𝓑𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 - ₐₛₒᵤₑ [𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐃]

♖ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻

𝐋𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐒𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭

↝ There's no word to describe the feeling of waking up and knowing instantly that something is terribly wrong.

If there were, Alice and the Baudelaires would've used that word when they rose to find dawn had awoken them, not their uncle Monty.

[• • •]

Klaus opened his eyes to find his sisters and Alice asleep, their bedroom illuminated by the rays of the rising sun. He frowned, confused about why Monty hadn't come to wake them up as he said he would the previous night, so they could leave for their awaited trip.

He grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and got up from bed. "Violet, Alice, wake up." He said as gently as he could.

The girls opened their eyes and looked at the boy, confused and sleepy. "What is it, Klaus?" Violet questioned him.

"Monty didn't come to wake us up." Her brother replied, trying desperately not to sound so alarmed. There was a lump in his throat, a feeling that something wasn't quite right, but he didn't want to cause panic.

Alice's eyes widened at his words and she quickly got up as well. "He said he'd be here by dawn. He'd- he'd wake us up and we would leave." She said, a sense of dread filling her whole body. "What if something happened to him?"

Violet rose from her bed as well, praying she wouldn't wake Sunny up. "We have to go find him. Something is wrong." The girl said, determined.

The two teens nodded and they all ran down the stairs. "Monty?" They called, panic rising in their voices with each second that their guardian didn't answer.

As they reached the first floor, they noticed the doors to the reptile room were open wide, which only added to their hysteria, because Monty made a clear point of wanting that door closed at all times.

They rushed into the room, halting their steps as they looked around. "Uncle Monty? Are you in here?" Alice called, but once more she got no response.

Klaus' eyes fell upon what looked like Monty's hair; he seemed to be sitting on his armchair, which was turned to the window.

The children started taking careful steps toward their uncle, unsure of what they would find once they reached him. There wasn't a thought in their minds that he could simply be asleep; he would've woken up with their screams.

[• • •]

𝐋𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐒𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 

↝ We all know that our time in this world is limited and that eventually all of us will go to sleep, never to wake up.

[• • •]

Klaus, Violet, and Alice circled the wooden desk in order to properly see Monty. The horror they found confirmed their fears: Monty was dead, his lifeless eyes staring back at them, and two snake bites prominent on his cheek.

"Monty..." Klaus muttered, raising a hand to touch him, but ultimately dropping it as he changed his mind.

"Monty!" Alice screamed, tears already streaming down her cheeks as she let herself fall onto the ground.

[• • •]

𝐋𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐒𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭

↝ That didn't change how the orphans felt that morning in the room their uncle had filled so carefully with specimens and in which he was now a sort of specimen himself.