It was a dark day in the Pride Lands. It had been over two years since Scar took over as king, following the unfortunate deaths of Mufasa and Simba, and his reign had damaged the Pride Lands heavily- the Watering Hole was now practically empty, and thanks to the hyenas being let in, the food supply had been heavily depleted, with some animals moving away and the hyenas were taking too much food for the herds to last. By this point, there were no animals left but the lions, because Scar refused to let anyone leave. His tyrannous rule had affected everyone greatly.

One lioness who had drastically changed during this time was Nala. Now a full-grown adult, the once lively and adventurous cub had lost all love for life, and was now a lot quieter. The cream-furred lioness only ever went out to hunt under Scar's orders. Her blue eyes still had life in them, but she didn't smile anymore. She knew what damage Scar's reign had caused, and she knew that the only way to fix the damage would be to leave and find help. But how was she going to get out? Scar wouldn't let anyone leave if he could help it.

"Hey, Nala?" she heard a voice ask. She turned around and saw her younger brother Mheetu enter the cave. Mheetu had the same colour fur and eyes as Nala, but, being a male, he had a brown mane. "You alright? You've been quiet today. More so than usual, that is. Something wrong?"

She shook her head at him. "I'm fine, Mheetu. I've just got a lot on my mind. Where's mom?"

"Scar asked her to see him." He was visibly angry at the mention of his name. "I don't know why we let him be in charge."

"We didn't. He took over after…" she felt herself sadden at the memory, so she shook it away. "Either way, I hope she's alright. She will be okay, won't she?"

"I'd imagine so, she's one of the few Scar doesn't push around."

"Ahem." They turned their head to the entrance, where a brown furred lion was stood, with a strong build, an even darker mane, and hazel eyes. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"No, not at all, Chumvi," Nala answered. She smiled a little, happy to see her long-time friend. "What's up?"

"Is it okay if I speak to you? Alone?" He looked at Mheetu, who nodded and left them alone. "Look, Nala. I need to confess something to you."

"Okay, sure." She looked him in the eyes, and sensed a bit of nerves. "Is something the matter?"

"N-no!" His dark fur hid it well, but he was blushing. He then took a deep breath. "Okay, here we go. Nala, for a while now, I've started to have… feelings for you. You're a really amazing girl- you're sweet and caring, and I think if I had the chance, I could really make you happy. So… I guess what I'm saying is… would you like to go out with me?"

Nala was shocked at this- she looked at his hopeful smile, and thought that he was really brave for admitting that. She hadn't ever imagined that he felt this way about her, and it was so flattering to hear.

She opened her mouth to speak and then said, "no." His smile slowly faded as it sunk in that she didn't feel the same way. She could feel tears roll down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Chumvi! You're a great guy too, but… I just don't feel that way about you. It wouldn't work." He nodded, but lowered his head. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," he said, his voice a bit dry, "as long as that's what you want, I can accept that." He gave her a weak smile. "I'll see you later, Nala."

With that, he left the cave. Mheetu didn't wait long to re-enter, and saw his sister crying.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice both angry and concerned. "What did he want?"

"He told me he liked me," she said, taking a quick sniff. "But I shot him down."

"Why'd you shoot him down? He's literally the first guy who ever said he liked you."

"You wouldn't understand." She wiped away her tears.

"Why not? I'm your brother, you can tell me."

"Mheetu… I'm leaving." He gasped. "I have to! There is nothing left here! I need to find help, someone who can challenge Scar and show him the damage he has caused."

"But this is our home! Give it time, and things will change!"

"I can't do that! It's not always an option to just let it happen. Sometimes you have to actually get up and do something. Besides, everything here reminds me of Simba."

"What does Simba have to do with-" Then it hit him. "Wait. Are you saying that…"

She nodded, since he couldn't finish what he was saying. "I liked him. Apparently, he and I were supposed to get married, but after what happened… it wasn't until after he died that I realised how much he meant to me. I know nothing can bring him back, but I need to leave if I'm ever going to move on." He didn't know how to respond to her words. "I'm sorry, Mheetu, but I have to. Please don't tell anyone."

"If you have to do this… if you HAVE to… I won't stand in your way. But if anyone asks, I can't lie for you."

"I can live with that." She smiled at her brother, then gave him a hug. "Goodbye, Mheetu."

"Goodbye, Nala."

They held the hug for a moment, before Nala left. She found somewhere to hide for a while, looking to find an opening since the hyenas were practically everywhere now. Once she found an opening, she ran. She headed in one direction, not stopping until she heard a voice.

"Hey!" the voice, belonging to a hyena, shouted. "She's trying to leave!" She began to run even faster. "Get her!"

She refused to look back. She headed into a gorge, running all the way into a dead end. She panicked as she looked for a way out. The hyenas surrounded her. 'No,' she thought, closing her eyes, 'they've caught me! It's over…' A roar changed this thought, however. She saw a lioness charge in and tackle her pursuers. When the lioness looked at Nala, she gasped. The one who had saved her was her mother, Sarafina.

"Nala! You need to leave! Now!" Sarafina shouted. "The hyenas fetched Scar, he'll be here any minute!"

"But, what about you? When Scar sees you've helped me-"

"Nala. I'm going to hold them off. You can climb up those rocks behind you. You have to get help, or the Pride Lands will be doomed."

Nala looked at the rocks behind her, then back at her mother. "But-"

"But nothing!" Sarafina ran up to Nala and gave her a hug. "I am so proud of you, Nala. Simba would be too. So, please. Get help and make the Pride Lands a better place, like it was before."

Nala sniffed as she cried. "Okay." She turned around and climbed up the rocks. When she got at the top, she looked back down and saw dozens of hyenas attacking her mother. Sarafina defended herself for a while, until a group of lionesses arrived. "I'm sorry, mother."

Nala then fled. Sarafina gave one last smile, knowing she had managed to protect her daughter, before looking at the dark red lion that had just arrived. The king himself, Scar- black mane, scar over the left eye and all- was snarling at her.

"I warned you about that daughter of yours," he spat, putting a claw against her throat. "I told you if she didn't start pulling her weight, there would be trouble. And now look at you. It's a shame. I had a soft spot for you."

"That wasn't all you had that was soft," she shot back, with a grin. "At least my daughter can do the right thing now. She'll find help, and they'll save the Pride Lands, without you as king. They'll make my home better than it is now- like it was when Mufasa was alive, and like it would have been if Simba was alive."

Scar let out a deep chuckle. "Even in the face of death, you fight. It's quite remarkable, almost forgivable," he then sank his teeth into her neck, allowing the blood to pour out, "but not quite." He let go, and Sarafina's limp body dropped to the floor. "She's paid for her crimes!" he announced. "We're done here. Nala won't be back in a hurry, and if she's smart, she won't be back at all."

He then led the hyenas and lionesses back to the Pride Lands. Sarafina weakly opened her eyes and smiled. With her final breath, she said, "good luck, Nala…"