A/N: Thank you Apple for taking time to read and beta this story. I appreciate it. No chocolate, but would you like an apple? xD
Summary: Natalie takes a small stroll down memory lane, bits and pieces adding up to Isabel's trial. Set during the Black Book.
Dedication: I'm dedicating this to Apple, my amazing and fun beta, Princess, for encouraging me to post this, and Kaye, who read and did a little beta as well. Thanks so much you guys!
Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own the 39 Clues series. *le sigh* ON WITH THE STORY!
She was Natalie Kabra, daughter of the handsome Vikram Kabra and the lovely Isabel Kabra. For years, she and her charming brother Ian felt special, as the most powerful, most amazing, and the richest family in the whole of England. By the age of seven, she could tell whether a dress or any clothing was designer or not. For years, Natalie felt loved by everyone, most especially her mother.
Then that batty old woman Grace Cahill died, leading to the start of the Clue hunt. Natalie was sure she and her brother would win, but she underestimated Grace's grandchildren, Amy and Dan. Every time Natalie and Ian found a lead, the Cahill children would know about it already. It made Natalie feel stupid. Weak. This was exactly what her parents didn't want to happen. This was exactly what she had not been trained since a toddler for.
Of course, Isabel would have none of it. She refused to let those two miserable orphans beat the powerful, rich, and ruthless Kabras. Natalie had to agree. Poor people can't just fight or challenge rich people, win, and get away with it. Rich people are the best, the most powerful. That was one of the sayings stamped into Natalie's brain ever since she could think straight.
And in Australia, when Isabel almost purposely killed Dan once, and Amy twice, Natalie was astounded. She couldn't believe it. Her mother must have been real good with threatening. Much better than most Lucians. Probably a Kabra thing.
But still, the Kabra siblings saw their mother's true nature: a cold-blooded killer, who would stop at nothing to win the hunt, even by endangering people's lives.
Lucians wouldn't go that far wouldn't they? Hopefully not. The thought of too much disgusting, sticky, red blood, made Natalie feel sick. But obviously she wasn't going to show that. That was most unlikely when your mother was Isabel Kabra.
Then in England, Natalie couldn't believe what she discovered. Isabel committed yet another heartless murder, the cruel death of fellow Lucian and ex-KGB agent Irina Spasky; and once again, she threatened Dan, Amy and their au pair. Natalie wondered if her mother got tired of doing that.
And in the Gauntlet, she shot poor Natalie's foot with no mercy. What kind of mother would do that? Only Natalie's, presumably. And she said she would be serious in hitting anyone anywhere. What if she shot Ian's head, or Natalie's heart? Was Isabel heartless, mad, or crazy enough to kill her own children, who she made sure was to grow up the Lucian way? The Kabra way? Hopefully not.
She also learned that her mother – the charming, wonderful, perfect Isabel Kabra – was behind the deaths of Arthur Trent and Hope Cahill, Dan and Amy's parents. Her own mother was the murderer. Would Natalie still be able to face Amy and Dan after that shocking truth? A true Cahill, a true person, who is full of regret for doing something bad would. A true Madrigal would be brave, and proud to do such. Was this why she and Ian accepted the offer to work with the Madrigals? Because they were kind, caring, and brave, unlike their wonderful mother?
The last time Natalie saw her mother face-to-face was in Boston, for Isabel's trial. If it wasn't Isabel she was looking at, Natalie would have felt sick. Disgusted. Mortified. Worried. Isabel had no makeup on, and her hair wasn't even combed properly. Was this how awful jail was? Natalie shuddered at the thought. And when her mother was about to be taken away, pronounced guilty, for the murder of Hope and Arthur and for the attempted murder of the Cahills present in the Gauntlet, Isabel's face was expressionless.
Did Isabel regret doing what she had done? Natalie would never find out.
Then outside the courthouse, while being interviewed by the reporters, she told them as she faced Natalie and Ian, "I regret failing my children. I allowed them to grow up as weak-minded fools without the strength to make hard decisions." She looked at Ian for a moment. "They'll never amount to anything," she concluded, as she turned back to the press. She tossed her long hair over one shoulder. "They'll never be in the papers."
Days after that, she broke down and cried. Crying. Something Natalie Kabra hadn't done in a long time. Blame the parents. Especially Isabel.
And there Natalie realized. Maybe she wasn't special after all. Maybe she wasn't loved.
Once in your life, take a little moment and realize what your life is like. Just a moment. Then maybe you'll realize how you could change, like the Kabra siblings did. You'll realize how mean or cruel or haughty you've been, like the Kabra siblings did. Take some time off in your life and think, just like little Natalie did.
A/N: Read and Review, guys. It'll only take a few minutes...