Chapter 5-Inner Feelings

Kiara dragged her feet along the cracked soil, desperately trying to hang onto the thought of cooling off in the shade beneath Pride Rock, which was only just coming into view. The temperature had climbed from hot to unbearable by mid morning, marking one of the most excruciating days Kiara had ever experienced out on the savannah. From time to time, she glanced up at the sky in hopes of finding a cloud that would offer even a second of shade. So far, none had come.

All around her, the rest of the group was just as visibly exhausted as she. There was no way the group would reach Pride Rock without a good rest.

Kiara glanced over to Kovu, who could hardly keep his own head held high. "Kovu, we can't go on like this. We need a break."

Kovu looked over to his mate slowly, and gave a slight nod to acknowledge that he'd heard her. With a smile, It was clear in his expression that the idea had been gratefully accepted. Now stopped, Kovu turned around and waited for the group to gather more closely before speaking.

With a tired yet powerful voice, Kovu addressed the crowd, "Good news! We're going to take a break!"

"Rafiki's tree is just west of here. We can spend the rest of the morning cooling off and head out again for Pride Rock around midday. Sound good?" Kiara suggested, shouldering up next to Kovu with a new spark of energy.

The group seemed to sigh with relief in unison, and chatter arose once more. They seemed to welcome the idea just as much as Kovu and Kiara had.

Traveling with a quicker pace, the group continued forward but with a heading slightly more to the west where the silhouette of a giant umbrella tree could already be seen. The heat seemed to be much more bearable now that the prospect of cool, comfortable shade was foreseeable in the near future.

Once the group reached the tree, the threshold between its shade and the sunny savannah was willingly crossed. Kiara and Kovu navigated to a spot near the giant trunk of the tree, while everyone else scattered about in no particular order. Kiara spread lazily over the ground, lusting for its chill to cool down her overheated body. Kovu, being far more concerned about the group's safety, didn't allow him such a luxury. Instead of lazing about, he kept himself far more alert.

"Welcome, friends, welcome!" A voice called from the lower branches of the tree. Its owner jumped down and landed a foot or two from the Royal pair, startling Kovu. "Rafiki bids you his fondest greeting."

Everyone suddenly went silent at the arrival of this newcomer, whom was a stranger to most. With all the attention focused upon the strange baboon, anything new to happen would surely go unnoticed. That was why, as the conversation between Kiara and Rafiki went on, nobody noticed another lion had slipped amongst them.

Among the scattered bodies of lazing lionesses, a cub came closer and closer, swerving around everyone with his head snapping in all directions, looking for its mother. It looked completely confused, as it walked in a jagged path. The other lionesses didn't seem to notice him, or even to recognize him as he walked by.

Then, a scene that Kiara would never forget unfolded before her very eyes. The child settled his sights upon someone far-off in the crowd, and a wide smile stretched across his face. The slouch in his legs disappeared, and he now stood tall and still. After the sight registered completely in his mind, he sprinted forward, running carelessly in his happiness. A lioness quickly emerged from the crowd-one that Kiara vaguely knew from seeing her around once in a while- and pressed her head against the cub's, smiling just as wide as he.

A mist of emotion seemed to settle around the two of them and, as Kiara watched, she could feel it spreading. Her eyes were welling up with soft tears. When the mother of this child lifted her paw and gently placed it on her sons back, slowly caressing his fur, Kiara felt those tears fall. A reunion of dramatic proportions.

The two didn't break their embrace for what seemed to be the rekindling of a long-lost relationship. Kiara was so engaged in this event to have noticed that Vitani caught sight of it as well, and stood to slowly walk towards them. Vitani stopped at a distance, beside Kovu, and watched. At the same time, however, Jenza came closer, though hidden by the many bodies around.

Vitani spoke softly after a moment. "Nae?"

The glare Vitani received from the mother was neither piercing nor entirely appreciative. "Oh, Vitani, it's you." Nae said kindly, loosening her gaze and smiling. "I'm sorry. You remember Cheigan, don't you?"

"How could I ever forget?" Vitani commented, smiling and bounding forward to them. "Does he remember me?"

Nae craned her neck downward and whispered into her son's ear. Shyly, the cub diverted his gaze from his mother and deep into the eyes of Vitani. Warily, he advanced, staring up and down her figure.

"Princess Vitani?" he asked quietly, keeping himself from looking directly into her eyes.

Vitani sighed. "No, not Princess. Not anymore. Just Vitani is fine now. If you want to know who your Princess is now, just look over there. Princess Kiara, Kovu's mate."

Vitani pointed her muzzle towards Kiara and Kovu, and noticed Kiara staring directly at them. Kiara didn't try to scramble to make it look as if she wasn't at all interested, but stood and walked towards the cub sympathetically. Kovu, too, glanced from a distance, questioning the appearance of their new visitor.

"Hello, little one. What's your name?" Kiara asked gently, trying her best not to scare him. It didn't work.

The cub stared up at Kiara just as nervously as he did at Vitani, and even took a small step back. "I'm Cheigan. Nae is my...mother."

"It's alright, Cheigan," Nae comforted, coming up beside her son, brushing up against him with her leg. " Kiara's a Pridelander, there's no more Zira. I'll have to tell you all about that when we settle in for the evening back at Pride Rock, our new home."

Cheigan nodded, and snuggled up close to his mother and rested. Nae, with the instinct of a good mother, shifted her body and began licking his face clean. His fur was matted with dried dirt, which she struggled to remove without pulling too hard on his fur.

From a fair distance away, almost forgotten near to where Kovu sat,, Rafiki rose his voice. "A fine lad. He will be strong, and a great asset to our pride. His life, is valuable. His heart, is pure. His mind, is considerate. He would make a fine King, if the need ever arose."

Jenza grunted loudly, clearly stating her opinion. Just as before, she moved away from the group to sit alone. Everyone watched as she departed in her unkindly manner, Vitani and Coigne both shaking their heads.

Jenza's reaction caused a silence to settle amongst the few sitting around Nae and her son. Rafiki was the only one to gaze after the proud lioness with an eyebrow raised in interest.

Sighing, Kovu stood up and shouted. "C'mon, everyone, we should probably be getting back to Pride Rock before it gets any hotter than it already is."

Kovu was right. The sun was nearly reaching its zenith in the middle of the sky above, and even among the shade the heat was beginning to sizzle through the air. Just like most summer days in the Pridelands, it was going to be another hot afternoon. Not to mention the fact that the other Pridelander lionesses were probably starving by now.

The entire group stood to head off, except one. Chatter wasn't as loud as it had been in the morning, and completely faded away when the lionesses shrunk in the distance. Jenza remained under the shade of the tree, seated and watching the western skies. She felt a longing pulling her from that direction; from the elephant graveyard that had acted as her playground during her childhood, and years beyond.

What came after this feeling was another emotion. Anger. She didn't feel guilt in betraying her leader, but anger towards the people that stole her from her and Zira's goals. She didn't feel resentment for being in the Pridelands, but for being under the command of rulers they were meant to overthrow and live simply as Outlanders, no longer exiled.

But most of all, she felt the detachment of the robbed. A treasure had been stolen from her, that she knew she could never get back, and it left her completely heartbroken. All the memories of her homeland brought back this pain, as it was the very thing she lived and strived for throughout her life. And now, being here in the Pridelands, is the very reason it had been taken away.

"Jealousy is strong within one of a shattered heart." spoke a soft, knowledgeable voice. Rafiki had come up behind her unnoticed from the monstrous branches of his umbrella tree.

Jenza's thoughts vanished, and she growled, glancing angrily up at Rafiki. "What do you know of my life, you old baboon!"

The truth finally settled into Jenza's mind, and her jealousy dominated all her other emotions. The fire raged inside. She spoke no other words, turning away sharply and heading out in the opposite direction of Pride Rock. Rafiki watched from his branch, seeing her cross over the horizon, never altering her direction.

Rafiki whispered to himself, turning and walking down towards the trunk of the tree. "If ever she comes back, she should be watched. She could be the fangs cutting through the throat of an antelope. It would be best to keep her in the reach of our paws, or we could lose our grip on her..."