𝓑𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 - ₐₛₒᵤₑ [𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐃]

♖ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲

(A/N - Dear readers, I'm so sorry for my recent absence. I'll confess that, since school started, I've been feeling a little unmotivated to continue writing. However, I'll try to manage my school work so I have the time to come here and write this incredible story that I've grown to love so much.)

"You know, I've always wanted to have a family of my own." Alice found herself smiling at Monty's words. The man was very peculiar, she'd admit that, but that was the first time since Beatrice and Bertrand passed away that she felt wanted, loved even, by an adult.

After receiving a gentle nudge from Klaus, silently telling her to listen attentively to what their guardian was saying, Alice tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear the man say "I promise you no harm will come to you in the Reptile Room."

[• • •]

𝐋𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐒𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭

↝ There is a type of situation which occurs all too often in the story of these orphans, called dramatic irony. Simply put, dramatic irony is when a person makes a remark, and someone who hears it knows something, which makes the remark have a different, usually unpleasant, meaning.

Uh, for example, if I were to say, "I can't wait to eat this almond cookie," but there were people around that knew the almond cookie was poisoned, that would be dramatic irony. For that reason, when we see Uncle Monty tell the children... "I promise you, no harm will come to you in the Reptile Room"... we should be on guard for the unpleasant arrival of dramatic irony.

⋅ ❴ ⋈ ❵ ⋅

"Woe is you?" Klaus's irritated gaze fell on the Broken-Hearted Crocodile. "We're the ones whose parents perished in a fire and now we're being passed around like hot potatoes."

Violet, who was watching Alice play with Sunny, looked up at her brother with tenderness and compassion. "Look, Klaus. It can't understand you." She spoke softly.

"I know that!" Klaus exploded, draping a parchment all over the table in anger. He took a deep breath before regaining the courage to face his sisters and his best friend again, more calmly. "I'm sorry."

"Klaus, we know how you feel." Violet voiced, sympathetic, as she rose to her feet to stand next to her brother. "We're always gonna miss our parents."

"Monty's been a good guardian so far," Alice affirmed, looking upward towards the Baudelaires as she held Sunny in her arms. "and it seems like our parents really wanted us here."

"But that's just it. Our parents never mentioned Dr. Montgomery." Klaus reminded them, suspicion dripping from his tone.  "Why did we never visit him? I thought we knew all our parents' friends. I thought we knew everything about them."

Violet pondered over his questions before answering quietly. "I'm sure they had a good reason for not telling us about Monty."

"Maybe it was the same reason they sent us to Briny Beach that day." Klaus retorted, eyes traveling between his sister and Alice. "Or maybe there was a more sinister reason."

The Everleigh opened her mouth to respond, but before any words could leave her mouth, Monty erupted through the metal door of the Reptile Room, ending the conversation right there. 

After a brief interaction where the doctor announced they would go see a movie later and a speech about life being "a conundrum of esoterica", Monty was off again, leaving the children in charge of the house.

"What did he mean, "conundrum of esoterica"?" Alice asked, placing Sunny on the ground to play with the turtle and rising to her feet to communicate better with Violet and Klaus.

"Well, a conundrum is a mystery. And esoterica are obscure objects or documents." Klaus answered, a small smile on his face due to her curiosity. 

However, that smile quickly faded once he remembered what he wanted to show them. "Speaking of mysterious, nefarious documents, look at this..." Klaus grabbed a blueprint and opened it.

"Is this the original blueprint for Dr. Montgomery's landscaping?" Violet questioned, eyes wide open as she observed the shape in the center.

"Yes, and those hedges outside make up a labyrinth. And if you look at the labyrinth from the top, it's..." Klaus informed, pointing to the center of the maze.

Alice gasped at the shape before her eyes. "It looks like the tattoo Count Olaf has on his ankle." She mumbled. "How is that possible?"

"It's a mark of villainy." Klaus decides, earning an infuriated glare from his friend.

"Monty cannot be in cahoots with Count Olaf." Violet defends, placing a comforting hand on Alice's shoulder. "He seems too nice."

"Things aren't always as they seem." The Baudelaire boy replied. "Something strange is going on here."

Alice took a deep breath before turning to Klaus. "Can I talk to you?" She asked, to which the boy nodded. Klaus followed her to the other side of the room, watching as she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why are you so against Monty? He's been nothing but kind to us." Alice spoke, watching her friend squirm slightly, nervous.

"I don't..." Klaus intended to say, but stopped himself upon noticing her raised eyebrow, deciding against lying to her. "Fine. Something feels strange here, okay? There's something he's not telling us. And I... I just want you, Violet, and Sunny to be safe."

 Alice took a deep breath, suddenly enveloping Klaus in a warm hug. The girl rested her cheek on his shoulder, trying to find the right words. "Kla... nothing is ever going to happen to us. Not while you're here to protect us. Please, please give Monty a chance."

His hand raised to gently play with a thin strand of her hair as he sighed. "Alright, I will. And... thank you. You know, for being here. For tolerating me even when I'm stubborn."

She laughed heartedly at his last comment, parting from the hug. "Well, someone has to." She teased, before her expression morphed into a soft smile. "You look very nice in that sweater. Just in case I get mad at you again and forget to say it."

Alice winked and walked towards Violet and Sunny, leaving behind a flustered Klaus whose cheeks were rapidly growing red. 

"I'm glad to see you two getting along again." Violet spoke with a fond grin that disappeared as quickly as it came. "But Klaus may be right. Mother and Father told us all sorts of stories that happened before we were born. So why doesn't the name Montgomery Montgomery ring a bell?"

"Violet, not you too." Alice said at the exact moment the bell of the house rang, startling all of them.

"Don't answer it." Sunny baby-talked, but their siblings wouldn't listen. Violet grabbed Sunny and, shoulder in shoulder, the children exited the reptile room and stepped closer, and closer, toward the front door.

"I'll open it." Alice breathed, slowly turning the doorknob and opening it fully. In front of them stood a familiar man, wearing a lab coat and a long, white beard. The costume wasn't enough to fool them, not when the person before them haunted their worst nightmares. It was Count Olaf, back to finish what he started.