The First Kingdom (The Bolaji Kingdoms Prequel)

CHAPTER 7

SANEE, UP BEFORE THE SUN, made himself a spear to carry and hunt with. A hunter without a weapon was no hunter. At first light, the three young men packed up their camp and covered their fire. They consumed their light breakfast of berries along the trail. The sun gave them the direction needed to head north. Sanee welcomed the sun overhead. When the sun god chose to shine on them, it meant it would be a good and productive day in the land.

They'd been walking only for a few hours when they came across the first of the fighting.

Sanee and the twins divided themselves into the brush. A group of Karmirians and Majiwa stood almost nose to nose with spears aimed and ready.

"If the Majiwa been hurt by your hand, it's a tragedy we can't impede, but suffering will come to your land, a definite calamity indeed.

"The mermaid, she doesn't dwell with us. Our prince, you have him and you'll give him up." The guards prepared to throw their spears.

"Your lies are plenty and fill our ears, your bones won't be found for many years." The men lunged at each other. When their weapons fell to the ground, they fought hands and fists, knees and feet. The six men tumbled in the dirt, exchanging insults.

Sanee stood up from his hiding place, ready to jump into the fray. The twins grabbed him, one by each arm, and hauled him back.

"No, Red-man you can't. This isn't our fight," Jiden said.

"It is my fight. I'm Karmirian."

"But they're Majiwa. Like your girlfriend. I don't think your mermaid girlfriend is going like it if you kill her kinsmen," Neke said.

The rapid-fire speech of the young men caught Sanee's attention and he realized that they were right. How could he face her if he'd killed her people? He nodded and stormed off in the direction of the north, leaving the twins looking at each other. What kind of position had he put himself in? The choice between her and his own people had been hard enough the first time. Could he keep choosing her when it meant the lives of his people? He had to find a way to make their people understand that they weren't being held against their wills, but living free and together.

"Adera and I must live free and well-known," Sanee said aloud more to himself than to the twins.

"Then you must live in the north," Neke said.

"Explain," Sanee said.

"In the north, there are people of all lands," Jiden said.

"Living free. Loving who they want. Doing what they want," Neke said.

Both of the twins spoke faster as they grew more excited.

Sanee held up a hand.

"The land in the north is in peace?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

Sanee hadn't imagined such a place existed.

"That's probably why she's going north."

Sanee nodded. It made sense if she thought there was a way for them to be together, she'd go there, as would he. His heart ached for her and for his people. Why didn't they understand? Maybe this was the only way to keep everyone safe.

"Yes, we go north, then we will return hand in hand."

Jiden and Neke looked at each other with concern.

"Let's just find her first, and then we'll deal with your peoples later."

Sanee heard their words, but didn't understand them. They were right about one thing. If they found a home in the north, they might convince their tribes to stop fighting and join them in peace. Their fight was baseless. He was the prince of Karmir and he needed to act like it.

"The mermaid, tell us about her," Jiden said.

"Yes, how did you come to befriend her?" Neke asked as they walked along.

Sanee began at the beach where he'd almost drowned. Adera had saved him. Then he remembered that wasn't the beginning of their story, so he started again. He told them of how they'd met as children. It reminded him of how solid their bond had been from the beginning.

"What does she look like?"

"Does she wear scales?"

"Does she eat raw fish?"

They fired their questions at him in rapid succession. Sanee raised a hand and began with the first question.

"She is the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. Her hair is a rainbow of colors that blend in the most unique way—in pink, blue, gold, and purple. It trails down her back in a cascade of light. Her skin is a mix of green and blue that sparkles in the moonlight."

The twins sighed in harmony.

Sanee continued his story, and it enraptured them the entire day. None of them thought of their sore feet, their empty bellies, or their thirst.

******

Oh, young love. Can anything compare? I love this storytelling moment because it reminds me of when I met G and started slowly telling my friends that I wasn't going to die a bitter old divorced woman and that I'd found true love at last. 

True love isn't just for the young, but that first love just has a different taste than all the others that came after.

But 'last love':  the one that goes beyond beauty and innocence and endures all until the end of time. That's the one a lot of us are usually looking for in the end. 

Whether you've found yours or not, I hope you're enjoying this story of first love. Let me know in the comments below or with a star :D