Chapter XI
The ex majordomo was skewered across the floor, his dreams of migration at rest. The blood was trickled across the floor, and the large indent of a paw print that the charcoal lion had put in the ground remained. The scene of the crime remained untouched.
Upon the exit from the outlands the four lions proceeded through the pridelands, their evidence all pointing to one lion. As they approached the back of Pride Rock, Nira's eyebrow lifted at the sudden strong scent of fresh blood. He gestured the cubs to hold on and sprinted to the back where he stopped dead in his tracks and gasped. He shook his head in disbelief. The blood that centred the dead bird was trickling slowly towards him. Shemba caught up and as she skidded to a halt felt Nira's paw covering her muzzle, this was not what they needed.
Kovu lay spread out across the promontory of Pride Rock, exhaling and inhaling at a fast pace, attempting to cool down after the fight. He wasn't any good at containing his temper anymore. Not since the three years had passed.
"Wh-what's happened?" Shemba stuttered in complete shock.
"Well by the looks of it..."
"Don't joke with me Nira!"
Kamba, upon noticing his plan begging to take shape, plodded over to the four other lions and gasped.
"Wha-what the hell happened here?" He gasped attempting to suppress his laughter.
"How are we supposed to know, Kamba?" Shemba snapped.
"I don't know, but the fact that there's blood next to you..."
"What? I didn't do it!"
"How can I be sure?"
The charcoal lion chuckled almost like a cough.
"Err, the fact that I wouldn't do something like this. If it was anyone I could say it was-" Her speech cut off quite suddenly. She sighed and looked to her paws, finally noticing the blood wiped across the grass.
"...was who eh?" Kamba repeated, eyebrow raised.
"No one." Shemba was unable to bring herself to blame her brother.
"We need to do something about him though," Nira started. "We can't leave him here."
"Well done captain obvious..." Kamba retorted.
"Look, piss off you. I don't need you..."
"Oh, Nira, not squaring up to me again are we?"
"I said piss off!"
"Nira! Kamba!" Shemba bellowed. The brown and charcoal lions fell silent. Shemba sighed in relief. A fight was the last thing she needed at this moment. "Men..."
Kiara, upon sniffing the strong scent of blood herself, had stepped off of Pride Rock to have a look for herself. Upon arriving her jaw dropped when all of the lions' faces twisted round to notice her.
"Wh-what's...what's happened here?"
"Well...we...we don't actually know mother..."
"Yeah right! Which one of you did this?" No response. "Don't ignore me!" Kiara noticed the blood where Shemba was standing, and how her front paw conveniently fit the one that Kamba had imprinted earlier. Shemba looked down herself to notice this.
Oh no... She thought. I'm gonna be blamed...
Kiara stepped over to the ex major-domo and inspected the corpse, noticing the several impale like stab wounds to his chest. She shook her head and turned to the younger lions.
"Right." She started. "Since I have no clue who could have even thought to do this, you're all coming with me. I will find out which one of you did it though, is that clear?"
The young lions and cubs nodded their heads. The cubs both slid off their older brother and skipped over to their mother, Jasiri feeling Kamba's vicious stare as she went past. She had always feared him, there was just something about him that she didn't like...
Kiara allowed the cubs to climb atop her before picking the dead bird up in her muzzle and proceeding away with the three younger lions following after her. As they were leaving Kamba, walking behind Nira, had a strange urge to tackle the son of the prince to the floor and kill his sorry arse, but he didn't, it wasn't the time too.
As Kiara led the younger lions up onto Pride Rock, Simba noticed them and his stomach dropped the second he did. Kiara stepped over to her father and dropped the hornbill corpse to the harsh stone floor. Simba watched as a small drop of the blood trickled down the hornbill's beak. He pawed at the majordomo in utter disbelief.
"No..." He exclaimed.
"Hasira, Jasiri. Cave." Kiara instructed. Following the orders, the golden and black cubs leaped off of their mother and scampered into the oversized cavern with their heads poking out of the entrance.
"Wh-who did...why would anyone do this...?" Simba choked on a tightening neck.
"I don't know, they won't speak." Kiara replied.
"'They?' It was one of..."
Kiara nodded.
"Own up, who was it?" Simba roared but no response apart from a slight snigger from the charcoal lion which Simba ignored. Shemba on the other paw, gulped. The idea that she was a potential suspect even though she had done nothing frightened her.
The prince yawned as he stepped down from the upper summit and stood next to his mate, only to find the blue hornbill dead on the floor.
"What-"
"We don't know," Kiara interrupted. "They won't tell us who did it."
"Okay, I knew it." Kovu gasped. "This is another sign, am I right?"
Kiara sneered.
"What you mean?"
"Like the premonitions. Remember? Vitani burned, Kamba was struck. This was just another omen! Look I know it sounds insane but I know what I'm talking about."
"If what you're saying is true, and if Zazu's death was no accident, then I have no choice but to declare a state of emergency." Simba announced. "Dark and evil looms, but we don't know in who."
Kamba turned his head and smirked, attempting to withhold his laughter's. He was unnoticed. Nala narrowed her eyes onto the black lion Kovu.
"Not one word mother..." Kiara hissed, noticing her.
"What I'm saying is I am not putting Zazu's death to chance, because things like this...they don't just happen."
Simba stepped over to his mate, nuzzled her gently and proceeded with her to the promontory. Kovu stepped over to Zazu and flipped him over, noticing no injuries in his back. He then sat down and pushed the carcass away.
"How can this happen?" He exhaled. "Why is the darkness back? We got rid of it. Why is it back?" Kovu felt his neck tightening. Kiara stepped over and sat next to him.
"Kovu, we're going to get through this..."
Kiara was interrupted by a large cough like laugh to which Kamba was unable to contain any longer. Kiara drew her attention to the charcoal furred lion.
"Problem?" She questioned.
"Wha-? No no! Just coughing..." Kamba replied with a chuckle. Nira turned and faced him.
"Don't be a bastard..." He sighed.
"Oh really? And what would that make you eh?"
"Better than what you are."
Kamba stepped up to Nira and forced his head against him in frustration.
"Wanna try that again?"
Nira pushed him away with a chuckle. "Put those claws away, you started it by laughing about something that isn't funny."
"You're just..."
"Boys!" Kiara interrupted. "Stop it!"
Kamba grumbled and stepped away as Nira unleashed a wide smug smile upon his muzzle.
"No wonder Zira killed herself, this family's..."
"I'm sorry?" Kovu sprung up. "Did you say Zira killed herself?"
Kamba swivelled round, innocently stared at the other lions then sneered. "Isn't that what she did?"
Kovu shook his head. "Zira slipped Kamba, she didn't commit suicide."
"What? Well...why did she lie to me?" Kamba grumbled.
"Who?"
"You know who..."
"Oh right, Vitani." The sound of her name was more than enough to frustrate Kamba. She didn't like her.
"Shemba, what did she tell you?" Kamba turned to his sister.
"Well...she told me the truth." Shemba replied.
Kamba was surprised. There wasn't nor could there be much reason to Vitani lying to Kamba about the truth of her mother's demise, but why would she do it?
"I'm going." Kamba sighed. "I'll be around if..if you need me."
As he exited, Kovu sighed and shook his head at the depressed lion. Kamba reached the bottom of the ramp and let out a cackle.
This is going to be so easy, the imbeciles...
Back in the cavern of Pride Rock Hasira drew back from the entrance and grumbled, stepping back to his little sister.
"Jas, do you know what this means?" Hasira sighed.
"What?" Jasiri asked.
"It means we aren't going to get to be on our own anymore, and Dads always gonna be busy, looking for stupid evil."
"Oh, this stinks!" Jasiri exclaimed.
"I know! What we gonna do now?"
"How should I know? Play tag?"
"We played that yesterday! Whatever you say we already played."
"This really stinks..."
()0()0()
The sun began to radiate the evening orangey glow across the lands. During that afternoon, the lion king had arranged for Zazu to be buried at dusk. The pride remained gathered behind Pride Rock, all preparing to say their final goodbyes to the ex majordomo.
Kovu dropped the carcass of the hornbill into the small hole dug out for him and sighed. His body was as cold as ice and his blood that trickled slowly off of his face and beak was frightening. He filled the hole with the mud from what he dug up and stepped away. Simba stepped forward, but was unable to speak from his sadness and anger.
Nala on the other paw, was utterly confused. She knew that she had accused Kovu however something deep down was telling her that she was incorrect. She had never fully trusted the outlanders...or even believed that Kovu hadn't had anything to do with Simba's ambush for that matter. She was nuzzling Simba in comfort.
Kovu alongside Kiara returned to the home of the king not long after Shemba and Nira. Simba remained slumped next to Zazu's graveside, sobbing like a cub until darkness loomed. He had sat there thinking, potentially realising who it might possibly be after looking at the crime scene. He stood up and briskly walked back to Pride Rock.
Once all the other lions had returned home, Kamba snuck over to Zazu's graveside and spat directly at it. Not for one second did he feel remorse for what he did. He was just glad that his plan was underway.
As he stepped back up, Simba brought the pride to an abrupt halt when he bellowed "Stop!" The lions swivelled their heads and faced the lion king standing before them.
"What's up?" Kiara yawned.
"Anyone have any ideas to who killed Zazu?"
The confused pride stayed silent, a few lionesses returned into the welcoming cavern and Nira yawned.
"I saw the paw prints where the blood is lying, by the way." Simba narrowed his vision over at Shemba who was looking at her own paws and gulped.
"I-I didn't do it before you say it" Shemba gulped once more, keeping her eyes locked on her paws.
"Shemba, don't lie to me" Simba sighed in frustration. "I know you did it! The paw print I found is exactly the same to yours."
"I'm not the only one with paw prints like this!" Shemba snapped, shooting her head up defensively. "There is my brother too!"
"Yes but you know yourself he's too naive to pull something like this!"
Kamba, as he approached the ramp overheard Simba's insult to him and grunted, walking up and sneaking past them into the cavern. It gave him more reasons to want to kill.
You bastard Simba...
"How do you know you're not the naive one!" Shemba screeched. "Look, he maybe my brother, but you know what, there's a lot you don't know about him!"
Kamba gulped from inside the cavern, she was on to him.
"Don't make pathetic cover stories!" Simba boomed. "Just for that, tonight I want you in Vitani's cave. It is where you will stay before a trial…"
"Trial? I haven't done anything!"
"Simba leave it…" Kovu spoke up. "Just sort it out in the morning."
"No wait, Kovu!" Nala interrupted. "He may be on to something..." Shemba looked at Nala in surprise.
"You think it's me now? Why...I mean why would I? Nira tell them where I was!"
"She was with me." Nira added.
"Don't try and help her!" Nala bellowed. "Lying gets nowhere."
"He's not lying!"
"Mother you really need to make up your mind!" Kiara shouted. "Who do you think is evil?"
Everyone's heads swivelled to face Nala. She turned to Kovu, then Shemba, then faced to address the pride.
"I think they both are." She concluded falsely. "They're working in cahoots."
"How more stupid can you get?" Kovu roared.
"Enough!" Simba bellowed before exhaling. "Right, we will deal with this in the morning. Shemba, to the cave and everyone else, inside!"
With nothing else to add, Shemba sighed and stepped past the lions with embarrassment. As she was leaving she looked back where she stared at Nira for a brief second before shaking her head and stepping off of the ramp close to tears. Nira sighed and proceeded into the cavern himself.
As Shemba was walking through the pridelands, she noticed a messenger mole scurrying away. Suddenly she stopped and realised something very important.
"Wait! Come back! She yelled. The mole upon hearing her voice stopped in his tracks and returned. "Service?" He replied.
"Just one." Shemba replied. "Tell Nira to meet me by Vitani's old cave. Also tell him its very important"
"Immediately!"
The mole scurried off back to Pride Rock with the information in his mind. Shemba continued her journey to the damp cavern in the central pridelands. She figured if she was to be exiled tomorrow, she hadto at least tell Nira how she felt. It would be impossible to live on without him knowing. As she arrived she sniffed around and sighed, remembering her horrid childhood here. She settled down in the cave, awaiting the arrival of her friend for at least twenty minutes before he finally arrived in the dark cavern.
"Shemba?" His voice called out.
"What took you?" Shemba chuckled.
"Well, I'm sorry, I had to sneak away from the parents. What did you want?"
"I jus-" Shemba cut off her speech with nerves central to her body. "I just…wanted…I just wanted you to stargaze with me."
Nira twisted his head to the side before his expression lightened. "Oh, okay. Well, why not? Haven't done it in a while!"
Shemba smiled and followed him out into the depths of the night, her fake smile wiped moments later, this was going to be interesting...
I'm sorry this Chapter has become so short but the next one hopefully has some emotional grip in it :)
