#dr. orwell

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

ASoUE REWRITE - Season 1; The Miserable Mill - Part i.iv

⇢ Klaus x Reader⇠

[not my gif]

A//n: Thank you all for being so patient and understanding. I'm sorry I couldn't get this to you sooner and that it's so short. I got stuck in one spot and then I began the Eddie Kaspbrak rewrite and it slipped through the cracks. I do hope to continue this series and I have also figured out your special talent! If you previously knew it to be running, I have made changes back under chapter "important" and updated it, feel free to check it out if you'd like! Thank you for taking time to read this authors note and i hope you enjoy this chapter! Love you guys!! ♡♡♡

+++

     Klaus sat timidly in the waiting room of Dr. Orwell's office, his fingers absentmindedly twirling the severed left temple of his glasses. His eyes darted around the room worriedly, trying to decipher all the strange shapes he saw. A poor choice of words as he couldn't actually see very well, the lenses of his glasses were hopelessly cracked and it was lucky - a word so rarely used in the lives of the Baudelaires - that the glass lenses hadn't come apart as he wore them.

     Phil, who was sat upright next to Klaus, was happily humming a little tune. He was completely oblivious to the boy's troubles, as usual.

     In an attempt to calm his racing mind, Klaus turned to the hope of reading, as he always did. He picked up one several magazines, the only choice out of the selection that lay organized on the coffee table, that wasn't some form of optometry piece. He picked it up to examine it, and quickly found his hopes stamped out when he saw the title:

     Dreadful Pennies: RARE WORLD COINS and VALUABLE ODD COINS. The article of which I will spare you, advertised an analysis of coin trends, featuring the latest coin prices. Klaus had read hundreds of books in his life, and several of these books were of little interest to him. But this particular issue did not grab his attention so much and perhaps if he were bored, not worried, he would opt to pick it up and give it go, but the time simply wasn't ripe and he discarded the magazine distastefully on the coffee table.

     It was at that moment that the dull thud of a pair of three(?) footsteps echoed across the room from the small landing of steps. There stood Dr. Orwell, cane in hand - which had solved the quick mystery of three footsteps - and she gave Klaus a knowing look.

     "Klaus Baudelaire," she drawled, and Klaus gulped.

     He stood up in her presence, recognizing her as the woman he and his sisters saw pacing in the window when they first arrived.

     "You're Dr. Orwell?" He stammered.

     She stepped forward into the lobby and nodded.

     "Yes, I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I was on my lunch hour. Looks like somebody broke their glasses."

     Klaus felt a nudge on his shoulder.

"See?" Phil said. "Perfectly friendly."

Klaus removed his glasses and held them in his hands.

     "Well, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Dr. Orwell said.

     "Actually, you catch the most flies with manure." Klaus pointed out.

     "Aren't you smart?" Dr. Owell stated, a twinge in her voice. "It's just an expression. A fancy way of saying you're more likely to get what you want by acting in a sweet way, than in a distasteful way, like vinegar."

     Dr. Orwell reached over and grabbed Klaus by the hand suddenly and pulled him away to the stairs.

     "Wave goodbye to your friend." She ordered.

     Klaus, who had stumbled over the coffee table as he was being so rudely dragged across the room, squinted at the Phil shaped blob in his blurry vision. His head whipped back and forth between the doctor and Phil in panic.

     "Goodbye?"

+++

     Violet, Sunny, and Y/n sat at the very same table at which they met, waiting for Klaus to return. Night had fallen and their shift was long over, they sat at the table, the room illuminated by candles. Sunny, who had a particularly exhausting day, had fallen asleep on a mess of blankets next to her sister and her friend.

     "He should have been back by now," Violet thought aloud.

     "The handful of workers I've seen go to the optometrist usually take a while. I'm sure he'll be back any minute," Y/n assured, though her own confidence was beginning to waver.

     It had been a little longer than most.

Phil, who also sat at the table with a deck of cards, looked to the young sorrowful girls and gestured to his game of solitaire.

     "Why don't you ladies play a game of go fish to pass the time?"

     The two girls looked at one another and then at the optimist, shaking their heads.

     Violet looked out at the moon, wishing for her brother's safe return.

     "Violet?"

     In response, she looked to Phil. "Hmm?"

     "That's not a window," Phil pointed out gently.

     Just as soon as he had said it, Jimmy began drawing more details of the moon in chalk. And Violet saw the illusion disappear before her very eyes.

     She turned her attention to the flickering candles that sat on the table and the two friends sighed in worry.

     "Lights out," Phil said quietly.

     Phil leaned down and blew out the candles, extinguishing all light from the dorms. Violet and Y/n were now feeling as lonesome as ever despite each other's company.

     Violet looked to her sleeping sister and smiled weakly. She was still fast asleep on some cushions that Violet had made into a little bed for her. She pulled the blanket up further around her sister and gently stroked Sunny's soft head fondly.

     A muffled pair of footsteps captured the attention of the two young ladies. It had come from outside the door and both Y/n and Violet's ears perked up when they heard the wooden door creak open. A phrase which here means, the two girls' attention was brought to the door, eager to see if the person opening it was Klaus Baudelaire. Their ears did not move in any way.

     "Klaus!"

     The girls rose to their feet when they saw their beloved friend and brother standing in the doorway alive and well. Well, the term "well" is an inadequate word for this situation, meaning it is a poor choice of words for how the only boy Baudelaire was. "Well" would be a good choice of words if you were describing the quality of a good soup, not a fantastic soup but a soup that followed the recipe just enough. The point is the Baudelaire boy was not well, like a good hearty soup, but he was alive and that was what the three girls had been hoping for.

    Violet and Y/n rose to their feet and greeted the boy eagerly at the door.

     "We were worried. You were gone so long." Violet said.

     "Your glasses are gone, are they still being repaired?" Y/n asked.

     Klaus didn't utter a word, nor did he ever look the girls directly in the eye, but right past them. Like they weren't there. Naturally, this worried Y/n. In her time at the mill, she had seen several people go into the eye building and come out acting strange. She did not mention this to the Baudelaire sisters because she knew they were already worried and there was no sense in worrying them further unless he showed signs. Unfortunately - a word I'm afraid I will use many more times in the Baudelaire and L/n story - Y/n did see the same signs in Klaus. He kept to himself, and he had the same faraway look that had chilled her to the bone several times. 

     "What was it like inside the eye? Klaus?" Violet asked.

     With the same faraway look, he began walking slowly and sluggishly towards his bed. Violet followed him worriedly, trying desperately to pull any words, any at all, put from her brother. Y/n stayed rooted to the floor, watching sadly as she saw the same patterns emerge in her friend. Klaus finally stopped at the end of his bed and turned around to face the girls. He was smiling.

     "You're smiling," Violet said uncertainly.

     "I'm happy to be here, sir." He said finally.

     Y/n felt the final punch to the gut, and she frowned. Nobody punched Y/n for real of course, but the emotional toll she felt at her friend's condition felt as if someone had. Violet was feeling very similar at that exact moment.

     "What? I'm not Sir, I'm your sister. While you were gone, Sunny, Y/n and I heard Sir talking to Charles. He said he made a deal to cover something up." Violet continued even as her brother laid down for the night. "There's something bigger going on here."

     Jimmy and Ceasar rolled over in their neighboring bunks and began sushing Violet. Y/n finally left her spot by the front door, timidly she stepped around the bunk to face Violet, who was sitting in the chair that sat up against the wall.

     "Violet?"

     "What?"

     "Maybe we should turn in for the night? I know you must be very tired, and I'm sure Klaus is too. To tell you the truth, this behavior isn't that uncommon from what I've seen here at the mill. But it does always seem to wear off in a day or two, perhaps if we let Klaus get some sleep, and you too, we will all have a clear mind to regroup in the morning. Does that sound okay?"

     Violet thought about this for a moment, like she wanted to argue though she knew there was some truth to Y/n words. She looked back to her brother sadly, and she spoke to him soothingly.

     "Would you like to do that, Klaus? Would you like to go to sleep for now?" She asked.

     "Yes, Sir," Klaus said and closed his eyes as easily as one turns off a light switch.

     Both girls frowned and looked to one another curiously. 

     "I know this must not be easy," Y/n said grabbing Violet's attention. "I am worried for him too, but as I said, I have seen this behavior before around here, and it always goes away at one point. I'm sure it must be something Dr. Orwell prescribes, everyone always seems rather tired after visiting her, I'm sure that must be the case."

     "Maybe you're right," Violet sighed, looking anxiously at her brother. "But I can't help but feel like something is wrong. Am I crazy?"

     Y/n looked at Violet sympathetically. She shook her head.

     "No, Violet, I don't think you're crazy. I must admit, I do not understand why he is calling you Sir, but I'm sure there must be some kind of explanation."

     "But what could possibly explain that?"

     "I don't know, Violet. I'm sorry, I wish I did."

     Violet sighed, and she frowned when she saw Y/n yawn. She stood to her feet.

     "I'm sorry I've kept you up all this time, thank you for waiting with me."

     "Of course, I was worried about him too and I'd hate to leave you and Sunny by yourselves. And there are no worries, you didn't keep me from anything, I like you guys and while the circumstances are not great, I'm glad I met you guys." Y/n smiled sweetly, and even Violet felt a small smile tug at her own lips at her friend's kindness.

     "We like you too, Y/n. Thanks for all your help."

     "Of course, what are friends for?" Y/n yawned once more and she turned, eyes on Sunny behind her still curled up on the pillow. "I'm sure Sunny will be happy to hear Klaus is back and to get to bed. I know I'm eager."

     Violet nodded, and Y/n stepped aside to let her through. She gently picked up her sister and placed her on the top bunk before climbing up the latter and situating herself. Sunny had been so tired, she had barely noticed she had moved. Y/n took her spot on the bed across from Klaus, and Violet bid her goodnight.

     "Goodnight, Violet."

     "Goodnight, Y/n. Sweet dreams."

     "Sweet dreams, Violet." She said, her eyelids already growing heavy. "I'm sure tomorrow will be a much better day."

     Unfortunately, it wasn't.

[vfdbaudelairefile13]

Chapter Forty-Six:

The One Where Violet Loses Her Cool

 

 

Lemony entered his house to a very unpleasant surprise. His daughter was sitting at the table with her hands laid in front of her on top of a book. A book that Lemony had to take a double-take to see if he was seeing what he thought he was seeing and unfortunately, for him, his vision was perfect. Violet’s hands laid across The Incomplete History of Organizations and Lemony could tell by the intense glare that she giving him that she knew too much. Lemony looked at his daughter’s expression realizing that he didn’t recognize the young girl that sat across from him.

“Lemony, we need to talk,” Violet said chillingly serious. Lemony looked at his daughter in utter disbelief.

“What did you just call me?” he asked in a slightly stern tone. He was more confused than angry. Never had Violet ever called him by his first name. ‘Lemon man’ and ‘Mr. Lemons’ was the closest she had ever gotten to calling him by his first name.

“Lemony,” she said simply, before cocking her head to the side, “That is your name, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but I am your father and--,” he began as she interrupted him.

“What’s VFD?” she asked staring at him with unblinking eyes. Lemony took a step closer to the table and looked at his daughter. He had never seen her so angry or serious before. It slightly scared him. What did she know? Who did she come in contact with? He asked himself.

“What?” he replied.

“What. Is. VFD?” Violet asked again, this time in a louder, angrier tone. Enunciating every syllable in her sentence slowly that way her father can’t pretend that he didn’t hear her correctly. 

Lemony sighed. “Something that you don’t need to know about,” he said after a minute.

“Fine,” Violet said opening the book that was in front of her. “I knew you were going to say that. I mean I’ve already found my answer, I just wanted to know what you would say...”

“Violet...what’s up with you?” He asked calmly.

She took a deep breath and stood up, slamming her hands on to the book with all her might. Lemony was surprised that the table didn’t collapse from under her. “ You’re lying to me! You’ve been lying to me my entire life! ” she screamed in his direction. Her veins were full of boiling blood. Her mind was on fire from holding this back for so long. It’s time. No backtracking now. Get your answers, Vi. Don’t let him manipulate you. She told herself as she glared at her father.

“What are you talking about?” Lemony asked trying to figure out what to say to his daughter’s very sudden and unexpected outburst.

“About VFD! About your ‘job’! About my fucking mother!” Violet yelled. “You’ve been in contact with her, haven’t you?!” 

Lemony looks at Violet with a face that was a clear mix of guilt and confusion. He knew that this was not the time to explain to her that her birth mother was dead. So he took a deep breath. “First off, don’t speak to me like that Violet. Let’s have a rational discussion.”

Violet shook her head. “No! No! You’re not going to manipulate me into listening to any more of your bullshit lies! You threw any chance at a rational discussion out the door, the moment you started lying to me!” She yelled hitting her hand on the table angrily. “Now, have you been in contact with my mother at all!?”

“No,” he said simply rubbing his face, trying to stay calm for the both of them.

Violet glared at her father. “Then what are these!” she yells throwing several documents on the table. Lemony glanced at them and he saw correspondence letters from Beatrice, a copy of a telegram, and the letter that Beatrice sent to him asking him to temporarily take their daughter.

“You went through my stuff?” He asked feeling his annoyance and anger rise. He took a deep breath. “Violet Malina Snicket…” he began prepared to lecture her on respecting people’s personal property.

“Answer the question!” 

“Violet! Do not speak to me like that!” He yelled back. Violet glared at him.

“Answer me!” she cried angrily. “What are these!?” 

“Vi, those are old,” 

“How can I be so sure? You’re a known liar and there aren't any dates on any of these letters!”

Lemony tried to disguise his hurt from Violet’s words, but he was unsuccessful. His guilt was taking over, suppressing his anger. “Violet, you have to take my word…”

“Your word means shit!” She screamed, slamming her hand down on the table.

“Violet Malina!” he yelled back. “I am not going to sit here any longer and let you speak to me this way!” he took a deep breath. “I have been quite patient with you, young lady. First, you’ve gone through my personal belongings, snooped through my work documents, and now you’re accusing me of lying…”

Violet rubbed her face angrily as her hands formed tight fists. She laughed a cruel laugh before yelling, “Accusing…. accusing!? No, I am proving. ‘Accusing’ is a word which here means…” she began mocking her father.

“ I know what ‘accusing’ means! Do not get smart with me, young lady!” 

“Apparently, you don’t. Cause it’s not accusing if I can drown you with evidence.”

Lemony sighed angrily and tried to think of something to say.

“So...what’s VFD?” 

“Nothing important. Definitely not something you need to worry about,”

“Really? Because I have evidence of the contrary,” she replied annoyed.

“Violet…” 

She took the spyglass out of her pocket and slammed it on the table. “You wanna show me how this thing works,” 

“You...you had my spyglass…” he said confused.

“Yep. Sure did. I’m not completely sure what it does, but I assume you can receive codes from special movies with it.”

His face went pale as his eyes got wide. “How do you know that?”

“I followed you to the movies,” she admitted.

Lemony shook his head fiercely in utter denial. “No...no you didn’t. I would’ve noticed my own daughter.”

“Not if I was in disguise,” Violet said simply.

“How do you know how to use disguises?”

“I’ve learned from the best...honestly, I’m surprised I’m not a politician. With the amount of lying you’ve done over the years, I’d surely be an expert at lying.”

“Violet! That’s enough! ” Lemony yells but Violet doesn’t back down. She continues glaring at her father. Fire still within her inner core, boiling her blood.

“Why won’t you let me meet her?” Violet asked quietly.

“I haven’t found her yet,” Lemony lied.

“You’re lying!” Violet yelled. “Why don’t you ask someone from your cult! Cults don’t usually let people defect, which can explain why you’re both pronounced dead and on the run.”

“Violet…”

“ Let me meet her!” 

“I don’t know where she is!”

“Then ask VFD!” Violet yelled. “Ask your cult with their disguises and their codes. Surely, they can locate her! Or does she have enemies, too?”

Lemony’s eyes went wide. “How do you know that? Who have you come in contact with?” he asked desperately.

“Doesn’t matter,” 

“Violet, it does matter! There are people from my past who would give anything to hurt you...and I will not let them, but I need you to cooperate with me!”

Violet shook her head. “I will never be apart of your cult! VFD has ruined your life! It’s ruined my life before it even began! VFD…” she began choking on her words. “VFD forced you to kill someone!”

Lemony frowned realizing that Violet knew too much. 

“VFD...I mean...you’re not...you’re right.” Lemony stammered.

“Why would you stay in an ‘organization’ that would coerce you to commit murder!?” she yelled. “Like do they have dirt on you? Are they blackmailing you? Did they threaten me ?”

“It’s…” Lemony started trying to find the right words, but he was completely speechless. His daughter knew too much. She knew too much and this knowledge could make her a target to both sides of the schism. “Violet...you have to let this go. You have to forget everything you know about VFD...or…”

“Or what they’ll find me and kidnap me?” She asked watching her father’s expression change. “I know...they kidnap children…and force them to be volunteers.” She began quoting the ‘Snicket Lad’. “When we drive away in secret, you'll be a volunteer. So don’t scream when we take you...the world is quiet here.” 

Lemony’s eyes went wide. “Don’t ever say that phrase to anyone!”

“Why...is that how they know who their members are? Is that how they assume a child is ready for their apprenticeship?”

“How...how do you know all this…?” he asked desperately. Looking at the evidence she laid on the table. He knew not a single piece of evidence spoke about apprenticeship. Someone had to have told her that. But who?

Instead of answering, Violet proposed a question of her own. “When we went to the fair when I was younger, did VFD try to kidnap me twice?” 

He nodded his head with a defeated sigh. 

“Which side? The ones who start the fires or the ones who put them out?” 

“Both. The man with the two children...he’s an old associate of mine and your mother’s. He’s too far gone...completely brainwashed. The other two are monsters...people that I’ve spent your entire life keeping you away from!” 

“So you willingly ‘volunteer’ for a cult that kidnaps children!?”

“I’ve never kidnapped a child…”

“But you have murdered,” 

Lemony just frowned. Unfortunately, he had murdered more than once. There was the night at the opera and that one time during his apprenticeship in Staind-by-the-Sea. But Violet didn’t need to know about both of these incidents.

“Who’s the Snicket Lad?” she asked impatiently throwing the song down on the table.

Lemony rubbed his face again. “That’s not important,”

“They kidnapped you and made you do their bidding. Telling you that it was a wicked thing to do for a noble reason...they brainwashed you. They have you investigating fires that defects of their cult are starting.” Violet cried as she began to ramble, pointing at his investigation board. “But they can’t give you the location of my mother?”

“Violet…it’s complicated,” he replied.

“Who are those kids?” she asked pointing at a picture of a young boy with glasses and an infant with sharp teeth.

“They’re not important…” Lemony lied.

“Really? You have a whole investigation board dedicated to them!” she yelled. “But yet...no investigation board dedicated to finding my mother.”

Lemony opened his mouth to speak, but he decided against it. Anything he would say about the connection between that investigation board and her birth mother would tell her about her mother’s tragic death. Lemony knew she had every right to know...he just did not feel that right now, during her break down and interrogation, was the best time to tell her.

Violet growled and smacked the table again. “ Why won’t you let me meet her? Tell me again...tell me again how I got conveniently separated from her and into your custody?” she asked, her anger fully taking over. Her words were spat out like venom. The look on her face was one that her father didn’t recognize. He knew it was his daughter speaking, but it did not sound or look like her.

“What are you implying?” Lemony asked sternly.

“I saw her marriage proposal retraction, too,” Violet explains, lifting the briefcase onto the table. “You know, my initials aren’t the best combination...pretty obvious,” she remarked.

“Violet! This is enough!” 

“Did you kidnap me!? Because this letter clearly states that she was going to work out a plan where I can be raised by you, her and B!” 

Lemony was speechless. He didn’t know what to say. Violet was coming at him with so much information, he didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t just tell her that her mother was dead and he was trying to protect her younger half-siblings. Violet began to read the letter aloud to her father. “ After that, you and I can discuss possible arrangements for Violet, so she can grow up with all three of her parents. I am truly sorry, my dear, for the events that have transpired and for the retracted marriage proposal but The Force of Destiny has taken over and has made it impossible for us to be together any longer. But no matter what, I don’t believe that Violet should be punished for things not going the way that we had planned. I hope you agree on this matter. ” She read aloud angrily. “She was willing to share! She was willing to let you raise me as well. It was never going to be just her and it never should have been just you!”

Lemony looked at Violet, speechless. He frowned. He felt defeated. He didn’t know what to say at all. She completely surprised him with this. Violet continued to glare at her father as she opened her mouth to say something, but then she closed her mouth. She sighed.

“What?” Lemony asked.

“Why didn’t you give me back to her? Why didn’t you share me with her? She was willing…” 

“Violet...life got in the way. The on the run life was new to me…I had to relocate to protect you! You will never understand the dangers that I have faced...you will never understand what I have sacrificed to keep you safe!”

“You know my whole life...I thought it was me she didn’t want,” Violet stated in a quieter voice than the one she had been using, not even caring. 

“Huh?”

“She wanted me,” Violet said to herself then her anger took hold of her again and before she could stop herself, she glared at her father looking him in the eye. “ It was you that she didn’t want! ” She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Lemony was taken aback by what Violet had just said. The truth hit him like a train. Lemony could feel tears forming from his eyes. He quickly wiped them, staying silent. Staring at the heated mess that his daughter was. He was angry. He was disappointed. He was hurt. He was guilt-ridden. But deep down inside, he knew that Violet was right. Beatrice did not want him...she had explained this in a two hundred page letter that his daughter apparently has read. He felt humiliated, he felt destroyed. He ruined all hope of living his happily ever after with Beatrice the moment that he convinced her to steal from their former friend and to commit that double homicide. Now, nearly fifteen years later he has his daughter throwing it into his face. She was placing all the blame for the wrongs in her life on Lemony and he didn’t fault her for that. He understood why she was doing that. He felt that she was correct, he was in the wrong for everything. He has ruined more lives than Count Olaf has, and he hated himself for it. It seemed to him that his daughter would have been better off if he never met up with Beatrice that Thursday so many years ago.

Violet stood there trying to do her best to not show that she was sorry. Trying to show that she didn’t care that her venomous words had hit her father harder than she thought they would. She wasn’t used to making her father cry. She has seen him cry, yes, but the only times that she had made him cry...they were happy cries, proud cries, relieved cries. They were never sorrowful cries. He had never cried due to what she said to him, so it slightly hit her that maybe she had been too harsh.

Lemony stood there for several more moments trying to process what his daughter had just said. He glanced around the room, his eyes focusing on his investigation board. Fuck! He thought. He remembered Jacquelyn’s phone call to him earlier that day, he knew he had to go help the Baudelaires but he couldn’t leave his daughter. Not like this.

He sat down. Violet continued to glare at him. 

“What do you want me to say?” he asks still wiping tears from his eyes.

“First, I want you to give up VFD...nothing good will come of it,” she said in a meek voice still trying to hide the fact that she was beginning to feel bad for what she had said.

He rubbed his face while he sighed. “Right now, I can’t do that,” he said finally.

“Why?” 

“It’s hard to explain.”

Violet’s anger boiled through her veins again. “Is this why she left you...because you wouldn’t give it up...you convinced her...to murder,” she said in a chilling tone. “ She didn’t want you so you took me to punish her!” 

Lemony stood up. “No! That’s not how any of this went, Violet!”  as the phone began to ring. Both Violet and Lemony glanced at it. Neither one stood to pick it up.

Violet rolled her eyes. “Oh, look. Your cult is calling...right on time. Let me guess, those kids on that investigation board they want you to kidnap them, don’t they?”

“No…” Lemony said defensively. “It’s not like that! I’m not kidnapping children! I didn’t purposely take you from your mother!”

“I don’t believe you…” she said simply shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head. She watched as her father’s face went pale as he frowned. “Do you blame me? All you’ve done is lie to me,”

Lemony sighed as he began to cry a bit harder now. Still looking at the phone as it rang again. He knew it was Jacquelyn. If she was calling twice, he knew it was bad. Something was happening to the Baudelaires. He would call her back using his taxi phone.

“Give VFD up...whatever they’re calling for, they can handle,” Violet said again. “Just give up your cult…”

“I already told you, I can’t,” Lemony said as he began walking towards the door.

“Where are you going!?” she yelled standing up quickly.

“Back to work,” he said simply.

“You didn’t answer any of my questions! You don’t get to walk away! What’s VFD?!” She screamed.

Lemony turned around to face his daughter, his face was red and tear-stained. He looks her dead in the eye and says, “It’s better if you don’t know,”  and with that, he turns to the door again.

This infuriated Violet. “ I hate you!” She screamed in his direction, allowing every ounce of venomous anger to pour from her mouth. “ I hate you!” she screamed again as he didn’t turn around to confront her, he simply kept walking. She rushed to the doorway and peered out of it as she watched him walk away. “ I fucking hate you! Do you hear me? I hate you!” She screamed wiping angry tears from her cheeks.  He kept walking down the hallway, wiping the tears from his eyes. He heard the harsh sound of their door slam but he still didn’t turn back. He couldn’t face his daughter right now, she had never said that to him. And because of that, Lemony believed that she meant every word. Lemony’s tears continued to fall even when he reached his taxi, even as he called back Jacquelyn and explained to her that he was on his way to Paltryville. 

As Violet slammed the door to her home, she screamed one final time as she slid to the ground in a fit of rage. She couldn’t breathe from how hard she was crying. This interrogation did not go as she planned, although she had a feeling her father would continue to deny and try to cover up his involvement in VFD. She laid on the ground and curled up into a big ball of guilt, anger, and sadness. 

I don’t have to tell you that there are times in our lives, where we are either so mad or so sad because we feel betrayed and lied to, and we just say things that we simply do not mean. We say the first irrational things that pop into our minds without thinking of the consequences or impact that our words have on the person that we are saying them to. It is a very common thing, to say these rather mean and impactful words and immediately feel guilty because deep down you know you didn’t mean them. But you said them anyway simply to intentionally hurt the other person.

And sometimes...we may not know it (until it’s too late) but these harsh words could be the last thing we ever say to someone…

[sofiaherzen]

A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 2 | Exclusive VFD Clip | Netflix

[susiephone]

[parsleysoda1984]

The Doctor Is In // Georgina Orwell

[sweetpotatoofthisworld]

Dr. Orwell: You've got lipstick on your teeth

Olaf: It's part of characterization

[vfdbaudelairefile13]

  Chapter Forty-Two:

The One Where the Baudelaires are Put to Work

 

That day, Violet Snicket was relieved that her father had finally arrived home, although, she didn’t say much to him. She was afraid if she started a conversation with him she would start asking about VFD and his involvement. She would ask him a million questions and expect answers to each one. But she couldn’t, not yet at least, she needed to compile every scrap of evidence she could before she questioned him. Why? Because she feared that after she interrogates him, he will make learning VFD information a lot harder than it already is. She wasn’t going to let that happen.

Violet sat across from her father as they both silently ate. You could cut the tension between the two of them with a knife. 

“You okay, sweetie?” Lemony asked after a while of the awkward tension. 

“Hmm mmm,” Violet said not really saying anything to her father.

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah. Just glad you’re home.” Violet muttered rolling her eyes. “Finally,”

“Honey…” Lemony began.

“I know, you’re just doing your job. Putting food on the table.” 

Lemony frowned. He didn’t know what was wrong with his daughter and why she was so moody. Violet didn’t look up at him, afraid that she’d crack under pressure. Neither of them said anything for another couple moments of pure tense silence.

“So have you found her?” Violet asked.

“Huh?”

“My mother? Have you found her yet? Are you even close? Have you even bothered since the last time I asked?” She asked impatiently.

Lemony was taken aback by his daughter’s tone, he sighed and nodded his head in response.

“Really?” She asked not believing a word he was saying. “Can you explain what you’ve learned?”

“Violet…”

“Well…?”

He sighed again. “I rather not get your hopes up,”

“Of course not. Makes sense,” Violet replied in the same impatient tone as before. She absolutely hated how he had a lie ready at his disposal. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yep. Definitely.” 

He frowned. He knew this was a lie. He knew his daughter more than she would like to admit. That’s what happens when you’ve lived with just one other person for their entire life. He didn’t understand why she was in a mood though. Was it because she desperately wanted to learn about her birth mother or was it because he was absent more often these days. His stay at Lake Lachrymose had gone on longer than he had anticipated at first. But what could he have done? He had to help the Baudelaires. Maybe he should’ve called her and allowed her to know that he was fine. 

He opened his mouth to say something but as he did, the phone rang. Both Snickets looked at the phone. Lemony stood up before Violet had a chance to. “I got it,” he said as she rolled her eyes. He took the phone and went into the other room.

“Yes, Jacquelyn.” He answered knowing damn well who was on the other end of the phone call.

“Now, how’d you know it was me?” 

“You’re the only person who calls,” 

“Damn. That’s truly sad, Snicket. You should get out more.”

“Ha. Funny,” Lemony replied in a sarcastic tone as he rolled his eyes. “So...let me guess Olaf is after the kids again.”

“When isn’t he?” 

“Good point,” Lemony muttered. “What do we know about his plan this time?”

“Nothing. We just know he has found them,” 

“How the fuck is he getting this information before me?”

“Honestly, that’s something I’d like to know,” Jacquelyn replied annoyed. “I mean I work for the man who takes them to their guardians and he somehow knows before me…”

“You don’t think Poe works for him, do you?”

“No...no...the man is incompetent but definitely not evil.”

“Now are you sure?” Lemony asked.

“Yes. It would take a functioning brain to pull that off,” Jacquelyn pointed out laughing.

“Okay. Good point.” Lemony said convinced. “So where are they now?”

“Paltryville,”

“Of course…” 

“Why do you say it like that?” Jacquelyn asked concerned.

“...I’m not welcomed in Paltryville...for several reasons. One is that they think I helped start a certain fire,” 

“Ah. Should I send myself or Larry.” 

“No!” Lemony cried panicked. “No offense, but the last time that I allowed you to send yourself to the Baudelaires’ location, Dr. Montgomery died. And the last time Larry beat me to their location, he was kidnapped by Olaf and he could’ve been killed.”

“Are you going to keep using Dr. Montgomery’s death against me?” 

“Yes. Until you can explain to me why disguising yourself as a fucking statue was a good idea I am going to use that against you.”

“Suit yourself, Snicket,” Jacquelyn said. “You’ll need to get on the next train to Paltryville.”

Lemony looked to Violet who wasn’t paying attention. “Ummm…” he said. “I’m gonna need a day or two,” 

“What?” 

“I have an a...prior commitment. I have to...ummmm...research something. Shouldn’t take me long,”

“But the Baudelaires…”

“They’re resourceful kids,” Lemony said immediately. “They can survive a day or two without me.”

“If you’re sure, Snicket,” Jacquelyn said after sighing. “Just let me know if you want me to go for you...cause I can.”

“Again...no. Stop suggesting that,” Lemony said chuckling a bit. “Just keep me updated if you can. Surely there’s a VFD agent in Paltryville that can give us information.”

“Doubtful,” 

“Just give me a day or so,” Lemony said as Jacquelyn bid him goodbye.

Lemony walked back over to Violet. “You know what, I’m sorry. You’re right,” 

“What?” she asked confused.

“I haven’t made looking for your mother a priority in the last couple of weeks. That’s going to change.” He said as he watched her eyes light up. “I am going to find her, Violet. I promise.” He said.

As he watched a smile appear upon his daughter’s face, he could feel a ping of guilt in his heart. He knew that eventually, he would have to explain to Violet what had happened to her mother. When he told her that he was going to find her, what he meant was that he was going to figure out who stole Beatrice from Violet forever. He didn’t want to drop this piece of information on his daughter without closure. He didn’t want her to wonder who would kill her mother. He wanted to be able to have all the answers to every question she would have about her mother’s death. So he had decided to take the next day to focus on figuring out the exact cause of the Baudelaire fire. 

_____________________________________________________________________

Morning is an important time of day because how you begin your morning can often tell you what kind of day you’re going to have. If you wake up to a breakfast made by your father, your day will probably be decent. If you wake up in a mansion to a butler serving you blueberry pancakes and freshly squeezed orange juice, your day will probably be wonderful. Now if you wake up in a lumber mill to the sound of metal pots banging together, you know your day will be horrid.

You and I, of course, cannot be too surprised that the Baudelaire orphans’ first day at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill was a horrid one. The Baudelaire orphans did not expect a nice, hot breakfast or a butler, especially after their dismaying arrival. But never in their most uneasy dreams did they expect the cacophony that awoke them.

“Get up, lumber workers! This is your new foreman, and you’ve got a new shipment of logs to turn into flat wooden boards!” A rough voice yelled over the loudspeakers. 

“What’s that horrible noise?’ Klaus asked groggily. 

“Tympana,” Sunny muttered, which meant, “It sounds like someone banging metal pots together…” 

“Get up, you lazy, smell things!” the foreman’s voice yelled. “Time for work, everybody!”

The children sat up and rubbed their eyes. All around them, the employees of the Lucky Smells Lumbermill were stretching and covering their ears at the sound of the pots. Phil, who was already up and making his bunk neatly, gave the Baudelaires a tired smile. 

“I believe everyone has a good side. But I have to admit, our last foreman was a lot nicer,” Phil commented to the children.

“What happened to your last foreman?” Klaus asked wearily. 

“Must’ve quit in the middle of the night,” Phil said cheerfully. “It happens a lot around here,” 

Klaus and Sunny looked at one another uneasily. 

“Hurry up! It’s log day!” the foreman’s voice yelled.

“I hate log days,” a mill worker muttered.

As the children followed Phil and the other workers across the dirt-floored courtyard to the lumber mill, which was a dull gray building with many smokestacks sticking out of the top. The two children looked at one another nervously. Except for one summer day, back when their parents were alive, when the Baudelaire siblings had opened a small lemonade stand in front of their house, the orphans had never had jobs, and they were quite nervous. 

The Baudelaires walked closely next to Phil into the lumbermill and saw that it was all one huge room, filled with enormous machines. Klaus looked at a shiny steel machine with a pair of steel pinchers like the arms of a crab and hoped that he wouldn’t be asked to handle it. Sunny examined a machine that looked like a big cage, with an enormous ball of string trapped inside, and tried to think of what a machine like that could be used for. Both children stared a  rusty, creaky-looking machine that had a circular saw-blade that looked quite jagged and fearsome. Sunny wondered if the saw was sharper than her teeth, while Klaus anxiously tried to remember anything and everything he had read about lumber mills. 

All the while, the noise from all of the machines were starting to disturb Klaus. Klaus began to whimper a little as he put his hands over his ears and winced in pain. “It’s too loud in here,” he said to Sunny as Sunny nodded her head at her brother. 

“Now grab a debarker and start debarking!” the foreman yelled from his booth. The foreman wore a gas mask that completely covered his face, which seemed odd to the children. He also wore a stained uniform that completely covered his arms and legs, Klaus suspected it was to cover up a certain tattoo. Sunny noticed that his shoes had been taped shut instead of being tied, which seemed rather unusual for anyone to do. The foreman turned his head towards the children. “You too, lumber midgets!” 

“We’re not midgets...we’re children,” Klaus replied as he stood in line with Sunny to get a debarker.

“Children, midgets, do I care?” The foreman said in a muffled voice. 

“Oh, I love log days!” Phil exclaimed.

Klaus took a debarker from the dispenser and looked down at it. “I don’t think this is safe for even me to be handling,” he said cautiously to Sunny.

“Bite!” she exclaimed, which probably meant, “That’s okay. I don’t need one. I’ll just bite the logs.” 

As the children followed the other workers around one of the trees, Phil showed Klaus how to use his debarker. He began scraping it against the tree, filing the bark off like you would file your nail. Klaus nodded and tried to imitate Phil’s actions. 

Even though Phil had described the rigors of working at the mill, it had certainly sounded difficult. But seeing that he was an optimist, he still sugar-coated just how difficult the job would be, so the actual work turned out to be much, much worse. For one thing, the debarkers were adult-sized and it was difficult for Klaus to use it. He could scarcely lift it and even when he could lift up to the tree, he had to push with all his might to get it to file the bark from the log and even then only tiny pieces of bark would fall from the tree. He was in a mixture of jealousy and amazement as Sunny climbed atop the log and began to saw away at the bark with her teeth. She made it look so easy.  

To the Baudelaires’ misfortune, once a tree was finally cleared of bark, there would be another tree waiting for them. Which meant they would have to start this process over and over again. But if you asked the Baudelaires what was the worst thing about working at the lumber mill would be the deafening noise. Since Klaus had to use two hands to move his debarker against the wood, he had absolutely no way of blocking all the terrible noises from his eardrums. So the entire time he felt overstimulated and he continued to wince in discomfort. He longed for a break so he can go outside and maybe get a few minutes of peace and quiet. Finally, as the children finished their third log (noticing that all the other groups of workers were at least on their fourteenth log), the foreman began shouting over the loudspeaker. “Lunch break! Lumber slowpokes!” 

Klaus grabbed his baby sister and sat down where the rest of the workers were sitting. He started picking pieces of wood out of his sister’s hair noticing that she was completely covered in sawdust. He could only imagine how terrible he looked as he began to ruffle his hair in hope of getting all the sawdust out.“I hate log days,” Klaus muttered to Sunny as one of the mill workers replied, “Told ya!” 

“Otii!” Sunny replied, which meant, “We finally get a break.”

“Lunch break! Five minutes!” the foreman yelled as he threw two pink squares at the children. Klaus somehow caught it and looked down at the small pink square that was in his hands.

“It’s gum...this is gum!” he shouted not believing his eyes. “Gum isn’t lunch! Gum isn’t even a snack!” 

“Tanco!” Sunny yelled in agreement, which meant, “And babies shouldn’t even have gum, because they could choke on it!” Klaus was quick to translate.

“You’d better eat your gum,” Phil said, moving over to sit next to the two children. “It’s not very filling, but it’s the only thing they’ll let you eat until dinnertime.” 

“Can’t we use our wages to buy some sandwiches?” Klaus asked still staring at the two pink squares in his hands.

Phil began to chuckle a bit. “Kiddo, we’re not paid in wages. We’re paid in coupons.”

“I got one for 20% off a shampoo at Ed’s Haircut Palace,” one mill worker replied.

“I got a free refill of iced tea,” another replied.

“I got ‘Buy two banjos, get one free’. Of course, I can’t buy any banjos ‘cause I don’t have any money. Just coupons.” a third mentioned.

“That...that can’t be legal,” Klaus replied in utter disbelief.

“It’s not like we have a constitution,” Phil replied.

“If this place is so miserable, why don’t you leave?” Klaus asks. 

All at once, like zombies or brainwashed members of a cult, the mill workers stood up and in a monotone chant, they replied, “Lucky Smells is our life. Lucky Smells is our home.” They sat back down as if nothing they had just done was out of the ordinary. Klaus looked down at Sunny with a worried face. 

“We need to find those answers and run away,” he said as Sunny nodded.

“Book!” she replied, which probably meant, “Didn’t the mill have a library?”

Klaus nodded his head as he picked Sunny up and walked out of the noisy mill into the peacefully quiet courtyard. During the walk to the mill's library, he couldn’t help but ponder just how terrible Sir was. What kind of man forces two small children to work in a lumber mill? What sort of man would hire a dickhead like the foreman? What sort of man would pay his employees in coupons or feed them only gum? But his biggest question was the same as the one he had asked Mr. Poe before they were even dropped off here which was how is a lumber mill a suitable home for two children? With each step, the children raised small clouds of dirt that matched the clouds of dread that continued to hang over them ever since their parents had died. Their bodies ached from the morning’s work and they had an uneasy feeling in their empty stomachs. As they guessed from the way their day began, the two children were having a bad day and I hate to inform you that although the Baudelaires believed it couldn’t get any worse. They were entirely wrong. Because it can get so much worse...and it did.

Finally, the two children reached the building that contained Sir’s office and Charles’ library. Klaus noticed a mirror hanging on the wall and peered in it frowning. Both children looked tired and hungry. Both children’s hair and uniforms were covered in small pieces of bark and sawdust. Klaus’ glasses were hanging askew from leaning over logs all morning and Sunny had pieces of wood stuck in her four teeth. Both children frowned and noticed a painting of a seashore that hung behind them, which made them feel about ten thousand times worse because the seashore will always remind them of that terrible, terrible day when the two siblings went to the beach and soon received the news from Mr. Poe that their parents had died and they were all alone in this world. The children stared at their own reflections and the depressing painting behind them, and it was almost unbearable for either of them to think about everything that had happened to them since that day. 

“You know, if someone had told me,” Klaus cried, “ that day at the beach, that before long I’d find myself pursued by a greedy, evil man named Count Olaf, I would have said they were insane.”

“Wora,” Sunny replied softly, which meant, “If someone had told me, that day at the beach, that before long I’d find myself using my four teeth to scrape the bark off trees because I was now working in a lumbermill, I would have said they were psychoneurotically disturbed.”

The dismayed orphans looked at their reflections and for several moments, the Baudelaires stood and pondered the mysterious way their lives were going. It wasn’t until Sunny pointed to a pair of closed doors muttering the word, “book,” that snapped Klaus back into reality. 

“You’re right, Sunny. According to the map, the mill library should be just behind...behind this door,” Klaus whispered as he touched the doors to open up. Just when he had placed a hand on the library door, a door behind the two children swung open.

“Trying to get out of log day, are you?” Sir’s booming voice asked. Klaus jumped in surprise and turned to see his guardians, one whose face was still entirely covered by a cloud of smoke and the other who was wearing an apron. 

“We wanted to visit the library on our lunch break, Sir.” 

“Oh! What a lovely idea!” Charles said smiling at the children, turning to Sir. “I told you a library would be good for morale,”

“Nonsense!” Sir yelled which cause both Klaus and Charles to flinch. “Lunch breaks are for chewing gum, not sneaking off to libraries! That’s why they only need five fucking minutes!”

“But, Sir…” Charles began.

“You’re not going to cause trouble for my mill, are you?”

“Trouble? I’m your partner.” Charles said in a saddened tone.

Sir turned to Charles. “I was speaking to the Baudelaires!” he said in a loud and annoyed tone.

“Right,” Charles muttered.

“Look here, boy, I took a chance treating you like grown-ups. Don’t make me regret it!” Sir yelled. 

“Puer!” Sunny yelled, which meant, “We never asked to be treated like grown-ups. If I recall correctly, we explained to you that we were children! ” Klaus was quick to translate for his sister.

Sir growled under his breath. “ Get back to work!” 

With that Sir turned and walked back into his office as Klaus and Sunny looked at Charles with desperate, pleading eyes. Charles gave the children a small frown as he slowly began to back up into the office. 

“You’ll have to excuse Sir. He recently cut down on his smoking,” Charles explained, even though, he knew deep down that was not a good enough excuse for why Sir was treating the Baudelaires so terribly.

“Do you know he feeds the workers gum and pays them in coupons!?” Klaus asks angrily. 

“Yes...well, I’ve tried to discuss that. ” 

“Par!” Sunny yelled, which meant, “If you guys are partners , you should be able to stand up to him!” Klaus translated for his sister.

“It’s complicated. I know Sir can be...prickly, but you have to understand, he had a very terrible childhood.” Charles explained as he grabbed ahold of the office doors and began to slowly close them.

Klaus glared at Charles and took a step closer to him as he thought about that horrible day at the beach again. “I understand,” Klaus said through gritted teeth. “ I’m having a very terrible childhood right now, ” he said his voice breaking.

Charles continued closing the office doors as he whispered, “okay.” Klaus just gave a look of utter disbelief at Charles’ lack of caring for the children.

Klaus and Sunny just stood there for a few moments before shaking their heads and walking back to the lumbermill. In the hours that followed as the two children worked and worked. Klaus had a pit in his stomach as he thought once again about the eye-shaped building. He was certain that Count Olaf was lurking nearby, like some predator waiting to pounce on the children while they weren’t looking. He tried his best to get a good look at every mill worker. It would have been simple for Olaf to get himself hired as an employee, and snatch the children away when Foreman Flacutono wasn’t looking. But although all the workers looked tired, sad, and hungry, none of them looked evil and greedy. As the orphans performed backbreaking labor, Klaus wondered if Count Olaf would use one of these scary-looking machines to somehow get his dirty hands on their parents’ money. He then thought of Foreman Flacutono and thought about just how odd his uniform was. No one else here was wearing a gas mask and although the mills’ green uniforms covered every inch of the workers’ arms and legs, they still weren’t as long and awkward as the foreman’s uniform. Klaus then remembered how a nice man, Kronk, had claimed to be from the Herpetological Society back when the children had lived with their Uncle Monty. Even though the man had been nice and helpful to the children, Klaus had always found it odd that he wore a beekeeper’s hat to conceal his face. He pondered whether or not Count Olaf could be doing that now but with a gas mask. 

“Penny?” Sunny asked as she sat up on the log staring at her brother, this meant, “Penny for your thoughts?”

“Huh?” Klaus asked confused.

“Cogitare,” Sunny replied, which meant, “You’re thinking something.” 

Klaus sighed and put down his debarker. “It’s the new foreman. Phil said he just showed up last night. What if he’s Count Olaf and being a foreman’s his new disguise?”

“Pessima,” Sunny replied annoyed, which meant, “He is cruel like Count Olaf, but Olaf runs a horrible theater troupe, not a lumbermill.”

“But isn’t it suspicious how we never see his face?” 

“Sir,” Sunny remarked.

“I already thought of that, Sir’s way too short to be Olaf in disguise.”

Sunny rolled her eyes at her brother unimpressed.

“...and we only hear his voice over the loudspeaker,” Klaus reasoned.

“Impellit,” Sunny remarked, which meant, “Probably because the mill is too noisy. It’s probably the only way anyone could ever hear him.”

“But…” Klaus cried.

“ Ludum! ” Sunny yelled impatiently, which meant, “ I know what you’re trying to do!” 

“Keep us safe!” Klaus cried.

“Nos!” Sunny yelled impatiently rolling her eyes, which meant, “Find a reason to leave. And we can just as soon as we clear our parents’ names.”

“I don’t care about that! I have to keep you safe!” Klaus argued.

“Curam me!” she replied harshly, which meant, “Goddammit, Klaus! I don’t need you to keep me safe! I can handle my own pretty sure I’ve done enough to prove that! Worry about yourself!”

Klaus frowned and looked to the ground. “I...I...I need a new debarker,” he said sadly as he tossed his to the ground. Sunny shrugged her shoulders and went back to work. Klaus walked slowly away from his baby sister, wiping the tears from his eyes. Klaus turned back to make sure Sunny was okay, she seemed annoyed but content as she went back to biting the bark off the logs. Klaus walked towards the debarker machine but noticed that Foreman Flacutono was asleep in his booth with his left leg hanging out. Klaus took this opportunity and quickly walked up near the booth, slowly kneeling down to the ground. 

Ever so cautiously, Klaus gently grabbed the man’s pant leg and began to slowly pull it up. Praying that he didn’t wake the foreman. He just needed to see the man’s ankle. As Klaus pulled the pant leg up, the foreman began to move slightly in his sleep. Klaus held his breath, trying his best to not wake the man up. Before he could see the man’s left ankle, the foreman jerked awake as Klaus jumped up not making eye contact with him. 

“What are you doing, midget?” the foreman asked him angrily.

“I...I...I need a new debarker,” Klaus said in a low voice, nervously. still not making eye contact with the man, in fear that it was actual Olaf in disguise.

“Spoiled brat wants a new debarker? Old rust one isn’t good enough for him, eh?” The foreman asked in a patronizing tone. “They’re over there, rich boy.” as he moved his arm to gesture at where they were located. That was what caught Klaus’ attention, the foreman didn’t point with his finger, he used his arm to more or less point. Klaus watched confused as the foreman lowered his oddly stiff arm. 

“Wait…” Klaus said under his breath trying to figure out where he had seen this type of stiff arm before.

Before he could figure it out. He felt the foreman’s left foot give him a harsh, painful kick in the ass as he fell to the ground. His glasses slid off his face a few inches in front of him. He winced in pain as his mind scrambled to figure out what had happened.

The foreman walked in front of him and purposefully stepped on his glasses. “Whoopsie!” the foreman said in a mocking tone as he made his way back to the booth.

“Klaus!” Sunny yelled realizing her brother was on the floor. Phil looked up and noticed that Klaus was lying on the floor as well. He quickly grabbed Sunny and walked towards the boy. By the time Phil and Sunny reached him a small crowd of workers circled Klaus. This reminded him of when Olaf had both slapped him in the face and when Olaf had tortured him and his troupe just sat around and watched the show before them. He wiped a tear from his eyes as he looked up and saw a blurry blob that was small enough to be his sister. 

“Specks!” Sunny yelled as she reached her brother, picking up his glasses for him, which meant, “Your glasses...they’re…”

“Twisted,” 

“Cracked,” 

“Hopelessly broken,” 

“They look A-okay to me,” Phil commented giving Klaus two thumbs up.

Klaus put his broken glasses on his face and saw that his coworkers were correct. His glasses resembled a piece of modern sculpture that a friend of mine made a long time ago called Twisted, Cracked, and Hopelessly Broken.

“The foreman kicked me!” Klaus yelled angrily. “And then he stepped on my glasses!” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! How could I kick him when I’m up in this booth?” Foreman Flacutono replied. “It was probably karma,”

“See?” Sunny asked desperately.

“A little,” Klaus replied.

“He’ll live,” Foreman Flacutono replied.

“Fucker!” Sunny yelled at the foreman as Phil helped Klaus up. 

“Get back to work, midget,” 

“He can’t work if he can’t see!” Phil explained.

“Too bad for him,” 

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Phil said calmly, “He needs an optometrist. A child could see that,”

“Not me,” Klaus said, “I can scarcely see anything.”

“Lucky for you, we’ve got a great optometrist right here in what’s left of our town,” 

The Baudelaires’ eyes got wide with panic. “You mean the eye-shaped building?” Klaus asked nervously.

“Oh yeah! Dr. Orwell treats all the workers. You probably saw the coupon in your welcome packet. I better get you there.” Phil said 

“No!” Sunny protested. “No take!” 

But Foreman Flacutono began banging his pots together as the other mill workers turned on the machines to finish the day’s work.

“That building has the mark of a bad, bad man!” Klaus pleaded as Phil dragged him away from Sunny.

“Yoryar!” Sunny begged crawling as fast as she could to stop Phil from taking her brother away from her, this meant, “Please don’t take him to that building!” But Klaus wasn’t able to translate because neither he or Phil could hear Sunny over the machines. Klaus gave Sunny a hopeful smile. 

“I’ll be fine!” he shouted to her. “Maybe I can find some answers!” 

“Same!” She yelled back.

The Baudelaire sister watched in horror as Phil led Klaus out of the mill. The whirring sounds continued all around Sunny, and Foreman Flacutono was now yelling at her to get back to work as he smacked his pots together. But that wasn’t the loudest sound that the younger Baudelaire orphan hared. Louder than the machine, louder than the pots, louder than the foreman’s yelling, was the sound of her own furiously beating heart as Phil took her big brother away.

[vfdbaudelairefile13]

Epilogue:

The One Where Violet's Series of Unfortunate Events Begins

 

 

The Baudelaires sat quietly in the back of Poe’s car as they looked over the pieces of paper that Sunny had found during their unpleasant stay at Lucky Smells Lumbermill. “Now, children, it’s the end of the semester, so you’re gonna have to work very hard to catch up. It won’t be easy, but I promise you it will build character,” Mr. Poe said breaking the much-needed silence. Klaus rolled his eyes in response. He honestly didn’t care, if this school could keep out Olaf then that’s all that mattered. 

The Baudelaires both hoped that their new lives at a boarding school will turn out to be the one place where Olaf could not get to them. He had somehow adopted them when their parents first died, he followed them to Uncle Monty’s where he cruelly murdered their uncle using his passion against him. He then stalked them to their Aunt Josephine’s where he used one of her many fears to murder her. And just recently, he had found them in Paltryville and had his girlfriend hypnotize Klaus in hopes of gaining their parents' enormous fortune. The Baudelaire orphans just wanted him to go away, to die in a ditch. But they both knew the likelihood of this happening was low. 

When Mr. Poe finally parked his car, ushering the Baudelaires to follow him into the school. Klaus quickly put the documents into his pocket as he picked up his sister. Trudging slowly behind Poe.

“Here’s a fun bit of trivia,” Mr. Poe said after coughing, “The architect who built this school was severely depressed.”

“Mood,” Sunny replied as Klaus nodded.

“I always wanted to go to boarding school!” Mr. Poe exclaimed. “Rules. Traditions. Why, I’d give every last suit just to wear a uniform,”

Klaus and Sunny looked around the administration office of Prufrock Preparatory School. Both children were amazed, Sunny, who was too young to have ever set foot in a school, looked around her eyes widening in pure bliss at this new experience she was soon to experience. While Klaus, who has been in a school when he was a kindergartner before his parents ultimately decided to homeschool him, felt a bit nervous. What if he couldn’t make any friends? What if other students picked on him? He wasn’t very good with people his age, his best friend was his little sister who was vastly younger than him.

“The office is over there,” Mr. Poe explained as he handed Klaus two uniforms. “You will change and then you can wait on that bench,” he said pointing to a two-sided bench. 

“Wait, you’re not going to wait with us?” Klaus asked worriedly as Sunny started waving at Poe dismissing him entirely.

“No. this has already taken up much too long already. I need to get back to the city for banking hours,” Mr. Poe replied as Klaus frowned. “Ummm, I do want you, two children, to know…” he started coughing. “ I hope you find comfort here.” 

And with that Mr. Poe walked away after bidding the children a final goodbye. “So long, Baudelaires!” 

Klaus looked down at Sunny looking like he wanted to cry. “He’s gonna find us again,” he muttered.

Sunny gave her brother a small smile, she wanted to tell him that Olaf wouldn’t find him but she knew lying to him was pointless. “Snicket?” she asked, which meant, “Do you think that Snicket lad will find us again?” 

Klaus looked down at his sister and wiped a few tears from his eyes. He shook his head. “Sunny…, we’re on our own,” he replied as he picked her up and walked toward the bathrooms. Klaus looked at both doors to the bathroom, unsure of what to do. He knew he couldn’t go into the girl’s bathroom but he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to take Sunny into the boy’s bathroom. He kept looking between the bathroom doors. He didn’t want to send Sunny into the girl’s bathroom alone because she was so young. Before he had the chance to quickly take Sunny into the boy’s bathroom, he was startled by a voice behind him.

“Oh my God!” the voice shrieked. “Is that a real baby?” 

Klaus turned around to see a girl with a small, but pleasant smile. She had light brown eyes and dark brown hair. She was dressed in the maroon colored uniform similar to the one that Klaus held that was intended for Sunny.

“Yeah…” he replied instinctively holding Sunny tighter to him. Sunny gave the young girl a toothy grin.

“She is so adorable!” the girl said squealing. 

“Tank you!” Sunny said smiling. Klaus nodded his head awkwardly.

The girl held out her hand to shake Klaus’. “My name’s Isadora Quagmire,” Isadora Quagmire said.

Klaus shoved the uniforms under his arm to shake Isadora’s hand. “M-my name is Klaus Baudelaire...and this is my baby sister, Sunny,” he replied as Sunny shook Isadora’s other hand. “Ummm, not to sound weird...but I was homeschooled and I’m not really...good at, like, human interactions...but is it okay to take a baby girl into the boy’s bathroom?” Klaus asked nervously, blushing at his ignorance.

Isadora gave a small chuckle, “I was homeschooled as well, but I believe if you are the only person accompanying the infant it should be fine,” 

Klaus nodded his head slowly but still didn’t walk into the restroom. He sighed. Why was people-ing so God damn hard?

Isadora just laughs again. “Here, let me tell you what. If you are fine with it, I can take her into the girl’s restroom and help her change into her uniform while you change into yours,”

“Y-you would do that?” Klaus asked skeptically. He gave a small glare towards Isadora trying to see what her angle was. “Why would you do that?”

“Well, honestly I am waiting for my brother, who is taking his sweet time.” 

Klaus nodded his head slowly. Isadora seemed nice, but he wasn’t entirely sure if he could trust her. He wasn’t used to many people being nice to him or Sunny. He looked down at Sunny, who looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders. “Okay...if Sunny’s okay with it...I don’t see a problem with it. Are you okay with this plan, Sunny?” 

Klaus and Isadora both looked down at the young infant, who gave her brother a smile as she nodded her head. “Yep!” she shrieked as she reached out for Isadora to take her.

Isadora gently took her from Klaus as he handed her Sunny’s uniform. “Thank you, Isadora,” he said.

“No problem,” Isadora replied as she began to take Sunny into the girl’s bathroom. “Oh, could you do me a favor?” she asked turning towards Klaus.

“Yeah. I mean you’re helping me out so I can help you out,” 

“Can you tell my brother to hurry the fuck up,” 

Klaus looked confused. “I can...but I don’t know what he looks like...how will I know I’m talking to the right person?” He asked.

Isadora gave a soft chuckle, “Oh trust me. It’ll be obvious,” she replied as she walked into the girl’s bathroom with Sunny in her arms.

“But...what?” Klaus said more or less to himself as he strolled into the boy’s bathroom. When he walked into the bathroom, Klaus could have sworn he could hear someone crying. As he hurriedly changed into his new school uniform, he tried to think of why someone would choose the bathroom of all places to cry in. The person’s crying got a bit louder and bit more frustrated as Klaus could hear someone muttering under their breath about a lie? No, a fly? No, a tie?

Klaus gave a small chuckle as he, himself, was beginning to have trouble tying his own tie. He wished his father and mother were here with him, they’d surely help him. Klaus after a few minutes decided to give up. Maybe I can ask Isadora for one last favor. He told himself as he made his way to the bathroom sinks. He was almost about to walk out when the person’s frustrated cries seemed to get worse. He sighed and walked over to the stall that he heard the sobs from. 

Nervously, he knocked on the bathroom stall. The crying ceased for a second. Klaus thought he could make the person feel better by slightly referencing one of his favorite Disney movies.

“Boy...why are you crying?” he asked in a slightly serious tone. “Are you crying about mothers?” 

The crying continued to cease as the voice replied in a tone that Klaus couldn’t completely pinpoint, “Wait, are you referencing Peter Pan?” Klaus blushed in embarrassment. With the tone that the person gave him, he couldn’t tell if the person was amused by his silly reference or mocking him for it.

“Y-yeah,” Klaus replied shaking with embarrassment. “S-sorry...I was just trying to be silly,” he explained as the person walked out of the stall. 

To Klaus’ surprise, Isadora was right. When he laid eyes on her brother, it would be obvious. For as he stared at the young boy in front of him. He noticed that he looked identical to Isadora as if they were twins, with the same shade of brown eyes, pleasant smile, and dark brown hair. But to Klaus, there was a difference between this boy and his sister. When Klaus looked into his eyes, he was mesmerized by the milk chocolate brown shade that they were, a feature he didn’t truly notice when he looked at Isadora. Klaus began to smile and blush as he waited to see how the boy took his silly reference. 

The young boy smiled at him, “Nice, I love Peter Pan...it’s one of my favorites,” the boy replied.

Klaus tried so hard not to blush at this response, he quickly put a hand over his face as nonchalantly as he could to hide the fact that he was blushing. “It’s a favorite of mine, too,” he muttered. The boy smiled in response. Klaus was giddy, this cute boy and himself already had something in common.

“Oh, also, I wasn’t crying,” the boy said defensively. “I never cry,” 

Klaus chuckled at this. After the boy washed his hands, he turned to Klaus and held out his hand. “The name’s Duncan,” he informed. “Duncan Quagmire,”

“K-Klaus B-Bau-Baudelaire,” Klaus replied shaking his hand. Duncan smiled at him again. Klaus stared at Duncan for a few seconds, unsure of what to say. He noticed that he was wearing a uniform similar to Klaus’ but he noticed that the tie was entirely crooked. “Not...not to insult you or anything but your tie is crooked,” 

Duncan looked at Klaus, “Well...least I am wearing mine,” he mentioned as he pointed to Klaus, who was wearing it around his neck sort of like a scarf.

“Tying these things...isn’t easy,” Klaus murmured.

“Don’t I know it!” Duncan said laughing. “My sister always has to tie it for me and I’ve gotten sick of her mocking me so I did it myself. I mean, if you ask me, it’s not that bad.”

“I think you look nice,” Klaus muttered without thinking, Duncan gave a small smile at that as his face turned a soft shade of pink. “I...I mean.. I think it looks nice...Not you...It. It...meaning the tie...not... I mean, not that you don’t look nice... I mean...I don’t...I don’t know what...I’m going to shut up now,” he rambled as his face heated up as he blushed.

Duncan gave a nervous laugh to Klaus. “You know, they should let us choose between bow ties and neckties. I can tie a bow tie,” 

Klaus nodded. “Same here,” 

“I can help you if you want,” Duncan offered. Klaus’ face became a deeper shade of pink.

“I mean...you don’t have to. I can always figure it out myself if it’s too much trouble,” 

“No problem at all, I’d be happy to help you, Klaus Baudelaire,”

Duncan stepped in front of Klaus taking the necktie and doing his best to tie it for Klaus. Every so often, Duncan would look up at the taller boy and catch Klaus staring down at him. Duncan would immediately avert his gaze from Klaus’ dark chocolate eyes because he was afraid that he was blushing too much.  

“Voila!” Duncan said finally once he had finished, Klaus looked into the mirror and laughed. 

“It’s crooked,” he pointed out.

“I know,” 

Klaus began trying to straighten it. But Duncan put his hands on Klaus’ to stop him. Klaus looked up at him and both boys quickly moved their hands and began looking around awkwardly trying to allow their blushed cheeks time to settle down and return to their normal skin pigment.

“No, leave it. Now we match,” Duncan mentioned still not looking at Klaus.

Both boys blushed again. “Oh,” Klaus said not looking at Duncan. “Your sister wanted me to tell you to hurry up...but uh...no rush,” 

Duncan smiled at this. “Maybe we should hurry...you don’t know Isa, when she’s pissed off she’s pretty scary,” he explained as he began to walk alongside Klaus. Duncan wanted so much to slip his hand into Klaus’ but he was nervous, he was unsure if Klaus would return the feelings. Unfortunately, Klaus desired to hold Duncan’s hand but refused for the same exact reason. Unsure of whether or not Duncan reciprocated his feelings. Klaus had also never felt anything like this so he didn’t even know how he felt. 

Once they exited the bathroom, both boys could see their sisters waiting for them. Isadora opened her mouth to complain to Duncan why he took so long but then she noticed that his cheeks were a soft shade of pink. A devilish grin appeared on her face as she stared from Duncan to Klaus. 

“Thank you again, Isadora,” Klaus said as he took Sunny from her arms. 

“Oh, no...thank you, Klaus,” Isadora replied staring at Duncan, who looked at her confused.

Duncan looked to the infant in Klaus’ arms. “Oh my God, it’s a wittle baby!” Duncan said cheerfully tickling Sunny’s tummy. Sunny giggled and slapped his hand away. “I didn’t even know this school allowed babies. This is so cool!” 

Sunny smiled back at the two identical siblings. “Friends?” she asked looking at her brother, who blushed.

“Best friends,” Duncan said to Sunny, then looking up at Klaus. “I mean if that’s okay with both of you…” 

Klaus blushed as he nodded and when Isadora noticed this, she smiled again. “We hope to see you around, Baudelaires,” she said. 

“Yes!” Sunny shouted.

The four children bid goodbyes, thinking that they were headed to opposite locations. But as the Baudelaires walked towards the right side of the two-sided bench, the Quagmires sat down on the left side of the bench. All four children sat in silence. Isadora sat smirking to herself as she began to silently write down couplets, thinking of all the ways to torture her brother. Duncan sat in silence thinking of his interaction with Klaus and how he hoped that he and Klaus would have more time to get to know each other. Klaus sat in silence as he had similar thoughts as Duncan and for the first time since his parents’ death, Count Olaf was the furthest thing from his mind. Even the mysteries surrounding the Baudelaire orphans were far from his mind, as all he could think about was Duncan’s eyes and smile. Sunny sat in silence as she hoped that Olaf would never find them here at the school. She never had friends before, other than her big brother, but she didn’t think that counted. So she was excited to see what a friendship is. She already loved Isadora and if Duncan was anything like his sister, she knew she’d love him, too.

______________________________________________________________________

 

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! That’s all that went through Lemony’s mind as he raced from the Lucky Smells Lumbermill to his home. This is bad. This was entirely bad. This was one of the few times in Lemony’s life where he was glad that both his siblings had taught him how to drive. His sister, Kit, showed him how to drive recklessly which she said could be useful in case of emergency. While his brother, Jacques, showed him how to drive while obeying all of the rules and regulations. 

His most recent attempt to help Beatrice’s two other children had failed disastrously. Well, not entirely. They were safe, most likely being sent off to the boarding school right this very second. What made this disastrous was the fact that his identity had been compromised. Olaf had seen him. Olaf now knew he was alive.

Still being in the middle of the Baudelaire fire investigation, Lemony wasn’t sure if Olaf, himself, had started the fire...but he did know Olaf had no issues with committing a murder... or two.He quickly thought of Violet and how much danger he has put her in...again. Hot tears started falling from his face.

He didn’t mean to put her in danger. He was only trying to do good. He was only trying to help Beatrice and Bertrand’s children. A small part of him believes he should have just left them alone...they were resourceful children, they would’ve figured it out. He should have put Violet first. But a bigger part of him knew that that was just his fear and guilt talking. This wasn’t Klaus or Sunny Baudelaire’s fault. This wasn’t even Beatrice’s fault. This was his fault. It wasn’t because he had decided to help the Baudelaire orphans, no, it was his fault when he convinced Beatrice to help him steal a damn sugar bowl. It was his fault when he convinced Beatrice, Bertrand, and his sister, Kit, to help him with a double homicide. 

“Goddammit !” He yelled, punching the steering wheel. He couldn’t think of such unpleasantness right now, he had to get Violet out of danger. If Olaf now knows he’s alive...he needed to take his daughter and run. He felt bad for Klaus and Sunny, but he had to put his own daughter first. Part of him wishes he had grabbed them and taken them along. Maybe after explaining things, Klaus wouldn’t fight as much. They did have a nice heart to heart on Lake Lachrymose. He thought of turning around and heading back towards the mill but ultimately decided against it.

Violet had to be his main priority. His child. He will worry about the other two kids later. Right now, he knew Olaf would come after him.

Maybe I could call someone to come to take Violet until I can fake my death again? He thought to himself. But who? Everyone in the damn organization thought he was dead.

His mind began to race. Kit? No...she thinks I’m dead. Jacques? Fuck. He thinks I’m dead, too. Monty and Josephine are both dead themselves. Larry and Jacquelyn might force Violet into VFD... he thought. This outcome was the last thing that he and Beatrice wanted for their daughter. Maybe the Quagmires could help. I haven’t seen them in a while...Fuck! They’re dead, too. They were the victims of the most recent fire alongside one of their thirteen-year-old triplets. Maybe...someone from Staind-by-the-Sea? He thought desperately. They were all so close back in his apprentice days but he didn’t know how to get in contact with most of them. Lemony felt utterly alone. His cruel mind flashed to Beatrice, she would have been the only person he one-hundred percent trusted with his daughter...but she was dead. Forever gone. It was her death that marked this whole new chapter in his life and there was no going back now. He played his cards...now he had to sit there and wait to see how the game played out.

Lemony has seen how determined Olaf was to destroy two children who had done nothing to him, he can only imagine the time and energy Olaf would spend on destroying him now that he knew Lemony was alive. 

Lemony was alone on this one. He only had his daughter. She couldn’t help him because he had to protect her. He had to protect her even if it meant sacrificing himself. He was crying big time now. He wiped his tears from his face.

If I die what would happen to Violet?  He asked himself. He knew Mr. Poe was useless but that’s who was in charge of the orphan’s affairs. He knew he was a better option than Mrs. Squalor. He was so glad that none of his enemies knew he had a daughter but he feared that would change if he died. Lemony wasn’t afraid of death, per se, he knew that one day it was to happen to everyone. He would take his last breath, he would see his daughter for the last time. He had hoped to live a long fulfilled life, but as he raced home in his yellow taxi he could feel his stomach churn as if he knew what was to happen next. 

I got to get Violet out of danger! He told himself. When he gets home, he will send her ahead of him. She will go to the storekeeper’s shop. They might be VFD affiliated but it was the only shop he knew to be open at this hour. Yes, he will send her ahead. He will stay and pack the essentials and meet her there. She won’t like this plan, but she’ll listen reluctantly. I will explain everything to her! His tears didn’t stop as he continued his drive home. He felt guilty that he had been lying to Violet, her whole life but more so these past couple of weeks. Once they are safe in a new motel, he will tell her everything. What he does. Why he does it. Who those kids are. What he did to help make the schism a thing. Where her birth mother is. He was going to tell her everything she wanted to hear and more. No more secrets. NO more lies. Maybe after he saves himself and Violet, maybe he and his daughter can search for the two Baudelaire orphans. Lemony could adopt them illegally. He’d explain everything to Klaus and Sunny, too, after what they've been through, they deserved it. 

Everything is going to end happily. He lied to himself in the midst of tears.

Now...I don’t have to tell you, the reader, why Lemony was dead wrong. The Baudelaire case and, sadly, the Snicket case do not end happily, some would say, the cases, even to this day, haven’t ended. People just can’t find the three orphans and some nights I lay awake in my associate’s small but cozy studio apartment thinking that maybe it’s better that no one can find them. If they haven’t been found, no one can hurt them anymore. Because although I would love to end this tale here with the false hope of a truly happy ending, the tragic tale of the lives of the two Baudelaire children and the Snicket girl has only just begun and we are only a third of the way through.

I would love to say that Lemony Snicket makes true to his word that he tells his daughter everything she wants to know and more, and that he successfully fakes his death in a very unreliable newspaper and find the Baudelaire orphans and illegally adopts them keeping all three plucky youngsters away from Count Olaf and VFD but, alas, this is not a fairy tale and that is not how the story goes.

And for that reason, I will ask of you, one more time before the story takes a turn for the absolute worst, to look away. Look away from this tragic tale before it is too late. Before you, as well,  get too invested in the lives of these three orphans that you spend the rest of your life trying to find.

Lemony jumped when his taxi-phone rang. He wiped tears from his eyes and quickly answered it.

“Can’t talk, right now, Jacky,” 

“How did the mission go?” Jacquelyn asked not even questioning how he knew it was her.

“Bad. Very fucking bad!” He cried, “The Baudelaires are safe but I’ve been compromised! I’ve been found out!” 

“What?!”

“I’m racing home to relocate now. I don’t think I’m being followed,” he explained.

“But how…?!” Jacquelyn asked in shock.

“ It doesn’t matter! I’ve been compromised!” He snapped.

“Do you need my help?” Jacquelyn asked her voice thick with concern as she immediately thought about ‘April’. 

“No...no...I can’t involve you any further,” he replies his voice cracking.

“Lemony, please let me help you! I can help you fake your death!” she pleaded.

“No, Jacquelyn. I can’t risk him going after you like he went after Gustav,”

“I’d like to see him try!” 

“Jacquelyn, no. Please. I can’t have any more blood on my hands,” he explained crying again.

“Snicket...I don’t need you to protect me…” she began.

“ Jacquelyn...please. I can not involve you any further,” 

“I’ll involve myself!”

“Jacquelyn, No!” Lemony yelled, “Look, I am insanely grateful for everything that you, Gustav and Larry have done for me during my adventures with the Baudelaire case. But I can’t involve you like this. He’s a madman and he will not stop ‘til revenge is served.” 

“Lemony…” Jacquelyn begged. Her heart filling with dread as she began to predict the outcome.

“Maybe during future missions with the Baudelaires we can meet up again. But I have to go into hiding for now,” Lemony explained. “Do me a favor and still keep a close eye on those kids.”

“Let me help you now,” she pleaded.

“I’m sorry Jacquelyn...but this is my battle. I can’t involve you any longer. Thank you for all your help. Hope to see you and Larry again someday,” he said as he hung up on her. Jacquelyn stared at the phone in her hand and only one thing came to the forefront of her mind. 

April!

Once Lemony reached his home, he ran to his apartment as fast as he could. He knew that he didn’t have any seconds to lose. He and Violet had to go now! He rushed through the front door and to Violet’s bed, shaking her awake. Her eyes went wide as she stared at her father.

“Get up! Let’s go!” he called out to her as she sat up quickly. The sense of urgency in his voice scared Violet. 

Violet looked around as he was frantically putting things into her backpack, like his wallet.  “What are you doing? What’s happening? What’s wrong?”

“Those are the wrong questions,” he replied as he frantically zipped up her backpack handing it quickly to her. “But we don’t have time to ask the right ones, right now. We have to go,” 

“Go?” She asked her voice trembling in fear, “Where?” 

“Away. Very far away,” he replied not looking at her as he began to pack his backpack quickly.  “You have a change of clothes packed right?” she nodded her head in response, “Good. Go,” he ordered.

“Go? Where?!” she asked as she stood in her nightgown staring at her frantic father. Tears began to fall from her eyes. “What...what’s wrong? Who’s after us?”

“No one’s after us . They’re after me,” he reassured, “But don’t worry, they’ll never get me. Snickets are resilient and we take care of our own. Remember that.” 

“Why...why are you talking funny?”

“I promise I’ll explain everything to you later,” He says. “Now, go…”

“W-where? It’s four in the morning!” 

“You know the convenience store that we usually shop at?” he asked her as she nodded in response. “It’s open twenty-four hours. Go there and wait for me,” he instructed.

“Could I change first?” she asks gesturing to her nightgown.

“No. There’s no time,” he explains trying to rush her out the door.

Violet started crying big time. “Mr. Lemons…” she said, her voice filled with fear.

Lemony frowned and looked at his daughter. “I’ll be right behind you,”

“I won’t leave you...I can’t leave you behind,” she said, her voice breaking.

“Vi…”

She shook her head. “Snickets take care of their own,” she reminded him.

“Exactly, why I need you to go ahead of me!” he explained his voice breaking. He looked at the trembling wreck that his daughter was and he sighed.

“Mr. Lemons...I’m...What...I…” she began unable to find the correct words because her fear was taking over and pushing her guilt to the side.

“I know…” he replied smiling at her. “We can talk about that later,” 

She shook her said as she put her backpack on. “I’m...I...I don’t…” 

“Violet...I need to go, now.” 

Violet nodded but she didn’t move. She was desperately trying to fight her fear so she would be able to apologize to her father for her horrible outburst earlier that day. She wanted nothing more to apologize to him and tell him that she loves him but her mouth couldn’t form the words because she was terrified.

Lemony looked at his daughter and pulled her into the tightest hug he has ever given her. He, too, began to cry. Both Snickets sobbed in each other's arms for around two minutes. Lemony knew this was dangerous to do, but he didn’t care. He had a bad feeling about this and he needed Violet to know that she was loved. 

“Mr. Lemons... please… ” she pleaded.

Lemony pushed a strand of hair out of her face and wiped a tear from his daughter’s face. “I love you,” he said, as his voice cracked. “I love you more than anything in this world, Violet. You know that right? You will always be my precious Violet Lemons,” 

Violet nodded her head. “ Please...don’t make me leave you.” She begged.

“Look at me,” Lemony said as Violet looked up at her father with tears pouring. “I’ve been through worst scrapes than this, believe it or not. And I promise you once we are in my taxi, I will explain everything to you. I never should have lied to you, Violet. I was just trying to protect you from every danger that I have faced.”

Violet opened her mouth to say something but all that came out were sobs. “You are my strong baby girl. You remind me so much of your mother...you’re resilient, you’re resourceful, you’re strong. No matter what happens, I want you to conquer this world like you always planned.” 

“ P-please stop ta-talking l-like you’re never going to see m-me again,” She pleaded sniffling.

“I will see you again. Very soon, ” he reassured her pulling her into another tight hug. “I will meet you at the store in a few minutes,” 

Violet looked at him with a face of doubt and fear. He quickly took off the wristband that she sewed him years ago. “Take this…” he says slipping it on her wrist. “you know I don’t go anywhere without it...I will come back for you and that wristband. I promise.”

She nodded her head and began to sob again. “ I love you so much, Violet. You are the world’s best daughter. Of course, your mother wanted you...you’re you...you’re the best thing to ever happen to me. In case something happens, never...never forget that. I am sorry for the secrets and lies and I plan to make this better.” Lemony cried as he began to sob as hard as his daughter. He pulled her into one final hug and kissed her forehead. As he held her close, he looked up at the ceiling silently praying for a miracle. He looked down at Violet smiling. “Off you go. My wallet is in your backpack, buy some snacks...I’ll be there…soon.” 

Violet nodded as she walked to the door. “Dad…” she said her eyes so wet with tears that her father was a blur. She sniffled as she tried to say what she’s been wanting to say all night. But the words weren’t coming out. Lemony looked at his daughter, wiping his eyes and nodding his head. 

“I know...I forgive you…” he said his voice cracking as he began sobbing again. “And I love you, too. I’ll see you soon.”

Violet nodded and quickly ran out of her house carrying her heavy backpack. She ran like her life depended on it, every so often looking back hoping to see her father. She wiped her eyes as she continued to run all the way to the convenience store. Once she ran in, the store clerk gave her a confused look but decided to leave Violet alone. Violet paced around the front of the store desperately awaiting her father’s arrival. She felt like utter shit. Not only was she extremely cold due to only being in a nightgown, but Violet felt guilty still. Although her father knew what she wanted to say and responded accordingly, Violet believed that she was still on the hook because she had not apologized or told him that she loved him. The second that he ran into the store, she would tell him this, in actual words. She vowed to never tell her father that she hated him because she was already afraid of what might happen but the fact that her last words to her father were “I hate you!” she felt like the anxiety of the situation was going to make her throw up. Fearing that the last words she will ever say to her father would be such vile and cruel ones made Violet feel more uneasy than she would have if she was able to tell him that she was sorry and that she loved him. She couldn’t let the last words to her father be that she hated him.

She didn’t know what was happening but she had a good guess that it had something to do with her father’s enemies. Why else would he be in such a hurry to relocate? The minutes that passed by felt like hours. She kept glancing outside waiting to see her father strolling in behind her but each time she looked. He wasn’t there. Right as she looked outside the store’s windows for the umpteenth time in ten minutes, she saw a firetruck rush on by. She didn’t think much of it. 

“Young lady, have you been good to your mother?” the clerk asked her causing her to jump. 

“What?” she asked confused. “I...I don’t know my mother,”

“Young lady, have you been good to your mother?” the clerk asked again. Violet looked at the clerk confused.

“I just told you…I don’t know my mother,” she replied getting slightly annoyed.

Now, if Lemony had trained his daughter to understand coded phrases from VFD, then Violet would know that when the clerk had asked her, ‘Young lady, have you been good to your mother?” that was a popular VFD code that meant, ‘run away, you’re house is on fire.’ But Violet didn’t need any translation or explanation because in the next ten seconds she saw four more fire trucks rushing passed the store. She rushed to the door of the store, staring at the firetrucks with bated breath. “No...no...no...oh... don’t turn left, ” she prayed aloud. To Violet’s horror, all four firetrucks turned left quickly. Her eyes got wide as she quickly decided that she was not going to stand here and wait any longer. She was going back for her father.

Violet raced as fast as she could back towards her home. She screamed when she realized their entire apartment building was on fire. “ NO! Mr. Lemons! ” she screeched falling to her knees. She watched the firefighters trying their best efforts to stop the blaze. He can’t be in there. He can’t be in there. No. No. He’s out...he’s just hiding because the authorities are here . She looked around desperately for her father but did not see him anywhere in the crowd. She looked down at her wrist as she shed a tear as she gazed silently at the wristband she had made him when she was just a little girl. 

Snickets take care of their own. Was all she could hear as her father’s voice played on loop inside her head. She couldn’t just assume that he got out safe. She feared that he was stuck inside, although she hoped that wasn’t the case. But either way, she wasn’t going to stand here allowing her father to burn alive if she was able to help him. She surveilled the area looking for an easy way up to her apartment. Her eyes locked on the fire escape. She quickly ran towards it. She frowned when she realized that the fire escape was too high where she couldn’t reach it. She desperately searched the alleyway for something she could use to create a makeshift grappling hook to help her reach the fire escape.

Violet coughed due to the smoke that was escaping the building all around her, she crouched down to the ground in hopes of being able to see and breathe better.  Violet froze in place when she heard a harsh voice yelling.

“We need to go, boss,” the voice warned, “The authorities are all over the place,” 

“I’m coming!” a wheezy voice yelled. Violet looked in the direction of the voices and noticed that there was a pair of legs walking towards a black car with an odd license plate that spelled out ‘IH8ORPHANS’. She glanced at the pair of legs, noticing that whoever they belonged to did not own pants that covered their ankles. When she glanced down at the ankles, she had to suppress a gasp when she noticed that on the left ankle, there was a familiar tattoo of the VFD insignia. Her eyes went wide when she realized he must be one of her father’s enemies. “I was trying to watch the fucker burn! But I was unable to get to his home!” 

“There’s no way he’d be to escape that, boss. I’d say he’s as good as dead,” the first voice recalled.

“He better be. I don’t need him mucking up any more of my plans,” the wheezy voice replied as Violet heard a car door shut. The black car started and drove away as fast as they could. 

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she scanned the area quickly. Looking for anything, anything to help her. I can’t lose him! She thought as she found a broken umbrella and discarded pile of curtains. She shrugged. This will have to do. She thought as she quickly began to tie the curtains together using the Devil’s Tongue Knot. All she could think about was saving her father if he was still in there. As she tied the chain of curtains to the broken umbrella, she pondered whether or not he was up there. What if he had escaped and he was desperately looking for her like she was looking for him. Going back into that building could result in her demise...or both of their demises. But at this point, Violet didn’t care. She just needed to make sure her father wasn’t trapped inside. 

Violet threw her invention into the air, praying to hear it catch onto the fire escape, but unfortunately, it fell all the way to the ground landing rather close to her. She picked it up and threw it again, with each throw she prayed that it would grab hold. Finally, it did. She heard a satisfying clang! As the umbrella and the metal of the fire escape gripped on to each other. Violet pulled on the curtain, making sure that it was in place. Before she began climbing, she realized that she would never make it through the smoke, so she took out her shirt from her backpack, tying it tightly around her nose and mouth as a make-shift mask. This will have to do. She told herself as she skillfully began her easy climb to the fire escape. Once she reached the floor of her apartment, she took ahold of the umbrella half of her invention and began to pound the glass of the window desperately trying to break into the burning building. All the while her eyes were watering from the smoke. Once she finally broke through the window, she hopped in. Ignoring the shards of glass that were slowly piercing her shoulders and legs. She’d have to worry about that later. Violet was so satisfied with her invention that she quickly raveled it up and stuffed it into her backpack. You never know when you’ll need a make-shift grappling hook. She thought to herself. 

Violet ran through the hallway as people were running out. Many of them gave Violet confused looks but she ignored them. “Dad!” she shouted at the top of her lungs as she reached her front door. She looked cautiously at the doorknob, knowing that it was probably overheated from the flames of the fire. She began to kick her door in rapidly. Kicking and kicking all the while screaming for her dad. Finally, the door’s weak infrastructure allowed Violet’s manic kicks to break it off the hinges. Violet had to time her search properly because she was already feeling the effects of smoke inhalation, even with her shirt tied tightly around her mouth and nose. “ DAD!” she screamed, her voice becoming a bit hoarse. 

She felt more tears run down her face as she gazed inside of her apartment. Nearly everything was on fire, she looked desperately for her father.

“ Mr. Lemons!” 

“Where are you, Dad!?” she screeched as she ran around the burning apartment. Doing her best to hold in her breath here and there as to slow down the effects of smoke inhalation. “ Dad!? Please! Are you in here?” She screeched wiping her eyes. The smoke was burning her eyes and throat. Her head was pounding as the loss of oxygen was really getting to her. She began coughing for what seemed like forever. How much time did I have? She asked herself as she felt the building start to shake slightly. Fuck. The building’s infrastructure was giving in. She had to find her father quickly.

She threw herself to the ground, avoiding the flames around her and trying to catch her breath. “ Mr. Lemons!” she called out. “Come on, Dad...you gotta...you gotta get out of here!” No answer. There were so many of her and her father’s personal belongings that had caught on fire, it was hard to tell if any of them were a human being. “ Dad! Mr. Lemons! Please! You can’t…” she choked on both her sobs and more dark smoke. Her breathing was getting hoarse and short, she needed to get out of there, but she couldn’t leave without her father.

“ I’m sorry!” She screamed looking around in every direction, looking for her father. “ I don’t hate you! I don’t...I love you! Please…” she began coughing, still crawling around. “ Please! You can’t leave me...you can’t...you’re the only family I know…!” 

Violet turned on her back, squishing her backpack under her weight. “ Lemon man! Please...don’t...die...you can’t die on me,” 

Violet’s eyes threatened to close. They were red from crying and the smoke. She kept coughing. She was beginning to cough so hard that it felt like she was going to hack up a lung. She looked around the room desperately, noticing the investigation board laid on the ground next to her. She looked at it and cried. Her father’s work may never be completed. She thought as she turned over to face the board. She untacked one of the pictures from it and slid it into the front zipper of her of her backpack. The building’s infrastructure began to shake again, Violet whimpered. Maybe he’s not the only Snicket who’s going to die today. Violet felt hot tears running down her face. Maybe this is for the best. She thought. What’s a world without her father? 

Violet laid on the floor of her living room as her breathing started to become completely impaired. Her head felt both heavy and light-headed. Her throat, lungs, and eyes felt as though they were on fire just like the home around her. This is it. She told herself. She failed. She couldn’t save her father and the last thing she said to him was that she hated him. 

“ I’m sorry...Mr. Lemons...I don’t hate you…” She whimpered before she began to cough roughly again. “ I love you...you were the best father a daughter could ask for…” Violet closed her eyes and forced herself to take one heavy breath as she awaited what was to come next.

But what happened next, both relieved and shocked Violet. She felt someone grabbing her by the ankles and hurriedly dragging her across the room to the front door. Violet began kicking and screaming the loudest she can at first, thinking that it was one of her father’s enemies coming back to make sure the job was done but then a small part of her believed the person who was dragging her by her ankles was her father. “... Dad…?” she asked but the person didn’t answer. Violet couldn't see because of how the smoke affected both her eyes and the overall visibility of anyone in the room. Once they were in the hall, the person quickly lifted Violet up bridal style and began running towards the window Violet had broken to get back into her apartment. “...Dad!” she asked again but again the person did not answer. Her voice was hoarse, so she wasn’t sure if the person couldn’t hear her or was simply ignoring her. 

“It’s okay...April, I’ve got you,” the voice called out, clutching Violet and her backpack tightly to her as she moved past the shards of broken glass in the window sill. 

Violet looked up but her eyes wouldn’t open fully. “Lemon man?” she asked dizzily from the smoke inhalation.

Jacquelyn sighed and held Violet closer as she started down the fire escape. “N-no,” she muttered tears forming in her eyes. 

“W-where’s my father?” Violet asked.

“Shh...you need to fix your breathing, April.” 

“ NO! Where’s my father!?” Violet cried as loud as she could, before coughing. “ You have to go back in there and save  him! Please...he’s all I have!” Violet screeched.

Jacquelyn looked down at the Snicket girl and frowned. She turned to the burning building. If he’s in there...he’s a goner. She thought to herself not wanting to make Violet realize this cold truth just yet. 

Once Jacquelyn had carried Violet to safety, where there was clear air. She laid the fourteen-year-old down, untying the shirt from her mouth and nose. Violet was breathing, although it was sharp and shallow. Violet’s eyes were bloodshot red from exposure to smoke. Violet herself was covered in ash and soot. Violet laid on the ground for several moments trying to catch her breath. All the while whimpering about her father.

Jacquelyn rubbed the young girl’s head as she looked Violet over for any burns or injuries. She noticed the cuts in Violet’s shoulders and frowned thinking that she had done that to the girl when she carried her out of the window.

“April…”

Violet began crying as she turned her body to stare in the direction of her old building. Jacquelyn slid the backpack off Violet so she could be more comfortable. Both Violet and Jacquelyn watched in silence as the infrastructure to Violet’s apartment building collapsed before their eyes. 

Violet harshly jumped up to her feet as Jacquelyn grabbed her comfortingly by the shoulders. “ DAD! NO! ” she screamed in the loudest voice yet as she fell back down to her knees sobbing in the grass. Jacquelyn knelt down next to her pulling her into a big comforting hug.

“April…” 

Violet shook her head. “He’s...he’s gone,” she sobbed. “ He’s actually dead for reals...this time. He’s not pretending,” She began to cry harder on Jacquelyn’s shoulder.

“April…” Jacquelyn choked. “I am so sorry...for your loss. If there’s anything I can do for you…”

“Violet,” Violet replied.

“Huh?” Jacquelyn asked looking down at the young girl.

“My name is Violet...not April,” Violet admitted.

“Violet...I’m so sorry for your loss...if there’s anything I can do for you...you just name it,” Jacquelyn whispered as she began to cry, too.

Violet grabbed the woman tightly and began to sob on to her shoulders for what seemed like hours. Jacquelyn didn’t mind it though. She was just glad that she got there in time to save Violet. She was deeply depressed that she wasn’t able to see Lemony, although she hoped he made it out safe. But she had her doubts, she knew he’d never leave his daughter. As she stroked Violet’s hair comfortingly, she sighed. Least you saved one, Jacky. She told herself but she didn’t feel entirely proud of herself. Had she gotten there sooner...she could have saved Lemony, too. Jacquelyn looked towards the burnt remains of the apartment building shaking her head. This is all VFD’s fault! The Baudelaires...then the Quagmires...now the Snickets? She looked down at violet. Wondering what will happen to this young girl now. She knew she couldn’t tell Violet about her birth mother, not right now, not after she practically witnessed her father burn alive. She knew she couldn’t tell her about the Baudelaires, not while Violet was a sobbing mess. Violet was sobbing hard and whispering apologies to her father and swearing up and down that she didn’t hate him and that she loved him and this broke Jacquelyn’s heart. It was clear that one of the last conversations that Violet had with her father had been an argument. 

“Violet...I'm sure he knows you loved him and that you’re sorry,” 

Violet shook her head fiercely, “No ...no he didn’t because I told him I hated him! I never got to actually apologize to him for all the cruel things I said or tell him that I love him. He...he...he...he died thinking that I hated him...when that couldn’t be further from the truth,” 

“Violet...actions speak louder than words. You didn’t have to say it because you showed it…” 

Violet shook her head again and began to cry even harder. “You weren’t there...you didn’t see his face when I said it. It struck him to his core...and he believed me,” 

Jacquelyn shook her head but Violet refused to listen. Guilt had settled in and made her into a sobbing mess again. As she cried in Jacquelyn’s arms for several more minutes.

Violet looked up at her, breaking her train of thought. “Please...please don’t recruit me into your cult,” the girl begged as Jacquelyn felt her heart shatter hearing Violet’s cracking voice. “Neither one of my parents wanted me indicted into VFD. So, please...I don’t care where you send me I just don’t wanna go there,” 

Jacquelyn gave Violet a small smile. “I promise, I’m not going to send you to VFD. I actually work for a man who takes care of children in your situation and finds them places to stay,” Jacquelyn explained. “You can spend the night with me, tonight and tomorrow we can go back to the bank and get this all sorted out. How does that sound?”

Violet wiped tears from her eyes as she stared off into the distance at her old home. “As long as you don’t volunteer me to your cult, that sounds...better than nothing,” 

Jacquelyn stood up and extended her hand towards Violet. Violet shakily stood up and grabbed her backpack. She took Jacquelyn’s hand, who pulled Violet closer to her as she wrapped an arm around her. The woman walked with the young girl to her taxi. And just like that, the Snicket girl became the Snicket orphan. 

I told you that this tale was sad, I warned you ample times to turn away. But you didn’t listen...no one ever listens. There are many, many things that are better than nothing. A home-cooked meal is better than nothing. A roof over one’s head is better than nothing. A place to sleep, even if the bed is not one’s own and the blanket is damp with tears, is better than nothing. And as Violet Snicket would discover, there are some thing that even a long night of introspection cannot change. Violet knew that she had to find a way to survive her dreadfully unfortunate circumstances, and perhaps, solve the mystery of how they ended up in them. My associate and I have the same dedication to researching and presenting this story no matter what dangers it puts us in. Trouble and strife can cover this world like the dark of night, or like smoke from a suspicious fire. And when that happens all good, true, and decent people know that it’s time to...volunteer.