Kabra's Honor
By: Sepharim
Disclaimer: I don't own 39 Clues, any of the characters, or any poems I didn't make up in my head the moment before I wrote it down.
Really, she didn't know what was up with the boy. The peasant's blond hair and jade green eyes made him look angelic despite his love for pranks and mischievous ideas. As far as she was concerned at the moment though, he was a pest through and through, although a rather cute one at that.
Natalie mentally scolded herself for thinking that, for even thinking of him, and on Valentine's day of all the days too. Despite all of her determination to keep him out, that peasant git had somehow weaseled his bloody self into her heart after all of those years. Now she was stuck at the Cahill mansion for another stupid, chaotic Cahill reunion where she had to see him everyday at meals. When had a Kabra sunk so low? Dan would be the death of her for sure.
Sighing, she plopped down on her bright pink bed gracefully as always and looked outside the window. A bit cloudy and windy, Grace's backyard seemed attractive even with most of the tree bare, yet it never seemed so ominous to her.
Natalie shifted a bit, feeling something on her back besides her sheets, and there, on her bed right underneath her, was a white card... with a flower in front... for her... on Valentine's day. Oh. Bloody. Great.
It wasn't that she never got any love letters on this particular day; quite on the contrary in fact. Every year she had letters from boys who only care about her looks and money, not that she minded, of course, but that just ruined it for her. When will a guy who she could withstand for a minute with money and looks going to come her way and admire her like the countless other males? (Natalie wrinkled her perfect nose when she realized she sounded like one of those lovesick, peasant girls.) Also, those cards were almost always the same and were a nuisance to bother with.
But this card was special. It was probably from him, although whether this was a prank or a real Valentine card, she wasn't sure. Nor did she know how she knew it was from him. Against her better judgment, Natalie didn't trash it into the bin immediately. Instead, she read it.
There was a rather pretty picture of a orchid in the cover of the otherwise plain card. Flipping to the inside, Natalie saw some writing on both the left and right page of the card in scarlet red. On closer inspection, she noticed that it was typed.
On the left it read:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
No one's more scared,
Then me when I see you.
I know you'll probably kick me,
All the way to Timbuktu.
But I had to send this,
So without further ado.
Please look at the right,
And I swear everything I say is true.
P.S.: The Ninja Lord can rhyme!
Rolling her eyes, she turned to the next page full of writing.
The Old Ex-Supreme Ninja Lord saw me hungry; he created pizza.
He saw me thirsty; he created Pepsi.
The Old Ex-Ninja Lord saw me in the dark; he created light.
He saw me bored; he created the TV.
The Ex-Ninja Lord saw me without problem; he created YOU.
And now I see you everywhere.
Yours Truly: Dan Cahill, the New Supreme Ninja Lord
Natalie unconsciously smiled, the corners twitching upwards slightly. Even though she knew he probably got that last poem from the Internet, she thought it was sweet anyway. That didn't mean she missed the oh-so obvious Dan-like insult - although it was quite cleverly hidden. This opened up many, many possibilities. Slowly, as an absolutely silly idea in her opinion formed in her head, the barest traces of her smile transformed itself into the famous Kabra smirk.
After all, no one insulted Natalie Kabra, no matter how sort-of romantic she thought it was, and gets away with it without being a bit scared for his life one way or the other. Absolutely no one.
Dan knew he was going to get it. Oh yes, he will. He just didn't know when.
Tiptoeing into his bedroom and eyeing every little object that could have hidden a trap from Natalie, Dan was trying to be as cautious as he could. Why he had slipped that card into her room this morning of all mornings was beyond his understanding. But the fact was he did, and he expected to pay very dearly for it.
Dan would have stayed up all night with his precious Ninja videogames, but Amy threatened to tell the principal that he was allergic to chocolate and Skittles and switch his status to Un-active. Being a legal adult and a Branch Leader does have its perks, doesn't it? Too bad it was Amy with all the power.
It took him around a total of ten minutes to make it to his bed, and when he pulled back the covers he saw a white card with pink designs along edges under it. Quickly thinking, he ran to the bathroom to take a towel to avoid touching the card directly. Dan wouldn't put it pass Natalie to poison the card.
Inside was formatted a bit like his card to her. To the left, it read:
I'm not even going to bother writing this in poetry, so deal with it. You probably think that I poisoned this card, but I didn't. Kabra's honour. I guess I should thank you for that card you sent me, but I can't help but think there's an insult there somewhere. No matter. It's just probably just me being a bit jumpy. No, I wouldn't kick you to Timbuktu. What horrid idea. You'll probably ruin my shoes, and they'll probably just send you back anyhow. Anyway, since you sent me that rather lovely note today, I feel obliged to give you one too.
And on the right, it read:
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
I wrote your name in the sand; the waves washed it away.
I wrote your name in the air; the wind blew it away.
I wrote your name on a leaf of paper; someone dropped it in the fire.
I engrained your name on my heart; I had a heart attack.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
See? I didn't add any poison on the card. For your surprise, look up. Enjoy!
Forever Yours,
~Natalie Kabra
After reading her end note and salutation four times, he began to feel a little giddy and lightheaded. Then he remembered her surprise, and like an absolute idiot, he looked up. Immediately, with a poison dart sprouted on his arm, he slumped down onto his bed face first. Natalie appeared from her hiding place with a dart gun in her hand and looked very pleased with herself.
Inside that dart was Poison 31, a poison that will make him answer every question he was asked including of all of his deepest secretes for an hour at the most. Best of all, he wouldn't remember anything he said after the hour, so he'll be completely ignorant. Within a few short seconds, the poison would have travels to the brain and will take affect. All she needed to do now was to wait for him to wake up.
There was a reason why Natalie loved poisons.
Groggily, Dan started regained conscious, eyes dazed. Notebook in hand, Natalie smirked; she knew exactly what she was going to ask.
Original poems:
Husband-
God saw me hungry; he created pizza.
He saw me thirsty; he created Pepsi.
God saw me in the dark; he created light.
He saw me bored; he created the TV.
God saw me without problems; he created YOU.
Wife-
I wrote your name in the sand; the waves washed it away.
I wrote your name in the air; the wind blew it away.
I wrote your name on a leaf of paper; someone dropped it in the fire.
I engrained your name on my heart; I had a heart attack.
I'm not that talented with poems so I borrowed those two poems above. I would give the original author(s) of the poems credit, but I have no idea who they are. ^^"
So what do you think? I found this file that I started about three-quarters of a year ago sitting around half done and decided to finish it even though it was written for Valentine's day and that day wasn't anywhere near that overly mushy and pink holiday. I know I'm not that good with romantic stories, but I can't seem to stop.
Just putting it out there, I'm not that big of a Dan x Natalie fan so yeah... don't kill me!
Hope you all enjoyed it! Please review and comment! Constructive criticism is always welcomed.
~Sepharim