Chapter 3: Mauka and Kovu.
The Outlands-a vast desert in which, it seemed at first glance, a living creature would meet his doom the moment he set foot on the dark sands. Such a notion is not true, for if a traveler were to muster enough courage to travel at least fifty miles into the desert, he would find a large mountain with a huge hole serving as an entrance. If he were to travel into the cave, he would be astonished; this mountain is not as deserted as it seems on first glance. There is a long corridor, lit by blue flames held in holsters hanging off the cave walls. The walls are lined with crudely carved doors. From the doors, the sounds of snoring, shouting and hand to hand combat can be heard.
The hidden domain was made of three floors. On the third floor, an enormous man, at least seven feet tall and well built, was making his way down the dim hall way towards a door just tall enough for him to enter. He knocked on the door and a woman's voice replied, "Enter."
The giant opened the door and entered the most well lit room in the mountain city. Sitting in a beautifully made double bed was a woman, she must have been beautiful once, but it looked like the desert was taking its toll on her, she was getting skinny, and her black, shoulder length hair was in a mess, "Mauka," she whispered.
"Zira," acknowledged Mauka with a bow of his head, he had a deep voice which would have scared the bravest of warriors.
"My husband saved you once, "continued Zira, "And you swore that you would serve him and me until the debt was repaid."
"I have not forgotten," said Mauka.
"The time has come for you to repay that debt," said Zira, "I have a plan for the Great Kingdom, and I will call on you to help us."
Mauka smiled and nodded.
"And I want you to swear that you will protect young Kovu over there," said Zira motioning towards a cot next to the bed, in which a small baby lay sleeping, "Protect him, unless told otherwise by myself."
"Very well, Zira," said Mauka.
"Now leave," commanded Zira and Mauka left the room. Zira looked at Kovu and whispered, "The pieces have been spilt; now it's time to build the jigsaw."
That night, Timon and Pumbaa were getting ready to sleep in the truck (they could not get used to the rooms in the palace). Timon was reading a book when a phone on the truck's wall rang; Timon just stared at the phone and said, "How long has that phone been there?"
"I just installed it," Pumbaa replied.
Timon shrugged and answered the phone, "Hello...Uncle Max, why are you doing this to me? Your ring? Why…so what if it's lost? I didn't steal it. It was a present from your grandfather, why would I steal it? Uncle Max…I'm a thief, not a psycho…goodbye."
Timon hung up the phone and disconnected it. As he did so he removed a ring from his pocket and put on his middle finger, "You said you didn't steal it," said Pumbaa as he hopped on to the bunk above Timon's.
"I say a lot of things," was Timon's reply.
The day had been long and full of situations: Kiara's birth, the phone calls. In fourteen days Kiara would be presented to the Kingdom.