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

Black Boys Bloom Thorns First Chapter 23

I was living the dream, believing things that just ain't true
Oh, I can't believe I ever believed in you
You had me chasing fools gold
I was chasing fools gold
I was chasing fools gold

Somewhere deep down inside I knew you wasn't right
But breaking your spell was a plan I never devised
I would have been here forever living for you
But I would had been living forever as your fool...

Jill Scott—"Fools Gold"

N'Jobu ran his tongue across the gold slugs he had placed on his lower teeth for the celebration. If he were a Princess, he would have panther or jaguar teeth around his neck or chin, but as a Prince, he wore them in his mouth. The old ways had the royal bloodline coat their canine teeth with gold, but no one did that anymore. Not since their great-grandfather, an insolent King who stuck to the old traditions and did it best.

Once the dentist placed the temporary slugs in his mouth from the freshly created molds, N'Jobu stared at himself in a mirror and wondered how Califia would react if he bit her skin with his decorated teeth. Mark up her body with Golden Jaguar teeth. He liked the thought of that. He might have the dentist create a pop-in pair to take with him back to Berkley.

The iridescent blue suit he wore for the coronation was his best sartorial decision to date. He adjusted the royal stole that draped across his shoulders as he watched his brother take his first seat on the immaculate curved throne. Made with a gold and silver alloy and trimmed with ironwood from the Jabari mountains, the large curved arcs that rose from the back of the royal seat looked dynamic with T'Chaka sitting there draped in all black. The council of elders surrounded him in their seats, along with additional seating for their father, mother, and Bathandwa.

His brother, now enshrined with the pristine night sky robes of the King, sat before them all with a sense of purpose. Bathandwa wore a large onyx isicholo denoting her new status as Queen. Umama wore a brand new pearl-colored isicholo that raised her to the new position of Queen Mother. She sat next to Bathandwa, holding her hand as Bathandwa's other hand cradled her belly. T'Challa must've been very active because she was patting one side as if to soothe his friskiness inside of her. N'Jobu felt great pride watching his family as the seamless shift in power went off without a hitch.

T'Chaka took N'Jobu's words from the Falls to heart. Once the King's jewels were placed upon him, he immediately codified his father's new position by treating Baba in a formal fashion throughout the coronation ceremony. Umama immediately fell in step, a fierce pride in her eyes as her eldest child came into his own. The moment Adu, the eldest spiritual leader in charge of the heart-shaped herb, placed the royal claw necklace around T'Chaka's neck at Warrior Falls, N'Jobu dropped to his knee and lowered his head. It caused a ripple in the crowd as others followed suit.

Their parents stood watching. Umama's eyes glistened with tears as her hands gripped Baba's arm. Perhaps witnessing the final shift of power away from him, Baba stood there watching his progeny stand tall. When T'Chaka's eyes fell upon Baba, N'Jobu watched their father lower his head to the one true King. Once Baba had bowed, N'Jobu leaped up and yelled "Inkosi yami!" and gave the Wakandan salute to T'Chaka. The hundreds of citizens there dotted among the carved cliff openings followed suit, also yelling out "My King!", and N'Jobu saw his brother breathe deep, his bare painted chest swelling with the realization that he was theirs and they were his.

Standing in the throne room, listening to Adu give the final blessings to the new head of state, N'Jobu felt that one hurdle had been crossed in his royal duties. His next assignment was to complete his betrothal march. He had already made up his mind to tell his parents that Zinzi was his choice for a wife. It was better to choose now rather than have to spend the next few months flying back and forth to Wakanda vetting others and taking precious time away from Califia.