Chapter 9

The day after the wedding was the happiest of Lemony and Beatrice's lives. They spent their morning on the paths of Mount Fraught and picnicked near the Stricken Stream. They talked about Lemony's upcoming assignment and discussed the wedding and their friends. In the evening, they sat alone in the library; reading books in armchairs next to each other underneath one lamp until they both fell asleep. When Kit passed the library on the way to get a glass of water, she saw the two sleeping people. Smiling, she walked over to her brother and her friend and covered them with some blankets and turned off the light.

In the morning, Lemony drowsily looked upon the form of the sleeping Beatrice and smiled, remembering the wonderful day that they had shared. However, his joy was soon dampened, for he remembered that he had to leave on another trip in the afternoon. Sadly, he looked once more upon Beatrice and began to pack. By the time Beatrice woke up, Lemony had left and there was a bouquet of wildflowers next to her chair. Next to the vase was a note that said, "I miss you already."

Lemony continued to go on missions to investigate fires. He sometimes went with Olaf, but more often he went alone or with Daniel. Daniel would come along to write stories about the fires for the Volunteer Factual Dispatch, the newspaper of the organization. Unfortunately, the missions often grew longer and Lemony didn't get to see Beatrice very often. However, sometimes they would send each other telegrams via Kit's submarine, which Lemony often traveled in between assignments.

The months, and eventually about two years, passed like this. Samantha and Sarah both had children. Samantha's were triplets, two boys and one girl, all with wide eyes like their mother. Sarah and Dorian's first child was a girl. They, like the rest of the V.F.D. couples, were given houses once they had children. They were large houses; they had to be to accommodate the large libraries the V.F.D. provided with the houses. They continued to work as volunteers, but their assignments were shortened a bit so they could also work at home.

Kit and Jacques, however, were fully devoted to their volunteer work, and were perfectly happy. Jacques was only very rarely seen, so the only news that Lemony or Kit ever received from him was by telegram and often in code. Many of the codes that he used, in fact, were invented by Samantha, who in addition to being a poet, also invented codes that were used by volunteers.

Shortly after the birth of the second Baudelaire child, Lemony went on a mission with Olaf and Daniel. It was the first time Daniel had been on a mission with Olaf. Before that, they hadn't really met that much.

During the daytime, Olaf was fine, and he worked hard and was civil to them. However, even Daniel began to notice the changes in Olaf's routine. Not only did he sit on the stump with the match even later than he did before, but he also began gradually changing his personal hygiene. His hair became more scraggly and also began turning gray in some places. He wore mismatching clothing, and his companions soon began to notice a distinct odor.

Lemony and Daniel were worried for their companion, even thought they didn't know him very well. They would try to be nice to him, but he would only snap back at them. For several nights, they watched him on the log until they fell asleep. One night, they finally heard him talking softly to himself. They decided to approach him, just in case he was addressing them.

They stepped a bit closer and heard his soft voice. "Fire, fire," he whispered.

"What?" asked Daniel. "Is something wrong?"

"Fire," Olaf continued, almost to himself. "Why do we fight it?"

"Because it's destructive," Daniel said, giving Olaf a quizzical look. "We have to fight it to help other people."

"It can't be stopped," said Olaf in a dreamlike state. "It'll never be stopped... It's too powerful. We shouldn't bother..."

"But it's evil! We should always try to stop evil," replied Daniel.

"How can something so powerful be evil?" Olaf asked, turning to his match. "Look at it; it's so perfect. The grand solver of all problems, the tool of power.

"Look at it; can't you see what it could do for us, for me? Don't like something? Just light a match and up it goes!" Here he giggled softly. "Books, homes, hehe," he turned to Lemony and to Daniel, who was looking rather nervous. "Even people. Think about it: why shouldn't we side with a force that has triumphed for thousands of years? After all these years of holding the extinguisher, why don't we strike the match?"

Olaf took the match that he had been carrying for all these months and struck it on his shoe, and stared into the flame in wonder. Lemony and Daniel, now very frightened, saw the fire reflected in his shiny, grinning eyes.