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

Chapter 13

The Pride grew bigger in the span of time Scar's been King. He sent the hyenas out in search of lionesses in the Freelands. Anyone that wanted to join was allowed. So far there were seven new lionesses. There were the twins, Hasana and Armani, Katura and her son, Cato, Layla, Nadra, then Ramla and her, sister Saran.

Cato was a little older than Mheetu. They made good companions and often followed Malka around. It led me to spend more time with Tama and Kula. There seemed to be an invisible barrier between us and them that we couldn't cross. Tama complained that her brother ignored her nowadays and I understood her distress. Mheetu barely spoke to me anymore.

We spent more and more of our days practicing fighting. I quickly became one of the best and now trained with the older lionesses. I've started to grow taller and lost some of my cub-fluff. I was still considerably smaller compared to the adult lionesses, but I was at an awkward in-between stage. Tama was taller than me and had a very lithe body while Kula was shorter than both of us.

The three of us have started accompanying the lionesses on hunts. We still weren't big enough to help, but it was good for us to watch. Sarabi usually led the hunts now because Zira was getting close to having her cub. I enjoyed stalking through the grass and sneaking up on the prey.

I often dreamt about Simba. His face was becoming more blurry and harder to conjure. In my dreams, we're often racing through the Pridelands, chasing grasshoppers like we used to. I'll race ahead of him because I was always faster and then I'd let him think he pinned me. He never could, though.

I saw him now as I dreamt. His face was fuzzy, but I could faintly hear his voice. "Race ya to the waterhole!" Simba laughed as he raced ahead of me.

Laughing, I followed him and stretched my legs. I could smell the fresh air and feel the grass beneath my paws. The dream seemed so real, so vivid. I ran ahead of Simba and dived into the water.

When I opened my eyes, I tried to swim to the surface, but I couldn't. No matter how hard I swam, I couldn't break through the surface. My lungs started to ache and I felt an invisible force pulling me deeper into the water. I screamed for Simba, but water filled my mouth. Simba's shape cast a shadow over the water, but he made no move to help me.

Then the water around me grew thicker. Every stroke took more work and I felt myself sinking. My heart skipped a beat when I realized that the water was now blood. Panic set in and I tried to swim, but I was drowning...drowning in a pool of blood.

Suddenly, I woke from the nightmare, gasping for breath. All around me, I saw the sleeping Pride. No one had woken from my thrashing or whimpering. Tama and Kula slept on either side of me and as I stood up, I was careful not to wake them.

I saw Scar sleeping next to Zira on the inclined part of the cave. He didn't notice as I slipped outside. The cave had started to feel stuffy and I gratefully breathed in the fresh air. Stars twinkled down from the sky and the moon bathed the Pridelands in white light. Maybe if I went for a walk I could clear my head.

The slope to the ground was slippery and I tried not to slip on the loose stones. With my paws set in the grass, I took off into the night. None of the hyenas woke as I raced past them. They were so oblivious it was almost comical. Stupid dogs.

A wind whipped through the long grass, making it dance under the moonlight. I followed the usual path towards the waterhole. Even if it had been the place of my nightmare, the waterhole still felt like my safe place away from Priderock. The trees surrounding the waterhole came into view and I slowed to a steady jog.

I stepped onto the rock that overhung part of the water and stared down at my reflection. It surprised me to see how much I've grown in such a short time. With everything that's happened, I feel as if I've been forced to grow up faster.

"Nala?"

I nearly jumped out of my fur at the sudden voice and I spun around to come face to face with Malka. He's started to grow up, too, I realized. His black mane was starting to crawl down the backside of his neck. He was bigger than me and had lean muscles from mock fighting with Scar.

"Sorry," Malka dipped his head in embarrassment. "I hadn't meant to scare you." He stepped closer and I backed up until I couldn't go back any further.

"What do you want, Malka?" I asked him in a snappish tone.

He seemed hurt from my sharp tone then I remembered that day a while ago when he called me self-centered. I've not forgotten that. "I wanted to make sure you were alright. You seemed jumpy when you left the cave."

"You followed me?" I growled at him.

"Only to make sure you were fine!" Malka snapped back. "I don't know what it is with you, Tama, and Kula, but you treat me as if I'm the outsider!" He dug his claws into the dirt to release some frustration. "I'm still your friend! I always have been!"

I relaxed a little at his words. He's done nothing to prove he's disloyal, yet. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt more than anything. "I want to believe you..."

Malka closed the distance between us. We were so close that our noses were almost touching. He looked me in the eye, serious as could be. "Believe me, Nala. I want to protect you more than anything, and I will...if you let me."

Without saying a word, I leaned closer and licked him on the cheek. Something clicked between us that night and I realized that I liked Malka back. He wasn't Simba, and that was perfectly fine with me. Simba was dead.