The Death of a Queen

Her eyes had seen much agony and pain. Her husband was killed by his own
brother and she still felt responsible for Taka's actions. Rejecting
Taka in favour of Muffy, deciding between the two brothers she both
loved so dearly had been the greatest burden of her life. No wonder,
Taka went mad, she always thought. In the end Muffy and Taka paid the
price for her thoughtlessness.

Life under Taka's reign was another time of agony she struggled hard to
cope with. Since she was the queen, she was the first one Taka attacked
if the lionesses failed at hunting. With the land so obviously dying it
became harder with each passing day to find a lonely prey. "The herds
have moved on" was a sentence Taka never accepted. The penalty for
failing him was hers to take.

Simba's return was a brief moment of joy and relief. Now Taka's evil
reign was put to an end. But at what costs? The brothers were dead, the
Pride Lands deserted and her lionesses starving.

When Simba ascended Pride Rock she knew everything would be fine once
again, she had never felt so sure about anything in her life. It was as
if someone very familiar was speaking words of assurance. "Look at our
son". No, it couldn't be. When she heard Simba's roar and joined in with
the other lionesses she saw a single cloud disappearing. "Muffy..."

With Simba's kingship the Pride Lands turned into the wonderful,
magnificent realm she had almost forgotten. However, she was never the
same since Taka took over the Pride Lands. Guilt weighed heavy on her
shoulders, guilt that not even the pleasure of seeing Simba and Nala
heaving their first child could undo. It was all her fault. Muffy was
dead and would never return.

The birth of Simba's and Nala's cub brought the pride on the eve of
another trial Simba had to endure. There had been several lionesses who
supported Taka's reign but did not have the courage to defy Simba openly
in the final battle. With the birth of Kiara however, things changed as
now they realized that Mufasa's heritage would continue in Kiara. Under
their leader, Zira, the rogue lionesses found more and more courage to
attack Simba's pride. There had already been some skirmishes, but the
last one developed into a fierce battle. A battle in which either side
would take heavy losses.

She did not see the lethal blow Zira stroke. Now she lay there, unable
to move when Simba found her. The raging battle was over and with the
help of  some of the lionesses she was brought to Pride Rock where she
could rest.

She knew her days were counted for, but she did not want to pass away.
She had never confessed to anyone the guilt she felt, not even to
Sarafina, her dearest friend. "I must not die this way". Her thoughts
were disturbed by a warm nuzzle. It was Simba caressing her. "Mother!",
he cried. With her last strength she opened her eyes to look one last
time into the eyes of her son, the eyes that reminded her so much of her
husband. The last glance they exchanged was as if all her guilt, all the
pain was taken from her. "Thank you, Simba".

Sarabi was dead.

                                  End.

Dedicated to all the fanfic writers out there. This is my way of
repaying you for your great stories. Keep it up!
And flame gently, since this is my first attempt of a fanfic ;)
Special thanks go to John Burkitt and David Morris. This story would
have never been possible without your Chronicles.

Andreas

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Andreas Erben
mailto:AndreasErben@csi.com
ICQ: 9507395; nick: iago
IRC: EFnet, #TLK-D and #TLK-L; nick: Siran
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/andreaserben

"...time is a companion that goes with us on the journey, reminds us to
cherish every moment because they'll never come again."
- Picard in "Star Trek - Generations"
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