[3rd POV]
After the reunion was over, Sarabi and Zuri were given time to catch their breath.
But they did not have a lot of time to rest because the Prideland was infested with hyenas and right now, they were all searching for them.
They were in an isolated region in the kingdom but sooner or later, they would be caught.
The lionesses did not stay too close to Zuri and Sarabi, both because they were not familiar and because the two tired lionesses needed to be given breathing space.
Zuri looked at the lionesses one by one, assessing them carefully because they were lionesses from Leo's pride. She knew this because Leo's promise involved him raising an army before coming back, in other words getting a pride before coming back.
And she could put two and two together. These lionesses were from Leo's pride and that is why they were helping her and why Nala was among them.
Each of the lionesses was beautiful and powerful. Every female was a league ahead of whatever Scar had in his pride. If she truly admired them, she would feel insecure and insufficient because she was frail and weak in her current state.
Nala was already thin when she escaped, but the two months since then had been worse than ever, so Zuri was even skinnier than Nala was. She was so thin that you could see her ribs whenever she exhaled.
She was secretly glad Leo was not with them even though she missed him badly. She really did not want to meet him in her current ugly state.
What if he was turned off by her unappealing appearances and chose the beautiful and powerful lionesses he already had over her? At least before he was kicked out, food was plentiful so she was thick in the right places and was an attractive female.
But now, Scar's incompetence was marked on her body.
She shook her head, such insecurities had no room in the current situation. Get your priority straight, she told herself.
"How did you get here? All the escape routes are guarded by hyenas, right?" she asked Nala to change the topic of her thoughts.
Nala smiled, glad her friend was in a state to talk now. "The Pridelands has only a few escape routes but lots of entrance routes."
"We climbed up the cliff there," Nala said and gestured towards the steep cliff just beyond them.
Zuri nodded, understanding dawning on her.
Climbing something was much easier than getting down from the same height. But the rocky cliff of the Prideland was still a difficult terrain to cross. Which is why only the best and the most fit the pride had to offer, climbed up for the rescue mission.
"Now we just need to head towards the nearest escape route, fight through the hyenas stationed there and then we will be safe," Nala said, telling her the plan.
They couldn't get down from the same cliff they scaled up. It was much more dangerous, so escape routes were much safer, even if they had to fight some hyenas for it.
"If you've caught your breath, then we should leave as soon as possible," Eshe said while looking around carefully with sharp eyes.
Nala looked past Zuri and looked at Sarabi who was in a much worse shape. She was surrounded by three lionesses who looked at her with respect. It seemed like she was even more important than Zuri.
Well, giving birth to Leo would naturally earn you the respect of all lionesses in the world.
"Just a little more, Sarabi, we are nearly safe," Nala said, to which the old lioness laughed.
"Geez, it's weird being the one dragging down others. I guess I'm getting old," she said.
Sarabi, in her prime, was the fiercest hunter in the pride. She was only below Mufasa and she was usually the one to help others instead of the other way around. She was used to carrying others, not being carried by others.
"And it's good to see you healthy, Nala," she said.
Nala smiled and nodded.
After a few more minutes of rest, the group was on the move again. Zuri and Sarabi were put at the centre of the formation and under the guidance of Grim, they headed to the nearest escape route.
Luckily, there were only 9 or so hyenas stationed there. But all the hyenas were fresh, so it took a few minutes for the lionesses to take them down. But in the end, they managed to crush all obstacles and escape from the wasteland.
When outside, they walked for another haf and hour before they rejoined the rest of the pride. Their return was celebrated and both Zuri and Sarabi finally collapsed.
They did it. They escaped.
For a moment, everything seemed fine. But there was one lioness who was still not at peace.
..
'Where is he?" Zuri thought to herself while looking at the faces of strangers in the pride.
Sarabi immediately fell asleep, or maybe unconscious, but Zuri fought off the desire to sleep and searched for his face.
But he was nowhere to be found.
"Leo will return soon. He went to the opposite side of the kingdom to distract the others with his roar," Nala said. "You should rest."
Zuri shook her head; she hadn't even greeted the other lionesses in the pride yet. Her mind only had one person, there was no room for more at this moment.
"I've waited all this time, I can wait a few more hours," she said stubbornly.
And so she did.
She waited for an hour. The final hour of her wait felt like eternity. It felt longer than the years she had endured before.
But eventually, he returned.
She didn't even catch his figure for long. She saw a giant lion walking towards the pride. He stopped for a second, perhaps recognising her scent, before he sprinted straight towards her.
By the time he got close, Zuri felt warmth all over her body. Her eyes were blinded by the pooling of tears, the darkness of the night not working for her favor either.
And when his wide frame encapsulated hers, she broke down.
"Zuri," he called her, his voice deep and intimidating, but his tone tender in a way that stripped all her fears instead of inflicting them.
"My Zuri," he said.
A familiar scent hung on a not-so-familiar body. She barely recognised him with all the mass he had put on, and with her eyes constantly blurred by her tears, she could barely see anything.
But it was him. She knew with her heart. The heart knows its owner.
"I came back for you. Sorry I made you wait for so long," he said.
She couldn't speak; she dared not talk back. But he seemed to know everything unsaid. His presence and gentle touch soothed fatigue that had built for years.
She buried her face in his thick mane. They were dark, soft fur which she used to muffle her sobs. She didn't think she would cry when they met again; she always thought she would have the biggest smile.
But the pinnacle of happiness was tears, and that was all she could offer.
After crying for a long time, she finally had enough in her to speak. She could've said literally anything. She would've loved to say welcome back or say how much she missed him.
But what came out was a question.
"Why did you come back?" she asked. She truly did not know why she asked that. She nearly hated herself for asking that.
But he seemed to know her better than she knew herself. There was something she wanted to hear so desperately, yet she didn't even know she wanted to hear it.
But he knew.
What he said next was the answer her soul was crying and begging for.
"I came back because I love you," he said.
Oh, how perfect.
She waited because she loved him, and he came back because he loved her.
She didn't say I love you, but it was okay. Both had proven their love with action. So after hearing the thing her soul wanted to hear, Zuri collapsed on him.
Completely at ease, for she couldn't have been safer.
...
...
[IMAGE]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author : Double chapter because this was too short compared to the 2500 word chapters.