MATILDA (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

CHAPTER 11: IN HER PINK ARMOUR

The pale face of the moon reflected in piercing blue orbs, taking in the stars, and absorbing their brilliance and shielding away the dark blue abyss of the night. Lunar beams separated the strands of hair, battling the warm light emitting from the tower room where Hook-Guy slept. Matilda and Sunny attempted to communicate as much as they could without the use of words, not wanting to wake the man and the increased difficulty due to the rigid tape across the infant's mouth and the reigning cloth wrenched across Matildas face. The older girl attempted to reassure the baby, yielding her eyes to a compassionate stare and the whisper of a smile from under the gag. At one point, Matilda attempted sign language, that she had learnt from a book, to communicate with the child. Making minimal movements to try and depict the words, her limbs caged in close to her body made this difficult. Sunny gazed at her curiously, showing no sign of under standing. Using generalised gestures and comforting look Matilda motioned to the baby 'it will be alright. Well get out of here soon.'

There were occasional clangs from within the house that echoed through the plaster and deterred any sleeping birds from the surrounding trees. A few hours went by before the door below them opened and out walked Violet in her pastel pink dress and her hair tied back; a determined stride in her step and fiddling with a remote, switch of some sort in her right hand. Grabbing a stretch of material, the teenager threw it up as high as she could. As it flew past Matilda, she could see the hook on the end of the makeshift-rope: a grappling hook. Her eyes widened, and the immediately looked down, trying to catch Violets attention, shaking her head profusely. The girl below could not interpret her meaning from the great height and every time the hook would fall to the ground, Matilda would flinch and glance at Hook-Guy in the tower room. He stirred from the noise and bolted upright looking around, perplexed. As Violet once again threw the equipment, and successfully attached it to the beam supporting Matilda and Sunny cages', Hook-Guy spotted her, a malicious smirk drew on his lips. Violet made her way up the contraption. Matilda was in awe at the invention as it flawlessly and smoothly lifted Violet from the ground. She looks at the backpack and could spot many familiar items, including the pasta maker. Faintly, Violet could be heard speaking to herself:

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious." Hook-guy had swung his leg out the window and Matilda slumped further with a retraction of hope. "It is the source of all true art and science."

Violet was met with the sneering face of Hook-Guy, his scarred skin challenging the dainty skin of the young girl. As she was pulled into the tower room, Matilda sought Sunny's gaze seeking to give assurance or comfort, the gentle features somehow convincing the young child that she would be okay.

"What are you going to do with me?" Violet questioned, attempting to mask the fear in her voice. Snidely, Hook-Guy replied, "I said have a seat." Which he did not previously order.

"No you didn't," distaste rippled through Violets tone. She sat indignantly in the chair, arms crossed over her chest, a protective glare on her face in her pink armour held together with a white belt. Hook-guy spoke with Count Olaf over the walkie-talkie, an endless and mostly pointless conversation. Eventually, Klaus appeared as the stairs, grappled by the Counts' measly hands. Count Olaf emerged with: "You know, some people say that the hardest job in the world is raising a child,". The children gazed morosely at their younger sister and the girl they barely knew.

"But it is nothing compared to conceiving, writing, directing, producing and performing in a theatrical presentation for the purpose of stealing their dead parents' fortune." He rattled off with impatience lacing his voice. "It's a very difficult job, and I will not have any orphans mucking it up!" His increasing outburst was addressed with by pointing an accusing finger at Klaus.

"You'll never touch our fortune," Klaus bit back. Sauntering into the room, Count Olaf took a possessive stance next to Violet.

"I'll touch whatever I want." He declared, laying a grimy hand on Violet shoulder. Matilda's eyes narrowed into slits as he laid his claim on the young girl. A sardonic smirk slides onto his face, moving his gaze to land on Matilda. He met her eyes, filled with rage and menace and was surprisingly disturbed. No matter how horrible he had been with her, she had never looked at him like this. His glare fell momentarily. Lips pulling into a grimace, he snatches his hand off Violet, gesturing at Hook-Guy who closed the gate on the opening in the tower room. Grabbing a padlock and snapping in on the bars. Sauntering out of the tower room, Count Olaf placed his threat.

"When the sand runs out in the - the um" Hourglass. Matilda thought. "Whatchamacallit. Your sister will be married to me." Placing the hourglass down with unnecessary vigour and directing a sinister gaze onto the Baudelaire's, lowering out of sight. Going down the stairs, Count Olaf could not get Matilda's glare out of his mind, shaking his head as if that would rid himself of the image. The image that was hauntingly familiar.

The intelligent children quickly got to work, rushing over to the opening.

"What happened?" Klaus asked. "Why are we up here?"

"Tried to rescue Sunny using an invention of mine to climb up the tower." Violet replied, looking glumly in the direction from whence she came.

"It's so high," Tell me about it, thought Matilda bitterly as she set her eyes down at the seemingly expanding distance between Sunny and the ground below. "You must have been terrified."

"It's not as scary as the thought of marrying Count Olaf."

"I'm sorry it didn't work," he spoke with a compassion, a soft look in his eyes that were only reserved for his sisters.

"The invention worked fine," Matilda agreed. Actually, she though it was brilliant. "I just got caught. We've got to rescue Sunny and Matilda and get out here before the sand runs out of the hourglass." Matilda was startled to hear her own name spoken; stunned by the compassion of the children in front of her, unlike any she had ever known. All the children worriedly looked towards the hourglass, only finding the sand already run through. Count Olaf appeared in the hatch.

"I didn't realise the sand went so quickly. I bought it online," Flinging the hourglass about. "You're gonna need to flip it a couple of times, like," he demonstrated. "Okay?" Matilda rolled her eyes. The moment would have been comic if she had not been dangling in the air. "And don't touch the baby!" he added.

Violet looked back out of the tower room to Sunny and Matilda. "It gonna be okay Sunny."

"Just hang in there." The elder Baudelaire's spoke, trying to console their infant sister.

"It's okay. He didn't mean it as a joke," Violet replied to her sister, a small smile gracing her face before meeting Matilda's eyes and her grateful look.

"Do you think you could invent something to help us escape?" Klaus questioned, spurring Violet to look around the room for supplies.

"Maybe. Do you think you could research a way to get us out of the wedding?" Klaus echoed his sisters reply, setting his sights on the 'Nuptial Law' book sitting on a pile. Matilda, at last, had some hope that, perhaps, they were going to be alright.

She couldn't have been more wrong. With the events destined to ensue, 'alright' was far from the forthcoming reality.

A/N

Hiya!

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you. Thankyou so much for reading my work, it astounds me. 3.38K read and 113 votes, that's crazy!

Once again, thankyou so much my lovelies!