by Akril » February 3rd, 2010, 9:59 pm
Chapter Two:
Shani began to grow more and more fidgety as Simba's lecture continued. Simba had started talking to Chaka and Timira about what duties were required of the king and queen, and she was starting to feel left out. Finally, she couldn't stand it any longer.
"Dad, can I please go and play with Timira?" she pleaded.
Simba gazed thoughtfully at her.
"Well, Shani, you have been very patient during this lesson, and I've done a lot of talking, so I think it's okay if we called it a day."
Shani eagerly sprang to her feet and Timira trotted to her side.
"Great! You wanna come play too, Chaka?"
Chaka shook his head.
"Maybe later," he said.
Shani rolled her eyes.
"Whatever you say," she said. "C'mon, Timira, I'll race you to that rock!"
"Hold it," Simba said, putting a paw out to stop Shani. "I don't want you two running around the Pride Lands on your own."
"But Dad -- " Shani protested.
"I don't want you two getting in trouble," Simba said. "I got into all kinds of trouble when I was a cub, and I don't want the same thing to happen to you."
He turned to Zazu, who was still perched on his shoulder.
"Zazu, would you mind keeping an eye on these two?"
"Certainly, Sire," Zazu said, launching himself into the air.
"Um, Simba," Nala said, "don't you think we should have someone else go with Shani and Timira besides Zazu?"
Simba frowned, then nodded, recalling how easy it had been for him and Nala to evade Zazu when he was watching them when they were little. Perhaps two cubs could escape from one guardian, but what if...
"Binti," Simba said, addressing the female hornbill who still sat perched upon her rhino's head, "Would you mind accompanying Zazu?"
Zazu's eyes boggled. He stared at Binti, who stared back, then modestly dropped her eyes.
"Oh," Binti gasped, "Why...why sure. I mean, no, I wouldn't mind. Anything to be of service, Your Highness."
She looked down at the huge, leathery beast she sat upon.
"Is it all right if I bring Winston along as well?"
"Why not?" Simba smiled. "Three pairs of eyes are better than two."
"Then let's go," Binti chirped. She gently flicked the side of the rhino's head with her stick.
"Come on, Winston! Let's get moving!"
The rhino grunted, then started lumbering away from the acacia, with the two lion cubs trotting after it. Zazu started to follow them, but Simba called him back.
"Make sure they stay safe," he said quietly to Zazu. "These lands may be even more dangerous than they were when my father was king."
"Agreed, Sire," Zazu said. "Fear not, I'll guard those two with my life if the occasion calls for it."
With that, he flitted off towards the vast, lumbering bulk of Winston the rhino and the bright blue vision that sat perched on his head.
After his lumbering hoof-beats were no longer audible, there was a pause in which the only sound to be heard was the whisper of wind in the grass. Then Chaka broke the near-silence with a single word:
"Dad?"
"Hmm?" Simba murmured.
"What did you mean when you said these lands may be more dangerous?"
Simba looked at the tiny, green-eyed reflection of himself that stared inquisitively up at him.
"Do you really want to know, Chaka?" he asked.
Chaka nodded earnestly. Simba sighed, then stared thoughtfully at the ground.
"Do you remember how I told you that Grandfather was killed by his brother, Scar, who banished me and took over this kingdom?"
"Yes," Chaka said.
Simba gazed into Chaka's eyes.
"Well, Scar had a mate. Her name was Bianca. She was the leader of a wandering pride who had lost their king, and when they arrived in the Pride Lands, Scar took pity on her and allowed them to join his pride. I didn't know about Bianca and her pride until after I returned to the Pride Lands and defeated Scar. When she learned that Scar was dead, she was so furious that she attacked me. Luckily, your mother and the rest of the lionesses were able to stop her.
"No matter how much I talked to her, she refused to listen to reason...and I knew that fighting her would solve nothing. I eventually decided that there was only one thing to do."
Simba paused.
"And...and what was that?" Chaka asked in a small voice.
"Exile," Simba said. "I banished Bianca and every other lioness loyal to Scar to a land on the other side of the Zuberi River known as the Outlands, and as far as I know, she and the rest of her pride still live there to this day."
Chaka stared at the ground, his green eyes filled with confusion.
"You sent them away just because they were loyal to Scar?" he asked.
"Yes," Simba said quietly. "I know it sounds cruel, but Bianca loved him so much that she went almost insane with rage when she learned he was dead. And I was sure that she would hurt us if she had the chance, and I just couldn't take the risk of letting her and her minions stay in the Pride Lands...and I had to be sure that my cubs would be safe as well."
He extended a paw and put it around Chaka.
"But don't worry," he said reassuringly. "As long as you, Shani and Timira stay away from the Outlands, you'll be all right...and when you grow up, you'll have nothing to fear from the Outsiders."
Simba lifted his paw from Chaka's back and returned it to its original position.
"Remember, Chaka: As king, you'll need to respect the balance of life. Every living thing is connected to every other living thing..."
Chaka nodded and responded to everything Simba said, yet he was barely listening. His mind was elsewhere and spinning with questions. What was it like in the Outlands? What were the Outsiders like? What was Bianca doing now?