Chapter 9: The Bird-Cage
"Yes," Count Olaf continued, "it certainly is strange to find a child missing. And one so small, and helpless."
"What did you do with her?" I demanded and turned away from the empty pile of curtains.
"Where's Sunny?" Violet cried.
Count Olaf carried on as if we hadn't spoken.
"But then again, one sees strange things every day. In fact, if you three orphans follow me out to the backyard, I think we will all see something rather unusual."
Without another word, we followed Count Olaf through the house and outside the back porch to the backyard covered in gravel and yellow grass. I held Klaus' hand and he squeezed mine tight, his eyes staring at Count Olaf in worry.
We looked around the yard but neither of us could figure out what he meant. "You're not looking in the right place," Count Olaf said with a smirk. "For children who read so much, you three are remarkably unintelligent."
I looked at Count Olaf and squinted at his shiny eyes as his bony hand was stretched out and pointing at the sky. I saw a birdcage with Sunny inside dangling from atop of the forbidden tower and gasped.
"You can't put Sunny up there," I said. "Mr. Poe will take us away from you for sure."
"If you dare utter a word to Mr. Poe," Count Olaf says, "the baby dies. I will let her go but she won't enjoy the fall. Let me call my associate."
"No!" Klaus cried. "Don't!"
"Please," Violet said to Olaf while tears formed in her eyes. "She's just a baby. We'll do anything, anything, just don't harm her."
"Anything?" Count Olaf asked, his eyebrows upturning and gazed into Violet's eyes. Then he looked at me. "Anything? Would you, for instance, consider marrying me during tomorrow night's performance?"
I stared at him with Violet, my stomach feeling queasy and I felt like we were all in the birdcage suspended over his tower.
"While you were busy reading books and making accusations," Count Olaf said, "I had one of my quietest, sneakiest assistants skulk into your bedroom and steal little Sunny away. She is perfectly safe, for now. But I consider her to be a stick behind a stubborn mule."
"Our sister is not a stick," Klaus said.
"A stubborn mule," Count Olaf explained, "does not move in the direction its owner wants it to. In that way, it is like you children, who insist on mucking up my plans. Any animal owner will tell you that a stubborn mule will move in the proper direction if there is a carrot in front of it, and a stick behind it. It will move toward the carrot, because it wants the reward of food, and away from the stick, because it does not want the punishment of pain. Likewise, you will do what I say, to avoid the punishment of the loss of your sister, and because you want the reward of surviving this experience. Now, Violet and Jane, let me ask you again: will you marry me?"
I swallowed and took Violet's hand in time to feel her shudder.
"Come now," Count Olaf said, in a false kind voice as he put a hand on both our heads. "Would it be so terrible to be my bride,s to live in my house for the rest of your life? You're such lovely girls. After the marriage I wouldn't dispose of you like your brother and sister."
"If you let Sunny go," she said finally, "I will marry you."
Count Olaf turned to me. "And what about you?"
Klaus was still gripping my other hand and I squeezed it in despair as Count Olaf stared at me.
"For Sunny," I said. "I will marry you."
I looked at Klaus to see a tear fall down his cheek.
"I will let Sunny go," Count Olaf replied, "after tomorrow night's performance. In the meantime, she will remain in the tower for safekeeping. And, as a warning, I will tell you that my assistants will stand guard at the door to the tower staircase, in case you were getting any ideas."
"You're a terrible man," Klaus spat, but Count Olaf gave us a cruel smile.
"You might say so," he said. "But I've done a lot more than you. I've designed a scheme to get your fortunes and there's nothing you can do or say about it. Now, give me that book which gave you such grand ideas, and do the chores assigned to you."
Klaus sighed and let go of my hand to step forward and give Count Olaf the book.
Violet kept holding my hand and I noticed her staring silently up at the tower where Sunny was dangled over ready to fall at Olaf's associates command. I saw her tie her hair ribbon up and glance at me notably with a gesture to the tower.
"I have an idea that could get us both out," Violet said quietly.
I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself
Cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way
To never let it get that far
Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid
I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake
A smile, a laugh everyday of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with
Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid
I watched you die
I heard you cry every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry in the middle of the night
For the same damn thing
Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I try my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid
Because of you (oh)
Because of you (mm, oh)
(Because of You, Kelly Clarkson)