-The King to be-

The sun rose over the Pride Lands. Link ran out of the cave, standing on the stone balcony admiring the sunset, feeling the same excitement he once felt as a boy. Today was his 17th birthday; today he was officially an adult lion. At his side was his sword sheathed, the bronze hilt glimmering a bit as the sun's first rays reflected off it. From his hip to shoulder was the string of the bow he had on his back, along with the quiver of arrows slung over his right shoulder. He admired the sun as it began to rise more over the horizon when he heard a voice behind him, "Excited are we?"

Link turned to see his uncle Scar standing there. He had a bow and quiver too, his silver-hilted rapier at his side. Link smiled and nodded, "Very much Uncle."

"Well, allow me to wish you a happy birthday Link," Scar smiled warmly at his nephew. Link smiled wider and gave his uncle a hug, saying, "Thank you Uncle Scar."

"Ready for your first hunt?" Scar asked, "Sure you're up for the task?"

"Pretty sure," Link said assured, "Besides, it'll definitely help to have the best hunter in the kingdom with me, not to mention my uncle."

Scar smiled and acknowledged, "Indeed I'm sure it will."

Link noticed for the first time, standing with his uncle on Pride Rock how different Scar looked now that Link had grown. As a boy, Scar looked very tall and powerful in a lean and graceful sense. Now his uncle was not much taller than him, and the muscular figure Link had developed, despite not being on the levels of his father, made Scar's powerful presence diminish somewhat, or at the very least he didn't seem as intimidating as he might have been.

When the sun had fully risen over the horizon, Mario emerged from the cave along with all the lionesses that occupied it. Among them was Queen Peach, accompanied by the lion cub Roy. The cub looked up at his older brother, his green eyes glimmering with admiration, his red hair revealing through the bottom of his mane. Mario walked over and embraced his son, wishing him a happy birthday. Afterwards, like with Scar, Link realized how his view of his father too had changed now. He was still very muscular and still gave off a very powerful presence, but now he was equal in height, and Link's figure (again like with his uncle) made his father seem not so intimidating. Peach came over and gave Link a hug as well, giving her son a warm smile as she stroked his cheek, "My boy all grown up…"

Link smiled and blushed, "Mom…"

Mario chuckled, "You know your mother only says that because she's not used to seeing her child grown into a lion."

"Well she'd better get used to it," Link said, pointing to his younger brother, "Cuz it looks like this one is gonna grow up to be at least as big a lion as me."

The 9-year old cub smiled at his brother's words and said, "I'll be just like you Link."

Link smiled and ruffled Roy's hair saying, "Someday bud."

Scar added in, "Well, shall we be off?"

Mario nodded and began to motion for them to be on their way when Navi flew up to him, "King Mario! Urgent news from the border! Hyenas have been spotted in the Pride Lands. The rhinos are gathering to intercept them. Shall we proceed?"

"Of course, at once," Mario ordered calmly. Link spoke up, "Father, do you think we should join them?"

"Oh son, I couldn't ask you to give up your first hunting trip," Mario said, admiring his son's honor. Link replied, "We could always go another time. The safety of the Pride Lands is far more important."

"That won't be necessary, trust me," Mario reassured him, "The rhinos are well manned, and it's been years since they hyenas made it as far as the water hole. Their continued attacks have weakened their forces. I doubt they'll be much of a threat. Navi, please order the rhinos to proceed without us."

"Yes, my lord," Navi obeyed and flew off rapidly. Mario smiled at his son and brother, "Ready?"

The two nodded and began to follow him when they heard, "Don't I at least get to say a quick goodbye to the prince?"

The three turned and saw Zelda coming up the path to meet them. Link smiled and ran over to give her a big hug. Mario smiled wide at the sight and said, "Very well. You two may have a few moments alone before we depart."

"Thank you, my lord," Zelda smiled appreciating, taking Link somewhere private. Mario and Peach smiled at each other, sensing the hint of their relationship developing further.

Once they were alone, Link set down his quiver on a rock and smiled, "I'm really glad you could make it."

"You kidding?" Zelda smiled back, "Of course I'm gonna see my best friend off on his first hunting trip. Oh, I almost forgot, happy birthday."

She gave him another big hug. Link smiled, hugging back, stating, "What did I do to deserve all this?"

Zelda shrugged, "Not every day you turn 17 is it?"

"Guess not," Link admitted as Zelda continued, "Well, I also wanted to say-"

Her words were cut off by her accidently knocking the quiver off the rock, sending the arrows spreading all over the ground. She blushed, "Sorry, I'll get them."

Before Link could protest, she started picking up the arrows a couple at a time and put them in the quiver. Link shook his head at his friend's clumsiness and that's when he noticed it, or rather, her. Much like how his view of his uncle and father changed, Link noticed again how his view of his friend had changed. She too had grown up, from a fellow cub into a lioness. Her body too had developed and matured, which really caught Link off guard. She actually was pretty attractive, Link dared to think to himself. He also noticed her face had changed. While she still had the same pale skin and blue eyes, her eyes seemed to be deeper now, more entrancing. Link had noticed some time ago that Zelda could be considered cute, and would even go as far as to think her pretty after some time, but now she seemed more than just cute or pretty: she was beautiful. Link's chest tightened as he observed this, and was shocked he hadn't ever noticed this before…

Wait a minute, hold on! Link thought to himself. How could he think of Zelda that way? She was his friend for crying out loud. That's all she was to him, a friend. End of story. No need for him to start thinking of her that way. But still, Link couldn't help but remember what Navi had said all those years ago, when he originally protested to the idea of getting married, much less to Zelda, "Oh just say that in seven years, when you two come of age and have fallen in love and get engaged to marry."

Well, it was seven years, they were both now of age… But come on! Zelda and him… married? The idea seemed only slightly less ridiculous. Besides, as if she would ever think of him that way in a million years.

Link's thoughts were interrupted by Zelda finishing gathering up the arrows and handed the quiver back to Link, "Here ya go."

"Thanks," Link said, putting the quiver back over his shoulder, "So what did ya wanna tell me?"

Zelda bit her lip, looking down a bit, "Well, I just… Well, it'll be dangerous out there, ya know?"

"Danger?" Link replied, "Don't you remember? I laugh in the face of danger, Mwahahahaha!"

Zelda smiled a bit, but then looked concerned again, "Well, just… promise me you won't try anything too stupid, and that you'll keep safe?"

Link was genuinely shocked by this request. For crying out loud, this was Zelda! She was the one he went on adventures with all the time as cubs. She was the last person he'd expect asking him to keep safe. But then, they weren't cubs anymore, and this was definitely not the safest trek he had ever embarked on, since they were going towards the southern boundaries of the Pride Lands, and there were many dangerous events that could occur. He put his hand on his friend's shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I can take care of myself, and besides, I'll have my father and uncle with me. The only way I could be in safer company is if you came with us."

If Link knew no better, he could swear Zelda was blushing at the prospect as she replied, "I wish I could."

"Me too," Link admitted, though it wasn't until after he said it he realized how much he meant it, how much he did want Zelda to come, so much so that he barely remembered to finish, "But-"

"I know," Zelda said, "It's a lion trip. I understand."

Link wasn't entirely sure what to say, but thankfully Zelda looked up at him smiling and said, "Well, best of luck."

"Thanks," Link smiled, relieved and gave his friend a hug. He then went back up the path to join his father and uncle when he heard Zelda call, "Link?"

He turned back down to her and saw that she clearly wanted to get something off her chest as she stammered, "There's, there's something I want to tell ya…"

"Yes?" Link asked anxiously, since it seemed really important to her. She spent a moment clearly trying to find the right words, then finally said, "I'll tell ya when you get back, okay?"

Link smiled, shaking his head, "Sure. But I'll hold ya to it."

He then waved and went back up to join his father and uncle. When he was gone, Zelda looked down, feeling a bit ashamed she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Tonight…" She promised herself, "I'll tell him tonight, no more stalling, no more backing out."

"I was beginning to think we'd have to take Roy instead," Scar joked to his nephew as he finally rejoined them as Mario asked, "Ready to set off?"

Link nodded and the three lions went down the other side and began marching across the Pride Lands westward to the hunting grounds.

As they journeyed, Link couldn't help but ponder Zelda's farewell. What was it that she had to tell him? It seemed so important that she say it. But try as hard as he could, Link couldn't come up with the slightest idea for what it could be.

After a few hours travel, Scar spotted a figure behind a large stone. He sighed a bit to himself and said, "Sorry, but I'm afraid I have to take a break to, err, relief myself."

Mario motioned for him to go ahead as he took the chance to sit down in the grass, Link joining him. Scar then went behind the rock and his suspicions were confirmed; there were Veran, Zant and Ghirahim. Scar was not in the least happy to see them.

"What in the world do you three think you're doing here?" He demanded in a whisper, not wanting to draw attention as Veran said, "Relax. We sent those other hyenas to distract the rhinos. No one will spot us here, especially not this close to the border."

"Thank goodness for Pride Rock you didn't think to ever launch an attack with the same strategy," Scar said condescendingly. Zant piped up, "Maybe we coulda, if the rhinos and Mario didn't wear us down to a nub!"

"I warned you not to continue attacking constantly," Scar said bluntly as Veran replied, "Well we were hoping you could hurry up your process of getting rid of Mario and the brat."

"Yea Scar," Zant said, "It's been 7 years now since you promised to get rid of them, and we're still waiting!"

"I made it perfectly clear that it would take a long time," Scar retorted, "And I remind you that if you three were slightly less incompetent in the first place, we wouldn't have to wait this long!"

The three hushed, though it was clear they didn't appreciate Scar's words. Scar continued, "Now look, we're going on a hunting trip alone to the western hunting grounds. With any luck, an opportunity will present itself to finally fulfill our plan. Keep your distance, but stay vigilant, and wait for my signal to come join back up with me. Got it?"

The three nodded as Scar went back to rejoin his brother and nephew as the three continued their journey west, unaware of the three hyenas stalking them or of the fact that Scar was awaiting an opportunity to murder them.

Scar thought to himself, "I can feel it. This will be the day I have been awaiting for so long. By nightfall, I shall finally be king."

Two updates in one day! New record! :P but seriously. I do hope everyone enjoys this new chapter, and the build up to Link and Zelda becoming more than just friends but also Scar committing the ultimate sin. Stay tuned! And remember, the more reviews= faster I update :)