Apologies for such as long wait. I needed a break from writing. Not giving up on this story though, I love it. I know I have a lot of questions to answer especially to my loyal reviewers, but due to me being short on time right now I'm afraid I'll have to address them in the next chapter. Anyways, please do leave a review. And I do know I myself have been absent in the review sections of the stories I read. I'm really sorry about that, I'll get to reading them as soon as I can.

It was a starry night when Rafiki was in his tree, peacefully humming an ancient chant. It had been a week since Simba and his search party had returned with Kion. The hyenas had fled back to the elephant graveyard knowing that they didn't have leverage against Simba anymore. There had been no word from Scar…for the time being. He had spoken with the King about what to do about Scar and Simba had just told him that they would have to deal with him when the time came.

"Oh Ahadi, please give me guidance." Rafiki murmured. "Scar is your son, you and Uru must know something that can stop him." Rafiki waited desperately looking for any sign from the sprits above but there was nothing.

"Then at least tell me about the cubs." Rafiki said turning to where he had carefully drawn the images of Kiara, Kopa and Kion. "Kion and Kopa are destined to be the kings of the Pridelands. Will Scar get in the way of that?" He placed three leaves by the images of the cubs, for every cub born to the royal family, Rafiki saved a leaf on the day of their birth.

Rafiki closed his eyes humming softly to himself and he felt a soft wind go by him. He opened his eyes to see that Kopa's leaf was still in front of his image along with Kiara's… Kion's leaf was swept away to the other side of the tree.

"What…" Rafiki murmured. "Kion is not destined to take his place with the royals?" The leaves of the tree ruffled as if the great Kings and Queens above were agreeing.

"Oh dear…" Rafiki whispered. "What will Simba say?"

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A few weeks later, Kiara trotted out of the den late in the afternoon. The little Princess peered over the edge of Priderock, seeing all the life and paradise that the Pridelands held, a smile coming onto her face as her young mind imagined all the fun she would be able to have.

Giggling, she bounded down Priderock only to be stopped when she heard her father's voice calling out to her.

"Kiara!" Simba picked her up and carried her back up before setting her down. "Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?" He grinned as Kiara looked at him annoyed but a butterfly caught her attention and loosing focus, she eagerly pounced at it only to have Simba hold onto her tail.

"Daddy!" Kiara complained. "Let go!"

"Kiara…what did I say about running off alone?" Simba asked, wrapping his paw around her and pulling her in closer. Kiara seemed to be much more curious to run out and explore the world than her older brothers had. Simba wondered if it was because Kion and Kopa had each other for company if they couldn't find any of their friends to play with but whatever it was, Kiara clearly didn't take after them.

"Not to go off alone…but Daddy you promised!" Kiara said, folding her ears down. Simba nodded, after finding out that Kiara had snuck off with Danyssa and Jasiri while they had been gone, he had decided to ground her for a week where she hadn't been able to leave Priderock. After a week, Simba decided that it was okay if she left Priderock but only with someone to keep an eye out on her. This had gone on for a while until Nala had pointed out that he couldn't keep doing this forever.

It had upset Kiara that she wasn't allowed to play without a babysitter unlike most of the other cubs who had finally been given their privilege of being able to play and run about in the Pridelands without an escort.

Simba wanted his daughter to have the same freedom that the others cub in the Pride did and after patrolling the entire Pridelands to make sure the hyenas were well away and that Scar or any of his companions weren't near the borders, Simba had told her last night that she would be able to go out and play again.

It had thrilled Kiara but Simba couldn't help but worry what might happen if Scar still had plans to take his cubs. They had just gotten Kion back and Simba had vowed never to let Scar touch his cubs or any cubs from the Pride ever again. He would go to any length to ensure that which is why he had patrolled all of the borders himself yesterday just to make sure. Everything that had been peaceful for the weeks after bringing Kion back home and Simba knew there was no threat at the moment. But he had wanted to double check just in case before allowing Kiara to run off by herself.

"I know I promised Kiara…" Simba sighed, bending down and licking her forehead. He smiled as Kiara rubbed her cheek against his. "But you know I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"But Daddy I know the rules!" Kiara protested. "Don't go too far from Priderock, stay away from herds, and stay with my friends!"

"And?" Simba asked giving her a grin.

"And if I see any strangers don't talk to them. Come straight back home. Okay, okay can I go now?" Kiara asked, rolling her eyes before giving Simba a grin that she had clearly inherited from her father. "Please!"

"Very funny." Simba smiled at her as Nala walked out of the den and sat down beside Simba.

"Mind your father Kiara." Nala gently reminded her daughter.

"Yes Mom." Kiara nodded.

"And stay away from the Outlands." Simba added, his voice going rough as he thought of Scar. He knew there was no way he was out there anymore, there had been no signs of him for weeks and he had checked last night too. But still, he wanted to remind his cubs to be careful just in case. Kion had been traumatized from his entire ordeal with Scar's Pride and he knew his younger son wouldn't be trying to sneak off to the Outlands any time soon. After returning to Priderock, once they had made sure there were no rogues or signs of Scar around the borders, they had allowed the cubs to leave Priderock to play.

But Kion had been too scared to go, the young Prince was terrified that another hyena might run into take him again although Simba and Nala had assured him that none of that would ever happen again. But Kion was still scared so both Simba and Nala had suggested for him to play with his friends while either of them watched. Kion had agreed and it had gone on until he had felt safe to play around again without a babysitter to watch over them.

"I know Daddy…but I thought it was all safe again." Kiara said.

"Of course it is." Simba bent down and gave her face a lick. "But you can never be to careful!" He and Nala chuckled as Kiara scoffed at him.

"Now run along now." Nala rubbed her face against Kiara's. "Come back to Priderock before the sun sets." She smiled as Kiara returned her affection and licked her nose.

"Okay Mommy." Kiara nuzzled her parents one more time before bounding down the rocks going down Priderock.

"Simba, it's okay." Nala said, licking her mate's cheek when she saw the look of worry cross his face. "Scar's gone for now, there's nothing to worry about."

"I know…but that doesn't mean that he won't be back." Simba said.

"And we'll deal with it when the time comes. But we can't stop the cubs from having fun until then." Nala said.

"I suppose you're right." Simba said.

"Aren't I always?" Nala smiled. Simba grinned and rubbed his face against his mates before he gave her cheek a lick. Nala purred happily before rubbing her muzzle against his.

"Come join me in the den," Nala said pulling him into the royal den. "We haven't had a moment alone all day." Simba smiled at her before following his mate into the royal den.

A little while later, Kiara was looking around to play with her friends but she couldn't find anyone or her brothers either. Feeling annoyed, the young Princess sat down on the ground huffing in anger.

"Kiara?" Came a voice. She turned to see her father's sister, Ajjali who was now nearly in her adolescence coming towards her.

"Hi Ajjali!" Kiara nuzzled her.

"What're you doing out of Priderock by yourself?" Ajjali asked. She sat down beside her niece, grooming her paws as she looked at Kiara.

"Mommy and Daddy said I could go out and play…but I have to stay with my friends but I can't find anyone." Kiara said. "And Daddy says I can't be away from Priderock completely alone."

"But you're not alone." Ajjali pointed out with a smile. "You're with me." Kiara by far was her favourite member of the family. Other than her parents of course. She loved her older brothers and both her sister in laws but there was such a large age difference between them. She knew both Simba and Akila were both very close to each other but it often made her feel left out especially when she had been a young cub. Her mother, Sarabi had assured her that they loved her just as much but it didn't make Ajjali feel any different. Both Simba and Akila already had cubs of their own, and if they weren't tending to their cubs and families both of them were often doing their duties around the Pridelands. There were often times where Ajjali went days without speaking to either of them.

"Do you wanna play with me?" Kiara asked, her ears perking up hopefully. "Can we play hide and seek?"

"Sure." Ajjali grinned. "Not here though, there's no where to hide. Let's go find some tall grass."

"Alright!" Kiara said, trotting behind Ajjali eagerly. She knew it was a bit far from where father had set out the limits…but she had Ajjali with her and Ajjali was much older.

"Ajjali's way older than me, it's like I'm going with an adult. Daddy won't mind." Kiara thought as she followed Ajjali to where she wanted to take Kiara to play.

"Let's play here." Ajjali stopped after a while once she reached the tall grass. There were some herds grazing nearby and she pulled Kiara further away from the herds so they wouldn't get trampled in case the herds stampeded.

Kiara climbed on a tall rock with Ajjali behind her, looking around to see if there were any good hiding spots. Suddenly, the norther border caught her attention and she squinted to see if she could spot anything to explain why her father had emphasized to stay away from it.

"What're you looking at?" Ajjali asked from behind her.

"The border to the Outlands." Kiara explained. "Daddy says I can't go there but I don't get why."

"Because there's rouges out there Kiara!" Ajjali exclaimed. "You'll get killed."

"Rogues took Kion but he was fine." Kiara pointed out. Ajjali knew who had taken Kion, she had overheard her parents talking about it when they thought she was asleep but she figured Kiara didn't quite understand the dangers that Scar's pride posed yet.

"I know…but Kion was lucky that your parents got there in time." Ajjali said.

"Don't we take in rogues to join the Pride?" Kiara asked.

"Sometimes if they're good rogues…but all rogues aren't good Kiara." Ajjali said. "You have to be careful around them. Besides, hyenas live in the Outlands too!"

"Have you ever been there?" Kiara asked.

"Never." Ajjali said. Unlike her older brothers and especially Simba, Ajjali had never been a trouble maker much to Sarabi and Mufasa's relief. After having two sons who had a knack of getting into mischief, it was a relief to have a daughter who didn't seem to take after them. Ajjali had never crossed the limits her parents had set out for her or even bothered thinking of going into the Outlands even when her friends had tried to convince her to do so. The most she had done was leave Priderock as a very young cub when she wasn't supposed to but after just one scolding from her father, she had never tried again.

"I've never been to the Outlands…or even this far into the Pridelands without Mom and Daddy." Kiara said. "I want to see what's out there!"

"No Kiara!" Ajjali said. "We came here to play hide and seek and that's what we're going to do."

Kiara sighed silently knowing Ajjali would never let her run off. She couldn't sneak away either…or could she? Kiara thought as a plan hatched in her head.

"Alright…" Kiara said a mischievous grin forming on her face. "You hide first!"

"Alright!" Ajjali said, bounding away as Kiara began counting out loud.

"One…two…three…four…" Kiara counted slowly wanting to let Ajjali get far away as possible.

"Five…six…seven…eight…" Ajjali heard Kiara counting out loud in the distance as she found a hollow tree to hide in. It had fallen over in a storm, making it the perfect place to hide.

"Nine…ten…ready or not here I come!" Kiara called. There was no sign of Ajjali and Kiara knew that she was hiding, ready for Kiara to come and find her.

But Kiara wasn't going to find her. The Princess had other plans in mind and that was going and exploring the Outlands. She knew her parents had said not to go into the Outlands… but she could go and quickly explore it and come back without them knowing. She would just tell Ajjali that she had gotten lost trying to find her.

With a grin, the Princess turned and ran as fast she could towards the Outlands…unaware of the danger lurking out there.

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A little while passed and Ajjali was getting bored of waiting for Kiara to find her. Kiara loved to play hide and seek and she usually didn't take this long to find her.

"I hope she didn't get into any trouble." Ajjali muttered, deciding to leave her hiding spot to go look for Kiara. She went back to the place where she had last seen Kiara and frowned, realizing she was no where to be seen.

"Where did she go?" Ajjali asked herself. "Was I that hard to find?" Ajjali got onto the rock that they had climbed on earlier to try and see if she could spot Kiara. Looking around she couldn't spot anyone except the grazing herds of zebra, gazelle and elephants. The northern border caught her attention and she remembered the conversation she had with Kiara and she felt her heart drop.

"Oh no…" Ajjali whispered. "Kiara…you didn't." Jumping off the rock, she ran towards the border, wondering if she could catch Kiara's scent and she felt her stomach tightening as she smelled Kiara's scent as she headed towards the border.

"Kiara!" Ajjali exclaimed and began running towards the borders to get her but she stopped, knowing that if there was danger out there both she and Kiara would be unable to defend themselves. There were no patrols at this time either meaning the males wouldn't be around either.

She knew the best thing was to run back to Priderock and get help. Only the adults would be able to protect Kiara if there was danger in the Outlands.

"Simba is going to kill me." Ajjali sighed and with a gulp, she began sprinting back to Priderock.

Given that the northern border was the furthest away from Priderock, it took Ajjali a while to get there and by the time she reached the rocks leading up to Priderock, she was exhausted. She didn't know if Simba was at Priderock but she hoped Nala was. She staggered up the rocks to Priderock and to her relief, Nala was leaving the den along with Kula and Tama.

"Nala!" Ajjali cried, running towards her sister in law. Loosing her footing, she tripped and tumbled down at Nala's feet.

"What's wrong?" Nala asked, gently hooking her front paw around Ajjali and pulling her back up. "Did something happen?"

"It's Kiara!" Ajjali gasped out.

"Kiara?" Nala asked, a look of worry coming over at the mention of her daughter. "What happened?"

"We were playing hide and seek and she told me to hide but when I came back she had gone to the northern border to explore the Outlands!" Ajjali said.

"No!" Nala breathed, her heart pounding as she thought of the danger her youngest cub was heading into. "There's hyenas at the northern border!" They wouldn't hesitate to make a meal out of Kiara.

"Simba!" Nala cried as she spotted Simba coming towards them with Zazu behind him. Thinking something had happened to his mate, Simba hurried towards them and nuzzled Nala. "What's wrong?"

"Kiara's heading towards the northern border!" Nala cried, looking at her mate. "We have to go get her before hyenas find her!" Ajjali saw her brother's eyes going wide before Simba turned to her.

"What is she doing at the borders?" Simba exclaimed looking at Ajjali.

"She was wanting to go explore the Outlands…I didn't think she would actually go." Ajjali said.

"Zazu!" Simba ordered. "Fly ahead and find her now!" The hornbill was immediately off with Simba after him. Nala followed him with Shari and Tama behind.

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Meanwhile, in the Outlands, Kovu was wandering about the Outlands with Nuka. Scar's leg had finally healed enough for him to make a trip to the elephant graveyard to talk to the hyenas about his failed plan. Kovu had asked to come but Scar had refused.

However, Kovu was beginning to grow into a stubborn cub and he had annoyed Scar about going until he had finally agreed as long as Zira came with him. Kovu had enjoyed the time he had with his parents, most of the time he spent with Zira was often taken up with lessons on hunting so Kovu was glad to be able to spend time with her.

Nuka had also asked to come along. Kovu wasn't sure why, he hadn't asked to go until he heard that Kovu was going to accompany their parents. Kovu wondered if it was because he was jealous but he didn't bother asking.

Now Zira and Scar had left Nuka in charge of Kovu while they went to see the hyenas.

"Nuka, let's go find something to hunt on so we can show Mom and Dad when they come back." Kovu said and Nuka looked at him coldly.

"Go by yourself." Nuka snapped. "I don't care." He hated Kovu. Nuka always had his suspicions that Kovu wasn't related to him by blood and his suspicions were confirmed when he overheard the lionesses talking about Kovu. Although he had been young, he had still been old enough to comprehend that his mother wasn't pregnant when they had brought Kovu home. He knew Kovu wasn't Scar and Zira's real son but he didn't dare say anything like the other lionesses in fear of what Zira and Scar might do.

Nuka didn't understand why Kovu had just automatically been given the title of Scar's heir while Scar had disowned Nuka, his own son by blood. Nuka was sure he could be just as a good of a successor as Kovu. If Scar and Zira could just give him a chance, he knew he would be able to prove it.

And there was poor little Vitani who Scar didn't want to spend time with and even limited the contact that Zira could have with her. Nuka felt sorry for his sister, he knew Vitani loved being able to be with Zira but Scar was always in their way.

It was often the other lionesses in the Pride that stepped up to take care of them, even when they had youngsters of their own. Nuka had seen how much they loved their own cubs and wondered why his parents couldn't love him like that.

But looking at Kovu, Nuka knew why. Kovu was now heir and he would always be the heir as long as he was alive. Zira and Scar would invest all their time and energy into him, leaving Nuka and Vitani to fend for themselves.

"But Mom and Dad said that I have to stay with you." Kovu frowned.

"Then you better stay with me you little termite!" Nuka growled at him and Kovu glared at him.

"I'm gonna go hunt something and show Mom and Dad!" Kovu shouted and stormed away. Nuka let him go…he was sure that even if both of them caught something their parents would only be proud of Kovu and not Nuka.

Nuka watched him go, not caring about the danger that Kovu was heading towards.

With a grin Kovu hurried away from Nuka, glad to be able to spend time on his own. He headed further away from the place that his parents had left him, determined to find some prey and return before they knew that he had left. Hearing the sounds of a river nearby, Kovu headed towards it hoping to find something he could catch. The little brown cub sat down in disappointment realizing there was no animal in sight to be caught.

"Maybe I could go into the Pridelands, it's nearby. That's what Dad always says. Maybe I can even catch a big kill to show Mom and Dad!" Kovu thought, feeling excited at the last thought.

"Oaf!" Kovu felt something…actually someone hitting him and he rolled onto the ground with a grunt. Once the dust had settled, Kovu rose back onto his paws to see a cub with amber red eyes staring at him.

"That must be a Pridelander." Kovu thought, then felt his heart hardening as he remembered what his parents had told him. "The Pridelanders are the ones who kicked us out of our rightful home!"

"Who are you Pridelander?" Kovu growled, advancing on the cub who gasped and stepped back from him, continuing to back up as he advanced in closer. Kovu growled the best he could again, only to see the cub back up again. For some strange reason, the cub didn't appear to want to turn her back on him.

"What're you doing?" Kovu asked, giving her a strange look.

"My father says never to turn your back on an Outsider!" The cub snapped, trying to look threatening but Kovu found it hilarious.

"You always do what Daddy says?" Kovu laughed.

"No!" The cub snapped, narrowing her eyes.

"Bet you do!" Kovu grinned. "Bet you're daddy's little girl!" His assumption was confirmed when the younger cub lowered her head, a slight pout coming onto her face.

"My father's the King." The cub said puffing her chest out proudly. "I have to do what he says." Which of course wasn't true but Kiara didn't want to seem like a baby in front of the older cub.

"You're the Princess of the Pridelands?" Kovu asked with surprise.

"I'm Princess Kiara." Kiara nodded, eying him warily. "What's your name?"

"Kovu." Kovu said with a grin, realizing that he had the opportunity to scare the Princess. This was the daughter of the very lion that had kicked them out of the Pridelanders, their rightful home according to his parents.

"An Outlander doesn't need anyone." Kovu said, puffing his chest out proudly remembering that there was no one here to baby sit him. "I take care of myself." Raising his head high, he turned and walked away from the Pridelander cub, remembering how he had promised himself to make a kill before his parents returned.

"Really?" Kiara looked fascinated as she followed him across the river, both cubs jumping on rocks to cross. "Cool!"

"Look cub, it was nice talking but I need to hunt for my family." Kovu said, smirking at how grown up that sounded. "I'll see you around."

"You know how to hunt?" Kiara asked. "Really? What can you hunt."

"A lot of things." Kovu said turning towards her with a grin. "I usually go for zebra or impala but if I'm really hungry, I'll take down a hippo." He knew it wasn't true, but Kiara seemed to believe it and for once it was nice to have someone look up to him instead of his family never seemed to be happy with what he did.

"My mother's the leader of the hunting party but she needs a lot of help when they take down hippos." Kiara said. "I didn't know cubs could hunt hippos."

"A lot of cubs can't." Kovu said. "But I can." He frowned as he felt the rock he was standing on move.

"Wait," Kovu thought. "Rocks don't move!" He looked back to the female cub who was also looking around in confusion. Suddenly, Kovu noticed a shadow behind the Pridelander and his eyes widened realizing what it was.

A crocodile.

Kovu screamed louder than he ever had before, causing Kiara to jump and look behind her. Seeing the crocodile, she also let out a cry of fear and jumped onto the next rock just as Kovu did. To his horror, he saw more crocodiles coming their way and he felt his hear beginning to pound.

"This way!" Kiara jumped ahead of him, seeing a path to a dead tree that they could use to climb back to the shore. Kovu ran behind her, jumping onto the branch just as another crocodile tried clamping down on him. Seeing that Kiara had already jumped to the safety of the shore, Kovu also jumped, reaching for the edge only to be able to hit the side. He let out a cry of fear as he felt himself sliding down the wall and back towards where the crocodiles were hungrily waiting for their next meal.

"Grab my paw!" Kiara was reaching down the best she could and Kovu managed to get hold of her paw as she dragged him up the wall. Once Kovu had reached the ledge, he collapsed on the ground exhausted while Kiara looked at the crocodiles in fascination.

"What do you look so surprised at?" Kovu asked.

"What do you mean?" Kiara asked. "I've never seen a crocodile before."

"Really?" Kovu asked. "But you live in the Pridelands. Aren't there a lot of animals there?"

"There are." Kiara. "But my daddy doesn't let me go everywhere because he says I'm still too little."

Kovu smirked. "Guess you don't know how to live by yourself like I do." Remembering his little game of 'scare the Princess', he began circling around Kiara giving her a mischievous grin.

Kiara's awe and wonder at the thought of this cub being able to do whatever he wanted was halted when Kovu began to circle around her.

"What're you doing?" Kiara asked, looking confused.

"Bet you don't know how to defend yourself Princess." Kovu smirked, growling at her and grinned when she stepped back.

"I do too!"

"You keep telling yourself that Princess."

"I have a name you know!"

"I don't care. Princess suits you." He laughed as Kiara glared at him before he turned to get a drink of water from the puddle nearby. He was enjoying his drink after the terrifying ordeal when he felt himself being hit on the head from behind and pushed right into the water. Coming back up, he spat the water out of his mouth and glared at the Princess.

Kiara was laughing loudly and only laughed more when she saw Kovu's soaking wet face. She had let her frustration get the best of her and had done the first thing she could think of.

And that was to push him in the water.

"Serves you right." Kiara said. "If you aren't going to call me by my name, I'm going to push you in the water."

"Wanna bet?" Kovu growled, crouching low and advancing on her. This time, Kiara was ready and she also growled, more playfully and got closer to Kovu ready to fight her.

Which caused Kovu to stop. He didn't think Kiara knew how to fight. According to his parents, all the Pridelander cubs were spoiled cubs who didn't have to work for a single thing in life while cubs like him had to fight every single day just to live.

"What?" Kiara asked with a laugh. "Are you scared?"

"Am not!" Kovu grunted, feeling irritated. "Spoiled little Princess."

"Then what?" Kiara demanded, looking determined.

"I didn't know you knew how to fight." Kovu grunted.

"I do know how to fight!" Kiara declared. "I could win against you too!"

"Wanna bet?" Kovu grinned. He loved a good fight and he bent down in pouncing position when he heard a dangerous growl. He suddenly wondered if the crocodiles were after them again but he realized the growl belonged to a lion.

From the tall grass behind him, a large golden brown lion with an amber red mane appeared. He jumped in front of Kiara, separating the two cubs and Kovu jumped back, whimpering in fear. He looked at the lion who let out a loud threatening roar and there were another few snarls behind him. He looked to see a lioness with creamy fur and blue eyes on the lion's right. The lioness immediately pulled Kiara towards her and Kovu wondered if that lioness was Kiara's mother. Whipping his head around, he saw two other lionesses approaching behind Nala.

Kovu backed up, whimpering softly to himself. Was he going to die? Suddenly, he caught a familiar scent in the air and he felt someone pulling him back. Looking up he saw Scar standing above him with Zira on his other side.

Kovu wanted to cry in relief when he saw his mother and father. He knew they loved him and would never let anything bad happen to him.

"Scar…" The lion hissed angrily between clenched teeth, glaring at Scar with anger.

"Simba…" Scar spat right back. Kovu gasped, realizing that this was King Simba, their most hated enemy.

Kovu peaked out at the lions in front of them. They had their attention directed at Scar and Zira but for some reason, Kovu felt himself noting the lioness with the dark brown skin to the right of Kiara's mother. She looked oddly familiar although this was his first time seeing any Pridelander lions. He tried thinking back to when he might have seen her but couldn't remember. Zira seemed to note that Kovu was looking and she followed his gaze.

Kovu suddenly felt Zira grabbing him again and hiding him completely behind her. Kovu felt frustrated, he wanted to see what would happen but he knew better than to move.

Scar shifted his view to Nala. He and Zira had been returning to collect Nuka and Kovu when they caught Kovu's scent near the border of the Pridelands. It was then that they had rushed to the scene, just in time to see Simba arrive with his lionesses.

"Nala…" Scar looked at the so called Queen. A River Pride lioness that had taken over as Queen of the Pridelands. Scar clenched his teeth in anger, he had hated the River Pride since the beginning and knowing that a River Pride lioness was now the Pridelander Queen made his blood boil in anger.

Here he, a Pridelander by blood was exiled to the Outlands while an outsider lioness from the River Pride was accepted as Queen of the Pridelands.

"Scar…" Nala growled threateningly at the former Pridelander.

"You made a big mistake kidnapping my son and trying to hold him for ransom." Simba growled, taking a step forward. "Now you made an even bigger mistake stepping into my Pridelands! Get out!" He clenched his teeth with the last words.

"Your Pridelands?" Scar asked. "These lands don't rightfully belong to you Simba. Mufasa was never meant to be heir so by right, you aren't meant to be King either."

"Lies!" Simba roared. "You know nothing about the circle of life and of the ways of the Pridelanders. That's exactly what got you exiled in the first place!"

"I know nothing of the ways of the Pridelanders?" Scar asked in a taunting matter. "If I am right Simba, you are the one who decided to mate King Runju's daughter. She is of the River Pride…the greatest enemy of the Pridelanders! You are shaming Ahadi and all the kings that came before you by putting your…half blood cubs on the throne!"

Simba let out a roar of anger and was about to step forward and rip Scar into pieces when he caught Kiara shaking in fear in behind him. He knew no matter what, he couldn't kill in front of his own daughter, especially not out of anger.

"If you think you know the laws of the Pridelands so well Scar then you must know what the penalty for crossing into the Pridelands is for you." Simba snarled.

"Of course I do." Scar growled. "But the boy does not." He looked over at Nuka who looked at him in surprise. He wouldn't risk them seeing Kovu. If either Simba or the other lionesses recognized him, they would immediately attack and take Kovu back to his rightful home. He caught Kula at the corner of his eyes and he knew Zira recognized her too. If she saw her son, she would surely attack no matter what and take him back.

And he would be left with no heir to succeed him.

"However, if you need your pound of flesh." Zira added from beside Scar. "Here it is." She pushed Nuka forward as the adolescent shook in fear.

Simba glared at Nuka, he remembered him from when he had caught Kopa at the borders. He knew very well that this wasn't the cub that had been playing with Kiara, it was the dark brown one that Zira appeared to be shielding behind her legs. He faintly remembered Nuka from when he had caught Kopa at the borders playing with him over a year ago.

Simba wondered why Scar and Zira were offering their other son…but then again, he also remembered what Kopa told him about Nuka not being loved by his own parents. Perhaps he wasn't lying after all.

Either way it didn't matter. He was no cub killer and would never be one either. Especially not to such unfortunate cubs like Nuka. He knew that Scar's cubs were innocent…for the time being. Scar and Zira would surely corrupt them when they grew up but for now they were just innocent cubs. And they deserved life, even if it their life wasn't under the best circumstances.

Simba gave Scar and Zira another glare. "Take him and get out. Don't ever let me catch you near the Pridelands or my Pride ever again. I've let you off twice Scar, I won't be as nice next time. I am no killer but I will be if I need to protect my Pride. You are no longer a Pridelander Scar…you may have once been but your actions deprived you of it and you brought your fate on yourself. Accept it and move on. We're finished here."

He turned around to check on Kiara, seeing she wasn't hurt he nodded at Nala who picked their daughter up. Simba heard Scar chuckling from behind him and he turned around again.

"Oh no Simba…we have barely begun." Scar said, giving Kiara a menacing look and Kiara whimpered in fear. Simba growled at Scar, warning him to stay away from Kiara.

Scar gave him another deadly look before he turned and followed his family back into the Outlands.

Kiara caught Kovu's eyes before he was picked up by his mother.

"Bye…" Kiara could hear Kovu's faint whisper as he looked at her.

"Bye…" Kiara whispered back as her mother carried her away…but she doubt he heard it.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

The sun was setting as Simba and the lionesses neared Priderock. Simba was angry at Kiara for disobeying him but that was nothing compared to the fear he had felt when Ajjali had told them that Kiara had run off. He didn't want to think of what might have happened if they hadn't arrived on time.

But he was going to make sure Kiara never ran off again.

"Nala." Simba stopped on top of a hill and Nala turned around and looked at him. Knowing that her mate wanted to speak with their daughter alone, she set Kiara down on a rock beside Simba. She nuzzled Kiara's cheek with her nose, knowing she was scared of what Simba might say but she trusted her mate to properly discipline their cubs.

She was disappointed her daughter had run off yet again but she forget about her anger when she had spotted Zira and Scar at the borders. It made her angrier that they were near the Prideland borders in the first place. But even more than that, she was relieved that Kiara was okay. She could imagine what would have happened if they hadn't arrived on time and the thought of loosing a cub was unbearable.

Giving her mate and daughter another tender look, she turned around and caught up with Tama and Shari who were patiently waiting for her. Both of them talking in low voices about Scar and Zira.

"What kind of mother does that?" Tama asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "Offer their cub to be killed?"

"They knew Simba would never kill a cub, didn't they Nala?" Shari asked looking at her friend who nodded.

"Simba would never hurt a cub even if he was forced to." Nala said. "Neither would he kill Scar unless he really had to…my mate is no killer and I don't want Scar and Zira turning him into one either." Her eyes filled with sadness and worry of what Simba might have to do in order to protect his Pride…but they would deal with it when they had to.

She took one last look at Simba talking with Kiara before continuing on home.

Meanwhile, Kiara was still sitting on the rock beside Simba…her head bowed in fear. She knew Simba would be angry at her. She had disobeyed her father again.

"Kiara…" Simba's angry voice spoke. "Look at me."

Kiara looked up and gave him a wide grin, hoping to be able get out of this one easily but she lowered her gaze once again as she saw Simba looking at her angrily.

"Kiara…" Simba asked. "What did you think you were doing today? Do you have any idea what danger you got yourself into? You could have been killed!"

"I-" Kiara tried to speak but Simba cut her off.

"You knew what the boundaries were." Simba said, narrowing his eyes once again. "Why did you go past the borders?"

"Because I want to know what's out there too Daddy!" Kiara whimpered, tears coming to her eyes. "Everyone knows except me and it's not fair! I don't even get to go to the patrols there either!" She wiped her tears away with the back of her paw and looked back up at Simba who gaze softened.

"But now you do know what's up there and it was no fun was it?" Simba asked, licking Kiara's face to clean away her tears. The cub sniffed and nodded half heartedly.

"Kiara, I'm telling you this because I love you." Simba said. "I don't want to lose you. If something happened to you, I don't know what I would do."

"But Daddy, it's not like I have anything important to do." Kiara said. "I'm not the future Queen or anything, that's for Kion and Kopa."

A smile tugged on Simba's face seeing Kiara's frustrated face.

"Kiara, you know I don't care whether you're the heir or not." Simba said gently. "Being the heir is not what is important. It's knowing your place in the Pride and who you are. The strength of the Pride is the lion and the strength of the lion is the Pride. We are one."

Kiara looked at her father in confusion. What did he mean by her place in the pride? Kiara knew who she was…she was the princess of the Pridelands.

Simba smiled seeing the confusion on the cub's face. "You'll understand when you're older. Now let's go home." He smiled as Kiara rubbed her face against his cheek and he licked the top of her head before they began the long walk home.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

A few mornings later in the Pridelands, the cubs were wide awake and ready for another day of fun and playing.

"Hi Dad!" Kopa called, running over to his father and nuzzling his legs. "Are you going to be at Priderock today?"

"A bit." Simba said licking the top of his head. "Rafiki is coming by Priderock to speak with me and then I have some rounds to make. How about you run along and play now? The rainy season is coming quickly, best you play while you can before the rain begins." Kopa nodded and trotted down Priderock to find his friends.

Kiara walked out of the den. "Daddy can I go play too? Please Daddy, please!" Simba smiled at his youngest.

"I don't know…" Simba raised an eyebrow playfully at Kiara.

"Mom says the rainy season is coming up fast and then I won't be able to go play!" Kiara whined, stomping her paw on the ground. "I wanna go!"

"Alright." Simba chuckled. "Stay near Priderock though. Come back to Priderock when the sun is at the highest peak." Kiara nodded and nuzzled her father before she ran down Priderock.

A few minutes after that, Rafiki arrived.

"Hello Rafiki." Simba said, smiling at the old mandrill.

"My King." Rafiki bowed to Simba. "I've been speaking to the spirits above lately and they told me something concerning Kion."

"Kion…" Simba said looking worried. "What about him?" Rafiki beckoned him to follow and he lead Simba down Priderock to a more secluded place under the acacia trees.

"What about Kion, Rafiki?" Simba asked.

"Kion is not destined to be the King of Priderock." Rafiki said and Simba narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Simba asked. "Of course he is, it was declared at the time of his birth! The law states that twins may rule together, especially if the case is that they are both males. I followed the law accordingly."

"Of course you did Simba." Rafiki said. "This is not because of something you or Nala did wrong. There is no one to blame here except destiny. Kion is not destined to be King of Priderock and its simple as that."

"If he's not destined to be the King of Priderock, than what is going to be when he grows up?" Simba asked. "We've already declared that he will rule alongside Kopa. Everyone in the Pridelands knows!"

"I don't know who he will be in the future." Rafiki said. "All I know is that he will not be King. Simba, I know you don't want to accept this and perhaps I should not have told you. But I knew that if I had told you when he is older, it would have been harder for you to accept."

Simba was silent for a few minutes before he spoke again. "Rafiki, the spirits can say anything they want. It doesn't matter, Kion is my son and heir to the throne. I will not let anything get in the way of that, Kion will be King alongside Kopa."

Rafiki sighed at Simba, he knew that Simba would never accept that his son would not take his place as King. If Simba's wasn't going to listen, when the time come, Rafiki hoped he would understand. "Oh Ahadi…I hope you know what you are doing."

"Very well my King." Rafiki said bowing to Simba. "He is your son and in the end, it is you and Nala who raise him. Do it wisely sire. I'll be taking my leave now."

Simba nodded and watched him go.

The next morning, Kiara was awake before the rest of her family. The little Princess was glad to be able to leave Priderock again and was ready to play.

"Kopa! Kion!" Kiara squeezed out of her mother's grasp and crawled over to her brothers. "Wake up so we can play!"

"Aww Kiara, how come you had to wake me up so early?" Kopa grumbled, covering his ears with his paws.

"Let's go!" Kiara pulled him up as Kion opened his eyes and rolled over with a yawn.

"Fine…" Kion grumbled.

"You're so annoying!" Kopa mumbled as he staggered to his feet. He gave Kiara a swat with his paw and Kiara glared at him.

"You three aren't going anywhere without us to keep an eye out on you." Simba mumbled, his voice still groggy with sleep. He wanted to sleep some more but he knew the cubs weren't going to let him. He felt Nala rolling over and burying her face into his mane as she continued to sleep soundly.

"Then hurry up Dad!" Kion pulled on him. "Let's go!" Simba sighed and opened his eyes to see all three of them looking at him eagerly and he couldn't help but grin at the sight of them despite being tired.

"Why is that you three never wake Mom up?" Simba asked, gently getting up so he wouldn't rouse Nala.

"Because Mom told us that you like getting up early in the morning so we should wake you up and let her sleep in." Kopa answered and Simba gave his sleeping mate an amused look.

"Let's go." Simba herded them outside but just as they stepped out of the den, he stopped realizing that it was pouring rain.

It was official. The rainy season in the Pridelands had begun.

"Oh no!" Kiara whined. "It's raining! Will it stop?"

"I don't think so honey." Simba said. "It's the rainy season, most of the time it rains non stop." This was the first rainy season that Kiara could fully understand and while Kopa and Kion had been old enough to understand the rainy season last season, they were too young to remember last year.

"So what're we supposed to do?" Kopa asked and Simba grinned.

"Go back to the den and sleep!" The cubs groaned and followed their father back into the royal den.

Meanwhile in the big den that the rest of the Pride slept in, Jasiri had also waken up ready to start her day. She gently squeezed out of her sleeping spot between her mother and father and tiptoed away from them wanting to see if any of her friends were awake yet.

Hearing sound outside, Jasiri's ears perked up and she trotted out of the den to see that it was pouring rain outside. Her ears folded down in annoyance as she realized none of the cubs would be able to play outside today.

"Jasiri…" Jasiri turned to see her mother coming up behind her. "Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?"

"I wasn't going anywhere Mom." Jasiri said. "How'd you know I left anyways?"

Kula chuckled, bending down and giving her face a lick. "You are never far from my sight. I know and see everything you do."

"Is this the rainy season?" Jasiri asked. Like many other cubs, this was the first rainy season she fully understood and would be able to remember.

"Yes it is." Kula nodded, looking up at the sky. "Rafiki said we'd have a longer rainy season than usual this year."

"It's so much rain Mom." Jasiri groaned.

"You should come see the rainy season at River Pride." Kula chuckled. "It rained so much, the river often floods and we have to move dens."

"Really?" Jasiri asked.

Kula nodded. "Come into the den and I'll tell you more about it." Jasiri followed Kula back into the den and they settled down by Chumvi. Kula picked Jasiri up and put her in her paws just as Chumvi rolled over and slowly opened his eyes.

"Daddy!" Jasiri pounced on his head and Chumvi grunted. "The rainy season started!"

"I figure that's why you're still in the den and not out playing?" Chumvi asked, using his paw to lift Jasiri off of his head and back into Kula's paws. He rested his head on Kula's back wanting to get some more sleep but with Jasiri awake he doubted that he could.

"When we lived in the River Pride," Kula began. "The rainy season got so bad that the river in front Riverside began to overflow. And when it overflowed, we had to move into a cave on higher ground. One year, Tama and I wandered away and we were left behind. The water got bad to the point where we had to swim away."

"Really?" Jasiri asked. "Mom, I want to go to the River Pride during the rainy season."

"We'll see." Kula said. "I'll talk to the others and maybe when the rain takes a break we can go."

Jasiri scanned the den for her friends. Kiara and her siblings weren't anywhere to be seen, Danyssa was still asleep along with Haru and Vijay.

Jasiri turned to Chumvi again and pounced on his head. Chumvi sighed and gently pushed Jasiri off.

"Jasiri…please just let Daddy sleep for a few more minutes." Chumvi said.

"But I wanna play." Jasiri said, grabbing Chumvi's ear between her teeth and pulling on it.

"I don't think I'm going to have much of an ear left once she's grown." Chumvi muttered, opening his eyes slightly and looking at Kula who smiled at her mate.

"You may as well play with her now and sleep later." Kula chuckled at her mate's irritated face but Chumvi slowly raised his head, blinking the sleepiness out of his eyes.

Jasiri giggled and jumped at her father but Chumvi was faster, using his paw to block her and pin her down on the ground.

"Aw Dad that's not fair! Your paw is as big as me!" Jasiri complained.

"Don't be a bad sport Jasiri." Chumvi said. "You'll get better eventually."

"Jasiri!" Came a voice. Jasiri turned to see that Vijay and Haru were awake and calling her over to play.

"Go join them sweetheart." Kula said, using her nose to roll Jasiri over and back onto her paws.

"Alright." Jasiri said and trotted towards them so the cubs could play.

"Wonderful." Chumvi said and flopped back down, resting his head in Kula's paws to get some more sleep.

"Wouldn't you rather spend some time with me instead of going back to sleep?" Kula asked, smiling when Chumvi rolled over and buried his face into her chest.

"Of course." Chumvi said, his voice muffled. "Right after I take a nap!" Kula bent down and licked the back of his ear. "Don't forget you have the morning patrol today with Akila and Moraan."

"I almost forgot." Chumvi sighed and raised his head, looking around for Akila and Moraan. "I'll go find them, I'll see you in a bit."

"Be careful, it's raining pretty hard outside." Kula said and Chumvi nodded. He rubbed his cheek against Kula's and gave her cheek a lick before getting up and going outside.

Kula looked over to see Nala bringing her three cubs into the den and settling in a corner while the cubs went to play with their friends. Kula got up and joined her, knowing that they would be spending much of the rainy season like this made her happy.

"Hey." Nala said as Kula settled down beside her. They rubbed heads in greeting.

"I told Jasiri about the rainy seasons back at the River Pride." Kula said and a smile went up Nala's face.

"Good times." Nala smiled and a feeling of nostalgia washed over both of them as they remembered the place that they grew up in. Looking at Nala, Kula was happy to have her closest friends from her birth home with her. She loved Jasiri and Chumvi more than anything and she would live anywhere to keep them with her but having Nala and her friends with her as well was precious. They were the only ones that had the same memories as her from when they had been cubs and being able to share them with each other was one of the best feelings in the world.

"I want to take the cubs there." Nala said, breaking Kula from her thoughts. "I told Simba and he encouraged me to take them, after all the River Pride is their home just as much as the Pridelands are. Maybe if the rain dies down a little bit, we could go and stay for a day or two."

"I hope so." Kula said. "Jasiri wants to go."

"Mom!" Kopa came up to them, followed by the other cubs. "I'm really hungry, is there any meat left over from the hunt?"

"I'm afraid not." Nala sighed, knowing that hunting would be much more difficult with the rainy season. And the cubs got hungry much more than the adults did as well and no matter what, Nala wanted to make sure that all the cubs in the Pride ate well. It was her responsibility as Queen.

"Cubs," Kula turned her attention to them. "Don't forget that hunting is hard during the rainy season. We can't hunt as much in the rain, it's difficult to see."

"Does that mean we're all going to starve Aunt Nala?" Vijay asked, looking at his aunt with wide eyes.

"Of course not." Nala licked his forehead. "No one is going to starve. But I'm afraid that there are going to be times where we won't eat for a few days or maybe eat less. Even without the rain, all hunts aren't successful and there's been times where we didn't have any kills to feed on. The older lionesses can't hunt in weather like this either so only the younger ones can go. It can be difficult to hunt in the heavy rain. It's the first rainy season that most of you can remember so it'll be a bit hard adjusting. You'll get used to it soon."

"Run along now!" Kula smiled at the cubs. "No need to worry, we're all going to be okay!"

"I'll call for a hunt in the evening." Nala said. "Hopefully we can hunt enough to keep the Pride well fed for a few days."

"I hope so." Kula said, understanding the worry Nala felt.

The hunt that evening was exhausting. The rain had stopped for a while and the lionesses had quickly used the opportunity to hunt. Once they had tracked a herd the rain had started again making the hunt difficult. But by some miracle, Nala and the experienced hunters managed to take down a buffalo while the younger lionesses caught a zebra. Satisfied, Nala led her hunting party back to Priderock where they divided the kills among the Pride members. Nala carried her portion to where the twins and Kiara were waiting underneath a ledge where they would stay dry.

"Eat up!" Nala nudged the three of them towards the carcass. She sat down behind them, not wanting to eat until she was sure that her cubs were full. She could wait. Simba came up to them a few minutes later and smiled at the sight of his cubs hungrily eating.

"Look's like the hunt was a success." Simba said, settling down beside Nala.

"For the time being." Nala nodded.

"Nala, it's okay!" Simba said, his voice low so their cubs wouldn't hear. "You'll be fine at leading the hunts just like you've been every single year. Even my mother wasn't this successful."

"I suppose." Nala said."But the Pride is bigger than ever now and we have more cubs." She rested her head on Simba's shoulder, tired from the long hunt. It was cold but resting against Simba warmed her up. After the cubs were done feeding, Nala sent them back into the warm den before Nala and Simba had their fill.

"I've been meaning to tell you something." Simba said when they were done. "I wasn't going to…but I think it's better to do it now rather than later."

"What is it?" Nala asked.

"It's about Kion…" Simba sighed. "Rafiki came to me and told me Kion isn't destined to be King of Priderock."

"What do you mean he isn't supposed to be King?" Nala asked. "It was announced when he was born!"

"I know." Simba said. "But Rafiki said he's been speaking with the spirits above lately and he said Kion was never destined to be King since the beginning."

"Is it because he was born after Kopa?" Nala asked. "I thought twins could rule together according to the law."

"They can…but Nala, this doesn't have anything to do with the law." Simba sighed. "Some things just aren't meant to be and Kion isn't meant to be King. I don't want to believe it or listen to Rafiki. But I know Rafiki very well and most of the time he's right."

Nala's eyes held a bit of sorrow as she took in what Simba told her. Seeing her face, Simba leaned in and licked her cheek. "But you need to know that I don't care what Rafiki says. Kion's my son and in the end, we're the ones who will raise him. I am going to train and raise him to be King and he'll rule alongside Kopa just like we decided."

"Simba…if his fate is not be King there's nothing we can do..even if we are his parents." Nala said her voice quiet.

"No Nala." Simba said his voice firm. "I don't care. I won't let this get in the way of Kion's throne. He will be King." Nala nodded and after giving her another nuzzle, Simba lead his mate into the den to join the rest of the Pride.

The next day Nala was in the den, napping lightly. There wasn't much else for the Queen to do given that it was pouring rain outside and the Pride was still well fed from the day prior.

"Mom!" She felt a tiny set of teeth tug on her ear and she rolled around to see Kiara looking at her eagerly.

"What is it Kiara?" Nala asked, yawning as she blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes.

"Will you play with me?" Kiara asked looking at her mother hopefully.

"I'm a little tired right now." Nala gave her face a lick. "Maybe later." She closed her eyes but Kiara head butted her impatiently and Nala sighed. It was like every other rainy season with the cubs. They were confined to the den and once they were tired of playing with each other and the rest of their friends, they would come ask Simba or Nala to play.

"Where's your father?" Nala asked, her eyes still closed.

"He's telling Kion, Vijay and Tanabi a story." Kiara said.

"Then why don't you go join them and let Mommy sleep?" Nala suggested.

"But I wanna play with you!" Kiara said pouncing her head and Nala opened her eyes, feeling irritated.

"When will you three be old enough to let me have a good sleep?" Nala asked, shaking her head and Kiara grinned.

"Mommy, Jasiri said that we could go to the River Pride for a few days. Can we? I want to see the rainy season there." Kiara asked.

"I'll do my best." Nala licked the top of her head. "If the rain slows down for a bit maybe we can go and come back." Kiara nodded before she playfully growled at Nala, pouncing on her before they started play fighting.

"Kiara, where's Kopa?" Nala asked, noticing that her oldest cub was no where to be seen in the den.

"Oh…" Kiara said. "He's taking a nap!"

"Kiara…" Nala raised her eyebrows at her daughter, giving her a stern look.

"He went to play outside with Haru." Kiara said, lowering her ears. "But he said I can't tell anyone Mom!"

"Kopa…" Nala sighed, getting onto her feet. She motioned for Shari to follow and both of them walked outside.

"Please tell me they didn't run off…" Shari sighed. "I closed my eyes for a moment and he was gone."

Nala tried picking up the scent but it was gone with the rain. She could faintly hear the sounds of cubs playing at the bottom of Priderock and she figured one of them was her son.

"Come on…" Nala walked down Priderock, carefully making sure not to slip on the rocks with Shari behind her. Sure enough, Kopa and Haru were rolling around in the mud, laughing loudly despite being soaking wet. Neither of them noticed their mothers standing behind them until Shari cleared her throat loudly.

"Having fun I see?" Shari asked. The cubs whirled around, surprise on their faces.

"What are you two doing?" Nala scolded. "You'll get sick from playing in the rain!"

"But Mom, there's nothing to do in the den." Kopa complained. "We were bored in the den."

"It's funner out here." Haru nodded.

"Doesn't matter, as much as I want you two to be able to play outside, I'd rather have you not get sick." Shari said, picking Haru up and he groaned. Nala took Kopa and they headed back into the warm den and Nala settled down beside Sarabi to give Kopa a bath.

"Don't ever let me catch you playing outside again." Nala scolded. "And look at you! I just gave you a bath in the morning!"

"Aw Mom but Dad said it was okay if we went out just for a few minutes." Kopa said. "He said the most that'll happen is that we'll fall in the mud."

"That's because your father isn't the one giving you a bath after." Nala reminded. "I am!" But she chuckled inwardly at the thought of her mate and Sarabi smiled lovingly at her grandson.

"You're just like your father when he was young." Sarabi said stroking Kopa's head as he lay in Nala's paws as she cleaned him. "Your grandfather would let Uncle Akila and your father run around in the rain since he didn't have to bathe them when they came back in."

"But Grandma what else am I supposed to do?" Kopa asked. "There's nothing else to do in the den!"

"I know it gets boring." Sarabi said. "But at least your not alone. You have your friends, siblings and family here with you. How about you come to your grandfather and I tonight? There's a story I've been meaning to tell you for a while."

"Alright." Kopa beamed. He loved when his grandparents told him stories before he went to sleep.

"There you go." Nala said giving Kopa one last lick. "And don't even think of running out again."

"Yeah Mom I know." Kopa grinned at his mother. He licked Nala's cheek and Nala gave him a nuzzle before he trotted off into the nursery den to find Haru.

Nala saw her mate coming towards them and she gave Simba a look.

"What?" Simba asked as he lay down next to Nala.

"The next time you let him run around in the mud outside, you can give him a bath yourself." Nala said and Simba laughed.

"I didn't tell him to play out in the mud, I told it was okay if he went outside for a few minutes with Haru. Besides, you know I don't bathe cubs." Simba chuckled. Nala gave him an irritated look but Simba pulled his mate in closer to him, letting her lean her head on his shoulder.

"Simba, it's about time you learn how to bathe cubs. Great kings above,you have three young cubs! You should know how to." Sarabi said, looking at her son sternly.

"Mom, I know how to give the cubs a bath. It's just a headache bathing them." Simba said. "Besides, Dad didn't ever bathe Akila, Ajjali or me!"

"Your father is another story." Sarabi chuckled and Nala turned towards her mother in law attentively.

"Mufasa knew how to bathe cubs very well." Sarabi explained. "Just as well as the lionesses, but he chose not to. I don't blame him, given how hard it was to just bathe Simba. I think it made Mufasa tired of bathing cubs all together."

"At least he knew how to Simba." Nala turned back to Simba.

"Knows what?" Akila came up to them and Simba knew his brother would be intent on giving him a hard time about not bathing the cubs.

"He still doesn't bathe the cubs." Nala smiled. "Even after three cubs of our own, I'm still the only one who cleans the cubs."

"Weren't you the one who banned me from bathing the cubs a few months after Kopa and Kion were born?" Simba asked.

"I did…" Nala admitted. "But Simba you didn't know the first thing about giving a cub a bath back then. You had no idea what you were doing so yes, I did ban you. But I'd imagine that you would have learned by now, it's been years and we've had Kiara as well."

"I think I hear Zazu calling me." Simba said with a grin. "I'll be back in a bit." He walked away leaving Nala glaring at him but he knew it was fine.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Meanwhile, back at Scar's Pride, Scar was still furious at Simba for escaping with Kion. Furthermore, Chumvi had given Scar's leg a good hit as Scar still couldn't walk properly and he knew it would be a few weeks until he could walk properly again. Thinking about it only made the old lion even angrier at his so called nephew.

Zira had been just as angry but even more angry at Nuka for not watching Kovu properly. Once she had found out that that Kovu had run out of the den, she had hit Nuka hard and sent him flying into a rock. Kovu had tried standing up for his older brother only to be held back by Scar who told Kovu not to intervene.

Zira was leading Vitani back into the den after taking Vitani on a hunt with her. Given that Scar didn't allow Zira to spend much with Vitani, Zira had quietly taken the opportunity to take her daughter on a hunt while her mate remained injured in the den.

To her surprise once Zira had made her own kill, she had returned to Vitani to see that her daughter had managed to catch a rabbit by herself. The kill was a bit messy but well done for a cub her age.

"See Mom!" Vitani exclaimed as they headed back to the dens. "I told you I was better at hunting!"

Deep down, Zira knew it was true. She didn't get to teach Vitani hunting much since Scar and her made sure most of their time was with Kovu. She saw other lionesses teaching her occasionally but she hadn't realized that Vitani truly was a skilled cub.

"Yes you are Vitani." Zira replied. "You've improved well."

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A few days later, the rain died down a bit giving Kiara, Haru, Jasiri and Danyssa an opportunity to visit the River Pride. Nala and the other lionesses had wanted to join them as well but given that the rain had stopped for a while, they also needed to use the opportunity to hunt for the Pride. Chumvi and Moraan had taken them to the River Pride given that they had to do the patrol near the borders anyways and now Kiara, Jasiri, Haru and Danyssa were playing with the River Pride cubs while the lionesses watched them from a little ways off.

Sarafina was glad that the rains had stopped for a while. It gave her a chance to see Kiara and the rest of the Pridelander cubs along with a chance to finally step outside for a bit without getting soaked in the rain. Sarina, Kion and Afiya were perched on a rock below her, both of them enjoying the time they could have with their grand cubs.

Looking up at the sky, Sarafina knew that the rains would return soon. Although she did secretly hope it would start raining before Simba came to take the cubs back home. They had decided that if it did start raining too hard, that the cubs would stay at the River Pride until it stopped again and Sarafina wanted Kiara and the others to stay. They didn't get a lot of time with them.

She chuckled silently remembering how irritated Runju was for having to leave to settle problems with the herds. He had been elated to see his grand daughter and the other cubs visit the River Pride and he had wanted to spend time with them but his majordomo, Ruka had reminded him that he had to go settle the problems with the herds while he could since the rains had died down.

"Grandma…" Jasiri crawled into Sarina's paws and Sarafina and the others turned their attention to the young cub.

"What is it little one?" Sarina asked, licking the top of her head.

"Mom said that the dens get flooded during the rainy season." Jasiri said. "Will that happen this year too?"

"I pray that it won't." Sarina said. "It's difficult moving the entire Pride to the other dens while it's flooding. It doesn't happen every year and I hope it won't happen this year too."

"That's why the entire River Pride needs to know how to swim Jasiri." Sarafina said, chuckling at her along with the other lionesses. "Unlike the Pridelanders."

Sarafina heard a scoff from one of the older lionesses and she looked up to see Khali rolling her eyes and getting up.

"Anything wrong Khali?" Sarafina asked, raising her eyebrows at the lioness.

"Poor cub has River Pride blood in her but can't swim. That's what happens when you let your daughter mate with a Pridelander lion!" Khali snapped.

"And is there a problem with that?" Came a voice. The lionesses turned to see Kula's father and Sarina's mate, Rojan come up along with Shari's father, Aran. He turned towards the lioness, daring her to say anything more against his daughter and Jasiri.

"Of course there's a problem with that!" Khali rolled her eyes. "The River Pride and Pridelanders never should have merged as one. They've done so much wrong to our Pride yet Runju decided to forget all of that all so his daughter could mate with Simba!"

"That's enough Khali!" Sarafina growled, getting on to her paws. "The past is in the past! Yes we were rivals once but that era is done. There is no more blood shed between us anymore. My daughter and the others gave that to us. We are one!"

"We are one is only for your daughter and her mate who have their head in the clouds! Myself and several others can see the truth. Eventually, you'll see that a union between us can never happen. We've always been rival prides and we always will be! No one can just forget the past like that!"

"Khali…" Afiya got onto her paws. "That's enough for now…especially in front of the cubs." She motioned to the cubs who had stopped playing to listen into what the adults were arguing about.

Khali nodded and without another word, she turned and headed back into the dens.

"What does she mean Grandpa?" Haru asked, going over to Kiona and Aran. "Why were the River Pride and the Pridelanders rivals?"

"Nothing to worry about." Aran licked the top of his grandson's head. "Khali was just a bit angry. Run along and play now!" Haru nodded and went back to the rest of the cubs as Sarafina and Afiya settled down again.

"She has some nerve talking about Kula and the others like that." Rojan growled, extending his claws angrily. Sarina gently nuzzled him and pulled him down to settle down beside her.

"She never liked the union between the Pride's, we all knew that. She wasn't good at hiding it either." Kiona said.

"Doesn't matter now." Sarafina said calmly. "The past is in the past. Khali must accept that or else she will never be happy in this Pride."

Hearing noise, Sarafina turned to see that the hunting party had returned with several kills. She was relieved knowing that it would keep the Pride well fed for the next few days. Calling the cubs over, Sarafina lead them to the kill and after ensuring that the meal had been divided fairly between the entire Pride, she settled back to eat with Kiara beside her. Runju joined them soon after and once the kills had been disposed off the Pride lounged around the area outside the dens.

Sarafina noticed that Rojan was still fuming about what Khali had said about Jasiri and Kula. Sarafina could understand his anger, she would have been angry as well if Khali had dared to say anything against her own daughter and grand cubs.

She looked over to where Kiara was playing with Runju. She could never wish that the Pride's weren't one, she never would have been blessed with three beautiful and healthy grand cubs.

"Aw Auntie, Mom already bathed me in the morning!" Sarafina looked over to see that Shari's sister, Zakia had pulled Haru over for a bath. Her own cub, Divya was lying on top of her back, full and sleepy from the large meal the Pride had enjoyed.

"I'm sure she did." Zakia chuckled. "But I know your mother very well and she doesn't like seeing you with dirty fur."

She heard laughter to see that the cubs were playing near the river. Knowing that the current was stronger during the rainy season, she climbed onto her paws to usher them away from the river when she heard a splash and a cub cry out.

Jasiri had fallen into the river and was now desperately holding onto the river banks so not to fall in. Danyssa had leaned in to give Jasiri her paw but it was to far for Jasiri to reach without Danyssa slipping.

"Jasiri!" Rojan was immediately on his paws along with Sarina, Sarafina and Runju. They ran over to the cubs but before they could reach them, Khali who had been taking a drink from the river wrapped her paw around Jasiri and lifted her back onto the grass.

"Jasiri!" Sarina reached her grand daughter and pulled the soaking wet cub in closer, covering her with licks and nuzzles to warm her up.

"Careful little one." Khali eyed the cub. "I know that you don't need to swim in the Pridelands but here, swimming is a life skill."

"Khali…" Rojan growled at her, telling her not to test him. Sensing his anger, Sarafina and Sarina moved the cubs away from the scene leaving Runju to settle the flames.

"That's enough said Khali." Runju said. "Jasiri's still a young cub and doesn't know any better."

"Then perhaps she should!" Khali snapped. "The Pridelander lions need to teach the cubs better. Maybe if they had, we never would have lost Enye!" Rojan let out a furious roar and before Runju could stop him, he tackled Khali down.

"Don't ever say that name again!" Rojan growled, his teeth clenched in fury. "Enye was my grandson, not yours!"

"And he still would have been your grandson if he had been raised in the River Pride! We would have protected him better! Kula's becoming care free in the Pridelands, had she been here we would have helped her properly raise her cubs like we helped raise her!" Khali growled. Much like the Pridelanders, the River Pride was a close knit group and they all took part in raising the cubs in the Pride.

"It broke my daughter's heart when she lost Enye!" Rojan snarled, resisting the urge to tear out Khali's throat. "It wasn't her fault Enye died!" He lowered his voice to make sure Jasiri or the other young cubs wouldn't be able to hear.

Runju pulled Rojan off of Khali and then gave her a stern look. "You must learn to accept the union of the Pride's. The past is in the past and that's that." Khali growled at him before storming off.

"Dad?" Came a voice. Rojan turned to see that Kula had arrived to pick up the cubs along with Simba. Kula gave her father a strange look, wondering what had made him so angry.

"It's nothing honey." Rojan said, shaking her head. "Khali needs to understand her place in this Pride." Kula rubbed her head underneath his neck in greeting and Rojan licked the top of her head as she pulled back.

He wasn't about to tell her what Khali had said about Enye. Chumvi had told him that Kula still blamed herself for not watching Enye properly and Rojan didn't want to put that grief upon his daughter.

"Going so soon?" Runju asked with a smile. "Where's Nala?"

"Leading the hunting party back, we just finished the hunt near the borders." Kula said. "We ought to get back before it start raining to hard." It was only a light drizzle now but it would only be a small span of time before it started raining.

Simba greeted Sarafina with a nuzzle and rubbed his head against his mother in law's. "What happened with that lioness?"

"Nothing dear." Sarafina said with a slight sigh. "Khali can just can angry at times."

"I can see…" Simba nodded, looking at the lioness who retreated into the den not before giving him a threatening look that Simba chose to ignore.

"Here to take the cubs so soon?" Runju came up to his son in law and Simba bumped heads with him in greeting.

"I'm afraid so, I want to get them back before it starts raining too hard." Simba said. After saying good bye to their grandparents and the rest of the River Pride, the cubs followed Kula and Simba back home.

Apologies again for nearly a two year wait. I needed some time off from writing. I have much to say to my readers but I'll save it for the next chapter. Stay tuned!