Author's Note: Wow, this took a lot longer to do then I expected. Sorry for the wait, everyone! Once November starts, I'm sure my life won't be so hectic, but I /will/ have Musical Theatre practice everyday after school until 4:30 – 5. But that's it, except for Thursdays! (I have dance 6 – 8:30). I'm a busy gal, haha.
I also realized that in the movie, Nala has green eyes. Oh well, in my story, she has blue, heh. Oh yeah, I know that this chapter doesn't really get us anywhere, but it's all I could come up with and introduces them as they are growing up. Keep reviewing please! -Alexa

Chapter IX: Remembering the Past

The days flew quickly, yet slowly. Never was there a day that she didn't think about Simba, but she began to think about him less and less. But he was still, and would always, be a part of her. It was just difficult to long for Simba when she had Lisani. He had finally begun to loosen up to her, and Scar had begun to take Lisani on walks, and try to teach him his ways. Lisani knew that he had to get on and stay on Scar's good side to be safe. Although Lisani understood and listened to Scar, he showed no interest in his teachings. It was, first of all, uninteresting, and second, it was against all things that Lisani believed in. He had never forgotten Nala's words, "Don't fall for their tricks."

Nala laid down at the water hole- or at least, what was left of it. Her paws dipped in the water, she stared at her reflection. She was growing. She no longer considered herself a cub, but a young adolescent, too old for too many carefree days but not old enough to hunt. She was identical to her mother; they had the same enchanting icy blue eyes, and the same silky cream coat. She was becoming an attractive lioness.

Then, she looked around her. Where the water of the watering hole once overflowed, were dry and empty. The grass around her was becoming weak and brown, the trees were beginning to become scrawny. She sighed. Not even the beautiful sunrises looked the same. Also, food was becoming scarce. The herds were moving out into better grazing areas. Sarabi had been right. And Scar could ruin even more. She sighed, flicking her tail gently, and pawed at the water.

"Hey." a masculine voice greeted Nala. She hadn't been startled.

"Hey." she answered back. Her eyes glanced up at Lisani. He had also grown, but he was a little older than her to begin with. His mane was just beginning to grow in. It was black, as dark as the midnight skies, and it had, or would have, a sleek shine to it, just like his coat. His eyes were a much more purple color than the violet-blue they had once been. He was still a grey lion, but since even the sun seemed to slowly be blotched out by Scar's reign, it wasn't as blue as it once had been. But he was also, nonetheless, handsome. She smiled. He was the only friend she had, really. She was too scared to lose someone dear again; but she and Lisani had formed a bond the day they met.

"Whatcha up to?" he asked.

"Nothing," Nala replied blankly.

Lisani wasn't fooled by her fake voice. "Nothing means something," he said. "What's on your mind? I don't think I've seen you like this, since well, the day we met."

"Nothing," Nala replied sternly.

"Fine, whatever," he said, sitting down next to her. They both stared at the water. "I'm sort of hungry," he announced softly. "I wonder if there's anything around to eat."

"Probably not," Nala mumbled.

"Seems like there has never been anything around here to eat..."

"Once there was," Nala snapped. "Once we could probably stuff every lion here silly and still have enough for another three months."

"I don't remember a time like that," he said, surprised to see Nala so uptight.

"You joined the day that it all was going down the drain," she reminded.

"Oh, yeah, I remember now. Scar... Mufasa..." he hesitated. "...and Simba."

Nala pinned her ears. She looked at the ground. "I'm surprised you remembered their names."

"I couldn't forget. I always would wonder what they were like, here. Especially since no one ever talked about them, but I knew that they were often thought about." He didn't mean to say it, he just sort of let his thoughts slip out of his mind and from his mouth.

Nala paused for a moment. She thought. "They were..." she searched for the right words. She was coming up with nothing. Had she really forgotten this much about them? It had been forever since she had though about them, or even her cub-hood. It wasn't that long ago... was it? Sure, she thought about them in her mind, but she never thought about what they were like. She felt awful with herself.

"Other than royal," Lisani said.

Nala laughed slightly. "I never knew much about Mufasa... but my mom always said that we were really lucky to have him as our king. So I guess he was a pretty good guy. Simba was another story. He was always getting into trouble, honestly!" a smile spread across her lips at the thought of him. "Always making up stuff to get away with something. He always claimed he was so brave, and that danger was his middle name. But that was pretty much all talk, because in his heart, I knew he wasn't."

Lisani stared at the smile across her maw that appeared there only after she began to talk about Simba. Did she, or would she ever, smile at the though of Lisani? He would probably never know.

"I see," Lisani answered. He had always wanted to ask Nala about them. He was finally relieved to know a little bit about what he missed. "It's getting late," Lisani commented, staring up into the sky. The sun was setting, and some stars were visible through the clouds.

Nala shared the gaze. "Did you know... that the great kings of the past are up there?" she said softly.

Lisani rose his eyebrows. "Really? I never knew that."

"Zazu told me. Who told Mufasa. After we got in a lot of trouble." she smiled to herself. Lisani uneasily replaced his paws. How come he always felt so strange whenever she smiled about Simba?

Finally, he asked, "Do you think Simba is up there?"

"Perhaps," Nala whispered. "Perhaps." they both grinned. "Well, I'm ready to head back. You coming?"

"In a few minutes." He grinned at her and exchanged it before heading off. Then Lisani stared up into the sky.

"One day- will I be a great king of the past?" he whispered. "Or was I made a promise that can't be kept?" he asked aloud. There was a soft breeze the swept over the area before he head back to Pride Rock.