Ok, well here is my series of Kopa stories all on one post. This is my version of the gap that fills in between TLK1 and TLK 2. Why was Zira banished? Why is Simba so protective of Kiara? read on to find out. Ans please tell me what you think of my writing
! My other stories can be found on the Lion King Source and Balto Source fan fic sections.
*- KOPA'S LEGACY-* CHAPTER ONE: AN UNEXPECTED TRAP The scorching sun flecked the savannah grass with gold as it swayed in the wind. Pride Rock stood tall above the plains, as proud and majestic as the pride of lions that had lived in it for centuries.
Queen Nala leapt in between the boulders, checking behind her to make sure she wasn’t being watched. She needed her own space; she needed to get away from it all. It had only been a month since she had discovered that she was pregnant. The whole pride and the animals that lived around had rejoiced, and it still gave her butterflies in her stomach thinking about it, she was going to be a mother! Simba was equally excited about being a father, but just because she was royalty, she felt she was being overprotected. She had had to spend her days inside or around Pride Rock, was not allowed to hunt with the others, and had all her food brought to her. It was so frustrating! No matter how much she had pleaded, Simba had always said no to her going anywhere on her own. Well, she smiled to herself. I’m going to change all that. She clambered down from the rocks and raced away.
She was going to a favourite oasis not far away. It had to be not far away, the hunting party had just left and she had no clue where Simba was, but after a short while someone still at Pride Rock was bound to realise she was missing. So it had to be a short visit. That was all she needed, anyway. She breathed in the clean, fresh air- it felt so good to be out again! She did a little run here and there, sniffing the smells of wilder beast and gazelle and zebra going this way and that, and feeling the breeze ruffle her fur. She could roar with joy because she felt so happy! She saw the clustered acacia trees in the distance that marked her oasis, and sped towards it. However, she stopped a few seconds later. She was sure she had heard something. A rustling in the grass. Suddenly she became aware of her surroundings, and her body tensed. Then an unknown, scraggy lioness rose up in front of her, just a few metres away. Nala’s tail flicked in annoyance.
“What are you doing around here alone?” She shouted at the lioness.
“We could ask you the same thing.” The lioness said coldly. Nala’s throat tightened. We?? Then two other lionesses seemed to appear from nowhere, and stood beside the first. Nala felt uneasy, these lionesses didn’t look at all friendly. She stood her ground; if she was frightened she tried not to show it.
“Let me through, I’m the queen of these lands.” Nala hissed. The lionesses said nothing. They didn’t flinch. They just stared, their eyes fixed on Nala. Warily she tried to step around them, but then a fourth lioness came in from the side and halted her in her tracks. Nala’s heart thumped in her ribs. She stepped back. The lionesses were emotionless, their eyes cold and hard. They took a step towards her, everything about them was threatening. Nala’s instinct trickled like ice water through her brain. Get out. Now. She staggered back, not wanting to take her eyes off them for a second. But then to her horror, she sensed that three lionesses now stood a metre behind her. Without her realisation, a circle had been suddenly formed around her. Menacing faces now leered at her from all sides. Panicking, she looked around her. Everywhere she looked, a lioness seemed to stand, staring at her with the same expressionless gaze. She looked for an exit, they all were blocked. She was trapped.
Alarm bells were ringing in her head and she wanted to scream. But she couldn’t. Quickly, she tried a last-ditch attempt do dodge to the side, slip through a gap and escape. But it was too late… Paws grabbed her and threw her back into the middle. She tried to spring up, but two lionesses held her down. The rest encircled her even closer. Nala felt doomed, there was no way help could reach her now…BANG! SLAM! CRACK! Nala took the blows, too weak to do anything else. Through the haze she saw the leader slowly advance towards her, and she froze with fear. Then, silently, the leader unsheathed a claw, and held it up in front of her face, where it shone like a crescent moon, glittering silver through the darkness. And behind it those yellow, yellow eyes, gleaming with malice. Slowly she reached down to Nala’s neck, and the claw hovered there, a breadth away from Nala’s throat. The lioness almost seemed to be grinning with a sick, bloodthirsty pleasure for what she was going to do… Nala’s beautiful eyes filled with tears, “No….no…” she whispered.
“ROOOOOAAAAARR!!!” The lionesses were ripped off her back, and to her amazement, Nala looked up to see someone standing over her, roaring at her attackers. They scattered. The leader stared up into its face, open mouthed with surprise. WHUMPH!! A paw slammed into her face, the impact so huge her skull rattled. A splash of red spattered the ground, and she fled, howling into the distance. The others who hadn’t gone already didn’t need to make up their minds. They sprinted after her, shrieking with fright. A few seconds later and they all had disappeared from view.
“Are you alright?”A husky voice filtered through Nala’s panic and confusion, and strong, muscular shoulders helped her to stand.
“Simba…” Nala whispered, and nuzzled her mate lovingly. She had to lean on him as they made their way slowly back to Pride Rock.
“I was so worried, Nala,” Simba said as they walked back. “I sensed something was wrong and I looked everywhere for you, then I found a relatively fresh scent leading out of Pride Rock. I would have let you go then, but I still sensed something was wrong. I knew you wouldn’t be far away, so I sniffed around frantically. Then I saw your favourite oasis in the distance and I ran towards it. It seems I only came just in time. It’s a good thing I know you inside out!” They both laughed shakily and nuzzled, but Nala still felt some tears trickle down Simba’s nose and soak her fur.
CHAPTER TWO- NEW LIFE AND NEW HOPE. As soon as they got back to Pride Rock, Simba and Nala were surrounded by the curiosity and concern of their pride. Simba lay on a small ledge that jutted out of Pride Rock, thinking over what had just happened. How come he had seen that lioness only a few days ago, her and her small band had been accepted as part of the pride for about two and a half years now, at first early in Scar’s reign (for two years), and then carrying on into Simba’s reign, which was almost half a year. Why had she attacked Nala? Was it out of jealousy? How could he have been so blind to what was going on around him? He hadn’t seen her and her band for a few days until now, but he still hadn’t been suspicious of anything. He had been too lost in the joys of being a parent. Simba sighed. Already, so early on in his reign he seemed to be mucking everything up. Anyone could make a better king than him. Suddenly he heard a commotion coming from far below him. Simba ran down the rocky path from his secret cove, and he didn’t stop running all the way down to the large tilted ledge. All his pride was crowded at the edge, and were staring and growling at something that was on the ground, trying to get past them into Pride Rock. “What’s wrong?” He asked Femi, a young lioness of the pride.
“She’s returned!” Femi cried. All the lionesses had formed a protective circle around Nala. Simba bustled his way to the front and stared far down below him. There she was. Zira. Her and her small band of lionesses stared right back up at them. Zira’s cheek was bruised and swollen, and her followers lurked behind her like shadows. He couldn’t deny it; it must have been her who he had given a blow across the face. It was her who had led the ambush, and the other lionesses had realised this too.
“How dare you attack my daughter!” Sarafina snarled at Zira. “Banish her Simba! Send her and her pride back to wherever she came from!” There were ferocious roars of approval from the Pridelanders. Simba looked hard at Zira. Some of her followers, hearing the roars of agreement, had started to tremble with fear at the thought of being banished. But her gaze remained the same, full of anger and loathing. It was obvious that she felt no remorse for the fact that she had tried to murder Nala. Her belly was extremely swollen…with Scar’s cub. The very thought of his old enemy and all that he’d done filled Simba with hate.
“I won’t banish you today, Zira.” Simba called down to her. “You are heavy with cub and if I send you away you will not survive.” Then he narrowed his eyes. “If I sent you to your death out of hate, that makes me no better than you, doesn’t it?” Zira snarled at him. “However,” Simba continued “even though you are allowed to stay, hunt, and shelter in The Pridelands, you are not allowed inside Pride Rock.” Zira remained calm, shrugged and led her lions away into the grass. Insults were thrown after them like rocks, and when they were sure she was far away, the Golden Pride went back inside.
“I think you should have sent her packing!” Timone yelled at Simba “Now she’s sort of half-in and half-out! What’dya call that?” Simba shrugged and padded off, leaving Timone confused and clueless. Pumbaa trotted over to him
“I think Simba is simply undecided to whether he should banish her or not. You gotta admit, it’s a tough choice to make Timone! So Simba is just gonna give her one last chance to prove she’s not a traitor. If she steps out of line, THEN he’ll send her packing!” Timone stared at Pumbaa like he was the stupidest creature on earth.
“Pumbaa, that’s completely idiotic, even for someone like you!” He shouted and stormed away, not realising this was the truth
The days past with no-one really noticing, and the days were relatively peaceful and quiet. There were one or two sightings of Zira and her clan, huddled by a baobab tree or in the shade of some rocks, or drinking at a waterhole. These times were tense and uneasy, and the Pridelanders would snap at her if she came too near. But apart from that, things were happy and life was easy. Nala was getting more and more excited about the fact that she was going to be a mother, but she became more clumsy and slow over the month, and now had to stay in Pride rock for her health.
Zira was a different story. A couple of days after she had been cut off from Pride Rock, she had given birth in a small cave. She lifted up Scar’s child, her heart filled with hope, and yes, yes! It was a boy! She could have shrieked with triumph, her plan could work; her son could overthrow Simba and take back what was rightfully Scars! Scar lived on in his son. She smiled at the thought. Then she started to whisper words into the air, and any other lion but her would have assumed she was talking to herself.
“Don’t worry; I will avenge you, my love. Please be proud of your son, he will one day rise to power and take back what was ours. The Pridelands were meant to be yours and mine! And we will have it if we are patient. It just takes time, that’s all, my love. We will be triumphant if my plan works. Then all of our enemies will pay! THEY WILL ALL PAY! EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!” Her cub started to whimper at the sudden harshness of her voice. She paid no attention to it, for she was thinking of what she would call him. After some thought, she whispered the name “Nuka” in his ear. She would take Nuka back to her pride (of sorts, since she was still counted as a sort of Pridelander) as soon as he was strong enough to walk. The sooner the better, in her opinion.
The months past and summer came. The grasshoppers hummed in the grass, and the herds (with lots of young) migrated from all around, so the Pridelands were chock-a-block with life, new and fresh. There was plenty to eat and everyone was well fed. Then one morning, as the sun rose, lighting up the sky with red and gold, all the animals heard a special call that summoned them to Pride Rock. They all came, the gazelle, the elephants, the giraffes, the buffalos, the rhinos, the cheetahs, and every other animal from near and far. You could see the shapes and shadows moving in a line across the plains. Even the sky was filled with birds that had heard the news and were swooping towards Pride Rock. They all gathered by the base of the rock, and stared up at Rafiki, who was performing the magical spell that made them come to him. When they all appeared, he then went inside to quiet corner of the cave, where Nala lay, a small ball of golden fur tenderly wrapped in her paws. Simba came and stood by Nala, smiling with excitement and pride at his newborn son. The little mass of fluff blinked his big eyes at Rafiki, wondering who the strange creature was. Rafiki rubbed his fingers in his mixture of tree resin, and made the sign of the King on the cub’s tiny forehead. Rafiki’s large, knobbly hands were surprisingly delicate as he lifted the cub up into his arms. The cub tried to play with the coconuts and seeds that hung on Rafiki’s staff, waving his tiny paws in the air, and everyone laughed fondly. Then Rafiki took him outside, for the ceremony was about to begin.
The suspense in the air was crushing. All the animals held their breath, and no-one spoke. Then they saw Rafiki appear and stand on the edge of the rock, facing the sky. Then with one swift movement, he hoisted the cub into the air, for all to see! The animals erupted into noise. The zebra clicked their hooves and whinnied, the rhinos stamped their feet and bellowed, the elephants trumpeted and flapped their ears, the warthogs snorted. Their new Prince was born! Then the Sun rose and bathed the Prince in golden light, and it seemed that all the great Kings of the past were smiling down on him. The golden rays shone down on the Pridelands and like a wave the animals bowed in respect for their kings and for the new prince. It was a terrific sight.
After the ceremony, Simba and Nala stood gazing proudly at their tiny cub. Simba’s heart was filled with pride as he nuzzled his Queen and his son. Then Timone came bounding up.
“Hey, the little guy’s got his dad’s eyes!” Everyone laughed with amusement and affection.
“Oh boy! I can’t wait to babysit!” Pumba yelled, his fat face grinning with happiness.
“Yeah,” Timone piped up, “we can teach him manly stuff…..like, err….”-
“Like what?” Simba teased.
“…Like how to belch!” Timone said triumphantly. Right on cue, the cub gave a little jolt and did a tiny burp. Everyone chuckled at that even Rafiki, but suddenly stopped as he remembered and asked,
“So what’s his name, Simba?” Timone, Pumba, Rafiki and the other lionesses leaned in with curiosity to hear what he was going to say. Simba smiled at Nala, and said clearly,
“His name is Kopa.” There was a great cheer from the whole pride as everyone fixed their eyes on Kopa, their new prince.
Zira had heard the massive celebrations from where her and her pride was sitting, far away on a rocky ledge. Her blood boiled in her veins. She should have killed Nala when she had the chance! That would have finished off the queen AND the unborn prince. But there was no chance now, he was born and now they were both well protected. She could never catch either of them alone again. Zira growled as she thought back to the perfectly planned ambush. She knew Simba had been overprotecting Nala (and so he should with me around, she thought evilly to herself) and that it was only a matter of time before she made a break for it. She just had to keep one of her lionesses watching the area around Pride Rock to see when Nala would crack, and then it was easy to set up an ambush. Oh! But it had gone terribly wrong, at the last second! Now all that remained was a black, mysterious mark of doubt in Simba’s mind. He wouldn’t trust her for ages, and that was a major blow to the plan. She sighed at the unluckiness of it. It was her against the world, it seemed.
That night Simba lay next to Nala, who was holding the Kopa in her paws. He wrapped his paws around hers and felt the warmth coming from the tiny life inside. He smiled to himslef, there wasn't a father who was prouder than he was that night.
" Can't catch me!" Kopa yelled as he bounded in between the bushes. He laughed to himself. He loved to run away from his babysitters, knowing that they wouldn't even get close to the end of his tail.
"Oh...yes...we.....will..." Pumbaa panted as he trotted clumsily after the cub. He'd never thought loking after one royal cub would be such hard work! Simba had said not to let him stray beyond the grounds aound Pride Rock, and although Kopa was small and young, he was getting more brave and inquisitive by the day. He often bombarded Timone, Pumbaa, Rafiki (when he visited) and Zazu with all sorts of questions that they couldn't even think about answering, like: why is the sky blue? Why do butterflies have colourful wings? Why is the sun warm? Why is Timone so grumpy in the morning?, e.t.c., e.t.c. To be honest, they were both tired out already. He saw Kopa ahead of him, a few metres away, looking smug. "Come 'ere, you!" Pumbaa shouted and ran towards the cub, gasping for breath. As soon as Pumbaa was right next to him, he lept away again, shrieking with delight. It was all a game to him! He ignored his two babysitter's frantic calls for him to come back, not reailising how panicky they were about him. He ran as fast as his little legs would carry him! They'd never catch him now, not with the long grass that came right past his head.
Ooof! Kopa rolled over in the dust, and then looked up at the stranger he had bumped in to.Staring down at him was another cub, scruffy looking and skinny. His fur was an odd tint of greyish brown, not like the golds, tans and creams of Prideland lions.
"Hey! Who are you?" the cub asked, staring down at Kopa with curious yellow eyes. Kopa didn't answer, he was frozen to the spot. "I said who are you?" the cub asked again. The cub was a lot older than Kopa, a few months older at the very least, since Kopa was only a month old and had just learned to walk.-
"I..I'm Kopa."Kopa stuttered.
"Cool. I'm Nuka." the cub said, grinning. Kopa might be very young, but we can still have some fun together, he thought to himself. "Ok then, Kopa, do you want to go down to the waterhole?"
"What's a waterhole?" asked Kopa. After his new friend had explained, he agreed (even though he was confused) and was about to bound after Nuka when he heard a yell from behind him.
"KOPA!!!" yelled Timone and ran to snatch Kopa up. "We're so glad you're ok little guy!" Kopa looked, and saw that Nuka had vanished. He opened his mouth to tell Timone about his new friend...
"Timone! I met someone called Nuka, he's really cool and...."
"Who?" Kopa didn't feel Timone's body tense. "Oh, I get it, your making up a joke, aren't you? Well it won't fool us! You were really just lazing about waiting for us to catch you up! Well, you must be tired, time to go home for your afternoon nap little guy!" Kopa sighed in frustration. There was no way Timone would listen to him now.
"I'm not....sleepy..." Kopa mumbled, his eyelids closing. He didn't hear Timone and Pumbaa mumbling frantically in the background.
"NO! We can't tell Simba! Think how he'll react! We'd be doomed! No, let's just pretend it all NEVER happened, Pumbaa. Play things safely."
Nuka was wandering slowly back home. He smiled to himself, he had found a friend! Lucky I managed to get away from Them in time though, he thought. He sighed, he might not get to see Kopa again. He wondered about telling his mum, and then decided against it. She had become increasingly scary and unsettled recently. She had said that soon he was going to start something called...'training'....
CHAPTER 3: ZIRA'S BETRAYAL.Young Kopa was growing fast, way too fast, in Zazu's opinion. Simba watched him as he played with his tail in the gentle Autumn sunshine. Kopa got up and bounced over to where his beautiful grandmas were sitting in their favourite shady spot.
"Grandma Sarabi! Grandma Sarafina!" Kopa exclaimed and nuzzled them both. He sat beside them, thinking deeply. Then he suddenly piped up- "How come I don't have a grandpa?" Sarabi's face darkened like a thunder cloud, and Simba suddenly ran up to stop the situation getting out of hand.
"Kopa, my son, I think you are old enough and responsible enough to learn your first lessons." Kopa's face brightened at the prospect and bounded after his father, trying to puff out his chest to make himself look as grown-up as possible.
Simba took him up to a small rocky hill. Then he stood tall, alert and waiting. Kopa was confused.
"Father, what are we doing?.." Kopa began,
"Sssh! You'll scare it away!" Simba hissed. He crouched down low on his belly, and beckoned for Kopa to do the same. Then Kopa saw a cricket sitting on a small rock just ahead of them. Simba whispered in his ear...
"Today you're going to learn how to stalk prey. Now remember, keep as low to the ground as possible, don't move, don't speak! Just watch that cricket and follow the pattern of everything it does. Concerntrate on nothing else. When you stalk your prey, you become your prey." Kopa found this statement a little odd, but he didn't let it bother him. "Wait until everything is calm and quiet. That's right, slowly inch forward, and..."
"YAAAAHOOOO!" Kopa pounced with all his might, and found himself rolling head over heels. He yelped as he tumbled down the hill and landed with a thud at the bottom. Hardly daring to believe, Kopa slowly opened his paws. Inside, a cricket was fluttering its wings and humming. It had actually worked! He smiled up at his dad, who noddded wisely. Then the cricket jumped out of his paws! It bounded away like lightning. Kopa chased after it, snarling. His trophy wasn't going to get away! He tried to catch it with his paws, but it bounced nimbly through the gap. Simba laughed and ran down to join him, and the game all ended with the two of them collapsed in a big heap, chuckling, while all the crickets hopped and chirped around them.
"Dad, am I going to learn something new again tommorow?" Kopa asked.
"Yes, something far more precious. Wake me up at sunrise tommorow morning. Then you'll learn something special, something only little princes get to learn." Kopa's eyes shone with excitement. He watched his dad as he padded down the hill.
"So it's going to be top secret, just you and me?"
"Yes, top secret, just you and me." Simba turned and grinned at him. Kopa scrambled after his dad and the two of them made their way back to Pride Rock together.
The next morning, a tired and sleepy Simba dragged himslef out of Pride Rock, with Kopa tugging on his paw.
"You promised!" Kopa yelled at him.
"So I did." Simba smiled.
He took him up to the top of Pride Rock, where he could see for miles and miles around. The sunrise lit up the grass red and gold, and Kopa gasped at how eautiful it was.
"Kopa..." Simba began, but he felt a sudden stab of pain in his heart as he found himself speaking his father's words. " One day the sun will set on my time in this world, and rise with yours."
"Really?" Kopa said confused as he watched the sun rise. "What do you mean by that?"
"It's just, err.... One day I won't be here, and we will need a new king, and it will be your duty to carry on in my place." Kopa felt a sense of pride in his heart. But then he said, "So you won't be here one day? I could never think of you going away...."
"Kopa, it's the Circle of Life." Simba said, smiling. "When something dies, another is born, and so life continues in a never-ending circle, bound together by the lives of all creatures great and small." Kopa thought deeply about this. "There, see that antelope? It's a part of the Circle of Life, just like you and me. You may think the antelope are lower than us lions, we eat them for food. But when we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass, and so we are all connected, in the great Circle of Life." Kopa's face brightened in understanding. "And this, everything the light touches, it will all be yours one day." Kopa stared in awe at the vast land that stretched for miles and miles around. He beamed at Simba.
"When I'm King. I'm gonna be the best King there ever was!"
"Oh yeh? Come 'ere you!" Simba leapt at his son and rolled him over on his back. Kopa tried to bite and snap and match his tiny strength against the big lion. Simba let him tug at his fur and the two of them laughed and growled and played in perfect happiness. Eventually Kopa curled up on his father's back and the two of them drifted off to sleep, so peaceful, like they were the only two people in the world.
"Faster, Nuka faster!" His mother's voice rattled through his ears as he chased after the little white tail that flashed in and out infront of him.
"I'll get it mum! I will!" He panted, he was getting closer, he was going to get it! He couldn't stop now. "Aaargh!" Nuka howled as the ground caved in beaneath him! He landed with a thud, and looked around him confusedly in the clouds of dust. What had happened? Oh no, he was in a deep pit. He scrabbled frantically at the walls of soil, trying to climb back up the sides, but he just slid down again in a shower of earth. He whined because he could see no way of getting out.He heard scrabbling and saw the hare had fallen in with him, and then he remembered his task. I can't do it. He thought to himself. Don't think about it, he told himself firmly. It was easy to catch the hare when they were trapped in a small pit. He pounced on the hare and after a short struggle of snapping teeth and fur he shook it vigorously...and it lay limp in his jaws. The truth hit him, he had killed for real, and it was like killing a part of himself. I'm sorry, but I have to make Mother proud. He pushed the body away, and turned away from it guiltily.Then he wondered if he was ever going to get out of the pit. He tried once again to leap up the wall, he grabbed a thick bristly tree root, and hung on as he tried to get a foothold. But the root snapped and he fell back down to earth, his efforts in vain. He slowly realised that he couldn't get out of the trap.Tears gently trickled down his scruffy face. At least he had food, but when that ran out he was sure to starve. She isn't going to miss me, anyway. Hot angry tears spilled down his cheeks, in his short life he had never really impressed Zira, no matter how hard he'd tried. Even now when he was half way to becoming full-grown. Well, it was all over now, he might as well try to sleep, it might ease his misery. He curled up in the dust and lay there for ages, unable to get to sleep.
"Nuka! Where are you, Nuka! Oh please, help! Nuka! NUKA!" A distant voice was yelling his name. He came to his senses and leapt up, and began screaming at the top of his voice-
"Mum! Over here! Over here! Help me! Help me!" Suddenly a lioness was staring down at him from the top of the pit. "Mum!!!" Muka yelled desperately.
"Nuka! Don't worry, I'll get you out!" Zira reached down to her son, leaning over as far as she could without falling in herself. They tried to cath eachother's paws. "Reach, Nuka, reach!" Nuka quickly grabbed the hare, slunk back, measured the distance, ran forward and jumped for his life! He was caught in Zira's arms and swept up and out of the pit. He rubbed himself against her fur, relived to have been saved. But thenh e sprang away again when Zira burst out- "Didn't you know to be careful when there are lots of leaves on the ground? That was a hunter's trap! He would have come back to it and taken you away if I hadn't found you in time! You will pay for your ignorance one day!" Nuka stared into his mother's face, speechless. He quickly tried to redeem himself by grabbing the hare and dropping it at her feet.
"Well look what I managed to catch!" He said proudly, his eyes hopeful. Zira glanced at it for a moment and then began to walk away. Nuka grabbed it and scurried after her, trying to get her attention.
"Hmmm...good luck can be disguised as bad luck sometimes. It would have been quite easy for you to catch the hare when, by coincedence, you had both managed to fall into the trap." Nuka looked at his paws, he had failed yet again to impress his mother, his prize was worthless, it had all come to nothing. When she had tried to save him, he had thought she had actually cared about him. But now he was alright it was all the same again. Zira tilted her head on one side, as if considering something. "Perhaps you aren't as worthless as I thought you were. Perhaps." Then she strode away, her long skinny tail swishing in the grass. Her mind was buzzing with evil thoughts, the crucial part of her plan was soon going to be put into action. She needed to prepare herself and her followers. It needed to be perfect.
Maybe, if she had just glanced behind her, out of the corner of her eye she would have seen a little lonely male lion who looked as if his heart contained all the sadness in the world.
The Golden Pride were having yet another ceremony, this time it was for Rafiki, who was going to visit his tribe of baboons. Simba bounded up to Rafiki, and the monkey embraced the big lion with his skinny arms.
"Have a safe journey, my old friend."
After the ceremony the pride went back inside and the mood was cheerful. Simba saw tiny dark clouds, forming like black whisps of magic on the horizon. "There's a storm coming, everyone," Simba announced, "and we all best be ready when it does." He did not know how relevant his words actually were.
Kopa and Chanto were busy playing in the hot sand. Chanto was the only other cub in the pride and was Kopa's best friend, well, the only one he was allowed to tell his father about. Suddenly Chanto stopped and looked at the vast plains stretched out before them.
"Hey, why don't we go and explore?"
" Erm... I dunno, Chanto. We don't know what might happen to us when we're out there."
"We can play Dares!"
"Why can't we play it here?"
"Oh, if you insist we'll ask the parents. But if they say no I'm still going! So it 'don't make any difference!" Chanto cried smugly and before Kopa could stop her she had ran to where the grown-ups were resting. "Mum, can me and Kopa go and explore?"
Femi smiled. "Well, ok then, if you make sure it's alright with Kopa's father." Chanto then went over to where Simba and Nala were lying beneath a tree. They looked up sleeply as the cub approached them.
"King Simba, is it ok if me and Kopa go and explore? It's a lovely sunny day..."
"Hmmm. Yes you can, as long as you promise to be back soon." Nala looked concerened as the cubs bounded off. "It's alright. He's grown up enough now to have some responsibility, and anyway I've told them to come back soon. Besides, he really is a sensible cub..."
"Not like some people I know when they were cubs!" Nala cried. They both burst out laughing and nuzzled affectionetly, thinking about the childhood they had shared together.
The two cubs galloped away until Pride Rock was just a small blot in the distance.
"Now we can have fun without getting into trouble!" Chanto cried, grinnig mishceviously.Kopa looked uneasy.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, lets say I dare you to dive into that big pond over there, and stay underwater there for 10 seconds!" Kopa shrunk away.
"No! What's the point in that? All lions hate water, well I definetely do! And so do you! So it isn't fair, you just want to have the satisfaction of seeing the look on my face. Well you're not going to get it. I'm going to do it without a single expression, or a flinch or anything. Just watch me." He squared himself up bravely and marched towards the pond. Chanto smiled, he had changed his own mind without even thinking about it. Kopa wavered uneasily on the edge.
"Take your time." Chanto teased. Kopa's face flushed, and he closed his eyes. One...two....three....GO! He shot into the murky water with a splash, startling a few ibis that were standing in the reeds. He felt a horrible, suffocating darkness envelope his body. He began to panic, he wasn't going to breathe for 10 seconds! He closed his eyes again and counted...6, 7, 8, 9, 10!!! He scrabbled frantically, trying to swim up to life and light and air. He propelled himself to the surface and came up in a rush, gasping. He scrambled ashore, and stood, shivering. How awful his fur felt! So cold and clammy and damp. He shook all the water off and smiled. He'd done it. He looked around triumphantly for Chanto, it was his turn to dare her now! She would pay for making him go under water..........but where was she? She was not anywhere near the pond. He scanned the grass for her, but there was nothing. His heart began to beat fast.
"Chanto?...." He called, but there was no reply. He listened hard, and heard the chirping of crickets, the sloshing of the water as the ibis waded around, the wind blowing gently through the leaves...
"KOPA! RUN! RUN!!!!" Nuka??? Kopa whipped around and screamed!
"Simba..." A voice smashed through his dreams and he looked up sleepily. Nala's anxious face filled his vision. "It's nearly sunset. The cubs aren't back yet." Simba assumed he was still dreaming mumbled something, and settled back down again. "SIMBA!" Nala shook him until he finally got up. "Simba, the cubs are missing. They still haven't returned." Simba realised that he wasn't dreaming, and saw Femi running around, obviously distressed.
"KOPA! CHANTO!" Simba roared. Nothing stirred. Simba was suddenly gripped by a strange panic that only a parent can feel. He quickly woke up the rest of his pride. "we need to search every inch of the Pridelands until we find the cubs. If you find them, roar as loudly as you can. Report back to Pride Rock in three hours. MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" The pride was quickly organised into search parties and sent off in different directions. Femi went to join a group, but Simba held her back. "You're coming wiht us." He whispered gently and Nala, Simba, Femi, Timone and Pumbaa set off into the grass.
"we've been searching for hours, Simba." Timone gasped.
"I WON'T give up!" Simba shouted. He surged forward, sniffing frantically.
"Simba, we have to report back to Pride Rock, I'm sorry..." Timone mumbled, but he was ignored.
"Timone's right, Simba." Nala said, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Simba sighed, and reluctantly they began to make their way back to Pride Rock.
"I was so stupid, Nala. I let them go without supervision, and now I've lost my son, my most precious posession."
"Don't give up hope. One of the other search parties may have found them, they may have come back to Pride Rock..." Nala said, but she was clearly crying. Pumbaa stopped suddenly, and sniffed the air. Before any of them could stop him he ran towards a big pond and began to sniff. Suddenly he cried "OVER HERE! COME QUICK!" The rest of them were beside him in a flash and gazed down at... what might have been a lion cub.
"CHANTO! Oh, Chanto!" Femi nuzzled her daughter's bloody body and sobbed loudly. Nala put a comforting paw on Femi's shoulder as the lioness wept tears of bitter grief. But suddenly she felt something. A flicker of warmth. Femi opened her eyes, hardly daring to believe.
"Mummmy?..." Chanto whispered, and Femi suddenly embraced her, sobbing tears of releief.
When they all got back to Pride Rock Femi was carrying her daughter gently in her mouth. The Pride quickly surrounded her in sympathy and concern, and Femi and Chanto were made to rest and recover in Pride Rock.
"Is she going to live?" Simba asked Sarabi. Sarabi sighed and shook her head, she simply didn't know. Simbas head was still buzzing. Kopa was still out there somewhere. If he found him dead or alive, Simba was determined to find him. But where was he? Simba was trembling with fright, Kopa couldn't be gone! No! He just couldn't! He jumped down the rocks, determined to search again when he bumped into...Zira. Her and her clan had gathered around the base of Pride Rock.
"What are you doing here Zira?" Timone yelled and immediately nearly all of the pride came running out of Pride Rock, ready to defend.
"Zira...please....have you seen my son?" Simba cried desperately.
" Simba! The two cubs...pant...they were attacked by hyenas. Luckily we saw them in the distance and ran towards them.... We managed to fend off the hyenas but we were already too late to save the cubs...they....pant...took...Kopa..." Zira gasped, heaving for breath. Simba's worst fears had been realised.
No, it wasn't happening. It just couldn't...
"That's not true!" A little voice yelled from inside Pride Rock, and Chanto, bloodied and bruised, came running out before anyone could stop her. The pride muttered amongst themselves. Zira stared in surprise.
"But...you..." She gargled.
"Your pride ambushed me and Kopa while we were playing, far away from Pride Rock. You nearly ripped me to pieces and left me for dead........ AND YOU KILLED KOPA!" Chanto screamed at Zira. The whole Pride gasped. Simba stared at Zira.
"Is this true?" he whispered, trembling. Zira's eyes were suddenly fearful. She stepped back, unable to say anything. There was a moment of unforgetable silence. It was like a nightmare that Simba couldn't wake up from. It was as if a tap of cold water was running over his head, as he stared at the lioness who had mudered his son.
Kopa was dead.
Kopa was dead.
Kopa was dead."YOU KILLED MY SON!" Simba roared. He leapt at Zira who was running for her life, as though she had wings. Soon they were charging across the plains, fleeing to the far- away borders of the Outlands. Simba ran after her escaping pride. "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ! !" Simba screamed. He was ruthless. He took down one lioness, then two. His blood boiled in his veins, his lust for revenge screaming in his ears. Zira was just ahead of him, not looking back. He made a beeline for her. She heard his paws pounding the ground behind her, heard his breath, hot and heavy with a lust for blood. She howled in fright and doubled her speed, her life depended on it. Simba didn't bak down. His chest was bursting with the effort, but he burst into speed and came up behind her. He pounced and sank his claws deep into her back. She screamed in fright and pain, as he ripped and slashed without mercy. He did it again and again, he couldn't stop, all he could see were flashes of crimson so fast they blurred his eyesight. Suddenly Zira leapt and twisted her body, unhinging his deadly grip. He crashed to the ground. He could dimly make out Zira's heavilly wounded figure running into the horizon, a hazy blur across the sky. Overcome with emotion, Simba closed his eyes.
And cried.
Lion King characters c) Disney
Chanto, Femi and this story plot is T0 ME! AND ME ONLY! PART 4 COMIN SOON! Post your thoughts of the completed chapters here! I'd love to know what people think of them.
