Black Boys Bloom Thorns First: Volume 1 (A Black Panther FanFic)

Black Boys Bloom Thorns First (Chapter 7)

Chapter 7

"I can stare, I can memorize
Your face, your hands, your hair, every part of you
I can cut off any loose ends and not even wanna keep a few
I can speak to you so honestly, I can't even run any game
I can hear a million angels singing in my ears
When I say your name"

Amel Larrieux – "For Real"

N'Jobu waited until Andrea was in a deep sleep before he removed himself from her bed and made his way into her bathroom to check his kimoyo beads. His messenger bead was glowing and he touched it to reveal private video mail from his sister-in-law, Bathandwa. She had never contacted him in private before.

N'Jobu cracked open the bathroom door partially to listen out for Andrea. She was snoring a bit. He closed the bathroom door, pushed down the lid on the toilet seat and sat down. He played back the message.

Bathandwa was sitting on a stump inside the royal gardens all alone. Her hair, normally wrapped up in fancy silk headwraps, was artfully layered in three large braids that twisted into a bun on the nape her neck. Her face looked fuller, the baby weight already transforming her body from the slender woman she had been when he last saw her.

"Prince N'Jobu. How are you, Brother? I know you are surprised to hear from me in this way. But I must speak with you in private when you have the time. I know that you have heard the news about our little one who is on the way..."

She touched her belly with her left hand and her face lit up in an excited smile.

"We are so happy." Her smile waned, and then her face took on a solemn expression as she shifted on the stump. N'Jobu paused the message and listened out for Andrea again. When he felt comfortable that she was still asleep, he continued watching Bathandwa.

"I need to speak with someone...I need...I need to talk to you about T'Chaka. I cannot talk to anyone here because they will worry or even judge me, and you have always been kind and understanding. I feel like I can speak with you and you will not run straight to T'Chaka or the Queen Mother. I just...I am worried about T'Chaka. No, not worried...um...he just...he just needs some guidance, and I don't know if Baba Azzuri can reassure him the way I believe you can. Believe it or not, your brother looks up to you." Bathandwa cast her eyes downward as she fiddled with her own hands. Nervous. She looked nervous.

"I know this is out of line for me to request this from you, but is there any way you can return home sooner? I will be with the Queen Mother today, so please leave me a discreet message as to when the best time would be for us to speak. Please do not fret. We are all fine, I just need your brotherly wisdom. We miss you. Bast be with you, Prince N'Jobu."

The message ended and N'Jobu sat still in the bathroom. She was worried about his brother. Why? T'Chaka looked well, appeared very pleased to finally have a child, and their parents were ecstatic about it. What was sowing the seeds of disharmony in Bathandwa's heart? Had T'Chaka done something wrong and couldn't fix it?

N'Jobu returned to Andrea's bed. He regretted checking the message because now he would be thinking about T'Chaka the rest of the night. He had an Intro to Quantitative Analysis class at noon, so he didn't have to be up that early in the morning, but he did have a test later in the day for his International Relations class. He knew the material well enough to skip studying for it, but he did have a paper due by the end of the week for the same class. The outline for his paper was complete, he just needed to bang out ten pages.