Eleven
In a theatrical production whenever the story takes a sudden turn or something occurs that you didn't think would happen, it is often referred to as a plot twist.
For example if you were to read a story in which a man crash lands on a world that is foreign to him and ruled by simians and then later this man discovered it was in fact his world in some unknown future, you could refer to this as a plot twist. Or if you were read about the murder of an infamous writer and then in that very same story discover that he was not in fact dead, but merely writing down the history of a particular group of orphans in an effort to alert the public to these unfortunate events, you could assuredly refer to this as a plot twist.
The Baudelaires however were not in some work of fiction, such as the first instance I described and they had yet to be aware of anyone chronicling their miserable lives; so whenever the other powder-faced woman who was still alive told them that she knew what they were searching for and where to find it, you could definitely say this was a plot twist. But more importantly the former member of Count Olaf's acting troupe had told them the answers they were looking for was in a dressing room for an actor named Lemony, the very same name that had been on the program Violet had found and the very same terrible name that her mother would've named her had she been a boy.
So the Baudelaires followed her down the hallway without any objection eager to find any secrets they could within the walls of the Ned H. Rirger Theater. But as you may have ascertained, with only a few chapters left in this particularly dismal portion of the Baudelaire's lives, they will find nothing substantial to help them in their search for answers. As they arrived at the end of the corridor, Klaus sighed and said, "See? We've searched down this hallway and haven't found a dressing room for anyone named Lemony." The powder-faced woman ignored the middle Baudelaire's complaint and began knocking softly on the western wall. Violet, Klaus and Sunny watched as she continued to do this unsure why she was or what she hoped to accomplish. Finally the troupe member paused at particular portion of the wall and stated, "I think it's right here." "What's right there?" Violet wondered.
"There's just a wall there," Klaus pointed out. "And there is certainly not a dressing room there," Sunny added. "That's where you're wrong, Baudelaires. After Mister Rirger shut this theater down ages ago, Olaf returned and trashed the place as best as he could and also sealed up this dressing room right here; I'm sure of it," the powder-faced woman explained. "If that's the case, then how can we get inside?" Klaus wondered. "You didn't bring any tools with you?" the former actor asked in surprise.
"You didn't tell us what we would be doing," Violet pointed out. "I'm sorry, you're right of course; I had no reason to be upset," the woman said and then added with a sigh, "I just can't believe what happened to my poor acting partner. We've been together forever. Why we met in this very theater!" "I'm sorry about what happened to her," Sunny said placing her hand on the shoulder of the troupe member. "It's too late for apologies now," the powder-faced woman declared bitterly as she shed a single tear for her departed partner and then added, "Besides this is exactly what he said would happen… I guess we should've listened."
Klaus glanced at his sisters and then asked, "C. Nimodi threatened you didn't he?" The former member of Count Olaf's acting troupe nodded and replied, "Well yes… but that's not what I was referencing…" Before they got a chance to ask her any more questions, the powder-faced woman moved toward another dressing room and declared, "But right now we haven't the time to discuss the present. C. Nimodi is planning to burn this theater to the ground once he gets what he wants."
"What is the wicked theater critic after?" Violet wondered in confusion. "I thought you orphans had figured it out by now," the troupe member muttered as she found a prop hammer that was probably used in some widely popular play in the past and then returned to the wall and added, "But that doesn't matter, I won't let that critic have his way. I'll help you out Baudelaires…maybe then I can atone for all of the wicked deeds I've done during my life. And my partner won't be forgotten."
The orphans remained silent as the troupe member used the hammer to smash the wall and watched in fascination as portions of it fell away and behind the wood they could make out a door that looked rather old, with the initials L.S. on a large golden star in the center of the door. As the troupe member continued to push the wood away, she said, "See there? I was right! It's right where I remember it being."
Once the powder-faced woman had finished clearing a way for them to get in, she gestured for Violet to open the door to all of the tantalizing secrets within.
The word, tantalizing; if you didn't know already means something that is just within your reach and then slips thru your fingers. It could refer to for example if you were to go hunting for something out in the woods and you got some bait, the bait would lure your prey there and tantalize it with the prospect of getting a good meal, whereas instead in reality trap the creature you were seeking to trap. For the Baudelaires however, the word tantalizing refers to all of the secrets that were in their grasp within the Ned H. Rirger Theater but would sadly elude them still due to the fact that a dastardly villain would very shortly burn the establishment to the ground once he is finally revealed.
So as Violet, Klaus, Sunny and Beatrice stepped thru the door with the initials L.S. on the door, let me assure you that although some of the answers they seek may be within it; most of them will never be known to the children for quite some time to come. So all of the tantalizing things within the theater would only serve as a bitter disappointment for the children in their attempts to uncover secrets about their parents past.
For as Klaus and his sisters opened the unstable door, a word which here means rickety; they looked within the dark and bleak dressing room which was covered with cobwebs and wondered what might lie within the darkness. The troupe member took out a match from her pocket and ignited it, and then mumbled, "I just know there is a candle around here somewhere."
Violet and her younger siblings searched thru the dusty room, which appeared to have only two items within it; a writing desk and a small type writer which lay on its side on the floor as if someone had chosen to flee from the room in haste for some undisclosed reason and Sunny remarked, "Do you suppose this is the same Lemony who was our mother's co-star?" "Oh there is no doubt of that," the powder-faced woman declared as she found the candle and proceeded to place the match on it, which caused the room to look slightly more illuminated. "Did you know our mother?" Klaus asked in surprise turning to the former member of Count Olaf's troupe.
"I was here whenever the incident occurred, when Olaf's parents were brutally murdered…" she said with a nod and then explained, "I think it truly changed his outlook on life." "So you said there was something in here that we needed to see, isn't that right?" Violet asked as she went to the writing desk and pulled out the drawers, only to find that they had all been cleared; as if the person who previously occupied the room had grabbed everything within before knocking over the typewriter and fleeing from the room.
"If I'm correct, it should be on that there," the powder-faced woman declared, pointing toward the device on the floor and adding, "I know it was the one thing that Olaf made sure wasn't disposed of… so that it would implicate those who murdered his parents." The eldest Baudelaire knelt down and turned the typewriter over and noted there was one piece of paper still within and asked, "Is this what you wanted us to look at?"
"It is," she said with a nod as the oldest orphan stood and took the candle from the troupe member before reading it aloud to her siblings, " 'It is my solemn duty to report that I have successfully given the poison darts to Beatrice for the sole purpose of using them on the two adversaries who have been troublesome to our organization and could in fact cause what we fear. I can only hope she is successful in her attempts to use them and dispose of these villains once and for all. As for their son, my old friend Olaf; I hope you can understand the reason behind this, Lemony.'"
The entire group grew silent as she finished reading it and turned to the troupe member and asked, "Why did you show us this?" "You had a right to know," the powder-faced woman declared as she led them back out to the hallway beyond. "There is nothing else here in this dressing room we need to search for?" Klaus asked, unsure he wanted to accept what little information they had obtained. "I'm sorry, but that is all I know of," the former member of Falo's twin declared truthfully, and unfortunately; Sunny and her older siblings eagerly accepted this as fact.
If only they had chosen to look further inside the room with the initials L.S. on the door, they might've gone to the closet that was on the right side of the room and might've looked within to find an old diary that would've provided them with countless information regarding their mother, their father; and a dismal author. But sadly, the Baudelaire orphans would not get the chance to peruse any further in this room and would lose this valuable information entirely
. For as they stood there in the hallway to contemplate what the powder-faced woman had just revealed to them, Violet, Klaus, Sunny and Beatrice felt too stunned to say thank you or to say much of anything to their guide. "I'm sorry I wish I could stay and talk with you more, but the show must go on. Baudelaires, you have to stop C. Nimodi now, before things get out of hand and more people become wicked like Olaf did," the troupe member explained and then rushed down to the auditorium where the show was still going on. "Do you suppose this is true? Our parents were connected to the death of Olaf's parents?" Klaus asked in surprise.
"Apparently Olaf saw to it this evidence remained so that someone would one day discover that was the case," Violet said. "What do we do now?" Sunny wondered, as she recalled that the wicked theater critic had told them the answers they were searching for might not turn out to be the ones they expected. And that is sadly often the case whenever you search for clues, and then find tantalizing answers the taste often turns out to be quite bitter and you regret ever searching in the first place and are not prepared for the plot twist you discover.
For example, Klaus, Violet, Sunny and Beatrice had long believed that their parents were good and noble people, but now they were discovering that perhaps this wasn't the case. And they had also felt for quite a while that people like Olaf and Mister Dominic or whatever name these villains were hiding under were always wicked from the very beginning. But as you may have guessed, one story's beginning is often another story's ending even when that previous story's ending was also another story's beginning; and that is exactly the case with the Baudelaires.
For even though you have passed thru at least thirteen volumes of unfortunate events relating to these orphans wretched lives I'm sorry to tell you that the end of those events was just the beginning of another, and I'm sure you realize that well before the Baudelaires ever stepped foot on Briny Beach and heard the news of their parents unfortunate demise; many other tragedies had occurred and other people had lost loved ones in similar fires and so an endless cycle of stories ending and beginning will continue on until it is curtains for us all.
The orphans however, only cared about their own story, and whether or not the information the powder-faced woman had just supplied them with meant that at least one of their parents had assisted in murdering Olaf's parents. And despite the fact that the person who had typed the letter out to Beatrice had insisted that these two people were rather wicked, which might I add they indeed were more so than any other I have ever happened upon; I can tell you exactly what Violet, Klaus, Beatrice and Sunny were thinking. Even a wicked person, or in this case two parents; did not deserve to die.
And I admit that this crime plagues me and at times keeps me up at night wondering what we could've done differently and perhaps had we not listened maybe things would now have turned out differently. "I've had enough of these secrets," Violet declared as she crumpled up the piece of paper and added, "I'm going to go find Falo and C. Nimodi and reveal to our current guardian what this villain is up to." Klaus and the other orphans followed her down the corridor toward the highest level of the theater, where the balcony seats were located; along with the entrance to the rafters and as they searched each one; Violet was beginning to wonder if perhaps the wicked theater critic had chosen to now dispose of the evil twin of Count Olaf and so was therefore relieved whenever she came upon them.
Falo and the critic were sitting opposite of one another, gazing down at the large audience that had gathered for the play and Falo muttered, "It would seem quite a few volunteers and villains arrived for the show." "Yes but I can tell that Esmé is rather nervous, her performance is lacking. It has been too long since our star actress has been on the stage," C. Nimodi remarked and then turned to see the orphans standing there listening to them.
"Concierges! Delightful job on getting everyone inside the auditorium. I trust it wasn't a difficult assignment?" Falo asked. Violet and her younger siblings stood there for a moment unsure what to say and finally Klaus said, "Actually sir, we were wondering if we could sit up here with you?" "I'm afraid I'll be leaving shortly, to speak with some of those who attended. I'm sure they are eager to learn that we have the Baudelaires in custody," the evil twin of Count Olaf replied with a conspiratorial wink.
"Now that all of these wicked individuals have gathered in one place, it is time for the final curtain call; so to speak," the theater critic agreed and then smiled deviously at the Baudelaires and explained, "You don't realize what it is we have planned, do you?" Klaus shrugged and replied, "I know what our impresario has told us… that we have gathered the wicked people here to set a trap for them, so that our illustrious organization can finally prevail."
"That is partially true, V.F.D. will always remember this day as a day of success, but it would seem there is still one detail that my good friend, Olaf; has failed to tell you," the critic C. Nimodi explained as his smile grew wider and the orphans realized he had a glimmer in his eye, the very same one that readily recognized meant that the villain had some sinister scheme in mind and was now eager to reveal it to the orphans. "And what might that be?" Klaus asked, trying to pretend he was eager to hear of this plot twist, although once he did he wished he hadn't.
C. Nimodi smiled as broadly as he could, then answered, "Now that we have gathered all of these wicked villains here, we are going to burn the Ned H. Rirger Theater to the ground." And if this plot twist wasn't enough, their current guardian nodded in agreement and stated, "And you concierges, are going to help us."
Will Falo continue to play the role of the evil twin? Will C. Nimodi be revealed? Will anyone survive the fire that they have planned? Is it curtains for both villains and volunteers? Read, review, share! I appreciate it!
*additional note, some events are what I would like to describe as "foreboding" they may not pertain to this story, but to a future idea I have in mind for another book. For example, in this book, I referenced a masquerade ball that the Baudelaires have been invited to. This idea, along with others is part of the bigger picture. ^_^