Chapter 2
Some time later
A lot had happened to Olivia since she had last said goodbye to Jacques. She had survived a deadly situation at Caligari Carnival, although Jacques had given her the idea for an escape plan after telling her about the V.F.D tunnel network. While the lion pit was still being built, she snuck down and dug as far as she could, until she reached one such tunnel. As a back-up, she had sewn some of the food she had been saving for her trip to the Mortmain Mountains into the lining of her dress. When the time came for her to be fed to the lions, she ripped off the dress as soon as she was out of sight of the audience. The meat distracted the lions, allowing her to climb down the hastily constructed tunnel and escape into the V.F.D underground network.
From there, she made her way back to Prufrock Prep, claiming she had taken an unpaid holiday. The school had undergone many changes while she had been away. Most of the teachers had been dismissed or had moved on to better things, so Vice Principal Nero was free to perform as many violin recitals as he wished. When they weren't listening to him playing the violin, the students were generally tasked with staring into cameras and cleaning their own dormitories.
Thankfully, the library remained open, and was still an important V.F.D post. Olivia spent most of her days keeping up with information via a new private telephone she had had installed. One morning, she was drinking her first coffee of the day while tidying some paperwork, and she noticed an unusual-looking letter on her desk. It had countless postmarks and seemed to have travelled a long way. Confused, she opened it and began reading:
Dear Olivia,
I hope this letter reaches you and finds you alive and well, as the information contained within is of the utmost importance. You may not yet know of my existence, but I can assure you that my brother alerted me to yours. I wish to tell you that, after a lot of research, I can confirm that a certain J. is alive. He outsmarted our enemies and is now safe, however I am not sure for how long. His location is enclosed. If you are in a position to do so, please go there without delay.
It pains me that we may never meet, as I must remain in hiding to complete my work on the Baudelaire case.
Yours etc.
L.S.
Also contained in the creased envelope was a postcard from Damocles Dock, with an image of the Lavender Lighthouse in one corner. She began writing her letter of resignation immediately, as well as a recommendation that Prufrock Prep make some major changes to the school or risk being closed down.