I am glad you're all liking it, so here's the next chapter. Back in the "present" again... please do read and review - Atrice.
Part 4 – The King's first task
The king had fallen asleep while thinking about his past - it became morning, and he still lay asleep in the cave. He was alone in here, nobody wanted to join him. Not Sarabi, not Sarafina, not anyone.
"Boss!" a high voice called, and Scar opened his eyes with a huge yawn. He saw the 3 hyenas enter the cave, one of them carrying something in the mouth.
"What is that?" he said, a bit disgusted that they carried things like that. Banzai let go of the thing, and Scar now saw it was the hornbill Zazu.
"We caught him… tried to escape, the coward! We thought it would be best, to bring him to you!" Shenzi told the king.
"A very good thought… welcome to my chamber, Zazu." Scar said, pleased that the bird had not managed to escape the place. He shouldn't tell anyone what really happened.
"Your chamber, ha! It already contains a horrid smell!" Zazu said with a very sour voice.
"Then it must just be a place for you! Come here, Zazu… things are not that bad." Scar said with a glad voice, putting a paw behind the bird pushing it deeper into the cave. "Here… this is your place." He said with a grin, and clapped a spine with ribs down over the bird. A cage…
"You cannot do this!" Zazu complained.
"I can't? But you seem to forget one very important thing, bird… I'm king Scar!" Scar said with a laugh, and the hyenas laughed with him. He went back to the small platform where he had slept, but the hyenas stayed too. "What do you want now?" he asked, a bit annoyed.
"Food! You promised us we would never be hungry again… and well, I'm hungry!" Banzai said, and Scar sighed.
"Tell the lionesses to go hunt then…" Scar laid down.
"We tried, they won't listen to us! You must speak to them…" the male hyena continued, and with another annoyed sigh, Scar stood up again and left the cave. This would be his first thing to do, as a king. The first time he'd show them that he was the one who ruled.
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On some rocks on a lower level of Pride Rock, he found the females. They were just lying there, doing nothing at all. They didn't even care to look up, when Scar arrived.
"Ladies… if you wouldn't mind, I think it's time you go hunting." He said, doing his best to sound friendly while standing among them, and now they listened.
"We don't feel like hunting today… it's too warm, Scar." The lioness Sarafina said.
"I don't care… I am hungry, you are hungry – and so are the hyenas!" Scar spoke louder, very annoyed that they didn't do what he told them to do. They should obey their king, that was what he was taught once!
"The hyenas can hunt for themselves!" another lioness said.
"Listen… I am now the king, and I order you to go and hunt! Or else… or else this pretty young lady won't live much longer!" Scar pointed at a young lioness who lay near him, and she looked up a bit scared. He would kill her?
"Let's just go hunt then… I don't feel like dying today!" she stood up, and Scar smiled. Finally it seemed to be going the right way.
"But Zira… it's not our job, to hunt for the hyenas." Sarabi said from her rock.
"It is now, it seems… unless you want me to die!" the lioness said. Sarafina jumped down next to her, and nodded.
"We do it only for you then… you owe us something." Sarafina said, and Zira nodded.
"Of course… we'll speak further on the way out." Zira began to go down towards the savannah, and the rest of the lionesses followed her. Scar nodded, he was content now. It worked, threatening them a bit. And Zira had given in to his demands. She could be useful, he thought. When they were all gone, he turned around to go back to his cave.
"Scar… nobody is left to look after me." A little voice then said behind him. Scar turned around to see the cub Nala sitting alone where he stood before. She could be useful too, he thought. If he began working on her now, she could be on his side.
"Then come with me, dearest Nala…" he said and she went to his side. Together they walked towards the cave, and he looked down at her. "You miss Simba, don't you? Best friends and all?" Scar asked, and she looked down.
"I miss him so much! How do we know he's really dead?" she asked.
"He hasn't come back yet, right? I am pretty sure he won't…" he stopped when he saw Nala begin to cry, and sat down to appear more present to her. "There there, don't cry… everything will be fine again, I promise you that."
"Are you sure? My mother says you…" she stopped, knowing that she was about to tell a secret.
"What does your mother say about me?" Scar asked, now very curious.
"Oh nothing… you know, I think I'll just wait for them by our rocks." Nala left him and went towards the rocks from where they came. Scar didn't follow her to ask more questions. So they were talking about him, telling Nala things she wasn't allowed to tell him. He would never understand lionesses, they always said one thing and meant another! He went back to his cave, once again wondering what he was doing here. Nobody cared for him anymore. But this time he couldn't leave, he didn't have a reason. His reason to stay was obvious – he was the king. But right now, he felt very unwanted. He was sure that the lionesses weren't talking about him with love. He only wished that he knew, what Sarafina told Nala about himself. Sarafina… he felt sorry for her sometimes. She was somewhat in the same position as him, and she had always been like that – seductive and secretive at the same time.