Anyway, here is the first part of my story. I hope you all enjoy and please vote in the enclosed poll and post along with your vote to tell me what you think! Thanks, guys!Chapter One: Longing
As the morning sun rose to illuminate the full range and breadth of the Pride Lands, the members of the pride that had been peacefully slumbering inside the den of Pride Rock began to stir. Among them were Simba Amini and his wedded mate Nala Helani, the King and Queen of the pride and the main authority figures of all animal species within the Pride Lands’ territory. Also among the group was their daughter, Princess Kiara Amini, the main beneficiary of this particular day’s festivities.
This particular day happened to be the wedding ceremony between the Princess and her sworn mate Kovu Kita, a former member of the Outlands pride and former illegitimate heir to the Pride Lands throne under his stepfather Taka Amini, the uncle of King Simba. As per the customary royal tradition, the bride and groom had been separated a week prior so as to ensure that no pre-ceremony “debauchery” occurred, and in order to guarantee a “productive” wedding night. This separation had taken an exacting emotional toll on the Princess, due to the fact that ever since she had begun her courtship with Kovu during what had come to be known by some members of the pride as “The Three-Day Breach,” she had developed a nearly unbreakable bond with him; ever since the first night after the coup attempt ended nearly two months ago, Kiara and Kovu had spent every single night together in a secluded corner of the Pride Rock den, where they could express their love to each other in romantic, glorious privacy. The King and Queen, despite their misgivings about such activities occurring in the presence of the rest of the pride, had requested of the other members that they not disturb the young couple during the nights. Nonetheless, Simba and Nala had frequently expressed their disapproval of Kiara and Kovu’s nighttime “events” in private discussions with the two, especially in the first few days of Kovu’s residence in the den and in the days preceding the couple’s mandated separation. Simba was much more vocal about his disapproval than Nala.
“I will not have this kind of behavior here!” he once scolded at Kiara about a month earlier, after a night in which her and Kovu’s activities caused the entire pride to awaken from their slumber.
“Father, we’re in love! We can’t stop it!” Kiara had replied, half-angry, half-amused.
“Then…take it somewhere else! We have special dens set up in the plains for this kind of thing!” Simba responded, completely exasperated and embarrassed that he was having this conversation with his daughter.
Kiara snickered. “But, father, those dens are freezing cold during the night,” she retorted cleverly.
Simba sighed. “Well…then does it have to be every night?” he spat.
Kiara simply nodded and smirked.
Simba furrowed his eyebrows and realized he’d been out-maneuvered by Kiara in the conversation. “Well, then…just keep it down, for goodness sake!”
By this time, Kiara had already turned her back on her father and had begun walking back toward where she had originally been. She stopped, turned her head, emitted a sly chuckle, and replied, “Okay, Daddy!” and galloped off, leaving Simba feeling powerless to control her and her future husband.
However, over the past week of separation from Kovu, the normally perky nature of Kiara’s character had devolved into a demeanor of, not depression, but of intense wistfulness, of a deep longing for her absent prince, a longing to be in his arms once again, to feel his body against hers, to experience that passion again that they had shared before the separation, to share in his dreams again, to just have him by her side once more. And as Kiara took part in her early morning stretch routine, she was reminded that the following night would be the end of her longing.
