Nadra pressed the pack gently to her cheek, and gave a tired nod to the salesman. "Many thanks."
The salesman gave her an odd gesture of acknowledgement but didn't make eye contact. The strange action was eye-catching, but Nadra quickly put it out of her thoughts. The cold touch of the pack alleviated most of the pain the bruise was causing so her purchase was a good idea; it was better than the suggestion of putting ice cold meat on her face. She couldn't wrap her head around that age old tradition of using food to erase pain--instead of just eating it like a normal human being. The young woman thought a small ice pack was good enough, even if it was a cent or two more expense. The colors matched the attire of the Dora Miaje too; a proud red to match her sleeved corset.
Ah, yes. The King's elite guard. One didn't have to get a bruise like Nadra to know that training to be apart of it was a long process. The Dora Miaje were the highest symbols of the strength of Wakanda and to have one weak member could shatter their power and make them look bad, so to speak. Nadra didn't want to join their ranks just because her mother was involved with them--she adored the Dora Miaje. They were her heroes as far back as she could remember, serving the king and being the strongest defense of the land. She could only hope that one day, she would be half as lucky as their general and leader: Okoye.
Her mother.
She smiled at the thought, though it hurt her cheek. Okoye would be proud to, one day soon, see her daughter among the ranks. Not just a proud officer, but her own daughter at that. Perhaps together, they would fight side by side to protect Wakanda. A little more training, a few more months, and she could graduate to the officer level. In a short span of time, her dream would be realised.
Nadra still smiled as she walked, but it didn't stop her from looking around the square at the citizens she passed. The closest ones eyed her as she passed and she waved to them with a friendly grin, expecting smiles in return. But the stares only intensified, some even hardening at her attempt of respectful greeting. Pouting, Nadra continued to walk her way back towards the royal grounds. She had to pay Shuri a visit and--
"Strange."
She slowed but didn't stop as a whispering voice sounded behind her. "Huh. You think?"
"Is she really part of the Dora Miaje?"
"No, she is just training. What would Dora Miaje be doing by themselves out here?"
"Hmmph. Seems like a bad choice for their cause."
Nadra didn't stop walking, but she did stiffen up. Perhaps, if they were anyone else, she might have rounded on them for such rude remarks. But if her mother didn't get to act on personal motives, then neither could she. Still, she couldn't deny that the remarks she heard...hurt, just slightly. Why did she seem like a bad choice for the Dora Miaje? This bruise was not a sign of defeat--her sparring match had gone flawlessly! They--
In her peripheral view, Nadra saw a red object thrust at her from the side. It struck her knee with surprising softness and then bounced to a halt on the dirt ground. She barely had time to realize that it was a ball before two young children appeared; two boys that instantly stopped when they saw her. Nadra picked up the ball and held it out to them, smiling. "Oh, here you go."
Anxiously, the children ran off from her and left her with a strong sense of confusion. Why did they look at her like that? Why did they run away too? Usually children adored the Dora Miaje. This didn't make any sense.
"Girl, move!"
Nadra squeaked as she was suddenly face to face with a halting buffalo, its nostril flaring with disapproving snorts in her face. Two men sat in a cart behind it, offering unhappy looks to the living road obstacle that was her. "Are you deaf? Move!Right in the middle of the road--"
"I'm sorry." Nadra stepped back a few paces, the red ball falling from her hands in a forgotten manner.
"You pay attention, yeah? The Dora Miaje pay attenttion, " The man on the left grumbled as the cart began to pass. "Don't watch yourself--You get more than a bruise!"
"Are you serious? Dora Miaje are stealthy." The other man cracked a smirk with his friend. "With skin like that, I would have seen her coming a mile away!"
They laughed themselves away as she blinked. Nadra stared after them as uncertain feelings swallowed her face, and seeped into her heart. The young woman stared down at her free hand, stared at the skin as pale as snow.
She walked away more briskly than before.
"No, I have not seen her since training when I walked by. Did you check the court yard?"
"Yes.." Okoye said with an unhappy sigh. "She is not there, blasted girl."
T'challa remained stoic and still, shrugging though his arms remained behind his back. "There is no need to be so Anxious, Okoye."
"She's never skipped a meal before. She's usually early, never missing well into the hour!" She paced to a halt, fists balled tightly. "She had better have a good excuse for this."
T'challa sighed in mild annoyance as he considered a particular place for a preteen to disappear to, owned by a particularly annoying sibling. "She might not, but Shuri might. Haven't seen them near each other today, but Shuri knows everything."
Okoye had practically flown down to Shuri's lab after that comment, looking around for any sign of her Princess. When she happened to find the girl drawing designs for a new train track, the warrior saluted her and spoke as calmly as she could. "Hello, Shuri. I am sorry for the interruption."
"No you're not." Shuri shrugged, never even looking away from the designs she was creating. "And no, She was not here. Never saw her at all today."
Okoye blinked.
"You two were right next to the entryway to the lab. And you talk like your twenty feet apart from each other. " The girl shifted a holographic design into the sir, and selected a small piece from it. "She might be sitting higher up on the building, like that panther statue she likes. "
Her daughter, sitting on the pride and heart of Wakanda?! Okoye snarled to herself and began to stomp out of the room. Behind her she could hear a very amused voice calling. "Tell her I said thanks for the design suggestions."
Curse that Shuri. She was right.
Okoye had to climb her way to the top of the panther statue, huffing and puffing her way up onto its back. The setting sun stung her eyes as she tried to look above the head of the panther, but her eyes managed to adjust to the bright light. Enough to see a lone figure sitting with her front facing the view. She wheezed as she finally got the rest of her body onto the dark stone surface. Wind whistled past the both of them.
"Girl, do you not know how high up this is?" Okoye instantly snapped, and she saw her girl flinch just the slightest. She appeared to be holding a pack to her cheek. "You could fall."
"I am well rooted Mother. I'm sorry for missing dinner--"
Okoye huffed. "You will be. Come down from here, so you can eat something and go straight to your room."
"I'm not hungry."
"Then you will go straight to your room. "
"I will not." Okoye's eyes widened in disbelief at the calm response. "I am sorry mother, but I will not. Not yet."
"You," The older warrior scolded and stomped her way over to the younger one. "Are coming down with me right now. You don't get to do whatever you want just because you lost one round of--"
"I did not lose!"
Nadra's head shot up to glare at her, eyes rimmed with red and oddly watery. Okoye watched as she lowered her head more submissive, and the glare was gone. "I...I did not lose the match, Mother. I won. The other just got a good hit in."
Okoye sighed to herself, crossing her arms in irritation. "Then what is it, girl?"
Nadra reluctantly swallowed and began to speak. "It's...um, am I really Wakandan?"
The older warrior stiffened, but her glare relaxed itself slowly. "...Yes. You are."
"I don't...know if that's true. I've never really noticed it before, when I was younger. Never really been in the marketplace without you there." Nadra stared down at her knees as she spoke. "But I've started to notice...how different I look. Compared to everyone else, I'm...I don't even look like you."
"Nadra..." Okoye leaned down, shuffling her legs to sit beside her.
"And...And I noticed that the Miaje always work well in the dark, where no one can see them. But me..." Nadra stared down at her hands and tightened them into fists. "Maybe I should not be part of it, Mother."
"What?!"
"I am not like you."
"No, you are better than me. I have seen it," Okoye gently grasped her chin and turned her head to meet her eyes. "You fight with the strength of many warriors, Daughter. With cunning and intelligence of thousands. I have nothing but good things from the officers training you. They have said from the start that you have promise. They never said you wouldn't fit in among them because you don't look like us--"
"Would you expect them to say anything less to their own general?"
"They would tell me anything, Nadra. You cannot give up because of what you see on the outside. " Okoye reached for her hand, held it tightly in her own. "Do you still believe I am your mother?"
Nadra looked horrified with the question. " Yes! Of course I do!"
"If you continue to think this way, you may start to think we are different."
"I have never even begun to think of that." Nadra declared in a saddened voice. "I don't care where you found me, but I know that you are my mother."
“But you can doubt your citizenship? No, Daughter.”
Nadra stared weakly at Okoye. “...But...I…”
"You...are Wakandan. But you are also more special than any of us. That is why, " Okoye explained with a soft smile. "You are called Nadra. Because you are a Rarity, Nadra. Rarity."
Nadra sniffled, but smiled all the same. The sun glinted it's way through her short purple locks. "Rarity."
"That is right. " Okoye wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged tightly. "You should be proud of what you look like, because it is a symbol of how rare you are. How much you mean to us all and how much you mean to me. Wakanda will be even prouder of you when you join the ranks of The Miaje."
They stayed in that embrace for a long time afterwards, and the only one to speak was the whisking wind. Eventually, the sun finally disappeared over the distant mountains and darkens began to creep into the land around them. Okoye patted Nadra's shoulder. "Now come down. You're eating."
Nadra pouted as she got to her feet. "Reeeeally? I'm not hungry."
"I don't care. You need something in your belly, girl."
“That’s not what you said a few minutes ago. “ Nadra teased.
“Just climb.” The older warrior smiled as the girl stared to reluctantly scale down the panther statue. A distant thought in her head made Okoye frown.
"...Nadra."
The girl looked up,her blue eyes full of adoration and eager expectancy for whatever her mother was going to say. It brought back the memories of her time with Nadra, ever since her days as a crawling ball of gibberish noises. Yes; she truly was a Rarity. Okoye smiled again from above. "I love you, Yangu Mtoto."
Nadra smiled back. "I love you too."
Author's Note
*spastically gurgles on the sweetness of this fic*
Anywho, hope you enjoy this little One shot! If you haven't figured where Rarity is in this hypothetical universe...well, that's sad. I gave thousands of hints already.
For those Road Trips, don't worry! I've finished more than half of the new chapter! I expect a release at least by saturday!
