Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Lion King. Disney does.
Today was the day! The sun was just starting to rise and Kiara, the only daughter to King Simba and Queen Nala rushed out of her hut to first greet the sun before looking around excitedly. She dashed from one spot to the next, too hyped up to properly pick a path to go one. The young girl finally stopped running to bounce on her heels, the movement causing her bracelets to jangle and her pretty orange and red dress to flutter around her. Her hair, a deep auburn with a streak of white bobbed with her as she then wiped it from her eyes. It was long and soft, just like her mother's, but it always got in her eyes.
As she tried running her fingers through it, she heard a soft chuckle behind her and turned around, smiling. "Daddy!"
"What are you doing up so early?" the King asked gently as he picked up his young daughter, playfully baring his fangs at her, which she copied with her much smaller ones. Kiara then looked to see her mother exit the hut to join them. Both were still dressed in their night robes.
All three shared the dark skin of their land and their people, though Nala's was a bit darker and she had a mane of snow white hair. Something, along with her stunning blue-green eyes that always drew attention to her.
Yet, it was a good compliment to Simba's dark red hair and goatee.
"I'm a explorer, Daddy! I want to see the whole Kingdom! You promised I could!" Kiara shouted excited, not noticing her father's slight wince in pain.
The King quirked an eyebrow before turning his head to look to his Queen. The King had a smile on his face that only widened as his Queen bumped her hip against his, chuckling. "I did, didn't I? What do you think, dear? Should we let this brave explorer out into the world?"
"I'm sure she can handle it, so long as Timon and Pumbaa go with her." Nala said easily while looking at Kiara, who growled softly and shook her head.
"Mama! No! Not Timon and Pumbaa! I'm 10 now! I'm brave and strong! I don't need babysitters!"
The young girl raised her claws and pretended to swipe at her mother and father to prove her point but Nala only shook her head, taking her daughter from her mate's grasp.
"The Kingdom of Lion's Plain is rather safe, but I would feel better if you were with Timon and Pumbaa. You are not yet a hunter, my little one and while I trust you, I want you safe as well. Besides...though Lion's Plain is safe, there are other Kingdoms that are not as nice."
Kiara's eyes, which had dimmed as Nala talked, brightened as she spoke of other Kingdoms. "You mean like the Shadow Valley Kingdom!?"
"Yes. I know you won't go that far, but you still need to be careful. They are...they were once our Pridemates. But their Queen...convinced them to fight us in favor of the False King." Nala's voice grew soft as she said this and turned her head away to take a shuddering breath.
"But Mama, Timon once told me that there is usually only one Queen. That was Grandma Sarabi. How could there be another Queen?"
"They weren't from the Lion's Plain. They came from the Shadow Valley to escape famine and constant fighting. You have to be strong to live there. I... once had a friend as a cub who called that Kingdom home. She grew up to be their Queen. The False King granted them sanctuary here, and their Queen brought her family, that's how I met their new Queen."
"Their old Queen was regal yet knew her people needed help and pledged her spear to the False King. She was grateful to him and this land of plenty they arrived in. Not long after they arrived, famine and drought came to Lion's Plain as well and the Shadow Valley Pride started to push us around for what little food there was. They reasoned since they are bigger and stronger, they deserved more. And the False King, taken with their Queen, allowed us to slowly starve. I tried to reason with my friend, but she was Heir to her mother's Kingdom and first loyal to her. She chose her mother and her family, but...I knew it was hard for her. We grew up close together.
"When your father returned from being unjustly exiled, he revealed the evils of the False King and the False King attacked your father. I thought the Shadow Valley hunters would help us oust him, once his treachery was revealed but the Queen rallied her Pride in service to the False One. I tried...to talk sense into my friend once again. Tried to convince her to fight by side but she wouldn't listen. She once again chose her people over me, despite what was known."
"When the False King died, your father tried to make amends, to wipe the slate clean and start over, but the old Queen refused and instead led her people back to their own Kingdom. There they still live, or so the scouts say."
Kiara blinked as she noticed an unknown emotion on her mother's face and reached out to brush the tears that fell away.
"Don't worry, Mama. I'll be careful, I promise." Nala smiled at her little one before putting her down. "Remember my tale, but don't let it dampen your cheer. Go to the watering hole play there until Timon and Pumbaa reach you."
Kiara sighed but nodded, bowing her head. "Yes, Mama."
She was then off like a shot, Simba and Nala watching carefully before Simba pulled Nala close, nuzzling her tenderly and growling softly in her ear in an effort to comfort her and to which Nala smiled before Simba had to go to start his daily patrols.
XxXx
Kiara was content to chase around a butterfly, laughing softly to herself as she waited for her father's dearest friends, Timon and Pumbaa. They were a odd pair, both men but Timon was lanky and loud, with skin that looked like mud that was left out in the sun to dry. Pumbaa however was very round and while he could be a little spacy, he was kind. His skin was the color of dark tree bark. They were also fans are wearing rather tattered clothing, wearing pants that had frays and holes at the knees. But they seems content.
Kiara knew her time of solitude was over when she heard Pumbaa greet her, and she did the same, though with less gutso. She smiled at the big man, who brown eyes sparkled at her as he laughed. "Young Princess, are you ready for a day of no worries?"
"I was going to explore!" Kiara said, looking around her before giving the big man her attention, hoping he'd catch the point.
Pumbaa just tilted his head. "Exploring for what?"
"Just...exploring. I want to see the whole Kingdom. I want..."
"A good bit of exploring is trying out new bugs to eat. Your father loved them and I think you will too. The best are the crunchy ones!" Timon interrupted with a smile, gesturing for Pumbaa to pick up a nearby rotten log whose underside was crawling with bugs. Kiara balked and backed away, even more so when Timon and Pumbaa started grabbing and eating the disgusting creatures.
"The slimy ones are better, Timon." Pumbaa lightly argued, shaking his head as he tried numerous bugs at once. "Though you can't tell from the outside. So I have to try them all."
This sparked a heated debate between the two that Kiara had no interest in, so she snuck away to do her own exploring.
XxXx
Kiara was resting under the shade of a tree, the sun now directly overhead. It had gotten hot and Kiara had traveled to a remote part of the Kingdom that she had never been in before. She wanted to keep going but with the heat, she didn't want to move from her meager shade. There was a river nearby, but Kiara was too tired and hot to try to go to it. So she stayed and closed her eyes.
She didn't know how long she was asleep, all she knew was that she was so very thirst and hungry when she woke up. She couldn't stand the gnawing feeling in her belly and slowly looked up, the sun had barely moved, she must have not slept for too long.
She could hear the water from the river and Kiara thought it best to at least slake her thirst. Slowly getting to her feet, Kiara shuffled over to the river and at first looked around it. It seemed safe enough so the girl walked in up to her waist before dunking her whole body in to cool off. Once done, she drank as much as she could, already feeling refreshed. She splashed about for a few moments, heedless of the danger she was in.
"Hey, get out of there now!" A voice called out to her, stopping Kiara in her play as she looked around. She then turned to see a crocodile swimming towards her, seemingly unconcerned that it was caught. It parted it's jaws as Kiara continued to stare before the sound of splashing followed by feeling someone grabbing her and hauling her to shore.
The reptile followed and the flash of a spear caught in the light dazzled Kiara before seeing the weapon get buried in the crocodile, to which it thrashed and halted in chasing her and her mysterious savior.
Kiara was dropped roughly on the ground once at a safe distance, where she shook the water off of her. Slowly she looked up to see an older girl glaring lightly at her. She had darker skin than her and wore dark orange shorts and with a matching shirt that exposed her belly. Her hair was short and beige colored, it sort of reminded Kiara of her mother's hair. It was ruffled and wild and Kiara wanted to touch it.
But what caught Kiara most was her eyes, they were the most vivid, striking blue she had ever seen!
"P-Pretty." Was all the smaller girl could muster, and it seemed like that wasn't what the older girl expected, as she took a step back and blinked.
However her confusion was short lived as she growled at Kiara, who startled at the sound. It was deep and powerful and kinda scary. "Stupid girl! Didn't your mother ever teach you to check for crocodiles before you enter the water?! I lost my spear because of you!"
"I...I'm sorry, thank you for saving me. You...you were really brave!" Kiara replied in earnest, getting over her shock. She giggled when the older girl tilted her head and scoffed.
"Whatever. I have to get going, if I'm gone any longer, my mother will kill me." the girl muttered, turning to leave.
"Wait, um please!" Kiara called out suddenly, startling her savior, but only for a moment. "My name is Kiara! What's yours?"
The older girl hesitated before sighing and shaking her head. "Vitani."
"Vitani...that's a cool name! And...and you can use a spear already! That's cool too!" Kiara rushed up to Vitani's side, looking her up and down. "You're really tall! I can't use a spear yet, Mama says I gotta wait until I'm older. Um...how old are you, I'm 10!" Kiara added proudly, puffing out her small chest.
Vitani simply groaned while walking on, quickly realizing that Kiara was following her. "13."
"Woah! That's super old! No wonder you can use a spear! Can you use a knife too? Hey, where are we going? Is it far? I'm hungry."
Vitani stopped walking and Kiara nearly bumped into her from the abrupt stop, the older girl once again glared down at her. "We are not going anywhere! I'm going home and so should you."
"But I...I don't know where I am! I...I went too far!" Kiara said, gently reaching out to tug on Vitani's shorts. Vitani bared her fangs, before snapping her jaws, snorting in satisfaction when the younger female pulled away.
"That's not my problem." Vitani grumbled then started walking again, leaving the young Princess alone.
She hadn't gone far before Kiara's sniffles and sobs reached her and Vitani narrowed her eyes and snarled to herself before her conscience got to her, making her turn around. Kiara was still standing where she left her and looked up when Vitani got close. Seeing the older girl return, Kiara charged into her, hugging her waist and sobbing softly.
Blinking, Vitani awkwardly patted the girl's head before grumbling when hearing Kiara's belly growl. She really was hungry. So, with very little choice, Vitani made Kiara follow her a short ways among a rocky area and taking out a knife from a pouch she wore around her waist. She motioned for Kiara to remain still as she crept among the rocks. There among it's shade was a family of rock hyraxes, all milling about slowly. Vitani narrowed her eyes choosing her moment before jumping, her knife flashed, a hyrax screamed and the group scattered into the crevices of their home.
Vitani stood holding a slain hyrax in her hand. Walking over to Kiara, the older girl used her knife to skin the animal then give it to the girl. Vitani didn't have to the tools to make a fire so Kiara would have to deal with raw meat. The little girl didn't seem to mind as she tore into the meat, gulping down chucks with no hesitation. After about half was left, Kiara looked at Vitani before holding up the rest of the carcass, tilting her head when Vitani simply stared.
"It's yours. You can finish it, I can catch my own." Vitani said, turning her head away then blushing lightly when her own belly rumbled. Kiara smiled at that, before pushing the meat in Vitani's hands.
"You got it for me. It's only right to share. Please?" her soft voice made Vitani roll her eyes, but she slowly took it, looking around for a moment before demolishing it in a few bites. Kiara smiled at this before letting a huge yawn, rubbing her eyes and sighing.
"Come on, let's get you home. Tell me what Kingdom you belong too and I'll see if I can get you there." Vitani said, a small smile gracing her lips.
"The Kingdom...of the Lion's Plain." Kiara mumbled with another yawn, subconsciously reaching up to grab Vitani's hand. The older grumbled but didn't pull away, until she processed what Kiara said.
"The Lion's Plain Kingdom?"
"Uh-huh. Where are you from?" Kiara asked, giving Vitani a soft yet sleepy smile.
Vitani took a deep breath, looking at Kiara, seeing her face that looked like both the King and Queen's. Her dark auburn red hair that had that curious streak of white and her stunning reddish-brown eyes. There are only one way to answer, though Vitani still stalled.
"The Kingdom of the Shadow Valley."
Kiara's eyes widened and she stopped walking. Vitani stopped, looking down at her. This girl was...! Vitani then stopped herself. She couldn't blame Kiara, she wasn't even born when the fight happened! It wouldn't be right to give her anger to something she wasn't even a part of. But still...her father...
"I'll get you home."
They walked until the sun moved to face them, a full three hours later. Vitani notied that they were right in between their two Kingdoms now. "How did you travel so far?" she asked the younger girl, only to see that Kiara was practically sleep walking. She was tired.
Heaving a sigh, Vitani maneuvered the younger girl on her back and moved to carry her the last leg of their journey. Using her nose to track where to go, Vitani was met with the sounds of a woman crying for Kiara, that must be her mother. At the same time, Vitani caught a certain scent and sniffed around, noticing with a shiver that her own mother was prowling around, but downwind, as she and Kiara was.
However, the wind shifted, bringing Vitani's scent to Kiara's mother and the Queen snapped at the scent of her daughter. It didn't take her long to find her little one...on the back of young hunter from the Shadow Valley Kingdom. But there was something familiar about her...
Nala's eyes widened and she put in a burst of speed, drawing a knife and baring her fangs at Vitani, pointing it at the young girl. "Put my daughter down, kidnapper!"
Startled by Nala's accusation and the blade drawn at her, Vitani backed away, while the shout jolted Kiara awake, though she cried out with a smile on her face, not understanding. "Mama!"
A woman suddenly jumped beside Vitani, who was letting Kiara down, roaring loudly at Nala, her fangs much bigger then Queen's. It wasn't only her fangs that was bigger. She was a tower of muscle while still looking feminine, skin dark as the night with hair similar to Vitani's. Her clothes was a more adult version of Vitani's outfit, showing even more skin. Her red eyes bored into Nala's light blue, who widened them in shock as she took in the one before her.
Particularly the scarred and ruined right ear that had a huge chunk ripped out of it. "Z-Zira..."
The other woman, Zira, bared her fangs, a feirce growl rumbling deep in her throat. "Nala."
There was silence for a moment and no one moved, except Kiara, who rushed to her mother's side and hid slightly behind her. Scared of the taller woman. She tugged at her mother's dress however, wanting to be heard. "Mama! Vitani saved me! She gave me food and carried me here. She's my friend!"
Vitani winced at this, and even more so when her mother turned her heated glare on her. "She was going to be eaten by a crocodile. I didn't know she was..."
"Enough! I'll deal with you later. As for you, Nala, how dare you try to attack my daughter who wasn't even armed! Perhaps time with that brute has rubbed off on you!"
The words seemed to bring Nala back and she showed her own fangs, raising her claws in a threatening manner. "I'd do anything to keep my daughter safe, Zira. Even...if it means hurting someone younger than I. That one looks strong enough to handle herself. She's your daughter after all..."
Zira smiled cruelly at that, tilting her head. "And she knows how to bite, Nala. Don't forget that!"
Nala took a deep breath at that before reaching her hand for Kiara's and turned her back. "It's over, Zira. Just go!"
Zira, for a just a second, frowned as she watched Nala walk away but soon her smile was back as she followed. Hearing her heavy footsteps, Nala turned, hissing quietly as Zira loomed over her. The Queen tried not to shiver as Zira stepped closer.
"Oh no, Nala. We have barely begun~!" Zira rumbled, looking down at Kiara and chuckling darkly. Nala shook herself and turned away, moving as fast as she could without giving the impression that she was running. As they moved further and further away, Kiara looked back as Vitani was forced to march to her own Kingdom, waving slowly at her. "Bye." she whispered.
Vitani turned back, just to time to see Kiara wave at her and did that same. "Bye." Though the actions caused Zira to cuff her roughly across the head with her claws, making her look forward.
A/N: My first ever Lion King fic! And yet another story, somebody help me! But in all seriousness, this is something I've wanted to do for a long time. While this is far, far from "fix fic" I wanted to change some things about the story as well as add some new things. Hope you all like it and as always, enjoy.