“We are going to the Golden City today, my little helper.” A light is flicked on and someone poked you. “Come now. Up, up. Get up, do not be so lazy on such a beautiful morning.”
Umama is the best person in alllll of Wakanda. You wish she would let you sleep in on the weekends more though.
“Nn, but I don't want to.” The blankets muffle your words. You giggle when she pokes at a ticklish spot, again and again. “I'm up! I'm up!” Throwing the covers off your body, you grin as you sit up, one fist rubbing the sleep out of your eye, trying to not to yawn.
“You are tired because you and your friends spent all day playing with him again.”
Umama does not like to say that man's name, and she's cautioned me against saying it either. It is a secret, she says, when he first came to our village with the Princess. No one can know that he's here.
“He is fun.” You insist. “If we play games with him, the White Wolf will not be sad.”
Reaching a hand out, she ran her fingers through your short tresses, down your cheek, her expression is difficult to read but you forget that when she kisses your forehead and lightly flicked your ear.
“Shower and we leave immediately. Go on now.”
Even though the two of us are behind schedule because you overslept, Umama prepared sandwiches and snacks for us to eat on the way. The best, she is the best!
~
Things are different in the Golden City than back home. Busier. You could spend all day here and never get bored. I do want to try some of the food but Umama reminds me that we already have food, sounds ex...ex… Annoyed!
“Come now, my little helper.” Grabbing my hand, she tugged me closer. “Head out of the clouds, yes? We came here for an important reason.”
You try to get her to tell you but she merely hummed and kept quiet, a smile on her face. Umama is always teasing.
Eventually, we come to the steps of the palace and a bald woman in a red uniform with a spear walks right up to Umama and begins conversing with her in a hushed voice.
Annoyance fills you.
You're not invisible, you're right here!
Before you could pout, the woman glanced at you, her expression severe.
It feels like you're in trouble and you stand up straight.
For a few minutes the woman says nothing and then she smiles.
Uwaa! She's pretty!
Grateful that your skin is too dark to noticeably blush, still you throw your arm in front of your face, embarrassed. It doesn't even bother you that the adults are laughing at your shyness.
Once permitted entrance to the castle and the woman leaves, telling you and Umama to have a good day, you can't keep quiet anymore.
“Was she a Dora Milaje?”
You had only heard stories. Fierce women who protected the throne and the royal family. Soooo cool!
“The General's second in command, Ayo.”
A squeak left your throat and Umama laughs, long and hard. She laughs even more when you try to make her promise not to say anything to your friends. By the time you reach the Princess's lab, she stops and is wearing her Very Serious™ face.
This must be about the important reason.
Princess Shuri is very nice to both Umama and you. Almost like a friend or big sister, she is so warm and kind.
She asks about your likes and dislikes (you like playing Doctors and Soldiers now, you don't like early bedtimes or getting in trouble), if you enjoyed the book she left last time; not once do you feel as if she's talking down to you.
Eventually though she and Umama move away to talk and you're left to your own devices. You were already warned twice not to touch anything so you swing your legs back and forth, humming a rhyme to yourself.
If you memorized it before Eon, he would give you a sweet!
Sighing, you glance at Umama and the Princess but they're still talking. Sighing loudly, you frown because neither pay you any attention.
Fine, then.
Jumping down as quietly as your sandals allowed, you walked towards the corridors. Glancing back, Umama is still preoccupied and you grin, slipping out of the room.
You see the hallways are empty and skip down the hall a few steps. Then glance back. Still no one following you. Feeling bolder, you take a few more steps until you're skipping and twirling and running.
It's so fun!!! All your friends will be so jealous when you tell them about this adventure.
Turning back, you frown as you realized that you don't know this area.
“Okay, okay. Just breathe. Calm down.”
Umama knew you had an overactive imagination and tended to panic when scared, so she taught you breathing exercises.
“Retrace your steps. Retrace your ste--”
BANG!
The door rattled and you let out a sharp squeak.
“Hello?”
Wait, that's American. Oh, wait. E...English.
“...Hullo?”
The door of the closet twisted. “Could you...could you let me out of here?”
You stared at the door, feeling incred...incredu… You were worried! “NO! Goodbye.”
“Wait, no! Please don't leave me in here. It's… It's cramped.”
Biting your bottom lip, you glance down at the deserted hallway. “And dark?”
“Yes.”
Oh, you are in so much trouble. But, what could be worse than Umama swatting your backside and not letting you out to play for two weeks?
Cramped and dark places are no fun, you learned this from the White Wolf, the first time you played Tag & Hide with him.
“I can figure out how to break the lock. Don't speak and stay quiet.”
There's a thump, as if the person leaned against the door. “Ok. I'll just, just, hang around.”
Ten minutes of searching and you find something to strike the knob and shimmy the lock, just like Ade showed you. Backing up, you watch door open and a short white man with gray hair and blue eyes stumbled out.
“Thank you so much!” he seemed happy to be out. Leaning forward, you see that the closet is certainly dark. “Oh, you're a kid.”
You cock your head to the side. “Oh, you're a…” Biting your tongue, you stop yourself from saying the Bad Word™. “Why were you in the closet?”
For some reason, the query makes the American flush red.
“You're alone.”
He seemed to like stating the obvious. “Yes.”
“And your father?” Glancing at him blankly, you raised an eyebrow. “Mother? Did you come with someone?”
“Yes.”
Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose (it is verrrrry big). Then he reached out, trying to take your hand. Alarmed, you take a step back from him.
“ Esihle !”
Positively relieved, you turn to see Umama. With the Princess, two Dora Milaje, and his Highness, the King? Running to your mother, in the final step, you leap and she catches you, spinning you around in a circle and making you laugh.
“Ohh, you silly child! I thought I lost you.”
You don't really get it, but you nuzzle her cheek. “I was lost but you found me.” Tears are in her eyes and running down her cheeks. “I wasn't gone that long and I made a new friend.” Your voice lowered as you whispered, “He was in the closet. Isn't that funny?”
“As entertaining as this is, I believe this is an important lesson not to wander far from your mother, yes?”
The King is talking to me.
The King. Is. Talking . To. Me.
“Esihle.”
“Mmm...yes.” Scuffing your shoe against the floor when you're set down. “I was bored.” Umama made a noise in her throat and you know that you're in biiiig trouble. “But I won't wander off anymore. Promise!”
His Majesty, the King, kneels to your level, “Pinky promise?”
Although pinky promises are for babies, “Pinky promiseeeee!” Your voice becomes embarrassingly high pitched but you don't even care as you lock fingers with His Highness.
He flashes a smile at you and you're at peace.
~
Okoye’s hand is like a vice on his shoulder. Ross, who'd been engrossed in watching the spectacle occur in front of him in rapid fire Xhosa, definitely did not jump.
“Now, as for you,” he flinched as the grip tightened. “To see you reaching out to grab the hand of a Wakandan child clearly uninterested in your touch, well. It doesn't paint a very flattering picture, Mr. Ross.”
Even Shuri’s eyes are cold. “Almost as if you were trying to take an unwilling child.”
He feels sweat break out across his brow. “I would never-”
Okoye’s grip tightened even more and he went silent. “It is good that you weren't doing something so foolish because it looked very damning, like a kidnap in progress.”
Ayo smiled, or bared her teeth, “We would enjoy hurting you for such audacious behavior. If you were guilty, but luckily you are innocent.”
“Agent Ross.”
Okoye let go of him and undoubtedly, he's bruised but he doesn't utter a word as King T’Challa levels an intense and intent, decidedly unfriendly, look in his direction.