Kiara looked this way and that, her eyes watering and her lungs contracting with the smoke in the air. This was dangerous. She knew that. But her father had broken his promise. It wasn't fair. Her father never trusted her to do anything. She needed to prove that she could do this. On her own. Who cares about a little smoke? There was a herd of wildebeest just a little ways past this tall grass. If she could bring a wildebeest back, she would be able to prove to her father that she could take care of herself. She would be free.
She leapt over a mountain of fire, singeing the tip of her tail. Landing on her feet, she began to hack and cough. But she wouldn't go back to Pride Rock. She journeyed out farther into the outlands, the fire growing like a monster, crackling and sparking. Still, she pressed on.
She didn't know that she was in real trouble until it was too late.
Every which way she turned, there was nothing but fire. A ring of fire, as big as the inside of pride rock, had formed around her, trapping her inside of its heated jaws.
Looking for any possible way to safety, Kiara raced towards a ledge, hacking and coughing. Leaping up onto the side of the ledge, she dug her claws into the rock, attempting to climb up. As she began to slide down, she closed her eyes and clung to the rock in fear for a moment before thrusting up with her back paws and scrambling up to the higher ground. She then lay down, exhausted and in pain. The smoke filled her lungs and blurred her vision. She knew that if she couldn't get back to the pridelands, she would die here. But she couldn't bring herself to go back home. Her father would never allow her freedom again if she went back home. She'd rather die here, free in the outlands than trapped in the pridelands the rest of her life, always watched and never alone.
As she lay there, she felt a shadow above her, and breathing shallowly, she looked up to find a male lion with a dark pelt and mane, green eyes, and a serious expression. But she didn't care about this lion. She didn't care about anything. She lay her head on the ground and breathed what she thought would be her last.
It felt like she was unconscious for the longest time. She was amazed when she woke up that she wasn't dead. Breathing in the fresh air, it felt like heaven against her smoke-filled lungs.
After catching her breath, she looked around weakly and asked, "where am I?"
Looking up, she saw the same lion from before, who answered confidently, "You're safe. In the pridelands."
"The pridelands?" Kiara asked, quickly getting up. "No. No, why would you bring me here? I was doing just fine."
"Right, going unconscious, almost dying. Yeah, you were doing 'just fine'."
"Who do you think you are?!" She demanded.
"I think I'm the guy who just saved your life." He scoffed.
"But you didn't save me, I was doing just fine." Kiara said once again. She tried to race away from him to the left. He moved to block her. She tried the right. He blocked. Left again. He walked in front of her.
"What are you doing?" The lion asked, and Kiara was about to respond, when she remembered this exact moment from when she met her childhood best friend.
"Kovu?" She asked curiously, and the lion smiled. Before Kiara could tell him how happy she was to see him, however, Simba bounded in between them, growling at Kovu. Kiara, however, was upset at her father rather than willingly hiding behind him in fear. "Daddy, how could you break your promise?!" She asked, upset that he didn't trust her.
"It's a good thing I did, otherwise you could have died." Simba answered through clenched teeth, still growling at Kovu.
"But I was doing just fine, Daddy. Even before Kovu-"
But her father cut her off once he realized just who he was facing. "Kovu?!" He asked. He proceeded to growl at him. "What are you doing here?" He asked. Before Kovu could answer, Rafiki shouted from a nearby rock,
"Hey, you!!! How dare you save the king's daughter?" Simba looked at Kovu with a mix of hatred and surprise.
"You...you saved her?" Simba asked, and Kovu looked at him with a nervous smile. Kiara didn't know if this could be good or bad.
"Simba," Nala started. "We need this war to end. Maybe if Kovu comes with us to pride rock, this could be the start of a peace treaty. You know as well as I do that this war has been going on for too long."
Simba stared at Kovu for a few moments before growling, "In the pridelands, But not on pride rock."
He then turned and started back towards pride rock. Nala gave Kiara and Kovu a gentle smile before following. Kiara smiled at Kovu before following her parents. This was great!!! Even though her first hunt failed, maybe this war between the pridelanders and outlanders would finally come to an end.