Chapter 4
"I am sorry, your majesties, but Kiara has a permanent scar across her eye."
Kiara is laying flat on a green leaf, bandage wrapped around the bleeding wound.
Suffice to say, the lion king is not taking it well. He wants to kill those hyenas for leaving his daughter with such a wound.
Simba shouts. He has to bear with seeing his daughter with that terrible thing. "No! There has to be something that you can do! Anything! My little girl could not have a scar!"
The lion king is whacked on top of the head. He didn't see it coming, winded more than wounded.
"Scars doesn't define us, King Simba," Rafiki replies. "Scars didn't define Taka before he became Scar. Surely there was contributions but that doesn't mean he had to be evil."
"Rafiki is correct, son," Sarabi says, emerging from seemingly nowhere and nuzzling the princess. "I heard you have been getting yourself into mischief, little one. Do listen to your parents more often."
Kiara giggles. "Yes, grandmother."
Rafiki says, "The princess needs rest. Take her back to Pride Rock."
A few minutes later, everyone is nearing the vicinity of Pride Rock. Nala has Kiara in her mouth. She is disappointed with her daughter but she didn't express it as openly as her mate. Simba clearly needs some space and so she would have to do the lesson this time.
Kiara keeps trying to get close to her father, but the anger with his eyes.
"Nala."
The Queen nods, knowing that it would take some talking to for her mate to be convinced that their daughter would not become a monster like Scar. She still has a cub to handle and properly punish. Simba is blinded by emotions right now, and striking Kiara out of anger is definitely not preferable.
Nala gently places Kiara on a large rock. The princess attempts to give her mother a bright smile. When she didn't perk up but only glares more sternly at her, her smile evaporates.
"What do you thinking you were doing, Kiara?" Nala asks, remembering when she had the talk with her mother after she went to the elephant graveyard. "You could've been killed today."
Kiara flinches and her paw goes to her eye but keeps her gaze connected with Nala. "Mommy, I-I didn't mean to-" the Princess tries to speak, but Nala cut her off.
"I'm telling you this because I love you, sweetheart." Nala replies, her voice taking on no small amount of strictness. "I don't want to lose you. You disobeying us is not something that would be tolerated anymore."
"I know, mom." The cub replies.
Nala takes in yet another breath. "If something happened to you, your father nor I don't know what we would do. Look, Kiara. One day, we won't be here, and we need you to take our place. Your father grew up in a environment not for a lion because his father died at an early age, but we don't want the same to happen to you. You are a part of the great-"
"'Circle of Life', I know." Kiara grunts. She knows how important the Circle of Life is, but she is tired of hearing this lectures by both of her parents.
"Exactly." Nala responds. "And you need to be careful. As future queen-"
"What if I don't want to be queen?" Kiara complains, turning away from her mother. "It's no fun."
Kiara is starting to grow tired with the whole Pride worshipping her. Don't they get it? She didn't want to be Queen. She just wants to be her own lioness and live her own life. She is among the Circle of Life and all that, but all the duties of being the heir to the throne sounds so boring and irritating. She has to lead the lionesses while also taking among all the duties for being ruler of the Pride Lands.
Nala just grins at her daughter, the young lioness turned away from him, deep in thought.
"That's like saying you don't want to be a lion." Nala tells Kiara. "It's in your blood, as I am and your father. We are a part of each other."
Kiara just ignores her mother's words with a huff, so Nala just puts her paw on her head before rolling her eyes at her daughter persisting to be difficult at listening to her mother's lectures, before pushing her off of the rock. The princess chuckles slightly before she stares up at her mother, who has a joyful grin across her face. It isn't long before her mother starts to sing.
Nala: As you go through life, you'll see
There is so much that we
Don't understand.
The two lions stares up to a nearby bird's nest, where a mother bird was feeding her fledgling babies. One of the bird leaves the nest, goes over to a nearby branch, and begins trying to fly.
And the only thing we know
Is things don't always go
The way we planned.
But then, the mother flies over to the wandering chick and gives her child a stern glare. The young one gives its mother a insisting stare before flying back to the nest. Kiara looks a little disappointed at the sight, especially since she knows what's it like to be locked into a cave, but she quickly perks up to try and keep up with her mother.
But you'll see every day
That we'll never turn away
When it seems all your dreams come undone.
They are now standing next a wildebeest herd, where a parent wildebeest is teaching her newborn calf to stand walk. The calf has some trouble in the beginning, but it soon is capable of doing so, amazing the princess. It even begins to run, and the mother gives chase with it to keep her calf from running too far ahead from the herd.
We will stand by your side
Filled with hope and filled with pride.
We are more than we are.
We are one.
Nala leads her daughter off the rocks and through the grasslands of the Pride Lands, families of every kind observing over their little ones. What earns the attention of the Princess is the attention the most is a young hippo calf leaping onto top of his parents before landing into the water.
Soon, Kiara halts on a log to gaze down at their reflections, while her mother towers over the princess. They both exchange a glance between one another.
Kiara: If there's so much I must be,
Can I still just be me
The way I am?
As Kiara is staring down at her reflection, even when a fish jumped out of the water. It isn't long before she gazes up at the sky, looking at a flock of egrets that are flying above, being perfect as a team.
Kiara: Can I trust in my own heart,
Or am I just one part
Of some big plan?
Nala then escort her daughter to a fallen-down tree with giant crooked branches, where the wind starts soothingly blow through their fur. She then shows the Princess the first star that emerges in the twilight sky, and all of the families that lives in the Pride Lands.
Nala: Even those who are gone
Are with us as we go on.
Your journey has only begun.
Tears of pain, tears of joy,
One thing nothing can destroy
Is our pride, deep inside.
We are one.
The Queen of the Pride Lands then led her daughter off of the tree and through the grasslands in a playful romp as they dash past each of the families that lives within the kingdom. The older lioness is making sure that her daughter is not losing track of her, and after reassured, Nala highlights the amazement of her kingdom. There are elephants and their children, ostriches and their chicks, giraffes and their calves, zebras and their foals, and gazelles and their fawns.
The Princess splashes through puddles and leaps onto large boulders as she inevitably reaches the site of their own home, Pride Rock.
We are one, you and I.
We are like the earth and sky,
One family under the sun.
Nala then stares down at her cub and then back up at the peak of Pride Rock.
All the wisdom to lead,
All the courage that you need.
You will find when you see
We are one.
The cub seems uncertain as she stares up at the peak of their home. Kiara still isn't sure if being queen is what she really wanted to do with her life. What does it matter? She would one day be replaced by her own heir, and she has no position to make her own choice.
Nala notices the doubt in her eyes and comes over to the Princess. "As long as you live here, it's who you are. Never forget that." She then nuzzles her and licks the top of her head. "You'll understand someday."
Kiara just smiles at her mother as she walk up to their cave in Pride Rock. Just then, the same little bird from earlier goes to the Princess. She smirks at it being able to leave its nest at last. Then, it flies off into the horizon.
The Princess is a little depressed at its departure, but then feels a shroud of pride that it is now free. The Princess sit down in silence as she watches as the bird disappears into the sunset as the sun disappear beneath the horizon.
Kiara's paw goes to her eye once more, not certain why her father is so pissed off with the wound across her eyes. Sure, he must be mad that she disobeyed him, but the fact that he disappeared between rocks and leave her mother to do the punishment is just unnatural. She always been closer to her father than her mother, and she hopes that she hasn't disappointed him so much that he wanted nothing to do with her.
She knows all too well about the rare law of the Pride Lands and multiple other Lands. If a cub in the Pride disobeys the King, he is well within his right to kill the cub. She don't think that would happen by her father because he always love her, but what is making him so mad? Perhaps it is the "Scar" lion she has heard about earlier which she knows nothing.
Kiara would wonder about it later, however, her thoughts goes to Vitani. Her new friend is flashing within her mind. While she seemed a little mean and aggressive at first, the Princess wanted to get to know her new friend.
Kiara laughs, remembering her snappy attitude. Now, it just makes her chuckle harder, and she wonders if she would ever see her again. Maybe they could go onto new adventures.
Even though she has a instinct feeling that she won't be outside of the cave for a while, it doesn't change the fact that she wouldn't stop thinking about Vitani.
"I like her."
Arthur's note: Was out yesterday and was so tired. Didn't feel like releasing this chapter. So sorry about that.
Obviously, people are like "Why did Nala sing to Kiara?" Because I feel like the Lion King 2 really ignored Nala. I love Simba's character and all, but Nala was also Kiara's parent, so I seen it fit. I also imagine Simba won't be in the mood to talk with Kiara right now.