Well I hope to finish this story before the year ends; I plan to have four more chapters which includes this one if everything goes well. Besides I don't want to leave you all hanging with one more chapter before I leave you all for three weeks when my mom comes down to Florida so she can get a tan and I will be without internet since my grandmother has no connection, yeah I have to suffer three more weeks, I'm just ready to go home now. Well I will shut up now and start the chapter.
Three months went by and my life was the same way as it was those years ago when Mufasa was around, but this time everything felt quieter and my job seemed less fulfilling. Kalifa still stopped by from time to time and when I told her the news of Binti's death, she was devastated. She was even more sad to hear that every one of my offspring were now gone. She felt so bad for me that she stayed for a week, cheering me up and remembering old times.
I tried to keep Binti off the subject, I did not want to cry in front of her, I wanted to remain strong and show her how much of a big brother I was to her. I did cry a few times but it was only for a little while.
I felt a little better after she left but that's when I began to notice the things that Conga told me. Simba did look like he was faking it and most of the animals seemed to give me an angry look every time I was near.
But I pretended I did not notice and worried about the more important things like Kiara's first hunt. The night before was filled with excitement as Kiara told everyone how she would be hunting and how proud she would make Simba. It was a very long night for some lionesses who just wanted to sleep rather than hear her banter, truthfully I was one of them, and luckily for me the night was warm so I found a nice tree branch to sleep on until morning arrived.
When the time came for Kiara to start her first hunt the next day, all the lionesses, Rafiki, and Timon and Pumbaa gathered around to watch her descend down pride rock and walk up to Simba and Nala who both stood at the edge and waited for her to arrive.
We all watched as Kiara made her way down toward Simba and Nala. All the lionesses congratulated her saying how big she had gotten and good luck with the hunt. It was hard to believe that a small cub like her would grow into such a beautiful young lioness. She had a very cheerful looking face and her fur color seemed to be mixed with Simba and Nala's, I could not imagine what she looked like if she became queen.
Kiara then walked up to her parents and nuzzled Nala before begging Simba to promise not to spy on her while she was hunting on her own. Simba of course was reluctant with this seeing how he did not want to loose another cub but in the end he sort of agreed to let her go but not without Timon and Pumbaa quickly following behind.
Once Kiara's initiation was complete, the lionesses returned to basking in the sun save for Simba who walked back and forth on Pride Rock. I knew he was nervous about Kiara starting her first hunt and I did not blame him, I felt the same way too when the chicks began their flights out into the open alone.
"Oh I should have trained her instead of letting her do it on her own," said Simba after pacing so many times that I almost felt dizzy from watching him.
"Oh she would have probably wanted her mother to train her seeing as how male lions have a different way of hunting," I told him.
"Either way I wish I would have done that, now she is out there all alone probably getting hurt," said Simba.
I thought of all those times my offspring were out on their own, Simba was a lot like I was, nervous. Luckily I had Binti beside me to help calm me down; too bad she was not there to help Simba.
"Timon and Pumbaa are out there watching her sir, I know they will tell you if anything goes wrong," I said.
"Yeah but they loose her all the time and this time I know they most likely will," said Simba who then began to make a frustrated growl under his breath.
"Don't worry Simba, she'll be fine. What could happen?" I said.
I spoke too soon though. A second later Simba let out a gasp as he saw what was happening in the horizon. The savanna was on fire.
"Zazu fly ahead!" he cried as he ran down Pride Rock toward the fire.
I quickly did my bidding and flew as fast as I could to find her. Hopefully she was somewhere else away from the fire and trying to find a better place to hunt. Of course when I looked at all the safe places, Kiara was nowhere near there and I knew she must have hunted where the fire was. I now felt very nervous for her.
I flew toward the fire, battling smoke and avoiding the places where the fire was high up in the air. I finally found her though. She had fallen into the river, and someone was with her, a stranger. She looked to be unconscious while the stranger brought her to shore.
"I must tell Simba," I said worriedly and flew as fast as I could to find him.
I did not have to go far; I found him a little ways away trying to calm Timon and Pumbaa down as both were telling him how they lost her again. I quickly flew over and landed between the three.
"Sire I found her by the river and someone is with her," I said.
"Oh thank goodness," said Simba who then ran without saying another word toward the river.
I looked back at Timon and Pumbaa, who both gave me a sheepish grin.
"So how did you loose her this time?" I asked. I was always amused by their excuses.
"Uh well…" said Pumbaa.
"She saw us following her," said Timon.
I slapped my head, those two really needed to learn how to stay camouflaged when tracking someone.
"Well I better go see if she is alright, you two head back to Pride Rock, you two look like you need a bath after running around in this stuff," I said.
"Oh so you're the king now I see," said Timon.
"No I am just giving you advice, I am an advisor that is my job," I said.
"I thought we were advisors now," said Timon who was obviously trying my patience.
"That was only for a week, when I was in mourning okay, don't annoy me right now," I said.
"Yes Sir Mr. Grumpy," said Timon.
I sighed and shook my head; those two could be a real pain but at least they tried. I quickly took flight and headed toward Simba to make sure everything was alright.
I arrived just in time to find Simba roaring with the lion who had tried to save Kiara. Kiara was standing nearby with Nala; both seemed to try to stop them. I stared at the other lion, I did not recognize him at first but then I realized it was Kovu, sporting a mane and looking very menacing. My feathers stood on end; he brought Kiara out of the river, what he probably would have done after I did not want to know.
"Hey! You! How dare you save the kings daughter!" came a voice from behind me. It was Rafiki; he must have seen the whole thing.
Simba looked at Rafiki confused by what he said, but Rafiki disappeared before he could question him, Simba then turned back to Kovu and glared at him. "You saved her? Why?" he asked.
"I humbly ask to join your pride," said Kovu silently.
"No! You were banished with the other outsiders," said Simba who began to stalk him but Kovu held his ground. Zira must have trained him well.
"I have left the outsiders, I am a rogue. Judge me now for what I am or am I to be blamed for a crime I didn't commit," said Kovu obviously referring to Kopa's death that his mother had planned on the day he was born.
Simba growled and paced back and forth, I knew I had to fly down and help him decide what to do.
"Simba you owe him your daughters life," said Nala.
"Yes Sire. Clearly we are in his debt, and royal protocol demands that all debts be paid but in this case you might want to make an exception," I said as I glared at Kovu remembering the time he killed Bahati just to show off. Kovu looked at me slightly confused; of course he would though he probably had no idea that she was my daughter.
"My father's law will prevail. For now I reserve judgment. We'll see who you really are," said Simba who then turned around and began leading the pride back to Pride Rock. Kovu looked down at me, I quickly gave him the cold shoulder, I did not trust him in any way, shape or form.
"Riffraff," I said and flew away heading back to Pride Rock with the rest of the pride. Hoping that nothing bad would happen during the night.
I was surprised to wake up the next morning to find Simba still alive. He was still in the same place with Nala sound asleep and Kovu was still outside where Simba made him sleep when he arrived. Feeling that everything was safe and secure I decided to go out and do my morning report, I would discuss Kovu with Simba once I was done with that job.
I returned a few hours later to find Simba lying out in the shade watching the horizon, I could see the look of worry in his eyes and I knew that Kovu was on his mind.
"Good morning Sire," I said.
"Morning Zazu," said Simba who then gave a big yawn.
"Still sleepy sire?" I asked.
"Yeah I had a bad dream last night," said Simba.
"About Kovu?" I asked.
Simba nodded and sighed as he looked back over the horizon. He was out there somewhere with Kiara. I had seen them earlier; he was teaching her how to hunt.
"Do you think he really left the outlands on his own free will?" I asked.
"I sense Zira put him up to it, but of course he will deny it, I'm watching him carefully and if it's alright I want you to do the same," said Simba.
"Yes sir, I will watch him day and night if I have to, I know those outlanders sneaky ways," I said.
"Thank you Zazu. Any news on the savanna?" asked Simba.
"Just a few complaints about the jackals being too worrisome around the young animals, they say the wander around the water hole and watch the young as they play in the water," I said.
"I'll look into that a little later then, thanks for telling me," said Simba.
I nodded and proceeded to fly off but was quickly stopped by Simba.
"Zazu," he said.
"Yes Sire?" I asked as I folded my wings back and turned to him.
"Everything okay with you right now," he asked.
I knew he was talking about Binti and I gave a small frown but held my posture. "Yeah I'm fine, it's been three months, it took a while to adjust but I think I am okay now," I said.
"Good, if I said this a million times already I apologize, but I am sorry about what happened and if you ever feel the need of leaving your advising duties go right ahead. Timon and Pumbaa can take over until I can find a replacement," said Simba.
"Thank you sire, but I have no need for that now; I am still fit to do your bidding," I said.
"Well if you ever do change your mind, just tell me, and if you ever need someone to talk to you can talk to me, I went through the same thing as you and I can try to help," said Simba.
Thank you sire," I said in a whisper trying my hardest not to cry, these days I cried very easily and I had never really did it on anyone's shoulder, just alone hiding somewhere where no one could see me.
"Have you heard from Conga at all?" asked Simba.
"Not a word sire," I said still trying to hold back the tears.
"Zazu its okay, let it out," said Simba.
I looked up at Simba with mournful eyes and without another thought I launched myself at him and hugged him tightly while I let the tears flow down my face. At that moment I realized that having someone there for you was the most important thing in the world. Simba's body was warm and comforting and I wanted to stay there all day.
For the rest of the day, he stood by my side, telling me how he felt when he was with Timon and Pumbaa. He wanted to let it all out when he was with his two step parents but he just did not want to reveal anything to them, he did not want to be judged. Simba told me that he often went out on his own and just cried for hours before he returned to Timon and Pumbaa who seemed to have never noticed his absence.
That evening we stood out on a hill watching Kiara and Kovu as they stared up at the stars. They must have had a successful day of hunting because they both seemed to enjoy each others company.
"Do you still trust him sire?" I asked.
"I don't know, I'm not sure what he is thinking right now," said Simba.
"He seems to be happier here," I said.
"Perhaps but he could only be faking it," said Simba.
"True, you may never know what is cooking in that mind of his," I said.
"I know he was not involved in Kopa's death but I do know he was involved with Zira, she even said he would be the cause of my demise," said Simba.
I said nothing but watched as Kiara and Kovu stood up and both embraced each other under the stars. It was truly romantic but it did make me wonder if he loved her. I gave a loud yawn realizing that I had a long, hard day with Simba crying my heart out.
"Well Sire, it was nice to spend the day with you but I am exhausted now. I will see you tomorrow with the morning report," I said.
"Goodnight then Zazu, and remember if you ever need a shoulder to cry on feel free to see me," said Simba.
I nodded and flew back to Pride Rock while Simba continued to watch both of the young lions. I meanwhile had the best sleep I had ever had in a very long time.
Morning arrived and I found Simba had gone off with Kovu. I knew Simba had made up his mind the night before and was now deciding to get to know him a bit more and to of course give him a private talk.
I decided to go about doing my morning routine just in case Simba wanted to know about it after he talked to Kovu, of course it could take quite a while or he could be back before the sun was high up in the sky.
While I did my rounds, I met up with Kiara, Timon, and Pumbaa. They were all lying out near a tree talking about the activities that went on the day before. I found out from them that it was quite interesting.
"You guys really know how to teach someone how to have a good time," said Kiara as I arrived at their little conversation.
"Yeah you know our motto, Hakuna Matata well having fun is probably the most important part of that motto so we try to teach others how to have fun," said Timon.
"Yeah and you did a good job doing that by the way, Kovu seems much more happier now," said Kiara.
"We should have taught him how to wallow in mud huh Pumbaa," said Timon.
Pumbaa only nodded.
"But remember you can't have fun all the time," I said from my perch.
"We know Zazu, we know. Do you really have to be a party pooper?" asked Timon.
"Well Kovu does need to learn a few other things besides having fun, such as who Scar really was, she probably corrupted his mind terribly. He probably also needs to learn how to not be a killer," I said.
"Yeah, he was stuck up at first like he knew everything but now I can tell that he wants to change," said Kiara.
"Who knows though, he could be faking it," I said.
"No way, I think Kovu will change, you all just don't trust him because you have not been around him much," said Kiara.
I sighed; I could tell Kiara was not going to give up on him, no matter what. But that was until I saw something in the distance. Something moving toward us slowly. I squinted my eyes and saw that it was Simba and he looked hurt.
"Kiara look," I said.
Kiara turned to where I was pointing and saw her father limp toward her. He did not look good.
"Father... Father! Zazu get help!" she cried.
"Yes of course… at once," I said nervously as I flew back toward Pride Rock.
I knew at that instant our fears were realized; Kovu had tried to kill Simba.
A/N: Yeah that chapter was lame, but I don't care I want to finish this story. So if anything seems to be going too fast, I'm sorry. I have three chapters left to go that I hope will be finished before the end of the month. Well please review any way. Hope you all have a great week.