Hello people! I'm back again. Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been busy with school starting this Wednesday for me and I am trying my best to balance both of my Fanfictions with my normal life. I will try to make my chapters as well written as possible. Don't expect too much activity from me as soon as school starts.

Anyway, NEW CHAPTER UP! Enjoy! :)


Chapter 6: Needed Help

"It seems to be working. I didn't think it would work."

"You would be quite surprised of what I do and do not know."

"And you're sure this will?"

"Positive. I know how well it works. I've seen the effects myself."

"You had better be right this time. The last one didn't work."

"It did work. It just didn't work effectively."

"You mean 'effectively enough'? The last batch didn't do almost anything but give Nala a small nightmare. I expected more."

"You shouldn't have gotten your hopes up. I told you it might not have worked."

"Yeah, whatever. Just be sure that it will work this time."


Another bright and beautiful morning. At least that's what Tama thought. The brown-colored lioness stepped out of the mouth of the cave and into the morning sun, the sunlight brightening her dark-colored features. She always liked to wake up early and enjoy the morning sun as it shines over the horizon. It became a habit to her.

The lioness closed her eyes and lifted her head up, sniffing the air, smelling the fresh morning dew on the tall African grass. She also noticed a small tang of a distant herd animal, a strong, middle-aged zebra waking up to the gleaming yellow horizon.

She noticed another smell, strange yet familiar to her. Tama sniffed the air again just to make sure. Yeah, it was the same smell. The smell that had been in her childhood. The smell that had left the day Mufasa died and had returned only four weeks ago. She still wasn't used to it, although it did bring her comfort in the knowledge that it was there.

The brown lioness opened her eyes, yet again revealing the sunlight. She looked out across the endless savannah, seeing the trees and waves of grass, watching the herds of animals dotting the landscape. But then something else caught her eye. It was the source of that strange smell. Tama turned her head toward the promontory of Pride Rock. And sitting at the top was none other than Simba. He had his back turned to her, his gaze fixed on the horizon.

Tama took a few steps closer to the king, trying not to disturb him. The lion didn't move, seeming to not notice her approach.

"Good morning, Tama," greeted Simba. Tama stopped in her spot, quite surprised by his unexpected welcome. She thought for sure he wouldn't have been able to notice her.

"Uh, good morning, Simba," the lioness replied, a bit unsure of herself. Tama stopped and stood where she was attentively.

A few seconds passed and the lion looked over his shoulder, noticing that the female hadn't moved. "It's ok, Tama. You can move now," said the king.

The lioness sighed, relieved by his response.

"Please don't do that again," said Simba.

"Do what?"

"Just stand there like that. Now that I'm back you don't need to stand there and wait. Unless I tell you to, of course." He faced forward again, looking into the horizon.

"Sit next to me, please. Watch the horizon," requested the lion.

She relaxed her muscles and started walking up toward the top of the promontory where the golden-furred male sat, confused by his request. Usually only the queen would be able to sit next to the king. This was perhaps one of those exceptions.

Tama paced herself slowly as she walked up. The lioness reached the top and sat down to Simba's left. She stared at the sun as it came up, calmly aware of the growing daylight.

Suddenly the Pridelander became at least remotely aware of why he asked her to come up. Tama turned her head toward her friend. Breaking the silence, she asked a single question. "Is there something wrong, my king?"

Simba sighed before responding. "Yes, Tama, there is something wrong. And please just call me Simba. I really don't like being referred to as 'my king', 'my liege', 'sire', 'my lord', or anything along those lines."

"Why not?" asked Tama.

"It's just that, well, I know that when Scar was king he made everyone, the hyenas, his subjects, even you and the rest of the pride refer to him by those terms. However, I also know how cruel he was to you and the other lionesses. I'm trying to erase these habits that he put into your heads."

"Why would you do that?"

Simba turned his head toward the lioness. "Because Scar treated you like his subjects, knowing that you were below him. I don't plan on doing the same thing. I plan on being better than him. I plan on putting things back the way they were supposed to be. Although you and the rest of the pride are my subjects, you are also my family."

"We are?"

"Yes, you are. And I will never forget that. I want to treat you and the others like my family, not my subjects, and I want you, Nala, Kula, Shani, and the rest of the pride to do the same. I would like you to treat me like I'm part of your family, too, if that's alright."

Tama smiled. "Of course that's alright. I've always treated you as a friend, my second-best friend, actually, and I wouldn't mind treating you as part of my family." She paused before continuing. "I think I've already treated you as being part of my family."

"Really?"

"Yeah. When I first met you I thought you were some long lost cousin. And I still feel that way towards you."

Simba smiled. "Thanks."

The pair looked back at the horizon, which had now given the savannah a golden glow. They stared at the beautiful morning land before the king looked at Tama again.

"You know, that's not the reason I asked for you to sit next to me," said Simba.

"I know."

He raised his eyebrow at the statement. "You do?"

"Yes. I know that there's something else on your mind, something else that's bothering you."

"Oh? And what is that?"

Tama turned her head back towards Simba. "It's Nala."

The lion paused in surprise for a second. "How do you know that?"

The brown colored lioness let out a small laugh. "Ha ha. Come on, Simba, practically everyone knows about how much you care about her and your willingness to keep her out of trouble. You make it pretty obvious."

"I know, Tama. It's just that, well, I love Nala so much and I don't want to lose her, just like I lost my father."

"You love her so much you wouldn't want her to die."

"Yes. I love her and I mean LOVE her. My life has been so much better because of her and I don't know what I would do if I lost her."

They both stared at each other as Simba finished his sentence. Tama decided to break the silence again and spoke. "You love her? With your life?"

"With my life. Nothing will break my love for her. Nothing in the whole world."

Tama smiled. "If you really love her, maybe you should let her go."

The lion frowned at the statement. "Let her go? The last time I let go of anything everyone almost died. That was when I let go of who I was. A king. We are still having a tough time with letting go of the past. Especially Nala."

"Yes, but now those times are over. Maybe if you let go just a little, you will find it not only find it easier for her but yourself as well. Maybe if you let us go a little bit, things will let up even faster than ever before."

Simba smiled, delighted by what his friend told him. Unexpectedly, he quickly came up and nuzzled her. Tama jumped slightly at the move.

Pulling away a little, the lioness asked, "What was that for?"

Simba replied, "That's for helping me. I've never had anyone say that to me before. And, you know what, I think it's actually helping. Thank you."

The lion went back to nuzzle her a little more.

Suddenly, there was a gasp. The pair turned around, toward the entrance to the den. Just outside was Nala, her body frozen in place and her eyes wide open. "Simba? What are you doing?"

"Nala," Simba said, "it's not what you think-"

"You're cheating on me for another lioness. My best friend! YOU LIED TO ME!"

"Nala, STOP! Just let me explain-"

But it was too late. Without another word, the cream-colored lioness dashed away, rushing down Pride Rock and into the tall grass.

Trying to stop her, Tama let out a plea. "It's not what you think, Nala! We weren't doing anything!

"Nala, WAIT! COME BACK! JUST LET ME EXPLAIN!" Simba rushed down to the base of Pride Rock, trying to reach the queen as fast as he could. He reached the bottom and, before anything else, rushed into the savannah foliage, disappearing in an instant.

Meanwhile, Tama stood at the top of the promontory, tearing up by the events that had just occurred.

What have I done? Tama questioned to herself. I can't believe I let this happen. I just broke my friends' relationship without even realizing it.