Chapter 29
Establishing a Point
Gosalyn frowned to herself as she flicked through the clothes in her wardrobe. 'This is bad.' She commented to herself.
There was a knock on the door. 'Gosalyn? You're aware that it's a school day still, right?' Nat asked casually leaning on the doorframe with her arms calmly folded.
Gosalyn turned to look at Nat. 'Dad made me promise that I'll never part with my new gun.' She began.
'Never for any reason.' Nat said seriously as she straightened.
'But I can't conceal it with this dress.' Gosalyn said furrowing her brow as she turned back to her wardrobe.
Nat considered her and walked over to the wardrobe as well and pulled out the bag of clothes that Janet had given Gosalyn, Nat set the bag down by the bed and Gosalyn watched as her bedcovers became decorated with clothes of many different styles and colours.
'Ah-ha!' Nat declared triumphantly pulling out a navy-blue coat with white lace trim. 'This'll do the trick.' She said simply. 'It has an inside pocket.' She said passing the jacket to Gosalyn, Gosalyn put it on and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
The jacket was slightly heavier than Gosalyn had expected it to be and Gosalyn found it difficult to adjust to the way it draped over her dress.
'Hmmm.' Nat did the middle button of the jacket up and fastened the fabric belt around Gosalyn's waist. 'Right.' Nat said simply stepping back to observe Gosalyn and smiled. 'Problem solved.' She said smiling.
'It's a very...' Gosalyn stopped frowning, it was a very expensive looking coat, that seemed intended to declare to the world "I am above you".
'Very what?' Nat asked frowning slightly.
'Very...' Gosalyn winced, Nat had grown up in that mansion in the Miami with all these pretty and expensive clothes to wear.
'You can talk to me, Gosalyn, I'm not Negaduck.'
Gosalyn gave Nat a smile. 'It's a very pretty coat, I don't want to ruin it.'
'Gosalyn, no one else is going to be wearing these clothes, they're second hand, I wore them to school, when shopping, while playing, I never cared about that sort of thing and honestly you shouldn't either.'
'How different is Miami?' Gosalyn asked wondering how people would have felt about seeing Nat in these clothes.
Nat sighed. 'Oh, the city's fine, the people are fine, it's all pretty normal like that, the only difference here is: I grew up in the mansion on the hill and you're growing up in a regular house in the city, don't go repeating this but that is the only difference, your dad's just as much in control around here as mine was back home, meaning that you are in the same position as I was, so go ahead wear these clothes, because you're family.'
Gosalyn's eyes went wide and she leapt forwards and hugged Nat. 'Thank you.'
'Just don't call me "Mum" in front of Negs, it'll mess with his head.'
'Really, you think it will?' They both looked around to Negaduck who was smirking slightly in the doorway, he folded his arms. 'This is a nice moment.'
'Do you honestly have to eavesdrop on every conversation?' Nat sighed in irritation.
He leant on the doorframe casually and Gosalyn gave a smile, that was the same position Nat had taken. 'Nice coat.' He commented.
Gosalyn realised that she was still hugging Nat and smiled at her as she stepped back.
'Why're you wearin' it?' He asked.
'My dress doesn't have pockets.' Gosalyn said picking up her gun and putting it into the inside pocket.
Negaduck gave a shrug and nodded in understanding.
'Well, he said something positive, even if it was sarcastic.' Nat said with a sigh.
'How old were you when you wore it?' Negaduck asked calmly.
Nat shot him a look of annoyance. '11.'
Gosalyn blinked a few times and gazed at the clothes, Nat had worn these clothes when she was Gosalyn's age? Again, Gosalyn wondered about the young Nat, if they'd met would they have gotten along? Negaduck always called her "Gosloid" because of how good she was, but Nat had been like her, so she wasn't so alien to the Negaverse, Gosalyn's eyes flicked to her bag of Halloween candy and she looked to Nat, Nat must have managed to keep her belongings safe from the Nightmare Bunny otherwise these clothes wouldn't still be here, Gosalyn made a mental resolve, be like Nat, strong but able to be nice, be ready but not aggressive.
'Do you like these?' Nat asked gesturing to them. 'And you can say no.'
Gosalyn gazed at the clothes. 'I-I...'
'Look at them!' Nat said bluntly. 'I don't care if you do or don't, I'm not attached to them.'
Gosalyn picked up a pretty floral print dress and smiled. 'How could I not like them?'
'Alright, let's rephrase the question.' Nat sighed. 'Do you see yourself wearing them?'
Gosalyn hesitated. 'They're...'
'Yeah yeah, they're expensive and over the top ritzy, but would you wear them?'
'What's wrong with expensive clothes?' Negaduck asked with a slight growl.
'Negs, would you please leave us to our girly conversation?'
'No.' He said bluntly leaving the doorframe and walking over to Gosalyn's side. 'What's the problem with expensive and...' He considered the clothes on the bed. 'Upper crust?'
Gosalyn drew a breath.
He stepped up to her. 'Am I broke?'
'No.'
'Are you my daughter?' He asked.
'Yes.' Gosalyn answered nervously.
'And who am I?'
'Lord Negaduck.' She answered.
'And?' He prompted.
'The Ruler of the Negaverse.'
'Exactly!' He suddenly yelled causing Gosalyn to jump in surprise.
Nat calmly walked back over to Gosalyn's wardrobe and pulled out some of the clothes from it.
'Do you think that you're some regular guys daughter? That you aren't entitled to all these "privileges"?'
'Tell her, Negs.' Nat said softly.
Negaduck straightened and looked to Nat, a clear hesitation on his face but he sighed and looked back to Gosalyn. 'Do you know how much I paid for your dress?' He asked his voice suddenly quiet.
'My dresses-'
'That dress, the blue one, the one I bought.' He clarified.
'I... don't know.'
'Two hundred dollars.' He said not meeting Gosalyn's eye. 'It cost two hundred dollars.'
Gosalyn's jaw dropped. 'What?'
He stiffened and straightened his cape. 'Two hundred dollars.'
'Why?' She asked in surprise. 'Why would you-'
'Because you're worth every bit of it.' Nat said Negaduck's expression was slightly uncomfortable and he looked at Gosalyn giving a nod.
Gosalyn felt tears brewing in her eyes and she leapt forwards hugging him. 'Oh, Dad, I'm so sorry, I didn't... I...' She gulped down on her emotions. 'I love you too.'
He stepped back and stooped so they were at eye-level. 'You go ahead and wear all of this, you're making a point now, if anyone questions you then remind them who I am, okay?'
Gosalyn nodded. 'Yes, Dad, thank you.'
He gave a slight smile and straightened again, he looked to Nat and Gosalyn watched in the mirror as Nat prompted him to leave the room, he gave a slight shrug and left.
'Right! So what size are you?' Nat asked.
'P-pardon?' Gosalyn turned to see Nat was holding two dresses from the wardrobe.
'What doesn't fit you anymore?' Nat asked holding out the two options.
'I...' Gosalyn winced.
'You only have so much space in your wardrobe, Gosalyn.' Nat said gesturing to the wardrobe.
Gosalyn drew a breath.
'If you don't want to get rid of them, that's fine, that's what attics are for.'
Gosalyn cast a look up at the room, the attic.
'We'll pop them all neat and tidy in a trunk up there.'
Gosalyn walked over, it was probably time to accept that she wasn't going to wear the smaller ones anymore.
'Once we've sorted through this lot then we can go through those.' Nat said gesturing to the bed.
Gosalyn looked to the bed and the clothes that were laid out on it.
'You can wear them whenever you want, I wore them everywhere so you can as well.'
Gosalyn gave a smile and hugged Nat. 'Thank you.'
'What for?' Nat asked.
'Everything.' Gosalyn said.
Nat gave a smile. 'Us girls have to stick together, we'll balance out this house no matter how difficult he'll make it.'
Gosalyn gave a smile. 'You're exactly what he needs, Nat.'
Nat scowled. 'Gosalyn, when you get into a relationship with someone it is not to change them, if you look at them and say: "I need to fix you" you're don't love them for who they truly are.'
Gosalyn gazed at her.
Nat gazed at the door waiting silently. 'Thank goodness he took the hint.' She sighed. 'He doesn't need to hear this.'
'That you-'
Nat looked at her. 'He knows and I know, saying the words out loud will only make it awkward.' She said. 'At which point we'll say some pretty horrible lies to try and get rid of the awkwardness.'
Gosalyn gazed at her in worry.
'We know and that's what matters.' Nat said simply. 'Is this dress faded or naturally this colour?'
'It faded.' Gosalyn said frowning.
'Well, you do wear all of them pretty frequently.'
Gosalyn nodded.
'Right.' Nat unhooked the dress from the coat hanger and tossed it onto the floor near the door. 'There's a simple rule for keeping clothes, you don't keep anything that isn't in good condition.'
'But...'
'It's faded, Gosalyn, it's gone.'
Gosalyn sighed and nodded.
Nat tossed the coat hanger onto the bed and considered the dress she was still holding and looked at Gosalyn. 'Fit you?'
'No.'
'Trunk?'
Gosalyn nodded.
Nat unhooked the coat hanger and tossed it onto the bed before she neatly folded the dress and put it down on the ground. 'If he shows up again we'll rope him into carting it all up to the attic.' Nat said with a wink.
Gosalyn barely contained her laugh, Nat was probably the only person who would ever joke about that sort of thing in regards to Negaduck.
Gosalyn walked through the hall to the classroom door, she'd skipped the first half of the day, it'd been nice to spend time with both Nat and Negaduck, and once they were confident in her aim she'd been allowed to go to school.
The eventful day wasn't over yet, now she had to stand up for herself more than ever, she had to prove herself as tough.
She steeled herself, opened the door and stepped into the classroom.
'Miss Mallard, you've missed half of the day.'
Gosalyn nodded. 'I know, I had things I had to take care of.' She walked over to her seat ignoring the way that the rest of the class were staring at her.
'What were you doing?' Her teacher asked.
'That is none of your concern.' She said simply.
The class all gasped.
'I don't much appreciate your attitude, Miss Mallard.'
'Excuse me?' Gosalyn narrowed her gaze. 'I am Gosalyn Mallard, my father is Lord Negaduck, what you like or don't like is irrelevant.' She said bluntly.
The teacher cleared his throat and turned to the chalkboard, the first of the more difficult moments was now done, she just needed to ensure that the other children understood that she was serious.
The weight in her jacket pocket only reassured her more of what she was doing, she had very little in her life that she owned, the ballerina lamp, the blue dress, the clothes from Nat, they were her most important possessions and she'd have to prove that she was willing to put up a fight if need be to make sure they weren't taken away from her.
Honker leant in over his table and hissed. 'Hiding behind him doesn't make you tough.'
She shot him a look, she'd known that Honker would be the one to stand up. 'I'll see you after school and prove otherwise.' She said bluntly to him and she turned her gaze back to the front.
He gave a snigger. 'No Negaduck to hide behind.'
'Just you and me.' She agreed and started writing down the information from on the chalkboard.
Gosalyn waited calmly by the gate, Honker forced his way through the crowd of kids and stepped up to Gosalyn.
'So, how do you want to do this?'
Gosalyn rose her eyebrow, mimicking the calm and confident expression that Nat often wore when she was dealing with Launchpad, Honker was the toughest kid in her year, having him in place would put her untouchably at the top of all of them. She folded her arms. 'I'm not playing around, Honker.'
He scoffed. 'Yeah, right, once a wimp-' He reached out and pushed her backwards. 'Always a wimp.'
Gosalyn pulled out her gun and pointed it at him. 'There is a big difference between being nice and being a wimp.' She said and she released the safety and fired at his foot, he barely managed to leap away in time and he stared at her in complete surprise.
'W-why do you have a gun?' He asked.
'Because I am not going to be so nice to you anymore.' She said bluntly.
She forced her hand to stay steady and her gaze to be just as determined despite the battle that was raging inside of her, she wasn't going to hurt him, she was going to scare him off so that she wasn't going to let him bully her anymore.
Everyone was staring at them now.
'I shouldn't have in the first place.' She said simply.
His eyes were darting from the gun to her eyes. 'This doesn't make you tough.'
'I beg to differ.' She said simply and she fired again at his other foot, he jumped away and frowned. 'If I let you live, my Dad'll only finish the job.'
Honker shivered.
'Who is he, Honker? Who is my father?'
'L-lord Negaduck.'
She nodded. 'And what is he?'
'The Ruler of The Negaverse.'
'And that makes me?'
He gulped.
'Go on, say it.'
'Better than us.'
'Good...' She said calmly and she rose her eyebrow. 'So, keep this in mind in the future and I won't need to send you to the morgue.'
He stared at her, she cast a deliberate look around. 'And that goes for everyone else as well.' She said loudly and with her head held high she walked out of the school grounds still holding her gun firmly in her hand, two blocks later she drew a calming breath and relaxed her tension, a few days of this at most and they'd all understand that she wasn't playing around.
She clicked the safety back on and pocketed the gun, maybe she could sleep tonight, maybe.
Gosalyn stepped into the kitchen and considered the situation that had apparently developed, Negaduck was threatening Nat with a knife to make a point about something and as he moved the knife closer to Nat's neck, Nat grabbed his wrist.
Gosalyn's eyes went wide as the blade was forced away and Nat delivered a punch to his face.
Negaduck drew an angry breath and grabbed Nat's arm glaring murder into her eyes.
Nat brought her knee up sharply hitting his stomach.
'Oof.' He backed away slightly and Nat used his momentary distraction to knock his feet out from underneath him and with a swift move she had him pinned to the kitchen floor underneath her, she pressed the knife to his throat.
Gosalyn felt her jaw drop of its own accord, she'd only seen one person ever get into a physical fight with Negaduck and that had been Darkwing.
Nat rose her eyebrow as Negaduck gazed up at her, then Nat looked up directly at Gosalyn. 'And that, Gosalyn, is how you deal with that.'
Gosalyn forced her jaw closed as Negaduck's gaze flicked to her.
Nat kissed Negaduck and stood calmly.
Negaduck laughed as he got up as well.
Nat dropped the knife onto the table and calmly swept over to Gosalyn. 'And with that, Negs is cooking tonight.'
Negaduck scowled and Gosalyn tried to stop herself from laughing, Nat ruffled her hair, with a smile.
'So, we'll leave him to it and you can tell me about how school went.'
Gosalyn looked over her shoulder at him as she followed Nat upstairs.
'We'll unleash Lucy on him in a little bit.' Nat said quietly.
Gosalyn nodded and gave a smile.
'So, how did it go?'
