Chapter Twelve: A Royal Kidnapping

"Simba?"

"Simba, wake up!"

The lion king opened his eyes at the sound of his name. His vision was blurred and he could just make out the shapes of two figures standing over him. He groaned as he shakily got to his paws and rubbed his eyes, causing both Nala and Kovu to come into focus.

"What…what happened?" asked Simba, sounding confused.

"We found you lying here," answered Nala.

"…my aching head," groaned Simba; Kovu could see a long streak of blood flowing out of Simba's mane, like a river.

"Sir, you're hurt," he exclaimed.

"I'll be alright," said Simba; he turned away from his wife and son-in-law and gazed out around the gorge.

Both lionesses and tigers were spread out across the ground; many of them lying in pools of blood, while others' bodies seemed strangely contorted. As Simba stared at this scene, he suddenly remembered everything that had taken place that afternoon.

"The elephants!" he yelled. "Khan!"

"What?" Kovu asked. "What about Khan?"

"He was there," answered Simba. "I saw him; on top of the cliff. He was watching everything that was happening down here." And then the truth hit him as hard as he had hit the rock-face.

"He planned this!"

"What? You mean Khan knew about the elephant stampede?"

"No, he must have caused it; it's the only explanation as to why he was sitting so calmly up there."

"So, he's alive?"

"Yeah, he's alive," finished Simba.

Simba now turned towards Nala. His mind was weary but he knew he could not rest. Though the main battle was over, Khan was still a fugitive; out in the Pride Lands somewhere.

"Nala, are you alright?" he asked.

Nala smiled and nuzzled her husband.

"I'm fine Simba."

"Do you know how many casualties on either side?"

"Yes, I know that all the tigers are dead," answered Nala. "We've also lost a number of lionesses. Simba, if it wasn't for you telling us to stay between their legs; then we'd all probably be dead right now. The tigers didn't get any advice, that's why they were all killed." Nala suddenly looked sober; her mind on the chaos that had just taken place.

Out of the distance, groups of lionesses began to emerge; many of them were limping; others sported deep wounds and cuts to their bodies. As Simba watched the surviving members of his pride flock towards him, he realised that his pride were now too injured to continue the battle but he knew that unless he organized a search party soon, Khan would escape the Pride Lands. Simba would not allow it. There was a time when he would have allowed Khan to leave unharmed but now, after the murder of his mother, Simba sought just one thing: revenge.

"Everyone! This battle is over!" shouted Simba. "Let's head back to Pride Rock."

He decided that, until the lionesses were fully healed, he and Kovu would have to search for Khan themselves. With those words, Simba turned his back to the graveyard of lionesses and tigers and began the long journey home, with the rest of his pride at his back; unaware that he was being watched, from above, by Shiba.

Meanwhile, back at Pride Rock, Kiara was sitting alone in the den. Many hours had passed since the pride had left for the gorge and Kiara's mind had been in a state of constant worry. She thought of her parents, Simba and Nala, and her husband Kovu; wondering whether he would return to see his cubs. Looking out at the horizon, Kiara could see the unmistakeable sign of rain clouds approaching in the distance and the booming sound of thunder; this did nothing to ease her angst.

As she gazed out from inside the den, her vision was suddenly intercepted by a large and formidable-looking tiger. Kiara gasped, causing the tiger's vision to fall upon her.

"Who are you?" asked Kiara. "What do you want here?"

The tiger grinned at her, revealing a full set of sharp, white teeth.

"My name is Khan. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

Kiara felt her throat knot up at the sound of the tiger's name.

"By the look on your face, it seems you have," taunted Khan.

"Why are you here?" demanded Kiara, doing her best to sound brave.

"I'm here to look over my new home," replied Khan. "With your father and husband dead, I have no rival."

"T – They're not dead," stuttered Kiara; but her heart had begun to tremble and she doubted the words that her mouth spoke.

"Of course they are," said Khan, moving towards her.

"S – Stay back," cried Kiara.

"I made a promise to your grandfather that I would kill him and his descendants. Seeing as how he and your father are gone, that makes you the only one left to die."

"Khan!"

In the blink of an eye, Shiba suddenly burst into the den; she was panting continuously; her body heaving violently as her lungs sought for air.

"What is it?" asked Khan; surveying her with a nettled look.

"Simba's alive!" yelled Shiba. "So are Kovu and the other lionesses."

"What!" shouted Khan; outraged. "None of them were killed by the elephants?"

"Many were, Khan, but most of them survived. They're heading back here!"

Khan paused for a moment, his mind deep in thought, and then said:

"Shiba, kill the princess."

"N – No, please!" begged Kiara; she forced herself to her paws and began backing away from the two tigers. "I'm pregnant. My cubs will die!"

Standing at her full height, Kiara's size was immediately visible to Khan and Shiba.

"She's right," whispered Khan. "This means that I have some more work cut out for me." He turned to Shiba. "Shiba, I want you to kill the little princess. And make sure that you rip those cubs right out of her gut."

"No!" screamed Kiara; now staggering backwards; a wild look upon her face. "You can't kill my cubs!"

However, Shiba had not moved; she simply stood there, not budging an inch; her eyes gazing straight at Kiara.

"Shiba, maybe you did not hear me. I said, kill her and her cubs," growled Khan.

"I – I can't," stuttered Shiba; her face was screwed up as if in pain.

"Please, not this again," said Khan, exasperatedly; turning to face Shiba. "So you lost your cubs! How dare you let that interfere with my orders?"

Shiba now turned her eyes to Khan; her face seemed to be burning with a wild rage.

"I will not harm a cub Khan," declared Shiba. "After I lost my cubs to those jackals, I swore that I would never let any harm come to a cub if I could help it."

"You sentimental fool! After all I have done for you, you would betray me this way? Out of all the other tigers, I privileged you by revealing how I was planning to exterminate all the tigers in one hit; I could have let you perish in that stampede but, instead, I gave you the task of causing it so that you would be away from the gorge at the time!" raged Khan. "But if you won't kill her, then I will."

With those words, Khan turned his attention to Kiara; smiling menacingly as he began to close in upon her. Kiara backed away; her body was trembling uncontrollably as she tried to make a break for the den entrance.

"Now die!" shouted Khan and with a powerful roar, leapt at Kiara. However, just as Khan was about to land on top of her, he was suddenly smote by a powerful weight in his side; causing him to topple sideways; crashing down upon the rocky ground.

"You idiot!" cursed Khan, pushing Shiba off of him. Rolling away, she got to her paws and stood her ground in front of Kiara.

"I can't allow you to kill her Khan," said Shiba. "She's going to be a mother."

Khan also got to his paws, gazing deep into her eyes.

"Then you give me no choice, Shiba, but to kill you as well."

Khan roared again, causing various pieces of rock to fall from the roof of the den. He pounced at Shiba, who just managed to avoid him by moving to the side; but she wasn't fast enough to avoid being slashed on the side of the face. Shiba roared in pain as she staggered backwards, clutching her face with her paw; but Khan was not about to give her an easy send-off.

Lunging at her again, Khan tackled her to the ground and began slashing at her stomach.

"Get off of me!" yelled Shiba.

Struggling against Khan's weight, her arm twisted and turned, trying to break free.

"Yes…" she whispered; with one final pull, Shiba pulled her arm free and, with a grunt of rage, gripped Khan's throat. The mighty tiger began to cough as Shiba's grip tightened, slowly choking him. Suddenly, with a swift stroke of his arm, Khan broke free of Shiba's grip. Shiba screamed in agony; feeling her arm break.

"I've had enough of you," blasted Khan, pinning her arms behind her and plunging at her throat. With her remaining strength, Shiba thrust her body to the left and let out another howl of pain as Khan's fangs pierced her shoulder.

"You're finished," he muttered, clambering off of her. Spitting out blood, Khan turned to gaze upon his former comrade. Her once-beautiful striped fur was now tinged with blood and her arm had turned a puce-green. Her eyes were half-open and she was no longer breathing but her jaw lay open, blood flowing into it.

"You could have been a great warrior," said Khan, shaking his head. "But you chose to die by not obeying my orders."

Once again, Khan turned his attention back to Kiara; who had been cowering in the corner of the den throughout the fight, rooted to the spot with fear.

"Stay back!" yelled Kiara. "I – I'm warning you."

"You know what," said Khan, continuing to move towards her. "I've got a better idea with what to do with you; if I kidnap you then Simba will have to come for you and will be forced to play by my rules. Yes, you'll be my perfect leverage."

Without warning, Khan struck out at Kiara; trying to close his paw around her mouth but the feisty lioness refused to give in without a fight, writhing and twisting her body in an attempt to escape.

"Stay still!" shouted Khan, in frustration; but Kiara refused to comply until she suddenly received a sharp blow to the back of her neck and collapsed onto the ground.

"You're coming with me Princess; to crocodile peak."

With minimal effort, Khan hoisted the unconscious princess onto his back and made his way out of the den; leaving Shiba to lie in a pool of her own blood.