Chapter 7: The Child who Shall Remember

It had been a few hours since Matthew, Kovu and Vitani had returned from the waterhole and the child was full of refreshing water, though it wasn't nice and properly filtered as water from back home but it wasn't like he had a choice in the matter.

Kovu smiled happily as he pulled his nephew into a tight hug, licking the top of his head gently. "Your Uncle and Auntie has to go with your Mummy to scout out the border for any of Muuaji's evil lackies, okay?"

The child simply nodded, his mind on other things. "Okay.."

The two ex-outlanders knew something was up, but they didn't ask. The child was just saved from Muuaji by Simba, it wasn't surprising that he would be still shook up about the whole thing.

"Stay on top of Pride Rock okay? Don't go wondering off." Kovu added.

Matthew nodded in understanding, sitting down on the edge of Pride Rock's cliff. Looking down, he saw them walk back down the stony steps to meet Nala who just arrived. She looked up at her son and she smiled happily at him, showing nothing but pure love and affection for her little cub. Upon getting a smile and a wave back from her cub, the three lions left.

"Mummy...Daddy...I miss you..." Matthew whispered, tears forming under his eyes. "Why did you have to leave me? I feel...so alone..." The child's tears grew to sobs, the grief becoming heavy on his shoulders.

"Please...come back." The man-cub whimpered as he looked up to the rich blue African sky, as if hoping for a sign...that somehow, someway there was hope. That they were alive. But the bodies. Their emotionless faces. No amount of praying and wishing would ever get that out of the child's head.

"Mummy! Daddy!" Matthew cried out, falling on his side and hugging his knees close. It wasn't fair.

Hearing the cries from all the way from the waterhole, Simba sprang into action, wasting no time. His fatherly instincts taking over his mind, Simba ran back to Pride Rock. As he galloped, he heard his son's cries getting louder and louder. Each cry was like a nail and hammer to his heart.

"M..Mummy...D..Daddy..." Simba's man-cub was left to nothing but a whimpering and sobbing ball, whom the king quickly scooped into his paws.

"Shssh...my son. I'm here. Daddy is here. It's alright. Shssh..." Simba whispered softly into the child's ear, stroking his back as the human hugged his father's neck tightly, wailing loudly.

"T...They're gone Daddy. My parents...I don't know what to do.." Matthew cried.

Simba instinctively hugged Matthew tighter, stroking the child' hair and back softly, not letting him go. "Shssh...I know. It will be hard...it will be tough...but me and your mother will help you, we will always be by your side."

Matthew's cries turned to whimpers, slowly calming down. He looked up at Simba, all bundled up in his furry paws. "Why Daddy? Why did that mean lion have to kill them? They were innocent."

Simba sighed. "I don't know son. If only I knew the answer to that question." Simba licked his son's tears away, making the child giggle a little.

Simba smiled as he looked out to the distance, catching a small glimpse out of the outlands, causing him to sigh. "Son. I need to tell you about someone very important. Your Grandfather."

"My Grandfather? Your Daddy?" Matthew asked. "Yes son, your Grandfather. He was the king before me. My father was a great king. Wise and kind and strong. Everyone respected him…except for one."

"Who Daddy?" The man-cub asked, eager to know more.

"Scar." Simba replied. "My Uncle. He was merciless and cruel. He was planned to be king after my father but then I was born. I remember the day where he told me he had a surprise for me. He lead me to the bottom of a gorge and told me to wait. Then I heard rumbling. Then I saw them. A huge pack of wildebeest thundering down the side of the gorge."

"How did you escape?" Matthew asked, curious."

"My father saved me. He managed to grab me safely with his mouth and put me to save ground. But... he didn't make it. Scar killed him. I only found that out years after he blamed me for his death that day. He made me run for my life and since I was gone. He took over. This whole place was a wasteland."

"No way...that's awful." Matthew said sadly. 'How could someone so awful and cruel-hearted be related to his Daddy?' Matthew thought. 'He was kind and had a good heart.' "What happened to Scar Daddy? Did he get punished?"

Simba nodded, still keeping his son close in his big, fluffy and warm paws. "Scar tried to turn my family and friends against me by saying I killed my father. Gaining an opportunity, he tried to kill me again by pushing me off a cliff, just like how he killed my father. But I managed to turn things around and made him tell the truth, after he whispered in my ear he killed my father. I ended up defeating him and I became king."

Simba hugged Matthew close. "I know what that pain is like, it hurts. But I love you Matthew. Your mother loves you, your sister loves you. Your Uncle and Auntie love you. We all do."

Upon saying that, some of the lionesses walked out of the den and nodded in agreement to what Simba said. Some gave their condolences to Matthew on his lost while others nuzzled and comforted him.

"But..." Matthew teared and hid his face in Simba's fur, clinging to him. "It's so hard...I can't stop thinking about it"

Simba kept his son close and curled around him. "It is hard, my little cub. But if your parents could see you now, they wouldn't want you to be sad. They would want you to be happy and most importantly, safe. My father used to say. "Look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars."

"Really?" Matthew smiled happily, hugging his father's paw close, enjoying how soft and fluffy it was.

"Yes...So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you." Simba chuckled. "I bet your Grandfather is looking over you right now." Hearing that, Matthew looked up at the sky, smiling excitedly wondering if Simba's father was looking down at him.

It was pretty late when Nala, Kovu and Vitani returned from their search, not taking any chances. They didn't want any of Muuaji's lion lackies sneaking into Pride Lands again. When the trio reached Pride Rock, the three lions panicked. Matthew wasn't there.

"Nala. Vitani. Look." Kovu said as all three lions turned to the big hill by Pride Rock. On the very top was Simba and Matthew, snuggled with each other. They had spent the last couple of hours watching the stars, talking and laughing and bonding. "The stars are so pretty tonight Daddy."

Simba chuckled happily and nodded. "Aren't they? They really are beautiful."

"Much more beautiful than they are at home." Matthew added which made the king's ears twitch as he heard.

"What do you mean son? What is it like where you come from?" Simba asked. Matthew giggled. "It's okay I guess. It's can be quite wet, it rains often. I come from a place called London in the United Kingdom.

Simba looked very confused, almost dumbfounded when he found out there was 57. Million people from his place of origin alone. "I... I well... that is a lot of humans."

"Yeah. But it's a lot more peaceful around here. I prefer to not be in noisy places. It's so calm and serene, the air is so clean. Unlike back home. I want to stay here forever Daddy. With you and Mummy and everyone else."

Simba chuckled and hugged his son close, making his fur warm for his cub. "I wouldn't have it any other way, my sweet adorable little cub."

Blushing, his man-cub bundled up in his paws, the child's face nestled in the king's fur. The warmth and how soft the fur was easily lulled Matthew into a happy slumber, a tiny cute smile growing on his face as he slept, imaging of his Grandfather and his human parents watching over him.

"Mummy..."

"Daddy..."

"I'm home..."