Scar x Zira: The Lost Heir

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sarabi padded away from Pride Rock, three lionesses silently following behind her. Only a day had passed since she received the heart-breaking news that her mate had died in the stampede, and only a day had passed since Scar and Zira took over the roles of King and Queen.
The news of her family's passing had been a crushing blow; afterwards she had debated whether she had the will to go on or not. Then she realized that she had to stay strong, for the rest of pride if not for herself.

She saw a herd of antelope in the distance and she signaled to the others with a flick of her tail and ears. They all started to spread out until the herd was within a half circle of hunters. Sarabi stalked forward, ready to pounce on one of them...
When they all bolted, dirt flying up into her eyes and nose. She coughed and blinked the dirt away to see Zira and a group of the Outsiders on top of a male antelope. Zira had her claws in the antelope's hide for a good hold as she reached her head around and searched for a spot on his throat with her jaws. She found it and bit down hard.
The antelope snorted and collapsed under the fatal blow.
Zira and the Outsiders started to dig into the carcass when a group of hyenas suddenly ran in. Sarabi expected them to fight, but what happened next shocked her.

The hyenas ran up and when the Outsiders saw them most of the lionesses snarled, but then Zira roared and they suddenly made room for the hyenas.
This must be Scar's doing, Sarabi thought bitterly.
She walked forward in a dignified manner as the hyenas and lionesses gorged side by side.
"You ruined our hunt," she said flatly, "we were going to bring down an antelope for the pride."
Zira looked up, her muzzle smeared with blood and guts. She smiled at Sarabi, a malicious glint in her eye.
"Oh, my dearest Sarabi! I thought you understood that the Queen leads hunting parties, and the Queen decides who hunts and who doesn't," she growled.
Sarabi glared at her and her muscles started to tense.
"You're not Queen."
Zira shook her head and chuckled.
"On the contrary... Scar specifically chose me as Queen. He is King, so whatever he says goes."
"You're just Scar's plaything!" Sarabi spat, "He doesn't care about you! He only cares about himself!"
At this Zira's smile vanished, and it was quickly replaced by bared teeth and a glare like no other.
"Well at least I have a mate!" she snarled.
Everything seemed to freeze, and the hyenas and lionesses stopped eating to see Sarabi lunge at Zira.

The two collided in a fury of snarls, claws, and teeth. Sarabi seemed to have the advantage at the beginning, with Zira struggling underneath her weight, but then Zira started clawing at her underbelly and she had to move off to the side. Zira got to her paws and rushed at Sarabi, her jaws wide and her claws fully unsheathed.
She hit hard and Sarabi couldn't breathe for a moment as they tumbled over the carcass in a bloody mess. She felt Zira's claws in her side and she fought back by biting down on the side of her neck. Zira snarled and pried Sarabi off with one of her free paws.
Then they both heard a familiar roar, and Zira immediately stopped and backed away from Sarabi, a sadistic sneer on her face.
Sarabi stopped to catch her breath, and through her hazy vision she could see Scar walking towards her. He looked angry and disappointed.
He stopped in front of her with his snout only inches away from hers.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked calmly, which caught her off-guard because he had looked so angry beforehand.
"We were hunting for the pride-"
"Enough said," Scar growled, "You do know that Zira's in charge of hunting now, right?"
His eyes drilled into hers as she thought through what she could say.
"I guess I just wasn't thinking," she muttered.
"No, I guess you weren't. Now you and the other lionesses should go. This antelope isn't going to feed us all."
Sarabi's eyes widened.
"What about the rest of the pride? We need to eat, too, Scar!"
He rolled his eyes and let out a low, exasperated growl.
"You know what? Why don't you just hunt for the rest of the pride for right now. I suppose it makes sense considering that the pride is much larger these days."
Sarabi stiffened at his dismissive tone, but otherwise she obeyed and left the group to their meal.
If you're not going to provide for the whole pride, then fine. I will instead.
She led her hunting party away, and at that moment she was glad that she still had the others on her side.
Oh, Mufusa. If only you were here to fix the mess your brother's making. I only hope that I can fix it before he does any real damage.