"Simba... What have you done?"

"I ... the wildebeests ... and he tried to save me ... it was an accident, I didn't mean for it to happen!"

"Of course, of course, you didn't. No one ... ever means for these things to happen. But the king is dead. If it weren't for you, he'd still be alive." I gasped in mock horror.

"What will your mother think?"

"What ... what am I supposed to do?" I looked at the little cub known as my nephew, Simba. Really looked. Simba was on the verge of tears and looking up to me to tell him what to do. I was the only adult male in the pride now, and Simba trusted me, 'Uncle Scar,' implicitly. I could do no wrong in my nephew's eyes.

Right then and there my plans changed...or maybe it was the thought of Mufasa doing this to my sons or better yet my little girl...

"You're not at fault Simba. That this was an unfortunate accident, but the pride did love your father, and they will think you did this on purpose."

"No!" Simba whimpered brokenly as he clutched my foreleg. I could hear the faint voices of the pride as they ran toward us. I have to act fast or this could end horribly.

"I'm here for you Simba. You can trust me to take care of everything for you, to teach you the lessons your father no longer can."

"Simba!" Sarabi cried as she and the lionesses rounded the corner and spotted her son. Simba turned his head away.

"Simba?" She asked softly as she padded over. When no answer was forthcoming from her son she turned to me. "Scar, what happened? Where's Mufasa?" At the mention of his father, Simba began sobbing brokenly. I gently rested my paw on Simba's shaking body.

"... There was an accident." I told her solemnly and motioned to the body under the broken tree with a jerk of my head.

"Wha ... no ... NO! Mufasa! MUFASA!" She roared in heartbroken anguish and the other lionesses joined her voice with theirs.

Perfect with Mufasa gone now my time as King can begin even though it already has in another land...but now they can return home too...Aria my beloved mate watch over us while I claim what was rightfully ours, to begin with

With my thoughts in mind, I didn't even notice we had made it back to Pride Rock, the skies were darkening as evening came. On top of a slope, I sat, my green eyes swept over the pride as they gathered below to hear my speech. Until my nephew was grown, I would rule; worry was visible on many of the lionesses. Simba sat beside me, head and gaze lowered like someone had killed his beloved father... but I did and that secret I would take to my grave forever.

Wonderful.

"Mufasa's death was a terrible tragedy. Depriving the Pridelands of a beloved king, husband, father, and brother." A few heads among the lionesses shot up at my words. It was well known that Mufasa and I hadn't been close...after what he and our father did to my beautiful mate... "The quarrels between Mufasa and I were numerous, and our interactions were often veiled by a thin layer of civility. However, to be a good teacher to Simba, to be a good ruler until he's of age, I lay all my arguments to rest with my brother. So it is with a heavy heart that I assume the throne." I stood, my lanky yet muscular frame illuminated by a thin sliver of moonlight bravely peeking through the oncoming rain clouds. "Come Simba." Together we walked to the tip of the stone slab and I roared; telling any rogues that would dare try their luck at the throne that it was still ruled by an adult male ready to defend his territory. As my roar filled the air, Simba looked up for the first time since Mufasa's death, his eyes filled with adoration and worship for his 'Uncle Scar.'

Finally, the Pridelands are mine and only mine to own until I pass them down to my heir. Simba will have to know that in the future once Muffy's death has passed...but his cousins will definitely speed up the process once everyone knows that he won't be King but my eldest will be...hmm Stonypaw I'll leave for it shortly in three nights exactly.

While I looked across my lands I thought about Shenzi and her clan, I would have to speak to them before I left, WITHOUT attracting attention...oh joy...this hadn't been a problem since Mufasa didn't give a warthog's ass about what I was doing but with him gone I would now have to do his duties making things even more complicated with the judgmental yet scrutinizing eyes of the lionesses it will be damn near impossible.

"Uncle Scar?!"

I was snapped out of my thinking by Simba shouting my dreaded Pridelander namesake. I snarled as I turned to him.

"What?!" Simba cringed as he tucked his tail between his legs, I sighed silently while turning my anger into my normally common apathetic gaze. "I was just thinking of what to do about a few problems...What is it?"

"Uh...what kind is it?"

"Hyenas, borders, rogues, the usual king affairs." I realized my error too late as Simba fixed his muzzle to start bad mouthing my hyena family with a disgusting look that mirrored Mufasa's on the matter of hyenas.

"Hyenas are nothing but mangy, slobbering, stupid..." Simba never got to finish that sentence as I snapped at him.

"NO! NEVER SPEAK OF THEM LIKE THAT IN PRESENCE."

"Why?"

"Because Simba, once upon a time, they were the only friends I had." Suddenly an idea took root, shedding light on the once "negativity" of the hyenas. The tactic had been written off as absurd, ridiculous, and against nature with Mufasa and our father, but Simba was still young enough to believe it if molded properly.

Said cub's brow furrowed in a mixture of bewilderment and thought. "But ... the pride ..." He began, but I interrupted him.

"They only cared for Mufasa. He was the heir to the kingdom and I, his unexpected little brother was never seen or heard while he was around. In fact that because of Ahandi that I was able to befriend them after he let one of Mufasa's friends harm me."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, we had gotten into an argument then the next thing I know is that Sarafina's older brother took me hunting but it turned out that he was hunting me but the tables turned when some hyenas saved me by killing her brother..."

Simba looked up at me stunned, making me realize that we had yet again gone off topic.

"Come, it's past your bedtime." With that, we walked back to the pride with the lionesses heading inside for the morning to come.