The Lion Queen

Chapter 7

I walked back to the zebra. Most of its sparse flesh was already gone. Some of the lionesses gnawed at its marrow and Scar was pulling the last of the meat from its bones. I braced myself as I approached.

"Scar? I need to tell you something," I said before I could lose my nerve. Scar seemed annoyed at the interruption, but when he saw who it was, his honeyed smile returned.

"For you, my dear, anything," he said. He stayed beside me as I withdrew to a more private stretch of grass. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to say, and I tried to formulate my thoughts as we went. Scar's attempts at polite conversation distracted me, though.

"Why, Nala, it's almost your birthday, isn't it?" he said, as though he was realizing it for the first time and hadn't been counting the days. "I suppose you'll be wanting to start a family soon. Any thoughts on the lucky cat?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," I said. That's right, I told myself. Tell him to leave you alone. He can't make you choose him, even if he is the "king". Suddenly it seemed later than it was. We'd caught the zebra shortly after noon and it had taken a while to gather everyone and eat. It wasn't near dusk yet, but the sun was starting to dip lower in the sky. It cast a sinister shadow over the affair.

"It's your choice, of course, but I hope you know how privileged you are," Scar said. "You could have anyone in the pride. You could even be queen, if you wanted..." His green eyes glittered as he watched for my reaction.

"I don't," I blurted. Scar drew back with more surprise than anything else. Disgust welled up in me as I processed his reaction. He wasn't angry that I defied his will or embarassed that he'd been rejected. He was surprised I didn't want him. I struggled to fathom the depths of his arrogance.

"What?" He said. The simpering warmth drained from his voice and left it as it truly was: cold as stone and pointed as a thorn. His eyes hardened along with his words.

"I haven't thought about who I want as a mate. But I know this much. I don't want you," I said. The words almost flew out of me, like they couldn't be held back a moment longer. I tensed my muscles and held my tail in a stiff arc. The air sizzled around Scar as he grew still with rage.

"Don't be so hasty, Nala," he hissed. "Do you have any idea what you're giving up? Haven't I been a gracious ruler?" He took a step closer, and I backed away reflexively. I looked over my shoulder to see if anything blocked my escape. There was nothing but grass as far as I could see, but that meant no witnesses as well.

"You can have any of us. Go take one of them," I said. He kept advancing, and I maintained the distance between us. My claws slid out unbidden and I readied myself in case I needed to run.

"Ungrateful child," Scar spat. "I offer you everything and you throw it away?" He stopped and sat back on his haunches. He tilted his head and looked at me like nothing else but prey. "I don't have to give you a choice, Nala."

"You can't force me to choose you," I said. His wicked smile only grew wider.

"I am the king. I can do whatever I want," he said, and he sprang at me like lightning. He landed on top of me, knocking me sideways off my feet. He tried to pin me down as I wriggled underneath him. My claws dug into the ground as I struggled to pull forward. He pressed his nose into the back of my neck and positioned his legs on either side of me.

"You should be flattered, Nala," he purred, drawing out the word. "Out of everything in the Pridelands, I desire you. And I shall have you," he said. He clenched my neck fur in his teeth and tried to haul me up. Before, I would have been terrified. I knew what he wanted and I'd been dreading it for so long. But I was done being afraid and I had nothing left to lose. He wasn't my king, and I couldn't respect him less. All the rage I should have felt all along rose up in me at once, and it gave me strength. I rolled underneath him, losing a chunk of fur as I did. When I was on my back facing up at him, I kicked both legs into his stomach, like I'd done with Simba so long ago. The blow knocked him tail over head and he tumbled into the grass in front of my head. While he was still in the air, I turned over and started to run.

I looked over my shoulder as Scar was picking himself up. I had a head start and I was lean from daily hunts. Scar barely left Pride Rock, and running was so terribly undignified. He gathered himself as he rose, like he'd meant to fall on his face. He just watched me go. No doubt he thought I'd crawl back when I was hungry enough, or when it was dark and I grew lonely. But he was wrong. The savannah stretched before me and I felt freer with each step I ran. I was like the wind, blowing far away where no one could touch me. Something had snapped inside me, and I felt the Pridelands fading away in the distance. Unknown discoveries lay before me, and most of all, Scar's absence grew sweeter every moment. I was running, and I never wanted to stop.