Chapter 2: Time & Patience

Hey everyone! My apologies for such a delay in posting...as I've noted before, I am a 36 year old full-time working mom of 2 young boys, ages 7.5 and 5.5. I teach elementary school ESL full time and then come home to spend time with/parent/raise my two boys along with my husband. Having young kids means homework at times for the eldest and also weekly activities and Occupational Therapy and counseling for my oldest who has ADHD and some challenges that go along with that. So, just a note if anyone feels the need to come at me and leave rude reviews, think before you type and perhaps try to have compassion and put yourself in my shoes for a moment and imagine all the things I deal with on a daily basis. I try to be a very positive person and turn the other cheek, but sometimes things must be said to stand up for oneself. Most all of you have been wonderful and kind with your reviews...anyway, please enjoy the long-awaited chapter 2 of my LK2 AU fanfic! :)

Over the next several months, Kiara closely observed her mother, father, and the other members of the pride. She noted how they acted and began copying them. This of course surprised Simba and Nala, as they both wondered what had happened to their playful, carefree daughter. The change in the young princess was like night and day. Even the other pride members noticed and marveled at the sudden maturity that had seemed to occur almost overnight. After the recent confrontation with Zira, Simba was on high alert and ensured that his daughter had an escort whenever she left Pride Rock. Knowing how much their daughter took after Simba, the king and queen began to wonder if their daughter was cooking up some kind of plan with her recent change in behavior. Then again, they also worried that their punishment had been too severe. Nala, knowing how overprotective Simba became once Kiara was born, saw her daughter's frustration when Simba would lecture her on the dangers of the outside world. Kiara was a free spirit, just like her father and did not like feeling smothered by countless rules and boundaries. Simba had come a long way since their cubhood, and as she came to know all that he had been through, Nala understood his overprotectiveness. Still, she tried to reassure him as best as she could about trusting Kiara and letting her have the right amount of freedom to explore the Pridelands without an escort, namely, Timon and Pumbaa.

Despite all of this, there was no denying that Kiara was acting, well, out of character. She spent her entire days copying every move the other lionesses made. She no longer play-hunted butterflies with carefree laughter, but she had been overcome with a fierceness that was unusual to her. She constantly worked on her hunting and swimming skills, save meals and nap times. She also begged to tag along with the lionesses and observe their hunts, which is one thing she had absolutely no interest in before. It was as if she went to sleep as Kiara one night and woke up as a different cub. Something was undeniably wrong, Nala sensed and something had to be done.

One day when Kiara was napping in the cave, Nala beckoned her mate outside the cave to talk.

"Is this what I think it's about?" Simba asked gently.

"If you mean our daughter, then yes," Nala replied solemnly.

Simba sighed, concerned. "Well, where should we start?" he asked.

Suddenly, Nala's eyes welled up with tears. She rubbed her head under her mate's chin and nuzzled him as he embraced her. She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to stop herself from crying, yet warm tears quickly escaped and fell onto her fur, tinting her pelt a darker tan.

"Oh Simba, I'm so worried about her! It's like she's not even the same cub anymore. All she does lately is train instead of play! She begs to come along on hunts and has taken to swimming laps across the waterhole. And the way she angrily pounces on butterflies-it's terrifying! Oh, what have we done, Simba? Is this our fault?" Nala broke down and sobbed into her mate's golden fur.

Simba shared his mate's pain as he shed some tears and sniffled. Then he looked up, inhaled deeply, exhaled, and licked his queen's tears away. "Nala, Kiara is going to be alright-we'll make sure of that. You didn't do anything wrong… if anything, I am to blame. Maybe I put too much pressure on her about being future queen," the king sighed. He resumed nuzzling his mate and then stopped and looked her in the eyes. "Don't worry, we'll talk to her together this time. That way we'll both know what's going on," Simba smiled and winked at her.

Nala's face brightened. "I was just going to suggest that your majesty." Nala gave her mate one last nuzzle and licked his cheek before standing up. "I'll go wake Kiara up from her nap."

"I'll be waiting," Simba smiled as he watched his beloved mate gracefully ascend to the front of Pride Rock and into the cave.

Nala padded up to her sleeping daughter. She bent down and gently nudged her awake. "Kiara, time to wake up, sweetheart."

Kiara, who was in the middle of a hunting dream, was startled by the nudge and growled, twisted herself, and swatted the air with her little claws extended. Nala swiftly dodged her daughter's swipe and gasped. "Kiara?!"

"Mom? Oh, you scared me! I thought you were a wildebeest," Kiara laughed and then relaxed her muscles from her tense reaction.

"I see. Kiara, your father and I would like to talk with you. Come with me," Nala turned and poised herself towards the den's exit.

Kiara's stomach dropped. She stood up and began to follow her mom out of the cave. Upon rounding the corner to the back of Pride Rock, her eyes met her father's. A rush of panic flew through her as she thought back to their last talk, right after she had disobeyed him and gone to the Outlands and met Kovu. She blinked and shook her head a few times so as to not let herself get caught up in her emotion about that day. Her gaze shifted to her mom, who was walking toward her father. Kiara looked around curiously, trying not to show her nervousness. Just act natural, she thought to herself.

"Hi daddy-err dad," she cleared her throat. "So, uhh, what did you want to talk to me about?" She started to grin innocently, but then remembered her father's angry expression the last time she did that and she quickly averted her gaze to her paws and tried her best to look serious.

"Kiara, your mother and I are concerned about the way you've been acting lately," Simba began.

A bolt of panic shot through the princess. Does he know it's an act?! No, he can't possibly, can he? Only one way to find out-better play dumb!

Kiara looked up at her father with wide, concerned eyes. "Really? Did I do something wrong? Break a rule? Argue with Timon and Pumbaa?" she asked, feigning concern, while also letting her nerves come through.

"No, actually, not at all. Well, to be honest, I'm not sure about that last one-arguing with Timon and Pumbaa," the king chuckled, "but that's not something you need to worry about. On the contrary, you've been extremely mature and responsible lately. In fact, you've been the most mature I've ever seen you or heck, any cub your age act, ever!" Simba gave his daughter a small smile.

"Oh! Why thank you, daddy, I'm just doing my princessly duty, ya know? Haha, training to be future queen one day, " Kiara grinned.

"Kiara, honey, that's all well and good but your father and I have watched you. We've noticed that all you've been doing for the past three weeks is hunting, swimming, and training all day. Your father and I are concerned that we've put too much pressure on you with the idea of becoming queen. You're still a cub, Kiara, and a young one at that. You don't need to grow up any faster than you already are," Nala smiled.

Simba chimed in. "Training and hunting has its place and you will learn those skills soon enough. But for now, enjoy being a cub and have fun! Play and explore-on the paths I've marked for you and only when you're with an escort that is. For now, you can actually enjoy some 'Hakuna Matata' time, just as I did when I was your age," Simba smiled warmly at his daughter and leaned down to nuzzle her, followed by Nala.

Kiara was in shock for a moment. She couldn't believe that she had succeeded in convincing her parents that she actually liked training and hunting and was doing it because she wanted to prepare for when she was queen, which was the furthest thing from the truth. However, a small pang of guilt stabbed at her, knowing that she was deceiving them. However, she quickly came back to reality and realized that she needed to keep up her act for just a little longer if she was ever going to escape, see Kovu, and bring their prides together in friendship and not have to be queen.

"Oh! Well, I actually really like training! It's uhh a lot of fun in a new, different sort of way," Kiara looked from her parents up in the sky and away, nervously. Then she looked down and cleared her throat, in an attempt to make herself seem more convincing. She looked up again, this time with a look of concern. "But you're right-I should focus more on playing and just being a cub because honestly, I haven't been having that much fun lately. I think I've been pushing myself too much and training too hard and that's why I haven't been acting like myself," she said, sighing, feeling a bit of relief that she had told a portion of the truth to her parents.

"Ah, I see. That makes a lot of sense," Simba nodded, understandingly.

"Yeah, but I'll go easier on myself tomorrow, I promise! I'll just splash and play in the water for fun and I'll chase the butterflies for fun-not to hunt them or anything, hehe," Kiara giggled and smiled genuinely.

"Oh, I'm so relieved you're alright, honey, and that we know why you were acting so strange," Nala sighed, relieved and pulled her daughter into an embrace.

"Me too, and I'm very proud of you for making the wise decision to go back to being a cub," Simba winked and nuzzled his daughter once more.

"Yes, so am I, and you know that you can always come talk to us about anything, sweetheart. We're your parents and we love you and we'll always love, Kiara, no matter what!" Nala smiled warmly and licked her daughter's head.

"Now, run along and play, young lady, " Simba grinned.

Kiara gasped in excitement. Those words were music to her ears! "Yay! I will! I'm going to go splash in the creek!" Kiara exclaimed and then turned and bounded off.

"Have fun! I'll send Timon and Pumbaa over there in a few minutes!" Simba called out.

Kiara raced down the pathway towards the creek, relishing in her newfound freedom. "Yes! I didn't mess it up! I did it…I DID IT!" she laughed. Then she stopped abruptly, remembering when she said those exact words to Kovu after their crocodile adventure. A flashback of the time her and Kovu had narrowly escaped the hungry crocodiles in the Outlands came flooding back. Kovu…she missed her friend more and more each day. She began to doubt if she really could pull off her plan and see Kovu again. She began to wonder if she should even try. After all, she was just a cub, what could she do? She looked around and realized she was at the log bridge that she and her father had crossed over while he sang to her about how the two of them were one. She looked down and saw her reflection in the still water.

"Is that really all I am? Just a…princess? Am I really going to have to rule the Pridelands? Why me? I don't want to and…I don't think I'm capable of doing that…or much of anything anyway," she sighed and looked into the water. Just as she was about to give up and forget her whole rouse, a sudden wind blew, rustling Kiara's fur, and her reflection blurred with the ripples from the water. Leaves swirled around her body and head and then swooped down to the water and formed a circle around her reflection. Kiara gave her fur a shake and looked around confused. "What was that?" Then her eyes spotted the circle of leaves and she looked at her reflection once more. She blinked and gasped, as she saw only half of herself. "What?" she gasped again. Before she could articulate her next question, the answer came to her in the form of a flashback to the day she met Kovu, but right before she met him. Timon and Pumbaa were fussing over her after falling in the creek. Frustrated, she cried out, "I'm not just a princess, you know, that's only half of who I am!"

Pumbaa, being the literal-minded creature that he was, had asked in response, "Oh, well, who's the other half?"

Kiara hadn't known the answer to that question at the time. Right after that, she had snuck away to the Outlands where she had, quite literally, bumped into Kovu.

Kovu…everything I've been remembering has come back to that day. So, does that mean-

Once again, the wind came back, though gentler this time. The circle of leaves changed shapes and instead formed a trail, pointing towards the Outlands. Kiara couldn't believe what she was seeing, but something deep inside her told her that it was a sign-perhaps from her ancestors, telling her to go through with her plan.

With renewed determination, Kiara stood up and raced back across the log towards the Outlands. She raced until she came to the rock ledge that she had first seen the Outlands from. She gave a cursory look in all directions before climbing onto the rock. She gazed upon the dry, barren land before her. All the Outsiders seemed to be sleeping or off hunting, which gave Kiara the perfect opportunity to sneak into the Outlands. She hesitated for a moment and looked back toward Pride Rock, her home. She reminded herself that it was now or never and turned back to face the Outlands. She crouched down and jumped off the rock and headed down the hill. Once she reached the border of the Pridelands and the Outlands, she spotted a large, hollow log. She figured she could hide behind it while trying to look for Kovu. She gulped as her muscles tensed, ears slicked back, and her eyebrows furrowed. "It's now or never, Kiara…now!" she whispered to herself and leapt toward the log. Unfortunately, she tripped on a dead root on the ground and crashed to the ground on her stomach. She groaned as she lifted her head.

"Gotcha, ya little termite!" a harsh, unfamiliar voice rang out.