The Soldier and the Wolf

Chapter 36

       I watched from the pilot seat as a hatch underneath the jet that guided us opened, and out came a woman in red, orange, and yellow uniform as well as long spear in her hand. She had no hair, and she looked like some kind of guard. From a small doorway on the roof appeared a man in black robes, followed by two more of the women warriors in red, orange, and yellow with a spear in hand. I watched as they greeted  each other by bowing their heads and crossing their arms over their chest. Interesting.

       "Clara, you ready to go?" I twisted around in my seat, and I saw that Steve was leaning up against the side of Quinjet, about to open out hatch as well. Bucky was standing up as well, and he already looked a lot healthier than he did than when I first reunited with them at The Raft. I clenched and unclenched my fist nervously and looked back out the windshield. The man and the three women stood there, waiting for us. I took in  a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

         "C?" I heard Bucky say the first letter of my name. He still called me that? Even after all that "drama" from earlier, he still called me "C". "You don't have to worry. They know what to do." Bucky trusted the Wakandans. That meant something. Maybe everything did get resolved again. Plus, if anyone was the be worried, it would be Bucky, so if he's okay, then I should be too. Stop panicking you baby, I scolded myself.

         "Okay," I smiled and sighed. "Let's go." Giving Steve the cue, he pressed a button on the side of the jet, and the hatch suddenly began to slowly lower in the back on the Quinjet. Even though it was cloudy outside, the light from outside still managed to lighten up the Quinjet, and I squinted my eyes a bit. I got out of the seat, and walked over to meet Steve and Bucky, and together, we all made our way out of the Quinjet. I trailed behind Steve and Bucky, and I followed them as they rounded around the walkway and headed towards the man and the three warriors. I could feel my heart pound louder as we approached the man. Steve held out his hand, and the man shook it firmly.

       "Thank you so much for doing this, your highness." Steve greeted the man, and the man in return gave a small smile. So this is the guy who was behind the Panther outfit? He looks a lot friendlier when he isn't trying to kill you. From the same doorway the King came out of came two scientists in lab coats, one fo them carrying a clipboard.

        "Bring him to the labs and prep him." The king said in a calm, thick Wakandan accent. Bucky followed the two scientist, leaving me and Steve with the King. Before he disappeared behind the door, he looked back at me with a reassuring look. I tried to look just as reassuring, but I was still clueless to what was happening. Prep him? Prep him for what?  "I owe you and your friend an apology." I caught in the corner of my eye that the King was acknowledging me. I looked at him with wide eyes before dropping my gaze a bit. "Ms. Peters, I am very sorry what I put you and Sergeant Barnes through these past couple of days. I did it out of vengeance for my father, but I sought revenge on the wrong man and became blinded. I hope that I'll be able to make it up to you both." I looked at Steve oddly, still having no clue what he was talking about.

"I told you, we can trust him." Steve reassured me, and I looked back at the King. I wasn't if it was just because I knew he was a King or the fact I haven't seen his face until now, but he had a certain wiseness to him. Just the way he stood there was very noble-like and somewhat honorable. His face was very soft and the way he spoke was very genuine. I couldn't help not being mad at him because I could see he was really trying to apologize. What made him very respectable, however, was that he showed shame in his actions, but also kept the balance of pride as well.

"I guess it's nice to see the man behind the cat suit. Sorry about the airport and sort of dragging you down, your royalness or however you want me to call you." I kept my arms folded across my chest, but I lifted my head a little more. He just smiled a bit and waved his arm in a humble-like fashion.