Time passed and the young prince grew. The other lionesses also bore cubs, with Sauda, Azmera's best friend, giving birth to a beautiful female cub. As the cubs aged, Kimoni decided that he would follow the decision his father had made years before. After Kovu was named king, he had announced an amendment to the royal protocol. It stated that the King and Queen were no longer responsible for the betrothal of their cubs. Instead, the heir to the throne would be allowed to choose for love. Kimoni had not quite understood this when he was young, and almost lost his chance because of it, but he had faith that his young son would do better.

Finally, one glowing morning, Azmera decided to take Daren down to the waterhole. The young prince had been out playing and on walks before, but he hadn't had much of a chance to associate with the other cubs of the pride. Azmera hoped her son would be able to make some friends before the day was up, so when they reached the waterhole, she went to sit with some of her friends, leaving the young cub in a patch of thick grass.

Smiling in the bright sunshine, Daren trotted down to the water's edge and began to drink. As he lapped, his ears twitched at a sound from nearby. Lifting his head from his reflection in the water, he turned and met eyes with the animal that had been walking through the grass. It was one of the cubs from his pride, and she was beautiful! She had creamy colored fur and a white belly and paws. Daren's eyes were drawn to two small markings near her right eye. There was a small one, which was almost shaped like a butterfly. The other marking was a curving line, that twisted above her eye and down towards her nose. But it was her sparkling blue eyes that intrigued Daren the most. They seemed to reflect all the happiness in the world. Daren looked at the beautiful cub and sighed to himself. Suddenly, he was broken out of his love struck trance as he realized that the cub was coming towards him. He looked frantically around him.

"Oh no!" he whispered to himself. "What do I do?" Noticing a small patch of wild flowers nearby, Daren smiled. The beautiful flowers reminded him of the cub. Trotting over to them, he bent his head and selected a white daisy. Carrying the daisy gently in his mouth, he walked over to the creamy cub.

"Hello," he said, placing the flower on the ground in front of her. "I'm Daren." The cub's face broke into a smile.

"I'm Kianga," she said.

"Would you like to play together?" asked the prince.

"Sure!" exclaimed Kianga," let's go ask our moms."

The two cubs scurried over to where the lionesses were resting in the hot sunshine.

"Can we go play?" Daren asked his mother. Azmera looked at the cub's hopeful faces, and then over to Kianga's mother. She nodded.

"Please can you take care of my flower?" Kianga asked her mother. Kianga placed the daisy carefully on the ground near her mother, and Daren's rusty coat turned bright red as his own mother looked at him. Smiling, Azmera nuzzled her son, and then watched as Daren and Kianga ran off to play together. Laughing and shouting, they bounded off through the grass, pouncing and play-fighting.

Nearby in the outlands, a lion and a lioness sat together on a large rock. Their coats were completely black, and both were extremely healthy. Their eyes shone with excitement, and it was hardly noticeable that they had just traveled from another kingdom, far away.

"Look Blacksoul," said the lion to his mate. "That is where we will attack next. Finally! The Pride Lands." He laughed. It was an evil, chilling laugh – one that would frighten even the most violent of lions.

Blacksoul turned to look at him, and her glowing eyes met his. The lion's left eye was yellow, but his right eye glittered red. In the dazzling sunlight, it shone like blood.

"There he is, Redeye" said the lioness, looking at the laughing cubs in the distance. "The little prince whose life we will tear to pieces."

Redeye snarled. "Soon the Pride Lands will know only death." Nodding to his mate, Redeye turned and made his way back to where the rest of his pride was hidden. They were strong and their numbers were great. And wherever they went, they left the horrible name behind them. They were known as the Black Pride.

As the sun began to set later that evening, Daren walked along side his mother back to their home at Pride Rock. As they approached the massive stone structure, Daren could see his father standing with Rafiki.

"Daddy, daddy," yelled the little prince, racing in front of his mother towards the king. "I made a friend today!" Kimoni gave his wise counselor an amused look, and then turned to his son.

"Well, Daren, tell me all about it."

Daren ran in circles around his father, and told him all about the beautiful Kianga. The king and the baboon both stood in silence as they listened to the happy little cub tell about his day. Finally, Daren stopped and gasped for air. He looked up at the king, and turned his head to the side. Kimoni, seeing his son's expression chuckled.

"Come with me Daren," the king said kindly, and the pair walked off together through the grass. After collecting his thoughts for a moment, Kimoni spoke.

"I'm very happy for you my son," he said. "But I want to tell you something. You should always show those you love how much you care. It's very important that you remember that." Daren nodded solemnly and the pair fell silent. As Kimoni looked down to his son, he smiled as he watched the young prince, deep in thought. Lowering his great head, he nudged Daren and then crouched low to the ground. Laughing, Daren climbed up on his back. Together, they ran and played, and rolled in the deep grass until the sun had completely set. As the sky blackened, Daren looked up at the glittering stars.

"Daddy, why are all those sparkling things up there?"

Kimoni looked at his son, and then up at the night sky. He bowed his head for a moment, and then turned to Daren.

"Those glimmering lights are the souls of all the great kings and queens of the past. When we die, our bodies turn into the earth, but our souls lie on forever. Sometimes, those past kings and queens can even speak to us, and guide us." The great king frowned, and let out a deep sigh. "Your grandparents, Kovu and Kiara are up there."

Daren looked up in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes"

"Daddy," asked Daren, looking up at his father. "Why are Grandpa Kovu and Grandma Kiara up there? What happened to them? Why did they die?"

The king stood in silence for a moment, and then shook his head. His mane ruffled in the soft night breeze, and he bent down and put his face close to Daren's. The prince noticed that although his father was smiling, his eyes seemed sad.

"I'll tell you when you're older, Daren. Come now, let's go home."

During the following weeks, Daren and Kianga's friendship grew stronger every day. Each morning, they would meet at the waterhole, and Daren would present Kianga with a small white daisy. Kianga would then beg her mother to take special care of it, and the two cubs would run off to play. They would have races together, chase butterflies, and have friendly fighting matches. And each day, as the cubs ran and tumbled together, two dark shadows watched from deep within the outlands. They were waiting for the day that they would strike. The perfect day they had marked out from the beginning. The day that the Pride Lands would be stripped forever of its ruling family.

But to Blacksoul and Redeye, that day was only one of many in their minds. It was just another pawful of murders, added on to their terrible list. The evil lions were not vengeful or bitter. In fact, they hadn't known any of their previous victims. No, they just liked to kill.

The wise baboon, Rafiki, could often feel the evil surrounding the black lions, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. Feeling somewhat worried, Rafiki went into his tree and tore off a piece of bark from its trunk. A strong breeze went through the tree, and the baboon looked up at the sky.

"What am I doing?" he said to the sky. "I'm going to do whatever I can to keep Daren safe. You taught me that love conquers all. So I will help Daren to find that love."

The breeze picked up, and Rafiki frowned. "Don't laugh. I am tired of seeing bloodshed. There has been too much in the Pride Lands in my time."

Taking some paint he had made from berries, Rafiki began to draw on the bark. For hours, he drew and colored, and then finally, he stepped back and looked at his finished work. He nodded, and hopped out of his tree to go find Daren.

He found Daren coming out of the cave at Pride Rock. The prince was ready and excited for another great day to play and was about to run off to the waterhole, when Rafiki called his name. Daren stopped and looked at the approaching baboon.

"Yes, Rafiki?"

"I have something very special for you and Kianga." Rafiki smiled and showed him the bark.

"Umm, what is it?" asked the puzzled prince. He had never seen anything like it before.

Rafiki chuckled. "It is a treasure map. It will lead you and Kianga to the greatest treasure. You have to search for it together."

Daren looked up in surprise. "Treasure?" he repeated, his eyes shining. Rafiki nodded.

"Oh wow! Thank you!" Daren rubbed his head against the baboon's chest and then took the map gently in his mouth. Turning, he ran off towards the waterhole.

"Search for the treasure, but also for the warning," called Rafiki from behind him. Then he smiled.

Daren ran up to where he always met Kianga and dropped the map on the ground in front of her. Then he turned and dashed off. A few seconds later, he was back with a white daisy.

Kianga giggled. "Thank you Daren. But what is this?" she asked, looking at the bark. Daren stood up very straight and spoke in his most serious voice.

"It's a map."

Kianga looked at him and then at the map in awe. "But where did you get it?" she asked, her eyes wide. Daren smiled.

"Rafiki made it just for us!"

Kianga jumped up and down. "Come on!" she exclaimed. "We have to go find the treasure!"

"Alright," said Daren. "It says we're supposed to start at Pride Rock."

"Hurry up," yelled Kianga, already half way there. Daren picked up the map in his mouth again, and followed after her. When the cubs got to Pride Rock, Daren consulted the map.

"Now we have to go to the waterhole," he said.

Kianga frowned. "Aww, we were just there. Oh well, come on!" Again the cubs dashed off together.

When they got to the waterhole, Kianga turned to Daren. "Can I look this time?" she asked. Daren placed the map on the ground, and Kianga studied it. "Alright," she said, "off to Rafiki's tree."

At the gnarly old tree, the cubs looked at the map once more. From high in the branches of his home, Rafiki looked down on the cubs and smiled.

"Come on," shouted Daren. "The treasure is over there. The map says so!"

As the cubs approached a place near the edge of the Pride lands, they found a large red 'x' painted on the grass. The world seemed to fall silent as the cubs walked up to it.

"So, do we dig for it or something?" asked Kianga. Daren frowned, and looked around him.

"I'm not sure."

Deep in the outlands, the two black lions stood together. Redeye let out a deep, rumbling growl, and his claws dug into the dirt below him. The prince was so close.

"Let's go now," he spat.

His mate turned on him and snarled. "Not yet. We have to wait. Tomorrow they won't stand a chance." She looked at the happy cubs and let out a most menacing, evil laugh.

"So, what should we do?" asked Kianga. Daren frowned. Search for the treasure, he thought, remembering half of Rafiki's advice. Daren looked around him, and realized that from where they sat, they could see all of Pride Rock. Pink clouds swirled above it as the sun began to set, and Daren, looking at the beautiful view, and then at Kianga beside him, realized what the treasure was.

"I think the treasure is what we make of it," he said.

Kianga nodded slowly. "Would you like to watch the sky?"

Daren smiled, and the two cubs wandered closer to Pride Rock, and then settled down in the deep grass. Daren was very quiet while he though about all the Rafiki had said, and what had happened as he sat watching the sun set over Pride Rock. It was almost as if he had heard voices, telling him that what he was thinking was right.

Finally, Daren looked over at his friend.

"Kianga," he said, "have you ever thought about your future?" Kianga looked back at him. "I mean, have you ever thought of what you want to become?"

Kianga nodded. "I want to be brave and smart. What about you?"

Daren looked up at the dark sky. "I want to be like my father and all the kings before him. I want to be a great leader." Suddenly, the rusty cub sat up. "Kianga," he said, his voice squeaking a little, "when we grow up, will you be my mate?"

The young female sat up, and a rather surprised look crossed her face. Then, she snuggled closer to him.

"Of course."

As Kimoni sat near the edge of Pride Rock, he looked down at his son and Kianga. "Azmera," he said, his deep voice rumbling, "this shouldn't be happening." His mate looked at him, her blue eyes twinkling.

"Your son is growing up, Kimoni. He's changing. And you were the one who told him to show his love."

Kimoni sighed. "I know," he said, "it's just that he's growing up too fast."

Azmera nuzzled Kimoni. "He's not the only one who did."

Kimoni though of the sickness and of his sudden succession to king. He shook his head and his mane ruffled in the wind.

"That will be different," he said. "My son will not be forced to grow up."