Hey awesome readers! Happy New Year! I apologize for the delayed update! The holidays were busy and I wrote every day as is my normal routine, but just in smaller increments than normal(working on three stories at once keeps me quite occupied XD). Anyway, to make up for it, I spent the majority of the day writing two chapters for your reading enjoyment! Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows! As always, you all rock! :D
~Chapter 5~
Months flew by across the savannah and Kovu and Kiara still managed to keep their meetings a secret from Simba, Nala, and Zira. Over those months, many close calls were sloppily covered up by the two cubs and even so, their secret was safe. Though Kovu and Kiara weren't cubs anymore. Kovu's mane was just starting to grow out and his training with Zira intensified. Kiara looked more like her mother with each passing day, which was a sure sign that she was growing up. Both still younger lions and still adolescence. Kovu had been privy to a few low profile hunts that Zira knew he could manage for the Outsiders, but Simba and Nala still refused to let their daughter attempt the hunt by herself.
Kion was a growing cub himself and desperately wanted to join his sister on her walks with Simba around the kingdom, but Timon and Pumbaa kept careful watch over him. Kion was constantly getting into mischief and with Kion being the most perfect distraction, most visits to Kovu went without a hitch. Kiara often vented her frustrations to Kovu about not being able to hunt alone. She tried to laugh it off, but regardless of what her parents thought, she knew she was ready. Nala had only recently taught her the infamous pinning method that never failed.
The air in recent months had been crisp and the winds had blown cooler. The intense heat of the summer had dissipated all across the Pride Lands. One evening after the dinner hunt, Simba wanted to show Kiara some new boundaries that was recently obtained as part of a pact with a rogue pride. Kiara had no previous knowledge of other lion prides aside from her own family in the Pride Lands and the Outlands.
"The world is vast, Kiara." Simba would remind her.
"I know, the whole Circle of Life thing."
"Well yes that's a big part, but remember what I taught you as a cub? As a pride, we are one and are intricately connected. You will take your place once my time is over and done."
"You know, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm not too sure I want to be queen."
"That's like saying you're not a lion, it's something that's in your blood. We are family bonded for life."
Kiara stared at her father not really wanting to discuss such things now. Her mind was occupied on the time. She glanced over at the skyline and it was nearly twilight. Kovu would be waiting at their usual spot near the border.
"Well, glad there's more room for herds to come settle here. I gotta go."
"Where you off to in such a hurry?" Simba questioned.
"Oh just need to stretch my claws a bit. I want to see this new land. Go home and be with Kion, he often feels left out when we take walks like this."
"Kiara…" Simba said raising a curious brow.
"Dad, I'll be home before the sky is full of stars, alright? I'm not a cub anymore."
"Clearly." Simba smirked, "I trust you." He nodded.
"Says the father who won't let his daughter hunt," Kiara said dryly.
Simba sighed heavily not wanting to argue as Kiara said her goodbyes again and ran off, disappearing into the grasses. Zazu was flying overhead and hovered down perching himself on a nearby rock.
"Everything alright, sire?" He asked.
"Be thankful you're not a parent, Zazu," Simba smirked.
"With each passing day watching Kiara grow up, I am so very glad." Zazu nodded, "She has a dangerous tongue, your daughter."
"The makings of an amazing queen, but she doesn't see that," Simba said glumly.
"She will, sire. Maybe no longer a cub, but still young. She'll learn."
"I know, Zazu...and thanks." Simba smiled.
Kiara raced to her and Kovu's meeting spot and he was nowhere to be found. I'm not early, am I? She thought to herself. For ten minutes she paced wondering where he could be. As he got older, Zira placed more hunts and missions on his shoulders, but when he ever was late, it was never more than five minutes. Cicadas and crickets filled Kiara's ears as she waited for many minutes. Maybe something serious happened and he couldn't get away tonight, she thought. Though moments later, Kovu burst through the grasses out of breath.
"Sorry Kiara, my missions took me a bit longer than normal today."
Kovu felt awful for being late since he knew Kiara would be worried. His ears were down, but Kiara quickly rubbed her head against his.
"As long as you're okay. Though there isn't a lot of time tonight. Daddy almost kept me from seeing you tonight."
"He doesn't know, right?"
"No!" Kiara quickly said, "It was just another close call." She shrugged.
"We've had a lot of those lately," Kovu replied, his tone mellow.
"Hey, why so glum? We've managed just fine and the secret is safe."
"But maybe we're getting a little too bold. My mother is getting relentless with her missions aside from the fact that she's smart."
"My parents are smart too. You know how many times I've lied to them to protect our secret? I'm not exactly proud of that accomplishment. The guilt has been eating at me." Kiara muttered as she laid down in a slump.
"Then what do you suggest?" Kovu asked.
"Do we stop seeing each other?" Kiara questioned curiously.
She was offering him an out to avoid all the dangerous risks, but deep down, all she could hope for is that he would still want to see her.
"Kiara, that's not an option." Kovu snapped, "If we stop now, what was the point of our meeting?" He replied sitting beside her.
"Oh I dunno, a good run for childhood rebellion." Kiara shrugged casually.
She was fishing for a specific answer from him.
"Kiara…" Kovu mumbled shaking his head, "Do you really not know?"
"Know what, Kovu?" She pressed.
She wanted him to say it to her face, but he deviated. There was much on his mind and this wasn't the time even though he desperately wanted to tell her.
"Do you really not know that our secret is the least of our worries?"
"How so?" Kiara replied curiously.
"Follow me." Kovu urged standing up.
Curiously, Kiara followed Kovu as he faced across the savannah up a steep hill overlooking the border between the Pride Lands and the Outlands. There was a small cave entrance covered in ivy just underneath the top of the hill where Kovu led Kiara.
"Look." He nodded gesturing down below.
Kiara noticed a lioness licking the heads of two young cubs and shortly after a scrawny, male lion emerged from the cave laying down next to the lioness.
"What are we spying on?" Kiara asked feeling confused.
"That's Nuka, my brother and I found out about these two a few weeks back. Zira hates Mila and thinks cubs are a distraction for the numerous duties of an Outsider."
"So why bring me here?"
"Mother doesn't know…"
"Are you going to tell?"
"I wouldn't do that to Nuka. He's always been jealous of me due to mother's favoritism, but I think as I've grown, he's come to tolerate me better. Besides, I wouldn't do that to him. I've never seen him this happy before, I wouldn't ruin that for him."
"Think he'd return the favor?" Kiara asked.
"Guess only time will tell." Kovu shrugged.
Kovu fell silent as he watched Nuka and Mila spend time with their cubs. He could see the love and determination to protect his family in Nuka's eyes. Kiara had told him about lions falling in love and their instincts creating a family together. Kovu wondered if he would ever feel safe enough to have that with someone...he knew who he wanted to share that with someday and it was the lioness sitting next to him.
Kovu walked Kiara to the border before they parted ways for the night and as they walked back, Kiara noticed Kovu looked really distracted. Maybe Kovu was overthinking, but he kept glancing behind them in the taller grasses fearing they were being watched. Something was off, but he must have just been paranoid.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked, curiously.
"Something happened a while back and I didn't tell you because I'm not sure I believe it, but I have so many questions. I need to find out the truth."
"Okay, well, I can't help until you tell me." Kiara stopped looking at him intrigued, "So go on."
"Months ago, I met Rafiki."
"Really?" Kiara said nervously, "And he didn't tell my parents about you?"
"I figured not considering our secret is still safe." Kovu paused for a moment trying to collect his thoughts, "He knew a lot about me Kiara, but the biggest thing was regarding my parents."
"Your parents?" Kiara echoed curiously, "What about them?"
"According to Rafiki, Zira murdered my parents and took me and Vitani to raise as her own."
Kiara stared at him wide-eyed before responding.
"Woah, that's … heavy. You've kept that to yourself all this time? What's wrong with you? Such a heavy burden to keep tucked inside." Kiara scolded.
"I didn't want to believe him, but he mentioned your parents were close with mine. I-I just want to know the truth."
Kovu's voice broke. He was desperate and Kiara knew exactly how to help.
"I know to you Rafiki is a stranger, but he is wise and speaks the truth, but let me ask my parents about yours. What were the names Rafiki gave you?"
"Siri and Kenta." Kovu replied.
"You can count on me, Kovu." Kiara grinned with a nod.
Kiara said her goodbyes as the two parted ways and agreed to meet up early the next day so Kovu could finally learn the proven truth about his parents. He was excited to know and equally anxious because if all that Rafiki claimed turned out to be true, his loyalties to Zira would be changed. But if he stopped missions altogether, who knows how Zira would retaliate. He knew he held favor with her just by being chosen to be Scar's heir, but soon the truth would be known. He was relying on Kiara to be discreet because otherwise their secret would be found out. It was up to Kiara for now and Kovu began the trek home to the termite mound. As he disappeared, a head of a lioness rose from the tall grass. It was Vitani. This was juicy news that she knew she had to tell her mother. Kovu spotted together with the princess of the Pride Lands. She wasn't close enough to hear the conversation or what was discussed, but just seeing the two together would be enough for Zira to be alerted. Instead, she decided to wait on it. Call it sibling rivalry or contempt against Kovu, she wanted to wait and see what else her brother had been up to in recent weeks.
Vitani was on her rounds checking the Outland territory and scouting for any rogue antelope that might have wandered in to hunt. Some older Outsiders had perished in recent weeks due to lack of food and Zira was on edge even more than normal because of that. Though in her eyes, she starved the old to let the young and more capable fighters live to fight another day. Her cruel voice rang in Vitani's head: The old ones make us weak, find food for your pride, Vitani!
As Vitani circled around the Outlands, she found no signs of additional food. She didn't know how she would tell her mother. Before returning to the termite mound, she stopped by the water source to lap up some water feeling quite dehydrated. Soon another lion emerged as Vitani looked up curiously. He was a stranger. No Outsider that she had ever seen. He didn't say anything, but just approached the opposite side of the pond lapping up water. Vitani sized him up wondering if she could take him should it come to a fight of territory. This lion had a dark brown mane and had golden fur that matched that of the Pride Lands.
"Who are you, stranger?" Vitani growled hunching down her head defensively.
"Nobody worth trifling yourself with, I assure you." the lion replied as he finished getting his drink.
Curiously, he approached her not looking remotely threatening, but she growled again and the stranger backed off.
"About a mile from here, I found a large nest of crocodile eggs probably ready to hatch. If they're not taking care of, food will be that much harder to come by in these parts. You want to help me fix the issue?" He asked.
Vitani hesitated, but then thought more about the issue finally agreeing to the task.
"Fine, I'll help you. The name's Vitani and after this don't let me catch you in our territory again. You already have the pristine pick of food and water in the Pride Lands. Why come to our wretched lands?"
"I haven't been to the Pride Lands since I was a cub. I don't consider it my home." The lion replied, "I'm a loner."
"So you going to tell me your name, stranger?" Vitani growled.
"Kopa." He replied, "Now let's hurry."
Vitani worked with Kopa tag-teaming the elimination of the crocodile eggs. It wasn't much, but Vitani considered it a victory since if the Outlands would have been overrun with crocodiles, she didn't want to think about the effects it would have on her family. Zira would be furious if she knew about a problem and didn't take care of it.
"Thanks for the assist, Kopa." Vitani nodded politely.
"Wow, not used to such manners from an Outsider." Kopa smirked.
"You know nothing about me," Vitani grumbled.
"And the same goes for me," Kopa replied.
"Don't try and act civil and be my friend." Vitani spat, "You'll only be disappointed."
Kopa snorted looking intrigued.
"See ya, Vitani." Kopa said quickly and turned around, disappearing into the night.
She stood there for a moment confused, but quickly snapped herself out of it and began the run to the termite mound. Her mind was full of confusion. Zira always taught her that the Pride Landers were deceitful, manipulative, and greedy. Her mother spent years building up all these prejudices in her head from cubhood. Now with her first one-on-one encounter with a lion affiliated to the Pride Lands, those preconceived notions about Pride Landers were wrong. Kopa was none of these things.
Meanwhile, Kiara raced back home with her questions to ask her parents on Kovu's behalf. It had begun to rain and soon turned into a torrential downpour. Her paws felt heavy soaked with mud as she ran. She had plenty of time to think about how to bring it up and word it. By the time she got back to Pride Rock, she had the whole conversation rehearsed in her mind. She made it to Pride Rock, but saw her family laying beneath the large baobab tree near the rock. Kiara approached everyone looking curious.
"Why aren't you all in the den?" Kiara asked.
"Ask your brother…" Nala replied.
"What'd you do, Kion?" Kiara groaned.
"I maybe kinda sorta have flooded the den," Kion replied casually.
"Seriously?" Kiara asked disbelief.
"The evening has been...eventful." Simba sighed, "Timon and Pumbaa are in there trying to stop the water from pouring in."
"The rain hasn't ever flooded before." Kiara reasoned, glancing at her brother.
"I might have moved a couple of rocks around near the roof." Kion shrugged.
"Wow Kion…" she mocked.
"That's enough you two," Nala replied.
Moments later, Zazu flew down on one of the branches above our heads.
"Is the hole fixed?" Simba asked.
"Nearly there, sire." Zazu nodded.
With this major distraction, Kiara wanted to ask her parents now.
"Mom, dad...I have a question regarding something Rafiki told me. It's something I want to ask you both...alone." Kiara muttered sitting in front of them with her paws crisscrossed.
Simba and Nala exchanged curious looks and Simba turned to Kion.
"Kion, why don't you go help Timon and Pumbaa?" Simba told Kion.
"Aw, dad." Kion complained, "It was an accident."
"And you should try to make amends to your accident." Simba nodded patting his son on the head.
"Go on, Kion." Nala urged nudging her son with her nose.
Kion started walking over to the rocks to climb up to the den, but then stopped and faced the rest of his family.
"Soon, I won't be a cub anymore and then I can know things." He stuck his nose in the air in mock annoyance and hurried off toward the den.
The rest of the family began to laugh.
"So what did Rafiki tell you Kiara?" Nala asked getting to Kiara's question.
"He told me a story of when you two were cubs and that you had old friends you used to play with a lot. Their names were Kenta and Siri. I just wanna know about them since they seemed to be such close friends from your childhood."
Simba and Nala exchanged intrigued looks as their ears fell just a little.
"Judging by your response, they did exist." Kiara said excitedly, "Why so glum?" She asked naively.
"We grew up together as cub… yes. We found a private cave away from the Pride Lands that was all ours." Nala began, "Then after your grandfather Mufasa died, Kenta and Siri's family left the Pride Lands when Scar rose to power. You know all that, they returned shortly after Simba returned and we were close up until several months before you were born."
"What happened?"
"They were hunting in crocodile territory…" Simba added continuing for Nala, as she was getting worked up, "And it was dark, they couldn't see as there was mist rising upon the water from the heat of the day. So Kiara, we lost our friends that day...I'm sorry to say."
"I'm sorry…" Kiara muttered, her ears falling.
"It's okay, sweetie." Nala replied, "We didn't tell you because their loss was a great one for your father and I. It was better left unknown, but you're not a cub anymore. Unfortunately, these things sometimes happen in our world."
"Their time in the Circle of …" Simba added.
"Yeah, yeah Circle of Life. I get it, daddy." Kiara snapped impatiently, "Curious, did Siri and Kenta have any cubs my age?
"Siri was expecting when they were hunting that day, but four lives were lost that day. Not just two."
"And you're sure it was crocodiles?" Kiara pressed.
"What's with all the questions, Kiara?" Simba asked raising a curious brow feeling a bit impatient. Kiara kept up her facade and her parents didn't suspect a thing from what she could tell.
The following morning, Kiara couldn't wait to tell Kovu the truth and the facts that her parents confirmed for both of them. Zira wasn't Kovu's mother. Kovu was at a loss once Kiara informed him of the truth. Rafiki planted the seed that got him asking questions and he'd forever be grateful, but even so, he was at war within himself. His entire childhood was a lie. He wasn't an Outsider, but in fact, a Pride Lander by birthright. How could he keep doing missions for a cold-hearted lioness like Zira? Could he humbly approach Pride Rock with Kiara and Rafiki to inform everyone of the truth? In the end, he decided to keep up his role in the Outsiders pride. Perhaps once he was full-grown, he'd have the power to overthrow Zira. The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he grew, thinking he was similar to Scar.
Kovu had a responsibility to Vitani to tell her the truth about what he had found out about their parents, but Zira and seeded her soul with so much hate and animosity, Kovu didn't know how to sway her allegiance. It wasn't until one late evening after Kovu said goodnight to Kiara during one of their secret meetings, that Vitani cornered her brother alone.
"Kovu, you traitor! What will mother do with you once she finds out."
Kovu grew stiff unsure of what she was trying to accuse him of, so he acted normal as possible.
"Vitani, don't I already see enough of you at home?" Kovu growled.
"Not lately, considering you're rarely at home these days. When you're not on missions, you come home late and I know why."
"Do you…" Kovu challenged smugly.
"You're hanging out with Simba and Nala's daughter...Kiara, is it?"
Kovu's hair stood up on end as a shiver was sent down his spine. He thought of a solution quickly.
"So what?"
"And here I thought you'd deny it." Vitani mocked.
"The borders are a tricky spot, I run into Pride Landers all the time." Kovu shrugged trying to downplay it.
"Don't even try. I've seen you on many occasions with her. It's safe to say it isn't random just based on how you greet and interact with each other. Kovu, she's the enemy! The Pride Landers have full bellies while we starve. Where's your loyalty?"
"My loyalty is found among those who deserve it. Zira isn't one of them!"
"Watch your tongue," Vitani growled.
"She's a liar, Vitani. She isn't our mother. She murdered our parents, their names were Kenta and Siri and they were Pride Landers... as are we."
"Now you're foaming at the mouth." Vitani spat.
"I've learned a lot by growing close to Kiara and we care about each other. Unlike the lies Zira poisons us with. Besides, I'm not the only one talking to a Pride Lander, am I Vitani?" Kovu challenged.
Vitani's ears perked up in surprise, but then she growled defensively.
"You spying on me?"
"Takes one to know one." Kovu smirked, "The brown mane and golden furred lion at the pond. Yeah, I saw you."
"B-But how? We were alone." Vitani muttered sheepishly.
"Or so you thought."
"You're not going to keep your mouth shut are you?" Vitani growled.
"So long as Zira knows nothing about my meeting Kiara, your secret is safe with me. We have a rough past Vitani, but you're my sister and you deserve to know the truth. So keep my secret and I'll keep yours." Kovu nodded racing ahead of her to the termite mound. Vitani had a lot to think about as she brought up the rear just behind her brother. When Zira questioned them about their late return, Vitani glanced at Kovu snorting.
"Just doing late night reconnaissance." Vitani shrugged glaring at Kovu.
He smiled a thank you.
"Well get to sleep, the both of you." Zira growled, "You have an early morning ahead of you."
As Vitani curled up to sleep, questions swirled in her mind, but she grew aggravated at the lies Kovu told her. She had no real proof to believe him, but she knew her brother was many things, but a liar wasn't one of them.