Twelve - Burning the Old World Down

"You're not just a princess, or a queen. You're a goddess."

"My King." Kalyna had been called to the Garden. She bowed her head.

"Leave us," Erik ordered the two Dora who had brought her. They too, bowed, and then left them. When they were gone, Erik said, "So, Princess Kalyna of Sokovia, the Firebird-"

"What?" she cried.

He smirked. "I've done my research. The princess with a secret: trying to be her country's hero. You don't have to hide anymore, Princess."

With a nod of his head he gestured for her to follow him into the garden. She was immediately awed by its beauty and peacefulness.

"Y'all stop what you're doin'," Erik ordered the shamans. "This all of it?" he asked of the herb.

"Yes," answered the shaman who had taken over since Zuri's death.

"Good. Cause you can go ahead and burn all that. Burn it all!"

"What?" Kalyna cried, snapped abruptly from her admiring of the room. His order itself had been a shock, that and the fact that he had been looking at her.

"Burn it, all of it. Show me what you got, Princess."

He was testing her power. And testing her. She exchanged an anxious glance with the shaman. Her hands clenched into tight fists.

"But My King, we cannot. It has been a Wakandan tradition for centuries-" tried the shaman.

"I don't care. This is the new Wakanda and I'm it's King."

"Even I know of the importance of the herb," Kalyna added.

"Yes, we need the herb so that when it comes time for a new king-" The woman cried out when, with lightning speed, Erik's hand shot out and went around her throat in an iron grip, hoisting her into the air. Kalyna gasped. It happened so fast...

"When I tell you to do something, I mean that shit," Erik growled.

"Stop! Leave her alone! And calm down, I'll do it!" Kalyna cried. He'd killed and hurt enough people already.

Thankfully, he set the shaman back down, though practically dropped her to her feet. Kalyna checked to ensure that she was alright. She nodded shakily, hand around her throat where she had just moments ago been seized by Erik.

While she recovered, another shaman lit a torch and passed it to Kalyna.

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary." She turned and faced the garden, holding out her hands and taking a deep breath, taking in its beauty once more. "I'm sorry," she whispered, before kneeling down and pressing her fingertips to the dirt. A spark ignited and quickly became flames, spreading across the whole of the chamber before it was all just one giant garden of flames.

Then, with a ripple and faint swish, the flames faded away, leaving everything dark and silent.

"Well damn, Princess-" She jumped a little when Erik came right up behind her. "You're not just a princess, or a queen. You're a goddess." He reached out to touch her cheek.

Her grabbed his wrist before he did. "Don't play with fire."

Erik, now officially King, was in the Council Chamber with the other council members. Kalyna stood outside the sealed doors, listening in.

Erik was currently giving a passionate address to the council. "We ain't gonna hide no more. It's time to rise up! The world's gonna start over and this time, we're gonna be on top! So fire up the planes, we're sending out weapons."

"Wakanda has always gotten by with fighting when only absolutely necessary," Okoye stepped in.

"Perhaps in the past, yes," agreed W'Kabi. His next statement shocked Kalyna, likely shocked them all. "But the world is changing. Soon there will only be the conquerors, and the conquered. I don't know about you, but I would rather be the first."

"That has never been our way-" Okoye protested.

"Well it is now." Erik cut her off. "It's time the world found out who we really are. Let's get started."

On that note the council was dismissed and everyone began pouring out of the hall. Kalyna passed them on her way in. Okoye forced a smile.

Erik looked pleased sitting upon the throne. He flashed her a gold-toothed grin.

"Princess Kalyna of Sokovia," Niyah announced her.

"Yeah, I know who she is," Erik responded.

T'Challa had said that perhaps she would be a part of this council one day - she hadn't expected this.

"I overheard some of the meeting," she admitted. "Weapons? You are only provoking them to use force."

"Exactly, force against force, force against their oppressors. And we're not only provoking them, we're enabling them. We'll ignite a spark across the world!" Erik slammed his fist down onto the arm of the throne, causing her to jump. "Huh, spark. Ain't that right, Firebird?"

"I came to speak to you about Sokovia. I made the agreement with you because our situation was urgent. You gave me your word-"

"That I did."

"But I don't see you acting on it."

"Sorry Princess, but that's not my main concern right now."

She clenched her fists. "I am upholding my end of the bargain, now you have to as well-"

"And I will. But like I said, that's not my priority right now."

"Well it's my priority." She turned to leave.

"Hey Princess." The taunting tone of his voice made her blood boil. "Aren't you forgetting something."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "My King." It was all she could do to keep from sneering.

"You need to leave, now." Kalyna stood with her two guards in her chambers.

They exchanged a shocked glance at her request. "But Princess, we cannot leave you-" Niyah began to protest.

"You must, for your own good. Go back home. At least then I'll know that Sokovia is in good hands for now. Please, I'll be fine." They would have argued further, she knew, so she added, "That's an order."

They left that night. Now she really was the only outsider in the palace.

Haha I love how T'Challa as king is all regal in his robes and then there's Erik as king where he takes his shirt off half way through the movie and doesn't put it back on for the rest of it! Not that that's a bad thing ;)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! And thank you all so much for the 100+ favourites AND follows on this story, that's so amazing! :D