Lion King 3: The Chosen Ones
Part Two
Chapter Fourteen: Moonlight Dash
That afternoon Kovu quickly summoned the whole pride outside the inner cave of Pride Rock. Most of the lionesses were hunting at the time. No one knew why their king needed everyone present, even the elderly and the cubs. One by one, the lionesses made it up the steps to the walkway on Pride Rock, smiling and talking to each other pleasantly as they took their seats beside their fellow sisters. No one knew of the seriousness of the situation.
The whole pride fell silent as Kovu, Kiara and Ayira stepped out of the main cave. It was clear by the stony look on Kovu's face that something was very wrong.
"My family," Kovu said seriously and flatly, his voice trembling with sadness, "many of you have been wondering why I have summoned you all here today. I have devastating news. Sheikh, the leader of the cheetah clan, has proclaimed war against the pride."
Everyone gasped in shock, looking at each other with worry in their eyes. Questions raced through their minds and they started to panic.
"Please calm down," Kiara replied, trying to placate the worried lionesses.
"How can we?" one lioness cried out in anger. "What did we do that was so bad that they would declare war on us?"
"It can't be true!" exclaimed another. "The cheetahs have been our allies for ages, even during Scar's reign!"
"Oh it's true alright," Vitani snorted in disgust beside her mate. "Our so-called 'allies' hate our guts now."
"Has anybody tried talking to them?"
"Yeah! Maybe there's still time!"
Kovu stared at the chaos of the pride. Things were quickly going downhill. Suddenly someone let out a powerful roar, silencing the pride as they turned around, wide eyes staring at Nala. The former Queen slowly got to her feet.
"Right. No amount of complaining will do us any good," Nala replied calmly as everyone listened to her intently. "I'm pretty sure that Sheikh had this planned a long time ago, and now we've got to prepare ourselves. If we want to live, we have to have a plan. Let Kovu to speak."
"Thank you Nala," Kovu said, sitting down between his mate and daughter. "This is the plan. Tonight, our best hunters will guard our borders. I have left Vitani in charge of the scouts for the time being. The rest of us will create a barrier of defense around Pride Rock. Our younger pride members will be in the first line of defense while the older members will be the second. Jelani and Otien will command the two lines simultaneously."
"Who will protect the cubs?" a teenage lioness asked as she hugged her younger sister closer to her body with her paw.
"I will," Kiara said with determination.
Kovu shook his head. "It's too dangerous. Our unborn cub and you are too important to me to even think something like that."
Kiara looked at him with angrily. No doubt she wanted to do something to help the pride and take revenge against the cheetahs who had hurt her family so much.
"What if something happens to me?" Kovu said reasonably. "There's no way that I can protect you, and if you die, Ayira will be the only one left who can lead the Pridelands. You'll have to stay hidden until the fighting is over. Ayira will take you to Rafiki's tree. At least that way I can be sure that you're both safe."
Ayira visibly flinched at this, but said nothing. "Alright. I'm with you Kovu," Kiara relented with a sigh. "But I won't protect the cubs, who will?"
"Don't worry Kiara, I will," Nala replied with a wry smile on her muzzle. "I may be getting older but the only way I let any of those cheetahs near the cubs will be over my dead body." Nala was the most natural choice for the job, she had actively fought in both major battles during her lifetime and had survived many tragedies in her life. If anyone could protect the cubs it had to be Nala.
"There's just one problem," Vitani spoke up. "The sheer size of the cheetah clan. They double our numbers! How can we take down so many enemies?"
"We just have to hold on and hope for the best," Kovu replied calmly as he shrugged his shoulders. "Nobody said this was going to be an easy road, but we're a lot stronger than they ever could be. We didn't survive this long to lose everything."
"But who's to say things won't fall apart? Sure, we're cocky now, but has anyone ever fought a cheetah before? They're a completely different race, they're proud and can persevere through anything. How can you beat something like that?" Otien said darkly, a storm brewing in his dark grey eyes. "I have fought cheetahs before in my kingdom, and I can tell you right now, things are going to get really messy real quick. Unless we get some real back-up, I'm not sure we can win this."
"Then what do you propose we do?" Kovu snapped at the slender lion, his temper finally getting the better of him. "Just lie down and allow them to take over?" Otien growled under his breath as Kovu neared him. The last thing he needed was the King to be on his back at a time like this. The two grown lions stood in front of each other, faces inches away, trembling with anger. Vitani and Kiara looked at each other with worry; were they going to fight?
Finally after an awkward silence, Otien stubbornly averted his eyes from Kovu's own ones. "No. I'm just saying is maybe we need some backup."
"That's just stupid." Kovu spat but was obviously thinking about Otien's idea. "We don't know anybody outside of our borders, and what if they decide to turn their backs on us? Then what?"
"I don't know, Kovu," Nala said thoughtfully. "During Scar's reign, I left the Pridelands in order to find us some help. That's where I found Simba. Maybe Otien has a point."
"We can enlist help from the Aïr pride. King Jarumi is my elder brother and he is very kind-hearted. I'm sure he would want to help us," Waridi replied as her daughter, Kutu, looked at her with wide eyes. "We should send a messenger to get help. Just tell Jarumi that Waridi has found her home and he will understand."
"I'll do it." Ayira abruptly said, making the whole pride turn around in shock. "Somebody has to make the journey, and who better than to make the future Queen to go?"
"No," Kovu said sharply at his daughter. "We need you safe and at home. We almost lost you once, and I'm not taking any chances on losing you again."
"You don't need me," Ayira said calmly shaking her head. "I'll just be dead weight. I'm tired of being able to do nothing. Hell, I can't even stand on my own four paws without somebody trying to do it for me anymore." The small smile on her face slowly turned into a rueful frown. "Father, all I am asking is for a chance to prove myself."
"It's not going to happen," Kovu said impulsively. The thought of losing another cub was starting to scare him. "I'll never let you go, Ayira! We have plenty of other lionesses who can do the job!"
Ayira simply turned away from her father and swallowed a lump in her throat. I knew this would happen, but even still… I can't let Dad get to me. She closed her eyes for a second and breathed in slowly before opening her eyes again. Now it was time to prove herself. "It doesn't matter. I'm still going," she said softly as Kovu's ears flew up.
"What?"
"You heard me," she retorted defiantly, her voice becoming stronger. "You can give me your blessing and allow me to go, or you can watch my back as I leave for good."
"Stop being childish, Ayira," Nala chided her granddaughter. "We don't have time for your stubbornness."
"And we don't have time to just sit here and study our tails," Ayira shot back. "What other choice do we have?" She gave a pleading look to anyone who would stand up for her, but the pride members either kept quiet or turned their heads away from the princess. Even her best friend Kutu wasn't going to defend her. Instead the red lioness pawed at ground in order not to meet Ayira's eyes.
Ayira let out an annoyed huff. Fine, if they were going to be like that, so be it. "I am so out of here," Ayira growled angrily as she turned to leave Pride Rock.
Kovu closed his eyes in pain, the anger he had held during the meeting was clouding over into an overwhelming feeling of sadness. Damn, way to go Kovu. You're driving away the only kid you have left,he thought to himself wretchedly. And who could blame her? Nothing was going the way he had envisioned raising cubs. The day the twins were born, he vowed that he would never be like his mother. Kovu made sure that he told Tanabi and Ayira that he loved them. He tried to protect them like any good father could. They were his children, his everything, and for a time he thought that he could protect them from everything.
But that was before he cursed Tanabi for everything on that faithful day. The words he said… Kovu didn't even want to remember; it made him physically sick even thinking about Tanabi's stricken face begging him for forgiveness. He didn't even know if he would ever see his son again, and now Ayira was leaving him too.
"Ayira, wait," Kovu said. Ayira turned around, glaring at him with such anger that he almost felt his heart literally break in two. "You have my blessing… you are a grown lioness now, and it's time I realized that. If this means so much to you, I'm with you one hundred percent."
"Oh, Dad! Thank you!" Ayira cried out happily as she licked her father's cheek. The next thing she knew, Kovu pulled her into a very tight embrace and her eyes flew open with surprise. Dad? Ayira thought to herself as her father buried his face into her shoulder. For a minute, Ayira thought that he would never let go.
"I love you so much Ayira," Kovu said firmly. "Please return to me and your family."
"I promise," Ayira reassured him as her father reluctantly let go.
"If you're going to find the pride, they're located on the plateau in the far north, within the great desert. It's huge, so you can't miss it," Waridi said to Ayira with a small smile on her face. "The journey will be long and tiring but if you stay smart and use your common sense, you'll do just fine."
Ayira nodded, taking in all of the information that Waridi gave her. "Thank you, Waridi." she replied before turning to face the rest of the pride. "I swear to all of you, I won't let you down. I'll return as soon as I can with help."
"Then it's settled!" Kovu shouted back, catching everyone's attention. "Vitani and our hunters, get ready for lookout! Everyone else follow me. We will not let Sheikh and her minions get the best of us!"
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It took a couple of hours for the lions to get organized. While Kovu watched from his spot high on Pride Rock, Vitani left with her group and hid in the tall grasses around Pride Rock in order to watch for any signs of cheetahs in the area. The night air was frigid and the atmosphere couldn't have been any tenser; no other animals moved about at all in fear of being attacked by a lion or cheetah. Word had spread quickly of the upcoming war, and now all the pride could do was sit and wait for the results.
The dead silence and darkness had made a perfect combination for Vitani's group. Each of the four lionesses were almost completely shrouded in the shadows of the night. Only the light of the moon above gave any hint that they were even there.
"They're taking their sweet time gettin' here," a lioness named Furaha said with a soft snarl as she pawed at the soft ground beneath her. "Maybe they chickened out."
"Cowards," another lioness spat. "If they have the gall to come out and claim war on us, they should at least give us the pleasure of giving them a quick death."
"Hush!" Vitani snapped at the two lionesses, her voice soft and low. "You're going to give away our position. They might not show up, but we can't take any chances." The two nodded reluctantly as they returned silently to their original posts.
Vitani sighed inwardly, she was the only lioness in her group who had any real experience with combat other than Dotty; the other three lionesses were born after the war between the Pridelanders and Outsiders. They had been sitting there since the sun had begun to set; it was now well into the night, but Vitani had seen no sign of an attack at all. She could only hope that it was all a ruse and that this was simply meant to scare Kovu.
Suddenly Vitani saw something moving in the distance. She lowered herself even lower on the ground and narrowed her keen eyes in order to get a better look. All she could see were shadows at first, but as they got closer, Vitani could have sworn she saw flashes of dull yellow. They're here! Vitani thought in a panic, her blue eyes widening in shock.
She turned to Furaha beside her. "Go alert Kovu!" Vitani hissed to the young lioness who stared at Vitani with fear, her whole body paralyzed. Frustrated Vitani roared at her. "What the hell is wrong with you? I said GO!" Vitani's voice seemed to penetrate through to the poor lioness as Furaha shook her head and ran off to find Kovu without another thought.
"Vitani watch out!" Dotty cried out. Vitani turned around in shock as she felt something hard slam into her right side, almost knocking the wind out of her. As she fell to the ground, Vitani found that a cheetah had gotten the best of her as it started to claw at her face. Vitani let out a grunt of pain as the cheetah's claws pierced her fur, but she quickly got to her senses and used her hindlegs to shove the cheetah off of her. The cheetah was easily picked up from the strength of Vitani's legs and was landed on the ground in front of Vitani, knocked out. As Vitani jumped back to her paws she saw that each of her allies was fighting a cheetah.
"I would watch after yourself," one male cheetah snarled at Vitani, glaring defiantly at her.
Vitani smirked, as her back arched up and she exposed her claws. "Bring it." Vitani said smugly as she charged at the cheetah, praying to the great spirits that Furaha would alert Kovu in time.
Far on the other side of the Pridelands, safe from the conflict that had just exploded, Kiara and Nala were saying their final good-byes to Ayira in Rafiki's tree home.
"Dis will protect you, my child," Rafiki replied solemnly as he smeared a light blue powder across Ayira's forehead. "It is de mark of de queens of de Pridelands. It will help you bring victory to us all." The baboon then took his staff and chanted a prayer for Ayira in his native language in order to give Ayira more good luck. After he was done, he gave the young lioness a gentle hug before allowing her to talk to her mother and grandmother one last time.
"Goodbye, Mother. I'll come home soon," Ayira said softly as Kiara nuzzled her daughter.
"I know you will. It's just hard to see my baby go," Kiara replied back, a proud smile on her face, tears lining her hazel eyes. "Please be careful."
"Don't cry mom, you'll make me cry too," Ayira said jokingly as she felt her own eyes watering. They laughed a bit to clear the tension in the air. Ayira leaned down and put her nose affectionantly to her mother's bulging stomach. "Hey you in there! Keep my mom company while your big sister is gone."
"Heh. It'll do more than that," Nala chuckled as she gave her granddaughter a hug. "I'm proud of you, Ayira."
"Princess Ayira, are you ready?" Kutu asked nervously, afraid that she was being rude about interrupting Ayira's family time. The red lioness had agreed to accompany Ayira in her mother's place since her mother was busy watching after the cubs.
"Yes, I'm ready," Ayira replied to her friend. She smiled at her mother and grandmother one last time before stepping out into the night. It was pleasantly chilly outside and calm, the perfect night for a journey. Ayira closed her eyes for a minute and breathed in deeply, trying to absorb the smell of her beloved home, before she left.
As she opened her eyes, Ayira knew that she was ready.
Okay dokey. It's over! God, I had such a hard time with this chapter, its not even funny. I guess I had a small moral dilema over Ayira leaving the Pridelands but with a little help I was able to get over it ^^. I would like to thank Prince of Pride who has been so helpful and interested in my story and LarFang for reviewing. Oh, before I forget I would like to thank my beta Kovukono for editing this chapter so that it doesn't look like some kindergardener wrote it. So go review or somethin' before a cheetah comes and eats ya!