[3rd POV]

Initially, the act of defying Scar outright when he tried to mate with her seemed like a great decision on her part.

It was a chance to finally get her claws on him with the excuse of resisting his advance towards her. She had done what she wanted to do for the longest time, and that was to hit Scar where it hurts.

But now, a week later, that decision seemed like the worst thing she had ever done.

Nala could understand at last, why all these females were so submissive towards Scar and why most of them wanted to be in his good graces and please him.

To have the ire of the king, who decided most of the things in your life and surroundings, was a grave mistake.

She was wrong in her thinking. Even though Scar was half blind and crippled, and she could surely take him on in a fight, he did not punish her physically.

No, Scar punished her in other ways.

..

A week had passed since that incident, and during this time, Nala barely ate anything.

She was already starving when Scar decided to try her, and a week later, she was beyond starved.

And she wished that was the only trouble she was facing. Ever since then, the hyenas had been targeting her as well.

In just the past few days, she had fought off the hyenas multiple times.

They did not attack her outright or try to kill her, but they were acting aggressively towards her. A bite on her tail while she was not looking, blocking her path when she tried to climb back to her den, etc.

But most of all, they followed her in her hunt. She was unable to hunt the rabbits like she used to with their constant presence, and whatever rodents she caught, the hyenas would steal them.

It was in their attempt to steal her food that she fought them off.

This was clearly a tactic from Scar. It was his way of showing her what life was like without his protection.

She had been managing solely because of her friend Zuri. She shared a few bites here and there, but even that was rare, as the hyenas and Scar himself always kept an eye on her.

Life had truly become hell for Nala.

She was at her breaking point.

"I am running away," Nala said in a firm tone.

There was no livelihood anymore for her. Her own decision had led her to this worst situation. The only thing she could do was run away or apologise to Scar and offer her womb to him.

And Nala preferred to run away.

Zuri turned towards her quickly. It was morning, but still dark. The majority of the pride was sleeping with the king in the deeper cave, whereas Zuri and Nala slept in a corner.

A place where Leo used to sleep as an outcast, now they lie on that same place.

"Run away? Where?" Zuri asked in a hushed tone.

"I don't know. Anywhere but the Pride Lands will do. I can't live here anymore," Nala said.

Zuri opened her mouth to say something, but she paused at the last second. She was silent for a while before she sighed in the end.

She had personally seen what life was like for Nala ever since she defied the king. Therefore, she knew trying to convince her to stay was pointless. She knew her friend would have a better fate if she really ran away.

Unless, "Why don't you just submit to the king like everyone else? You don't have to like him, you just have to stay in line until he returns."

"How can you say that? He tried to mate with me, Zuri. I don't want to bear his cubs. Anything but that," Nala said, talking a bit too loudly, so Zuri had to shush her.

She calmed down after a second, "I could ask the same for you."

"Me?"

"Yes. If the king makes advances towards you, would you let him?" Nala asked.

"Of course not. But it's becuase I have reason, and you don't. Other than the fact that you hate Scar with all your heart," Zuri answered.

Nala rolled her eyes, "Let me guess, is it because you are already Leo's female and you told you long ago that mating with another male would be the same as betraying him?"

Nala had heard her say this on multiple occasions. In fact, the idea of not giving herself to Scar was soemthing she copied from Zuri.

Zuri just stared at her with a shy smile.

"In context, my reason is much more justifiable than yours," Nala said with a huff.

"What? No!! You think you hate Scar more than I do? He was the one to hurt and kick out someone precious to me, and he also murdered my brothers in his takevoer. So for me, it's the hate plus my promise with Leo," Zuri said quickly.

Nala blinked, lost for words. "W-Well, he turned my mother against me..."

Zuri deadpanned, "My mother was literally the first to bend for him..."

They went back and forth in such arguments for a while. How much reason do they have to hate Scar? Suddenly, it became a competition between them.

But after a few moments, Nala took a serious turn in the topic.

"Run away with me,"

"Mm!!" Zuri was caught off guard by the invitation. Running away and leaving Pride Lands had always been Nala's idea, not hers.

She didn't even know how to react initially.

"You know I can't do that Nala..." Zuri said, her tone dropping.

"Why not? Because you promised Leo you would stay until he returns? Please, Zuri, think logically for a moment," Nala said, immediately trying to convince her friend.

The more she thought about it, the more Nala realised how great it would be if Zuri came with her.

"It's not even certain Leo would return. Are you simply going to wait for some lion to come and rescue you?" Nala pressed.

"Yes," Zuri replied fast, as if she found no problem with that. She would be considered crazy by all animals. After all, nature demands that everyone take care of themselves and not be that dependent on someone else.

She was insane.

And Nala gave her a judging look.

"Please, Nala, at least I have to wait until the two-year mark. That's when he said he would return. I can't lose hope before that," she said.

It was a good argument, but Nala was adamant about her idea. "What about you take your own fate in your hands and save yourself instead? We run away, and then we can return after a year or half a year. And then we will see if he has returned and taken back the Pride Lands from Scar," Nala said.

"But he could be counting on me," Zuri replied, "What if he returned, counting on my help to take over the kingdom, and I wasn't there to help him?"

"That will be betrayal," she said.

Nala couldn't help but sigh helplessly. She was so stupidly loyal to Leo even after all this time that she wanted to hit that tailless moron.

"Okay, fine. Stay if you want. But what will you do when Scar make his own advances at you? He already did so to me, and after I leave, you will be the next target." Nala said.

Zuri just smiled at that, "He hasn't tried after all this time, I don't think he will try in the future."

"Why not?" Nala asked.

Zuri smiled, "Fear controls people, Nala. And if Scar is anything at all, he is a coward,"

What happened the last time Scar tried to lay a hand on her? He found himself between the jaws of Leo in an instant. He never truly recovered from that mistake, neither physically nor mentally.

He came out crippled in body and traumatised in mind. Another lion might try to have her as some sort of revenge against Leo, but the smart and cowardly Scar just decided to avoid her.

In fact, Scar had never shown negativity towards her. Perhaps he was hoping that Leo would spare him if he did nothing bad to her upon his return.

Nala slumped on the ground, having nothing to say anymore. Zuri watched her friend for a moment before she nudged her.

"Don't worry, even if you decide to leave, I'm sure you will do fine." Zuri said.

"You know what? I will even help you leave the Pridelands," Zuri said and Nala finally perked her ears at that.

"Really? How?" Nala asked.

"Well, I know plenty of routes that you can use to escape from the kingdom. Remember how I was always glued to Leo in the past? He told me things he probably never told anyone," Zuri said.

"Like what?"

Zuri stayed silent for a while, her ears moving a bit to listen to everyone else sleeping. Then she leaned close, "I know the path Leo took to escape. Long before the incident, he used to talk about where he would go when he was inevitably kicked out. He did his research, and I remember him saying that most of those led to a desert."

"Desert?" Nala asked.

"Yes. It's a place with no life at all, not even grass or trees, just sand," Zuri explained.

"Oh, okay."

"Apparently, the journey beyond the thorn garden led to a desert as well. He was very careful in choosing where he would head after being kicked out," she said.

Nala's ears dropped, and she felt relief fill her heart. She didn't say it out loud, but she was planning to leave the Pride Lands from there.

If she had really gone there, perhaps she would've truly died from starvation before she escaped the desert.

Or like in the movies, she would stumble upon Simba.

But with Leo's influence, things had changed.

"Will you show me where to go?" Nala asked, to which Zuri nodded. "Of course,"

"But I have one favour," she added.

"Hmm? What is it?" Nala blinked, wondering what it would be.

"You are heading to the same place that Leo did when he was left the pride. If you see him..." Zuri swallowed, "Tell him I am still waiting for his return and if he can, ask him to please hurry."

Nala's eyes grew soft. "Of course."

And with that promise, the two friends slept past dawn. They sleep in for the day, only waking up in the afternoon.

They head out to scout for prey like usual. But this time, they were not really scouting but moving towards a path that led to the outside world.

An escape from the plateau, which was the Pridelands.

The hyenas tailed Nala, but they couldn't stop her.

"Stay safe, Nala, I hope we meet again," was Zuri's final word.

....

And so Nala ran away to search for a better life in the outside world.

..

..

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Author : Another double chapters. I'm surprised to reach such high ranking. More stones will be appreciated.