WRITTEN IN SIMBA’S POINT OF VIEW
I sighed and turned on my side, and opened my eyes to the world. The sun was barely rising, and the dark night clouds had been dusted with pinks, yellows and peachy orange. Looking towards my quite young daughter, Kiara, and her mate Kovu, I frowned. She was pregnant, and too young to be queen. And still didn’t know all the advances, and Kovu knew absolutely nothing of the path he chose with Kiara. Shaking my head, I got to my paws and shook myself, and glanced at Nala, my mate and queen. She was fast asleep, and was pregnant too on our third attempt for a male cub. The first attempt you would know as...Kopa. Our second attempt was Kiara, and this time we were hoping for a boy. Then I looked to Tama, the daughter of the well known princess of the nearby pride. She was probably a queen by now.
And my sister (well, a combonation of cousin and half sister) Samara was probably roaming the Pridelands. Alone, hungry, cold. The thought of my sister suffering those three things all together made me shudder. When I met Timon and Pumbaa I too was hungry, cold, and alone. And a cub! My mother Sarabi gave birth to Samara just months before she became an elder. All the cubs went to her to be told stories of her youth, and I enjoyed listening to them at times. But now, her favorite (and must I say only) daughter won’t be there to listen with the other cubs.
Even though Samara was fathered by Scar, she was a well respected princess and I was thinking of promoting her to a guard or a servant. Or a head huntress. I had a feeling she’d be really good at that. But poor Samara was exiled by Scar. Exiled by her own father. Now what would you do if that happened to you?
My answer is I have no clue. Mufasa, my father (who you all know was killed by Scar) would have never exiled me. When I returned from Kiara and Kovu’s wedding to hear my mother cry and say “Your sister is missing”, I personally thought I was going to faint, and honestly I wanted to die too.
But life goes on. I padded out to the edge of Priderock and lay down, and stared at the sunrise in wonder if Samara was really out there. If she was, then it’d be a happy moment for the whole pride. But I always had a certain fear that Scar would be reincarnated into some wacky cub and try to kill me. It was probably his fear that I’d return. He knew I would. He knew I wasn’t stupid. This reign was rightfully mine.
“Simba?”
I was yanked into reality and jumped to my paws. I whipped around to see my mother looking straight at me, with pain in her eyes.
“Mom! Uh, hi! Is something wrong? Are you feeling alright? Is-”
Sarabi chuckled and sat down. “I’m alright other then some arthritis. I’ll be fine.”
Suspicion crept up on me as I sat with her, and bore my gaze into her reddened, tired eyes.
“Is this about Samara or arthritis?” I grunted, and she laughed. Quiet enough not to disturb the pride, but loud enough to hear.
“It’s not about Samara.”
“She’s a CUB! And you’re not worried?”
“She’s been gone since Kiara and Kovu got married. She has to be an adolescent by now.”
Wow. Lesson learned. After your mother is elderly, they lose their feelings.
“Simba, let me tell you something. Yes, I’m worried about Samara, but if you’re worried, send a patrol out to find her!”
She must think I forgot she was a queen once.
“Alright then.” I said, standing up.
“I’ll send five of the lionesses out, including Kiara. They have five days. If they do not find her within the five days, then one of the lionesses discluding Kiara will be sacrificed and exiled.”