"Baba!" I screamed, clawing at my mother's tight grip. "Baba, hayi!" Father, father no! Hot tears spilled down my cheeks as my mother dragged me from my father's dying body.
"Ndiyaxolisa, uthando iwam, kodwa kufuneka shiambe!" I am sorry, my love, but we have to go! My mother shouted. She continued to run away from the scene, leaving my dead father without a burial, left to the wild. I swore that I would find the man responsible for his murder. And I would kill him.
15 Years Later
"Again!" She commanded. "Up on your feet, Nala." Mother commanded. I grunted and pushed myself up.
"Unina, how many times must I say this: that move is cheap and will get us nowhere." I chided, ignoring her disapproved look.
"Nala, you must be prepared!" She exclaimed, leaning on her spear in defeat. "The world is dangerous, Nala, there are many who would use "cheap moves" such as that. I need you to understand your place in this world." She said gently, walking over and placing her hand on my cheek. "You are almost of age. That means-"
I sighed before interrupting. "That I must be prepared to go back into the world, I know, unina, you say this everyday." I turned around and placed my spear back on it's rack. I ran my hand over the assortment of weapons that decorated the wall.
"Nala, you know I'm only doing this because I love you, right?" Mother said as she grabbed my elbow. T'Naka would be proud." She said gently. We rarely spoke of my father. I smiled and gave her a brief hug before heading towards the bath. For the richest country in the world, we were probably the poorest of us all. Wakanda is my home, but I've lived like a ghost since I was five. Ever since the murder of my father. My family knows the country's history better than anyone else, including the royal family and the king himself. But T'Chaka is dead, and T'Challa is going to be crowned in a few days time. And that is when I must resurface. I pulled my shawl and dress over my head and slipped into the warm water. We didn't have indoor plumbing, so we found a warm spring to use as our bath. It sat right outside my window, which isn't really a window. Our house is actually a hut. I sank lower into the water and imagined the day.
T'Challa wouldn't get any competitors for the throne, and if he did, he'd win. Then I'd come down, announce myself, and T'Challa would take me into his arms an- "Nala! Nala, we must hide!" Mother shouted, startling me out of my daydream.
I jumped from the spring and threw my shawl and dress back on. "What? Why?" I hissed, grabbing a spare spear from the nearby tree.
Mother turned to me with pure terror in her eyes. "They're here." She whispered. My heart stopped and my blood ran cold. The men who killed my father. I helped my mother into our hiding spot before hugging her tightly. "Nala, Nala stop!" She commanded. "Yima!" I stopped and turned around to face her. "Now is not the time!" She said, grabbing my arm and desperately trying to pull me to her.
"No? Then when is it, huh? When?" I snapped. "You told me-no, you have prepared me for this moment for my whole life. I am not letting them get away again, unina. They killed baba, and now I'll kill them." I waited for a protest from her, but upon receiving none, I turned around and snuck towards the house. Fifteen years of training for this moment. I'll kill them easily, I thought. I crept around the corner of the house and froze. There he was. He was older, and seemed to have a crazed look in his eyes. I snarled lowly, cursing myself when one of the men whirled around.
"What was that?" He shouted, pointing his gun at me. I pressed myself against the wall and held my breath. He'd be around the corner any second now. I breathed out and relaxed, focusing on his footsteps. All of the noises of the jungle faded away, and I only heard him. Five steps away. His heart beat wildly, and his breath was uneven. He's scared. A wicked smile spread across my face. Three steps, two, one...now! I grabbed him just as he stepped around the corner and snapped his neck, letting his body fall silently into my arms. I dragged him away and hid him in a bush. One down, and plenty more where that came from. I twirled my spear around and crouched low, slowly inching towards the corner again. I peeked around and spotted five more men. They seemed to be looking for something.
"Find her!" The leader-the one who killed baba- shouted. They're looking for me. "I know that blasted whore and her daughter are here!" Unina! I gasped and spun around, but had the butt of a gun connect with my forehead. I grunted and pushed myself off of the ground with my hands and soared over the man's head. He spun around, but froze when he couldn't see me. I dropped from the branch I was perched on and wrapped my legs around his neck. I rolled forward with force, causing us to flip through the air and land on his back. He sputtered and slapped my leg, desperately trying to break free. "This is for baba!" I hissed before squeezing my legs tighter. I let go when I heard the crunch of his trachea shattering. I rolled over and paused on my knees, one hand holding me up and the other holding my spear in the air. I jumped up and threw the spear forward, watching as an unsuspected guard rounded the corner and opened his mouth in surprise as the blade lodged in his chest.
He dropped to the ground and I propelled myself forward and grabbed the spear, jerking it from his limp body before landing silently on my feet. Two more guys came rushing forward opening fire at me. I flipped to the right and grabbed a branch and pulled myself up. They aimed for me again, their guns popping and screams emitting from their mouths. "We've got the daughter!" One of them shouted between shots. I growled and dropped from the branch, swinging forward and connecting with their chests. They grunted as they flew backwards, knocking over the reinforcements. I stuck my spear into the ground and ran back before rushing forward and spinning around it, my feet connect with one of the men's face. He staggered back just as I landed and pulled the spear from the ground. I screamed and charged, whipping the spear around and hitting them in the face. I reared back and shoved the spear through one's stomach and pulled back, swiping it at the next one, slicing his leg open. They both dropped, one dead and one injure. I turned to face the last one, but got hit with a bullet to my arm. I screamed and dropped the spear, collapsing on one knee.
"Now you'll get it." He snarled, kicking my face. I fell back, my arm throbbing in pain. His boot connected with my stomach, breaking one of my ribs. I cried out and rolled over, clutching my stomach. He swung again, but I rolled over and dodged his blow. The momentum from his swing caused him to fall onto his back. I jumped up and grabbed my spear, limping over to his body. Just as he pushed himself onto one arm, I screamed and drove the spear through his body and into the ground. He sputtered and coughed blood all over his face. He looked at the spear before looking at me. He shook before falling back. His chest settled as death washed over him. I grunted as I pulled the spear from his body. They guy that I sliced in the thigh attempted to sit up, but I aimed my spear at him, ready to kill. "Wait, wait!" He called out. "Please, I have a family." He pleaded.
"So did I." I snarled before slicing his throat with the spear.
"Stop, or she dies!" A voice cried out. I slowly turned around and cried out when I saw the man who killed my father holding a gun against my mother's head. "You,' he snarled with a laugh. "You're more special than you think. Go 'head, tell 'er."He nudged my mother's head with his gun.
"I-I can't." She sputtered.
The man laughed and threw his head back, catching the early rain drops. "Do it, or die." He reared back and hit her head with his gun. "Tell her!" He shouted. "Or I will."
I clenched my spear tighter, gritting my teeth at his hostility. "Tell me what?" I demanded.
"Oh, you haven't noticed? How you have heightened hearing, agility, strength, speed? Well, darling, your mother here-" He pointed at her with his gun- "spiked your drink with something very special." He grinned manically.
"Unina, what is he talking about?" I asked, taking a step towards my mother's crumpled form.
"Ah, ah!" He said, stepping in front of my mother, waving his gun at me. I stopped and waited. "The Heart-Shaped Herb." He whispered. I gasped and took a step back.
"No," I whispered back, looking down at my mother. She looked up and nodded.
"After your father was killed, I knew they'd come back. I broke into the sacred chambers and stole a heart. I crushed it and poured it into your mouth while you were asleep. That is why you woke up screaming. It was the herb changing you." She looked at me with watery eyes. "Ndiyakuthanda, Nala." She whispered.
"No, no!" I screamed, leaping forward just as she tried to wrench the gun from the man's hand. He turned it on her and fired just as I reached them. I kicked the man back and caught my mother's body as she fell. "No!" I screamed again, cradling her dying body to my chest. "Unina, hayi!" I sobbed as she reached up and grabbed my face.
"I love you, Nala. Remember your duty." She whispered, smiling once more before her chest shuttered and her breathing stopped. I screamed out as the rain pounded us. I laid her body down and picked up the gun. The man who killed both of my parents struggled to breathe.
"You killed both of them." I whispered. "Why? For what reason did these good people deserve to die!" I screamed, pointing the gun at his face.
He laughed and spit blood to the side. "None. I just felt like it." He said.
"Wrong answer." I snarled before pressing the trigger. The bullet pierced his face and blew the back of his skull away. He slumped forward, his brain matter splattering over the mud.
I dropped then gun and fell to my knees. Death surrounded me, both figuratively and literally. I looked up to the sky and screamed, feeling everything that I held in for the past fifteen years flood out. Now I am an orphan, one with a purpose. To remind the royal family who I was. And who I'll become.