-"Lion Cub"-
The next morning, Link rose with the sun. He stood outside the cave of Pride Rock, rubbing his eyes as he looked off into the distance as the sun began to rise, giving off a pink light on the horizon. He saw a figure at the end of the balcony of Pride Rock. It was a silhouette of a mighty lion with a broad sword at his side. Link knew it was his father, despite the light's reflection rendering him completely dark save for his outline. Link approached his father as he turned to face the prince.
"I'm ready father," Link said humbly. Mario smiled and put his hand on the boy's shoulder, replying, "I know, my son. Now come, there is much work to be done."
The two then walked onto the savannah and began to walk into the distance as the sun began rising. Upbeat music began playing, building up to a song.
Link looked up at his father, admiring his might, wisdom and strength as a man in the background began to sing, "Oh, the power to be strong, and the wisdom to be wise, all these things will come to you in time."
Throughout the day, the visited the various animal tribes across the Pride Lands, Mario showing Link how to interact with them and about their ways. Link listened close, trying to learn how to run the kingdom when the time came.
"On this journey that you're making, there'll be answers that you'll seek"
Towards the end of the day, Mario and Link climbed up a mountain to interact with a rare species of bare that lived on the summit. Mario ascended the mountain seamlessly, as gracefully and swiftly as if he were walking on air. Link, in contrast, was having a far more difficult time, as he quickly grew tired and out of breath trying to keep up with his father.
"And it's you who'll climb the mountain; it's you who'll reach the peak!"
When night fell on the savannah, Mario and Link rested on the plains as Link looked up at the stars, remembering what his father had said to him the previous night about the kings of old. Link looked over at his father as he stood, his eyes closed as if he were meditating, seeming to reach out for wisdom from the cosmos to continue serving as a good king. Link admired the king and the stars, hoping that someday he could be worthy of being amongst them.
"Lion Cub, look to the sky! Lift your spirit, set it free. Some day you'll walk tall with pride. Lion Cub, a lion in time you'll be!"
A couple years passed. Link continued to learn about the history of the Pride Lands, and its peoples. Mario also began teaching his son how to sword fight. After teaching him the basic moves, the two began sparring, which at first went terrible for Link since he went up against the far more experienced and powerful king. He also sparred with the lioness cubs, though had mixed results. But whenever he fell, his friend Zelda was always there to pick him back up, much to his appreciation.
"And there's someone there to guide you, someone to take your hand. And with faith and understanding, you will journey from cub to lion!"
Several more years passed by. Link began to greatly improve in his sword fighting skill, usually winning all the sparring matches he was in, except for those against his father (who always beat him) and Zelda (who won just as often as he did). He also began to demonstrate his great knowledge of the Pride Lands, as he would often visit the various animal tribes and make peace between them or check up on them without his father's aid.
"Lion Cub, look to the sky! Lift your spirit, set it free. Some day you'll walk tall with pride. Lion Cub, a lion in time you'll be!"
During this time, he and Zelda remained the best of friends as she would help teach him any fighting tricks she came up with and he would explain to her the way of the Circle of Life and the way of the king, since he wanted her to take over as queen if he ever became king and died without children (and if Roy was not yet old enough to become king). The two would often sit by each other's side at night, looking up at the stars as they talked.
"In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn. You'll find your place beside the ones you love!"
A couple more years passed by, and Link grew up to the verge of being 17; he would soon be a fully grown lion. He reflected on all he had learned from his father over the years, and was confident he was ready to undertake the task of being king, when his time came. He was far more humble now than he was in his childhood years, and far more wise.
"Oh, and all the things you dreamed of, the visions that you saw. Well, the time is drawing near now; it's yours to claim in all!"
During his latest sparring match with his father, Link managed to prove quite the match for the king. In the end, he even managed to disarm him and leave him at the prince's mercy. Mario was thrilled and congratulated his son on how far his skills had come as Link couldn't help but feel more excited than he had felt in a long time.
"Lion Cub, look to the sky! Lift your spirit, set it free. Some day you'll walk tall with pride. Lion Cub, a lion in time you'll be!"
On the eve of his son's 17th birthday, Mario had forged for him a sword specially designed for him. It was a sword with a bronze hilt. It seemed to be something of a mirror of Mario's sword, only not as broad and a bronze hilt instead of golden. Link took it in his hands, and felt truly like a crowned prince. And with the sword in his hand, he knew what it meant. It was a sign from his father that he was ready to take over the throne once his time came.
"Lion Cub, Lion Cub's a lion for all to see!"
Well, there goes another chapter. Hope everyone's enjoying this so far. As you can tell, I'm using other Disney songs for this story, not just the ones in Lion King. This one is from Tarzan and yes there will be a few more in the story to emphasize certain emotional/ story points. Let me know what y'all think! Please remember to review