Son of the Sea

Sea Breeze

After about an hour, the prince felt like a new being. He'd had a haircut, his nails were expertly trimmed, and Fefe had even cajoled him into a full-body massage. His once short, kinky hair had been blown (by magic, of course) and done in the trendy fade hairstyle, and he had chosen to dye it blue.

After hairstyle, Fefe stepped back to admire his handiwork.

"Hmm. Halfway decent, I say. Now all you need is the perfect outfit, and you'll be just about presentable," he said with a straight face.

Nana burst out into laughter. "Are you kidding? I look great! Thank you so much Fefe! You're such a great stylist!"

Fefe blushed, pleased at the compliment, and shooed away the other attendants with a wave of his left hand. "Always a pleasure, my prince! Come back anytime!"

"I'm sure I will. You know, this place is the first I've been in the castle where I've felt truly comfortable. If oy the rest of the palace didn't feel the need to display their perfect bodily assets," said Nana with a tinge of sarcasm.

"Oh, the nudity? It's relatively new. It started just a week ago, and it's only the royals and their officials who are actually allowed to roam like that. Honestly, even if I was a Hann, I still would not have indulged. Nakedness provides so little to work with in terms of fashion.

"Wait, wait," said Nana. "What's a Hann?"

Fefe smiled. "I forget how little you know about the kingdom. You have noticed, haven't you, that some people in this kingdom seem to glow, while others, like me, do not?"

"Yeah, I meant to ask someone about that."

"Yes, well, the Hanns are those descended from the native citizens of the kingdom. Anyone who glows is descended from the first sea dweller and is related by blood to the gods. Hanns exist in every kingdom, and you can tell by the glow that they are trueborns of a particular kingdom.

"Oh. Alright, I think I get it now."

"Whatever it is you're getting, I hope it has to do with us getting out of here and getting ready for our first class of the day," said a newly-made-over Nsuba, from behind them. Nsuba had exchanged his shoulder-length dreadlocks for even longer ones, and he looked even fiercer now than before.

Hurriedly, Nana bud goodbye to his new friend Fefe, and went back to his room with Nsuba. When they entered, the first thing they noticed was an elaborate two -piece kente outfit in the exact colour of his brand-new hairdo. Attached to it was a note, saying, "Good luck, son. Remember, I expect much from you. Don't disappoint me. Your mother, Nsu."

"Wow. No pressure at all,"
laughed Nsuba.

Nana smiled at his mother's forward-ness, and hurried to put on his garments. Nsuba made a quick dash to his room and returned fully dressed, his dark locks contrasting wonderfully with his blinding white kaftan, and matching his black 'ahenema' slippers.

Ignoring the food laid out on the side table, they walked together up a long, winding column of stairs, with Nsuba leading the way, until finally, they came to a huge set of double doors made of a dull-coloured metal, with a huge blue stone in the middle of the two doors, joining them together.

Nsuba turned to Nana. "You ready?"

Nana replied, "As I'll ever be."

And with that, Nsuba outstretched his hand, held out a single finger and touches the blue crystal.

With a great noise lie splintering glass, the blue stone dissolved into nothingness, and with a loud BANG! the doors opened, as if thrown back by some huge, invisible force.