Merida
"You will call me as soon as you arrive." Her mother said authoritatively, leaving no room for argument as she fussed over her daughter.
"Of course, I will call as soon as the Talon Fighter lands on Mexican soil." Shuri reassured for the millionth time, "Do not be so worried mother, I will be fine."
The queen sighed, "I know child, but you know I worry."
Shuri nodded as she held her mother in a tight knit hug. Truly there was no reason to be so fussy over her, not when she was a grown adult and perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
"I will have Aneka and Okoye close by," she mumbled in her mother's ear, "no one gets past them."
She broke their hug, to her mother's reluctance, but held her hands tightly, "I will see in three weeks Mama."
"Go before I regret this child." The queen conceded, her beautiful face marred by worry.
"Don't worry too much," Shuri said, placing a hand on her cheek, "I'll see you soon. Okay?"
Her mother nodded and with that Shuri turned away and climbed inside the Talon fighter. She only turned to wave goodbye to the queen as the ramp closed and obstructed her from view.
"Ready to go, princess?" Okoye asked from the pilot seat.
"More than ready." She replied. The ship ascended quickly as she took a seat and laid her head against the bulkhead. Soon they were in the air and on their way to the other side of the world.
Aneka and Okoye were the only ones who would accompany her on this trip, her mom had tried to insist on more dora coming along but thankfully Shuri had convinced her otherwise. Afterall, what kind of idiot attacks a Dora, much less two?
"Do you think we'll have time to tour around the cities?" Aneka asked, her face beaming with excitement as she sat across from her. "I heard Yucatan is very beautiful!"
Shuri shrugged, "You are free to explore as much as you want, I'll be too busy working anyway."
Aneka frowned, "Princess, you can't work the whole time we're there." Then cheekily she said, "I'm sure there will be time to take in the sights, visit the beaches, maybe even get drunk at a bar or two."
"Hey! Do not encourage that type of thing Aneka! The princess will not be getting drunk at any time during our stay there." Okoye chastised.
"Hmph," the younger dora grunted, crossing her arms, "you are no fun, General."
Shuri said nothing more to her friend's antics, Okoye was right, she wouldn't be doing any of those things. Not because she was a princess, but simply because she didn't want to. What use did Shuri have for tourism and beaches and drinks when her brother lay six feet underground?
She shook her head, trying to get rid of that particular thought. Instead she let herself fall asleep in her seat, the quiet rumbling of the ship surrounding her senses as she let it rock her into unconsciousness.
Hours must have passed by when she felt herself being shaken awake. Okoye stood over her with a hand on her shoulder. "Princess? We've arrived."
Shuri rubbed her eyes as she stood up, her head spinning at the action. The ramp was already down, so she could see that the sun was setting, leaving behind a golden hue that encompassed the land surrounding them. "Where is Aneka?"
"She went ahead to get our bags inside." Okoye replied softly. The general led her down the ramp, prominent eye bags marring her face, she looked more tired than Shuri had ever seen her. Though given the last few weeks, that was to be expected. Shuri surely didn't look much better, even with all the sleep she'd been getting recently. There was a perpetual exhaustion that was stuck to her, like a leech digging its claws under her skin and sucking away every last drop of energy she had left. Only a sorry sack of meat that could barely function was left behind. These days it was only work and focus that seemed to keep her awake, if she so much as relaxed for a single minute then the need to sleep would come back in full unrelenting swing. Sometimes she found herself thinking that if she just let herself drop then it would make things so much easier. To sleep forever and never have to do something as annoying as being awake. It sounded ideal, no more feelings or worries, she could simply cease to care, or exist.
"You go ahead princess, I'll make sure we didn't leave anything behind on the ship." Okoye said, breaking the silence, and with it, her disturbing thoughts.
"Alright, don't take too long though we have to leave early tomorrow morning."
"Hmph, that's advice far more apt for Aneka, that woman has too much energy for me."
Shuri smiled and shook her head at Okoye's dramatics. "She's just excited, she hasn't left Wakanda in a long time and certainly not on a mission this lax."
"Even then she is Dora Milaje, discipline and focus are essential to who we are, even if the mission is as lax as you say."
Shuri rolled her eyes, "you and mother worry too much. Now go," she waved her off, "I'll go see what Aneka is up to."
Shuri turned away from the general and made her way inside the house they had acquired. It was a decent sized place, three bedrooms each with their own private bathrooms, a nice kitchen and living room along with a very cute back porch that looked out towards the isolated beach. Looking for Aneka, she came upon a pile of suitcases that were left at the bottom of the stairs but the womanp herself was nowhere in sight.
"Aneka!" She called out, but no response came. Walking towards the back where she assumed the kitchen was, she rounded a corner and bumped straight into the woman.
"Oops, sorry princess I didn't see you there," she apologized, holding Shuri in place to prevent a fall.
"It's fine," she waved a hand dismissively, "what were you doing?"
Aneka perked up at her question and led her to the back of the house. "I was admiring the beach, it looks so beautiful at sunset, don't you think princess?"
Shuri looked towards the horizon and, begrudgingly, had to agree. The fleeting sun reflected beautifully off of the sea's waters. "Yes it is very beautiful, I suppose."
Aneka frowned, at her somber tone but she did not comment on it. Instead she said, "Well now that I know we're staying by such a beautiful place, I think I can check off strolling by the beach on my to-do list."
"Yes, I suppose so, though you'll have to convince Okoye to go with you, she needs some time to relax."
"Or," she sang, "I could just drag you , princess."
Shuri scrunched her nose at the suggestion, "I'll be too busy, the center in Merida is new and I want to make sure everything in the science and educational departments are set in order and that everything else is running smoothly here."
"Excuses! I'll wear you down before this little vacation is over, you'll see," she teased.
"Hah! We'll see if you're capable of it," she replied dismissively. After that, they watched silently until the sun dipped completely under the horizon's edge and the twilight set in.
Back inside the house Shuri grabbed her suitcase and climbed to the top of the stairs in search of her room, "Hey have we assigned rooms yet?" She called down towards Aneka.
"No, they're all still empty!" Aneka cried from somewhere in the kitchen area. Sounds of silverware clinking against the sink could be heard so she could only imagine what the dora was messing around with.
Instead, she quickly inspected all three rooms until she finally settled on the one on the farthest side of the hall. It seemed to be the most separate bedroom from the rest making it quite suitable for her. The space was surrounded by bright colored walls and decorations. In the middle of the room there was a nice queen sized bed covered in colorful red and beige patterned sheets. On the farthest wall lay a neat little desk that she was already planning on using whenever she had any extra work. The most notable thing for her, however, was the large window, on the opposite wall, across the bed, that led towards a balcony. The beach could be seen clearly from there as the darkness of the night slowly creeped up on the previously bright waters she had enjoyed with Aneka only minutes ago.
Suddenly she remembered that she had yet to call her mother like she promised she would. The bright purple hue of her beads lit up as she pressed the call signal and waited for her mother to answer.
"I thought I told you to call the moment you arrived," her mother's voice said as soon as she picked up.
Shuri rolled her eyes, "I just got here Mama."
"Hmm, well I spoke to Okoye not too long ago and yet you are just calling me now."
"Well then you should already know that I'm perfectly fine and we landed with no issue," She replied, "Besides, I slept the entire flight here so I was still a little groggy."
She could almost see her mother's eye roll at her excuses. "Well have you gotten settled in then?"
"I haven't unpacked yet, if that's what you mean but I did get a very nice room, and you'll be happy to know I actually spent some time appreciating nature or whatever. Me and Aneka watched the sunset and everything."
"Ah well if only you did that at home with your mother. Take time away from that lab of yours." Her mother replied, a slight echo of laughter in her voice.
"Yes, well I'm sure I'll be too busy here to do anymore, 'nature watching,' " she replied, lightly.
"Shuri," she sighed audibly, "I know this is technically a work trip, but I do think you should enjoy your time in Mexico. Take in the sights, I heard it's quite beautiful in Yucatan and you could try to have…fun."
Shuri grew instantly annoyed with the suggestion. She was tired of telling everyone the same thing over and over again only for no one to listen.
"Mother, I'm only here because my brother made me the head of the outreach center programs," she said disgruntled, "all I am here to do is to make sure everything is up and running, there is no reason to waste time on useless fun. "
"But-"
"I have to go," she interrupted curtly, "it will be a busy day tomorrow. Bye."
The princess hung up without another word and plopped herself unceremoniously on the bed. Staring at the ceiling, she tried and failed to forget what had just transpired. How could she forget though? Everyday it was the same thing, everyday it was as if she wasn't allowed to just grieve on her own. As if she couldn't just wallow in her pain by herself without pitying looks or talks. Her brother had only been dead for a month and her mother suggested fun? A ridiculous notion when she could no longer bear to be happy anymore. She didn't think she could achieve it if she actually tried. Though the logical part of her brain said that she was being unfair, that her mother was grieving her child and was only trying to keep her other child from going off the deep end, it did not help. Not when the other overwhelmingly illogical part of her mind said that she simply didn't care . She just wanted the pain to go away, she wished no one expected anything from her so that she may be allowed to lay down and rot. It was a dream, to see no more of her mother's incurable sadness, no more pitying looks from her people, no more.
Thankfully for her, she didn't have to wallow in her annoying thoughts because even though she had just slept for hours, her consciousness started to slip away and she slept again. Surprisingly she managed to have a nice dream. One of not only her brother but her Baba as well, she dreamed they were still together, safe and sound where there was no need for tears or grief, just bliss.