Chapter 3
The sun rose on the horizon, coating Pride Rock in a brilliant shade of reddish orange. The Pride was still asleep peacefully in the den.
The royal family laid close to each other. Their young daughter Kiara was wedged between her parents, breathing gently. She nuzzled into Simba's mane and relaxed.
Nala shifted in her sleep and her eyes slowly opened. She groaned as she tried to sit up.
A sharp pain shot through her abdomen as she let out a roar of pain. Simba and Kiara awoke right away, followed by the rest of the Pride.
"Nala!" Simba breathed out in fear.
"Mommy?" Kiara whimpered.
"Simba ..." Nala said through gritted teeth. "It's ... it's time ..."
Simba tensed up more. He turned to one of the lionesses. "Kutoa! Get Rafiki!
"Daddy? What's wrong?" Kiara asked, nuzzling against Simba's legs. "Is mommy okay?" She let out an anxious whine.
Simba sighed and looked around in haste. "Mom!"
Sarabi went over. "Yes Simba?" Her voice was filled with worry for Nala.
"Can you take Kiara on a walk?" He asked, his eyes darting back to Nala.
Sarabi gave him a warm, reassuring smile. "Of course." She nuzzled him gently.
Sarabi looked down at her granddaughter. "Come on sweetie, I wanna show you some beautiful flowers I found the other day."
"O .. okay ..." Kiara sniffled. "But ... is mommy going to be okay?"
Sarabi looked back over at Nala. Her mother Sarafina had already rushed to her side. Simba stood on the other side, trying to keep Nala calm. He made eye contact with his mother.
Sarabi smiled again, and without looking away said, "She'll be just just fine ..."
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Sarabi lead Kiara onto the savannah plains. The animals were starting to wake up and go about their days as usual, not yet knowing of the big news.
The grass had mostly grown back since Scar's reign had ended, but some patches still remained bare, a reminder of the past. Everytime Sarabi came across one of these spots, she grimaced slightly.
Kiara knew roughly what happened, but not enough to mourn like everyone else. If anything she just looked a little taken off guard when her paws landed on a rough patch of dirt instead of grass like she was expecting.
"So what flowers did you see grandma?" Kiara asked, excitedly, trying to keep up with Sarabi's long strides.
"A beautiful patch of lotus flowers." Sarabi said, softly. "They're so wonderful, I think you're going to enjoy them."
Kiara's smile widened as she bounded over to Sarabi. "Wow really!? I love lotus flowers!"
Sarabi let out a small laugh. "I know you do sweetheart. That's why I wanted to show them to you."
They stopped on a small hill covered with small pink and white flowers. Giggling happily, Kiara pounced into the patch of lotus flowers and started to frolic around.
A small yellow butterfly landed on her nose, causing another fit of giggles.
Sarabi smiled as she laid down in the grass. It took her a moment, as she was getting older and sometimes her muscles ached when she tried to get up or lay down.
"Good morning your majesty!" A voice greeted.
Sarabi looked up at the hornbill fluttering above her. "Good morning Zazu."
He landed in front of the flowers and bowed to Kiara. "Good morning your grace."
Kiara looked up from the butterfly she was currently pursuing. "Hi Zazu!"
"What are you two doing up so bright and early?" He asked.
"Nala went into labor." Sarabi explained. "Simba asked me to take Kiara for a walk."
"Oh goodness!" Zazu said. "I didn't know! Why didn't anyone tell me? Ooooh ... I must be there!"
"Zazu, calm down." Sarabi said, the smoothness of her voice made that easy to do.
Zazu breathed in and out trying to calm down. "Right ... I might have been overreacting a bit." He let out a small, nervous laugh.
Kiara looked over. "Labor? What's that?"
"It means your little brother or sister is going to be born soon." Sarabi explained.
Kiara's face lit up. "Really!?" She started skipping through the bed of flowers, startling the butterfly away.
"Yes." Sarabi said. "But your mother needs some alone time to give birth."
"Is that why we went on a walk?" Kiara asked.
"Exactly." Sarabi said, staggering up. "Do you want to head back now and check on her?"
"Okay!" Kiara said, running to her side.
Zazu landed on Sarabi's shoulder as they headed back to Pride Rock.
"Hey grandma? What was it like when I was born?" Kiara asked.
"It was a wonderful night" Sarabi said.
"If I recall correctly, you were born during a storm." Zazu said. "Simba was in quite a panic when your mother went into labor." He let out a small chuckle.
"And when you were born, your father held you close and snuggled and groomed you the rest of the night." Sarabi said.
"Really?"
"Yes. He loved you so much Kiara .... And he still does."
When they neared the den, there was a silence in the air. Sarabi and Zazu paused in front of the entrance and looked at each other for a second.
Sarabi looked at Kiara. "Stay here for a second, all right honey?"
"All right grandma." Kiara said.
Sarabi entered and Kiara stayed put. However curiosity got the better of her and she leaned her ear in slightly, trying to listen to what was going on.
She managed to catch a few snippets of the conversation going on inside:
"He's so adorable!"
"Do you have a name picked out for him yet?"
"Congratulations!"
"He looks so strong and healthy!"