Chapter 5
The technological wonders and advances of Wakanda had stopped amazing Steve by now. It had been over three days since Bucky and him had been granted entrance into the hidden country of Wakanda. And three days since they had last seen the king.
The man had been present when they had landed, giving them both a curt welcome, only to make his excuses and abruptly disappear the very next moment.
“You think he changed his mind?” Bucky had never harbored any hopes of getting any real help from T’Challa, but Steve had insisted they seek the man’s aid.
“I’m sure he’s a man of his word, he’ll find a way to help you Buck, you just wait”
Bucky couldn’t comprehend how Steve could keep his faith in people, but he hoped he was right, it would be a relief to be able to get rid of his Winter Soldier programming once and for all.
But the waiting was unnerving Steve. The situation had become unsustainable. With each passing day the winter soldier lurked closer to the surface of Bucky’s mind, until Steve knew it was a matter of time until they lost Bucky forever, so he had convinced the rest of the rogues that this was the best option they had.
He had been so sure the king would gladly help them, that all of Bucky’s troubles would suddenly disappear, but looking back, Steve knew he had been incredibly naïve. By the lack of any sign that the king would concede them a visit anytime soon Steve was starting to fear they would simply be turned away. He made up his mind, he would give the king another day before making their escape from the palace.
On the dawn of the fourth they, they were unceremoniously woken up by a loud bang at their door. Jolting up from his place on a chair by their dormitory’s door, Steve carefully made his way to the main door. He was amazed to find king T’Challa standing on the other side, sans his usual herd of elite guards surrounding him, although Steve doubted they were very far away.
“Your highness” he said as he stepped aside to let the man in.
“Captain Rogers, my deepest apologies for the long wait, things have been… complicated these past couple of days”
“I understand your highness, thanks again for agreeing to see us”
With a wave of his hand he dismissed Steve’s words, opting to sit on the small living room attached to their quarters.
Steve could feel a cold demeanor from the king, he tensed for a moment, getting ready to receive whatever bad news the man was about to give them.
With a deep sigh, T´Challa fixed his gaze upon Steve. “Captain tell me, what are all these rumors I’ve been hearing about Tony Stark’s disappearance?”
That took Steve off guard, he’d been focusing so intently on getting Bucky the help he needed, that he forgot to question what T’Challa’s posture could be. He tensed, looking at the other man intently. Realizing he had no other option, he decided to tell an abridged version of the events to the king.
“King T´Challa, you were there, at the Siberia base. Zemo… he set us up, he made us fight among ourselves. Bucky and I escaped, but we don’t know what happened to Tony after that. I’d very much like to know for myself if Tony is ok…”
The king didn’t seem convinced with Steve’s recount of things, and he had the distinct feeling that he had failed whatever test T´Challa was putting him through. Averting his gaze, the king inspected the room.
“Where is your friend Captain?”
“Bucky has to be restrained whenever he has an episode, he’s sleeping off one of them right now”
This information seemed to surprise the man, who stayed silent for a moment.
“Captain Rogers, I gave you my word that I would help your friend to the best of my ability, and I intend to keep my word. But due to resent… events, I am sure you understand that I cannot extend said help to either you or any of your teammates”
Steve’s joy was evident to the other man, and for a moment T´Challa felt deeply conflicted with the situation. He had an extremely guilty conscience towards Anthony Stark, the man that had worked relentlessly to bring forwards the Accords that his father had advocated for, the man he had briefly worked alongside of, someone he had come to respect in that short time. He knew he should not pass judgment easily, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep a neutral stance on this matter. He could be helping Stark’s hypothetical murderers, and that did not bode well with him.
He had been debating with himself and with his council for the last three days on whether or not to grant The Winter soldier asylum. His will had finally prevailed, but the council’s stance had been clear, they would not tolerate the presence of any other rogue amidst Wakanda’s soil.
He had thought the news would have a different impact on the Captain, but he suddenly realized that the man seemed to have no other priority than to see his friend safe. The realization gave him chills, was this the real reason for Stark’s defeat? Had the man somehow come between the Captain and his friend? T’Challa wasn’t sure, but he prayed to the gods that he was making the right choice.
Standing up from his place, T’Challa reached for the door, turning to look back at the blond man once again “Captain, if it is true that Anthony Stark is dead, we better pray to whoever will hear us, because I can foresee things will only get more difficult for all of us from now on”
Steve was left pondering the king’s cryptic words, but he decided to leave them for the time being, right now, he had to tell the good news to Bucky.