Chapter 104: Political discourse.
Just when everyone was wondering whether to laugh at the little girl’s words or condemn Sienna, she stepped in the basket of tomatoes, and the one on top burst. The juice squirted in different directions, landing on those who were close by.
Ali clapped her hands, squealed and licked her hands.
The struggle for Mrs. Miller was ended, because she pushed her adult daughter and adopted step-daughters away. "My tomatoes," she shrieked. She glared at the troublemakers as if she wished to pop them, the same way the tomatoes had been popped.
"They started it." Sienna pointed to the girls.
Mrs. Miller sighed. "Sienna, one minute you are mature and the next, you are fighting toddlers."
Sienna lowered her eyes to the girls. "They are not toddlers, Mira is almost as tall as me!"
"No, I am not." Mira rebuked.
"Yes, you are," Sienna insisted.
Grandma Byra intervened, pushing Sienna out of the garden. She had seen such fights between her daughters when they were younger. "We will handle the harvest, don’t worry dear. You should rest. All that fighting must have worn you out. I will talk to the girls and make sure they learn to give you and your mother space for alone time."
"They keep hogging her." Sienna complained.
Grandma Byra nodded. "I know. I will put a stop to it. You haven’t done a livestream today. Why don’t you show everyone your shiny new tomatoes?"
Sienna was forced to sit at the table in the front yard, and Shalin gave her a glass of water. When she seemed calmer, her grandmother left. This gave her time to prepare for a livestream. Her mother had said the tomatoes would rot, so, she decided to make tomato sauce and a tomato paste.
The drone went active and she waved at the blinking green light.
"Hey babies, its your favorite Sienna from SiennaFit."
The chat exploded immediately.
[Sienna are you working out today or cooking?]
[Did you really win the fight in the arena or was it staged?]
[Forget tomatoes, show us how to make pepper spray that you used in the fight.]
Sienna rolled her eyes dramatically, brandishing a ladle the same way she brandished her pan. "A staged fight! I risked my life in that arena and fought with nothing but a frying pan, pepper spray and shot of bee venom. Did you see Benita’s claws? She almost ripped my skin off. Worse, her breath smelled like onions. I think that was the only staged part of the fight."
The chat erupted in laughter. Sienna smirked, tossing chopped tomato chunks Shalin pushed towards her into a pot. As she added more ingredients to the pot she narrated the fight for those who wanted personal details. Soon, the aroma of the bubbling sauce filled the yard.
Sienna pointed the ladle at the camera. "Since you all want to gossip more about my personal life than learn how to cook, then let me pull you into a dilemma. So, the other day, when we went chicken hunting, we found a wounded beast man. While everyone followed protocol, I insisted on bringing him home for treatment because he was about to die. I am aware of tribal politics regarding this matter, but I think saving a life matters more. What do you all think?"
[Foolish! Tribal politics are no joke.]
[This is how you end up exiled. Save yourself first before others.]
[I think you are a hero. Last year, I was stuck in a tree, with a broken leg and bleeding hands for four hours because nobody in the Tiger tribe wanted to risk helping me. It was very cruel and scary.]
[Rescuing strange beast men is how some of those human written dramas begin. Then the beast man turns out to be a prince and they fall in love!!]
Sienna slammed the ladle against the pot, splattering sauce onto her apron. "Majority of you are in support of this leaving the stranger to die policy. It is not even about them turning out to be a prince or secret heir. It is about kindness."
Mija interrupted, "Besides prince and heir, there is also the identity of spy. Don’t sugarcoat this."
The chat exploded. Mija was very famous on the beast continent. Her wild party girl ways were famous. The feud between the white snakes and the foxes had also made news. So, what was a white snake doing in Sienna’s company?
"Go away." Sienna snapped at her.
Mija smiled, pointing at the screen. "Your fans are asking for autographs."
Sienna picked up a knife. "How about you sign those autographs on your scales."
Shrieking loudly, Mija ran off.
The chat was filled with laughing fox and snake shaped emoticons. But soon, the debate for helping wounded strangers from other tribes picked up. It drew so much interest that leaders of different tribes had jumped in. Through a personal experience and simple talk with her fans, Sienna had accidentally started a national dialogue. Even the beast king was being tagged.
When Elias was notified, he was in the middle of a call. Still, Timothy turned on the livestream for him to watch. As a fox Lord, his opinion was also needed.
It lasted three hours, and there was no agreement on whether Sienna’s actions were right or wrong. Moreover, she was exhausted. So, she began ladling thick tomato sauce into jars. Then, she started chasing the leaders from her livestream. "I think everyone needs a water break and some sleep. I will be selling tomato sauce and fresh tomatoes. Buy one, feed a family of five!"
Corven Junior and Soren showed off the big tomatoes, to the surprise and horror of the audience.
Sienna winked at the camera. "Limited edition healthy goods, signed by yours truly. Buy now before my five year old son accuses me of embarrassing the family and doing something shady to ban my live stream."
Sales poured in urgently, as the audience could see Eli right there, doing the shady something to ban the livestream.
Just as she was about to end the live stream, a shout came from the top of the steps. The messy Numia, smiling slyly and filled with desire to make trouble for Sienna jumped up and down. "Yoohooo, Oh Sienna, your mer prince is back. He brought his dowry and whole family to move in."
The chat exploded in capital letters.
The shady thing happened, as the livestream went dark immediately.