A Series Of Different Events

Chapter 12 - The first steps to betrayal

Voices carried down the hallway, closer and closer to the library. Klaus and Violet looked up, faces pale and eyes puffy. Adrianna watched from the door, and gave a nod to whoever was walking closer, heavy footsteps.

The Man with a beard but no hair entered the library, looking at the Baudelaire children.
"Oh, Baudelaires, what a state you three are in... Come, back to your quaters."
He gestured for them to follow him, and Violet picked Sunny up almost robotically while Klaus clutched the spyglass, leaving red marks in the palm of his hand.

Slowly, the Baudelaires shadowed him down the hallway, silent except for the occasional sniffle and uneven footfall. The Man with a beard but no hair opened the door to their room, pushing it with a creak and kicking the doorstop swiftly under the door in a practiced action. Violet set Sunny down on her bed when he spoke again.

"I understand that the loss of your parents is extremely hard, and you will struggle to cope." He smiled slightly, and Klaus felt more tears pricking his eyes. Violet, however, nodded as he continued.
"So feel free to find me or any of my accosiates at any time you would like, after all, we are always here." Klaus shuddered at his sinister words, feeling his piercing eyes stare through him, but Violet just gave him a wobbly smile.

"Thankyou.." she whispered, and he left the room. Klaus turned to her, fresh tears threatening to spill over the edge.
"Violet, we have to go. Please. We can't stay here, we have to go!" He felt his pleading turn desperate as Violet shook her head.
"We have shelter, and food, and we're still alive. If it wasn't for the Firestarters, we would be on the streets."

Klaus started crying. "Violet, please! If it wasn't for the Firestarters, we'd still be with.. our p-parents"
Violet softened, and she hugged him.
"I'm sorry, Klaus. I'm devastated aswell, but we have to stay."
Klaus felt a cold sense of dread fill the pit of his stomach, and he looked at her, suspicion and hurt mixed in his eyes

"Violet.. why aren't you listening to me? I'm your brother! We need to go,"
She kept shaking her head. Why wouldn't he listen? She was keeping them alive! But Klaus kept speaking,
"Is there something your keeping from me?Have the Firestarters tried to blackmail you into something? Please!"

Violet paused, her heartbeat increasing as she felt herself wracked with guilt, hammering down on her, layering over the grief and sadness and fear until she felt she just wanted to curl up and cry. She shook her head, remembering the Woman with hair but no beard's ominous warning.

"No. There's nothing, I wouldn't hide anything from you. Your my brother."
With each word, she felt more and more closer to her breaking point, but Klaus slowly nodded. Violet spotted two now cold cups of tea on the desk, and headed straight  to them. Klaus hesitated, but picked his up aswell.

Although it was cold, it was calming and sweet, and reminded both the siblings of home, drinking tea with Beatrice and Bertrand in the kitchen, and Klaus' lip trembled. Violet kept still, but a small frown tugged at her face, as she slipped the sugary liquid.

With nothing better to do than wallow in their own distress, the Baudelaires decided to try to sleep, as perhaps the escape of dreams would offer a false sense of security, even temporary, from their grief.

Klaus felt the hard, icy metal of his mother's spyglass pushing against his skin, but he hugged it tighter to him. It was one of the last things he had of his parents and holding it to him made him feel a little bit braver.

As Violet layed there, tears prickling her eyes and running down her face, making a damp circle on the pillow, she thought of her words to Klaus' fear filled question, and she gave him the answer he wanted to hear, to use like a lifeline amongst the chaos. The guilt of lying to him made her feel sick, as the first steps of betrayal frayed at her tattered mind.