got that scar, he's a pest! He thinks he's got you on your knees...."

"What??? No he hasn't! I'm not in love with him! Besides, he's not half as arrogant as Mufasa!" Sarafina blurted out. Sarabi gasped at her words.

"MUFASA ISN'T AROGANT! HE'S THE MOST DECENT LION I'VE EVER MET!" She snarled. Sarafina realised she'd gone too far, but it didn't stop. "HE'S KIND, AND MODEST AND EVERYTHING I COULD WANT!.... Wait, are you....jealous???" It was Sarafina's turn to gasp in horror.

"NO! WHY WOULD I BE JEALOUS OF YOU? Have you seen the way he parades about with you?..."She cried indingantly.

"What?" Sarabi could barely contain her disbelief.

"Whenever you're together in a crowd, he puts his paw over your shoulder and nuzzles you and purrs when you rub your head against his  mane... He treats you like some sort of....trophy!"

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? HE DOESN'T TREAT ME LIKE A TROPHY! HE LOVES ME AND I LOVE HIM AND THAT'S HOW IT'S GOING TO BE! SO LEAVE US ALONE!" Sarabi screamed.

....

There was a short and unforgettable silence. Sarabi saw Sarafina's eyes fill with tears, and she felt herself fill up with a cold sadness. Had that reallly just happened? All the things they had said ran through Sarabi's mind. She blinked, and felt her own eyes well up with tears. She couldn't look at Sarafina anymore, she turned and ran, away from Sarafina, away from the sadness, away from the world.

                                           ******

Scar was slinking along a rocky outcrop, deep in thought. He couldn't help himself, he loved Sarabi so much. He would do anything, anything to get closer to her, and even though he'd learned his lesson from last time, everytime they were together she seemed to form an invisible barrier between them. Exactly how long was it going to be before she realised how much he wanted her? How long before she forgave him? He sighed in frustration. Why could she not return his feelings for her? What excactly did she see in Mufasa? He would somehow become King, and when he did, he would take her for his own, and she would be devoted to him, in mind and in body. Or at least the latter of the two. He cackled evilly to himself, his head full of fantasies that he wish could become reality in the future. He  longed to be King, he could be everything that Mufasa could be, he would show them all. He could be the greatest King in the history of Pride Rock.

 The only thing that stood in the way of Scar's plan was...Mufasa himself.

 All the lions of Pride Rock were sleeping in the massive cave, all were motionless apart from the steady rise and fall of their ribs. The air was so silent, it was almost suffocating.Only one quiet figure was moving slowly inbetween the sleeping bodies, the paws treading carefully so as not to wake anyone. Like a shadow it suddenly appeared beside Mufasa and Sarabi's sleeping forms, their heads resting on eachother's flanks. It watched them, so relaxed and oblivious. It would only take a moment, but it would mean so much....to exchange the swipe of a claw for breath. To stop a beating heart. To take a life. Scar hesitated, and wished he hadn't. Doubt flowed into his mind, and his nerve left him. What if they found out it was him? What did it mean to kill? Could he really kill his brother? The darkness around him seemed to be closing in on him, but he couldn't make a desicion. Then his eyes fell upon the shape next to Mufasa's, and a new prospect was brought to light.....

Because, when he thought about it, what had hurt more?

As a cub, Mufasa's taunts, or knowing that Sarabi would never gaze at him as adoringly as he gazed at her?

Never feeling good enough, or never being good enough for her?

Being laughed at, teased by others, when all he sought was one person's aproval?

could he kill the breaker of his heart?

TO BE CONTINUED.