"Zazu, take Nala home," Mufasa ordered.
"Yes, sire," his apprentice said as he took the young lioness to her home. "Good luck, Simba," the hornbill said, patting him on the shoulders. Nala looked at him with heavy eyes voicing the same words.
The cubs had hardly made it out alive from the elephant graveyard. They had been met by merciless hyenas and had even jeopardized Zazu's safety. Had Mufasa not come to their rescue, the elephant graveyard may have been their graveyard as well.
Nala drug her paws heavily across the tall, thick grass, the hornbill by her side. "Do you think..." she began in a whisper, "That he'll be really hard on him?"
Zazu took a moment to choose his words wisely. "Mufasa is a wise king... and he is a fair one… And he knows you two are just cubs. But he is also a father, for the only time in his life. What Simba – and, you – must understand is that we have different responsibilities for who we are. As cubs, you have a responsibility to be joyous and curious. As a future king, Simba has a responsibility to protect himself and those around him. Royalty is not synonymous with invincibility. Nothing is."
Nala nodded her head in acceptance, feeling rather selfish for her actions. The mere enticement of exploration almost cost them their lives, and had Mufasa not shown up, the pride would have been hit with a severe blow. Now the picture is much, much bigger, she thought.
"So, what do you think Mufasa is going to do to him? Not let him play for a few days?" Nala's heart sunk at the thought of being lonely. Then she realized her punishment could be just as harsh, and she felt a pit form in her stomach.
"Well, first he's going to instill some guilt into him, and then propose a punishment-"
"You can stop. I think I know what my mom is going to tell me now." she sighed and hung her head low.
"At least you're able to go back to something. If Mufasa hadn't shown up, you would have been on their dinner plates."
Nala sighed. "Yeah... thank goodness for Mufasa."
Zazu looked at Nala with soft eyes and touched her shoulder gently as they walked. "The only reason your parents will be mad is because they wouldn't know what to do if something happened to you. They would blame themselves more than you."
"Yeah..." The two continued for a few more minutes in a comfortable silence as many thoughts raced through their heads. Pride Rock was slowly emerging into view.
"Zazu..." Nala began, focusing the bird's attention. "What... well... if Mufasa wasn't there next time for us... where would he be? Like, when he's gone, where does he go?"
Zazu thought about this question. He flew in front of Nala and stopped her from walking. He pointed to the sky, and the stars. "Do you see the stars, Nala?" The little lioness nodded. "Up there are the kings of the past."
Nala turned her head to look at Zazu. "The kings of the past? How do they get there? How come I can't see them?"
Zazu hushed her. "When a king dies, only his body is gone. But their spirit and their soul soars up to the stars. And there, they will always be watching over us. Always with us."
Nala stared in disbelief. "So that's where Mufasa will go when he isn't around anymore?" Zazu nodded. "So, if Simba and I get into trouble while he's gone, he'll be watching over us still?"
The hornbill nodded once more. "That's where he'll be."
Nala blinked. "Who told you this, Zazu?"
"Mufasa, of course. From generations to generations, each king has passed it down to their son."
Nala smiled. "How about the queens? Are there any of them up there?"
Zazu chuckled. "That I do not know."
The two finally arrived at Pride Rock, Sarafina gave Nala a disappointed look and Nala slunk into the den. "We'll talk later," were her mother's words. But she noticed Zazu had a bright smile on his face.
"What are you smiling about, Zazu?" Sarafina inquired curiously.
"To know that the future of Pride Rock will be in the hands of a promising queen," he answered.