A/N: Response time!
Gs33022, I'm glad you loved the way that I portrayed that nightmare sequence! I have had plenty of dreams in real life where people I knew were out of character, so to me, it seemed fitting for OOC to pop up there, as it wasn't actually going on in-story. I find it interesting that flashbacks and elaborate thought sequences are your favorite parts of fanfiction, because one of my planned future fics involves an OC who is prone to getting extremely unsettling flashbacks, but it isn't for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (This fic is not up or even typed yet because I am timing the release of the first chapter for Halloween, as the source material has to do with it.) I just thought that you'd like to know, even if it's for another work entirely.
Violet lucked out when she returned to the factory. Mr. Wonka was relaxing in his own lodging, rather than working in his office or on one of his creations. A rule established early on was that if he was doing something other than business matters, then it was perfectly okay for Violet to see him. She never had been in Mr. Wonka's living quarters, so Rungdin had to show her around.
This lodging was absolutely bizarre. The Wonkavator stopped in front of a furnished hallway that appeared to be upside-down, including the furniture. The floor was stippled in design, and the ceiling had wall-to-wall carpeting. Even the doorways and doors were upside-down, but when Violet peered through the doorways that had no doors, she could see that all of the rooms where they led were the right way up. Presumably, to enter any of them, one had to step over the 15-centimeter high barrier on the floor. Thankfully, the doorknobs, when applicable, were within reach.
Violet took note of a cabinet that had a fully installed fish tank sitting atop it, the whole thing upside-down on the ceiling. Strangely enough, the water was pumping through the filter normally, without spilling out of the tank (in fact, the water level even ended at the lid underneath, and the substrate and decorations were suspended from the top—er, bottom?—of the tank), although the fish were swimming the right way up. Violet wondered how in the world Mr. Wonka cleaned that thing, but then again, he was Mr. Wonka.
At one point, she had to step over a chandelier that was installed on the floor. The chandelier also seemed to be defying gravity; it was positioned as if it were hanging.
"Mr. Wonka?" she called out finally, after several minutes of not seeing him. She had passed the part of the hallway that had open doorways and was now in an area that had mostly closed and ajar doors. Rungdin had confirmed Mr. Wonka's whereabouts, but not the specific room.
There was no answer. She raised her voice a little. "Mr. Wonka?"
"I'm in the lounge, Violet," Mr. Wonka's voice emerged from somewhere. "Hold up a moment, please!"
"It's this door," Rungdin indicated, tugging Violet a few doors down by her sleeve. He dragged her over to an area that had a pill-shaped, red floor rug set on the ceiling. As an indication of where to stand, he pointed to an ajar door at about the end of where the rug extended.
"You don't need to come out, Mr. Wonka; I've got it!" Violet called out. She approached the door, pushed it further open, and stepped over the chunk of wall where the doorway ended. Rungdin did not follow her and instead walked to the Wonkavator to resume other factory work, considering Mr. Wonka to be in control now.
Violet saw what looked like a reading lounge, complete with a sofa, a footstool, and a reading lamp in addition to the obligatory bookshelves. This room, just like the others she saw from the hallway, was the right way up and appeared to be normal. Curious, she turned around to look at the doorway. It was still upside-down, and the rug on the ceiling of the hallway still could be seen. Violet rolled her eyes and shook her head before turning back to face the room. Was there anything that was normal about Mr. Wonka?
"Haven't your folks ever taught you that it's not polite to barge in?" Mr. Wonka asked calmly as soon as Violet turned back to him. "My cane is purely for looks; I could have gotten to the door myself."
"Oh. Well, um…" Violet never really had thought about interaction etiquette.
"No matter, though," Mr. Wonka told her. "It is rare for people to be asked the question that puts them squarely in front of themselves." He was leaning on the sofa as if he had been about to stand up but then didn't (which was the case), a tome with a 19th-century design in hand.
Violet raised an eyebrow in confusion. Unsure whether this was an eccentric but friendly remark or a stealthy jab, she walked towards him very cautiously. Now that she was closer, she could see that he had been reading a copy of a book called The Pastimes of Frederick II, but the words on both the front cover and the spine were printed backwards. She walked quickly around Mr. Wonka for a second just to peek at the inside of the book, and she saw that the text itself was printed normally.
Mr. Wonka spoke again. "Was there anything that you needed to ask of me?"
"Oh, yes, actually!" Violet answered, remembering why she was here. "Um, I was hanging out with a kid who happens to be a big fan of your candy, and he was wondering if he could have a look-see in the factory. He rarely gets to try your stuff."
"Oh? How did this come up?"
"You won't be mad? Look, you have to promise not to snitch about this!"
Mr. Wonka, logically, should have been making a confused face, but he kept a straight face plastered on instead. "Snitch? Snitch to whom?"
Violet sighed. "My parents. No, I didn't get the stupid cane again. This kid found out where I've been living. He just saw me rush in here after I had to leave his house yesterday."
Mr. Wonka just looked at her emotionlessly, as if prompting her to continue, but replied seconds later. "No, Violet. As long as nothing else was discovered and you have been having no major issues from it, then I see no need to disturb your elders over a matter the likes of this."
Violet said nothing but was visibly relieved.
"Was there anything else that followed? What exactly is this about a look-see?"
"No, he didn't see me after I got into the foyer. No, he didn't find out what happens at night. He just wished to have a look-see since you've unlocked for me already." Violet ran her mouth through these sentences as if she were getting tired of explaining a pedantic detail.
Mr. Wonka began having mixed thoughts. On one hand, could this be a slippery slope? If he said yes to this one child being shown around, then said child might tell his friends and family about it, and then it might open the floodgates to more people wishing to explore, now that they knew about his coming out of reclusiveness briefly. The last thing he needed after that rotten Slugworth and the other rival candymakers almost ruined him was to get breached in his own workspace once more. On the other hand, Mr. Wonka had been seeking to name a child to take over for him when it came time to retire. Could this child meet, or possibly exceed, expectations whilst having a brief look-around?
He decided to err on the side of caution. "What's this child's name? Who exactly is he?"
"Charlie," answered Violet. "He's the paperboy."
Mr. Wonka knew exactly whom she meant. He had been seeing the paperboy peering into the gates quite frequently, and he definitely seemed like the type to be fascinated. Mr. Wonka, now encouraged that this could work out, finally had an answer.
"Come to think of it, yes, this does indeed sound like a splendid idea! I will have to put in your same restrictions, though. He will not be to enter any serious workspaces, and I will not permit him to touch anything that I have not indicated. Plus, I will be monitoring the both of you to make sure that nothing will go awry." In truth, he was planning to observe this Charlie kid to see if he had what Mr. Wonka was searching in a possible heir, but this was top-secret information. Of course, proper supervision in environments like these also was necessary.
His ecstasy calmed down a moment later, and he was back to snide business again. "You have emphasized that he will have to be off the premises before nightfall, correct?"
Violet groaned. "Duh, of course I have! That's, like, the number one concern!"
"Well, he does have his paper route, I presume. That should make him leave in time."
"Yeah, but he said that he might be coming back after it, I don't know. At least he said that if he did, it would be only briefly and before dark."
Mr. Wonka smiled. "He has quite the devotion, it seems!"
"He actually can't eat your candy often. He practically lives in the slums. No wonder he's excited."
"I will have to be in my office to handle business letters late this afternoon," said Mr. Wonka. "I will be far too busy to rejoin the both of you if his return comes to pass, but I will have at least one Oompa-Loompa on hand to watch you in my place."
"I'm leaving him waiting, so you'd better be fast to the entrance," Violet declared, pointing to the upside-down doorway. "I told him that I'd be back momentarily."
"Ah!" Mr. Wonka finally set down the book with the backwards-printed exterior, jolted up quickly, and hustled towards the upside-down door. "We have so much time and so little to see!"
"As little as you're letting me access?" Violet snarked.
Mr. Wonka turned around abruptly. "Wait a minute…strike that. Reverse it. Thank you." As he said, "Wait a minute", he pointed up a finger as if in realization, and as he said, "…strike that. Reverse it.", he shifted the pointed finger sideways and twiddled it with its corresponding twin on the other hand for a few rotations. Then he continued walking, Violet following him.
Both of them stepped over the wall underneath the doorway and entered the upside-down hallway. Violet watched her step again for the floor chandelier, although Mr. Wonka hopped over it with ease when it was approached. She was bewildered all over again as she passed the upside-down furnishings once more, and just before Mr. Wonka approached the Wonkavator's stopping area, she finally demanded of him, "Mr. Wonka, why do you have your living space set up like this?! Just how on Earth can you expect to manage it this way?!"
Mr. Wonka paused his walk and turned to her. "The smacking noise from your gum is making it harder for me to distinguish your words. Please keep this in mind next time."
...
Once back to the Bucket shack, Violet rapped on the door and waited. An excited Charlie opened it almost immediately.
"So, he said yes?" he asked, grinning profusely.
Violet nodded. "Uh-huh."
"Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy!" Charlie cheered. Nearly jumping for joy, he asked her, "Could you give me a moment, please?" He then hustled to a part of the shack.
When he came back, he had put on a heather gray coat, a blue and white winter cap, and a red scarf. "I'll see you later, everybody!" he called as he turned around to his family, waving.
Violet could see Mrs. Bucket standing near the TV, waving. "I wish we could go. Tell us everything when you get back, okay?"
"Will do!" Charlie answered. He let go of the door to close it, and he and Violet were on their way. His eager expression never faded, although Violet was still pretty ho-hum about it.
During the trek, Charlie remarked, "You know, this feels like I am having another birthday, but even better! Instead of a simple Wonka chocolate, I'm getting to meet the man himself as a present!"
"Yeah, well, he may or may not offer you anything, I don't know," Violet responded.
Finally, the two of them approached the factory's front gates. After looking to check that the coast was clear, Violet reached into an outer pocket of her trench coat and pulled out a key.
"This is Mr. Wonka's spare," she explained to Charlie. "I always keep it here, and I use it every time I come in or go out." She unlocked the front gates very carefully and stepped inside, never letting them open any more than about half a meter. Charlie followed after her.
Violet closed the gates very carefully and locked them again, putting the key back into her coat pocket. She and Charlie then walked all the way down the red carpet.
Charlie was visibly beyond excited. In just a minute, he would be seeing his idol! Turning to Violet, he asked, "So, what's Mr. Wonka like? Is he great?"
Violet shrugged.
Mr. Wonka had been watching them the whole time from the window in the main foyer. When he saw that they were almost to the door, he headed to it and opened it. The kid appeared beyond a shadow of a doubt to be much more enthusiastic about the place than Violet was, even though he never had seen it on the inside before. Could this be the heir Mr. Wonka was seeking? Only observations could tell. Slowly, he peered out of the open door as the children made it up there.
"Hello!" he greeted, a wide smile plastered on his face, without his teeth showing.
"Mr. Wonka!" Charlie called in excitement.
A/N: "It is rare for people to be asked the question that puts them squarely in front of themselves." is a quote from Arthur Miller's classic play, The Crucible.
The title of the biographical tome that Mr. Wonka was reading was a joke, but it's fairly obscure, so I didn't expect a lot of readers to get it. Outside of emperor's duties, Frederick II very frequently enjoyed eating, of all things, edible flowers that were dipped in sugary water (basically, the Middle Ages' version of glaze). The delicacy is known as "candied violets", although a range of other flowers also can be used. It's not a very common treat nowadays and probably sounds like a surprising concept in modern times, so the joke was that Mr. Wonka was presumably skimming through those parts, trying to come up with a new candy to sell based off of the treat.
