The Baudelaires (Unedited)

chapter twenty three

I got out the sugar bowl and the films, I wasn't going to give them up, I put them on the long table but closer to where I was not standing.
Fiona walked over, but I stopped her, "close enough."
"What?" She questioned, as if she was offended.
"They're ours, I'm not letting you even touch them, Fiona. I have a right, hey were in my bag."
She stared at me yet didn't continue.
She looked over at Klaus, "how are you?" She asked softly.
"Mediocre." He replied simply.
She sighed as if she'd failed to talk to him, like he'd deny anything she'd ask.
I grabbed my film, "do you have a projector so I could watch this?"
"Upstairs, captain's quarters." Fiona said.
"Okay." I ran upstairs, Klaus following.

I put the tape in its space Nd turned on the projector, light spilling on to the screen, Klaus stood by the door, while I stood by the projector.
On the screen was Jacques and Lemony, I teared up just by looking at my uncle.
"This film is information to only those who are Snickets, they are only to know what happened." The man behind the camera said, "Nobody can watch this, nobody can edit this and nobody can touch it."
My Father looked at the ground, he seemed distracted, in his own world.
Jacques knew what he was having to say, what the man would ask.
"What happened at the Masquerade ball, specifically the Woman dressed as a Dragonfly? We want every detail." The man asked.
Jacques started to speak, "it was a casual evening everybody was partying, all dressed up, some not. Kit told me she'd written a small note in the kitchen and snuck off, she didn't want a commotion. Larry told me he then took the note, trying to find Lemony, so that he'd know but keeping it secret."
Father looked depressed now, guilty. I'd never seen him like that.
"The note went to many on our side, they knew what to do with the note, Jacqueline especially. It eventually landed in my brother's root beer float, Larry persuaded him to read it. Later, he said that Olaf knew what Beatrice did, therefore she had to die."
I felt tears rolling down my face silently, Father never told me anything.
"Mr Snicket what happened next?" The man prompted Father.
"I ran outside, dropping my drink and asked if anybody has seen the beautiful woman dressed as a dragonfly, I think Micheal said that she was down underneath the balcony, looking down at the mere abyse below, so I ran over to the edge of the balcony spotting her..." He stopped.
"Father, tell them." I whispered, wanting to know more.
"Mr Snicket?" The man asked.
"Come on, Lemony." Jacques rubbed his back as Father took a deep breath.
"I told her Count Olaf knows when she was stabbed and thrown off the edge by Count Olaf himself."
I gasped, a gasp that sounded like I had just found out the plot to a story I never knew.
"And this is all over some stupid, petty fight over a sugar bowl." Father sighed, tearing up, "If this was sorted out, if I hadn't asked Beatrice to take the bowl...it would all be fine for the future, nobody would have to die like that. We may have lost one, but countless could be gone later."
"So what do we do?" The man asked.
"Snickets, I want all of you, no matter who you are or what, to stay strong, stay bright and keep fighting. Get as many on our side." Jacques smiled.
Father didn't say a word, he was back in his mind.
"I will, Jacques." I mumbled under my breath, smiling a little.
The film cut to another piece of film.
It was my Father and Mother.
"Mother." I smiled, crying even more, yet still quiet.
"This is for our daughter, Charlotte Frankie Snicket." Mother smiled, "this is just a general message to her when she's older just in case everything goes wrong."
She had a baby in her arms, I assumed it was me.
"Charlotte, at the time this video was filmed you are about...one or two...I can't imagine how big you are now." Father laughed.
"I'm chubby." I giggled slightly.
I heard the door open more and the others walk in, Klaus scowled at them, telling them to stay quiet.
"We left something at the bottom of your spyglass, if you open the lense-" I got it out as Mother spoke, "you'll find something you need to keep. It may come in handy in many ways in many different times. And it's a couple of things put together, one could be a book title."
I smiled, it was a picture of them both with me as a baby, on the back was a quote saying, "some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.." then a book title, "The complete history of opera" , Father had added a dictionary to that, and then the surname I knew most, "Baudelaire."
"Keep that name in mind if all things go wrong, honey. They are easily approachable, if we go, you stay with them. We trust them with everything, you should too." Mother smiled, "oh and by the way, the quote is ersatz."
"Ersatz means-"
"Lemony, she'll know what ersatz means." She laughed.
"And of all, we love you Charlotte."
"We love you so much, I love you honey-bun!" She kissed the top of my baby head.
I laughed crying fully.
"And cut!" The man said as the film began to flicker into darkness.

I was left standing there, in the dark.
I was lost for words, I'd learn things that had been kept from me for a while, I'd seen my Mother out of the usual frozen statue in pictures and I knew that the Bertrand Baudelaire and been a good friend to us, they knew that they'd take care of me when everything went wrong.
And look at where we are now.