The Lion King Novel

Begging for Scraps

In a cave below Pride Rock, Scar was stewing. The kingdom was celebrating the birth of the brats they called "Simba".and "Kio". In fact, it was so loud that the cave walls seemed to vibrate from the noise. Was it too much to ask for some peace and quiet in his own cave? All that fuss over two stupid little cubs. It was completely disgusting and very typical of Mufasa to do.

But he couldn't feel like the new cub Kio may finally see what it's like to be under the dark of your own blood, since he knew that Simba would become king after all.

Scar scraped his cave's floor with his claws. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a mouse sniffing nearby, looking for something to eat. Even if it wasn't a buffalo, at least he had something to eat here. If he were out on the savannah, he would have been a good hunter if it hadn't been for the scar over his left eye. He had been deemed to not be a good hunter by the older lions, so he was never brought out for hunting, not even for lessons. In his cave, however, he was a wise and mighty hunter in his own eyes.

He slunk towards the mouse, making sure that it didn't notice him or sniff his scent out. As he was right behind the mouse, he lifted his paw and slammed it down onto the small creature. The mouse squeaked and wriggled when Scar gripped its tail between his toes and lifted it up to his face.

"Life's not fair, is it, my little friend?" the lion muttered, watching the mouse trying desperately to escape its predator. "While some are born to feast, others spend their lives in the dark...begging for scraps. The way I see it, you and I are both the same." He slightly released his grasp on the mouse's tail. "We both want a way out."

The mouse seemed to wriggle free and tried to leap away, but Scar caught it again. Jealousy was gnawing at the inner core of his being. It should have been him who was greeting the animals out there, not Mufasa. And as if it weren't bad enough, his son had to be born. But that wasn't all. In the past, his father Ahadi had always showered Mufasa with praise and attention while leaving Scar out in the cold. Ahadi had given him the top position of the Lion Guard, a band of lions that protected the Pride Lands and their way of life...as a consolation prize of sorts.

But ever since he used the Roar Of The Elders to wipe out the Lion Guard, persuaded by a strange lion, Scar felt as if his life was getting worse. The strange lion had betrayed him (back when he was known as Taka) by giving him a scar through a cobra bite, telling him to work with him to get the cure. Scar killed him and the cobra too, but the venom was slowly affecting his thinking and emotions, and Mufasa and Ahadi seemed to joke about the scar, calling him that as well. To blazes with going to the Tree of Life, he thought bitterly. If wanting to be king meant bearing the venom and losing his sanity, so be it.

"You see...I will never be king. And you," he added with a smirk, holding on to the mouse's tail, "shall never see the light of another day. Adieu."

He opened his jaws and was just ready to eat the mouse whole when a flapping of wings filled the cave. Then a familiar scolding voice echoed in the cave, demanding, "Didn't your mother ever tell you to not play with your food?"

Scar glared around at who had interrupted his meal. It was a familiar blue-and-white hornbill bird with a large red beak, holding his head up with an important flair. Zazu was almost as bad as his brother and twice as annoying with his pompous attitude. He also seemed to be constantly nervous, even though no lion in the pride was to gravely harm or eat him.

"What do you want, Zazu?" he grumbled.

"I just wanted to let you know that King Mufasa has requested an audience with you," said Zazu, bowing as he usually did to Scar's annoyance. "This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. He is on his way, so you'd better have a good excuse on missing the ceremony."