Lion King One Shots

Exposed

It was a nice day in the Pridelands, not too hot and not raining either, which made it a perfect day to be outside. Laughter filled the air across the savanna and it came from none other than the Princess herself. "Tell me more, tell me more!" Kiara begged. "Alright, alright," Sarabi said, chuckling. The old Queen was babysitting her granddaughter, Kiara, for the day and was telling her various stories about the countless antics that her father had done when he was a young cub. Kiara couldn't imagine her dad, the King of Pride Rock, ever being like this and found the stories very amusing. And so Sarabi continued. "Ok where was I," she started. "You were about to tell me about the time Zazu was taking them to the waterhole!" Kiara reminded her. "Ah yes. You see, your father and mother loved exploring, just like you." The Princess giggled at this, "and they were always up to something, so I often had Zazu follow them or escort them everywhere. Anyways on this day, apparently your parents must have gotten tired of Zazu because they got a bunch of animals together and trapped him underneath a rhino!" she explained. Kiara's jaw dropped. "What!" she exclaimed. Sarabi nodded. "Yes and once they had trapped him, they ran off and left him there." she added. Kiara laughed and laughed. She couldn't believe that her mom and dad had done something like this. "Poor Zazu!" she said, but continued laughing nonetheless. Sarabi couldn't help laughing too. "Yeah Zazu's had his fair share of being on the wrong end of Simba's pranks in his day," she said. As if on cue, Zazu appeared all of a sudden and landed next to the duo. "Your highnesses," he said. "Oh Zazu, hello, what can we do for you?" Sarabi asked. "I have a message from his majesty that both him and the Queen are now home and I was told to fetch you," he stated. Before Sarabi could reply Kiara had joined the conversation. "Is it true that you were stuck under a rhino!" she blurted out. Zazu cocked his head at her, wondering how on earth she had gotten a hold of that information. "I'm afraid so," he replied. "Oh hey Kiara, go play over there for a while, I'll be right with you," Sarabi said quickly. The Princess bounded off into the tall grass. "Thank you Zazu, I think we'll manage though, so you're free to go home if you'd like," she said. The majordomo nodded, bid them both farewell and flew off into the distance. "Hey Kiara, sweetie, your mom and dad are back, let's head home," she called out. The four month old cub came running out of the grass. "Okay grandma, but can you continue with your stories?" she pleaded. Sarabi agreed and the pair headed home to Priderock.

***

As they reached the rock formation that they called home, the sun was starting to set and the sky was turning a beautiful orange color. Sarabi continued her storytelling until she was interrupted by the King and Queen approaching them. "Mom! Dad!" Kiara exclaimed as she ran over and nuzzled her parents. "Hi honey, how was your day with grandma?" Nala asked. "It was amazing! Grandma told me so many cool stories about you guys when you were cubs," Kiara explained. "OH really," Simba said, a hint of worry in his voice. Kiara looked up at her parents, nodding eagerly. Kiara continued explaining all the stories that Sarabi had told her, all throughout dinner until the sun was almost completely gone and the stars were starting to appear in the sky. "Hey grandma, did I forget any? Or were there any more?" Kiara asked. Sarabi smirked a little, knowing that there were a few she hadn't mentioned yet. "Well there was that time that your mother and father snuck out to the Elephant Graveyard and.." she started but didn't get to finish before Simba had stopped her. "Ok mom, that's enough of that I think." Simba interrupted, standing up. "Aww what, but I wanna hear that story too!" Kiara whined. "No it's a bad story and besides it's way past your bedtime little miss," he explained. Kiara pouted. "But why can't I just stay up a little longer," she complained. "This isn't up for discussion Kiara," he warned as he gently nudged her towards the den with a paw. "Can I at least say goodnight?" she asked. Simba nodded and Kiara turned to her grandma and gave her a nuzzle. Sarabi returned the nuzzle. "Goodnight Kiara," she said. "Can you tell me more stories tomorrow?" Kiara asked. "Of course sweetie," Sarabi replied with a barely noticeable wink that only Kiara saw. Then she turned back around and followed her father into the den.

A few minutes later Simba reemerged. "Alright mom, how many embarrassing stories did you manage to tell her," he said, smiling and sighing slightly. Sarabi tried to look innocent. "Me?" she asked. Simba just rolled his eyes and laughed. "That's what I thought," he said. "I'm gonna head inside, good night Sarabi," Nala stated as she stood up and left. "Don't worry," Sarabi said all of a sudden. Simba looked at her confused. "I know that you're worried about the Elephant Graveyard story because you're afraid she'll go there afterwards," Sarabi explained. She knew her son too well. "But don't be, I'll talk to her afterwards about how it's a dangerous place," she said. Simba smiled at his mother appreciatively. "It might not stop her from going though," he admitted. "True, but at least she'll know what she's getting herself into," Sarabi pointed out. The pair stayed like this for a while, chatting quietly about this and that. However soon it got too cold to stay outside and both retired to bed.