LORD RAINBOW AND LADY NALA:
The violent lightning made little Nala tremble and huddle ever tighter against her mother’s side. “When is it going to stop?”
“I don’t know.”
“It will stop, won’t it?”
“Sure it will. Then if you’re lucky you’ll see Lord Rainbow and his pride. You’ve never seen that before, have you?”
“No.”
Another bolt of lightning hit very close by--close enough to make even Sarafina edgy. There were a couple of times she remembered when lightning struck the promontory of Pride Rock. No lion was foolish enough to stand out there when the lightning was bad.
“Tell me about Lord Rainbow,” Nala hissed between tightly clenched teeth.
“You’ll like this story. There’s someone named Nala in it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. That’s where you got your name.”
Another bright flash made Sarafina as white as Minshasa herself and the rumble of thunder made the stone under her paws shake.
“Once a long time ago, there was a member of the first Nisei named Lord Rainbow who was taking care of a rogue lioness and her new cubs. Though they never saw him, his presence was protective and he spared them from many griefs.
“One of the cubs was named Nala, and she was very beautiful. Her beauty was great, and so is yours. The older that Nala grew, the more beautiful she became, just like you, and Lord Rainbow loved her with his whole heart. She was his favorite, and at times when he saw her struggling with a nightmare, he would come to her in her dreams as a playmate and chase away her enemies that her sleep might not be troubled. Then he would play games with her, and while he was with her, he could feel what mortals feel through her. Lord Rainbow was content, and would have remained so forever, but as Nala grew, her interests matured, and one night when Lord Rainbow came to her, she fell desperately in love with him. As she rubbed Lord Rainbow full length, he trembled as new feelings very frightening and very pleasant were awakened in him.
“In fear he fled from her dream, and he decided that no more would he interfere in her sleep. But the love of her had swept over him like a fever, and he had no peace in his heart, so much did he love her.
“When the time came of Nala’s first season, Lord Rainbow appeared to her in a dream and swept away by the force of her passion, he made love to her.”
“How?”
Sarafina nuzzled her. “Sometimes when you want something so badly you don’t know what to do, you’ll dream about it at night. That’s Aiheu’s way of granting you an escape.”
“Aiheu is really nice.”
“You said it.” Sarafina nuzzled her again. “Now when Lord Rainbow left her dream, Aiheu was standing nearby. ‘What is this that you have done?? Do you think I would not know you crouched with her??’
“And Lord Rainbow fell before him in fear and trembling. ‘Indeed, as you say I crouched with her, but for some time I have loved her, and my life was not my own. I belong to her, my Lord, and when she calls me, my strength fails! Do not hate your servant, I pray you!’
“’It is not my nature to hate them who love me. But you have angered me, and not without consequence. You have enjoyed her pleasures, will you also bear her pains?’
“’Let me then feel pain, my Lord, but do not deny me my love.’
“And Aiheu said, ‘So be it. For her you shall live the days of your Ma’at and for her you shall die. All her joys and all her sorrows you shall drink as the waters of the earth unsparingly, and when the pain comes, do not think to walk away from it. Do not say, ‘I am Nisei’ and turn your face from her.’
“And Lord Rainbow said, ‘I shall not turn my face from her.’
“’And no miracles shall you expect from me, or your friends. As Ma’at you have become, and as Ma’at shall you live until your breath returns to me.’
“’Even so, Lord.’
“The morning came and Nala awoke. And when she woke, she felt beside her a strange lion. And at first she was afraid and started to flee, but he called to her by name. ‘Nala, Nala, do not run from me! You are the lioness I have dreamed about since I was a cub! At last I have found in you my playmate, my friend, and my lover!’
“’Is this another dream?’ she asked.
“’No. I have sought you out and now I have found you by the hardest. A great price I have paid to be your lover, yet I would count it no loss if you pledged to me!’
“Lord Rainbow married her, and he stayed with her and loved her with a marvelous love that gave his whole existence new meaning.
“Now Nala hunted as she could, but Lord Rainbow was a hungry lion, and he ate much food. Without a territory of his own, he had little to offer his new mate. And under the influence of his love, the light was in Nala’s eyes and she would bring new members into the Pride.
“Long and hard Lord Rainbow sought a new land, but one day when he was despondent, One Who Brings Rain sent a cloud to hover over him to shield him from the hot sun and grant him relief. And Lord Rainbow heard a whisper that there was a land to the north in the valley between two hills that would be a safe haven for his family. This the cloud said for it was not forbidden that his friends should speak to him, only that they should not grant him miracles.
“And Lord Rainbow claimed and guarded the territory which meant that he walked the boundary every morning and evening of the land he claimed for them. And at first the rogue lions who roamed the valley would challenge him for they found that he could not fight well. Once, when he was badly wounded, he cried out to Aiheu that his blood was spilling on the ground, for he did not understand the wounds and their power over him. And Aiheu sent Mano the Blessed to his side. ‘You bleed, but you will not surely die,’ Mano said. ‘Aiheu has told me that I may not grant you a miracle, but every lion deserves fighting lessons from his friends, and the herbs of healing are his gift to all Ma’at.”
“And so it was that Lord Rainbow was healed, not by a miracle but by mercy, and he became a good fighter in his own right and through courage and hard work made safe the lands of his pride.
“When her time was due, Nala brought forth cubs, and the pride grew in size and strength. His three daughters were huntresses already, and his son Eritrea was approaching the days of his mantlement, and Lord Rainbow was happy in the life he had been given. But there came a plague of distemper, and his wife and son and daughters were ill, as was the mother. But he alone was not stricken.
“Again Mano came to him, but he said, ‘There are no herbs this time, my old friend. Your family will die. If you are wise, you shall not kiss them, nor shall you smell them lest you become sick as well.’
“’Aiheu, Aiheu! Why have you forsaken me?? Why was I spared that I might see my whole family die??’
“Now Lord Rainbow knew full measure the pain of which Aiheu had spoken. There was nowhere to go, and nothing to do, and even when he did not look into the faces of his sick cubs, their sufferings put thorns in his heart. And he asked himself if the pain he endured was worth the love after all. But he did not wonder long, for his cubs called out to him, and he came and kissed them and nuzzled them that the plague might enter his body.
“Aiheu had pity on him and came to his side. ‘I have judged you harshly because you did not ask me for a body but sought to satisfy your cravings with deceit. You made shameful what was meant to be beautiful. But that you might know I am a just and kindly God, I swear to you that the plague was not sent by me. Many cubs has Mano gathered, and many more await him.’ And when Aiheu saw him weep, his heart was moved to pity. ‘Once I sent a Nisei to protect Nala. If he were still willing, he could yet protect her.’