Quiet Before the Storm part 20

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The Quiet Before the Storm part 20

A year passed after Taka changed his name to Scar. His relationship with his parents remained icy, but the cruelty and coldness he'd displayed that day seemed to have dissipated some. He still didn't seem on good terms with Mufasa, which had Ahadi worried. Tensions between royal brothers could lead to disputes over ruling rights, tearing the kingdom apart.

Whatever Ahadi and Masilahi had done wrong to Taka, he wanted the prince to still have a good relationship with his brother. For his own sake, and for the good of the kingdom. The problem was, Taka didn't listen to him anymore. But he had to try.

One day, Ahadi approached his younger son, who was brooding near the edge of Pride Rock. He cleared his throat, then called out quietly, “Taka?”

The prince stiffened, then lifted his head off his paws, staring at his father with slightly narrowed eyes. He didn't speak, so Ahadi asked, “I was wondering, it's a nice day, would you like to go for a walk?”

Taka's expression was unreadable. He was silent for several moments, so long that Ahadi didn't think he was going to answer, before he finally pushed up to his paws. He pushed past Ahadi, saying, “All right, let's go then.”

They headed to the gorge, one of his favorite places to play as a child. Mohatu had warned him it was dangerous there, but he and Chache had loved to scrambled up the lower rocks. As they walked, Taka kept up a stony silence, but Ahadi was encouraged since he'd come at all. Finally, he broke the silence. “Listen, Taka, I want to talk to you about Mufasa.”

Taka stiffened, but didn't look back at his father. “Of course. You'd only ever want to talk to me about my perfect big brother, is that it?”

Ahadi felt irritation rising up. “It's not like that,” he growled.

Before he could explain himself further, he felt a rumble under his paws. The rocks he was standing on collapsed, falling down into the gorge below. Ahadi started to fall, but his claws managed to snag onto a ledge, holding him up. His back legs scrambled for purchase on the smooth rock walls, and he winced as he heard the rocks banging against the gorge floor far below. Terror seized him – if he didn't climb back up soon, he was dead.

He looked up at Taka. “Taka! Son, help me!” Taka hesitated, uncertainty flickering in his green eyes. Ahadi's blood froze as he realized his own son didn't know whether to save him or not.

Before Taka could make a decision, the ledge Ahadi clung to crumbled away under his paws. He felt himself falling, falling, his limbs flailing, desperate for something to cling to. King Ahadi slammed against the ground, pain shooting through his entire body, then everything went dark.

SCENEBREAK

Masilahi couldn't believe it when they told her. Just like that, he was gone. It just couldn't be true.

The funeral for King Ahadi was a solemn affair. Since he was the ruling monarch, the entire kingdom gathered to pay their last respects. Ahadi's body was laid out for all to view, and one by one, everyone in the pride, and the representatives of each herd, were allowed to approach and pay their last respects. After they were done, the baboon shaman said a prayer, then the pride carried the fallen King's body to his grave at the base of Pride Rock, where all the Kings and Queens were buried. Masilahi forced herself to watch as they lowered her mate's lifeless body into the ground, wanting to see his face on last time.

Mufasa had claimed the kingdom earlier that morning, and his official coronation was tomorrow morning. Masilahi would be there to support him, but part of her wanted to just lie down by Ahadi's grave and never get up. Still, her sons needed her.

She just hoped it wasn't too late to be there for them.

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Yikes, I'm so sorry for the wait, I got caught up in another fic. There's only a few parts left to this story, so I'm going to try and finish it up quickly, possibly today.

So yeah, killed Ahadi. Sorry about that.