The Lion Queen

Chapter 18

"What were you doing here?" Malik asked. He was moving around trying to lick all my wounds at once like I was a little cub. "You almost got yourself killed!"

"I wanted to kill She'bah for you," I said. I was so weak and disoriented I could barely form a sentence, and what I said barely made sense.

"But why?" Malik asked. I hauled myself to my feet and he stood beside me in case I fell over.

"So he wouldn't hurt you anymore. And so... the others would help me," I said.

"You thought if you killed She'bah for them, they'd be willing to fight Scar," Malik said.

"But you killed him, so it doesn't matter. The most important thing is he's dead," I said. Even if I never got back to my pride, I had done something right.

"They don't have to know that," Malik said. We started to limp toward the mouth of the cave. He licked me ear, even though it wasn't wounded.

"You'd tell them it was me?" I asked. I was hardly surprised, though. Malik would have gnawed off another of his legs if he thought it would help someone else.

"It was you, mostly. I only helped a little. It doesn't matter who did it, anyway," Malik said. Long-buried hope started to flutter in me, and I felt new strength in my battered limbs.

"How are you always so perfect?" I asked. I pressed closer to him even though I was steady on my feet.

"I was born this way," he said, and he almost looked like Simba.

"How did you find me?" I asked.

"I went to the watering hole to see if you were there, and then I heard you. You were making some racket," he said.

"I'm dreadfully sorry," I said. I looked ahead and saw Laith at the watering hole searching the horizon. She saw us and ran forward.

"What happened? Are you okay?" she asked. She sniffed at my wounds.

"She killed She'bah," Malik said. Laith's head jerked up.

"You what?" she asked.

"He's dead," I said. "He'll never hurt anyone again."

When we reached the bushes, the other lionesses clustered around and fussed over me. Malik told them our story as they tended to my wounds and chattered.

"You really killed She'bah?" Banat asked with wide eyes. She and Inbi stood up against my bacj until Ummi nudged them aside.

"He's dead," I said again.

"Now we can run around all night!" Ibni said.

"You can not," Ummi said. Ibni groaned. After the lionesses had done all they could, I sat up gingerly. Ummi crouched down so she was lower than my head and looked at the ground.

"Thank you. We can never repay you," she said. The other lionesses bowed their heads in sympathy, but Laith interrupted.

"We can repay her. We can help her free her pride from Scar," she said. I wasn't sure how to broach the topic and certainly hadn't intended to yet, but Laith did it for me. The other lionesses looked at each other and started to discuss it.

"We'll have to wait until she heals," Munazi said. "What about the cubs?"

"Please can we go? We never get to do anything," Banat said.

"Yeah, please?" Ibni said. "We'll be really good. We'll help fight Scar."

"You will not," Ummi said. "If we go, you will stay somewhere safe. But I would be honored ro help my cubs' savior," she said to me.

"It will be dangerous," Munazi said. "We have always been peaceful."

"As dangerous as it was for Nala to fight She'bah," Laith said.

"War is easy to fight in the mind. Real violence is what you see here," Munazi said, and she pointed her nose at the still-bleeding wounds all over me.

"We don't have to be afraid of that anymore. I don't want Nala to either," Ummi said.

"Malik must decide. He is the king," one of the other lionesses said. They all turned to him, and he stood up.

"I cannot make any lion fight a battle that isn't hers. I wish to help Nala however I can, but I am your king. I can only lead you into battle if you wish it. Do you?" he asked.

"Yes!" Laith said.

"Yes!" Inbi and Banat squealed. Ummi nodded. The other lionesses voiced their assent one after another.

Last of all was Munazi. "I shall go," she said. "If I must fight to defend my pride, so be it."

Strength and excitement surged through me and I felt like my wounds were gone already. I wanted to jump up and get started right away. We had barely started, but it was like had already won. Scar didn't know it, but he was already defeated. I was coming for him, and so was the bravest lion I knew. He didn't have a chance.