Daughter of the Nibrue House

chapter 16:trapped in a Corner.

Naomi knocked on her uncle's door. An angry Trad in pajamas opened the door. "What do you want?" he snorted.

Naomi shoved the letter in his face. "You got the letter from King Joshi and you kept it from us. Explain yourself!" she demanded. "And don't try to wiggle your way out of it. I can send Victoria back to her parents."

Trad smiled down at her. "Little Naomi. All I wanted is what's rightfully mine. You only got the throne after my disinheritance. I should be Lord Nibrue; there should not be a Lady Naomi Nibrue."

Naomi crossed her arms. "Did you know that you risked war with King Joshi when you kept that letter from us? How could you be so selfish that you're willing to risk war? Say goodbye to Victoria because she's going back to the Spark House."

"How could you be so heartless as to make the baby grow up without a father?" Trad asked her. "As a girl without a father yourself, would you want this unborn child to grow up the way you must? Father-less, never hearing your father's voice, never seeing his face, never spending time with him ever?"

Naomi knew he was manipulating her, but he was right. She didn't want the baby to grow up without a father. Trad may be cruel, but there was no reason for the baby to pay for his actions. Naomi looked down at the letter. She threw it into the roaring fireplace.

Trad smiled down at her. "Smart choice Naomi," he said. "My child will thank you."

Naomi turned to face him. "Just because I gave in this time doesn't mean I'll give in all the time," she told him. "Keep it up and one of these days, I'll make you pay." She pushed past him and ran back to her room.

Naomi slammed her bedroom door and flung herself on her bed. She felt the bed creak under Simba's weight. The white lion sniffed his mistress. "Simba!" Naomi cried. "I let him get me. He trapped me in a corner like you do with mice." She sniffed. "The panther beat the lion." 

Simba lay his head down and purred. Naomi stroked his soft fur. "I wish Dad was here," she sobbed. "I can't face my wicked uncle without him." Naomi lay her head down on Simba's and listened to his breathing. She thought back to when Simba was a blind, deaf, stumbling little cub who had to be bottle-fed. Now he was growing up big and strong, thanks to her spell. She thought she even felt a little tuft of the start of a main. "You're my family now," she whispered in Simba's ear.

He didn't answer, but Naomi knew he heard her. And that he understood.