Nala took a deep breath to steady herself (as if her enormous stomach didn't anchor her firmly to the ground!). "Protecting the cubs is one of the most important jobs in the pride. Let the hyenas have her." Inwardly, Nala was quaking, but her distress subsided a bit when she saw her mate's smile widen. If he was happy, it was worth a little extra guilt. It wasn't as though she cared about the lioness, or had any moral objections to punishing her.

Scar purred and nuzzled Nala's huge gut affectionately. She was a little startled: he wasn't the most demonstratively affectionate mate in the world, and she wasn't even sure that he found her physically attractive. Oh, he said he did, but she had long suspected that that was just so she didn't feel like she was somehow letting him down by continuing to gain weight. But he certainly seemed pleased with her now.

"I think that that is an excellent idea, my queen," he whispered in his silkiest voice. She wished that she could nuzzle him back, but there was no way her head or even any of her limbs could reach all the way down to him.

More than that, though, she was grateful when he called for more food to be brought to her. He had given her quite a bit to think about, and she would be happy to dismiss this as some weird whim of his and go back to not thinking at all.

But it kept happening. Her food supply was becoming distressingly erratic, and, suspiciously, it only seemed to run out when Scar was doing some sort of kingly business that he wanted her input on. Because she wanted to keep him happy, she always advised the cruelest thing she could think of, and in return, he showed her affection and resumed feeding her.