In England, a group of men were boarding a ship to explore a "new world". Their leader, Governor Killmonger told them that their king wanted gold and set sail. But a storm hit and Ulysses Klawe fell overboard. Nakia risked her life to save her crew mate and the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. In a far away African rain forest, a group of warriors were rowing wooden canoes through the forest.
Hega,Hega
Ya-hi-ye-hega
Ya-hi-ye-ne-he-hega
One of the Indian spotters sounded a horn alerting another one that their chief and friends have returned. The other spotter rushed to the cornfield and alerted the girls that their family has returned. Excited, they rushed to the edge of the river to greet their loved ones.
Females:
Steady as the beating drum
Singing to the cedar flute
Seasons go and seasons come
Bring the corn and bear the fruit
Farther down the river, men were hunting fish with their spears.
Everyone:
By the waters sweet and clean
Where the mighty sturgeon lives
Plant the squash and reap the bean
All the earth our mother gives
Oh, Great Spirit hear our song
Help us keep the ancient ways
Keep the sacred fire strong
Walk in balance all our days
Plum to seed to bud to plum
Steady as the beating drum!
In the heart of the village, children were playing games, women were doing their morning chores, and W'Kabi was using spirit smoke to entertain the younger children. The queen of their village came onto the riverbank and families were reunited.
"Ukuqwalasela! The Massowomecks are defeated. With the help of our brothers and sisters, our villages are safe again." the queen said and the village erupted in cheers.
"Your return has brought much joy to the village, Ramonda. Look at all the smiling faces." said W'Kabi.
"Yes. But there's two smiling faces I don't see. Where are my children?" Ramonda asked.
"You know T'Challa. He has his father's spirit. He goes wherever the wind takes him. As for Shuri, she goes wherever T'Challa goes." W'Kabi answered.
Atop a high cliff, there was a young man with shoulder-length black hair and deerskin shorts staring at the sky.
"T'Challa!" a voice called below.
T'Challa looked down and saw it was his little sister. in
"Mother is back! Come down here!" Shuri called up.
"My mother is back, Okoye! Come on, Paprika!" T'Challa said excited to his best friend and leopard cub. Paprika was a leopard cub he adopted a few years ago and Okoye was his best friend. Then when he reached the edge of the forest, he looked up and had an idea. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, T'Challa?" Okoye asked. And T'Challa agreed He ran up to the cliff and jumped off with Okoye right behind him.
Shuri saw what her brother was up to and tried to stop him. "NO! Not that-way." she called but was too late and could only watch as T'Challa and Okoye fell towards the water.
T'Challa did a swan dive and ended with four back flips and landed with no sound. Okoye did the same and ended with a cannon ball which splashed Shuri with water.
"spit! Show-offs." Shuri said unimpressed. Then Paprika jumped into the water after T'Challa and Okoye. When her brother didn't come up after Okoye, Shuri got worried.
"T'Challa? T'Challa? Are you alright? Well, you better be alright because I am not coming in after you! WHOA!" exclaimed Shuri who fell into the water when T'Challa tipped over the boat she and Okoye were sitting in.
"*cough! cough!* Oh! We're not kids anymore. Do you two not think we are getting a little old for these kind of games?" Shuri asked annoyed.
T'Challa and Okoye answered her by squirting water in her face and the three of them engaged in a water fight like when they were kids.
After a minute, T'Challa said "Help me turn this thing over."
"What were you doing up there?" Shuri asked.
"Thinking." her brother replied simply. Paprika climbed in and shook herself dry.
"Paprika! (laughs) Silly cub. What am I going to do with you?" T'Challa asked in a joking matter.
"About the dream again? Well, have you figured it out yet?" Okoye asked excited.
"I know it means something, I just don't know what." T'Challa answered ringing his hair out.
"You should ask Mother about it, Brother." Shuri suggested grabbing an oar.
"Maybe I should. Come on, Paprika! Quit playing around. We have to get back." T'Challa said pulling his leopard cub out of the water. By the time they got back to the village, T'Challa put Paprika into her bed for a nap and went back outside.
Back at the village, Queen Ramonda was telling the village of a feast in their bravest warrior's honor.
"My children."
"Unina, womana!" T'Challa and Shuri said hugging their mother.
"Seeing you gives me great joy." Ramonda said hugging her children.
"We're so glad you've come home safely." Shuri said in relief.
"Come. We have much to talk about." their mother said guiding them to the hut.
"Mother, for many nights now I've been having strange dreams. I think it's telling me something's about to happen. Something exciting!" T'Challa said eagerly.
"Yes. Something is about to happen."
"What Mother?"
"Lotus Flower has asked for your hand in marriage!"
"M-marry Lotus? But she's so, serious."
"I told her it would make my heart soar. And my son, Lotus Flower will make an excellent wife. Come with me."
"Your father, wore this for our wedding. It was his dream to see you wear it at your own. It suits you." Ramonda said pulling out a necklace with panther teeth.
By the river T'Challa was admiring his necklace.
"She wants me to be steady. Like the river. But it's not steady at all!" T'Challa exclaimed getting into a canoe and rowed down the Congo River.
Later, the settlers were getting their fort together after they came to shore. The brave Lady Nakia decided to head out and explore the new world.
Seeing Nakia for the first time made him curious. Making sure he kept out of sight, he followed her through the rain forest in the shadows.
When he was heading into his canoe Nakia confronted him gently. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. Here. Let me help you out of here." she tried to coax him.
"Ungubani? Undilandela ntoni?" T'Challa said in his native language.
"You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?" she asked.
The wind started blowing and translated Xhosa to English.
"What's your name?" asked Nakia.
"T'Challa. Crown Prince T'Challa. Son of King T'Chaka." T'challa answered.
"I'm Lady Nakia of England."
"Why have you come to my land?"
"My king sent us here to find gold."
"We something gold called corn but I don't thing your king wants corn."
"He doesn't."
T'Challa tries to leave in his canoe but Nakia stops him again.
"Wait! Please don't leave."
"Let go!" T'Challa ordered.
"No. I'm not gonna let you leave. We've improved the life of savages all over the world."
"Savages?!" T'Challa exclaimed offended.
"Not that you're a savage."
"So just my people?"
"No! I mean-"
T'Challa decided to get away by climbing into a tree.
"You know, "Savage" is just a word, right? Uncivil."
"Like me?"
"No. I mean-WHOA!" Nakia exclaimed falling out of the tree.
"What you mean is 'not like you.'" T'Challa said lifting up her helmet.
(Colors of the Stars plays)
T'Challa:
You think I'm an ignorant savage
And you've been so many places
I guess it must be so
But still, I cannot see
If the savage one is me
How can there be so much that you don't know
You don't know
You think you own whatever land you land on
The earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name
You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew
Have you ever heard the jackal howling strong
Or asked the roaring lion why he roars
Can you sing with all the echoes of the valley
Can you paint with all the colors of the stars
Can you paint with all the colors of the stars
Come run the hidden forest on the plains
Come taste the sun sweet berries of the earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once, never wonder what they're worth
The high tide and the river are my brothers
The falcons and the zebras are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends
How high does the baobab grow
If you cut it down, then you'll never know
And you'll never hear the jackal howling strong
For whether, we are white color skinned
We need to sing with all the echoes of the valley
We need to paint with all the colors of the stars
You can own the Earth and still
All you'll own is Earth until
You can paint with all the colors of the stars
(Colors of the Stars ends)
T'Challa and Nakia share their first kiss and Lotus Flower tries to shoot an arrow at Nakia. But one of Nakia's friends shot and killed Lotus with a gun.
"Go! Run! I don't want you to get in trouble, Lily. Now, go!" Nakia ordered and got kidnapped by the warriors.
When T'Challa got back to the village, he was scolded by his mother and left at the edge of the river.
"T'Challa, I was the one who sent Lotus Flower after you. I was worried about you and thought I was doing the right thing." Shuri admitted.
"It's all my fault. And now, I'll never see Nakia again." T'Challa said sadly.
"Come with me. T'Challa wants to look into the eyes of the girl who killed Lotus Flower." Shuri ordered.
"Be quick." one of the guards said.
"You will speak nothing of this. Not one word. If you do, I'll kill both of you. Understand?" Shuri asked. Both of the guards nodded.
T'Challa came into the hut, had a small conversation with Nakia, and went to see Grandmother Lilac.
As the night progressed, both of the tribes were preparing to go to war the following morning. With encouragement from Grandmother Lilac, T'Challa raced across the savanna to stop the war. When his mother was about to release the death blow, T'Challa threw himself onto Nakia.
(Savages part 1)
Governor Killmonger:
What can you expect
From filthy little heathens?
Their whole disgusting race is like a curse
Their skin's a hellish red
They're only good when dead
They're vermin, as I said
And worse
They're savages! Savages!
Barely even human
Savages! Savages!
Drive them from our shore
They're not like you and me
Which means they must be evil
We must sound the drums of war!
They're savages! Savages!
Now we sound the drums of war!
Queen Ramonda:
This is what we feared
The paleface is a demon
The only thing they feel at all
Is greed
Beneath that milky hide
There's emptiness inside
I wonder if they even bleed
They're savages! Savages!
Barely even human
Savages! Savages!
Killers at the core
They're different from us
Which means they can't be trusted
We must sound the drums of war
They're savages! Savages!
First, we deal with this one!
Then we sound the drums of war!
"They're going to kill her at sunrise, Grandmother Lilac." T'Challa said sadly.
"You have to stop them!" Grandmother Lilac exclaimed.
"I was wrong, Grandmother Lilac. I followed the wrong path! I feel so lost. Now, I'm going to lose my love because I was so foolish"
Paprika climbed into the tree hole and pulled out the compass.
"The spinning arrow."
"It's the arrow from your dream."
"I was right. It was pointing towards her. Sunrise. Grandmother Lilac, with the help of the spirits I can hurry and save her in time."
"You know your path, child. Now follow it. GO save Nakia before it's too late."
(Savages part 2)
Governor Killmonger:
This will be the day
(Let's go men!)
Queen Ramonda:
This will be the morning
(Bring out the prisoner)
All:
We will see them dying in the dust
Now we make 'em pay
Now without a warning
Now we leave 'em blood and bone and rust
It's them or us
They're just a bunch of
Filthy, stinking
Savages!
Savages!
Native Americans:
Demons!
Englishman:
Devils!
Governor Killmonger:
Kill them!
Savages!
Savages!
What are we waiting for?
Destroy their evil race
Until there's not a trace left
We will sound the drums of war
(Savages! Savages!)
Now we sound the drums of war
(Savages! Savages!)
Now we see what comes of
Trying to be chums
Now we sound the drums... of ... war!
Of course it means the drums... of ... war!
T'Challa:
I don't know what I can do
Still, I know I've got to try
Falcon, help my feet to fly
Valley, help my heart be great
Spirits of the earth and sky
Please don't let it be too late
How loud are the drums of war
Is the death of all I love
Carried in the drumming of war
T'Challa ran up to the ledge and threw himself onto Nakia just as his mother was about to kill her. He decided this war was petty and decided to confront all of them.
"No! If you kill her, you'll have to kill me to." T'Challa shouted, confronting his mother.
"My son, stand back." Ramonda ordered.
"I won't! I love her, Mother." T'Challa confessed proudly.
Everyone was shocked when they heard T'Challa's confession.
"Look around you. All of you! This is where the path of hatred has brought us. This is the path I choose, Mother. What will yours be?" T'Challa asked all of them.
Ramonda thought for a minute and called off the war along with Nakia's release.
"My son speaks with a wisdom beyond his years. We have all come hear with anger in our hearts. But he comes with courage and understanding. From now on, if there is to be more killing, it will not start with me. Release her." Ramonda ordered. One of the indians cut Nakia's binds and set her free to reunite with T'Challa.
Governor Killmonger saw this and tried to shoot Ramonda.
"Now's our chance. Fire!" Killmonger ordered.
"No." Lily said boldly.
"What?" Killmonger asked puzzled.
"They let her go!" Lily argued.
"They don't want to fight!" Crystal added.
"It's a trick, don't you see? Fire!" he ordered again.
When none of them complied to his orders, he decided to take matters into his own hands. "Fine. I'll settle this myself."
"No!" Nakia yelled and sacrificed herself to save Queen Ramonda. But she got shot in the stomach and rib cage.
"Nakia! You shot her!" Lily accused.
"She stepped right-right into it. It's her own fault!" Killmonger tried to defend himself.
"Nakia was right all along." Blake realized.
"We never should have listen to you!" Crystal said.
"Get the gun!" Isabella ordered.
"Traitors! Unhand me I say. How dare you?!" Killmonger asked enraged.
"Put him in chains! And gag him as well!" Lily ordered and looked up to see T'Challa and Ramonda tending to an unconscious Nakia.
"I'll see you all hanged for this!" Their ex-leader swore to them.
When the crew was packing up, T'Challa's tribe gave them food for their trip.
"Is she going to make it, Isabella?" asked Lily.
"Sooner she gets back to England, the better. Is the ship ready yet?" Isabella asked.
"Any minute now. Just loading the last bit of cargo." Blake answered.
Two of the men tossed their ex-leader into a canoe, chained up and gagged.
"Untie me at once! I'll have your head for this!" Killmonger swore.
"And he came so highly recommended." Aurora sobbed.
"The ship's almost ready. We'd better get you on board." Isabella said to an unconscious Nakia.
"Wait. He'd said he'd be here." Nakia said.
T'Challa came out of the mist with his tribe and they were carrying baskets of food for them. Then T'Challa walked up to Nakia.
"Going back is her only chance. She'll die if she stays here." Isabella explained.
Before Nakia was taken to the ship, she gained acceptance into the tribe and Queen Ramonda gave her some medicinal bark for the pain.
"I wish I could go with you. But my people need me. You can't stay here. You'll die if you stay here." T'Challa explained and gave Naki one last kiss good-bye.
T'Challa ran up to his cliff and waved off his love by doing a small circle in the air before leaping into the water below. Nakia saw what her love did and copied his gesture. And the two lovers were separated once more. But that wouldn't be the last time Nakia saw her love. Not even close.
THE END