I'm back with part five of my story Never Say Never. This part will contain books TCC to TGG:
Summary: In the next installment of the story, the Baudelaires and Jane find themselves, once again, in dire circumstances, especially, riding in the car of the villainous Count Olaf and his associates. As the Baudelaires and Jane dig deeper into the secrets of V.F.D. as well as the Snicket file, the survivor of a mysterious fire, and Jane's real parents, they just might find the answers to their questions, but could it also unravel more mysteries that are yet to be solved? Meanwhile, Jane and Klaus' being apart from each other only seems to bring them closer and closer together, but when their love and friendship is tested by the appearance of Fiona Widdershins, will it bring them even closer or will it tear them apart?
Enjoy! And remember to R&R!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own ASOUE or any of the characters except for my OC. (i wish i did though)
Chapter One: Caligari Carnival
There was a rumble and a long creak, waking me from a light doze. Beneath me, the floor was hard and smelled like alcohol and feet. Something was poking me in the side and when I looked, I saw someone was nudging me with their shoe. To my dismay, the person had a long nose and was completely bald. My least favorite of Count Olaf's associates. He kicked me again and the others laughed. I frowned, and scooted farther away, but there wasn't much room so I was stuck with them poking me and laughing. I didn't see why it was so funny to poke someone.
"Stop poking me," I said in frustration, whacking his shoe away with my hand.
He glared at me and then, kicked me in the side.
"Ow," I said, while the others laughed.
"Quiet orphan," Olaf growled. "I give orders around here, not you."
That made the bald man smirk and heave another kick at me.
"But," Olaf went on, "as much as I hate the orphan, she still is the owner of that enormous fortune and she can't be in poor condition. We don't want her to die before she turns eighteen." Olaf took his eyes off the road to give me a wicked smile. I shuddered.
"Then we wouldn't be helping out with the greater good," Esmé said.
"Money," Olaf cried.
"Are we there yet?" the hook-handed man said suddenly.
"I told you not to ask me that anymore," Olaf replied bitterly. "We'll get there when we get there, and that is that."
"Could we possibly make a short stop?" asked one of the white-faced women. "I noticed a sign for a rest station in a few miles."
"We don't have time to stop anywhere," Olaf said sharply. "If you needed to use the bathroom, you should have gone before we left."
"But the hospital was on fire," the powder-faced woman complained.
"Yes, let's stop," the bald man said, "We haven't had anything to eat since lunch, and my stomach is grumbling."
For once I was in agreement with Olaf's associates. I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten or gone to the bathroom. So I desperately needed to stop.
"We can't stop," Esmé said, "There are no restaurants out here in the hinterlands that are in."
"But my legs are falling asleep," I couldn't help whining.
"I thought I told you to be quiet," Olaf growled, "unless you want to spend the rest of the car ride, strapped to the roof."
Olaf's associates snickered. I frowned and let out a long sigh. I wished there was at least a window to look out of while I was stuck in here. There was more silence until the hook-handed man spoke up again.
"Boss, are you sure it's safe to be way out here? If the police come looking for us, there'll be no place to hide."
"We could always disguise ourselves again," the bald man said. "Everything we need is in the trunk of the car."
"We don't need to hide," Olaf answered, "and we don't need to disguise ourselves, either. Thanks to that silly reporter at The Daily Punctilio, the whole world thinks I'm dead, remember?"
"You never explained what happened when Babs interfered with your announcements," Esmé said, "I was worried we would be caught."
"Babs is dead, of course," Count Olaf said, "but someone decided to sneak around in my office and impersonate Babs. Luckily, I found the pest and it should have burned alive in that hospital by now. That brat tried to steal the Murray file, though, I can't imagine why."
Olaf's head turned in my direction.
"I had nothing to do with it, I swear," I said, quickly, my arms rising protectively in front of my face in case he tried to hit me.
"Of course it wasn't her," Esmé said, "the orphan was in the operating theater helping bookworm and bucktooth save their bratty sister."
"Right," Olaf said, but his eyes grew very shiny as he turned his attention back to the road. "But soon, very soon, we'll find those Baudelaire murderers, and get their fortune."
"With everyone thinking your dead it'll be easy," Esmé said, "We don't need to hide—we need to celebrate!"
"We can't celebrate yet," Olaf said. "There are two last things we need to do. First, we need to destroy the last piece of evidence that could send us to jail."
"The Snicket file," Esmé said.
"Yes, of course," the hook-handed man said. "We have to find the Snicket file. But what's the second thing?"
"I just told you," Olaf snarled, "we have to find the Baudelaires, you idiot. If we don't find them, then we can't steal their fortune, and all of my schemes will be a waste."
"I haven't found your schemes to be a waste," one of the white faced women said. I rolled my eyes. They were such suck ups. "I've enjoyed them very much, even if we haven't gotten the fortune."
"Do you think all three of those bratty orphans got out of the hospital alive?" the bald man asked.
"Those children seem to have all the luck in the world," Count Olaf said, "so they're all probably alive and well, but it would sure make things easier if one or two of them burned to a crisp. We only need one of them alive to get the fortune."
"I hope it's Sunny," the hook-handed man said. "It was fun putting her in a cage, and I look forward to doing it again."
"I myself hope it's Violet," Olaf said, "She's the prettiest."
I scowled, disgusted by this conversation. "I hope it's none of them," I said, firmly.
I expected Olaf to hit me or stick to his word about sticking me to the roof, but instead he laughed mockingly. "We all know who you want it to be," Olaf said, "which is why I'm going to make sure that bookworm meets a very sticky end."
"Well, I won't have to worry," I said, trying to make my voice sound braver than I felt, "because you won't be getting any of the Baudelaires. I'll make sure of that."
"We'll see how well you do with your hands missing," Olaf hissed in a terrible voice, "I may not be able to kill you, but a severed limb would do just fine."
Olaf and his associates laughed cruelly. Only Esmé was silent.
"I don't care who it is," Esmé said, changing the subject, "I just want to know where they are."
"Well, Madame Lulu will know," Olaf said. "With her crystal ball, she'll be able to tell us where the orphans are, where the files are, and anything else we want to know."
"I never believed in things like crystal balls," one of the white-faced women remarked, "but when this Madame Lulu started telling you how to find the Baudelaires every time they escaped, I learned that fortune-telling is real."
"Stick with me," Olaf said, "and you'll learn lots of new things. Oh, here's the turn for Rarely Ridden Road. We're almost there."
The car lurched to the left and I rolled with it to the left side of the car. Rarely Ridden Road seemed to suit this path well, since it was so bumpy, I couldn't imagine many people would want to travel down it.
There was silence until Olaf pulled the car to a stop.
"Are we there yet?" the hook-handed man asked.
"Of course we're here, you fool," Olaf said. "Look, there's the sign—Caligari Carnival."
"Where is Madame Lulu?" the bald man asked.
"Where do you think?" Esmé asked, and everyone laughed. The car doors opened and I was practically trampled as Olaf's assistants got out, remembering to give me kicks in the head as they did.
When they were all out, I crawled out of the cramped space in the car and stepped out.
"Hurry up, orphan!" Olaf growled as I stepped onto the unpaved road where the car was parked. "You're slowing us down."
"Should I get the wine out of the trunk, boss?" the bald man asked.
I froze.
"No," Count Olaf replied, "The orphan will get it for us."
With one hand, Olaf shoved me toward the trunk so I fell on the pavement, scraping my knees. I glowered up at them as Olaf's associates laughed cruelly. A sudden breeze picked up, whipping my hair against my face. Olaf's associates didn't seem to notice as they trudged away from the car, following Olaf and Esmé to a caravan marked with an eye on it.
I got up off the ground and brushed the dirt off of my knees, which oozed with blood. I didn't realize the bald man had lingered behind until I looked to see him leaning against the car.
My eyebrows furrowed with worry and the wind picked up.
He stepped towards me, grabbing my arm. He leaned forward so he could talk without anyone hearing.
"Listen, Blondie," he growled. "You may have gotten away from me last time, but I can assure you the next time I catch you alone, there'll be no escape."
"Stay away from me," I spat, and spit in his face to make my point. The wind around us, and I could see the few trees around us swaying.
The bald man roared and threw me back, so I fell against the car, falling to the ground again. As I fell the wind continued to blow even harder so that with a loud snap, one of the branches broke off a tree and soared towards the bald man. It caught him off guard, smacking him in the face so he stumbled back and fell down. The branch blew away as the wind died down and I stared with wide eyes at the bald man as he clutched a bloody nose. I couldn't help but chuckle at his puzzled expression.
He got up quickly and stepped toward me.
"You're lucky I'm not allowed to kill you," he snarled. He aimed a kick at my stomach, and then turned to follow Olaf and his associates away from the car. I clutched my aching stomach as I waited for them to enter a caravan a little ways away. When they were gone, I ignored the pains in my stomach and hurried over to the trunk. It flew open, exposing the Baudelaires, still curled up in its depths.
"Baudelaires," I whispered, "it's me, Jane."
All three Baudelaires poked their heads out of the trunk. I grabbed hold of Violet's hand, and helped her out of the trunk, followed by Klaus, and then, Sunny.
Immediately, I embraced each of them, squeezing them tighter than ever.
"Are you okay?" I asked as I pulled away.
"Yes," Violet said, "it was a little cramped in there, but we're fine."
"Yupa," Sunny said in agreement.
"It doesn't look like you're okay, though," Klaus said, looking at my scraped knees with a frown. "What was the bald man talking about?"
I averted my eyes. "Nothing," I said, "I'm fine. It's just a little scrape."
Klaus didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything more about it.
"But Klaus you should've seen it," I added, glancing up at the tree with a broken branch. "The wind was so strong before that it broke that branch off of that tree and whacked the bald man in the nose." I giggled. "It was so funny."
"I thought I heard something," Klaus said, and chuckled. But then he frowned and exchanged glances with Violet who shared his puzzled expression.
"But how could that have happened?" Violet asked, "wind doesn't just appear out of the blue like that and that tree isn't close enough to the car for it to hit the bald man in the face. It doesn't make any sense. Are you sure that's what happened?"
I nodded and then, looked at Klaus. Simultaneously, we both realized what could explain how it happened, but could we explain it to Violet and Sunny?
"Well, never mind that. Now that we're out of the trunk," Klaus said, changing the focus for which I was glad. It would be too difficult to explain it to Violet and Sunny. Klaus, at least, experienced those strange Matilda like powers so he didn't think I was that crazy. "We'd better get out of the area. Olaf and his troupe could get back any minute."
"But where are we going to go?" Violet asked. "We're in the hinterlands. Olaf's comrade said there was no place to hide."
"Well, we'll have to find one," Klaus said. "It can't be safe to hang around any place where Count Olaf is welcome."
"Eye!" Sunny agreed, pointing to Madame Lulu's caravan, which indeed had an eye painted on it.
"But we can't go wandering around the countryside again," Violet said. "The last time we did that, we ended up in even more trouble."
"Maybe we could call the police from that phone booth," I said.
"Dragnet!" Sunny said, which meant "But the police think we're murderers!"
"I suppose we could try to reach Mr. Poe," Violet said. "He didn't answer the telegram we sent him asking for help, but maybe we'll have better luck on the phone."
We looked at each other doubtfully.
"It's probably a slim chance that he'll be of any help," I said, "but what have we got to lose?"
"Let's not think about that," Klaus replied, "Maybe Mr. Poe will at least allow us to explain ourselves."
"Veriz," Sunny reminded us, meaning, "We'll need money to make a phone call."
"I don't have any," Klaus said, reaching into his pockets, "Do you have any, Violet?"
Violet shook her head. "What about you, Jane?" she asked.
"I don't have any money either," I said.
"Let's call the operator and see if there's some way we can place a call without paying for it."
Klaus nodded and opened the door of the telephone booth so we could squeeze inside. Violet lifted the receiver and dialed O for operator, while Klaus lifted up Sunny so we could all hear.
"Operator," said the operator.
"Good evening," Violet said. "My siblings, our friend, and I would like to place a call."
"Please deposit the proper amount of money," the operator said.
"We don't have the proper amount of money," Violet said. "We don't have any money at all. But this is an emergency."
"What is the exact nature of your emergency?" the operator replied with a sigh.
"Well," Violet began, "my name is Violet Baudelaire, and I'm here with my brother, Klaus, my sister, Sunny, and our friend, Jane Rumary. our names might sound familiar to you, because The Daily Punctilio has recently published an article saying that we're Veronica, Klyde, and Susie Baudelaire, and that we're murders who killed Count Omar. But Count Omar is really Count Olaf, and he's not really dead. He faked his death by killing another person with the same tattoo, and framed us for murder. Recently he destroyed a hospital while trying to capture us, but we managed to hide in the trunk of his car as he drove off with his comrades. Now we've gotten out of the trunk, and we're trying to reach Mr. Poe so he can help us get ahold of the Snicket file, which we think might explain what the initials V.F.D. stand for, and if one of our parents survived the fire after all and about Jane's parents because her name is really Jamie Murray who's parents died a long time ago for mysterious reasons. I know it's a very complicated story, and it may seem unbelievable to you, but we're all by ourselves in the hinterlands and we don't know what else to do."
Violet had been crying a little as she explained our long, complicated story and she brushed a tear away from her eye as we waited for a reply. But there was no response.
"Hello?" Violet said finally.
Still, there was nothing.
"Hello?" Violet said again. "Hello? Hello?"
The telephone did not answer.
"Hello?" Violet said a little louder.
"Violet, I think he hung up," I said, softly.
"But why isn't anyone answering?" Violet cried.
"I don't know," Klaus said, "but I don't think the operator will help us."
Violet hung up the phone and we stepped out of the phone booth.
"Who will help us?" she asked. "Who will take care of us?"
"We'll have to take care of ourselves," Klaus said.
"Ephrai," Sunny said, meaning, "But we're in real trouble now."
"We sure are," Violet agreed. "We're in the middle of nowhere, with no place to hide, and the whole world thinks we're criminals. How do criminals take care of themselves out in the hinterlands?"
Suddenly, we heard a burst of laughter and we could see several shadows move across the window, and we could tell Count Olaf and his troupe were inside, chatting and laughing.
Then, the door to the caravan began to open.
"Get down," I whispered to the Baudelaires, who quickly got on their hands and knees, crawling behind the car where they wouldn't be seen. I hurried over to the still open trunk.
"Orphan!" Olaf hollered, "What's taking you so long? You better not be trying to escape! There's no place to hide out here!" Olaf peered out at me, looking impatient.
"I'm coming," I said, grabbing the wine bottles and hurrying over to the caravan.
"What were you doing out there?" Olaf growled.
"I-I just wanted to watch the sunset," I lied.
He grabbed my arm and dragged me inside then he snatched the bottles of wine from my hands.
I was left standing at the front door looking around the caravan. Sitting at a small round table in front of me, were Esmé Squalor and Olaf's comrades.. They paid no attention to me as they were all too busy eating snacks and drinking wine, except for the bald man who glowered at me, his nostrils flaring.
"We brought wine, Madame Lulu," Olaf was saying to a woman wearing a long, shimmering robe that seemed to change colors as she moved, and a turban that looked a lot like the one Count Olaf used for his disguise as Coach Genghis. She had dark, piercing eyes, with two dramatic eyebrows. "Why don't you put it away in your fridge and we'll have it later?"
"Thank you, my Olaf, please," she said, taking the wine and moving to a small kitchen to put it away. Olaf sat down at the table and I inched my way farther inside, feeling a little out of place.
"And who is this?" Madame Lulu asked as she came over to the table, gawking at me curiously.
"That's one of the orphans," Count Olaf said as he took a long sip of wine.
"A Baudelaire?" Madame Lulu asked.
"No," Esmé said, "the one Olaf's had in his clutches for quite some time."
"So this is the Jane Rumary," Madame Lulu said.
"Except that she's not Jane Rumary," the hook-handed man said.
"What do you mean, please?" Madame Lulu asked.
"She's Abigail's daughter," Count Olaf said sounding triumphant, "Jamie Murray."
Madame Lulu's eyes widened, her eyebrows raised.
"How do you know, please?" Madame Lulu asked.
"The orphan led me right to the Murray file," Count Olaf said, "it's about the only time she's been useful. But I knew it was her the moment I laid eyes on her. Abigail had those same eyes and her hair, of course, was the same color. I got the chance to read the file and though it was nothing new to me, it did have some documents about their tragic death. I warned Abigail not to play with fire."
"Does this upset you?" Madame Lulu asked, suddenly, looking at Esmé who's eyes were glued to the table. Esmé glanced up and gave Madame Lulu one of those looks that I knew all too well. Carmelita used to look at me that way when she was trying to sound nice and sweet, but her eyes told me she was the exact opposite.
"Well, of course it upsets me," Esmé said, her expression hard, "Abigail was my sister."
"Of course," Madame Lulu replied.
"But that's not important right now," Count Olaf said, shifting the focus, "now that I've discovered who she really is, I'll be getting an even bigger fortune and then, you will have enough money to support your carnival business. Now I just need to capture the Baudelaires."
"They've been very difficult to capture," the hook-handed man said.
"Do not worry of the children, please," Madame Lulu replied. "My crystal ball tells me that my Olaf will prevail."
"If that means 'murder innocent children,'" one of the powder-faced women said, "then that's the best news we've heard all day."
"'Prevail' means 'win,'" Olaf said, "but in my case that's the same thing as killing those Baudelaires and Jamie, of course. Exactly when does the crystal ball say I will prevail, Lulu?"
"Very soon, please," Madame Lulu replied. "Now, why don't you have a seat?" It took me a moment to realize she was talking to me. Madame Lulu held out an empty chair for me at the table.
"The orphan can stand," Olaf said, shoving the chair back under the table.
"But my Olaf, you mustn't neglect to feed the child, please," she said, "she's all skin and bones. You won't get fortune if girl dies, please."
"Well, then she may lick our plates when we're done," Olaf snarled, more to me than Madame Lulu.
But Madame Lulu ignored him and got me a small plate of corn and chicken. She directed me to sit in the empty chair which was unfortunately in between the bald man and Count Olaf, but I was too hungry to care. I could've eaten the entire meal if I was allowed. I was so hungry that I had to stop myself from devouring the chicken bone and the cob of the corn too.
"What gifts have you brought me from your traveling, my Olaf?" Madame Lulu said, diverting the subject so that Olaf was no longer glowering at me.
"Well, let's see," Olaf replied. "There's a lovely pearl necklace I stole from one of the nurses at Heimlich Hospital."
"You promised me I could have that," Esmé said. "Give her one of those crow hats you snatched from the Village of Fowl Devotees."
"I tell you, Lulu," Olaf said, "your fortune-telling abilities are amazing. I never would have guessed that the Baudelaires were hiding out in that stupid town, but your crystal ball knew right away."
"Magic is magic, please?" Lulu replied, out of the corner of my eye I saw Esmé scowl. "More wine, my Olaf?"
Magic. The word floated through my mind and I smiled at the thought. I wished magic did exist. It was such a simple word and idea, but for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about it. It made me think of those strange Mathilda like powers Klaus and I have. Maybe fortune-telling was real like Olaf thought. I mean, it did help him to find us every time. But could magic exist in more ways than just fortune-telling? Maybe Madame Lulu had powers like mine and maybe if I asked her, she would explain it all. Perhaps then I could help the Baudelaires get out of the hinterlands safely too. I hoped they were doing okay out there. Maybe I should make up an excuse to go check on them.
"Thank you," Olaf said. "Now, Lulu, we need your fortune-telling abilities once more."
"The Baudelaire brats slipped away from us again," the bald man said, "and the boss was hoping you'd be able to tell us where they went."
"Also," the hook-handed man said, "we need to know where the Snicket file is."
"And we need to know if one of the Baudelaire parents survived the fire," Esmé said. "The orphans seem to think so, but your crystal ball might tell us for sure. Though I highly doubt it." Esmé turned her chin up haughtily. "Frankly, I don't believe in magic or fortune-telling since they're both very unfashionable, but since you seem to have helped us in the past, I suppose it may work."
"And I'd like some more wine," one of the white-faced women said.
"So many demands you make," Madame Lulu said, in that strange accent. It reminded me of the accent Count Olaf had used when he was pretending to be Gunther, the Auctioneer. I shuddered as I remembered being stuffed into that mermaid statue. "Madame Lulu remembers, please, when you would visit only for the pleasure of my company, my Olaf."
"There isn't time for that tonight," Olaf replied hastily. "Can't you consult your crystal ball right now?"
"You know rules of crystal ball, my Olaf," Lulu replied. "At night the crystal ball must be sleeping in the fortune-telling tent, and at sunrise you may ask one question."
"Then I'll ask my first question tomorrow morning," Olaf said, "and we'll stay until all my questions are answered."
"Oh, my Olaf," Madame Lulu said. "Please, times are very hard for Caligari Carnival. Is not good business idea to have carnival in hinterlands, so there are not many people to see Madame Lulu or crystal ball. Caligari Carnival gift caravan has lousy souvenirs. And Madame Lulu has not enough freaks, please, in the House of Freaks. You visit, my Olaf, with troupe, and stay many days, drink my wine and eat all of my snackings."
As Madame Lulu was speaking, I had been reaching for another piece of chicken. Olaf scowled at me and the bald man took the liberty to bat my hand away. I brought it back to my side, with a sigh.
"This roast chicken is very delicious," the hook-handed man said.
"Madame Lulu has no money, please," Lulu continued. "Is hard, my Olaf, to do fortune-telling for you when Madame Lulu is so poor. The caravan of mine has leaky roof, and Madame Lulu needs money, please, to do repairs."
"I've told you before," Olaf said, "once I force Mr. Poe into giving me Jamie's fortune and get the Baudelaire fortune, the carnival will have plenty of money."
"You said that about Quagmire fortune, my Olaf," Madame Lulu said, "and about Snicket fortune." My eyebrows furrowed. Did she mean Count Olaf tried to steal Lemony Snicket's fortune too? "But never a penny does Madame Lulu see. We must think, please, of something to make Caligari Carnival more popular. Madame Lulu was hoping that troupe of my Olaf could put on a big show like The Marvelous Marriage. Many people would come to see."
Suddenly everyone's eyes were on me. Count Olaf's eyes were shining brightly and my eyes widened in horror when I realized what they intended.
I leaned away, only to jolt upright when I remembered who was sitting on the other side of me. My eyes widened in horror when I realized what they intended.
"No way," I said, "Violet told me all about that horrible plan of yours and it's not going to happen again."
"Of course not," Esmé said, the only one who wasn't staring at me creepily, "the girl can sing, though. I'd like to say that's the only and I mean only thing she may have inherited from me."
"Really?" Madame Lulu said, eyeing me curiously, "It could, please, help my business if she does."
"Then, she'll do it," Count Olaf said, "whether she likes it or not."
"Fine," I said, "but I'll need an instrument. Maybe a guitar or piano."
Madame Lulu nodded. "Excellent. But could you sing something before, please, you must sound good to perform?"
Everyone looked at me expectantly. It made me uncomfortable to sing in front of people I despised and so I was a little reluctant. But I remembered what Jacques Snicket had said about not giving up on what I loved most in life.
"Do as Madame Lulu says," Olaf growled, "if she wants you to sing, then sing this instant."
I sighed and stood up so I could sing properly. I raked my brain for a song and then, began:
"There's a fire starting in my heart,
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out of the dark
Finally, I can see you crystal clear.
Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare.
See how I leave, with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do.
There's a fire starting in my heart,
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out of the dark
The scars of your love, remind me of us.
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling...
We could have had it all...
Rolling in the Deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
And you played it to the beat."
I stopped and held my breath as I waited for their reaction. Madame Lulu's eyebrows were raised, Olaf's associates were looking at me with narrowed eyes, Esmé's face was expressionless, and Count Olaf didn't look very impressed.
"Child is good, my Olaf," Madame Lulu said, "She make excellent attraction, please. Many will come see young talent. She can begin tomorrow evening."
I brightened. "As long as it's for a good cause," I said, crossing my arms.
"Oh, so you're one of those," Olaf sneered, "Frankly, I've heard better talent. Myself for instance."
I tried to turn my laugh into a cough.
"Well, of course," Esmé said, "we all know we have more talent than that, but we just don't have the time or energy to perform. I've retired from show business. All I want to be now is Count Olaf's girlfriend."
There was a long silence as Madame Lulu looked as if Esmé had just slapped her in the face. Esmé was trying to hide her smirk and Count Olaf looked at Madame Lulu sheepishly.
"You did not tell me, my Olaf, that Esmé was the girlfriend of you," Madame Lulu said, breaking the long silence. "Perhaps Madame Lulu will not let you and troupe stay at carnival of mine."
"Now, now, Lulu," Count Olaf said, and I shivered, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. Count Olaf spoke in that tone of voice when he was trying to fool someone into thinking he was a kind and decent person. His eyes were shining very brightly and he gave Madame Lulu a toothy grin. "Did I ever tell you how I began my career as an actor?"
I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"It's a fascinating story," the hook-handed man said.
"It certainly is," Olaf agreed. "Give me some more wine, and I'll tell you. Now then, as a child, I was always the most handsome fellow at school, and one day a young director came up to me and asked me if I would play Young Rolf in Zombies in the Snow…"
Zombies in the Snow? That was the movie we saw with Uncle Monty. No wonder Count Olaf had liked it so much.
I stopped listening as he droned on and on about himself. After a while, the story ended, but then came more stories. Finally, there was a knock on the door and Madame Lulu called out, "Who's there?"
"We're freaks," someone answered in a low voice. "We're three—I mean, we're two freaks looking for work."
Madame Lulu crossed to the door, opening it with a creak. My eyes widened when I saw who it was. The first person had two heads, their hair was light grey and their faces were covered in scars. It took me a moment to notice they had someone with them. A small, furry ball that looked like some kind of animal. At first, I was only surprised by their appearance and how strange they looked, but as I stared at the two-headed person once more, I realized why their faces were so familiar. My hand clamped over my mouth to hide my gasp. They may have changed their hair, covered their faces with scars, and put on something furry but I still knew it was the Baudelaires. Even though Klaus wasn't wearing his glasses. As I realized this, I felt panic seize me. What were they thinking? Did they really think they could fool Count Olaf and his troupe by disguising theirselves? I guess it may have worked last time, but it was still risky and I worried that any moment Count Olaf would realize who they were. And then we'd all be doomed.
Hope you liked it! :)
Now...Review!
Most of you probably recognized the song but it was Rolling in the Deep by Adele.