Exhausted

Broken

Hungry

Thirsty

Hot

This were the words that could describe Simba's state right now as the former Prince walked in a world of sand and hot air. Despise how tired he was and how hot the sand beneath his paws was, the 10 years old golden lion-cub kept walking to who-know-where. It had been 2 days since he last ate something and his stomach kept reminding him how hungry he was. " So much for a zebra right now..." he thought to himself each time he heard his belly growling for food.

Two days had passed since he ran away from home… Two days since he caused his father's death… The thought of this event sent shiver down his spines and Simba closed his eyes in shame and sorrow as he remembered what happened that fateful day in the gorge back home…

/(Flashback )/

The sun was shining in the sky as Simba followed his uncle Scar , Mufasa's little brother, all the way to the gorge until the two stopped at a shady tree alone in the canyon. Scar then toldhis nephew about a 'surprise' Mufasa had for him, to which the Prince eagerly wanted to know what it was. The Older Lionordered him to wait there so he could get his father for him and to pass the time , the Black Maned Lioninquired him to work on his 'little roar.'

As his uncle walked away, Simba asked him if you would love his surprise which Scar responded that its 'to die for' before leaving the cub behind. Of course the Prince practiced his roar on a chameleon which scarred it off while his 'roar' ( a bit kittenish-like if you ask me) echoed in the canyon.

At first proud of his achievement, his smiling face turned into one of confusion when the ground began to shake and then came the sound of many hooves-steps . He turned his head to see what was going on and his face turned into one of horror when he saw a massive group of Wildebeests coming toward him. The Prince froze for a second before dashing away in an attempt to escape the coming horde of herbivores heading toward him.

The golden Prince then saw a dead tree in the distance ( not the same one Scar told to wait ) and climbed it quickly to avoid the horns. He was still dangling there when Zazu , an Horn-bill and King's majordomo , appeared next to him "Zazu help me !" he cried to the Bird who flied near him "Your father is on the way ! Hold on !" Zazu said in little comfort which the cub responded by a "Hurry !". He then screamed as he was sent flying by a Wildebeest who crashed into the tree but thankfully, he was caught by his father who carried him to safety… not before being knocked on by another Wildebeest.

Simba now found himself surrounded by hooves and running herbivores. He was avoiding being trampled when his father appeared behind him , picking him up by his scruff, before carry him near a ledge as he struggled to escape himself. Then the King was carried away by Wildebeests much to his son's horror as he yelled in worry "DAD !"

The Golden Prince looked around worriedly as his father disappeared from his sight. But luckily, a moment later, a large form jumped out of the stampeded with a roar before clawing the canyon's rocky wall and beginning the ascension. Smiling in relief that his father was fine, Simba began his own climb as he tried to reach the top so he could be reunited with his father.

But after a moment, the Golden Prince turned his head to see if his father was still fine…. And his eyes turned into horror as he saw his savior falling down to his death among the stampede. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !" Simba yelled in horror as he saw his father landing hard on the ground before being crushed under hooves.

The Prince hurriedly climbed down the rocky wall and later, found his father's lifeless body laying peacefully where he fell a moment ago.The poor cub tried to wake the great Lion up but in vain. Understanding that his father would never wake up, he crawled under the large paw before pressing his body against his Dad's mane ,crying.

He couldn't believe that his hero was no more. The Golden Cub was still crying when a familiar voice echoed "Simba ? What have you done ?" Scar asked him calmly as he stopped before the dead body of his Older Brother. The Prince pulled back from his father body to face his uncle "There were Wildebeests … He tried to save me… It was an accident… I didn't mean it to happen..." the broken cub tried to explain between sobs.

"Of course… Of course you don't.." Scar began to say as he pulled his nephew against his leg with his clawed paw in an attempt to comfort him " No one ever mean for these things to happen… but the King is dead..." The last part caused Simba to looked up at his Uncle tearfully but with wide eyes " And if it weren't for you… he would still be alive..." Scar added pointedly as he looked down at his crying nephew who looked ashamed by those words.

"OH ! What will your mother think ?" Scar asked suddenly in a concerned tone and Simba sniffed before asking " What am I gonna do ?" The Black Maned Lion then looked at him before saying those words "Run away Simba..." The Golden Prince backed away from him and glanced at his father's corpse sadly before looking back at his Uncle who hurriedly added "Run ! Run away… and never return !"

At those words, Simba didn't think twice and did what he was told : he ran. Soon , the Golden Prince found himself to the end of the gorge and after hearing evil laughs behind him , turned his head to see Hyenas. After dodging their many attempts to catch him, Simba managed to escape them via a thorny hedge and as he kept running , he heard one of them yelling in a loud and threatening tone " IF YOU COME BACK , WE'LL KILL YA !"

But the Prince ignored the threat as he kept running far away from the place he lost someone he cherished dearly….from the place he caused the death of a Loving and Caring King...

/(End of Flashback )/

Even now two days later, the pain of losing his father didn't loosened up but instead reinforced. It was his fault if the Great King Mufasa was dead… his own fault… If he hadn't roared that day, he wouldn't have scared the Wildebeests and so wouldn't have caused the fatal stampede. His Uncle was right… he HAD to leave but some part of him felt guilty for leaving everyone he loved behind such as his Mother, Queen Sarabi , or his best-friend Nala.

The image of the creamy lioness-cub caused him to sigh as he realized he would never see her again same for his mom and everyone in the Pride. "She willbe safer without me anyway..." he thought to himself as he remembered the incident in the Elephants Graveyard : he was the one who suggested to go there in the first place despise having his Uncle and Zazu warning him not to . Because of this, he and Nala almost got themselves eaten by Hyenas but thankfully were saved by Mufasa. Because of him and his stupidity , Nala almost died that day and now again because of him, the King of the Pridelands, his own father, was dead.

He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts to look ahead : nothing. Only sand and dunes. His body was beginning to feel sore and he knew he wouldn't last long. But he didn't cared… After what he did, he wanted to die so he could join his father and the Great Kings of the Past… and tell him how much he was sorry for causing his death.

As he walked, he saw dark shadows flying above him in circle and he didn't take a genius to understood who it was : Vultures. Those scavengers were waiting for him to die from hotness and lack of water so they could feed on his flesh. Simba, in his current state, didn't cared for what would happen… because right now he felt that he deserved to die.

After taking a couple more steps, the golden lion cub stopped on his track before collapsing, tumbling down a dune. During his 'fall', his head crashed itself against something hard , causing a barely audible 'crack' and a strong headache. In addition, a red liquid was pouring on his now opening would, coloring the sand in his passage.

When he stopped tumbling, Simba was far too weak to even get up so he just laid there, unmoving. His red eyes , which were slowly closing, could see the Vultures approaching him but he didn't care as slowly the world around him became nothing but darkness once his eyes closed completely and the last thing he heard was the screeches of the Vultures as they descended on him.

When he re-opened his eyes, Simba found himself surrounded by… complete darkness and he could see nothing around him not even a soft light. The Golden Cub looked around when suddenly he heard a strong and deep voice echoing behind him… a voice he recognized instantly "My son..." Turning around, Simba found himself facing his father, Mufasa, who was approaching him with his usual smile on his face but the Golden Cub could see the sadness in his eyes.

"Dad ?" Simba asked him tentatively with tearful eyes "Simba… my son… you shouldn't have died… not so soon..." Mufasa remarked softy while shaking his large head. "Dad I'm… I'm so sorry ! It was me who caused the stampede ! Its my fault you died !" the Golden Cub cried out as he stared at the ground while his father looked at him with a calm expression on his face. Simba then suddenly felt himself being nuzzled and opened his eyes to see that it was his father who was doing it.

"My son… what happened two days ago wasn't your fault… The true responsible is still alive…" Mufasa explained softy as he tried to comfort his son but then Simba pushed himself away from his father to look up at him with a frown "Who ?" he asked instinctively and he wasn't prepared for the answer the former King of the Pridelands "Scar..." "Uncle Scar ?! No it can't be true ! He would never do this !" the Golden Cub denied as he looked up at his father with disbelief.

"I'm sorry son but it is… After I managed to avoid being trampled by the Wildebeests, as you know, I climbed to get myself to safety but it wasn't easy as my grips on some rocks slipped more than once… and then I saw your Uncle appearing above me…I begged him to help me..." Mufasa paused for a second as he harbored a pained look on his face but then he resumed "Without warning, he planted his claws in my paws and I roared in pain when I felt his claws piercing my flesh… I was surprised by this but then he said something that shocked me..."

"What did he told you ?" Simba asked him hesitantly as he still couldn't believe that his Uncle would do something so treacherous "He said 'Long Live the King' before pushing me back in the gorge where I fell to my death…" Mufasa responded in a soft tone, closing his eyes as he was remembering his last moments, leaving a stunned Simba behind. The Golden Cub felt betrayed : his own Uncle had killed his brother in cold blood. But why ?!

"Dad ? Why Scar did this ?" Simba, internally, half-wanted to know the truth while the other part wanted to forget the Lion who betrayed his trust as nothing could forgive what he did to his father "Scar had always wanted to be King… but he couldn't being the youngest of us two… I thought me letting him stay with us would change him… but I was wrong… My love for my brother blinded me…And I paid the price of it..." Mufasa said the last part in a hurt tone.

Simba , seeing his father so sad, decided to step in and so pressed his small body against the Older Lion's legs, purring in comfort. Mufasa smiled at his son as he lowered his head down to nuzzle him affectionately but then he froze when Simba said those words "Dad ? We might be dead now but… but at least we're together !"

The happy expression on the Golden Cub's face turned into confusion when he saw that his father wasn't sharing his joy "Dad ?"

"Simba… I'm sorry but you won't stay here with me…" Mufasa inquired in a soft tone which caused his son to look at him with a frown of confusion "What do you mean Dad ?" The former King of the Pridelands staid silent for a moment but then he took a deep breath before answering "My son… Because you died earlier than you should, Fate had decided to give you a new chance in life… in another world..."

"What ?! NO ! I want to stay with you !" Simba cried out in denial and pain as he looked at his beloved father with tearful eyes. Mufasa, too, looked sad as some tears could be seen falling from his eyes but he tried to contain his sadness by giving his son a comforting smile " I know son… but like I said you weren't supposed to be here… Unlike me… I was destinate to die by my brother's claws… I'm not happy about leaving you again but… if it mean having you living a happy life… then so be it..."

Simba still looked like he wanted to protest but then Mufasa said something that warmed his heart " And remember what I told a few nights ago… 'Whenever you feel alone just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you. And so will I...'" The Golden Cub smiled at his father before wrapping his arms around one of his father's forelegs which caused the Older Lion to smile as he used his other paw to rub the back of his son.

For a few minutes they staid like this until Mufasa muttered solemnly but painfully "It is time..." Simba slowly pushed himself away from the embrace before looking up at his father who was looking at something behind him. Turning around, the Golden Cub saw a strange light but before he could say something, he was gently pushed toward it "Go on son…" His father inquired him with a smile and Simba slowly approached the light but the second he was about to enter it, his father called out for him "Simba !"

The Golden Cub turned his face to look at his father with curiosity " Remember whenever you need me I will always be there for you..." Simba nodded in thanks to his father but the Older Lion didn't finished as he added with a proud expression on his face "As King, I was most proud of one thing : having you as my son..." Simba's eyes watered as those words and he dashed back to his father who pulled him into a tearful and tight embrace.

"Come on now Simba..." Mufasa said after a few seconds and Simba gave him a gentle but determined smile as he approached the light who suddenly brightened when he was close enough "Good luck my son !" was the last thing he heard before being sent to wherever Fate decided. He will make sure to honor his father's memory but being as happy as he could in this new world despise not being with his parents anymore.

(To be continue…)