The Lion King Chronicles: Nala's Tears {Editing}

Chapter 39

A warm morning breeze woke me from my uneasy sleep. I laid curled against the fallen log with a beautiful view of the sunlight streaming through the waterfall. My stomach growled and I decided that I would hunt before I went to find Simba. I just hoped that he'd changed his mind.

If he hadn't...I would go challenge Scar myself.

I slipped off into the depths of the jungle. It didn't take me long to spot a gazelle. The smallish animal didn't notice me as it grazed on a bit of grass. My mouth began to water and I crouched down, ready to spring. Placing one paw in front of the other, I slowly, carefully, closed the space between me and the gazelle.

With a roar, I sprung from my hiding spot and pounced on the gazelle, pinning it beneath my thorn-sharp claws. I ended its suffering and relished in the taste of fresh blood. With great eagerness, I bent down and began to eat. It's been so long since I've been able to eat my fill. I ate and ate until I couldn't eat no more.

Licking the blood from my lips, I left the rest of the carcass for scavengers. Time to find Simba. I returned to the log where I'd slept and tried to follow his scent trail. After a while of tracking, it vanished into an open meadow. A wind blew through the grass, making it dance.

Where could he have gone? I decided to look for Timon and Pumbaa. Maybe they knew where he went. It wasn't hard to find their scent and I found them sleeping in a bed of grass beneath a tree's sheltering branches.

I padded over quietly. Timon lay asleep on Pumbaa's belly. I poked him with my paw. "Hey. Hey, wake up."

His eyes opened and he jumped, screaming. The sudden noise woke Pumbaa and they both acted like panicked idiots. "It's OK. Whoa, whoa. It's OK. It's ME." I tried to calm them and Timon gave me a look.

"Don't ever do that again!" Timon gasped for breath. "Carnivores, oy!"

I rolled my eyes at him and became more direct. "Have you guys seen Simba?"

Timon scratched his head and looked perplexed. "I thought he was with you?"

Shaking my head, I sighed. "He was, but now I can't find him. Where is he?"

Timon was about to answer when a crazy, familiar laugh pulled our attention to the trees. Sitting on a low branch was a shadow. I narrowed my eyes and then gasped. It was Rafiki! What was he doing here?

Rafiki laughed again and he had a look in his eyes like he knew all of our secrets. "Ho, ho, ho, ho. You won't find him here. Ha ha!" Then he bowed his head to me, holding out a hand in a sign of respect. "The King... has returned."

"I can't believe it..." I whispered to myself. What had happened to him being so against returning? "He's gone back!" I exclaimed to Timon and Pumbaa.

"Gone back? What do you mean?" Timon glanced at the tree and I followed his gaze. Rafiki was gone. Pumbaa looked very confused. "Hey! What's goin' on here? Who's the monkey?"

Herbivores. My heart flew to the sky. "Simba's gone to challenge Scar!" I gasped apprehensively. I could go home.

"Who?" Timon asked.

"Scar," I replied, slightly annoyed.

Pumbaa suddenly looked around. "Who's got a scar?"

I shook my head at their stupidity. Simba sure picked odd friends. "No, no, no. It's his uncle."

Timon's eyes became wide. "The monkey's his uncle?"

"No!" I groaned. Great Kings, give me patience. "Simba's gone back to challenge his uncle to take his place as King."

Timon and Pumbaa shared a look and I watched the looks of realization spread across their faces. "Ohhh..."

"Come on, we have to go after him!" I exclaimed, starting to trot off.

"Woah, woah, hold on!" Timon grabbed my tail, pulling it.

Snarling, I spun on him and he let go. "We have to go! I need to go back!"

This time it was Pumbaa to speak. "Why do you need to go back so badly?"

I dodged his question. They couldn't know. "I'm going after him. Are you coming or not?" My gaze went from Timon to Pumbaa.

"If we go back, we could be heroes." Pumbaa suddenly blurted.

Timon brightened, "Hey, if we help Simba defeat Scar...we'd be heroes Pumbaa!"

I rolled my eyes at their antics. "We have to go now if we want to catch up to him. I'm going with or without you two." Timon and Pumbaa exchanged another glance. But then they both nodded enthusiastically. "Alright follow me. We have a lot of ground to cover."

So we left the jungle and I raced across the desert with Timon and Pumbaa behind me. With every step I took I felt lighter. I was going home. I'm going home. I can save my Pride.

I can save Vitani.