The Promise cotpl-7

by John H. Burkitt

  He trembled. “Always!” He shyly came forward and reached down, touching her cheek with his tongue. She looked up and kissed him passionately, pawing at his mane. She rolled over and stroked his throat and chest with her paws, setting him on fire. “I can feel your heart throbbing.” She reached up with a paw and drew his face toward hers, kissing him passionately. In a sultry voice, she purred, “Deep inside, you know what you want. Forget what your head tells you. Go where your feelings lead you. Make love to me.”

  His feelings were strong and clear this time. She rolled back into a crouch, purring softly. “It’s OK. Don't be afraid.”

  He gently mouthed her neck, and trembling with desire he pressed himself against her soft golden body. With faint utterances of contentment and pleasure, Baba filled his senses with her love, the love that made her his lioness. Feeling her shudder in his gentle embrace, he lived out all the tender fantasies that filled his dreams. Never had he felt so alive as he had in that moment.

  “Beloved,” she purred, “Are you happy?”

  “Delirious! And you? Do I please you?”

  “Yes! I feel...I feel...” She jerked and moaned. “Oh, Baba! Yes!”

  Mabatu was drunk with her pleasures, and just as he thought his heart would burst, he knew in his own body the ecstasy that made her cry out. He gasped and wanted to let it out in a roar, but he dared not. Only a gentle sigh of fulfillment left him, and overcome he nuzzled her and stumbled away.

  “Will that ever happen again?”

  “Many times," Isha said. "The night is still young.”

  Panting, he fell in the grass. "Many times," he said, heaving a contented sigh. "Imagine that! I must have done something good in my life. Aiheu has been good to me--so have you."

  He patted with his paw on the ground, and Isha came and snuggled next to him, rolling on her back and stroking his mane with her paw. “I love you,” he said simply. “You're everything I've ever wanted. And at every special moment of my life, you were always there.”

  "Always," she said. "Because I love you."

  Cubhood was over--he was a lion at last.

  CHAPTER: MID-MOON

  Late that night near mid-moon, he looked at his resting consort and said, “Isha, my lover, can I ask you a favor?” She smiled and said, “Again, my little brush fire?” She licked her paw and groomed her face. “Let me prepare myself.”

  “No, not that. When I face Aiheu, I want to face him as your husband. Would you please pledge to me? Please? I hear you’re not the marrying type, but when they ask me who I’m praying for, I want to say it’s my wife.”

  She was stunned. She’d never been asked quite that way before. She only had to think a moment. “That’s the only thing that could make this night any better. I’d be glad--no--honored. And when I go into the east, I’ll sit next to you throughout eternity.” She nuzzled him and kissed him gently on the cheek, between the eyes, and then rubbed his face with her own. “Maybe I was saving myself all along for my little Baba. My heart is swift prey, and no one else could catch it.”

  He smiled warmly and nuzzled her. “I don’t want to catch it. I want to set it free the way your love set me free.” He put his paw on her shoulder. "Before the gods, before the stars, before the assembled host I swear to give you my protection, my life, and my comfort forever."

  She pawed his face and kissed him. "Till the last beat of my heart, to the last breath I sigh, our lives are one, so help me gods." She kissed him again. “It is done, husband.”

  A moment went by when neither of them spoke. Then, almost abruptly, Isha said, “I HAVE to teach you how to survive out there! I won’t let it end like this! I can’t!”

  “No more lessons. These memories have to last me, my wife. Let’s lose none of this time together.”

  Tears began to stream down Isha’s cheeks. “Baba, I love you!”

  “I love you too, but please don’t cry. I’ve known love all my life, first from my mother, than from my King, my friend and my lover. I have no enemies, and no one I’ve loved has ever left me. I’m the luckiest lion in the world, and you should be glad for me.”

  She kissed him and nuzzled him. “I am. I love you so much, Mabatu! Who in heaven or earth wouldn’t envy me tonight!”

  “I’ll come back within the year. If I don’t, then consider yourself free to remarry. Only death can stop me.”

  She wept again. “You must come back! I’ll pray for you each night--you can’t die! You mustn’t break my heart!”

  “Please don’t cry.”

  “Don’t forbid it. It makes me feel better.”

  He pawed her. “But I don’t want to remember you sad. Can’t I make you happy? Just for a little while? Be sad tomorrow, but not now--this night belongs to us.”

  She said, “Yes. Make love to me. Let me feel you next to me once more.”

  He nuzzled her passionately. “Habusu am I, a prisoner of your love.” He rose to his feet and awash with mixed pride and passion he tenderly mouthed her throat.

  Far from the crowd whose prying eyes

  Would violate our solitude

  We shall make love among the reeds

  Here unobserved by jealous hearts

  We shall caress.

  CHAPTER: THE SEPARATION

  Isha looked at Kako and her heart sank. Kako had always been so friendly to her and smiled so beautifully. The beauty was still there, but she looked like she was at a funeral, not a mantlement. Deep inside, that’s how she felt too. Mabatu looked very small, pitiful, and frightened. The proud lion of last night shrank down like a disciplined cub, pacing about, lost in the whirlpool of his inner turmoil.

  Taka stalked into the meadow with slumped shoulders and dragging tail. He looked like the weight of the world was on him, and indeed he looked back as if to see what sat on his back. He was really watching Elanna who filed silently behind him.

  Only Shenzi seemed to be upbeat. She had never seen a mantlement before, and she sought to satisfy her idle curiosity with a little pageantry and culture.

  There would be little pageantry. It was a very private ceremony and very somber. Standing in the midst of the blossoms where the night before Baba and Isha had first made love, Kako put on her best smile and looked at her hapless son. “Where has my little cub gone? All I see is this lion.” She shuddered to say it.

  “I’ll always be your son,” Baba replied, and nuzzled her.

  “Remember me,” she said. “When you are a great king, do not forget that I gave you milk.”

  He looked deeply into her eyes. “When you are gone to be with your fathers,” he stammered, “pray for me.”

  “I will pray for you.” Tears began to stream down her cheeks. She looked at Taka with desperation and cried, “Oh gods, my son, my little son!”

  “Don’t cry, mother.” Mabatu kissed away her tears. “You must be strong for me. I will carry this moment with me for the rest of my life.”

  “I’m sorry.” She sniffed back her bitter tears and managed a smile. “Besides, we will meet again among the stars, and nothing will separate us. May the Lord Aiheu smile upon you. May the grass be soft beneath you. May the great kings enfold you. May you find love and safety wherever you go.”

  “I’ll be safe. The gods are with me.”

  Isha trembled and tears flooded her eyes. Mabatu noticed and went to her, kissing away her tears. He whispered, “I’ll come back for you. If Aiheu lets me live, I’ll make a place for us. Will you wait for me?”

  “I will. I swear.”

  “I will always love you. If I die, look in the stars. I will be watching over you.”

  “Don’t die. Promise me you won’t die!”

  “I promise you I’ll try not to. You are everything to me--wife, lover and friend. I will fight to hold on for your sake, and someday I’ll make a life for us and for our children.”

  Isha turned from him and began to sob. Mabatu quietly walked back to his mother and nuzzled her. He wanted to remember how she felt, smelled
, and sounded. He peered into her sad eyes and said, “Mother.”

  “My son.” She touched him with her tongue for the last time and stroked his cheek with her paw. “I release you to God.”

  Silently, he turned to the north and walked away without looking back, as custom dictated. He reached the edge of the forest and drew close to the border of the Pride Lands. One more small meadow caressed his feet in fond farewell. One last clump of reeds stroked him as he stopped for a moment at the far side of the meadow. “I’ll come back for you,” he murmured quietly. “Isha, my dearest Isha, I must leave you now.” He stepped across the threshold of The Big World and immersed himself in uncertainty.

  CHAPTER: A LIFE FOR A LIFE

  As he wandered the strange land, memories of the blissful moments he spent with Isha came crowding in on him. He was unprepared to be out on his own, but his greatest fear was not death. There was a chance that Isha would bear his children in the middle of a drought and there would be no husband to see to her. What if the hyenas turned on the lion cubs? What if there were no more rains?

  Isha had begged Taka to be freed from her obligations and leave with Mabatu. Of course, she could not say she had married him, for Taka would not have recognized vows taken before mantlement. It was a mistake to speak of leaving to the King. Not only did he refuse her passage, he sent hyenas to trail her every move to prevent her from fleeing. It seems he knew more than he was admitting.

  Grief came to many that day. An old king had driven off some rogue lions that tested his authority. He and his brother were weak from age, and while they had both sired many daughters, there was no son to shoulder the load of defending the pride territory from the jealous eyes that wanted it.

  Prince Baliaha’s life was flowing away in a crimson river. Remnants of his once splendid mane lay scattered on the ground, and he gasped for breath. He looked up with eyes that strove to focus. “Are they gone? Brother, have we driven them off?”

  “Yes, we have.”

  “Good,” he said with a sigh of resignation. “They’ll come back, you know. And I’m afraid you’ll have to handle them alone.”

  “You’ll recover, but there will be scars.”

  Through his pain, Baliaha managed a smile. “You always were an optimist.” His eyes closed tightly, and he went into a seizure. The king looked away in horror and did not see his dying breath escape.

  There was a quiet moment, and a couple of lionesses peeked out of the brush. “How is he?”

  “He’s gone.”

  They bowed their heads low. “We will see to him. I’m sorry, but there’s another rogue male to the east by the termite mounds.”

  He was tortured by grief, but the grief became a terrible rage. Whomever this lion was, he would kill! “A life for a life!” he shrieked, foam on his heaving nostrils as he ran like a thing possessed across the grassland.

  CHAPTER: THE CONFRONTATION

  Unwittingly, Baba was heading right into the eye of the storm. He was a gentle-natured soul and knew nothing of what he would face in The Big World. He kept a piece of advice that Isha had given him in the forefront--let Aiheu be your landmark and he will lead you home.

  Baba came to a stream. Under the searing sun, he sought to slake his thirst in the cool, clean water. He dipped his muzzle in and drew out refreshment, then he reached in with a paw and threw the cold, invigorating drops in his face, heaving a sigh of relief. A nearby acacia tree offered some shade, and he crossed the stream and settled down for a moment to rest.

  For a moment, all was deceptively peaceful. Then in the distance, he saw the powerful charge of a male lion. He felt his stomach knot up and rise into his chest.

  “Now you pay!” the King snarled, coming to a halt in front of Baba. “Defend yourself!”

  The youth cowered back and bared his teeth. “Leave me alone! You may kill me, but I’ll leave some scars on you!”

  The old yet powerful lion looked down at Baba. “What is this?? You’re just a boy!” He softened. “Are you lost, son? Are you looking for your mother?”

  Still cowering, but with a trace of pride, he answered, "I'm a lion now. I've been given my mantlement, and what's more, I've taken a mate."

  "Wfff! A lion you are! But a very young one, my lad. Drink, have something to eat from our kill, and remember that I was kind to you when you say your nightly prayers."

  "Thank you." He drank again from the stream and followed the old lion to a zebra kill. Famished, he looked at the half-eaten kill and wondered that so much food could possibly be in one place. Desperately, he tore pieces from the haunch and downed them, feeling the warm meat comfort his empty stomach. “Oh gods, you must be wealthy!”

  The king laughed. “I do all right.”

  After the edge was off Baba’s hunger, they talked.

  "What is your name, son?"

  "Mabatu."

  “Then we are both the same name! Do you have a nickname?”

  “They call me Baba.”

  "So who drove you off so young, Baba?"

  "Scar."

  "Scar??" He looked at him intently. "By any chance, do you know Kako?"

  "Sure. She’s my mother."

  A look of tenderness warmed the old king’s face. “Kako’s son?” He reached out with a paw and fondled Baba’s cheek, then turned his face with it from side to side as he saw the resemblance. “So you are.” Purring deeply, King Mabatu came forward and nuzzled Baba very gently. "The shaman spoke truly. If Kako is your mother, then you are welcome here. My brother died today, but Aiheu has sent me a son. Welcome your new father, Prince Baba!"

  Filled with wonder at his good fortune, and moved by the gentle lion’s plea, Mabatu nuzzled him and pawed his right shoulder. "I touch your mane! Aiheu make long and happy your days."

  King Mabatu sat down in the shade of some acacias and heard Baba’s story. He nodded solemnly and mused that even though his son had bad luck, perhaps Aiheu meant it for good. He introduced one of his lionesses--his youngest daughter Umande. “Mandy dear, show the new prince around his kingdom. If he’s going to rule someday, he needs to know the boundaries.”

  CHAPTER: SETTLING IN

  Umande was in very high spirits. “Mabatu?”

  “Maybe I should go by Baba. It’s less confusing. Besides, that’s what my friends call me.”

  “I’d like to be your friend, Baba.” She smiled broadly. “You don’t know what your coming has done for us. You’re the son my father never had. You’re our hope for a future.”

  “Whoa!” he said. “Really?”

  “Would I joke about a thing like that?” She nuzzled him playfully. “You think you’ve had a run of bad luck, but you’re really very lucky, you know?”

  “I don’t think I’ve had any bad luck. God has been very good to me. Your King is the second one who asked me to be his son. I never knew my real father, but I've known a lot of love in my life.” He nuzzled her back. “So your Dad knew my Mom?”

  “I suppose so. They hit it off well, I’d say.”

  A few clouds passed in front of the sun giving a moment of blessed respite from the mid-sun heat. A cool wind began to blow with the promise of moisture for the thirsty land. A drop fell, playfully teasing the end of Mabatu’s nose. Then a couple more fell. “Hey, it’s going to rain!” He almost danced. “Imagine that! Rain at last!”

  “What’s so great about that? It rains all the time.”

  “It does??” He remembered something his mother told him long ago and sighed. “I guess she was right. It’s only back home that it never rains. It’s been many moons since we’ve had any rain.”

  “Many moons, you say? What’s happened to the grass? It looks like that would ruin hunting.”

  “Hunting? Half-rotted fish trapped in pools as our beautiful river dries up to nothing. Dead birds, snakes, lizards. Do you realize that zebra is the first thing with hair on it I’ve eaten since I was belly-high to my mother?” He sighed. “Some day I’m going back for her, hyenas or no hyenas
, and I’m getting her out of that hell hole. There will be a lot of scores settled that day, I promise you.”

  “Poor Baba!” She trotted in a lope that was easy and looked casual but moved a lot of ground beneath her. “These trees form one corner of our land. Note the scent, Baba. Note it carefully--it’s my Dad’s, and it’s all that comes between us and danger.”

  Baba sniffed of a tree trunk, closed his eyes and grimaced. The fragrance of his father’s urine was a safe smell, one that he would remember and respect. Then he lifted his leg and marked the tree. “There! You try to touch that old lion, you’ll have to kill me first!” His face lost its cublike timidity and he was the lion that made love to Isha once again. “I wish I’d known my Uncle Baliaha. He sounds like a decent sort of lion.”

  “He was more than decent. He loved us with his whole heart. He was a lot like you--he said they’d have to kill him first, and they did. Don’t take foolish chances, Baba. You’re our only hope.”

  “But I’m young. At least I have a chance.”

  “You have more than a chance. Aiheu sent you to us, and he never does anything halfway. I believe you are blessed, our little Nisei.”

  Baba smiled. That’s what Isha had called him so tenderly as they made love under the moon. He reached over and touched Umande with his tongue.

  It was a long trip from the copse to the termite mounds, or so it seemed to Baba who had never had to walk boundary lines before. As a lion, short-legged or no, he had to satisfy the mandates of lionhood laid down by Aiheu to the first Baba many generations ago. Again, he added his mark to the termite mounds, then turned to face Boundary Kopje. Another long walk, and another scent mark later, they followed the creek from Boundary Kopje to Bontebok Copse, and then back to where they started. It was part of his leonine heritage that he remembered the border vividly after one trip, even as he remembered his new father’s scent. He looked out into the lands beyond his domain, raised his muzzle and uttered a loud, deep roar. “This land is mine! Baba, son of Mabatu! Trespass at your peril!”