"Have you seen Shuri?" Nakia asked. "The makeup lady is here."
Ramonda knew her daughter. If Shuri disappeared, chances are she was in her lab. Whenever she was upset, that was where she'd burrow. Ramonda noticed Shuri was tense at the rehearsal dinner the previous night.
"I think I know where she is," Ramonda said. "I'll go grab her."
Sure enough, she found Shuri in her lab. She didn't appear to be working on anything. She was fiddling with her kimoyo beads. "Your entourage is waiting for you," Ramonda said. Shuri looked over at her mother.
"I'll be up there in a moment," Shuri promised.
"You know, you don't have to do it," Ramonda said. "I only agreed to the marriage because I thought it's what you want."
"It is," Shuri responded. "I love K'uk'ulkan. I think he loves me too, but-"
"I saw how he looks at you," Ramonda said. "It reminded me of how your father looked at me for the first time. You shouldn't have any doubts in your mind that he loves you."
"Am I making a mistake?" Shuri questioned. "I love him, but marrying him means I will become his Queen. I'm not ready to become Queen of a nation I barely know anything about."
Selfishly, Ramonda wanted to say yes. Shuri was one of her only two family members left. Ramonda wasn't ready for her to be in another nation. It was another nation on the ocean floor on top of that.
"Being thrust into such a role is never easy," Ramonda said. She had made several mistakes in her first few years as Queen of Wakanda. She was still making mistakes today. I should've pressed more about N'Jobu. "You won't have to do it alone. You'll have me, K'uk'ulkan, and an entire team of royal advisers. You'll be a remarkable Queen. First, we must get you down the aisle."
"Thank you, mother," Shuri said.
"You're welcome," Ramonda said. "Nakia has informed me that the makeup lady has arrived. Let's not leave them waiting any longer."
Shuri nodded. The two women exited the lab. Shuri couldn't see him, but she felt the presence of her brother.