After the unfortunate death of Josephine Anwhistle, the children were forced onto Count Olaf's boat and arrived at shore at the same time Mr. Poe arrived at shore to look for the children. Count Olaf revealed his true identity to Mr. Poe, and Mr. Poe took them away from Lake Lachrymose immediately.
That was why Rowan White and Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire were riding on a train through a gloomy forest to a lumbermill.
"Mr. Poe, I don't really understand how a lumbermill is an appropriate guardian." began Violet.
"Yes," chimed in Rowan. "The Baudelaires and I are only 14, 13, 12, and 1. We're not old enough to work, especially Sunny."
Mr. Poe waved his hand. "Nobody is willing to take you in. Two deaths! At least if one person gets murdered out of about forty workers, it won't matter."
"Mr. Poe, that's not really how it-" began Klaus, looking up from cleaning his glasses.
Mr. Poe turned the page of the newspaper he was reading absent-mindedly. "They won't make you do any work. You'll just stay in the worker's dorm!"
"Oh." the children nodded.
Mr. Poe flipped his newspaper suddenly so that he was staring at the front page through his small glasses. He broke out into a grin. "Baudelaires! Rowan! Front page again!"
He turned his newspaper around for all of them to see. The headline read, in large bold letters, 'TROUBLESOME ORPHANS SOON TO LIVE AT LUMBERMILL'. Underneath the headline was a picture showing the four children boarding the train.
"Genic?" asked Sunny, meaning, 'How come people take pictures of us without us noticing?'.
"I don't know, Sunny." Klaus shrugged at his baby sister.
"We're not 'troublesome' though. Are we?" asked Violet anxiously.
"'Troublesome' is a word which means 'bringing trouble wherever you go'." Mr. Poe explained. "You are very unlucky children, and your misfortune seems to spread."
Suddenly, the train came to a stop.
"Ah, children," smiled Mr. Poe. "Time to get off the train."
The children stood up, Rowan and Klaus picking up their luggage.
"Goodbye, children." said Mr. Poe.
"Goodbye." chorused the children, all sounding too pleased to get rid of the banker.
Rowan suddenly made a disgusted sound.
"What?" asked Violet, concerned.
Rowan said nothing but pointed to a wooden sign.
The sign was smelly and muddy, with flies swarming all around it. Old gum was stuck on the sign spelling 'PAlTRyVILLe' in uneven letters.
"I feel like Paltryville is going to be a miserable place." Klaus sighed, tearing his eyes away from the sign in disgust.
"First impressions are often entirely wrong." Violet said in a calm voice.
Klaus turned away from his older sister and rolled his eyes. "Yes, but our first impression of Count Olaf was that he would be terrible. He was even worse than terrible."
"Well-" began Violet.
"Lucky Smells Lumbermill!" exclaimed Rowan, almost too swiftly and loudly, breaking up the fight to avoid his and Sunny's discomfort. "That's where we're headed, right?"
The two siblings visibly relaxed, turning their eyes to a dusty lumbermill in the distance.
It was quite large, but old and broken-down. A stack of papers rested just outside the door and three thin chimneys stuck out of the roof, producing steam and covered in cobwebs.
"Yes." said Violet nervously. "Lucky Smells Lumbermill."
"Unhykla." uttered Sunny sadly, which meant, 'It doesn't look very lucky.'.
"I agree." the three eldest children said together, before walking into the door.
"Hello!" an enthusiastic voice said, startling the children.
"Hello, um..." Violet trailed off.
"I am Charles." the man eagerly shook eagerly shook Violet, Klaus, and Rowan's hands, and then touched Sunny's shoulder.
"Hello Charles, I am Violet Baudelaire, and these are my siblings, Klaus and Sunny." the eldest child said, gesturing to Klaus and Sunny as she spoke. "And this is Rowan White."
"Yes, I have heard about the famous Baudelaires and Rowan White." Charles frowned for a moment, and then smiled. "I doubt that you're as much trouble as they say you are."
The children looked at each other anxiously.
"Anyway, this came for you yesterday." he handed Rowan an envelope. "I didn't think it was polite to read it, as it's your post, but I assume that it is a welcome guide to the lumbermill."
"Thank you." said Rowan, tearing open the envelope.
The children all decided that they liked Charles, and hoped that, in this case, their first impression wouldn't be entirely wrong.
Rowan unfolded the letter and, without reading it aloud, showed it to the Baudelaires.
TO: VIOLET B., KLAUS B., SUNNY B., ROWAN W.
FROM: LUCKY SMELLS LUMBERMILL
MEET ME IN MY OFFICE WHEN YOU ARRIVE TOMORROW. COME IMMEDIATELY. MY OFFICE IS NEXT TO THE ENTRANCE.
Klaus peered inside the entrance. "We should probably go."
YOU ARE READING
Baudelaires and a White
Fanfiction"I think we should do it." said Rowan quietly as the man opened the door. "Okay." said Violet. "But who are you?" gasped Isadora, sliding into the taxi. The man took a breath. "My name is Lemony Snicket, and I am here to take you away." Would the s...
