Chapter Six

The phrase 'coming to terms' is often used when somebody has endured a terrible shock, which takes a few minutes to recover from, and once they have recovered they can come to terms with whatever had shocked them in the first place. For instance, if you were to take an entrance exam for a fancy private school, then when the results were mailed out to you and you shockingly failed, after a few silent minutes, you would have to come to terms with the fact that you would have to continue in the same dreary school for the next 5 years. Perhaps if the accusation of you murdering somebody has made the front page of an unreliable paper, after a few moments of silence you would be able to come to terms with the fact you would have to take the next sailboat out of the country and become a shepherd in the Middle East. The phrase 'come to terms', I'm sorry to say, will worm itself into this sad chapter in Ariadne's story.

"Good Morning Quigley." Ariadne said smiling, as a sleepy-looking Quigley walked into the reception where she was collecting the mail. He looked up and grinned, yawning quietly. It was a few weeks after they had met and her life felt smoother and more normal than before. She felt like she didn't have to be on her guard when with Quigley, that everything in the world was right with him. As she was about to realise, love, I'm afraid to say, doesn't conquer everything.

"Good morning. How are you?"Quigley asked, as he began to help her with the deliveries. He was wearing a white shirt and a red bowtie, black trousers and long white socks with black lace-up shoes.

"Great, thank you. How are you?" Ariadne said, smiling warmly. She turned and leaned on the counter where Simonette, the sub-receptionist (after Katherine at the main desk) looked at the two young orphans with a raised eyebrow, then went back to her computer screen. In a burst of laughter Armadillo burst through the turquoise corridor and into the heart of the HQ, Raven following behind her, clutching books and papers trying to calm Armadillo down. Quigley and Ariadne chuckled quietly at the twins, wondering how they can be related yet completely opposite.

"Hello, Armadillo!" Ariadne called after Armadillo, as she waltzed past her, babbling to herself, and into the corridor heading to the location corridor. Raven paused before the two orphans, panting rapidly. "Good morning, Raven. She's not giving you a day off today then?"

Raven smiled wearily. "It's my job to keep her out of trouble, Ariadne. You know what she's like." Raven replied, as the circular room became neutral once more.

"Try not to let her wear you down too much." Quigley said, his brown eyes sparkling. "You can't take care of her like she's a baby."

Raven smirked at Quigley's advice. "I know, Quigley. I have to go now, so I'll see you later. Goodbye Ariadne, Quigley." Raven said, as she exited through the corridor Armadillo had taken. Quigley looked at Ariadne and both laughed quietly together, Ariadne's jade eyes glittering with happiness.

"Hello, Ariadne." A kind voice made Ariadne leap with fright. She turned to see Kit's tired smile. "Hello Quigley too. Any mail for me today?"

"Hello Kit. I think so." Ariadne greeted her good friend, rifling through the letters she had collected. "Here we go." Ariadne passed her a white envelope which was addresses to her. Quigley and Ariadne watched attentively as Kit carefully opened the letter, which was actually a telegram. The youngsters watched Kit's facial expression change to a horrified grimace as she read the telegram over and over again, as if she was hoping the words would change and the news she had learned was just a hallucination. Quigley was the first to speak.

"Kit, what's wrong?" Quigley asked anxiously, his voice trembling.

"No. No! It can't be! Not now!" Kit muttered, her voice quivering with every syllable. Ariadne touched Kit's shoulder, shocked that it was shaking.

"Kit! What is it?" Ariadne persisted, as Simonette looked up from her work and Quigley put down the other letters. Kit was frozen with shock, unable to hear the children's pleas. Slowly, Ariadne pried the telegram from Kit's cold fingers and held it in front of her and Quigley. Ariadne read the black words aloud.

FRIENDS OF THE BAUDELAIRE FAMILY,

I AM VERY SORRY TO INFORM YOU THAT MISS BEATRICE BAUDELAIRE AND MR BERTRAND BAUDELAIRE HAVE SADLY PERISHED IN A HOUSE FIRE STOP. THEIR 3 CHILDREN, VIOLET KLAUS AND SUNNY, HAVE BEEN PLACED UNDER THE CARE OF THE ACTOR COUNT OLAF STOP. I AM IN CHARGE OF OVERSEEING THEIR FORTUNE BEFORE VIOLET COMES OF AGE STOP.

MR. POE

VICE PRESIDENT OF ORPHAN AFFAIRS

MULCTUARY MONEY MANAGEMENT

Ariadne did not know how to react. She glanced around the room to see many shocked faces, people had dropped their papers and hands were coving mouths.

Slowly, Quigley's hand took Ariadne's, and the two orphans stood hushed, and unfortunately began coming to terms with the death of one of their dearest friends. And I'm afraid to inform you, another person, one who had just entered the room as Ariadne read the telegram, was finding coming to terms very difficult. For at that frozen moment, Lemony Snicket stood still as he felt the world crumble around him. The first blow was when she didn't marry him; the second was the three offspring that followed marriage, the third and final blow for Lemony Snicket in his troublesome life was the untimely death of his darling, dearest, dead Beatrice.

The three people stood in the circular room in the secret headquarters on a plateau in the Mortmain Mountains, coming to terms with the death of a treasured friend, and the jeopardy their three orphaned children had been placed in.

Lemony was the first to shatter the glass silence the room was blanketed in. He growled ferociously and threw open the door into the turquoise corridor that was lined with photographs. Kit Snicket held her forehead in her hand before sighing and retreating into her office. The people sprinkled around the room gathered their papers and books before carrying on with their business; however they had a heavy weight on their hearts. Ariadne and Quigley, once they'd realised Lemony had left the two orphans scrambled after the man. They reached the centre of the plain reception, realizing that Lemony must have left the complex.

"Ariadne, we have to find him." Quigley said with a hoarse voice. Surprisingly, he and Ariadne's hands were still locked together. "We don't want him doing anything foolish."

"I agree. He must be devastated." Ariadne replied quietly, a desperate frown on her face. The two youngsters rushed through the glass doors and round to the back of the building, where Ariadne's garden was. There sat Lemony Snicket, his legs dangling over the edge of the cliff. Ariadne edged closer to him and placed a kind hand on his shoulder. He turned his head a fraction, then realising it was her he turned fully and gave her his best effort at a smile. Ariadne smiled as best she could and sat next to Lemony, her own feet now dangling next to his.

"I guess it was her time." Lemony managed to squeeze out those few words.

"Lemony, it was…" Ariadne began, stopping to think about how she should finish. "Horridly sudden, but I guess we have to except her fate."

Lemony looked at Ariadne, an inconsolable sorrow in his eyes, 'inconsolable' meaning 'heartbroken and depressed beyond comfort', and he placed his hand on top of hers.

"Thank you." Lemony croaked. He looked at the child he'd promised his dead beloved to protect, and felt proud of what she'd become. Strong-willed, witty, intelligent, kind-hearted, all adjectives to describe Ariadne Citrusseed. "When you were a baby, Beatrice asked me to look after you, Ariadne. To make sure you grew up with the knowledge that is vital in this organisation. She knew you had great potential."

Ariadne blushed at the compliment from her adoptive father and her dead friend. When Ariadne looked up from her feet she and Lemony embraced, just as salty tears began to seep from Lemony's brown eyes. Ariadne closed her eyes and held onto him, as if she was holding onto Lemony in order to keep him from falling apart. Once the two had detached, they stood and Lemony began to walk back to the headquarters, Ariadne standing on the thick green grass, watching him. Quigley walked towards her from where he had observed the scene and took Ariadne's hand. Everything seemed reasonable at this moment in time, as the two children stood looking at each other. Nonetheless, a though pricked Ariadne's mind like a pin, a though which would send her into a spiralling cavern of doom, of course she didn't know that at that moment. A concerned look crept over her face, and she let go of Quigley's hand and began to run towards the transparent reception.

"Ariadne! Where are you going?" Quigley called after her, following her into the reception.

"The Baudelaires! Violet, Klaus and baby Sunny!" Ariadne yelled, dashing through the tedious glass room and into the thick turquoise corridor. "I just remembered, they've been sent to Count Olaf!"

Quigley realised the dire situation those orphans were in. He quickened his pace, and by the time Ariadne had reached the circular room that had several corridors leading to different rooms, Quigley had caught her up. He took her by the shoulders and held her in front of him.

"Ariadne, what can we do about it? They're all the way in the city." Quigley informed Ariadne, and she looked into his eyes with a sincere edge.

"Quigley, Count Olaf killed my parents. I'm not going to let him ruin the lives of the Baudelaires." Ariadne said, squirming out of his grasp. "I'll pack a bag and hitch-hike the next automobile to the city."

"Ariadne, look at the telegram." Quigley picked up the telegram from Simonette's desk. "The date on the telegram is from 4 weeks ago. It was sent before I even arrived here. The Baudelaires could be anywhere now."

Ariadne looked at Quigley with a sad look. She had just realized the sad truth, that, indeed, the Baudelaire orphans could be anywhere in the world now. However as Ariadne looked closer at the telegram she realised a way should could locate the orphans.

"Quigley Quagmire! Thank you!" Ariadne gasped, hugging the startled boy tightly. "I'll call Mr. Poe and ask him about the Baudelaires! Thank you Quigley!"

What the young girl did next shocked and elated Quigley to an amazing extent. Her vivid green eyes twinkling with excitement, Ariadne kissed Quigley softly on his red cheek. Although the kiss only lasted a few seconds, Quigley felt like time had slowed down and he and Ariadne were the only people in the world. He stood still as Ariadne's tender pink lips caressed his cheek and he wanted to move his hand to her side, but he stood motionless until realising that Ariadne had disappeared down the winding corridor to the location room. After blinking numerous times and regaining power of his limbs, he touched the place where Ariadne's lips had contacted, and for the second time today, began coming to terms with the amazing event that occurred.