Chapter 1
One would definitely have to be strong after all that Nala went through. From cubhood to adulthood, she was faced with challenges she never thought she would have encountered; nothing her mother had prepared her for. No mother could prepare their daughter for an adventure like she had been on. Regardless of her betrothal to the future king, Nala was tested emotionally, physically, and mentally in her years. And as she stood on the edge of Pride Rock with Simba's shadow looming over her, she was brought back to the troubled times she couldn't soon forget.
She could clearly remember the sight of all the lionesses grouped together, the news of king Mufasa and prince Simba deaths taking its toll on them all. Through her blurred vision and aching chest, Nala remembered looking over to the queen and seeing Sarabi gasping for air, as the news of her family's death shooting a pain through her that no one could relate with. Nala knew, from a young age, things were never supposed to be like this. But as the shadows of the hyenas encroached on their grieving group, she wished things would have never been like this. Growing up, her time was spent in slavery to those mongrils. She spent her days close at Sarafina's side, large blue orbs wandering over the surroundings for any hyenas that were growing tiresome of zebra and antelope and craved cub flesh instead. Nala didn't put it past them; they had almost consumed Chumvi, Malka, Kula, and Tama. The hyenas would even taunt Nala while Sarafina was around, letting the cub know that if she dared to leave her mother's side that she would have her bones left in the den area like the rest of their kills.
Teenhood was more troubling to her memories. As she was older and more sufficent at getting hunting done, the hyenas used their same tactics to pressure Nala to over hunt. The few times Nala decided enough was enough, she was struck. But she could clearly reflect on the hyenas who had abused her were always limping around the day after. Little did Nala suspect that Scar, the tyrant king, was watching Nala with great interest and the physical damage done to her he would double against the hyenas. Now the lioness knew it was because Scar wanted a trophy of a queen by his side, since Sarabi was not submissive to him. Had he not known Sarabi from cubhood? Nala had always thought Sarabi was a headstrong sort of woman and she was encouraged to believe that from Sarafina's tellings of their past. One day, however, Nala was approached by the uncle-figure she had known for the longest time, but it was different. Disgust rung through her entire body, shivers running down her spine like she was thrust into arctic waters when he was around. And the day he had come for her, to finally put an end to all the speculation and questioning of his true intentions, she had left him with another mark to his face and her fading image to his emerald hues.
She left the Pridelands. And she didn't want to go back. What was once promised to be the best home she could have ever asked for, it was turned into a dry nothingness. Nala wasn't sure why she was so intent on recovering the lands to its former glory when she set off looking for Simba. Maybe it was because she felt some sort of responsibility to the earth that now only showed dirt and gloom, or because she wanted to get Scar back for what he had done to her. Not only to her, but her pride; her family and friends. And when she found Simba, and finally convinced him to come back to the home he was supposed to rule over, she was more than pleased when she could help him take back what was his. Sure enough, Scar was overthrown and the hyenas followed him off Pride Rock, leaving behind paw prints and a disgusting stench which the lionesses soon took care of And to their horror, the queen who lead them through these hard times while she dealt with it all herself. Their dear Sarabi had perished, and hadn't even had the chance to pass on the responsibilites to her son.
And after all of that, she now stood as the future queen to these lands. Almost by some unknown force of time had the Pridelands regained its previous greenery. As both subject and royalty alike stared at Nala, she painted a smile across her features. The sun soaked her already lightly toned pelt, making her seem even more pleased with the moment where she stood next to the male whom she found and brought back to his place. But on the inside, she was still living in the lands of Scar's reign. For the moment she looked over her shoulder at the remaining lionesses who stood behind the royal couple, she could only spot her mother, and a few other females. Her mind imagined Sarabi standing there as well, smiling at her son with Mufasa next to her. Their translucent forms watching over the other animals of the Pridelands as they once stood in the same position as herself and Simba, in the same sunlight.
...
The sky had painted itself a magenta and purple mix, with stars twinkling behind the remaining clouds of the night time. Nala pressed through the grass, the only sounds her sensitive ears picking up on were those of the grass being crushed under her paws, and the sounds of herds gathering up together. The herds didn't leave at the sight of Nala, as she positioned her tail upwards, to signal them that she wasn't on the hunt. Not now. She had a personal hunt going on inside her, where her thoughts were latching themselves onto her concentration and not letting go.
When she emerged from the grass and walked up a small hill, her lids were heavy over her blue orbs and she continued to mentally spar with herself. 'I was supposed to love him by now. Mom told me I would fall in love with Simba and everything would be okay... so why hasn't it happened yet?' Nala asked herself. Her tail wrapped around her paws whilst she sat, head bent to look down at the ground. The lioness remembered back when they were kids, and Zazu was insisting they would be married. Never did he mention they would fall in love with one another, so maybe he was trying to warn Nala of this impending problem. Now that she thought about Zazu, her head perked and she searched the lands for him as though he would be right there for her. She hadn't seen him in a long time. Like, a really long time. She didn't want to think about any more deaths, but she was convinced that the majordomo was dead as well. Not wanting to think about how he had passed or even where he was now, she made a mental note that she would need a new majordomo.
She let a sigh escape her chest, not realizing how much she had been holding it in. A bad habit of hers, she had concluded; Nala would sometimes, as a cub, stray from her mother and be caught by the hyenas without Sarafina around so she would hold her breath and remain as quiet as possible. She was never dinner for anyone so she didn't need to do it any longer, but she supposed now that she had just carried it as a habit of when she was in deep thought or in a state of panic. But now she could have just been able to supress that panic more.
As Nala continued to joust with herself and her mental swords, her eyes were drawn to the moving grass a little ways from her. The grass being a good height at the angle she was positioned on the hill, Nala's cat curosity was irked and she felt the tugging on her morals as both queen and nosy feline to check it out. Besides, how bad could it be that a lioness of her calibur couldn't handle it? Moving off of her haunches, Nala crouched down slightly, her elbows rubbing against her sides and she kept her blue eyes hovering over the movements. She could hear mumblings, so she adjusted her ears to listen easier. A male and a female, she concluded. The male had a deep voice, almost familiar to her. And the female's voice was light, soothing. The best way Nala could describe it was if a feline had an extremely large amount of catnip and wasn't finished with the sensational ripples through their body.
"You alright back there, Nia?" the male pondered.
"Oh, I'm fine," she replied. "Don't worry about me."
Soon, the two figures escaped the yellow grasses and into a clearing where there were a few rocks and puddles. Even though the female was brightly coloured, like herself, Nala's eyes were drawn to the sight of the male. The more she studied the brute, her stomach dropped and she physically had to stop herself from letting her jaw drop. He retained most of the features from a lion from her past. Of course, when she was a cub, she couldn't really place many names to faces and unfortunately that being a habit of hers now, Nala attempted to remind herself not to draw such drastic conclusions. But she continued to stare, and maybe she was thinking louder than just inside her head because the two looked straight at her.