Beatrice-
Your last breath blew out the candle
I am still in the dark.

With the charred structure of Hotel Denouement curling and writhing behind them, the three orphans climbed onto the boat with Count Olaf.

His grin looked wider than usual and quite resembled the Cheshire cat's, and his eyes looked shinier than ever, although, this could have been due to the flickering images of orange and yellow reflected in his orbs that came from the building in front of him as he faced the orphans.

"Let that be a lesson to you," he said, and turned around to face the front of the boat again. Taking in the setting sun, he spread his arms wide, and shouted loudly to no one in particular, "Everything burns!"

He walked to the side of the vessel and picked up three oars. Directing Klaus to one side and Violet and Sunny to the other, he forced them to begin the movement to sea. The three children complied, even though every fiber of their will was telling them not to.

Soon, the sun dipped below the waterline and the only sound the occupants of the boat could hear was the splashing of the oars against the ocean. Count Olaf yawned purposefully and soon lay down to sleep. His clamorous snoring began to uncharacteristically fill the quiet water, and the Baudelaires found that any chances for them to get sleep were dashed by the foghorn-like noise.

Sunny's little eyelids were drooping when she heard a sharp sound. Looking around, she registered a human voice, but could not find the source.

"Psst!" The voice said again, and Sunny's head reached over the side of the boat. She gasped, and her delicate mouth formed the shape of an 'o'. She turned excitedly and toddled over to Violet in front of her and, remembering not to wake the sleeping madman, gesticulated wildly over the edge.

Violet had not heard the noise, but went back to Sunny's section of the boat and peered over the edge. When she saw the occupant over the side, a euphoric shriek escaped her throat before she could help herself.

She whipped around to check the effect her yelp had on the slumbering man. He rolled over, but his eyes stayed shut. Violet let out a sigh of relief. She spun back to focus over the edge.

"Quigley!" She whisper-screeched. "What are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you, of course," Quigley said, with a strained smile. Noticing his position, Violet reached down to grasp his hand. Quigley was precariously straddling one leg on the boat, and the other on a small life raft with a lantern on it.

"Violet, not that I don't love holding your hand, but the position I'm in isn't the most comfortable, and I'd appreciate it if you and your siblings hopped on as soon as possible."

By this time, Klaus had come over to their side of the boat. When he looked over the edge, he clutched his hair and breathed a staccato laugh of disbelief.

Violet picked up Sunny and lowered her into Quigley's arms, and he placed her safely on the raft. Next, Klaus helped Violet onto a wooden box propped onto the side of the boat and helped her over the edge. Finally, Klaus was getting ready to hop over the side when he turned back to Olaf's form.

"Wait," he said, and took a step towards the form.

"Klaus!" Violet hissed. She couldn't see what her brother was doing, but it didn't matter anyway, because Klaus wasn't listening. Klaus took up some rope tied around a bar at the back of the boat, and pulled it around the sleeping figure. Klaus did not aim to suffocate; no, his goal was to ensure that the orphans simply got that head start. Never over the age of twelve, Klaus realized, was he given a head start. Olaf was always one step ahead of them, and the frustrating part was he got there by nefarious ways. He took shortcuts. The Baudelaires had been the ones to crack each code, to pour over books and documents to decipher the past that Olaf had destroyed. It took ten times the amount of work to salvage the remains of the items that took mere minutes to burn away.

Klaus deftly twisted the rope around Olaf's torso, careful not to pull too tightly. Klaus did not want to greet the man's shiny eyes again.

Once he was satisfied, he stepped towards the right side of the boat and joined his siblings and companion.

"Let's get out of here," Violet shivered, as the sun was long gone and an eery grayness had cloaked the sea.

The raft started in the opposite direction to where the boat was heading. Quigley shook off his sweater and wrapped Sunny snuggly in it. The exhausted toddler lay down in the center of the craft and was soon asleep.

Violet turned to Quigley. "How did you find us?"

Quigley sat down on a bucket near the corner of the raft. Violet sat down next to him, and Klaus sat on the floor next to Sunny, stroking his sister's back.

Quigley launched into his adventure. "After I lost you on the river, I fell unconscious and drifted to the nearest town. Luckily, a fisherman spotted me bobbing in the water and pulled me out. I had to stay at that town for nearly two weeks, but I got a hold of a map at a convenience store and found Hotel Denouement on it. As I was planning my trek there, a man standing near me told me that that's where he was going."

Klaus shook his head. "What a coincidence!"

Quigley gave him a wry smile. "That's what I thought as well. I thought I was the luckiest man in the world - I didn't think to...question the suspiciousness of it."

Violet's eyes widened. "It was one of Olaf's henchmen, wasn't it?"

"Bald, with a long, yellowish nose?"

Violet grimaced. "That would be one."

Quigley shook his head. "On the way to the hotel, he kept berating me, asking me what I was going to do there. One time, after a nap, I awoke to see him sifting through my bag. He didn't know that I was watching. So later on, when he stopped for fuel and we were close enough to the hotel, I slipped out of the car."

"I arrived at the hotel and donned a mask. I was looking for you. I wasn't recognized, except for once when I was mistaken for Duncan by a...teacher at his school? Mr. Remora? But from him I learned that he had been in contact with a person who desperately wanted to know more about the children that went to Prufrock Preparatory School."

Quigley looked at the ground for a moment, as though he was trying to muster up the courage to tell Violet and Klaus something.

Violet couldn't take it anymore. "What Quigley? Who was it? Who was Mr. Remora in contact with?"

Quigley's eyes finally met hers. "Your mother."

A/N: Hello, lovely readers! This is my first ever Series of Unfortunate Events fic, and I really hope you liked the first chapter! I've been a fan of the series since I was five, and this specific section (the part when they get on the boat with Olaf) has always frustrated me because JUST JUMP OFF THE BOAT COME ON. Whenever I reread it, I always hope that it goes another way, but since that's impossible, I wrote what I've always wanted to happen :) What did you think?

X,

DKMV