babysitters at the time, to keep and eye on and look after her; plus I still made them do it when she matured. She clearly saw all of this and she started to get annoyed at not being able to get some privacy or alone time; or having the free will to live her own life. I think that she got the idea that she had already heard the precautionary talks way too many times and she had learned more than enough. Therefore she would be able to take care of herself. As far as I’m concerned, she has not just become very willing and strong, but after what she did yesterday, she has also become very brave. So all in all, I guess that one of the most important lessons that I should have learned is faith; and I never had enough of that in my daughter.” I just wish that father could have taught me that as well; then I might be just as great a king as he was. Simba thought.

Simba could not help but think how he could have learned so much more about being at legendary status as Lion King like his father was. Although Mufasa taught him all that he knew about being a good and wise leader, Simba felt that if his father wasn’t taken from him so soon, he could have learned a few more secrets about what it takes to rise to the top amongst the greatest Lion Kings who ever lived. It wasn’t that Simba necessarily wanted to be the greatest of them all, but he just wanted to know how to do the job perfectly; like how he felt his father did in his time.

“So remember, Kovu:” Simba concluded, not letting his thoughts distract him too much. “You must choose your strongest, wisest and noblest member to take your place on the throne; and let your other children go if they decide to leave to choose a different life or follow their destinies. And remember to have faith in your children so as not to remain overprotective of them, or you may lose their respect. That goes for all animals in this land as they will all look up to you as their leader.”

Kovu nodded away, seemingly not missing one vital point that Simba had mentioned to him. His mind was particularly focused on Simba protecting Kiara. Now I understand why he kept an extra sharp eye on me when I first joined the pride. If only I had known that there was more than just being Scar’s protégé to how he felt about me.

“Do you follow all of this so far?” Simba asked Kovu.

“Yes; perfectly.” Kovu replied. “I don’t think that I will forget.”

 “Excellent.” Simba replied, smiling. He began to sense that Kovu’s attention to detail was quite accurate, as though Kovu wanted to learn all that he could about being wise and loyal after his blackened upbringing.

Both lions took another look out into the open landscape; and they noticed that a small cloud had blocked out the sun and shadowed the land. Kovu had sworn that he had never seen the pride lands look so dim in the daylight before, because practically every single day that he had witnessed in this land had been sunny. He began to get a feeling of how the dimness was a reminder of the cloud of darkness that had surrounded his entire life up until Simba and Kiara took him in and changed his ways; and he believed that the constant light that he saw in the Pride Lands is a reminder that whatever is casting a shadow over you, there is always a light available for those who need help and guidance in goodness and nobility just when you believe that all hope fades away in the symbol of darkness.

His philosophy seemed to show when the sun began to reappear as the small cloud moved away and the landscape became as bright as the dawn of time once again. From this it was like it answered his prayer for hope; and it made him feel blessed.

“Kovu?” Simba had noticed that his student had drifted off into self-thought, and he stared at him curiously. Kovu immediately snapped into attention.

“Oh! Yes?” Kovu jumped, looking right back at Simba.

“Something on your mind?” Simba asked.

“Not really.” Kovu replied, trying hard to keep his feelings on the down-low. “It’s just strange seeing this land so dim for a short time. Usually I have always seen it so bright and beautiful. All the times growing up I really don’t remember the last time that the Pride Lands was ever dimmed by the clouds. I only really saw this in the Outlands. It’s just very strange.”

“Yes, that is a fact.” Simba replied, seemingly acknowledging the strange climate of the Pride Lands, because this climate was supposed to be tropical, but it had not been behaving this way for a while. “I don’t even remember; two nights ago aside; the last time that it rained here. It must have been almost three months ago since the last patch of precipitation. Rainfall is supposed to be constant in this climate.”

“Maybe this is the beginning of a long term dry spell.”

“It might be. I really hope not, though. This land already suffered enough throughout Scar’s reign; and if it happens again, the herds will be forced to move on and migrate to have any chance of surviving; like they did last time.”

“Where did they have to go last time to find suitable resources?” Kovu asked.

“Most of them traveled south to the subtropics of Africa; including Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. The others who traveled north found places in the east and west coasts of central Africa. Those who traveled further north did not get far enough before the extreme aridity became unsuitable for them to survive. Those who stayed south were able to find plenty of food and water because the sub-tropical climate provided sufficient rainfall; not to mention no over-crowding of predators or invaders; Then soon after the Pride Lands regenerated, the herds returned home; many of them carrying new offspring that came within their migrated colony during the leave period. So the population of the Pride Lands certainly increased a lot.”

Kovu brought back to his brain a small memory as a cub as Simba finished his sentence. He had always wondered where all the herds had disappeared to since the degradation. To him they had all been wiped out from the killings of the hyenas and Scar’s negligent care when he had the honor as leader; at least that’s how he saw it. What’s more, he never even saw the herds return to the Pride Lands after he and the other then Outsiders had been banished from inside the borders of the Royal Kingdom. He felt slightly relieved that they had all returned safe and relatively unharmed from a temporary life in migration; which he felt was not always an easy path to take when trying to survive.

“Anyway,” Simba continued. “The land has not degraded since Scar’s reign; and it is still looking better than ever to this day. The herds are living well and everything is pretty green, not to mention plenty of water. Therefore you should not worry too much about this climate for now. We are bound to get more rain at some point.”

“Yeah.” Kovu simply replied, not wanting to say too much more as this was his lesson and he did not want to stay off topic for too long. “Anyway,” He therefore said in a polite way, “Please continue with the lesson.”

“Yes, of course.” Simba replied, feeling like he had almost forgotten about what he was supposed to be teaching to Kovu. “There is only one more thing that you must know, and this is the most important thing: My Father’s Law; or the Royal Protocol; which was made by Mufasa once he became the Lion King. First, all traitors must be exiled forever from the Pride Lands with the promise of the death penalty if they ever return. Second, anybody who is responsible for the death of a member of the Royal Family is also to be exiled. Third, anybody who draws Royal blood is to be sentenced to death; and, again, you as the King are not to be the one to perform the action of execution. You are to leave that to a pride member.” Simba said this in quite a strict tone as if to remind Kovu and leave him to understand the severity of consequences for the leader of the pride from the wrong decision made or performed. Kovu put on his most serious face and nodded quickly.

“And lastly,” Simba continued, recovering immediately, “All debts must be paid no matter what. However, they can sometimes come with exceptions or conditions; like with you a few days ago. I think you know what I mean, right?”

“Yes, I understand.” Kovu replied, at the same time remembering when Simba allowed him to join the pride to pay a debt for the rescue of Kiara on the condition of reserved judgment to allow time to see who he really was and what he was like. Kovu understood why Simba did this at the time because Simba knew that Kovu could not be trusted as an outsider and the “Chosen One” by Scar; and the payment of the debt had to come at a large price. This also brought up his thoughts again on his upbringing.

I think that it would be an idea to tell Simba about Zira and how I was raised by her; so that he might get to know me better. It might also explain the full story of her so that Simba will truly understand her evil intentions.

Kovu remembered that he wanted to explain this to Simba and the others beforehand, but his chance came too late when the Outsiders ambushed Simba; which therefore led to Kovu’s sudden demise. He felt that if he let Simba know earlier,