shuri
"Please come in with me." Shuri said, breaking the silence from the past 5 minutes. Okoye looked up at the new queen, seeing for a moment only the girl she had watched grow up in the same palace walls. Lifting her head and turning to face the former Dora, Shuri whispered.
"Andiqondi ukuba ndingayenza ngokwam le nto."
Without question, Okoye reaches out a hand. Grabbing it, Shuri lets herself be softly brought into the room as Okoye opens the big doors. Walking in, Shuri is surrounded by the essence of her mother. Ramonda lives here still, even if only in memory. Entering the bedroom, Shuri swallows as she runs a hand over her parent's bed. The only time she's seen it not perfectly made. Her father's pillow still where he left it, only now her mother's matches it. A moment caught in time. Ramonda had left T'Chaka's belongings the way she remembered them being - used, loved, alive. And now Shuri would do the same.
The new queen hadn't noticed Okoye standing in the door frame, fighting back her own tears until now.
"Please, come in. I insist." Shuri says, sitting down on the edge of the bed, facing towards a window just slightly cracked.
"I had only been in this room once, my entire time as a Dora. The night King T'Chaka... Your father, was killed. Your brother had yet to return and in the night, the Queen called me in. We didn't speak much, but many things were said that night. The Queen... Ramonda" Okoye breathed out the name of her friend, "Asked me to sit with her. She didn't order me to. She asked me. And I sat with her." The warrior explained, glancing around the room before finally taking a step in.
Walking over to the young queen, Okoye places a hand on her shoulder. "I can only imagine the challenge this is for you. Even for me, it is strange and... painful, for me to return after all this time. But I am with you... udade omncinci."
Shuri let the warmth of Okoye's hand ground her to the warmth in the room. She was blessed to have had her family, and to have them still. After a few moments and a few silent prayers, Shuri stands up. Offering a quick hug that ends in a tearful, but relieving laugh, Shuri stands.
Walking towards her mother's vanity, Shuri opens drawer after drawer full of jewelry, laughing with Okoye as they remember together.
Finally, Shuri finds the small jewelry box she's been looking for. A beautiful, simple but elegant ring with a purple gem. Her mother's engagement ring. Shuri looks up at Okoye with a question in her eyes. Okoye answers knowingly.
"Kubonakala ngathi lixesha lokucwangcisa umtshato."
Shuri smiles.
"Griot."
"Yes, Panther?"
"Where is Miss Williams?"
"On her way to your dinner date for the evening."
"Please let her know I'm on my way." Shuri says, closing the box and putting it in her pocket with a smile.