Wow, thanks for the many reviews! I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much, I hope I keep up the good work in this one... it was a bit tough to write the last part, but that's how it is. Hope you like it - please review. Atrice
Part 16 – Long live king Scar
The king wondered for how long Nala could stay away; more than one month had gone by now… and no sign of anything. More sunshine had come, but also strange weather with dark clouds but never any rain. The land became more and more miserable and dry to look at, it wasn't good at all. A cub had been born, but for what? Zira had named him Nuka… what a strange name, he thought at first – but it fitted the cub, who would never become anything anyway. Just like Scar had once been Taka, meaning dirt; his son was Nuka, meaning bad smell. It was all the same, he thought as he stood on Pride Rock, thinking about everything.
"Excuse me… Scar?" someone said behind him. Scar turned around, and smiled to Teira – daughter of Teki, who had been one of Ahadis mates. She was a bit younger than himself, but very beautiful none the less. And she was one of those, who didn't seem to hate him; she accepted things that happened as part of life, meaning that she accepted him as the king. She was friends with Zira, and Scar also had the pleasure of getting to know Teira even better.
"Teira… it's been awhile." He said and stepped down closer to her.
"Yes… well… life hasn't been easy, but things do brighten up. You better come and see for yourself…" Teira nodded in direction of the land beneith them, and he followed; wondering what this was all about. She took him to a cave below the great rock on which he stood just before. She disappeared in the darkness of the cave, but soon came to the entrance again. Scar almost had a dejavu; another cub? But Teira hadn't been pregnant – had she? He figured he had been paying too little attention to this lioness the last long while.
"Is… it yours?" Scar asked with a somewhat stunned look on his face.
"Yes – I thought you'd like to see him." She said and had the cub sitting up. He was younger than Ziras cub had been when Scar first saw him. Not even a week old, but it was pretty – the cub starred at Scar with big… green eyes!
"Thank you, he's a fine little one…" Scar noticed that although the cub was very young, it was thick with milk from its mother, and awake. It was stronger than Nuka, who would for sure die if left alone without his mother for even a short while.
"What do we call him?" Teira asked and began to lick the cub clean. Scar thought a bit about this, then smiled to himself.
"Kovu… his name shall be Kovu, and he is my official heir." He finally felt things really went the right way. Except for the lands looking miserable, and the other cub being weak… Kovu would be a fine king one day, he knew that much. Immortality was his!
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As Kovu now became Scars heir, Simba had been Mufasas heir. Scar left Teira in the cave, but promised to return every day to look at the cub. The next week he would ask her to show the cub to the rest of the pride; Zira probably already knew about it, since the two lionesses talked a lot. Scar hadn't been the first to know about Simba. Mufasa had been present, when Sarabi gave birth to the cub. Strangely enough, Sarafina also had a cub the same day – Nala. Scar had looked at Simba with hatred from the first day. That little hairball would one day become king, and Scar would never reach that far; at least if something wasn't done about it. After Simba was born, Scar began to think about a plan how to get rid of him in a way so he wouldn't be blamed. He couldn't have the whole mess which happened with Ahadi again.
And the plan he thought up worked. Scar saw his brother Mufasa die in the stampede, while the hyenas watched their king do his work. Sadly enough – from Scars point of view – Simba survived, and Scar saw him try to wake up Mufasa.
"So… you want the cub dead too?" Banzai said with a hungry look in his eyes, as they all stood on the grass, looking down into the valley where Simba was. For the first time, Scar had no idea what to do. He just murdered his own brother, and father to this cub. He did want the cub dead too, but still… kill such a young lion? It was worse than anything Scar ever did before.
"I don't want him alive… let me talk to him – and come down when I'm finished." The self-asserted king had said to his hyena friends.
"Whatever you say… your majesty Scar…" the female Shenzi said, as she knelt down to show that she meant it. It made Scar smile, and he left them to talk to Simba. He took a deep breath, seeing the young cub, who never thought his uncle could do anything bad, nestle against Mufasa beneith the huge paw.
"Simba… what have you done?" Scar said with a profound undertone. He didn't want to be blamed. The cub saw him and jumped up.
"There were wildebeests and he… tried to save me... it was an accident, I... I didn't mean for it to happen." Simba had begun to cry, and Scar embraced the cub, as an uncle would do.
"Of course, of course you didn't. No one ever means for these things to happen. But the king is dead. And if it weren't for you he'd still be alive." Scar looked down on Simba, when he thought of something more, and said to Simba with a gasp: "What will your mother think?"
"What am I going to do?" Simba sniffed as he looked up at his uncle, looking very crushed indeed.
"Run, Simba… run away, and never return." Scar whispered. The cub looked like he accepted it, he actually believed that he was the reason Mufasa died. Simba disappeared in the clouds of dust, that were still present after the stampede. Scar heard Shenzi, Banzai and Ed appear behind him; "Kill him…" and happily the hyenas chased Simba down the valley, until Scar could see them no longer. He then prepared to go back to Pride Rock, and tell them all how Mufasa and Simba died – so that the shining new era he planned, could come. Long live… me, he thought as he walked back.