[3rd POV]
Calm down. Nala told herself.
Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down.
Don't get too excited. Don't expect too much. After all, there were several lions out there who could share the same name as the lion cub she remembered.
"Are you okay?" Oba asked with razor focus in his eyes. He realized the name held weight for her and he wanted to know how and why.
"Fine, I am fine. Are you?" she asked dumbly but quickly shook her head.
She sighed, "It's just that....the name sounded weird."
He hummed, not believing her but accepting her answer, "Indeed. Even his name sounded foreign,"
Nala tried, but she couldn't hold back her thoughts from wandering. The story she'd heard suddenly made sense in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how the lion could really be Leo, the brave cub who lost his tail in order to save her.
She followed his path when she ran away, so it made sense that they would reach the same destination, which was the Serengeti. It also made sense that he was as big as they described him to be. Nala remembered Leo was always so much bigger than the other cubs since he was a child.
As she thought deeper, she realized she was dumb for not expecting this sooner. She had already lost hope in Leo, which was why the thought that he could be this powerful lion never even crossed her mind.
But then she felt a wave of sadness and fear wash over her. If the lion was really who she thought he was, then that means Leo was already a king. He had his own kingdom and earned his own glory.
So why would he return to the Pride Lands and claim the dying land? She suddenly felt a choke in her heart when she thought about it. Leo had found a new home, no, he created his own home.
He did not need them anymore. He was already king.
"Ah, it would appear I no longer have your attention," Oba said, bringing her out from her reverie.
"Uh- I'm sorry," she said.
"It's okay, I don't mind. It's about time I get some shut-eye as well. I need to be well rested for the upcoming challenge," he said with a graceful nod.
"I have one last question," Nala asked, "This lion that you fought, does he have a tail?"
And then the tension froze. The small smile on his face faded immediately and his eyes locked on her like they would lock on prey.
Now that was a wild guess. It was impossible to ask that question if you didn't know who Leo was in the first place. No one would assume a lion king was tailless, that was ridiculous.
And it was not like the fact that Leo was tailless was known to others either. The lions who managed to escape from him definitely never talked about it. Instead, they would praise and tell exaggerated feats about Leo to make their loss less shameful.
Imagine saying this. "Me and all my friends teamed up to fight against this one person. But he whooped our ass effortlessly. Countless others tried and failed, too. By the way, he has no legs,"
It would only bring them shame. It was why almost everyone who survived a fight with Leo never talked about the tailless part. Including the fact that they always outnumbered him.
Oba did not give her an answer, "Good night, Nala."
Now he knew for certain that Nala had some type of relationship with Leo. Maybe they were siblings? He guessed.
But whatever it was, she could prove to be useful. And Oba did not want to confirm her suspicion. Who knows what would change then? Maybe she'd go running to him and reveal all the plans that he just told her.
On the other hand, Nala was smart enough to follow his thought process.
'It's definitely him,' she confirmed in her mind.
"Good night," she said and stood up.
She moved to a different location to sleep and think about what she just learned. After all, this changed everything.
Leo was still alive, and he was king.
She needed to find him and talk to him as soon as possible.
He might no longer care about the Pride Lands or her. But she at least wanted to pass on the message Zuri had for him.
She didn't want to, but her heart couldn't help but hope. Maybe if he knew there was a loyal lioness still waiting for him back home.
Maybe then, he would become the savior she hoped he would be, and a savior everyone needed him to be.
...
...
////////////////////////
(The next morning)
When morning came, Nala found herself more exhausted than ever. She could barely sleep last night due to overthinking a lot of unnecessary things, and worse, she saw Leo in her dreams.
He was all she could think of, all she could hope for.
She sneaked away from the four lions before the sun rose. Their goals were no longer aligned because she found out the king of the Serengeti was actually Leo. Or at least it was highly possible that he was.
And she needed to find him as soon as possible.
On the other hand, the four kings would take their time settling in the Serengeti. They would find prey, get familiar with the land and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike the king for his throne.
Basically, they would live the average rogue lion life, except they were close enough to the king that they could challenge him on their terms.
Out of all the lions that existed in the savannah, only the top 10 per cent were kings. The remaining had to live their lives in constant fear and movement. They settled in lands or regions that were not fit to be a kingdom.
They also sometimes lived a silent life in a lion king's territory. The common way of life was that a lion would hunt once a week in another's territory before leaving and staying in unclaimed lands.
That was life as a rogue lion.
"Ummm....where should I go?" Nala asked herself while wandering the endless lands of the Serengeti.
As a kingdom nearly five times the size of the average lion territory, the Serengeti was huge. It would prove to be difficult to find a single pride in this region.
Nala was lost.
But at least now she had a clear purpose.
And so, Nala began wandering the huge expanse of land. It was the end of her journey but the beginning of her search.
..
..
[IMAGE]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author : 1500 stones. You earn three extra chapters. One I already release yesterday so two more left.
With today's normal update, that's triple chapter today.
Fair enough. Thanks for the stones.