Nefretti stood on the balcony in her room looking at the bustling city below. It had been a couple of hours after her and T'Challa's arrival yet their citizens were still out celebrating the news of the future heir to the throne. It was a miracle that no one had noticed the young queen slip away from the festivities which was currently held in the grand ballroom of the palace. It wasn't like she didn't appreciate what they had prepared. No-she absolutely loved it. However, her thoughts cast a dark shadow on her mood today. She needed fresh air. A quiet place to think.

The sun was already setting. Nefretti couldn't help but remember two thinks upon looking at the orange ball disappear into the horizon. One was when Erik Killmonger spent his last moment alive watching the Wakandan sunset his father loved watching. Nefretti could never forget the broken look on his face. It was obvious that he loved his father very much and after his passing, everything just went downhill from there. She knew that if he was raised under different circumstances (perhaps in Wakanda), things might've turned out differently. He might've been close with his cousins, T'Challa and Shuri, He might've found love here, He might've been happy. The young queen was guilty of taking that possibility away from him. She now stared intently at the changing colors of the sky. From orange to dark purple. The second thing she remembered was the Ancestral Plane. After the whole ordeal with Killmonger, she had thought that she'll get her happily ever after. But how can she now that there will always be fear of death. Her's or T'Challa's according to her parents. The possibilities were endless, she wanted to make a list of all their enemies but came out empty-handed seeing that all their enemies are now dead. And what of their son? Will he grow up without a mother or a father, or worse, both? 

"Is something wrong my love?"

She peered over her shoulder to see T'Challa standing in the doorway. Silently, she shook her head 'no' and gave him a smile. 

"Then why did you leave? Did you not like the celebration we're having?" He continued asking stepping further into the balcony towards his wife. 

"No T'Challa, of course not. I am so thankful to have people in my life who want to celebrate this amazing journey with us. It's just-" She stopped herself. What was she going to say? Nefretti didn't know what to tell him. The fact that she was anxious about the baby? Her parents' prophecy about her family? She fumbled the words. T'Challa looked equally confused and out of concern, he took her hands in his. "I-I guess I'm tired It's not that good to travel while pregnant you know." She gave up.

"You should rest then." He kissed her on the head. T'Challa knew very well that Nefretti was lying and that something is bothering her but he didn't want to press her. He knew that when the time comes, she'll come to him, hopefully. 

"I love you"

"I love you too." 

She sighed placing her head onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist hugging her and rested his chin on her shoulder. They both swayed like that until the sun completely vanished from the sky. 

--------------

"This is unfair."

"You're pregnant."

"But I'm still capable of fighting!"

Nakia rolled her eyes at her best friend before catching Okoye's fist and twisted it. Okoye hissed in pain before kicking Nakia behind her knees making her kneel. Okoye went behind her to push her onto the ground but Nakia managed to tumble to the other side and kick her in the face. Currently, Nakia and Okoye were sparring in the courtyard. Parts of their bodies were slightly covered with bruises and scratch marks from an hours-long of combat that is still on-going. Despite the yells of pain and sweat covering their faces, neither seemed like they wanted to give up. 

Nefertiti groaned and flopped back onto the bench. She had already finished the book they gave her to keep her busy. And she didn't feel like eating since she felt like she had been doing that all day. The urge of doing something productive strengthened within her. Training with Nakia was something she looked forward to every day when she was not busy on missions or saving the world. Nefretti loved fighting, it was her life. She was not raised to stand in the sidelines while the warriors fought in wars. She was the warrior fighting in the war! "I just want to punch someone in the jaw for fun." She pouted. The two women didn't bother listening to their friends as they were too engrossed in the fighting. Nefretti looked down at the cause of why she wasn't allowed to train anymore. "I love you but I can't wait for you to get out of me." She rubbed her big belly.

A scream echoes throughout the courtyard. Nefretti perched up curious as to who it belonged it. "Did you hear that?" She asked the two women.

"Hear what?" Okoye asked while dodging a kick. Nakia also repeated Okoye's words.

"The scream," Nefretti answered expecting them to reply. But after seeing them not paying attention to what she said, she took it upon herself to investigate. She pushed herself from the seat and waddled her back to the other side of the courtyard. Another scream was heard, must've been from a young girl, Nefretti thought. She had entered the gardens when the screaming came to an abrupt stop. It was quiet. Too quiet. There were no palace guards nor the Dora Milaje insight. Nefretti mentally prepared herself for combat if somebody was in danger. She regretted dragging Nakia or Okoye seeing that she could not allow herself to get hit in the stomach. 

"Stop screaming you idiot! We might get caught"

"Yeah! We don't want the guards to see us Nuru!" 

The sounds of hushed voices made the young queen hid behind one of the tall garden bushes. She peered into the other side to see a group of children. Four of them were males while only one of them (and the tiniest one) was a girl. Taking in their appearances, she estimated that they were around eight. They were all circling a boy had both hands covering his mouth. So he was the one who screamed...

"I'm sorry! I told you I'm bad at this game." Nuru whispered-yelled at the other four.

"We know." Emem shared a knowing look with the rest of the boys who chuckled. 

Efia huffed, "Hey! Leave my boyfriend alone." 

"How many times do I have to tell you?! I am not your boyfriend!" Nuru cried out. The rest hushed him as fast as Nuru slapped his mouth shut again.

"I swear one day, my dad will catch us here and he will all be in trouble. Either that or the Dora Milaje will slice our throats once they find us here." A look of horror was shared among the kids. Emem shook his head continuing, "I say, we find a new place to play hide n seek."

The sounds of grunts and protests were soon followed after Emem had said this. Nefretti chuckled to herself listening in on their conversation even more. It turns out that Emem's father worked in the palace kitchen, and he and his friends had been following his father here to secretly play games in the gardens. Much to Nefretti's surprise, this had been going on for months. They had even found the secret spot garden where no one could find them. They're now talking about hiding there instead.

"But what if I get hungry? The swing is too far from the kitchen." Oba whined rubbing his chubby belly. Nefretti furrowed her eyebrows, there wasn't a swing in the garden.

Chifundu rolled his eyes before saying, "Then why don't you pack snacks you cow."

"Quit calling me cow Chifundu! You're the one who's afraid of them."

"Can you be quiet?! That was supposed to be a secret!"  The group of children roared with laughter at this shocking revelation seeing as Chifundu was known as the 'muscle' of the group. Even Nefretti had to cover her mouth from making a sound. "Ughh! So now what? We just stay trapped in the swi-

"-I'd like to know where the secret swing is." Nefretti revealed herself to the children.

They all screamed in shock that they had been caught...by the queen nonetheless but no one screamed more intensely than Nuru who had still his mouth wide open even when the group wasn't screaming anymore.