Revamped!
[There is a lot of foreshadowing here which I'm proud of]. [2019: Let's see if I can still find it].
Chapter Eight: The Moments
I sent home four suitors so now only six remain. I dismissed them because, after weeks of being here following the training, they had issues adjusting so I let them go.
Mother suggested that I start having some one-on-one time with my remaining suitors. She said it would be good for me so I know them as more than just names, faces, and one sentence about their life. One of them is going to be my partner for life and they already know who I am. I couldn't refuse my mother since she had a point and it was more of an order than a suggestion.
She also suggested that I stopped calling them Sir to make them more comfortable around here.
-o-
Jaheem is the suitor who travelled around the world. I learned that he speaks many languages so his Wakandan accent isn't as thick as mine. I didn't forget about the time he caused me to spill wine on my dress but it didn't affect him in any way. He was grateful for that.
"Wakanda is always hot and humid," Jaheem tells me. "You don't realize that until you've been to places where you'll need a jacket. I have been to countries where the cool breeze was much more compelling than the heat. I've seen snow before and it's a miracle."
"Snow?" I question. I'm not so familiar with that weather term (ironic since I can control the elements with my fingertips). The word, though, is so familiar. I've been around it before but not enough.
"Snow," he repeats. I remain curious which makes him light up a little. "Princess, snow is like the inside of a feather pillow in the way that it's soft, but with the consistency of sand. But unlike sand, it's cold and far from grainy. And it melts at touch."
I nod and he continues telling me more stories which I enjoy greatly. I like the way he communicates. He tells casual stories as if they were legends: with excitement and power. His voice is animated and alight.
There's so much more out there he wants to see.
-o-
Zuberi is the suitor of our military program. He was also the only one to excel in the training coming from my father. He didn't ace it, but he performed much better than the others. The moment I had with him wasn't romantic but I blame myself for that. I don't know what I'm doing.
Ever since my suitors arrived, my mother has insisted for me to put a pause to my training to focus more on them. Lucky for me, I train early in the morning so she will never know. My training is a part of my routine. It's a necessity for me. I only skip out when I go to America.
When my training ends, I run through the halls of the palace to go back to my room. I rushed changing into my jumpsuit downstairs just in case I would run into someone who will tell my mother or worse, my mother. I hop on one foot, trying to put on one heel, but when I step down, my heel snaps and I fall over. I hit the ground and curse to myself. I hear footsteps approaching and rush myself to get up, only to fall again.
"Princess, are you alright?"
Please don't be anyone who will tell my mother. I look up and sigh relieved that it's only my suitor, Zuberi.
"I have been through worse," I reply.
He offers me his hand and pulls me up. I brush down on my dress and fix my hair. This was embarrassing.
"Are you sure you're not hurt?" He asks, examining me.
"My shoe is in much more distress than I am," I reply.
-o-
I respect Imanu for being a young man in science and having expertise in vibranium. It amazes me when people understand something that others think to be so complex and yet they themselves find it so simple.
We sit across from each other in my castle's library with textbooks sprawled everywhere and a tier of small desserts in the middle. Our moment together started wonderfully until I asked a question I didn't expect tension from over glasses of wine.
"Where did you study?" I ask. He must've gone to one of our top schools.
Imanu holds himself together tightly. He's very nervous and I think he believes that if he makes one mistake, I will send him home. A lot of them think that and I wish that wasn't the case.
"Are you alright?" I decide to ask instead.
"I don't deserve to be here," he says. I wasn't expecting that response. "I didn't come from a high-class family. I had to be pulled out of school when I was ten and put in the vibranium mines to work. They were looking for smaller people to get in there and extract what machines can or fix the fine details of the technology. I wasn't the only one there but the others my age had a similar story. The education system is expensive and my family couldn't afford it, especially because I have a younger sister. I studied vibranium, yes, because I had to understand what I was working with. I had to learn everything and anything down there. I have an education but not on paper. I know things because I had to but my expertise came from muscle, which I don't have since I did more of the analytical work."
Imanu meets my eyes again and I'm speechless. He looks away for a second to sip his wine but I know he wants to me say something. I just don't know what.
My heart stops. "You were a child forced to do the work of a man for your family."
He nods. No wonder he has been so scared this whole time, especially when my father wanted to train them. He didn't have the basic knowledge the others had. My parents only know he studies vibranium and not that he was a labourer. The mines probably hid it down there without wanting it to get out. I can't let him feel discouraged because he doesn't descend from nobles. If he's still here, it means that I have my faith in him.
Besides, he's still getting his pay from the mines despite his presence here.
"Is your sister in school?" I ask.
"Yes," he replies softly.
I close our books and force him to look at me. Our wine glasses shake a little but I hold them in place.
"You have to be flawless," I whisper. "I already know that you're strong since you have survived in the mines and this castle up to today. Prove to everyone, especially yourself, that you're an exemplary suitor who is worthy of my choice. Don't give anyone a reason to doubt you, especially me. Do you understand?"
Imanu is lost for words as he looks at me. I eye him for a bit longer to emphasize my point. I need him to tell me that he understands.
He clears his throat. "Yes, Princess, I understand."
-o-
My next moment was with Femi. He grew up around many nobles, advisors and even the Elders, so he's confident in himself which I admire. I love self-confidence. He went from kissing my hand on our first meeting to linking arms with me as we walk through the gardens.
"Do you want a big family, Princess?" He asks.
Wow, he's getting to the point. Again, admirable.
"I have never given much thought to producing an heir considering that I'm still the heiress," I reply, causing Femi smirk. "I was born many years after my parents got married and I'm still very young so I'm in no rush to have children."
"Your mother wasn't a suitor," Femi states.
I sigh. "That didn't stop my father from falling in love. Sometimes it's hard to watch my parents. Seeing their relationship and being expected to choose one of you who can give me what they have is close to impossible."
"I agree. Theirs is one for the history books."
-o-
I search the halls for Abioye of the Tiger tribe. I knock on the door of his room but he wasn't there. I turn and see him speeding off without seeing me.
"Abioye!" I call.
He spins on the heel of his feet and sees me, dropping whatever was in his hands. I rush over and help him. I bend over and see that he dropped letters.
"I apologize," I say, passing the letters back to him.
"Thank you, Princess," he says.
"Do you miss home?" I ask. I assume that's where the letters are going.
"A little. I am not used to being surrounded by so many Panthers. Literally and figuratively."
Was that supposed to be a joke? Because I smiled a little anyways.
-o-
When I get to the room of Chike of the Gorilla tribe, I pause and force myself to take a breath before knocking. He answers and we perform our bows and curtsies for politeness. He seems happy to see me.
"You look beautiful," he says.
I smile a little. "As do you."
Chike is dressed casually, yet still presentable although all we planned to do was a tour of the castle, given by me. He looks cute as he puts his hands in his pockets, almost as if he has something on his mind to say to me. I look attentive, telling him that he may say what he wants.
"Do you think marriage will unite our tribes?" He asks. Fair question.
"It might," I reply. "Our parents seem to think so which is why we're both here." I tilt my head a little to the side, excitedly. "Why? Are you in love with me already?"
Chike looks down with a playful smile. He then meets my eyes once again.
"Am I in love with you?" He repeats. "Not at this moment but I would like to see if I could be."
[Okay, so half of those weren't exactly romantic moments, but it's hard to create six different fluff snippets. Besides, why would Iqadi be romantic with six strangers, to begin with?]