𝓑𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 - ₐₛₒᵤₑ [𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐃]

♖ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲

The three children rushed to their grim room, intending to grab Sunny and find the nearest exit from the nightmare that was Count Olaf.  However, once there, they were only faced with a pile of rags covered by a thin sheet, the youngest Baudelaire nowhere in sight.

"Where is she?" Violet questioned, her desperation increasing as she looked around the room, searching for traces of her sister's whereabouts. 

"Where is she indeed?" Count Olaf's familiar and frightening voice came from the doorway, grabbing their attention. "It certainly is so strange to find a child missing, and one so small, so helpless. When did you see her last?"

The actor's faux sympathetic tone made Alice want to jump toward him and rip him to shreds. How dare he touch Sunny, who was nothing but an innocent child? Count Olaf certainly proved himself to be even more wicked than they thought. 

Violet and Klaus exchanged a look, panting due to the previous run. However, it was Alice who vocalized the question they were all dying to make. "What have you done with Sunny?"

"Here, Sunny, Sunny. Where are you, girl?" Count Olaf looked around, clapping as he mockingly called for the Baudelaire infant. "Did you hear that? It came from outside."

Without missing a beat, Alice, Violet, and Klaus bolted down the stairs, with Count Olaf following their steps at a much slower pace. The orphans opened the rusty, rotten door that led to the little garden at the back of the house. "Sunny?" Violet called, panic filling her voice.

"Oh, you're not looking in the right place." Count Olaf declared pretentiously while he approached. "For children who read so much, you three are remarkably unintelligent."

"She's not here," Klaus remarked, his hope decreasing a little more every second. Who knew if they would even be able to find their sister? Only god knew what their vicious guardian had done to Sunny.

"Oh, don't look so down." Count Olaf mimicked their gloomy expression, now only a few steps away from the three teens. "I'd say things are looking up, up... up." He said, looking upwards.

The children followed their gaze and gasped once their eyes found a small oxidized cage hanging from the top of the tower. Sunny was indeed trapped inside it, her small limbs tied together tightly with rope and her mouth covered with duck tape. 

"Oh, no." Klaus voiced, his heart aching for his little sister, who was surely terrified by now.

"Let her go. She's done nothing to you." Violet said, her rage for the Count visible in her furious gaze.

 "She's an infant," Alice argued, flabbergasted by the extents of Count Olaf's villainy. 

"Well, if you want me to let her go, I will. But even a stupid brat like you might realize that if I let her go, or more accurately if I have my comrade let her go..." Count Olaf spoke, pointing towards the Hook-Handed Man standing in the window leveled with the cage.

"Sunny might not survive the fall to the ground. That's a 30-foot tower, which is a very long way for a very small person to fall, even when she's inside a cage. But if you insist." The unscrupulous actor finished, starting to motion to his henchman.

"No, don't! Please, she's just a baby." Violet begged, knowing fully well Count Olaf was capable of following through with his threat. "We'll do anything, anything. Just don't harm her."

The look on Count Olaf's face instantly changed, seemingly satisfied with the outcome of the situation. "Anything? Would you, for instance, consider marrying me during tomorrow night's performance?"

"I would never, ever marry you," Violet affirmed defiantly, scoffing at the preposterous idea.

Count Olaf hummed, his expression was eerily serene. "Children... your sister is like a stick behind a stubborn mule."