"So, these beads. They mean I don't have to carry that pesky phone around with me now huh?"
Shuri rolled her eyes, glancing up from what she was working on to see Harper spinning from side to side on her chair and inspecting the band of beads still wrapped around her wrist "No they do not," she said with a huff "Why are you so determined to get rid of it?"
"One of these things got me into a bit of trouble when Bucky and I were on the run," Harper said with a shrug of her shoulders "People were able to track us when we didn't want or need them to."
"Well no one knows you have this one so suck it up," Shuri said with a roll of her eyes, turning back to whatever it was she was working on. There was a frown of concentration on her face as she leaned over the desk she was standing in front of, a bleep from her own beads catching her attention "Ah! Come on!"
Harper frowned, not wanting to move from the curled up position she had found comfort in on one of Shuri's lab chairs "Why what's going on?"
"T'Challa and Nakia are back!"
T'Challa had been busy ever since Steve had left and Harper had taken residence in Wakanda. He was getting ready for the crowning ceremony while, at the same time, trying to locate and bring in Nakia, a woman Shuri was more than willing to smirk about to Harper about, from a mission.
"You'll love her!" had been the exclamation "My brother does anyway," the addition had been said with a wriggle of her eyebrows.
"You go ahead," Harper said, her attention still on the beads around her wrist "I'll catch them later."
Shuri rolled her eyes and let out a huff "You're coming," she insisted, grabbing hold of Harper's hand and tugging her up onto her feet "We need to know if he froze."
Harper let out a laugh as she allowed herself to be led out of the lab and into the fresh Wakandan air "You go," she said, pulling her hand from Shuri's and ushering her over to where her mother was waiting "I'll be right here."
She watched as Shuri hesitated slightly, sending her a nod and a smile of encouragement "Go," she insisted, watching as the younger girl crossed over and was greeted by her mother.
She leaned against the wall of the building, folding her arms over her chest and watching as an RTF slowly came in to land. The ramp slowly lowered to reveal T'Challa, General Okoye and a third person Harper didn't recognise but assumed to be Nakia.
Her head bowed, her beautiful face filled with sorrow, as she approached Ramonda and Shuri "Queen Mother...Princess. My comfort for your loss."
As Ramonda, as she insisted Harper call her, nodded and accepted the words Harper kept her eyes on Shuri's back. Her shoulders were tense and her chin raised, she was keeping the grief in as usual.
"Take her to the River Province to prepare her for the ceremony," the General said to one of the members of the Dora Milaje, Ayo Harper was sure she was called, standing to the side of Ramonda and Shuri. With a nod of her head Ayo sent a small smile to Nakia as the two of them turned to walk together.
Shuri's shoulders relaxed slightly and her head tilted to one side "Did he freeze?"
A smile stretched across the General's face "Like an antelope in the headlights."
Shuri let out a laugh, turning to send Harper a look, before her brother caught her attention once more.
"Are you finished?" he asked as the General slammed her spear into the ground and the rest of the Dora followed her away "So surprised my little sister came to see me off before our big day."
"You wish," Shuri scoffed "I'm here for the EMP beads, me and Harper have developed an update."
As T'Challa's eyes flicked over to where Harper was standing she raised her wrist, jiggling the beads resting on it slightly "I did nothing but be a guinea pig."
T'Challa winced "No offence but I would rather you than me," he answered before frowning down to his sister "But an update? No, it worked perfectly."
Shuri tutted "How many times do I have to teach you, just because something works, doesn't mean that it cannot be improved."
"She is teaching me," T'Challa said, looking past Shuri to where Harper was waiting before smiling down to his sister "What do you know?" he asked with a laugh as she rolled her eyes, holding her hand out until he dropped his EMP beads into her palm "I cannot wait to see what kind of update you make to your ceremonial outfit," he called after her as she turned on her heel to head back to the lab.
Arching her eyebrows across to Harper, Shuri raised her middle finger toward her brother.
"Shuri!" Ramonda exclaimed.
"Sorry mother," Shuri called back before reaching Harper and linking her arm through hers "What do I know," she said in disgust, repeating her brother's words.
"You know he's just teasing you," Harper said with a chuckle "Wait until he sees what you have waiting for him in the lab hey," she continued, bumping Shuri's hip with her own "Now...about this ceremonial outfit?"
Shuri had groaned loudly before trying, and failing, to change the subject as she turned to lead them both back to the lab.
But Harper had taken over, the two of them instead making their way to Shuri's room to get her dressed and ready for the crowning ceremony.
"So what goes down at these kinds of things?" Harper asked, lounging on the sofa as she waited for the younger girl to change.
"You can come if you like!" Shuri called back.
"Oh, no," Harper answered, pulling her phone from her pocket and checking over her messages. There were none unread "I'm good heading home and putting on one of those Wakandan movies you're insisting I catch up on."
Shuri had an unimpressed look on her face as she leaned around the door frame "You are not becoming a hermit," she warned "If you want to know what happens at the ceremony, you come to the ceremony."
Harper rolled her eyes, "I don't want to intrude," she said with a shake of her head.
"Are you kidding?!" Shuri tutted, smoothing her outfit down as she emerged back out from the other room "T'Challa is a show off! The more in the audience the better!"
"I know you're only saying these things so I don't go back to my place and wallow," Harper said, her eyes narrowing as Shuri pursed her lips together. Something as important as a ceremonial crowning of the new king was definitely not her thing to crash "And, anyway, I'm not wearing anything like that," she continued, her eyes roaming over the beads and bones decorating Shuri's outfit.
Shuri rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest "Okay, I might be," she admitted "But you're still coming," she continued, the determination in her tone telling Harper there was no room for argument "I'll give you directions for the cliff opposite the falls. No one will know you're there watching and it means you're out getting fresh air."
"Getting fresh - from the girl who spends almost one hundred percent of her life in her lab?"
Shuri grinned "If I have to be there. You do too."
The slight breeze felt nice on her skin as she settled down in the long grass. Bending her legs at the knee she leaned back with her palms pressing into the dirt and her face directed up to the warm sun.
She had been unable to say no to Shuri, the younger of the two clearly excited to show off a part of her culture Harper hadn't yet seen. She'd made her come with her to where the other tribespeople and the elders were getting on the boats, making a point of asking her mother if it was alright for Harper to watch from afar.
The Queen Mother, who was just as kind and stubborn as her daughter, had smiled and assured her that was perfectly fine.
Which was how Harper had found herself sitting close to the edge of one of the Wakandan cliffs waiting for the new king to arrive.
With no sign of anything happening she reached into the bag she had brought with her. The red notebook full of Bucky's scribbles fit perfectly into the palm of her hand as she pulled it out. Leaning with it on her thighs she tugged the pen from the side and opened it up.
Can you believe this? She began to write I'm really sorry you're missing out on all of it. This place...it's so beautiful, Bucky. More beautiful than anything we have ever been allowed to see. And the technology! You think Howard Stark's flying car - which we should have asked about because where the hell is that now? - was cool, just wait until you see some of the things Shuri can make up in her lab.
With the sound of music and singing reaching her ears she turned to face where it was coming from. In the distance she could see the boats making their way down the river, the outfits colourful and the music upbeat.
Smiling to herself she turned back to the notebook. I can't wait to show you all of this. Obviously there won't be the crowning of another king but I can bring you to the cliff. Show you where T'Challa was presented in front of the tribes of Wakanda as their new monarch. We could bring a picnic. Like we used to.
At the sound of the RTF jet arriving she flipped the notebook closed, placing it safely back in her bag so she could turn and watch as T'Challa stepped off the aircraft. He was holding a short spear and was covered in leopard body paint. The rest of the Wakandans invited to the ceremony lined the falls. They were chanting but, even as Harper crossed her legs and leaned with her elbows on her thighs and her chin in her hands, she was unable to figure out what they were saying.
As T'Challa turned to bow at Zuri, the previous king's shaman and most trusted advisor, Harper caught sight of Shuri standing beside her mother. She raised her hand when she noticed Shuri's head raise, frowning slightly when she replied by lifting her hand to her ear.
"Of course," Harper said to herself, glancing down at the beads at her wrist and tapping one of them in the way Shuri had earlier instructed. She smiled as it lit up and the sounds from what was happening down near the challenge pool left it like a speaker.
"I, Zuri, Son of Badu, give to you, Prince T'Challa, the Black Panther!" Zuri shouted and Harper shuffled closer to the edge of the cliff so she was able to see better as the shaman held something up "The Prince will now have the strength of the Black Panther stripped away."
Harper frowned as Zuri poured a liquid into T'Challa's mouth, wincing as she watched him lean over seemingly in pain. It lasted for only a moment before he straightened up, the power of the Black Panther having left his body.
"Damaku," Zuri said and the crowd repeated, Harper smiling slightly when she heard Shuri's voice above the rest before Zuri continued "Victory in ritual combat comes by yield or death. If any tribe wishes to put forth a warrior, I now offer a path to the throne."
Harper listened as each of the tribes called out, naming them beneath her breath as they spoke, recalling the lessons Shuri had given her during the long days in the lab. The Merchant Tribe, The Border Tribe, The River Tribe, The Mining Tribe...
Once they were done Zuri spoke again "Is there any member of royal blood who wishes to challenge for the throne?"
Though she wasn't entirely sure what would come of it Harper still gasped when she noticed Shuri raise her hand "What are you doing," she hissed, knowing Shuri would be able to hear her through her beads,
"This corset is really uncomfortable. So could we all just wrap it up and go home?"
Harper let out a sigh "I'm going to kill you later," she said with a grumble as the sounds of the elders groaning followed and the younger Wakandans burst into giggles. From what she could see she was sure Ramonda had reached over to pinch her daughter as T'Challa smiled and shook his head at his sister's actions.
Before relief could relax her shoulders the sounds of wooden drums and loud chanting caught Harper's attention and her eyebrows raised as eight figures filed out of the main cave. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to make out what they were wearing, it looked like elaborate wooden armour and she wasn't sure whether Shuri had told her about this tribe before.
As though answering her Harper heard Shuri's voice coming from the beads as, down below, she leaned over to her mother "Are they Jabari?"
"Yes," Ramonda answered.
"M'Baku," Zuri began "What are you doing here?!"
The largest of the group and seemingly the leader stepped forward, a wooden spear clutched in his hand. "It's challenge day," he said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We have watched and listened from the mountains. We have watched with disgust, as your technological advancements have been overseen by a child who scoffs at tradition and invites outsiders into her lab," he said, pointing his spear over to Shuri. Without realising what she was doing Harper had jumped to her feet with her fingers clenched into fists at her sides "And now...you want to hand the nation over to this prince," M'Baku continued as he took another step, so he was standing nose to nose with T'Challa "Who could not even keep his own father safe. Hmm? We will not have it. I said we will not have it!"
There was a beat of silence and Harper glanced around herself, realising there wasn't much she could do from where she was standing and feeling a little silly about her reaction. She was sitting back down, crossing her legs, when M'Baku's voice emerged from the beads once more.
"I, M'Baku, leader of the Jabari wish to-"
T'Challa interrupted him "I accept your challenge, M'Baku."
Harper watched with bated breath once Zuri had announced the challenge had begun. T'Challa was wearing a panther mask and M'Baku one resembling a gorilla, the Jabari soldiers surrounding him while the Dora took T'Challa's side.
She was glad she hadn't known what was to happen once someone challenged for the throne when Shuri had raised her hand. She found herself watching through her fingers as the two men began their battle, from her viewpoint on the opposite cliff it was almost impossible to differentiate between the two warriors and keep up with who was winning.
Her heart was in her mouth as one of them went down from a kick, the voice emerging from her beads confirming to her it was T'Challa.
"Where is your God, now?!" M'Baku began as T'Challa attempted to fight back "No powers. No claws. No special suit, oh! Just a boy, not fit to lead."
"Show him who you are!" Ramonda cheered from the sidelines, her voice a lot louder as she stood beside Shuri.
Harper held her breath as she watched T'Challa shaking off what had dropped him at the sound of his mother's support "Come on T'Challa," she said beneath her breath as T'Challa's voice echoed from the beads.
"I am Prince T'Challa, son of King T'Chaka!"
"You can do this T'Challa!" Shuri's voice followed and Harper watched as T'Challa took the lead, pulling M'Baku into the pool and flipping his body in a series of leg chokes.
"Yield!" T'Challa exclaimed as M'Baku attempted to fight back, Harper frowned and pulled the beads closer to her ear but she was unable to hear if there was a reply before T'Challa spoke again "Don't make me kill you. What would the proud Jabari do without you?"
Harper was holding her breath, she would be on the edge of her seat if she had one, as M'Baku stayed silent.
"You have fought with honor, now yield! Your people need you," T'Challa insisted before exclaiming "Yield, man!"
Though she couldn't see exactly what had happened Harper felt a long sigh of relief leave her lungs as T'Challa let M'Baku go. She found herself standing, her hands clapping, as the crowd opposite her erupted into cheers and T'Challa proudly raised his arm.
"I now present to you, King T'Challa the Black Panther!" Zuri exclaimed, presenting T'Challa to the ecstatic crowd.
Harper felt exhausted as she listened to the drums beginning to play and watched as the people of Wakanda began to dance.
"Wakanda forever!" T'Challa shouted, the crowd echoing him.
Turning to pluck her bag up from the grass Harper slung it onto her shoulder. Pushing her feet into a hurried walk she made her way back down the cliff to meet Shuri as she got off the boat.
She felt exhilarated, understanding exactly why her new friend had insisted on her going to watch.
Almost as soon as the happiness and excitement raised her heart rate her feet came to a stop and her shoulders slumped. All she wanted to do was turn to share what had just happened with Bucky. She wanted them to discuss T'Challa's fight technique, marvel over the fact that M'Baku was ready to lay his life down for the crown…
It was hard to be happy and excited about something when he was still under, waiting on Shuri to be finished.
"Hey! Hey!"
Her attention was caught by the sound of Shuri's voice - in real time and not coming from the beads around her wrist - and she plastered on a smile as she glanced up to see her hurrying over.
"Daydreaming again?"
"No," Harper answered with a roll of her eyes "I'm exhausted after that!"
Shuri let out a laugh, her head leaning back and her hands pressing against her chest "It was something you needed to see though right?" she said with a smirk, dodging out of the way of Harper's hand "What was that for?"
"You scare me like that again, I dare you!" Harper exclaimed "I thought you were ready to throw hands with your older brother!" she continued, narrowing her eyes as Shuri linked her arm through hers "Don't you have another part of the ceremony to head off to?"
"Yeah but we can walk into the building together," Shuri said with a shrug of her shoulders "After all, I know where you're headed."
Harper smiled slightly as they walked through the door, squeezing Shuri's hand she sent her a glance before turning right to Shuri's left.
She wandered down the corridor heading towards the lab, turning off at the last moment to head down toward a different door. She took in a deep breath as she hopped up onto her toes, trying to glance through the window to get a look at what was inside.
As usual she was unsuccessful, Shuri sticking to her word that Harper wouldn't be able to wallow in the same room as Bucky was being held for now.
Sliding down the wall she dropped onto the floor with a slight bump, leaning backwards and pulling her knees up to her chest.
"I missed you today," she said out loud, knowing he couldn't hear her. Resting her left arm on the tops of her knees she reached below her t-shirt with her right, gripping his dog tags in her hand as she spoke "But I made sure to write about it, you'll be able to read all of the crazy antics Shuri got me involved in when you come back."
She sat there for longer than she cared to admit and much longer than what she would be telling Shuri when she saw her later. Bucky's red notebook sat in her lap, a few more pages filled with stories from what she had seen during the day.
She didn't want him to miss out on anything.
"Harper?"
She jumped slightly at the sound of the voice, scrambling up onto her feet, tucking Bucky's dog tags away and brushing her hands down her jeans "I was just going," she said before a smirk came to her face and she did a little curtsey "My King."
"Stop that now," T'Challa answered with a shake of his head "I heard you were watching?"
"Shuri told me I could...and I double checked with your mother."
He laughed at her reply and shook his head once more "I was not trying to catch you out," he reassured her "I am glad you got to see some more of the Wakandan traditions."
Harper bent down to retrieve her bag, tucking the notebook in her hand inside it and throwing it onto her shoulder "My heart was in my mouth!" she exclaimed "Though I have to admit, you are an incredible warrior."
"Thank you," T'Challa answered with a smile "Would you care to walk with me?"
"Sure," Harper said with a shrug of her shoulder, throwing one more look towards where Bucky was being held before falling into step beside the king. "I should probably be heading home anyway...as should you, it's been a long day!"
As T'Challa raised his eyebrows she realised what it was she had said and lifted her hands innocently "I'm not nagging the King of Wakanda, I promise."
He laughed once more "It is nice of you to be concerned about me," he said, his hands linking in front of him as he walked "But there is something I need to tell and ask you."
"Oh?" Harper asked, her heart skipping anxiously as she awaited his next sentence.
"We have had some intelligence about a man named Ulysses Klaue, I don't know if my sister has told you about him?"
"The black market arms dealer who started the Wakandan revolution by stealing a bunch of vibranium?"
"You know your Wakandan history."
"Well, not only does Shuri talk...a lot...but I also have time at night to catch up," Harper answered with a shrug "She's leant me some books and a few documentaries and films, I thought I needed to know about the place that was being so welcoming towards me."
"I am impressed," T'Challa said with a smile.
"It's the least I could do, really," Harper answered "Now. About Klaue?"
"Ah, yes," T'Challa said, his tone serious once again "A Wakandan artifact was stolen from a British museum and there are plans for Ulysses Klaue to sell it on."
"He just doesn't give up does he," Harper grumbled beneath her breath "What does this have to do with me?"
"Well, we may have to go over to Britain to check the theft out and follow a couple of leads," he began "I was wondering if you would come with us."
Harper frowned as she came to a stop "Me?"
"Yes, Harper, you," T'Challa said, not a hint of amusement in his words.
"You would trust me to do that?" she asked, her hands tugging at the sleeves of the hoodie she was wearing as she looked over to where T'Challa was standing a few steps away from her.
"Of course," T'Challa answered, looking slightly confused at her question "Shuri says you've been training as well as hanging out in the lab," he explained "You have the skill, the bravery, you know your Wakandan history...and it's about time you started to earn your keep," he said, the last part accompanied by a chuckle to show her he was joking.
She smiled, her head ducking slightly, before she hurried to catch him up "And Okoye is fine with this?" she asked, the General of the Dora Milaje still looked at her with suspicion in her eyes whenever they were in the same room.
The look of amusement on T'Challa's face told Harper all she needed to know "Okoye will be fine," he insisted, his eyebrows arching slightly "I know you have spent some time in Britain and thought you'd be an asset on any missions we may have."
"It's slightly nerve wracking, being asked by the King."
He raised his hands innocently "Don't feel obligated, I understand you have been out of the game for a while," he said as they left the building and crossed the road toward Harper's apartment building "I trust everything is okay with your accommodation?"
"It's perfect," Harper reassured him with a smile as they both came to a stop outside of the building's main door "I am very grateful for your kindness."
"I know," T'Challa answered with a nod of his head "And I am very grateful you are now my sister's guinea pig instead of me," he continued with a wince "Goodnight Harper."
"Goodnight T'Challa," she said with a smile as she dug through her bag to retrieve her key.
She paused before she opened up the main door, turning to where the King was walking away from her "Hey, T'Challa!" She called after him before he disappeared, her mind changing quickly. "If you do need me for anything, anything at all, I'm ready."
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed :)
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