"Dad! Dad! Wake up! It's time to play!" Uru pounced on her father, the first king of the pridelands - Mohatu.

"My diamond, go back to sleep" the large, brown lion rolled over, away from the cub.

"But daddy! Tammy doesn't want to play with me either" the little cub, Uru, turned her back and growled. Tammy, or Thamani, was her twin sister - a light, sandy coloured lioness with a white diamond mark on her forehead. She had fur around the edges of her face, unlike most lionesses, and stunning, blue eyes, truly beautiful.

Uru was a reddish-brown colour, with a shaggy chin, a brown diamond mark on her forehead and red and yellow eyes which the other cubs often made fun of. She was the only one of her colour in the pride, so she was often teased.

The twins's mother died before they could have any memories, although, Mohatu often told stories of her. According to Mohatu, she was the most beautiful lioness in the whole world, other than his two, little girls. A soft, golden colour with green eyes. Hazina - that was her name - it meant "treasure" in Swahili. Thamani's name means "precious" and Uru's means "diamond".

Mohatu finally gave in. He rolled over with a groan and opened his eyes to see Uru with a huge smile on her face.

"Yay! Come on daddy! Let's go!" She pulled his tail in an effort to get him up.

Mohatu stood up and walked over to his other daughter.

"Thamani, my precious, get up" the lion whispered.

"Daddy?" She fluttered open her blue eyes and stifled a yawn.

"Hurry! Let's go!" He pounced at the cub, forcing her to stand.

...

The twins played, pouncing and running after each other. Mohatu said it was good practise for when they have to start hunting. The girls didn't care, they just thought it was fun.

They weren't just sisters, they were best friends. They kept nothing from each other.

...

"Mornin' diamond" Thamani woke, walking over to her sister.

"Hey Tam" Uru, now in her late teens greeted as she flicked her eyes open. Then she closed them again, rolling over to continue her slumber.

"Uru" Thamani growled "Don't you remember what today is?"

"No" Uru yawned.

"It's coronation day" she nudged her sister "Now get up before I have to bite you" she smirked.

"What!? I completely forgot!" Uru got up in a flash and ran out of the cave with her sister, towards Pride Rock.

There stood a young Rafiki, about the same age as the twins, with his father's staff in hand.

...

The girls were now queens. After their father's unexpected death, the girls were terribly upset. He was all they had. They had to face the fact that they were now orphans. Mohatu had left a rule for the girls - since there could not be two queens and two kings, whichever lioness was to marry first would be queen.

It had been two years since the coronation and something began to seem off about Thamani. She'd often sneak out at night and leave Uru by herself when they went around the pridelands.

One day, instead of Thamani leaving, Uru went out, just for a while to look at the stars. She sat in the middle of the meadow, the grass rustling in the wind. Her father was up there and it comforted her to know that.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps. She lowered herself to hide in the grass. For a few minutes, she was crouched. She then looked up to see a golden-yellow lion with a black mane sitting beside her. Of course, he didn't know she was there.

"What are you doing?" She growled.

The lion jumped back. "W-woah!"

"I asked you a question. Who are you and what are you doing here? I've never seen you around here" she growled once more.

"Calm down princess" he rolled his eyes "The name's Ahadi and I came out here to see the stars"

"I am not a princess!" I am one of the queens!" She opened her mouth and roared, her roar echoing across the pridelands.

"Queen?!" Ahadi exclaimed "Excuse me, your majesty" he bowed.

Uru was not looking. She heard another roar echo back. She recognised it immediately - Thamani.

"Uru!" She screamed.

"Tammy!" Uru ran towards the cave, a confused Ahadi bounding along behind her.

"Where are we going?" Ahadi panted as he ran.

"I am going to the cave to see my sister. You are staying here, away from us" the lioness then bounded out of sight.

Uru arrived at the cave. Her sister was just standing there in front of her.

"Are you..okay?" Uru panted.

"Yes. I'm fine" Thamani remarked rather rudely "You on the other hand, why did you leave? I didn't know where you were!"

"You sounded like you were in trouble!" Uru growled "I left to look at the stars"

"That's not an excuse! You're not allowed to leave here after dark!"

"What?" Uru asked "Then why do you always sneak off during the middle of the night!?"

"Because I can! I'm older than you!"

"Only by three minutes! But still, that's not an excuse!"

The rest of the pride was watching the argument.

"I should be queen! I'm older!" Thamani unsheathed her claws, gripping to the ground.

Uru roared, lashing out at Thamani, who in turn, roared in pain.

There was quiet. No one from the pride dared move.

"You idiot!" Thamani roared, her paw to her face. She then moved it, revealing a scar running from just above her right eye to the bottom. It bled crimson blood, which trickled onto the ground.

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't think I'd hurt you" Uru crouched down to ground level.

"Uru! Are you o...kay?" Ahadi skidded to a halt at the edge of the cave.

"Who's this?" Thamani glared at the lion. "Your mate no doubt! First you scratch me and now you threaten to take the throne!?"

"No! Tammy! Listen! He's not my mate! I just met him!" Uru defended herself.

"Sure. Just like this" she pointed to her scar "was completely an accident"

"It was!" Uru whimpered.

"You know what, Uru?" Thamani started "Leave. Leave the pridelands and never come back!"

"No! Never! This is my pridelands too!"

"Then so be it" Thamani turned her back.

"You want to know where I've been going lately?" Thamani looked down at the ground "I have a mate. There, I said it. Imaru, that's his name. He's not from here. He's from out there" she looked beyond the pride "I kept him a secret because I wanted you to be queen. I felt pitiful. You were always picked on. You were the younger twin. But now...but now, I hate you" her eyes gleamed red "And we will fight for our rightful place as queen"

"What? No! Tammy! I can't fight you! You're my sister!" Uru cried.

"Then I'll just take my place as queen" Thamani stopped. She knew Uru would fight. She'd do anything for Mohatu. She wanted to be the best queen there was, to make her father proud.

"Fine" Uru started "I'll fight"

"No! Uru! Don't!" Ahadi roared, only to be stopped by the other lions in the pride.

"Let them settle this, once and for all" one of the lions remarked, holding Ahadi back.

"But she'll be killed" he looked at Uru.

"If that's her fate, then so be it"

"No! Uru! She'll kill you!" Ahadi roared again, restricted by the lions.

The lionesses stood in particularly threatening stances, ready to attack.

"You are not meant to be queen" Thamani mumbled under her breath.

Then they pounced, paws swiping and claws slashing at each other. Roars echoed through the pridelands. During the fight, they moved slightly backwards.

Then, Thamani took a swipe at Uru's face, tripping over a ledge and missing.

She was now dangling. All Uru had to do to become queen was throw her off.

Uru walked up to her sister.

"You'll regret this" Thamani looked over her shoulder. Her death was imminent.

"I know I will" Uru stood walked forward and helped her sister stand on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Thamani looked shocked.

"I can't kill you. You're my sister" Uru smiled, then her smile turned into a frown.

"But I will do something else. For threatening to kill me, I will banish you, banish you from the pride. Go out there, with Imaru. Be your own queen. Start a new life. Forget that I exist" Uru kept her head high, a small tear forming in her eye.

"Don't worry, I'll start a new life, I'll be my own queen. But I can't forget you...for this" Thamani stroked her scar "Remember, villains aren't always ugly"

She walked beyond the pridelands, the whole pride watching her every move.

There stood Imaru, a grey lion with a pitch black mane and gleaming red eyes.

Uru turned to leave, only to be stopped by a familiar voice.

"Uru, I'm proud of you" it was Ahadi.

"Just...leave me alone" she whispered as she walked back to the cave. She propped herself at the edge, where she and her father often sat when she was young.

Ahadi watched as Uru looked up into the starry sky. Hesitantly, he strolled over and sat beside Uru.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Ahadi wasn't talking to anyone in particular.

Uru sighed "Yeah. My dad's up there. Somewhere" she looked over at Ahadi, who in turn looked at her.

"Why do you care so much about me?" Uru asked "You know, with the fight and all?"

"Because I can" was his answer.

"Only my father ever cared so much about me" she looked into Ahadi's green eyes.

They then turned their heads back to the sky.

Uru, despite the urge not to, leant her head on Ahadi's fur. She hadn't felt such warmth since Mohatu died.

Ahadi looked at the beautiful lioness beside him. She'd began to look nicer as she aged.

Ahadi leant his head on Uru.

"So" Uru started "This is what love is"

"I guess so" Ahadi looked over at Uru and licked her cheek.

The next day, Thamani was feeling particularly angry. She now had a permanent grudge against her sister, the sister that was once her best friend.

...

It had been a year or so since the fight, and both the twins had their own cubs.

Ahadi and Uru were blessed with two, little boys - Mufasa and Taka.
Imaru and Thamani had a daughter, much to Thamani's displeasure - Hazina, just like her mother.

One day, Mufasa asked his mother what was beyond the pridelands. Taka was listening in.

"Out there is a world, filled with darkness. A world where my sister belongs - the outside"

Mufasa was scared, he never wanted to go over there, to the evil. But Taka was interested, he wanted to know more. He wanted to go to the outside.