CHAPTER 12 – Surprise, surprise
The sun was setting. Scar laid on the ground, feeling the crushing weight of two young lions, who were about to kill him. As their sharp claws pierced the skin on his chest, he heard his heart thumping like a hammer, desperately trying to catch his breath. There were two faces above him, both full of anger and hate. The one of them that was covered with hazel fur opened it's mouth to whisper into his ear.
-And where are your hyenas now? You see that killing your brother wasn't the only mistake in your life. Even a whole army is good for nothing, if you choose idiots to be your soldiers… You are old, lion. The old customs are dying away. On their grave new ones will grow- ones that will bring peace. But fear not, king- we do not intend to tear your pride apart. To prove it to you, I'm going to give the honor of killing you to my brother. And I will not envy him at the least.
Scar closed his eyes. He knew that these were his last moments, there was nothing more that could prevent that. Indeed, he stopped feeling fear any longer.
-Why thank you, Giza – said the second brother. – To show you that I feel no envy towards you as well, I'm going to give you that honor right back. Go ahead, kill him.
Having lost all hope, Scar was quite content feeling the moment of death approaching him. After all, he's already achieved everything he had ever dreamed of in life. He had been king. That was enough. Now all that awaited him was his long deserved rest.
-Oh don't be ridiculous, Tsavo! – Giza growled. – Finish it, we've waited too long already!
Scar smiled in spirit. At the moment he saw the scene of Mufasa's death, appearing in his mind as a summary of his ending life. Had he ever felt bad about killing his brother? He really couldn't tell. The only thing he was sure of was that with that he had achieved his strongest desire. Now, once again, he observed Mufasa falling down the gorge in slow motion…
-I'm serious, Giza! You kill him, be my guest!
The sound of growling was getting louder, yet it was also very distant. Scar was seeing as just after Mufasa disappeared in a cloud of dust, also the two rogues fell down the endless pit, screaming with terror…
And then he felt a great weight lifted from his chest. Literarily. The roar that came along with that pleasant sensation was so loud, that it made him open his eyes. Surprisingly, before him he saw not death, but a lion. Just one lion. And his face was twisted with shock. Scar also felt that his left paw was actually free, so not thinking much, he stabbed his claws straight into the older rogue's only eye.
-RAAAR! – Giza cried with pain, only to be momentarily thrown off the king's body. He got another hit in the head, and then there was nothing but darkness. Scar on the other hand stood up only to be petrified with the sight of a whole bunch of hyenas, among whose mass of bodies a young, tan lion was desperately trying to fight for his life. But he had no chance. When the furious mutts were done with him and moved away, Scar frowned.
Ugh! A horrible way to die for a lion…- he thought with disgust. - Even if he deserved it. Then he saw Shenzi among the pack. She stood in front of him panting, smeared with blood. The king, still quite stunned, didn't say anything. He just lowered his head slightly, expressing his gratitude.
-Don't thank me, boss… She was the one who brought us here – the hyena pointed towards a nearby hill. To his astonishment, in the blood-red light of sunset Scar saw a young lioness standing on top of it. After a moment, she climbed down, slowly pacing towards the king.
-Zira? – he said, surprised. She looked him in the eyes passionlessly, and then went pass him.
-There is still one more left alive… - she said in a gruesome tone. Indeed, not far away laid the other rogue, Giza, now regaining his consciousness and obviously quite shocked to be completely blind.
-Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather… - he heard a familiar voice above him, a voice filled with anger.
-Zira! Where is my brother? – he screamed in terror, blood flowing down his cheek.
-Ha! Didn't you hear him crying for help? Has Scar torn you ears off along with your eye?
Giza quickly turned his head, sensing another lion present. But it was not Tsavo. It was the king they had just attempted to dethrone.
-Too bad for you, rogue. I was right- the argument with your brother got you both killed.
-TSAVO! – he roared from the top of his lungs, standing on his paws and panting desperately.
-You can scream all you want, he won't hear you. My, as you said it, 'army of idiots' is feeding on his flesh as we speak.
Giza's following roar immediately mixed with a choir of laughter. The first ones to laugh were Scar and Zira, momentarily backed up by the chuckle of countless hyenas. The blind rogue, desperate, tried to charge and swing his paws in random directions, but that only made him tired. When he finally settled down, he noticed everything around him silence. Then, right in front of him, he felt a familiar scent.
-Zira! Listen, don't…
-Shut up, pathetic fool! I must have been out of my mind to have trusted you! You attacked the king of my pride, and that is a crime punishable by death!
He wanted to say something more. He wanted to beseech her that she couldn't do what she was about to do. No, not after what they'd been through. Not after what she'd told him just a few days ago… Definitely not after what she had told him! That was his last thought- her words echoing in his head as he felt her smell, her fur touching his skin like before, only that this time she was tightening her jaws around his neck. Even as he fell into darkness, he could not believe what she was doing…
Zira sat beside Scar, and slowly started to lick the scratches on his paw. He didn't pay attention, having his eyes fixed at the hazel body of a lion that laid in front of him. After a minute, without turning his head, he called for the leader of his army.
-Shenzi!
She approached him slowly, not sure of how he was going to react. Indeed, he had many questions for her, but for now he decided to leave that matter behind. Instead, he wanted to reward his troops, who had actually just saved his life.
-Get those damned carcasses out of my sight.
Hearing these words, Shenzi raised her head and grinned with happiness.
-You heard'em, folks! It's supper time! – she howled to her pack. And so, in a wave of ecstasy, the hyenas dragged both of the dead lions far away, momentarily leaving Scar alone with Zira.
-Monarchy… It's still the only way for ruling a kingdom… - the king whispered, absentmindedly. He lowered his head, and observed as Zira was delicately cleaning his wounds. Then he began to wonder.
-How did you find me here? – he asked.
The lioness raised her head and looked at him, surprised.
-I was around looking for water along with some hyenas, sire. I heard you roar…
He wanted to ask her something, but he was still a little stunned and did not actually know how to express it. Finally, he answered with the first sentence that came to his mind.
-Shouldn't you be hunting with the rest of the pride?
-I… Well, I actually stopped hunting some time ago… - Zira spoke with hesitation.
-And why is that?
She would prefer if he didn't ask that question, but since she saved his life, she was hoping that maybe the king would treat her with forbearance. And besides, he would still find out sooner or later.
-I'm… pregnant, sire.
Scar's eyes widened.
-With who? – he asked, irritation growing in the tone of his voice.
Another bad question. Oh, what a fool she'd been! If she only had a chance to turn back time, she would order the hyenas to rip Tsavo and Giza apart at the first sight of them.
-With the rogue I killed… - she whispered. She turned away expecting Scar to express his anger on her. But, surprisingly, nothing like that happened. After a moment of silence, Zira opened her eyes. The king was observing her with great interest.
-You're saying… you killed the father of your cub…? For me? – he said silently.
-Yes…
-Hmf! – he snorted with surprise. I always knew you were loyal… but not as loyal as that!
Scar had indeed trusted this young lioness throughout the years of his reign. She was particularly obedient and always tried to please him, unlike the others. But even if she was a good huntress and leader, he still didn't pay too much attention to her. She was very young and already had a cub with some rogue, which made her seem quite immature… or at least so he had thought. Looking into her reddish eyes now, Scar saw something different. She was loyal. She was devoted. She was strong. Her young age was actually also an advantage. And by saying she was pregnant, she now confessed to have something he himself needed as king…
-You have made me proud today, Zira – he looked at her baring his fangs in a wide grin. She smiled back at once. – I'm beginning to think you need to be rewarded…
-Your majesty… - she purred with content, nuzzling into his mane. At that moment Scar felt a wave of pain rushing through his body. He noticed just how roughed up and exhausted he was. Turning his head, he looked towards the small waterhole again.
-Right. There will be time for that tomorrow, but first… I don't know about you, but I need a drink.
The lionesses were lying among the grasses, waiting under the cover of night after a quite successful hunt. Among them were Sarafina and Nala, filled with hope to the fact that this was probably the first time when Scar was being late for supper. The mother and daughter turned their eyes towards each other, expressing without words what they were both sure of– that the two rogues had finally done their job. Suddenly, one of the guarding lionesses came from beyond the thicket, obviously carrying some news. Sarabi stood in front of her at once.
-What is it? – she asked.
-Two lions are coming this way, but there are no hyenas with them.
-No hyenas? That's strange, Scar never leaves Pride Rock without an escort…
That was exactly what Sarafina and Nala wanted to hear. They both stood up grinning, expecting to hear the good news from the rogues themselves in just a few moments. The whole pride could already hear footsteps among the bush. From beyond the darkness, two lion shapes appeared… And then the mother and daughter looked at each other again, this time with fear and endless disappointment. They new that things had not happened the way they've planned it at once as they saw Scar, wounded and barely walking, supported by Zira as he stood in the midst of the pride, raising great commotion among the lionesses. Sarabi looked at him, overwhelmed with concern.
-Scar… what happened?
The king did not answer. He just looked at her, grinding his fangs, trying to stand straight. Finally, he uttered with exhaustion.
-The whole prey… belongs to you tonight. The hyenas have already eaten.
Sarafina lowered her head, feeling that her plan has utterly failed. And then she took a look at her daughter. Nala's face expressed as if her blood was starting to boil- her fangs bared and a loud growl coming from inside her throat. The old lioness noticed that she was gazing back at Zira, who, fawning over the king's side, was smiling at her with joyful malice.
AN: Saved in the nick of time… Isn't that like the biggest cliché ever? Yes, I confess to it, but… I just couldn't let Scar die! That's Simba's job to kill him, not mine, and that is still to come. So this time the king got lucky- the rogues' well organized assassination failed. Despite that the hyenas provided him victory, next time they are going to be the cause of his downfall. But for now Scar's safe.
This situation gave him a new look for Zira- now, seeing how truly devoted she is, he will be more interested in her then ever. And for her cubs as well, because indeed- Giza is the father of Kovu, who is about to be chosen as Scar's heir. Zira will like the idea, seeing how strong her king really is- how truly great his power can be when he controls the hyenas. That fact compensates his physical weakness, and even the boundaries of age aren't going to be an obstacle for a more 'personal' attraction that the young huntress now has for her monarch. So, is the beginning of Scar and Zira's special 'affection' an end to my story? Actually, no it isn't.