𝓑𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 - ₐₛₒᵤₑ [𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐃]

♖ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿

"I'll give you a moment to unpack." Count Olaf said as he exited the room, leaving the orphans perplexed after his previous horrific statement. How could their parents allow such a vile man to be their guardian? It had to be a terrible mistake or a nightmare from which the poor children would wake up soon.

The three teenagers remained speechless, still hung up on their cruel guardian's words. Violet sat on the bed, soon followed by Klaus and Alice, and carefully placed Sunny on the harsh mattress they would have to sleep in. 

Alice placed their small bag on the floor while Violet tried to comfort Sunny, who was understandably scared of the wicked Count. "It's okay, Sunny, he's gone." The eldest child spoke.

"He's horrible," Klaus remarked, face twisted in a frown as he pictured the evil grin Count Olaf had flashed them multiple times in their brief stay at his house. "Did you see the tattoo on his ankle?"

"A tattoo is just a decorative pigment on the skin." Violet reasoned. "It's not a sign of a wicked person."

"Guys..." Alice mumbled. Everything about their situation was already bleak and heartbreaking, the last thing they needed was for a fight to ensue between the two oldest Baudelaire siblings.

"Unless it's on a wicked person," Klaus differed, outraged about their circumstances. "How could our parents put us here?"

"It's just a mistake. It'll get sorted out. Until then, we'll make this our home." Violet suggested, trying to alleviate the tension in the room. 

"Mother used to say, 'Home is where you hang your hat.'" Klaus recalled Beatrice's words.

"But we don't have any hats. Just rocks." Alice noted, a hint of sadness in her voice. Up until that point, the Everleigh girl was trying to bury her emotions under the surface, to prevent her friends from seeing her so vulnerable.

Alice didn't know what made her more melancholic. Maybe it was the acknowledgment that she had lost everything once more - her new home, a new set of parental figures -, without having any opportunity to say goodbye. Or perhaps it was the knowledge that her friends were also miserable because they lost everything they took for granted.

"Klaus, have you read any books on people who make homes in difficult places?" Violet suddenly questioned.

"There's a village in the Pacific Islands suspended on ropes above an active volcano." The boy remembered. Before the fire, he would usually spend his afternoons reading a variety of interesting books from the Baudelaire collection, so he knew a little bit of everything.

"How do they manage?" Violet asks once more, trying to prove her point.

"They own very little in case it erupts..." Klaus replied, realizing that it indeed applied to their current situation.

"Then we're already one step ahead," Violet stated. "We own nothing."

"If they can survive that, we can survive Count Olaf." Klaus declared with newfound confidence. 

The man in question bursted abruptly through the door, a mop and a bucket in his hands. "Showtime!"

⋅ ❴ ⋈ ❵ ⋅ 

After several exhausting hours, the children had finally completed every single item on Count Olaf's list. They had cleaned the disgusting bathroom with nothing but a toothbrush, they had tended to the grim ballroom, and even washed the count's underwear.

They sat on their bed, fatigue taking over their bodies after all the awful tasks they had to perform. "I never wanna use a toothbrush again," Alice remarked, nausea taking over her body as she reminded herself what they had done with their toothbrushes.