Chapter 6

Suddenly, both the King and the young lady began bowing before us! The king uttered strings of native words that the girl didn't see fit to translate.

Patricia, taken a little aback, finally said, "Stop! Please! What is going on?!"

The girl said something to the King, and both stopped bowing, but remained on their knees. The girl swept her long black hair away from her face and spoke to the King. King Kalea said a few words back.

"Women such as yourself are revered among our people." The young lady said, "The King asks that you honor us by accompanying us to our home island, there."

She pointed in the direction of a land mass we had seen from the beach.

"Please," Patricia said, with all the poise she had shown among the elite of San Francisco, "be seated. While we are honored by the Kings request, we are nothing special. As my husband tells me, I am merely a woman with a little something extra."

"Actually," I put in with a smile, "She is quite extraordinary, although I may be the only one who knows just how special she is!"

I wasn't aware that you could see a blush under the natives' honey colored skin until that moment. When the young lady answered, it was clearly for herself, since she didn't bother to consult with the King first.

"The belief is that a boy-child born of the union of a man-woman and a man is more of a man because he gets his manhood from both parents, not just one. Genetically, of course, this is hogwash. Historically, however, men born of such women have been great leaders and mighty warriors. Any union with a man-woman or her consort - a man of great stature simply for having won such a woman - brings great prestige upon the lucky man or woman, whether it results in a baby or not. Samo'akane has gone overnight from being a well-liked, but mostly ignored member of his family to a person of great importance after his dalliance with the two of you!"

"What is your name, dear?" Patricia asked the young lady.

"I am Le'ini E Nikili, Mrs. Travis." she ducked her head when she said this.

'E Nikili' I thought. Did this make her related to the King? I filed it away in case it correlated with something else later.

"You speak English very well, Le'ini, and with an American accent."

"I attended the University of California at Berkeley, Ma'am," the young lady replied, "Before returning to the Islands."

"Really?" Patricia raised a regal eyebrow, "What did you study?"

"Economics and sociology, Ma'am." she replied, still looking down.

The King must have grown impatient, because he said something to which she replied. He made another speech and she turned back to us.

"The King wishes to know if you will accept his invitation." she said, clearly chastised, "We must leave soon if we are to arrive before dark."

"What can we expect if we do, Le'ini?" I asked.

She blushed again and spoke to the King, then turned to relay his answer.

"You will be the guests of honor at a feast," she said, "then, if you choose to honor us even further, you will be given your choice of the fairest flowers of the Islands in hopes that one or both of you will leave behind at least one child. We will, of course, return you to this resort tomorrow."

Patricia and I looked at each other, shrugged, then nodded.

Suddenly, King Kalea was all smiles. He spoke rapidly in our direction and gestured grandly toward the door.

"King Kalea is pleased that you choose to honor us with your presence!" Le'ini said, smiling somewhat indulgently, "He promises the greatest feast these islands have ever seen to celebrate your arrival! It has been many years since a man-woman has appeared among us and your presence is cause for great rejoicing!"

The nuance of that smile was something different than one would expect from a mere translator, as were the studies in Economics and Sociology. When I combined those observations with her name, I began to get a hunch about young Le'ini.

The stares we got crossing the grounds of the resort and the beach accompanied by a parade of natives decked out in their finest shells and feathers were something to behold, and I wished I had thought to bring the camera. Just as I had the thought, I heard the 'beep' as our little digital camera recorded an image. Turning, I found Patricia aiming at me, saying, "Say 'cheese'!".

"Did you get one of all the open mouths around us?" I asked as she snapped my photo.

"You bet!" she laughed.

We boarded one of an entire fleet of big outrigger canoes and I realized why the crowd on the beach was so much larger than we usually saw this time of day. Word must have spread about the native invasion of the resort!

Le'ini guided us to seats in the largest of the canoes, and soon, muscular young men were pushing us into the waves. With practiced ease, they leaped aboard and their voices rose in a powerful chant as their paddles drove us, with startling speed, through the surf and into the open ocean. The roller-coaster ride through the breaking waves was as thrilling as it was artfully accomplished. The paddlers timed their charge at each wave so that the high prow of the canoe broke the top of the wave just as it was about to crest, allowing the body of the wave to roll harmlessly under the boat. The glide down the back side and sharp climb up the next were more exciting than any roller coaster I'd ever ridden!

I took the camera from my wife and snapped a few pictures of other canoes negotiating the surf around us.

Patricia, seated ahead of me, next to Le'ini, turned to look in my direction, her face flushed with wild excitement as we settled into the rhythm of open ocean paddling.

"We are definitely going to have to do this again!" she laughed, just as I snapped the picture.

That shot is my favorite picture of my lovely wife because it captures the wild, free spirited side of her better than any other. Her hair is being whipped around her face by the tropical winds. The glow in her cheeks and the laughter in her eyes shout of the joy in her heart as the ocean spray flies past!

It was further to the other island than it looked from the beach, but the strong arms and backs of our paddlers drove the canoes swiftly across the intervening space, and soon the resort was lost below the horizon, leaving the looming peaks of the mountains to mark our starting point. For hours it seemed we were suspended between the two land masses, but gradually the details of the island ahead of us began to show. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon as we negotiated a narrow, convoluted channel between coral reefs into the lagoon where the King's village lay.

I understood the King's urgency to get here before dark as enormous breakers pounded the coral to either side of the narrow channel. Negotiating that in the dark would have been a harrowing experience, if not a fatal one!

An armada of ocean-going canoes crowded the crescent of beach in front of the village and fires burned in pits upon the sand, heating rocks and leaf-wrapped bundles. Steam and smoke rose from several small mounds of sand. Le'ini, in answer to our query, said that each mound contained hot coals and a suckling pig.

Clearly, the Island people had not waited for our acquiescence to begin preparing for this feast! When asked, Le'ini said only, "They cannot conceive of anyone refusing an invitation delivered personally by King Kalea."

"He is that powerful?" I asked.

"He is that well-liked." Le'ini answered.

Again, her smile held something one wouldn't expect from a mere translator.

We were shown to a spacious hut near the edge of the village, and a bevy of young ladies bathed us with ocean sponges and flower-scented water, then dressed us in native garb - a sarong-like wrap for Patricia, and a length of brightly patterned cloth that wrapped around my waist. The ladies oohed and aahed over Patricia's cock, unable to keep their hands off. It was apparently good luck to even touch it, as each of them, near as I could tell, took the opportunity to give it a stroke or two.

Patricia suffered this with good grace, though from the rigidity of her staff I doubt if she suffered much!

"I am so horny I could rape one of these young things right here!" she whispered to me.

I grinned and said, "Save it for later. If I understood young Le'ini correctly, you'll get your chance after the feast!"

"If I can last that long!" she whispered back.

I gave her a kiss, and the feel of her erection poking me through the sarong created a tent in my own skirt.

"Speaking of Le'ini," I whispered in her ear, "I've been noticing some things about her. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think she's the King's daughter. Don't know why that might be important, or why they haven't said anything, but just so you know..."

"Hmmm." she whispered back, "I don't know if it means anything or not, but it might come in handy."

The feast was incredible! Besides an overabundance of native food, there were dancers, male and female, whose lively, hip swiveling movements were enough, in themselves, to melt an ice sculpture. When they did a little skit apparently intended to convey the story of a man-woman among their people, everyone got hot! There were golden-skinned couples feeling each other up without shame as we sat around the fire and watched the young girl with a huge polished wooden dildo pretend to screw men and women alike, while others went through the motions of taking their pleasure with her!

The roast pig was moist and succulent, and though I could almost feel my cholesterol level climbing as I ate, I fell to with gusto! There were fruits aplenty, and purple yams, as well as a taro root concoction that looked disgusting but actually tasted quite good! After eating the meal with our fingers, we copied the local people by scrubbing our hands with sand, then rinsing them in the streams of water poured from pitchers carried by more of the lovely island girls.

Le'ini was seated between Patricia and I to answer any questions we may have had about the festivities. We had few questions, though, since she kept up a running narration of events including descriptions of the food we ate and fermented coconut drink we were served.

When the dancers had finished their performances, and the remains of the meal had been cleared away, King Kalea stepped into the firelit circle. With gestures in our direction and solemn intonations in the native tongue, he told everyone gathered (as if they didn't already know) who we were, and bade the people make us welcome. (We knew this because Le'ini translated as he spoke.)

A few more words from the King and a line of nubile young native ladies, wearing nothing but loin cloths, filed into the circle to stand before us.

"These are the chosen daughters of the great houses of our small nation." Le'ini told us, "King Kalea hopes you will choose one or more of them to sleep in your hut tonight."

"Am I right in assuming that each great house is from a separate island?" I asked her.

"That is correct, Mr. Travis!" she eyed me speculatively, "And a very astute observation!"

"Well try this on for size, young lady:" I replied, "There are eight islands in this archaepelago. Am I also correct in assuming that it is this island, King Kalea's home, that is not represented among these girls?"

"That is also correct." Le'ini hid her face and blushed, "The King, in his wisdom, thought it best to offer this opportunity to the other houses, so that they might have the chance to gain prestige."

"King Kalea is indeed wise." I said, "Of these seven, Le'ini, which two would you choose if it were your choice to make?"

She was thoughtful for a moment and Patricia gave me a questioning glance that I shook off with the understanding that I would tell her later what I was thinking.

"If the choice were mine," Le'ini finally said, "I would choose Pi'ipi..." she indicated a slight, shy girl at one end of the line, "and Me'ili." She nodded toward a cheerful, slightly plump girl near the middle.

"Why those two?" I queried.

"Pi'ipi's house has had bad luck with weather and crops the last few years," she said, "and could use a 'shot in the arm', prestige-wise. Me'ili is from the smallest and poorest of our islands. Her house, too, would benefit from more prestige. If either of them gives birth to another man-woman, of course, they will be rich beyond words, but even if no baby results, their islands will experience an upswing in favorable trade."

"King Kalea," I said, "Is not only wise, but has raised his daughter to be wise, as well!"

"Thank you." she murmured, then gasped, "How did you know?!"

"Your name," I smiled, "and the way your love for your father shows in your face. Also, why else would a young lady study Economics and Sociology, then return here, unless it were to help her father rule his country?"

"You were not supposed to know this!" she hissed.

"But I do." I said gently, "Where is Sam? Samo'akane?"

I scanned the faces around the fire and soon located the young scamp basking in the attentions of two young ladies.

"Sam!" I raised my voice, and a murmur went through the crowd, "Samo'akane! Come here for a moment, will you?"

Puzzled, Sam took his leave of the young ladies and came to stand before me. I stood and offered my hands to Patricia and Le'ini to help them rise.

"Do you trust me?" I whispered in my wife's ear as she rose.

"Of course, dear!" she whispered back, "But sooner or later you're going to have to tell me what you're up to, or I'll DIE of curiosity!"

"You'll see!" I said, "Just play along..."

"Sam," I said, "Please translate what I am about to say for your people."

He nodded, still puzzled. After all, here was Le'ini, who had been doing the translating up 'til then. Le'ini too, looked puzzled and a little chagrined.

"Don't worry, dear," I whispered into her long black hair, "I'm not displeased with your translations, but it's better if someone else does this part."

Turning back to Sam, I said, "Tell your people that the man-woman and her husband have chosen three of the daughters of these islands to share our hut tonight!"

"Three?" Le'ini whispered, "You only asked about two!"

"Shhh!" was my only reply.

When Sam finished his translation and the murmurs of the crowd had died, I resumed my speech.

"Our first choice..." I walked down the line, looking into each hopeful face, when I came to the end I took Pi'ipi's hand and drew her to my side, kissing her on the forehead, then passing her on to my bride.