•Night Angel•

CHAPTER XX - SALA KAKUHLE, WAKANDA (Goodbye, Wakanda) PT.I

Right after I had managed to fix the phone, which only took me like 20 minutes, we decided to try it.

T'Challa, king T'Chaka, Okoye, Queen Mother, and I, were waiting for the line to engage with the one in Ethiopia.

One, two, three rings, nothing. No one was picking up. We had tried at least four times already and nothing.

The king decided to try one more time. We were starting to lose hope, when at the third ring, someone on the other side answered.

We stood in silence just as the king started speaking with whoever was on the other end of the line. No one said anything. All of us waited for him to finish. A couple minutes had passed when the king nodded his head and said some goodbye to then hang up.

-It was the President. He arrived safely in Ethiopia, his team made it.- As soon as those words left the king's mouth, I felt relief take over my whole body in waves. That was, until I saw the look on the king's face.

-What is it, Kumkani Wam? (My king).- Okoye asked the king.

-The President says he arrived well and safe to his country. His team took him there. Agent Sinclair and just two more men were able to make it. He said that after they had crossed territory and recovered a couple of days at the main house, they took off again to look for you, Sophia. They told the President they would be back a day or two after, but they never showed up again. I am very sorry, Sophie.- The king said while bowing his head in sympathy.

I froze in place. I couldn't hear anything but the sound of blood pumping loudly in my ears. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Not even a single word.

Michael went looking for me. And he never came back. He didn't make it. And somehow, the thought of it made me feel guilty. Like if I had been the one that made him disappear.

We had agreed to come out of this one alive to go for coffee, right? We had agreed that we were going on a date kinda thing. We had agreed that both of us were going to make it. And while I did, he didn't. And that just made me feel empty and angry at myself. Even though we hadn't known each other for more than just a few hours, I wanted to get to know him. Somehow he made me feel things I have never felt before, and even though it scared me, it also intrigued me.

-It's okay. Thank you, your majesty.- I said to the king while nodding to him and giving him a little smile.

I couldn't allow myself to be sad or anything. At the end of the day, it was part of the job.

Three weeks later. 22nd November, 2006. Wakanda.

Third person POV

It's been three weeks since Sophia arrived at Wakanda. Three weeks since she's had no idea what's going on outside. Three weeks since she thinks everyone might already think she is dead. Three weeks since she last spoke to her parents, to Juliette, to Nick, Pierre, to Tony.

It's been one week since she was told that Michael hadn't made it. She still felt it was her fault that he was dead. If he hadn't gone looking for her, he would still be here. The thought of that each time made her heart ache. Everyone would ask her how she was doing, how she was feeling. She would just give them a smile and tell them she was okay.

And she was. Until nightfall came and she would lock herself in her room, curl up in her bed and let the tears run freely down her cheeks. She was also angry at herself for feeling like this over a man she had just met, but it was inevitable. After all, like king T'Chaka said, she was still human. She still had a heart.

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She woke up to the rays of the early morning sun sneaking through her curtains, hitting her face. She let out a groan and raised her arms above her head, stretching her sore limbs. The day before she had trained with a small group of the Dora Milaje and to say that it was a fair match, was an understatement. It came to a moment where none of them were winning. Not Sophia, not the Dora, it was a tight match.