Guilt and Fear-The Untold story of Zira

Chapter forty-five: Zira's point of view

Zira and the lionesses mourned the loss of Nuka, and Zira could feel her heart shatter. Nuka. Her son. She had lost someone else dear to her. First Huduma and Almasi, then Mabaya, then Sarafina, then Mheetu, then Scar, then Shenzi and Banzai, and now Nuka.

"Scar, please watch over my poor Nuka." Zira said, nearly choking back her tears.

There was one thing that needed to be done. Zira turned towards Kovu, who was looking away in what looked like sadness. But the anger overwhelming Zira forced her mind into thinking it was nothing but false pity.

"You!!!" She angrily yelled at Kovu, racing towards him with her claws bared. Kovu looked at her with a look of sheer terror, having no time to run away.

Zira angrily swiped her hand across Kovu's face, bringing a roar of pain from him. He held his head low, his mane covering his face, until he brought his head up once more, revealing the damage that Zira had done. Zira gasped.

There was a raw, pink scar that went downwards across his left eye. He was panting heavily, and staring daggers at Zira. But he didn't dare say a word.

"What have you done?" Zira barked, wanting nothing more than for Kovu to stand his ground, to yell at her, just so that she could have something to unleash her anger upon.

"I...I didn't..." Kovu began stuttering. "I didn't mean to...it...it wasn't my fault, I..." he then began to get angry, getting in Zira's face and snapping, "I did nothing."

"EXACTLY!!!" Zira yelled back. "And in doing so, you betrayed your pride!!! Betrayed Scar!!" She said, hoping that the mention of his stepfather would knock some sense into Kovu. But what he said truly shocked Zira.

"I want nothing more to do with him!!!!" Kovu yelled. This only angered Zira more.

"You cannot escape it!!!" Zira snapped. She began backing Kovu up against the pile of logs and roots. "Nuka is dead because of you!!" She yelled, wanting nothing more than to let Kovu know just how it felt to be the cause of someone's death; the pain that she had felt oh too many times.

"No..." Kovu said, not wanting to believe the truth that Zira was hurling at him.

"You've killed your own brother!!!!" Zira screeched at Kovu. This seemed to finally click something in him.

"No!!!" He exclaimed in disbelief, running out of the gorge and causing an uproar in the lionesses. He didn't want to accept it, but Zira knew that this was not something that you could run away from. No more blaming herself. Nuka's death was because of Kovu. He had betrayed them all.

Vitani looked at her brother with longing, but Zira put her paw up in front of her daughter.

"Let him go." She ordered. Crawling up onto a pillar, she proclaimed to her lionesses, "Simba has hurt me for the last time!! Now, he had corrupted Kovu!! Listen to me. Simba is injured and weak!!! Now is the time to attack!!! We will take his entire kingdom....by FORCE!!!" She yelled. The lionesses roared in agreement, and Zira laughed evilly. Finally, all that she had been waiting for...all that she had worked for...all that Scar had ever wanted...it would all be hers. Tonight.

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(Kovu's p.o.v. Now.)

Kovu ran as fast as he could, away from his mother, away from the lionesses, away from Vitani, from Hatari, away from Nuka, if that were even possible!!! He had to get away. He had to go to the pridelands. Kiara was there. She would help him. She would let him know that everything would be okay, that he was not the cause of Nuka's death. Kiara would make everything better.

Coming near pride rock, Kovu could hear the animals whispering about him. Some looked away. Others whispered to their neighbors. Others looked at him with disgust or hatred. He could hear snippets of conversation, most of the animals saying the words, "Kovu, scar, ambush," and the like. Atop pride rock stood Simba, Queen Nala, and Kiara. Upon seeing her friend, Kiara exclaimed his name, and began to run up pride rock to see him, but Simba growled at his daughter to get back, and stood in front of her, looking down on Kovu with nothing short of hatred.

As Kovu walked closer, he saw Simba's meerkat friend, Timon, jump off of his warthog friend, Pumbaa's, back, and exclaim, "why, I oughta....let me at 'em, let me at 'em!!!"

As he passed through a herd of gazelles, Kovu overheard one ask, "what's he doing?" And another say to her neighbor, "look at that scar on his face." Kovu ignored these remarks, and looked up at Simba, atop pride rock.

Simba looked down at Kovu and snapped, "why have you come back??"

"Simba..." Kovu began to explain. "I had nothing to do with-"

"You don't belong here!!!" Simba interrupted, no longer the kind and gentle king that Kiara has described her father as.

"Please." Kovu begged. He didn't know where else to go. "I ask your forgiveness."

Kiara looked at her father, wondering what he would do. "Daddy, please. Listen to him." She pleaded.

"Silence!!" The king snapped, reminding Kovu of no one other than Scar when he had been angry. The memory of his stepfather sent chills down his spine.

"When you first came here, you asked for judgement." Simba told Kovu. "And I pass it now."

Kiara gasped. No. Simba couldn't be doing what she thought he was doing.

"Judgement!!" "Yeah, judgement!!" "Judge him, king Simba!!!" The animals agreed, and Kovu looked up at Simba with fearful eyes.

"EXILE!!!" Simba bellowed, followed by Kiara's cry,

"No!!!!"

The animals banged their hooves and feet and shouted in agreement. Kiara watched Kovu from atop pride rock beside her mother, helplessly.

"No!" She said again, trying to run to her father, but two lionesses jumped in front of her, blocking her path. "Kovu!" She called to him.

Kovu sat there in shock. That was the second time that he had ever heard that word exit the king's mouth, but he had been too young to remember the first time. He looked around at the animals throwing looks of hatred onto him.

Two antelope began rearing their heads at him to drive him out of the pridelands. Kovu was no longer paying attention to Kiara, or Simba. He was paying attention to the animals talking amongst one another and going against him.

"Deception." Some whispered. "Disgrace." Others added. "He is not one of us." They agreed, pounding Kovu's already grieving heart.

Snakes began to snap at him. He ran this way and that, desperately looking for a way out as the cries got louder. "Evil is plain as the scar on his face!!" "For shame!!!"

Antelope bucked at him. Emus pecked at him. Monkeys threw rocks near his paws. Cranes chased him, pecking at his face. Kovu ran on, trying to escape the abuse of the pridelands.

"Let him run. Let him live." The animals chanted. "But do not forget what we cannot forgive." They ordered.

Kovu splashed into the great river, which was shallow enough to walk across. He took another look at Simba, his expression begging for forgiveness. But the king had made his decision, and it was final.

Kovu blinked back his tears of hurt as he looked at his reflection. The ripples turned what he thought was himself into Scar, and he gasped, fearful that his stepfather was haunting him. He splashed into it, running out of the great river and out towards the outlands.

Once across the border, Kovu looked back at Simba one final time, wondering if there was any chance that the king would change his mind. When he saw that there wasn't, he sadly walked back into his homelands, wondering to himself what he was supposed to do now. The insults continued to ring in his ears, beating him down and reminding him of the monster whose legacy he had been chosen to fulfill.

I guess Nuka had been right when he said that you can't escape who you were born to be.