A/N:Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. Yes there are surprises in the later chapters. You will be shocked.
Kovu grew uneasy at the silence that his eldest was displaying. His brown ears flickered as his green eyes were full of concern. Jaali looked at the ground like it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen, and his black rimmed ears pinned against his head.
"Everyone's having cubs now..." He mumbled.
Kovu looked at his son in confusion. "Huh? What do you mean, Jaali?"
"Mom just gave birth to two more cubs this morning. Now you say that you're having another cub too."
Kovu pinned his ears as he saw the tears in the cub's eyes. Jaali looked up now, letting the tears fall down his face. "And what about me? I'm probably just going to be forgotten... like that lion grandma used to tell me about."
Kovu raised a eyebrow at his son's words. "I don't recall your grandmother telling you any stories... or telling me any, for that matter."
Jaali perked up a bit. "She told me the story when you were practicing, and mom was with her friends."
Kovu looked uncertain, but he nodded anyway. "Could you tell me what the story was about?" He asked him.
Jaali nodded with an unexpectedly delighted smile."Zira said that there was a lion who was a prince. He was born from loving parents, and things were fine until the lion's mother met another lion. She had a cub, betraying the father and later forgetting about her entire first family. The lion grew resentful, and later he killed his nephew... for revenge on his sibling killing his father."
Kovu couldn't believe his mother told a story like that. Actually, he could, given her dark nature of such things. Kovu sighed deeply before kneeling down and nuzzled his son. "Don't worry Jaali." He started. "Yes, Kiara and I are having a cub, but neither of us will ever forget you. As a matter of fact... Kiara said that if anything ever happens to Ditto and Dreama, you're next in line for the throne."
The golden brown cub's face went white at the names. He starred at his father in horror and shock, which didn't go unnoticed by Kovu. "Jaali, what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost." He said concernedly.
Jaali was breathing heavy, his heart racing. How was he supposed to tell his father that he was bullying the prince and princess before? He didn't know that they were Kiara's cubs. But then as he thought about it, Dreama did look a lot like her mother. Those intense amber eyes that he remembered the most... Jaali shook his head to knock that repulsive thought away. Kovu, oblivious to his son's inner fight all of a sudden, looked to his right at the sound of his sister running to them. She looked horrified.
"Vitani...what's going on?" He asked her.
The lioness stopped running and took calming breaths to ease her thundering heart. "Kovu... you're needed back at Pride Rock!" She said out of breath.
Kovu could tell it was important, so he carefully picked up Jaali as not to bite him, and they ran off. Vitani turned and bolted after her brother.
/
His aquamarine eyes slowly blinked open before shutting themselves tight once again. A painful moan left his mouth as a searing headache ran through his head, and the pain shouting through his body was intense. The sound of paws approaching caused him to try and open his eyes again, only for them to snap shut from the bright light of the sun. With a groan, he repeated the action once more. This time, he could see things more clearly, and standing above him looked like a young, golden-furred lioness. He moved his gaze up to see that she was looking at him with warm, amber eyes.
"I'm glad you're awake." She said calmly to him.
He looked around and noticed two other brown lions sitting by the cave's entrance. He looked back at the lioness who was smiling at him. "...Where am I...?" He asked weakly.
The lioness flicked her tail from side to side. "You're in the Pride Lands. My majordomo found you, but my father-in-law and my mate's sister brought you here. I'm Queen Kiara."
His eyes widened. He couldn't believe it. He was back. He was knocked out of his thoughts by the queen's question.
"What's your name, sir?" Kiara asked.
He shook his head before looking at her. "My name is Ara."
One of the lion's eyes widened. As Ara looked around, he noticed that it was one of the twin brothers, Hodari. "Hodari... i-is that you?"
The blue eyed lion smiled before coming over and nuzzling the younger lion. Ara himself was a few months older than Simba, but he wasn't old yet, still considered to be in his prime. Hodari smiled at the light cream-beige lion.
"It's good to see you. But... where did you go?"
Ara looked down and pinned his ears. "I went after Princess Amira, but I didn't have any luck in finding her."
Hodari seemed lost. He knew the reason why the princess had run off, but did not know why Ara ran after her, even though the answer was fairly obvious.
"Why?"
Tears fell from Ara's aquamarine eyes. "I... I love her."