A month has passed since Kovu and Kiara had become King and Queen of the pride lands. Zira hasn't been causing any trouble for the past month and is not on watch anymore. She had earned her trust from the other half of the pride, and Kovu and Kiara had welcomed her into the pride. Zira had also participated in the hunting party, and all of the former outsiders were glad to have her reformed like she was before she was evil and hateful.
Since Zira has reformed, she's pleased about becoming a grandmother to her grand cubs, who'll be born in two more months. Kiara's stomach had started to grow like the other pregnant lionesses in the pride, and it's two months away before she could give birth.
Since she's only one month pregnant, she and Vitani, Nuru, Tiifu, and Zuri are not allowed to hunt due to having cubs growing inside of them. Nala had volunteered to replace Kiara as the hunting party leader until the cubs are born. Tama, Kula, and Zira have also replaced Vitani, Tiifu, and Zuri for their positions in the hunting party.
The five pregnant lionesses sit under the tree in a cool shade by a medium-sized rock and small pond where Kiara used to hang out since she was a cub.
(A/N: the tree with a rock and a small pond where Kiara first saw the viewing of the outlands as a cub in The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride)
"I can't wait to have this cub," Nuru said
"Me too." Zuri said, "I really want to get back in the hunting party."
Vitani stretches as she lays down on the rock, "We all do. But we have to set this one out."
"Ugh! I know, right?" Tiifu scoffed, "I can't even go anywhere alone with Kion following me."
Kiara rolled her eyes, "I know, right? Kovu does the same thing, just like Kion and my father. Even though I just want to have my space."
"Simba's your dad, and Kion's your younger brother." Zuri pointed out. "So they obviously going to be protective of you. Especially when you're the Queen and being pregnant with the future heir."
"Vitani, Nuru, and I are princesses, so that counts as well." Tiifu cut in, "Naba, Moto, and Kion are protective of us three just as Afua is protective of you."
"They're doing this because they love us." Kiara sits up and faces everyone in front of her, "And they wouldn't want anything happening to our cubs or us."
Nuru nodded, "Speaking of cubs, does anyone know what are you going to name them?" She asked
"Not yet." Vitani answered, "Moto and I haven't discussed it."
"Us either."
"Nope."
"Uh-uh."
Nuru sighed, "Even Naba and I haven't discussed names yet either. We'll discuss this with our mates later when they get back from patrol."
"I agree with you, Nuru." Said Zuri
"Me too." Said Kiara
"Me three." Said Vitani
"And me four." Said Tiifu
The five pregnant lionesses sat there in complete silence for three minutes. Nuru then cleared her throat and said, "Y'know, I like the name Kosi for a boy and Talia for a girl.
"Those names sound wonderful, Nuru," Tiifu replied, smiling at her sister-in-law. "And I like Hodari for a boy and Azuli for a girl.
"I like Neema for a girl and Sika for a Boy," Zuri added. She turned towards Vitani, "What about you, Vitani? What do you want your cub to be named?"
"Well, if I have a boy, I want to name him Kopa."
Both Kiara and Nuru gave Vitani a sad smile as they thought about their lost brother, "That sounds like a wonderful name." Kiara said.
"Naming your cub after our lost brother? That sounds wonderful." Nuru commented, giving her sister-in-law a sad smile.
"Thanks, Kiara and Nuru." Vitani said back, "And I think if I have a girl, her name will be Kali." She turned towards Kiara, "What about you, Kiara? What do you want your future cubs to be named?"
"If it's a boy, I want him to be named Chaka. If it's a girl, I want her to be named Nama."
"A wonderful name for the cubs, I see." A voice said. The lionesses turned around and saw Kion, Kovu, Naba, Moto, and Afua walking towards their respective mates with smiles on their faces.
"We couldn't help but hear your conversation about our cubs," Afua admitted with a shy smile.
"Yeah, and I like the names you've selected, dear," Moto told Vitani while giving her a lick on the cheek.
"Thanks, hon. I've decided to name our future son after my lost boyfriend." She remarked.
"Wait? What?" Moto raised his eyebrow in confusion, "You didn't tell me that Kopa was your boyfriend before I met you."
Vitani blushed with embarrassment, "Oh, I had forgotten to tell you. Kopa used to be my boyfriend before he died. We were going to be mates at first and were going to live a perfect life together."
"Until we had that first war, and I ended up killing him by throwing him off the cliff and into the gorge below." Kion finished, frowning.
Moto was shocked, "Kion, why'd you kill your own brother?" He asked, "Didn't you two get along before?"
Kion sighed, "Well, we didn't get along much as cubs. And since he gave me this scar, I felt betrayed by him. And I hated him for a long time." He explained, "Zira and Baraka had trained me to turn against my family and pride. I had even tried to kill my family twice." He paused before walking towards the small pond and sat down to face everyone, "I wish Kopa and I could've gotten along better and not fight each other, and I also wish I shouldn't join Baraka and Zira in their plans at the beginning. I feel like an idiot for doing so. If Kopa were alive right now, I would tell him that I'm sorry for hurting you and being a terrible brother."
He groaned, shaking his head with sorrow, "I even killed my friends as well. Bunga, Beshte, Ono, and Fuli. I miss them all, and I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from killing them; then, they would've been alive and safe from all of this. And who knows? They could've started their own lives and have a family like us."
Moto gave Kion a sad smile before walking over towards him and placing a paw on his shoulder for comfort, "It's ok, Kion. It's all in the past." Moto reassured, "It was all Zira and Baraka's fault for making you turn evil and making you kill Kopa and your friends."
"My mother's changed now." Vitani said, "She hasn't been attacking anyone lately and has been on watch last month."
"Yes, and everyone fully trusts her now," Afua said.
"We all forgive you, Kion." Nuru chimed in, "We keep telling you this, and yet, you keep bringing yourself down."
"Yeah, little brother." Kiara cut in, walking over to her younger brother and giving him a nuzzle, "We love you, and we know you'll never hurt anyone no more. Like Timon and Pumbaa always told us many times in the past: Hakuna Matata."
Kion smiled before returning the nuzzle to his older sister, "You're right, Kiara. I need to stop thinking about the past and think about the future." Kion replied with a smile.
"That's my big bro!" Nuru exclaimed, wrapping her forearm around Kion's shoulder.
Kion chuckled and gave his little sister a muzzle which she returns the favor towards him. They pulled apart from each other.
"Kovu. How're your kingly duties coming along?" Kion asked.
Kovu sighed, "Well, it's kinda stressful." He said, "The zebras and antelopes can't stop fighting over the grass where they could eat. The elephants and hippos argue over sharing the water at the watering hole, the monkeys keep disturbing the hornbills from their nap, and so much more." He replied
"Gee, if I were king, I would've shut them all up," Kion remarked
"Try taking my place for a whole day and see how it goes." Kovu chuckled.
"It'll be chaotic dealing with everyone here. I'm telling you." Kiara piped in. "You should've seen my father during his daily patrols."
"Dad was so tired that he actually collapsed at the mouth of the cave after he came back from his patrols." Kion pointed out, "The lionesses carried him back towards the royal den at that time when we were cubs."
"Yeah, I remember that time." Zuri chimed in, "Never in my life I see Simba getting tired from dealing with the whole kingdom all day. If I were him, I would've told everyone to act like adults and stop acting like babies."
"Umm, I won't think a great King like my father wouldn't do all of that." Nuru said, "And besides, he's bound to snap at anyone when he's super stressed out."
"Yikes! Even I wouldn't be around him when he's like that." Vitani remarked, shuddering.
"Me neither." Said Moto, shaking his head. "And I think Simba deserves a break."
Everyone nodded their heads, "But Kovu's the new King, and he's doing the same thing as Simba." Said Afua.
"Kovu deserves a break as well," Naba said
"Sometimes I have to deal with that nonsense while Kovu takes a break," Kiara said, rolling her eyes.
"I feel your pain, sis," Nuru replied, smirking. "I bet being Queen is hard work when dealing with so many creatures."
Kiara sighed and nodded her head, "Sometimes I wished I was a princess again so I wouldn't have to deal with the chaos."
Vitani snickered before sitting up, "If Kopa were chosen to become King and me as his Queen, it would've been crazy."
Naba gave her a confused look, "How would being King and Queen of the pride lands will be crazy?" He inquired.
"If Kopa was alive and is the King while I'm Queen. We would've shown everyone how to behave here." She explained, "If I hear any arguing or yelling, I would've shut them all up quick."
"What about Kopa?" Kion said, "What he's going to do if he patrolled?"
"Hmm, probably just be a peacemaker and be calm with them." Vitani shrugged.
"Long time ago, Kopa used to be the future King." Kiara said, "I was born 2 minutes after him. Even though we were twins, he was born first, and the position goes to him. And I was destined to be the leader of the hunting party."
"How'd you get the future Queen title, Kiara?" Asked Moto
"Kopa and Kion used to fight each other a lot when we were cubs. Until my father decided to let me be the future Queen instead of Kopa being the future King since he and Kion couldn't get along with each other then." She continued, "Kopa didn't mind as he decided he wanted to help the males in our pride to patrol the borders in the future. He would've wanted that."
"Ah, yes. I see." He commented.
"But we have to help everyone out since we're King and Queen." Kovu added, "Everyone relies on us, and it's our job to keep peace within the pride lands, protect everyone, and keep the circle of life balanced."
"It may be hard, but we can pull through this," Kiara concluded, with Kovu nodding in agreement.
The ten lions continued chatting with each other about their future cubs and other things they'd like to discuss together as a family. Meanwhile, in the outlands, Abasi has gathered three lionesses and is planning an attack against Kiara. The three lionesses are Abasi and Mabaya's top three highest-ranked.
The ranks come in 3 levels: level 1: beginning, level 2: moderate, and level 3: advanced. The three lionesses had recently leveled up from their moderate training to their advanced training. And today, they're going to be put to the test from their past training.
Rene is the smartest lioness, and she has a medium build from participating in the training that the King and Queen gave to her. She helps the pride hunt for certain prey near the proud land's border and teaches them how to sneak quietly to increase their stealth. She has dark brown fur with scars on her chest and sides. She has dark brown eyes, black tail tuft, two black hair tufts at the tip of her ears, colored paws, medium to dark creamed underbelly and muzzle, lighter eyeshades a black outlander nose.
Kitana is the fastest lioness in the pride. She is skinnier, which makes her fit into small spaces during missions. She's able to retreat faster before anyone could catch her. She coaches the lionesses to laps around the outlands to increase their speed and stamina. She has light brown fur with black ear rims, white muzzle, underbelly, brown tail tuft, lime green eyes, colorless paws, has 2 notches in her right ear, and bearing scars on her back.
Omi is a larger lioness who is taller than Rene and Kitana. She is the strongest of the three and coaches the other lionesses on their strength and endurance. They have to pull or push heavy things and practice their claw strikes on rocks. She has dark grey fur with light red eyes, beige underbelly, paws, and muzzle. She has scars on her stomach and has dark eye shades with light brown ear rims in her ears.
"Alright, the reason why I've brought you three here because we're going to have our first ambush." Abasi explained, "We will sneak into the pride lands and attack Kiara when she's alone. We're not going to kill her yet; we're going to let her suffer."
The lionesses nodded as they listened to their king. The three of them smirking evilly at the plans they're being given, "Oooo, this is going to be a perfect plan." Omi said
"Alright, we're going to go there now. Since the three of you are my high-ranked lionesses, I'm going to put you all to the test." He continued, "But keep in mind that one of you might end up getting killed during this ambush. Kiara may be strong, but she won't stand a chance against all of you since she's carrying a cub from inside of her."
"My King, aren't you going to join us?" Rene asked
Abasi nodded, "Yes, I'll be there for backup. Just give me your signal, and I'll come in for the attack when Kiara uses all of her energy on you all."
The lionesses nodded, "Of course, your highness."
"Good, now let's move out."
Abasi and his three lionesses walked out of the outlands to do their ambush against the new Queen of the pride lands. They crossed the border and walked towards the pride lands, sneaking in the thick bushes and shrubs, avoiding being detected by the inhabitants.
"Psst, your highness." Kitana hissed, darting her eyes towards Kiara and her family, "We have company."
Abasi looked over where Kitana was pointing towards Kiara. He frowned as he sees Kion, Tiifu, Zuri, Vitani, Naba, Nuru, Kovu, Afua, and Moto talking to each other.
"Great..." he muttered, "Just great. We can't attack her until those other lions had left her alone."
"What should we do now?" Rene asked
"We're going to hide and wait until they leave Kiara alone. Once they're far enough, we will strike." He explained. "So don't make a sound, or we'll be caught."
They nodded as they crouched down in the bushes to continue spying on Kiara. Zazu had flown towards Kovu to give him his afternoon report, "Ah, there you are, your majesty. I was looking all over for you." Said Zazu.
"Hey, Zazu. Are there any reports you have for me?" Kovu inquired.
"The giraffes and the hippos are sharing the water like you've told them to. The gazelles and zebras are preparing to migrate to the eastern border to eat." He continued, "The crocodiles aren't bothering the hippos, and everything else seems to be normal throughout the whole pride lands."
"Excellent. Is the dry season coming?"
Zazu nodded, "Yes, sir. Within 5 days, to be exact."
"They will have to drink a small amount at the watering hole to save enough water to last us until the rainy season comes." Said Kovu.
"No one isn't allowed to bathe or swim at that time." Kiara piped in. "Let them all know, dear." Kovu nodded, getting up as Zazu perched on his shoulder, "I'm going to let everyone know about the dry season is coming up in 5 days."
He turned towards the other four males, "Kion, Naba, Moto, and Afua, go get the other males and begin patrolling the borders." He commanded.
"Yes, Kovu." Said Moto, "See you, ladies, later."
"See you later." The lionesses chorused, watching their mates walk away to do their pride tasks. Kitana was getting very impatient as she dug her claws into the ground and scowled. Abasi sighed and unsheathed his claws, and signaled the lionesses to prepare to attack.
"Change of plans; we're just going to attack all 5 of them instead." Said Abasi.
Rene's eyes widened in shock, "What?! Are you crazy!?" She snarled, "We can't attack all five of them at the same time! There's only four of us, and we're outnumbered!"
Abasi rolled his eyes, "Have you ever heard the term: strength in numbers?" He asked.
"Yes." She said.
"Numbers are just numbers for pride. Kovu and Kiara's pride may be larger than ours, but we're stronger than them since we do training every day." He explained.
"But they have Zira and Baraka's old pride with them." Omi pointed out, "And they're still good at fighting."
"We're going to see how long they'll last without getting knocked out," Abasi replied.
Kiara then sniffed the air, catching the strong scent of rogues, "I smell something."
Nuru lifted her head and sniffed the air, "Yes, I smell it too. It smells like there are rogues somewhere around here."
"You all ready?" Abasi asked. The three lionesses nodded as they prepared to attack.
"One, two, three, NOW!" Abasi and his lionesses jumped out of their hiding place with their claws unsheathed and faced the five pregnant lionesses in front of them.
Kiara was the first to speak, "Who are you, and what are you doing on my lands?" She demanded with a snarl.
Vitani, Tiifu, Zuri, and Nuru formed flanks to protect their Queen, "Awww, how cute. Protecting the Queen, aren't we?" Abasi said sarcastically
"My sister has asked you a question! Why are you on her lands, and what do you four want from us?" Nuru growled
"We just want to spill blood, that's all," Omi answered sarcastically
Kiara gasped as she knew who these rogues are, "You must be King Abasi of the dark pride! We've heard about many crimes you and your pride committed in the past!"
"Yes, that's correct, my dear." He said, smirking evilly, "Now that we've met each other, it's time for you to suffer."
"ATTACK!" Abasi roared as he and his lionesses begin advancing on them.
Rene pounced on Kiara but was thrown off by Vitani, who had tackled her to the ground. Kiara got up quickly and pounced on Abasi, and sinks her teeth into his shoulder blades. He roared in pain before throwing the Queen off of him. Omi tackled Tiifu, and she begins sinking her teeth into her neck. This caused her to roar in pain, and she retaliated by raking her claws into Omi's face, making the lioness recoil and let out a roar. Tiifu kicked Omi off of her and send her flying into a tree. Zuri was facing Abasi alone as they both were circling each other like hawks. Abasi made the first move by hitting Zuri with his mighty paw and sending her flying into Kiara, who had just thrown Rene off her.
"Get away from my sister!" Nuru roared, hitting Abasi upside the head as he was knocked down. As Nuru jumped up to pounce on him, she was tackled mid-air by Kitana and gotten pinned down. Kitana bit down on Nuru's left foreleg, causing her to yelp in pain. She used her claws to slash Kitana's face, adding more scars to her collection. This made the other lioness let go, which made the princess retaliate by sending blows to her head. Kitana wasn't giving up as she pounced on Nuru again and slashed her neck, giving her four claw marks as she tried to shove the lioness off of her.
Zuri got back up and charged towards Kitana and tackled her off of Nuru with Vitani jumping behind her. Abasi was about to attack Kiara until a brown blur hit him hard, sending him flying into the pond. He looked up, and no one other than Kovu was towering over him. He let out a roar, stopping the three lionesses from attacking his family.
Abasi kicked Kovu off of him and gets back upon his paws, glaring at the new King.
"Why are you trespassing on my lands?" Kovu demanded with a growl
Abasi chuckled, "Kovu, it's so nice to see you again."
"Cut to the chase, Abasi! What do you want from us?!"
"Well, Kovu..." He began, "We need you to do us a favor."
Kiara went to stand by her mate with a stern look on her face, "What do you want with him?!"
"Here's a choice: hand over the pride lands and leave with your pride. If you do that, then we wouldn't have a war between us."
"Never! You're not taking these lands, Abasi!" Kovu growled, "You've taken over many prides in the past, but you won't get to take this one!"
"Very well then. You'll be sorry for messing with the King of the dark pride!" He declared
Vitani raised an eyebrow, "Is that a threat I hear coming out of your mouth?" She inquired
Abasi turned towards Vitani with an evil grin on his face, "No, that's not a threat, that's a promise!" He turned towards his three lionesses, "Retreat!"
The four lions ran back towards the outlands while Kovu went to check up on the others, "Are you all alright?" He asked.
"We only have little scratches and cuts, but we're fine," Vitani reassures him.
"I've got bitten in the leg," Nuru said as she limped towards the King.
Kiara gasped and gave her little sister a nuzzle, "Are you alright, Nuru?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, Kiara. Just feeling sore, and I think that lioness had sprained my leg."
"Well, can you walk?" Asked Tiifu.
"Yeah, but if I put pressure on it, then it's excruciating." She admitted while wincing in pain.
"Let's go back to pride rock, and I'll send one of the lionesses to get Rafiki."
Kovu lead all five lionesses back towards pride rock, where they could rest from their fight with Abasi and his three lionesses. After they've returned, Kovu had two lionesses to help Nuru get inside of the den while Kiara and the other three had walked inside to lay down.
"Kira," Kovu addressed the nearby lioness who was returning from the watering hole.
"Yes, your majesty?"
"I need you to fetch Rafiki for me. There's been an ambush by the small pond by a small group of rogues."
Kira nodded and began running towards Rafiki's tree. Kovu sighed and walked into the den where he saw his mate, sister, and friends being fussed over by their family concerned about them.
"Kovu, what happened to them?" Zira asked, feeling worried about her only daughter.
"There's been an ambush." He answered, causing the pride to gasp.
"It was Abasi and his three lionesses." Kiara tells them, "While we were talking to each other, they came out from the outlands and started attacking us for nothing."
"They wanted us to leave while they stay in the pride lands. We refused to give them the pride lands, and he threatened us with war." Tiifu explained
This caused the pride to gasp and whisper about this upcoming threat. Kovu silenced the pride by clearing his throat to get their attention, "We must take precautions immediately. For now on, you all must never go near the borders of the pride lands to hunt."
"If any of you have cubs, then I advise you to keep an eye on them at all times. Don't ever lose them from your sights." He continued, "And for the ones who are expecting cubs should stay near pride rock, but only you're allowed to go to the watering hole to get a drink."
It was Kiara's turn for the announcement, "Everyone, we don't know what Abasi is planning. But we must be on our paws and be prepared for what's about to come soon. All the males will patrol each section of the Savannah to protect not only our pride but the inhabitants of the whole pride lands."
Everyone agreed with their Queen. Kira arrived with Rafiki on her back, "I'm here with Rafiki."
He hopped off her back and walked over towards the five lionesses, "What happened to them?" He asked
"Abasi and his lionesses had ambushed us." Said Zuri
"Good thing I've come to the right place. I'll fix you up in no time."
Rafiki started to examine the five lionesses. He sees scratches and bruises on them, but Nuru only has a sprained paw which will heal in a few days. Since they're pregnant with cubs, he checked their stomachs to see if the cubs are alright. It turns out the cubs are still alive and well as he hears every heartbeat from the inside of the lionesses' stomachs. He applied medicine to their wounds and wrapped a leaf around Nuru's leg. He added some medicine to Tiifu's neck wound, and luckily for her, the wound wasn't deep to cause any internal bleeding.
"How are they, Rafiki?" Asked Nala
"They're fine. But Nuru has a sprained leg which will heal in a few days as long as she doesn't put too much pressure on it." He replied, "Tiifu has a bite mark to her neck, and it's not deep enough to cause any physical harm."
"And what about the cubs?" Kion asked.
"The cubs are fine."
This caused everyone to sigh in relief, "Thank the Kings." Said, Kula
"I thought my daughter was going to have a miscarriage from that ambush." Said Tama, "But I'm glad I'm not going to lose my future grand cub."
"Us either." Said Nala, smiling at her cubhood friend.
"Or my future great-nieces or great-nephews. I would be upset if we ever lost them." Mheetu chimed in.
With that being said, the pride continued talking about the future events that'll occur one day. And they hope this all could end soon with no more threats towards their homeland.
End of chapter 5