#i say 5 because 4 chapters + epilogue/prologue stuff to account for

[catmandewz]

ngl guys, ppl saying that it’s possible that a stormbringer anime adaptation will be 6-7 episodes are breathing in some MASSIVE bsd copium rn

[youcantkillamutant]

A Map Made in Heaven (Chapter 6)

Prologue…Chapter 1…Chapter 2…Chapter 3…Chapter 4...Chapter 5

Author: youcantkillamutant

Fandom: Marvel (Black Panther)

Pairing: Erik Stevens/Killmonger x Black!OC

Summary: Erik ‘Killmonger’ Stevens is the biggest bootlegger in South Carolina, but he wants to be more than the middle man. After he receives a letter from an ‘old friend’ of his father, he embarks on a quest to find his homeland. Enter Audrey Cade, the finest mapmaker in the County.

Warnings: Mentions of slavery, death, and a lil angst

Words: 7K+

A/N: Back with that 1920’s AU! This is the final chapter before the epilogue y’all. I literally wrote this all today I don’t even know who I aim anymore I can’t even believe I wrote all this???? Thank you to everyone for reading liking and reblogging and recommending (!?!??!) this story. I love that y’all read and review. That stuff always makes my day! 😘😘😘

I only own my original characters of course. As usual Marvel don’t sue me I’m broke.

Listening to: Falling for Me by Johnnyswim, WATER (IF ONLY THEY KNEW) by Kojey Radical ft. Mahalia, XXX by Kendrick Lamar and City Burns by Andra Day

If ever there was a chapter to listen to the suggested songs, it’s this one! 

CHAPTER VI

June 28, 1920: Wakanda

“What exactly are we looking at here?” Erik didn’t mean to sound rude, only annoyed. W’Kabi had interrupted his night with Audrey to show him what exactly?

The duo lurked in the hall just outside the garden of the Heart Shaped Herb. Erik had never bothered to spend much time here, even as a kid. He much preferred the Royal Greenhouse to this singular garden. Cast in the purple glow from the flower itself, the whole room looked like a menacing dream. Women in long robes shuffled around, standing and stooping to complete their duties along the way.

“Zuri has been sending gardeners away all week. They leave with something wrapped in cloth and return with nothing.” Just as W’Kabi said it, a gardener scurried off with a cloth wrapped package.

“What does that have to do with me?”

“He started doing it the second you arrived my Prince.” Erik’s head spun with the possibilities, but he didn’t latch onto anything just yet. He needed to do some research.

“W’Kabi, tomorrow, I’m going to talk to a few people who knew my father. You coming?” W’Kabi nodded easily. He didn’t know N’Jadaka anymore, the princeling had changed a great deal in his time away from Wakanda, but those changed seemed to be for the better.

“Anything you need my Prince.”

—o—

Zuri of Badu was running out of time. He’d never been a stupid man, so why he deluded himself into believing he could hide the truth made no sense at all. Still his brain scurried like a rat, reaching for life rings in the form of ideas that would never truly save him. The evidence of his service to T’Chaka was littered around his room. There were small things he’d never gotten rid of, only swept under his bed and behind his wardrobe until he forgot about them completely.

It was like N’Jadaka was the catalyst for all of these things resurfacing. Like an earthquake, he shook evidence free. Tickets flutters from the place in the rafters of his room, dust trickling down alongside it. A blindfold found its way from under the bed. A bloody panther claw rolled out from underneath the wardrobe.

Each of these items he sent to burn. He promise T’Chaka there would be no evidence, and in since the deed had been done, he grew lethargic in its wake. Now the prince had returned, and the Gardener scuttled to complete a twenty year old task.

—o—

June 29, 1920: Wakanda

Erik rose with the sun to meet Nelene Okiyete. Nelene was one of the two chairwomen for the Wakandian Farmers Association. The other was her twin sister Mokate. Nelene was a stocky woman, skin darkened by the sun and arms strengthened by working the land. She had a smile a mile wide and welcomed N’Jadaka to her lands with open arms.

“Come in, come in my prince.” She shuffled N’Jadaka into a sunroom that overlooked her vast fields.

“I must admit, I was happy to hear that the lost prince hadn’t lost his love for the land. Just like his mother.” N’Jadaka could only smile and duck his head at the mention of his mother, heart twinging at the thought of her.

“Thank you for having me over Aunti.” Nelene waved him off and poured some tea, gesturing for N’Jadaka to seat on the plushly cushioned wicker chairs. He sank into the seat reaching for a cookie from the low silver table. No doubt it was made of vibranium or gilded to look so.

“How is Kae doing?” Nelene asked innocently as she child into a chair of her own beside N’Jadaka. She could see so much of his father in him. The quiet intellect that simmered beneath the surface, how his eyes scanned every part of a room the second he entered, those sharp little ears.

“What?” Nelene nodded to Erik’s hair and his hand shot up to the dreads.

“I’d know her work anywhere.” N’Jadaka nodded uncomfortably, flashes of his last meeting with Mrs. Kae flooding his mind as shame filled his gut. He wondered what Kae would think of him now, having found Wakanda.

“She’s alright.” Nelene nodded into her tea, taking another sip before speaking.

“Well you’ve got me here Prince, what do you want to know?”

“Anything you can tell me about my father and Zuri would be good.”

“Your father and Zuri?” N’Jadaka only nodded intently, encouraging Nelene to continue.

“There’s not much to tell. I’m pretty sure those two hated each other.”

“Did they always?” Nelene nodded and then slowed, biting her lip and furrowing her brow. Thinking.

“I suppose not. I think Zuri’s true anger reared its head when N’Jobu met your mother. Bast he had stars in his eyes for that women and no one could shake them free. Not that I blame him. Your mother was a beauty.” Nelene winked her brown eyes at Erik jovially.

“N’Jobu couldn’t do enough for that girl. Always coming to Wakanda to bring her fresh blooms and new seeds. He would have done anything for that woman. Would have done anything for you too.” She nodded to N’Jadaka seriously.

“So Zuri hated my pops because he was in love?”

“I don’t think that was it.” She paused and glanced around. “I overheard a conversation between the King, your Father and the Gardener once. N’Jobu was trying to convince the king to provide aid to the Southern American states. Zuri and the king would not have it.”

Nelene could remember the conversation like it was yesterday. She had just finished her first meeting as secretary for the WFA and may have found herself a bit lost on the way out. The trio stood there bickering back and forth like children about the fate of an entire country.

“The King said something along the lines of ‘I cannot rule Wakanda and the Southern United States brother’ and N’Jobu grew increasingly frustrated.” Nelene turned to see N’Jadaka nearly tipping forward out of his chair to listen. She gave him a sad smile.

“I’ve never seen your father so angry before. By all accounts, he was the fun brother.” A small chuckle escaped her mouth. “But not after what the King had said. Bast he was heated. He told the king that ‘This is not about ruling or power’” Nelene paused for effect, turning her entire body towards N’Jadaka

“N’Jobu practically spat the words at his brother. He told T’Chaka ‘We have turned our backs on our brethren for too long. If we do not check ourselves now it will be too late to salvage even a sliver of our humanity ubhuti.’”

“And Zuri?”

“Zuri comforted the King.”

—o—

Audrey had work to do. The next Council meeting is in a few days, and she promised Shuri to have the maps done by then. In return, Shuri had slid an impossible amount of American Dollars into her suitcase. Audrey nearly had a heart attack when she saw the envelope. She would have never thought to charge that much for a commission like this, but she is working with royalty.

She made her way to the Lab to find Shuri and continue her work. Music was blasting from the space as usual, it made it easier to find in the winding hallways and staircases of the vast Wakandan palace. Shuri was jumping up and down excitedly as she spoke to Ayo, who listened on, unamused.

“…and that way the bucket falls on his head.” Shuri slapped her hands together excitedly and Ayo rolled her eyes.

“Shuri, what are you talking about?”

“Oh nothing dear cousin.” Audrey raised her eyebrow and Shuri crumbled.

“Fine. Ayo and I were just planning a little prank for the king and his future advisor, cousin.”

“I am not planning anything. I am merely in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Audrey’s smile lifted at Ayo’s smart retort and it only took a second for her to respond.

“I want in.” Shuri pumped her arm excitedly whispering ‘yes!’ while Audrey continued. “And why are you calling me cousin? We aren’t related.”

“Not yet, but I am sure we are about to be cousin. I saw the way N’Jadaka gazed at you. That man is point two seconds from professing his love to you and proposing.” Audrey couldn’t keep her heart from jumping at the idea of it, but she still shook her head at Shuri.

“He’s not focused on me. He’s got too much ambition to focus on me Shuri.”

“Sure.” Shuri rolled her eyes at Audrey’s comment. She’d spent plenty of time with N’Jadaka since his return and she could tell her cousin was 100% gone on Audrey. She watched his eyes dart to Audrey every time she entered a room. His hand hovered behind her back whenever they walked together. His eyes twinkled whenever they bantered. Bast, at this point Audrey could propose and he’d say yes.

“I didn’t come down here to plan pranks with you though. I need to keep working on those maps of Jabariland for the Council meeting.” Shuri had mentioned that Audrey could use the old cartographer’s office today and she was ready to spread out. The desk in her room was perfectly adequate for letter writing, but she needed more space. For the first time since she’d arrived in Wakanda, Audrey missed Cade’s Atlas.

Catching on quickly, Shuri led Audrey back up the steps of the Lab. She wove them through small walkways Audrey had never noticed before and expansive rooms that held windows bigger than her apartment. Finally they reached a room with a wooden door. The only wooden door Audrey had ever seen in the palace.

“The old cartographer married a Jabari woman. This was a gift from her wife I think. We haven’t had an official cartographer since before I was born though.” The door swung open to reveal a room twice the size of Cade’s Atlas. The vibranium floors, while dusty, still glittered. A large window was covered with a dark heavy drape and Shuri coughed as she pulled it open.

“Baba used to warn me against going in here. Said I would be bored to tears.” Shuri shrugged as she found the light switch. The bulbs took a moment to flick on, and Audrey was stunned to see the immaculate vibranium table. Half of it was covered in glass and lit from beneath creating an amazing lightbox, and the other half was the smoothest surface she’d ever felt. Her fingers itched to dip a pen in ink and get to work.

—o—

July 2, 1920: Wakanda

Audrey paced the vibranium floor so much she thought shed run a hole in it. She’s finished mapping Jabariland days ago. That wasn’t what compelled her to pace. That wasn’t what tied her stomach in knots. That wasn’t what kept her completely puzzled. When she had first started working in the old cartographer’s office, she’d flown through the Jabariland commission. She even made the changes Shuri suggested before tracing a copy in archival ink.

She found the maps on the lightbox. Audrey was planning to neatly pile all of the papers to the side of the table so she could finish up the commission, but the maps on the lightbox would let her. So instead, she studied them. They were maps of Wakanda and the southern states. In the mid 1800’s the island looked to be 500 or so miles away. But when she placed the map from 1900 over top of it, the island seemed to be drifting farther into the sea. Another map from 1905 confirmed her suspicions.

According to these maps Wakanda was drifting out to sea. Which in itself wasn’t too much of a cause for alarm, but there were numbers—calculations written all over the maps. This drifting wasn’t natural, it was plotted, planned, calculated even, and right underneath the calculations on every map was T’Chaka’s name, scratched in black ink.

It was more advanced than anything she had ever seen. No one had ever moved land mass like this. It shouldn’t have been possible. Audrey knew that Wakanda was advanced but she never imagined something like this. And why would T’Chaka push the island further away from civilization. Sure the south isn’t the greatest place to live, but southerners are notorious for being friendly neighbors. Why would anyone go to so much trouble? To push an island into the sea?

Audrey thought for a moment about telling Erik. He might be able to explain some of this, but something stopped her. This was bigger than whatever they were. It was definitely bigger than what Erik probably knew. This is a question for the king. Audrey bit her lip and pushed away the pang of betrayal she felt when she wrote Erik off. T’Challa is king, he has to know about this first.

It took her half a day to sketch copies of the maps, but by lunchtime she had gathered them into a thin folder. It took her another half day to write a note to T’Challa. She wasn’t sure how to word any of this, especially if T’Challa had no idea this was happening so she did her best to be concise. The moon illuminated the sky by the time she finished.

Winding her way through the palace, Audrey made it to T’Challa’s office. She only knew where it was because it was right beside Erik’s. She caught sight of his glittering vibarnium nameplate and smiled. N’Jadaka Udaku, Advisor to the King. Erik had come a long way, hell he had come home. Audrey hoped this wouldn’t ruin anything for him, hoped that her curiosity wouldn’t get her in trouble. Still unsure of her decision, Audrey slid the papers under T’Challa’s door praying to whoever was listening that she made the right decision.

—o—

Zuri could remember the night it all happened. He was a garden apprentice then, only trusted to purify the water and prune the new growth. T’Chaka and N’Jobu had made their way into the garden, voices carrying angrily as they drifted closer to Zuri. On his knees Zuri could just see their figures huddled close.

“Brother you can not keep pushing the island away from this! They will come soon enough.” N’Jobu had never cared for their plan to push the island further away from the mainland.

“I know you are upset about your wife, but moving Wakanda is the only way to keep our people safe.”

“This is not about my wife. This is about Wakanda brother.”

“Are you sure about that ubhuti?”

“As your trusted advisor, I propose we go to the mainland.” Zuri had to hold back a scoff at the use of the word ’trusted.’ T’Chaka hadn’t trusted his brother since the day he returned from the mainland, calling for a better future for people that were not his own.

“Talk to the people there, fight for them. If we build those people up—If we build our people up, protecting Wakanda from the mainland’s oppressors will no longer be an issue brother. If we welcome them home, they will see its importance. They will help us protect it, just as we helped them.”

“This is too great a problem to bend to your ridiculous ideologies N’Jobu.”

“So you would hide us away?” T’Chaka was silent for a time, Zuri held his breath even tighter then.

“We must help them. They are people just like us. They come from our lands, they are our people.” The rest transpired so quickly Zuri could not fathom it. The pair fought for that last time that night, and when Zuri scrambled and surveyed the scene he retched. The king on his knees, his brother in his lap, a gleaming vibranium claw stuck in his chest.

“My King. I am sorry.” Zuri could remember the embarrassment that flamed in his queasy stomach after vomiting in front of the king.

“Zuri, speak nothing of this day.” Zuri had agreed, even offered his assistance in any way he could. The king commanded he clean up the mess of N’Jobu, and they plotted what to do with N’Jadaka. From that day on, they were co-conspirators. Now the king was dead, another in his place, and Zuri, son of Badu could do nothing but choke on the secrets and the lies.

—o—

Another morning in the fields and another afternoon at the palace. Nelene had been helping N’Jadaka with well…everything. She taught him how to test the soil, and replot the land. She helped him research the best hops that would grow in the Wakandan climate and encouraged him to try a few different seedlings along with his main planned harvest.

Overnight, Nelene had become like a mother to him. Erik remembered when he would sit with his mother at the end of every winter. He would swing his feet beneath the wooden kitchen chair as he sat at the table with his mother, plotting the coming year’s harvest. She would always let him chose a new plant to try, grinning when he chose something outrageous. Still somehow, his mother made something grow.

He had to blink away the memory when he arrived at the palace before being swept away by his tutors. He’d already had all of the lessons he could from Ramonda, and the Council demanded he be well versed in all things Wakanda, but there were only so many senseless Wakandian etiquette rules that a man could take before he felt ready to bump off the next person who demanded he greet his cousin like a ‘king.’

Erik sighed with relief when he was finally released from his classes, deciding to make his way to the greenhouse. He could catch up with W’Kabi another time. For now, he just wanted to breathe in the plants and admire their color. Halfway to the royal hothouse he ran into Okoye. The two had never talked much, silently sized each other up and ignoring the need for communication. Apparently, that was over for Okoye.  

“I have half a mind to ask you what you are really doing in Wakanda, but even I am not bold enough to question royalty.” Erik rolled his eyes and held back a snort. He’d seen the general in Council meetings. She couldn’t hold her tongue any more than he could hold his.

“You can relax Okoye. I’m not here to to anything but farm my father’s land.” An easy lie for it was a half truth. Erik still searched for the truth of what happened to his father, but Okoye didn’t need to know that.

“So you are N’Jadaka Udaku, the first Wakandan prince without ambition?” Her voice dripped with skepticism, and N’Jadaka shook his head.

“I didn’t say all that. Just that I don’t want no dinky ass chair to get fat in.” Okoye studied him for a long while. He raised his brow in challenge and she nodded in acceptance.

“Kuba ngumthetheli ongenakunqwenela. Ubukumkani abukho indawo yezihlunu.” With that warning uttered she marched off, leaving N’Jadaka to his devices.

—o—

July 3, 1920: Wakanda

“Shuri!” The prank went off without a hitch. Well, sort of. Erik was supposed to get hit with the water too, but he was a bit too fast for the bucket.

“It wasn’t all me brother! Audrey did it too!”

“Shuri!” Audrey gasped the name and whipped her head back to a bewildered T’Challa. “I didn’t sir, um I mean, your majes—” Audrey couldn’t continue her fumbling because Erik had burst out laughing.

Audrey had never seen him like this, clutching his sides and bending over in glee. Shuri wasn’t much better, even Ayo cracked a smile. Still, Audrey was happy that the throne room sat relatively empty. The queen was there, sat regally in her throne. A few of the Dora were there too, Okoye doing a much better job at hiding her amusement than Ayo.

“Audrey, do you have a moment?” Shuri’s laughter ended abruptly. Erik whispered ‘ohhh’ like a school child. Audrey squared her shoulders and followed Ramonda’s retreating form while Shuri and Erik whispered back and forth.

Audrey followed Ramonda through the ornate palace halls squinting as the sunlight strobed in her face as she passed window after window. She wasn’t sure if she was meant to catch up to Ramonda or stay behind but after a few minutes of walking she nearly bumped into Ramonda’s back when she stopped in the center of the hallway.

They had passed a few doors along the way, glittering with vibranium locks and panther carved handles, but now there were only paintings. Paintings of prestigious Kings and Queens, panthers and generals. Ramonda had stopped the pair in front of a painting of a woman. The entire image was cast in blue. Violet and cerulean glanced off of the woman’s broad nose and left a dreamy glint in her big brown eyes. With her left arm outstretched Ramonda grazed her fingers along the wall beneath the painting.

“Years ago, my mother was the country cartographer.” The vibranium nameplate gleamed under her brown thumb. Cebisa Undakewe, Official Cartographer of Wakanda.

“She travelled all over the island mapping courses and painting worlds on paper. She was the first to map Jabariland. She was the only one they allowed in. I can still remember when the king requested her presence in the palace. It was how I met T’Chaka.” Ramonda’s face drifted into a soft smile.

“He was so rude to my mother, I told him off. I Let him know that no one, prince or otherwise speaks to my mother with anything less than respect. I can still see the shock on his face!” She chuckled a bit, and Audrey’s face lifted into a tight smile still wondering what she was doing here.

“You remind me of her. I can see a world of wonder in your eyes. They way you hold your pen…Bast she never went anywhere without a pen.” Ramonda pressed her thumb into the wall, and to the right the wall split, drifting into the floor and ceiling respectively.

“The king was impressed when he saw my mother’s map. Hired her on the spot. Gave her this room to map the world ten times over.” Ramonda gestured for Audrey to walk in ahead of her and after another moment of hesitation she did.

The room itself wasn’t much to look at in comparison to the rest of the palace.

“I don’t mean to be rude Queen Ramonda, but—”

“Why did I bring you here?” Audrey nodded. “I’ve kept this place a secret for longer than I care to remember. I was hiding it. After my mother died I would come here until it no longer smelled like her sweet jasmine and cocoa scent. When that faded I could not bring myself to return. T’Chaka did not understand the pain of it, losing a mother, but I could not fathom another being in this space, her space. Until I met you.”

“You tumbled onto our little island and brought my nephew home. I prayed to Bast for him back and She dropped you into our laps like a gift. My mother would want you to create more worlds here. I want you to use her space as she did in the past.” Revive her memory. If only for a moment.

“Queen Ramonda I—”

“Please, call me Ramonda, or Auntie if that suits you.” Audrey’s eyes widened at the queen’s wink and she nodded.

“I do hope you stay Audrey. N’Jadaka is very clearly taken with you, as he should be.”

“Enkosi.”

“Your Wakandan is getting better!” Audrey could only nod bashfully. She wasn’t perfect, but she was trying.

—o—

July 5, 1920: Wakanda

“Stevens! Wait up.” Each day since she returned from Jabariland Audrey saw Erik in his father’s fields talking to all manner of people. Farmers mostly she assumed, but sometimes a guard slipped into the crowd, or a Border Tribesman. Audrey knew that N’Jobu had never had any sort of official affiliation with the tribe, so this had to be a new alliance. The idea of an alliance of any kind made Audrey…suspicious.

“Hey babydoll, what do you need?” Erik’s answer was easy. After all talking to Audrey had become eat most simple thing in his life at the moment. He hadn’t told her anything about the clandestine meetings, or his heavy surveillance of Zuri. She was a smart broad but she didn’t need to know all of that.

“What are you up to?” Erik should have known that he wouldn’t get anything past Audrey. He should have been surprised that Audrey held her tongue for this long. Instead, he let her question roll off of his back.

“What do you mean A?”

“I mean why are you meeting with the Border Tribe.”

“There’s something going on here Audrey. I need to get to the bottom of it.”

“Of course there’s something going on here. There are a million things going on here! It’s a Royal Court Stevens! That doesn’t mean you need to do whatever it is you’re doing now. I thought you came here for land. To start farming it and brewing and selling? have you forgotten about that?”

“Of course I haven’t forgotten. But ever since we got here, things have been strange Audrey. Certain stories just don’t add up.”

“What stories?”

“My disappearance for one. Everyone thinks I was taken by Klaue. That he killed my father and kidnapped me, but that’s not what I remember.”

“I thought you didn’t remember it at all.” Audrey remembered him mentioning that when they were first working on the map, that he couldn’t remember exactly how he got to America from Wakanda, just that he did.

“I don’t remember much. Just a blindfold, leaves brushing against my arms and silence.”

“That’s not nothing. Eri—” Audrey was interrupted yet again by a small Wakandan man. he held a satchel and a tablet the lit up his face. The back of it gleamed with solar panels and it fit into the palm of his hand. He tapped the screen with his fingers frustrated, murmuring about ‘annoying prototypes’ and something in Wakandan she couldn’t understand.

“Miss Cade, there’s a letter for you from Jabariland.” He tapped the screen a few more times with his pointer finger and then dug into his satchel for a small envelope. It was brown, and covered in childlike lettering. The stamp held an image of a Gorilla with the word Hanuman stamped below it. Audrey was so stunned to receive a letter that Erik had to take it for her.

He studied the woman he had grown to admire closely. He knew at some point she had to have received a letter from someone but this one seemed to trigger her somehow. Audrey’s mind flashed to the last time she had gotten anything hand delivered like this.

In Audrey’s eyes this man looked just like the other postman that knocked on the door of Cade’s Atlas nearly a decade ago. Tired eyes and slouching back, spine curving into a ‘c’ under the weight of his messages.

“Miss Cade, I am sorry to have to share this news with you, but on his latest expedition your grandfather met an untimely end—” Audrey had stopped listening then, having heard all she needed to know. A large envelope fell into her hands. The deed to Cade’s Atlas among other things. Erik’s voice interrupted Audrey’s detached memory.

“Audrey! Babydoll, hey.” Erik waved his hands in front of her, crowding her space and shuffling her towards the wall and away from the center of the hallway. “What the hell is going on? You want me to get rid of this thing?” Erik motioned to the letter in his hand and Audrey snapped back into action, snatching the brown paper from his hands.

“No. I—I got it, thanks.” Audrey ran her hands over the rough brown paper, admiring the pulp and blotchy ink.

To: Bincinke Audrey Cade

From: Princess Ti of the Jabari Tribe

With a smile and a deep breath Audrey broke the chunky wax seal. There were two pieces of parchment folded into the envelope, one a letter that detailed all of Ti’s exploits with her sisters and a question on when Audrey would return to Jabariland; the other was a map “home to Jabariland. Just in case you forget bincinke!” Audrey breathed out a laugh at the map’s title, and Erik couldn’t stop himself from speaking.

“Audrey, what was that abo—l” He could see Audrey shutting down, her lips closing tightly and eyes going hard. “Never mind, what did you get?”

“It’s a map. Ti drew it for me.” Audrey ran her fingers over the chunky hills and watery lakes that lay between the palace and Jabariland. Erik came around to her shoulder, leaning over it. He was so close to Audrey that his breath fanned the page and she could smell the earth on him.

“Cute.” Audrey nodded, and the pair resumed their palace stroll. Erik standing closer to Audrey than before and studying her for any sign of…whatever had just happened. They ambled past the kitchens and library in silence nearly at the Council Chambers before Audrey spoke again.

“What are you going to do?” Erik took his time formulating his response. He knew Audrey would wait for him. Raised voices from the Council room interrupted his thoughts and drew his and Audrey’s attention.

“You were never going to tell me? That my father the King—Bast Zuri.” It was T’Challa speaking to Zuri the succinct gardener that also happened to be T’Challa’s most trusted advisor.

“How could he kill his own brother?”

“N’Jobu was never fit to lead Wakanda. He always had his eyes in another man’s revolution. When N’Jobu came to the Council begging to aid the newly freed slaves in building their lives, T’Chaka refused. He knew Wakanda would stretch itself too thin.”

Zuri could remember that night. T’Chaka had sent the Council home after a full hour of arguing went on between him and N’Jobu. The sun has melted into the horizon and the moon rose from the sea. Still the pair fought.

“How can you turn your back so easily brother? And to actively push the island away from the mainland…I assume the Council does not know.” N’Jobu had been disturbed to learn of T’Chaka’s plan to push the island farther into the sea. Zuri saw no problem with the action. It was the only way to keep Wakanda out of the clutches of oppressors who would see to pillage the island they so deeply love. The country they so violently fought for.

“I am not our father. I refuse to indulge every one of your whims N’Jobu. I have a country to lead.” T’Chaka had been dismissive of N’Jobu’s pleading since his coronation. N’Jobu did not understand what had happened to cause such a marked change in his brother’s ideals. He could still remember the days they vowed to free the mainlanders of their chains and help them build a Wakanda on the coast.

“What is that supposed to mean ubhuti?”

“It means that Father turned his head when you brought that white man into our country to steal for your little rebellion. I will not do the same. I will not allow you to betray Wakanda for people that are not our own.” T’Chaka spit the words. N’Jobu had been at this for too long, and it was his fault, T’Chaka thought. As king, he never should have allowed that extended war dog mission to the American South. It only served to radicalize his brother and produced an unnecessary heir to the Wakandan throne.

“He knew?”

“He was the Black Panther. King of Wakanda. Nothing gets past him brother. He encouraged me to indulge your whims, but I can not in good conscience allow you to do this any longer.” Zuri remembered the relief that flooded his heart. Finally the king would no longer be beholden to his brothers indiscretions. Finally T’Chaka could truly be great.

“Why did he not say anything then.”

“He believed your cause noble. Honorable even.” T’Chaka’s derisive snort rivaled that of their mother’s. A woman known for her intelligence and intolerance for idiocy.

“And you ubhiti? Do you not feel the same?”

“They fought. T’Chaka lived. N’Jadaka was all that was left. We had to loose him, leave him.” Zuri was still shaking himself from the memory when T’Challa responded.

“No. No.” T’Challa’s head spun. For years he had allowed Zuri to lead the search for N’Jadaka. For year he had searched for his cousin himself. Now to find he was never meant to be found, to learn that his father killed his own brother.

“Klaue attempted to break out of the prison that same night. We staged a kidnapping. We had to maintain the lie. We left him far from the border of. To grow and forget our Wakanda.”

“Zuri—”

“We had to do it T’Challa, if he is his father’s child…his presence here will bring more pain than joy.” Erik had heard enough, and he was gone before Audrey could reach for him. She stood in the glittering palace hallway, wishing for the first time that she had never found Wakanda at all.

—o—

July 6, 1920: Wakanda

N’Jadaka had a plan. A plan that would prove Zuri right, just before he burned the entire island to the ground. It’s what they all deserve. He had already relayed a version of the plot to W’Kabi, telling him just what he needed to know and nothing more. W’Kabi would get him access to where he needed to be, and all he would need to do is light the match to watch the island burn. Finally, he felt like Killmonger again.

Audrey had spent all day searching for Erik. He wasn’t in his cottage, or his palace room, not in his father’s fields or in the lavish library overflowing with books. He didn’t want to be found so Audrey changed tactics. She looked for his allies. The farmers were all home, and she didn’t find a border tribesman to follow until the morning. After two hours of following the man on errands, she found Erik in the palace basement. The only dark place she’d ever seen in Wakanda.

The basement was cool, a stark contrast to the wet island heat Audrey had gotten used to. Erik stood centered on the concrete floor surrounded by vibranium chests and rolls of parchment. Audrey could only see his back, covered in keloids and broad shoulders rising and falling slowly. he looked larger than Audrey remembered.

“Erik.” Audrey voice drifted through the room and Erik cocked his head towards the sound. He never answered, or turned so Audrey tried again.

“Erik, what are you doing down here?” Erik reveled in the way his name fell from her lips, knowing it’s probably the last time he’ll hear it.

“He killed my father.” Audrey had nothing to say to that, and Erik knew she wouldn’t. He reveled in her cautious silence like he never had before.

“I can’t let that go dollface.” Audrey’s lip curled in annoyance. The nickname was enough to know that she was speaking to the infamous Killmonger. Erik Stevens was no longer rational, no longer calling the shots.  

“You should talk to T’Challa.” Killmonger scoffed. “I’m not telling you to let it all go, but T’Challa didn’t even know, Erik.” It felt strange saying his name so often, but Audrey was willing to try anything to bring killmonger to his senses. Whatever he was planning would be too much.

“Why are you trying to protect him?”

“I’m not trying to protect him I’m trying to protect you.” And she was. She had already caught sight of the matchbook clenched in his hands. Audrey had a feeling that there was more than vibranium chests and parchment down here.

“Everything you’ve worked for, all of this? You want to destroy it like that?” She snapped her fingers before continuing.

“They offered you a position as advisor to the king! You can use your position to get what you really want. You can use it to better the world like your father wanted.” Erik twitched at the use of his father’s words. Audrey knew he would hate her for it, but she also knew he would hate himself more if he destroyed his home.

“They killed my pops Audrey. My father! All because he ain’t agree with the king. I can’t let that slide.” Erik finally turned, and Audrey hated herself for jumping. She had never seen him so angry. His dreads fell in his face and his golden fangs were bared in anger. Steeling herself, Audrey pushed forward, closer to Killmonger.

“So what are you going to do? Kill the royal court?” Audrey’s arms waved in question. “I wish you could hear yourself Erik! God I wish you would just take a moment to think. Erik Azzuri Stevens.” Erik stilled, it was the first time he’d heard Audrey say his full name. It burned on the way down. He knew he’d never hear it again.

“Imma do what I have to to honor my father Audrey.” Audrey shook her head in disappointment.

“You know, I always wondered what it would be like. To know my home, to know who I’m really supposed to be. I would kill to feel like I truly belong somewhere, to stand in my history. Hell to even know my history and you— You have it all. You’re a freaking prince. You’re home, and you want to throw it away?”

“You don’t understand.”

“Of course I understand Erik! They left you, they took me. My ancestors, our ancestors were never even supposed to be here. We were traded and sold and left alone in this world—” Tears fell, and Audrey tried to wrangle her cracking voice.

“Of course I understand Erik.”

“It’s not that simple dollface.”

“It never is, but that doesn’t mean you throw it all away.”

“You should go.”

—o—

So she left. Audrey packed her things, grabbing the key to Killmonger’s model T and hopped on the next ferry to the mainland. The border tribe said nothing as she boarded the boat and only one thing when it docked on the soil of South Carolina.

“NgoMeyi Makugcinwe udade okhuselekileyo.” Exhausted and cried out, Audrey couldn’t even begin trying to decipher that sentence.

Instead she unfurled the map that got her into this mess, and made her way to Erik’s automobile. The sleek black machine started without a problem and she pushed the pedal hard, sailing down Highway 17, towards home. In a blink she was back in Charleston rolling the car to a stop in front of Oakies.

It looked just as dingy as it had when they left, Lights flickering in the lettered sign and music spilling into the street. Her feet carried her into the bar before her mind could stop them and she made her way to Killmonger’s golden booth. The music tonight was harsher than she’d ever heard it, and Audrey closed her eyes to listen.

I know a couple of devils in Prada tuxedos…

A dark skinned man spoke into the microphone while a woman crooned beside him. Audrey gazed at the pair, taking in the woman’s braided hair tucked into a silken scarf. She swallowed and sunk further into the booth, letting the music wash over her.

I think there’s something in the water…

Slowly, Audrey’s mind awoke from being on autopilot during her journey. Inhaling made her heart lurch. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. What she just left. Who she just left. Erik was—is hurting. She shouldn’t have— The front door banged against the wall and Junie’s voice jolted Audrey out of her spiraling mind.

“Audrey Cade! You’re back!” Junie ambled to the gold booth where her friend sat, taking her in. Her skin shone like it never had before, she looked younger and wiser somehow and Junie couldn’t stop the grin that formed on her face. She missed her little sister. Sliding into the booth with a smile, Junie waved down a waiter.

“So how was it? Tell me everything.”

That sentence was all it took for Audrey to break down in tears.

—o—

His car key was gone. Audrey was gone. He sent Audrey away. Erik didn’t think she would actually listen. This is the first time she’s ever truly listened to his demands. Fuck.

Erik had already been to her room. He had already stared at the empty closet for too long and rooted around the desk. The drawers were empty, no ink, no paper, no Audrey. Erik even went where he shouldn’t have, to her secret mapmaking room. he ran his fingers searchingly along the walls until he found the button that allowed him access. He spent hours pouring over the maps, her maps. The whole place even smelled like her.

For a second he convinced himself that nothing had changed. Erik imagined a future where even in his prince hood she would come home to him every night. He would pick something from the fields to cook, and she would tell him all about her daily adventures. After dinner she would sketch him as he read, or did dishes, or wrote. When the moon and stars kissed the sky they would fall into bed together lazily, and drift into a dreamless sleep. They didn’t need dreams anymore, they lived one.

“My Prince.” N’Jadaka was jolted from his reverie by W’Kabi.

“Everything is prepared.” Erik nodded. Still, even with Audrey on his mind he couldn’t shake his ideals. She may have soothing answers but the truth still burns him. Flame was licking his stomach from the inside out.

“My prince, are you ready?” W’Kabi questioned.

With a strike and a breath, N’Jadaka lit the match.

—o—

Translations

Kuba ngumthetheli ongenakunqwenela. Ubukumkani abukho indawo yezihlunu: Be careful ambitionless Prince. The monarchy does not have room for fools.

—o—

Enkosi: Thank you

—o—

Bincinke: Explorer (Hausa)

—o—

NgoMeyi Makugcinwe udade okhuselekileyo: may Bast keep you safe sister.

A/N: So...yeah...Erik’s going through it. All has been revealed and...shit stinks okay. To be honest that last conversation between Erik and Audrey was one of the first scenes I wrote when I was imagining this story. As an African-American I found it so so easy to relate to Erik in the movie because DAMN y’all didn’t want to help nobody Wakanda??? For real???? But I’m with Audrey on this one, if some how I could find my way back home and be embraced the way that Erik is...Idk man...I might not feel so adrift. At least in terms of family history and whatnot. 

I think I’m in love with the idea of knowing who I could have been had slavery and all that foul shit not happened. What my culture would have been, or how my diet would be different, even the different bedtime stories I might have heard as a child. I’m into theorizing about that I guess if that makes sense. Which is why the conversation Audrey has with Erik is so important to me. 

Anyways...enough about me. So...the couple is separated and Erik is ready to drop that match on Wakandan soil...I can fix this I think. It’ll just take some time for those two to find their way back home. 

I really hope no one is disappointed by this. I’ve put a lot into this fic and this is always how it was going to end. I actually never start writing a story until I know how I want it to end. Either way, I love you all for liking and reading and reblogging and reviewing, you’ve made my life much richer! 😘

Only the epilogue to go, and then it’s on to another story. 😎An even crazier AU

Also! I’ve been posting this fic on Ao3 my username there is thegirlwiththebags here’s the link if you want to read it there! I always post on tumblr first though 😊😊😊

Taglist: @muse-of-mbaku @k-michaelis @nemesispawn @queenamaniii @thatrandomfangirl98 @princessstevens @killmongurl @bidibidibombaclaat @thelovelyliterary @panthergoddessbast @dreadedphilosphy @elaindeereads @thedom223