Cinderfella 2: A New Life - 3. Chapter 3 Fire!!

We had a good breakfast and a small party at the house for my birthday. Michael was learning to talk and seemed to be interested in everything. He was not quite two years old, but growing fast. Dark hair like his father, grandfather, and uncle, but had a face that more resembled his mother. He’d be a heartbreaker, too. He was babbling to his grandfather who listened, seeming to understand him perfectly. Nodding with a smile at the little boy.

“You’ve got a great thing here, Seth.” Samuel sighed. “I love the house, you’ve got a great business…a great husband.” He grinned at me. “I’m envious. Are you sure you don’t want to trade back?”

“Not the husband part.” Seth chuckled. “But be king again? No way.”

“Seth is a good worker here.” I smiled. “He loves it.”

“And Erik has some great ideas for the town,” Seth added. “He’s started an adult learning program. He wants to add schools. He even plans to add lights to the town.”

Samuel nodded. “That’s great! Happy people make good employees.” Then he looked at me. “But you’re paying for all this.”

I nodded. “We have the money. We are the main source of income, so why not?”

Samuel held up his hand. “I’m not saying no, but wouldn’t it be more practical to have them pay?”

“How?” I asked.

“We’re starting this in the capital.” He grinned at Terry. “My wife thinks school is important there as well. She said to add a small tax to what people buy.”

Seth’s eyebrows gathered. “But they pay taxes twice a year now.”

Samuel nodded. “To keep up the army and support us, their king and queen. But to maintain the schools….even medical centers….a small amount of tax added to things they buy every day. Say…a cent or more to furniture, clothing…it would cut down of the overall expense from your budget.” Then he smiled. “They would know why and get some pride in helping themselves.”

Seth sat back. “That’s not a bad idea. But shouldn’t that be done by a government program? Not a business.”

“You have a mayor?” Terry asked.

Seth shook his head. “Not officially, Thorne was, I guess. He controlled everything and okayed what and when something was done.” Then he smiled at me. “Erik is sort of the mayor now.”

I put my hand on his. “We need to elect one if that’s the case,” I suggested. “I don’t have to be in charge. These people can govern themselves, and decide who will do the job best.” Then I growled. “I’ve been in public life. I don’t really want to go back to it.”

“As a prince.” Seth corrected. “But if they ask you to?”

“Why me?” I asked.

Terry frowned. “Why not you? You’re educated already. You’re not a tyrant.”

“Far from it.” Seth nodded. “You’re fair and more than generous.”

I held up my hands. “If they ask me to, fine. But I’m running a business. Why not elect someone that needs a job?”

Samuel smiled. “Well, those lamps you want need oil. Those lamps will need to be filled and lit every night. And maintained. Then there are the schools, also need maintaining. Which all those jobs will be needing employees.”

I rolled my eyes. “And you’ve proven my very point. I’m busy now with the employees here. Doing all that would require someone that doing it as their only job.”

Seth sighed. “He’s right. But who is educated enough in town to do that?”

I shrugged. “We’ll just have to find them.”

Alex smiled at all of us. “Now you understand more why I don’t regret why I gave the crown to you, Seth. It is a headache I don’t wish on anyone.”

The celebration of our anniversary was next. We had guests from the town come to the party. Things were in full swing, excitement, and joy everywhere….until…

“Fire!!” A man burst in the house out of breath. “The winery is on fire!!”

Seth was the first man out the door running to where the blaze was lighting up the evening sky. I was right behind him.

“Get some buckets!” Seth shouted to any and every person there. “Anything that can hold water! Use dirt! Anything to stop the flames!”

A line was quickly formed where buckets were passed from the well to us where we doused as we could. I looked where the wine that was ready to be bottled was stored and where fermentation took place. The wines were kept in barrels that were stacked in the building attached to the winery. My eyes grew as I saw another flame begin and someone running away.

“We’ve got another fire!” I told Seth mainly, and everyone else, loudly over the roar of flames we were already fighting.

People that didn’t come to the party were rushing from town to help us, bringing buckets themselves. This was most of their livelihoods. They couldn’t lose their export!

Whoever was running away my eyes narrowed as I looked. This person was too far away to see who it was, but we had to stop this fire now! So, I directed those that came to help me fight this new fire.

It took a couple of hours before we got it under control and out. While there was damage, we didn’t lose any of the wines. Sitting beside Seth as we caught our breaths. Seth looked at the damage.

“Oh, man…” he almost cried. “…this is bad.”

I nodded. “Yep, it is. But it can be repaired.”

Seth shook his head. “I don’t understand. How did this happen? There’s nothing to cause a fire in there! We don’t work at night, so no lamps were burning…”

Samuel came up slowly. He was soot-covered and looking nothing like the king he was. “You two okay?”

We both nodded.

“Seth.” I began softly. “I think it was set on purpose.”

Seth looked at me surprised. “Set!? By who? Why!?”

I shook my head. “I couldn’t see them clearly. The second fire was over there, not part of this one.” I indicated the first burned portion that had stopped smoldering and no more smoke was coming up. “So, I can’t answer who it was.”

Samuel frowned. “Why? You don’t have any unhappy employees. No enemies.”

“Yeah, we do,” I said quietly.

“Who!?” Seth asked.

“Think, Baby.” I urged. “There is someone that would love to see us fail. See you fail.”

Seth thought a mere second, then his eyes grew. “Deena.”

I nodded. “I have no proof, but she’s the one person that would love to see this business fail. And when would be a perfect time be? The year after we were married. This very day.”

Seth looked back at the ruins left behind. “She left! She had money…”

Samuel sat beside his brother. “That wouldn’t be the point. Revenge for what you did.” He admitted sadly. “You took the crown away from them. And only made possible when you married Erik.”

“Add in the fact that her father and brother were killed. Whether she thinks I did it or not.” I said.

Seth shook his head wearily. Wiping tears that were beginning to fall. “I don’t understand.” He said with a broken voice. “What did I do? Why did the Thornes hate me so much? Hate us so much, Samuel? Hate me!?”

Samuel shook his head. “We were in their way.”

“And we don’t know where Deena went? Where she is?” Seth asked.

I got up. “We’ll find her,” I said angrily. “I’ll ask Demetrius.”

Seth nodded, but Samuel frowned. “Who’s Demetrius?”

“A friend,” Seth answered getting up. “Come on. We’ll introduce you.”

In my office at the house, Samuel was not understanding what was going on. Seth and I held hands as I looked up at the ceiling.

“Demetrius, can you spare a minute?” I asked the air.

“Of course,” Demetrius said from nowhere, making Samuel look around for where ever it could have come from. Then he jumped up as Demetrius walked out of a wall.

“What the hell!?” Samuel moved away as if trying to get away.

“Long story short, Sam,” Seth said. “This is one of the creatures that helped us. Erik and I when we met.”

Samuel was still not appeased. “What are you?”

Demetrius sighed. “This again…look, I’m one of the good guys, okay?”

“You know the story of Cinderella and Prince Charming?” I asked Samuel.

Samuel nodded. “Of course, who doesn’t? But it’s just a story.” Samuel argued. “Isn’t it?”

I gave a shrugging nod. “Not really.”

Demetrius nodded. “And before you ask. Again, this is a situation you have to solve. You. Yourselves.”

Now, I was annoyed. “Who makes up these damned rules!?”

Demetrius shrugged. “They just are.” He pointed up again.

“God said you weren’t allowed to help us!?” Seth shouted.

“Kind of,” Demetrius said weakly, but then rushed on. “But it’s not that I won’t help as I can. You know that. But when a situation like this…as bad as it is. If you have it in you to solve it, you should.”

I nodded. “I get it,” I said sadly.

Seth was very angry. Furious! “I don’t!! Am I just dense? I must be because I just don’t get it!”

I sighed. “Look at what we became since Demetrius, Dara and Lukus helped us.” I began. “Situations that are bad come around and we’re asking them for help right off. Why? Should we expect help?”

“Forget help! Let’s talk about hurt!” Seth shouted, not at me, but Demetrius. “Lukus said the situation with my family was fun! You even agreed!!” He said to Demetrius.

“No.” We heard Lukus’ voice. Then he was suddenly there, making Samuel jump even further back toward the wall. “I said it was exciting. That was fun.” Lukus clarified. “The choices made were all Arthur Thorne. You know that.”

“Seth…” Samuel said shakily. “What are these people?”

Seth looked at his brother. “I’ll explain in a moment.” Then he looked at Lukus. “An exciting situation that you presented him with to do!”

Lukus sighed. “If he hadn’t used what I gave him, it would have been something else.” He reasoned. “I showed him what was there and how it worked. He chose to use it.” He shrugged. “It was like showing a man a sword, and he’d never seen before or even knew what it was for. The man chooses to use it, to cut something and decides cutting or to kill another human being. It’s his choice. Just as it was Arthur’s choice.”

“And you…” Dara said to Seth and I turned to her.

Samuel didn’t back up this time, there was nowhere else to go back. His hands pressed against the resistant wall like he could press himself further back. “God in Heaven! How many of these creatures do you know? Are any more arriving?” He still had that shaky voice.

“We know only these three,” I replied. “So far.”

“You Seth…” Dara continued. “…are not dense! What happened to you and your family was a horrible thing. Horrible! We were allowed to help. Which we did gladly. We brought Erik to you. But you fell in love with him, we never made that happen, you did it. You married him and got the crown back.”

“And the idea that Erik was the reason you were healed of the scars….” Demetrius added. “…could be true. We don’t know who or how. But the Big Guy allowed it to happen.”

Seth sighed dejectedly. “Fine.” He sat holding his head in his hands, like trying to prevent the pain he was anticipating was coming in his head. “So, you won’t help us find Deena.”

“I can tell you, Erik is right,” Demetrius said.

“We figured that out ourselves.” Seth moaned.

“My telling you he was right takes away any other possibility.” Demetrius defended indignantly.

“Is there more?” I asked.

“You know there is,” Demetrius said.

“Can I ask when?” I asked.

“No.” All three of them replied.

“We’ll be around.” Demetrius smiled and all three vanished.

Samuel was blinking, several times trying to make sense of the whole thing, then gathered himself and said with each step. “What…the…HELL!?” He glared at us wide-eyed. “Someone better start talking!”

Seth and I just sighed and looked at each other.