Kiara threw herself into a corner behind a large, flat rock, curling up and whimpering with her heart racing.

Tears of frustration and unhappiness streamed down her face. "I hate this...I hate being a princess...I hate being me!"

"Don't talk like that, Kiara."

The princess pricked up her ears, hearing a familiar, gentle voice. Her mother stood over her, offering a smile.

"Mind if I sit here?" Nala asked casually, as though the argument between her daughter and Simba moments ago had never happened.

Kiara hesitated, sniffling, then scooted aside begrudgingly to give her mother space next to her.

Nala placed a paw into the narrow space between the rock and the wall of the cave, unsteadily maneuvering her way in beside her daughter. "Oof, what a tight squeeze...are you sure you're comfortable back here?"

Kiara didn't look up at her mother, nodding curtly as she stared mournfully at her paws.

Nala smirked. "Well, I'm certainly not," she meowed conversationally, "not with a baby cub in my tummy, anyway."

Kiara gasped, her ears pricking up as she glanced at Nala's belly, which come to think of it, was slightly rounder than usual. "You're...?"

The queen giggled. "That's right~! I was going to wait until your father and I could both tell you, but I thought you might like to know now." Nala leaned in conspiratorially to whisper in her daughter's ear. "Just pretend to be surprised when he and I both tell you later on, will you? You know how he gets when it comes to tradition."

Kiara couldn't help but giggle in spite of herself. "Right," she mewed, sitting up straight and prim like royalty and putting a paw to her chest. "The king must be present for all important matters."

"Oh, you," Nala chided her daughter gently, cuffing her with a paw. "Your father loves you so much..." her blue eyes clouded with a look Kiara didn't recognize, "...but he's hurting, sweetheart. Something happened to him when he was about your age that changed him forever...and while it helped him to become the responsible, caring king he is, it also filled his heart with a lot of fear. A fear that makes him worry so, so much about you."

Kiara winced as Nala licked her forehead. "But...he shouldn't worry about me, Mama! I'm not a baby anymore!"

The queen smiled knowingly. "That may be, but it doesn't change the way your father sees you." Nala sighed, looking up at the faint light streaming through an opening in the wall of the cave. "I know it isn't easy being a princess sometimes, Kiara...but think how good you have it compared to that poor cub you met in the Outlands the other day."

"Kovu..." Kiara murmured sadly, her heart wrenching as she thought about the handsome cub she'd met.

"'Kovu'?" Nala asked curiously, looking down at her daughter with blue eyes full of intrigue. "So you made friends with Zira's cub..." The queen shuddered involuntarily. "Ugh, to think what it would be like to have her as a mother! Oh, my heart aches for that poor little cub..."

Nala looked down sadly at her daughter. "I'm so sorry, Kiara. I know you thought he was a nice new friend, but the two of you are on very different paths...and one day, you might meet each other in battle."

Kiara's ears flattened, and she let out a tiny whimper, a tear falling from her eye.

Nala sighed, heartbroken to see her daughter so unhappy. "Hey," she cooed, leaning in to nuzzle Kiara's ear. "When your new brother or sister is born, they'll idolize you, and maybe become your new best friend! How would that sound, hm?"

Kiara's ears pricked up. "They'll...idolize me?"

Nala grinned. "I'm positive. Here," she whispered, laying on her side and showing her daughter her rounded belly. "They're little...but you might be able to feel them kick."

The princess flicked her ear curiously, but padded closer and laid a paw gently on the queen's stomach.

For a few moments, there was just the quiet sound of breathing. Then Kiara's amber eyes lit up as she felt a soft push against her paw, a happy squeak escaping her.

Nala laughed softly. "See? They're excited to come out and meet you already!"

Kiara purred happily, nuzzling Nala's stomach with her kittenish nose. "Hey in there," she mewed, "I'm your big sister, Kiara, and I'm super awesome! Boy, are you lucky."

Queen Nala grinned and gave her daughter another gentle lick, getting unsteadily to her paws again and looking down at her. "If you want to keep moping back here, that's okay," she said gently, "but I think you'd rather come out of there and go find your father. Trust me, you'd both feel better if you just talked to each other."

Kiara thought about it, a little daunted at the prospect of facing Simba again, but saw reason in Nala's words. "I will, Mama," she meowed, getting to her paws and rubbing against Nala's foreleg. "Thanks...and I'll make sure to act surprised," she added, giving her biggest, fakest grin before heading back out of the cave.

Nala watched her daughter go, smiling, then let out a soft sigh. "She's already so independent...if only Simba could understand how she feels."