"Come to the carving of the spyglass and the constellations. Just outside the Observatory. Midnight."
A girl's voice came from the dark hood, and Klaus could see blue eyes glinting in the lantern light. The cape swished as the girl nodded once, and darted back into the passage she'd emerged from. The Baudelaire children had seen many strange things, this least of those, and they were not shocked. Violet jumped from her window seat, keeping the wall door open with her body as they watched the girl get further and further away.
"Why are you telling us this?"
The black figure stopped, and the siblings saw her hands reaching up, push back the hood and let it fall onto her shoulders revealing bright curling auburn hair. She tossed the long mane as she turned her head, looking at them through sparkling, mischievous eyes.
"You'll find something you've sought."
And she vanished from sight. Violet and Klaus looked at each other. They nodded.
"We'll be there."
Apparently the tunnel magnified sounds passing through it – a whispering, elfish laugh came to them out of the darkness. Then, all was silence once more.
The moon played tag with the clouds, creating a silvery dappled pattern of light that raced across the room so as to befuddle the senses with the deep shadows and shining rays. The Baudelaire children stood in the shadow of the Stargazer, a huge mural of carved images and mosaic pieces depicting an astronomer observing the heavens through his telescope.
"Come, Baudelaires!"
They heard their name hissed, and spun around to see a door open in the image of the North Star, and another black cloaked figure motioned them inside. Not ones to dawdle, the three quickly rushed inside, past the figure as he kept watch. Glancing quickly down both ways of the corridor, the figure made sure all three were safely inside before tripping a lever set into the wall, making the door close behind him with a quiet thud and grate of stone. The passage was lit by two lantern hung next to each other on the wall. The figure threw back his hood, revealing the young man beneath. The two parties judged one another; the young man with a slight grin, the Baudelaires with skeptical raised eyebrows.
"Come, mustn't keep her waiting."
The inflection on the word "her" made Klaus and Violet suspect it was the same girl who'd delivered their notice of appointment the day before. But they didn't have time to confer with each other as the boy took down the lanterns, handing one to Klaus as he himself moved past them. It was plain to the three that the young man would lead, then Violet with Sunny and Klaus bringing up the rear.
"Stay close. This labyrinth would be a challenge to solve, even for the renowned Baudelaires. Only she knows the truth of this maze."
The two older Baudelaires glanced at each other as the group began moving. Klaus leaned forward, whispering in his older sister's ear, "renowned?"
Violet shot him a look as they worked to keep up with the swift pace of their strange guide.
"They're here."
Klaus could see through the slit in the thin curtain; saw the girl freeze in her contortions, weighing the news she'd just received. As if aware of him, her gaze flittered to the curtain, also seeing through the crack into Klaus' widened eye. It was the same girl as the day before, and she smiled at him as she slowly completed the backbend, flipping her whole body over perfectly. Nodding to the younger girl who'd told her, the bending girl spun and walked briskly towards the curtain. Along the way, she snagged an earth-brown cape slung over a seat back, fastening it over her form-fitting bodysuit before reaching the curtain, throwing it open with her hands. The Baudelaires were close to the cave's mouth, and Klaus found himself standing directly in front of the girl, looking down slightly into her glittering eyes. Again she smiled, a mysterious action that caused his memory to jog, but not for long.
"Greetings, Baudelaires. Welcome to Sanctuary."
She nodded at them, motioned around as she spoke before turning back to them fully.
"Violet." The oldest Baudelaire returned the head nod politely, if somewhat mystified at the whole proceedings.
"Klaus." Her smile returned, and again he thought he recognized her.
"Sunny." The baby's shrill laugh erupted as the girl turned her gaze upon the youngest Baudelaire and grinned at the sound.
"Ulrich, some drink for our guests. Nay, you cannot refuse us. This is a special mixture, created for this group and none may know our secrets who do not drink with us in good faith."
The girl's strange speech intrigued Klaus, as he'd read several books on languages, including accents and speech patterns. He guessed this girl's mannerisms were indeed learned, but not foreign to her. No one else seemed to mind.
The drink was served by the same young man who'd brought them there, Ulrich she'd called him. The three accepted the offering somewhat nervously, until the girl and Ulrich also took some, and the girl raised her goblet.
"The Family Baudelaire. Great blood begets great things. We welcome them into Sanctuary willingly. To the Baudelaires!"
There was a cheer all around as the toast was made to the three's honor, and the drink was downed in merriment. It was clean, ice-cold water.
"Best of all drinks offered on this earth," the girl noted when she saw the older Baudelaire's surprised, confused expressions. The empty cups whisked away, and the girl motioned them to follow her back into her personal cave.
"You're probably wondering what this all is, am I right?"
A confirming nod from Violet.
"You're the children and heirs of Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire. I had the great fortune to meet them when I attended a society meeting along with my parents. Lovely people, you've no idea how sad I was to hear of their … untimely demise at the hands of the Count. Well, enough of our parents said. As I mentioned before, our parents knew one another. As did the parents of each and every child here." She waved her hand vaguely towards the cloth-draped door.
"I assume you still have either the spyglass from your father's desk or the one received in the mail?"
Klaus nodded, suddenly nervous that this strange, seemingly familiar girl knew so much about them as he drew the small instrument from his pocket, holding it out towards her. The girl grinned, reaching behind her. The Baudelaires heard a snap, and the girl brought forward her own spyglass, similar to theirs but considerably more worn.
"That was their sign, their covenant with each other. We keep them in remembrance of what our parents did. But then again we have a society all our own. You'll get something soon enough." The girl replaced her spyglass, reaching instead to her neck and pulling forth a small round locket. Taking it from around her neck, the thing twirled until one of its sides fell open revealing the watch inside.
"The clock symbolizes what we do. To our parents, the spyglass was their signature; they looked to the future, looked for clues. To us, the clock represents the time we have lost, and that time cannot be stopped. And it makes a handy thing besides."
All the older ones laughed softly, as the adventure was just getting underway.