Kiara blinked groggily the next morning as the sun climbed high above the savanna, lapping water from a small pool near Pride Rock and staring glumly into its depths at her own subdued expression.

Tiifu and Zuri slunk by her a few tail-lengths away, waving their tails and sticking their noses up. The princess pricked up her ears, bounding over to them.

"Hey, guys! What's u-"

"Save it, Kiara," Zuri drawled, flicking her eyes at her reproachfully.

"Yeah," Tiifu spat. "Do you know how much trouble we got in because of you last night?! Ugh, and my mom made me go to bed without dinner, so you still owe me that zebra leg."

Kiara's ears fell flat. "I...I didn't mean for all that to happen. Honest!"

"Yeah, well, it did...so we can't play," Zuri meowed cattily. "Our mothers grounded us from playing with the 'princess' for awhile...not that we care."

The two of them sauntered off, whispering and giggling amongst themselves and making Kiara's heart lurch unhappily. She sighed, looking down into her reflection in the pool.

"'Princess'," she echoed glumly, staring at herself. Then she curled her lip, swatting at the pool of water and making her reflection distort. "Tch. 'Princess'."

Kiara padded off, feeling dull and sad...she couldn't have played with Tiifu and Zuri today anyway. Simba had grounded her for wandering off and crossing the border into the Outlands, so she was expected to stay close to Pride Rock all day and receive "princess lessons" from Nala...just thinking about it, especially after her interaction with her so-called "friends", made the fur along her spine stand on end.

Simba and Nala were waiting for her at the top of Pride Rock, both looking down at her with different expressions - Simba looked stern, and Nala looked gentle and benevolent.

"Kiara, I don't like you hanging around with those two," her father growled. "Just look at what they did to poor Zazu yesterday..."

Simba gestured with his muzzle towards the hornbill, who was crouched in the shade of a nearby crag, rocking back and forth on his talons and surrounded by fallen feathers.

"Those...t-t-teeth..." Zazu panted frantically, shuddering. "Those wretched little teeth!"

"Simba, they were only playing...you know how cubs are," Nala tried to reason with her mate, touching her nose to his shoulder. The queen could remember how rambunctious he'd been as a cub himself, even going so far as to use poor old Zazu as a pouncing target.

"Never mind that," Simba retorted, though he let out a sigh and his expression softened at Nala's touch. "Kiara ought to make some friends who are a little more respectful of others, and that includes the smaller members of our kingdom."

He lowered himself to the ground, and Kiara watched curiously as he pointed out a line of ants marching along the surface of Pride Rock with his nose. "Without even the tiniest creatures, the Circle of Life would be thrown out of balance."

"Tiifu and Zuri shouldn't have gotten in trouble because of me," Kiara meowed sullenly, only half-listening to her father. "I told them to distract Zazu so I could go exploring by myself."

Simba suddenly straightened, leaping to his paws. Kiara saw a fierce look in her father's eyes she'd never seen before, striking fear into her heart.

"Oh, really?" Simba growled. "I didn't think my own daughter could be so underhanded!"

"Simba," Nala tried to diffuse him, her tone wary.

"I-I just wanted to go for a look around!" Kiara protested, though she trembled under the red glare of the king. "Is that really so horrible?!"

Simba let out a growl, making Kiara's fur stand on end and her pupils dilate.

"It is when you're going against my wishes - and your mother's - to willfully do whatever you want," her father snarled. "It's not all about you, Kiara! The rules I make are to protect you so that you can carry on my legacy!"

"It's NEVER about me!" Kiara screamed up at him, turning tail and running back into the cave of Pride Rock.

Simba let out a roar and tried to go after his daughter, but Nala put herself swiftly between her mate and the mouth of the cave.

"Let me handle this, Simba," she said coolly and calmly, though her blue eyes were as fierce as that day they'd fought in the jungle only a year and a half ago.

Simba let out an irritated pant, but backed off, turning away to attend to his daily tasks as king...and to put some distance between him and Kiara. "You do that, Nala," he muttered curtly before leaping back down the side of the rock and heading towards the watering hole.

Nala watched him go for a moment, then sighed heavily and followed Kiara into the den.