Here's Chapter 3, quick update. Thanks for the reviews.

Sadan1992: I'm definitely an animal lover, but I wouldn't call myself biased. I was just trying to get Zazu into character. Hornbills are omnivores, yes. But I can't see him as the meat-eater type. In addition, he had no idea what these creatures were. I can't say I would ever consider hunting, but I have nothing against those who do. If you were offended, I didn't mean it. Sorry. :(

~3~

"Come on Diallo," a menacing female voice said. "Let's play."

"Yeah, play with us Diallo." a male voice added. "We have a surprise for 'ya."

"Guys, this isn't funny anymore." Diallo trembled as a shiver went down his spine. "I wanna go home now…"

"Nonsense!" the female said. "Wait for our surprise."

"Yes, Brother." the male spoke. "It's to die for." It was then the two cubs circled Diallo, their claws fully extracted and an evil smile wide on each face.

"Look at him shaking like a leaf!" Ashanti mocked. "What kind of King are you?"

"Let's get him." Iman boomed as he charged towards his older brother.

Diallo dodged the cub, and clawed him in the face. Iman snarled as he elevated his head, glaring at his brother.

"I'm sorry Iman," the older brother apologized. "I had to do AAAHH—."

Ashanti had sunk her teeth deep into his shoulder, making the cub cry in excruciating pain.

"Mom!" Diallo cried on the top of his lungs. "Mom! Help me! Mom!"

Kiara had heard her eldest son's pleas from afar. She ran through the Pridelands, searching for him.

"Mom!"

She heard him but couldn't see him.

"No." she whimpered as she heard his cries for help get higher as the pain intensified. "DIALLO!" she screamed like a banshee as she began to dart like through the lands.

"Diallo, please hold on!"

She was on the verge of bawling, losing all hope of seeing her eldest son alive.

"Finish him, brother." Ashanti demanded, her teeth stained with blood.

"NOOO!"

One final pitch escaped the frightened lion as Iman slashed his throat. They left their brother to die in the heart of the Pridelands. It was then Kiara parted the reeds of grass to find her son, blood pooling out of his gullet.

"No!" she cried. "Diallo."

A group of taupe-gray colored clouds rolled into the Pridelands. Kiara licked her son's lifeless body one last time before the body of the appointed king grew cold.

"Kiara?"

Her eyes shot open. Everything was normal. Her cubs were still alive and well.

"Kovu…" she replied breathlessly.

"Kiara, what's wrong?" her chocolate colored mate asked.

"The cubs…"

"What about them?"

Her cubs were in her arms, sleeping.

"Kiara, you're worrying too much." Kovu insisted. "Please, just get some rest."

"Alright…" the tense lioness replied.

These dreams were trying to tell her something, but what? Her head spun as she thought about the meaning of those dreams. Could they just be there to spook her? Or did these dreams have a significant meaning?

In other news, the night of Zula's acceptance had passed. Meaning Rafiki would arrive in the morning, hoping to determine what really broke her wing. It didn't take him long to find out.

"Tis indeed a stone of death that struck deez beautiful bird." he said, as he healed the arm with a series of homemade remedies especially made for these types of injuries. "It's a mireecal it didn't puncture her tiny heart."

A sigh of relief came out of Zazu's mouth.

"That's wonderful, Zula." he said.

He hadn't left her side ever since she ended up here. He tried to tell himself that he didn't love her, hoping the young one wouldn't question his emotions.

"So will I be okay?" Zula asked.

"You'll be back to normhal in a month or so." Rafiki replied. "But you should rest until then."

He nodded good-bye as he walked out of the den, back to his baobab tree.

The pride was almost empty. Only two lionesses and four cubs were in the pride. Kiara was too weak to begin hunting again for one. Her triplets were also too young to be left unsupervised. The other lioness, whose name was Efia, was an Outsider lioness, who was pregnant with her second child. The final lion, the cub, was the first-born cub of Efia, a female named Doli.

"Come on Mom!" Doli said in annoyance. "I want to go play!"

She tugged onto her mother's ear, hoping she would give in and take her daughter outside. Both of them were dust-colored. Efia's eyes however, were azure in color, very different to the ones her daughter inherited from her father, a pair of cardinal colored irises.

"Mom!" she cried. "Come on Mom, I wanna play!"

Kiara feared Doli's constant (not to mention loud) pushiness would wake up her sleeping cubs.

"Knock it off!" Efia shouted loud enough to shake the whole den. .

Ironically, the royal cubs were still sound asleep, even after Efia's sudden snap. Doli stepped back, defeated. Zula felt bad for the poor cub. All she wanted to do was have fun as any other growing child would. But she understood her mother was due any day now and needed rest.

"Me and Zazu can take care of her for you." she spoke enthusiastically.

"Really?" Doli and Efia replied in unison.

"Of course!"

Zazu wasn't too thrilled with babysitting Doli. Her hyperactivity drove him crazy, even as a young one. Besides being overly active, she was very precocious and had a knack for making smart remarks about everyone in the pride. But Zula was there with him. He went red in the face at the thought of being with her.

"Zazu?" Doli asked, waving at him with her paw. "Hellloooo, you there, buddy?"

Zazu stammered as his thought was cut short. He tried to come up with an alibi, but Doli and Zula were already leaving.

"Don't cause too much trouble, Doli." Efia shouted to her daughter.

"Okay Mom." she said with a chuckle.

Doli ran through the savannah with Zula perched on her shoulder, and her able wing gripping softly on her neck. Zazu, on the other hand was dangling from her tail tassel.

"Young lady, I demand you to slow down!" he exclaimed as he tried to get a good grip on the cub's tail.

"Don't be such a stick in the mud, Zazu." Doli replied. "Besides, you won't even get to see my new trick!"

As Zazu took her words to mind, he realized she was heading straight for a tree.

She's trying to kill me…I know it.

He let go of her tail and tumbled into the terrain as Doli leapt from the tree into a puddle of mud. She giggled as she got herself back up. Zula gripped onto the cub's head tuft.

"Now look, you're filthy." Zazu said, taking great notice at the mud that covered the cub's lower body. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Hmmm…" Doli said sarcastically. She scooped up a pawful of mud. "Think fast!"

Zazu, who experienced the wrath of sneaky little cubs for generations instantly dodged away.

"You'll have to do better than that." the hornbill responded. He heard no response from Doli or Zula. "Doli?"

He noticed that the female cub's eyes widened in fear. Zula also had a shocked look on her face.

"Uh-oh." she said. "Zazu, I think you should move."

"I'm not falling for your tricks, Doli." Zazu said with his arms folded.

"But Zazu—!"

"Still not listening."

He noticed a shadow cast over him. He felt a tap on his shoulder. As he turned around, he realized Doli was telling the truth. A female elephant and her calf, whose face was covered in mud glared at him. Angrily, the mother coiled her trunk around Zazu's tiny body, slamming him into the ground repeatedly. Doli and Zula groaned at the sight of Zazu being battered.

"That's gotta hurt." Doli said as she backed away.

"Let go of me you cow!" Zazu cried angrily.

The female, obviously disgusted by the comment slammed him into the ground, and her baby added to the mischief by kicking mud back at the bird.

"Zazu!" Zula cried, leaping from the cub.

She cradled him in her wing.

"Zazu! Are you alright?"

Though he had taken quite a beaten from the elephants, he seemed to heal just by Zula's touch.

"Zazu, why's your face turning red?" Doli asked, tilting her head.

He soon realized he was blushing yet again.

"He got beat up pretty badly, Doli." Zula replied, Zazu still in her grip.

"He didn't look like it." the cub giggled. "I think Zazu's—."

"Just fine." he interjected.

Doli was young, but she was no fool. She was the devil in a lion's body and would blackmail Zazu constantly if she ever found out about his crush on her. And it seems that she was already getting suspicious.

"We should head off now." Zazu suggested, wiping the mud off his face.

Doli trotted behind Zazu and Zula, who were several inches ahead of the cub, engaged in some small talk.

"Hey Zazu!"

"Yes Doli?" Zazu asked, less than enthusiastic.

"Why'd the elephant cross the road?"

"Why Doli?" he sighed.

"Because it was the chicken's day off."

The cub erupted into laughter. Zula chuckled slightly.

"Hey, get a sense of humor!" the cub retorted noticing Zazu's petty laugh.

"You're going to be a sister any day now and you persist on having this bad of a behavior, young lady?"

"Ugh!" Doli groaned. "He wasn't even born yet and everyone's talking about how I should 'act more like a big sister'! Besides, I'm the baby! Once he comes in the picture, I'll never get away with the things I used to."

"First off, you wouldn't stay a cub forever. Even without the baby, I'm sure your mother would still expect the best from you. Besides, you don't want to be a bad influence, do you?" Zula asked.

"Why's he gotta follow me for?" Doli asked. "If I told him to jump off Pride Rock, would he do it…?"

"Doli." Zula chuckled.

"Well, I was just teasing before. But a baby's gonna change everything. What if Mom doesn't like me anymore?"

"Your mother loves you, Doli." Zula said. "She'll love both of you equally."

"Hmm… I guess you're right. You're the best, Zula." the cub said with a smile. "You know, Zazu thinks so too."

Oh great…

"In fact, I think he—."

"Wants me and you to be best friends." Zazu interrupted, clamping the cub's mouth shut.

Zula chuckled.

"You're adorable."

"She is, isn't she?" Zazu asked, referring to Doli.

"Nope…" Zula chuckled. "I meant you." She turned away, smiling.

"Zazu…you're turning red again." Doli teased. "Are you part chameleon or something?"

"I'm turning red because you won't shut that mouth of yours." Zazu responded.

Doli giggled, knowing that he was just playing around.

"Put a sock in it you big baby."

Speaking of baby, Efia went in labor later that evening. Zazu, Zula and Doli were still out getting into trouble and had no idea that by the time they would get home, Doli would be a big sister. The trio reached Pride Rock shortly before sunset.

"Where's the grub?" Doli asked. "I'm starving!"

"Doli, come with me…" Vitani said.

"Aunty Vitani." Doli exclaimed, greeting her second favorite lioness with a warm nuzzle.

Of course, Vitani wasn't her blood aunt. But she was definitely one of her idols. Many claim the reason she was so precocious was because she started hanging around with the lioness when she was smaller. Doli was also awed by her hunting skills and vowed to become just as good a hunter as her when she grew up.

"Your mother has a surprise for you." the lioness continued.

"Yeah, okay." Doli said. "Do you have any more food?"

"The surprise is way better than food."

"Well, is it edible?"

"You'd eat a cub?"

"A cub?"

It was then that Doli knew her brother had arrived.

"My brother, my baby brother!"

She darted into the birthing cave.

"Mom! Mom!"

The weary lioness jumped at the sight of her filthy daughter.

"You're a mess!" she cried. "What have you been doing?"

Her daughter ignored her, too caught up in the moment.

"Where is he, Mom?" she asked, pushing her paws against her mother's head.

"She's right here." Efia replied, shifting her arm. Beneath it, a small ball of fur took her first looks at the world.

"A sister…?" she said in awe. "My very own baby sister!"

"Her name is Shani." the proud mother said.

Doli had forgotten all about the fears she had of being a big sibling. The sight of her blue-eyed, tan furred sister made all her problems waft away.

"She's beautiful…" she exclaimed as she ran a paw against her body. "What if she gets married to one of the princes, Mom?"

"She will be…" Efia responded. "She's betrothed."

"What's that mean?"

"It means she's to marry Diallo when she grows up."

"How come?"

"Because he's the first-born cub. By law, he's the next appointed ruler."

"And then she'd be a queen?"

"Yes…"

"My sister? A queen? WOW! My sister's a queen!"

"No, Doli." Efia responded. "Technically, she's a princess. But things happen. Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

"Shani," Doli said playfully as she stroked the back of her head.

"She's gorgeous." Zula said.

"A splitting image of her mother." Zazu added.

"Should we go back?"

"Why not?"

The two birds heading back to the den where they took their usual spots. Doli left later once she was told she had to leave Shani and her mother alone for the night.

Several hours later, Zazu, who was still wide-awake, crept outside, careful not to wake anyone. He looked up at the star-filled sky. He couldn't keep Doli's mouth closed forever. She had all the pieces, she just had to put the puzzle together and blabber to Zula once she figured it out. It was only a matter of time.

"Her personality, her looks, her smile, everything so—perfect. I can't fight the temptation anymore. I have to confess."

He walked back and forth outside the den for a couple more minutes, still restless. He couldn't keep this bottled up any longer.

"Who am I kidding?" he sighed. "She'd never fall for someone like me…"

He was still fidgety and decided to take a nighttime fly to drown his thoughts. What he didn't know was that at the opening of the den, a small pink bird looked at him fly away, a soft sigh escaping her beak.

Kiara woke up at last, only to realize that half of the pride was gone, including her mate and cubs. Frantically, she raced outside to see a group of lions crowd around the point of Pride Rock. She forced her way through the spectators and couldn't believe her eyes. Her sons, locked in an evil glare, circling around the body of a slender gold lioness.

"Ashanti!" she cried.

Before she could rush to her daughter's side, Diallo lunged on Iman. The fallow lion dodged his attack and clawing his older brother's face in defense. Four deep gashes ran through Diallo's face. While backing away from his brother, he lost balance and was soon dangling from the 50 foot ledge.

"Diallo!" Kiara cried.

Iman grasped onto his brother's paws, and slowly attempted to push them off the ledge.

"I've dreamed about this moment ever since I was a cub," he whispered evilly. "And now it's finally happening. I got rid of Ashanti. Now it's your turn…"

He was going to push Diallo off the cliff! Kiara stood motionless.

"He wouldn't." she thought to himself. "Where's Kovu? He would stop this?"

In reality, her mate had passed away some time ago when the cubs were just entering adolescence.

"Iman!" she bellowed. "NO!"

Iman's rage came to a sudden stop as he turned towards his frightened mother. Diallo pulled onto Iman's paw, pulling him down with him. Diallo cackled as he saw the terrified look on Iman's face.

"Are you insane? We'll both die." Iman cried.

Diallo wasn't moved. He let go of the rock, sending himself and Iman 50 feet to their deaths. Several of the lionesses looked down at the gruesome scene. Kiara was speechless. She stood in horror at what she just witnessed. Just like that…all three of her children—dead.

"Are you alright, Queen Kiara?"

"What!" Kiara snapped as she woke up abruptly. "Oh…it was you, Zula."

"I didn't mean to scare you…" Zula responded, backing away.

"No, you didn't." Kiara assured. "It was just a bad dream…"

"Mind telling me what it was about?"

"I'd rather not,"

"I understand."

"I think I'll take a walk." the queen said as she padded towards the entrance. "Would you like to come, Zula? Perhaps you could tell me your story."

"I'd be delighted to!" the hornbill said with a smile. She noticed Kiara walking to Efia.

"Efia, do you mind watching the cubs?"

"I would love to." the former Outlander responded. "But I'm in a bit of a dilemma." She pointed at her daughter, who was wriggling furiously from her grip.

"Mom! Eck! Why do you torture me like this?" Doli exclaimed, as another stroke from her mother's sandpaper-like tongue went through her fur. "I hate baths!"

"You should've thought about that before you decided to jump in a mud puddle."

Shani, who was born just the night before, was sleeping on her mother's side. The constant bickering between her mother and older sister didn't seem to bother her much.

"I'll watch them…" Vitani said with enthusiasm.

Kovu, Simba and Zazu were gone, most of the lionesses, including Nala were asleep, and Efia was busy with her own cubs. Vitani was the only option.

"Alright then." Kiara spoke. "Just take good care of them Vitani."

"They'll be fine."

Kiara smiled and turned towards Zula, who was still waiting at the mouth of the cave.

"This is such an honor, Queen Kiara." she said.

"No please…just Kiara."

"Really?"

"I insist."

Well, I hope you liked this chapter. Kinda boring, I know. Review please! :)