A little brown haired beauty sits sobbing silent tears in a tent made of bison skin as her father takes his last breath.
"Oh Father, why!?" She says in a long forgotten dialect, her voice, a bell in the heavy silence that hangs in the air.
" You said you'd get better! You promised to perform the ceremony first! Now I must get married! And you won't be there!" The girl wails, rocking back and forth.
Two months later~
The rapid beat of bongos and gan- gans filled the air, as the giant bonfire in the centre blazed madly. The girl walked through the growing throng of people as they began to dance and twirl in the traditional, ancient dances of the African tribe. The main performers wore tribal skirts of reed and fur and had designs on their faces. They also donned masquerade masks and animal claws around their necks. They shouted, making animalistic noises, jumping and clawing playfully at their fellow villagers.
The girl smiled at the scene though her heart, still heavy, remembered that her father had enjoyed these feasts, and that so, for that reason she should too.
She walked towards the centre of the circle and was promptly handed her dancing clothes. She was always a mythical bird, the Phoenix.
As soon as she had worn the costume and the headdress, she began to twirl and dance, whipping the wings of red, orange, gold, and yellow behind her in a graceful display.
The towns people began to sing an old tribal song, clapping and swaying in time to the music, watching as their cheiftess swirled in front of the fire.
"Atunye~~~, Mutunyie~~~~(*clap, clap, clap*[break]) (2×) [break] Ojeyu nyaté, M-magbu~~~ (*clap, clap, clap*[break] (2×) (repeat)
The girl, our girl, waved to her subjects to join her song and dance with her. The villagers happily burst through the ring around their princess and began to sing and dance.
They danced and danced, some brought in animals to dance with. The cheiftess kept her tiger in her tent, but the villagers brought their birds and their monkeys and set them free to swirl above the fire, their bright colors flashing and to jump from hand to hand.
After what felt like only a few minutes, the dancing soon died down and the villagers began to set out the feast and prepare the mats to sit on. There were all sorts of delicacies present at this feast, there was crocodile, snail, goat, cow, antelope, mango, watermelon, pineapple. The list grew and grew as more villagers offered up what they had made for the feast.
During the preparations there would be random bursts in song as people started songs to set a rhythm, and then after one song, another would be started. This kept everyone present and cheerful.
After the cheiftess had finished her dance, she had been exhausted, leaning against the posts of one of the meeting tents, waiting for the feast to be laid out, and catching her breath.
She was startled as a large, warm hand settled on her shoulder. She whirled around to see Okoro, her intended, standing behind her.
" O! Hello, O!" Okoro smiled widely, " You looked beautiful up there, Sweet!" He said, leaning in to her.
The girl looked up at him grinning, " So I'm not beautiful now?"She asked innocently, looking at him through her lashes.
He was one of the few West Africans of their time who had such light caramel skin and losely textured hair. His eyes shone their brown glow and his strong toned silhouette towered over her, looking down at her.
Her lover let out a soft snicker and lifted her into the air, making a shriek leave her lips, " You are even more gorgeous up close, Flower. I can't wait to marry you." He said lifting her even higher for emphasis.
The princess giggled and started curling the hairs on his temple, making him lean into her fingers, his eyes drooping,
" Neither can I, O".
YOU ARE READING
Nightlight x OC
FanfictionThere's a girl named Phoenix, who's been alone for a long time, she doesn't get a lot of attention. Over the years, she found something to do. She spends most of her time giving people ideas... Now, after the guardians have defeated Pitch, there's...
