The Realm of the Fighting Ladies Pt. 01

"Bring it here, Nwanze."

The Portuguese sniffed the creamy liquid and nodded.

"It is O.K., Nakumbu. The poison seems to have been absorbed; but we have to examine you again in a few days to make sure." He wanted to assure a convenient hole in which to discharge his lust, just in case something went wrong with Kango or with the giantess. He went on:

"Now, Nakumbu, about your payment. Open that box."

The young man's eyes flashed as he saw the treasures that had been brought from the caravel. Rodrigo picked a yellow waistcoat, already well used by his former owner, and handed it to the Kimbundo.

"It will look fine on you, Nakumbu. But both of you have to pay for the examination."

"What Nakumbu do?"

"You and Nwanze will get some leaves and kneel here. I need my boots polished."

He sat on the stool and put his feet on their thighs. The sight of Nwanze's tits bouncing and Nakumbu's biceps standing out as they spread the greasy substance on the dry leather was quite in line with what a Portuguese would expect from a couple of Africans – docility and manual work. The doctor looked down: Nakumbu was panting, and some drops of sweat had formed on Nwanze's dark forehead. They kept rubbing and brushing; the boots glistened as if they were new. Rodrigo stood up and said:

"I see that you are good workers! The Ladies will be pleased with you when they come."

Nwanze looked at the Portuguese.

"Master think Ladies pick Nwanze?"

"Yes, dear, and also Nakumbu. You are healthy and strong, and they will not leave you behind."

The girl's face showed a thoughtful expression.

"What Kimbundo do for Ladies?"

Rodrigo looked at the kneeling youths. All he knew about what was in store for them was the scanty information Mkomo had given him that first night by the hill.

"Kimbundo do what the Ladies tell them to", he replied evasively. "If they choose you, you will see by yourselves." He caressed Nwanze's delicate ear and imagined how it would look with a hole and ring.

"Kango say, he serve Master, stay with Master when Ladies come. Nwanze want that too."

Rodrigo held his breath. That girl was asking him to keep her as his servant!

"We will see", he said. "When they come, I can talk to them, but I cannot promise anything. Now put yourmulambuson and go. I want to read a little."

As they left, Rodrigo lay on his cot and pulled a book from his bag. He was becoming more and more curious about those Ladies. The idea of owning that girl was very agreeable; she had a pretty face, her tits were lovely, and her pussy was certainly tight. Who knew - perhaps he could talk the Ladies into letting him keep her?

Chapter Four

The next day, Rodrigo was administering Kango his dose of cum when he noticed that the Kimbundo was not enthusiastic with his tongue. He pushed the Negro's head back:

"Kango, what is disturbing you?"

"Master – Kango no want upset Master – but – Nwanze tell Kango..."

Rodrigo weighed carefully what he should say.

"Kango, Nakumbu is your friend, isn't he?"

"Yes, but..."

"Let me finish. A man must be prepared to make some sacrifices on behalf of his friends. I had to examine Nakumbu's seed, and you know it has to be extracted the right way. Whom did you expect to milk Nakumbu? I thought of calling you, but I figured that you would not like that."

Kango's eyes opened wide. He had agreed to suck Master'spatibecause he needed his milk, but he was not prepared to do the same to another Kimbundo – he was a man!

"You see – a girl had to do that, and the only one I know in your tribe is Nwanze. But when I examine Nakumbu next time, I can let you give him some milk on his back – the amount he loses must be compensated for, you know."

Kango was going to reply that he would think about that when they heard excited screams coming from the outside. One of the men who had gone to check the traps set for catching small animals had seen a Fighting Lady coming along the jungle trail, escorted by a squad of Talunga on foot.

Rodrigo buttoned his breeches and went out of the hut. Kashimbo was standing with his staff on the middle of the village; the doctor motioned for Mkomo to come and mounted her. He moved to the far end of the open area in the middle of the village and stayed there; he wanted to impress the Lady right at her arrival. He told Kango to stand among the youths that were lining up behind the chief; they had formed two rows, the girls in one and the young men in another.

The entire tribe had come to see the ceremony, which took place once a year. Hundreds of men, women and children knelt down in complete silence around the central area, waiting anxiously – who would the Lady pick this time? Rodrigo noticed some worried faces among the women and guessed that those were the mothers of the youths who would be examined. It was a big honor to have a son or daughter selected by the Ladies, but on the other hand it meant that their parents would never see them again.

Suddenly, from the mouth of the trail emerged what the Portuguese had waited for during the precedent two weeks: a woman in her mid-twenties, erect on the horse's back, wearing a red skirt apparently made of linen, and a top that went some inches below her breasts, leaving exposed part of her belly and her navel. She was undoubtedly white, although tanned by the African sun. Her auburn hair was straight and reached just under her naked shoulders. Her eyes were a green, but under the sun they emitted bluish reflexes. A silver bracelet graced her upper left arm, from an ornate belt on her waist dangled a sword on its sheath, and her feet were clad in sandals that left them almost bare: a stripe between the big toe and the second, tied to the ankles and going up in a cross pattern to the middle of her calves.

Behind her, a dozen Talunga were marching in close ranks, holding their spears in front of their faces like in a parade. They were wearing the same outfit Rodrigo had seen on Druna and Aisha: leopard tops covering their breasts and sex, the small dagger on their hip. The Lady made a movement with her hand and they stopped at once; she moved to where the chief was and pulled the reins of her horse. Rodrigo noticed that the animal had a bit in his mouth and was harnessed, but not saddled.

Kashimbo bowed ceremoniously and touched the top of the warrior's foot with his lips. She glanced around, apparently satisfied with the homage and with the respectful attitude of the tribe. Her attention was drawn to the white man on top of a Talunga and she frowned.

"Who is this?" She spoke in the local dialect, but with an accent suggesting that it was not her mother language.

"Man name Master, noble Lady. Man come in big canoe and ask to stay. Kashimbo let man stay until Lady come and say, he stay or go, live or die."

"Hmm", the warrior grumbled. Rodrigo kicked Mkomo's sides and directed her to where the Amazon was. He made her kneel down, stepped from her shoulders and made a reverence:

"Noble Lady, let me pay you my respects. I am a doctor from a distant land; my ship wrecked two weeks ago and these good people allowed me to stay with them. My fate is in your hands."

"That is Mkomo", the warrior said. "She was dismissed from my squad. I see that you know how to deal with the Talunga; let me choose the workers I need and later I will talk to you."

"So this is Awana", Rodrigo thought as he pulled on the giantess' chain; she rose up and followed him, under the approving glance of the Amazon. He walked back to his place and waited.

Awana made a gesture with her hand; one of the Talunga dashed to her and held her spear in a horizontal line. She moved her horse slowly between the rows of the young Kimbundo, who stood still as statues, their hands folded on their heads. With her riding crop, she lifted their chins; a quick glance at a man's muscles or at a girl's tits was enough for her to come to a decision. The chosen youths walked out from the row and formed a group behind the Talunga's spear, which served as a dividing line between those who would go with the Lady and those who would remain in the village.

The warrior stopped in front of Kango, surprised by his red breeches.

"Who gave you thismulambu?"

"Master give Kangomulambu, Lady."

"And why?"

"Kango serve Master, Lady."

The warrior smiled. Whoever that man was, he was not stupid: in the short space of two weeks, he had already got a servant and tamed a Talunga. There was no point in killing him; on the contrary, a doctor's skills could be useful in the capital.

"Go to your master", Awana said curtly, and went on with her inspection.

"Are you his servant too?" she asked, noticing Nakumbu's bright yellow waistcoat.

"No, Lady."

She gave an approving look at the young man's muscled chest and motioned for him to join the group behind the Talunga.

Rodrigo was fascinated both by the Amazon's evident authority over the blacks and by her beauty. He trusted his good star and was not afraid of the powerful warrior; what he felt was desire; he pictured himself kissing her lips, spreading her legs and giving his cock a treat between them – was she a virgin? He looked down and changed his position to conceal the bulge that had formed inside his pants. His eyes moved to the Talunga, who were standing immobile at a side of the central area, ready to attack if ordered to. The doctor recognized in the first rank the two girls he had met some days before, but was unable to recall their names. They were eyeing Mkomo, evidently puzzled by the strange ornament on her neck and by her deferent attitude towards the white foreigner.

Awana had completed her selection - eighteen lads and fourteen girls. She moved her horse to where Kashimbo was and addressed him with what sounded to Rodrigo as a time-honored formula:

"Will you abide by the treatise your ancestors made with our tribe, and part with these youths as this year's tribute?"

"Yes, noble Lady."

"Then the Talunga will not disturb you until next year. Druna, put your spear on the ground and turn your back to it."

The tall female did so, signaling that she and her entire tribe renounced violence against the Kimbundo for another year. Kashimbo hit twice the spear with his staff, which meant that he trusted the Talunga's promise. Then he put his lips again on top of the Amazon's foot and remained in this position for some moments. The Kimbundo rose to their feet: the ceremony was over.

"Chief, let the chosen ones say goodbye to their parents and friends, and arrange for food and drink for my squad. Druna, take my horse and give him some water. I want to talk to the foreign man." Her tone was calm, but it was evident that she was accustomed to be obeyed.

Rodrigo stepped forward and said:

"Noble Awana, that hut is my quarters. I will be honored to play host to you while the Kimbundo prepare to depart."

"That will do. Let's go."

Once in the hut, she turned to the Portuguese.

"How do you know my name?"

"Mkomo told me about her accident. I took care of her wound and she agreed to come with me. May I ask what language your tribe speaks? You have an accent when you talk in the Africans' dialect."

"We speak Greek."

Rodrigo was a learned man; his Greek, although a bit rusted from lack of practice, was passable. He changed to that language and spoke slowly:

"Forgive my mistakes, Awana. I can read Greek, but haven't spoken it since my school days. If you go slowly, my ear will get accustomed and we can talk in your own tongue."

The Amazon nodded. That man was decidedly amazing! As any woman of her caste, she held the other sex in utter contempt; but the foreigner had good manners, was clearly learned, and courageous enough to ride a Talunga. She glanced at the boxes and trunks piled near the walls and asked in Greek:

"What is all this stuff?"

"Things I salvaged from the ship I came in. Do you want to see some?"

Rodrigo opened one of the trunks that contained goods to be sold in Brazil. Awana's eyes flashed at the sight of the garments; she approached the trunk and fetched a silk blouse.

"These are lady's clothes in my land, Awana."

"Fine fabric. We don't have this in our town. What is there in the other boxes?"

Rodrigo smiled at her feminine curiosity.

"Our ship was loaded with things to trade for slaves." He noticed the gleam of surprise in her eyes. "Yes, where I come from we use Africans as workers."

Awana didn't comment that piece of news; she picked an ivory comb from the trunk and let the issue drop. Her green eyes caught sight of the musket and she pointed to it:

"What is this?"

"A very powerful weapon, which I will show you later. Kango calls itthe fire arrow, but its name ismosquete." Of course there was no word in ancient Greek to designate a firearm, so he employed the Portuguese term. The Amazon's eyes flashed: a weapon that could send fire arrows was sure to raise the Queen's interest. She took a quick decision:

"You will come with me", she said. "What is your name again?"

"The Kimbundo call me Master, but to you I can reveal my true name. I am Rodrigo de Toledo, at you service." He made a flourish with his right hand and bowed in a polite reverence.

"I see you know how to deal with these savages", Awana replied. "Is that lad your slave?"

"He is still under training, but I can say he is learning fast. Would you allow me to take him in our trip?"

"He can come. And I would bet that you don't need a horse." She laughed, exposing two rows of pearl-like teeth.

"Thank you, Awana. Both Kango and Mkomo are able and faithful, and I am sure they will be pleased by your permission."

"I don't care if they are pleased or not." The Amazon's voice had an icy ring now. "But I want you to be comfortable", she added in a more amiable tone.

Rodrigo bowed again, this time to conceal his bewilderment at what her words: they implied that she didn't see him as a prisoner, but as someone worthy of consideration. And that was good news indeed.

"I'd like to offer you the blouse and the comb you have in your hands. What do you think – shall we take with us the trunks with the best goods? Perhaps other Amazons will like them"

The warrior smiled: the items would look fine on her at the next court banquet.

"Pick what you deem appropriate and tell the chief to send the males to fetch the stuff. My Talunga must have finished their meal, and we had better to leave as soon as possible."

They left the hut and the doctor went to see Kashimbo. Druna was waiting with the horse; she made a stirrup with her hands and Awana leapt on the animal's back. The youths were already waiting at the far end of the village, surrounded by the Talunga guards.

Rodrigo motioned for some lads to follow him and distributed among them the three trunks he had decided to take. They lifted them to their shoulders and went to meet the others; the doctor straddled Mkomo's neck and gave her the sign to rise up. The musket was strapped on his shoulder; he had put all the ammunition he had salvaged from the caravel in a box and trusted it to Nakumbu. Kango carried the bag with his instruments and books; he was standing by his master's side, holding his load with a firm hand to prevent it from falling from his shoulder.

The Amazon looked around: all was ready. She waved her hand and kicked the flanks of her mount; the Portuguese did the same on Mkomo's ribs, and they set out, as the tribe watched in awe. The Lady had come and was going away; who knew whom her sisters would choose next year?

***

The caravan had made a halt for the night. They had walked slowly because of the weight of the trunks; Awana had ordered a halt every two hours, as she didn't want to fatigue too much the Kimbundo. Now they were sitting around a fire, surrounded by the armed Talunga; the sight made Rodrigo think of a herd of sheep both protected and watched over by a pack of shepherd's dogs. The doctor had spent two years in the Portuguesefeitoriason the African coast, where he had seen slaves waiting in the depots for the ship that would take them across the ocean. They were usually agitated, chains and collars were needed to prevent them from running away, and the atmosphere was always tense. These Negroes, on the contrary, seemed to accept as natural their new condition; they talked in low voices, clearly worried by the proximity of the women they feared, but except for that they looked calm. Rodrigo played with the idea of having some of the giantesses sent to Brazil: one could not wish for better overseers in the sugar plantations.

Mkomo had joined her sisters. It was the first time that she had carried Master for so many hours; her muscles were tense, but otherwise she felt fine. She was finishing to tell Druna and Aisha what had happened since they had last seen each other.

"... and then Master say,can Mkomo carry Master? Mkomo strong. If Mkomo don't like carrying Master, she can go away when cut healed. But Mkomo no want leave Master."

"Aren't you ashamed to carry a man, Mkomo?"

The one-eyed giantess felt her blood heating.

"Master say, Mkomo soldier, Master commander. Mkomo like Master. Big shame on Mkomo when leave army, but now Mkomo happy."

Aisha touched the iron collar around the girl's neck.

"What this for?"

"Necklace has these. Master hold long thing in hand, pull one side, Mkomo turn; pull back, Mkomo stop", she said, balancing the short chains.

Aisha shook her head in disbelief.

"These like reins Awana put on horse. You no horse, Mkomo!"

"Master say, reins better than pulling Mkomo hair to tell Mkomo what he want."

"And this on your wrist? You never had bracelet", Druna asked.

The girl told them how she had earned that ornament. This time, the Talunga made no derogatory comments; they listened rapturously to their sister's story, really impressed by her feat.

Mkomo finished her tale and looked at her toes. There was a long silence; finally Druna said:

"Mkomo brave soldier. No matter Mkomo dismissed, no matter Mkomo lost eye. Mkomo free, may carry Master if she want."

The girl lifted her eyes; there were tears in them. She had been accepted again by her sisters! She felt Druna's hand caressing her thigh. That meant an invitation for sex; Mkomo was eager to play again with one of her kind, even if she didn't feel inclined to reveal that Master had initiated her in the pleasures of making love to a male. She put her own hand on Druna's thigh; they rose up and walked some twenty yards, where the light could not reach them.

Mkomo lay on her back and Druna went atop her. Her mouth sought the other girl's lips and gave them a long kiss, while her hand brushed the nipples to make them hard; she slid her tongue down her one-eyed sister's lap and nibbled on them. Mkomo arched her body up and pushed Druna's head towards her pussy; the Talunga lapped eagerly the cream that had already covered the labia, eliciting from her partner a low-pitched moan.

Rodrigo cocked his ear: that sound was familiar! He rose up and tried to discover where it came from; another moan guided him towards the Talunga, and he crouched behind a bush. The moon illuminated their huge dark bodies; he held his breath and watched the spectacle before him.

Druna was licking his Talunga's slit; her round butt was perfectly visible, her hands running along the other girl's body. Mkomo lifted her feet and thrust her hips up, holding them with her hands; her groans became louder, her belly trembled, and suddenly she uttered a long, animal scream: she had attained her climax.

"Shh, Mkomo! Awana can hear you!"

Druna's voice sounded alarmed. But the Talunga's instincts had been released now; she grabbed the other girl's shoulders and told her to go on her fours. Spreading her ass cheeks, she found the slippery slit and put two fingers inside it; with her thumb, she caressed Druna's button. The wind changed direction and brought into the Portuguese's nostrils the characteristic scent of Negresses in heat; he opened his breeches and took out his aching cock – the scene was arousing him more than anything he had ever witnessed.