Revamped!
Chapter 18: African Storms Part Two
The Warrior Falls - Wakanda - 7:48 AM
Iqadi is frozen as she watches this unfold before her. The other tribes have started clearing out with Imanu helping. Once everyone and his family are starting to clear out on their own, he leaps down to stand her. Imanu has to snap in her face to get her attention and she's beyond panicked. Something he rarely sees in her. They watch her mother transform the once sunny day into darkness. Queen Ororo is powerful with the weather. Even without that ability, she was a force that nobody dared to mess with. She is a storm all on her own: powerful, violent, devastating, and utterly magnificent. She captivates all left in her wake.
Iqadi just couldn't make sense of this whole situation. Her mind is in a frenzy and she doesn't know what to do. She pushes her way through the crowd until she finds a familiar face.
"Imanu," she calls, grabbing his arm. "Something isn't right. Nothing was right from the start."
"Help me with your father," Imanu says, not taking in what Iqadi said.
They run through the waterfall's top pool, splashing through her mother and Ehioze who pay no attention to them. Iqadi and Imanu each take one of her father's arms and do their best to hoist him onto his feet. Iqadi takes a shaky breath at the sight of the water turning dark red.
"Father will be fine," Iqadi says. She wants to believe her words but can't.
"We're not leaving your mother," T'Challa says before wincing in pain.
-o-
Ehoize pounces on Ororo and she lands flat on her back into the water. She grunts as she pushes him off, tearing the bottom of her dress into shreds to make the fight easier for her. When they rise, Ehioze holds out his fists at her.
"Give up and I shall make this easier for you and your family," he tells her. "I shouldn't even have to prove my worth to you."
"Give up my throne?" Ororo asks with strength in her voice. "My country? My family? Never. You are a fool to challenge me."
Ororo charges towards him but he grabs her neck and holds her up in the air. She claws at his hands, drawing blood.
"I don't know why you have chosen to fight on my land or what tricks you used on T'Challa but I don't care!" Ororo screams at him with the air she managed to gasp from the strong chokehold she's currently in.
Ororo's eyes turn solid white again and Ehoize grins. She summons a gust of wind under his feet causing him to drop her. Ororo stands tall with her arms open wide and a hurricane forms around her. She twirls, starting the cyclone.
"This is my home and you're not welcome here!" Ororo yells.
She stands at the base of her hurricane before it funnels open. She's impervious to its power but nobody else is. Ehioze is suddenly lifted off the ground and flying above her. Ororo huffs, twisting her hands as she controls the wind. Lightning strikes above her. She releases her arms and allows the winds to disperse.
When only Ororo is left, her arms fall along her sides. The storm clouds remain in the sky as Ororo's eyes turn from solid white back to her normal blue eyes. Ororo turns to face her family who are as still as if they were ordered not to move a muscle. Her expression doesn't change but remains unemotional. The natural wind blows by which causes Ororo to stand straighter due to its unpredictable arrival. She looks at the crowd again and her eyes slightly narrow at them.
"You are all dismissed," she orders them. She looks at Imanu and Iqadi who still hold her battered husband. "Get him the heart-shaped herb immediately."
Some guards rush over and take the king from Imanu and Iqadi. As they leave, the two of them stand still as Ororo looks down at them, her gaze still unwelcoming. She doesn't say anything to them before turning around and heading inside the castle, waving off any maid who offered anything along the way. She picks up speed to catch up to the guards carrying her husband.
A gust of wind phases through Iqadi and she stumbles back at the surprise. She finds herself wrapping her arms around herself, rubbing the goosebumps that have formed on her arms. She isn't shivering because of the wind but because of the cold atmosphere that her mother left behind.
-o-
For the rest of the day, the palace was silent. Nobody spoke a single word to one another. T'Challa was healing in the earth after consuming the heart-shaped herb again, Ororo confined herself to be the only one present with him as she waits for him to rise again, and Iqadi and Imanu, despite spending the rest of the day by each other's side, had nothing to say each other. They know her father will be fine because they got back in time for him.
Iqadi wishes she could join her mother and wait for him to exit the astral plane and come out. That's the confirmation she needs to know he'll be fine. He will be. He's the King. He's her father.
"I don't understand…" Iqadi mutters. She sits in front of her bedroom's vanity mirror, staring at her reflection. "My mother turned into a different person out there and it almost scared me."
"Your mother was doing her role," Imanu replies as he walks past her. "She was protecting her loved ones as a wife and mother would, and her country like its queen would."
"I understand that but this whole day was just off to me."
Imanu smirks with a little laugh escaping his mouth. "Iqadi, you're trying to make sense out of tradition. Some things you have to leave the way they are without questioning it. I know I have."
"She told me she wanted me to abolish this ritual when I take over."
Imanu pauses. "That's odd. I would've said that. Why would she?"
Iqadi shrugs. "Before that catastrophe out there, she didn't seem like herself. Her mind was somewhere else."
"She was probably picturing you out there when your father was almost thrown over the Falls. Iqadi -"
"No, Imanu, listen -"
Imanu cuts her off with a short kiss. Iqadi was taken by surprise (which isn't surprising to her considering how the day has been for her). When they part, Iqadi holds his shoulders and rests her head on his chest. Imanu holds her back and rests his head on top of hers.
"You're stressed, worried, and tired," he whispers to her. "It has been a long day for us. You need to sleep and clear your mind for a moment."
Iqadi nods, taking a heavy breath that made her heart swell up. Imanu smiles at her as he rubs her cheek with his thumb.
"The forecast for tomorrow called for sunshine and clear skies," Imanu says, sitting on their bed. "Do you think your mother will agree?"
Iqadi knows that he's trying to enlighten the situation for her and she loves him for that. She just isn't up to it and he senses that when she doesn't respond with even a smile. Imanu sits back.
"Forget I asked…" he mutters.
"Imanu..." Iqadi says, now sitting on the bed next to him. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around this to try to make sense of it all. You're acting as if it's all okay but it's not."
"Everything will be fine in the morning. Your father will wake up and tell you that."
Iqadi gives a weak smile. "The forecast called for sunshine and clear skies. If my mother doesn't agree, then I will."
