Chapter 4: Mercy

    “I see I came just in time. Tings not be so good and you've only been king for a few days.” An elderly voice, spoken with a distinct Swahili accent, echoed throughout the cave. Curious of just who had spoken so suddenly (although Simba's pride did not necessarily share this sentiment, they actually being quite familiar with such a voice), the crowd's gaze shifted toward the cave's entrance. Standing in the door, was none other than the old shaman baboon, Rafiki. It now became apparent where Simba’s lioness from earlier had run off to as she was standing next to the baboon before she slipped past to join her pridesisters. Simba smiled.

    “Ah, Rafiki. Thank you for coming. I’m in real need of your assistance.”

    “I can see dat.” he said, eyeing Zira and her lionesses. “So what do you be needing old Rafiki for?” Simba quickly explained the scenario to his old friend. Nodding, the elderly primate patted the lion on the back, before moving away to speak to the crowd.

    “Listen up, please. I'm only going to say dis once. As a witness and servant of de Great Spirit’s will, I swear what I say is de truth. Dis lion, Simba, is indeed de lost son and heir of de great King Mufasa. And I also state that I was de one to seek him out and convince him to return home. Ease your doubts for he is indeed de one true king. Dat is all.”

    Zira felt her heart sink at the mandrill's words. As a shaman, Rafiki had unusual powers and access to knowledge that was normally inaccessible. Furthermore, despite his manic behavior, he was not one to lie and was assigned to put the welfare of the kingdom above all else. In other words, she had no way of contradicting him.

    She glanced about the room, looking for any doubt to latch onto, but even amongst her lionesses she could see clearance in their faces. Simba asked if Zira had a rebuttal, for which she had none. So the final voting commenced. Simba asked for all those supporting Zira, which she barely noticed over her growing panic. But she did notice the large number of paws that went up when Simba asked for all those supporting his claim. He nodded.
“It's unanimous. The vote is in favor of...”

    “Wait!” No one was more surprised than Zira at her own outburst. But it had been done and now she had to explain herself.

    “Yes, Zira?” Simba asked, calmly.

    Thinking fast, the striped lioness grabbed on to the first idea that came to mind. “Before you cast that voting and determine me and my pride's fate, please allow me to explain myself and beg for mercy.” Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes, and rather than wipe them away, Zira let them fall. Perhaps taking pity on the lioness, Simba only listened quietly, allowing her to continue.

    She pled for mercy, playing herself and her pride as the victims. She told him how her father had left her pride when she was born and her mother died when she was only a babe. She told him that her grandfather did his best in raising her but passed away, leaving her in Scar’s care. She explained to all of them the hardships of being made queen so young and the growing anger that filled her each day as she was suppressed by rules. And most of all, she told them of her husband's strong influence and encouragement of selfish and cruel behavior. She even went into her tireless aim to please and struggle at his disappointment with her. Her tears became a torrent, and her cries painful, miserable sobs. And, just for a moment, Zira was not acting. All the hate, pain, and grief built up from the last few years cumulated into the once-Queen being true to herself and not the preferred design of Scar or her pride.

    Meanwhile, the feelings of Simba’s forces slowly changed from displeasure and suspicion to pity and sympathy. Even Sarabi, who had resented Zira from the very beginning, felt her heart go out to the younger lioness. And, after a few more moments of shameless sobbing, Zira was able to regain her control, sitting and facing the crowd even as her face was a mess of sorrow.

    “Zira.” stated Simba finally, “Despite your best pleas, the vote still stands. Your case has lost.” Gasps of shock and protest went through the cave at the King's decisive and rather cold-hearted statement. But before anyone could comment further, Simba held up a paw before continuing. “However, I now see that my uncle’s actions have hurt even those that were closest to him. Therefore, I will give you a trial to prove your innocence. A year from now to this day, I will hold another case where I and the people of this land shall decide your final sentence, the actions of the year providing as witness. If you and your pride are truly the victims that you say you are, then you will prove it to me by showing good behavior and performing tasks for me that shall prove your new loyalty until the trial day. Do you agree to these terms?” Zira nodded. “Very well. Does everyone else agree?” Lionesses on both sides also nodded in agreement. “Good, then it is cemented.” With that matter decided, Simba then continued with his ruling.

    “Now then, the first task that you and your pride shall have is the following: the hyenas have been chased off to the North-Western border and are now taking shelter in the Elephant Graveyard. We haven’t seen activity from them since my takeover, but we know they are there, and once the grass and herds begin returning, they will most likely start sneaking back into our lands in order to steal prey. Your job is to prevent that from happening.” Simba paused only briefly to make sure Zira and her pride were listening, before continuing. “Prove your loyalty is no longer to my uncle by preventing Scar’s very followers from stepping a foot in the Pridelands. You don’t have to leave now, as the hyenas won’t likely start invading until the clouds dissipate and the sun warms the earth. There is a small denning site on that side of the territory that your pride can occupy, but in the meantime, you can settle in the lower regions of Pride Rock. Prove your word true, Zira, and perhaps I’ll consider trusting you, in time.”

    Seemingly unopposed by the King's decided ruling, Zira nodded. “Thank you, sire. We won’t let you down, my lord.” Simba seemed pleased by this, waving a paw in an action of dismissing them. The pride headed out the door, the rain having started up yet again. As they headed down the rise, moving toward the dens they were designated (and, coincidentally, the very same dens that her cubs and the rest of her pride currently occupied), Alijali approached her.

    “That was very well done, Your Highness. You’ve saved our pride and earned us a potential place in this land. At least until our own kingdom improves in quality and is liveable again.”

    “We're not going back there.” Zira stated. Only momentarily perturbed by the rather cold tone of her Queen's voice, Alijali blinked once, before continuing. “Oh, I don’t mean now, of course. I mean once it’s recovered in a year or two. In the meantime, we’ll just have to stay on good graces with the new king and we should be fine-”

    “No, I’m not going back to our former kingdom, EVER!" Zira snapped, cutting her advisor off. "And I don’t intend to be on the so-called “king's” good graces for very long, either.”

    Now thoroughly confused at Zira's behavior, Alijali shook her head. “I don’t understand, my lady?”

    “It's quite simple, really. We'll do what this oaf asks us to do, keep on good terms with him for a while, and gain his trust. Then, once that fool has dropped his guard enough, we begin making plans against him. We sneak in and find his weakness, his downfall. And then, when the time is right, we destroy it! Just like he destroyed my beloved king.” At first, despite her harsh words, Zira remained relatively calm. However, as her speech wore on, the lioness's expression changed, shifting to take on an almost crazed appearance. Her blood-red eyes gleamed, and a cruel grin twisted her features. “Mark my words, Simba and his pride are on borrowed time. I will not rest until that murderer pays for what he did! All we need to do is wait.”

    Zira then moved off, back into the shelter of the den where her cubs were already crying to be fed. Meanwhile, Alijali stood stunned at the spot, not quite sure how to comprehend what she had just heard. The elder lioness now realized just how far off the deep end Zira really was. She was not going to give up on vengeance.

No matter what the cost.
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This black and white image is only temporary. I’ll go back and add in the final image later (along with add italics and such to the text) once I have the time. I got a bit behind due to a few sudden “schedule alterations” from my folks. XC Fixed it.

I was surprised at how many people guessed right on the previous chapter that Rafiki was the “voice that changed the tide”. FYI I suck at accents, didn’t have a much experience with people from the different places and such. Thankfully Corrupt was able to fix it up nicely.
And we get a view of Zira being genuinely vulnerable and why she ended up so twisted. Before she goes back to being vengeful bitch that is XP. I wish I could have elaborated more into Zira’s story ad family history but I simple couldn’t fit it into the story without going into a tangent. Maybe someday I’ll sit down and tell it completely, but not for a long while.
Enjoy, peeps.

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Artwork, concept and story © Me
Editing © corruptangel315
Please do not use in any way, shape or form without proper consent from me and without using proper referencing. Thank you.