Chapter 4 - Zira Tells the Truth
Kiara woke with an unbearable dryness in her throat and mouth and an aching in her front paws, as she opened her eyes to her blurry and dim surroundings.
"W-where…where am I?" Kiara asked meekly, trying to squint and adjust her vision to the lack of light.
"You're safe—in the Outlands," came a calm and familiar voice, and Kiara looked up to finally notice a sleek lioness standing right in front of her.
"The Outlands?" Kiara repeated with excitement, as she started to smile down at the barren dirt below her, "I-I…I'm actually here?"
"Yes, Kiara. I brought you here." Kiara looked up at the lioness once more, and her vision finally adjusted to the darkness, allowing her to take in the features of the same lioness she met when she was just a cub.
"Zira?"
"Hello, Kiara. I'm glad you're alright—the sooner you learn the truth, the better," Zira began darkly, sitting on her haunches. Kiara tried to sit up too, but the pain in her paws suddenly stung even more, causing her to collapse back down onto her belly.
"Take it easy. Your escape from the fire was a fortunate one, but you still injured yourself. While you're recovering, I will tell you everything," Zira ordered firmly yet softly.
"That's why I was looking for you."
"Looking for me?" Zira was surprised.
"I wasn't actually going to hunt. I want to find you and get some answers. Who am I, really? Please, Zira, I need to know."
Zira continued to stared down at the younger lioness in amazement; at the very least, she thought she would have been in denial of the truth. But Kiara surprised her.
"Do you remember when I said Simba is not your real father, that I know who really is?"
"Yeah. I could never forget that day."
"I wasn't lying, Kiara—Nala has lied to you—before she left to find Simba, Scar claimed her as his queen, mating with her against her will soon afterwards. But she never told anyone because she felt too ashamed—because she didn't see Scar as the true and wonderful king he was. Soon after Simba returned and…murdered Scar, and banished us to the Outlands...she told Simba she was pregnant. Over 6 moons later, Scar's cub was born, but Simba believed it was his."
As the said princess of the Pridelands listened to Zira's story, her eyes were filling with tears and she was shaking her head in disbelief. But not because she didn't believe Zira, but because she believed her own mother was lying all this time…and that she never knew her real father.
"That cub," Kiara began while staring down at the ground, and she slowly looked directly up into Zira's eyes, "was me."
"Yes," Zira replied with a nod, "and ever since you were born, you were the only one that remained of Scar's legacy."
"Because Scar is my real father," Kiara stated matter-of-factly.
"Scar is your true flesh and blood, Kiara, but Nala has denied that and kept you in the dark all these years," Zira began with an angry growled, standing back up on all fours and towered over Kiara, "YOU are the only one who can return us Outlanders to our rightful glorious reign of power."
"How will I do that?" Kiara questioned in fear.
"I will train you, train you to become the true heir that Scar has bred for."
"Do you really think I'm strong enough to rule?"
"Simba may not be your father, but you were born a princess nonetheless. And now, you must fulfill Scar's—you father's—dying wish, and become queen of the Pridelands."
It was still a lot to take in, but Kiara didn't want to think that the one who saved her from a fiery death would lie to her. If anything, she should seek out the story of the one who started it all—her mother.
"If I become queen, then I will have to overthrow Simba, won't I?" Kiara asked with realization.
"It's the only way. Scar wanted him dead, so you will have to want him dead too," Zira replied with a darker growl.
"I don't want the lion who killed my father alive—but before I kill anyone, I want my mother to admit the truth too. If she says that what you're saying is true too, I will fight with the Outlanders," Kiara explained firmly, ignoring the pain in her paws to finally sit up and get eye level with Zira.
Zira was impressed by Kiara's sudden burst of strength and commitment, and she grinned evilly.
"Good. Rest now, child—I will bring you food in the morning, and then your training will begin."
The next morning, Kiara blinked her eyes open to find that the chamber she was in was not as dark, as the morning sun seeped through the holes and cracks of termite-infested dirt walls.
It actually wasn't until now that Kiara finally noticed the hundreds of termites, making her concerned as to how Zira and the rest of the Outlanders lived in such conditions. But she would soon learn how much worse their living conditions are.
The sound of paws softly padding through the barren dirt was getting closer, as Kiara looked down a dark tunnel, and Zira walked in with three plump field mice, as their dead corpses hung from her jaws. Once she stopped in front of Kiara, she dropped the dead rodents by her paws.
"Eat," Zira demanded, "you'll need all the strength you can get for today."
Kiara nodded and pulled the field mice closer, carefully picking the meat from their tiny and fragile bones.
"How are you paws?"
"They still hurt, but not as bad…I-I think I can still train."
"You WILL train, no matter what," Zira threatened with a deep growl, "you were supposed to go on your first solo hunt, after all, which means you've never killed in your life."
Kiara stopped eating and stared down at the dead mice, at the pool of blood she spilled at tearing into them. Zira was right, she never has killed anyone in her life…but she was going to learn.
"I promise to do my best, Zira," Kiara reassured firmly.
"You'd better. There is no room for error," Zira pointed out while turning around and exiting through the dark tunnel, "come find when you're finished. Don't keep me waiting, Kiara."
"Oh, good, she's gone!" Kiara gasped in fright upon hearing the sudden now voice, as her head whipped around to find the owner of the voice. "No, no! Calm down, I'm a friend!"
The female chacma baboon reassured while climbing down from a high up nook, and she sat down next to Kiara.
"Who are you?" Kiara quickly asked, threatening the baboon while bearing her teeth and growling.
"I'm Busara, and I'm here to help you."
"I don't need your help. Zira hasn't hurt me once; she even rescued me from the fire!"
"I know, and that's why I'm not here ta take ya back," Busara protested quietly.
"You're not…then why are you here?" Kiara questioned while squinting her eyes.
"I'm here ta help ya with somethin' else—do you believe Zira's story is true, Kiara?"
"Well…I-I…"
"I know it may seem hard ta believe, Kiara, but I promise what she has planned for you is a good thing," Busara pointed out quietly yet firmly, as she placed a reassuring hand on Kiara's shoulder.
"How do you know?" Kiara questioned in disbelief.
"Just trust me on this. Now, whatever you do, don't tell anyone you saw me, but don't worry, I'm still here if you need me." With that, Busara gently tapped Kiara's shoulder reassuringly before hopping back up and disappearing into the crannies of the termite hills.
Kiara hastily finished eating the field mice after Busara left, and she was able to once again ignore the pain in her front paws when she walked through the same tunnel Zira came through.
Once she walked out of the other end of the tunnel, she found herself in a much taller chamber, and there were bigger holes in the walls for the sun to shine through, revealing a few slumbering lionesses on flattened out termite mounds.
"Look who's finally up n' at 'em," came a husky voice, and Kiara turned in curiosity to find a lioness who looked very similar to Zira approaching her, only she seemed much younger, her fur was brighter, and her eyes were violet instead of crimson.
"H-hi…" Kiara greeted meekly.
"Mother's been waiting on you, so you better get going," the lioness ordered while pointing a paw towards an exit.
"Mother? Zira is you mother?" Kiara asked in surprise.
"Yup. I'm Vitani, by the way, and I have an older brother. His name's Nuka, and you'd better stay away from him," Vitani warned while following Kiara to the exit.
"Why?"
"He doesn't believe in Mother's plans to train you to become the next ruler of the Pridelands because 'lionesses should not rule like lions'."
"Oh…so, he's just sexist."
"Basically. So, again, try to avoid him."
"I-I'll keep that in mind."
"Kiara!" Zira's voice echoed from outside, and Kiara slightly picked up her pace, as she was greeted by Zira by bumping noses with her on accident.
"U-uh…hey, Zira," Kiara stammered while stepping back a bit and blushing.
"Lateness will not be tolerated, Kiara. Be early next time, or I won't be so forgiving," Zira growled, staring Kiara directly in the eyes as if they hadn't just touched noses.
"Yes, Ma'am," Kiara saluted with a firm nod.
"Good. Now, those filed mice I brought you, I had to hunt them myself—so I want you to hunt three field mice for me," Zira explained firmly.
"W-what…?"
"You heard me! Go catch and kill three field mice! Once you bring them back to me, all in one piece, your training for the day will be complete! Do you understand?!"
"Yes!" Kiara didn't want to anger the strong lioness anymore, so she had no choice but to agree with her terms.
"Then go!"
Catching three measly field mice proved to be easier said than done, in Kiara's opinion, as she had only caught one by the time the sun was setting. And she knew that if could barely catch one in the day, she would never be able to catch anything in the dark.
But Kiara knew she was losing daylight and fast, so she eventually gave up on trying to catch a second field mouse after losing the same one hundreds of times. And she slowly limped back to the larger termite hill that Zira and the other Outlanders took shelter in, while holding the one dead mouse in her jaws, and she limped because after chasing so many mice, she reopened the wounds on her paws, trailing blood the whole way back.
"How'd ya do?" Vitani questioned gently, trotting up to Kiara's side, and she gasped through clenched teeth when she turned her head to show her the one mouse in her teeth, "ooh…Mother's not gonna be happy."
"But I really tried," Kiara started to sob, her voice muffled by the rodent in her mouth.
"Listen, kid, Mother won't be happy, but take it from me, her daughter—when she puts her heart ta somethin', you in this case, she'd never let ANYTHING stand in her way, not even her own anger."
"So, you're sure she won't hurt me for failing?"
"Well…I can't guarantee it, but I highly doubt she'll want to hurt the only heir to Scar's throne."
"If you say so…thanks, Vitani."
"Eh, don't mention it…seriously, though, don't mention it. If the others found out I was soft on you, I'll never hear the end of it," Vitani warned in a whisper, and Kiara couldn't help but chuckle.
"Kiara!" Zira's strong voice once again rang loudly through the air, startling both younger lionesses upon seeing her approaching them with an expectant expression.
"How many did you catch?"
"I'm sorry, Zira…" Kiara whimpered after dropping the single dead field mouse at Zira's paws, and she shut hers eyes tightly in fear when they started welling up with more tears.
"You only caught one?" Zira finally asked, breaking the silence, and Kiara sniffled while nodding, "how did you feel when you ended its life?"
"I felt…better about myself, especially after it made me so angry, and I just wanted to make it suffer."
"And did it suffer?"
"Y-yes."
"Then…I suppose you've tried hard enough for today," Zira figured sighed while picking up the rodent in her teeth, and she suddenly swallowed it whole out of intense hunger, "you caught a rather fat one, after all—not bad for your first kill, Kiara. But know that you'll need to do much better than one little field mouse if you're going to kill Simba."
"S-so, you're not mad?" Kiara asked with relief.
"No, just disappointed, but it is only your first day of training. You will get stronger in time," Zira gently reassured before turning back to the larger termite mound, "now, come inside and rest. You're going to be up much earlier, I can assure you that."
Kiara shared a smile of relief with Vitani, and Vitani winked back at her, as if to say "Good Job." The two younger lionesses then followed Zira inside, where the rest of the Outlanders were already asleep.
"Kiara," Zira called, quiet enough not to wake the others, but Kiara still heard her and quickly ran up to the red-eyed lioness, "you sleep up there."
Kiara followed Zira's gaze up to the flat surface of a sturdy rock in the wall, not too far above another, smaller flat surface.
"O-oh…thank you," Kiara thanked shyly before carefully climbing up to the larger flat surface, and she watched as Zira laid down on the smaller flat surface not too far below.
And as Kiara laid down herself, she couldn't take her eyes of the older lioness, wishing she knew how to thank her enough for rescuing her from the fire and shedding some more light about her family tree.
She supposed she ultimately had to do what Zira said: train to become strong enough to kill Simba and overthrow his lionesses to rule in Scar's place. And with that thought, Kiara made herself another promise not just to herself, but to Zira to bring her and her pride back to power.
The first day of school(or training to kill someone in your case)is usually the hardest, Kiara. Don't take it too hard.
But what do you guys think? Is it really that easy to catch three field mice, let alone one?
Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!