where they would be easier to watch.

The storm raged over the pride lands. The sky was a pitch black, contrasted only by the lighting stricking the ground all around them and often far to close. The rain drenched them and turned the ground beneath their feet to mud and standing water. She would have long given up trying to hunt had she actualy been leading the party. Tracking was impossible and every living thing in the plains was either running, frightened, or well hidden. But Sarabi was a master hunter and diligently continued the search. The party tugged along on what had once been game trails for what seemed like hours. Sarabi in the lead and Nala trailing behind. It was impossible to tell the time the sun being utterly banished from the sky but somehow by what she figured to be a couple hours past noon they had managed to kill two gazzel. Sarabi led them to a watering hole semi sheltered by sparse trees and the lionesses collapsed exuasted.

“ Do you think its safe to linger here?”

Nala asked Sarabi

“ I’ve hunted for tyrant males before, They don’t understand that the time it takes to make a kill varies, never return to quickly or they will expect you to be that fast every time.”

The elder lioness replied, giving her a look like she should have known that already.

“ but if we take to long he might hurt the others.”

“ If they are going to hurt them, then they’re going to hurt them Nala. The only reson they make you think that you have some choice in the matter is to torment you.”

Their was a long pause and Sarabi looked around at the other lionesses as if checking if they where listening.

“ Nala come with me, we need to talk.”

She got up and started heading off past the trees. Nala followed the other lionesses barly even noticing their having left. They walked off away from the waterhole untill they where well out of earshot of the rest of the hunting party. Sarabi sat down under a tree. She looked tired but serios and determined. She was still the queen of pride rock trying to protect her pride. A role which Nala held only by name but she knew she would never be the leader Sarabi was.

“ The white lion Nala, how did he come to you. I have to know where he came from.”

Nala had spent much of last night wandering how she might awnswer such a question. Whether or not she should tell them what she had done. The pride might banish her, or kill her Sarabi might even kill her herself out here all alone. But all her inhabitions seemed to fade. She told Sarabi everything she had done and seen, about her jelosy and fears. She realized she didn’t even care about the consequences anymore she just wanted to tell someone. When she had finished Sarabi didn’t respond. She just sat looking at the ground a thoughtfull look on her face. Nala waited for response almost expecting Sarabi to attack her.

“ I know who he is Nala You will not want to hear this but it must be told. His name is Rohad he lived during the rule of Asyron, Mufasa’a father when I was very young. During King Asyrons rule, before me or Mufasa was born, their was a war between our pride and another that lived to the west in the old forests. They had lived in the darkness of the woods to long and had abandoned the sun and the circles of life, allying with the darkness and comanding the powers of the storms. They where evil, cruel gifted mystics. Finally their came a day when their evil could be tolerated no longer and so our pride went to war with them. Asyron was a mighty warrior and our pride defeated them, killing every last one of them except for one. The last one they found. A helpless cub, with fur a pure white, the last heir of the royal family. Asyron couldn’t make himself kill it, and so he was brought into the pride to be raised as one of us. He was named Rohad. As he grew older he proved gifted in the ways of the mystic. The ways of the circles came easy to him. He became very usefull to Asyron able to speak to the ancestors, heal the injured, and even predict storms. Asyron made him our mystic. This is how I knew him as he was well already an adult when I was just a cub. The lionesses however mistrusted him as he was far different around them then he was before the king. He became very arrogant, and secretive. Often leaving for days on end. Rummors spread that he could predict the storms because he was commanding them like his people had once done. This never reached Asyron however as Rohad told the lionesses that disease would come upon the prides cubs should the king become angry with him. His power as a mystic had become unparrled and he took on many students the best of which was Raffiki in his youth, and with his power grew his boldness. He no longer hid his ability to weild dark powers, and began to openly defy the king. He became infatuated with queen Marri Asyron’s wife and demanded she mate with him or else he would kill the king. At first she refused but by morning the king had grown ill and so she went to Rohad and let him have her. Asyron began to grow better but When Marii found that she had became pregnant by Rohad she couldn’t keep what she had done from her husband. Asyron was furios and the pride with the help of Raffiki killed Rohad and banished his soul to the woods of his ancestors. Without Rohads magic Asyron grew ill again. On the point of death he earred again on the side of mercy and refused to kill Rohads cub by Mari. Who he named Taka. Asyron died Mufasa became king at an early age and he and Taka where raised as brothers, and you already know where this story leads.”

Nala sat stunned, stareing at Sarabi in complete shock.

“ Why isn’t this known, why wasn’t I told this.”

She stammered

“ We didn’t think it was something you needed to know.”

Sarabi replied, a guilty look on her face. Nala felt an incredible rage pulse through her, It seemed for the first time in her life all of her pain made since. She was angry far beyond what she could rationalize. Before she even thought about it she struck Sarabi in the face, with a swipe of her paw, knocking the surprised lioness to the ground.

“ All my life I’ve been blamed for this. By you especialy and you didn’t think I even deserved to know what it was I was being blamed for. I thought you blamed me for my father, I thought you blamed me because you didn’t think I was worthy of your son, but I never even had a chance did I. I was cursed by my blood even before I was born.”

Sarabi got up slowly locking eyes with her.

“ I loved you mother. She was my closest friend and you have allways reminded me of her. Never once, in your whole life, have you ever remind me of your father, not untill now.”

Sarabi licked the blood from a cut on her lip.

“ ..but that doesn’t matter any more Nala. I understand that you have a lot to be angry about. I don’t blame you for that. If you have to, you can hate me. But we cant fight now. Simba will need us, all of us, united.”

Nala’s temper died as she relized what she had done. She hadn’t ment to go that far. She wanted to apologize but couldn’t make herself speak. She could only stare back at Sarabi speechless. So they walked back in silence, the other lionesses where quickly gathered and they began their journy through the storm back to pride rock.

The lionesses huddled in the back of the small cave, carefully watching the two tigers near the door. The pride’s cubs unaware of any danger, trying to play between the frightened lionesses. The hunting party had yet to return and the white lion had vanished. The tigers where not pateint gaurds and the one called Null had become restless. He was pacing back on forth near the door and was making the lionesses nervous.

“They’ve been gone to long”

He yelled glancing back at the lionesses.

“ Its not to long untill he says its been to long.”

The one called Void replied, slightly calmer then his brother.

“ I don’t give a shit what he says. I say we kill them now.”

He growled walking back twords the frightened lionesses, the mothers quickly hiding the cubs.

“ We still need him, so untill we don’t he’s in charge.”

Void yelled from the door.

“ Mabey Ill just hurt one.”

Null said quitly, smilling evily at the lionesses. He walked along the length of them admiring the frightened looks on their faces. He stopped standing over a lioness named Yalee. A mother with two cubs hiding behind her. The other lionesses glareing at him.

He reached over her with his paw and picked up one of the cubs. Holding it very gently, examining it, it was still very young. Its mother looking up at him horrified. He could here snarles coming from amongst the lionesses ranks.

“ Its amazing brother. All I would have to do is kill this one little cub and they would all attack me. They know they cant possible beat me, but it doesn’t matter, look at them, they all would give up their lives for just one cub.”

“ Please don’t. don’t hurt him.”

Yalee pleeded with him. He sat the cub down on the ground and patted it on the head, an amused look on his face.

“ Then mabey you can entertain me.”

He said smiling, his paw rubbing her thigh. She moved her cub back behind her and stood up.

“ Fine whatever you want.”

She said coldly glareing at him. The other lionesses quickly moving her frightened cubs to safety. He motioned with his head and she recluntly followed him to the other side of the cavern.

They moved a ways from the gathered pride and he stopped, turning to face her. She watched his eyes move over her body as he examined her. He admired her sleek form, her body was