WARNING!! This chapter is one of the MAIN REASONS that the story is rated T!! it contains several descriptive images of violent and cruel behavior! Reader discretion is advised! lol...enjoy!

Chapter 10 – The Price of Vengeance

The months that followed Mufasa's death and Scar's coronation were the hardest and most exhausting of my life, both physically and mentally. Scar's reign over the kingdom was a far cry from Mufasa's rule. Scar seemed more focused on having the title of "king" rather than dealing with the responsibilities that came with the job. Each day, he lazily lay in the cave, where now, no member of the pride except for him and Zira, were allowed to enter unless to bring him news. Together, they both barked orders to the pride that held no significance or reasoning other than to simply give orders.

Sarabi was allowed to remain the head of the hunting parties, as Scar deemed her the most capable of the lionesses, and the lionesses stayed loyal to her. Due to the hyena's inhabitance of the Pride Lands, the herds all left far beyond the kingdom for fear of losing their lives. Sarabi decided that in order to get food from further away, we would need to break up the bigger groups into smaller ones. She appointed me as one of the hunting leaders of a newly created fourth hunting party. Some of the lionesses did not seem particularly happy about this.

Ever since I had attempted and failed to kill Scar on that fateful day, several lionesses had lost faith in me. Sarabi told me that they had hoped I would save them from the horrors to come from Scar's rule, and they lost hope when I did not act as they expected. Two of the lionesses, Yejide and Chika, refused to even speak to me. They felt betrayed that I had so mercifully decided to spare Scar's life. When I explained that, given the circumstances, killing him would have been wrong, they scoffed and turned their backs on me. Sarabi told me to simply ignore their reactions, but for me, it was a challenge. During my hunts with one or both of them, Yejide and Chika would criticize my hunting style, or would make snide remarks about how I might be too merciful to the prey. Every time they did this, their voices carried loud enough to scare away the prey we were hunting. After the first annoying week of this, I asked Sarabi if Yejide and Chika could be rotated through just hers and the other hunting parties. Sarabi obliged, understanding my reasoning.

The Pride Lands were suffering from Scar's reign as well. With the combination of his lack of care for them and the release of hundreds of sadistic hyenas into the lands, they began to dramatically diminish. The grasslands were wilting and turned brown in many large patches. The trees began to lose their leaves, and the branches became dry from lack of water. The waterhole and my stream had both started to dry out. I was sure that these were signs of an imminent drought. That was the very last thing that we needed.

The sky was no longer visible, as it was constantly covered by a layer of gray clouds. This cast the Pride Lands in a regular shadow. Not once, since my arrival at the Pride Lands, had the skies released any rain. Despite the gray color of the clouds, they did not yield so much as one drop. Occasionally, the clouds would pass, but this was actually a worse situation. The sun would beat down relentlessly on everybody, and it ate away at whatever energy the pride had on those days.

The hyena's excessive hunting brought a new smell into the lands. Countless animal carcasses and bones littered the lands wherever you gazed. The new smell of rotting flesh and bone was a horrid aroma, and it made it truly difficult to breathe for a while without having a sensation of vomit rising in my throat.

I had given up on going to the stream for my morning routine. Even if the hyenas had not taken it for themselves, I would not have returned because of its constant reduction. Each day, I felt filthier and filthier as my skin became coated with thin layers of dirt and sweat. My clothes became dirtier and more ripped, but thankfully they remained intact. I changed them each day to ensure that they would remain as clean and as whole as they possibly could. Due to my filthy state, I sorely regretted the decision, but knew I had no other choice. I would not dare contaminate what drinking water we had left by bathing and washing my clothes in it.

Several weeks before Scar ascended to the throne, I found a day planner in my backpack. Apparently, my dad had placed it in there when he packed it. It had every day of our would-be vacation planned out. I had absentmindedly been keeping track of the days ever since my arrival, but now I was more than glad that I had held onto it. I made marks with dirt and mud in the days that had passed, and counted down to some days that held no particular significance now. My birthday came to pass within seven months of Scar's coronation. I turned seventeen years old then. Before the tragedy that led to Scar's kingship, I had pictured that day to be a day of joy and happiness, surrounded by my family and pride. The day went unnoticed by all, except for Sarabi, Sarafina, and Nala. It was a pitifully small celebration, but I was thankful. At least I still had the three of them in these times of hardship.

About eight months into Scar's rule, on a particularly hot and dry day, I found myself sitting under a dead Acacia tree, sitting in as much shade as possible. Trying to ignore my weakness and pains of hunger I distracted myself by thinking of any and everything I could. I picked the planner out of my backpack and flipped through it. When I did, I was surprised to see that I had lived here in the Pride Lands for the last ten months. And it saddened me that the majority of them were in a time of peril and tragedy. I had only known Simba and Mufasa for two months, yet I felt like I knew them for my entire life, which in a sense, I had. I would never forget that my father and brother had watched over me through the two of them.

I put the planner away, feeling worse than I had before. I looked up and stared at the cloudless, gray sky. The events of the past week swam in front of my eyes.

Only a week ago, Zira had announced to the pride that she had been pregnant for some time with Scar's heir. When Scar heard this, he walked with a new strut in his step. He bore the same unsettling smile that was always set on his face, but now it seemed smugger.

Yesterday, Zira and Sarabi had got into a rather heated argument, and it resulted in a vicious battle between them. Sarabi sustained several major injuries, but Zira was almost twice as bad. Scar was furious that Sarabi dared to lay a paw on her "queen", and he ordered that Sarabi receive no medical treatment from Rafiki. Sarabi was still in a great state of pain and injury, and I refused to sit idly by and wait to see if she would survive through the night. So late last night, I snuck to Rafiki's tree, careful not to wake any sleeping hyenas, and requested his help.

Rafiki was in a right state. Usually, he came across as a complete lunatic, always wearing a goofy smile, always chanting random phrases in a language only he understood. But Rafiki had taken the tragedy of the death of his friend, Mufasa, very hard. Since the day he found out, Rafiki acted completely…normal. And it was strange to see him act normal. Occasionally, he would show signs of being alright, but it was still so close to the time of Mufasa's departure, that he had was not ready to let go of Mufasa's memory.

He followed me to Sarabi in the dead of night, and while she slept, he applied some of his healing medicine to her wounds. She sighed peacefully in her sleep as he did. I thanked him graciously.

He had replied to me, "If dere is anyting you need, I am your servant, my king."

His words made me do a double take. "Excuse me?"

He looked at me. A smile tugged his lips for a moment, but then it was gone. "I said you are my king. You were next in line, and no matta what Scar say or do, you are dee true king. You are still Mufasa's boy, and so you are my king."

Then he left without another word. In that single moment, I felt a tremendous amount of respect for Rafiki. I now saw why Mufasa had trusted him so much. He was a true and wise friend.

I looked out across the Pride Lands as I reflected on these events. The lands looked absolutely pitiful compared to their once former beauty.

Rafiki's tree stood in the distance, grand and strangely silhouetted against the barren and dry lands. Sarabi and Sarafina were padding from it. Some of Sarabi's wounds had opened again, so they had snuck to Rafiki's tree to clean them. Now they were heading back towards Pride Rock. I stood up, and left the comfort of my shade, stepping into the sweltering heat.

Approaching the lionesses, I heard them discussing the fight that occurred yesterday between Sarabi and Zira.

"I'm surprised that Zira even survived!" said Sarafina, disdain in her voice. "You mauled her so bad, I though she would die!"

Sarabi glanced at her. There was a hint of a smile on her face, but in an instant, it was gone. "I'm actually glad that Zira survived. Scar would have killed me if she had died, and I was in no state to defend myself."

I approached them and waved. They glanced up at me, and smiled as I came nearer.

"Good morning, Ayden." said Sarafina happily.

"Hi Ayden!" came a voice from between Sarabi and Sarafina. I looked down, and was surprised to see Nala. I had to strain to see her because her fur blended so well with the dead grass. I could only just make out her shining green eyes through all the tan.

She stepped out of the grass into full view. She had defiantly grown very much. She was no longer the cub I had known when I first arrived, but she was still relatively small, only about half of the size of her mother. Already, she had some powerful muscles that were growing on her legs. I could tell that she would have no trouble getting up to speed during a hunt, whenever she started her training.

"Hey," I replied to her. I looked up at Sarabi, and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore," she said, "but otherwise I feel fine."

I smiled happily. "I'm glad. You had me worried there for a while. I…"

But my words were cut off as a loud scream emanated from behind us. I turned my head, and as another scream resonated, I knew it came from Pride Rock.

Sarabi, Sarafina, Nala, and I sprinted back to the rock as fast as our legs would carry us. Weakness began to overcome me from lack of food, and I slowed down . Sarabi also slowed down and disappeared behind me. The next thing I knew, she ran between my legs, and I was riding on her back. I smiled gratefully at her as she glanced back at me.

We finally reached Pride Rock and skidded to a halt in front of the cave where the screams were issuing from. As we did, Kala ran around the corner of the cave, and stopped in front of us.

"Thank the gods I found you!" she cried.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sliding off of Sarabi's back.

"Zira is giving birth to her cub!" she replied quickly.

Sarafina gasped. "What? She's way too early! She's not due for several weeks!"

Kala lowered her voice, and she sounded concerned. "Perhaps last night's squabble brought along the contractions…"

I looked at Sarabi. Her eyes were closed in a painful prayer. I knew that she was hoping beyond hope that the cub would survive the premature birth. I was praying the same thing. I had no idea what Scar would do if his heir died because of Sarabi's intervention. And I did not wish to find out.

Sarabi ran into the cave, but I remained behind. I was sure that the last thing Zira wanted was the two people she hated the most to be present at her day of birth, and it was bad enough that one of them could have potentially killed her cub.

For several hours, Sarafina and I sat outside of the cave, listening to the sounds of Zira's cries and screams. Some of the pride came and sat with us. The feeling among all of us was tension. We all knew what the birth of Scar's heir would do to the Pride Lands. It would be the kiss of death. There would be no way to return them to their natural state if Scar's legacy lived on past his generation.

With this thought came another, more unsettling thought. I knew that the only way to end Scar's reign and save the Pride Lands would be to overthrow him, and the only one who could rightfully do that would be me. I knew the day would come when I would have to face Scar. I could not let his legacy live on. It needed to end, and it needed to end soon.

The loudest roar of all issued from the cave, a moment of silence, and then only the sounds of heavy breathing could be heard. Quiet voices could be heard from the cave, but as hard as I tried, I could not make out what they were saying. After a few moments of this, I stood up and took a step towards the cave. But as I did, Sarabi backed out of it, her face fearful.

I watched as she stopped momentarily, and then she looked up at me. The terror in her face alarmed me and made me dread what had happened and was going to happen. She stared into my eyes for a moment, then turned and ran down the slope off into the Pride Lands.

I watched her figure disappear around the corner of Pride rock, then turned back to the cave. The tension for what we were going to see was rising. Apprehensively, edged into the cave and slipped around the corner, the pride following close behind me.

Zira lay in the center of the cave, with Scar hovering over her. Their faces bore much grief, and their gaze was fixated on a small something cuddled in Zira's paws. An unusually small brown cub lay unmoving there. He was dead, apparently a stillborn.

A mix of relief and pity overcame me. Relief came at the fact that Scar's legacy would not yet be fulfilled, and yet pity for this poor cub, who had not even had a chance at life. Scar looked up at the pride as we entered. His eyes shone with a fury and sadness I had never witnessed. Enraged at our intrusion on such a personal moment, he stared around at all of us. His eyes lay rested on me for only the briefest of moments, and a chill ran down my spine. Then he reared back and roared with an absolutely incredible and intense force. If I had not seen it with my own eyes and heard with my own ears, I would never have believed that Scar could make such a powerful sound. We all jumped at this sudden reaction, and sprinted out.

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The next few days passed, and not one lion dared to mention the incident. The day following the death of Scar's and Zira's cub, who they named Taalib, a ceremony was held in the graveyard. Zira gave the eulogy, prophesizing the would-be rule of King Taalib. I felt my eyes wanting to roll as she delivered the eulogy, but with Scar watching, I did not dare express my feelings. I noticed, however, that whenever I glanced at him, he was staring fixedly on Sarabi. There was a malicious hunger and hatred in his eyes as he did, and I saw that Sarabi did everything she could to avoid meeting his eyes with her own.

Several days after the funeral, we decided that it was time for another hunt. Many of the lionesses were too weak and hot to hunt, so only one hunting party was sent out.

Sarabi and I were the only two hunting leaders to go. Sarafina felt well enough to accompany us, but she left Nala at home with Lesedi, a lioness whom she trusted. Nala was still too young and weak to hunt. But the three of us knew the time was upon them that she would have her first hunt.

Ayana, Zalika, Johari, and Sanjo were the final lionesses to complete the hunting party. All of these lionesses were still on good terms with me, so it started out as a pleasant hunt, despite the heat and hunger pains.

It felt good to get away from Scar and Zira. Putting more and more distance between us made me fear the two of them less and less. They could not touch me out here. I could not be harmed or fearful of something that was not near me.

For hours, we wandered well out of the border of the Pride Lands, searching and searching for a single animal. Fate was on our side, for when the sun was halfway between midday and sunset, we came across a lone and helpless wildebeest.

Excitement flooded me as I silently approached the creature, slightly ahead of the party. I surprised myself at how silent I stayed, considering I was my body was shaking from lack of nutrition. I quietly grabbed my knife from my pocket and unswitched it, revealing the dirty, jagged blade. I stared at my prey, seeing not a helpless creature, but a meal fit for a king.

The thought echoed in my mind for a moment…king? I instantly flashed back to when Rafiki had called me "my king." I stared around at the lionesses who still trusted me and placed hope in me. They followed me willingly during this hunt. A burning question came to my mind…would they follow me so willingly on other occasions? Would they rebel against Scar with me, and help restore the Pride Lands to their rightful state?

I shook out the thoughts. I wasn't ready for that yet. I was too weak now to try taking the throne. I needed to at least be well-fed before I could even attempt to take on Scar. I stared back at my prey, poising my arm to send the knife flying. I examined the wildebeest again. He was very thin and appeared weak. He had not been alerted to our presence, nor did he have any inkling at what was about to happen to him.

As keen as they ever were, my eyes easily found the jugular on the creature. I took aim, and raised my hand. My body was shaking from both weakness and excitement, and it cost me dearly. As my hand fell and my knife flew, my knees buckled from the combined feelings of weakness and excitement. The knife hit the wildebeest in the back of its neck with a dull thunk, way off of the initial mark.

The wildebeest bucked and thrashed around in pain as it took off at to the west. As one, the hunting party rushed forward at the creature. I stayed rooted to the spot, a feeling of failure building in my heart. I had failed the hunt. It was the first time that my knife had missed its mark. Not once had I ever missed a mark, yet now, I had done so. And in doing so, I let the prey get away.

I looked up at the cloud of dust that was rising about fifty feet away. In and out of the dust cloud moved the pride. Roars and growls were coming from the cloud. Then the movement stopped, and the dust began to settle. The wildebeest lay dead in the middle of the circle the lionesses created. This sight eased my feelings, but they were by no means gone. At least we had food now.

Failure…

The word reverberated in my mind. I told myself that I was not a failure, but had merely experienced a moment of weakness…of distraction. The thought of overthrowing Scar and becoming king had distracted me at the least opportune time of all. At a time when my focus needed to be here and now. My mind flashed back to the day Scar had killed all of the pride's cubs, to the moment when I did not kill him when I had the chance. I had failed then too, just as I had failed here. I knew I was not ready to face Scar yet, and I told myself this over and over again.

Failure…

I fell to my knees and groaned. I buried my face in my hands, screwing up my thoughts, trying not to think of the hardships. But it was an impossible task. For the last eight months I had been waiting for the right time to take on Scar. But the thought that I would get better, stronger, and wiser in the months to come made me wait. And look where I was now. I knew nothing more than I did eight months ago. I was defiantly not stronger; in fact, I was getting weaker and weaker from barely scrounging enough food and water to survive. Therefore, it was relevant to say that, because of my weakness, I was by no means better than Scar.

I felt something brush my side and looked up to see Sarafina standing there. Her kind face was smiling at me.

"Ayden, why do you act this way?" she asked curiously. "You act as if we failed! We have killed our prey, and have food to eat now! This is a victory!"

I looked over to see Sarabi and Sanjo carrying the dead wildebeest on their backs. I saw my knife protruding from the back of its neck. I stood up, still shaking, and pulled out the knife. Blood oozed from the wound, and it wet my blade. I sighed and wiped it on a dry patch of fur on the creature. I switched it back and stuffed it in my pocket.

I looked over at Sarafina and smiled. How could I stay upset at myself when she was so happy? Her smile was always something that I liked. There was just something so natural about it. It fit her happy face exceptionally well, and it was undoubtedly contagious.

She and Sarabi were so close, you would have thought they were sisters, and I loved her like an aunt. For the last few months, I had stayed in our small group that consisted of only Sarabi, Sarafina, Nala, and I. We all became very close, and acted as a family. I trusted every one of them with my life.

We walked back to the Pride Lands. Off in the distance loomed the dark silhouette of Pride Rock. Its' majesty and wonder had diminished incredibly with the coming of the drought. Very little water remained in the waterhole and stream. I permitted myself to have only one handful of water per day. It sustained me, but it did not satisfy me.

When we were about a mile from Pride Rock, we saw a small group of hyenas rush forward to us, licking their lips, their greedy little eyes fixated on the kill on Sarabi's and Sanjo's backs. My hand flashed down and disappeared in my pocket. Not now. They would not take this kill. Not today.

Faster than I knew they could run, the hyenas flew past me before I could react and flung themselves on the kill. The pride did not even have time to react either. Within seconds, the hyenas had the carcass stripped of flesh, muscle, and tendon. Laughing maliciously, they mock thanked us and turned to leave.

Pure rage and hatred boiled in my blood. All the work we put into getting this food, all the pain I put myself through at my failure, and now it was all to waste. We would go hungry for even longer now.

Fury pulsing through my veins, my hand flew out of my pocket, my knife gripped tightly and unswitched. I ran at the nearest hyena, an unbearable desire for vengeance pumping through every fiber of my being. I raised the knife and, with all of my strength, brought it swinging down straight into the top of the hyena's head. I felt the knife penetrate through his skull with a dull crack. Not satisfied, I twisted the knife viciously, making his head twist slightly with a loud crunch. He made a very strange, brief, yet satisfying groaning sound, and then he slumped to the ground. Blood oozed from the grisly wound and pooled on the ground where he lay unmoving. My knife, still gripped in my hand, dripped with the fiend's blood.

All of this happened in a mere moment.

The pack of hyenas all turned their heads at the sounds of this attack. They took a moment to realize what had happened, and that was all the time I needed. Quickly as possible, I flung myself to the next closest hyena and in another flash of silver, slit his throat. The blood gushed from the wound, and he gasped and choked while trying to breath. His body fell to the ground, as he shuddered and gasped. Then his body relaxed and stayed perfectly still.

The pack reacted instantly. They growled and barked as they rushed towards me. I stood up and threw my knife at one who jumped at me. It thudded in his left cheek, and he fell to the ground whimpering. I looked down, then back up as many roars echoed from around me. The pride had followed my example, and were now mercilessly clawing and mauling every hyena within range.

The wounded hyena stood up and faced me, the hilt of my knife protruding from his face. The left half was completely drenched in red, while the right bore a look of the utmost pain and hatred. As he ran at me, a tan paw came crashing down on his head, claws unsheathed. He was pinned to the ground, but he made no effort to get up. The blow to the head had killed him instantly.

I looked up to see who saved me, and saw Sarafina, teeth bared, and pure malice in her eyes. Without a look at me, she turned and faced yet another hyena. I leaned down, tore the knife from the dead monster's face, and proceeded to help my pride.

Within minutes, every last hyena lay dead around us. Not one had a peaceful or painless death. We had seen to that.

Teeth bared, and catching my breath, I looked up at Pride Rock. When I got back, I certainly would have some choice word for Scar. He was the reason for all of this. He was the reason for our pain, our starvation, the reason we had to hunt far outside the Pride Lands, and for the hyenas being here.

As I thought of the hyenas, I saw them. Hundreds of them were standing there behind us. They had seen the merciless battle, and had witnessed the death of every hyena that was within our range. Rage was etched into every one of their faces, and as one, the began to rush towards our small group.

My heart plummeted into my stomach, and I heard Sarabi yell "GO!!"

Without thinking, I turned and dashed towards Pride Rock. It was the one place that Scar had forbidden the hyenas to go. I looked back in horror as I heard roars of pain. Several of the lionesses had disappeared in the sea of gray that was pursuing us. I couldn't make out their faces, but I knew they would not survive.

My breathing grew heavy as I started to run out of energy and breath. I started slowing down, and hated myself for it. I was too close now, far too close, to allow myself to die like this.

Suddenly, I felt something large rush between my legs and sweep me off my feet. Sarabi was carrying me on her back straight to Pride Rock. I felt immense gratitude towards Sarabi, but before I could even say "thank you", Sarabi roared in pain, and her pace slowed. I looked back and saw a hyena had latched onto her hindquarters with his claws. Enraged, I raised my knife and fiercely slashed the area between the hyena's chest and armpit. It completely sliced through a tendon that connected his leg to his shoulder, and the hyena howled in extreme agony. Instantly, he released Sarabi and collapsed to the ground, whimpering and shuddering as he screamed into the ground, unable to stand.

Smiling to myself vengefully, I turned back and saw that Pride Rock was mere feet away from us. Sarabi rushed as fast as her legs would carry her and ran up to the entrance of the cave. She slumped to the ground and panted. I fell off of her as she did, and landed on my back. I gasped and panted for air as I lay there, thankful that Scar had forbidden these monsters from ascending any further. I looked up as I saw Ayana fling herself up from the slope and land next to me, panting uncontrollably. I looked around to see who else had made it.

It was only the three of us. The rest of the hunting party was missing. Sanjo, Zalika, Johari, and Sarafina had not returned. They had been the lionesses I saw disappear in the sea of hyenas that had chased us.

This took a moment to register in my mind. Sarafina...no, not her!

I lay my head down, tears welling up in my eyes. Of all of the lionesses who died, Sarafina's death affected me most. She had been like an aunt to me, a very close aunt who I loved to hang out with. She had helped me with the hyenas back there. And now, I could not even tell her thank you for it. I couldn't thank her for her constant kindness towards me, or her encouragement.

And then my thoughts rested on Nala, and the tears spilled from my eyes. The thought of another young one losing their family pierced my heart with an icy dagger. I knew exactly how that felt, and I pitied Nala for what she was about to go through.

One thing became clear in my mind, and it was too much for me to bear.

Sarafina's death, along with the deaths of Sanjo, Zalika, and Johari were all my fault. This was the price I paid, the price Nala had to pay, for my foolish, cruel, and malicious reaction. Because of my selfish desire for vengeance, Nala was now without a mother.

This was the price of my vengeance.

Wow! grisly! and more sadness, but don't worry, this should be the last sad scene for a while. The next couple chapters are going to REALLY focus on more Ayden now and less on the stories i've based this one on. I've got some interesting ideas for him. I'm happy at how this turned out. It took me almost 3 days to write it, so i hope you like it as well!

Well now, it is now 12:54 am my time...and i have a class at 9 in the morning two towns away at my college...i did this for you, my readers...lol. i love writing this and will do anything to get the story done. i'm excited at how this will turn out! lol, i already know, but it's such a great feeling when a writer finishes their story!

you'll just have to read on to find out what happens. when i post another chapter...srry bout the wait. If my computer could read my thoughts and write them down instantly, the story would be done by now. sighs unfortunately, technology is not that sophisticated yet.

3 days...i SHOULD have a new chapter within 3 days...NO GUARANTEES, because on Saturday and Sunday, i'm working 6am to 3pm, so idk if i'll be awake enough after work to write more, but i CAN guarantee that there will be a Ch. 11 by this coming thursday FOR SURE!! just hang in there