The heavy sound of footsteps clambering their way down made Carmelita sit up in her seat. Seeing it was none other than Esme, looking about feverishly as if she knew a deep secret that they didn't.
"If you're looking for Olaf he isn't here," Carmelita toyed with the butter knife on the table, "Don't play dumb either Esme, I know you heard something," Her green eyes glared at the black haired woman that stood there in shock. A wavering smile appearing on those cherry lipstick lips of hers.
"Heard something? No, I heard nothing dear, I just wanted to know- -" She saw the young woman stand up from the seat of the table, glaring at her with malice. Dark brown curls limp against the side of her face being unattended to, the knife in grip.
"Klaus kept his word, so don't even think about telling anyone what you just heard up there." Esme scowled at the teenager, talking in such a tone. Having someone lecture her, the Esme Squalor?
"Oh really? Well, it's not by coincidence they had the same name," She cocked an eyebrow, hungering for the sudden change on the young brat's face. Taking a look at her long, polished nails she continued, "That boy has a terrible secret, and I fell into pity for that…orphan…"
"He died, I don't believe a word you say, all you speak from those disgusting lips are lies!" She had won, the sudden paleness on the woman's face sent a smirk to her lips. "You're only here for the hunger of being rich as well, all of you are sick!"
Esme watched as the girl angrily threw down the blunt knife, landing hard in the wooden floor a foot from her.
"Really? Am I pretty?"
"The most adorable, precious looking girl I have ever seen!" Carmelita smiled when hearing such a compliment from this Esme woman. Fixating her attention on all the costumes and amazing items in that one wooden trunk, laughing as she lifted a ballerina suit from the box.
"I can be a ballerina!!" She squealed, hugging the suit to her chest, "My mother said I'm too beautiful to dress in such a frilly thing, but I told her…" A hand was on her shoulder, cold and bony against her skin.
"About your parents…and, the fortune.. little Carmelita" Olaf hissed in her ear, this man was disgusting, the stench of his breath. Everything. She pouted and looked back at him with bright eyes, toying with this malicious man.
"What about my parents?" She looked at him with such a fake, innocent look.
"You agreed… you signed the contract, and now all of your precious family is my duty to take care of.." Olaf smirked seeing the young girl's foolish look vanish off her snooty face. "So now, welcome to the troupe, Carmelita."
She felt tears well in her eyes, she was so foolish for falling into this. No, it wouldn't get to her, she would just close her eyes and act as if everything was alright. Pretend that Carmelita was a runaway princess, being captured by a grueling troupe. In the end she would return home…
This life she would play out, act in as her own little fragment of imagination. This was real, but why act as someone who lost everything, when you can begin as who you want to be?
Carmelita smiled, she was the princess carried away forever, never to return home.
She collapsed on her bed, burying her face into the musty pillow, she lied. For being as young as she still was Carmelita now could tell when someone spoke falsely. For so long in her past had her little fairytale kept her from thinking of what was really going on in life…
"Carmelita?" The familiar voice of Klaus came into earshot, closing her eyes and becoming less tense did the sound of footsteps enter the room. Sounds of items being thrown into a suitcase made her want to look even more. If he dared to leave, Count Olaf would kill him for sure.
"Where are you running off to?" She rolled over, looking to see him freeze, his eyes wide behind those lenses. "You can't run from your problems, it just doesn't work." Swinging her feet at the end of the bed did he continue to pack. Not pausing once to speak or move from where he stood.
"If I can only trust one person here, its Fernald," Klaus picked up what looked like a newspaper article covered in dust, shoving it along with the other possessions. These weren't even his, did he care? All these papers kept here told of the recent finds of the Baudelaire sisters, but none of him…
Why were they in Carmelita's room? Not in any other hidden part of the house?
"I have lost everything, and all the people I thought could protect us couldn't" He unpinned more of the black and white ink pictures, glancing at their faces. "Now all I have is papers and a living hope until I die, that there can be and ending.. one where we don't live in fear."
"The last time I ever left this place, was because of a fire," She looked at his back, seeing he didn't look over his shoulder, "I don't know even why I was there, except for seeing a young woman, crying…"
Klaus had that certain feeling where someone speaks to you in a manner where you can't bear to resist. Looking back at her he slammed down the top of the case, "All I see in the papers are fires, I can't even think I have lived one day since my parents died that fire came to my mind or was spoken."
"You missed that one," Carmelita purposely pointed to one, high on the wall from someone's sight that sat at the desk. For it was in that top corner of the wall for a quite specific reason. Klaus stepped on a pile of books on the floor, easily picking the cut out article from the wall. Seeing it flitter in the air as he caught it, crumpling the piece in his hand.
"It's the fire I was at, one I started… before I knew it, I recognized the home.." She stared at the ceiling, "It was the Quagmire home, the one belonging to her, Isadora." The weight from talking of this incident made her less angered at herself, "The Baudelaires were seen there."
Klaus turned to see Carmelita staring at the ceiling, covered in eyes, watching them. Now he knew she had a hint of guessing that he was truly Klaus Baudelaire. There was no smile on her face, or even a laugh when bringing up her own arson. Usually one would beam from the troupe in such succession.
"When I saw her like that, I finally felt the rude awakening of how I would react to see my own home burned before me." She made a weak attempt at a laugh, "But all I could think of three years ago was my own selfishness. How in my own world I was just carried away magically by some evil strangers…like a princess."
Her face turned hard, "But I don't want to remember myself like that… I want to have memories of my family with me, laughing and playing. Just having them instead of thinking of my own happiness." Tears streamed down Carmelita's face, the burning feeling of regret in her. "All of it was taken before me, I had no word in it at all…"
"You did, but you thought you could get out of it. Not knowing that you would lose more than you ever wanted to have taken from you." Klaus felt sadness well in him, "I can't even think about it anymore, I just keep telling myself the same…I have a family on the other side, outside of reality." He laughed lightly, "You've got to hold onto what you think you have, or else, you'll lose all you ever had for good."
Carmelita smiled warmly, knowing there was someone in the world just like her, one that had to experience this for so much longer. "Even if you are who I think you might truly be…won't make me differ how I look at you as. I must tell you something, please listen to what I have to- -"
An abrupt knocking at the door cut her off, seeing Klaus open the door to Fernald. Behind that brim of his hat she could barely make out his face, or even if his eyes watched her now. A silence overcame what seemed to be what was to come, all three knew what was to be done.
"Fernald, don't make a fool of yourself. You and that Klaus need more than two people, if you want to stop him that is." Carmelita saw the two men exchange looks, "Listen, I might now where they are, but you have to take me with you."
Fernald turned towards her, his 'hands' in his coat pockets, seeing a glint of metal peeking from one of the sleeves. One hook slipped from hiding, pointed right at her face, his face seemed stern and serious. "If you are lying to us then I suggest you should keep quiet."
"Fernald, his car is coming, we have to leave from the back entrance to make it to the bus stop." Fiona's voice alerted them, Klaus left the room quickly only leaving the two from the troupe alone in the emptiness.
"Take this, and come tomorrow at daybreak…" A slip of paper was placed on her palm, feeling a light prick from his hook touch her skin. Helping with her other hand to slip it off she read the address perfectly. "We'll be in room 133."
Then the man left, leaving her with the only thing that could help them. If she was caught…the sound of a car screeched to a stop in the driveway. Getting to her feet she heard him roaring her name, asking Esme where she was.
The pounding in her chest droned out her hearing, all that there was where the articles used to be was a square of clean wall. Carmelita left the room, closing the door behind her just as Count Olaf made his way over to her.
"I think you will be pleased… for I have found something, great." He smiled seeing she made not even a glance over at him, "Don't give me that, look at me when you're being spoken to." She looked at him almost immediately with a blank face.
"What did you find?" She asked dully, making it seem that she was truly not in the mood for talk. Good enough to distract him from finding the missing papers. "Let me guess, Violet was found or some other person we're wasting our time over?"
"Even better.."
-End of Chapter 5-
-I saw the movie today, though this may be a few days late when you read it. I saw the movie the first day it was out at the 11 o'clock time showing. It was great! I just wish they didn't take out a few things. And yes I remembered the Thanks. Isn't that great? -
Laura V. Bleediote: I can't thank you enough for inspiring me. Your writing is so vivid and descriptive. I hope you like how this is coming out right now, but Carmelita, I don't think I can really trust her…and I'm glad you like the Fernald I made!! Thanks!
Af881: I am so happy that you like my story. I have never really had a reviewer of mine actually print my work out. So you are greatly thanked as well! I wish to read your work if I haven't already, thanks so much!
Gentle-Fiend: Haven't heard from you in the last two chapters. Though I love the reviews you've sent me, but sorry I couldn't resist just making it a one shot. Believe me I'm a terrible person with updating! Well, I will hope to see another one of your reviews again!
Pointy Ears: It's funny how you told me that last time we talked, though I know you might not read this I thought, is that even a review? But I'm glad you like my other fan-fictions here on this site.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!