Bahati

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. They had come down from Mount Cameroon around the same time the land of New Benin was founded. Staying close to their original home, they settled in the part of New Benin that is now called Moto. The Fako Dragons rarely ventured out past Moto borders even within New Benin. The volcano would always be a sacred place for them and the people of Moto. These dragons were originally summoned by the high priestess, Adesina Baton, who used their magic to help the Baton family destroy the armies of the Western powers. Thus began the special relationship between the dragons and the Baton family, who have ruled Moto since its founding. The dragons had always bonded more strongly to one member of the family in each generation. These days they were still strongly bonded to Adesina’s great-great-grandson, Dragoni Baton, the current King of Moto. Now, almost two hundred years after she helped found the utopian paradise of New Benin, peace and prosperity were finally spreading to the rest of the continent of Africa. The seeds that were planted with her generation were sprouting up through the land, feeling their first rays of sunshine. The Festival of Peace planned for that evening was intended to celebrate the beginning of this New Era. The Era of Peace.

On the morning of the festival, Kimpa Baton, Dragoni’s daughter and princess of Moto, awoke early. This was highly unusual for the night owl, but the fear of her mother’s wrath motivated this early rise. She had stayed up until three in the morning gossiping and drinking with her best friend, Princess Nzingha Upanga of Hewa. Kimpa’s mother, Queen Ina, was no woman to cross on a good day, let alone the day of the biggest festival since the founding of New Benin.

The Batons were hosting the festival in the capitol city of New Benin, Utajiri. To Queen Ina’s dismay, the other three ruling families of New Benin would also be helping to host the festival. Queen Ina loved to shine in the spotlight of adoration under the guise of helping others. “Everyone wins that way,” she told her daughter many times growing up. So when her husband, King Dragoni, informed her she would be sharing the spotlight with the other three Queens, she promptly pouted and shouted as she was wont to do when not getting her way. Dragoni and Kimpa reminded the queen that the festival was to celebrate the end of the last war on the African continent. Surely, the Queen could put aside her ego for one night and celebrate peace for the first time on the continent in centuries.

The wars in the East had ended the decade before and the West had long been at peace. The last wars in the North and South had come to a brutal end the month before, but an end, nonetheless. This was something to celebrate when it looked like the African diaspora would not have much to celebrate when the year started. New Benin had been the center and model of utopia for Africa and the world soon after the third World War ended. Many politicians in the Western democracies questioned the idea of returning to a monarchy system in the modern era, but the New Benin people figured they had tried the Western ways for long enough. It brought them nothing but despair and poverty. New Benin was founded to be a utopian society on the African continent, run for and by the New Benin people. The land was divided into four city-states, each ruled by a King and a Queen. The New Benin people believed balance between the feminine and masculine was vital to the success of any country.

In the northwest, the loving Queen and King Omi and Ife Tasse ruled over the land of Kikombe. The land of Babeli in the northeast was ruled by the wealthy and blessed Queen Wingi Mnara and King Tuka Mnara. Kimpa’s best friend, Princess Ann Nzingha Badi or “Badi,” as everyone called her, hailed from the land of Hewa in the southeast, ruled by her warrior parents, Queen Carlota and King Msiri Upanga. And finally, the Baton family ruled Moto in the southwest and its volcanic islands off of the coast.

Like King Dragoni, Queen Ina, along with the other ruling couples were direct descendants of the founding mothers and fathers of New Benin. Queen Ina wondered what they would think of today. Peace on the continent. Many didn't think New Benin would be successful as an economically independently run African country, but it became the first documented utopian society on Earth. The Western countries suffered from many civil wars after World War III, and in turn, their economies suffered. This was the opportunity the monarchs of New Benin needed to establish the country as a world economic leader and therefore political leader. Now it is the most powerful country on the planet, not just the continent.

“We need to start braiding your hair now,” Ina said as she quickly walked into her daughter’s room and aggressively opened every possible curtain. She was surprised to find Kimpa awake, knowing she and Badi were up late laughing about how little fabric their festival dresses required. Dragoni was not pleased when Kimpa modeled her Peace Festival dress, but Ina, being once twenty-one herself, understood not to discourage her daughter’s confidence in her body. Besides, she looked good and could pull it off. She had inherited her mother’s voluptuous body and natural sex appeal. Ina was also secretly hoping Kimpa would attract one of the boys of the ruling families and at least give one young man more than a week's chance to date her. Dragoni liked to joke that she had also inherited her mother’s sex drive and low tolerance for stupid men.

Kimpa got up and ran her fingers through her hair trying to detangle the knots with her fingers before her handmaiden got the comb.

“Ugh, Kimpa! You didn't wrap your hair last night?” her handmaiden, Bandele exclaimed, “This is going to take us at least four hours now.”

Kimpa had a head full of thick, beautiful corkscrew curls that fell to her chest. She wanted it braided for the festival so she could look more like a queen than a princess. All queens wore their hair braided to festivals and religious ceremonies. She sat in the chair as Bandele worked her magic and hoped she would be done by lunch, when Badi was coming back over to get ready for the festival with her. As long as Badi entered the festival with her family when they were announced at the Great Hall in Kisiriti Palace, her parents were fine with her arriving with the Batons.

“I spoke with Queen Wingi this morning, Kimpa,” Ina said as she tidied her room while Kimpa got her hair braided,” Prince Mansa will be joining them at the festival. He’s finished his studies at the Schools and will be apprenticing with his father now.”

Kimpa rolled her eyes. She knew her mother’s tidying was actually snooping and bringing up Mansa was another poorly disguised attempt to set her up in a royal marriage. Mansa was fun, but chubby and just not her type. “Not interested,” she said, “Now his father…”

“Kimpa!” Bandele exclaimed, hitting her playfully with a towel.

“That is your problem, Kimpa!” her mother said laughing, “You want the salt and pepper ones. People are going to think you have daddy issues! You’re giving your father a complex!”

“Well anyway, Prince Sano will be there also. I saw him and his mother the other day in Utajiri. He has grown to be quite the looker. And so sweet. Of course, his parents are sickly sweet, so that figures.”

Kimpa laughed. Her mom was diabetes to sweet people. She remembered Sano as a skinny boy with a head slightly too big for his body when they were in the elementary schools together. She heard he had turned into quite the free spirit when it came to women.

“I don’t think I’m going to meet my soulmate tonight, mother. Hollywood is dead.” Kimpa reminded them.

“But Nollywood lives on! There is always hope, sweet Kimpa!” Bandele exclaimed as Kimpa and Ina erupted in laughter.