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By Juuchan17
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The wide view of the sunrise has begun to paint the sky canvas red, orange and yellow, welcoming its shining rays onto the world of the African Pridelands. The sky slowly became filled with birds, both great and small, flying the winds towards the giant stone formation of Pride Rock. Other animals – ant, antelope, zebra, okapi, cheetah, rhino, and every other land-dweller in between the smallest insects and rodents all the way up to the monstrous elephant – gathered their herds and young together, pricking their ears up to hear the chantings of the wise shamanic mandrill from the gathering ground.
“The sun is rising high, the lion calls,” From the edge of Pride Rock, Rafiki chanted in the native language of the Africans, but somehow all the animals could understand his words. “Come and witness good news, for a new circle is about to begin . . .”
Back within the walls of Pride Rock, lionesses formed a line across the main chamber of the royal family; however, the King and the dark-maned male stood outside, only to wait until the lionesses gave them permission to go inside once more.
Kovu paced back and forth down the line of females, both the sleek ones of the Pridelands and the scruffy, thin ones of his mother’s former pride. He let out a sigh of worry as he stopped by his sister’s defensive form. “Oh, I’m so worried for her,” Kovu murmured softly. “I wish I could be of some help for her right now.” A cry wailed out from the chamber-room, causing both males to prick their ears up. “Kiara . . .” the dark male whispered into the air.
Kovu’s sister answered him back with an encouraging grin. Vitani was a thin, light tan lioness with large blue eyes. The markings around her eyes, as well as the other former Outlanders, was darker than the lionesses from Pride Rock. Her paws were marked with golden-brown, making her easily stand out from the others of her birth pride. “Don’t worry, brother. If Kiara was brave enough to stand up to her own father, she can handle delivering a cub.” She placed a paw on his shoulder. “She’ll be fine. The queen herself is by her side if anything should happen.”
“But . . . but . . .” Kovu stuttered out as another cry – this one was more like a painful roar – pierced through his ears. He gasped in fear. “Kiara!” he cried out into the chamber. “Kiara, I’m here!” When he received no reply, his head fell towards the ground in defeat
“Kovu,” the voice of the wise King Simba easily comforted the father-to-be with a nudge to the top of his mane. “I know exactly how you feel – being all useless and unable to help the one you truly love with all your heart.” A quick chuckle came from his lips. “You know, I was a little older than you when my daughter was born, and I was afraid for Nala’s life when she had our first cub.”
“You were afraid?” Kovu’s eyes were wide open. “But you’re the King! Leaders shouldn’t be afraid of anything, right?”
Simba let another chuckle slip through. He sounds a lot like me when I was young,he thought. I guess Zira never told him about fear when he was a cub, but then again, she was ruthless and violent and probably saw fear as pure weakness within a lion’s heart; his life was always forced into following his position as Scar’s heir, unlike my relationship with my father being King and I was born to take his place one day. He had disobeyed his father’s rules like any other curious cub would, but luckily his father, the previous king Mufasa, saved him and his future mate’s lives and made him realize that anyone, even a ruler of a mighty kingdom, can be afraid in real life.
“I know, I know, but we’re not perfect either. Look at what I did to you, to my daughter, to my life.” Simba told him. “Before I became King, I made many mistakes, and I was afraid to own up to the responsibility of what was rightfully mine. Once I became a father, I was too protective over my daughter, afraid of her getting into mischief like I had as a cub, but I did it because I love her so much and didn’t want to lose her. I misjudged you and sent you into exile without taking my own advice . . .”
“Sometimes what’s left behind can grow better than the generation before,” Kovu began to quote the golden-furred King with a smile. “Thank you. Thanks for giving me that chance.”
“You’re very welcome,” the monarch nuzzled Kovu with his nose. “You’ve been doing so much for Kiara and making her so happy.”
Kovu sighed again as another groaning cry echoed from the room. “But she doesn’t sound so happy right now. My heart aches with every cry she makes . . . and there’s nothing I can do to help!” He stamped one of his paws on the ground in impatience.
Simba could only reply with a reassuring comment. “Don’t worry so much. Soon, the pain you two feel will only turn to love – the love that both of you will have for your new cub.”
“I guess,” Kovu answered back uneasily, a complete opposite of the King’s inspiring tone.
A small blue, black and white hornbill flew into the area with the morning light grazing against his widespread wings. He landed and gave a bow to the royal males. “Your majesties,” he spoke in a respectful tone. “the call has been made and the animals are on their way to greet the cub . . .”
“Zazu,” Simba told him, stopping his sentence. “The cub’s not born yet, so we have no idea when it’ll come.”
Kovu’s head dropped again. “All we’ve heard is cries and roars of pain, but no whimpers of any cub.” He began to pace in front of the line of lionesses once more, letting out a small roar when he turned. “I can’t stand all of this waiting!”
“Patience, young one,” Zazu flew to Kovu’s side, his opinions of him were much different than months before when he was still a rogue from the Outland pride. “Things will be just fine.”
“Oh, is Rafiki still at the point?” Simba asked his majordomo.
“Yes, he is, your majesty,” Zazu replied. “He has been talking to the wind and preparing for the blessing and presentation of the new cub ever since making the call.”
Simba nodded, looking out at the baboon as he continued looking at the sky. Rafiki, being a shaman and always so close in touch with the spirits and great kings of the past, continuously found himself communicating with Simba’s father, Mufasa, almost weekly, but ever since hours before learning that Kiara was to bear a cub of her own, he had felt his presence grow stronger. He didn’t know why, but he sensed that Kiara’s cub was the cause of Mufasa’s signs to him.
“It seems that all we can do is just wait,” Simba laid out on the rocky ground of Pride Rock, placing his head on his front legs and watching Kovu’s continuous pacing. “Hopefully, Kiara’s doing all right in there.” Zazu heard the king’s comment as he hitched a ride on the reddish-brown lion’s back as they waited for any news from inside the chamber.
The atmosphere within the royal chamber was quite different from the anticipation outside. Only three lionesses were nearby to comfort and assist the young princess as she panted and endured each and every contraction. Serafina, Kiara’s grandmother on her mother’s side, comforted her with soothing words, hushes and chants on her left side; to the princess’s right, Sarabi, the eldest of the Pride Rock Pride who also happened to be Simba’s mother, the former Queen, kept a close eye on Kiara’s condition as she struggled through each contraction; and Nala, Queen of the Pridelands, watched on the growing sac that was beginning to bud from her daughter’s body while also acting not only as midwife but also as the loyal Queen who considered taking the utmost safety of her pride’s future.
The light golden lioness was stretched on the slightly lifted surface of the center plateau on the royal chambers, lying on her swollen belly with her hind legs over the edge of the sleeping stone. She was panting, nearly wet with sweat and tears. Her red and gold eyes were opened widely then swiftly clenched tight as she gasped – another contraction surged through her young body.
“Oh, ohh . . . OHH!” Kiara’s voice went from quiet to a roar of pain as she began to make her body push the cub from her.
“Keep her steady, Mom,” Nala told her assistants. “and Sarabi, make sure you and Mom keep her from struggling so much when she pushes. She may hurt the cub.”
“It’s . . . it’s coming . . .” Kiara groaned through her teeth as she began to arch her back for support. “Ah, it hurts! . . . Oohh . . .”
“Easy, easy. Keep it steady, Kiara,” Serafina shushed her with a coo. She placed a paw on her back, gently lowering her body back onto the ground. “Shh . . . there now. You don’t want to injure yourself or your cub during your delivery. Just relax, and things will be over soon.”
“She’s right – you must remain calm,” Sarabi added, licking the sweat and tears from her granddaughter’s face. She spoke with a warm, low voice, but her words were like pure wisdom for she was once queen and a mother herself. “Birth is such a difficult task, but it is one that makes a young cub fully blossom into a mature lioness. As a future queen, the new life you are about to bring into the world could make the biggest difference in our future.”
“I know . . . ah – I know . . .” Kiara panted between breaths during her calm period between contraction intervals. They were getting closer and closer together, meaning that the cub was to be born any time now. “I never thought it would be so – OOH!” Her eyes squeezed shut as her claws extended out from her paws, her hind legs stretched out around her mother’s watchful body. “Ah, I feel it . . . ooh, it’s coming!”
“I can see your cub!” Nala told her daughter
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