The Lion Queen

Chapter 14

I felt something tugging at my tail when I woke. I swiveled one ear back and heard the unmistakable sounds of two cubs wrestling and arguing.

"You shouldn't do that."

"I just want to see."

"You're gonna wake her up."

"She's been sleeping forever!"

Of course I did what any other lion would do. I flicked the closest cub in the face with my tail. He squealed and tumbled away.

"I told you so!" the other one said. I saw Malik laughing as I got up and turned to face the cubs. The girl pointed her ears at the boy.

"Ibni did it!" she said. Her brother glared at her.

"It's okay. I'm excited to meet you too," I said. There hadn't been any cubs in my pride since Scar took over. It was good seeing carefree kids again.

"What happened to your mane?" Ibni asked. His sister glanced at him but didn't say anything.

"I lost it fighting a crocodile," I said. Both the cubs stared wide-eyed and gasped. Malik laughed more. He looked out of the bushes and stood up.

"The hunting party is back," he said. I followed his gaze and saw the other lionesses dragging a thin antelope between them.

"Wow! Look how much they got!" the female cub said. She and Ibni ran out to greet the hunters.

That's a lot? I thought. I wasn't complaining, of course. I was overjoyed to be with lions again and I was very thankful that they were so friendly and generous. It was just that before Scar came and the prey vanished, that wouldn't have been anything special back home. The harsh desert must have meant thinner prey.

I tried to slip in with the other lionesses around the antelope, but Malik caught me.

"Come to the front, Nala! You're the guest of honor," he said. He was trying to be friendly, but I wanted to slink away and disappear when I saw everyone was staring at me. I may have been a big deal at the ceremony so long ago, but after that I always got to blend in with Simba, since he was the prince.

"Thanks," I said, and I awkwardly wondered if I should say something else. Everyone kept looking at me and I waited for Malik to eat first so we could start. Nobody moved, and silence reigned.

"Isn't she going to eat?" the girl cub whispered to her mother. What, me? The king always ate first. I never liked it when lions watched me eat. I felt sloppy.

"Oh, sorry," I blurted. I closed my eyes and lunged forward, taking the smallest and quickest bite I could. I swallowed it without chewing and to my relief, the cubs joined in right away. Then everyone else started, and everything was all right again.

"Tell us about yourself," Malik requested. "We're all very curious."

I didn't even know where to start. I found a place and started talking.

"I came from the savannah, where the grass is taller and it's not so hot. It used to be very beautiful and the prey was always plentiful. We had a great king and life was good." I could have mentioned Simba, but he wasn't important now, and I still didn't know how I felt about him.

"Then there was a stampede, and Mufasa died. His brother Scar took over, but he was a tyrant. He called in our enemies the hyenas and set them loose in our kingdom. He drove the prey away and even the sun never shines anymore. When I couldn't bear it anymore-" Yes, that was the whole reason. Nothing else. It wasn't personal or anything, I thought. "- I left to find help. I was hoping to find someone who would help us drive Scar away and make our kingdom great again," I said. Deep and long-buried emotion started bubbling up again when I thought of my home and how things used to be. I was quiet as the others started to react.

"We can help you!" Malik said right away. "We can go right away."

"What?" one of the lionesses said. "We don't know how far it is. We don't know how strong Scar is. We can't just run off and fight someone else's battle."

"Munazi is right. Ibni and Banat are too little, anyway," the cubs' mother said. One of the other lionesses glared at me and I was sorry I'd said anything.

"I didn't mean to make trouble," I said. I was surprised Munazi spoke up like that. Mufasa was always fair and he often consulted the lionesses, but his word was law.

"Nonsense. You came to help your pride. It would be shameful to leave you. We have to help," Malik said.

"Think again. It's impossible," Munazi said. The other lionesses murmured in agreement. I couldn't believe they explicitly defied the king. Everything was different here.

"I think we should help. What if we needed help and no one would help us?" Laith asked. One of the others protested and they started to argue amongst themselves. I was sorry I'd ruined the feast and I slunk away into the bushes.

I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. I was asking them to travel farther than they'd gone in their lives and risk death for a lion they barely knew. I was selfish to ask it of them. They had their own problems and their own children to take care of. I didn't know what to do, and I didn't know what to say when Malik followed me.