Vitani's Salvation

Chapter 2

It did not take long for the Pridelanders and their newest member and princess to reach the place known as Pride Rock. Nala had gently carried Vitani in her mouth careful not to cause and huge amount of discomfort after beating Zira had given her. When Vitani saw Pride Rock, she was in awe. The rock was titanic in size. Far larger than the termite mound the Outsiders had been living in. Vitani expected to see a group of lionesses laying somewhere under the base of Pride Rock along with some other cubs, like the Princess, Kiara. But there was no one around. Just when Vitani was about to ask where everyone else was, she watched as the queen bounded up rocks that acted were situated for even cubs to easily climb onto the ledge that suck out. She figured that was where the King could do a quick look out over some of the Pridelands, but you probably got a far better view from the tip at the top of the mountainous place. Then, she saw a cave opening. Far larger than the one at the termite mound, and of course, also looked free of termite infestation.

Then, Nala walked in with her. Her eyes quickly adjusted, and it was as if some dim light had illuminated the den. As her eyes wandered, she saw a lot of lionesses, far greater in number, and looking far more toned than the lionesses who followed Zira's crazy ways. Zira wouldn't stand a chance in a straight up fight with this pride. Vitani started to see Zira truly had lost her mind. But, she was feeling rather intimidated at the moment. Many of the eyes of the lionesses were staring at her. She could see a few were mumbling something to one another, most likely about her being here. As Nala trekked deeper into the cave, Vitani caught an eye of what seemed to be a risen area within the cave, and currently there was one she-cub with a younger he cub. They were seeming to play wrestle. At least she knew it wasn't just and Outsider thing with her and Kovu. Than she heard Simba's voice say, "Okay you two, that's enough roughhousing for now."

The two of them stopped as the female cub had seemed to "let" the smaller boy cub win. Then, the two spotted Vitani being carried by Nala. "Mommy, who is this?" the boy cub asked.

'Mommy? This tinyer cub is Simba and Nala's son?... well that makes sense, seeing as he's got King Simba's mane color... but then... that means the she-cub must be Kiara,' Vitani deduced in her thoughts.

Nala soon laid down gently placing Vitani between her forepaws. "This, Kion, is Vitani. We rescued her from Zira's claws," Nala explained.

"Rescued her? You mean, Zira was about to hurt her?" Kiara asked.

"She gotten in a few blows to Vitani already here, but before she could land one that could have been fatal, we were able to stop Zira?" Nala answered.

"Wow!" Kion and Kiara said together.

"Now... If Everyone Can Settle Down Please!" Nala ordered the pride.

The pride soon went silent, and all eyes and ears were focused on the Queen. Vitani, instinctively, backed up into Nala's chest fur. She couldn't help it. This many Lionesses looking at her made her feel a little uneasy, since she was a newcomer to this place. "Thank you all. Now, I am sure many of you are wondering why I randomly entered with a cub in my mouth that many are probably not familiar with. Allow me to clear some things up. This young cub's name is Vitani. She was seeking refuge here in the Pridelands away from Zira," Nala started.

"She's An Outsider?! Why Would You Bring Her Here?!" One of the pride sisters asked.

"Allow me to explain, and you'll understand very soon. Vitani was one of only two cubs that were with the Outsiders. She had been starving out there since their banishment. From what she explained to me, she was wanting to get away from starvation, as well as the termites, which I can't blame her for," this earned a chuckle from the lionesses before Nala continued, "When she reached the very edge of the Pridelands, she hadn't realized that she had been followed, and... Zira attacked her," Nala said, before getting gasps from many of the Pride sisters.

Some of them lionesses began to vent about how horrible Zira was to attack her own daughter, let alone a cub no older than Kiara herself. Nala finally got everyone's attention again as she cleared her throat, "Yes, Zira attacked her, and like many of you, I felt very disgusted at the idea she would do such a thing to a cub. Thankfully, we arrived in time to keep Zira from causing Vitani to become fatally wounded. However, Vitani didn't walk away unharmed. Taking as many blows as she had, no cub could keep their stamina to be able to walk afterwards. So, sadly, Vitani won't be on her feet for a few days."

This earned some sympathetic mumbling for Vitani. Nala then continued once more, "And there was some new information that we had obtained when we reached Rafiki's tree. Some rather shocking news, that... Simba and I felt rather guilty that we ever let the sort of thing happen... Vitani... She's Kiara's twin sister," Nala exclaimed.

"What?!" Kiara and Vitani gasped in unison.

Kion himself was speechless. He had an older sister he never had known about. After getting some gasps and mumbles of wondering how Vitani was Nala's daughter, Nala sighed, and explained, "As many of you know. The day of Kiara's birth, well, she had a sibling born with her. A sister. But many of you may also recall that Zira had also bared cubs. One of them was the boy cub, Kovu, which some of you met in a previous encounter," Nala started.

"The fuzzy Maraca?" Timon joked.

This earned a laugh from the pride, even the queen. Vitani didn't exactly finding it very humorous, cause that was her bro-, well, former brother they were talking about. After regaining their composure, Simba added, "Yes Timon, him. But as my mate began to explain, we had let Zira remain in the Pridelands, since she had been due to have her own cubs. And many know the story of how Zira had been banished after she tried to take right to rule in Scar's name. But there is another part to the story some may not be aware of, since some of you were elsewhere at the time."

Nala continued, "After the birth of our cubs, we awoke the next morning, to see one of the cubs laying next to us had gone to visit the Great Kings and Queens of the past. And she wasn't even a day old yet."

Nala began to tear up a bit. Vitani, not sure why she did it, placed a paw as on Nala's chest as a means of comfort to the Queen. Nala regained some composure, and added, "But the cub hadn't died of natural causes, she had been killed," This got a gasp from everyone, before Nala continued on, "I thought one of my daughters was lost to me forever. And the trail of death led right back to Zira's den. That was another reason we had banished Zira. For she had taken one of our daughters from us. But now we realize that she had taken our daughter away from us in another manner that wasn't the one we accused her of. We thought we'd never see our daughter again, because our daughter's scent was strong on Zira. But we should have realized sooner our daughter had been switched on us. She had been cubnapped. That cubnapped cub, was Vitani. And I was so blind not to realize it. But it is still worthy of banishing Zira from our lands. It was no wonder your scent felt so familiar when I came to your aid Vitani. I hope you can forgive a foolish mother for not coming to save you sooner."

Nala looked to little Vitani with eyes of shame and guilt, and pleads for forgiveness. Vitani was a little shellshocked. All this time. Zira had lied to her about her own origins. She was a princess of the Pridelands. No wonder Nala and Simba had teared up when they heard Rafiki give them the news. They were her parents. After hearing the fullness of the story, Vitani pondered for a few seconds. Could she really be mad at her mother. Zira was known for being a manipulative, scheming lioness, so, Vitani couldn't really blame Nala for what happened. Or Simba for that matter. Whatever Zira may have planned for Vitani originally, it was thwarted now. Vitani was back where she truly belonged. She was home. And now, she had two new siblings. A brother and a sister. And she was a princess. After all these thoughts raced through her brains, she finally nuzzled the queen, "I do... mom. You saved my life. I don't think I can ever be mad at you for that. Thank you."

Nala smiled as she cried tears of joy and wrapped a foreleg around Vitani, hugging her close and nuzzling her. This received an aww from many lionesses. "Well, now that we've got that settled, I believe there is a hunt to organize," Nala said as she began to stand up.

"My queen, you just got your daughter back. You need time to spend with her, and help her feel welcome. Let me organize our hunt your majesty," said a lioness that had some extra fur on her head like Vitani, but not as much.

Nala chuckled, "Always have to look out for the well being of others don't you, sister Tama?"

"Well, what kind of aunt would I be, if I let the mother of my nieces and nephew take lead in the hunt every time?" Tama teased.

Nala merely smiled, and nodded in approval to let Tama take the lead on the hunt. Next to Nala, their mother Sarafina, and Sarabi, Tama was one of the best huntresses in the pride. As Tama gathered volunteers for the hunt, Vitani was a little awe struck. She had an aunt too?... now she saw where she got the extra amount of fur on her head from. It came from her mother, Nala's side of the family. Whether it was her grandmother or granfather from Nala's side to provide that feature was anyone's guess at this point. There was sure a lot more to learn, and many new faces to meet in the days to come, but now Vitani didn't feel so out of place with the Pride, now that she knew she was part of the royal family to begin with. But she did worry about Kovu. While he was not really her brother, he was the only cub she was familiar with, and even though Zira named him the chosen one, she hoped that somehow, Kovu might also find his way to the Pridelands far from Zira's grasp before she poisoned his mind with her twisted ambition of conquest to take the Pridelands in Scar's name.

End of chapter 2. So yeah. Vitani was an original daughter of Simba and Nala, abducted by Zira, making them think that she was dead. Thankfully, it seems Zira's plans for what she was gonna do with Vitani seemed to be a no go now. And yes, I know, Tama is not Nala's sister in the small comics that were made, but I figured that, with the art that's been drawn of her, I'd make a connection between her and Vitani to explain why Vitani had extra fur on her head. I haven't exactly determined which route I will take with Kovu at this point, so don't expect to know if it will follow him showing up in the Pridelands as a cub or as an adult. And please don't demand it goes one way or the other. This is my story, and I want to have my own creativity within the story. Not just something that will please someone based on their own requests. Hope you all have a great week. And please, NO COMMENTS ABOUT WHEN MY OTHER STORIES WILL GET UPDATED! Ahem, sorry, had a roar caught in my throat.