Chapter 5

The misjudged prince soon departed, leaving Sarabi in the midst of the desert with her own way to go and a hiding Taka. Though he remained hidden for a while, he soon popped out and walked over the princess. "Is that who you were supposed to meet?" Sarabi nodded. "Is he a friend?"

She hesitated for a moment but then nodded her head. "Yes," she smiled slightly, "he is." She was telling the truth; he was growing on her and isn't that what friends did? Who knew, they could grow into more than friends after this. Deep down, Sarabi hoped that was the case.

With a sigh, Sarabi began to pick herself up and walk back to Pride Rock where she was sure others were being curious about her vanishing act. In the back of her mind, she was hoping that Naanda had not said a thing, as she was usually one with a big mouth.

With Taka tagging along with her, she knew that there was no chance she could lose thought of the fact that they were in the Pridelands. On and on he went about his time, informing Sarabi of where they stood was once a historical spot for a king and that the timeline of which queen was before the other. Occasionally, he would add a little bit of what happened when he was a cub while Sarabi idly listened but mentally was stimulated.

After a brief sentence of silence, Sarabi took her moment to speak. "You seem to really love the Pridelands." she said, Taka smiling back at her and then looking back over the lands.

"I do," he looked back at her, "my mother and father love the Pridelands, so I want to make them proud and uphold the same standards that they do. I want it to stay green, bright, and full of life."

Sarabi smiled, and recalled her home. It was bright thanks to the sun, but thanks to her parents there wasn't much light in the hearts of those who lived there as it seemed like smiling was a foreign gesture of happiness. She was glad to see that things were different here.

Finally, they neared Pride Rock. On top of the structure, the bright figures of the king and older prince stood out against the grey, but the dark figures of Uru and Naanda contrasted well. Taka sped ahead and mapped with his paws where she should step if she wished to get up the quickest, Sarabi identifying the places she stepped so she could remember. As she climbed further up, she noticed how small everything was. Was this the way the king and queen felt? Ever? Like they were higher up than everyone else, and that was the way it was supposed to be?

Kings and queens could have such major complexes, she thought.

They got to the top, Taka bouncing over to his mother to accompany her side and looked at Sarabi like they all were. She started to step forward, but the look of Ahadi stopped her.

"Where did you go?" His stern, croaky voice asked. Cocking her head back, Sarabi placed her feet together and looked at the king.

"I was just looking around" she replied.

"I was showing her all the Pridelands. Remember, father? You showed me all those landmarks and I wanted Sarabi to see how interesting they were." Taka said quickly, hoping he was saving Sarabi's butt.

Sure enough, Ahadi nodded down at his darker son and looked back at Sarabi. "Fine then," he started walking back into the den, "sorry for the quick conclusion." Taka turned his head to watch the golden lion venture into the den, soon leaving his mother's side to follow quickly at foot of his father, leaving Mufasa as the only male in the situation right now.

Sarabi looked to his side, seeing Naanda close to him with a bright smile on her face. Seeing that she was accompanied by him still and she was starting to feel like she was getting a lot more comfortable, Sarabi noticed Uru take in breath.

"We were just worried about you, Sarabi. Please do not think we do not trust you on your own." Uru remained happy and caring, smiling as she said so. Sarabi nodded, keeping herself quiet.