Disclaimer: I don't own The Lion King or any of its characters.

Ch. 7: Under the Stars of Night

"Etari." With a small groan the half grown lion scrunched his eyes shut tighter, he just wanted five more minutes to sleep. "Etari," the commanding voice repeated more sternly. "Wake up." With a resigned sigh Etari opened his eyes, blinking in confusion.

"Where…where am I?" the young lion asked. All around him the world was shadowed in the dark blue of dusk, shapes nearly indistinguishable from one another in the darkness. After a moment Etari could distinguish the black trunks of trees and the jungle growth that surrounded them, but it was the lion that stood in front of him that confused Etari so much. It was Mufasa! The ex-Kings' golden coat was muted in the dusky light, but a silvery sheen surrounded him and Etari could not help staring. There was no way this could be Mufasa…unless he was dreaming.

"Come with me." Mufasa commanded, turning and striding through the shadows of jungle forest surrounding them. Scrambling to his feet Etari hurried to keep up with the larger lion that moved with the ease of practice through the darkness. Suddenly the shadowy jungle parted before them, and he stepped out after Mufasa onto a savannah covered in the light of dusk. Etari gasped in amazement at the sight before him. On the plain before him were hundreds of lions, all glowing with the same silvery light as Mufasa. Most were older male lions, their graying manes almost white from the silver light surrounding them. A few females wandered the grasslands as well, and as Etari took in the glowing scape before him his gold eyes he spotted one particular lion that made his jaw drop in surprise.

"Mohatu?" he asked in a breathless, unbelieving whisper. Like all cubs of the pridelands he had heard the story of the great Mohatu who had saved the animals of the savannah during a great drought by teaching them to trust each other. Mohatu had reigned as a great king for many years, and after his death had rose into the heavens to become the brightest star in the night sky. "But then I must be…." Etaris' voice trailed off as the brown cub stared up at Mufasa in disbelief.

"Yes Etari, you are among the great kings of the past," the old king confirmed, a smile on his face at the surprise on Etaris'.

"But why? I'm no king." The dust colored cub continued to stare at the glowing kings as they wandered the shadowy savannah. Confusion ran rampant through his mind, only the kings became stars, and only the best of kings at that!

"But you are a king young cub." Mufasa stated, meeting Etari's gaze. Confused Etari looked at his old ruler, as Mufasa settled into a sitting position. "A king in all but name. There are more things to being a king then a presentation at your birth or at the beginning of your reign. A true king is one that leads those who need him, despite the difficulties he may face."

"We have been watching you young Etari," another voice interrupted the small silence, and Etaris' gold eyes widened as the ancient king Mohatu approached. "And the sacrifices you have made, they are equal to any made by those who rest here."

"But I didn't…I didn't do anything!" Stammered the young lion.

"Anything?" Mufasa queried, "Are you telling us that the torture you went through to protect Nala and Soma was nothing? That all the nights you stole out hunting to sneak extra food for the lionesses were nothing?" Etari scratched at the ground with a front paw, slightly embarrassed. "Not to mention fighting to save my son. For that alone I thank you with all my heart Etari." Mufasa dipped his head in a small bow at this point, causing Etari to flush in embarrassment.

"And that is not all Etari." Mohatus' voice flowed through the dusky light. "We have also seen that which you never told anyone of. And for that sacrifice alone we count you among kings, though none ever called you such." Etari looked into the eyes of the great king, even more surprised then before, he knew exactly what Mohatu was talking about.

He was exhausted, but necessity drove him onward. "I have to get this back before any hyenas show up." Etari thought, neck muscles straining to pull the dead antelope.

A year had passed since Scar had first assumed the throne, and the time had finally come to do something about it. The king had quickly grown tired of using Etari as messenger boy, instead he sent the inept cub out to do his choice hunting for him. The lionesses were sworn off helping him, but Tenabi devoted every spare moment to teaching her son every hunting trick and technique she could think of. So Etari managed to stay one step ahead of Scar's demands, while his anger towards the scarred king also grew one step at a time.

Soma's non-accidental death weighed heavily on Etari's mind as he dragged the carcass up to the cave. "But now I can get revenge!" the cub thought to himself, eyes glowering in delight. The antelope he was dragging had been left, abandoned, in the elephant graveyard after one of the hyenas had accidentally sent it skidding into one of the warm, mineral pools of water that sent any animal that drank it into fits of vomiting, and finally a sleep from which they never awakened.

Pausing a moment outside the cave entrance Etari waged a short war with his conscious, it was one thing to hate Scar, another to try and kill him. "But he killed Soma! He deserves it!" the cub confidently told himself, and full of anger at the king resumed dragging the prey animal to the awaiting lion.

"It's about time. Bring it here." Scar ordered disdainfully. Gratefully Etari released the antelope's neck, taking care not to swallow. The carcass had shed most of the water from its outer coat on Etaris' trudge back to Pride Rock, enough so that he no longer had to keep stopping and spitting to keep any of the deadly water from dripping down his throat. But even though there was none of the sickening water on the outside of the animal, Etari knew from the bloated stomach of the animal that plenty had flowed inside it through the numerous cuts in the skin.

"It's passable," Scar stated. "You're dismissed." Etari quickly turned to leave, anxious to be as far away as possible when Scar began to feel the effects of the tainted meat. But as he reached the cave exit the cub found his paws unable to move.

"But he deserves it!" Etari told himself again, waging a mental war with himself as he heard Scar begin to tear into the shoulder of the antelope. Slowly Etari took another step forward, his brown paw coming to rest on the sun warmed rock just outside the cave. But the young lion quickly withdrew the paw, and spun around to race back into the cave.

"No! He doesn't deserve this! No matter what he has done I can't kill him!" Etari's mind raced and fear shone in his gold eyes. "He might have killed Soma but that doesn't mean I have to kill him!"

Scar was just swallowing his first bites when Etari rushed back in, yelling at the top of his voice, "Don't eat that!" Disregarding the kings' wrath the small lion jumped between him and his prey. "It's poisoned," he continued, ripping open the stomach so the tepid water flowed out. "It's from the elephant graveyard, it'll make you sick." Etari's voice got quieter and quieter as his courage began to falter under his rulers gaze.

"How dare you!" Scar's voice exploded in Etari's ears, and the cub didn't even have time to cringe before he was dealt a paw blow that knocked him clear across the cavern.

"At least I didn't sink to his level. I'll find other ways to help everyone." Etari promised himself, as his world faded into the black of unconsciousness.

"Yes Etari," Mohatu's voice brought the cub back to the present. "For that act alone we could place you among the stars. Now come, take your place among us." With that command the great king began padding back out onto the savannah full of lions glowing in silver light. Next to Etari Mufasa stood up and moved in front of the young lion. The ex-king touched noses with him and Etari had to squeeze his eyes shut as the silver light surrounding Mufasa flowed over him as well.

"There," the red maned lion said. "Now you are part of the light that the great kings of the past shed unto those we must leave behind." Mufasa smiled proudly at Etari before continuing, "Now come and take your place in the sky." Together the two lions strode out onto the dusk lit savannah, covered in a silver light that shone as a beacon of hope to those in the world below.

We are measured against the greats of the past

their achievements, not their falls.

And every one that surpasses the last

gives us a longer path to walk.

That's it folks! Etari's adventures are over and I hope you enjoyed them. Please leave a review for me, and as a heads up I'm going to be doing anotherLion King fic after the other story I'm working on right now. So if you liked this one keep your eyes open!