Family Comes First- ASOUE

Chapter 3: It's the Count

*Duncan's POV*

In the few days that passed, the Baudelaires, my sister, and I had been getting along quite well. I was hoping that our presence made our new friends feel at least somewhat better about their recent loss. It would have been so much better if Izzie and I had someone to talk to about it when we lost our parents and brother. We had made a promise to ourselves that we'd help Violet, Klaus, and Sunny through this extremely difficult time in their lives. We also provided them with some extra things here and there. Isadora and I often helped Justice Strauss with handiwork and she insisted on paying us for our efforts even though we insisted she didn't need to and that getting to read her books was payment enough, so we used the money she'd give us for necessities. Toothbrushes, since Count Olaf said we had to use the ones for our own hygiene for cleaning, hairbrushes, shampoo and conditioner- basically anything Olaf was too wicked to correctly provide us with already. And we gave the Baudelaires toothbrushes and brushes too. They were very grateful and promised they'd repay us somehow.

"It's no biggie," Izzie told them, "It's just stuff from the dollar store. We grew up learning about being mindful with our money. And we're trying to save up for rat poison."

We had also given the idea that instead of trying to fit two children and a baby on one bed, that we "borrow" some sheets and make a little cushion just big enough for Sunny to sleep on. We explained that a few months into us living with Olaf, we were pulled out of our new school to be "homeschooled", which was Olaf's way of saying we would be cooking and cleaning instead of learning. "You'll never get anything out of learning, so you might as well stop going." He had told us one day. That explained a lot about him... A few days after the Baudelaires came to live with us, we had come in from a walk after we had finished our chores for the day. Instead of Olaf, we found a note in the kitchen.

"'My theatre troupe will be coming to dinner before tonight's rehearsal," Klaus read aloud, "Have dinner ready by seven o'clock. Plan the menu, purchase the ingredients, prepare the food, set the table, serve dinner, clean up afterward, and stay out of our way.'" At the bottom of the note, there was a plastic baggie with money in it to buy ingredients with. "Why couldn't he have told any of this to us himself?"

"Do you actually want to hear his voice?" Isadora asked him, quirking an eyebrow.

Klaus chuckled slightly, shaking his head no. "Heh, good point." He said with a small smile.

"Besides, he's usually up in his tower room," I added. "He's either too lazy or too drunk to do this himself so we cook for them plenty. They're an odd bunch. Pretty frightening."

"I don't like the way the bald one looks at me." Isadora added. "The hook handed one is always watching us too."

"Hooks for hands?!" Violet exclaimed. "I don't mean to sound ableist, but that sounds not only inconveniencing but also horrifying!"

"Seccee!" Sunny babbled.

"Sunny says she seconds that," she translated, "Maybe we could ask Justice Strauss to borrow a cookbook? I'll have to warn all of you, cooking is NOT my strongsuit."

"It's fine, Violet," I told her, "It's not like you're doing this alone. Usually he tells us what to make, so I guess we have to come up with something on our own."

~*~

The five of us stood on our neighbors' porch and rang the doorbell. She opened the door with a surprised smile. "Quagmires! Baudelaires! What a wonderful surprise to see you! And together, I might add!"

"We meant to come sooner," Violet apologized, "We've been cleaning."

"Oh, well with more people that should mean more time on your hands, correct? That means you should be able to come over more often! Maybe the Quagmires have told you but I have a very well stocked library, but I'm getting ahead of myself! What can I do for you, children?"