Chapter 3

I stood in the middle of the crowd, watching the final vows between Matthew and his bride, Susanne. She was lovely, with the crystal blue eyes of her father, the copper hair of her grandmother, and the slim build of her mother, resplendent in her gown of white lace and silk. Matthew was smiling down at her in open admiration; he couldn't have picked a better woman to spend the rest of his life with, and I couldn't be happier for him. Although when I was younger I had fantasized about being his wife, as I grew older I realised that it would stay that, a fantasy. Besides, he had been in love with Susanne ever since he was fifteen.

"And so, I pronounce thee husband and wife." The priest closed his bible with a loud snap, and beamed at the two. There was a sigh of relief as he did so, for he had rambled on for a good two hours.

The vows were complete; the rings exchanged. All that remained was for the new couple to retire to their house, a cottage barely 100 yards from where Matthew's childhood home stood. After bidding the newlyweds goodnight, I walked a good half hour through the Taethin Forest down to the lake's edge, where I had been with Matthew barely four hours ago. I down lay and stared up at the crumbling, burnt remains of the white marble of my home. My palace.

I lay there for who knows how long, before beginning to head back to the village. When I caught a familiar tang on the breeze, I stopped dead. Someone was just having a large bonfire, I told myself. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all. Nevertheless, I quickened my pace, and when I rounded the bend in the road, the last trees in the forest cleared to give me full view of the flames that were destroying the town that had been my home since the death of my family.

No. Not again.

I stumbled into the village, or what was left of it. Everywhere I looked, chaos reigned. Townsfolk, gathered in the town square, looking round, lost. Some were being restrained as they tried to run to the homes of their loved ones, to make sure no-one was there. Everything was on fire. The bakery, the mill, even the chapel where Matthew and Susanne had been married two hours ago, were all ablaze. I swung around desperately, looking for the two faces that I wanted to find, had to find. As I hunted for those familiar faces, I heard snatches of conversation.

"…I am truly sorry, Zayen. Your son was a noble man; he did not deserve to die like this…"

"Surely you do not think…? Is there anyway they could have escaped? Maybe not all the exits were blocked… he could not have died!"

"Zayen, please, listen. There were flames coming out all possible openings, and…" Here the speaker's voice cracked. "The roof collapsed. There is no way he could have survived, for he would have been crushed alive. I am sorry; for Matthew was loved by all."

"No… please… at least say that Susanne survived… please! Tell me!"

Silence greeted Zayen's words, and he responded with a scream of anguish, falling to the ground to strike out at the cobblestones with clenched fists.

Zayen.

Matthew's father.

My legs folded from beneath me, and I collapsed on the warm cobblestones next to Zayen, staring at the night sky, not aware of anything else. It had happened again. Once more, fire had taken away all I had loved; all I had known…

I looked up as a loud crack filled the air. Now that buildings had been weakened, they were collapsing as Matthews had done, funnelling flames into the square. It was not safe to be here; several wooden stalls were taking up the limited space, and they, too, were now alight.

I stared at them, wondering if I was meant to have died in that fire, seven years ago. Why else would the flames follow me? I started walking towards a burning house, ready to jump in, and end my curse of fire once and for all. I was now aware that everyone had run to the lake, Zayen having to be drugged and then carried, to leave the destruction behind.

I was readying myself for that final leap, the leap that would take me into the burning house, when I felt an arm wrap around my waist. I screamer as I was hoisted on to someone's shoulders, the movement pulling at my scar. I struggled, demanding to be put down so I could end my life. Then I kicked out, and my foot connected with something hard. I heard a man's voice proclaim a muffled curse, and then a dagger hilt crashed into my temple, summoning my mind into unconsciousness.

Disclaimer: If I ever get to a distant planet where I do own Ella Enchanted, I will let you know. But for now, that lovely book belongs to Gail Carson Levine.

A/N: Hello to all you lovely people out there! And a thankyou to all my reviewers. If any of you guys have been writing stories, you know what a nice feeling it when you see that the reviews have gone up.

pussycat doll – thanks for taking the time to review, but maybe more than three words next time?

jubli pebble – very glad you like it! and I'm trying to write faster, but as it's end of term all the teachers are being very nasty and snowing us in with homework. Eugh

StardustPixie – thanks! it really makes me feel happy when people say stuff like that

lolsies – well jess, if it makes you feel happy, yes, I did get the chestnut curls thing from you

pearlwalrus – steph! you finally did it! I'm so proud… thanks for the review lol

By the way, could everyone please help me think of a better name? 'Cos I think that this one (Of Trust and Betrayal) really sucks. And I'm really sorry that this chapter is only 800 words, but it's kind of hard to drag out these types of things. I'm trying to make my next chapters longer, but no guarantees, sadly.

Lots of love,

Ellie