His name repeated in Aadya's mind. Her mind raced for possible reasons why the name sounded so familiar to her. When the memory struck her, the young woman turned to the man that stood beside her in surprise. "You're the King of Wakanda."
One day...
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WAKANDA
1992
He struggled to keep his breathing even as he paced around the small room. His mind continued to wander to that of the scene that played out before him at Wakanda's border. Dirt from the ground being uprooted was noticed first, followed immediately by the loud sounds of multiple blasts going off. The field erupted into piercing screams.
Dorean was forced to watch in horror as people from the border tribe fell severely injured. A fire erupted and burned the vegetation mercilessly. It looked similar to that of a war zone with the thick smoke from the fire casting a shadowy haze in the area. He remembered his heart pounding with sweat dripping from his forehead as he searched endlessly for Aadya. He screamed her name as loud as his vocal chords allowed. It felt as if a hand clutched his heart, squeezing ever so slightly with each passing second he failed to find her. What would he be without his daughter? She was his entire world and the last remnants of his wife.
The same hopeless feeling that loomed over him then didn't dissipate now as he stood over her burned body. She was unrecognizable. Her breaths came out in wheezes as she struggled for dear life. Dorean shook from where he stood. His mind was in a frenzy. A wave of nausea overcame him as he caught the scent of burning flesh, her burning flesh. He clutched his stomach, falling to his knees as his eyes welled with tears. How could this happen to his baby girl?
"Dorean," a strong voice filled the room calling for him. Dorean paid no attention as he felt his entire world crumbling from beneath him. A strong pair of arms lifted him from his position and his gaze fell upon King T'Chaka. His eyes filled with concern and worry as he stared into the eyes of his friend.
"Please." Dorean's pleading voice came out in just a whisper. He felt tears fall from his eyes. He didn't know what he was requesting of the king. All he wanted was to be awakened from this bad dream and to see the joy-filled eyes of his precious daughter, Aadya.
King T'Chaka turned from Dorean to gaze at Aadya from where she laid unconscious on the bed. His heart fell at the sight of her. He sympathized with his friend but also felt this situation could have been avoided had he protected his country from Ulysses Klaue. He bombed the border to escape after managing to steal some of the country's most valuable resource - vibranium. It was an attack he didn't see coming.
"How might we save her?" T'Chaka asked Ramonda. She tore her eyes away from the screen detailing Aadya's vitals to peer over at the King. She opened her mouth to speak, but it shut closed as her gaze shifted momentarily to the young girl on the bed. Her eyes filled with sorrow as she turned back to T'Chaka.
"The heart-shaped herb," she stated.
Silence fell. Dorean knew that the heart-shaped herb was only limited to those within the royal family or to one who was successful in the ritual combat. Aayda was neither.
"Let us go to the caves quickly while we still have her," T'Chaka instructed.
Dorean heaved a heavy sigh as the trio began to move. There was some ounce of hope.
T'Chaka led the way as they moved from the lab to the caves where the heart-shaped herb was being grown and cared for. Ramonda carried Aadya carefully in her arms along the way. They moved purposefully in silence until they reached their destination. The caves were dimly lit by fire staffs lit up in the corners. The herbs gave off a purple glow within the soil from which they sprouted from.
T'Chaka removed one herb from its flower and almost immediately, the glow from the petals began to dull and fade to nothing. He began working to prepare it for Aadya, mashing it into a bowl. Ramonda and Dorean carefully placed Aadya in the sandpit and moments later, T'Chaka poured the now liquid herb into the young girl's mouth.
"Praise the ancestors," T'Chaka and Ramonda muttered in Xhosa as they buried her in the sand. Dorean paced nearby, unable to keep still with the nerves and anxiousness filling inside him.
They waited for what felt like an eternity in hopes of Aadya emerging from the sand. The trio stood and kept their gazes on where she laid buried in the sand.
"Thank you, T'Chaka," Dorean said, turning to him.
T'Chaka was understanding of his gratitude. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted and would do everything in his power to save the two-year-old child from the fate she suffered. "I thought of T'Challa," he started, his mind wandering to that of his own two-year-old son, "No parent should bear the weight of losing their own child. There's no need to thank me."
Silence fell once again. Dorean couldn't help but feel that his decision to stay in Wakanda following his wife's death might have been a mistake. He promised her in her last moments to raise and care for the child as best he could. In this moment, he felt like he was failing her. Great harm came to Aadya under his watch. She grew so curious about the rhinos by the border. Dorean was against her staying there while he worked, but the one time he gave in, this happened.
His mind raced a million miles per minute, his body filling with emotions of hatred for whoever caused this, pain for what his daughter had to endure, regret for not being more firm, but also gratitude towards his caring friends in the room.
"Aadya will awaken, Dorean. You will be reunited with your daughter," Queen Ramonda said confidently through a smile. Her words lifted his heart up slightly and through the darkness of the room, he returned her smile with a small one of his own.
His daughter's face appeared in his mind. More so her excited expression as she saw the beautiful sights Wakanda had to offer. She took a deep interest in the country. It was never a dull moment with her vocabulary increasing. Dorean knew she'd be unhappy with his plan to leave the beautiful country. But she'd be okay eventually especially in realizing it was for her own good. He wanted to raise her as normally as he possibly could. But he also hadn't thought about the effects the heart-shaped herb would have on his daughter.
"The heart-shaped herb, what effects will it have on Aadya?" Dorean asked, turning to the King.
T'Chaka let out a breath of air. "All of her senses will be heightened. She should be kept here for further monitoring but I will not cause more strife than what you have suffered today, my friend. But I will check in occasionally."
Dorean nodded his head in understanding and in that moment, Aadya sprang from the sandpit breathing heavily. Heavy sighs of relief filled the room at the sight of the young girl in a much better condition.
There were no traces of a single burn mark. She appeared completely healed. King T'Chaka gently grasped Aadya by the shoulders and spoke to her softly to calm her panting. Aadya took deep breaths to calm herself but jumped into her father's arms once she caught sight of him.
Dorean pulled her into his chest and caressed her hair as he felt a tug at his heart. The happiness he felt in that moment was indescribable. He didn't want to let go, he wouldn't. Aadya was his entire world and today he realized even more than before he couldn't bear losing her.
