The Lion King

Chapter 8 - To Die For

Chapter 8

For once, Simba was ready to turn down adventure. The Elephant Graveyard was still fresh in his mind, and the thought of disappointing his father again was just too overbearing. Then Scar smiled down at him soothingly and drew a huge velvety paw across his bristling flank. Reflexively, Simba relaxed.

"Now you wait here," the older lion ordered, gently nudging the cub forward. "Your father has a marvelous surprise for you!"

At his uncle's words, Simba paused, ears pricked. So his father wouldn't be angry after all.

"Oooh, what is it?" he asked, a grin breaking across his face as he bounded excitedly in front of his uncle.

Scar smiled down at the cub and then nosed him onto a low, shady rock. Simba obediently followed Scar's direction, all too happy to escape the sun's scorching heat. In the Gorge, everything was hot.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" Scar answered the cub's question with another loose grin.

Simba plopped down on the rock, eyeing his uncle contemplatively. His whiskers quivered as he wondered what the surprise could be. Was Mufasa rewarding him for their time together last night? Could it have to do with the Great Kings of the Past?

He lifted his chin boldly, staring his uncle in his grass-green eyes.

"If you tell me, I'll still act surprised," he offered.

At this, Scar laughed.

"Ho, ho, ho," he teased. "You are such a naughty boy!"

Despite his uncle's laughter, Simba drew his lips down in a frown, jumping up on Scar's strong shoulder.

"Come on, Uncle Scar," he begged.

Scar wasn't fooled. Still smiling, he turned his face away from the cub's pouting expression and shook his head.

"No-no-no-no-no-no-no," he refused, closing his eyes and lifting his chin stubbornly. "This is just for you and your daddy. You know, a sort of . . . " He paused, thinking. "Father-son . . . thing."

Simba sank back onto his haunches, raising an eyebrow at his uncle. Something was up, but just what, he couldn't tell. Looking back at Simba, Scar grinned. Yes, something was certainly up. Scar never smiled this much.

"Well," the older lion chirped, ignoring Simba's frown. "I'd better go get him."

"I'll go with you," Simba declared, determined to figure out what Scar was up to.

Unexpectedly, Scar turned on his heel, snarling into Simba's face, "No!" Seeming to catch himself, he paused and released a long, breathy laugh. "Heh, heh, heh . . . no."

With that same cheesy grin, he directed Simba back up onto his rock. Despairingly, the cub dropped into a crouch, staring mutinously at the ground.

"Just stay on this rock," Scar instructed him, not seeming to notice his nephew's annoyance or else choosing to ignore it. As if to make up for his earlier snap, he lowered his voice to a gentle purr. "You wouldn't want to end up in another mess like you did with the hyenas," he pointed out.

Simba's head jerked up, his jaw hanging open.

"You know about that?" he spluttered.

"Simba, everybody knows about that," Scar said, an apology in his voice.

Simba flattened his ears to his head, his face flushing with heat. He could just imagine his father striding through the pride, rolling his eyes at the lionesses who snickered at the stupidity of their foolish young prince.