kulanah , brayan --casino royale--part 2

kulanah , brayan : casino royale -2

Current mood: amused

Category: Dreams and the Supernatural





alone now without kulanah's shimmering presence , as the trickling lines of people outside gradually swelled into the casino , brayan's mind returned to the training mission .



immediately disregarding her instructions , he walked about fifteen yards away to the craps tables where a group of gamers had assembled around a tall slender man in what brayan had assumed were just cowboy boots , but were actually exotic grey and black natural caiman-crocodile , made by "lucchese" of texas .



the man in mid-forties had a narrow angular face , dark hair with bushy mustasche . unlike the women watching the dice throwers, brayan also failed to notice that the man in question was wearing an expensive hickey freeman navy striped suit .



but what loabe did correctly recognize was the "yacht-master" yellow gold rolex with blue sapphire crystal . "must be about 20 grand for that watch --if old tex ain't got a knock off " , he speculated .



"this is as good a place to try as any" , he thought as he took up position where he could with an unobstructed line of sight , observe the table .



he shrugged his shoulders and slowly , while pretending to watch the dice rolls , quietly inhaled to a count of one and then exhaled to a count of two .



he repeated the process, but this time , as the procedure required , he doubled his inhale to two counts and his exhale to four .



next it was an inhale of three and an exhale of six .

then four in and eight out on exhale .

five in and ten out .

six in and twelve out .



then he reversed the process.



six , twelve .

five , ten .

four , eight.

three , six .

two , four .

one , two .



in his head he recited the trigger-words .



"body centered .

emotions peaceful .

thoughts calm

awareness increasing"



"physically relaxed

spiritually aware

mentally focused

trusting , your intuition

consciously open ,

connecting to

your better self."



the table stickman pushed the dice to "tex" for another roll .



the man paused , inaudibly mumbling something before reaching for the dice .

brayan noted that tex did not touch his winnings after each of his victories .



when he won , appearing unconcerned with the increasing stacks in front of him , he left collecting them to his short busty redheaded companion in the emerald green two buttoned , narrow lapeled pants suit by balenciaga .



visible were the soft tops of her cleavage in the partially unbuttoned white blouse of chinese silk .



as loabe casually estimated the amount of winnings already stacked for the texan , the large reddish brown mole on the exposed upper portion of the redhead's left breast also caught his notice .



on her left wrist she wore a white gold diamond tennis bracelet that loabe estimated to be in about the 8 to 10 carat weight range . on her right wrist was a heavy diamond watch from bertolucci's fascino collection with sapphire crystal , diamond numeral markers and a rectangular case set with 70 additional smaller diamonds .



tex glared at no one in particular while quickly snatching the dice and with a snapping motion of his wrist delivered them with enough spin to land them at the base of the table wall with only a light tap and roll .



"point is eight" , the stick man announced .



on his next roll tex threw a four , but in his mind loabe saw three .



"focus and relax" , a slightly surprised yet still confident loabe , quietly commanded to himself .



then the next throw delivered up a five , followed by a nine .



again , the impression loabe's mind received had told him six and eleven .



now a little perplexed , but still determined , brayan settled himself to try again .



"point is eight " the stick man reminded .



the signal brayan's mind received told him seven .



on the next cast the dice showed twin fours , tex had won again .



as "red" collected tex's winnings he turned to brayan and with vacant eyes blankly asked



"what has six legs , three horns , seven arms and eleven lives ?"



loabe arched his neck back slightly and furrowed his brown at the absurdity , but the man stood staring blankly at him until

loabe was pressed by the weight of his silence ,

the awkwardness of the moment and the embarrassment that uncertainty was causing him , to respond .



"i don't know , what ? " cautiously asked loabe , detecting the smell of alcohol now permeating the air .



"i don't know either" , the man responded woodenly .



" but the sumanguru said to tell you , he's outside waiting for you ."

tex motioned with his head towards the nearby casino portal , "he grows stronger by the second and this time the master will destroy you . "



loabe , whirled and turned towards the exit .



just as he was about to try and stop himself from rushing out and storming off to battle ,

kulanah's long slender arm reached out .



she grabbed his shoulder and with surprising power ,

generated from the leverage of her legs spread wide , as well as the force of her own anger towards his impetuous nature , caused him to spin completely back around in surprise.



"fool " , she whispered so as not to be overheard , disgust now glaring her message from the eyes that only moments earlier had warmed his heart , "how do you know it's not a trap ?"



" brayan , you don't have to fight him everytime he steps into this world . the mission has priority ."



then before a stunned loabe could even begin to mouth a reply , she wheeled and backhanded the texan across his nose with amazing speed .



he reached for his face with both hands as blood began its downward cascade across expensive navy stripes .



just as quickly , she wheeled to face the redhead's forward charge to defend her man , but kulanah's look of ferociousness alone was enough to convince "red" that to engage her would be tremendously futile .



tex had now , recovered enough from the shock of his broken nose to attempt a move towards kulanah .



as he stepped forward with arm outstreched to grab her, she perfectly timed the movement of his lead leg ,

meeting his shin just below the knee with the instep of her own locked and

extended foot .



at the same time , she used an open hand rising parry to deflect , grab and then pull the hand reaching for her .



jolts of excruciating pain were sent through his knee as the tearing ligaments in the joint were forced to absorb by themselves the full shock of his arrested momentum .



before brayan could react , kulanah had spun again , looping her arm through his , pulled him away , moving them quickly , steering them deeper into the casino and towards a farther exit .



playing to the confusion of the "audience" , over her shoulder she loudly gushed in pretended appreciation , "oh thank you , for defending me from that filthy man--that pig actually tried to fondle me in public . i don't know who he is , but he should be arrested for trying to grope women's breasts . if i see him near me again i will call the police and have him jailed.--no woman is safe around that sick animal ! thank god you were here to protect me ! "



brayan still too amazed by her performance to speak , could see the playfulness had returned to kulanah's eyes .



quickly leaving the dice tables behind , while still arm in arm , she leaned her face close to his and whispered , "i'm starving , let's get something to eat --spirit says this place won't be ready for us until later."

brayan felt a strange chill like cold water sprinkled down his spine as they drew near a row of progressive slot machines . the raucous noise of one armed banditry now in full swing , was drowning out their voices .

kulanah's mood now seemed as carefree and light as a child's . brayan attributed it to her having just easily defeated two opponents before he could even fathom what was going on . his embarrassment at his own confusion and inaction was much greater than the jealousy that his hurt masculine pride managed to simmer up from their ongoing rivalry .

again he had been shown up by her , but feeling slightly sorry for himself , he consoled this "injury" , this time , by reminding himself that she had kept him in the dark , leaving him completely guessing as to what the mission was about and what they could expect . but he also pointed out to himself that , "quick wits save the day, not excuses ."

realizing that sumanguru was now bold enough to attempt to engage him in a place like this --a place filled with people and therefore witnesses , made him more than a little concerned .

"his power levels have increased , tex wasn't joking " , loabe mulled over in his mind , " the stakes are raised . and the fact that he could exert enough power in this world to influence mortals to effectively carry out his will makes him even more dangerous . the more power he has , the more dangerous he is --but also the more power he has , the more there is for me to gain if i can defeat him --and more power is my only way out ."

on the periphery , he noticed that kulanah's expression had changed . her smile was gone and she too had grown silent , absorbed in her thinking as they walked .

when she tightened her grip on his arm as they made their way through the casino oblivious to the feeding frenzy growing around them --a frenzy that only fed the ' house ' , he wondered if their thoughts were the same and if their combined strengths would prevail .


in silence , the joviality of the previous moment gone , they reached the glass elevators and stood waiting . backs to the wall and standing sideways to the closed elevator doors , they each glanced from time to time scanning the crowds for anything unusual .

the chime announced the elevator's arrival . the doors opened , they stepped aboard , punched their floor and watched through the glass walls the casino floor recede into the distance .

brayan felt the slight temperature change as the available air seemed to shrink inside the glass booth . at the same time ,the fragrance of kulanah's georgio's perfume seemed to pleasantly expand , drawing his attention again to how beautiful she looked that evening .

her hands felt warm in the crook of his arm and as he looked at her feet and felt an increasing warmth in his chest , he wondered if he would ever see her dressed this attractively again . he wondered also if she would consider allowing herself to be photographed for him like this .

the lower level of the building of the catamaran hotel was where the casino floor was located . the first level above that was primarily for hotel check-ins and other hotel services . the third and fourth , floors ,resembling a two story mall , were referred to as "the hotel downtown" , holding various restaurants , gift shops , a gymnasium , hair salon , spa , small nightclub , live theater and stores . from the fifth level up , began the hotel suites for the casino guests .

when they reached the tenth floor , kulanah was fishing in her purse for the card key to their room . "we're in 1012" , she announced to brayan as the doors opened and a carpeted hush , in direct contrast to the noise of the floors below rushed to greet them . they walked to their room , one of kulanah's hands still resting gently in the crook of his arm .

they stood in front of the room's entrance as kulanah swiped the magnetic key card to open the gold and black suite doors . "umm...how much did this cost me?" , brayan asked , his generous nature as usual , doing battle with his grandfather's and father's stinginess gene .

"five hundred a night", kulanah replied matter of factly . "we have three nights . "

"i guess you're only used to going first class" , brayan remarked with a trace of sarcasm , while thinking the woman clearly had no sense of the value of a dollar .

"no , this is the first hotel i've ever been to " , she answered automatically , as if saying her name .

he looked at her dumbfounded as she walked through the open doors and into the suite .

"the little weasel at the desk and the manager , wanted cash and a credit card for the room , until i convinced them otherwise ." she volunteered .

" i informed them that i do not bother with credit cards and the little bastards gave me a hard time until i used my power and stared them both down --gave them both a brain freeze like that red headed witch in the casino .

i almost got them to give us two extra nights here free . 'comp' , i think they call it , but the manager said he would lose his job if he did that on the guests' first visit . so i told him that for $1500 , we expected for them to give us something FREE in return if they couldn't give us that 'comp' thing he was talking about . "

"you see my pet , just because i don't live in these kinds of cities doesn't mean i cannot handle myself here too. i have influence in this realm as well . 'powers' you haven't even seen yet . your sword dueling friend isn't the only one with 'powers' in this world " , she amusedly smiled .

looking around at $500 a night , yet seeming unimpressed , kulanah immediately kicked off her shoes . lifting her leg , revealing the smoothness of her thighs as the dress's split opened and widened , she began one at a time rubbing her feet .

loabe could not remember her ever wearing shoes before , but surprisingly her feet were not calloused , her pedicured toenails painted a shade complimenting her dress .

lifting the thin straps off of her shoulders she peeled down the cocktail dress , releasing her breasts from captivity . free now , they gratefully swayed from their own weight balanced against the elasticity of her flesh .

peeling the dress-skin down over her belly and hips , she stepped out of it now clad only in red lace thong .

brayan , his mind and body totally captivated by what his eyes were devouring , felt his "resolve" immediately stiffen .

without turning to look , kulanah , answered his unasked question , "no were not doing sex now . i just had to get out of that prison garb ."

finding his voice again , loabe suggested , "well we could , if you wanted too . you know ... if you wanted to relax a little bit ...umm...before the mission...you know " trying to hide his eagerness , his voice trailed unconvincingly .

"do i look tense ?" she asked in a sarcastically dry response ." typical man " she smirked at her power over him , " from the time they wake up in the morning until the time they go to sleep at night -- only three things on their mind --food--fight and fuck ."

she stalked like a hungry lioness across the room , and tore opened the purple cellophane wrapping on the complimentary fruit basket on the suite living room table . munching on seedless grapes and speaking with her mouth now partially full , she flipped through the menus neatly stacked on the table and laughing asked , "what do you want to eat ...umm ...besides me ? thai , chinese , italian , french , vietnamese , indian , carribean ? "

"i don't know" , replied loabe disappointed and agitated , tightness originating from his abdomen still visible .

"oh poor baby , got you all stirred up again ?" she smirked and tossed him an apple . "tonight i'll gladly fuck your brains out , but AFTER we have a nice dinner ...and get some work done . "

"what work ?" brayan heard himself ask , not believing that he did not comment on her promise to screw his "brains out ."

"we 're here to test your abilities --mine too . spirit sent us here to await something --a gift from the ancestors that will help us obtain seed capital for bankrolling this mission . "

"if that's the case kulanah , then you should have let me go outside and face him . if his little servants came out too we could have beaten all three of them and taken that stack the guy with cowboy boots had won shooting dice . he had about 40 , 50 grand worth on the table . who knows how much more he won that red head had stashed away in that big purse on her shoulder . "

" no those weren't the instructions" , she said while walking back across the room to where she had shed her dress , shoes , and purse . "we are to use intuition to receive information that will lead to seed money . nothing was said about fighting them for it --though the thought did occur to me to take the seed money for THEIR project that THOSE two were gathering . "

as she bent to retrieve her purse from the floor , brayan again felt his "tension" increasing from the awesome spectacle of the ample curve of her thonged derriere . while he was fantasizing about tearing off her thong , going to the floor and thrusting into her like a madman until they both were well past the point of exahustion, she stood up and tossed to him something that had been in her purse . loabe looked at the gold rolex in his hand and recognized the blue sapphire crystal .

"how..? when you parried his hand --the rising open hand block --when you grabbed his wrist and leg checked his knee --YOU took his watch . " he caught himself , answering his own question as she nodded and smiled , pleased with her own quickness .

" happy birthday , my man pet , i saw you looking at it , so i got it for you . do you like ? are you pleased ?" she smiled .

"it's not my birthday " , loabe chuckled admiring the watch , " you know it's not my birthday ."

"it's not your birthday ?" she asked facetiously . "well you will have another some day , won't you ? "

"yeah , as long as you stay away from knives " he mumbled .

"can't promise you that , luv" , she half joked , surprising him with her acuity .

"i don't get something to eat soon and you might find your self back on my dinner menu " , she laughed .

grabbing his still protruding crotch , a defiant loabe taunted , "i got a nice juicy steak right here , wanna bite ? "

unable to resist his challenge , kulanah assumed a fighting stance , and from deep in her throat , growled at him , "yeah , come on and get your ass kicked . "

as they wrestled back and forth across the floor , she rolled on top of him , sweating and giggling as she tried to pin him down while rubbing her breasts in his face .
again and again he grabbed at her hard nipples with his mouth . each time she would twist her shoulders to shake her breasts free .

sweating from the exertion and being almost naked except for her thong , made her hard for him to hold on to .


sweat dampening his shirt , tie pulled from out from beneath his shirt collar , shirt buttons undone , suit coat pulled off and in a wrinkled pile on the floor , like children , they tumbled , laughed and rolled , completely losing track of time , oblivious to their surroundings , lost in play , frolicking from one carpeted room of the suite to the next .

gaining the advantage because of her slipperiness , she wrapped her legs around his neck . she pinned his face between her thighs and teased " you'll have to eat your way out " , she giggled . " do a thorough enough job and i might even have a taste of that steak of yours ." now aware of her fragrance , his mood shifted and he slowly began planting moist kisses as well as trailing the edge of his tongue , up and down the insides of her soft thighs .
" yes , like that " , she sighed leaning back on her hands , eyes closing . "just think of me as nice meal for you to eat . " she chuckled .

he pushed his way past the thong , sliding his tongue tip in and out between her lips . the unexpectedness of his invasion of her folds caused her to shudder .

" ooh , yessss... right there , baby " , caught up in her body's cravings for food and sexual pleasure , she continued , " a nice savory chow mein , a tasty shrimp lo mein , a sweet spicy general tso's chicken , a warm delicious egg drop soup , a hot kung pao lobster , a hearty broccoli and beef , a succulent seafood platter "

"don't forget the fortune "cookie" , loabe teased .

"you be quiet and keep licking , or i might have to stir fry you with scallions " , she mumbled half incoherently as her head tilted back and her breathing grew deeper .

a knock at the door startled them both . they looked at each other , communicating with wide eyes instead of speaking .

loabe jumped up from the floor and rushed to the doors. kulanah stood to the side of the door way in her fighting pose , fists locked , knees bent , toes gripping the floor .

loabe looking through the peephole recoiled in surprise at the sight of a room service type cart , large and covered with white table cloth and with what looked to be a small banquet of entrees covered in shiny round metal plate covers and trays . next to the cart were a young asian man and woman both about college age and dressed in black trousers and white serving jackets .

"who is it ? " loabe called out , being careful to turn his head to project his voice away from the doors.

"kitty bamboo . your meal from the restaurant , sir"

"i didn't order anything ! " , loabe insisted forcefully while looking to see if he could detect if anyone were standing behind the two asians .

"it's all free , sir , compliments of the hotel " , the man answered .

"it's comp sir , courtesy of the management " , chimed in the woman .

kulanah , closed her eyes as if she could look through the doors . sensing no danger , she grinned at brayan like a precocious child . "open the door , she whispered . it's ok . see , i told you . what do you think of my powers now ? " she gloated .

"you want them to see you like that?" loabe asked reminding her of her nudity.

" i 'm proud of my body --open the door ", she dared .

loabe called her bluff and turned the latch unlocking the doors .

"wait ", she told him , "i know how to function here . i'm not as uncivilized as you might think ."
she picked up her clothes from the floor and walked into the bedroom .

loabe checked again through the peephole before finally opening the doors.

the two employees smiled and offered greetings as they rolled the serving cart through the portal .

loabe looked again up and down the hallway before allowing the doors to close .

half expecting dwarfs with billy clubs to leap out from beneath the cart , loabe was surprised and almost disappointed to realize that all it held was food .

the two servers arranged trays cups and plates on the suites dining area table along with serving utensils , setting everything up in only a few moments . the young lady popped a bottle of champagne and poured two glasses . everything complete they turned and the young man asked , "will there be anything else sir ?"

kulanah emerged from the bedroom wearing one of the white terrycloth robes from the suites bathroom .
brayan announced that everything was in order and handed the youths a twenty as a tip that they graciously accepted .

the delicious aromas of the entrees filled the room and kulanah was already at work on the meal before brayan could escort the two youths to the doors . they exchanged thank yous and good byes and brayan looked left and right checking the hallway once again , before closing the doors and locking them . then , he twisted the handles one last time to be sure that they were secure .

kulanah hardly talked at all as she busied herself with a banquet of noodles and scallops , water chestnuts , lobster , peanuts , broccoli , orange slices , war shu duck , bamboo shoots , snow peas , sa cha sauce , mushrooms , baby corn , baby shrimp ,jumbo shrimp , butterfly shrimp , fan tail shrimp , eggplant , garlic sauce , black beans , cashew nuts , lemon , pineapple ,onions , steamed rice , fried rice , beancurd , green beans , shredded chicken , green pepper , shredded beef , red pepper , and sesame .

they feasted like the greeks at the sack of troy and forty minutes later kulanah was on the floor wrapped in the bathrobe soundly sleeping . brayan drowsy himself , now attempted to stay awake as he channel surfed through tv stations . an hour later he awoke , remote still in hand .

he got up , stretched and checked the doors again . he scanned the hallway through the peephole . sure they were safe , he stood for a moment affectionately watching kulanah baby-snore on the floor . he marveled at how beautiful she was .

the robe had fallen open , partially revealing the sweet inner thighs his kisses had warmed not long ago . looking at her made him wish she would awaken so that they could finish what they had begun .

the rolex she had gotten for him sat glistening on the table surrounded by the debris and leftovers from their meal . as he walked back towards the tv , he wondered how much he could get for it . "should be at least 10-15 grand --if it ain't a knock off . "

"well at least we made a little money instead of losing money on this trip" , he thought .
looking on the table at the remnants of their meal , he noticed a small covered dish that they had neglected .
he hoped it was more egg rolls , but was disappointed to see a cluster of fortune cookies instead .
he turned to the sleeping kulanah and chuckling to himself said ,"well , baby here's that fortune cookie i told you to remember ."

he took one and walked back to the tv and plopped down in the easy chair . flicking the remote button from channel to channel , with nothing catching his imagination , he stopped on a commercial advertising the local state lottery .

"today's monster jackpot is $84 million dollars !" a cartoon creature in the tv commercial announced .

loabe crunched the cookie as the thin sweetness filled his mouth . he pulled the white paper strip out from his teeth before it became too wet to read .

one side in red ink in chinese characters and english letters said as his fortune , "your hard work will finally pay off " .

on the reverse side were his 6 "lucky jackpot numbers" and the 3 daily lotto numbers " . brayan looked at the 'fortune' and looked back at the tv and just then it hit him .

"we were wrestling and playing and beginning to make love on the floor" he thought , " and she started naming chinese foods BEFORE the two asian kids arrived . she predicted it . i told her don't forget fortune cookies BEFORE they arrived . it was another prediction that came true. "

"she said she used her powers on the manager . and the asian kids said the MANAGER sent us the food . she said we were to use intuition to gain seed money for the mission --we were to await a GIFT from the ancestors --it would be a test of her powers and mine . "

as the possibilities began crowding each other inside of his head , the enormity of what had taken place began to seep into his awareness too . it was more than he could at this time consider and the magnitude of it all and its implications forced him up onto his feet and made him begin pacing around the room.

while trying to think and sort out the meaning of it all , he found himself standing by the open drapes of the suit's large picture window , staring out into space as the city went about its business down below .

suddenly , his mouth dropped completely open as his eyes stopped directly upon the large billboard featuring the same cartoon character he had just seen on tv advertising "the monster jackpots" of the state lottery . he looked at the fortune cookie slip of paper . he looked at the monster jackpot billboard . behind him was the sound of kulanah , stretched out on the floor , yawning as she now awoke .





kulanah quietly listened as brayan excitedly attempted to explain his conclusion that the "gift from the ancestors" that spirit had told her to bring them both there to receive , could very well be the $84 million dollar "monster jackpot " just advertised in the lottery .

she was quiet for a moment as the last bubbles from the two untouched champagne glasses poured by the room service youths evaporated into the air above the table .

brayan too excited to contain his thoughts , continued .

"don't you see it , kulanah ? with that much seed money , $84million , we could set up a corporation that would act as a living entity , a being in perpetuity , bound by its mission statement to deliver essential services to the people of the motherland and the diaspora . "

"the corporation would be legally bound by its charter , mission statement and the control of its board of directors to research and create profitable economic developmental projects for africa that would funnel money INTO africa instead of OUT of africa ."

"it would be charged to create projects to end famine , treat and cure disease , increase education and industrial training , inject resources into building more industrial and agricultural parks , and most important , replicate itself until there were groups of these corporations that eventually could tackle large scale infrastructure projects . "

"viewing it long range , when groups of these corporations are operating regionally , the entire region can be connected with any infrastructure needed-- bridges , roads , highways , railway , sea and air port facilities , fiber-optics , satellite communications --anything needed to create a state of the art commercial seed pod ."

"it could work if done in a way that's fiscally responsible and the lion's share of profits channeled back into the corporations so that they could expand and provide more services to greater and greater numbers of people . "

"you jumpstart the economy of one region and the resources generated could be used to jumpstart other regions --until the entire continent is connected -- 'jumpstarted ' --state of the art , commercially prosperous and completely transformed . " breathless from his monologue he paused to recover .

"i don't know " , kulanah looked at him quizzically . "economics really isn't my forte ."

"don't you see the sheer beauty of it baby ? " his insistence was in part fueled by his elation at believing he had finally solved this personal riddle , finding resolution to the dilemma that had caused his desperation .

"see , what ? "she asked , eyeing him carefully , half wondering if the pressure of the responsibility of the greater mission that he had been selected for , had finally grown beyond his capacity to bear .

"this way the mission's purpose is still achieved , the african renaissance is assured --the ancestors are pleased and i'm no longer needed . i'm finally free . i can just live my normal life . i don't have to use up my life chasing this cause . i don't have to die a tragic , premature , horrible death . i don't have to do the impossible . i no longer have to carry on my aching back the burden of this people so stubbornly devoted to voluntary servitude and self destruction . and my people are no longer the footstools of the world "

"is that how you see the mission ?" kulanah asked perhaps getting her first glimpse of this part of him that despite her great intuition she had been unaware existed . "you see it as ' using up ' your life ?" her eyes widened as her jaw noticeably fell .

"yes" , he said surprising her . his voice had grown small , reminding her of a very sad child .

"all of my life i have been told about this mission . seer after seer has told that i was destined for this. ' you the one , chile ' --your destiny ' i've heard it from elders since before i was old enough to understand . "

"it's an honor to be chosen " she cut in . " i sought this mission as a child . prepared for it all of my life" , her anger and the resentment that her anger caused surfaced again .

"offered my life and dedicated all the life i might ever within me carry --just to this one duty --this supreme obligation -- this , the most noble of causes on the earth --i am the grand daughter of a princess . "

"6,000 years of royal lineage--and every month of each of those years , my mothers have faithfully bled their moon into the waters of the earthmother -- and YOU were chosen ? "

" the ancestors chose you ? --of course , they are wisest , but to me it borders on the ridiculous . "

" to be honest , i must say that i have , in a small way , become fond of your punkass " she admitted grudgingly , "but with no disrespect whatsoever to THEM , i cannot help but wonder , what could the ancestors possibly see in YOU ? "

" i don't know either ", he said . " all the elders that i met just told me , ' boy , you is the one --the one we was told would come --the one we waited for . the one we picked all that cotton for and suffered the whip for --every time we smiled through our tears --it was because we knew one day somebody like you was coming --and you would somehow redeem us all . "

"if this mission were mine , not only would we ALL be redeemed by now , but my lineage would be assured to endure at least another 6000 years . my name would be recited along side those of queen nandi , queen sia , queen kumba and queen finda . i would belong with greatest of queens like nzinga and makeda , or with the candaces of ethiopia . and my deeds would be legend and live forever . i would be proven worthy of the blood in my veins . unquestionably worthy to be the mother of queens , the mother of kings . " kulanah sighed as if her disappointment could fill the entire room .

"i'd gladly step aside for you , if i could ", brayan offered as salve to her wounds . " it's clear to me that it should have been you ."

she looked at him for a moment , deeply into his eyes and finding immediately , the sincerity within them that matched his remarks .

she shyly grinned at him like a little child , and gently cupping his face with both her hands , tenderly kissed his lips .

he smiled like a goofy little boy who had received his first kiss . now it was his turn to sigh as he pretended to fall backwards into the wall as if completely overwhelmed and awestruck by the touch of her lips .

she giggled at his antics and then opened her robe , letting it fall softly to the floor . "make love with me . " she asked . "not for the spiritual practice . not for enlightenment sake . not for ritual . not for lesson . not for success of the mission . but for us . just for me and for you ."

sensing the unique poignancy of this moment that he had imagined since they had first met , without hesitation brayan swept her up in his arms and carried kulanah to what would be their first bed .