Mr. Poe quickly arrives to the scene, annoying everyone as per usual with coughing in between every other word. "I am terribly sorry you have had to go through this again, children. Thankfully we have found you another guardian related to the Baudelaire children. Isn't that wonderful? And she graciously agreed for Y/N to stay with her as well." Mr. Poe tries to remain cheerful.
All of the children ride in the back of his car, staring out of the window, wondering where on Earth they will be sent to now.
"She?" Y/N whispers to Klaus. "Do you have an Aunt or something?"
"Not that I know of..." Klaus shakes his head. "But there seems to be a lot of things our parents never told us."
After a long journey, Mr. Poe pulls into the driveway of a rather dangerous looking house. Most of it was hanging off the side of a cliff, hanging over a large body of water.
"Have you ever been here before?" Y/N asks.
Klaus and Violet shake their heads, staring at the terror of a house. Mr. Poe knocks on the door. The children half expected the house to fall backwards into the water. But the front door slowly opens, just enough to see a woman peeking her head outside.
"Hello?" she asks timidly.
"Um yes, hello! You are Josephine, correct?" Mr. Poe asks.
She nods her head, but keeps the door mostly shut.
"Wonderful! Baudelaire children, this is your Aunt Josephine," he tells the children. He then directs his attention back to the woman, "Josephine, these are the children, and this is Y/N. I hope you all enjoy your stay here." Without another word, Mr. Poe quickly gets into his car and drives away.
"Um, come in, children. And you must wipe your feet," Josephine says, opening the door a little further, allowing them to enter.
The children all glance at each other, skeptical. They enter the dark, cold house without a word.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After just a couple of days, the Baudelaire children and Y/N quickly realized Aunt Josephine was scared of everything. And she truly was scared of literally everything. One day Klaus had enough of cold soup.
"I'm not feeling very hungry," Klaus says, quickly standing up from the table and walking away.
"Um, excuse me," Y/N excuses herself from the table to follow the boy. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? I am tired of eating cold soup is what's wrong," Klaus explains.
"I know," Y/N sighs. "But, at least it is better than being with Olaf, right?"
Klaus paused a moment before sighing and nodding his head. "Yeah, you're right. Do you think we could convince her to out to eat one night."
"I wouldn't have too much hope, but we can always try," Y/N replies, trying to remain positive. "It'll be okay," she says as she gently grabs Klaus's hand and gives it a slight, reassuring squeeze.
As Klaus and Y/N enter the dining room again, they hear the end of a conversation between Violet and Josephine.
"You can't talk about it, or you won't talk about it?" Violet asks, getting annoyed.
"This is one of those rare grammatical instances where 'don't' and 'won't' mean the same thing," Josephine replies. "When I knew your parents, it was a long time ago when things were different. Those were fierce and formidable days. But I won't talk about that, and you won't hear about that. I shouldn't have to tell you orphans there are many, many things to be afraid of in this world. The safest strategy is to be afraid of them all. I like to think of happier things, such as grammar, and how much Ike loved the sunshine."
"Aunt Josephine, have you ever thought about moving somewhere else? Maybe if you lived far away from Lake Lachrymose, you might feel better," Klaus suggests as he and Y/N sit back down at the table.
"We'd go with you," Y/N chimes in.
"Maybe then you'd feel comfortable enough to discuss some of the things you don't and won't discuss," Violet finishes.
"I could never sell this house," Josephine shakes her head. "I'm afraid of real estate agents," she says simply.
Y/N and Klaus share an exasperated sigh.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh, children! I have gifts for all of you. For Violet and Y/N, dolls! She comes with extra outfits," Josephine hands Violet and Y/N their gift.
"Thank you!" Y/N smiles, accepting the gift, as does Violet.
"For Klaus, a deck of cards. I have never been a young boy, but I hear they enjoy card games."
"I once read a book about the history of legalized gambling," Klaus smiles.
"And, for little Sunny, it is a rattle," Josephine holds the rattle in front of Sunny, shaking it slightly. "Do you like them?" she asks eagerly.
"They are very generous, Josephine," Y/N says.
"I know my home isn't the warmest place, but if you follow the rules, it will be a safe one."
"Um, I do have one question. Why are there cans near each door and window?" Y/N asks.
"Oh! I am so glad you asked. In case any burglars come in, they trip over the cans and wake us up," Josephine answers.
"I also have a question," Klaus states. "Are you worried about Hurricane Herman?"
"Hurricane?"
"Yes, we heard about it in the car. A huge storm is heading our way," Violet explains.
"Oh my! We will need food and supplies! We need to go to town now," Josephine urgently rises from the bed.
"Why don't my sisters, Y/N, and I stay here?" Klaus suggests.
"Oh well I suppose that will be alright. Don't do anything dangerous. Nothing I wouldn't do!" Jospehine says as she exits her home.
Y/N looks to Klaus with a grin on her face.
"What?" Klaus smiles, seeing Y/N smile makes him smile.
"Come on," she says, walking downstairs into the kitchen.
Y/N lights the stove and grabs a pot. Catching on, Klaus helps her make a nice, warm bowl of soup while Sunny and Violet set the table. Once it is ready, Y/N serves herself and the Baudelaire's.
"I know you don't like the sound Sunny," Violet says, referring to the rattle Josephine gave the baby, "but maybe I can invent a burglar alarm so Aunt Josephine doesn't have to rely on cans."
"And, Sunny, you can have the cards. You enjoy playing poker more than I do," Klaus slides the playing cards across the table.
"That leaves you with my doll," Violet peeps up.
"Plenty of boys enjoy playing with dolls," Y/N says to Klaus.
"Although, I would rather read a book," he says, chuckling slightly.
"That doesn't seem fair," Violet says.
"At least she's trying," Klaus shrugs.
"Yeah, she wanted to get us gifts even though she didn't know what we liked," Y/N mentions.
"True," Violet smiles. "Even though she is scared of everything, we shouldn't complain."
"You're right," Klaus agrees.
Y/N gives him a skeptical look.
"What?" he asks.
"You want to complain anyway, don't you?" Y/N chuckles.
Klaus playfully rolls his eyes at the girl he likes more and more each day, "Maybe."
