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Its another chapter! WOOT! Annoying warning: Some slightly graphic wound description, a torture scene and a (very) small sex reference. Its nothing major, but because of the legal stuff no one cares about, i have to warn you, yada yada yada....
[b]Chapter Seven: The Search
Kiara sighed, getting up from where she had lain for the last hour or so, tears trickling down her face. She knew it would take time for her to get over her parents death…but moping wouldn’t make it better. She stretched her legs and walked down the path. Kovu met her on the way up, sympathy in his eyes. He knew that Kiara’s grief was far worse than his own, but Simba had been like a father to him to.
“You all right?” he enquired.
“Of course I am,” she said miserably. “My parents just died, and we’ve got a couple of love struck lions on our hands. What could be better?”
Kovu sighed. “Speaking of,” he whispered. “Where are Ithemba and Esaba?”
“Oh…they went down to the field…you know, the one where you can see the stars. To say their own farewells.” Tears welled up in her eyes again.
“Hey, hey, its alright,” Kovu kissed her, and her face brightened slightly. Se put her muzzle next to his ear, speaking in whispers barely audible.
“Its been a hard day…lets go to bed…” she said with a wink. They had barely gone a few steps, when a sight that would haunt them till the end of their days came up to Pride Rock to meet them.
It was Ithemba. But this didn’t look like Ithemba, their son; this didn’t even look like a lion.
His face was slashed, blood flowing down his muzzle like a great river. He had long gashes in his sides, turning his usually light yellow fur a deep crimson. He could barely see for his were covered in blood, and he kept coughing it up. Hi left foreleg was mutilated beyond recognition, though fortunately it wasn’t severed. But it was a close miss…it would take months to heal. Kiara and Kovu’s souls felt like they had been split at that sight. They screamed and ran to him. Other lionesses came out of their caves, gasping at the terrible sight.
“Ithemba!” cried Kovu, his voice wavering with shock.
“What happened,” cried Kiara. “Talk to us!”
Ithemba looked at them, though whether he could see them was something else. He coughed, his face contorting with pain.
“Ambush…was pinned down…so afraid…”A wave of pain bolted through his body, and he roared in agony, collapsing on the floor.
He looked up into his parent’s anxious faces, and broke down in tears, which mingled with the blood and stung his face.
“He…he’s got…he’s got Esaba…”
And he blacked out.
“No…” whimpered Kiara. “Ithemba…” And without a word, the lionesses loyally carried their prince into the cave.
********
Barely five days had passed, and Ithemba regained consciousness. Immediately pain wracked his body, and he convulsed in a mad fit on the cold tone where he lay. A cold muzzle touched him, and a soothing voice told him not to worry, he would be all right. He looked up and saw his mother sitting beside him, smiling…but her smile was fixed and he could see pity, torment, despair and rage in her eyes. She stroked him, careful to avoid his grievous wounds, which she licked to sterilize them. He recoiled and whimpered, but it had to be done. A few minutes of this and Ithemba was stinging all over, tired and distressed.
Then why it was he was like this came hurtling back to him. He leaped up; despite the pain it caused him.
“Esaba!” he croaked, desperate to be with his love.
“Please, lie down!” reasoned his mother. “Your leg is injured and you need rest!”
“How can I rest knowing that…that that thing has her?” he sobbed.
“What thing?” shouted his mother. “We need to know! We don’t know anything about what happened!”
Ithemba calmed slightly, lying back down. He noticed his father walk in through the cave entrance. “Alright. I’ll tell you everything…everything I know.
We were playing in the fields. We had never been…so close before. We just lay there, cuddling in the grass. Then he came. Another lion, black all over, male. He had this aura about him…this kind of dark presence. He attacked me and pinned me down. He slashed my face, and then it was a blur. All I remember afterwards is falling into the undergrowth, blood spilling out under me…I heard him laugh, and Esaba screamed. Then it all went black.” He started crying, his soul pouring down his cheeks.
“I-I think I love her, mom!” He bawled, his face flaring up with his salty tears. “I love her!” he broke down completely, sobbing on the floor. After a momentary silence, he plucked up the courage to speak again.
“And what’s more, it gets worse.”
“WORSE?” Yelled his father, rage building up inside him at the injustice done to his son. “HOW CAN IT GET WORSE?”
“That…thing…was her father.”
A stunned silence followed this statement, followed a series of disbelieving outbursts from Kovu.
“B-but…how can that be? It’s not possible! Its wrong! Its perverse that such a sweet girl should have a…a…devil for a monster! Look at what he’s done to you!”
“You can hardly talk.” Said Ithemba, making his father shift uneasily. “Look at what your father…well, stepfather, was like! I have to go after her! I can’t let her get hurt!”
“We understand, Ithemba,” said Kiara, still licking his wounds. “But you can’t go out there in this condition, you wouldn’t last five minutes. Your father and I will catch up to this guy and bring back Esaba…but you stay here. Rest. She lived alone off bugs and dirty water for the first three months of her life, I think she can spend a couple of days without you.” Ithemba sniffed and looked up at his mother, a small smile on his face.
“All right…go…just please, don’t let him hurt her”
*******
Esaba was running through the grass, struggling to see in the faint moonlight. She knew she had to get somewhere, but she didn’t know what or why. She felt a burning desire to be near it, to touch it, smell it. She couldn’t remember where she was, or how she got there, but she just kept running, her muscular legs pounding the floor like pistons, not waiting a second to catch her breath.
Then she felt a sharp pain, coming from everywhere at once. She screamed in agony, but no sound came out. She could hear someone laughing, in a manic, raspy voice. The moon had vanished, taking the light with it. Esaba felt like her insides were burning, shrivelling up, and her heart was beating intensely. She couldn’t take any more of the pain, and she collapsed on the floor, a dark liquid pooling under her.
NO!
Esaba gasped, waking up from her hellish sleep. She found herself in a small, dark cave, with only a small trickle of moonlight coming through the entrance. She tried to stand up, but white-hot pain lanced through her side as she tried to move. She whimpered, lying back down immediately, her ears flattening against her skull.
“Ah, your awake”
Esaba gasped, it was the laughing voice from her nightmare. She suddenly remembered what had happened, and screamed, her frantic cries falling on deaf ears as a dark shape advanced toward her.
“Get away from me! Why have your brought me here, I haven’t done anything to you!”
“Of course not, my daughter.” Esaba recoiled at his use of that term.
“How…how can you be my father?” she inquired, desperate for an explanation.
The shadowy figure chuckled, lying down himself.
“Listen, child, and pay attention. I’m going to tell you a little story. The truth, the whole truth…and nothing but the truth.
My name is Inzondo. A long time ago, there was a lioness, called Zira. She was a loyal follower of Scar, and one of those lucky ones who got to mate with him. But then Simba returned, and it all went downhill for her and her followers. With Scar dead, and branded as an outsider, she planned for revenge. You already know where this story goes. Her Pride betrayed her just as she was about to win, and she lunged at Simba in a final, noble sacrifice. But Simba’s daughter, Kiara, stopped her, and threw her to her death…or so everyone thought.
She lived, Esaba, and I found her, broken and weeping in the muddy riverbanks. I fell in love with her instantly. I nursed her back to health, and we grew close…very close. She told me of her past, and my anger for what Simba’s Pride did to her grew. At one point, we mated…and she became pregnant. She was expecting any day, so I went off to find herbs for her, to stifle the pain. When I came back…her body was lifeless, cold, and small paw prints led away from her. Your paw prints. She died in labour, and you, a small cub in a panic, got lost. Understandable. I tried searching for you, but it was no good and I was forced to give up, to forget about it all, and return to my life as a rouge. Then a few months later, I learned of how Kiara had taken in a small cub…the same age that my daughter would have been. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. I learnt of how you’ve been growing close to that spoiled brat of a son that she has.” His voice had been steadily growing more hostile, and now it was so low and menacing that he could barely breathe. “Kiara killed my mate! Kovu was the one who betrayed her in the first place, his own mother! How does that make you feel, Esaba, knowing that the ones who have raised you murdered her?”
Esaba’s head was spinning, and she wasn’t sure what to make of this overload of information.
“Does…does that mean,” she said cautiously “that Ithemba is my…nephew?” she shuddered at the thought of being in love with a relative.
“Oh, you needn’t worry about that, Kovu was adopted, the brat, so your little lover boy isn’t related to Zira in anyway, thank god. But that’s not the point.”
Esaba felt her rage at her father build up, and she let it out gratefully in a furious outburst.
“Your story is just as twisted as you are! Zira was the one who tried to attack Nala after Scar’s death, she deserved her exile! And Scar wasn’t even the rightful King anyway, not to mention a pathetic one. And as for Kovu betraying her, he, and Simba to, for that matter, offered to forgive her, to put the past behind them…but she tried to kill them anyway. Kiara had no choice but to defend them, and it was by accident that she fell over the cliff. Kiara tried to help her, but Zira was too stubborn to accept her help. And you shouldn’t have given up looking for me; a real father would have never given up the search! Your pathetic!”
Inzondo growled and hit Esaba in the face, leaving long gashes and sending her flying to the other side of the cave, where she lay sobbing.
“You will not speak to your father like that!” he yelled, his obsidian eyes burning with black flame. “Another reason for revenge. Ithemba has corrupted you into their viewpoint. But that will be easily adjusted. A few years under your real fathers teaching will give you some manners, and a different perspective too! Together, we will avenge your mother!” he hissed. Esaba stopped crying, looking up from the floor.
“As far as I am concerned,” she whispered, “I have no father, or mother. Real parents would have been there for me. I will never help you. Never.”
Inzondo growled and turned his back on her, walking to a dank corner of the cave.
“Oh, you say that now, but I think I can be, ah, persuasive enough to change that. A few months under my guidance, and I think you’ll find you have no choice. I will let you have ten minutes rest. Then we leave.”
“Leave! Hah! My parents will find us way before then, you wait and see!”
The dark one smiled cruelly, chuckling to himself.
“Oh, I think someone else may have found them first.”
********
Kiara swiped at tree branch that was in her way, and held it back so Kovu could pass. The moment he was out of the way she released it, and it slammed into the muzzle of one of the Hyenas chasing them. This allowed them a temporary respite in which to tear off through the savannah at top speed, gasping for breath.
“If I didn’t know better,” said Kiara in between her ragged breaths. “I’d say something wasn’t quite right about this.”
Kovu looked at her lovingly. Even in the worst situations, Kiara always had something witty to say, although her jokes weren’t quite on top form with this one.
“That’s got to be the oldest one in the book!”
They found themselves in a clearing, surrounded by Hyenas, who leapt on them. They began to fight furiously, joking all the while.
“Not as old and mangy as you! Lets see you come up with a joke while you’re on the verge of death!” she said as she kicked a Hyena in the face with her back leg.
“Err, lets see” Kovu struggled to find something while he backpawed the Alpha Male. “Man, this aren’t easy…”
A hyena leapt yelling for his throat, razor sharp fangs oozing with saliva.
“Oh, go chase your tail!” he grunted, annoyed, and swatted it away like a fly. Soon enough the clearing was littered with unconscious hyenas, while Kovu and Kiara had barely a scratch or two.
“Okay, now it gets serious…” said Kiara. “WHO THE HELL SENT HYENAS AFTER US? I’m telling you, I don’t like this one bit.”
“Come on,” said Kovu. “We’ve got to go find Esaba.”
They trudged through the undergrowth for what seemed like hours, although of course it was just a couple of minutes. Their strength seemed to drain, and Kiara was beginning to worry about what exactly they would do when they got to the kidnapper. She was on the verge of telling Kovu that they should rest for a bit, when they heard the screams.
*****
“We’re leaving!” yelled Inzondo. “And we are leaving now!”
“NO!” cried Esaba. “I’m not coming with you! I don’t want anything to do with your twisted schemes!”
A snarl broke free from Inzondo’s mouth, revealing sparkling white teeth. His foul breath engulfed the chamber, making Esaba cough.
“Foolish, ignorant, disobedient child!” he roared, making Esaba quiver with fear. “I’ll teach you some manners!” He leapt upon her, pinning her to the ground. She cried out, but to no avail. His claws lashed through her already wounded flanks, making the blood flow thick and fast. His teeth sliced through various points on her face, although he made a point of ignoring those parts vital for her to live. He slashed her savagely, while all she could do was cry where she lay, trying to bear the agony. Then he threw her upon the ground and spat at her. Fortunately, the gashes looked far worse than they were and didn’t cause as much pain as they could have, although it was still terrible. But Inzondo wasn’t finished yet. He walked over to his corner again, and came back with a small, plastic cylinder in his mouth.
“Found this near a human camp, years ago.” He hissed between his teeth. “They use it to enhance the flavour of some foods. Has an…interesting effect on wounds.” He shaked the cylinder over her, and a small, white powder came out. The moment it came into contact with her bloody flesh, a wave of stinging pain went through Esaba’s body, and she screamed, maddened by it. Her father rubbed it in with his paws, claws still unsheathed and leaving yet more scratches. He was, quite literally, rubbing salt in her wounds. The agony was too much for her, and she was about to pass out…when she saw something to ease her troubled mind. Silhouetted against the moonlight, Kiara and Kovu stood framed in the cave entrance, looking on in horror at the scene before them. They both snarled, leaping towards the startled Inzondo, biting kicking and scratching at the malevolent criminal. But for every blow they hit on him, he blocked two more and threw three of his own: the old, scraggy black lion, seemingly no match for the two, younger and stronger specimens, was toying with them. Soon, both of the monarchs were suffering from heavy bruises, and not sure where to turn. They shared a glance and nodded: they weren’t here to fight; they were here to rescue Esaba. With a burst of renewed energy they shot past Inzondo and scooped the now unconscious Esaba onto their backs, and fled the cave post haste, the dark one snapping at their heels. For at moment, they seemed to win; they may not be stronger, but they were certainly faster than their adversary. But carting another lion on your back has its price to pay, and Inzondo was catching up again. He almost upon them, ready to-
“LEAVE THEM BE!” roared a mighty voice, and Inzondo stopped in his tracks, shuddering at the unearthly sound that seemed to boom from the dark sky. With a crackle of thunder, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, striking a tree just between the opponents. It collapsed, blocking the black lions way forward. The tree, miraculously, did not catch fire. Just in the distance, Kiara and Kovu could hear Inzondo cursing at the great lion in the sky, the one who had started this all in the first place.[/b]
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. I'll update as soon as I can!