months into Scar’s rule, on a particularly hot and dry day, I found myself sitting under a dead Acacia tree, sitting in as much shade as possible. Trying to ignore my weakness and pains of hunger I distracted myself by thinking of any and everything I could. I picked the planner out of my backpack and flipped through it. When I did, I was surprised to see that I had lived here in the Pride Lands for the last ten months. And it saddened me that the majority of them were in a time of peril and tragedy. I had only known Simba and Mufasa for two months, yet I felt like I knew them for my entire life, which in a sense, I had. I would never forget that my father and brother had watched over me through the two of them.

            I put the planner away, feeling worse than I had before. I looked up and stared at the cloudless, gray sky. The events of the past week swam in front of my eyes.

Only a week ago, Zira had announced to the pride that she had been pregnant for some time with Scar’s heir. When Scar heard this, he walked with a new strut in his step. He bore the same unsettling smile that was always set on his face, but now it seemed smugger.

Yesterday, Zira and Sarabi had got into a rather heated argument, and it resulted in a vicious battle between them. Sarabi sustained several major injuries, but Zira was almost twice as bad. Scar was furious that Sarabi dared to lay a paw on her “queen”, and he ordered that Sarabi receive no medical treatment from Rafiki. Sarabi was still in a great state of pain and injury, and I refused to sit idly by and wait to see if she would survive through the night. So late last night, I snuck to Rafiki’s tree, careful not to wake any sleeping hyenas, and requested his help.

Rafiki was in a right state. Usually, he came across as a complete lunatic, always wearing a goofy smile, always chanting random phrases in a language only he understood. But Rafiki had taken the tragedy of the death of his friend, Mufasa, very hard. Since the day he found out, Rafiki acted completely…normal. And it was strange to see him act normal. Occasionally, he would show signs of being alright, but it was still so close to the time of Mufasa’s departure, that he had was not ready to let go of Mufasa’s memory.

He followed me to Sarabi in the dead of night, and while she slept, he applied some of his healing medicine to her wounds. She sighed peacefully in her sleep as he did. I thanked him graciously.

He had replied to me, “If dere is anyting you need, I am your servant, my king.”

His words made me do a double take. “Excuse me?”

He looked at me. A smile tugged his lips for a moment, but then it was gone. “I said you are my king. You were next in line, and no matta what Scar say or do, you are dee true king. You are still Mufasa’s boy, and so you are my king.”

Then he left without another word. In that single moment, I felt a tremendous amount of respect for Rafiki. I now saw why Mufasa had trusted him so much. He was a true and wise friend.

I looked out across the Pride Lands as I reflected on these events. The lands looked absolutely pitiful compared to their once former beauty.

Rafiki’s tree stood in the distance, grand and strangely silhouetted against the barren and dry lands. Sarabi and Sarafina were padding from it. Some of Sarabi’s wounds had opened again, so they had snuck to Rafiki’s tree to clean them. Now they were heading back towards Pride Rock. I stood up, and left the comfort of my shade, stepping into the sweltering heat.

Approaching the lionesses, I heard them discussing the fight that occurred yesterday between Sarabi and Zira.

“I’m surprised that Zira even survived!” said Sarafina, disdain in her voice. “You mauled her so bad, I though she would die!”

Sarabi glanced at her. There was a hint of a smile on her face, but in an instant, it was gone. “I’m actually glad that Zira survived. Scar would have killed me if she had died, and I was in no state to defend myself.”

I approached them and waved. They glanced up at me, and smiled as I came nearer.

“Good morning, Ayden.” said Sarafina happily.

“Hi Ayden!” came a voice from between Sarabi and Sarafina. I looked down, and was surprised to see Nala. I had to strain to see her because her fur blended so well with the dead grass. I could only just make out her shining green eyes through all the tan.

She stepped out of the grass into full view. She had defiantly grown very much. She was no longer the cub I had known when I first arrived, but she was still relatively small, only about half of the size of her mother. Already, she had some powerful muscles that were growing on her legs. I could tell that she would have no trouble getting up to speed during a hunt, whenever she started her training.

“Hey,” I replied to her. I looked up at Sarabi, and asked, “How are you feeling?”

“A little sore,” she said, “but otherwise I feel fine.”

I smiled happily. “I’m glad. You had me worried there for a while. I…”

But my words were cut off as a loud scream emanated from behind us. I turned my head, and as another scream resonated, I knew it came from Pride Rock.

Sarabi, Sarafina, Nala, and I sprinted back to the rock as fast as our legs would carry us. Weakness began to overcome me from lack of food, and I slowed down . Sarabi also slowed down and disappeared behind me. The next thing I knew, she ran between my legs, and I was riding on her back. I smiled gratefully at her as she glanced back at me.

We finally reached Pride Rock and skidded to a halt in front of the cave where the screams were issuing from. As we did, Kala ran around the corner of the cave, and stopped in front of us.

“Thank the gods I found you!” ass="MsoNormal">He looked at me. A smile tugged his lips for a moment, but then it was gone. “I said you are my king. You were next in line, and no matta what Scar say or do, you are dee true king. You are still Mufasa’s boy, and so you are my king.”

Then he left without another word. In that single moment, I felt a tremendous amount of respect for Rafiki. I now saw why Mufasa had trusted him so much. He was a true and wise friend.

I looked out across the Pride Lands as I reflected on these events. The lands looked absolutely pitiful compared to their once former beauty.

Rafiki’s tree stood in the distance, grand and strangely silhouetted against the barren and dry lands. Sarabi and Sarafina were padding from it. Some of Sarabi’s wounds had opened again, so they had snuck to Rafiki’s tree to clean them. Now they were heading back towards Pride Rock. I stood up, and left the comfort of my shade, stepping into the sweltering heat.

Approaching the lionesses, I heard them discussing the fight that occurred yesterday between Sarabi and Zira.

“I’m surprised that Zira even survived!” said Sarafina, disdain in her voice. “You mauled her so bad, I though she would die!”

she cried.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, sliding off of Sarabi’s back.

“Zira is giving birth to her cub!” she replied quickly.

Sarafina gasped. “What? She’s way too early! She’s not due for several weeks!”

Kala lowered her voice, and she sounded concerned. “Perhaps last night’s squabble brought along the contractions…”

I looked at Sarabi. Her eyes were closed in a painful prayer. I knew that she was hoping beyond hope that the cub would survive the premature birth. I was praying the same thing. I had no idea what Scar would do if his heir died because of Sarabi’s intervention. And I did not wish to find out.

Sarabi ran into the cave, but I remained behind. I was sure that the last thing Zira wanted was the two people she hated the most to be present at her day of birth, and it was bad enough that one of them could have potentially killed her cub.

For several hours, Sarafina and I sat outside of the cave, listening to the sounds of Zira’s cries and screams. Some of the pride came and sat with us. The feeling among all of us was tension. We all knew what the birth of Scar’s heir would do to the Pride Lands. It would be the kiss of death. There would be no way to return them to their natural state if Scar’s legacy lived on past his generation.

With this thought came another, more unsettling thought. I knew that the only way to end Scar’s reign and save the Pride Lands would be to overthrow him, and the only one who could rightfully do that would be me. I knew the day would come when I would have to face Scar. I could not let his legacy live on. It needed to end, and it needed to end soon.

The loudest roar of all issued from the cave, a moment of silence, and then only the sounds of heavy breathing could be heard. Quiet voices could be heard from the cave, but as hard as I tried, I could not make out what they were saying. After a few moments of this, I stood up and took a step towards the cave. But as I did, Sarabi backed out of it, her face fearful.

I watched as she stopped momentarily, and then she looked up at me. The terror in her face alarmed me and made me dread what had happened and was going to happen. She stared into my eyes for a moment, then turned and ran down the slope off into the Pride Lands.

I watched her figure disappear around the corner of Pride rock, then turned back to the cave. The tension for what we were going to see was rising. Apprehensively, edged into the cave and slipped around the corner, the pride following close behind me.

Zira lay in the center of the cave, with Scar hovering over her. Their faces bore much grief, and their gaze was fixated on a small something cuddled in Zira’s paws. An unusually small brown cub lay unmoving there. He was dead, apparently a stillborn.

A mix of relief and pity overcame me. Relief came at the fact that Scar’s legacy would not yet be fulfilled, and yet pity for this poor cub, who

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