Myra spotted Walter as he attempted to sneak away. With a mighty roar, Myra chased after Walter as the flames were spreading. Walter tried to escape, but when he got to the edge of the top, he saw enormous flames down below, and a wall of fire formed behind him. He was trapped!

This was perfect for Myra, who came literally running through fire to get to Walter.

"Here's Myra!" sang the princess.

Myra held an angry expression on her face the whole time she strode toward her uncle. That anger only grew when she spotted her mother's talisman around Walter's neck. She scolded herself for being so foolish to see any good in this man, to believe anything he'd said before, and not realizing from the beginning he was responsible for her mother's death all along!

"Murderer. Monster."

Walter clearly had no choice. For the first time in a while, he showed fear. Brenda had been the only one who could stand up to him so fearlessly, and it was abundantly clear Myra inherited more than Brenda's looks.

But Myra was furious with Walter for more than just her mother's murder. He'd abused her aunt, imprisoned her cousin, his own wife and son all these years, and she was not going to let him get away with it.

"Myra. Myra, please." Walter whimpered. "Please, have mercy. I beg you."

"You don't deserve to live."

"But Myra, I am family."

"Only by marriage."

"Oh, but it is the Dark Landers who are the real enemy. It was their fault. It was their idea."

Walter didn't realize that Ventress, Bossk, and Tak were all behind some of the flames, and they heard every word. You can probably imagine how they felt about that.

"Why should I believe you?" said Myra, getting even closer to Walter. "Everything you ever told me was a lie."

Walter very nearly slipped over the edge as Myra cornered him.

"What are you going to do? You wouldn't kill your own uncle."

"Then it's a good thing you're not brother to either of my parents, isn't it?" Myra growled, grabbing Walter by the throat and snapping Brenda's talisman off Walter's neck. "If I were anything like you, I would kill you right here, right now... but lucky for you, I'm not like you."

Myra released her grip, sending Walter to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Oh, Myra, thank you. You are truly noble." Walter said. "I'll make it up to you, I promise. And how can I prove myself to you? Tell me. I mean, anything."

Missing a kid's school play is one thing you can make up for, and so is knocking over your mother's favorite vase and breaking it. But murder... there's no making up for that. Although, Myra was about to challenge that with one thing Walter told her that stuck with her forever.

"Run. Run away, Walter, and never return."

"Er... yes. Of course," said Walter, starting to walk around Myra. "As you wish..."

Suddenly, Myra sensed an oncoming danger.

"Your Majesty!"

Walter picked up some hot embers and attempted to hit Myra's eyes, only for the girl to dodge them. But that didn't stop Walter from assuming lion form and engaging in battle with his niece.

Myra and Walter both roared in anger and in pain as they fought. The whole world seemed to slow down as they clawed at each other and bit each other. Myra even started using the Force to push Walter away or into a rock, but Walter struck a powerful blow, sending Myra flying to the edge of the rock!

Myra cried out in pain and reverted to human form as she landed roughly on the ground. She was scarred, bruised, and in pain. She barely had any strength left to get back to lioness form. But to make matters worse, Walter came flying in, ready to finish off the girl. But then, Myra remembered something her father told her when she was little.

Concentrating, Myra lifted her hands and summoned the Force as she shouted...

"USIKATE TAMAA!!!"

And Myra Force pushed Walter harder than she'd Force pushed anything before, and sent Walter flying over the cliff, tumbling down the rocks until he landed roughly on the ground, reverting to his human form.

Walter weakly picked himself up, and he looked up to see his three minions approaching him, all of them looking angry, not that he took note of that.

"Ah, my friends."

"Friends?" Ventress laughed. "I thought he said we were the enemy."

"Yeah, that's what I heard." Bossk hissed.

"Tak?" both hyenas said.

Tak just laughed a crazy laugh, and before you could say "Circle of Life," more hyenas, as well as other Dark Land animals approached, all of them with sinister looks as they approached Walter.

"No. Let me explain." Walter begged. "No, you don't understand! No! I didn't mean... No! No!"

Walter's screams filled the air as his former minions came at him at once like moths to light, and let's just say, you don't want to imagine what happened next.

___________________________

Rain started to pour and extinguish the flames. All was quiet. Not a Dark Lander was left by this time. Many were scarred, bruised, or injured, but it appeared they'd won.

Myra soon came down from the rocks and made her way down to where the others were. She was greeted by her friends, her cousin, her aunt, and of course... her father.

Mace gave Myra a big hug and kissed her head, when he noticed his wife's talisman in Myra's hands.

Mace took the necklace and placed it around his daughter's neck so she would always have a piece of her mother with her.

"Your mother would be so proud of you."

The battle was won, but there was one other matter to tend to. The Circle of Life was still out of balance, and a lot of damage from Walter's rule was left behind. It was going to take a lot of time and effort to rebuild the Pride Lands, and the people required a leader to guide them through it.

Master Sinube cleared his throat and motioned for Myra to step up.

Mace caressed Myra's cheek and nodded to her with a smile.

Myra was hugged by Heidi and Rhett as well.

"This is your time." Heidi said.

Myra approached Sinube, thanking him for his wisdom and convincing her to finally confront her past.

"It is time." Sinube said.

And so, Myra finally did something she'd spent her childhood waiting for.

Myra stepped onto Pride Rock, climbing up high for everyone to see her. She felt so nervous as she reached the top. But she looked to the heavens above and could see a small clearing in the storm, and she could hear a familiar voice.

"Remember."

Myra held her mother's and her own talisman in her hands and hugged them close to her heart. Then, she became a lioness again and roared. In response, everyone else took on their animal forms and roared, whinnied, trumpeted, or whatever other sounds they made as loudly as they could in support of their new queen.

___________________________

It took some serious time and effort, but with guidance and leadership from Queen Myra, everyone worked together to restore the beauty of the great circle of life. Soon, the grass, the flowers, the trees, and the crops started to grow back! Not only that, but herds started to return to the kingdom.

Ubuse ngo thando

Ubuse ngo thando

Ubuse ngo xolo

Busa Myra, Busa Myra

Over time, the Pride Lands were once again beautiful! And the royal family had so much to celebrate. Myra was home, safe and sound, and reunited with her father. Heidi was finally free from her abusive husband, and she and Rhett could live peacefully in the palace, and the Jedi were free too.

Ubuse ngo xolo

Ubuse ngo thando

Ubuse ngo xolo

Ubuse ngo thando

Ubuse ngo xolo

As you can probably imagine, Myra turned a lot of Walter's damage around, changed the laws, made Jedi legal again, and of course swore to the kingdom that as long as she was queen, she would carry on her mother's legacy.

That wasn't the only thing though. The Batch were welcomed into the palace too; naturally, Myra's family wanted to reward them and express their gratitude for taking care of their princess all these years. And eventually, Myra and Vince got married, and today they were celebrating the birth and presentation of their new baby.

Till we find our place

On the path unwinding

In the circle

The circle of life

Circle of life

___________________________

"And so, the great circle of life was restored, and balance existed in the kingdom once more, and would continue on for a long, long time." Myra read. "The end."

By the time Myra closed the book, Kade was deep in sleep.

Myra tucked her little brother in and kissed his head. Read a story with animals, Kade will have a very peaceful night's rest.

"Sleep tight, little cub." Myra said, gently ruffling Kade's hair.

Myra could see why Kade loved animals so much; each one was unique in its own way, and many of them served as proof that no matter how big or small you are, you have a role to play, and how you play that role can have a significant impact on everything.