frozen in fear. I was still shaking as I ran. I looked to Mufasa, who was staying close to me even, though we both knew he could run a little faster. Taka seemed more shocked them me. I heard the hyena's jaws snap at us, when suddenly a loud roar echoed through the whole pride lands. Mufasa, Taka, and I stopped in our tracks to look up and see their father, Ahadi, and the queen, Uru. I looked behind us and saw the hyena take off. We were all out of breath and it took me a long time for my heart rate to slow down.

"Mufasa, Taka what happened?" Ahadi asked, in a deep thundering voice. I looked at Taka, who had his head down low. Mufasa opened his mouth to answer his father when, Uru interrupted, "It was the hyena's fault. They've been coming into our territory for a while now. Not sure why though. We should just get them home."

Ahadi nodded in agreement with Uru. He gave me a glance, which sent a small chill up my spine. I'd hate to make the king mad. "Are you alright, Sarabi?" He asked, in a much calmer voice. I managed to nod yes. Uru smiled at me and Taka quickly ran over to his mother.

"I am very sorry father...we were playing," Mufasa apologized.

"It's okay, my son. I know. The hyenas are hungry but they also take more than they should, that's why they are banished from the Pride Lands but they keep coming back. It is not your fault. Let's take Sarabi home," Ahadi said. His voice was not as deep and scary this time, he was very kind and nice to me during the walk home.

When we got to the den, Ahadi sent us straight to bed, and I was exhausted. Mufasa, Taka, and I walked in the den together.

"I had a lot of fun," I whispered. Taka smiled at me and I smiled back.

"I did too. How about we do the same tomorrow?" Mufasa asked. I nodded yes. Mufasa turned to Taka and added, "All of us."

We went to bed, and I had the best night of sleep in a long time. I didn't even have a dream, and I didn't wake up in the middle of the night. I woke up the next morning, when most adults were awake already. My mother stayed by me and when I woke up we walked outside together. Sarafina, being her cheery self, greeted me with a big smile on her face. "Are you okay? I heard what happened! I can't believe I missed all the action!" She said. I told her the story about how I was perfectly fine and what really happened. Sarafina and I then went down into the Pride Lands. It was a beautiful morning. It was sunny, warm, and sometimes a cool breeze would come through. We just spent the day, talking a walk and talking. I heard a noise over the hill so Sarafina and I went to check it out. We were cautious but when we poked our heads over the hill we found Mufasa and Taka. They were play wrestling in the grass. Mufasa was on top of his brother, but Taka managed to push him off and gently grabbed his tail, playfully. They were laughing and smiling. They looked like best friends.

"Hey!" Sarafina shouted, "Can we join?"

Mufasa and Taka looked at each other then looked back at us and they both,cheerfully, shouted back, "Of course!"

Sarafina and I raced down the hill to go play.

Mufasa, Taka, Sarafina, and I grew up together and no matter what happened we were able to get through it. We were best friends and back then, I had no idea that I would one day become Mufasa's mate but it all seemed to work out. Taka was a nice and playful cub. It's when we became teenagers when things got worse between the brothers....