The Mandinka Kingdom

The sun rose over the Kingdom of Mandinka, which stretched from Southern Mali to Eastern Guinea and into Northern Ivory Coast. In the City of Bamako, Prince Maru Boubacar stood on the terrace of his four-story villa, and repressed a yawn. Last night's exertions had taken their toll on the young African prince. Six feet two inches tall, broad-shouldered and dark-skinned, the Prince had barely seen twenty years, yet he carried himself with the confidence of a much more experienced man.

The City of Bamako, Capital of the Mandinka Kingdom, sprawled before Prince Maru. Three hundred thousand souls call Bamako home, and it is considered the fastest growing metropolis in all of Africa. It is ruled with an iron fist by King Mamadou Boubacar, father of Prince Maru. The town is more fortress than metropolis, with a massive, forty-foot-high wall surrounding its circumference. The Wall, begun by King Ahmad Boubacar, and concluded by King Mamadou Boubacar, is a symbol of the strength and resilience of the Mandinka people.

The life of the African man has never been easy, not even in those halcyon days before the European colonial invasions. The Mandinka people have always been ferocious warriors, and when the Arab invasion came, they put up quite a fight. The Arabs learned that a subtler approach was needed with the Mandinka, so they spread the religion of Islam through trade, and proselytizing, rather than by the sword. Nowadays, ninety percent of Mandinka people practice Islam, while ten percent cling to the old religion of Animism.

As a nation of farmers, merchants and travelers, the Mandinka people are among Africa's hardiest. The Mandinka Kingdom is the envy of its neighbors, true, but many hate them for their wealth and power. The wild tribes of the Eastern Sahel have been known to carry out incursions into the Mandinka Kingdom, and it took all of the Mandinka Army's prowess to drive them off. On the southern front, the Mandinka people also faced the threat of the Wolof Empire, whose aggressive leader, King Malouf Jatta, vowed to bring them down.

The Wolof Empire controls much of northwestern Senegal, the Gambia and the southwestern coast of the land of Mauritania. King Malouf Jatta, leader of the Wolof Empire is a fierce and ambitious man, and he seeks to build in Africa an empire that would rival Rome of old, the ancient Persian Empire, or the great Empire of China. Standing in King Malouf Jatta's way are the Mandinka people, the most ferocious African civilization that has ever existed.

Prince Maru has seen much of war in recent years, for as fitting a prince of the realm, he went to war with his father King Mamadou and his brothers, Ali and Yasser. The Mandinka Kingdom raised its sons and daughters to be fighters. Hell, in recent years, the Mandinka Army even incorporated female fighters into its ranks, particularly as archers. King Mamadou Boubacar felt inspired to train female fighters for his army after visiting the Benin Kingdom, whose Amazons were downright legendary.

Even though the Mandinka Kingdom is not currently at war, Prince Maru is restless. During the conflict with the Sahel tribesmen, he'd seen many friends die, especially his longtime friend Amir, a young Mandinka nobleman he'd known his entire life. Most of the Mandinka Royal Palace courtiers knew that Prince Maru and Amir were close, they simply didn't know how close. Haunted by memories of a brutal war and the death of a beloved friend, Prince Maru has become taciturn, unable to enjoy life's simple pleasures. What can be done about the prince's ailments?

"Maru, come back to bed," said a sleepy female voice, and Maru turned to look at Yana, his paramour. The lady had been living with him for a few months now, and no one questioned their involvement. Five feet eleven inches tall, curvaceous and lovely, with long dreadlocks framing a slightly angular face, Yana looked at the world through golden brown eyes which could be quite friendly or dreadfully cold, depending on her mood. A red shawl draped over her shoulders represented the only clothing she wore...

"Man rules the world and woman rules man," Prince Maru said softly, echoing the words of his former mentor, Diallo the marabout. The silver-haired, dark-skinned old man had been a palace courtier since the days of King Mamadou Boubacar, Prince Maru's father. Prince Maru turned to face Yana, and she smiled coyly, for she was a sight to behold and damned well knew it. When the Gods of Africa made the black woman, they were simply showing off...

"Why must you wake up so early?" Yana said, and she pressed her curvy body against Prince Maru's, knowing what her merest touch did to him. The Mandinka Kingdom is home to scores of beautiful women, hailing from all over West Africa. What initially drew Prince Maru to the lovely Yana was not just her beauty, but her intelligence and sassiness. In a land where women are taught to obey first their fathers then their husbands, Yana is an anomaly, a smart-mouthed, rebellious woman with a mind of her own. Prince Maru is smitten with her...

"These are dangerous times, my love," Prince Maru said, looking into Yana's golden eyes before gently kissing her forehead. As the son of a King, Prince Maru had women chasing him ever since he could remember. Under the rule of Prince Maru's father King Mamadou, the Mandinka Kingdom had expanded greatly. A powerful military consisting of thousands of horsemen and tens of thousands of spearmen, archers and foot soldiers defended the borders of the Mandinka Kingdom, making them a force to reckon with. Still, no nation rises to power without making enemies...

"Maru, you worry too much," Yana said, and then she took the Prince's face into her hands, and kissed him passionately. Yana caressed Prince Maru's torso, and felt the scars on his chest, his back and elsewhere. He'd been shot with arrows, stabbed with swords and knives, all in the defense of the Mandinka Kingdom. In ages past, Mandinka princes and princesses were a pampered lot, but not these days. With the survival of the Mandinka Kingdom at stake, every able-bodied Mandinka man and spirited Mandinka woman must fight, lest everything they value turn to dust before their very eyes...

"I lost someone I loved in the war," Maru said, and Yana paused, for she'd never heard him use the word 'love' before. Maru grabbed a nearby chair and sat down, beckoning for Yana to do the same. Maru looked at Yana, the woman he professed to cherish, and wonder if he should tell her the truth. In Mandinka society, ruled by Islam, there are certain things that not even wealthy and powerful noblemen can get away with it. If Yana didn't understand, then Maru was endangering himself by telling her the truth...

"You can tell me anything, my love," Yana said softly, laying her hand on Maru's thigh. Maru sighed, and wondered where he should start. The African prince closed his eyes, and thought about his longtime friend and former lover Amir, the tall, burly, bald-headed young Mandinka nobleman with the stern face...and the soul of a jester. They'd been close friends for years, sharing everything, including women, and then, one day, unnatural passions got hold of them...

"Yana, I am one who loves both women and men, and my dead friend Amir was also my lover," Maru said, and Yana gasped, astonished. The dark-skinned, voluptuous beauty looked at the tall, powerfully built African prince who sat before her. She was not expecting such a revelation. Like everyone else in the City of Bamako, Yana knew of men who had feminine manners, and spoke with high-pitched voices. Such men were the type that no father would let marry their daughters, never mind that they didn't desire women at all.

"Maru, surely you jest, I know of men who don't like women, and one can spot them a mile away, you are not like them, besides, you love my body," Yana said, laughing nervously. Maru sighed, and nodded. He was definitely not like those men who only like other men and behaved in a feminine manner, that's for sure. Maru is a strong and masculine African man, and his former lover Amir was also strong and masculine. They both loved having sex with women, but they also enjoyed making love with each other. Can't a man love both women and men without giving up the ways of masculine men?

"I've always found both women and men attractive, I like women with curvy bodies and big butts, but I also notice strongly built men with deep voices and stern demeanors," Maru said, exhaling sharply. Yana looked at Maru, and closed her eyes, hard. This isn't happening, the young African woman thought. Yana never would have guessed that a man like Maru, who was built like an African warrior deity, could have such inclinations. The royals are full of surprises, that's for damn sure...

Prince Maru thought of the many times he and Amir had nearly gotten caught in the throes of passion. They went hunting in the wilderness, and returned with trophies including slain lions and hyenas. In the eyes of the Mandinka nobles, Maru and Amir were two handsome, masculine young African men sowing their wild oats. They hunted, fought, chased women, and drank a lot. This was expected of young noblemen. Nobody knew that Prince Maru and Amir also had sex with each other, and they wisely kept their secret.

Long before Yana got involved with Prince Maru, she sought the favor of one of the princes of the realm. There are dozens of princes and princesses in the City of Bamako, and they were usually snapped up by eligible mates from the wealthy classes. Yana's parents were once nobles, but they angered the wrong princess and lost everything before dying in abject poverty. Destitute and orphaned, Yana yearned to become the wife of a prince, but she was never rich enough, pretty enough, or educated enough. At the age of twenty three, Yana thought her luck had run out, until she met Prince Maru...

Prince Maru is the sort of man that most eligible young women in the City of Bamako would give anything to marry, for he was tall, handsome and wealthy. When King Mamadou Boubacar eventually passed on, Prince Maru would be the future King of the Mandinka people. This meant that whatever woman managed to become Prince Maru's chief wife would become the Queen of the Mandinka people. Yana wanted to become queen, and no hurdle was insurmountable in the pursuit of her goal...

"Your life must have been lonely," Yana said softly, sensing that Maru needed her sympathy. Maru rose to his feet, and Yana did the same. She smiled at him, and went into his arms. Maru hesitated, then hugged Yana back. Maru had heard horror stories of men like himself who lost everything when their wives learned they had male lovers. In the Mandinka Kingdom, under Islamic law, men who are caught having sex with other men are beheaded. There were zero exceptions, not even for royals.

"Yana, in my life, I've bedded many women, and a few men, but I've only loved you, and Amir, and he is dead, I want to be with you, and no one else," Prince Maru said softly. Yana grinned, and smiled up at the tender-hearted, dark-skinned giant standing before her. This is how a fallen noblewoman turned peasant becomes a future queen, Yana thought as she threw her arms around Prince Maru, and kissed him passionately. Taking Prince Maru by the hand, Yana led him back to the bedroom...

"Maru, my love, you can tell me anything," Yana told her lover as she drew him to the bed. Maru slipped out of his robe, revealing a strong, muscular, masculine body. Yana grinned as Maru caressed her breasts, and then playfully smacked her big butt. Yana briefly wondered whether Maru fucked his former lover Amir, or let Amir fuck him, then decided that she didn't care to know. Amir was dead, and Yana was claiming Maru as hers and hers alone.

"You are simply divine," Maru told Yana, and he laid her on the bed, and spread her thick dark thighs. Maru inhaled the womanly scent of Yana's crotch, then buried his face between her legs. Maru began eating Yana's pussy, and soon the gorgeous, conniving African woman found herself moaning in sheer delight. Bedding numerous women, and a few men, had taught Maru much about the human body. After giving Yana's pussy a tongue bath, he put her on all fours, and showed her another trick, one which Amir taught him...

"What are you doing to me?" Yana asked nervously as Maru spread her thick ass cheeks wide open. Maru laughed and then slid his tongue into Yana's asshole. While licking Yana's asshole, Maru fingered her wet, hairy pussy. Yana arched her back and purred like a kitten as Maru fingered her pussy and licked her asshole. Yana had been with a lot of men, and maybe a woman or two, and none had pleasured her quite like this. Maru ate Yana's ass like a hungry man, and she shrieked in pleasure, loving what he was doing to her. Maru didn't let up until Yana came, squirting hot girly cum all over his darkly handsome visage...

"You are mine," Maru told Yana, once she came down from nirvana, and he stroked his long and thick, dark member expectantly. Yana grinned, and reached for Maru's member. The young African prince held his breath as Yana began sucking his member. In Maru's experience, most African women did not like fellating their lovers. Of course, Maru had his member sucked plenty of times by Amir, who truly excelled in that department. Maru closed his eyes and relaxed as Yana sucked his member, and she soon had him hard as a rock...

"Make love to me," Yana said urgently, and Maru boldly lifted her up, and placed her on his lap. Bucking his hips, Maru thrust his member into Yana's pussy, and began fucking her with deep, passionate strokes. Yana screamed passionately as Maru fucked her. For a man who claimed to only desire women half of the time, he sure knew how to slam his member into a vagina. Yana rose Maru hard, loving the feel of his thick member inside of her. Her breasts swayed this way and that as she rode her lover, and he smacked her big butt and cried out her name. In this manner, they fucked and sucked for much of the morning, stopping only when exhaustion claimed them...

"I'm glad I met you, Yana," Maru said softly, as he lay in her arms, and Yana flashed him a coy smile. I'm glad I met you my Prince, you will make my dreams come true, Yana thought, playfully tugging on Maru's chest hairs. Lying next to Yana, Maru drifted to sleep. He had to meet with his father that afternoon, but otherwise his day was wide open. Lying in Maru's arms, Yana knew better than to sleep. Behind her lovely visage lay a calculating mind...

When Prince Maru, eldest son of King Mamadou Boubacar introduced his father to Yana, the woman he intended to marry, the royal court and much of the City of Bamako were scandalized. Yana is a fallen noblewoman with a bad reputation, for her parents wealth had been seized by the other nobles for illicit activities. Many in the Mandinka Capital felt that the Crown Prince could have done better than Yana. Prince Maru stood by his choice, though, and the Old King relented, welcoming his son's future bride into the royal family.

That's how Yana the fallen noblewoman went from streetwalker on the mean streets of Metropolitan Bamako to Queen of the Mandinka people. As fate would have it, Yana and Prince Maru's marriage would be a fruitful one, and thus Yana would become mother to a long line of fierce rulers. What became of Yana and Maru's descendants? Well, they ruled the Mandinka people in a most turbulent time, and their hardiness saw them through the nightmare of European colonialism all the way to the successful African Independence Movement. Of course, that's a story for another time.