What Happened to Sarabi?
By Malli
(This also goes along with the real Simba's Pride.)

	"Mother? Mother? Oh, Mother! Good news!" Simba pranced around the cave, 
feeling like a cub again. He was King, he had a wonderful caring wife, and a 
beautiful newborn daughter! He had not a care in the world. Now he was 
looking for his mother to invite to the baby blessing.
	"Mother? Mother?" Nala searched for Sarabi, too.
	"Sarabi? Sarabi..?"
	But after a while when Sarabi still seemed nowhere in sight, Simba started 
to panic. He ran up to Nala and her mother.
	"Nala!" he gasped. "Sarafina, where's my mother? Do you know? Have you seen 
her?"
	Nala looked upon her sad husband's face and sighed. "Dear, she's gone."
	"What? Gone? What do you mean?"
	Sarafina sighed "We've searched every last corner. She's nowhere. I'm 
sorry, Great King." she bowed.
	Nala's crystal-blue eyes were filled with tears. "Simba, I.."
	Simba dashed out. He ran around like crazy. "Mother? Mother?!" He ran to 
the top of Pride Rock. He then realized his wife and mother-in-law were 
right. She was gone. "NOOOOO!!!!!" He roared.

	The next day, Nala went to her husband. "Can you look after the baby today? 
I'm going out." Simba's face was expressionless, his mane mussed and eyes 
bloodshot.
	"Fine." he muttered. Nala left.
	She didn't know what to do, her heart was in pain, as well, but what could 
she do? She sighed. It wasn't her mother, she knew she wouldn't understand 
how Simba felt. The pain wouldn't leave, though. Because she knew what had 
happened to Sarabi. She had done the same thing.

	Dirt, blood and tears covered Sarabi's face. Her legs could take no more. 
She fell to the ground. Hunger and sorrow had overcome her; although those 
feelings were not new to her.
	Sarabi had been in a state of depression for a long time. All of it had 
happened so fast: Mufasa's death, Simba's assumed death, Scar dominating the 
Pride Lands, Hyenas co-ruling with Scar. It had been too much. Even when 
Simba came back. The pain had been too much. She couldn't take it. Sarabi 
just decided to run away. She had left a few days after Kiara's birth; and 
hadn't been seen since.
	Pain and sorrow soon became too  much for Sarabi. Her spirit soon left to 
live in the stars.
	Nala caught up with her. "Sarabi? Sarabi..?" She then knew what had 
happened. "No." She hung her head. Tears fell from her eyes. "How will I 
tell Simba?"
	"ROWR! Gotcha!"
	"No way!"
	"I can get YOU, Kiara!"
	"Oh yeah?"
	Kiara rolled on her back, giggling. Zarbi pounced on her. Suruni pounced on 
top of her brother.
	"Zarbi! Off!" She laughed and tickled him.
	"AHH!" Zarbi rolled off Kiara.
	"Suruni, your brother is too ticklish!" Kiara giggled childishly.
	"Let's play 'Croc River'!" Suruni suggested.
	"What's Croc River?" Kiara questioned.
	"It's really fun." Zarbi grinned. "We sit in a circle, crouched down. One 
of us is the 'croc', or 'it'. We sit as still as possible, and the first one 
to move is the one the croc tries to pounce on. If the croc catches them in 
ten seconds, they're out. If not, they're the next croc. get it?"
	Kiara nodded.
	"You're croc, Kiara." They stood still. When Zarbi moved, Kiara pounced on 
him, quick as a mouse.
	"You're too fast for me, Princess." Zarbi sneered and grinned. Kiara 
blushed and got up. Some of Zarbi's pals called him. "Coming!" he got up and 
ran to catch up.
	"Kiara and Zarbi sittin' in a tree." Suruni teased.
	"Give me a break!" Kiara shook her head. "I don't even like him!"
	"Everyone knows you do!" Suruni said. "Don't even deny!"
	Kiara blushed until her cheeks looked like little apples. "Gotta go!" she 
dashed off. Suruni shook her head, laughed to herself, and went home.
	Kiara laughed to herself. She DID have a crush on Zarbi, but he was her 
best friend's brother! How embarrassing is that? She went home.
	 That had been a few months after Simba's mother's death.
	"Should we tell her?" Nala's sparkling eyes looked at Simba again. "When 
she's older." Simba smiled then. "Let her be happy and playful and cheerful. 
She'll find out when she needs to."
	Nala smiled. Purring, she nuzzled Simba. "Sarabi was wonderful. We all 
loved her. If any of us were in trouble, she was the first one at our side. 
She'll be with us forever. " She looked deep into her husband's eyes. "I 
hope I can be as good a queen as she." After one last nuzzle, she turned 
walked back to the cave.
	Simba remained sitting and watching as the sun set, thinking. When the sky 
darkened and the stars started to peep out of the dark blanket covering 
them, Simba heard his father's voice way in the back of his mind. "Whenever 
you feel alone, remember that those kings will always be there to guide you. 
And so will I."
	Simba nodded softly to himself. "And," he thought to himself, "so will 
Mother."

					THE END