Lion King – Divided Pride

Foreword

Unless you liked the Lion King, you would probably not read this, so I assume that you are familiar with most of the characters and their roles. However, I have chosen to go into a direction the movie could – due to being family entertainment and, after all, a movie, not go. What you can expect in this story is, most of all, a drama of court intrigue, romance and war. I will not be reluctant to eliminate any of the main characters of it fits the story, so remain aware of that.

My main inspiration for this project were George R.R. Martin's marvellous "A Song of Ice and Fire"-Novels, which are written in a style pretty similar to this, including the different point-of-view-characters.

I will start with a small prologue to set up the story. It is only about half a page long, so do not expect too much yet. With chapter one, however, the story will start on a much larger scale. If you have any ideas or critique, feel free to review this or contact me in private.

I hope you enjoy this little story in the world of The Lion King.

Dramatis Personae

The PRIDE ROCK

Simba, King of Pride Rock

Sime, his bastard son in exile,

Nala, his mate,

Kiara, their daughter

Kovu, her mate, prince consort,

Vitani, his sister

Sarabi, queen mother of Simba,

Sarafina, mother of Nala,

Zazu, the major-domo, a hornbill,

Rafiki, the shaman, a mandrill,

Timon, Kiara's caretaker, a meerkat,

Pumbaa, aide to the King, a warthog,

Shuja, commander of the hunters, an exile prince,

DARPAK'S PRIDE

Darpak, King of the lower Prides,

Shenzi the hyena, retainer of Darpak,

TOJO'S PRIDE

Tojo, leader of the Great Tree Assembly,

Pardus, his bodyguard, a leopard,

MAKALI'S LIONESSES

Makali, Queen of the Southern Lands,

Nuka, son of Scar, stepbrother of Kovu, her mate,

Buchari, their cub son,

Banzai the hyena, retainer,

THE HYENAS

Ed the hyena, pack leader

Prologue

A new dawn broke over the fresh green that stretched outward for miles and miles from the mighty Pride Rock, the ancestral seat of the king of the savannah. Long fingers of sunlight enveloped the trees and all those animals that were already awake at this early hour. One of these was a crooked, four-legged shape moving about in the shade of two great trees. With hungry, yellow eyes it followed a small party of lionesses moving about the valley and observed a group of giraffes near the water hole. It was a hot morning, for this time of year, but the rain season had left plenty of water for most of the savannah's population to cool off in. Banzai sighed. The new king had indeed managed to bring the lands back from drought and famine and turn them into a blooming paradise once again, within only a matter of years. They all had worked, the good animals, that is. Banzai and his people on the other hand, they had been exiled again, sent to find their food among the remains of whatever died out of the king's sight. This would have been the situation, hadn't it been for three other packs forming from the rubble of Scar's broken empire, whose leaders gladly took in new loyalists. His new lady, a lioness from Scar's inner circle, Makali, was one of these new masters who were tolerated by Pride Rock, but not loved.

Apart from the hyenas, there were also other exiles, like the one who stirred beneath a bush a few steps from Banzai.

"What'cha want, lion," Banzai asked him. This one had been prowling around for days now.

The Lion who crawled from the bushed looked stunningly like his father. The light fur and Mufasa's hard face had carried over two generations, making this one a mirror image of Simba's young self. Banzai had spent the past months on the lookout for lions like him. Biological offspring, the lions called them, but Banzai preferred not to circumvent the word bastard.

"Whatever you can give me, Banzai." The bastard moved into a spot of sunlight, revealing numerous scars on his face. "You know, your lady promised me much."

Banzai rolled his eyes and giggled. "Ya know, your Grace," he said, mockingly, "Makali is not one to be hurried. She's got her own to worry 'bout. You could say, we're like one big fam'ly." Banzai gave the lion a broad grin. When he noticed that the bastard did not return it, Banzai sniffed roughly.

"Don't worry. You'll have your rock, in due time." The hyena tried to sound encouraging, but the lion looked grimmer and grimmer with every word. He is not inclined to wait either, Banzai thought, but he knew who had the longer claw, for all intents and purposes.

The bastard did not.

Within the fragment of a second, the lion darted forward, throwing his small but already massive body against the hyena. Banzai was quick, however, and spun away before the lion reached him. The hyena ducked under one of the bastard's paws and was on him, snapping after the lion's neck. But before Banzai could place a bite, he felt a numb pain in his side as he was pushed off his feet. The lion's claws had torn a piece of flesh out of the hyena's side, so he realized. A stinging sensation of pain followed. Banzai stared at the bastard. Very well, he thought, maybe he can be of use. The lion crept around his defeated enemy and then caught his gaze.

"Tell your queen," the young lion opened, "that Sime wishes to negotiate." His eyes narrowed as he turned away, facing the shadows. "The rightful king of the Pridelands."