The Fall - Book 1

17. These pastries are delicious!

JUNE 1, 2018 — WAKANDA — RÉA

When Tony and I enter the dining room, I see that we're the last two to arrive at the table. There are two open chairs between Wanda and Quill; Tony takes the one beside Quill, and I take the one beside Wanda. This puts me directly across from Bucky, who's flanked by Steve to his right and Thor to his left.

"Sorry we're late," I say to T'Challa.

"You are right on time," he replies. He turns to a regal woman seated to his right. "Réa, this is Queen Mother Ramonda; mother, this is Réa," he gestures to me, "and—"

"Tony Stark," Queen Mother Ramonda interrupts. "It is nice to meet you both."

"Thank you," I say. "And thank you both for opening your home to us."

"You are most welcome," she says.

Our conversation stops as Ochen, Afiya, Namazzi, Kabiite, and Dembe begin bringing the food to the table, moving swiftly and quietly; once everything is laid out, they move to stand against the wall of the dining room. T'Challa fills Queen Mother Ramonda's plate before filling his own, then gesturing for everyone to partake. I fill my plate with fruit, bacon, and scrambled eggs, and pour myself a glass of orange juice.

Everyone is silent as they begin eating; Thor speaks, holding up a muffin.

"These pastries are delicious!" he says, his deep voice carrying throughout the room. "My compliments to your chefs, Your Majesties."

"Yes, they are very good, and different than usual," T'Challa says. He beckons Afiya over. "You have outdone yourselves with these," he says to her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, but we did not prepare them," she replies.

"Oh?" He sounds puzzled. "Then who did?"

She gestures to me. "She did, Your Majesty." She smiles. "She also helped crack the eggs."

Everyone looks at me, and I can't help but lightly blush.

Making eye contact with T'Challa, I speak. "I wanted to show my gratitude to you for accommodating all of us."

"You are welcome, Réa. This was very kind of you. And, if you wanted to provide the recipe to my cooks, I would be most appreciative," he ends with a smile.

I smile back. "Thank you, T'Challa. And I can certainly do that."

He returns to his food; I do the same, as do the others. I still feel eyes on me; looking up, I lock gazes with Bucky. I give him a small smile; he returns it. Once again, I feel that pull and start to get lost in his eyes; however, the moment is broken when Thor leans toward me.

"Lady Réa, you are a wonderful cook. As I said, these pastries are very tasty," he says, his voice and expression jovial.

"Thank you, Thor. That's nice of you to say."

"You're welcome, Lady Réa."

"Just Réa, please," I say.

Thor nods. "Well, La—" he clears his throat, "Réa, I was wondering if perhaps you would do me the honor of allowing me to escort you to tonight's festivities."

Bucky shifts in his seat, drawing my gaze. He's glaring daggers at Thor, and I see his jaw clench as his hand tightens on the handle of his fork, snapping the utensil in half.

Steve looks at him, shocked. "Buck?" he asks quietly, his gaze moving from Bucky to me and back again.

I look from Bucky, to the fork, to Thor, then back to Bucky, not sure what to make of this.

"Thank you, Thor. That's very nice of you to offer," I say, still looking at Bucky. He's no longer glaring daggers at Thor; instead, his eyes are downcast. "But I'm going to go with Tony and Pepper."

At that statement, Bucky's eyes snap up to mine, and I give him a gentle smile. I stare into his eyes, again getting lost in them. I'm vaguely aware of someone—Thor, I think?—talking, but it barely registers.

"Earth to Réa," Tony says, waving his hand in front of my face. I snap back to the present and feel my cheeks heat as I realise everyone is staring. I duck my head and nervously bite my lip, then peek up at Bucky through my lashes. I see that he's still looking at me, and butterflies—scratch that, pterodactyls—take flight in my stomach. I feel my cheeks heat even more, and I drop my gaze to my plate, picking at my food. I've only ever gotten butterflies when I've dreamt of the mysterious man, so getting them around Bucky has me perplexed...so much so that my appetite has vanished as I try to process.

"Hey, kiddo," Tony leans over and whispers to me. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," I say, my voice catching.

He's quiet for a moment. "Okay. If you say so." He pauses briefly. "So, the event tonight is at six-thirty. What time were you thinking of going to get Pepper?"

I think for a few moments. "I know she's seven hours behind us, but I know she gets up early, so I'll text her at seven her time and see when she wants me to get her."

"Sounds good," Tony says.

I nod, and return my attention to my food, finishing my meal in silence. As soon as I'm finished, I excuse myself. I stop at the library I passed on my earlier walk to the kitchen, perusing the shelves. There are historical tomes and reference texts, along with vast selections of fiction and nonfiction works—everything from literary classics to graphic novels. I'm delighted to find copies of several of my favourite books among them. Selecting a copy of Black Beauty, I open the cover and grin when I see 'Property of Shuri' written in a child's scrawl. Since I haven't read it in a while, I decide to revisit the story. I take the book outside to the field of flowers, finding a spot at the edge and settling in to read.

I'm just over halfway through the book when Shuri approaches.

"Hi, Réa!"

"Hi, Shuri. What's up?"

"I wanted to tell you that I had a rack of clothing brought to your room for this evening...shoes included. There is traditional Wakandan attire as well as modern, so you should be able to find something." She pauses. "I also wanted to invite you to get ready with me, if you'd like."

"Thank you, Shuri. And I'd like to get ready on my own...but I would love it if you'd help me pick an outfit."

She claps her hands gleefully. "Perfect, because I have two dresses in mind for you, and I made sure that both ended up on the rack I had sent to your room!"

"You've been busy this morning," I say with a laugh.

"Would you mind if we picked out your outfit now? I'm too excited to wait."

Her excitement is contagious. "Sure," I say we head to my room.