The Lion King Chronicles: Nala's Tears {Editing}

Chapter 11

Days passed slowly with many changes for the Pridelands. Scar exiled Rafiki and now keeps Zazu in a cage made from the gnawed ribs of a wildebeest. He's appointed Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed as his new advisors and they run things whenever he or Zira are gone. Zira is expecting Scar's cub.

Mother told me that Zira wasn't even a real Pridelander. She was brought into the Pride by Scar when they were both young. It left Zira to act like an outcast her entire life, never really belonging. In a way, I felt bad for her, but she scared me almost as much as Scar.

Almost.

Sarabi and Sarafina were usually the ones in charge of hunting. The herds were uneasy after Scar's ascension to the throne and it made it harder to hunt. They had to hunt more, too, because now the hyenas ate with us. It angered Sarafina because they never contributed.

It's been quite a few days since the deaths of Mufasa and Simba. I thought of Simba almost every single day and he haunted my dreams. None of it has really sunk in that he was really gone. I had thought that Simba and I would be together forever to take on the world.

In my dream, I padded through the dark savannas. Overhead, the sky was cloudy and menacing bolts of lightning ripped through the sky. Roaring thunder seemed to shake the ground and wind whirled around me. The grass looked like dark hairs of a lion's mane or claws that reached for me.

I ran down the familiar path that would lead to the waterhole. My heart pounded in my chest and I could hardly breath. All around me, the storm grew more intense. Rain fell from the clouds and quickly soaked my fur.

Where was I? And where was everyone? "Hello?!" I called out as I kept running. It felt like I wasn't moving anywhere. No matter how fast I ran, I couldn't outrun the storm.

Suddenly I heard a scream from behind me. When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw a little cub laying in the mud. She was so tiny, much smaller than Mheetu. Her fur was a delicate shade in between gold and cream and she appeared to have freckles. But it were her eyes that really caught my attention. They were electric blue like the lightning.

I shook my head and reached for the little cub, but she kept slipping away from me. "No!" I cried out. The mud pulled her deeper until she disappeared completely. It was then that I realized that the mud turned into blood.

Screaming, I jerked awake from the nightmare. My screams filled the cave, waking almost everyone from their sleep. Sarafina, who slept beside me, nuzzled me with worry. "Shh, Nala, it was only a dream. It can't hurt you anymore."

I received some dirty glares from the lions I woke with my screaming. Mheetu still slept soundly. He could sleep through anything. Sarafina moved closer to me, wrapping me in the curve of her body.

"It was awful, Mom," I whispered as my voice shook. "There's was this cub and she was falling into mud and I couldn't save her... Then the mud turned into blood! Oh, it was awful!" I buried my face in her fur as if it would shield me from my nightmare.

"I won't let anything hurt you," Mom comforted me. She licked my ears and sighed. "It's just about dawn. Do you want to practice hunting today? I think Bina asked if Eshe and I could train you, Kula, and Tama."

If I were honest, I would tell her that I didn't want to do anything. I still felt out of sorts after Simba's death. It just felt so wrong to keep living without him. He should be here! He was never supposed to die! None of it was fair!

And Jahi left now, too. There was no trace of him left in the Pridelands, even Mom said so. It became harder and harder to hold onto the hope that he could still return. Father was never coming back. If he did, Scar would probably kill him.

But life had to go on, at least that's what everyone said. Even Sarabi somehow found the strength to continue every day. She was one of the strongest lionesses I'd ever met. Sarabi cared deeply for everyone and she should still be the Queen, not Zira.

"Okay," I finally answered Mom. Hunting practice couldn't be so bad. At least I wouldn't have time to mope.

"Good," Sarafina nodded. "Grab Mheetu and meet me outside." She met Eshe at the cave entrance and they exited together.

I jabbed my little brother in the gut so he would wake up. He squirmed and muttered under his breath. "Come on, Mheetu. Mom says you've got to come hunting with us!"

"Let me sleep," Mheetu moaned, turning over onto his other side. His back was to me now and I was growing very impatient.

"He's so difficult to wake up," Tama commented as she padded over. At her side was Kula. "Reminds me of Malka."

"Yeah, but the difference is that Mheetu would sleep forever if you let him." I rolled my eyes and jabbed him with a claw.

Mheetu jumped and was on his paws. He glared at me with his green eyes and lashed his tail. "What was that for?!"

I merely shrugged and started to walk away with my friends. "Mom said you had to get up."

The four of us stepped from the cave and found Sarafina and Eshe waiting at the bottom of the slope. We hurried to join them. Sarafina led the way with Eshe taking up the rear. I walked alongside Kula while Tama walked with Mheetu. Kula and I joked that Tama probably liked Mheetu.

After a while, Sarafina stopped. We were in a secluded clearing surrounded by trees. The ground here was sandy and soft. This didn't seem like hunting training.

"Listen, the four of you are going to be trained how to fight. With Scar as King, there's no telling what the future holds." Sarafina announced and Eshe went to sit at her side.

"Scar is unpredictable and impulsive. The Pride isn't safe with him. That means that you need to be ready for anything," Eshe growled, "And I mean everything."

Sarafina stood taller and studied us with calculating blue eyes. "You start now."