An Impulse of Heart 

(started 8/19/07 – finished 1/08)

Summary: What was the real reason that Nala roamed so far from home to find help during Scar’s reign as King? Was it just to hunt for food, get away from Scar’s evil intentions to make her his Queen, or was it destiny’s pull that caused her to run into the last lion she ever meant to see? (one-shot) 

Rating: G for General Audiences.

Disclaimer: The characters from the animated feature, “The Lion King,” are the properties of Walt Disney Pictures. The events in this story are based on the actions and original lines from the script of the film but are written for entertainment purposes only. 

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The late morning beamed down on the waves of long savanna grass that bordered a nearby jungle paradise. The form of a light peach-brown lioness slightly rustled through the blades, crouching within the safety of the camouflaging dried grass. She let out a low growl, her blue eyes carefully scoping the area around her while still focused on her main goal. 

I must find some help, she thought. The Pridelands just aren’t safe anymore . . . especially ever since Scar took over as King a couple of years ago when . . . She felt a tear begin to well up in her eye, but she wiped it away with her paw. It had been too long that she had last thought of him – they were best friends and apparently betrothed since they were young cubs. He was the Future King after all, but even though he was to become King, she could never believe that she was meant to marry her best friend! She sighed, which accidentally caused a tiny flock of field birds to scatter upward into the blue sky.

But not even he could help me now . . . He’s dead . . . She began to sniffle quietly to herself. Not even she could believe Scar’s words when he solemnly announced that both their King and his only son had perished in a deadly accident . . . No, she didn’t want to believe it for a few weeks. She had wept for days and days uncontrollably, almost to the point that she felt that she couldn’t stop the flood of tears from flowing from her eyes of clear blue. It was hard for her to think that the one lion that she could count on to be brave and still be fun to hang out with was gone forever. 

The last time they played together had been when they were a few months old . . . While her mother gave her a bath, he had found a new hangout that they could explore and play like all curious cubs could. He had said it was the big old water hole where all animals of the Pridelands traveled to in order to quench their thirst, but it was actually an elephant graveyard, a dark and dreary place that the large pachyderms migrated to when it was their time to end their circle of life. After a carefully-planned tactic of sing-song and dance, they had escaped the watchful eyes of the King’s majordomo, a blue hornbill named Zazu, and reached their destination . . . and nearly reached becoming a dinner for a trio of hungry hyenas. Thank goodness the brave Lion King had come to their rescue, saving them both; however, the young prince was severely scolded by his patriarch, mainly for disobeying his rules and putting his life, as well as hers, in danger.

But she always knew he was brave . . . even if his actions were out of curiosity, and that’s what she had always liked about him . . . 

She had remembered that she was meant to be his mate . . . and starting during her time of mourning, she actually felt sad that it would never happen.

I . . . I’d loved him . . . and never told him . . . how I felt about him . . . about us . . . 

It was hard for her to grow up so quickly under Scar’s reign, especially after losing her friend. Life, somehow, would have to go on, and the young lioness had to accept the sudden passing of her friend, especially since there were more important things to attend to. She, like the other lionesses of the pride, were ordered to hunt for food all the time. She was still a cub when the new order took over, but her mother, Serafina, and the former Queen, Sarabi, both made sure that she wasn’t left behind in learning how to hunt prey; whenever they weren’t hunting or resting, they made it their mission to teach the cub everything about stalking prey, pouncing, and hunting until she was about a year old.

Things didn’t work out as well as planned, however. During the next year, she was able to hunt on her own and work with a team as part of the main hunting party, but their home was growing barren with the lack of prey. The Pridelands had been in bad shape ever since Scar allowed his minions, the hyenas, free reign of the savanna. They tortured the wildebeest and antelope that once roamed and flourished in happiness, causing many of their herds to migrate far away from their homes and leaving the lionesses with hardly anything left to hunt within a half-day’s distance :p>

But not even he could help me now . . . He’s dead . . . She began to sniffle quietly to herself. Not even she could believe Scar’s words when he solemnly announced that both their King and his only son had perished in a deadly accident . . . No, she didn’t want to believe it for a few weeks. She had wept for days and days uncontrollably, almost to the point that she felt that she couldn’t stop the flood of tears from flowing from her eyes of clear blue. It was hard for her to think that the one lion that she could count on to be brave and still be fun to hang out with was gone forever. 

The last time they played together had been when they were a few months old . . . While her mother gave her a bath, he had found a new hangout that they could explore and play like all curious cubs could. He had said it was the big old water hole where all animals of the Pridelands traveled to in order to quench their thirst, but it was actually an elephant graveyard, a dark and dreary place that the large pachyderms migrated to when it was their time to end their circle of life. After a carefully-planned tactic of sing-song and dance, they had escaped the watchful eyes of the King’s majordomo, a blue hornbill named Zazu, and reached their destination . . . and nearly reached becoming a dinner for a trio of hungry hyenas. Thank goodness the brave Lion King had come to their rescue, saving them both; however, the young prince was severely scolded by his patriarch, mainly for disobeying his rules and putting his life, as well as hers, in danger.

But she always knew he was brave . . . even if his actions were out of curiosity, and that’s what she had always liked about him . . . 

She had remembered that she was meant to be his mate . . . and starting during her time of mourning, she actually felt sad that it would never happen.

I . . . I’d loved him . . . and never told him . . . how I felt about him . . . about us . . . 

It was hard for her to grow up so quickly under Scar’s reign, especially after losing her friend. Life, somehow, would have to go on, and the young lioness had to accept the sudden passing of her friend, especially since there were more important things to attend to. She, like the other lionesses of the pride, were ordered to hunt for food all the time. She was still a cub when the new order took over, but her mother, Serafina, and the former Queen, Sarabi, both made sure that she wasn’t left behind in learning how to hunt prey; whenever they weren’t hunting or resting, they made it their mission to teach the cub everything about stalking prey, pouncing, and hunting until she was about a year old.

Things didn’t work out as well as planned, however. During the next year, she was able to hunt on her own and work with a team as part of the main hunting party, but their home was growing barren with the lack of prey. The Pridelands had been in bad shape ever since Scar allowed his minions, the hyenas, free reign of the of Pride Rock. Sometimes, the lionesses hunted for days before they finally found some hope of food, but due to their own hunger, they spared a bit for their own sake, knowing full well that Scar would show no sign of pity for them. 

Life has been hard and not at all easy . . . but it’s even worse when it comes to carrying on our proud way of life . . .

The young lioness shuttered slightly as she laid her sleek body in the grass, remembering the terror that she felt only a few days ago before she left the Pridelands. Scar had called her into his bed-chamber, asking for a moment of her time. Unable to refuse his request and knowing that refusing a summons from the “King” would lead to her own execution, she agreed to help him, although the lioness had other things on her mind. 

- - - - -

Carefully, the young lioness stepped into the King’s chamber of Pride Rock, slightly gagging at the stench of death and the pungent scent of rotting carcasses that lay wastefully in the back of the cavern. She could barely sense the presence of the former King’s brother nearby, but she gasped when an unfamiliar touch rubbed against her side, starting from her thigh and slowly and steadily moved up to her neck. The lioness felt paralyzed, almost as if she were unable to budge from the intruder’s grasp. However, before the touch could reach her muzzle to steal a licking kiss, she used her rapid reflexes and batted the unknown creature with her front paws only to gasp in shock when the identity of the groper was revealed. 

“Scar!” Uncomfortable by the actions of her so-called King, she took a couple of steps back and growled. “Oh, how could you?”

The burgundy coated male chuckled evilly. “Oh-ho-ho, Nala, you have indeed grown since I last took notice . . .” His evil smirk against his wicked green

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