𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 , shuri udaku - discontinued

THRONE ROOM DISCUSSIONS

CITY OF STARS.
02. ❛ throne room discussions. ❜

A MEETING WAS CALLED with the elders, Queen Ramonda, and General Okoye. King T'Challa brought Aquaria Neptunia to the Wakandan throne room to discuss her arrival. At the moment, Aquaria fiddled with her clammy, sweaty hands behind her back as everyone talked about her.

"So, my king, you expect us to house this girl who breached our river border? For all we know, she could be a spy!" The chief of the merchant tribe started, looking at Aquaria suspiciously.

"It is her duty to report to her country; who knows what she could tell them," Okoye stated and sat down opposite of her husband. "There was no aerial surveillance footage of her."

"And nothing on the radars." The river tribe elder added.

Aquaria smiled down at her feet, feeling proud of sneaking past barriers just like her father and Namora taught her.

"So she swam underwater for 100 kilometers?" W'Kabi questioned and looked towards the teenager in question, "Alone?" All Aquaria did was nod innocently, not wanting to give the wrong impression.

"She ran away from her home, W'Kabi," T'Challa spoke up empathically. "She needs a place to stay, and she somehow wound up in Wakanda."

"And what about her access to vibranium, hmm?" The border tribe elder questioned as his eyes, along with everyone else, scanned the girl's weapons and clothing.

After a beat of silence, Aquaria slowly rose her hand to speak. T'Challa and Ramonda nodded to let the princess speak. "I am Princess Aquaria, and I honestly don't know how I got past your security system, and as for my vibranium, I just found a small rock of it along the coast of Mexico. I understand you all are cautious of my presence, but I speak nothing but the truth. Check my vitals; I'm not lying. I just want... I just want a place to stay as I explore the world. Please."

Twisting the truth wasn't considered lying, right?

T'Challa nodded and looked amongst the elders, Okoye, and his mother to see if they were all in agreement. Once a nod or two was passed around, T'Challa stood up and walked up to Aquaria and extended his hand for a handshake, "Welcome to Wakanda, Princess."

THE FOLLOWING MORNING T'Challa took it upon himself to show Aquaria around the palace, and now he was taking her to the lab where she'd get to meet his sister. He had mentioned that he was going to Korea on a mission and offered to take her with him so she could see the city, but Aquaria politely declined, saying she wanted to see Wakanda first.

Walking behind T'Challa was Aquaria, and her mouth was slightly opened in awe of the architecture of Wakanda, and the Dora Milaje were at their side for protection.

Once turning the corner, Aquaria lifted her eyes up, and they clashed with the purest brown eyes she's ever seen. The girl waiting in white had her hair in lots of braids and pulled into one big bun, a smile on her face that just grew bigger at the sight of Aquaria, and a faint blush could be seen making its way onto her cheeks.

"My king." Shuri introduced, bowing at T'Challa's arrival. T'Challa shook his head, waving her off. "Stop it. Stop it."

Shuri laughed, slapping her hand against his before crossing her arms over her chest. T'Challa stepped aside and pushed Aquaria forward; the intensity of Aquaria's eyes made Shuri zone out for a moment.

T'Challa took a quick glance between the two, with the corners of his mouth perking up before he cleared his throat and introduced them, "Shuri, this is Princess Aquaria. Aquaria, this is Princess Shuri."

Snapping out of it, Shuri grinned, "Hi!" She then glanced over Aquaria's dress, and her eyebrows shot straight up, "Oh my! Your dress- is it made from Vibranium?"

Aquaria smiled and nodded, "Yes! Beautiful, isn't it? You should see my bow and arrows, they're amazing!"

Shuri laughed with a bright smile and nodded as the three slowly made their way down the spiral walkway. "I will! Brother, I already set aside a car aside for you. Who are you taking along to Korea?"

"Okoye," T'Challa said in thought before he smirked. "And Nakia as well."

Shuri turned around to shoot a remark at Aquaria, "He's mental."

Shuri turned back to her brother and shot him a look, perking one eyebrow. "Are you sure it's a good idea to take your ex on a mission?" T'Challa shook his head in slight dismissal. "Yes. We'll be fine. Besides, you will be on call should we need backup."

Shuri smiled, pumping her fists in the air. "I have great things to show you, brother. Here are your communication devices for Korea." She grabbed a white case that held tiny circular white button-like devices. Closing the small case, she handed them to her brother. "Unlimited range, also equipped with audio surveillance systems. Check these out."

Shuri stopped in front of another workspace; she picked up a small device that was as big as her palm. "Remote access Kimoyo beads. Updated to interface directly with my simulation table."

T'Challa moved forward, looking down at a table with even more gadgets; he nodded his head at it. "And what are these?"

"The real question is, what are those?!" Shuri exclaimed loudly, motioning down to T'Challa's black sandals, and Aquaria almost flinched in surprise at the exclamation. "Why do you have your toes out in my lab?"

T'Challa chuckled, wiggling his toes before lifting his foot to rest on a stool. "What, you don't like my royal sandals? Aquaria said they looked nice."

"Well, what was she supposed to say? That they're ugly? You're the king, brother." Shuri softly hit the back of his head, and T'Challa snickered.

"I wanted to go old school for my first day."

"Yeah, I bet the elders love that." Shuri glared playfully at him before reaching forward and grabbing two thin objects, having the outline of a shoe. "Try them on."

T'Challa stepped onto them, and a black mesh engulfed his feet. "Fully automated, like the old American movie Baba used to watch. And, I made them completely sound absorbent."

T'Challa, Aquaria, and Shuri looked at his feet as he tried to stomp his foot, only to hear nothing. "Interesting..."

"Guess what I call them. Sneakers."

T'Challa's smile dropped as he gave Shuri a look, but her smile only grew larger as Aquaria giggled at the joke, "Cause you... never mind." Shuri walked off with Aquaria trailing behind her.