Revamped!
Chapter 19: African Storms Part Three
Wakanda's Palace - 4:57 AM
Imanu had to force Iqadi to go to sleep since she couldn't drop the subject about everything that seemed wrong about the previous day. After succumbing to her husband's wishes, Iqadi finally agreed to go to sleep - or so he thought. Little did Imanu know that the moment he was fast asleep, Iqadi woke up again. She spent the whole night being immersed in her thoughts about the day, replaying events to see if even the slightest micro-expression would tell her that was the moment things went south. Whenever she felt like freaking out, she just looked over at her sleeping husband and calmed right back down. Everything seemed like it made sense.
Keyword: seemed.
"Something is not right…" Iqadi whispers to herself.
A light hits her face. Iqadi rubs her eyes and sees the early morning sun peeking in through her bedroom window. She takes a glance at the clock seeing that it's almost 5 AM. She curses to herself, only planning to stay awake for extra hours as opposed to five.
Iqadi sits up in her bed and watches the morning sun. She smiles to herself, thinking about how Imanu told her the forecast predicted sunshine and clear skies. Everything would be fine after all. Then she realizes that maybe she could solve her problems if she just spoke them aloud to someone.
"Imanu," she says, nudging him. "Wake up."
"What is it?" Imanu asks, still asleep with his face in the pillow.
"That tradition has happened for many, many years but why did my mother choose to interfere at that exact moment? The moment where she wasn't exactly there."
"Because your father could have died? Because the country would have a new political leader and tribe in power?" He offers as if those were given options. Imanu finally opens droopy his eyes to look at his wife. "Iqadi, don't worry anymore. Your father is still healing and the country is still theirs. Everything is how it should be."
Imanu goes back to sleep. Iqadi sighs, putting a hand to her forehead. She closes her eyes, trying to remember every detail from yesterday: her father and Ehioze were in battle. At one point, her father was being overpowered but not to the extent of defeat. Although, that was when her mother entered the fight since she thought he was going to lose. Ehioze seemed as if he wanted to fight her mother over her father.
"Imanu!" Iqadi exclaims, waking him up again. "The fight was staged!"
"How so?" He asks, opening his eyes again.
Iqadi explains everything she already thought of. "Did you see Ehioze fly off in the cyclone my mother made?"
"No…" Imanu mutters. "But that proves nothing. Your mother made it dark and everyone was in chaos. She probably threw him off the Falls as per tradition. It was hard to see anything especially since I was focused on your father."
Iqadi crosses her arms. "You have made great points but I will still prove you wrong."
Iqadi gets up out of bed and changes into the first outfit she sees in her closet. She immediately runs out of her bedroom. Imanu quickly jumps out of bed to chase after her. Not only did she think her mother wasn't thinking straight but he knows his wife is out of it as well.
-o-
Iqadi walks down the hallways of the castle. She passes the wing where her father would always heal. Iqadi knows it's a long process in the astral plane but she didn't think it would take this long for him to recover. She wants to check in, take a peek to put herself at ease. She'll even talk to her mother and make sure she's alright. Before Iqadi walks in, she jumps back at the door suddenly opening and her mother bursting out, still in the torn attire from the ritual. Ororo's eyes are swollen and puffy. There are streaks along her cheeks from where tears were and all the colour has drained from her skin.
Iqadi's heart stops, refusing to analyze this situation and take a peek behind her mother in the chambers. Instead, she gets her mother's attention and sees that her blue eyes are filled with another set of tears.
"Mother, what is it?" Iqadi questions, trying not to think of the worse. "What has happened?"
"My Queen," Ororo says to her in a rush, cupping her face in her hand, "your father has died. Wakanda is in trouble."
Iqadi's taken aback but shakes her head. "No, Mother, he's healing. He's fine."
Ororo looks over Iqadi's shoulder and runs off in muffled cries. Iqadi turns around and feels her world stop. She stumbles back, hitting the wall as her chest starts to constrict. Iqadi tries to grab the wall to support her but there's nothing to hold onto. Cries start building in her throat as her body shakes. She can't breathe. Her legs give out and she crumbles onto the floor. Iqadi's body crumbles as her angst builds inside of her.
Once her body's reached its limit, she breaks down into a feral screaming cry.
Her father is dead. Her mother called her the queen.
She's the Black Panther.
-o-
Imanu immediately picks up the pace when he hears Iqadi's cries echo in the hallway. For a moment, he's brought back to a moment five years ago but escapes when he picks up the pace. He tries calling her name but he runs into Queen Ororo who grabs him by the arm and drags him away. Once they stop, he sees they're outside the palace. He's about to ask Ororo what that was about but stops himself when he sees a distant, glossy look in her eyes that looks out into the distance. Imanu assumes she's lost in her thought just like his wife at times.
"My Queen," Imanu says, "I was on my way to Iqadi since -"
"I'm no longer queen," Ororo says, not looking at him.
Imanu's brows wrinkle at the centre. "What?"
"The King is dead."
Imanu's heart stops. That's why Iqadi was screaming. Her father died and she's now The Black Panther. He has to run back and find her. He almost cries but stops himself. Now he knows why Iqadi was saying something's off. He doesn't understand is why Queen Ororo was out here not consoling her daughter or grieving her husband.
"Ororo...?" Imanu asks.
Ororo smiles, laughing a little to herself. She raises her head to look at the sky and her smile instantly vanishes. Then her head snaps to face him and she grabs Imanu's shoulders, shaking him a little to get his attention despite already having it. Imanu jumps a little but Ororo holds him in place. He watches firsthand as Ororo's eyes turn from bright blue to a solid navy blue. Imanu begins shivering from fear since he's never seen Ororo's eyes like that.
"You have to run!" She yells at him.
"Run?" Imanu questions. "Run from what?!"
"The fire!" She exclaims. "Wakanda is on fire!"
"What?!" Imanu yells. As he looks around, Wakanda seems natural with no flame in sight.
"The King is dead and our new Black Panther is in grief while her country burns! If no one will protect it, I will!"
Before Imanu could say anything more, Ororo throws her arms in the air, knocking him over. As she holds her arms up high, the winds start heading towards her. Imanu's almost swept off his feet.
"Rain, lightning, thunder, come to me!" Ororo yells into the sky.
Lightning strikes as the winds lift Ororo into the air. With the wave of her arms over her head, the darkest thunderclouds form. As the wind increases, thunder crackles as rain begins to pour, announcing the oncoming storm. Her showers are accompanied by clouds that are almost as black as the night sky. Imanu stands up again, rain hitting his face like thorns as he watches Ororo move her arms around in a fluent motion. The clouds pour their moisture and abundant showers fall on Wakanda. She scatters them all over the sky along with her lightning. At her direction, they swirl over the face of the land, doing whatever it is she commands them to do.
"Ororo!" Imanu yells up at her although she can't hear her. "The country is not on fire!"
-o-
Iqadi sits against a window, allowing the warm sun to hit her face tear-stricken. She hasn't felt so weak in her entire life. She wants to go in there and see her father for herself but her legs have gone limp. Her mother's haunting words echo in her head on a constant loop. She crouches, putting her knees up to her head as she covers her ears to block out any noise. She squeezes her eyes shut. She's run out of tears. Everything she's doing right now is an attempt to block out what's happening.
Suddenly, she feels her face get cold.
Iqadi unravels herself and tears the drapes from their rail. The sky is dark and she hears thunder rolling in. Iqadi closes the drapes and leans against the window, feeling the chill from the glass tickle her back and hearing the rainfall.
She's trembling. She's confused. She's scared. She's the Black Panther.
The forecast called for sunshine and clear skies and now there's a storm.
She clenches her fists and runs out.
