Butterflies | ON HOLD | ASOUE Duncan Quagmire x OC

6 - CONNECTIONS ✓

CHAPTER SIX - CONNECTIONS

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"Where did you get that?" Klaus, Isadora and Aileen all asked. All six orphans looked in shock.

"From the ruins of our parents' home..." Violet says slowly.

"I... think we need to talk..." Aileen says.

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The orphans all traveled to the Orphan Shack so Violet could work on something to scare the crabs while they discussed their odd finding. It was tight, but they were all able to fit inside.

"We found it in the ashes. We'd never seen it before." Duncan explained. "Same here," Aileen said.

"It can't be a coincidence. Three fires, two halves and a whole spyglass." Violet says, tinkering with the lightbulb hanging over their heads.

"I think it's more than a spyglass. There are dials, similar to the ones I read about for cracking codes." Klaus says, spinning the dials.

"Why would our parents have a device for cracking codes?" Isadora asks.

"Why would ours have the same device?" Klaus adds.

"They must've known each other," Aileen says.

"But then why don't we know each other? It's like they were hiding all this stuff..." Duncan pointed out. Sunny nibbled sea creatures out of a bucket. Once she was done, she handed the bucket up to Violet.

"Thanks, Sunny. Maybe they were gonna tell us, but never got the chance." Violet inquired.

"Maybe they were hiding it for a reason..." Aileen uttered.

"Because it's dangerous?" Isadora suggested. Sunny hands Violet hangers with the cutouts of the sea creatures for the lamp.

"Maybe. Are you all sure you've never heard of Count Olaf?" Klaus asked.

"I'm sure." Isadora and Aileen both responded. "But since we lost our parents, we've seen things we can't explain," Isadora said, turning towards her brother.

"Us too. It has to be connected." Violet said. She steps off the hay bale and turns on the light switch. The mobile immediately starts turning, sea creature cutouts swirling around the room. The orphans start to smile. "That's a little better. It's scaring the crabs and it gives the place a little style."

"That's a lot better," Duncan says. Aileen and the Quagmires all look around the shack, already admiring the changes.

"At Aunt Josephine's, we found a book that might contain some answers. We lost it in a hurricane before we could read it." Klaus said. Duncan, knowing what Klaus was talking about, pulled out his thick notebook, and flipped to a page with a drawing of a book cover. 'The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations', it read.

"Our last guardian locked it in a safe after she lost her wife," Isadora explained.

"My parents had that book too! They hid it in their bedroom so that I wouldn't read it. It was the only book in the house I wasn't allowed to read." Aileen said.

"If we all saw the same book, there has to be more copies," Violet said.

"Is the library open?" Klaus asked. Isadora sighed. "Not for long," she replied. They all immediately get up and start moving. Violet picks up Sunny, and Isadora guides them and Klaus to the library. Duncan, grabs Aileen's hand and runs with the rest of them.