My name is Violet Baudelaire, and I'm sorry to have to repeat this horrible event to you, but I feel as though I must. I have to get this off my chest somehow, and you are my first method of doing so. First off, I must tell you that I am dead now, and this must merely be a dream, a very bad dream indeed. I am very happy to be reunited with my family, but I greatly miss my one sibling that is still living. Maybe I should start from when this began, so it makes a bit more sense to you.

I woke early one morning to find myself covered in a cold sweat. I was lying on the floor next to the bed I had evidently fallen out of sometime during the night. I traced through my mind, searching for any recollection of what I had been dreaming about but drew a blank. All I knew was that it was an absolutely horrid dream.

A soft knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts. "You up?" came the tiny voice of my sister.

"Yes, Sunny. I'm up," I replied as I stood up, walked to the door, and opened it to see the smiling face of my younger sister looking up at me.

"Breakfast!" she squealed, absolutely delighted to see me. She was holding a tray of an assortment of all different breakfast food.

"How thoughtful!" I exclaimed as I relieved her from the tray, swaying precariously in her arms, "Where's Klaus?"

"Right here," he said as he emerged from behind the door across the hall carrying his and Sunny's trays of breakfast. "I thought we could all eat breakfast in your room. That is, if it's all right with you," he suggested.

"Of course it is, and it's a wonderful idea," I said as I ushered them in my room, and we all took a seat on the floor in a triangle. I use the term triangle, because it is very difficult, if possible at all, for three people to form a circle sitting on the floor.

We sat in our triangle, enjoying our breakfast, and talking joyfully, thinking our lives might just turn out to be okay. For the moment we enjoyed ourselves and engaged in conversation about all the fun and new things we would learn once we reached Hotel Denouement.

"Good morning, Baudelaires," we all looked up to see Kit Snicket enter the room, "Oh, Sunny, you've made your siblings breakfast. How kind of you." Sunny beamed with pride, being complimented on her cooking skills. "How did you all sleep?" she continued.

"Fine," we replied in unison, although I had sleep far from fine. Kit smiled warmly at us. "Want some?" Sunny cried out, while holding up a slice of toast, which meant something along the lines of "Would you care to join us?"

"No thank you, dear. I've already eaten, but I came to tell you I have good news concerning VFD," Kit replied.

"But I thought you weren't allowed to tell us anything until the gathering," said Klaus.

"Well…I'm not, I'm sure you'll be overjoyed when you hear this," Kit responded. I waited in anticipation for the news, while Kit took a dramatic pause. She continued, "I received a phone call last night confirming that a giant self-sustaining hot air balloon somehow landed at Hotel Denouement, and landing with it were two triplets by the names of Duncan and Isadora Quagmire and a handyman named Hector."

"YAY" Sunny cried, clapping her hands. She meant something like, "That's absolutely wonderful news!" A smile stretched across my face as I remembered the soft facial features of my dear Duncan. I thought about the sound of his voice and how he touched me with a comforting hand when I needed it. Suddenly, I realized I was staring past everyone, deep in my thoughts. I looked down to the floor, trying to hide the blush forming on my face.

After our conversation about the two triplets and Hector had finished, Kit suggested we get dressed and pack our things together to continue our journey to Hotel Denouement. I was extremely excited over the fact that Kit announced we would arrive there that night, and all our questions would be answered the following evening.

The drive was quite long, but I didn't seem to notice because I scanned the landscape with my hair pulled back in a ribbon to keep it out of my eyes. I was thinking of something I could invent to make the drive a shorter one. Klaus was buried deep in a book about fatal poisons, and Sunny was probably thinking up new recipes she could present to all the members of VFD while chewing on a raw carrot.

As dusk drew near, I drew more and more anxious about our arrival. I had thought of many ways upon arriving faster, such a more aerodynamic car or to simply drive at a faster rate. A feeling in the pit of my stomach made me untie the ribbon from my hair and let it flow freely to my shoulders. I couldn't think of inventions when he kept running through my mind.

I'm sure that you are aware that the 'he' that I am referring to happens to be Duncan. I longed to see him every night after I watched him drift out of my life, yearning to touch his face once again. Just to have him hold me in his arms would be all I needed to feel complete. Everything just felt right with Duncan. As I fantasized these thoughts, I grew weary and drifted into a deep slumber.

I was having that dream again, but I should probably be calling it a nightmare.

All I could remember was a figure being dragged by their feet out of the room I was standing in. Something was holding me back and I couldn't run to them; I couldn't help them.

"Violet!" the voice was screaming, but I couldn't help them; I couldn't.

"Violet! Please don't let me die!" Tears were streaming down my face, and I heard my name called out once more but this time it sounded sterner. "Violet!" I was startled awake.

"Violet, are you alright?" my littler brother asked me.

I lifted my hand to my eyes and felt wet tears. I had, indeed, been crying.

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just having a nightmare, that's all. But I'm all right now. Thank you," I replied, a prominent quiver in my voice. Klaus leaned over and put his arms around me to hug me tightly. "I love you," he said and smiled.

We drew apart and I wiped my eyes dry. "I love you, too, Klaus," I responded.

Klaus grinned, clicked on a small flashlight, and began reading once again. My stomach churned when I glanced at the dashboard and read the time 1:13 a.m. In less than an hour, I would see Duncan again, and the thought brought a large smile to my face. I wondered if Quigley would be reunited with his two siblings and us.

The last half hour of the ride felt the longest to me, but that's most likely because I checked the clock every five minutes before looking out the window onto the dark horizon.

Suddenly, the car came to a stop. "We're here!" Kit announced happily, although I could tell she was quite tired from the long drive. Sunny was fast asleep in the front seat, but Klaus and I exchanged excited glances.

"Finally," I thought to myself. I jumped out of the car and found myself standing in front of the most beautiful hotel I had ever seen. Even in the dark, I could see its amazing structure and height.

All of a sudden, that damn dream flashed into my mind. Everything was clear; everything, but the faces. "Who are they," I thought to myself. After the figure was dragged out of the room, yelling my name continuously, I heard the most horrific yell. It still haunts me to this day. My muscles finally released and I ran to the room where the figure was. I saw them sprawled on the floor with a fatal puncture, most likely to the heart.

I opened my eyes slowly, and remembered the dream as easily as anyone who has the ability to snap their fingers can snap their fingers. I couldn't let some dream interfere with what was going on right now, so I brushed its contents from my thoughts.

Kit, who was carrying a sleeping Sunny, and Klaus walked up next to me. We all shared a smile before Kit walked us into Hotel Denouement.