Chapter 16- The Natural Order

"What?" Sarabi asked, her head looking to me and then Scar as she tried to piece together what she was being told. Even if those two had an uneasy relationship to each other, I didn't know if I was going to be believed or not. "Is this true, Scar, did you lie to me?" Her frown remained, but it was fixed on the king instead. He didn't answer for a while, keeping his own displeased gaze on me. "Scar!" He was yanked back to reality by the fuming lioness.

His voiced rolled over each word in a lazy manner, as if he didn't care about being cornered like this "There must have been a misunderstanding. I apologise Sarabi, I thought I saw what I told you. Looking at it now, the princess is attempting to heal the wounded cub. I assumed she was the one attacking." His response made Sarabi flinch, surprised at how calm he was when admitting to a mistake of his. How she didn't catch his earlier glares at me, I'd never know. "Oh, I fear the embarrassment is too much for me to handle. Princess Tishala, I am sorry to have doubted you." He bowed to me, though I could tell his words were far from genuine. "I must excuse myself and commit to improving my judgement." He turned and left me with Sarabi and the cheetah cub that was shivering as her body temperature continued to fall at a gradual rate.

The queen approached me and inspected, seeing the poor cub slip in and out of the waking world. "We need to find her mother." I spoke up, still teary eyed and tense after what I thought would lead to punishment through a damning accusation.

Sarabi shook her head "First, we need to get the cub to Rafiki. Once we do that, I will tell some of the lionesses to look for the cheetah's mother. I hope nothing horrific has happened to her either." The lioness frowned. "We mustn't waste time. Let's go." She gestured for me to get off the cub, allowing her to hold the child in her jaws. I followed her close, looking to see if there was any improvement from the cheetah, but as it was so soon, there was no change. It appeared the queen took notice of my concern, the two of us exchanging intense looks, knowing the importance of getting to Rafiki.

My legs burned once we finally arrived at where the mandrill would have been. I was about to call out for him, but the primate popped his head out of the tree before I could. I had never been more relieved to see someone. Despite his advancing age, he was soon with us as Sarabi put the injured animal on the ground. The situation was explained, and I informed him what I had done so far. Keeping her promise, Sarabi rushed away to tell lionesses to search for the mother, promising she would return once she had done this. "Please tell me that she'll be okay." I said to Rafiki, my tone sounding desperate. I didn't want to see another life fade in front of me.

His expression was grim though, offering no support for my words "I am afraid I cannot know. What didn't look serious can be hiding a bigger danger. You did all you can. Very smart from a cub." He tried to encourage, though it didn't do much to lift my spirits as I just kept looking at the cub. "I will try giving treatment, but first the young cub has to survive the night." He explained, disappearing into his tree for a few moments, only to return with various things in his grasp. I could just about make out some of them being used as ointments, but the mandrill kept himself so close it was hard to see what was being done.

Being kept out, I had time to look over myself. I was covered in the blood. Even if it hadn't been a lot of blood, it soaked into my fur well. It wasn't a concern at that point, but my mind did drift over to the eventual cleaning I would need from it. For the cub, the issue wasn't just going to be the wound, but also the internal damage that had taken place. I didn't have the means to know how serious it all was, so I had to wait for Rafiki to give his final verdict after doing whatever he was going to do to help. "Let me know if I can help in any way." I offered, feeling helpless as I knew he wouldn't need it.

The mandrill shook his head at my offer. I realised he wasn't trying to be hurtful, but it still upset me. I felt useless and hated it. Doing nothing didn't help me either, my thoughts scrolling over different possibilities and scenarios as to how the cheetah wound up where she was, and none of them were positive. "You have an interest in healing, hm?" Rafiki asked, shaking me from my dark thoughts. I shot him a confused look, having only half heard what he said, "Healing." he started "You have an interest in it, no?" Still looking glum in the situation, I nodded. He had a small smile growing, though his focus never shifted from the small feline in his care. He gave a nod with a small chuckle "I can see from your own attempts at helping, you want to know how to do more, hm?" He shot me a kind look for a split second before he was back to tending to the injured animal. "I can show you. You must wait though. Wait for this young one to finish being treated and I can show you." I felt a little better at that offer.

"Thank you, that would be great. My parents' pride did some healing, but not like you." I explained, smiling to him before he stuck a hand out towards me.

Keeping his eyes on the cub, he wiggled his fingers "Your parents' pride didn't have ol' Rafiki." He laughed in triumph before getting back to work. "I will stay with the child. You return to be with the pride." He waved me off. I hadn't realised that Sarabi returned, breathing harder because she had run all the way there and back. "Now go, I will care for her. You visit tomorrow." He finished. Sarabi had grasped what was going on and nudged me to get moving, standing in front of me so I turned around to get back to pride rock.

Our short trek back wasn't exciting. We remained silent, both of us deep in thought. A part of me was boiling over with anger; Scar had almost executed his plan. I could see it so clearly with the benefit of hindsight. I shook my head a few times as the memories of the 'lesson' haunted me. Looking back, I could see the signs were there. His emphasis that everyone would remember it, everyone would be surprised. I was angry about that, but I was also angry with the hyena trio. Sure, they helped me enough to skip one of Scar's games, but if they had told the whole truth, then maybe things could have been different for me. If I had the warning or foresight, then I could have stood out of his trap altogether. A few sighs escaped me as I pondered over how I could have followed Scar with such blind allegiance. The most damaging part of that experience for me though, was the stern expression Sarabi held me to. She believed what Scar told her. Even if she questioned him, it was clear she thought I was capable of being a monster. Though she was wrong, I couldn't blame her; I could see me being a monster too. That may have been part of the reason neither of us talked as we made our way back to our home. Even as we made our way back to the mouth of the den, I couldn't help but feel like I had been done wrong. I knew I would feel worse if I hadn't worked out Scar's intentions, but my trust in Sarabi had been shaken a little bit, and no doubt in that moment, she lost a chunk of trust in me. Regardless, I didn't want to think too hard about it, thinking she may express her guilt to me soon enough. Scar was nowhere to be seen, not lingering around pride rock, not on the grass below it. It was doubtful he would be in the den, having never really liked being in there for whatever reason he had. The fact he wasn't there worried me more than if I had seen him. If he had come up with a scheme to drive a wedge between Sarabi and I, then there was no telling what he would conjure up next.

We ducked into the den together. It was a little more empty than normal, though I assumed that was because some of the lionesses were following their queen's order and searching the land for cheetah cub's mother. The movement had woken up most of the others that stayed, several pairs of eyes aimed at the two of us, including Sarafina's, though Nala was sound asleep. "Leave the worrying to the adults, please." The queen implored me, holding me tight as she laid down. The way she held me answered an immediate question about her trust towards me. "I will tell you the moment they find anything, okay?" She looked to me, though I did have crane my neck back so I could look up to her. Not for the first time that night, I sighed, relenting to her as I agreed to the proposition.

Once we had settled on the floor, the rest of the den's inhabitants shifted back to sleep, hoping to wake up to less turmoil than before. "I'm sorry, I just don't think I can fall asleep right now." I argued, though I didn't get an argument from Sarabi. "I think it just really shook me up. I didn't think I would be finding that in one of Scar's tasks for me." I explained, trying to keep an even tone, having sounded upset the entire time before. "It was just there. I heard it. I tracked it and saw a trail of blood before I got there. I don't know if it was dragged there, or if it dragged itself to where I found it, but it sounded scared…so scared." I told her, knowing she would listen to each of my words and treat them with a serious manner. "I just want to know who did it and why." I sighed, exasperated as my claws came out, though I didn't dig into Sarabi, thinking better of it.

She took slow breaths, thinking over her response before delivering it to me. "I'm not surprised you can't sleep. I wouldn't expect you to. Not yet. I can't imagine how it must have felt to see something hurt like that at such a young age. It would have shaken up any of us as a cub, so don't feel like you're weak or anything to that effect. I promise you; we will find out what happened for a cheetah cub to be left out there like that. If there is some cruel soul who inflicted pain on the child, then you can know that we will deal with it in the appropriate way. Tishala, I promise you that much." She licked behind my ears, trying to give me some comfort after an intense night. "If you aren't going to sleep yet, then I will stay up with you." She dragged her tongue over my ears again, not stopping until she could hear me purring, signalling my approval to her. She joined in a moment later "So, what would you like to talk about first?" She looked to me with a gentle smile. I was about to open my mouth when she cut me off "Though, please can we keep the subject away from tonight? You are already worrying enough about it. We need to take your mind off it. Then you'll be able to drift off into an easier sleep when the time comes, okay?" I nodded after she laid out her terms for our next conversation. "Other than that, ask me anything you want." The normally reserved lioness beamed at me.

I held back a small giggle, not expecting that kind of expression possible. I could almost picture her as a cub with that face; teeth baring in a grin to show her somewhat goofy side. "Uh…I don't know what to ask." I shrugged, a sheepish grin of my own appearing, "The kings of the past. Have you ever had dreams about them?" I asked, reminding myself of my own meeting with one of them, though I couldn't be certain if that actually happened or not.

Sarabi hummed for a moment, considering her answer "I suppose I have at times. Mainly when I was younger, I would have been told that the kings of the past were watching from the up above. So, sometimes I had dreams where I would meet some of them. It was almost always the ones from the stories I heard most. As I grew up, I stopped having those dreams, but for a small amount of time after Mufasa and Simba completed their journey through the great circle, I did have dreams where I think I saw them with the great kings. Other than that though, I don't think I've had many of those dreams." She replied.

"So, in any of those dreams that you did have, was it like you were having a proper conversation with them…and it didn't actually feel like a dream?" My sheepish look returned, my ears falling back as I was convinced I would sound silly. She confirmed she hadn't had a dream like that, but her own curiosity was getting the better of her. I could feel the question coming, so I decided to pre-empt it, answering before she could ask. "I sort had a dream like that. It sounds silly and it means nothing, but it felt strange. I didn't want to talk about it though, because I was worried that you'd think I was crazy." My reasoning didn't sound as flawless as I'd hoped, earning a raised brow from the queen. "It happened in our lesson…just after I pounced off that rock you told me not to. I think maybe I just hit myself too hard and had a weird dream." I shrugged, hoping that would get me out of it.

Instead, Sarabi pressed on "You haven't even told me what your dream was yet. All I know is that it has a king of the past." She smiled, waiting for my explanation.

I let out a small groan as I started telling her, "Well, I ended up standing up from my jump and you weren't there anymore. I called out for you a load of times before I started to make my way back to pride rock. It was like I was being guided there, but whatever was guiding me didn't show itself, so I don't know, maybe that's the whole dream part of it." I offered as an explanation, but wasn't sure, "I stood at the edge and checked to see if anyone else was there, but no matter where I looked, nothing was there. Not even the birds!" I leapt out in a little gesture, though when I looked back to Sarabi, she was gesturing for me to keep my volume down whilst the others in the den were trying to sleep. "Oh, sorry." I smiled apologetically. "Anyway, I checked in the den to see if anyone was in there, but again, no one was. It was like everyone just disappeared. I was starting to freak out a little bit at that point. Before I could though, I felt like I was being taken to the edge of the rock again. There was a wind that kept on me, like it was stuck to me, or trying to talk to me. I thought I heard it tell me to turn around. When I did, I saw a lion standing there. He looked a bit like Mufasa, but was kinda glowing a bit, so I didn't know if he was a spirit or if I was imagining it all. I asked who he was, and he said that he was a former king of the Pridelands. I wasn't about to argue with him, because I didn't know what to believe." I paused to take a few breaths, the lioness awake with me still hanging onto every word. "I asked him why he was there. Now, this is where I think it must be a dream as well, because he told me I was chosen to help the king rise." That made Sarabi's ears perk a bit, curious as to the meaning of those words. "However, He told me it wasn't Scar he was referring to. He talked to me about the 'true king'. He was talking about Simba." My expression deflated a bit, not sure if I was going to be able to speak much more without upsetting the lioness holding me. She nodded for me to continue, keeping her visage the same. "I was telling him about what happened to Simba and his dad. He looked at me and smiled, then told me Mufasa is with them, but Simba is not. Simba is alive elsewhere." The longer I went on, the less eye contact I gave Sarabi, feeling awkward that I was telling her this about her son. Of course, she would want to believe it, but if he was alive, why hadn't he come back? "That king of the past told me that I came here to get him, but only when I'm ready. I was very confused, because I didn't know if it was really happening or not." I finished, looking to Sarabi for a reaction.

She stared back at me for a while, trying to process it. "That does sound like quite a memorable dream." She commented, a lack of any emotion in her voice. "I suppose it might be your way of coping with Simba being gone. We all want him back, so maybe in your mind, you wanted a way to think it was possible. Maybe that's why you had that dream." She seemed to be thinking as she was speaking about it though. "It does seem a little bit odd to me though that you would have a conversation as clear as that." She sighed before shaking her head "You didn't come here for a purpose though, you came here because you ran from your pride being destroyed. I suppose we can think up anything for our dreams." I was surprised she wasn't asking more questions. I didn't tell her all the details about why my purpose may have been outlined as such. I especially didn't talk about the small 'purpose and destiny' spat I had with the king of the past. I was still worried as to how anyone would react if they knew the truth of my origin, so I was still going to keep it a secret, although I felt my stance on that would never change. "I still dream of them alive, Tishala." She revealed. "I'm there with them." Her brow lifted as she gave me a little smirk "Sometimes you're there too."

Knowing I meant enough to her that I would feature in her dreams was uplifting. "Oh yeah?" I smiled back at her.

The lioness nodded at me "Yes. Mufasa and I would be sitting together, watching you and Simba playing together. Other times it has been Mufasa and I laying beneath the stars at night, the two of you between us as we point out the stars and the stories they held. Those dreams are my favourite."

Satisfied with that explanation, I nodded "You've been in some of my dreams too. I like those dreams the most." I went in to rub our cheeks together, purring as we embraced. I wasn't lying about those dreams, but they had not been the most frequent. "I couldn't have been more lucky to have been found by this pride, I don't think. Especially after what happened back home." I felt my ears fall back at the mention of home. The home I was picturing though, was a different scene than what I could imagine Sarabi had thought of. Even if I was getting comfortable in the Pridelands, I would still miss my real home a great deal.

My mind shifted back to the earlier topic "Do you think that if Simba was alive, that he would have come back here?" I asked, a frown on my face as I thought about it, "Or do you think he would run away because he was so upset? I wonder if they even got to see each other a last time." The last part I wondered aloud. I winced after though, looking at Sarabi, who was also a major victim on that day, just not in the same way.

She didn't flinch, holding herself together "I think he would know to come back home. This is where his family is. This is where his pride is." She seemed okay with the topic, but I wanted to be careful not to over press on it. "We will never know. I like to think they at least had each other when it happened. Even if that isn't what happened." Her sad smile told me how she still held onto their memory in a positive light despite the tragic event. "Every day, I wake up wishing it was a horrible dream…that it never happened." She cleared her throat, making it clear she was fighting back some emotion "However, they would want me to push on. In you I have found another reason to have hope." Her endearing smile made me feel warm with a blush. "You found a way to continue, making it to the Pridelands by yourself." She nodded. "Tenacity like that is something we can all hope for."

Feeling that we had shifted a little bit in our conversation, I took a chance by asking "Why did you think I had tried to kill the cheetah?" She looked at me in surprise. "I just want to know. I'm not upset with you…anymore."

Her expression calmed at that and she answered "I didn't know what to think. Scar had woken me and was panting because he had apparently run all the way to get me. He started telling me you had disobeyed him and you were looking to take your anger out on anything. I felt horrified. I couldn't picture you being like that. I doubted Scar's words, but he kept talking, kept saying he tried to hold you back, stop you, but you were able to get free of him as well as the hyenas. He said you didn't listen to him calling you back, choosing to hunt instead. The thought of it brought a chill to my body. Something didn't feel right. When I saw you there, covered in blood that wasn't yours, it was like a nightmare for me. My first thoughts were how I may have failed in teaching you to respect the circle of life. The next thing I thought of was how much Scar's influence may have affected you. I heard the cub sound out their pain and I assumed that you were responsible. That's why when I spoke to you, I was furious. A mixture of things led to me being like that. At first, I was so blinded by my own rage that I didn't want to listen to your words. As I said, I was partly angry with myself. Then once you shouted out your innocence and offered an explanation, I was a mix of confusion and anger." She explained. "For a moment I didn't know what to believe. I had been told so much that distinguishing what was genuine and what was misinterpreted, it was difficult. I hope you don't think I was out to get you from the start."

"At first I felt betrayed. Someone who I thought would support me no matter what. So, when you were being angry towards me, I nearly broke down in tears straight away. I didn't know Scar had told you that story, but I can see why you would believe it. In truth, Scar wasn't with me for most of the night. I was mainly with a few hyenas he picked." I huffed out a small sigh, reliving some of those feelings I experienced. "Sarabi, I think he was trying to get you and I to fight. Do you think he knows that you've been undoing any bad lessons he's given me?" I asked, my mind working through it as we discussed.

The queen sucked in some air "You think this is why he told me you were trying to kill a cub? I thought our lessons weren't shared outside of the two of us. It is possible that either he or one of his hyenas have been keeping an eye on us." She sighed, shaking her head "It would make sense, considering you are his heir now. Perhaps we need to be more careful in the future."

I nodded "I don't want him to stop our lessons. I don't want him to make us hate each other." My tone covered with concern when I looked at Sarabi, searching for reassurance, for support.

The support I wanted came, "Tishala, there is nothing Scar could do that would make me hate you. I can get angry, but there is no chance I could ever hate you." Her eyes suggested the thought of us hating each other was a painful one.

"You mean it?" I asked, receiving a nod from her, prompting me to try hugging her, even if it wasn't so easy as a quadruped. After a moment longer, I felt my body being shifted by the older lioness, rolled over before I knew it. "Whoa what are you doing?" I asked, letting out a little giggle as I looked up at her.

She returned the laughter with her own "Tishala, you are still coated in blood. What kind of lioness would I be to a cub if I didn't clean you?" She asked, a smirk on her face.

I accepted my fate and just laid there "I suppose it would make you a lioness I wouldn't ask for hygiene advice." I muttered, keeping quiet enough that she barely heard me speak.

"What was that?" She asked, her smirk holding as she got to work cleaning the blood out of my fur.

"I said you're the best lioness." I responded with a grin.

"You know I'm going to have to teach you to do this yourself at some point, right?" She cocked a brow up.

I nodded "Oh, I know how to. I just know how much you love doing this." We both chuckled before I just let her get on with it. Once we were finished, I yawned and we both agreed to get some more rest, and that in the morning, we would work out how to improve our situation with regards to Scar's apparent surveillance.

/

I woke up with the sun beating down on me, but it wasn't until I opened my eyes that I realised something wasn't right. I wasn't in the den. I was at the place Sarabi and I would go to reflect, overlooking a desert. I looked around for Sarabi, but saw no trace of her. That was when I worked out what was going on. I wasn't a fan of these kind of dreams or visits, so I sighed, lowering my head as I called out to the spirit I knew would have been there, real or not. "Let's get this over with so I can go back to actual sleep." I said with a hint of irritation in my voice. A moment later, that familiar breeze started blowing by me, circling around. "Enough with this, come on, I know you're there. You want to say something, just say it." I proceeded to respond, keeping still after I sat up, letting the air circle me. "Skip the dramatics, please." I asked, losing patience. I didn't know if this was real or not, but my only experiences with it left me startled or frustrated.

From behind me, a voice came, "Patience, young one." He responded. The voice was different, and when I turned to face him, it was a different lion. He still had the same regal air about him, but there was no mistaking he was different than the first she had met.

The look I gave was less than friendly, rolling my eyes "What's this now, do you take it in turns?" I asked, looking bored before the conversation had fully begun. "If you're going to tell me Simba is alive, then I'm afraid the last guy beat you to it." I started laughing, "I don't even know if any of this is real. For all I know, I could be going crazy, just dreaming up lions that never existed." My tone started getting a little angry as I went on, though I made sure not to boil over.

The late king let out an amused chuckle from my antics. "I am aware of what you have been told. You are not going crazy, you needn't worry. This is definitely real. What you have been told was the truth, though I realise news like that would be difficult to take in and believe, especially after the time that has passed. We have seen all you have been through, all you have done. Tishala, do you know why I chose this setting?" He asked, sitting at the edge as he looked out to the desert.

I could feel myself calming, my curiosity growing. "Because a mud pit is less appealing?" I responded, my tone being dry, even in the presence of the king. He didn't seem to mind though, looking over at me with another chuckle, smiling afterwards. "No, I don't know. Is it because Sarabi and I come here?" I gave my serious answer.

He didn't shake his head to say no, just keeping his eyes down on me "I chose this place for more than one reason. This place is where my descendant spent his last moments within the Pridelands. This is also the place where your suspicions grew. The connections, whilst tenuous, are still present."

"Are you telling me that not only is Simba alive, but he crossed that?" I gestured out to the desert, forcing both of us to look out to it. The suggestion that a cub would have gone through the desert and survived seemed unlikely. "I'm sorry, I know you're always up in the sky and all that, but really? You're telling me he crossed through the desert?" I questioned, looking at the lion with heavy suspicion. "How is that possible?" My head shook in disbelief.

The lion shook his head, his mane flowing with a magnificent shine to it, "My descendant was able to survive, but only because of the kindness of strangers." He explained, "And now the strangers are no longer that."

I couldn't help letting my dry tone back in "Would it kill you to not speak so vaguely?" I inquired.

It was fortunate that this lion king had a sense of humour, bringing a smile to his face in response to my question, "I see nothing wrong with what I tell you. Perhaps you wouldn't see it as vague, if you weren't trying to appear grumpy with me." It was maybe the softest way I had ever been told to be more friendly.

Even with his words though, I frowned. I didn't frown from what he said, but rather, from the thoughts building up in my mind "There's just one thing I'm not sure I understand." I started, looking t my paws as I sat at the edge alongside the fallen king. "If you did choose me to find Simba, then why was I here before their deaths?" I gasped, "Wait, that means you knew it was going to happen! Why would you let something as horrible as that happen?" I quizzed, my eyes narrowing a little more, though I wasn't actually angry with him. How could I be? I didn't understand how it all worked. "Whilst I'm at it, wouldn't it have been better to send in a full-grown lion? Couldn't they have saved Mufasa as well?"

The response didn't take long for me to get "We did know. Tishala, we knew it was going to happen. We cannot interfere with something like that."

I cut him off, snapping in with a response "But you can interfere with my life as well as Simba's?" I growled, waiting for some sort of retaliation. It never came.

He ignored my question, continuing with what he was saying "Mufasa now understands this was the most suitable path for the Pridelands to prosper. Though it broke his heart to leave his family, he is aware it was a necessary event to allow progress." He explained.

I was not convinced by him though, "You call it progress? Think of Sarabi! She lost her love and her son. Since then, the Pridelands have been in decline. In what way is that progress?" I hissed, getting mad at this king of the past.

He didn't flinch though, remaining calm "Sometimes you have to endure hardship before you can rise again, stronger than before. Wiser than before." His words had a calming effect on me, but only because I could see what he was trying to say by it.

Despite calming, I still held stern expressions towards him "Might have been nicer if you didn't make it such a sad time for Sarabi, though. I don't know how, but she at least deserved to say goodbye to her love." I huffed, pouting somewhat as I waited for a response. The response never came though. He had disappeared. "What about me going to find him? When will I do that? The last guy said that I'll know when, but it might be nice to know if that's in a few years or a few hours." I called out to the desert, hoping to get a response this time.

The light breeze returned, going to my ears straight away "The choice of when is yours, but do not wait too long. The longer you wait, the thicker the wall builds up from his kingdom." The words were clear in the wind, giving me an answer at least. The breeze carried out to the desert and I watched until it wasn't visible any longer. It seemed it was hinting the path Simba would have taken, swirling along the dunes until there wasn't a path I could follow. Even after I didn't have anything to follow, I kept looking out into its distance. The silence allowed me to focus on it, as if I would be able to spot the future king amongst the sea of sand. I started to believe that maybe it wasn't a dream that I had fabricated as a way to cope with the tragic losses. Everything was too real for me to be dreaming as I normally would. The fact it was confirmed to be more than a dream, I couldn't help but wonder where Simba had gotten to, who the strangers were. I cursed at myself in my head for not having asked that question. At least if I had asked, then I would know who to look for, if I ever went to find Simba. The reminder of my supposed task was daunting. It didn't seem like the desert ever ended, so I didn't know how I was going to cross it. My mind wandered to how I was going to tell Sarabi about this, if I told her at all. How could I go searching for the prince if I was in her care? Would it mean she would help me, or would I have to do it alone? There was no telling if the queen would even believe me. I trusted she wouldn't be upset with me, but she wouldn't think it true. It was likely she would think it some cub's playful imagination running wild. I didn't like to keep secrets from her, but I wanted to be sure that I was right on this.

Not much later, I could feel myself being pulled from the place I was in, being brought to the waking world.

/

I jolted up, waking the queen as well. Having had a quick look around, I could tell it was early. "Sarabi, I need some water." I spoke up, keeping a hushed tone though, not wanting to wake anyone else. The queen gave a long yawn, exposing her teeth to me for a moment. She smacked her lips together a couple of times before rising to her paws, stretching out enough that a few clicks could be heard. As she did this, another yawn took her, suggesting to me how early it was, as well as how much the queen valued her sleep. The two of us got out of the den and started making our way down. This time, I yawned, looking up at Sarabi "Thank you." I smiled after my yawn as we worked down to the bottom.

"Where is my princess going?" I felt my fur stand on edge once I heard his voice. Any sleepiness I still had went from me that instant. A few hyenas appeared, looking to the two of us just as much as Scar was, though I hadn't dared to look around at him. I was worried how angry he would be at me after trying to call him out the previous night. His voice even sounded a little more aggressive than before.

Sarabi looked to the king "She just wanted some water, Scar. Is there a problem with that?" She shot him a small warning growl, though some of that came from being woken up so early.

I didn't look back to him, so I couldn't see what he was doing, but I could hear the nonchalance in his tone "Of course not, Sarabi. The princess cannot be left parched. Though, as we saw last night, you may have to keep an eye on her. She likes to stray from her elders." He tutted, and though I didn't see it, I could imagine him shaking his head.

Sarabi looked away from him again and got me to walk away with her "Don't worry, Scar, I will keep an eye on her." Her words were cold, carrying over to Scar as we got away from him. I didn't have to look back to know that wouldn't have made the king happy. He would be fuming in silence.

We walked in silence, waiting until we reached the watering hole before we would start speaking again "Can you believe him? He is still trying to say I'm not to be trusted." I tried starting, though it felt a bit forced to me. "Makes you wonder how he hasn't denounced me as his heir, doesn't it?" I asked, hoping to break the silence. I figured it would just be a little bit of time before she had woken herself up enough. As I waited, I lapped at the water, feeling refreshed as the cool liquid touched my tongue. It made me notice how much cooler the morning air was before the sun had fully risen.

Once she was ready, Sarabi answered me "I believe any frustrations he may have with you are outweighed by his desire to have you shaped to rule to his vision." Her response was rather abrupt, but she assured me she wasn't unhappy, aiming a smile towards me. "You and I know that we won't let you rule like him. We will need the Pridelands back to strength at some point, after all." She nodded, brushing against me with a small purr. "With enough guidance, we can make sure you are a queen to help the Pridelands flourish. Of course, we will need to find you a king."

I cringed at the mention of that "Do I really need one though? Wouldn't it just be that much more impressive if I were to rule by myself…no king." I suggested, following where she moved.

The queen chuckled "It would be impressive, but ruling these lands is not about being impressive to others. Leading becomes far easier when you have someone to take the weight of responsibility with you. Your king would be there to make your life easier, take on some of the responsibilities so that you are not overwhelmed. It is a relationship of give and take."

"I regret speaking earlier." I groaned, causing the lioness to chuckle.

She pressed against me, purring "I wanted to talk to you about this anyway. There was no escaping it." She paused, "Now, where was I? Oh yes, give and take. If you are both there to support each other, it makes the task of protecting the Pridelands less of a burden. Of course, you also need a king so that the Pridelands have a future to look forward to. These things go together. Your kingdom and your heir, the future."

She knew how I felt about it and I didn't disappoint with my response, huffing a little bit, "Yeah, it seems like we talk about this every other day. I just don't see myself having a king…and an heir." I stuck my tongue out in mild disgust at the thought, though it was more to do with my own little fears.

Sarabi found some amusement in that as well "You may find that changes over time. I think you might find the experience far greater than what you're picturing right now." Her expression shifted to a small frown, though it didn't seem like she was angered by anything. "I don't imagine it will be too long before Scar starts thinking and even searching for a lion to be your king. No doubt, he will involve me in it too, though. I will make sure they're suitable."

"What if I don't love them?" I asked, feeling a bit more involved in the topic than before.

Sarabi pondered for a moment "Love is ideal, but not always immediate. At the very least, with a suitable king, you would be able to lead effectively together. It isn't uncommon for feelings to develop the longer you get to know them." For a moment, I thought I could see a blush on Sarabi's face, "You may find that certain emotions become stronger if you are a family." I nodded, understanding what she was referring to. "I know this conversation keeps appearing but believe me when I say I only repeat it because I want you to understand the responsibility you will have as queen. One of those is producing an heir. I know when you're young you don't want to think about it. However, I wouldn't be doing my duty as Mufasa's queen if I educate the future queen." She pressed her cheek to mine, starting a gentle nuzzle with each other "Thank you for being so mature as you listened to me." I returned the gesture, both of us purring.

That was the moment I started to accept it. If I was going to lead the Pridelands, I wanted to honour the type of rule the Mufasa would have wanted. If Sarabi was telling me it was for the best, I would believe her. "I'll try to be less of a pain when we talk about it again." We both chuckled, "And when you're searching for a king…let me meet them too. I promise not to be too difficult." I beamed at her, trying to force out another chuckle if I could.

Sarabi and I separated, but only to sit beside each other "I cannot make promises. Simba and Nala didn't even know they were betrothed. That's not uncommon either. I will see what I can do though, if you promise to be fair in judging them." She winked, hinting to me that she would make it more than possible for me to meet my potential suitors. The thought of it made me nervous, though I was able to stomach it better than previous attempts at the talk. "But don't be surprised when Scar doesn't like the lion that you pick. No doubt it will be his choice, and no other options." She warned before nudging me to turn around with her, heading back to pride rock.

I stopped after a couple of steps, catching the attention of the older lioness. I shot her a worried look, shaking my head "Sarabi." I said, prompting the lioness to close the distance between the two of us, looking down into my eyes. "I don't think I can stay here." I blurted.

The surprise from her face was evident "What do you mean by that?" She asked before giving a little smile "This isn't because of the conversation we just had, is it?" She chuckled and brushed up against my side, "I thought we had already said that you would be fine. It's okay to feel nervous about it to. It is rare that anyone feels ready to take on something like that. It will be many moons before we will have to do anything serious, okay? So, there's no need to feel like you can't stay in the Pridelands. Everything will be fine." She reassured me. Though it wasn't clear to her, that wasn't the reason why I expressed my thoughts like that.

I revealed, "I don't think I can stay. I don't feel safe staying here anymore."

A/N: There you go, another chapter up for you all. Things are starting to heat up more as it progresses, right? I hope you are enjoying it so far. Let me know what you think might be for Tishala's potential future king, considering Scar will likely have a large say in it. Or will Tishala abandon Scar's orders to choose herself? As always, I do not own The Lion King. That goes to Disney. Please, don't hesitate to send a review. I love seeing what you guys have to say, so if you have some thoughts, send them down! See you next time.