The Baudelaires enjoyed the company of their new acquaintances, but eventually, all good things must end - their prospective friends eventually had to get their dorms in order, forcing them to leave. As sad as that had been, the Baudelaires knew that this was a necessity, and so had decided to explore the rest of campus. They had passed the athletics field and a computer lab, before eventually settling on visiting one of school's libraries - it was large enough that several were needed.

Once inside, the Baudelaires immediately set to work - though the last day and a half had been surprising relaxing, they had faced enough conspiracy in their last few residences to leave them yearning to unravel the mystery of VFD, and right now, they wanted to get right to that. For a moment, they had been unsure where to start, only to realize they already had a lead to follow - their home town, or city as it may be. And so, with some uncertainty, they had approached one of the library's digital catalogues (something the Baudelaires had minimal experience with), and searched for books relating to "Valentin Fitzroy's Dale".

The results had been mixed - a few books detailing the history of the city and a travel guide had been all that had shown up. They had dismissed the travel guide as useless after a cursory read through, but had still decided to check it out in case it proved useful later. As for the history books, those had been more useful - those had gone over not only the city's history, but also its shape, some famous individuals, and a few other tidbits most wouldn't know. Surprisingly, it appeared the Baudelaires' family had been one of the founders, though after all they had been through, the shock had worn off rather swiftly. As if their family hadn't had enough conspiracy within it.

After exhausting the books they had on their hometown, the siblings had started looking for other VFDs - places, peoples, organizations, anything that might be useful. Some of the information they had found was practically worthless (Village of Fowl Devotees? Volunteers Fighting Disease - with song, no less?!), while others offered hints of aid, but still sounded odd - who trained Lions to be Voluntary Feline Detectives? How did that even work?!

The Baudelaires ended up spending all of their day looking over the books, though ultimately they found little to help them. On the plus side, they had found the first library they (Klaus especially) had truly enjoyed since their time with Uncle Monty. Since they had enough open 'slots' to do so, they had also checked out books for their own usage - a few engineering books for Violet, Dracula and Frankenstein for Klaus, and a cookbook for Sunny. If nothing else, they had some things to enjoy for leisure - they doubted they would find anything useful in mundane books published outside of their hometown. By the time they left the library, the sun was working its way down the sky. It still wasn't quite time for their aunt to pick them up - and even then, carefully watching the roads during their trip had told them that the school was within walking distance of their apartment. Though after all they had endured in their six prior stays with distant relatives, lumber workers, another boarding school, and a duplicitous financial advisor, they would prefer to be driven home by Jesse - a taxi and walking home made for too easy a way to kidnap, while even a bus could hide duplicitous passengers.

The last few hours had been spent trying to get a few extra bearings on the campus. They'd found some interesting statues, a few fountains, and even some odd trees, each of which had a clique of students playing some odd games on their phones - a craze the Baudelaires didn't understand, and likely never would. New technology took time to acquaint with. Perhaps in another life they would have joined this fad, but not this one. At least, not now. Maybe in a different life, or at some point in the future, that would change, but that was not for today.

...Though those people could perhaps be a little more aware of their surroundings.

XXXXX

At roughly 4pm, Jesse arrived to retrieve the siblings. As they made their way home, she...well, she tried to act as a parent should.

"...So, how was campus?"

"Alright. We made a few new...acquaintances," answered Violet.

"Acquaintances, or friends?"

"Acquaintances. Friends, even ones formed fast, need time to be decked on," was Klaus' reply. "And most of them were around my age or Violet's."

"Makes sense - most of the kids around Sunny's age would be in daycare. Anything else interesting happen?"

"We found some new books in the library."

Jesse was not surprised that it was Klaus who said that - he did love his books. "Neat. Anything else?"

"Nothing of note," replied Violet. "Is there anything you could tell us about what you did today...Aunt Jesse?"

"...Mostly just paperwork today. And helping out a museum curator with getting some candles."

"...You worked with a museum curator?"

"Yes, Violet. You'd be surprised who I work with and where I have gone. It's...not exactly normal, but it's certainly enjoyable."

The Baudelaires felt a touch of envy at that, seeing how hectic and unfortunate their lives had been over the past few months. But after a moment, it faded - it wasn't Jesse's fault that they had suffered so much, and she had already gone above and beyond to accommodate them. They were just...still sorting things out. After having a day go very well for them, they were...unbalanced, to say the least.

"If you say so," was all that Violet could say in response.

They ended up having pasta for dinner (with the Baudelaires insisting they help prepare it, remembering one of the few things they had enjoyed with Olaf in spite of him being a deplorable monster), which had been quite satisfying. When the ended up turning in for the night, the Baudelaires felt a weight lifting off of their shoulders. For the first time in a long time, they felt as if things were truly turning up for them - maybe Count Olaf wouldn't find them here. Maybe the Quagmires would be rescued. Maybe they would learn the secrets of VFD.

They didn't really have much to go on for any of these thoughts. But after two happy nights in a loving home, they had the Faith to believe in them.

XXXXX

The Museum, Location Classified

Carefully, the Curator set up each candle, allocating every last wick to their appropriate place in the mix. This was...significantly more candles than he normally dealt with, but there were quite a few more people of note in this coming tale.

Including the five he had already set aside for another upcoming story.

"...What? You really want to lead them on like that?"

Hey, I have a story to tell!

"Yes, you do. But why spoil who will live and who dies?"

Well, it's too early for their story to end just yet.

"True. Though I do believe they will be in for quite a shock."

The Curator's attention turned elsewhere, but focused on anyone in particular, and that includes me.

"Well, I can say that my acquaintance with this...unnatural group has been entertaining. But they've acquired many souvenirs from the other tales I've told, and it seems that it won't be long before they get loose...

"And it seems those orphans will be in the middle of it all."

A smile graced the Curator's face.

"So please, pull up a seat and prepare. Because these siblings will soon be in the middle of a day full of oddity and terror. And even though they'll make it out, they won't leave unchanged."

XXXXX

AN: Short chapter, I know.

Yes, I had the Curator argue with the narration. Too good to pass up.

Got a few more chapters before his 'prophecy' comes to pass. Get the popcorn ready.

Read, review, discuss, do what you want. This is Flameal15k, signing off!