𝓑𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 - ₐₛₒᵤₑ [𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐃]

♖ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲

𝐋𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐒𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭

↝ If you are interested in stories with happy endings, then you would be better off elsewhere. In this story, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning, and very few happy things in the middle. My name is Lemony Snicket. It is my solemn duty to bring to light the sorry history of the Baudelaire children as it happened so many years ago. But to better understand the tragedy that initiated this series of very unfortunate events, we have to recede a little more. 

The Everleighs were a delightful, ordinary family. Their family consisted of two very alive parents, Carolina and Nicholas, and their young daughter Alice. Carolina was very renowned for her paintings and Nicholas did well as a photographer. Overall, they were a perfectly happy family. However, like all things in life, their bliss wouldn't last long.

[• • •]

ꜱɪx ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴜᴅᴇʟᴀɪʀᴇ ꜰɪʀᴇ

Alice stopped in the middle of the staircase, blinking in confusion as she observed the chaos happening just a few steps away. Her mother was practically running around the bottom floor of their countryside house, hurriedly shoving random items of clothes in a large blue suitcase. Alice had never seen her that way - Carolina's hair was tied into a messy ponytail and she was far from the usually organized woman Alice knew.

"Mom, what's going on?" Alice finally asked. Carolina's head snapped up in her daughter's direction as if she hadn't noticed Alice's presence until that point. The older woman gave Alice a tight-lipped, barely convincing smile before placing the last shirt in the suitcase.

"Listen, sweetie," Carolina spoke softly, urging her daughter to descend the remaining steps and join her in the living room. Once Alice arrived by Carolina's side, the latter grabbed her hand, her expression filled with empathy. "Your father got offered a job in the city, and it's too big of an opportunity to pass up. We decided that we're moving there as soon as possible... We're leaving tomorrow."

"What...?" Alice mumbled, her voice trembling as she processed the announcement. Her eyes were wide, and a million thoughts ran through her head. The little girl couldn't help but think about how much her life would change. What about her friends? Was she never going to see them again?

"I know this is a lot to take in, baby," Her mother said gently, enveloping Alice in a hug. "This may seem a bad thing, but I promise you'll have so much fun in the city. You'll make new friends in no time."

Seeing her statement did nothing to calm the eight-year-old, Carolina frowned, trying to think of a solution. Suddenly an idea popped into her head, and she carefully pushed Alice away, maintaining her hands on the sides of the younger girl's arms. "How about you go say goodbye to your friends next door while daddy and I finish packing up?"

Alice nodded, still a little stunned by the news. Before she even noticed, her little feet carried her to her neighbor's doorstep. She took a deep breath, eyes trained on the fancy yellow front door before delicately knocking. In a moment the door was opened, and three familiar faces filled her vision. It was her favorite triplets, the Quagmires.

"Alice? We didn't know you were coming." Isadora declared, offering her friend a bright smile.

"We are more than happy you're here, though." Quigley quickly added, a similarly tender smile on his lips as he looked at Alice, his best friend.

"We are, indeed." Isadora stated, "You see, it's very fortunate you appeared. These two were driving me crazy."

Alice giggle at Isadora's comment while the girl grabbed her hand, guiding her inside the house, Quigley and Duncan quickly following. The Everleigh ended up spending the whole afternoon with her dear friends, almost forgetting about the sudden turn in her life. That evening, on the walk back to her house, Alice's heart seemed to break a little more with each step at the thought that she might never see the Quagmire triplets again.

⋅ ❴ ⋈ ❵ ⋅

ᴀ ʏᴇᴀʀ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴜᴅᴇʟᴀɪʀᴇ ꜰɪʀᴇ

"NO!" Alice screamed, struggling against the policeman's arms as she watched her house being consumed by flames. With her parents inside.

She had foolishly left the house that morning to visit her good friends, the Baudelaires. After she and her parents moved into the city, Alice was introduced to her parent's old friends, Beatrice and Bertrand Baudelaire, as well as their two children: Violet and Klaus.

Violet was two years older than Alice, while Klaus was her age. They all became pretty close friends and spent almost every waking hour together; either Alice came to the Baudelaire's residence, or they came to hers.

The day had started like every other before that. Alice had eaten breakfast with her parents like usual, before catching the trolley to the Baudelaire's house. She had spent the rest of the morning reading with Klaus in their impressive library, occasionally glancing at Violet, who was very concentrated on making her latest invention work.

Beatrice was on bed rest on the upper floor since her baby would be born anytime soon. She already decided on a name for the baby - Sunny for a girl, which Alice found adorable, and Alphonso for a boy. Klaus wasn't very happy with the idea of having a new sibling, but they all knew he was going to come around eventually.

Alice said goodbye to her friends with a bright smile on her face, returning home in time for lunch. Yet, when the brunette arrived at her house, she didn't find her mother gardening in the front yard nor her father sitting on the front porch step, reading an interesting book. Instead, she found her house lit up in flames, the thick smoke invading her surroundings.

She didn't remember much of what happened next. Tears streamed down her face as a random policeman grabbed her, stopping her from running inside the burning house to try to rescue her beloved parents. Eventually, her body became limp, numbness consuming her as she watched her life literally turn to ashes.

She looked up when she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder only to find herself staring at Bertrand Baudelaire. While he seemed very distressed by the tragic circumstances, his face seemed to be scrunching with worry. "I came as soon as I heard. Beatrice wanted to come too, but she's stuck to her bed at the moment." He spoke.

Alice only hummed, the only sign she had indeed heard the man. Bertrand sighed, speaking up once more. "When I arrived, some guy from Mulctuary Money Management said your parents expressed in their will that Beatrice and I should take you in if they..." The man cleared his throat, before wrapping his arm around Alice's shoulder. "Come on, kiddo. Let's get you home."