#queen ramonda x reader
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All My Works Masterlist
WARNING! Most of the following contain SMUT and/or have a DARK theme.
➥ This Masterlist contains all my works, I hope you enjoy 🤗
Dark-♤ Angst-♧ Fluff-♡ Smut-♢
MARVEL
Agatha Harkness
Love At First Sight ♤
Summary: When Agatha saw you she knew you were going to be hers.
Unattended ♡
Summary: Agatha has been working all day and leaves you unattended.
You Can Run But You Can’t Hide ♤
Summary: Agatha slowly starts to isolate you so you can only rely on her and her alone but her plan has one flaw.
I’ve missed you ♤♢
Summary: You and Agatha had a twisted history. She had kidnapped you into Wanda’s distorted reality to make you into her perfect wife. She had you under a spell until Wanda freed you. Wanda promised you Agatha would never hurt you again and helped you find a new home where Agatha wouldn’t be able to find you. You had your little house in the middle of nowhere, where you were safe…or so you thought. (This is also based on the one clip of Rio pinning Agatha to the wall.)
Neighborly Desires ♤♢
Summery: You had recently moved into Westview. Your mother had passed away and you wanted a new start in a small town. Agatha was your neighbor there and she didn’t waste any time welcoming you into town. She thought you were so adorable and so innocent…she wanted to be the one to corrupt you. She needed to be patient, careful, and precise.
Agrio ♢
Summery: The fight scene between Agatha and Rio but with smut.
Unraveling ♡
Summary: For the past three years, Agatha was trapped under the Scarlet Witch’s spell. Trapped in her own mind to play the character of Agnes, the nosy neighbor. But even then she was able to find some sort of happiness, you. At some point, you always found yourself at her house, talking or just watching tv together and in Agatha’s mind it became a romantic comedy where you were her love interest. It was such a refresher after the nightmares of her past she had every night. Then came the day the spell was suddenly lifted. Agatha had finally come to her senses. She had fallen in love again after all these years but were you even real? She had no sense of what was real or fake.
THE GREATEST ♧♡
Summery: Agatha has to make a choice without hurting you.
THE DINER ♤♢♧♡
Summary: Unbeknownst to you, you had the pleasure of being Agatha’s next victim but she takes a liking to you.
Cigarettes out the Window ♢♧♡
Summary: You go into a fight with your parents about your grades and ran to the only safe place you know, Agatha.
Needy ♢
Summary: Agatha finds you touching yourself without permission when she got off work and gives you a much needed punishment.
Hela Odindottir
Too Sweet ♢
Summery: She finds you talking to a guard in the garden and makes you cum until she’s satisfied as a punishment.
Okoye
Lesson ♢
Summary: Okoye thinks you're a spoiled brat and deserve a lesson.
Shuri Udaku
No Escape ♤♢
Summary: You tried to escape but there is no escaping her.
Pretty Little Thing ♤♢
Summary: You were sent on a mission to retrieve vibranium from Wakanda for S.H.I.E.L.D. In the process you get caught by the Black Panther.
Queen Ramonda
You Don’t Deserve To Mourn ♧
Summary: When Ramonda drowns, Shuri blames it on you.
The Set Up ♡
Summary: You work as a scientist in Shuri's lab, and one day the Queen walks in to talk with Shuri and T'Challa about something. You find it impossible to take your eyes off of her. Shuri and T’Challa notice and set you both up.
My Queen ♡♢
Summary: The Queen has been having a stressful day so you help her out.
For Your Own Good ♤♢♡
Summary: “When she was told of her husband’s death she was devastated of course, but the first thing on her mind was you. She couldn’t let another person she loved to get killed, not under her watch. She thought the best way to keep you safe was to have you with her at all times, whether you liked it or not.”
Try That Again ♢
Summary: Ramonda had been busy all day and you wanted attention so you decided to have a bratty attitude but she had none of it.
WWE
Charlotte Flair
Not So Permanent ♢
Summary: After Charlotte is suspended for attacking a ref she goes to your office in hopes to change your mind about her punishment.
Revenge ♧♢♡
Summary: You lost your NXT Championship to Lyra while Rhea was gone and she was not happy. When you didn’t succeed at getting it back she and the rest of TJD left you. You found comfort in someone else who also helped get your revenge.
Workout ♤♡
Summary: You and Charlotte went I the gym. A guy thought it was a good idea to mess with you and Charlotte took care of it.
Still Your Mami ♢
Summary: Charlotte congratulates Rhea after their match in more ways than one.
Rhea Ripley
Always Back To You ♧♢♡
Series Summary: Rhea has a one night stand with none other than the tribal chief Roman Reigns. Eventually that one night stand becomes multiple one night stands and her life gets turned upside down.
You Belong To Me ♢?
Summary: You break a rule and Rhea makes sure you get in line.
Revenge ♧♢♡
Summary: You lost your NXT Championship to Lyra while Rhea was gone and she was not happy. When you didn’t succeed at getting it back she and the rest of TJD left you. You found comfort in someone else who also helped get your revenge.
I’m Your Papi ♢
Summary: Rhea has a new papi.
Roman Reigns
Always Back To You ♧♢♡
Series Summary: Rhea has a one night stand with none other than the tribal chief Roman Reigns. Eventually that one night stand becomes multiple one night stands and her life gets turned upside down.
Other
Larissa Weems
Almost Caught ♢
Summary: You acted like a brat towards Larissa and in the middle of your punishment, your family interrupts.
Nightmares ♡♢
Summary: You have been having nightmares and Larissa wants to help you but in the process, feelings rise up.
Alice Chambers
Reminder ♤♢
Summary: A woman flirts with you at the grocery store and Alice shows you who you belong to.
Harley Quinn
Crazy ♤♢
Summary: You were assigned to be Harley Quinn's new psychiatrist and things take a turn.
#marvel#dc comics#wwe#fanfic#smut#angst#fluff#dark#agatha harkness#larissa weems#shuri udaku#queen ramonda#harley quinn#charlotte flair#rhea ripley#roman reigns#agatha harkness x reader#larissa weems x reader#shuri x reader#queen ramonda x reader#harley quinn x reader#charlotte flair x reader#rhea ripley x roman reigns#alice chambers#x reader#agatha all along
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“You know you saved my life, right?”
- a drabble (I'm back 🤭)
Ramonda
"You know you saved my life, right?"
You turned towards your wife at her words, baring a smile only she could get out of you. “Oh, did I now?”, you asked playfully. You were a renowned Dora Milaje in your own right, but personally saving Ramonda had never been something you recalled doing. Not that you wouldn't jump at the chance to if the moment arrived. It just hadn't happened yet. And you were glad to keep it that way.
“You did.” she replied truthfully. Going in to hold her hand, you found her face growing serious, as though she were seeing the memory of this so-called ‘saving’ and it wouldn't leave her mind. You found yourself growing hesitant at your previous answer.
Had there been a moment where you'd saved her from something?
In your mind, she was the one constantly saving you. Stopping you from being hasty in dangerous attacks. Making sure your armour was on correctly, even while knowing you'd never put it on recklessly in the first place. All she did was save you. Or, at the very least, try to save you.
“When did I save you, my love?” you asked, bringing her hand to your lips, and kissing it gently. Her serious expression melted at that, and you could tell that you'd just soothed a craving in her. so, you did it again.
In any other moment, she would have let herself get lost in the physical contact. Let herself forget that anyone but you existed. But she had started a conversation; an important one. And she wanted to finish it.
“It's not a singular unit.”
“So you're saying I've saved you more than once without any recollection of doing it? Was I sleepwalking or something?” you tried to joke. She let out her silk-filled laugh, the smoothest of sounds. One that never lasted quite long enough for your liking. Especially now.
“I'm serious, Y/n.” she tried again. You let the confident act go, wanting to hear what she actually had to say.
“I didn't know where my life was headed before I met you. I mean, I knew I had a nation to lead and protect. But that was my life as queen. I had no idea where regular Ramonda’s life was going.”
You smiled at that. Regular Ramonda. It was strange to hear her say that. As though her regular self was somehow less of something to fawn over. Regular Ramonda was your everything. She was the reason you held your head up so high. She was your first thought in the morning and the sweet song that lulled you to sleep every night. There would be no Queen Ramonda without Regular Ramonda. And that made her so much more special in your eyes.
“But then I met you.” she continued, “And all the missing pieces came to make the life I have now. The life we have now”
You saw the stars in her eyes at that. Stars that had been there since the moment you'd first set your eyes onto the stunning woman. They were perfect. She was perfect.
“That’s got nothing to do with me, Ramonda.” You started.
“But it does, sthandwa sam. It all does.” She moved closer, the stars becoming even more clear to you.
“You saved me before anyone knew I needed saving. You held me up before even I knew that I was on the verge of falling. Your existence has lifted years of burden off of my shoulders and replaced them with enough good memories to last a lifetime.”
You hugged her at that point, holding her up once more.
“I'll never be able to thank you enough for that, Y/n.”
“You wouldn't ever have to. Some gifts are happy coincidences given to deserving people. And Ramonda, my darling, I've never met anyone as deserving.”
#queen ramonda#black panther fanfiction#black panther fics#queen ramonda x female reader#queen ramonda x reader#ramonda x reader#ramonda#im back#just a little something to ease into things#mostly dialogue
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Xhosa translations
I remember mentioning helping with those, so this is me trying. It's so hard reading these amazing stories and then in the middle of the journey being accidentally sworn at. Sometimes translation engines don't do the best job at translating.
So this is me trying to help those who will take the help. I'll write down the most common mistranslations I stumble upon ever so often.
Because most if not all the times some words in Xhosa do not exist in English and visa versa, or there's no translation that would make sense I'm offering some alternatives.
English to Xhosa translation of words, phrases
Greetings - Molo (singular) Molweni (plural)
How are you - Unjani (singular) Ninjani (plural)
My - yami, wami
Baby - Bhabha, Sthandwa
A baby - Usana
My love - Sthandwa sami, Bambo'lwami
Wife - Mfazi
Bride - Umtshakazi (singular) and abatshakazi (plural )
Husband - Myeni
King - Kumkani
Queen - Kumkanikazi
Prince - Nkosana
Princess - Nkosazana
General - Jikelele
Are you okay? - Uphilile?.
What's wrong? - Yintoni/Intoni ingxakhi
You're a lair - Uli menemene.
You're lying - Uyaxoka
How - Njani
Now - Ngoku
Your majesty - Ngangamsha
My girl - Ntomb'am
Girl - intombi, intombazana (singular) Izintombi, amantombazana (plural)
Boy - ikhwenkwe (singular) amakhwenkwe (plural)
Mother - Mama
Father - Baba, Tata
Aunt - Makazi
Uncle - Malume
Sister - sisi, dade
Brother - Mkhuluwe
Grandmother - Makhulu
Grandfather - utata'mkhulu
Roses - iirozi
You're beautiful - Awusemhle
Yes - Ewe
No - Hhayi
My person - Mtuwam
Your beauty renders me speechless - Ubuhle bakho bundigqiba amazwi
-
This will be all for now. I can't think of any more, these were just the basics and ones I see in most stories. Feel free to add phrases or sentences for me to translate for you. Reblog and share if you found this helpful. Thanks. Bye!
#black panther 2#wakanda forever#shuri black panther#riri williams x reader#shuri x reader#okoye x reader#nakia x reader#queen ramonda x reader#ayo x reader#ayo x aneka#black writers#iinkonde
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For the Queen Ramonda thing, maybe baby fever hcs? Need an heir and allat.
Ok so for Queen Ramonda I don't think that current her would be interested in having any more children because well obviously she's had her little rascals and they've given her plenty of grey hairs to last a lifetime but for the sake of this hc we'll age her down a lil so lets say this is pre Tchalla and Shuri's birth. (And T'Chaka is like nonexistent shhhhh)
Pairing: G!N reader x Queen Ramonda
You and Ramonda had been happily married for a little over a year. Ever since the wedding the Elders had been adamant that the two of you found a way to produce an heir.
Every time they had asked she would remind you that there was no pressure and if you didn't want to at the moment it was okay but deep down she knew she had wanted children for a while.
Her baby fever had started long ago and grew every time she saw how gently her s/o interacted with kids.
One time you two were strolling through the marketplace hand in hand, a few Dora following behind for protection, and somewhere along the way, you noticed a child standing in the middle of the market lost and obviously in distress.
Your parental instincts immediately kicked in and you picked up the crying child rubbing his back till he calmed down enough to tell you his name. You carried him through the market trying to find his parents, along the way cracking a few jokes and telling stories of you being lost to keep him calm and in good spirits.
By the time you had to hand him over to his parents, he didn't want to leave and started to whine a little. You had assured him that this was not the last time he would see you, and if his parents allowed visiting him was always an option, laughing a little as he enthusiastically waved goodbye to his newfound friend.
Another time Ramonda was looking for her love after a long day of counsel meetings. Everyone she asked about your whereabouts would all say the same thing they had seen you leave for the garden after lunch but other than that you were gone for the remainder of the day.
She briskly made her way to the garden worried that something had happened to you but when she arrived all she heard was laughter.
There her s/o was playing tag with the little children a smile on all of your faces and without realizing it, she started to smile too. You didn't know she was there so when you were tagged you put on all the theatrics playing like you were dying, dropping to your knees basically the full 9 yards. The children had all found it funny jumping all over you giggling.
When you all calmed down from the laughing fit you finally noticed her standing there with a rather amused expression.
"My love" you started standing up and dusting off your clothes. "So this is where you've been hiding hm" The Queen tried to sound annoyed but the smile on her face told you she wasn't. "Ah, I wouldn't use the word hiding," you said while waving goodbye to your little friends much to their dismay.
On the way back to the palace you told her about how you were trying to go for a stroll in the garden but the children had stopped you and wanted to play you hadn't had the heart to tell them no and it was so much fun that time flew by without you noticing.
She wasn't mad the whole time you were trying to explain yourself, she was just thinking what if that had been your children that you were playing outside with?
That's how she knew she for sure contracted baby fever and it was bad, maybe one day she would find a way to bring up that conversation.
(hint hint wink wink)
Anyways I hope you liked it I tried keep in mind im not really a writer so if it's cheeks its cheeks this writing shi lowkey hard so yea
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Queen Romanda Enemies to Lovers sneak peek
You hated attending these pointless and stuffy meetings. They were boring from beginning to end, and nothing was ever accomplished. All the other countries sat around the room, bickering back and forth on multiple issues, and toyed around with the idea of a treaty here or a treaty there. In the end, though, everyone left empty-handed sulking because they believed it would be easy to manipulate the others into giving them what they wanted without sacrificing anything on their part.
You rested your chin in the palm of your hand, exhaling an exasperated breath. Looking more and more absent-minded by the second. Your two adopted kids and self-appointed guards for this particular event stood on either side of you. Swords strapped across their backs, and they shared your demeanor.
Ten more minutes went by, and just when you thought that boredom would be the death of you. The double doors to the meeting room opened, and six men dressed in fancy all black suits with masks covering the bottom half of their face. They split in two groups of three flanking either side of the room. All dropped to their knees, arms crossed, forming an X to show respect to the next person.
Queen Ramonda.
The Queen of Wakanda and if anybody asked you your long lost love. This very meeting was all about her and her country's supply of vibranium. It was the only reason you even bothered to show your face here. It'd been years since you laid eyes on the woman, and despite everything she's lost since then. She radiated beauty and power in a way no else could. The woman aged like a fine wine, and you swore she grew more gorgeous every single day.
You let out a hum, taking her in as she waltzed into the room, coming to a halt right in the center. The Dora Milaje is right at her heels in simple yet elegant black dresses.
It's crazy to think about how much has changed and happened since the first day. The two met each other back, and then you believed. It was only a matter of time before you called her yours, but now you knew better to heed your best friend's warning.
"The two of you are meant to be, but the path might not be easy nor swift."
#queen ramonda x reader#queen ramonda imagine#queen romanda#marvel imagine#mcu imagine#black panther imagine
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King
queen! Ramonda x king! reader
“Your Highness-”
“King. Do not be afraid to say it.”
Warnings: ANGST, explicit language, implied homophobia, mentions of misogyny and sexism, character death, gore, mentions of blood, violence, etc, ends in fluff
Word Count: 8.5k+
Tags:
@percsanej @k3nn3dyxo @doms-fav @sweetalittleselfish-honeyy @g4yforu @widowmakker @becauseimswagman11 @zayswriting @inmyheadimobsessed @malltake12 @msudaku @faeriah-thvv @mbakuetshurisprincess @honey-teaaaaaaaaa @pinkcorns @takeyakii @yamsthoughtss @thethickersidee @shurisbathwaterr @shurismainbxtch @justariellovee @blackgirlfariyy @chocoflagcutiii @taiiunknownn @zhanylai @ziayamikaelson @beautybyfire @pinkwrightt @jenlouvre @letitiasleftfoot @6-noir @kya-rosee @saintwrld @ilikegecos @shurismainbxtch @motheroffae @marsolgy @verachiii @shuriszn @playgurlxoxo @ashleighshaw @te-23 @iminlovewithdomandtish @limbozqueen @letitiamyevangeline @youralphawolf72 @biganimeweeb246 @vampzxi
Requested by: @mysteryofthe90s
A/N: Takes place in an AU where Ramonda marries reader instead of T'Chaka. Reader is of a royal bloodline and Wakanda is far less progressive than we see in our movies.
The request was literally just "reader gets kidnapped and Ramonda goes to any lengths to get her back", but of course I had to take that and run with it, but yall, I'm sooo freaking proud of this one and of the work I've been putting out recently. I hope you guys enjoy!
No greater love story exists than that of Wakanda’s rulers.
King and Queen.
Bound together since childhood, she didn’t make a move without your hand intertwined with hers.
She had a calculating young mind, moving about life like a chess piece in a game she was never to lose.
Truly, Wakanda had no greater ruler than your queen. All the kingdom’s operations, all its policies were in her hands. Behind the scenes, nothing moved unless she did, not even you.
Her bronze eyes fluttered back and forth with apparent boredom. What others thought was her simply blending into the background, you recognized as profound observation. She stood, soaking in the fast-paced words of the elders far quicker than you could have imagined.
Game plans came to play right before her with everything they tried to throw at you.
This meeting was truly pointless, and it only called for you, but today was special, and you weren’t about to leave her out of any of the day’s events.
The elders were strategic. One fuck up on your behalf, that’s all it would take for the unforgiving geriatrics.
“What do you foresee you are to do if the country is unsatisfied with a female as their sole protector?”
She saw the way your brows furrowed at the question. The corners of your mouth barely moved south, just a millimeter or two. You were growing frustrated with the hypotheticals. They’d been throwing them at you for over an hour now and it was taking the patience of a God to keep you respectful.
You hadn’t ingested the heart-shaped herb yet, and you were sure telepathy wasn’t a power it would bestow on you, though you would see no use for it. King and Queen have been together so long, you’d become one- mind, soul, and body.
Your pitch-black irises sparkled with fury, settling on her much softer ones. Her brown beauties extinguished the fire within you, even if only for a moment.
Words didn’t even need to be exchanged. You could hear her voice in your head loud and clear, though her lips remained sealed. “Control.”
Control yourself. Walk with grace. Handle your shit.
The mantra flowed so smoothly through your mind. It was comical, how tired you’d grown of hearing it. She’d been repeating the same words, over and over and over again since you were adolescents. She found no other way to control your temper than that statement, so simple, yet so effective.
“I do not believe my father left his throne for his daughter to be disrespected on, hm?”
Your distinguished voice led the elders to drop theirs to a mumble. What should have been complete silence at their King speaking were whispers instead.
“Should’ve been a son-”
You couldn’t pinpoint who had said it. A disadvantage of not yet having the panther-like hearing.
“And yet, it wasn’t; perks of being an only child. My father was proud to have a daughter, Elder. He brought me up as an heir, so that I may one day take over the mantle, both as king and as Black Panther, so with all due respect, hold your tongue.”
The smile may not have played across her face, but it danced behind her eyes. Your queen was proud; you so often attempted to ignore her when she vocalized what you did not want to hear, but clearly, you’d been listening. You spoke in such a way, the older aged Wakandans winced as though they’d been burned.
“Your majesty, tradition states that you were to marry and-”
You did marry. She was right there in the room with you with the title of ‘Queen’ having been bestowed upon her for quite some time now.
“I did marry.”
And that was her cue.
With her head held high, the queen made her way across the board, past the onlooking pawns, through the bishops and rooks, not a knight in sight, straight to her place beside her King.
What a handsome couple the two of you were. Her white dress contrasted deeply with your dark suit, creating a beautiful eyesore. Night and day, black and white, a menacing pair.
Though her head was absent of its crown, she stood beside you poised perfectly as though a line of string ran from her spine to the ceiling, holding it in the straightest of lines.
“We mean no disrespect to the queen, however-”
They always mean disrespect, regardless of what they said.
��Then I suggest you quit talking before I get disrespectful.” These closed-minded seniors could get your blood boiling like no other. Your voice wavered with anger, though your Queen’s steady words rang in your ears. “Control, my King.”
A deep breath was all it took for you to continue. “Our country is far more advanced than the small-minded council that attempts to run it. They reacted with enthusiasm when I took the throne after my father’s passing. They welcomed my Queen with open arms. I do not foresee them having a problem with my taking of the Black Panther mantle, just as my father did before me, and his father before him.”
Her hand rested on your shoulder before you could continue. To outside eyes, it was an empty gesture; to you, a hidden “well done.”
“Your Highness-”
“King. Do not be afraid to say it.”
Their hesitation proved that they were indeed, afraid to say it. The council continued to speak, your title not daring to utter from their lips.
“What are you to do if they are not as welcoming to a female protector as they were to a woman King?”
All heads swiveled when it was not you to answer, but instead your Queen. “Do you see any reason why they would have a problem with it?”
What a funny sight, the view before you. Five ancient leaders, all mouths gaping like fish out of water.
“Ramonda, the question was directed to the throne holder-”
Rage fueled you to your feet. “You dare speak her name, yet refuse to utter mine?”
Their cowardly forms sat silenced. Ramonda stood behind you, unfazed by your outburst, still standing straight and proud.
“We are through here. Meeting adjourned.”
Hands intertwined as they always were, you and your Queen made for the door. You were through with this damn council, with these damn elders. How your father put up with it for so long, you had no idea. No wonder he’d rather the ancestors than this-
“Your Majesty, uh, King-” The word was spit from their lips like it hurt. “What are you to do if someone were to challenge you for the title?”
Truth be told, this question sounded more like a threat than a hypothetical. Your steps froze in place, your Queen standing just before you. “I shall fight for my title, council.”
They could hear your footsteps retreating from the room with an echo that could surely be heard across the country.
The giggle she let escape as soon as the throne room doors were closed was far too loud. The queen’s lips were pinned to your cheeks, pecking at your nose, your lips, your forehead.
It broke your hardened exterior, planting a too-wide grin across your cheeks. “Did I handle my shit, my love?”
“Yes, ukumkani wam (my King), you handled your shit.”
The waters rushing your feet were a good distraction from the loud chanting that came from the crowd of onlookers surrounding you.
She stood at the front of it, baring a corset far too tight and a face of armor, both of which she’d expressed her hatred for.
“Will this be long, sithandwa sam? This corset is very uncomfortable, and I’d like to get it off-”
“So long as nobody has the sense to challenge me, my love, this won’t be long, no. Then I can peel that corset off of you myself.”
You hadn't needed to see her cheeks redden to know your words caused her to blush. Even now, though she stood quite a bit away, you knew they burned with the wideness of her smile.
The rocks beneath you were slick and admittedly hard to walk on. You truly prayed that this would be an unnecessary occasion, one that would go by uneventfully.
The chanting ceases, producing an eerie silence. Zuri’s voice was booming, his royal purple robes being soaked at the hem due to the rushing waters. You stood, tall and ready, spear in one hand, shield in the other, with lightweight clothing adorning your figure.
“Victory, in ritual combat, comes by yield, or death! If any tribe wishes to put forth a warrior, I now offer a path to the throne.”
“Yuh!” It was loud and resounding, coming from your furthest left. The members of the tribe ingested the call and threw it back into the crowd. “The Merchant Tribe will not challenge today.”
“Haye! The Border Tribe will not challenge today.”
“Ibombe! The River Tribe will not challenge today!”
Three tribes refused to challenge. Perhaps this would be easy after all.
“Aye! The Mining Tribe will not challenge today!”
Four down- one to go.
“Mayafa!” His tribe doesn’t take the liberty of repeating him as the other tribes did. A silence passes over all Wakandans present. Your Queen is doing what she does best- observing.
You can feel the uneasiness present in her bones as your eyes never leave the Jabari warrior.
“Zakar, what are you doing?” Zuri’s usually thunderous voice is brought down to a whisper. He can’t hide the shock that rings in his words.
“It is Challenge Day; and I, Zakar of the Jabari Tribe, wish to challenge for the throne.”
Gasps and murmurs sprinkle across the crowd. Between your pulled-together brows are anger and surprise as well. Even your calculating Queen seems thrown off.
Zakar was nothing more than a muscle man with an ape-like brain to match his ape-like proportions.
If it was a challenge he wanted, a challenge he would get.
All eyes were on you as you stepped toward the brute. Shoulders squared and chest out, you stood as your father taught you to. “I accept.”
“My King-”
Bast-bless Zuri. His worry for you was not very well hidden beneath his aging features. He’d surely watched your father through his own Challenge Day, standing amongst him as a friend more than a mentor and it would be your will that he stand beside your own son or daughter for theirs as well.
“It is okay, Zuri.” His hands squeezed yours with a passing gesture as you stepped toward your newfound enemy.
Nose-to-nose and eye-to-eye; Zakar showed no signs of intimidation. His breath was hot, his nostrils flared, and a disgusting grin plastered across his face. “Well, Princess?”
“King,” you corrected. “I am your King. And I accept.”
Ramonda’s breath caught in her throat.
His facial armor was replaced and a weapon identical to yours was thrown into his hands.
Your eyes wandered to his primate-like shape. He and you would have surely trained in different weight classes. His reach was much larger than yours and it would take quite a few hits to get him down. You didn’t want to have to impale him to get him to yield.
You were sure, though, that he would not show you the same mercy. That spear of his weapon would pierce your flesh with no mercy and you’d be damned if you were to die in front of your Queen in such a brutal way.
Someone grabbed her hand, but she wasn’t sure who. Everything around her went blurry, fading into a mess of colors. Ramonda’s only focus was you.
How dare you accept such a challenge? The two of you hadn’t spoken of you fighting today and for you to just go and accept it- You were going to die. Zakar wouldn’t hold back; the larger man’s strength was what yours wished to be. He was going to kill you, for sure.
How dare you take the chance to drop dead in front of your Queen?
The Dora Milaje and Jabari Warriors barely had time to take their stances before the blunt end of Zakar’s spear came swinging toward you.
The ugliest sound echoed through the waterfall as your shield just barely saved your fate. His quick actions confirmed what you already knew- He would not be playing fair.
Ramonda could feel every muscle in her body tense. She so badly wanted to jump in, to help you, save you, fight with you. You more often than not trained together; she was just as skilled as you were.
And had it not been for the strange hand squeezing hers, she probably would have.
Every swing, every jab, she followed. She waited, breathing ceased, for you to take the upper hand. His spear swung hard to your left, so you dodged right. He came at you with his shield, so you retreated. You couldn’t even pick up your own weapon, too busy escaping his.
The edge of the waterfall grew closer and closer. The rocks beneath you held no grip and exhaustion filled your lungs.
Zakar’s patience was dwindling. “Stop running, Princess.”
Princess. That’s all you would be to them. A princess beneath her father, the true king. A princess who was handed the title and did not earn it. You were still that little girl adorned with bows and lace, and not Wakanda’s king who would bear the crown proudly.
The elders saw it, Zakar and the Jabari saw it, hell you wondered if your people saw it as well. You didn’t have time to meet your Queen’s gaze, though you could feel it stuck on you. She was watching; she was always watching.
Ramonda was watching, counting on you, rooting for you. She saw you as Princess and now she sees you as King.
The flesh on your arm burned as Zakar’s spear sliced it open. The ivory color of your bone peeked through. It was the arm that gripped your weapon and it nearly buckled out of your hand. The breath was knocked straight out of your lungs when he followed up with a fist to your gut. Your scream pierced the air, fueling Ramonda’s body forward as yours fell to its knees. Several hands attached to several invisible bodies held her back, though they could not hold her tongue. “Sithandwa sam! Sithandwa sam-”
“I will give you a moment before I finish you, princess. Address your wife.”
Your eyes fluttered upward, vision blurry and hazed as it rested upon your Queen. “M-Mondie-”
Her loose curls bounced to and fro. No nicknames, no affection. Maybe later, but not now.
“Zilawule, sithandwa sam!”
Control yourself, my love.
Your gaze bore into her distressed features. Your lids were heavy and your arm hurt like hell, as did your ribs.
“Hamba ngobabalo!”
Walk with grace.
Your head fell, eyes filling with tears that fell into the waters beneath you.
“Ndijonge (Look at me) Y/n!”
“Ndijonge, sithandwa sam,” she begged, much softer.
Your gaze was drawn away from the rushing waters and back onto your wife.
“Phatha ikaka yakho.”
Handle your shit.
“I am your Queen, my love! That is an order.”
Every damn thing hurt when your injured arm moved to pierce the rocks under you. Your legs were shaky, barely able to hold your weight.
Zakar’s chuckle was booming. “You attempt to get up, girl? Fine, then. I’ll just knock you right back down.”
“Remind me to have you banished for the way you speak to your King, Zakar.”
“Banishment will not be possible when you are with the ancestors. Just ask your father-”
Had he said it loud enough for everyone to hear, they’d surely react the same way you had.
The roar that came from you was ugly, followed by the crumbling sound of Zakar’s mask as your spear came in contact with it. Your backhand swing had been too quick for him to foresee and the clay mask shielding his face broke into many pieces as it fell into the water.
The headache that would plague him tonight would be one from hell. Your foot came in contact with his chest, barely knocking him back with the first kick, but succeeding on the second one. Thank Bast for the slippery rocks that you stood on; there was no way you’d have been able to get him down otherwise.
His large body hit the ground hard and you could see the anger flickering behind his eyes. The blunt end of your spear almost broke with the force you used to shove it into his shoulder. You were prepared to pop the bone right out of its joint.
“Yield, Zakar.”
He stayed silent, stare never leaving you. Your weapon dug further into his aching body.
“Yield. I can not let you up unless you do, because I am certain you will not let me live, and if that is the case-”
Your spear flips, drawing the sharp end into his flesh instead. “If that is the case, Zakar, then I can not let you live.”
It feels as though the entire kingdom of Wakanda is holding its breath. Slowly, the sharp weapon sunk further and further, disappearing within his tissue. His face was contorted with pain, teeth-baring a grimace. “Yield, Zakar, before you bleed out!”
His eyes were animalistic, his voice low enough so only you could hear. “Is that not what you want?”
Zakar gave you no chance to answer. “I yield.”
In unison, everyone in the crowd breathed a sigh of relief. You felt a weight lift from your shoulders and nodded a ‘thank you’ to the warrior on the ground. “Take a deep breath.”
He did and in that same breath, remained silent as you pulled the spear from his shoulder. Zuri rushed over as the Jabari tribe picked their leader up from the ground.
The pendant that your father wore on his challenge day, and his father before him was heavy, adorned with panther teeth as it hung around your neck. Your right hand was lifted into the air, fist up as Zuri’s deep voice declared “Y/N Y/L/N, King of Wakanda, and the Black Panther!”
Louder than any other screams and cheers was Ramonda, leading the chant, fist-pumping into the air.
The chambers that held the heart-shaped herb were way too hot and way too dark. You wanted nothing more than to be in the presence of your Queen, your Mondie, promising that she’d be awaiting your return from the ancestral planes.
You couldn’t ignore the impending feeling of doom as you lay down, arms crossed over your chest in a salute. The herbal drink had been prepared and it was your move as to what happened next. Zuri stood above you, placing the bowl to your lips as he spoke.
“Allow the heart-shaped herb to bestow the powers of The Black Panther and take you to the ancestral plane.” The drink was bitter and burned like liquor as you swallowed. Convulsions wrecked your body as your system digested it.
“Azzuri, we call on you. Come here, to your daughter.”
The sand. That was the part you dreaded the most. It began to cover your body and you inhaled deep, thankful to breathe while you still could. Everything became muffled when the first grains hit your face.
“Praise the ancestors,” Zuri’s voice was barely above a whisper.
Everything was dark.
The gasp that came from you was desperate, as though you’d been drowning. Dirt surrounded you, and you willed your eyes to adjust to the low light.
The garden you sat in was familiar. You hadn’t been in it in quite a while, but you’d never forgotten its layout. You stood, allowing the white garment you were clothed in to flow around you.
It was instinctual, the way your feet led you to a bench in the far corner, concealed with desert roses and blue lilies. It wasn’t a surprise to see your usual place already occupied.
The gentleman wasn’t as old as he should have been to leave this life. He was dressed in white clothes of his own with a gentle smile greeting you as you approached.
“Baba-” You sat next to him, in disbelief that you could see him again, so alive, though he wasn’t.
“Uyenzile (You did it), intombazana yakho (my daughter).”
Your smile was bright, though your eyes were dull with the tears that threatened to spill. “I did it, Baba.”
“You are King.”
“I am King.” It hurt to get the words out. It was the only time you’d said it and truly fucking meant it.
His shoulder pushed into yours, joy prevalent in his features. “Who did you have to fight, hmm? Who dared challenge the daughter of Azzuri?”
“Nobody at first. Then the Jabari made their entrance-”
Just as quickly as it came, his smile was gone. “The Jabari? Zakar?”
Your head bobbed. “Zakar.”
“Are you- were you hurt?”
You couldn’t look at him and tell him you’d gotten injured. You attempted to pivot the conversation instead. “I did it, baba.”
He wasn’t swayed. Your father was too smart a man. “Be careful, y/n/n.”
“Be careful? Of what? I won. I am King, I am The Black Panther; he can not challenge me again.”
His head hung, shaking slowly. “Tradition says he can not challenge you again.”
“As it says, then it shall be!”
“Ukususela nini, intomba (Since when, daughter)?”
Your silence failed to satisfy him.
“Tradition says that when your mother and I had you, we were to conceive again, for a son, an heir.”
You didn’t want to hear him.
“Tradition says that when I died, you were to marry a man, and he was to be king.”
You didn’t want to listen.
“Tradition says that he- your husband- was to be the Black Panther.”
He knelt in front of you, grasping your hands in his own and squeezing tight. His hold on you caught you both off guard; neither of you could have fathomed a second chance at a moment like this.
“You have broken tradition since you came out of the womb, y/n, my girl. And I am so proud of you for it. Wakanda needed to progress, and you-” His hand released yours, gently holding your cheek instead. “You are exactly what this country needs.”
Tears fall down your cheeks at your father’s hold. You embraced it, knowing that after this, you’d never feel it again. “Am I truly meant to be King, baba?”
“Have I not raised you so?”
Your bottom lip curled back into your mouth and your head nodded ever so slightly. “But heed my warning, my girl. Zakar will not take lightly being bested in front of the country, especially not by a woman. Especially not by my daughter.”
Your brows pulled together into a focused furrow. “I’ll be careful.”
His lips press to your forehead gently. “I know you will do wonderful things. You were born to do wonderful things.”
He stood and began to retreat. You panicked when his hand left yours, not ready to say goodbye again. “W-wait, Baba. Don’t go-”
“Eh? Y/n, what have I taught you?”
“Y-you said you’d never leave me, but-”
“And have I?”
Your hands outstretched to beckon the unfamiliar world around you. “What would you call this, Baba?”
His steps grew closer to you and his fingers lightly pierced your chest. “I have not left you. I am here.” His hands moved to your temple. “And here.” They moved once more to cup your face. “And here. You look just like me, you know.”
“Now go. Rule your kingdom.”
“Baba,” You hated the way your voice sounded, so whiny and helpless. “Ndiyakuthandana (I love you).”
He was fading away fast and you could feel yourself being pulled back to reality. His words were so faint, you thought you’d imagined hearing it. “Ndiyakuthandana, my girl.”
Zuri’s face was filled with worry when you shot up from beneath the sand, gasping in the dusty air that surrounded you. “Are you alright?”
You accepted the hand he was offering you, using it to stand. “Never bury me alive again.”
Night fall crept on the Wakandan horizon and Ramonda’s usually still mind was flooding with unease. The hem of her skirt swept the palace floors as she wandered aimlessly.
It was such a large space for just the two of you and without you there, it was so quiet. Dora stood at every outbound door and while they shared her polite smiles, they didn’t speak.
It had been hours since Zuri swept you away for the ancestral planes and while Ramonda was uncertain how long the private ceremony would take, something didn’t feel right about the seven hours you’d been gone.
She was an hour into her mindless stroll down the same halls of the royal residence before it was abruptly interrupted.
“My Queen, are you alright?”
Had they not spoken, Ramonda would have run them over. She blinked slowly, taking in the figure before her. She hated to admit she recognized neither the face nor the voice, yet she did recognize the armor; red and gold with beautiful neckplates and shoulder pads to match.
“General- I apologize, I didn’t see you there-” Her words are steady through the nerves that shake her being.
“It’s alright. Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Are you alright, your Majesty?”
Hesitation almost silenced the Queen. How would it appear that she be so disheveled and muddled?
But she needed help. There were many royal customs that were foreign to her and she had no way to navigate them.
“General, has my wife returned from the ancestral planes yet?”
The worry Ramonda tried so hard to shove down resurfaced when the General’s face contorted to a look of confusion. “She left the planes hours ago. She was making her way back toward the palace last I saw of her.”
Ramonda’s legs almost gave out underneath her, but the composure she held was truly that of a Queen. “S-she left-”
“Has she not returned, your Majesty?”
Ramonda’s head just swayed back and forth.
The General was quick to turn on her heel with a brisk walk that the Queen struggled to keep up with.
“Qokelela (Gather)!”
A sea of red poured into the halls, all heading toward the throne room. Dora Milaje, all with their spears drawn and their steps nimble. They were surprised to see the white crown among the swarm of bobbing bald heads.
The throne room scarcely seemed large enough for the bodies that rapidly filled it. In the forefront stood the General and their Queen, heads held high through the dread that sank to the pit of their stomachs like cement.
The Dora General was silent, awaiting Ramond’s orders. All eyes were on her and it was a feeling she was unsure she’d ever get used to.
A deep breath steadied the rapid drumming of her heartbeat. Control yourself.
“General, around what time did you see my wife returning home?”
“1300 hours, your Majesty.”
“It’s going on 2200 hours now, ladies. I’m hoping this is just an overreaction, but really, I’m not sure. Go to the grounds, the tribes, the herbal garden, search even the castle. Bring my King home, please.” Walk with grace.
With a harsh tap of their spears on the stone floor, the room empties just as quickly as it filled. Only the General and the Queen remain and Ramonda feels the deep breath she was holding finally release.
“Your Majesty-”
Many coily curls frame the young royal’s face and they bounce when her head shaked to and fro. “I will have to grow used to being called that as well, hm?”
“I believe so.”
“You won’t just call me Ramonda if I asked you to, will you?”
The smile that plays on the General’s face is sympathetic and she can see the idea form in the Queen’s mind before she even says it.
“General, I am just Ramonda. Call me Ramonda.”
Pearly white teeth shine behind her dark smile. “Queen Ramonda, I am Esi. Call me Esi.”
“Esi, are you the first friend I have made here?”
“If so, then I am honored to be.” With a bow of her head, she begins to walk off, but not before Ramonda calls her back.
“Esi, bring me Zuri, please. And keep me updated. Once I have finished speaking with him, I will be joining you and your army in the search.”
“We’ve got the search covered-”
“I have no doubt that you do. However, I will be joining you regardless. I’m bringing my wife home.”
Zuri hadn’t expected to be awoken in the dead of the night, nor was he expecting the Queen of Wakanda to be awaiting his arrival.
“Your Majesty,” both of her hands fit in his like a glove and his tight squeeze is full of compassion. “What is the matter?”
Ramonda doesn't appear to be a spouse in distress. Every feeling of fear, or doubt or dread was unreadable on her features. “Zuri, my friend. Where is my wife?”
“Y/n? Is she not here?”
“She is not. She never returned from the herbal gardens-”
The older gentleman’s head shakes in disbelief. “She did. She had to have returned; where else could she be?”
“That is what I am trying to find out.”
A beat of silence passes between the two, unspoken thoughts swarming their minds.
“Zuri-” The Queen hesitates, knowing that what she is about to ask is such a personal question. “Do you know who she saw? When she went to the ancestral planes?”
His nod is slow and sad. He can never hide how much he misses his old friend and Ramonda knows the answer before he even speaks it. “Baba?”
“Azzuri, yes.”
“Was it- Did she say anything about it? Did anything happen that would cause her to run away for any reason?”
“Not that she mentioned. You know how that girl was with her father; I can not foresee it having been a bad encounter.”
Ramonda is silent. It was a stretch that you would have willingly not return to her, but your genius Queen had to dot all her I’s and cross all her T’s.
“She did repeat something he told her-”
Ramonda was all ears, focused in on every word Zuri spoke. “What did she say?”
“He told her to watch her back. That Zakar wouldn’t take too lightly to having been defeated by her.”
An insincere chuckle left Ramonda’s lips. It was an ugly sound as anger flooded her body. The corner of her lips curled into a grisly pucker and Zuri scanned her face, interpreting her reaction.
“You suspected Zakar, didn’t you?”
“I did, however, as Queen, I can not go throwing around false accusations.”
“Is it a false accusation if you know it to be true?”
A sad smile looks so out of place on Ramonda’s mouth.
“Zuri, you know how this works even better than I. I have no proof to accuse Zakar and I can not start a civil war with the Jabari that she will have to clean up when she returns.”
“If she stays in the hands of Zakar, that when will become an if.”
The cloak covering the Queen’s shoulders floats to the floor with a slight shrug. The crown atop her head is removed and underneath, her bountiful curls are braided tightly against her scalp. She’s stood aside long enough, talked long enough. Thoughts of bringing you home were all that played through her mind and the mountainside home of the Jabari tribe was her destination.
“I will not let that when become an if, old friend.”
Handle your shit.
She’d never stepped foot in the land of the Jabari before and was illprepared for the snow that coated the ground and the below zero temperatures. She realized it foolish to have come alone, and had she been in her right headspace, she would have realized it sooner.
Eyes of the Jabari watched her from every direction and the entrance to a cave drew closer and closer. It was guarded well, by bulky men whose faces were concealed by gorilla masks. The opening of the cavern was blocked off as she approached.
“I need to see Zakar.” Though her body shivered from the cold temperatures, her voice remained steady and firm. The men didn’t budge.
“Zakar is not taking any visitors. He is healing.”
Had smoke been able to come out of her ears in a cartoonish fashion, Ramonda was sure it would have. Her composure did not sway, nor did her expression change. “I need to see Zakar.”
One of the men bent to the Queen’s height, meeting her eye-to-eye. Her knees didn’t buckle and her gaze didn’t dare look away. “What did I just tell you?”
Ramonda’s set to respond, hell, she’s set to exile the whole damn tribe. A faceless voice breaks the tension between the two; the voice she’s there to see.
“Let her in.”
It would have been a childish thing had she stuck her tongue out at the bruly warrior as he stepped aside to let her in, so she refrained. Instead, she walked through the wall of broad men, straight to the wide throne that held their awful leader.
His thick brows were deep set on his eyes, weighing heavy on his face and his left arm and midsection sported a collection of white bandages.
He didn’t look thrilled to see her and she mirrored the feeling. “My Queen,”
How disgusting it sounded coming from his mouth. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Your calculating Queen stood silent for a moment, scanning the room around her. It was cold, so fucking cold, with icy stares to match. Every corner held a warrior, equipt with armor and weapons. She couldn’t help but wonder if that was the norm or if it was only due to her company.
“Zakar-” She hated how his name tasted, rolling across her tongue. “I think thanks are in order.”
“For what?”
“For giving us quite the eventful day. My wife couldn’t just take the throne that was rightfully hers and go about her way, hm? You had to step in and give us a challenge.”
“You are thanking me for getting my ass beat in front of the entire kingdom? And by a princess?”
Ramonda’s jaw was hardset and it took every ounce of control within her body to respond respectfully. “King. Your King.”
When Zakar stood, Ramonda couldn’t help the slight intimidation she felt at the way he towered over her. Her body took a step back without her permission and she cursed herself for it.
“My king would have balls, your majesty-”
“It is common to want in a leader what we cannot have ourselves-”
Zakar laughed at her rebuttal and it angered the Queen. He continued as though she hadn’t even spoken. “You see me as the villain in your little happily ever after, but that is not the case. It is the other way around, honestly. You and your wife come in and shake up tradition, age old tradition. Excuse me for trying to put things back the way they should be.”
“Who is to say that is the right way and my way is wrong?”
Hmm, Zakar’s deep voice rumbles the entire cave. “Why have you come here, your Majesty?”
“I have reason to believe you have something that belongs to me.”
“Are you accusing me of thievery?” At his words, the Jabari soldiers in the room draw their weapons across their chests, armed and ready.
Your wife is quiet, choosing her next words carefully. Before she can get them off her tongue, Zakar speaks once more. “Let’s say I do have something of yours; I suggest you act tactically. You want this thing back in the same condition that I received it, do you not?”
That’s all she needed. That was enough proof, hell, it was a whole fucking confession.
Ramonda stepped toward the gorilla-like man, not caring of the weapons that were pointed at her.
“Unlike my wife, Zakar, I will not hesitate to kill you.”
Her words were so low, the brutish man barely even caught them. His eyes were dark and angry when the Queen pulled away and began to retreat further into the snow, toward the cave entrance once more.
“Leaving so soon, your Majesty?”
Ramonda’s middle finger was pointed to the sky, directed straight to the Jabari leader as her back stayed turned to him.
“Ramonda!”
The sound of her name bouncing off the stone palace walls caught her off guard. She hadn’t heard it be called in such a way since childhood.
Her entire body swiveled to see Esi running straight toward her, anger dancing across her features.
“You’ve finally referred to me by my name-”
“You went to the Jabari tribe, alone?”
Ramonda winced at the General’s tone of voice. Her scolding was loud enough for outside listeners to pick up. “I did-”
“What were you thinking? They could have killed you-”
“They have her, Esi.”
Esi’s sigh was annoyed, her eye roll expectant. “Yes, your Majesty, we know that.”
The Queen didn’t have time to focus on the formal terms she and the General seemed to be back on. “You know?”
“We know. We have dozens of Dora surrounding their borders as we speak. We’re trying to find an in without jeapordizing her safety. We still do not know where in the land they are keeping her, though we assume its close to Zakar so that he may keep tabs-”
“Let me take lead on this-”
It would not have been possible for Esi to control the surprise that overtook her at the Queen’s declaration. “Let you what? No! Absolutely not-”
“She’s my wife, Esi-”
“And she is our King-”
“She’s my wife! Damned with your king, she is my wife, and I need her home.”
Ramonda was becoming emotional. The day’s events were catching up with her, as was the reality that you were laying cold somewhere in his midst, hurt or worse.
“Ramonda,” Esi’s voice was soft, her gentle hands grazing the Queen’s forearms. “We are trained for this; willing to die for this. We can not let you-”
“Esi, I hope you can still consider us friends after this.”
“After what-?”
“I am stripping you of your title as General. Step down. That is a direct order-”
“Ramonda-!”
“I am appointing myself General and-”
Tears swam behind Esi’s lids. “Your Majesty-”
Ramonda grabbed Esi’s hands and held them. She needed a deep breath to continue, fighting back tears of her own. “I will reinstate you, my friend. I am sorry, but I-” Her voice broke, and with the grace of a true Queen, she continued. “I must bring my wife home.”
The Dora Milaje stood in salute, awaiting instructions from their new General. Ramonda stood before them, silent with Esi on her right, face set hard with an emotion impossible to read.
“The Jabari have Y/n.” This wasn’t new information to anyone in the room; they didn’t stir. Ramonda continued.
“We’re bringing her home, by any means necessary. We have suspicions she is being kept either in or just outside Zakar’s throne room. It is a cave covered in snow and ice and flooded with Jabari warriors who are just as willing to die for this as we are.”
Her eyes searched through the crowd. Staring back at her were various hues of brown, all armed, all ready.
“We’ve already got the border surrounded; they know we’re coming and what we’re coming for. Get her out, alive.” The stress she put on that last word didn’t do justice for how much she meant it. Alive was the only option.
“Get me as close to Zakar as you can. I do not care if he gets out of this alive or dead; I will distract the ape man while you locate and retrieve the king. Understood?”
“My Queen,” Esi’s voice is quiet and still holds the authority it did before her title was stripped from her. “Aren’t we to get you out alive as well?”
The words were hard to get out, but Ramonda knew she meant them. “Get her out, alive,” she repeated. “If the King has been located and retrieved, then retreat.”
“Your Majesty-”
Ramonda’s clenched teeth were bared, displaying the force it took for her to echo herself. “Retreat.”
Nobody dared question her again and with a quick nod and cross of her arms, the Queen was satisfied. “Masihambe (Let’s go).”
It seemed as though the mountainside had grown colder since Ramonda was last there just hours ago. The Dora Milaje marched in step behind her, Esi at her side. The cave entrance was just before them, and it was blocked off completely. Jabari men and women stood, shutting off the cavern to the outside world and they didn’t budge when Ramonda approached.
Nobody spoke, not a single word uttered. Their curved staff mirrored that of their leaders and they seemed angsty, ready for a good fight.
“Shukuma (Move).” Ramonda’s voice was loud and declarative and still, they stayed.
A voice even louder boomed over the brigade of bodies. “Let the woman through.”
Zakar’s men move at his command, but not before one of them tries to be ballsy. His staff swings for Ramonda’s head, just missing clipping her scalp before his weapon falls to the ground with a clank. The Queen turns just in time to see the spear of a young Dora fly through his thigh.
She can’t hold back her gasp when the large body drops to the ground, crying out in pain. Everyone is frozen, awaiting the move of another. The Jabari warriors let the weight of what just happened sit on their shoulders for a moment before preparing to attack. Another readies his staff to swing, preparing to rip the girl’s head straight off her body, but Zakar’s words keep him in place.
“Yibambe simile (Hold off).”
His men recollect themselves, reestablishing their blockage of entry to the cave.
“Yiza,” His command is directed at Ramonda now, and she continues her trek to his throne.
“Your Majesty, I was trying very hard to be nice. But you align your army at my borders, push your way into my home, and injur one of my men.” He rises from the wooden seat, staff ready in his uninjured hand. “I do not take very kindly to that.”
Ramonda doesn’t speak. Her eyes are on his movements, his actions. He’s slower to move on his injured side, which makes sense. It’s the side you impaled and he hadn’t allowed himself enough time to heal before starting shit with your kingdom.
His right side, however, is much stronger; she has to guess it’s his dominant side. And though he may be damaged on the left, he had a room full of people to make up for his handicap.
Realistically, it’s too many people. She’s unsure if the large army is due to the impending threat looming over everyone present, but it still wouldn’t make sense. They’re all huddled around his throne, not spread about where they could be more useful.
She takes a closer look at the large seat that Zakar refused to leave unattended. It was wide and tall, which wasn’t unusual, because of his size and stature. But why leave a wooden chair guarded?
Your Queen truly was a genius. It didn’t take her long to figure it out and when she did, it took everything she had to remain expressionless.
“I do not take very kindly to kidnapping, Zakar.”
“There you go, making empty accusations again-”
The spear in Ramonda’s hand is itching to take out the gorilla man’s other shoulder. “I am not willing to play mind games with you, indoda embi (ugly man). Is this really something you wish to do? Cut the Jabari off from Wakandan resources and protection? Risk the greatest country in the world turning against you?”
“What good is the greatest country in the world if it is run by imbecils whom are incapable of-”
“What makes me incapable? What makes my wife incapable?”
The brute man is silenced.
“You and the elders of this country are so focused on what we have between our legs, more so than the minds we have. We have shown you no reason to doubt us, and yet you do because we are women? I thought we were supposed to be more progressive as a nation than that.”
Zakar is flustered, unable to find the right words and vocalize them.
“Tradition states-”
“To hell with tradition!”
“That is your problem, your Majesty-”
“Thula (Be quiet), Zakar.”
Silence once again. Zakar is frozen in place as Ramonda takes timid steps toward him and his throne.
“To hell with your misogynistic, sexist, homophobic traditions. This is my kingdom now.”
She gets closer, ignoring the staffs drawn and pointing at her from every direction.
“This is our kingdom now.”
The sharp end of her spear is pointed to the wooden throne. Ramonda has no doubt that the thick wood will give way with a stab or two of her vibranium weapon, but she’s worried. She doesn’t know how far underneath the piece you are and she doesn’t want to risk stabbing you.
It’s a chance she’s going to have to take.
“This is our kingdom now!”
The first hit cracks the wood and debris fly back at her. The Jabari warriors surrounding the piece prepare themselves to swing at the Queen, but their hesitation is their downfall. The Dora outnumber them by hundreds and it only takes a second for their staffs to be pressed against their windpipes, holding them in place and out of Ramonda’s way.
“This is our kingdom now, and we shall make new traditions!”
The second swing of the sharp object shatters the wood and splinters take the air. Zakar wasn’t expecting the throne to breakaway. His thick staff coming in contact with your Queen’s thigh release the gut-wrenching sound of bones crunching.
Just as quick as he was able to get his hands on her, they hit the flood with a disgusting squelch. The bright crimson of his blood shines on the fresh white snow and his scream causes the entire cave to shake on its foundation.
Where his hands once were are gorey blood and flesh. Esi’s spear is covered in the same blood that spurts from his body.
You’re curled up in a hole underneath the space where Zakar’s throne once sat. Ramonda’s heart breaks to see you in the fetal position, unconscious and unresponsive.
Her breath catches in her chest as she watches, waiting for yours to rise and fall. It does, but it’s so slow, that she worries it won’t continue for long.
It’s an agonizing pain, one that travels through her very being, trying to stand on her now broken leg. Her spear is used more as a crutch as she hobbled over to the giant, brought to his knees.
“W-What did you do to her?”
He doesn’t respond.
“Answer me, Zakar!”
Silence.
Esi’s still-bloody spear digs into the side of his neck, just enough to draw a fresh cut. “Unless you want your head to roll with your hands, I suggest you answer your Queen.”
His voice is strained when it finally speaks. “I did nothi-”
“Lies! She is lying here, unconscious! What did you do?” Esi’s anger mirrors Ramonda’s.
She turns back to your body, lying so still and quiet and the hole full of ice that you lay in. Her calculating mind goes to work once more. “Wait, Esi. Zakar, did she take the heart-shaped herb before you took her?”
“Took sounds so harsh-”
Esi’s spear presses deeper, drawing a steady flow of blood, causing the big man to change his words. “Y-yes, she had already taken it.”
“So she already had the powers of the Black Panther?”
“Yes.”
Ramonda nods, a sigh of relief escaping her. “She’s in hibernation.”
“Hibernation? Your Majesty, you’re telling me that if our protector experienced too-cold temperatures, then she’s down for the count?”
“No, Esi, not usually, but she’s been buried in a box full of ice.”
“Is she okay?”
“She will be,” Ramonda’s head points to you, her beloved, still curled into yourself. “Yiza,” she commands.
While your army come and retrieve you from your frozen slumber, Ramonda hops over to a still-kneeling Zakar. She drops until they’re face-to-face, thankful to relieve some of the pain radiating through her leg.
“I should have had them kill you.”
“Then why don’t you?”
Ramonda is hushed. Why doesn’t she? He shattered her leg, took you prisoner-
“I don’t know, to be honest.”
Zakar’s eyes are filled with surprise as he drags them upward to gaze at the Queen sitting before him. He’s even more surprised to see hers full of empathy.
“Come back to the palace with us. We have a lab, filled with doctors who can fix you and your injured men-”
“Why should I accept your help?”
“What other choice do you have?”
The sound of your voice is truly melodious to Ramonda. Her head spins and if her leg weren’t shattered, she would have run right to you.
Your words were shaky as your body tried to regulate its temperatures. Dora surrounded you, wrapping you in the garments of their winter wear and as you stood on unsteady legs, they moved with you, every step.
“You ought to be thankful of my wife, for showing you mercy. Had it been the other way around, I would have let Esi behead you.”
Her snicker could be heard from her place behind the Jabari leader. Ramonda’s eyes were on you and they refused to leave, too afraid you’d leave her presence again.
“If you do not accept her offer to be patched up, you’ll surely bleed out here, will you not?”
He didn’t respond and you bent beside your Queen, lowering yourself to his level.
“Zakar, as beautiful as this red looks, contrasting with the white snow, I believe it best you accept.”
Silence.
“Well, unlucky for you, to have a stubborn King. Aye,” You called out to your army, awaiting their attention. “Mthathe (Take him), and his injured men too. Esi, notify the lab that we’re on our way.”
Ramonda was all too grateful when you scooped her into your arms, bridal style. Her arms fell into place wrapped around your neck and you held her close, tight, too afraid to let her go.
“My Queen,” you greeted softly, rubbing the tip of your nose to hers.
“My love,” the tears she’d been holding back for far too long finally spilled over and her hands moved to cup your face, pulling you close.
“I see you handled your shit, sithandwa.”
Ramonda’s chuckle was full of relief and my god, it was such a beautiful sound to hear.
“Yes, my love. I handled my shit.”
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Y’all I have several fanfic WIPS but I need to establish a rotation of what to work on. Help me choose?
- Lucy Gray Baird x black!femme!reader
- Queen Ramonda x black,femme,mermaid!reader
- Elle Greenaway x black!femme!reader
#elle greenaway x reader#lucy gray baird x reader#queen ramonda x reader#queen ramonda#elle greenaway#lucy gray baird#marvel#writing#fanfic#criminal minds#the hunger games
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(half) anniversary
img source
pairing(s): ramonda x reader, shuri x riri williams (background), shuri & ramonda (familial), shuri & reader (platonic)
summary:
“Oh. Um,” you pause, sounding taken aback. “Our six-month anniversary. Y’know, since we started dating?”
“That’s not an anniversary,” Shuri protests.
“I guess not technically,” you concede, “but to me, it kind of is?”
“That’s the gayest shit I’ve ever heard.”
contains: fluff
(cross-posted on ao3.)
word count: ~1,900
rating: teen
warnings: cursing, fluff, reader being super moony-eyed and in love... i tried to limit the use of ‘y/n’ but there is one (1) instance of it in this
notes: reader is referred to with they/them pronouns, but they aren’t referred to too much in the third person in this... this was a request i got post-ruth e. carter’s oscar win. and—look here; i actually wrote it! miracles DO happen! never give up, kids
— —
Shuri’s holed up in the lab on a Thursday afternoon, puzzling over improvements for Riri’s suit when she gets your call.
Without looking up from her work, she tells Griot to accept it. “What’s good?” she greets.
“Shuri!” your voice, bright with contagious enthusiasm, filters seamlessly through. “How are you?���
“Busy with work, as always. You?”
“A little stressed, but good. Did you eat today?”
Shuri rolls her eyes. “You sound like Riri.”
“Riri cares for you,” you correct with only the gentlest note of reproof in your tone. “I do, too.” A short pause. “Granted, somewhat less than she does—”
A flush threatens to heat her cheeks. “Yes, thank you.” Riri and her are… new, still. Your relentless teasing is less so. (She’ll never admit it to you, but it warms her to the core.) “What do you want?”
“Oh, you’re no fun.”
“I’m plenty fun,” Shuri grumbles, closing out the schematic on her screen in favor of another.
“Uh-huh. Anyway, listen. I called ‘cause I wanted to ask you about something.”
“Mm?”
“Ramonda and I have plans in Wakanda this weekend. It’ll be our six month anniversary!!”
Shuri nearly chokes on air. “What ?”
“Oh. Um,” you pause, sounding taken aback. “Six months since we started dating?”
“That’s not an anniversary,” she protests weakly. She has finally looked up from her work to give her full attention, staring incredulously up at the screen display as though she’ll be able to see you if she looks hard enough.
“I guess not technically,” you concede, “but to me, it kind of is?”
“That’s the gayest shit I’ve ever heard.”
“I want to do something nice for her. I want it to be a surprise,” you prattle on as though you didn’t hear. “So I’ve got a gift and everything, but I need your help.”
Shuri blinks. “Right…”
“I know she’s got her schedule cleared for Friday at least, but could you move some things around to clear up her Saturday, too? Without telling her, that is. I want her to have as relaxing a weekend as possible. She’s earned it!”
Well. Shuri can’t very well argue with that. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“God, you’re the best,” you enthuse. “I owe you one.”
“Nah.” Shuri waves the comment away, feeling a fond grin tug at her lips in spite of herself. “We’re straight.”
A snicker from the other end. “Good one.” Then: “Alright, I’ve gotta run. Don’t work yourself too hard, yeah?”
“No promises.”
“See you this weekend!”
“See you.”
The line disconnects with a gentle noise, leaving Shuri alone in her laboratory, her brain working a hundred miles a minute.
“‘Six-month anniversary’?” she mutters to herself incredulously, then heaves a quiet sigh. “Lesbians.”
— —
Shuri goes straight to her mother’s quarters.
“Mother!” she calls upon entering the royal wing.
“Yes?”
The curtains are open when Shuri arrives, allowing her to stroll right in. Mother sits at her vanity, reading through a document projected onto the mirror in glowing blue script.
Mother has just barely disabled the projection with a tap to the beads encircling her wrist when Shuri announces, “Clear your schedule. And start working on a gift, while you’re at it. It’s your anniversary this weekend.”
Mother turns to look at her, features mild but incredulous. “My what?”
“Your anniversary. With Y/N.”
Mother blinks. “It has not been a year.”
“It’s your six-month anniversary.”
“The whole point of an anniversary is that it happens annually,” Mother articulates slowly, like Shuri’s an imbecile.
Shuri sighs. “This is just what gay people are like, Mother,” she explains dismissively. “They called me just now. They have plans, a gift, the whole deal.”
Silent panic flits across Mother’s face, though she’s quick to smother it—there one moment, gone the next. “Bast,” she murmurs to herself quietly, so quietly that Shuri nearly misses it.
“It’s not too late. We can still make this work,” Shuri assures her, beginning to pace. “Now. I’ve got Griot compiling all activity on their Etsy, Depop, and favorite shopping sites over the past three months. If they’ve so much as looked at anything, we’ll know. Also—” She cuts herself off at Mother’s raised hand.
“Thank you, Shuri, but no thank you,” she defers, an inscrutable look on her face. Shuri hasn’t the faintest clue what she’s thinking. “I will handle it.”
Shuri stops mid-step and turns to give her a look. “What does that mean, you’ll ‘handle it’?”
Mother doesn’t waver. “It means that I will handle it.”
“You are very confident all of a sudden,” Shuri observes, gaze narrowed. “Is it jewelry?”
“Thank you for the offer,” she reiterates firmly, turning back to her vanity and appraising her reflection with renewed (read: feigned) interest. “But I am more than capable on my own.”
As cues to leave go, this one’s not terribly overt, but Shuri gets it. She begins inching towards the door, eyeing the woman up and down all the while. “You are not the best team player, you know?”
Mother slants her a stern look. “It’s my anniversary.”
Shuri smirks. “I thought you said it wasn’t an anniversary.” She’s nearly halfway out the door now, which she thinks is probably for the best. She’s pushed her luck enough for today.
(Or has she? )
“It’s not,” Mother calls back without looking.
Shuri lingers for a moment longer, long enough to say, “If you’re thinking engagement beads, I’d dial it back a notch.”
“Shuri.”
(There. Now she’s done. )
— —
Time seems to flow as molasses, making you feel like a fly encased in amber until Friday. You go through the motions of everyday living, barely present, and heaven help you but it’s not for a lack of wanting to be.
But, well—you can’t help it. You’re so very excited. And nervous. And excited.
But eventually, finally, Friday arrives.
When you clock out from work, Shuri’s waiting at the curb in front of a sleek black car with gold rims. You stop by the kitchens to grab the groceries you’d prepared over the weekend and bid your coworkers adieu before heading out. Bags in hand, you manage a wave, which Shuri returns with a shallow nod even as she continues speaking to someone in her ear. Riri, probably.
It’s a short drive to the warehouse, where you’ll board a Talon Fighter to fly the rest of the way. You know the drill; you’ve done it quite enough over the past 6 months. You’re content to tune out Shuri’s end of her conversation as she speeds down the freeway, wind in your hair and the sun on your face.
— —
When you arrive in Birnin Zana, it’s mid-afternoon.
You’re early. Ramonda will be in meetings for the next couple hours, but that’s all according to plan. You accompany Shuri to her lab to drop your things, chatting mindlessly all the while, before making your way over towards the kitchens.
The plan is clear in your thoughts, the recipes practically burned into your brain. You’ve been practicing for weeks, now—madombi and chicken groundnut stew. Ramonda’s favorite entrée alongside the flavorful stew she’s always professed to love. You’re no slouch at cooking, but you want it to be perfect. Only the best for her.
As you wash and rinse your hands thoroughly in preparation, you hail Griot. “Griot, bud, will you put my playlist on? The cooking one?”
Griot—bless him—obliges.
Falling into the motions is a pleasantly diverting task—browning the chicken, sautéeing the vegetables, kneading the fresh dough. The music is a constant aid, and the scents that permeate the air are immensely comforting in their familiarity. Minutes turn to an hour, then two; you hardly notice. You’re laser-focused on the task at hand, intent on making it all perfect—or as perfect as perfect gets, anyhow.
You don’t notice the clock striking 6:00pm, or the way Griot’s speakers lower their volume to accommodate—
A yelp leaves your throat as sure arms curl ‘round your waist and warmth presses into you from behind.
“S’thandwa,” Ramonda murmurs into your neck, her lips warm where they brush your thrumming pulse point. Gods above. “I’m sorry. Did I scare you?”
Willing your thundering heart rate to slow, you let out a breathy huff and allow yourself to melt in the familiar embrace. “A bit,” you divulge, inhaling deeply to catch her scent—shea butter and lavender incense and her, her, her. “I suppose I lost track of time.”
Ramonda’s arms tighten ever-so-slightly at that, her thumbs stroking the juts of your hipbones in something like apology. “Mm,” she hums. “You’ve been busy.”
Affection blooms in your chest, warm and big and true. “I wanted to do something special.” Your breath catches in your throat as you turn to face her.
She’s divested her isicholo for the evening, leaving springy, short-trimmed strands of platinum-blonde on display. A deep purple halter gown frames her elegant figure, its corset clinging to her like a second skin. Her makeup is light today—lips painted a deep, rosewood red; eyelids accentuated with black liner and dusky eyeshadow. It’s a simpler ensemble than those she’ll don on any other day; the diminished tension in her shoulders is evidence of that.
It matters not; the effect is the same. You are absolutely enamored of her.
“Darling,” Ramonda’s low, bemused voice draws your attention. “You’re staring,” she admonishes, guiding your gaping mouth shut with a gentle touch. The twitch in painted lips betrays her amusement.
You don’t have an answer for that—no witty retort, no comeback, nothing. You lace your arms around her shoulders until you can clasp your hands at her nape, voicing, “Can I kiss you?”
Ramonda presses her lips to yours in lieu of answer, all slow and gentle and mild until it’s not—until her kiss turns insistent and you’re parting your mouth to let her in, dragging your tongue against hers, nipping at her lower lip to coax forth a shuddering exhale. Arousal sparks a lit match in your belly, burning a fiery trail from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
It takes all your will (and then some) to pull away, but you manage it. Heat prickles along your skin. “Right, so…” you trail off breathlessly, chest heaving. “I made dinner.”
Ramonda chuckles, dark eyes alight with mischief and want. Her lipstick is barely smudged, but you’ll take what you can get. “Is that madombi I smell?”
A broad, bashful grin splits your features at the hopeful lilt to her tone. “Maybe.”
— —
Dinner is everything you hoped it would be. The madombi comes out perfect; the stew is even better. With the table set, candles lit, you usher Ramonda over. She brushes a kiss to your cheek when you pull out the chair for her, murmuring a quiet, “Thank you, baby” that makes you choke on air.
Flustered beyond belief, you scurry back into the kitchen to whip up mojitos—one of two cocktails you can actually make—for the pair of you before taking them to the table. Ramonda accepts hers with a pleased hum.
With steam rising from both dishes and nothing left to fuss over, you take your seat, too.
“Shall we?”
— —
end notes:
i enjoyed writing the dynamic between shuri and ramonda, and also shuri and reader. did my lil heart some good
anyways. love to receive requests and then just vibe with them for months before actually sort of doing them... like to be clear, mostly, requests end up going unfulfilled due to my selective writing preferences and ever-limited time. but i stand by my mission to populate the ramonda x reader tag—singlehandedly, if need be!
s’thandwa | love, sweetheart
sources:
queen ramonda | an additional source to inform upon ramonda’s character and canonical background... it seems she comes from south africa in the comics, and considering the use of isiXhosa in the cinematic ‘verse, i’ve decided to write her using the corresponding terminology when necessary
traditional south african dress | i used this in my previous ramonda fic in order to determine the implications of the traditional south african headpieces, as i understand the isicholo worn by queen ramonda is typically worn by married women in south africa, and i didn’t know if i wanted to have her be married or not in this. but as i understand it, her headdresses (in the 2nd film in particular) are also worn to indicate her queenly status, so i kept it
royal talon fighter (wakandan aircraft) | the wakandan aircraft in which shuri and reader travel to wakanda. appears in black panther, avengers: endgame, and black panther: wakanda forever.
“illuminated signs: style and meaning in the beadwork of the xhosa- and zulu-speaking peoples” | an article from african arts (vol. 36, issue 3) by gary van wyk. an interesting insight into exactly what it says on the tin!
chicken groundnut stew | typically attributed to west africa, though several variations exist across the continent. ingredients often include chicken legs, peanut butter, sweet potato, garlic, and ginger, among others.
madombi | traditional african steamed dumplings. the link leads to a youtube video demonstrating the process!
— —
link to masterlist
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•{Recover The Lost}•
Synopsis:
Can you fall at the ledge and watch your body gruesomely tear itself from its skin?
Once you lock eyes with your body of skin, can you dare to fall again?
Even if it is a fate you have prepared for?
Tag list: @shinsousliya @mbakuetshurisprincess @bestfriend491 @mysteryofthe90s @ctrl-liah @afriques @basket-baddie @wakanda-forever-andotherfandoms @alejandradrake14 @sharonrb @purpl3-menac3 @genderappropriation @post-woke @sweetsummerhaze @youre-where-i-wanna-go
Queen Ramonda (big ass gif incoming)
An ancient wakandan proverb states as so: ‘A soul can prepare for death but a soul cannot prepare for mourning.’
Wakanda knows of heartbreak and mourning. War. Division. Thievery. Anything which brings along the need for suffering.
They know nothing of this pain. This pain isn’t one the soul mourns. It is one the soul becomes.
Death.
Become death. Fall. Break. Die. Experience eternal damnation of these three and let someone ask you if you have mourned. You will smile with bloody teeth, and with one violently bursted vocal chord, you will declare, “Death is how I live.”
A balloon sized gasp bellows from Ramonda’s throat as she ascends from thick water, eyes burning bright. A waterfall works in concert behind her, pounding and splashing violently. It is where the waters from warrior falls coalesces with the Yodoon canal and spill over, plummeting over a sandy red cliff into an orchard pool.
Ramonda’s feet sink into the moistened indigo sand as she trudges onto the shore. She wears the skin she entered this world in, vulnerably bare and illuminated with pounds of grief. Heavy tears fall until her vision blurs over. Seeing is facing. She cannot face herself. She cannot face her truth.
“Yip!”
Ramonda looks up to the waterfall.
Up high on the wet stones stacked along the edge of a hidden cave, stands a woman. Ramonda squints from afar. It must be time. The woman’s body lunges off the rocks like a majestic sea creature, diving headfirst into the bristling waters.
Ramonda swipes away her tears and collects herself as the woman’s bodily outline in the water cruises to the shore. She transcends from the waters, standing chest to chest with the ruler of Wakanda. A scar runs along her eyebrow, telling many stories of sacrifice. And her tribal paint has washed away, leaving her majestic features to glow more than ever.
The two bow simultaneously.
“Queen Ramonda,” the woman humbly greets.
“Queen of Yodoon,” Ramonda returns.
Queen of Yodoon takes Ramonda’s soft hands and holds them to her chest. “I am deeply sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Ramonda whispers, giving her palms a reassuring squeeze. She then lets them fall at her sides. “Did you find it?”
“No,” her accented voice hits like an iron hammer.
“I‘m kidding.” She laughs sweetly. Maybe it will do Ramonda some good to hear a laugh or two.
It doesn’t.
She looks on, pain so strong it is all she can feel. “Show me.”
“These are some of the last we have been able to grow. The soil is dying.” The Queen of Yodoon lowers and reaches for the hand-carved bowl that dips and bobs in the water until sliding onto the sand. “It is a delicate thing.” She pries one of the heart-shaped items from the bowl. It’s wrapped in banana leaf and fastened with an enchanted thread.
“Here you are,” she eases it in Ramonda’s cupped hands. “You may want to cover your body, unless you would like to be electrocuted by its essence.”
“I’m comfortable as I am.” Ramonda’s hope unfurls as she unwraps the herb. Sitting in her hands is the beautiful, the utter powerful…
“Painted rock?” She deadpans.
The woman bursts into giggles. “I kid again.”
“You have one more chance.” She has little patience for games.
“One is all I need and one is what you will receive.” The other item is placed into Ramonda’s needy hands. This time her hope prevails as she unwraps the herb. It glows a vibrant blue and small bolts of lightning surge in its core. The Yodoon lands harvests the last of its kind, so she had no choice but to seek it before the soil died out. She needs this.
“Very well,” Ramonda leads the Queen over to her campsite. She throws her shawl over her nude body before the both of them take a seat on their respective logs. The satchel she has kept dry for her time being is tossed to the Queen. It contains a year's worth of vibranium she snagged from her daughter’s lab.
The Queen of Yodoon checks the vibranium. It gleams in the pouch like a galactic rock. She looks up to Ramonda’s face, amused at how a noblewoman could steal such a precious item from her nation then hand it over to another without hesitance.
“You are burdened by grief. Terribly so,” she notes.
“This has surpassed grief long ago.” Ramonda reaches for her wooden mortar. She places the herb inside and mills away with the pestle. The sparks ignite then decrease in size the more she grinds.
“This wasn’t for your daughter’s consumption then?”
Ramona scoffs in disdain. “I’ll tell you something now…there is no despair greater than knowing you have outlived your own.” More than she can count, her anguished cries have echoed in the palace halls, begging for the gods to return her son at once. They hear her, but they have yet to answer her. “Despite me having the ‘power’ they say I do, I had to sit like some useless fraud and watch it happen.”
“Ah, you aren’t the only weak Queen, I promise you,” Queen of Yodoon laughs.
Ramonda doesn’t laugh. If she does, she will be betraying the reason she is here. “My entire life I’ve been pushed to the side embodying the role of a ruler, but never having the power of one.” She halts her grinding once the herb has liquified. The soft azure glow reflects off her chin.
“So you are doing what you believe will give you true power?” The Queen hums. “I support it.”
Ramonda’s lip lifts slightly. It vanishes just as quickly. She sits the mortar to the side then kneels in the sand, digging a pit large enough to store a body.
“So what do you think the world will say of this?”
Ramonda pauses. “What world? Mine has been destroyed.”
Grief and anguish paints a bridge between their faces. It is so intense and familiar that it pushes whispered words over the edge of their lips. “All I have left is death,” they murmur simultaneously. Both in the sense of shared loss and in the sense of the soul.
“Come.” Ramonda lays in the pit. Her short afro submerges into the sand. “Bury me and call upon the ancestors. I need to see my son.”
What harm could it do? The Queen picks up the mortar. She kneels beside Ramonda and raises it above her head. “Allow this heart shaped herb to give you the strength of the Black Panther and take you to the ancestral realm. T’challa…we beg of you, come to your mother.” She carefully pours the liquid into Ramonda’s mouth. The herb courses through her veins, igniting her with the power she desperately needs.
The Queen then buries her body until nothing is left but her shape. She eases into her meditative state, allowing her eyes to roll back and her head to do the same. Her tongue hisses with the chants of the ancestors' call, body swaying in steady flow to the waterfall and the hymn of the forest around them.
Suddenly, she finds herself parched. Severely parched. “Water,” she croaks, holding a hand to her throat. She needs water. Now. She bolts to the pool, scooping handfuls of the grape-colored liquid hungrily, downing with haste. But it isn’t enough. Her veins are set alight, as if plucked from her body and burned with the Yodoon flame. It burns so bad that she swallows heaps of wet sand to kill it off.
Now the burn outlines her stomach.
“Yumak ttuzani!” It is a language she has never spoken. She clicks it and ululates it, her mind spiraling in constant peril. “Help me!” Her veins bulge out of her forehead, pulsing in a blue pigment. She sends out an agonizing yell and her eyes shoot to the sky, gleaming a ravenous blue.
She blacks out.
~¥~
She awakens with the harsh cold of water stinging her skin. She’s in the water. Deep. Her legs kick and her arms make wide strokes until she is at the shallow end, crawling out of the water’s strong pull.
“I’ve told many lies but I swear to you ancestors I did not deserve this.” She dry heaves.
Ramonda.
She is still under the sand. The Queen stumbles as she makes it to Ramonda’s buried body. She hurriedly digs the sand away until her face is revealed. “Ramonda!” She gasps. Her eyes are wide as is her mouth. They glow a beautiful blue and her pupils are ghostly purple. She’s deadly still, as if listening to the frequencies of the world without notice. The Queen shakes and shakes her body, calling to her name until she blinks and bolts upright in a frenzy.
“Are you alright?!” The Queen searches her frantic eyes.
“I…I…” Ramonda’s gaze has this energy to it. She isn’t sure what to think of it. Her shaky hands reach up to cup the Queen’s cheeks. She has to say something but it takes her time to gather her frenzied thoughts. Silence stills their breathing. Something inside…it is growing.
“Queen Y/N, daughter of Yaa. I have an offer,” Ramonda says.
“Why don’t you say the offer then?”
Ramonda goes on. “There is a threat looming over us; an army of enhanced individuals who will stop at nothing to destroy Wakanda and every city within it if we do not do as they say. Y/N…I have seen your power as a leader in the past. You are excellent at slivering your way out of such battles.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“What would you say to ruling two kingdoms?”
“Absolutely not.” She scoots back. It is an absurd idea. One that will uproot tradition set in script since the birth of the Great Mound. It would never go with those of Wakanda and it’ll hardly go with her own people, regardless of the threat Ramonda speaks of.
“Please.” Ramonda swallows again. “If you return to Wakanda to share the throne, anyone who steps to us will not step far. My nation and your tribe. They will be at their strongest. We will be at our strongest.”
This will not happen. It is out of the question. Ramonda has overstepped her boundaries. “My tribe is lost for a reason. I can not have Wakanda knowing we exist. You have no idea of the loss we’ve endured—of the loss I endured at the hands of Wakanda.”
Oh but she knows very well. “I know of your past and I know of your present. Join me and I will provide you with twenty-five percent of the vibranium mined annually.”
Ramonda’s voice darkens. “Don’t and there will be trouble for everyone. Your tribe included.”
If she were to accept this offer, Ramonda wouldn’t be seen in such a noble light anymore. An exiled tribe leader stepping to the throne to rule Wakandan land? It would be a call for division and rebellion amongst the tribes.
“What exactly did you see on the other side?”
“That does not matter right now. What does is us regaining our power together.”
It is too much to ponder alone. “I need time to discuss this with my people. Stay here.” Y/N turns her back to Ramonda and heads toward the waterfall.
~¥~
Ramonda lifts her gaze from the flames of her fire to Queen Y/N as she trudges out of murky water. It is with abundant hope that Ramonda stands and takes long strides to meet her at the shore. She silently awaits her verdict, for the woman has come with a clearer head.
“Vibranium. One half to my people and the rest to yours. That is my price.”
Ramonda keeps herself composed. “I can’t allow that.”
“You are asking for a significant part of me. Take it or don’t.”
As big a price it is, Ramonda can not let this power pass her by. Not after what she saw.
She curses inwardly and asks for the forgiveness of Bast and all powers that be. She hopes she won’t regret this.
“You have yourself a deal.”
Before Queen Y/N can respond she is interrupted by a tickle in her psyche. “Could you please give me one second.” The Queen channels her Nyanza, the spiritual bond that connects the Yodoon people. She hears the gravelly voice of her tribe’s Sangoma. He has news.
“Yes, Shaka?”
Ramonda perks as a feeling of intrusion seeps into her gut. At what? She does not know. “What? What is it?!” She searches Y/N’s weary face.
“Your army stands at my border. They demand we bring you out.”
End note: Y’all know who else is the daughter of Yaa? *evil face*
#queen ramonda#queen ramonda x reader#black panther wakanda forever#queenramondaxblackfemreader#grief poetry#loss#waterfall#warriorfalls#wlw fics#wlw imagine#fanfiction#wakandans#wakanda forever
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MASTERLIST
created: 3.1.2023
last updated: 5.1.2023
Send in requests for the character already listed (if you do have a character in mind that is not listed downbelow you can always ask)
okoye x reader
Dumb enough
status: started
origin: me
ayo x reader
Stranger in my home
status: started
origin: me
ayo x aneka x reader
ramonda x reader
Meet you in the headlights
status: writing (teaser posted)
origin: requested
I know you
status: started
origin: requested
#okoye x reader#okoye imagine#aneka x reader#ayo x reader#aneka x ayo#queen ramonda x reader#masterlist
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anyway! after long months of not writing, i’m hoping to get back in soon. feel free to send some requests of any characters on my masterlist!
#tags for reach#shuri x reader#natasha romanoff x reader#emily prentiss x reader#criminal minds x reader#tara lewis x reader#queen ramonda x reader#athena grant x reader#monica rambeau x reader
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Can you do a dark Queen Romanda after the death of t’Chaka she is after she will lose reader who was her best friend since they were infants so she gets one of the Dora milajes to kidnap her and keep her in her corridors were no one is allowed and can you add some smut and thank you.
➺ For Your Own Good
Paring; dark!soft!Queen Ramonda x Reader
Summary: “When she was told of her husband’s death she was devastated of course, but the first thing on her mind was you. She couldn’t let another person she loved to get killed, not under her watch. She thought the best way to keep you safe was to have you with her at all times, whether you liked it or not.”
Warnings: kidnapping, smut, death (T’Chaka) and fluff.
Word Count: 1.2k
A/n: I hope this is what you wanted!
You and Ramonda have always been close since you were kids in the river tribe. At some point during the friendship she had fallen in love with you and you did too but the romance was cut short when Ramonda found out she was being married off to the soon–to–be king, T’Chaka. It was a devastating moment for both of you. Before Ramonda left, she promised you she would never stop loving you and that she would always keep an eye on you and gave you one last kiss before boarding the ship. While her marriage with T’Chaka was arranged, she learned to love him but that love would never exceed her love for you.
♤♧♡♢
Years passed and Ramonda always found a way to see you, even if it was from afar. She always had a Dora watching you at all times to make sure you were safe. No one knew about you, only the Dora Ramonda sent knew about you and she made sure they wouldn’t say anything.
When she was told of her husband’s death she was devastated of course, but the first thing on her mind was you. She couldn’t let another person she loved to get killed, not under her watch. She thought the best way to keep you safe was to have you with her at all times, whether you liked it or not.
♤♧♡♢
Ramonda was in the throne room when she summoned the general of the Dora Milaje, Okoye.
“Kumkanikazi, you summoned me?”
“Yes, I need you to retrieve someone and I want you to be discreet.”
“Who am I retrieving?”
“I need you to bring me Y/n. She is in the river tribe. Do whatever you have to do but make sure no one sees you come in with her. When you do bring her here, take her to my private chambers. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, yam Kumkanikazi.” Okoye bowed and left the throne room to retrieve you.
♤♧♡♢
You were in your room when you heard a knock at the door. When you opened the door you were greeted by whom you thought was a Dora Milaje.
“Um hi? How can I help you?”
“I’ve come to take you to the palace.”
“Says who?”
“I was given specific instructions to be discreet about this. So, I cannot say.”
“Well then I am not going anywhere,” you said firmly.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“Goodbye,” you tried to close the door but Okoye put her spear in between the door and door frame so you couldn’t close it.
“What is your-” before you could finish your sentence you felt her place something on your temple and you blacked out.
♤♧♡♢
When you woke up, you found yourself laying on a giant bed in a very spacious room. You sat up confused about how you got there until all the memories from yesterday started flowing back. You in your room, the knock at the door, the Dora, and then all black. You started to panic but then the door to the room opened to reveal Ramonda.
“Ramonda? What's going on?” you asked in a panicked voice. She came closer and sat on the bed with her arms open for you to come closer. You, still confused, went to her embrace and felt a bit relieved.
“Calm down, ingelosi. I'm here to protect you.”
“Protect me? From who?”
“You know the people who killed T’Chaka?,” you nodded, “They are trying to take you away from me too,” she finished saying. She knew it was wrong to lie to you but she wouldn’t let you leave, she couldn’t. She pulled you impossibly closer to her and kissed your head.
“Who are those bad people?”
“You don’t have to worry about that anymore because you have me,” she pulled away and cupped your face, “and I have you right? You’re mine?” she asked, looking at you in the most loving way possible and you nodded again.
“Use your words, sithandwa.”
“Yes, I am yours,” you said with no hesitation. She smiled and gave you a long and passionate kiss, “All mine,” she mumbled in the kiss. She slowly started to push you to lay down on the bed while she got on top of you, all without stopping the kiss.
“Can I take this off honey?” she asked, referring to the green dress you were wearing. You nodded but she raised her eyebrow and you understood she needed verbal consent.
“Yes,” you said.
She started peeling the dress off of your body, taking her time and putting it aside. She caressed your body with her hands and started kissing each part she could find. She kissed your neck and your chest, before making her way down your body with her tongue. You had your eyes closed, loving every second of it.
When she got to where you needed her the most, she stopped which made you open your eyes. When you made eye contact, she licked a stipe up your pussy which made your release a loud moan. She kept licking your pussy and you threw your head back in pleasure. You felt yourself coming closer to the edge and your breath started to pick up.
“Ramonda- I’m close,” you said in an agitated voice, with your hands gripping the bed sheets.
“Are you going to cum for me, nkosazana?”
“Yes, yes. Please don’t stop.” She kept going and then inserted two fingers thrusting them fast, hitting your g-spot.
“Who do you belong to now, sithandwa? Hm?” you tried to respond but you were caught up in the immense amount of pleasure. When you didn’t respond she slowed down and you whined. She went up your body all the way to your ear.
“Tell me usana or ill stop altogether,” she whispered.
“You! You! I belong to you! Please let me cum, please?”
“Good girl,” she praised and sped up again. She went down again and started to suck on your swollen clit. That got you over the edge. She came up to your ear and whispered sweet nothings while still thrusting her fingers to let you ride your high. You closed your legs around her hand from the overstimulation.
“Is too much-” you whimpered. She pulled her hand away and shushed you with a kiss. You moved closer to her, laying your head on her chest.
“When will I be able to leave, Ramonda?” she tensed at your question.
“You can’t leave, ingelosi. How can I protect you if I don't have you by my side, hm? This is for your own good.”
“But-”
“But nothing. I can't lose you too.” That made you go silent for a second.
“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked such a dumb question.” you kissed her neck.
“Shh, it's ok nkosazana. Get some rest, you're probably tired,” she said before kissing your forehead. You nodded and cuddled closer to her, hiding your face in her neck. Soon enough, you felt your eyes get heavy, the warmth of her body lulling you to sleep. She heard your soft snoring and she smiled knowing she finally had you all to herself.
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Your shield of protection
- A drabble 🤍 (Imagine she's in a suit, though. I didn't mention it, but just do it. 🤭)
Ramonda
There's no doubt that Ramomda protects the people she loves, but it's always different depending on who it is she's protecting.
For her kids, she'd move heaven and earth to save them.
For her people, she'd defend the entire nation by herself if she had to.
For you, though, she'd never let a threat even approach you without interfering in some way.
From when you were younger, paving your way into your desired career even as you held the weight of the crown, she supported you greatly.
Years later, she's still as protective.
It's subtle, but a detail in your relationship that you never take for granted.
She'd never even let you trip and stumble without reaching out to save you.
She supports you unconditionally, no questions asked.
“Sthandwa sam…” Ramonda put out her hand for you to take as you got off of your hoverbike, smiling at her often overdramatic, but always appreciated way of greeting you.
“Ewe? (Yes?) ” you replied, smiling.
She helped you shuffle your way next to her, the royal drivers going off with the bike and making his way around the corner. Then, she got a good look at you.
“You look absolutely ravishing tonight. Who picked that outfit?”
You laughed, “Oh, my wife did. You might know her, I think she's got to be around here somewhere.”
“Mh, well, wherever she is, she's got incredible taste.” She pulled you closer, holding your waist, before kissing you.
She always knew how to compliment someone, you found. Even as she twirled you around slowly to give her final decree of amazement, you could feel yourself getting flushed at her gaze.
“Are you ready for tonight?” She asked, leading you to the entrance of the long awaited ceremony that you'd been invited to receive an award at.
You'd never been more excited for something. You'd worked hard to gain even a small amount of recognition at what you did. But Ramonda also knew your nerves were probably shot, driving your anxiety to a higher level than usual. That's why she'd offered to escort you herself. In any other case, she wouldn't want to risk bringing too much attention to you both. You were already queen, having her come to your work events would only exacerbate the amount of people who came to disturb your peace, or worse, threaten your safety.
In many ways, you wanted to be in and out as fast as possible, but hearing her words made you less wary. You knew she had your back.
“Probably not. But, it's happening now. And I've got you, so I'm sure I'll be alright.”
She hummed at that, content with you knowing that whatever happened, she'd be right by your side.
You walked towards the entrance, seeing a flash directed at you once or twice as you proceeded. You assumed the first few were accidents, merely the photographers getting their mandatory pictures of whoever entered. It was only when your names were called that the flashes felt more intentional. An onslaught of white blinded you as the clicking sound filled your ears in an overwhelming sense. You felt yourself moving only slightly, trying to adjust to the new environment.
“Ramon-”
“I've got you, Sthandwa.” She reassured, her arm already around your waist, leading you to the less intense side of the building.
Her grip on you was firm, not one that any accidental pushing or nudging could lead you to separate. It was just what you needed; a message.
I'm never letting go, my love.
Your nerves settled, willing your vision to grow clearer even at the sight of farther away flashes. It led you to letting yourself smile for the first time since before you'd entered. There had to be at least some photos of you not looking horrified or on the verge of running away.
With Ramonda still wrapped around you, you found your way to your seats. With her on your left, her hand found the it's way to your knee, another act of reassurance. You let out a quiet sigh, breathing more regularly now.
The night went smoothly, with Ramonda never resisting the urge to share a quick glance with you. Her gaze was so mesmerising, so captivating, that you found yourself getting lost in it throughout the whole ceremony. You'd let yourself forget what you came here for if you could. Fortunately, your wife was less enchanted when it was important.
“Y/n, baby, they called your name.”
“What?” You asked, still in a daze.
“Your name, darling. They called it. It's time to go up.” Ramonda whispered tenderly.
The words finally registered, and you stood up with her support. Leading you towards the stage, she was sure to stay more vigilant of where you were stepping than you were.
Extending her arm to help you up the steps, but not going up them herself, you found yourself reaching for her instinctively. Plainly speaking, you were gonna get her on the stage with you.
“Come up.” You mouthed to her, keeping a smile on your face for the probing eyes.
She shook her head, not trying to make this a moment about the two of you. She wanted you to have your moment.
“Please?” You pleaded, holding her hand with all the poised firmness that you could manage. You knew that with enough force, she could easily get out of your grip, but you hoped that the former description would help your case. It was your grip. That always changed her level of resistance..
Unsurprisingly, but still bringing you much relief, she relented, stepping up and next to you. She left some distance just in case pictures of you needed to be taken, but you couldn't help but notice her stepping a pace in front of you, angling herself as a discreet shield.
The fact helped you through your speech, and back to your chairs. All through the night you felt her protective presence make you feel more at ease.
An ease that only she could bring.
#queen ramonda x reader#queen ramonda#ramonda#queen ramonda x female reader#black panther fanfiction#ramonda x reader#black panther#thoughts that might turn into stories
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Hii! It’s me, again. Greet me as I greet you:). Today I’ll be listing the very few pet names, phrases of endearment kwasha kwacima… that I know. It’s Valentimes asibe happy sibe merry.
ps: Don’t hold your breath I’m not good at this.
Xhosa and Zulu translated to English(barely)
Sphalaphala sam = My pretty one
Phakade lam = My forever
Soka lami = My partner
Izinyanya zivumile = The ancreators have agreed
Impilo yami ngeke ibe lutho ngaphandle kwakho = My life would be nothing without you
Inhliziyo yami eyakho, uthando lwami lungangolwandle = My heart is yours. My love for you is greater than the ocean/ ocean deep
Mandibon’ ubuhle bakho ikhanda livele lidume = Your beauty makes my head spin
Ngiyocaca naye = I’m going to marry them/him/her
Noma bengathini wena ungowami = Nevermind the naysayers you’re mine.
Inhliziyo yami ishaya kancane mangizwa izwi lakho = My heart beats settles when I hear your voice
Thandiwe = Beloved
#wakanda forever#queen ramonda x reader#okoye x reader#nakia x reader#t’challa x reader#shuri x reader#riri williams x reader#ayo x aneka#black panther 2#iinkonde
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I Am Now Taking Requests!
I’ve been absent on here for a long time since I’ve been busy on Wattpad! But anyways, here are the characters I take requests for. NO SMUT REQUESTS THOUGH! They will be ignored!
Shuri x female reader
Queen Ramonda x female reader
Nakia x female reader
Okoye x female reader
Riri Williams x female reader
Wanda Maximoff x female reader
Natasha Romanoff x female reader
One other thing, my fanfics are for everyone of every skin colour as I never specify that! And if I claim you are a daughter of an Avenger such as Wanda you can pretend you’re adopted if your skin colour is different! I want my fics to be for everyone like I said.
Hope to see your requests soon! :)
#wanda maximoff x reader#natasha romanoff x reader#queen ramonda x reader#okoye x reader#shuri x reader#riri williams x reader#nakia x reader
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Queen Ramonda x Reader Let's Tell The World
Summary: Your relationship with the Queen has been flourishing behind closed doors, and you want to keep that way. But as Christmas approaches Ramonda decides she wants nothing more than to have a real relationship with you. One where the two of you don't have to hide anymore, but you're hesitant to the idea.
Ramonda was more than happy with the direction her relationship was going with you, but as she was brought out of her slumber for fiftieth time. Since you and her started to see each other, and you started spending every night in her bed chambers. She couldn't help but think what it would be like if the two of you didn't have to hide your love for each other anymore.
No more would she be startled awake by the sound of you trying to get decent again, so you could slip out of her room and out of palace. Unseen and unheard only to return a few hours later for early morning Dora Milaje drills. Despite you doing your best to move in silence as to not wake her. You were never successful.
"Have you always been such a soft sleeper my love? You asked her pulling your shirt over your head. You made your way over to her side of the bed to lean down and press a goodbye kiss to her forehead.
"Not always I became a soft sleeper after having children as you know a mother's job never ends" she murmured in a sleepy voice. Not quite fully awake but still managed to smile at the feel of your lips on her bare skin. Her hands pushed their way free from the covers to reach up and cup your face. Ramonda pulled your face back down to place a real kiss upon your lips.
"Ramonda I have to go plus I have morning breath" You protested with a laugh. After she finally pulled away only to kiss the side of your mouth.
"I don't care my love I wish for the day you didn't have to sneak out of my room like some harlot" Ramonda replied.
You shook your head trying to mask the disappointment on your face as indifference. While keeping your relationship a secret didn't bother you as much. You did wish you could stay with her a bit longer during the early morning, and had more time with her besides the secret getaways. The two of you managed to go on whenever you accompanied her on trips outside of Wakanda. You were assigned as one of her main guards for travel alongside Ayo.
"Unfortunately my love if the truth was to come out that's exactly how most of the country would see me. But don't worry about that I'm happy with where we are. I never thought this day would come, so I don't care if we have to hide. This is still a dream come true now go back to sleep." You pressed one last kiss to her cheek before turning to leave the room with a soft smile. The sun wasn't even peeking out from the sky yet. Instead it was the moonlight shinning through her giant windows illuminating your face.
The Queen let out a sigh in annoyance wanting nothing more to call you back into her room, and discuss revealing the relationship to everyone. She wanted to promise you that she wouldn't allow anyone to call you such a thing, and if they did. Ramonda would have them dealt with immediately. She wanted to tell you that she was proud to call you hers, and wanted everyone else to know as well.
But you counter all that with worries about your career and image. While she could do her best to reassure you that nothing would change. She knew she couldn't promise to keep people from talking behind your back, or the hushed whispers and side looks that would you have to deal with. Whenever you went out without her by your side. No one would dare disrespect you in front of her, but without her you would be fair game.
Ayo went easy on the Doras the next morning, and made the announcement that everyone would have the night off. A younger woman who was new to the army asked what was the occasion? There had to be one if she was granting all of you the night off.
The occasion was Holiday festivities while Wakanda didn't really celebrate the Christmas holiday as most people in the world did. The country did throw a few parties and have parades on the eve of the holiday, and the day of. It was a way of celebrating life, and another year of good fortune. And everyone in the country was granted with the opportunity to partake in the event. So for the next two nights all of you would be free to have fun, but guarding duties would be resumed the next morning.
The General wasn't worried about the royal family being protected considering. Every year the royal family would host a private dinner with the council, close friends, and other important figures in attendance. Of course the personal guards for the Queen and Shuri would make the list. So they would still have plenty of protection as the army stayed ready for anything. Not to mention everyone coming through those doors would be patted down, and questioned.
Ayo, Okoye and Aneka all assumed you would make the list this year as well, but surprisingly your name was missing from the guest list. You were catching up on some last minute training when Okoye approached you on the subject.
"So do you have any exciting plans for the night?" She asked.
"Yeah I'm going to one of the parades with a few of the girls. Then I might stop by a party or two you know show my face, mingle a little bit and leave." You told her watching her movements carefully to anticipate her attack.
Okoye gave her a spear a lazy spin as she studied you with a slight frown at your answer. "Are you sure that is wise?"
"Why wouldn't it be" You questioned in confusion. Your grip on spear relaxed a little bit as you pondered her sudden interest in your holiday plans. You did the same thing every year why would this one be different?
Without realizing it you left yourself open for an attack, and Okoye took full advantage lunging forward bringing her spear down hard on yours. Knocking it free from your hands and before you could retrieve. She slammed the blunt end of her spear until your chest making you stumble back a few feet with a groan. Okoye followed going low and throwing her leg as she spun sweeping your feet out from under your body.
You went down on the floor hard on your back, and your groans filled the air. As you rolled over to your side but you ended on settling on your back trying to process the pain. "Well I see losing your position hasn't affected your fighting skills at all. What was that for?" You complained wincing as your fingers grazed the rising bump on your chest.
"We were sparring" Okoye answered in a nonchalant voice, but the fire burning in her eyes gave her away. You had said something wrong.
"Really because all that just felt a little personal too me" You pressed her propping yourself up on your elbows. Giving yourself a better view of her face.
"Come on let's go again" she tried to deflect holding out her hand for you to take.
You just stared at her with a raised eyebrow, and shook your head. "No I'm not getting back up until you tell me what's going on Okoye.
Okoye let out a sight of defeat then opted to just take a seat beside you. She laid her spear down on the opposite side. "I thought you would be attending the royal family dinner."
Immediately you let out a bark of laughter but stopped when she shot you hardened look. You pushed yourself up into a sitting position, and turned so your body was facing hers. "I'm sorry but what gave you that impression. I've never been invited the previous years. Why would this year be any different?"
"I assumed after certain events led to some change in circumstances. Queen Ramonda would want you there personally" Okoye said with a knowing look.
It hit you right then that she knew the truth about your relationship with the Queen, and fear flared up inside of you. If she knew then how many others were able to guess. You thought maybe you could deny it. "I don't know what you're implying Okoye but there has been no change in circumstance between me and the Queen."
"Don't be stupid usisidenge" she exclaimed in return leaning forward to flick your forehead. "I was the General of the Dora Milaje for many years do you think I did not notice your growing feelings for the Queen. And now as the General of the Midnight Angels I've been spending even more time at the palace listening to Shuri's constant ideas for upgrades. I'm still a guard at heart and old habits die hard. Do you think I didn't take note of everyone coming and leaving the palace during the late hours of the night. Especially someone making the journey from the royal wing night after night."
You rubbed your forehead your eyes filled with irritation. You thought you were being careful obviously you weren't. "Who else knows?" You asked her.
"Ayo and Aneka know but no one else to my knowledge" she told you.
You were getting ready to let out a sigh of relief, but it turned into a groan when she interrupted you to throw in one more thing. "I believe Shuri suspects something between you and her mother, but I can't confirm if she knows."
"Why didn't you kick out me out of the army if you always knew how I felt about the Queen from the start?" You were asking out of genuine curiosity but also in a serious matter. When you joined the Dora Milaje the Queen was married and her husband was alive.
"Your feelings only guaranteed you would surely protect her to the best of your ability, and you knew your place" Okoye answered without hesitation.
"You don't think I've lost sight of my place" You pressed her further trying to garner rather or not she was judging you.
"If the Queen wants you by her side and warming her bed then that is your place. I won't question her seeking out happiness she deserves after everything she's been through. It doesn't matter who she finds it with as long as it is true and real." Okoye showed no sign of deception in her words, and a warm approving smile formed on her face at the end. She was truly happy and fully supported you and the Queen.
You felt as if a huge weight was lifted from your shoulders with her approval. You knew the biggest challenge with revealing the relationship would come from your fellow sisters losing some respect for you, and it wouldn't be easy to navigate. Knowing that Okoye, your General, and her lover already knew and were in line with it brought you some comfort. But not enough for you to feel comfortable enough to want to bring the truth to the light.
"Well all of this is good to know but I'm not attending the party tonight. The Queen didn't send me an invite plus it would look weird if I'm there" You said.
"Not necessarily after all you're the hero who saved her life just a month ago. Its believed the Council wanted to award you. She could use that as a cover" Okoye countered.
She made a good point but you weren't about to budge. "Someone might notice something between us, and the whole thing could implode. I won't risk it Okoye."
She opened her mouth to protest further but you held up a single hand shooting her a firm look. "I'm not going to step out on her tonight I promise. I love that woman with every fiber in my being, and would never do anything to jeopardize that. Now please drop it."
Okoye knew there was nothing more she could say and letted it go like you requested.
Later On
When you got home an hour later and found an gold envelope on your doorstep. Dread filled your entire body as you guessed what it was before opening it. The contents of the letter turned out to be a literal nightmare for you.
It was an official invite to the royal family dinner tonight, and as much as you wanted to be a no-show. You knew that wasn't an option. It turns out Okoye wasn't lying when she said the Council wanted to present you with an award. The invitation as it turned out was from them, and not the Queen. If you didn't show your face they would see it as a sign of disrespect.
So you instead of dressing up instead of keeping your outfit fun and casual. You went with something a bit more formal a sleeveless gold dress that went just past your knees with some black heels. You threw on a simple golden chain.
The party was in full swing when you walked through the huge double doors. Aneka had patted you down at the entrance and gave you a wink once she was done. You were starting to wonder if this was a setup, but knew it couldn't be. No one would try and get those three in on something like this. They would be the biggest obstacle in your relationship.
Queen Ramonda was busy in conservation with M'Baku and Okoye when you made your appearance, but as if she could sense your presence. Her eyes darted in your direction in what was just a quick glance, and just one quick look was all it took to get her blushing. She did her best to hold her composure and managed quite well. The only one who noticed a change in behavior was Okoye.
You made your way over to Ayo believing it wouldn't bring any suspicion.
Ayo greeted you with a tiny nod which you returned. "Please tell me the plan is to ignore her all night. She will be presenting the award after all." Her voice was a hushed whisper so no one else could hear.
"The less we interact the better don't you think" You replied.
"Too much caution and people might still suspect something. Go over and speak with her" Ayo demanded.
You didn't move right away causing her to take you by the arm with strong grip. "I'm still your General which means you have to listen that was an order y/n."
You turned to her with a look of disbelief that she was actually using the rank card. Ayo just smiled in return nodding her head in Ramona's direction who was now alone.
She was standing off to the side giving everyone who passed her a courtesy nod and hello. The Queen was dressed in a simple but beautiful black gown with a black headpiece. In your eyes she made simplicity look like elegance with ease. You hurried over stopping right in front of her. Your words stuck on your tip of your tongue as a radiant smile graced her lips at your appearance. That smile was usually reserved for private moments between you and her only.
"You look stunning sthandwa" she said quietly
"As do you my Queen" You whispered as your eyes scanned the room to catch any change in the surrounding guest's behavior. You were able to catch the subtle smirk on Shuri's face. Of course she could hear the interaction with the power of the heart-shaped herb. How could you forget, but the Princess seemed to remain unbothered.
"I'm surprised you showed up I heard that you had your doubts about attending." Queen Ramonda said wanting nothing more to brush the hair strands out of your face.
"I did but I figured not showing up after the Council invitation would look even more weird." You told her moving to stand beside her.
"Would it really be so bad to tell everyone the truth tonight?" she asked. She sounded a little too hopeful for your liking. You didn't want to disappoint her.
"Your Highness you and I both know that's not a real option."
"I don't see why it not" she scoffed.
"Because no one here would accept it" You whispered your tone becoming a bit harsh.
"A few already has" Ramonda insisted.
"Your daughter and most loyal guards don't count" You argued.
Queen Ramonda let out a sigh of frustration before going to turn away, but you caught her by the wrist and led her behind a wide pole. It was able to hide both of you from view.
"I want nothing more than us to have the freedom to be out in the open entle" You started bringing a hand up to caress her cheek. She leaned into the touch closing her eyes with a hum of satisfaction. "But now is not the right time now with everything that just happened. Just give Wakanda a bit more time yeah" You finished.
"There will never be a right time y/n" Ramonda countered.
"I know I know" You agreed leaning your head up against the pole. "But there can be a better time my love please."
Queen Ramonda gave you a slight nod and while you wanted to kiss her more than anything. It was way too crowded for that but with an adoring look in your eyes you slipped away back into the party. She watched you leave with a saddened expression. She was Queen and had given everything for her country. Why couldn't she have this one thing without such hardships? Perhaps you were overthinking it a little too much.
You actually enjoyed the rest of the party talking and laughing with your fellow friends, and when it came time for the feast. You did end up seating beside the Queen and usually the General would sit there. But Ayo chose to sit with Aneka just a few chairs down next to her on the other side was of course Shuri.
The award took place after the ceremony and just as promised Queen Ramonda was the one to present it. She stood in the center of the dinning room at the very top of the stairs. A member of the Merchant tribe stood by her side with a medium sized flat squared black box in his arms. "May I please have everyone's attention?"
The entire room was silenced upon her request, and you watched as the Council members moved a bit closer to the stairs positioned in a horizontal line.
"Before this night comes to a close I would like to take this time to honor one of Wakanda's greatest warrior with a medal for. A great act of bravery and sacrifice as she nearly gave her life to save my own, and a young girl. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't be standing here right now, and this is the least we could do to show our appreciation for her dedication." She said her voice loud and clear. It was filled with pride and a hint of love but so subtle that most wouldn't pick up on it.
Ayo clapped you on the shoulder shaking you a bit, and you couldn't hold back the nervous smile.
"Could y/n daughter of Wakanda please come up here to receive her medal" Queen Ramonda called out to you.
The crowd burst in a round of applause as you made your way to the stairs. Each member of the Council congratulated you in the mother tongue while reaching out to pat you on the shoulder as you passed them. You paused on the step right below her and hung your head low. Queen Ramonda took the medal from the box and slipped the black chain holding it around your neck.
There was no concealing the love in her eyes as you lifted your head up to make eye contact. While crossing your arms over your chest as she returned the gesture. Everyone else repeated it back as you ascended the last step to stand beside her. All of your fellow guards regarded you with a proud look. They would tell stories about you and that very day where you rescued the Queen and Riri despite being on the verge of bleeding out from a severe injury.
"There is one more announcement I would like to make" Queen Ramonda said out of nowhere.
All the cheering came to a halt instantly, and your head snapped in her direction with worry. Her words caught you off guard because what else could they be. You could feel it in your bones what she was about to say. Her eyes flickered to yours in a brief second, and her smile softened in the way that it did. Whenever she told you how much she loved you, whenever she had to reassure you there was nothing inappropriate about your relationship.
She opened her mouth but in a split second decision you beat her to it. "I will be taking on a new position as the Queen's personal bodyguard." You spoke up with fake smile. "After the events with Talokan I spoke with the Queen and came to the conclusion the royal family needs their own personal guard. Warriors who will not leave the royal family's side even if the city is threatened."
The Council gave each other questioning looks at the news, while most people in the room started clapping. They were surprised the Queen would make such an important decision without their input.
Ayo was shaking her head in disappointment while Okoye frowned at you, and Shuri was focused on her mother.
You turned to her trying to keep a happy face on, but the hurt was evident in her eyes. Nevertheless she did back you up.
"Well it looks like she got a little overexcited didn't you y/n" she joked with a smile that didn't reach her ears.
"How could I not my Queen" You replied.
After that the rest of the party was spent with you dealing with a load of questions about being the head of the royal family's personal guard, and people still congratulating you. Ayo and Okoye did speak with you but didn't hide the disapproval of your decision to blatantly lie. When they knew the Queen wanted nothing more than to tell the truth.
When it all came to an end you went home and changed into something more comfortable. A pair of black sweatpants with a matching hoodie to combat the chilly air that the night would bring. It didn't matter what transpired at the party you was still going to your love tonight.
As usual when you arrived at her door there were no Doras in sight as they were switching out. Giving you the two minutes needed to slip inside her room undetected. She wasn't waiting in her bed like usual instead Ramonda stood by the window looking out into the city.
"We need to talk my love" You said getting straight to the point.
"Why?" was her simple reply but that one word held so much power. She was asking so many questions with it and the hurt in her voice broke your heart.
"You know why we talked about a few minutes before you tried to reveal our relationship to the most important people in this country."
"I'm the Queen of this country am I not allowed to tell my truth?" She said whirling around to face you. "Who can defy me?
"The Council Queen Ramonda and you know they will. None of them would approve of our relationship. They would see it as a big scandal and disgrace to your marriage. Every single one of them is stuck in the old way of things." You reminded her running a hand over your smooth head.
"My word is final they cannot force us apart if I wish to be with you" Ramonda argued moving to take your hands in her own.
You wanted to believe her but you knew the Council held just as much power as the ruler did. Especially when it came to upholding decades of tradition. "They will fight you every step of the way. Why are you pushing this so hard?"
"Because I love you and I grow tired of hiding it. I want to be able to take you out into the city. I want you to be able to stay with me through the night and early morning. I have missed having someone by my side since my husband's passing, and I believed I would never find love again. But then you were there and revealed your feelings for me answering my prayers for Bast." Ramonda cupped your face between her hands making you look her in they eyes. "Am I wrong for wanting the freedom to declare my love for you openly?"
"Of course not my love I want the same" You said. "But you seem to forget that our love can ruin me if this isn't handled with delicacy."
It was as if you drove your spear in her heart with your words as she recoiled from you letting her hands drop from your face. The hurt in her eyes matched the look of betrayal in your own. "We agreed to give this more time ease everyone into it so I'm not forced out of my position."
"And what position would that be as a Dora, or the fake one you concocted up tonight" Ramonda fired back.
"You gave me no choice" You cried.
"I gave you the choice of telling our truth but you would rather hide behind more lies" She demanded.
"Ramonda the truth is I love you more than anything in this freaking world, and it would literally killed me if someone took away my ability to protect you. To be with you and that is what we risk if we rush this. So yes I'd rather hide our love behind a lie than face the possibility of a world where I can't be near you." You were shouting now and using her name without her title. You needed her to understand why the relationship had to stay a secret.
Queen Ramonda was silent for a while just standing there in shock at your outburst. Deep down she knew you were right, and she hated it. She had been through so much and was tired of keeping up with so many facades. "Y/N" she whispered your name softly.
"No I can see this is hurting you and I don't want that. I fear Okoye was wrong earlier about something."
She didn't like the tone of defeat in your voice. Her head tilted to the side with suspicion in her eyes. "What did Okoye say?"
"She said I always knew my place in your life but it would seem I forgot my love. It seems we both have" You told her pulling her into your embrace.
Your words didn't register in her brain but once they did. Queen Ramonda fought her way out of your grip. She searched your face for any sign of weakness, but you showed none. "My love we can't do this anymore."
"Y/N if you wish for us to stay a secret we shall" she insisted
You shook your head. "That's not fair to you."
Ramonda opened her mouth to continue the argument but you leaned forward to press your lips to her forehead with a tender kiss. You knew if you let her go on she would convince you to backtrack on your decision.
You pulled away and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I will never love anyone else" you swore, and just like that you had turned around and left her room after those words.
Queen Ramonda was rooted in that spot long after you were gone with her mind going crazy. She wondered if the past month with you had just been a dream. All the laughs, smiles, I love you's, and stolen moments. How were you able to walk away from all that so easily. Eventually she did make her way to her bed wondering if you would change your mind.
You didn't.
And for the first night in the a month and twenty-two days. Queen Ramonda found herself alone and unable to sleep.
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