Series of Unfortunate Events One-shots, What-ifs, and Drabbles

What If? Book the Eleventh

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire walked out on the beach and saw Mr. Poe.

"Children, I have heard some-" He interrupted himself with a hacking cough. "I have heard some troubling news regarding your alleged criminal activity."

Violet glanced at Klaus and Sunny. "Listen, Mr. Poe, you must believe us. We were framed by Count Olaf. Sunny would never hurt anyone, much less kill anyone. Besides, the Daily Punctilio says that our names are Veronica, Klyde, and Susie and that Susie killed Count Omar when it was really Count Olaf who killed Jacques."

"Hmm. Children, I would like to believe you, but there is a warrant out for your arrest. Now-" He stopped himself to cough into his handkerchief. "Please come with me. If you don't run, I'm sure the courts will be lenient."

Violet looked at her siblings. Klaus looked so tired, so stressed. And Sunny... Sunny looked mature. Too old. Sunny was almost three. She shouldn't be looking at Violet with such a world-weary expression. She should be excitedly wondering what they would play next. "Klaus... Sunny..." Violet sighed. "I want to stop running."

Klaus nodded. "This is no way to live."

Sunny looked frightened, Violet noticed. "Sun, I know you are no murderer. We will show all of our research. We'll use logic. But Sunny, I don't want us to have to run anymore. As Klaus said, this is no way to live."

Sunny finally nodded. "I understand," she said quietly. 

Mr. Poe took them to the police station. The police officers put the three siblings in a holding cell with an assortment of hard-looking adults. They were the youngest by far in the cell. Violet noticed some of them eyeing the three Baudelaires nastily and inwardly shuddered.

Klaus moved closer to Violet, Sunny shrunk into her brother. Violet put her arms around her siblings, trying to hide her fear. She needed to be strong for her siblings, needed to be strong so they could relax. "Klaus," she said, "Let me see your notebook."

Klaus gave it to her wordlessly. She flipped through it. Klaus had taken painstaking notes about their various experiences. They'd give this to their lawyer to show their side of what had happened. 

As time passes, Sunny crawled into Violet's lap and fell asleep. Violet put a hand on her sister's head, drinking in the warmth that came from the younger girl. After a while, Klaus slumped against Violet as well, finally succumbing to exhaustion. Violet shifted her brother slightly so he would be more comfortable as he slept, and put her arm around him again.

Suddenly Violet felt very small. She felt as if every prisoner in the cell was staring at her. And she was scared. Suddenly she thought she must look older than just 15. She wanted to shrink, to sleep with her siblings, but who would protect them from the looks but her?

At that moment, a well-dressed woman came to the holding cell door. "Veronica, Klyde, and Susie Baudelaire?"

Violet raised a shaking hand, as the other inhabitants of the cells muttered to one another. "That's them? The Baudelaire murderers?" said one. "They're kids," said another. "They're too skinny to be murderers," someone shouted, and the cell was filled with laughter.

"I am your lawyer. If you would follow me?" the well-dressed woman said, gesturing for a uniformed officer to unlock the cell.

Violet nudged her brother into wakefulness and picked up her still-sleeping sister, then led her brother out of the cell. The woman had led them into a room with three chairs on one side and one chair facing the other three. Violet sat down, gesturing for Klaus to do the same, and set Sunny on her lap.

"Why would they keep you three in the same holding cell as the adults?" Their lawyer asked, seemingly to herself, then, louder, said, "My name is Lisa Sullivan. I am a public defender, and I have been assigned to be your attorney. Which one of you is Susie?"

Violet sighed. "If you please, Ms. Sullivan, the Daily Punctilio got our names wrong. I am Violet- they called me Veronica. This is my brother, Klaus- they called him Klyde- and this," she said, smiling down at her sister, "Is Sunny- they called her Susie."

"They accused the infant of murder?"

Klaus nodded. "But you have to believe us- our sister never killed anybody! I swear!"

"And all the evidence they had," Violet said, opening to a page in Klaus's notebook, "Was a hair ribbon that was not mine and a lens from glasses that weren't Klaus's. They said Sunny's teeth marks were in the body, but-" here Violet stopped. She looked down at her sister, who was still sleeping. She looked so peaceful.

"But our sister is three years old," Klaus finished. "She only recently learned to walk, and even more recently learned to talk. She is a child, albeit a child living in terrible circumstances."

Violet broke down crying. "Please, ma'am, you have to believe us. I just want her to have a childhood, so when she's my age, she can look back at this period of her life as if it was a distant bad dream." Violet's shoulders heaved; Klaus put an arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"What is your age, Violet?" Lisa Sullivan asked, not unkindly.

"I'm... I'm fifteen. I turned 15, um, about three days ago." Had it really been three days? It seemed a lifetime.

Ms. Sullivan frowned. "Fifteen? Why then, you're all minors. Why the Daily Punctilio made it seem as though you are adults..." She turned to them, a fiery look on her face. "Children, I will do my best to clear your name. It is clear to me you're just scared kids. I think any sane jury'd be on your side. Listen, tell me your story."

"Here," Violet said, handing their lawyer Klaus's notebook. Then she began their sorry tale, starting right at the bad beginning.

-------------------------------

"Order!" the judge said, banging her gavel. "Jurors, have you reached a verdict?"

Out of the cluster of 12 people, a portly man with a kind face stepped forward. "We have." He handed the judge a piece of paper.

The judge scanned the paper. "This court finds Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire- previously and falsely known to the court as Veronica, Klyde, and Susie- not guilty, and cleared of all charges."

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny sat stunned at the defense table. Violet began to weep, hugging her siblings tightly. "We're finally cleared!" She sobbed. As Lisa Sullivan approached them, Violet released her siblings and ran to embrace their lawyer. "Thank you so much! You've given my sister a childhood, thank you! I can never thank you enough," cried Violet.

Lisa returned the hug. "I... of course, Violet."

Klaus and Sunny walked over to their sister, Sunny holding onto Klaus so she wouldn't topple. "Ms. Sullivan, there is one more thing," Klaus said. "Could you help us get a restraining order? We told you about Count Olaf, and all the things he's done to us... well, I mean to say, it's his fault we even had to be in this courtroom. We just... we want to be safe from him."

Lisa smiled at the thirteen-year-old. "I can refer you to a friend of mine. He can help you with that."

-------------------------------------------

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire walked out of the courtroom, six months later. Justice Strauss had been called on as a character witness for the siblings in the trial and had reconnected with the Baudelaires from there. Today, Justice Strauss had petitioned the court for guardianship of the Baudelaire siblings, and it had gone well.