Nadine Book 4

17. Bear

I open my eyes and I'm alone.

I grab bear and go up to the deck. No one's here. They are on land directing the servants around.

I stay on the deck and search for Tre.

Tye comes over. "Did you have a good nap?"

"Where's Tre?"

"He's on the other boat. He'll be out in a few minutes."

I sit down and hold bear.

"Are you hungry babydoll?"

"A little."

"Let's go get you some food." He leads me to the dining room. He pulls out a chair and sits beside me. I put my legs over his. He wraps an arm around me and rubs my knee. "I'm sorry you hurt your knee."

"I tried to stop."

"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you to stop that close to the stairs. It was my fault."

I sit on his lap. "I'm ok."

Tre comes in. "What are you doing?"

"I'm hungry."

"There's no food or servants here baby. You will be waiting a long time for food. Come on."

He picks me up, and I wrap around him.

"On second thought, sit with Tye for a minute. We have to fix your hair and clothes before we go home. I'll be right back." He puts me down.

I run over to Tye, and he holds me the same way. Tre gives me a funny look. Then he walks out.

Tye holds me and bear.

Tre comes back and gets me fixed. "Get your bear, we'll follow you out."

I hear them talking about me.

Tre says, "I've never seen her act this young. I don't know what's going on."

"You think something is wrong?"

"Baby, get in this carriage. We're getting away from humans, then we can fly home."

It's a short ride.

"Give me your bear babydoll. I'll make sure it doesn't get lost."

I give him a dirty look and wrap around Tre. "No baby, it's to far. You need to fly on your own."

I hug bear and cry. Dipak and Kane come over.

"What's the problem?"

"She wants me to fly her." Dipak starts laughing.

Kane shakes his head. "He can't fly you that far. We have to go fast. You'll fall and get hurt."

I sob into bear.

Everyone turns to Dipak.

Dipak shrugs his shoulders. "I think we might need Dracul."

Tye nods. "And Omar."

Dipak winks at me. "Are you hungry?" I nod. "Do you want some cake?" I smile. "Give me the bear and fly home. I will get you some cake. Then we can have dinner." He holds out his hand.

I hug bear and give it to him.

Tre rubs my back. "That's a good girl." I give him the biggest smile.

Kane and Dipak laugh. Tye glares at them and shakes his head.

Dipak smiles. "Good girls get 2 pieces of cake if they fly home fast. Can you do that?"

I take off so fast. We land on the roof.

"I want my cake."

"We're on the roof, woman. Wait a minute." He hands me the bear. "Take your bear and go to my office."

"I WANT MY CAKE." I jump up and down.

Thora climbs off Kane. "I WANT CAKE TOO."

Mary walks over. "They need separated. Come on Thora, let's go see Ana."

"CAKE."

"IF YOU DON'T STRAIGHTEN UP, YOU'RE NOT GETTING CAKE WOMAN."

"YOU PROMISED DIPAK. I WANT CAKE."

He turns me around and smacks my butt hard. I cry and hold bear. "OFFICE NOW."

"Tre he's mean."

"Well, you're not being a very good girl. Come on. Let's go before you get in more trouble."

"He said I could have cake if I did that."

"I'm sure he'll keep his promise. But you have to have patience baby. We're on the roof."

I slam myself down in my seat. Everyone is here. "Can I have cake now?"

"WOMAN."

I cry. "DADDY I'M HUNGRY."

Daddy's eyes go red and he breaks the conference table. "WHY IS MY PRINCESS CRYING FOR FOOD? SERVANTS BRING HER SOMETHING TO EAT NOW. WHAT IS HARD ABOUT FEEDING HER WHEN SHE'S HUNGRY? THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS."

"Here's some fish, ma'am."

"I DON'T WANT FISH, I WANT CAKE." I jump up and stomp my feet.

Dipak rubs his eyes.

Omar puts his hands up. "She is processing something. Everyone relax. She always acts younger when she's processing. Although this is quite extreme. Servant bring cake."

Daddy yells, "SHE CAN'T HAVE CAKE BEFORE DINNER."

Omar rubs his eyes. "Everyone relax. It's a piece of cake. In the long run, it's not going to hurt anything. But your reactions may hurt her. Go sit at Dipaks desk and eat your cake. Then we can talk."

I run over and sit down. I hold my bear and eat my cake.

Then I move back to my seat.

"What are you processing?"

I stare at Omar.

"What happened on that trip?"

Kane sits back. "Big storm. Water was rough. Boat got thrown around a lot. Scared everyone."

Tre looks at him. "Pirates attacked our boat. We got them. She helped. We got their boat. The girls found gold on it." He shakes his head. "She went into the pirate boat on her own. She got in trouble for that." I hold bear tighter.

Omar nods. "You went into their ship on your own?"

I start crying.

"What happened with that?" Omar motions at Tre.

"The boats hit each other. Her and Thora went over to get the pirate boat off ours. Thora was steering it. Nadine walked into the lower levels and found the captains' office. She took the maps. Was found on her way out." I start sobbing.

"Who found her?"

"I did."

"What happened on that boat, Tye?"

"Nothing. I escorted her off. Told her we were going to talk about it later."

Omar looks at me. "Is that what happened?" I nod at him. "I don't know why this is traumatizing. I'm missing something." He smiles at me. "Did anything else happen on that boat?" I nod.

Kane shakes his head. "I searched the office right after she was found. There was no one else on that level. We didn't find any other pirates until we went deeper in the boat."

"There were more?"

"Yea about 15 or so. They were sleeping or passed out. I don't know how anyone could sleep through the ships hitting."

"Were you aware that more pirates were on the boat when you went into it?"

"No." I hold my bear tight.

"You found out later? That scared you when you found out, didn't it?"

Dipak stares at the ceiling. "I know what it is. She was told if they attacked her while she was in that office. She would have been raped and torn apart. She would have been thrown into the ocean."

"Well, she would have been."

Frode rubs his eyes. "She needs to know what they will do. So she doesn't do it again. Her and Thora both do. They need to know what those pirates will do."

Daddy looks at me. "What were you thinking going in by yourself? You could have..."

Omar puts his hand up. "Let's not talk about what could have happened. She is well aware and trying to come to terms with it. For right now, she wants to be a protected little girl. So do that while she processes everything."

Gunner smiles at me. "You thought you walked into a perfectly safe boat, and then you find out later all kinds of bad stuff could have happened to you, right? You found out it wasn't safe and that is scaring you."

I nod and cry into bear.

Daddy smiles. "No need to cry my princess. You're safe now. And nothing bad happened to you. Tye found you and got you out before anything could happen." I run to Tye and cuddle up on his lap with bear. "Do you promise you won't go into another one without at least 1 of the boys with you?"

"I promise daddy."

"Thank you my princess. Now sit in your own chair."

I cry. "I need a hug."

Tre stands up. "You want to go get some dinner now?"

I wrap my legs around him. He spins me and carries me with his arm under my knees instead. I start pouting. "You'll be fine."