Sins of the Past

Part 5 Warnings and Threats

"Dig faster!" Simba commanded Pumbaa and Timon.

The warthog dug into the ground as quickly as he could. Timon urged him on, lifting what little he could to help.

"No one else is around, right Zazu?" Simba asked.

"No sire, everyone else is still far away…" Zazu stated, circling above the King.

"Good…" Simba said somberly. "I don't want anyone to see this… especially my daughter…"

The body of a rogue had been found not far from the Outlands boarder. He had been brutally attacked. The most grievous injury was the apparent castration, which had untimely killed him…

"I've seen some nasty wounds…" Simba reflected. "But nothing like this… Absolute savagery… He didn't even fight back, no blood on his claws or teeth…"

"Yes sire," Zazu replied. "Whoever did this is truly a monster…"

"It was her…"

"Zira?" Zazu said in shock. "Do you think she is truly capable of something like this?!"

"Zazu," Simba stated. "She snuck into the Pride Lands, into the Pride Rock den in broad daylight and murdered my son just days after his presentation ceremony! If Nala had not returned in that instant she would have undoubtedly killed Kiara too! She is merciless killer. Just like Scar who killed my father and all the male cubs born into the pride that he saw as threats… Her sons are grown now. Perhaps this was a warning to us that she is coming…"

"A warning?" Timon asked skeptically. "Or a threat?"

"Either way we all need to be on heightened alert," Simba said confidently. "I will tell the lionesses of this later. But don't say a word of this to my daughter. Kiara is still young. She will have plenty of time later to know the truth. But for now, it is not her concern… Understood?"

The three nodded in agreement.

"I think… the hole… is ready now…" Pumbaa panted.

Simba helped Pumbaa roll the body of the rogue into the grave. Careful as they tried, they were now covered in his blood. After burying him they would need to thoroughly wash themselves.

"I am sorry," Simba said as he patted the last of the dirt into place. "I would have helped you if I could or at least given you direction to stay away from the Outsiders. You must have suffered terribly. I hope now you are at peace now stranger. Find your path among the stars…"

Kovu and Doa returned to the Outsiders, after two days away from the pride. Kovu headed into the termite mound den and immediately went to sleep. Zira smiled sadistically, she knew why her son was so tired. Doa kept her head low. She still had two days left of her heat. Most lionesses who wanted to fall pregnant stayed with their mates the full four days of their heat. But still Doa worried. For two days she and Kovu had done little else but fulfill each other's desires. She had tried to clean out as much of his essence as possible, but she knew the chances were still high. Zira shot her a cold glance, as if irritated by the possibility of the future inconvenience. Doa knew Zira would kill her cubs, her own grandchildren, to execute her plans. She wouldn't think twice about it. The Outsiders rarely ever tried to stop Zira from killing their cubs, but most of them still mourned for their lost cubs regardless. With already so much sadness and only more to come with the impending war, Doa wished she could spare herself the additional heartache. But it was no longer up to her to decide her fate. Only the Great Kings knew and time would tell if Doa had fallen pregnant…

Training was more intense than ever. The last two remaining months flew by for the Outsiders. Doa missed her next heat, and then the following one. She knew she was pregnant, due to give birth in another month and a half. She had kept it from everyone. With the fluster of last minute preparations, no one had noticed. It was in the final days before Kovu was to leave for the Pride Lands. She had to tell him…

"Break! One hour!" Zira snapped at her pride. "Then back to work!"

"Kovu?" Doa asked timidly. "Can I talk to you? Alone…?"

Kovu looked down at Doa slightly confused. He had hardly spoken to her since the rogue killing. He had been way too busy and Zira had not been in the rewarding mood. Kovu nodded his head and stepped out of earshot of the others with Doa.

"Kovu," Doa said nervously. "I'm pregnant…"

Kovu's eyes widened. Then panic took over his face. He had selfishly not thought of Doa getting pregnant when he had taken her to the cave the last time. He knew she had been in heat, yet he had ignored it. The consequences of having cubs now… Even his cubs… What was he going to do?

Doa sensed his inability to come up with a solution. So she told him her own…

"I don't want to keep them," she said firmly. "This is not the time to be having cubs… We are still young and have many years ahead of us. We can try again when you're King… If you want to…"

Kovu could hear the pain in her voice even though she tried to sound strong. He embraced her.

"I'm sorry Doa," he whispered in her ear. "I'm so selfish… I never meant to hurt you…"

"It's going to be okay," Doa lied.

"Have you told anyone else? What about… my Mother?"

"No," Doa admitted. "I was… I was hoping you could tell her for me. She might not be as enraged if the news came from you…"

Kovu nodded in agreement. Anything he could do to help at this point seemed too little too late, but he could at least try.

"I'll tell her now," Kovu stated. "That way she can blow off some steam before everyone comes back and resumes training…"

Kovu kissed Doa on the head, then went to go find his mother. She was a flustered mess like always. Nuka and Vitani were not far away. Kovu walked right up to Zira, startling her.

"Mother, I have something I need to tell you," Kovu stated.

"Fine, what is it?" Zira snapped.

"Doa is pregnant."

"Ugh… I knew that was going to be a mistake…"

"She doesn't want to keep the cubs…" Kovu quickly added.

"Good," Zira replied. "At least she's agreeable to that…"

Kovu looked into his mother's cold, heartless eyes. Did she love him? Did she care about anyone? Would she ever… change?

"Mother?" Kovu asked.

"Now what?" Zira groaned.

"Will Doa eventually be allowed to have cubs?"

"Sure," Zira said indifferently. "When you're King you can do whatever you want! But I was kind of hoping you'd still want to take Simba's brat as your Queen… Doubt she'd put up much of a fight, but the rest of the pride would… It would be the ultimate display of our victory: raping the virgin princess…"

Kovu had a flashback to when he was a cub asking his mother if he had to kill Kiara. She had told him no but had insinuated something else. He now realized in horror what Zira had meant. Kiara would hate him after he killed her father, after going to war with her pride. She wouldn't want anything to do with him. He thought saving her from death would be a victory, but not for Zira. It would only be the beginning… She would torture Kiara making her life a living hell, like Kovu's life currently was. Kovu suddenly realized that becoming King would not free himself from his mother, it would only give her even more license over his life. Everything he accomplished would be because of her, he would owe her. And Zira would own him…

"Perhaps it would just be best to kill her cleanly," Kovu growled. "We want to rule the Pride Lands for a very long time. Not just until the lionesses can find someone better as they did with Simba. Maybe they wouldn't resist us if we didn't give them a reason to hate us…"

"SHUT UP!" Zira screamed. "How dare you tell me what to do?! You see this hell hole we're living in?! It's all because of them! They did this to us! They will pay for killing Scar! They will pay for banishing us! They will pay! And we… We will rule…"

Kovu had shied away from his mother's ranting rage. He dare not question her in this state. He simply nodded his head and walked away. The rest of the pride had come over to see what the fuss was about. Vitani and Nuka were filling them in. Kovu went back over to Doa, still shaken…

"Thank you Kovu," Doa whispered to him. "I greatly appreciate what you did for me. If there's ever anything you need, just ask…"

"I've taken too much from you already Doa," Kovu said sadly. He looked down into her pretty amber eyes and felt shame that he had fanaticized about Kiara. That she alone could not truly please him in Kovu's mind. She deserved so much better than what he could offer her. But she was all he had.

Doa looked up with gratitude into her lover's shining green eyes. She wished that everything could be different, that the war was not so near. But what she selfishly longed for most was just one choice: that she could have said no and had not become Kovu's mate. He would have been alone, but she wouldn't have befallen to this fate. She had never wanted cubs, but now that they were nearly here she could think of nothing else. But they were doomed to die. And if she could not do it herself… Zira would…

"Get back here! Break's over!" Zira roared. The Outsiders mindlessly obeyed their leader, doing as she told them. It was all they had, it was all they knew. Her promise of a better life was about to come true. But at what cost? None of them knew…