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Story Notes:

          Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of SharpieQuill. SharpieQuill is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.  This story and everything within is fantasy and not based on living persons.

 

Chapter Notes:

For those of you with no patience, like myself, skip to chapter 4.

 

 

        Adnah wiped the sweat from his brow.  His unclothed upper body dripped with sweat which poured down, drenching the blue loincloth he wore.  He stood upright, 7 foot in total and well-toned.  He smiled brightly as he brought the family cattle back to the house. 

        “Why are you so happy?”  His servant Jelani asked from the other side of the small herd.

        “Today is the last day I ever have to do this,” He said triumphantly, “tonight I take the sacred powder and perform the rite!”

        Jelani looked at him with a hint of fear, “Master, your mother and your lot in life are not so bad.  You have land, cattle, far more than my family.  Are you truly going to give it all up for some woman?”

        “Lerata isn’t just some woman, she’s the most beautiful woman in the village, and the only one who can complete me!”  He exclaimed while directing a look of surprise at his cohort.

        “You are your own man, but how will you manage?”

        “I will lose my birthright, but Lareta has agreed that we will be equals, she will never punish me with the magic of the rite.  I will work hard alongside her and we will create our own wealth.”

        “Fuck her and be done with it, you will be equal, equally poor.  Accept your mother’s choice and your inheritance will be secure.”

        “Riches are not the only considerations in life, I would rather be poor than a slave or a pet.”

        “With your looks you can have any girl, rite or no rite.  You are required to take the rite and be under a woman’s control, you cannot escape custom.  But you could still have fun with Lerata.”

        “I thought you would be happy that me and your sister were uniting.”

        Jelani swallowed hard and unclenched his fists.  He was at a loss for words.  Optimists were annoying but rich ones intolerable.

        “I would be far happier if you were bringing a dowry, the year has not been kind to us.”

        “You will survive, and with a strong back like mine, your family will soon enough have copious wealth.”

        “Another back will bring no boon, another plot of land though…”

        “Bah!  Wait and see, we will grow more crops than ever before, I know it.”

        He smiled at his future brother in law.  Jelani wearily returned his smile.

        “Life is hard, you do not yet realize what one must do to survive.”

        Adnah smiled brighter, “Hard work and faith in the future are all one honestly needs.”

        His servant maintained his weary smile, “Are you still planning on performing the rite tonight?”

        “Yes, your sister already knows when and where.  Today we are master and servant, tomorrow brothers!”

        After locking the cows in their pen and parting ways, Jelani looked at Adnah, even at a distance he was more handsome then Jelani would ever be.  Jelani sighed, wealth, station and looks and he was pissing away the top two.  He thought of his family’s unenviable situation.  He punched the trunk of an adjacent tree, drawing blood from his knuckles.

 

        Adnah’s smile twisted into a grimace as he entered the house. In front of the hearth, over the large earthen pot, was his mother, Sauda, finishing her work.  Her skin was jet black, far blacker than his or his late father’s.  Her lips, bosoms, and ass were voluptuous, especially considering the six-foot frame that they accentuated.  Her face was somewhat weathered with age, but not wholly unpleasant.  The deep lines near her lips betrayed her preferred expression, a condescending scowl. 

        He stared at her large smooth feet.  While she was always well dressed, her feet were impeccable.  They were protected by sandals, and consistently maintained, both by her and the servants.  She looked up from the pot at her son and somehow deepened her scowl.  She deftly ladled the meal into two bowls.

        Adnah sat at the table and waited while his mother prepared his spot and hers.  She then sat down and the two ate. 

        “Where are the servants?”

        His eyes darted around the empty house.

        “I thought we might eat alone and speak.  You’re going to perform the rite with that girl?”

        “Yes.”

        “You know how I feel about her.  Her parentage is poor, her station far below ours, and her family have nothing material to offer us,” She spat.

        “You married father, and yet his station and parentage were also not to your standards.”

        “That was different, his family owned the only well in the village.  You know how that has profited us.  You should perform the rite with Nia, kinship would make us the wealthiest family for several regions.”

        “I am happiest in her company, Nia is your age, and fat.  Lerata is young, beautiful, and fit.  She will bear me many children and be a good companion.”

        “What you call fit, others label deprived.” 

        She slapped her butt gently causing a tremor through the mass.

        “Healthy, well fed women are fuller in body, and in taste,” Her hand moved to her the front of her skirt and rubbed her bosoms suggestively.

        Adnah looked down so that his mother wouldn’t see the disgust on his face.

        “Nia would burden you for your lifetime but would profit all future generations of our family.  She is deeply enthralled with you, she would be a suitable companion.”

        “You saw what happened to her first husband.  She would treat me as her property, never anything as an equal, there is no telling what she would require of me, maybe even…” He trailed off in disgust at the thought.

        “There are no everlasting banquets in life, we all must bear burdens we would rather shrug off.”

        “And why not?  Life has granted us prosperity, we do not require more.”

        Sauda slammed her fist onto the table rattling the bowls, “Shut your mouth, you fool!  Life did not grant us what we possess, wise sacrifices and doing what was necessary is how our family attained and retained our wealth.  Your freedom and desires are immaterial to the welfare of our family.”

        “She would not hesitate to smite nor abuse me.  Where is your concern for my welfare?”

        “She would treat you as a man is to be treated,” She glared at him, “The rite exists to guarantee the union, and the head of the family, the matron.  Know your place and you have naught to fear.”

        “Behave as a slave, only to be treated as a servant?  No, the rite does not have to entail that,” he stated emphatically, rising to his feet.

        “Should you go ahead with this foolishness, you will find no succor here.”

        “Keep the house, cattle, well, and everything else, I will make it by my own efforts,” He turned.

        “Be careful that your desires don’t end up your undoing,” Sauda glared as he stormed out of the house.

        Sauda sat angrily stewing, her clenched hands were several shades lighter.  She got up and went to the window, peering at her neighbor Nia’s land covetously.  She sighed, vim, vigor and youth had their place, when governed by the rite.  She turned to retire when there was a loud knock on the door…

        “What new opportunity for ruin awaits me?” She darkly mused out loud, walking with long strides to the door.

        Her outstretched hand on the door, she paused.  Her scowl lessened slightly, and with her free hand she brushed her hair once.  Her eyes steeled, even if hell itself had come for her, she would not dissatisfy.  She opened the door.

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