realization.

“Simba?” he said confusedly. “Simba! And Ayden too! What a surprise to see you both…alive?”

The last word was directed up at the three hyenas; Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, who stood on a ledge above Scar. Simultaneously, they gulped and backed out of sight.

And suddenly, the mystery finally began to make some sense. The scene began to play like a movie in my head.

The day that the stampede occurred, when Simba had run away, Scar had sent the hyenas after Simba. The chase lasted until they reached the cliff that led down into the thicket of thorns. Simba had fallen down and miraculously had sustained no injuries. Then the hyenas, not willing to risk injury to themselves or death, had left Simba to die. They returned to Scar, and lied to him, telling him that Simba had been killed.

Now only one part of the mystery remained; why had Simba run away?

Simba’s growl brought me out of my own mind and back to our current situation.

“Give us one good reason why we shouldn’t rip you apart.” He said to Scar, approaching him slowly. I took out my knife and walked next to Simba, stalking Scar.

He had stepped forward when he realized who we were, but again, Scar was backing up as we approached him.

“Now Simba….Ayden…” He said almost pleadingly. “You must understand. The pressures of ruling a kingdom-”

“-Are no longer yours.” I finished Scar’s sentence before he could.

“Step down, Scar.” Simba commanded.

“Oh! Well….uh…yes…I, uh, would, actually.” Scar twittered, “However there is one problem. You see them?”

He gestured upward, and Simba’s and my gazes were drawn up to the ledges that lined the summit of Pride Rock. Several groups of hyenas were situated upon them, staring evilly down at us.

“They think I’m king.” Scar said, gesturing to himself.

“Well we don’t.” A voice came from behind us. Scar inclined his head to look over us, and Simba and I flung around to see Nala and the entire pride appearing over the side of the incline. Ayana was helping Sarabi get to her feet. I noticed that Yetunde was not present, and I felt my heart fall a little bit, for I had liked Yetunde very much.

“Simba and Ayden are the rightful kings.” Nala finished.

Simba turned back to Scar and said sternly, “The choice is yours, Scar. Either step down or fight.”

Just so Scar would get the picture, I raised my knife. He now knew that he would be facing both Simba and myself.

Every moment that I had ever been close to killing Scar or facing him, I was always afraid. And I was always alone. But not this time. This time, I had Simba with me. With him at my side, I did not know fear. Scar would not remain the king. Whether or not we needed to force him from the throne, Scar would not remain king.

“Oh, must this all end in violence?” said Scar silkily, sliding across the wall and past Simba. I raised my knife slightly higher, poised to fling it at any moment.

“I would hate to be responsible for the death of a family member, wouldn’t you agree Simba?” Scar asked, his voice growing sly.

“That’s not going to work Scar.” Simba said quickly. “I’ve put it behind me.”

“Oh yes, but what about your faithful subjects?” Scar responded quickly, “Have they put it behind them?”

I stared over at Simba and opened my mouth to ask him, but Nala beat me to it.

“Simba, what is he talking about?”

Every lioness was staring at Simba, curiosity etched into their faces. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zira appear at the mouth of the den. She stared for a moment at Simba, bewilderment crossing her face. Then she stared back at Scar who began to speak again.

“Ah, so you haven’t told them your little secret.” He said, almost gleefully. “Well Simba, now is your chance to tell them. Tell them who is responsible for Mufasa’s death.”

A knot became apparent in my stomach as I stared at Simba. Scar could not possibly mean what I thought he meant. Surely it was just another one of Scar’s lies.

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