A Colour of Indigo

Chapter One

As soon as Scar assumed the throne, one of the first things he did as king was take a lioness to mate with him to produce an heir. He did not want the lioness to be a queen however, so as soon as an heir was produced, she would leave the throne. He wanted to be the sole ruler, nobody else.

Of course he chose Sarafina. They had grown up together as cubs, with her being only a few months younger than him. During that time, Scar had felt alone. Mufasa had Sarabi to play with, but he had no one. And with Mufasa in training to be the next king, Scar was often ignored by their father. But then he had found a close friend in Sarafina. She was kind and didn't judge him because he wasn't going to be king. And when they entered adolescence, Scar had finally worked up the courage to confide his true emotions for Sarafina. She, however, did not feel the same, and turned him down. This left both of them feeling awkward, and was one of the first things that led Scar in that downward spiral. When Sarafina gave birth to Nala from a rogue lion (who left the PrideLands suddenly), Scar was determined to eventually make Sarafina his mate, whether she liked it or not. Now was the perfect opportunity, and Scar seized the moment.

That night, he ordered Sarafina to come to him, and he quickly started mating with her. Sarafina could only silently weep to herself, powerless to stop it.

Right away she became pregnant, and quietly, out of ear shot from Scar, the other lionesses told her what she could do to abort the cub.

“Starve yourself for a few days.” one lioness told her. But somehow, Sarafina couldn't bring herself to do that, because not only was the cub Scar's, it was hers too.

Nala was excited to have the new cub, ever since the death of Simba, she had become very lonely and depressed. She also knew that the cub was only going to be her half-sibling, but she assumed responsibility of him or her right away. She was going to be the best big sister this cub had ever seen.

Months had passed, and the night of the cub's birth came and went. Sarafina started getting edgy. She couldn't even feel the cub moving, and for a terrifying moment, she was certain that she had lost the cub. Everyone told her it was a blessing, but Sarafina would often go off by herself and cry.

Suddenly, in the middle of the night as she was fast asleep, Sarafina felt sharp pangs in her stomach. She was confused at first, but soon she realized that it was time to give birth. Scar quickly sent away for Rafiki, and all of the lionesses gathered around her, giving her encouragement.

The birth was difficult. It lasted right into the early morning and there was a lot of blood. Nala had to be escorted out by Sarabi, and even Scar had left. Now, it was just herself and Rafiki, who would stroke her head and have her eat small bites of meat in between contractions. Finally, with one last push and one loud roar, Sarafina felt the cub come out. She looked down, and Rafiki was quickly removing the embryonic sack from it.

“What is it?” Sarafina asked, her voice exhausted.

“It's a girl.” Rafiki said, placing the cub between her mother's arms.
“A girl.” Sarafina repeated. “A little girl...” and she closed her eyes, falling fast asleep.

A few hours later, everyone came in to wish Sarafina good luck. Scar came in too, and nodded his approval. The cub had his colouring, but other than that, she looked like the spitting image of Sarafina. Nala excitedly hurried in, and perched herself on her mother's arms.

“Is this her?” she asked, hardly containing her excitement. “Is this my baby sister?” Sarafina laughed and nodded.

“Yes she is. Isn't she adorable?” Nala watched over her for a moment, grinning from ear to ear. But then the grin quickly went away, and she looked up to her mother.

“Not very active, is she?” Nala said. Sarafina laughed again and gave Nala a kiss on the head.

“Give her some time, Nala. She's still very tiny.” Just then, the cub gave a long yawn, and she opened her large eyes, looking right up at Sarafina.

“Oh, look! That's pretty fast for a cub!” a lioness said. Sarafina smiled as all of the lionesses gathered around her. They seemed to have forgotten that it was Scar's cub. And for a moment, so did Sarafina.

“My, what beautiful eyes she has!” Sarabi said. Sarafina looked down; she was so absorbed in the excitement that she had forgotten all about looking in her daughter's eyes. It was customary to name the cub as soon as they opened their eyes.

“Wow, they're indigo!” a lioness called out. Sarafina looked up and smiled.

“That's what I'll call her.” she said.

“Call her what dear?” Sarabi asked.

“Indigo. I'll call her Indigo.”

From that moment on, Indigo grew into a healthy and happy young cub. She was doted on by her mother, Nala, and of course Scar. But after her birth, the other lionesses quickly resumed into despising the cub. Especially Sarabi. And with the PrideLands becoming more and more desolate by the day, they had other things to worry about than a new cub.