Show Me ↝ Black Panther

07

M'Bao was approaching him with heavy, angry strides. Every nerve in N'Deke's body screamed at him to run, but he stood where he was. Ready to face his father. He turned away from the large windows he'd been looking out through, poised. Soon, a fuming M'Bao made his appearance, followed by Jeniba desperately trying to keep up with him. To stop him. But she couldn't.

A large smack echoed throughout the corridor. N'Deke brought a hand up to his burning cheek, quickly blinking away the tears threatening to form. His father rarely hit him. In fact, he hadn't been hit since he was a child. Whatever was coming next was sure to sting even worse.

"I give you the opportunity to be part of the Tribal Council meeting, and you humiliate me in front of everyone! Is that how I raised you?"

"No, baba," he answered quietly.

"M'Bao, please calm down," Jeniba attempted again, distressed. "He's just a kid. Kids make mistakes."

He wasn't listening. This bout of anger was consuming him whole. "All because of this... of her. She's gotten into your head, Son! This is exactly why I didn't want you to be around her. Akina is no good for you."

N'Deke felt the need to defend his sister. M'Bao was wrong. Akina was not the enemy. But N'Deke also didn't want to add fuel to the fire. His father was upset enough as it was, and Bast knew what else the man would do if his son so much as spoke another word.

"You are going to go apologize to King T'Challa right now, and you will tell him that you have changed your mind. Do you understand me?" At this, he dared to look M'Bao in the eyes. His hand slowly curled into a fist. This act of defiance further irritated the older man. "I said, do you understand me, N'Deke?" he asked again, slowly. It was a warning.

"I cannot apologize enough for my behavior today. I've embarassed you, and there is no excuse for it. I understand that you are mad at me, but I also need you to understand that I can't."

M'Bao barked out a humorless laugh. "You can't?"

"No." N'Deke looked over at his mother, who didn't have the strength to return the gaze. His heart dropped in his chest. "I have to do this."

"You don't have to do anything!" M'Bao raised his hand, ready to deliver another hit when something metallic suddenly slid between him and his son.

Both stepped back out of shock. The act gave Akina enough space to slide in and replace the spear. She stood straight, and despite the height difference between her and M'Bao, her steely expression made her appear more daunting than him. "Quit manhandling him."

"You do not have any right to tell me how to raise my son." M'Bao narrowed his eyes at her, and his lip curled with something akin to disgust.

"You're right, I don't. None of this concerns me, but I must remind you that you are standing in the royal palace. If anyone other than me were to see you treating N'Deke like this, I can guarantee you they would not hesitate to report this incident to Princess Shuri."

"Princess Shuri." M'Bao rolled his eyes. "And what exactly would she do? She's but a child."

"She may be a princess, but she is still royalty," Akina said, putting emphasis on the last word. "And that's enough power to get you kicked out of the Tribal Council. The same way you kicked me out of your tribe." She muttered the last sentence low enough for only N'Deke and M'Bao to hear.

M'Bao took another step forward so he was nose to nose with her. He opened his mouth but no rebuttal came forth. Finally, he huffed. "We'll continue this discussion later," he said before stomping off.

N'Deke heaved out in relief when his father finally left. "Akina. Thank y—"

"You idiot." She turned around so quickly he was surprised she didn't get whiplash. "Have you lost your mind?"

Jeniba stepped in. "Although I wouldn't use the same word, I do agree. N'Deke, why? You don't have any experience. You've never even been outside of Wakanda before."

"Shuri used to take me to the royal library. I've read a lot about how the outside world works, and I won't be alone. I'm sure I will manage just fine."

"What, you think this going to be some sort of relaxing getaway? This is a serious mission, N'Deke. You could get killed!" Jeniba cringed. Akina drew in a deep breath, carefully weighing her words as not to cause her mother anymore discomfort. "You're too young. You have no idea how dangerous it is out there. If anything goes wrong, you could be returning here so broken you would never be able to be fixed again. Is that really what you want?"

He considered her words for only a moment. "If that's what it takes to prove to you I'm more than a weakling."

Perhaps this was yet another figment of his imagination, but her expression appeared to soften ever so slightly. But then she shook her head, and whatever he thought he saw was no longer there. "You are a fool."

That made him smile. "Don't you have other nicknames up your sleeve? I'm getting tired of that one."

"He's a very brave fool." T'Challa stepped out of the darkness. He must've seen and heard all, if not most, of their discussion.

Akina's entire demeanor changed. She bowed her head. "Your Highness."

"Akina. Mekate was looking for you. Something about a last minute test, I believe."

"Very well. I'll be on my way." She gestured towards Jeniba. "Come, Mother. I'll see you out."

The older woman threw her son one last look, filled with hurt and sadness. And with that, they were gone.

T'Challa nodded at N'Deke. "Everything all right?"

He watched his mother leave. He could deal with M'Bao's snide comments and remarks, but the look Jeniba gave him made his heart squeeze painfully.  "I've seen better days."

The king uncrossed his arms and laid a comforting hand on N'Deke's shoulder. "You should really take their words into consideration. It's still not too late to back out."

"I know."

When N'Deke said nothing else, T'Challa nodded. "Follow me then."

"Where are we going?"

"You didn't expect to go into battle without any weapons, did you?"