Chapter four:
Nala leaped for the lion and bowled into him, knocking him away from Nuka. Nala nimbly leaped around Scar and put herself between him and the cubs. Nuka scrambled behind her and ducked behind Imara and Tazama. The two she-cubs gave him comforting licks before planting themselves in front of him, their eyes narrowed and tails lashing.
They'll be brave lionesses one day, Nala thought appreciatively. She turned her focus to Scar. She felt blood trickling down her face from her tattered ears. Scar had several scratches down his back and shoulders. She was smaller and faster, but he was stronger. She'd have to wear him down first. She lunged at him once more, but to her surprise, Scar ducked and fled the den.
"Stay hidden and stay away from the fight," Nala ordered the cubs. "If hyenas come in here, yowl for help and try to get out. We'll find you at the watering hole then."
Nala raced out of the den into the fray once more.
"Where's Scar?" Nala asked as she fell in beside Sarabi, swiping at the hyenas.
"Perhaps he fled?" She suggested.
"He wouldn't do that," Nala said. "He's a coward, but he hasn't lost yet."
"Then find him! Don't worry about us!" Sarabi snarled.
"Find Shomari and send her to guard the cubs," Nala told Sarabi. To her surprise, the former queen didn't protest at the order. Nala turned and scanned the battle for the russet colored lion. She spotted his figure slinking along the rock face of Pride Rock, his eyes fixed on Sarafina.
"No you don't!" Nala spat, leaping over hyenas to cut him off. Scar roared and reared, swiping at her face. Nala ducked the sharp claws and threw herself at his soft belly, her claws tearing. Scar dropped onto all fours, and Nala rolled out from underneath him before he could crush her. Scar pressed against the cliff, panting, eyeing her with hate.
"Give up, Scar," Nala growled. "You're wounded. Your hyenas are losing. This isn't a fight you'll win."
"Once you're dead it will be," Scar said, his eyes brightening. A hyena leapt onto Nala's back, nipping at her spine. Nala began to buck wildly as hyenas swarmed her. The other lionesses turned to see where their opponents had gone and began to attack the mass of pelts from behind. As Nala fought to keep the hyenas away from her spine, throat, and face, the filthy creatures were slowly picked off, either neatly killed like prey, tossed into the fire, or scared off into the gloom of the smoke.
At last, Nala staggered clear of the hoard and collapsed near the entrance of the den.
"Where's Scar?" She rasped as Sarafina rushed over.
"I think I saw him over by the edge of Pride Rock," she replied, beginning to clean Nala's wounds. Nala batted her away.
"We have to go after him!" She snarled.
"No need," rumbled the lion as he dropped onto Sarafina from a ledge above. Nala cried out in alarm as the lion slashed the throat of her mother. Rage then filled her vision, blacking out her pain and her surroundings until all she saw was her mother's body and her killer.
"Murderer!" Nala roared, leaping at him. Scar clumsily blocked Nala's ferocious attacks, caught by surprise. Nala dashed around him, clawing him on his hip before dashing around and clawing his shoulder. The lionesses watched as the furious young lioness drove Scar to the edge of Pride Rock. Twenty feet below, orange flames licked their lips greedily.
"Did you kill Mufasa?" Nala demanded, pinning the heavily bleeding lion to the ground. "Did you orchestrate the stampede?"
"The hyenas are the ones… who drove the wildebeest… into the gorge," Scar choked, his eyes full with pain and fear.
"Who told them to?" Nala asked with a deadly quiet voice, trailing her claws through the fur on his throat.
"I did," Scar choked.
"Who killed Mufasa?" Nala bellowed.
"I did!" Scar yowled, his ears flat against his head as the lionesses howled with rage.
"Well then," Nala whispered, tightening her claws around Scar's throat. "Long live the next queen." She leaped backwards off of Scar, landing neatly on her hind paws, spinning and putting her weight on her forepaws, and kicking the lion over the edge of the rock as the life bled out of him. Nala stared coldly down at him as he screamed his dying breath.
"The king is dead!" Zakia cried joyfully.
"Long live the next queen!" The lionesses echoed Nala's words.
"If only we hadn't had to pay such a price," Sarabi said sadly, laying down beside Sarafina. Nala gazed fully at her mother's body, stricken with grief. She was hardly aware of blood trickling through her pelt until it was washed away by the rain that put out the fire.