It's been far too long since I did this. I hope this extra-long chapter makes it a little better. Enjoy!
"Justice Strauss?" Klaus asked, trying to get her attention.
"Yes?" she answered, focusing on him a little more while still entertaining Sunny.
"May I ask you something?" he questioned only slightly nervously.
"Certainly," she told him, setting Sunny down on the chair to the left of her. "Oh, there we go, sweet girl."
"Yes, as one legal scholar to another?" Klaus started, turning to his book to be sure he read it right. "The only nuptial requirements are a statement of active acquiescence by both participants, utilizing in loco parentis if necessary, and the signing of an explanatory document in the bride's own hand. Does that mean what I think it means?"
"Well, I suppose it depends upon what you think it means," she answered him, expecting him to continue.
"It means you're going to be a star!" Everyone jumped as their new legal guardian burst into the room uninvited and unwanted.
"Count Olaf," Justice Strauss greeted quite surprised and confused as to what he was talking about.
"Please, Call me your guardian actor," he told her. His smile was nauseatingly worrisome to all the children as they knew that he had something evil starting to bloom. "Justice Strauss, you are about to find your drab, legal beagle existence transformed into something mind-blowing and yet extremely classy when you become the exciting new face of the next Count Olaf production."
"You mean?" she started unable to believe what she thought was her good fortune.
"You have got the star quality necessary for a small walk-on role in Al Funcoot's new play," he said, telling her everything she wanted to hear and more.
"I've wanted to be an actress since I was young," she fawned. "Although, my drama teacher told me my chances were slim because of my posture, and so I went into the law, but now…."
"Now, you can see it," he continued. "The curtain rises."
"Curtain?" she began to dream.
"The audience applauds," he gave her.
"Audience!" It was all too amazing to believe.
"And you walk onto the stage, dressed as a judge," he built the fantasy.
"A judge!" she tightened in excitement.
"It's a very important part, although you won't be listed in the program," he informed her before indulging her fantasy more. "You will stand in front of a very handsome man, played by me."
"I get to share the stage with Count Olaf?" she gasped.
"While a stunningly-costumed bride, played by Violet, stands beside me," he confirmed.
"She'll be a what?" Bree prayed she'd misheard him and that the next words coming out would ease her very tightly wound fear.
"Violet is so lucky," she fawned, confirming Bree and Klaus's worry. "All my life I wanted to be a bride, but it seems all the men I meet are intimidated by my law degree, or obsessed with model trains."
"A gorgeous bridal dress of my own design while you perform the entire wedding ceremony, getting each and every word exactly right, while we sign a document which you shall bring from city hall for added realism," he said trying to make her not realize what was actually going on.
"Justice Strauss, he's up to something," Bree told her. "Casting Violet as the bride doesn't make sense."
"What I am up to is making Justice Strauss's dreams come true," he told the children annoyed that they tried to make him seem less credible. "You will suddenly find yourself in the enviable position of being a struggling actress in middle age."
"It's almost too good to be true," the Justice sighed.
"It is, Justice Strauss," Klaus started. His siblings and himself had found themselves doing that lately and would proceed in doing so for far longer than anyone should ever have to without being able to finish.
She gasped and tutted him, "Count Olaf is welcoming you into his life by making you an important part of this theatrical enterprise. Children, go."
"What?" they asked confused.
"Go home," she repeated, all with the best of intentions. "Spend some time with your new father."
Bree picked up Sunny and they begrudgingly got up and exited the door for what they wished wasn't the last time.
"Carpe diem!" She quoted to them.
"Seize the children!" Olaf said.
"Seize the day," she corrected him.
"I said day," he told her as he shut the door. She was confused but decided not to pay any mind to it. After all, she had a play to prepare for.
Max and Violet were almost home. Both of them were so excited to show everyone the treasure that they'd found. Max felt like he was the king of the world, driving the long-lost Chevy. Violet held the note for Bree close to her. As tempting as it was, she didn't open it, but the suspense was killing her. "So what do you think dad wrote to Bree about?" she asked her big brother.
"I don't know but whatever it is, It's gotta be important," he answered. "We're here."
He parked the car and they both scrambled towards Bree and their siblings who were being escorted, unwillingly, by Count Olaf. "Bree!" he shouted to her. "Klaus! Sunny!"
"You'll never believe what we found!" Violet yelled excitedly.
Everyone turned towards Max and Violet who were now panting from all the running. "Max? Violet? What's going on?" Bree asked.
"I found it," Max panted. He bent over and put his hands on his thighs to rest for a second. "I found it."
"Found what?" Klaus asked confused.
Max had finally caught his breath and stood up straight. "Dad's old car. I found it."
"No way!" Bree couldn't believe her ears. All those memories, every good memory she had before Violet was born, was stashed in that car. "I thought it was gone for good."
"We found it in a junkyard," Violet explained. "It still works and we found this," she handed the paper to Bree.
She took the paper from Violet but didn't open it yet opting to just look at her name scribbled across the top. "This is your dad's handwriting." Count Olaf had left a little while ago due to the fact that he was immensely bored so she opened it carefully. She looked over all the words. She may not have been able to read them but she could tell they were important. Inside was a picture of Mr. Baudelaire sitting in the driver's seat and Max and herself, at six years old, snuggled together in the passenger's seat. All of them as happy as a clam. "Max, look at this," she showed him the picture.
"No way," he smiled as he gazed at a physical memory.
"Let us see," Violet said trying to get a peek at the photo. He moved the photo so that Violet, Klaus, and Sunny could all see it clearly.
"Wow, is that you two?" Klaus asked as he looked at the little kids that looked vaguely like Bree and Max. They also looked at the man who they knew straight away was a younger version of their father. They looked at how happy they were. How innocent they were. Before all of their lives had shattered around them.
"Yeah," he answered. "This was before Bree came to live with us. At the time, we didn't realize that Bree didn't have a family but she was still my best friend so dad would take us out to drive-ins and we'd eat all the popcorn we could before the movie was over. We had the best playdates ever."
"Fascinating," Violet said. Bree and Max didn't talk much about their lives before her and her whole siblings. It's not that they were evasive or anything similar, they just preferred to talk about what they were doing or about what they would do later. They would talk about whatever her and her younger siblings were doing and how proud they were of them. Yet they'd never known any of their colorful and surprising past. "What does the letter say?"
"I don't know," Bree shrugged, looking at the paper again. "Max, would you read it?"
"Yeah, sure," he answered, taking the letter from her. They all went over to lean against the wall of the house so they didn't have to stay standing in the street. When they finally settled Max lifted the letter up and began to read it aloud,
"My dearest Bree,
By now you and Max have found the car and your letter. That also means that I'm no longer with you all. I hope you know that I always thought of you as my daughter just like Violet and Sunny. I hope you know I always loved you dearly, even if it didn't always seem like it. I'll never forget all the little moments we shared together, Max included. And while I know that I can never take the place of your father, I hope that you will remember me as such.
Darling, I didn't want you to end up without help in case something happened to us and Max wasn't there to keep you close. On your twenty-second birthday, you will receive your own small fortune, the same as Max will from his mother. His mother would have loved you the same as I did and I know that Max will treasure you until the day he dies. I only wish I got to see you grow into the wonderful woman I know you'll become.
My dear, take care of the others. I fear that this letter will be found all too soon. Something's coming, It's on its way. Take care my child for Villainy must always need to pay. For in a world filled with corruption it is difficult to keep one's moral and philosophical principles. Only when the world is quiet here, will we all be safe. In any case, Be prepared, Be on your guard. Treasure each other within your hearts. Unfortunately, I've run out of paper. I can only tell you one last thing and that is… We're never truly alone. There's always someone watching out for you. Even when they're in the shadows."
They all looked around at each other. Each one of them felt a feeling that had not come naturally for a while. A feeling of drive and a push to keep going even though their journey would not be easy and the end would not come soon enough.
"What did he mean, We're never truly alone?" Klaus asked as he mulled the words over in his head.
"Perhaps it's literal," Violet posed the thought. "No human is ever alone unless one is kept in solitary whether by choice or by force."
"Maybe but I think he meant it more as in our parents are watching over us from heaven," Max disagreed politely.
"That could be except I think your dad meant it literally but I think your parents knew something like this could happen. I think that they could very well have someone that is supposed to be looking after us," Bree told them. "I think that we're going to come out of this and I think that Count Olaf won't be a problem for too much longer."
If she'd only known then what she knew now.
They all headed back inside where Count Olaf and the hook-handed man were talking while holding some wedding cake on a tray.
"Boss, I have three kinds of buttercream icing here for you to sample.
One's vanilla, one has a hint of nutmeg and the other's a little lemony," the hook-handed man said as he pushed them towards the count.
"I told you never to say that word," Olaf said disgustedly as he traded the cake for the children. "Take these orphans upstairs to their bedroom until Friday. I have no use for them until then."
"Uh, except to cook dinner," he reminded him.
"We'll order takeout," Count Olaf groaned as it sounded better anyway.
"We're gonna find out just what you're up to, Count Olaf," Klaus promised him.
"We know you're just trying to steal our parents' fortune," Violet continued.
"We're gonna prove it," Max told him.
"Let me eat cake," Olaf misquoted as he tried one of the three slices.
"Nice," his comrade chuckled.
"Mmm," Olaf agreed as the hook-handed man brought them upstairs.
He thrusted the children into the room, "Get into your pajamas and say your prayers unless you're atheists."
"You can't just keep us in here," Klaus growled at him.
"You know who always says that? Prisoners," he retorted.
"Listen to us," Max tried to reason with him. "Count Olaf is…."
"No, no, no, no, You listen to me, little boy, and you listen very carefully," he interrupted. "The only reason why Count Olaf hasn't torn you limb from limb is because he hasn't gotten ahold of your fortune. But you ask yourself this question, all of you: What reason would he have to keep you alive after he's got your money? What do you think will happen to you then?"
They stood there for a moment as he left and closed the door. Answers to his question swirled together with their imaginations. None of them were good. All of them ended in ways that made them all go silent for a few moments more. All of them glanced at each other at one time and another as their minds imagined different fates.
"This is terrible," Klaus shook his head, trying to leave his imagination behind and come back to the present.
"Awful," Violet agreed, her own mind not letting go so easily.
"Please," Max scoffed, pulling all their attention to him. "I could get us out of here in ten minutes if I needed to. The problem is that we'd have nowhere to go and would be sent right back here. What we really need to do is figure out what Count Olaf's plan is. This way, we can find out if we need to run or if we can foil his plan."
"Well, he clearly wants our fortunes," Bree said, starting off the process. Anything was better than letting her mind fall down the rather horrible rabbit hole she'd been in.
"But how does he plan on getting them," Violet questioned, pointing out the problem.
"It has to surround the play," Klaus deduced. "Why else would he even want us in it?"
"Marriage is a possibility," Max followed the path Klaus had offered up. "Could he take our fortunes that way?"
"I'm gonna read about it in the book I got from Justice Strauss," Klaus said, turning to grab his book.
"Max, Violet, you should both get some sleep," Bree said. "You both seem to be the biggest parts of this play and if he slips up somehow we need you guys fresh and alive to figure out his plan if Klaus and I can't figure it out tonight."
"It might help if I read it to Bree," Klaus said. "Studies have shown that reading something to someone helps to retain information better."
"Then let's get to work," she said, placing Sunny down on the bed with Violet as Max laid down on the floor and tried to get comfortable.
The book was not at all interesting. The book was long and difficult. He found himself reading the same sentence over and over while Bree struggled to stay awake as they tried to navigate the book. By night's end, Klaus had found out all he needed to know. His hopes rose with the dawn. Although, unfortunately so did Count Olaf.
Klaus and Bree met Olaf in the kitchen after Max and Violet had gone to work. "What are you doing here?" Olaf asked, surprised to even see them. "You're supposed to be in your room."
"We were in our room all night and we know what you're up to," Klaus told him as he placed the heavy book on the table in front of them with an unintentionally loud thud.
"Me? I'm just having my morning coffee, although I can't seem to find the sugar bowl," he said as innocently as he could.
"The only nuptial requirements are a statement of active acquiescence by both participants, utilizing in loco parentis if necessary, and the signing of an explanatory document in the bride's own hand." Klaus quoted from his book.
"Let me give you a piece of advice," Olaf started, already bored with this conversation. "If you use fancy-pants words first thing in the morning, you're going to end up a very lonely man."
"We figured out your scheme," Bree told him proudly.
"You're not going to marry Violet figuratively. You're going to marry her literally," Klaus explained, sure that Count Olaf would need it.
"Literally? That's outrageous. I, wait, literally? Literally," he stopped and pondered.
"You don't know the difference between figuratively and literally, do you?" Klaus said more than asked. He'd never imagined he could become so tired of his knowledge being made worthless by incompetence.
It is very useful, whether one is young or in late middle age, to know the difference between literally and figuratively. "Literally" is a word which here means that something is actually happening, whereas "figuratively" is a word which means it just feels like it's happening. If you are literally jumping for joy, for instance, that means that you are leaping through the air because you are very happy. If you are figuratively jumping for joy, it means that you are so happy you could jump for joy, but are saving your energy for other matters.
"So literally would be an actual marriage, whereas figuratively would be marrying her for the purposes of theatrical entertainment," Klaus explained.
"I knew that," Count Olaf said, both of them knowing better. "I was testing you."
"If Violet says "I do" and signs a piece of paper while Justice Strauss is in the room, she's legally married. This play won't be pretend. It'll be real and legally binding," Klaus said.
"I wouldn't marry your sister if she were the last orphan on earth," Count Olaf told them angrily. "A man like me can acquire any number of beautiful women who don't complain about doing their chores.
What's in it for me?"
"A legal husband has titular and practical control over any relevant fiduciaries, resulting in aggregate financial dominion over any spousal holdings," Klaus answered.
"I don't think a boy your age ought to be using the word "titular"," Count Olaf scoffed and Bree rolled her eyes at his remark.
"If you became Violet's husband, you'd gain complete control over the Baudelaire fortune. But "A prospective spouse must be chronologically sound and appropriate in regards to the age of consent according to prevailing community standards." My sister isn't old enough to get married, even if she wanted to." Klaus finished.
"Not to mention he's not very sound in the head," Bree joked quietly to Klaus which she earned a quiet laugh in return.
"Tell me, bookworm, can you name me a language that was spoken by ancient Romans and is still spoken by very irritating people today?" he asked him.
"Latin," he answered.
"That's right," Count Olaf told him. "And can you translate the Latin phrase "in loco parentis"?"
"Acting in the role of parent," Bree responded annoyed. "Yes, we are very aware as to what that means. Can we please get to the point?"
"You see, Violet can get married if she has the permission of her legal guardian. And she does. In fact, she has more than permission. She has enthusiasm," he told her as he smiled frighteningly.
"All the enthusiasm in the world won't get us to participate in your horrible plot!" Klaus said confidently. "Mr. Poe will hear about this."
"Your play will not be performed, and you will go to jail!" Bree promised.
"Here comes Count Olaf Throw the rice pilaf," the henchmen started singing as they entered the room.
"Excuse me," he said, calling for their attention. "Sorry to interrupt, everyone, but that brave and clever boy with the horrible glasses has just figured out our dastardly plan." The henchmen gasped. "Yes," he continued. "Thanks to his stupendous library book, the orphans have achieved a grand victory over our evil ways."
"Oh, no," one twin began as the other one continued.
"Whatever will we do?"
"I guess we will go to jail."
"For a very long time."
"I guess that proves reading really is fundamental," the undeterminable one said. At this point, the others, Max and Violet had come down the stairs at this point to find the commotion going on.
"Violet, do you think your booky little brother is very brave and clever?" he asked.
"His work speaks for itself," she answered.
"Count Olaf wants to marry you for real, while you and Justice Strauss and everyone else thinks it's just a play," Klaus explained.
"But she's not old enough to get married," Max quickly engaged, ready to stand against the filth that now threatened his sister.
"She can with the permission of her legal guardian," Bree reluctantly informed them.
"We have to get Sunny and get out of this wretched place," Violet said, leading them back up the stairs. "Sunny. Wake up," she called as she opened the door.
"Sunny!" Max called. They all stopped in dismay as they pulled back the blanket to find some of their rocks instead.
"Where is she?" Klaus gasped.
"Where is she indeed?" Count Olaf asked unnecessarily for he knew exactly where she was. "It certainly is so strange to find a child missing and one so small, so helpless. When did you see her last?"
"What have you done with Sunny?" Max asked angrily as his hands started to curl into fists.
"Here, Sunny, Sunny," he called out. "Where are you, girl? Did you hear that? It came from outside."
"Sunny?" Violet called as she ran outside with the rest following after her. They arrived in the back to find it empty and desolate.
"Oh, you're not looking in the right place," he continued to torture them. "For children who read so much, you four are remarkably unintelligent."
"She's not here," Klaus told him, annoyed.
"Oh, don't look so down," he began again. "I'd say things are looking up, up, up."
"Oh no," Bree said quickly looking up to find Sunny high above them in a birdcage tied up with duct tape over her mouth. The four of them gasped. None of them had been prepared for this. This had never even crossed their minds.
Max had had enough. This was going to end now. Anger pulsed through his veins and through his fists. In a flash, he turned and took Count Olaf by his shirt collar and held him tight. "Listen to me now, and listen to me well," he growled as he lifted him up a little higher. "You are done threatening my family and we are done staying here. You let my little sister go now or I will personally beat you up myself until there is nothing left of you, you got that? You give us our sister and we walk away without a peep and without telling anyone what you've done. Now you tell me, which is it going to be?"
Count Olaf had been caught off guard and Max knew that. He could see it in the scared look on his face but then it changed. It had morphed into this creepy, all-knowing smile that Max would never forget, one that still made him cringe to this day. The only time he wouldn't cringe would be today as his determination and anger kept him grounded.
"I'd wondered if you got anything from your mother. I'm glad to know you are not all your father but I will say your father's smarts seem to dwindle when you get like this. For example, if you really want me to let her go, I will," he started, "but even a stupid brat like you might realize that if I let her go, or more accurately, if I have my comrade let her go," he showed them the hook-handed man in the window up by Sunny."
"Hi," he waved happily as if he were waving to a friend.
"Sunny might not survive the fall to the ground. That's a 30-foot tower, which is a very long way for a very small person to fall, even when she's inside a cage. But if you insist," he made a motion to yell up to his henchman.
"No, don't!" Bree pleaded.
"Stop!" Max yelled, still holding the motioning Count Olaf in his hands.
"We'll do anything, anything. Just don't harm her," Violet promised.
"Anything? Anything?" Count Olaf mocked. "Would you, for instance, consider marrying me during tomorrow night's performance?"
"I would never, ever marry you," Violet told him firmly.
"Hmm, Children, your sister is like a stick behind a stubborn mule," he began.
"My sister is not a tool for you to use," Max interrupted him, shaking him sternly.
"You get your hands off me now and you listen boy before you end up doing something you'll regret until the day you die," Count Olaf promised as he pushed him off of him. "This is what's going to happen. You and your siblings will be in this production as the parts you are given. You will follow everything to the letter and if any of you try anything funny, your sister will be dropped hard. If everything goes right, I won't dispose of you all after the wedding. Do you all understand?"
The children turned to one another and then to Violet. This was a horrible burden to place on their sibling of such an age. No child should be forced into a situation such as this one. To keep her virtue or to save her sister. No one wanted to have her make this choice. It had to be made though.
"If you let Sunny go," Violet sighed. "I will marry you."
"Hmm," he hummed in approval.
"Mazel tov!" the henchmen cheered as they threw rice pilaf towards them.
"I will let Sunny go after tomorrow night's performance. Until then, she will remain in the tower room for safekeeping," he promised them. "That is all."
"You're a terrible man," Bree told him.
"I may be a terrible man, but I have concocted a foolproof way of getting your fortune," he told them. "What have you done?"
Later in life, she would think to herself that she had been too hard on herself at that moment but the only thing that came to her mind was the word nothing. That little word would eat at her for longer than she would have wished.
The four of them walked up the flight of stairs to their room as night grew closer. Violet sank down onto the bed in agony over what was next to come. Klaus rested himself on the windowpane to look out at Sunny in dismay. Max did the same except against the door so he didn't have to see Sunny suffering. He couldn't handle much more suffering, his or his siblings. Bree started fixing up the bed and hammocks for the evening.
"Sunny must be so frightened," Klaus broke the silence, curling into himself a little more.
"We're all frightened, Klaus," Bree told him gently as she turned the hammock to let any dust out.
"You should get some sleep," Violet said, getting up before moving to Klaus's hammock.
"But you're dismantling my bed," Klaus told her as he watched her fold up the fabric.
"Use Sunny's," she told him as she continued her work. "You and Bree stayed up all last night trying to find out Count Olaf's plot. It's my turn."
"I didn't help us," Klaus grumbled defeatedly.
"Yes, you did," Bree assured him. "We now know what is happening. We didn't before and now we do. We're getting somewhere. Slowly, sure, but moving forward all the same."
"I have an idea on how to get Sunny back but I need to have some space to do what I need to," Violet told them.
"Do you need a hand at all?" Max asked her, ready to take any chance at retrieving Sunny.
"Not this time," she told him politely. She took the hammock and some other things before heading off to their bathroom.
Having a brilliant idea isn't as easy as turning on a light. But just as a single bulb can illuminate even the most depressing of rooms, the right idea can shed light on a depressing situation. As inventing workshops go, Count Olaf's bathroom was small and dimly lit. But the inventing area in Violet's mind was large and bright and inside of it was everything she needed.
Klaus and Sunny slept and Violet worked. The minds of Max and Bree seemed to have no intention of finding any other scenarios than those that ended poorly. Unable to quiet their minds, the two went to the ballroom to talk of things both old and new in hopes of finding peace for the night. They walked freely around the house as the attention was on Sunny. Though their thoughts should probably have been on her as well, they found themselves in thought about nearly anything else. Their minds led them downstairs, closing the doors behind them as they walked about the large disheveled ballroom.
"I'm constantly surprised whenever I see the state these rooms have fallen to," Max said as he made his way into the middle of the room.
"Oh, come now, it may be dusty and a bit run down but there's still a little charm left," Bree told him as she stopped at the piano. Her hand gently ran over the dust-covered top before she sat on the small bench. Carefully, she pulled the cover off the keys, placing it back in its hiding slot. Her fingers now rested on the keys, ready to play on the forgotten piano. It was a miracle it was still in tune. "All it needs is a little love to bring it back into the light."
He smiled as he listened to the soft and lovely song she began to make. Its encouraging tune was gentle and sure. Optimistic in its telling as its author often was. He drew closer to her as she played. He often marveled at the way she could take to an instrument. While he and his siblings had always been drawn to the non-fictional, Bree was often pulled in by the possible. One of the many things he'd grown so fond of in her. "I do believe you're right," he agreed, receiving a lovely smile from her as she came to a finish.
She turned to face him more before she was distracted by a rather large script resting on the top. She pulled it to her but with no discerning features she held it up to him and asked, "What's this?"
"Oh my gosh, it's the play we're being forced to do," Max told her, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"Really?" she gasped, standing up before bringing them to the center of the room. "What does it say? What happens? Tell me everything."
"Alright, alright," he smiled as he opened the script to the first page. "Act 1 Scene 1. Here I stand, literally at the edge of a pond."
"Oh gosh, he threw that in there?" Bree shook her head, still smiling.
"It gets worse," he told her, clearing his throat before continuing, "What is a very handsome man like me to do about it except perform a lengthy soliloquy?"
"Oh no," she laughed.
"It goes on a rant for, good grief, fourteen pages about how handsome he is and three more pages about how all he needs now is a wife by his side," he laughed with her as he continued skimming for anything interesting.
"Then do you come in?" she asked, watching the pages turn.
"No, there's some stuff about two lady pharaohs and duchesses fighting rather obnoxiously over him. Geez, we're in the fourth part of this and it's all just an ego trip for, oh! Here we go," he smirked as he stopped flipping through the pages.
"What? What?" Bree asked him excitedly.
"Act 2 Scene 4," he begins. "Handsome man: It has been a long and figuratively winding road to get to the forest. I am almost to the castle where I am to wed the orphaned princess. Villain jumps out in front of him. He yells, Stop handsome man!"
"Yeah! Whoo-hoo!" she cheered for him.
"Handsome man: Why it is the evil villain who has come to stop me," Max voiced in an awful mimic of Count Olaf's voice. His choice drove Bree into fits of laughter as he continued depicting what happened. "Villain: That I have Handsome Man. For I am bratty and selfish and want the princess's fortune all to myself."
"No, no, no," she laughed, nearing the brink of tears. "Tell me that's not what he says."
"I'm reading the script and that's what he says," he promised her as he watched her fight back her laughing fit.
"But, that's not what he should have said," she signaled him to the start of a game.
"Oh, so what did he say?" he asked her, closing the script. Slipping easily back to their wild games of pretend from long before the days of fires, siblings, and wreckage.
"He says, I may be your villain but you are mine and I've come to rescue the lovely princess from the evil of people like you," she answered, falling happily into character.
"Yes!" he agreed as he played their newly-made knight. "And I will not rest until she's safe in my arms."
"Then the princess rushes out to see them," she backed away before running back partway. "My knight, my love! Please, rescue me!"
"Til my dying breath!" Max played, drawing his imaginary sword. His arm went back and forth rapidly as he faced his imaginary opponent. The two of them laughed and laughed until Max had finally vanquished his foe. "My love!" he called to her, arms wide for embracing.
"My hero!" she laughed as she ran into his arms. His own wrapping tight around her as he held her close. Her own arms ran behind his head as he twirled her in the air. They parted only connected by their hands as they finished their scene.
He knelt down on one knee, "Marry me my love, my heart, my light. Marry me and I will protect you for all the days of my life. I'll love you more than you've known was possible. Marry me and we'll live happily ever after."
"My darling, my knight, my everything," she smiled. "Nothing in the world would make me happier."
"End scene," Max smiled brightly and stood back up again. The two of them laugh and laugh some more, forgetting their troubles and sorrows and all that made their young hearts heavy. Whilst the world raged on, they could always find comfort in their lovely little adventures.
While their adventure proceeded, it was Violet who's escaped carried the most weight that night. Violet, now finished with her invention, had moved out to the garden. Determined and full of heart, she readied herself and her invention to rescue her sister. Her mechanical mind had given her the idea for a grappling hook to pull her up to her sister and bring them both down safely. She whirled the slackened hammock and let go The propelled hook flew high into the air but not quite high enough. It caught nothing but air and fell to the ground with a clunk. Again, she spun the hook, and again it missed and fell to the ground. She would not give up though. She would not allow to let herself to give up. Once again she whirled the end around and around before launching it into the air. This time, the hook went up past the pole holding the cage before wrapping itself around it.
A grin broke out across her lips as she tugged the cloth, making sure it was secure. Her hook held firm and Violet readied herself to be pulled up to her sister. She pressed the operating button and beamed as she felt her feet leave the ground. "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious," she quoted as she went higher and high up the side of the dingy house. "It is the source of all true art and science."
As she rose higher and higher, her hopes climbed with her. All to have them come crashing down. The invention was stopped by the hook-handed man which while he didn't send her crashing to the ground, still sent her crashing to the floor on the other side of the open window.
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