A/N: First off I would like to say that there is absolutely no excuse for my extremely long absence, but I want you all to know that while I was gone I was working… just not on my story. I'm really, really sorry about taking so long to update and part of my absence can be attributed to dance camp, church camp, and a mission trip so I have not had access to my computer or anyone else's for quite some time so please don't hate me for my tardiness. On a different note, I snagged a moment to see HP3 and I really liked it, but was anyone else irked by the whole absence of the marauders map explanation? Anywho I hope you enjoy this chapter. Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, anything that you don't recognize belongs
to me anything that you do recognize belongs to J.K.
Tradewind
Chapter Five: Death Threat
"You've got some stomach, Fred." Mundavi said laughing
"Thanks." Fred said weakly wiping off his mouth and lying back in the boat.
After about an hour and a half in the boat Fred had fallen asleep and was none to gently awakened by Mundavi, by being tapped on the head with the man's tribal walking stick
"Fred, open your tired eyes, and look out on the horizon!"
"What in the… Mundavi I was trying to… WoW!." Fred said breathlessly looking up at the sea view of the island
"This my friend is bidi ngati, on the shore those homes made of sticks and straw belong to the villagers who work up at the palace, and those white clay houses you see farther up into the sand partially surrounded by the tall palms, well those make up the Royal Compound, that is were headed." Mundavi said smiling at Fred's amazement
"You mean you have more than one palace?" Fred asked with a look of sheer wonder on his face
"Oh yes my friend there are two, each with their own pylons and courtyards. One for the east coast and one for the west, then there are four smaller bungalows connected to each other by covered columns and they are set in between the palaces at the half points of the compass rose, in the center of it all there is a pool which our people call Ngi-mje (pro. knee-g-me-jay) or the mirror pool, on the poolside there are day houses for guests, and those of importance who work at the palace to relax in at their leisure. Your heart has taken to living in one of the bungalows she says that the palace is far to breezy for her liking." He said smiling
"I had no idea she was this wealthy, I mean if I had all this," he said gesturing to the upcoming shore "I wouldn't have come back either." He finished lowering his head
"Fred, my friend you know that is not true you love her and she loves you all of this is nothing to her, without you. She has know about her wealth for quite sometime and still she chose to be with you, do not worry my friend… do not worry." He said as the boat slowed to a stop, and they prepared to get off.
After taking a few minutes to clean up and get out of the boat Mundavi and Fred began their trek towards the palace. As they walked through the small but crowded street Fred began to ask some of the more important questions that had been plaguing him since he and Mundavi had first met…
"Mundavi?"
"Yes Fred?"
"How did you know I was coming?"
"I had a vision and I saw a red headed man coming towards me, eyes filled with tears and arms open wearing one of molly's famous Christmas jumpers with the initial F written clearly on it." He said laughing under his breath
"How did you know about my mom's?" then after a moment realization hit, he chuckled and went on "Funny, but seriously how did you know?"
"A prophecy." He answered simply
"Can I ask for a little bit more detail?" Fred said anxiously
" The prophecy says that you and your Angelina will be reunited, part of the prophecy was sent to Albus the complete copy I keep in my home, you fit the description, you're the right age, height, race but most of all you have the will to find her I can only take you so far on your journey, but after that my interference would throw the prophecy out of balance which would have severe consequences" he said looking over at Fred to see what his immediate reaction would be after a few tense seconds Fred said
"Oh, well that makes sense, you can help me, but not when I need it most, you can guide me, but you can't show me the right way, all because of some idiotic prophecy, makes sense, perfect sense!" looking down at his feet as he walked, Mundavi noticed this sudden character change and looked inside his head to figure out the problem…
"Fred, do not worry I know that she has missed you, do not fret soon you will be with your heart." Mundavi said turning down a smaller street Fred following close behind
"I'm not worried," Fred said as Mundavi turned and gave him a skeptical look "Ok maybe I am but so what, it's been awhile, and what if I can't find her!, I mean, Oh Merlin I don't know what I mean." He said exasperatedly, stopping in the middle of the dirt road
"Fred, I am a seer, you can not hide your thoughts from me, I have had this gift for quite sometime and even your inner most thoughts, would be hard to keep from me, but I am not one to pry into other peoples minds I was taught to use my powers for good to help others not to destroy them, and so when I look inside your head, I see a fear, the fear of rejection by the one person you prize most above all others, and Fred I see this fear is very real to you, and it is not some childhood fear, it is a fear that has a definite cause, but Fred I promise you, your fear is useless, because I know that you will find her and when you do, she'll be waiting for you."
"But how do you know?" Fred said refusing to believe the man's words even after he had proved himself over and over again
"Because, she trusts me with her mind, just as she trusts you with her heart. " Mundavi said pulling Fred to the side of the road and then taking a seat on the ground, motioning for Fred to follow "Fred, your heart and I have a special bond, I am her mentor, her teacher and her friend." When Fred gave him a disbelieving look, Mundavi decided it was time to explain.
"Fred do you remember your second year when Angelina first started taking advanced history of magic, as well as regulars with you and your brother?" he asked drawing a circle into the dirt in front of them and tapping it with his staff, instantly the circle began to swirl and became a mess of color, then it solidified into a movie of the past, showing the picture of a dark skinned girl hugging a red headed boy and then running up one of Hogwarts many towers finding a large door and pushing it open...
"Fred, Angelina was never in advanced history of magic, but she was in history class. For two hours every day she would sit and learn about the customs and beliefs of her people. She learned quickly and by her third year we had progressed to tribal magic, and by the time the war had broken out she had thankfully learned all I could teach her… in England that is. After the war had ended Angelina had reached her 18 birthday and it was time for her to take her place as the rightful leader of Tangati on the throne of Amandala, the last night that you were together, she wrote you a very short letter, devoid of any explanation as to her sudden absence but I believe she left you two small but important phrases in that letter, do you remember them?" He said looking Fred right in the eyes, as the picture in the earth returned to it's natural state
It was then that Fred reached into his pocket and pulled out the small piece of worn out parchment, and read the now pale teal words that had been smudged with time and tears.
"Fred I love you, and nothing could ever make me say otherwise." feeling a fresh wave of tears he moved farther down the page and read…
'remember the wind, treasure it, feel it, when it brushes your face or swirls around you as it goes on it's way, remember me, in the wind please remember me.'
"And her promise is the same" Mundavi said standing up and running his staff over the ground causing it to return to its natural state as he began to walk again…
"She trusts me with her mind, and so I am able to help her in anyway that I can, in all ways but one. I have seen her toss and turn in her sleep, crying no one's name but your own. I have watched her dance by herself humming the songs of dances past, and I have seen her gaze up at the moon willing you to be somewhere staring at it too." He said fast approaching the west coast palace gates
"She still loves you, and even though she won't admit it she is waiting for you. She has angered some of our village elders by refusing to follow our custom of arranged marriage, and has spurned the hearts of many young gentlemen in the palace village, she took your heart long ago and she guards it with her soul. So never doubt her love for you."
"I won't." Fred said feeling significantly better as they stopped at the palace gate, after waiting a few moments a big surly guard came out of the bottom of one of the guard towers and stepped in front of Fred turned to Mundavi and said
" You can't bring him inside the palace gates, he is…" the guard cut off his sentence when Mundavi shot him a deadly look
"He is what Bilal? He is white? I know you are not that closed minded Bilal, especially not towards the love interest of your beloved Princess? The man who very well will be your future King?" at those words Bilal dropped to his knees and bowed down to Fred, shouting his apologies
"I am very sorry Dalo Weasley, please forgive me of my actions." The guard said fear evident in his eyes, Fred who had never been bowed down to in his life was a little at loss for words but managed to say…
"No harm done" and helped the man to his feet, at which the man dropped instantly to his knees again and bowed even lower "No really!" Fred said "I'm fine!" it was then that Mundavi stepped in…
"The Dalo has spoken you may rise without fault." Bilal rose smiled at the two and waved at the tower guards to open the gates, as they walked through the massive white stone gates and up to the palace Fred began showering Mundavi with another set of questions…
"How come everyone here speaks English?"
"Here in Tangati, Tangani or Tanganese is the native tongue, English is the language of business, and Mermish is the language of travel, every one speaks at least two different languages fluently, those of us at the palace speak many different languages most of them African dialects, I myself speak over 150 different languages, and I am learning to speak giant, although I don't think I'll ever use it."
"Ok now that we've gotten that cleared up, what was up with that guard?"
"Lately there have been some threats to the island by white men who wish to set up, condo's on the east shore, This island in it's self is sacred to our people so you can understand their anger." Mundavi said starting up the palace steps
"Of course I can if some stranger came in and tried to take the shop or mow over the burrow I'd go ballistic! Hey, one last question what does Dalo mean?" Fred asked following Mundavi into the palace
"Dalo means… it means the beloved, in your case it means the beloved prince or the lover of the princess.
"Oh, ok I like that title especially the lover part" Fred said smiling
"Some other things you might be called here are Hassan which means first born of twins, AkinYemi which means fated to be a warrior or Abrafo meaning mischief maker or trouble maker."
"Abrafo, A-bra-fo…" Fred said sounding it out as they walked up the entryway to the palace doors "mischief maker, I like it, I like it a lot." He said smiling again
After walking in the palace doors and going up two upward slanted hall ways Fred found him self being led out onto the biggest balcony he had ever seen in his life after taking in the view of the west coast village for a while Mundavi broke the silence….
"Look down in to the village square, do you see that woman?" Mundavi said looking far out over the balcony
"Yes I see her she's the one talking to the guard?" Fred said pulling his gaze from the woman to look at Mundavi
"No not her! The one, wearing a yellow sari." Mundavi said pointing his staff in the direction of the woman."
"Oh now I see! The one talking to those children?" said Fred finally focusing in on the woman
"Yes that is Ramia, That is my wife." Said Mundavi proudly
"Oh! She's very pretty" Fred said thoughtfully "and the children she's with are those your children?"
"Yes, all five of them" He said leaning on his staff
"You've been busy haven't you!" Fred said laughter present in his voice
"Yes very, but I'm sure you know full well what it is like to have a large family" Mundavi answered winking at him
"Unfortunately yes I understand completely! Mundavi tell me what are their names?" Fred asked leaning on the balcony railing
"The smallest one is Urenna (father's pride) but her nickname is Tavi she's my baby girl she's 6, then there's Sava (first cub) and Sova (second cub) age 10 they're the twins, they're an unruly set but I love them, and after that is Leila (born at night) she's 11 and the tall one standing off a bit is my oldest Aseefa (he who has increased our family by coming into this world) he's 15, he's the quiet, calculating type when he first meets people, but if he likes you it is almost impossible to quiet him"
"Wow, I've always dreamed about getting married and having a large family, In fact I was going to ask Angelina to marry me as soon as she got out of school but then the war started, and we were surrounded by so much death and destruction, that I never could find the right time to ask her I mean there was a constant threat to our lives and the lives of our loved ones, and one of Voldemort's main assailants' Lucius Malfoy had a personal vendetta against my family and I didn't want to put her in even more danger by making her a part of it; but if you know her like I think you do you know she wouldn't have any of my excuses she joined the order with me and we went to auror training together under Moody and we graduated at the top of our class, we worked so well together, even though they were hard, those were such good times…" he said looking blindly off the balcony
"You love her, I can tell" Mundavi said watching his family edge closer to the palace
"Is it that obvious?" Fred said looking desperate
"You traveled halfway across the world, to see a woman who you haven't seen in three years, based solely on the belief that you were meant for each other…." He paused and smiled "So I would say yes it's very obvious."
"I thought so, You know I didn't even stop to think about it like that, all I know is I wanted just to see her again so badly that I didn't care about the distance between us." He said looking down at his feet
"These past years without her have been very hard for you, your soul seems to be torn." Mundavi said as he placed a hand upon Fred's shoulder
"Why is it my family and friends who have known me for all of my existence can't understand or see that but, one afternoon with you and everything makes sense?"
"It's my job to see things and to make sense of what is hard to understand" the man said turning to lean on his staff again "It's what we seers do, we see"
"I know, I'm sorry I'm just trying to get used to your ability to see everything and everyone."
"It's fine, and speaking of everyone, It's seems that I've been called" he said turning "If you'll excuse me… wait she's sent Tavi" he said beginning to stoop
There was a brief pause and then the small girl he had seen out in the courtyard came running in. She was wearing a bright cerulean blue colored piece of sari fabric, that was tied tightly around her neck but fell loosely down to her knees, she was bare foot except for a gold foot and ankle chain on her left foot. She had pierced ears and an tiny emerald stud in her nose her arms were covered in little gold bangles and her hair was in goddess braids…
"What is it Tavi?" he said looking into the eyes of his little girl
"Ba-ti (Daddy)?" said the small girl
"I said what." He answered calmly
"Mistress would like to speak with you." The girl said seeming very proud that she had delivered her message
"Oh alright then would you tell her that I'll be right along?"
"Ok, bye Ba-ti…" she said starting to run back, but she remembered something, stopped in mid run, and turned back "oh I almost forgot…" she said running up to Fred and grasping his hand in hers "nice meeting you Dalo Weasley, and don't worry everything will be ok." She said smiling; she then dropped his hand and ran back into the palace
"How did she?" Fred asked watching the retreating girl, a few seconds past and then a look of realization spread across his face "she has the gift?" he said raising an eyebrow in question
"You are correct although I can not say that I was not surprised when she first showed signs that she could see, she was only three when she predicted that Angelina was alive and would return, I had had the same prediction the night before but had yet to alert anyone of my knowledge so I knew she was really seeing."
"I have a question… why does…" Fred began but Mundavi finished for him
"Why does she send Tavi to tell me things if I can already see them? Because Tavi is her errand girl, you know as well as I do that Angelina hates to have other people do things for her when she can do them for herself, so she sends Tavi on small missions that don't really need to be done, just to keep her occupied and to make her feel important."
"Oh well then what do your other children…" but he stopped mid sentence and looked around "Mundavi? Mundavi?" but the man was nowhere to be found, after a few seconds had passed Fred gave up on looking for the strange man, and turned to walk back into the palace.
He decided to go exploring and turned down a few breezy hallways, marveling at the brightly colored tapestries and murals. After walking straight for a while he turned to the left, then walked down one particularly long breezeway and stopped when he came out on one of the palaces higher balconies, upon first glance Fred could tell that he had reached the level that the royals resided on. Bright sunlight was streaming down through the brightly covered sari's that had been strung up for shade, there was a fountain set on the left and right sides of the balcony and as the water in them came cascading down it looked as if they were spouting diamonds as it reflected the rays of the sun, there was jasmine winding it's way around the pillars that held the balcony up and it's scent was intoxicating, and two large palm trees were bent over the small paradise with their leaves fanned out and swaying in the breeze.
It took him a while to soak in all the beauty of the place, and when his eyes rested on a small bed in the corner he just couldn't resist so he walked over, flopped down upon it and with in seconds he was asleep. However his respite was brief and the feeling of strong hands gripping his arms and pulling him to his feet awakened him
"What the Heck?" he thought aloud as he was dragged a few feet away from his resting place and dropped none to gently onto the floor, when his eyes refocused he looked before him and saw a pair of dark-skinned feet connected to a pair of bangled ankles
"You, red headed one, are trespassing on royal ground, did you know this?" the woman said walking closer to his bent form
After mulling it over Fred decided that it would be best to answer the woman quickly so he gave her a short "No" and continued to look down at the floor
"No? Well then let me fill you in, I am high priestess Initoyo (power resides) and it is my duty to appease the gods and goddesses of my people, and I can not do so without my beauty sleep!" the woman yelled glaring down at Fred "If you did not know that, now you do now what do you have to say for yourself?"
It was then that Fred had had enough he did not appreciate being yelled at for being tired and he did not appreciate people who treated others as if they were under them because of their rank, and he certainly didn't appreciate being thrown around like some criminal.
No he did not like this at all because that's the way it had always been, people had always treated him like dirt and well he was fed up with it and that's probably why he decided to do what he did. Pushing the guards off, he climbed to his feet and stood. At his full height he towered over the woman, and he watched her face as she realized this, a flicker of fear as to what he might do crossed it but she quickly hid it, when he began to speak.
"Look, I'm really sorry that I took a nap on your couch and I'm really sorry that I've apparently screwed up the balance on which your world functions on, and I'm really, really, really sorry that your missing out on your beauty sleep which may I add you very sorely need, but I'm not nearly as sorry about all that as I am about the fact that you've apparently got a massive stick stuck up your bloody butt!" he yelled in her face, at that he felt the arms of the guards grip his wrists and shove him to the ground.
"I do not like you, red-headed one… You talk too fast and too much for my liking." With a sweep of her skirts she turned to walk out of the room, but she stopped at the exit-way, held her hand in the air, pointed to one of the guards and said…
"Kill him."
A/N: Most of the names I will use in my fic are real names here's a key… for the words I didn't define in the story BILAL: A Muslim name popular in North Africa, meaning "black man." I love cliffies!!! Is it obvious? I mean they are so much fun to write! Anyway I hope you liked this chapter please review! Oh and by the way I was really hyper tonight so I made a really badly drawn map of bidi tangati if anyone wants one e-mail me!