Cold-Hearted

[Maleficent]

Okay, so I felt like starting a Zira fic and here's the prologue. Sorry it's so short...please let me know what you think.

Prologue

~ I didn't want to admit it. It was easier to lie. Hide the hurt and emptiness to smile instead of cry.~

I've been exiled, persecuted, and left with no defense. Nobody ever understood me; not now and not then. Even as I committed my own suicide, I realized my life had been a waste. What had I achieved? What had I enjoyed in life? Anything at all? No. I had lusted after someone who would never love me, had tried to forget the past even though it was lodged tightly in my brain, and had tried to raise my cubs into something that they would never be.

I lived in my own little world. Nobody knew my true feelings and I was successful at keeping them to myself until my very last breath. The true me was always locked inside. Nobody ever saw the hurt, blame, shame, or agony. I made the best of it and lived a cold, emotionless life.

Here I am now, falling to my death, waiting to drown and throw my life away. Nobody can see me now and so I drop the bogus smirk and let a single tear drip from the corner of my eye. I would die hurt, unwanted, and loathed by most. Not a single lion or lioness would shed a tear for me as the life left my body and my soul went to hell. Even my own children would not mourn my death. They had deserted me in my nightmarish hours and had joined my enemy.

And what of Scar? He had forgotten me oh so long ago. I was just another lioness amongst the long line of Scar's lovers. I didn't stand out at all. I wasn't special to him. No, I had been shoved to the very back of the line and had been forgotten by him. He had stolen my heart, torn it from my body, and had thrown it and smashed it until it was lying spread out in front of him in a thousand little pieces. Only then did I realize I would never be whole again. I was broken, beat and had lost everything. Well, everything except for my life that would be ripped from my body in only a second or two.

...But let's rewind. I won't start my story at the end. I will start it at the beginning and tell you all the little details in hopes that you will understand or at least see that I am more than the cold-hearted [censored] which everyone seems to make me out to be. No cub is born evil. Evilness is fed into your soul by those around you. The first one to turn my heart black was none other than my own father. And that brings us to the day I was born...

[Maleficent]

Chapter I

~ A baby is born with a need to be loved - and never outgrows it. ~

Crash! Bang! Boom! The pitch black sky above the pride lands rumbled with thunder as a storm waged against the heavens. Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating everything for a millisecond before leaving it trapped in darkness once more. A beautiful cream-colored lioness with brown eyes huddled in the very back of a small den. Her body shook and she whimpered.

"Najisi...I can't do this!" the lioness gasped as she attempted to give birth to her first cub.

"Yes, Zuri, you can do this. Just take slow breaths and you'll be alright," Najisi, the lion in the cave next to her, urged. Najisi looked very different than Zuri. His fur was a reddish-brown and his eyes were a bright green. Those two were my parents. Najisi and Zuri loved each other very much. They were devoted to one another and I thought that nothing would ever separate them.

After a deep breath and a shudder, Zuri pushed her cub out of her body and collapsed on the floor of the cave. Everything felt so strange and different as I felt a cool breeze blowing against my body for the first time. I took my first breath and wondered what had happened to me. Where was I? I felt so cold and everything was foreign.

"W-what is it?" Zuri asked in a shaking voice as she turned up and looked at Najisi. Assuming they were talking about me, I perked up and tried to listen carefully to figure out how I had gotten into this cold, noisy world.

"It's a little female. A beautiful little female," Najisi replied in an affectionate voice.

"How is she?" Zuri panted, still trying to recover from having just given birth.

"A bit small," Najisi started out before adding, "But besides for that...she is perfect."

Perfect? Me? Before I could mull this thought over, I felt myself being scooped up and lifted into the air. A bit afraid since I had no idea where I was, I curled myself up and hid my face in my chest. Lion cubs are born blind. All I could see was an endless pool of blackness in every direction.

"I would like to see her," Zuri requested. She had caught her breathe by now and sounded excited.

"Of course, my love," Najisi replied and I felt myself going down, down, down...

I was set on the ground between Zuri's paws. I immediately didn't like sitting here on the ground. I felt weak and vulnerable. Wishing I could see, I crawled into something soft and furry. It was Zuri's paw, but I couldn't see it at the time.

"She is beautiful," Zuri sighed with satisfaction. "What should we call her?"

"She looks like you," Najisi replied. "We could call her Zuri."

Zuri laughed and said, "But that would be confusing. I would never know if you were talking to her or me."

"True, true..." Najisi nodded. "Perhaps we should wait until she opens her eyes to name her?"

"That is a very good idea," Zuri nodded and suddenly, I felt something wet dragging over my head. I flinched, completely unaware that my mother was grooming me and removing the blood and other sticky substances from my body. When she was done cleaning me, I found I felt lighter and not so sticky. Deciding I liked this feeling, I crawled forwards to start exploring.

"No, no, no," Zuri laughed. "You and I both need some sleep. You can explore tomorrow, dear one."

I didn't really need anyone to tell me that twice. Curling up between Zuri's paws, I closed my eyes and immediately found myself slipping into a peaceful slumber.

The first week or so of my life was a bit strange. It's so confusing to be trapped inside an abyss of black. I never knew where I was going and found bumping into things about every two seconds. My parents both loved me. They groomed me constantly and murmured sweet words of how I was beautiful or how much I meant to them in my ear.

The day I opened my eyes is still the most wonderful day of my corrupted life. It happened when mother brought me outside. She had told Najisi that she wanted some sunshine that she would take me outside the den with her. Najisi agreed, but warned Zuri to watch me carefully to make sure no harm was going to come to me.

Zuri laughed and said she would guard me with her life before she brought me outside. I instantly felt my body go from cold to comfortably warm as I experienced the heat of the sun for the first time. I looked up, but even the sun was a black mass to me. I sighed and felt myself landing on something hard as Zuri set me down. It was just a rock, but at the moment, it seemed quite scary to me. I whimpered with alarm and tried to climb off of it.

Zuri immediately turned back to me and said in a reassuring voice, "It's alright. Mother is here for you. I won't let any harm come to you. I promise you this, my little one. You mean more to me than anyone. But let's not tell Najisi that. It will be our secret."

A warm, tingly feeling came over me. I liked having a secret with my mother. It made me feel special. Suddenly, something soft and light brushed against my side. Curiosity piqued, I turned to my side and blinked, opening my eyes for the first time ever.

A gasp came from my mouth as vivid colors met my eyes. I finally saw what my beautiful mother looked like, the rock I was sitting on, the bright blue sky, and the grassy pridelands.

Zuri smiled at me and called back to the cave, "Najisi, our little girl has opened her eyes!"

Najisi was by our sides in a millisecond. The first time I saw my daddy, I thought he was quite good looking with his reddish coat and green eyes.

Najisi leaned down to eye level with me and reached up and stroked my back with a huge paw that was almost as big as me. I looked up at him with wide blood red eyes, already loving him and my mother for being so kind to me.

"Where do you think her red eyes came from?" Najisi asked Zui curiously.

Zuri thought and then shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure. Neither of my parents had red eyes. What about yours?"

Najisi shook his head and then turned to his wife, "We should name her."

"Yes, we should," Zuri nodded firmly. "What names do you like?"

"Zira," Najisi said without any warning. He stared into my eyes and I suddenly felt like he was dissecting me.

Zuri frowned and replied, "Zira? But doesn't that mean hate? I'm not quite sure about naming my daughter after hate!"

"What else do you want to name her after?" Najisi asked with a shrug. "You can't exactly name her for an angel or after beauty with those red eyes of hers. Who else do you know that has a cub with red eyes?"

Zuri frowned and thought of all her friends before sighing and saying, "No one, but red eyes are not a bad thing. I've seen lions with red eyes before."

"Of course," Najisi replied, "But what about a female? Have you ever seen a female with red eyes before?"

"No," Zuri admitted and resigned, "Alright, we'll call her Zira."

For the first time ever, I felt a bit unwanted. Did red eyes make me bad? I didn't see why they were such a bad thing. My mother and father had different colored eyes. Didn't everyone have different colored eyes?

When Najisi locked eyes with me, an almost haunted look came into his eyes. I felt scared as he looked at me in this way. It wasn't quite right. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. Little did I know that it would be my eyes that caused my father to change his feelings for the daughter he had loved. If only I had been born with blue eyes or green. ...Or anything but red.

[Baya]

You are quite the writer!

I would like to get to know you better :3 throw me a pm whenever you are free

[Azdgari]

I'll second Amadeus, this is wonderfully dark. I like the first person perspective alongside the bitter commentary. They complement one another nicely. Spelling and grammar looked just about spot on! I also like how you're making sure to have Zira be innocent at birth. I feel like you could take a really poor angle on this idea and have her evil from birth, but this way is much more interesting. Good call!

A few things to note:
[quote] Even as I committed my own suicide,[/quote]
...Do you commit other peoples' suicides often? This line is redundant. ;3

[quote]I had lusted after someone who would never love me, had tried to forget the past even though it was lodged tightly in my brain, and had tried to raise my cubs into something that they would never be.[/quote]
Passive voice fest. Lose the 'had's. That sentence becomes a lot more powerful.

Also,
[quote]Those two were my parents. Najisi and Zuri loved each other very much. They were devoted to one another and I thought that nothing would ever separate them.[/quote]
At least for me, having first person narration right before your character is born sort of messes with flow. It's a little smoother if you take that line out. Besides, show don't tell. It's perfectly clear from the story that they loved each other and were devoted. No need to stoop down and say it outright.

Keep up the good work! ^^

[Maleficent]

Thank you for the reviews! They are very helpful and I will be doing some editing. :3

Chapter II

~ We do not remember days, we remember moments. ~

I loved my life when I was young. Everything was good and I had no problems. The warm sun beat down on my back, the sky was a beautiful shade of cerulean, and butterflies flew around me, just begging to be chased. My mother loved me. I'm positive she did. She said she loved me even more than my father. Mother would call me her little queen and started teaching me everything I needed to know. I learned how to speak and communicate and we became closely bonded.

My father, on the other hand, was quite different. He loved me in his own way. He didn't spend much time with me, but he would always smile and greet me if we were in the same vicinity. I noticed that he never looked into my eyes though. And if he accidentally did, he would get a strange empty, hollow look in his eyes. My mother noticed this sometimes and a frown would cross her face. I didn't speak of it though. I didn't want to cause problems.

It was a gorgeous day outside when I heard mother's voice calling to me, "Zira?"

Being very obedient at this age, I gave the butterfly I had been chasing a mournful look before plodding over to my mother and asking, "Yes, mother? You were calling me?"

"Yes, my dear one," mother replied to me with a smile. The wind ruffled her fur slightly. I looked up at her in adoration. My mother was beautiful and kind. I wanted to be just like her someday. "My friends, Uru and Kamili, are coming for a visit."

"Am I going to meet them?" I questioned, not quite sure how I felt about interacting with other lionesses.

Zuri nodded and replied, "They have cubs as well. You'll get to meet them for the first time."

"Other c-cubs?" I stammered, not sure if I liked this at all. I liked being the only cub. What would the other cubs be like? Frowning, I stated my mind, "What if they don't like me?"

"Of course they'll like you," Zuri replied. "There's nothing not to like about you. Want to hear a secret?"

I loved secrets, especially sharing them with my mom. I nodded quickly and looked up at her impatiently.

"Uru is the queen of the pride lands," mother explained to me with a wink.

My eyes widened. I was fascinated by queens. They were so powerful and were well-liked by all...or so I thought. Looking up at my mother in wonder, I mused, "Can anyone become a queen?"

"Well, to become a queen, you have to marry a king," mother told me a-matter-of-factly.

"Oh," I sighed, looking at the ground. "Is there only one king?"

"Yes. Uru's mate, Ahadi, is king," mother explained. "However, Ahadi and Uru have two sons. They are princes and one of them will become a king someday."

My mind processed all this very fast and I asked, "So if I marry one of these princes...I could be a queen someday?"

Zuri nodded and smiled down at me.

I smiled back and then let the smile fade as I realized something and pointed out, "I don't want to marry though."

Mother chuckled, "That's perfectly alright. You're very young still. Perhaps you will change you mind about marriage someday, but if you don't, that decision is completely up to you."

I nodded. Little did I know that the decision of marriage is not always up to you. It can be forced and that happens only too often. Suddenly, I saw some figure coming towards us from a distance.

Panicking, I looked up at mother and asked, "Is that them? How do I look?"

"Very nice, dear," Zuri reassured me before waving a paw at her friends as they approached. A bit nervous about all this, I sat between mother's paws, using her for protection.

As the group approached, I noticed two other female cubs. One was slightly darker than the other and had reddish-brown eyes. The other female was beautiful. I had never seen such a beautiful cub before. Her fur shone in the morning sunlight and her eyes were the most gorgeous blue color I had ever seen. It took all my strength not to sit and stare at them.

Next to the group, two cubs were running alongside each other, trying to outrun each other. One was small and golden colored with a reddish mane and brown eyes. He looked strong and muscular for just a little cub. How had he grown so quickly? I glanced at the other cub next to him, blinked, and then stared.

This cub reminded me of my father. His coat was a reddish-brown and he had jade-colored, dark eyes. I think I lost my breath for a moment as I watched the cubs running. Figuring it was nervousness, I gulped in air and tried to smile.

"Kamili! Uru! How good it is to see you two!" mother replied to her friends. The two male cubs started wrestling playfully, rolling around the ground while the two females talked quietly.

"Zuri!" one of the adult females greeted her. "It's been too long. Is this your cub?"

"Yes," mother replied as she glanced down at me. "This is my daughter, Zira."

"Aw, isn't she sweet?" Kamili smiled down at me before calling the other cubs around her and saying, "Children, this is Zira, Zuri's daughter."

"I'm Sarabi," the reddish-brown eyed lioness said quietly.

"Sarafina," the beautiful cub replied with a friendly smile.

The adults started to chatter and the cubs continued to introduce themselves to me. The strong-looking lion smiled at me and introduced himself, "I'm Mufasa." The darker, slimmer cub merely glanced down his nose at me without bothering to introduce himself. His eyes traveled over my body, scrutinizing every detail of me. I felt small and weak as his bright eyes turned away from me. He looked bored with what he saw and turned his gaze to Sarafina instead.

Seeing that the darker cub was not about to introduce himself, Mufasa rolled his eyes and told me, "This is my brother, Taka."

Mainly since I had lost my breath and couldn't talk, I nodded and waved shyly.

"Why don't we go play?" Mufasa asked excitedly, bouncing around with a smile on his face.

Sarabi gave him a chastising look and said, "Perhaps we should ask your mother first."

"Oh," Mufasa said sheepishly before waiting for a break in the adults' conversation. "Mother, can we go play? I was thinking that we could go to the waterhole."

Uru looked down at Mufasa and considered before agreeing, "Alright, you may go to the waterhole, but only the waterhole. Make sure you're back by dark. I don't want any of you getting lost."

"Alright!" Mufasa cried excitedly as he turned and started bounding away. The two females followed him, still chattering away. Taka was the last to leave, his green eyes scanning me over once more before he joined the others.

Unsure what to do, I glanced up at my mother. Zuri smiled at me and waved for me to go and run along with all the other cubs. Feeling awkward and a little out of place, I ran after them. The two girls were gossiping and the two male lion cubs continued racing around excitedly.

Taka was clearly trying to get Sarafina's attention. He ran around her several times and even brushed against her side once. When that happened, Sarafina looked up and said, "I need a bit of elbow room, Taka!"

Taka smirked and ran off in the opposite direction. Seeing that nobody else was talking to me, Mufasa stepped towards me and gave me a kind smile as he said, "So you're Zira, huh?"

Very shyly, I nodded. Mufasa smiled again and asked, "So what kinds of things do you like to do, Zira?"

"Um..." I stammered as I looked over Mufasa. He was quite a bit older than me. Actually, all these cubs were older. "I like doing things with my mother."

"Not your father?" Mufasa asked, looking amused.

"I'm just closer to my mother," I replied as I watched Taka run in front of Sarafina and "accidentally" brush his tail against her cheek. I should have known even then that he would grow up to be a womanizer, but I was too young to know the meaning of it back then.

"I see," Mufasa nodded.

Taking a deep breath, I summoned up my nerve and asked, "Are you a prince?"

[Baya]

Another good plate of awesomeness C: Such an awesome story!

[Maleficent]

Thanks. :3

Chapter III

~ You are everything I never knew I wanted ~

Mufasa smiled at me and nodded, "Yes, I am a prince. Guess what?"

Deciding that Mufasa was nice enough and that there was no need to be overly shy around him, I attempted my first smile and asked, "What?"

"I'm next in line for the throne!" Mufasa burst out excitedly. Not quite sure what that meant, I stared at him blankly. Mufasa laughed and informed me, "It means I'm going to be the future king. My brother, Taka, is also a prince, but I'm to be king since I'm the older."

"Wow!" I burst out, unable to keep my thoughts to myself. "I've always wanted to be a queen."

Wondering what we were chattering about, Taka ran back to us and landed a few feet in front of us, murmuring, "You two are such slowpokes."

"No, we're just walking slow and enjoying nature," Mufasa replied genially. Taka smirked and tossed his head, looking down at me with dark eyes. I felt weird when he looked at me.

Before things could get too weird, the beautiful lion cub called, "Taka!"

Taka's green eyes lit up and he ran over to the female cub with his tail sticking straight up in the air as he said, "Yes, Saffy?"

Mufasa rolled his eyes and said, "My brother daydreams about her all the time. I think they'll be mates someday."

I frowned and thought about this. Weren't we a little young to be thinking about who we'd be marrying someday? Then again, now that I thought about it, I realized that all these cubs were older than me.

Mufasa laughed at my reaction and then pointed ahead of us, "Here's the waterhole!"

My eyes widened curiously as I looked at the pool of pale blue in front of us.

"Hey Sarabi, want to go for a swim?" Sarafina asked her with a smile.

"I don't know," Sarabi replied. "Last time we froze afterwards, remember?"

"I'llgo for a swim with you, Saffy," Taka murmured seductively.

"Oh, shove off!" Sarafina aka Saffy laughed.

I wanted to go for a swim. I really did. Of course, there was just one rather big problem with that. I had no idea how to swim. I had never come here before and had never been fully engulfed in the refreshing substance before.

"What would you like to do, Zira?" Mufasa asked me with raised eyebrows.

Everyone's eyes turned towards me and I felt embarrassed for some reason. I shrugged and said in a barely audible voice, "I don't know. Someone else can choose..."

"How about tag?" Taka said, shooting a sideways glance at Sarafina.

"You just want to catch me, don't you?" Sarafina laughed before saying, "Alright. You're it!"

I had no idea how to play tag, so I just copied what everyone else was doing. At Sarafina's words, everyone started running away from Taka. Not knowing any better, I did the same. Unfortunately, I was at a disadvantage because I was smaller than everyone else and also because I wasn't quite sure how this game worked.

A few seconds later, Taka pushed into me rather roughly before sprinting off in the opposite direction. Taka knocked into me so hard that I actually lost my balance and fell straight into the pool of water. The feeling was so strange. An eerie wetness engulfed me. I opened my eyes and noticed that everything was blurred. I attempted to breathe, took a mouth full of water in instead, and then started choking. Unable to swim and not sure what to do, I found myself sinking.

I tried breathing again and filled my lungs with water once more. Coughing doesn't work so well underwater. I started to feel faint from lack of air and too much water. There was nothing I could do though. I didn't know a damn about how to swim at the time.

Looking back, I wonder if this was an omen; a prophesy of my end. I seemed to always have a trouble with water. I never liked it. If I hadn't been saved, I would've died that day. Now back to the story.

Vision blurring and feeling like my chest was going to burst, I wondered if I was going to die. I wasn't ready to die yet. I hadn't been living long and there was so much more I still wanted to experience in life.

Just as I was thinking all of this, I felt teeth seize the skin behind my neck and start dragging me upwards. As my eyes started to close, I suddenly felt the heavy water submerging me lift. I was thrown on my back and I laid there stunned. My chest felt heavy and I couldn't move. Even breathing was impossible.

Smack! Someone pushed down on the center of my chest. I threw up a mouthful of water and started choking. There was another smack on my chest and I threw up another mouthful. My vision slowly cleared and I looked up to see my angel. Well, he was far from an angel, but to me, he was beautiful.

Taka's vivid green eyes stared down at me. His paw was resting against the center of my chest. I felt my heartbeat picking up and my eyes searched Taka's shyly. Realizing that I was now alright, Taka got off of me and stood a little distance away.

I rolled onto my side before getting weakly to my feet. Looking at Taka with adoring eyes, I whispered in a shaky voice, "T-thank you for saving me. I would have died without you..."

"Would you like a piece of advice?" Taka asked with a sneer. "Learn to swim."

By this time, Mufasa, Sarabi, and Sarafina had come over to see what was going on. I blushed with embarrassment, seeing that I was the only one who was dripping wet.

"What happened?" Sarabi asked.

"Are you alright?" Mufasa added, looking concerned.

Sarafina took one look at me and said, "Sarabi fell in once when she was little. Remember that, Sarabi?"

Sarabi nodded and I blushed. I didn't like being called "little" and being patronized. Mufasa frowned and said, "Now would be a good time to go back to our parents."

"Muffy, we've only been here for five minutes!" Taka reminded him incredulously, not looking at me.

"Taka, mother put me in charge, not you. If I say we're going back, then we're going back," Mufasa said firmly, shooting Taka a look.

Sarabi and Sarafina exchanged looks and Sarafina said in a disappointed voice, "Already? I wanted to make a flower necklace." Sarafina turned to Sarabi and said, "I'll show you how to make one too."

Mufasa sighed and said, "You can do all that another time. Now come along, girls."

Sarabi nodded started back the way we had come obediently. Sarafina made a face and stuck her tongue out at Mufasa. Mufasa rolled his eyes as she went leaping in front of him. Taka grinned at the playfully females and leaped onto Sarafina. The two of the rolled onto the ground together, Taka nipping playfully at her body.

I watched them with a strange feeling inside me. Why didn't Taka want to play with me like how he played with the other females? I was a young girl too. I wanted to have fun.

Trying to guess my thoughts, Mufasa apologized, "Excuse my brother. He's not usually this frisky." Checking to make sure that nobody was listening, he leaned down and asked, "What happened there? Did someone push you in?"

Not quite sure if Taka had meant to push me in or not, I lied and said firmly, "No. I fell, it was my fault."

Mufasa nodded and then asked, "You don't know how to swim then?"

Feeling shameful and embarrassed, I shook my head and said, "Nobody ever taught me how to."

Mufasa thought for a moment before he suggested, "The girls go to the waterfall quite often. How about you come with us and I can teach you how to swim?"

Thinking that I should learn at some point or another, I nodded and said, "I would like that. You don't mind?"

"Not at all," Mufasa replied as we approached the clearing by my home.

"Taka! Get off me!" Sarafina rolled her eyes in annoyance as Taka managed to pin her down and sit on her chest. Taka just grinned in reply and didn't move an inch. Sarafina batted at him playfully.

"Taka," Mufasa said in a warning voice.

Taka sighed and let Sarafina off, but not without nipping her ear lightly. Seeing Sarabi nearby, he went over and gave her an affectionate lick on the head. I watched the way Taka interacted with them and couldn't help but wonder why them and not me? Was it because he didn't know me like he knew those two girls or was it because something was wrong with me?

[Maleficent]

Chapter IV

~Have you ever lived my life, have you ever spent one minute in my shoes? If you haven't, then tell me why you judge me like you do. ~

"There you all are," Uru smiled as she turned around and glanced at all six of us. "Did you have fun?"

"Zira fell in the river so we had to come back early. We didn't do much," Sarafina sighed.

My mother looked at me in concern and then asked, "Are you alright?"

I nodded and was glad that she dropped the subject. This was embarrassing enough without talking about the subject any more. Uru looked up at the sky and said, "Goodness, it's gotten late. I think we'll be off."

Mufasa looked at me and suggested, "Why don't we meet at the waterhole tomorrow? I'll give you your first swimming lesson."

Even though Mufassa was talking to me, I found myself looking at Taka instead. He was still walking around the young lionesses in a seductive manner. The two seemed to be flattered by him to some extent.

Making up my mind, I nodded and said, "Alright."

"Great! We'll see you there then," Mufasa said with a nod.

Kamili and Uru motioned the cubs after them before smiling at Zuri and saying, "Goodbye, Zuri! My best wishes to Najisi."

Mother waved after her friends before turning to me and looking concerned, "You fell into the water, sweetie?"

"It was an accident," I defended myself. "We were playing tag and I wasn't sure what to do. I ended up falling into the water."

"Thank goodness that you're alright," mother replied. "I should really teach you how to swim..."

"Mufasa said he'd do it," I piped up.

Mother grinned at me and said, "You met the future king, huh? I see you're trying to get on his good side."

I couldn't help but blush even more at that comment. Mother continued smiling, "It's alright. I'd love to see you as a future queen. Now come along. I'm sure you're hungry."

The next day, I woke up bright and early. It was time for my first swimming lesson. I padded across the floor and tapped mother. Father growned and opened one eye at me. His eyes widened and he had a strange look in his eyes. Almost afraid of the way he was looking at me, I backed up and accidentally ended up sitting on mother's paw. That was enough to wake her up. Zuri's beautiful brown eyes opened and she smiled at me.

"Are you awake already, little Zira?" mother questioned.

Father listened to mother's words and calmed down slightly before closing his eyes and going right back to sleep. I was a bit puzzled by his reaction to me, but decided to let it go for now since I had more important things to worry about.

"Yes, I'm awake," I told my mother. "I'm going to go to the waterhole now."

"For what?" mother asked sleepily before she remembered and said, "Oh, to meet Mufasa, of course. You may go, but be back before dark. Promise me you'll go straight to the waterhole and straight back."

"I promise," I said, just to get mother off my back.

"Go ahead then," mother said, smiling sleepily at me before snuggling back up to my father. I watched them sleeping by each other for a moment. They looked so happy and peaceful together. I wondered if I would be that happy when I was their age.

Reminding myself that Mufasa was waiting for me, I got up from the ground and quickly ran out of the entrance to our den and to the waterhole. The distance between the two places was relatively short and I reached it in no time. It was a sunny day outside with the sun beating down my back and warming my little body.

When I arrived at the waterhole, I found that Sarafina, Sarabi, and Taka were there with another cub. Mufasa was nowhere to be seen. For a minute, I panicked and came to a halt. Perhaps I should just leave since Mufasa wasn't here...

"Hey Zena!" someone called. It was Sarafina. "What are you doing here?"

Sarabi shot Sarafina a look and said, "Of course you're more than welcome to join us here..."

"She's here because my brother was going to teach her how to swim," Taka said loudly so everyone could hear. "Apparently, she doesn't know how to."

The new cub that I didn't recognize came forwards. He was dark with a little black tuft on his head. His eyes were a shade of teal blue and he was looking at me in a curious way, not a condescending way like Taka.

"What did you say your name was? Zena?" the new cub asked me curiously.

"It's Zira," I replied shyly, blushing and unable to meet his eyes.

"I'm Tatizo," the little cub told me. "It's nice to meet you."

Feeling shy still, I murmured all in a rush, "It's nice to meet you too."

Looking bored, Taka looked up at the sky and asked, "So what are we going to do? We can't just sit here and do nothing all day."

"Let's have a race," Sarafina suggested.

"Good idea," Sarabi agreed. She looked behind her at a tree and said, "We start at that tree and run to the tree at the end of stream. It's not too far away. Whoever reaches the tree first gets to win."

Everyone agreed and I naturally followed everyone else's lead. A little nervous since I had never really tried running before, I bit my lip and watched as Taka crouched and the others got read to pounce forwards. I held my breath until Sarabi commanded, "Go!"

We all started running as fast as our little legs could carry us. Taka got a head start and laughed as he ran. Sarafina narrowed her eyes at him and ran faster, calling, "Oh no you don't!"

The two raced harder and faster. I was no match for any of them. I had never even tried to run before and my little legs couldn't move quickly. Tatizo noticed me falling behind and slowed his run ever so slightly. I knew he was doing it so that I wouldn't look so far behind. I wasn't quite sure whether to be indignant, embarrassed, or grateful.

Everyone (but me) was nearing the finish line now. Taka leaped over the mark with ease, right before Sarafina crossed it. Sarabi came in third place, then Tatizo in fourth, and finally me.

"Taka!" Sarafina complained. "You always win."

"That would be a smart thing to keep in your head, Saffy," Taka smirked as he strutted behind her and batted her tail playfully. His eyes traveled over to me and Tatizo. Looking surprised, he asked, "What happened to you, Tat? You usually rival me."

"Perhaps you've just gotten better, Taka," Tatizo replied with a shrug.

Taka let this go, but his eyes feel on me next. Raising an eyebrow at me, he asked, "I'm surprised you even know how to run. Then again, for someone like you, I suppose that was fast running, mm?"

I knew he was making fun of me, but I didn't know what to say to that. Since I was a bit confused, I stammered, "W-what do you mean?"

"Forgive me for my forwardness, but I was simply trying to say that you're fat," Taka stated, throwing an invisible mane behind his shoulder before trotting through the grass to Sarabi.

For some reason, I felt tears stinging my eyes. Me? Fat? Was this the problem? Perhaps this was why Taka wouldn't play with me but he would play with the other girls. At this age, of course I was a little chubby. I still had all my baby fat and was less than three weeks old. But of course, I let Taka's words hurt me.

"Hey," I heard a voice in my ear say. Looking up, I saw Tatizo standing there. "Don't mind Taka. He says a lot of things he doesn't mean."

"Oh," I mused, pushing the tears away and examining the dark, blue-eyed cub next to me before I asked, "Do you think I'm fat?"

"Of course not," Tatizo replied with a scoff. "Taka's nuts. I think you're cute."

I blushed tomato red and couldn't think of anything to say. I did manage to glance up at him and get a look at his face. He looked kind and caring. Too shy to look at him for long, I went back to examining a piece of grass by my feet.

Tatizo smiled and then gave me a little nudge, "Hey, listen. Mufasa is busy with his father. You know, 'kingly duties' and all, so he said I could give you your first swimming lesson today. Are you ready to start?"

Not seeing why not, I nodded and followed Tatizo over to the waterhole. He smiled kindly at me and said, "Alright, first things first. Are you scared of the water at all?"

Looking up and noticing that Taka wasn't paying any attention for once, I went ahead and nodded, "Yes."

"Alright. Let's just start by getting used to the water. Sit here next to me and put your foot in it," Tatizo ordered, sticking one of his hind paws into the water. Seeing that this was a low risk thing to do, I did as Tatizo said and let the clear liquid submerge my paw. Seeing that this was going well, Tatizo started a conversation and said, "I haven't seen you around here. Who are your parents?"

"Zuri and Najisi," I told him as I bravely stuck another paw in the water.

Tatizo noticed my progress and smiled before his face darkened and he said, "Did you say Najisi?"

"Yes, I did," I nodded before turning to Tatizo curiously and asking, "Why? Do you know my father?"

"Not me personally, no," Tatizo began. "My mother knew a lion by the name Najisi though. I wonder if they are the same."

Curiosity piqued, I waited for Tatizo to say more, but he didn't. My curiosity got the better of me and I asked, "How did your mother know Najisi?"

"I...well..." Tatizo started out, obviously unsure whether or not to continue. "I'm not sure I should say. You see, Najisi hurt my mother quite badly..."

"Oh," I replied with a frown. "Then it couldn't have been my dad."

Tatizo nodded and the two of us sat in silence for a bit. I looked ahead of me to see Taka watching Sarabi as she laid on her stomach. Sarafina was busy chasing a butterfly and paying no attention to anyone else. Taka slowly got to his paws and then went over to Sarabi. Sarabi watched him go sit behind her and asked curiously, "What are you doing, Taka?"

"Sniffing you," Taka replied, closing his eyes as he sniffed something. "You smell so good."

"Taka..." Sarabi said in a warning voice.

Taka put a paw on her back and simpered, "You know I would never hurt you, Sarabi. But...I know you like my brother, so I'll just go leave you alone now." Taka put a little pout on his face and trudged off with his tail down.

Sarabi immediately got to her feet and padded after him, "Taka! Wait up!"

Taka grinned and turned around to smile at her, "Yes, Sarabi?"

"Let's play," she said, smirking and running away from him. "Catch me if you can!"

"Run as fast as you can then!" Taka laughed before racing after the young lioness.

Tatizo rolled his eyes and said, "That little Taka is a player." Noticing the way I was looking at him, Tatizo's eyes widened and he asked in interest, "You like him?"

"Hm...?" I mused before jerking up. "Oh no, not like that. I like Mufasa."

[aloobah]

This is wonderful! I just couldn't stop reading it.
It's lovely to read more about Zira and her background. I can't wait for the next chapter! <3

[Maleficent]

Thank you so much for the wonderful comment! That really made my day. I can't keep posting this on here, but I will give you the link to the next chapter if you want to continue reading: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7325793/6/Scorned