had cracked halfway up and fallen, creating an upside-down “V” shape. Underneath this was a large mound. I slowed down, wanting to get a good look at the object.

            A gasp escaped my mouth. My knees buckled and I fell to them as I witnessed the sight before me.

            The great and wise King Mufasa lay sprawled on his side, his eyes shut. He was dead.

            An image of a flaming Jeep sprang to my mind, and tears filled my eyes. I lay myself across his unmoving side and wept into his mane. For the second time in my life, my father had died. I was experiencing the same tragedy again.

            After what seemed to be an eternity, I looked up. A thought suddenly came to me, and my fear returned. Where was Simba?

            I jumped up and, with no desire to leave the dead king’s side, sprinted off again. I looked back longingly at Mufasa’s body, promising to myself I would return to retrieve it. Then, as fast as my legs would carry me, I followed the gorge.

            Only a minute later, it ended abruptly. Another set of rocks that resembled large stairs lay before me. I glanced downward, and something set in the dirt caught my eye. There were several sets of footprints. One set was small, with padded paws, and I instantly recognized them as Simba’s. Three others with even smaller paws went in the same direction. Instantly, I remembered how thin the paws of the hyenas were, and I gritted my teeth as tears sprang to my eyes again and anger boiled in my heart.

            The hyenas had done this. They killed Mufasa, and had chased after Simba with the same intentions. The thought of my brother in trouble snapped me back to reality, and I rushed up the rocks with ease. All I focused on was getting to Simba, finding him and holding him, never letting go.

            I followed the footprints around the top of the gorge. The landscape had changed now. I was far out of the Pride Lands. There was nothing but rocky barren wasteland around here. Off in the west, where the sun slowly set against a blood red sky, was a long and dune filled desert.

est depths of my body.

            The cliff sloped down at a dangerous angle, and then dropped off in to a large patch of thorns. The paw prints ended here. Four went to this area, and only three showed any sign of heading back.

            My eyes stung with wetness as my legs began to shake. All the anger I felt at these horrid monsters built and built. I felt like I was going to explode with the anger. My heart literally hurt from the pain that hung so heavily inside it. Finally, unable to take it anymore, I hit my knees and screamed in complete anguish, tears spilling onto the ground before me.

            For the second time in my life, I had lost my father and my little brother.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 8 – The Ascension of a Tyrant

 

 

For a long while, I remained at the edge of the cliff, denying to myself what I had seen. I was painfully willing myself not to believe that both Simba and Mufasa were dead. But no matter how hard or long I told myself this, no matter what I chose to believe, it did not change anything. My adoptive father and brother, whom I had grown to love as my own family, were dead now.

The sorrow that had subdued so long ago after my family’s deaths had risen again and it had, if at all possible, grown tenfold. My heart, which had never fully healed from the pain of their passing, had shattered to pieces with the loss of Mufasa and Simba.

For some time, my tears pooled in the dirt in front of me as I wept, allowing my sadness to overcome every fiber of my being. After a while, I had shed enough tears to the point that I could no longer cry. It hurt my eyes physically to cry one more.

My eyes still burning, I looked up from the ground and saw that the sun had fully set now, letting the once blood-red sky turn to a deep shade of purple. Gray clouds had moved in, beginning to block the now appearing stars from view. The moon had began its’ ascent to the sky. I found the crescent a striking metaphor to my soul. It was no longer whole. Part had disappeared with the loss of the ones I loved.

Shakily, I stood up. I glanced back down one last time at the small paw print that once belonged to Simba. I sighed, a feeling of defeat slowly building. Clearly, I was not meant to have family. I was to wander alone, friendless. I had nothing left now.

That is not true…said a quiet, hopeful voice in my mind.

“Sarabi…” I whispered.

And then I realized that she did not yet know of the events that had taken place. She had yet to find out that her mate and son were gone from this life, and had ascended to the stars with the great kings of the past.

With the speed that I always prided myself in having, I shot off back the way I came. As I reached the gorge, I ran the fastest I could let my legs carry me. I glanced at the broken body of Mufasa as I passed, and quickly tore my eyes away. I couldn’t let my sadness interfere with my mission. I HAD to get to Sarabi and tell her what happened.  In, what felt like, no time at all, I had traveled the gorge, scaled up the wall, and sprinted through the grasslands towards the silhouette of Pride Rock.

As I neared it, I noticed that the lionesses were congregating in a circle near the base of the rock. I saw some cubs sitting at their mother’s paws, staring up and around, clearly wondering what the commotion was about. As I drew closer, I noticed they were gathering around a rusty colored lion with a black mane. I stopped dead in my tracks. Scar had survived the accident. He had to know what happened. He was the one who took Simba to the gorge.

A thought crossed my mind. Maybe now, Taka would shine through all of the darkness of Scar that shrouded him. Maybe now, Taka would show up in this time of tragedy. The sadness of this misfortune MUST have affected him in some small way, and I prayed that Scar would not act in the way I had come to expect from him.

I finally neared enough to where I could hear Scar’s words. He was addressing the pride, and there was sadness on his face that was not reflected in his voice. I moved forward and stood between Ayana and Yetunde, staring up at the lion I prayed would have the heart to do the right thing.

“I bring grave news of our king. My brother and our king, Mufasa, was tragically killed today. He died in a stampede that occurred in the gorge to the east. And as heartbreaking as his death is, I am distraught to announce that our beloved prince, Simba, was also killed. He was trampled in the gorge by the stampede.”

At these words, the circle gasped. Several lionesses let out a sob of grief. Their faces unsure and sorrowful, they stared up at Scar. My eyes were drawn to the lioness with whom my thoughts rested with. Sarabi was shaking with silent sobs and her head was lowered, but otherwise she stood very still. Pity welled up inside of me, and I moved closer to her. I wrapped my arms around her neck and hugged her, my eyes stinging with my attempt at tearing up. Looking down, I saw Nala sitting between her mother’s paws, tears streaming down her sad little face. Sarafina shared the same expression as her daughter, but her face was turned to Sarabi and I.

Scar spoke up again. “Mufasa’s death is a terrible tragedy. But to lose Simba, when he had just barely begun to live, for me, it is a deep and personal loss. So it is with a heavy heart that I assume the throne.”

His tone bore no implication that what he said were his true feelings, and I fought my instinct to glare at him for his lack of sympathy. Suddenly he became very rigid and his voice, harsh.

“Yet out of the ashes of this tragedy, we shall rise to meet the dawning of a new era…” His voice carried out piercingly across the company, and the lionesses all snapped their heads up to stare at him. Even Sarabi had looked up to see what he was talking about.

Scar continued, “…in which lion and hyena come together in a great and glorious future!”

At these words, a great stir of movement occurred around Pride Rock. From countless places, hundreds of hyenas appeared, grinning evilly. They slowly moved down the slope and from around towards us. The lionesses all stood up and growled as the hyenas came closer. I released Sarabi and reached for my knife in my pocket. Anger boiled in my heart as I stared at the murderers of my brother. I wanted to kill every last one of them.

Yet as I prepared for them to attack, they all passed by and made their way into the Pride Lands, some packs chasing off after the herds in the distance. They were making themselves at home, and it sickened me to see these horrid creatures befouling the beautiful Pride Lands.

I felt a rush of air at my side, and looked around to see Sarabi running up to Scar who was making his way to the mouth of the cave. She blocked his path before he could enter, and began a heated argument with him over the admittance of those monsters into the Pride Lands.

Scar smirked and replied, “All are equal in the great circle of life, Sarabi.” He slunk past her to the cave but stopped in front of it. “Oh, and another thing, Sarabi. You have been relieved of your responsibilities

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