Lioness | Erik Killmonger

Chapter ten: Bigger threats

' Those who cannot hear
Must

Feel '

Chapter ten: Bigger threats

Anila climbed up the steps slowly, trying not to think that this might be the last time they would walk aside each other ever. Erik followed silently behind her. The throne room behind them still blared with voices and all sorts of noise and chaos, Anila was hopeful that even for a moment that there may be quiet, but as they turned down another hall, not even the thick stone walls of the castle could dampen the noise.

Their door closed shut behind them, and the latch clicked under Anila's hands. She stood there for a moment, hesitant to speak, hesitant to come any closer. The window was open though, and below the Ashani servants gossiped about the rumours of T'Challa's resurrection.

Erik looked over. For a moment he did not recognise his wife, Anila's skin was usually full of life, she would've smiled or even spoken, but she was quiet and pale, and if Erik was certain, she was scared. Finally he spoke. "Everything is going to be fine." he said in a voice strangely flat and emotionless.

"You sound like an idiot," Anila said, plainly. "Do you hear me?"

His face didn't change. His plaits lay flat over his face, dull and tangled. He had looked like he had aged ten years, in the space of an hour. "T'Challa isn't going to change anything, Anila- everything-"

Part of her wanted only to slap him, but she knew she would've regretted it. She took a cool step closer into the room. "You saw what the Ehsan showed us, didn't you? They have the vibranium made weapons, many of them, things we have never seen before," she said.

Something cold moved in Erik's eyes. "I said, everything is going to be fine," he said. "How many times do I need to tell you?"

Once Anila would've left the matter alone. Once Anila would've swallowed her pride and obeyed. Now, it only made her angry. She was his queen, the mother of his children, she had made herself lesser in the eyes of her brother and her country, and had felt more hurtful words than what Erik was giving her. "I heard you the first time." she said.

"Anila-"

"I started believed in your vision, you know the one about making Africa stronger so that we never fall under the dictatorship of the world, again, I believed that Erik." Anila said, defiant. "Now! All this plan can only lead to us our downfall. We have children Erik, or did you forget that?"

Erik spun around quickly, rage burning against his skin, for a second she thought he would've hit her like Moran did, but she knew Erik to know better. "I've thought about this Anila, nothing is going to harm either you or our children, I killed T'Challa before, I can do it again."

Erik pushed past her and started toward the door, he was about to walk out until Anila called out to him. "Erik," she said. He would've kept going, but in this moment he hadn't. He turned to find her staring back at him, wiping the single tear away from her cheek. She was more than angry now.

"What?" he said.

"You should start counting your blessings, because one day they're going to stop coming." Anila told him. Then she turned away and into the separate room on the other side.

*

It was a tiring walk through down the hall.

Inside, everything was a hybrid of whispers or shouts. Conference rooms loaded, officials arguing. There was a problem, and there was an uproar to solve it.