave him a wicked smile before finally answering him.
"Well it does seem that this Sarabi does not want me here, I will leave and find my own place," said Zira who made a mock pouty face and started slinking off.
Scar just ran to her. "No it's alright, I have made my decision, you are to be my queen while Sarabi remains but the hunting leader, does that sound alright?" asked Scar.
Zira smirked at him before brushing up against him and looking at Sarabi with a proud look. Sarabi just stared; I could tell she was not liking the newcomer one bit.
"It sounds wonderful," Zira finally said.
"Good then join me into my den, we need to get to know each other," said Scar as he walked off with her while the other lionesses just stood there and watched them go.
Sarabi growled under her breath and walked over to the kill where she started to rip it apart. Sarafina ran over to her.
Sarabi are you alright?" she asked.
"I'm fine, just getting rid of all the anger in my system at the moment," she said.
"I cannot believe he let her join the pride like that and you are right about one thing, there are too many mouths to feed at the moment, having one more will surely cause trouble here," I said.
"I just wish Mufasa was still here, he would probably find a better place for us, just like Mohatu did," said Sarabi with a sigh.
"Maybe a savior will come one day and help us, he will get rid of all these hyenas once and for all and maybe he will even overtake Scar," said Nala.
"Maybe someday Nala, maybe someday," said Sarabi.
I watched as they all began their walk back to pride rock and to know more about this new queen of the pride lands.
A/N: Well there's chapter 21, hope you all thought it was okay, I'm not very proud of it myself. I'm sorry if Scar got too into Zira so quickly but that was the only way I could figure out how to do that. Also in about two chapters from now you will find out why Zazu is sentenced to live in that cage, it's not a pretty reason either. Well the one more chapter before I leave will hopefully be up by Monday so please review and have a great weekend.