Revamped!
[Here's a quick note on The Avengers' kids who will make a small cameo in this chapter:
Angela and Xavier - twins of Captain America
Apollo - son of Thor
Britney - daughter of Loki
Daniel - son of The Hulk
Emily - daughter of Iron Man
James - son of Ant-Man and The Wasp
Merida - daughter of Black Widow and Hawkeye]
[Old Chapter Title - The One].
Chapter Twenty-One: My Choice
I have never been so nervous in my life.
The ballroom is packed with visiting guests who are all wondering the same thing: which one of those five lovely gentlemen in the matching dashikis will be the new prince of Wakanda? I know they're placing bets. The suitors, on-the-other-hand, are wondering if they're the chosen one. Whoever they may be, they're all thinking of the same idea.
My legs shake as my heart race. People try and get my choice out of me but I hold back with a smile.
I spin around and see my suitors making conversation with various people, my parents are talking to The Avengers who have come all this way for this occasion with their children - my friends. I immediately approach a waiter who holds a tray of wine glasses and take one. I know this isn't ladylike (especially tonight of all nights) but I drink the whole glass in one go to calm down. I hope nobody saw that…
"Now that's how you start a party!"
"Bottoms up, Princess!"
"There's our beautiful fiancée and bride-to-be!"
Never mind. I almost dropped my glass.
Voices that shock me in a good way. Voices I haven't heard in a while. Voices that make me happy. I turn around and light up when I see all my friends from America. They embrace me all at once and it makes me feel like a normal teenage girl. I don't have to worry about their safety because Imanu came up with ways to save them all when the apocalypse comes.
Even though I hug Emily first and tell them all about my joy, the pre-existing guilt that came with the contingency plan causes me to start crying.
"Those better be tears of joy," Angela says, rubbing my arm to comfort me.
"I really hope they are," I respond.
"I think we all need some drinks," Britney says, calling over a waiter.
-o-
Most of the girls are in relationships of their own. All of them very different but to think that three-quarters of them have been in love for longer than I have yet I will be the first to be wed. They've been with their boyfriends for longer than I've known my prince. That's the wild part of all this.
"Your suitors are so cute!" Angela exclaims.
"Mind if I snag one when Xavier bores me?" Britney questions playfully. I note how she seems definite that Xavier will bore her one day.
"Which one are you going to marry?" Emily asks me.
Note: I said most of them were in relationships and happily in love. There is one who is single and completely fine with that.
"Do you think your father will let me bring some Wakandan booze home?" Merida asks.
I laugh a little. "Thank you. No. You will find out soon. Ask my father."
-o-
Meanwhile, the boys decide to dance with me … at once. It's a five-way dance that ended up being more fun and coordinated than I thought it would be when they proposed the idea. I thought we would end up on the floor and our limbs in knots, but no.
"Are you going to be Queen of Wakanda anytime soon?" Apollo asks me. He will one day succeed his father for the throne of Asgard so I know why he asked.
I smirk. "I don't think so…"
"You should, your Highness," James compliments greatly, "or is it your Majesty? I don't know the difference."
"Majesty is the highest rank whereas Highness is given to any other member of the royal family," Daniel tells him.
James smiles brightly since he was correct the first time. I don't bother to correct him since he knows that he can be casual around me. They all understand which is why I love them so much.
"Why do you know that?" Xavier asks Daniel.
Daniel shrugs. He's a book of facts which is wonderful.
-o-
After all the fun, it's finally time for the main event of the night. I walk nervously to the front where my suitors all stand in a line, close to each other. In a way, they're all being supportive of one another. My parents stand nearby; Mother is close to tears and Father holding her close. My friends have congregated with their parents, all excited.
All eyes are on me. This is my moment.
"Thank you all for coming this evening," I announce. "Tonight not only changes my life but all of yours as well. For I not only find a husband but you will all have a new future leader of Wakanda. Throughout the time that these suitors have been under my responsibility, they have learned and experienced so much. Being here has put their lives in the way of harm but that only made them, and myself, a better woman. They're wonderful gentlemen who will bloom into something greater. I can only thank them, truly, from the bottom of my heart."
I look at my suitors and they all bow their heads, hiding the sad smiles. This must've gone by quickly for them. Joyful tears form in my eyes and take a deep breath before the big question.
"Imanu..." I say, looking right at him. "Imanu Luyano, will you marry me?"
Everyone is silent. Imanu stares at me with a blank expression and wide eyes. He can't believe it. Femi has to nudge him and I watch him realize what is happening.
Imanu clears his throat. "Marry you? You're asking me to marry you?"
"Yes." I smile lightly. "I'm choosing you."
Imanu steps back, grinning, but there's something in his expression I don't understand. With all eyes now on him, he looks doubtful and scared. He doubts himself again. Once his eyes meet mine, he remembers everything I ever told him about the lack of confidence he has in himself - but that disappears. He's now in shock, a good kind. I gesture for him to come beside me and he follows. He takes my hand and we stare at each other in smiles.
"I need you to answer," I whisper to him so nobody else hears. "Will you marry me?"
"Right…" He replies awkwardly, taking a breath. "I would be honoured."
He embraces me tightly as everyone in the ballroom applauds, cheers, and bows for us.
-o-
As my mother begins doting Imanu and talking to his family, I notice that my smile finds a permanent residence there. My friends congratulate me, their parents as well, but they disperse when they see my father. I look up at him and see him smiling at me for once. He pulls me to the side and hugs me tightly.
"You're growing up, my darling," Father whispers to me.
"I know." I sigh, biting down on my lip. "Are you mad?"
"Growing up is inevitable. I can't be mad at that." He tilts my chin upwards to look at him. "I'm not disappointed at all."
"You're not?" I could have sworn that he would have been. "But after he declined to fight you, you made it sound like you wanted me to send him home."
"Imanu wouldn't have been my first choice but I trust you and your heart. Besides, you're the one marrying him, not me."
I laugh a little in spite of myself. Oh, Father … if only he knew…
"I was going to ask if you made your choice in such a haste," Father continues, "but then I knew it would have been hypocritical of me to ask such a thing considering how fast I fell in love with your mother."
With that, I find myself hugging my father tighter than ever.
[Just in case you want to read the chapter from a different set of eyes:
Emily's Counterpart (The Story of Emily Stark) - Chapter 261: The Princess's Choice
Britney's Counterpart (The Enigma of Loki's Daughter) - Chapter 237: (Britney Braun) The Princess's Choice]
[2019: Out of all the revamps, this is the first chapter where I revamped someone other than Emily's counterpart first].