easier to win. If you have too much pressure on yourself when you immediately go for the fatal blow, you might buckle under the pressure and it makes you lose concentration. Just the slight loss of focus in a fight could prove fatal. So remember to weaken you opponent first before going for the kill.”

Kiara seemed to get that message across her brain without trouble.

They spent the remainder of the lesson sparring together; using a combination of striking, grappling, blocking, dodging, and counter-attacking; all the techniques that had been taught and learned throughout the lesson. They also kept their claws retracted so as not to kill or bleed each other while fighting. During this time, Kiara managed to put up a good fight against Vitani, performing the moves close to perfection and proving that even against her own trainer; she was a very worthy opponent. Vitani could also see this and watched proudly over her student as they both fought.

The spa session continued for five minutes before both lionesses finally came to stop and rest; signaling the end of the lesson. They were both very tired as they couldn’t stop panting and sweating.

“W…Well,” Vitani began after cooling down for a few seconds, while panting heavily at the same time. “That was a good lesson… don’t…don’t you think?”

“Yeah…” Kiara replied, panting just as heavily. “That was…that was a lot of fun.”

The sudden mention of that word got the attention of the trainer, Vitani. She began to feel slightly ashamed of herself because after years of being raised in hate, she never understood what fun was all about. She now desperately wanted to experience it.

“Kiara,” Vitani started. “I feel slightly embarrassed to ask you this, but could you please show me how to have fun? It’s just that growing up with mother and her evil intentions have blackened my heart and refused to let me see the goodness of life, and…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Kiara interrupted kindly when she could see where Vitani was going. Vitani’s request for education into fun seemed to please Kiara as she could sense a special bond between this former Outsider. “Come with me into the savannah and I will show you all you need to know about having fun in life.”

“Thank you so much, Kiara; really appreciate it.” Vitani replied, starting to show respect for her and also feeling a bond between herself and her student. She also felt like Kiara was a savior for helping her to see the bright side of life, which she never understood after years of being black-hearted.

So with that said, Kiara and Vitani headed north away from their ‘training ground’ and ran out into the gold and green colours of the open savannah, ready to have a some fun.

15

It was now mid-afternoon and the sun was still shinning brightly with several clouds in the sky; occasionally blocking the sun out from illuminating the land; but no roaming animal seemed to take notice as everyone enjoyed the beautiful day.

Further into the west of the Pride Lands, Simba and Kovu had just walked several miles from Pride Rock. They had crossed into higher topography, which seemed to rise higher than most other areas located within the boundary of the Pride Lands. This gave Kovu and Simba another wide landscape view at the beauty of the green and gold of the savannah; as well as the widespread biodiversity that populated the area.

At this point Simba was explaining some of the main rules of the Royal Protocol to Kovu; and Kovu was listening very hard because he knew how important this was.

“When a lion asks whether he or she can join the pride,” Simba was saying; “you cannot just immediately say yes to them until you verify that they are indeed trustworthy. Therefore it is important that you ask them where they have come from, what their purpose is for entering the land, and why they want to join. It is also an idea to ask them who their parents or relatives are, in case they happen to be related to a friend or an enemy; and that will certainly help the verification. You must then allow for at least 2 or 3 days before the final judgment to be able to see who they really are. Even if it seems that you can trust them, you must give them a little more time.”

“And what if you allow a particular untrustworthy lion or lioness into the pride?” Kovu asked.

“Then that lion or lioness must be observed and supervised by your pride.” Simba replied. “Wherever they go, whatever they do, they are not to be left alone. As the leader, it is up to you to decide on the how they will be supervised, but it is important to ensure that they are not up to anything treacherous; or else in the worst case scenario you and the pride will be in great danger. Follow me?”

“Yes, it all makes logical sense to me.” Kovu responded. Simba just gave a single nod to him before continuing.

“Good. Now secondly, you will have members of your pride who will come, but there will always be others who will go. You may have pride members who have been in the clan for a while and they then decide to move on and leave. They may leave to find a new home, to start a long journey or adventure, to find a new mate, or even just temporary leave for something; but whatever the reason is, they are free at their own will to do as they please, and you must let them go; as long as they give you notice and permission. Therefore it is your duty to warn the pride about asking for royal permission to leave, because you need to keep up to date on the status of your pride’s numbers as well as the actions carried out by your pride.”

Kovu listened carefully and nodded constantly as Simba was speaking, but he also began a curious look on his face as he was thinking about what was being said, and he had to ask a question about what was on his mind.

“Does that include own family members as well?” Kovu asked.

“Yes, of course.” Simba replied, slightly confused at Kovu’s supposed slight lack of attention to detail, while misunderstanding Kovu’s question. “Everyone needs to be kept up to date. Don’t you get that?”

“No, no, no!” Kovu remarked, slightly amused at the misunderstanding. “I meant when family members in the pride want to leave, are they granted free will as well?”

“Oh, right! Sorry.” Simba replied, a bit embarrassed and somehow amused. “Yes, yes; all pride members are granted leave permission. It is important to understand that heirs to the throne must be selected within a given time; depending on their strength, courage, wisdom, and nobility; but sometimes family members may feel that they are unable to fit in or they want a different life to what they have in their own homeland, and therefore they choose to leave. Everyone has their own choice of destiny, and sometimes whatever it may be, that destiny must be fulfilled.”

As Simba continued, Kovu gave these supposed words of philosophy very careful thought, as if he was trying to lock it inside his brain to use it for future reference. At the same time he could not deny that Simba really knew a lot not just about being a leader, but also about living in the right and good way. This wise leader is like the true father that I never had.

“It may seem hard on you when your own children must leave; and it is understandable; but you have to be strong. You cannot always force your children to do what you tell them, and sometimes what you want them to do does not always suit them and they will refuse to accept. You must ensure that you don’t necessarily want your children to take after you, but you want what is best for your children. By all means educate them to be good and loyal in the best way you know how, but let them make their own decisions from then on.” Simba paused for a second, thinking about what he had just said. He was thinking about how he had raised Kiara, and he knew now that he wasn’t quite satisfied about it by being overprotective of her. This also brought slight guilt to him. “I also suppose that I should have been fairer to Kiara when she was growing up.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kovu asked, slightly confused.

Simba sighed in slight shame and hung his head before he replied; “When she was a cub, there were a lot of times that Kiara would want to go out and play in the Pride Lands, and I would often let her go, but I thought back to the times when I was very playful and sometimes mischievous as a young gun, and on a couple of occasions it led to serious danger; one of those times almost costing mine and Nala’s lives when we confronted the hyenas. I will also say that my father wasn’t very pleased about it either, even if he did admire me later on for being brave. So I didn’t want Kiara repeating what I did, or else I would have lost her and there would have been no one to take my place on the throne when the time would come.”

“That makes sense.” Kovu remarked. “But what was it that you actually did?”

“I kept warning her various times not to trespass onto off-limit territory and be aware of dangerous animals or threats that might have been lurking around the savannah; and I always sent Timon and Pumbaa, her loyal babysitters at the