Part 17 – Tension in the dark

Duchess looked up at Kofi, who stood still in the other end of the chamber. He had just experienced a hyena defending his daughter, who had now left him.

"Leave!" he then roared at Duchess, not feeling up to anything right now - not even fighting and killing a hyena.

"I shall… leave you all alone, Kofi – for that is what you are now, right? All alone…" Duchess walked slowly towards the opening to the cave. With another roar he ran after her, just as she expected, but she quickly left him alone; like she said she would. He had never liked her, he was so different from his father; who took in a motherless hyena young, and raised it among his own cubs. Makingthe heir of the thronefeel strange about the hyena, who often got more attention than himself. Like he wasn't something special either…

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

It had become night again, and Scar had gone to the top of the Shadowlands, watching the stars. With a sigh he looked towards the Pride Rock.

"What is it, that you want me to do? Scar? Tell me…" Scar said, then suddenly feeling the wind blow up around him. Dust and dry grass wrestled loose from the ground, but there came no answer. Why wouldn't the late king speak to him? "Just give me a sign!" he called into the silence. Then he suddenly heard a noise behind him, and turned around to meet the eyes of Blanché…

"Oh… sorry…" she was about to go back down again. Scar noticed how the wind went quiet again, how everything settled down. He had asked for a sign…

"Don't leave… Blanché, come to me…" Scar said, and slowly she came to his side.

"Why do you want me? You don't love me… I should leave." Blanché said, but Scar just caught her eyes again. He saw how the area around her eyes was red, and wet. Carefully he licked her eyes clean.

"No, you should stay here… although you're right in what you just said, I don't want you to leave either. In fact, I've been thinking…" Scar said, but suddenly he realized he was handling this in the wrong way. "Blanché, why have you been crying?"

"I am fatherless now… Kofi said I wasn't his daughter anymore… just because I said that loving someone different than yourself, wasn't wrong. It isn't, love is never wrong, Scar…" she said, fighting the tears again. She shouldn't cry here, not in front of him. "Are you making fun of me!" she suddenly shouted, seeing how Scars face had brightened up in a grin.

"Blanché, you have no idea… I really want you to stay. Please, will you stay?" he then said, not able to hide his smile.

"What do you mean? I have no idea about what?" she said through her tears, moving away from him. Scar stood up and followed her, trying to catch her. "No!" Blanché disappeared downinto the darkness again, leaving Scar alone. But she had no idea what she just said to him, what those words meant to him. His parents always said it. Even Duchess had said it – and now Blanché too. He knew what was right to do now, and he knew it was possible.

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

With a heavy sigh, Zarafa put the Pridelands and Nalathari behind her; going into the Shadowlands again. It was quiet this late in the evening, yet she felt tension in the dark. Something had happened while she was gone, and something would happen. She had been sent out to solve this, alone. Zarafa entered the great hall, but didn't find Scar and Duchess there. Kofi was gone, and so was Blanché. Just the hyenas lay around on the floor, only half asleep; they didn't dare to fall into dreams, after the great white lion murdered their friends. She puffed to a hyena near the pedestal.

"Psst… do you know where Kofi is?" she whispered.

"Kofi? What do you want with him? Insanity…" the hyena answered with a tired voice, but she didn't give up that easily.

"It's very important… do you know, please." Zarafa said.

"He left with that daughter of his… think they found somewhere to talk, haven't seen anyone since." The hyena rolled onto the other side, away from the lioness. She ventured out into the corridors, searching for some chamber. They hadn't gone to Scars chamber, and not the one that glowed red either. She checked every cave she remembered. Zarafa was about to enter a smaller chamber, but turned around. That chamber, on the other side… she felt like going there, and here sat a white lion, all alone.

"Kofi?" Zarafa stood in the entrance, and he looked up.

"Who're you? Related to Scar, I guess by your colour!" Kofi said with a low growl, but wondered what she was doing there.

"Scar is my brother, that is true -but that doesn't mean I'm attached to him, always. The name is Zarafa..." The lioness entered, and he stood up on all four, almost towering above her. He really was huge!

"I see… and what do you want with me?" he asked with a noble yet arrogant voice, and she straightened up too. Caught his eyes, she knew what to do now. There was only one way out of this. She took a deep breath and stepped one paw forward, making herself seem more dignified too.

"I want to… to bargain." Zarafa said, only making him more curious. She appeared wiser than her brother, more reflective than his own daughter. He only wondered, what she wanted to bargain with and about.