A/N- Ok, here is the story of Ryza that you've all been waiting for. The story itself has been written in a differenty style than I'm used to, so please tell me if it works. Thanks!
Ryzas' Reign-
Many years ago there was a lion named Ryza, and he was prince of the Pride Lands. His sister, Mira, was the current queen and the prince was among her most esteemed companions. All the animals rejoiced when they saw the queen and prince proudly surveying the lands of Pride rock, their pelts glowing golden in the bright sun.
In those days both lions and hyenas were in charge of the laws of the land. The lions (being stronger hunters) managed the prey and daily running of the prosperous Pride Lands, while the hyenas were the defenders of its borders, raised from young pups to fight and defend their land from invaders. This partnership suited both species fine, and though it was the lion who was named king or queen, the hyena leader was given the title Captain of War and had just as much power.
Prince Ryza grew up with a young hyena named Zuma, who was the son of the current Captain of war. Together they played many pranks upon the elders and hid the shamans sacred objects, all in a playful companionship. Prince Ryza did not desire to take the crown from his sister and Zuma as well was content being second best to his mother as Captain. So it was that while they grew up there was stability and peace in the monarchy and the Pride Lands flourished.
But it seems as though peace is always doomed to not last for long. Queen Mira was often gone, spreading news of the peaceful co-existence in the Pride Lands in the hopes that the practice would spread far and wide. In her absence Captain Tarzi was in charge of the pride lands with the mischievous help of young Ryza and Zuma. Once when Mira was gone for many weeks a border battle took much of Captain Tarzis' attention away from the running of the kingdom, and discord began to spread, unnoticed by the inexperienced Ryza and Zuma.
Several lions felt as though they could fight to protect the kingdom as well as the hyenas that guarded its lush borders. They whispered into each other's ears of how they felt Queen Mira was too lenient with the scavengers. One lioness felt very strongly that there was no reason they needed to hunt for the hyenas as well as themselves. With growling threats she refused to share her portion of meat with a young hyena mother. For several days this continued, the young hyena was a quiet soul that did not want to trouble her superiors with what seemed such a small problem.
But her young pups began to suffer when she could produce no more milk and the mother hyena could ignore the problem no longer. Anxiously she approached Captain Tarzi and told her of the lioness who had jealously kept meat to herself. When she saw the bone thin and sick pups, the hyena leader was shocked. Several of her lieutenants immediately began hissing for the punishment of the lioness.
Tarzi commanded that no punishment would occur until the Queen returned, but tempers began to flare between the two species as the story spread like wildfire. The lions either believed the hyenas were lying or thought that their pride member had been right, and the scavengers had no claim to share the meat they killed daily. Tension grew, even when Queen Mira and an ambassador returned and were informed of the treason.
The sleek lion queen commanded that the disloyal lioness be guarded and kept in solitude until the next evening so she would have time to think of a proper punishment with a cool head. Uneasily both lions and hyenas accepted the ruling, but the tension still rising between them caused coals of anger in their hearts to flare up.
Before Queen Mira could cast her punishment, a male hyena broke through the guards and killed the unruly lioness. One of the sick hyena pups had died during the night, and their father blamed the lioness for withholding precious food from his mate. His actions sparked chaos in the uneasy realm. Lion and hyena clashed against each other, old friends were forgotten as they fought with tooth and claw for dominance.
Valiantly Queen Mira and Captain Tarzi fought to break apart the fighters. As one they rushed to push apart the carnivores, dancing to avoid snapping teeth and slashing claws. But they were only two creatures and could not halt the flow of anger that had built up over the days. The green grass turned wet and red with blood as the two species tore at each other.
In the midst of the battle Mira spotted Prince Ryza fighting his old friend Zuma, afraid of the regrets he would feel later when his rational mind returned Mira raced over to confront the young animals. But the blood of battle had slicked the stone of Pride Rock and the lithe queen stumbled and slid over the edge.
The battle seemed to slow to a crawl as the lion queen fell, silently through the air. The crash of her body hitting the ground wrenched every head to look as she landed on the hard ground. Captain Tarzi howled in fear as she raced down to her friends side. But the regal lion queen was dead, lying broken on the bloodied grass of the land she had tried to rule peacefully.
All the lions and hyenas were in shock as they approached the body, both Ryza and Zuma could not move a muscle they were so stunned. Mournfully the entire congregation wept, roaring and howling their grief at the loss of their queen. The strength of their cries rose as lion and hyena began to notice the bodies of other comrades killed in the battle, scattered in the torn up grass. Stiff legged Ryza and Zuma dragged themselves down to join their friends and family. When they stepped into the mourning circle of beasts Captain Tarzi turned to Ryza and told him that he was now King of the Pride Lands, crystal tears flowing freely from her eyes.
Angrily Ryza cursed the crown, calling into the appearing stars of dusk that he would rather have his sister at his side than the Pride Lands beneath his paw. That night lion and hyena slept side by side at the base of Pride Rock, holding vigil for their beloved queen. When they buried her the next morning, Ryza stepped forward to say his last words. With Zuma at his side the new King said that he had decided to lay down the crown to the land, stating that any animal who could fight to kill his best friend did not deserve to be a ruler.
The ambassador Aysa stepped forward then, looking the lion King in the eye as he told him that a land in anarchy was worse off even than a land held by a poor king. With the urging of his subjects Ryza sadly accepted to keep his crown, praying to the great kings to grant him a peaceful reign.
It was the young hyena Zuma that voiced the solution; heartbroken he told the king that the best way to prevent such heinous acts again was to live separately. If lion and hyena each had their own land they would not be so likely to feel jealous of one another, each would be responsible for their own existence. Ryza embraced his childhood friend and they both cried without shame, knowing that they could not risk another massacre such as this. Solemnly the king granted half of pride lands to the remaining hyenas as their own, and watched mournfully as his friend led the wounded group over the new border. The lions remained behind, roaring sad goodbyes as their former comrades disappeared on the horizon.
"And that is the story of Ryza and the hyenas," Sikka's voice pulled Tasa back from his dreams of an older Pride Lands where lions and hyenas ruled side by side.
"That's silly," Nala scoffed, looking down her nose at the mother hyena. "Lions have always ruled the Pride Lands and hyenas have always been exiled on its borders."
"What makes you so sure that you know what occurred from before you were born young lion?" the hyena asked coolly, staring at the young lioness relaxing on top of a rock nearby. "Just because you have not heard that it occurred does not mean it did not happen. We hyenas still tell the story of Ryza, passing it from elder to pup, to remember why we live so contentedly in the barren land our home has become." Nala fell silent, looking away as she blushed in embarrassment. Siika watched her for a moment longer, her face still showing no signs of anger. Finally she looked at her pups and stood up. "Come on, Spite, Skadow. It's time we went home. Say goodbye to your new friends."
"Do we have to mom?" Spite whined, standing up and wagging his tail hopefully.
"It's time we left too," Nala spoke to the three cubs, slinking down from her perch.
"Do we have…" Cali started to protest, but a cold glare from the older lioness made the words die on her tongue.
"Thank you Siika," Tasa spoke gratefully, the manners Sarabi had drilled into him faithfully showing themselves. "That was a wonderful story."
"You're welcome young cub, perhaps some other time I can tell you another," the female hyena smiled kindly at him. Tasa nodded eagerly, then turned and trotted obediently to Nalas side as they started home.
"Now remember," Nala hissed in a whisper to the cubs. "Jarelle and I were with you guys the whole time."
"We know, we know!" Cali grumbled, rolling her eyes in exasperation. Suddenly though she spotted her mother returning with the rest of hunting party. "Momma!" she yelped, racing over the short grass to rub against her. Kryptek too raced forward to greet his mother, Nala and Jarelle following at a slightly more sedate pace.
"Well my boy, did you have fun today with the other cubs?" the voice startled Tasa and he jumped. "I'm sorry!" Scar exclaimed as he appeared from the shadows of the cave; "I didn't mean to frighten you."
"You just startled me," Tasa replied, shifting uncomfortably. He didn't dislike his uncle, but he never felt at ease around him like with the other adults. Something about him just made Tasa feel as though he needed to be on guard at all times.
"What little games did you cubs play today?" The red king asked, sitting down next to the miniature Mufasa.
"We just played by the river," Tasa answered, scanning the hunting party for his mother. "And we ran into some hyena pups too," he added, reasoning that Nala had only said not to tell anyone that they had snuck away from her and Jarelle, she hadn't told him to keep Siikas' story a secret.
"Oh?" the king looked down at him with curious green eyes.
"Uh huh," Tasa said. "Their mother told us a really good story about how hyenas and lions used to live together in the Pride Lands, and why they had to seperate."
"Did she now?" Scar murmured, no longer looking at the cub beside him, but staring off towards the elephant graveyard. Finally Tasa spotted Sarabi approaching them from the plain and jumped to his paws to go greet her.
"Tasa wait one moment," Scar begged, meeting the cubs eyes as he paused. "You said that…that you liked the story?"
"Yeah, I thought it was really cool how they lived together. Nala didn't like it but I don't see anything wrong with hyenas." Tasa answered quickly, looking up at the king with big eyes.
"Well now," Scar smiled genuinely at the cub. "I'm very proud of you for being so open minded Tasa." The golden cub grinned happily at the praise. "Now why don't we go say hello to your mother?" Eagerly Tasa raced ahead, bumping into his mothers' paws because he was running too fast to stop.
"And did you cause more mischief today little trouble maker?" The former queen asked, licking the top of his head.
"Not really," he grinned up at her.
"Actually it sounds as though Tasa acted very much like an adult today." Sarabi stiffened as Scar spoke but Tasa was too excited to see her to notice.
"Mom can we play a game before bed? Please?" He asked, bouncing up and down.
"Sure Tasa, why don't you see if the other cubs want to play as well. Go on," she nudged him with her nose, keeping her eyes on Scar. "I'll be there in just a minute." Hurriedly Tasa sprinted over to the rest of the pride. As soon as he was out of earshot Sarabi intensified her glare. "What happened today Scar?" the regal lioness asked, her muscles tensed for action.
"Nothing my dear, you need to learn to relax," the red lion chuckled, nonchalantly eyeing the sharpness of his claws. "I hadn't seen my young nephew all day and was just eager to hear what he had been up to. Apparently the cub has his head in the right place, so don't you worry about any little, hmm, which word do I want? …Accidents. Yes, accidents. Tasa will be quite safe, so make sure that you and your dear lionesses keep on bringing home dinner. Goodnight." Without further explanation Scar moseyed back into the cave, and Sarabi could only watch him, wondering what she had missed. Quietly she padded back to find Tasa, pulling him aside from a face-making contest with Kryptek.
"What were you and Scar talking about sweetheart?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
"Why am I in trouble?" Tasa asked, looking nervous.
"No, I was just curious what you did that made him so proud," Sarabi said quickly.
"Oh," the cub visibly relaxed. "I just told him about a story we heard today, and how I thought it was cool that lions and hyenas used to live together."
"Oh, ok then."
"Mama what's wrong?" Tasa peered up anxiously at Sarabi.
"Nothing little one, shall we have some dinner?"
"Yeah!"
Later that night Sarabi set an exhausted Tasa down on the cave floor and he curled up immediately at her side, fast asleep. "Sarafina?" the queen called softly as her best friend walked in, shadowed by her half-grown daughter.
"What is it?" the other lioness asked, lying down nearby with her daughter.
"Actually I need to talk to Nala," the queen answered, looking the young lioness in the eye. "I need you to tell me exactly what happened today." Nala gulped nervously, twitching her tail uncomfortably. But after only a moment she blurted out the entire days adventures, it was not in her nature to lie to the queen. When she finished the story Sarafina scolded her daughter for letting the cubs wander off unsupervised, but Sarabi sighed in relief.
"No," she spoke softly. "I'm glad that is all that happened. If befriending the hyenas is what keeps Tasa safe than I will gladly let him do it."
"What!?" Nala exclaimed, her face screwed up in confusion.
"Shh!" Sarafina hissed softly to her daughter as Sarabi explained.
"As Mufasa's son he is safe only with Scar, not against him." Tears threatened to flow from her eyes as the queen continued speaking. "I have no problem with him befriending the hyenas if they can keep him safer than even we can."
"You can't be serious Sarabi!" Nala growled softly, astonishment plain on her face.
"In lean times one must take advantage of whatever allies are offered," the queen held her voice steady as she looked down at Tasa, sleeping in her front paws. "No matter what their outer appearance, a friend is a friend."
"I still don't like them," Nala muttered as she lay down her head.
"Neither do I," Sarabi said, glancing over her shoulder. "But unlike one of our own they have done no terribly wrong." She shot an icy glare in the direction of the sleeping king. "The least we can give them is a chance."
A/N- That's it, please R&R, I'm especially interested in how people thought the story told by Siika turned out.