My earliest memories are of playing in the valley, other cubs running at my heels. I enjoyed my life in the valley; I was free and had plenty of time to be myself and run about, and I had many friends. Of course, I had no idea I was a princess.

My mother was awfully secretive about her past and would only tell me that she was a daughter of a King in a land far away. This was enough for me; my mother was a princess, a lioness of noble birth, and I was too.

I would tell my friends often, and they would laugh and make fun of me. I let them, of course. They amused me in their futile attempts to hurt me.

Life in the valley was good, and I lived there until my adolescence, when a series of events took place that would change my life – for better or for worse, I did not know.

 

*****

 

I was but a young cub when I found myself wandering the Caves. The Caves were a network of tunnels beneath the valley that the pride would have used, should they come under attack. But the valley was a less heard-of part of the world now, and was ruled by an Emperor somewhere to the North. In its heyday, the valley would often be invaded for its precious resources, such as its many rivers and abundance of prey. When that happened, the elders, cubs and younger lionesses would flee through the Caves and emerge in the hills, far from the valley.

I remember the one of the many entrances to the Caves being a mountainous hollowed-out rock, with a large arch where bats would hang during the day. As I took my first steps inside the Cave, one of them screeched and they fled their perches, swarming the shadows. I jumped, and hesitated, but I kept going.

The shadows were large and would jitter like an antelope ready to flee. I remembered to stay in the lighter parts of the tunnel, lest the shadows swallow me up. Then there was a dead end.

The tunnel all of a sudden stopped, and I felt suddenly cold, and alone. I looked around to find the exit, but there were no lights and I could barely make out my paws on the ground.

Then I heard a growl.

I turned to look behind me, and saw a shape lifting off the ground and sidling slowly towards me. I could see the gleam of its eyes as it glared at me. I crouched and whimpered, terrified.

Then it laughed.

It came close to me. “Don't worry, little cub. Old Bibi wouldn't hurt you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Who are you?” I asked, in an attempt to sound brave. Of course, this was a futile attempt. My voice was squeaky with fear.

“Why, I'm but an old lioness who likes to wander the Caves,” Bibi said softly. “And who might you be?”

I had many questions on my mind at this moment, like 'Do you live here?' and 'Why are you in the Caves?'. But I only said, “My name is Aliona.”

“What a lovely name,” Bibi said, her voice drifting off a little. “Do you live in the valley?”

“Yes. Do you?”

There was a pause. I could swear that the old lioness was frowning, but of course, it was so dark, I had no way of knowing. “I come and go. Whether I live in one place or not is not for me to decide.”

I was so young at the time, I didn't know exactly what she meant, so I decided to change the subject. “Do you know how to get out?”

“Don't you?” Bibi asked, her voice laced with small surprise. “You came in here. Can you not leave the way you entered?”

“I don't know the way,” I murmured, “and it's dark.”

There was another pause. “Why don't you stay, and hear a story?”

“A story?” I was uncertain at this point. Bibi seemed like a nice lioness, and a very motherly one at that, but I was afraid that her stories would frighten me, or otherwise keep me away from home so long that Mother and Father would worry.

“Don't young cubs always like to hear stories these days?” Bibi asked. “I know a great many.”

I hesitated. “Okay. What kind of stories do you tell?”

“All sorts of stories,” Bibi replied. “I have one I think you would very much like to hear. Sit.”

I sat, my ears pricked.

“Once, there was a kingdom, far to the East. They were once part of an Empire, and many Kings of surrounding kingdoms loved the King there. He was a good and wise King, and loved his people. He had a daughter, and once had a son, but that son was believed to be dead. He banished the supposed killers of his son, and named his daughter the heir to the throne.

“The King was very protective of his daughter, and some would say to a fault. When she once met a child of the exiles, he would kill the cub, had he not been stopped by the cub's mother. When his daughter grew up, she married the cub that she met in her childhood, and the King was forced to come to terms with that.

“But then the King's son returned, and took his rightful place on the throne. The son was also a good King, but his sister was angry about having been usurped. She became friends with the new King's friend, and they fell in love. She then left her mate to be with the new King's friend, and left the land forever. But the old King followed them, and tried to stop his daughter's new mate from stealing her away. He was killed in the process, and his daughter and her mate were never heard of again.”

I shuddered. “That wasn't a nice story.”

“No?” Bibi sounded surprised. “But it's a true story, my dear. If you can't handle the truth, then you are very weak-minded indeed.”

I narrowed my eyes at this. How dare she? “I am not weak-minded!”

Bibi laughed. “So you say. In any case, would you like to hear another story?”

I shook my head. “I'd prefer not to. Mother would probably be worrying about me.”

“Of course, of course,” Bibi murmured. She then tapped my shoulder and pointed to what looked like a large opening. “Follow that and you're on your way out.”

I began to trot over to where she was pointing. The light of day was beginning to ebb into my eyes. As I looked back, I saw her eyes gleam. “Remember, if you want another story, you know where to find me.”

 

*****

 

The sun was still high in the sky when I began to make my way over to Mother, who was sunning herself on her favourite rock, next to the Hollow, a small dip in the valley that provided shelter from harsh winds and rain. This was where we slept, and during the day, the young males of the pride would sit, working shifts to protect the Hollow.

Mother lifted her head as I approached, smiling. She had bright red eyes, unlike my own blue, and beautiful golden fur that had the look of polished sunlight. She bent her head down to me as I sat beneath her rock. “Hello, dear. Where have you been today? The other cubs told me that you didn't play with them today.”

I struggled to find words. “I went looking around the Caves.”

Mother's eyes widened. “The Caves? Mufasa's mane, what were you doing there?”

“Exploring,” I said simply, eyes narrowed slightly. Were the Caves all that bad?

“Little flower,” she said, using her pet name for me, 'little flower', “the Caves are only to be used in a time of need,” Mother sighed. “Why did you want to go exploring?”

I looked down. “I don't know. I was just bored of playing with the others, I guess. I've heard from the older cubs that the Caves are haunted, so I wanted to see if they were right.”

Mother stared down at me, with a look that suggested she wasn't particularly happy with me. “Haunted? Tell me you don't believe in that nonsense.”

I glared at her. “I was just playing! Didn't you play when you were my age? Didn't you get in trouble with your Mother and Father?”

The look that crossed Mother's face then was one I shall never forget. Her eyes seemed to shine with tears, and her jaw was dropped, shaping her mouth like an 'O'. It was as though she wasn't looking at me, but through me.

“Mother?” I asked, shocked at her response. “Are you okay?”

She straightened and sighed. “Yes, little flower, I am. I'm just glad you're okay.”

I smiled and leaped up onto the rock, laying beside her. “And Mother?”

“What is it, little one?”

“I met a lioness in there.”

There was a pause. “Did you now?”

“Yes, an old lioness named Bibi. She told me a story.”

There was another pause. “Did she now?”

I nodded. “She was really friendly, if a bit rude.”

Mother looked down at me sternly. “Little flower, I don't want you going in the caves again, even if there are kindly old lionesses who tell you stories. Okay?”

I pouted. Stories, I felt at the time, were an important part of life, and even if Bibi's stories were disturbing, they held some significance. “Fine.”

Mother smiled and nuzzled me. “Good. Now, come, little flower, it's time you had a nap.”

The last thing I remember, before I drifted off in Mother's protective embrace, was a pair of gleaming eyes staring right at me from the entrance to the Caves.

 

*****

 

A few days had passed since my encounter with Bibi. Father, who had been away, visiting the Emperor who ruled to make an arrangement, had returned. I rarely eavesdropped on my parents' conversations, but this time, I felt I had to.

Father had left the Hollow late in the night and trotted off, away from the rest

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