This is a trigger warning. For those of you who came here for Iqadi and Imanu and have read PNG already, you'll know what's coming. (And some of you were waiting for this part so, here it is).

Year Two: The Heir

A Month Ago - Wakanda's Royal Hospital Wing

"Princess?"

Iqadi looks up. Her body goes cold as she looks up at the nurse who called her name. Seeing the small smile on the young woman's face puts her at ease. She looks excited, on the verge of delivering good news. Iqadi isn't sure if she should be sitting or standing, or maybe had Imanu with her. He'd likely be telling her to take a seat and she'd say the same to him. But the nurse isn't saying anything and Iqadi realizes that she's waiting for her to respond first.

"Yes…" Iqadi mutters. Her voice came out high at the end and she isn't sure if it came out as a question or a statement. Was she asking if she was being called or being attentive?

"The results came back and it was nothing you guessed."

"Then what is it?"

"My princess, you're pregnant."

-o-

A Month Ago - Wakanda's Palace

Iqadi wanted to keep her pregnancy a secret from Imanu because she wanted to think of a special way to tell him. She couldn't just break the news like a surprise trip or a new royal decree.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Imanu asks.

Iqadi pauses, not realizing she was even looking at him strangely. She was lost in thought and didn't think he was in her line of vision. He was in her peripheral at most. Now she's wondering how long she was absentmindedly staring at him with whatever face she had. Iqadi smiles, pretending she didn't even hear Imanu but now he's looking at her strangely.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Iqadi asks this time. Maybe she can turn this conversation onto him.

"Are you alright?" He knows she hasn't been feeling her best lately but now she's smiling.

Iqadi nods. "Perfectly fine."

"Are you sure? You were just spaced out."

"I was just thinking."

"About what."

"How to tell you something."

"Tell me what?"

"That I'm pregnant."

Imanu's shocked to silence as Iqadi smiles. Forget thinking of the perfect way to tell him because she just did. Iqadi stands up from her seat and circles around the table to Imanu who's puzzled but in a way that shows he's unsure how to react. Out of all the reasons he thought of for Iqadi not being okay or spacing out, he didn't think a baby was why.

"Are you serious?" Imanu asks. He looks up and sees Iqadi standing by his side, draping her arm over his shoulder.

Iqadi nods, smiling brightly. "I am."

He exhales in a way that sounds like an excited gasping sigh. Imanu turns to face her. "How long or how far along - I don't know how to phrase that. I was a child when my mom told me she was expecting Kili so I don't really remember how I reacted."

"Three weeks. It's very early."

"Oh my, we've been blessed."

Imanu jumps out of his seat to kiss her.

-o-

Two Weeks Ago - Wakanda's Palace

A small smile starts to form on Iqadi's face when she watches her mother's jaw drop after she found out. She notices her mother resisting the urge to scream for joy and draw attention by holding up her arms and balls her hands into delicate fists. Instead, she claps excitedly as she hugs her daughter. Before Iqadi could say anything, Ororo takes her hand and leads her out to the back gardens. Sitting under a gazebo are her father, Imanu, and Imanu's parents. His sister, Kili, runs around the border of the garden, looking at the flowers. But she runs back to where her parents are when she saw Iqadi and Ororo arriving.

Before T'Challa could greet them, Ororo walks around to Imanu. She immediately embraces him which makes Iqadi smile. Imanu hugs Ororo back, standing up to make it easier for them. He makes eye contact with Iqadi, mouthing does she know? Iqadi nods, not even trying to hide her overly excited smile. That's the moment when she approaches the hug and they part. Iqadi holds his hand tightly as they smile at their parents.

"We're pregnant," Iqadi tells them.

And the entire garden erupts into cheers for them.

-o-

Present Day - Wakanda's Palace - 11:10 AM

Iqadi sits on the other side of her father's desk as she watches him go through some of the country's protocols. His back is to her but she leans to the side of her chair, putting more of her weight on the armrest so she could see past him. The holograms against the wall aren't new to Iqadi. She's seen the security layouts, military drills, technological and scientific reports, upcoming schedules - and everything else. It was a part of her training as the heir to the mantle. Of course, there were some parts she didn't get to see like her father's contingency plans but she didn't want to. She could barely stomach her own.

"I guess Imanu could take on more of your bureaucratic tasks," T'Challa says, looking over his shoulder to get Iqadi's input. He tries to hide his skepticism but Iqadi notices.

Iqadi takes a moment to think. Imanu would hate that but would take it on for her, especially if her father is the one telling him so. She straightens in her chair. "Father, it's still too early to discuss all this."

"Iqadi, we could already be behind. People will always have something to say about everything you do, even and especially when they don't know what you're doing."

"I'm aware."

Iqadi knows that this is what life was like when her mother was expecting her. Her parents kept the pregnancy a secret from the kingdom and even their staff for as long as they could. The kingdom was left in the dark for longer. People started becoming suspicious when Queen Ororo started making fewer public appearances as her pregnancy became more obvious, thinking they were going through tough times in their marriage when it was really the best time. Her father knew Wakanda would be more vulnerable if everyone knew their queen was expecting since it'd be the perfect time to attack. To kill the queen and the heir.

But Iqadi believes her mother would've fought harder in her more critical state to protect her baby, her husband, and the place she'd grow up in.

"Father, we'll figure it out," Iqadi reassures. "Last I checked, I wasn't planned either."

"You were planned but still showed up when you wanted."

Iqadi grins. "That's what I meant."

-o-

Iqadi knew she had to be dreaming. She's standing in her ballroom, seeing someone sitting in the centre with papers scattered on the floor around her. The closer Iqadi gets, she recognizes those sheets - those equations, diagrams, sketches. When she's closer enough, she walks around the person and knew it the moment they locked eyes. She's looking at herself the night she made her contingency plans. But her younger self is different. Iqadi was stressed and on edge that whole time but the version in front of her is calm and collected, looking at her as if she was expecting her. Iqadi doesn't have a good feeling about this, especially since that version of herself is smiling maliciously, with an intent she doesn't want to figure out.

"They're still locked up within these walls," Dream Iqadi opens her arms, "and in here." She taps her temple. "You can forget it all you want but they're still around you."

Iqadi doesn't know what to say, the other version of herself slowly stands up, bunching a few sheets in her hands. Once she's on her feet, she holds them out.

"Shall we read them?" Dream Iqadi asks her. "You might want to cover the baby's ears if they have any yet."

Iqadi acts on impulse and punches the other version of herself across the face. She pulls back, waiting for the dream version to look back. When she does, there's no mark on her face and she's smiling which makes Iqadi feel uneasy.

"Fine, we won't read," Dream Iqadi says, dropping the papers. They do a little aerial dance before fluttering on the ground. "Let's play a mind game instead. Imagine there comes a time when your friends act against you or Wakanda. You can't talk sense into them or send them down through your own means. The only solution is those plans. You'll have to use them. It'll either be them or your country. So use them. They would've wanted you to, right? They get your loyalty to your country but they'll never really understand, except maybe Apollo. Just remember something when you pull those triggers: you may be protecting your child, but how many would you have orphaned by then?"

Orphaned. Iqadi didn't tell her friends she was pregnant yet. She didn't even think about them having kids because she could barely believe she was having her own. Orphaned. Has she ever thought of that? In her mind, at least that she can remember, she was too focused on the possibility of not having the plans be used. And given that some of her friends have fallen in love and might have kids with each other, that's a lot of orphans.

Orphans because of the girl she's looking at, which is a reflection. A non-pregnant unmarried version of herself. A non-pregnant yet non-aware or empathetic version of herself.

She hates her. Cover the baby's ears if it has any.

Immediately Iqadi pounces forwards, sending the dream version of herself to the ground. She pins her down, holding her back against the attempts at self-defence, and Iqadi begins punching. Punching and punching, and punching and punching. She wasn't aware of when she started screaming but she sounds like a feral animal let loose from captivity and getting revenge on its captor.

Blood starts gushing, staining not only her dream version but her fists and outfit. Droplets and splatters even land on the plans but she doesn't even notice because her sight is crimson-stained.