Series of Unfortunate Events

Prologue

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"Go on, Madison and Mackenzie," Melissa said, shooing the girls away with her very pampered hand.  "Enjoy yourselves at the beach.  Your father and I will be here at home."

Madison gave her mother an uneasy look, but then walked away toward the subway with Mackenzie, her hand grasped tightly to her younger sister's.  Even though she was quite young, Madison was sensible enough to know that two young girls being at the beach alone wasn't very safe.  Mackenzie, however, was just happy enough to be going to the beach.  She loved spending quality time with her older sister.  The two got to the subway, bought tickets, and headed to the beach.  There, they just relaxed, lying on the warm sand and staring at the differently shaped clouds.

"Look, a unicorn!" bubbly Mackenzie said, pointing at a cloud that looked nothing like a unicorn.

"Mackenzie, that looks absolutely nothing like a unicorn," Madison scoffed, looking for a different cloud.  "However, this one looks like an owl."  Mackenzie strained her neck to see where her sister was pointing to.  Sure enough, there was a cloud shaped just like an owl.  The young girl always thought that Madison was just like an owl; young, wise, smart, and quiet.  Madison was the keep-to-myself kind of person.

After a long time of cloud watching, some man walked up to the pair of giggling girls.  He was a large man, not in length but in width, and was holding a cigar.  "Madison and Mackenzie Ziegler?" he asked in his deep voice, then suffered a coughing fit.

"Yes," Madison said firmly, standing up and grabbing tightly to Mackenzie.

"I am your uncle, Charlie," the man said, coughing once again before taking another puff of his cigar.  "I regret to inform you that your parents died in a home fire today shortly after you left.  You will be living with me until further notice."

Tears brimmed the girls' eyes, but Madison pushed them back.  "Thank you sir," Madison said, her voice a bit shakey.  "We'll make sure to pack our bags."

"There are no bags to be packed, Miss Ziegler," Charlie said, smoke emerging from his bearded mouth.  "All of your belongings burned in the fire.  Don't worry, you can replace them."

Mackenzie looked down at her necklace, a locket that contained her parents' pictures.  A tear fell onto her maroon colored dress, and dripped down to her white stockings and black Mary Janes.  Madison noticed her sister's gloom and held her tightly.  "Everything's going to be alright, Mackenzie," Madison cooed, stroking her sister's hair.  Unfortunately, Madison was very wrong, for nothing was going to be alright, not as long as their long-lost relative Count Mordock was after them and their inheritance.

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End of prologue.  This fanfic is based off "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket, so we give him full credit to the idea.

~Molly