The Lion King: Dawn of the Nations

Episode 43: Tension

After a couple days, Kion and Kiara returned to the Pride Lands along with the surviving warriors. The night had come, Kion was standing at the edge of Pride Rock, looking into the stars with a sad glare, remembering his fallen mate. A tear ran down the fur of his mourning face.

This is not the end,

It's just the door,

To the greater life,

So cheer up and fight.

Beautiful creation,

That makes memories,

Friends, feasts and farewells,

But they ain't forever.

A new life awaits,

After we say goodbye,

The sky is calling,

Our heart lies there.

A new life awaits,

That evil can't reach,

Where we belong to,

So be brave and live.

This is not the end,

It's just the door,

To the greater life,

So cheer up and fight.

Kion let out a long sigh and turned, heading to the cave. He entered with silent steps as Kiara was asleep already. Kion approached his sister, looking at her with a look of concern. He thought about his nephews and his own cubs, wanting to see them as soon as possible, feeling a great shame because they would never be able to see their mother again. Kion adopted a look of conviction. "We made a huge mistake." He said with a broken voice. "Fear won't keep us away from you anymore."

Next morning, in Ungari, Kovu and the cubs were having breakfast in one of the tunnels, a gazelle that Kovu had hunted earlier. "How is it?" Kovu inquired.

"Tasty." Ari said with a chuckle.

"Not bad." Emba opined with his mouth full.

Kovu looked at Keru, who hadn't taken a single bite. "You alright, son?"

Keru had his head lowered. "Yes." He said with a broken voice.

"Keru." Kovu approached him. "What is it?"

Keru sighed. "Mommy." He replied. "I miss her."

Kovu nuzzled his head. "I miss her too. But she wants you to be safe, and this is the safest place for you."

"I don't want to be safe. I want to be with my mom." Keru sobbed.

"I miss her too, dad." Zale said. "Can we return to the Pride Lands?"

Kovu sighed. "You know we can't."

"Maybe just for a couple days, then we return here." Ari proposed. "I miss my parents as well."

"Hey." Kovu looked at them with a comforting glare. "We all left our home for a good reason, things are complicated and dangerous over there. When things get better, we will return, alright?" His ear twitched, making him adopt a hostile position. "Wait." Kovu heard several steps getting closer. "Kids, hide. Now."

"What's goi…?" Keru got interrupted.

Kovu looked at him. "Hide! Now!" The cubs obeyed him and ran away from that spot, looking for places to hide. Kovu started to walk cautiously towards the entrance as the steps were coming from there. "Who's there?!" Kovu started to growl.

"Kovu." The echo of Kion's voice made Kovu's steps less cautious.

"Kion?" Kovu inquired and hurried towards the entrance. He then saw Kion and Kiara entering the place, walking over the grass, flowers and plants. Kovu laughed when seeing his mate. "Kiara!"

Kiara gasped with happiness. "Kovu."

Kovu hurried towards her and licked her face. "My love." He nuzzled her neck with tears of joy.

"I missed you so much!" Kiara nuzzled him back.

"Mom!" Keru and Zale yelled at the same time, running towards her and nuzzling her right away.

"My little sons." Kiara nuzzled their heads and licked their backs, between sobs and tears. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Me too, mommy!" Keru said.

Emba and Ari's eyes widened when seeing their father standing there. "Dad!" Emba exclaimed while rushing towards him along with his sister.

Ari nuzzled his front leg lovingly while crying with happiness. "I'm glad you're here daddy! Are you staying with us now?"

"The pool is great! You're gonna love it!" Emba said with excitement.

Kion had a lump in his throat. "Hi." He chuckled with emotion. "Did you behave well with uncle Kovu?"

"Oh, for sure!" Emba responded.

"Well, they did cause some trouble." Kovu looked at them with a wink.

"Yeah…just a bit, but hey, we're cubs, right?" Emba rolled his eyes.

Kovu chuckled. "They behaved well, Kion." He looked at him with a smirk, then he put a look of concern as he could notice the deep sadness in Kion's eyes. "Kion." Kovu said with a tone of doubt.

Kion was holding the lump in his throat with effort. "I…"

"Where's mom?" Ari asked with excitement.

"Yeah, is she joining us later?" Emba got on his hind legs while patting Kion's face with his front paws. Emba raised an eyebrow when getting no reply from his father, seeing the tear forming in the corner of his eye. "Dad?"

Kion sighed. "Sit down, kids." He said with a broken voice. "I must tell you something."

Ari and Emba looked into each other's eyes with confusion and fear. "Is she okay, daddy?" Ari asked while sitting down next to her brother.

Kion sat before them, looking away, with tears running down his face. "Your mother i…" He closed his eyes and sobbed. "Your mother is no longer with us."

Emba gasped. "No, wh…what do you mean?" He said with anguish and sadness, taking a step towards his father. "No…where is she, where did she go?"

Tears were forming in the corners of Ari's eyes. "Is she…dead?" She said with a broken voice.

"Aunt Rani." Keru mumbled with a deep sadness.

"No." Zale expressed.

"Dad…" Emba approached him, stepping on his paw, looking at him while shaking his head. "Tell me it's just a joke, you're joking."

"How could I joke with that, Emba?!" Kion's response made Emba back away from him.

Emba gasped. "No…" He started to cry along with Ari. "No…mom!" Emba approached his sister and rested his head on her neck, nuzzling her while crying deeply.

"I'm sorry." Kion said while crying.

Kovu approached Kion and nuzzled his neck with compassion. "I'm sorry, Kion."

Kiara approached Emba and Ari, nuzzling and licking them comfortingly. "How?" Emba said between sobs and tears.

Zale and Keru walked towards their cousins. "I'm sorry." Keru said while nuzzling Ari while Zale comforted Emba.

Later on, Kion, Kovu and Kiara were talking in one of the tunnels while the cubs were somewhere else. "Are you sure?" Kovu asked Kion.

"Very sure. Kiara and I have talked about it, we can't stay away from our cubs anymore." Kion replied with certainty.

Kovu looked away, thoughtful. "But, the war, it's st…"

"It will be over soon, Kovu, I feel it." Kion said. "Baturu's forces are much weaker now, we just have to give the final strike, and his reign will come to and end, once and for all."

"We made him run away from the Outlands, Dogo is an ally of our kingdom now." Kiara added.

"Dogo? He is alive?" Kovu sighed. "It seems I have a lot to catch up."

"I'll tell you everything in the way home." Kion replied. "We'll never be divided again, not by fear or by any enemy. Our strength is in our union." He looked down. "Even more now that she's…gone."

Kovu thought for a moment then looked at Kion and nodded firmly. "Alright…let's go home."

Kion, Kovu, Kiara and the four cubs exited the cave and headed to Pride Rock. The heat of the sun felt nil in their hearts, which were cold as snow, the light in their eyes was dim and the tone in their voices reflected mourn. While walking across the tall grass of the savanna, Kion was talking with Kovu about their next plan against Baturu. "We will go to his land, kill him and all of his warriors. And then we'll take the cubs with us, as well as the calves and any other animal that has started to live under his words."

"Why?" Kovu inquired while raising an eyebrow.

"Well, the lion cubs will be now children of our kingdom, who will grow as warriors, following the ways of my father and my grandfather." Kion answered. "As for the others, we'll teach them our ways too, and when they're free of Baturu's lies, the majority will be relocated."

Kovu thought for a moment then shrugged and looked into the horizon. "Sounds like a good plan."

"It is." Kion said, with a glare of conviction. "I'm making sure he stays dead…and that includes his ideas.

Kovu looked at him with doubtful eyes. "What about The Council?" He said hesitantly.

Kion delayed to answer. "Emba will take the place of his mother, as he's the eldest."

"What if…we made The Council bigger?" Kovu inquired.

Kion's eyes widened then he looked at Kovu with an uneasy glare. "Bigger?" He sighed. "You want your cubs there as well, right?"

"It's not about them, it's about our kingdom!" Kovu replied, with a subtle frown on his face.

"Our kingdom…" Kion looked at the front with arrogance. "…Mufasa's Kingdom, you say, the kingdom of my father, of his father!" He looked at Kovu while growling at him.

Kovu looked into his eyes, with a serious face. "Kion, it was a long time ago when we agreed to form The Council. It is 'our' kingdom, indeed, yours and mine, of Kiara, Emba, Ari, Zale and Keru. We are a family, and as a family, we must decide what is better for…Mufasa's Kingdom."

"And how does expanding The Council is better for everyone? It will just create more problems, disagreemen…" Kion was interrupted.

"Kion, by birth right, you still have the casting vote, and you know I respect that. Your father accepted me as one of his own, and I'm grateful for that, that's why I've always valued your position." Kovu said.

Kion thought for a moment. "And don't you think Ari would like to be part of The Council too? Doesn't she has more right to be part of it than my nephews?"

Kovu grunted. "You d…I…"

"What?" Kion inquired daringly.

Kovu sighed while shaking his head. "Maybe she could join too, I m…"

"Then we would be all members of The Council, why don't we open twenty more spaces so anyone can join?" Kion said mockingly. "Emba joining The Council is not a mere whim of mine! He is the next in line, Kovu! By age, and by blood, of course!" Kion spoke firmly. "The Council has been of four since we established it, and it will remain that way. When I'm gone…Emba will take the throne, and he will act as he wishes."

"But Keru…and Zale…they are royalty as well, aren't they? They deserve a voice!" Kovu argued.

Kion sighed. "Kovu!" He exclaimed, making Kiara walk away from the cubs and head towards them. "I decided to give you and my sister a voice! Isn't that enough?!" He shook his head while looking away with anger. "You just want to have more power, more influence! I can see it in your eyes!"

"Oh! H…" Kovu got interrupted.

"Hey! Stop arguing, alright? The kids are hearing everything you're saying!" Kiara scolded.

Kion was looking into the horizon, with a frown and a tear in his face. "We'll deal with this matter after we kill Baturu." He looked at Kovu with a look of warning. "I will decide what's best then."

"We will decide, you mean." Kovu said coldly.

Kion remained silent for a long moment. "Sure."