The Lion King: Time of Kopa

Chapter 44: Pain and Regret

Omg!!! This story just reached 10k reads! Thank you so much! I never thought any of my stories would reach this point. And I know I don't thank you guys enough, but I'm not a fan of thanking my readers every thousand reads. But this is a big milestone and I really do love all of you and I'm so glad we travelled through this story together. There's definitely more to come! This milestone motivated me to finally move this chapter from my notebook to here. I hope you enjoy it! And also Happy Easter!

Imani limped over the border that marked the end of the Outlands and the beginning of the Pridelands. Sanura hung quietly by her scruff. The peacefulness in the air had calmed her, and Imani was thankful for that. She grunted with every step as her cuts stung. She wanted so bad to cry, but she tried her best not to.

As she walked through the Great Plains of the Pridelands, she wondered what she was going to do. She finally decided to leave the Outlands, and more importantly, Zira's pride. Imani didn't know where she was going. All she knew was that Zira was too dangerous to be around Sanura.

Imani's legs shook as she carefully placed Sanura under the shade of a tree. Then, out of exhaustion and pain, she collapsed on the ground beside her daughter. Sanura wiggled closer to her mother and began to suckle. Imani looked at her daughter and questioned herself as a mother.

" I'm so sorry, Sanura," Imani cried. " I'm so sorry I took you near that devil."

Tears began to stream Imani's cheeks as she put her head down on her paws. She was ashamed of herself. She knew how Zira was. She knew she couldn't keep from hurting Sanura.

Once her daughter finished nursing, Imani curled around her and cried helplessly. She apologized over and over again. It was nearing night, and soon enough the mother and daughter fell asleep.

The next morning, Imani was awakened by her own growling stomach. She groaned and looked at Sanura, who was still asleep against her warm side. She stood up carefully, and moved Sanura closer to the tree. She nuzzled her daughter and prayed for her safety.

" I'll be right back, Baby," she whispered.

Sanura whimpered. Imani turned away and looked back at her daughter once more time before disappearing into the tall grass. She didn't want to leave Sanura alone, but she needed to. She had to hunt something and eat if she wanted to continue providing milk for her.

Imani walked with her head down. She was heading towards the waterhole, keeping a low profile. Imani found her dominant emotion to be sadness. And although she was relieved to be away from Zira, leaving her pride created many more problems.

What am I going to do now?

How am I going to support Sanura and myself?

I can't hunt with these wounds...

These thoughts led to more negative thoughts, and eventually Imani was beating herself up.

I'm a terrible mother.

I should've listened to my gut.

This is all my fault...

A tear ran down Imani's cheek as the waterhole came into sight. She looked around curiously and noticed there were no animals around. This was odd, considering the waterhole was the most popular place in the Pridelands. Imani cautiously walked up to the cool water and stepped in. She needed to get all the crusty blood off. Once her fur was wet, she began to lick her wounds.

Although Imani didn't live in the Pridelands, she knew the place enough to find her way. She also knew that she needed to keep Sanura and herself hidden. Simba only knew that Imani was Zira's best friend, even if their friendship was over. He would definitely be angry about her presence in the Pridelands.

Once Imani was clean, she decided to look for some prey. She looked around and found the lands to be barren. She began to walk deeper into the Pridelands, figuring the animals would be more inland.

Imani travelled for minutes, finding no sign of life around. She began to question if she was even in the Pridelands. But these wonders quickly faded when Pride Rock came into view. Imani stopped in her tracks and looked at the majestic home of the King and Queen.

The base of Pride Rock was seemingly crowded with every animal in the lands. Slightly intimidated, Imani turned away and began to walk back to where her daughter was waiting. She figured she wasn't going to find any food this morning.

The entire way back, Imani prayed that Sanura would still be there. As she cane out of the tall grasses, a huge sigh of relief escaped her mouth. Sanura was still there, sleeping peacefully against the base of the tree. Imani grinned lovingly at her daughter before curling around her. Sanura woke up and began to whimper.

" I'm here, Baby," Imani whispered.

Sanura began nursing and Imani put her head down to try to get some more rest.