𝐔𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 | 𝐊𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐗 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐎𝐂

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟓 - Curdled Cave & Leeches

The four got out of the boat, Veronica picking up Sunny to hold her close. They walked into the cave, even though everything in their bodies were telling them not to. The noise from earlier had become louder with each step closer before Veronica looked over to see it was Aunt Josephine in a corner of the cave. "Aunt Josephine? Are you..." Aunt Josephine looked up towards Klaus with a scream. "...okay?" Klaus said, his tone changing to an uneasy one and stepping back to stand next to Veronica. "You figured it out! I knew you could figure it out, I knew you would decode my message." Josephine smiled. "Klaus and Veronica did it." Violet said, gesturing to the boy and girl. "However, Violet knew how to work the sailboat. I don't think we'd be alive right now, without her." Veronica complimented, the two girls sharing a sweet smile with each other. "Well, I am so glad to see all of you. Just let me catch my breath and I'll help you bring in your things."

The three elders looked at each other in confusion. "What things?" Violet asked. "Your luggage, of course. I hope you brought food, I'm out." Veronica's confusion only grew more by the second. "We didn't bring any food." Klaus stated. "No food? How in the world did you expect to live with me in this cave if you didn't bring any food?" Aunt Josephine exclaimed. "We didn't come to live with you." Violet told her. "Then why did you come?" Sunny gurgled something to Veronica, that made the brunette shush her. "Whatever word that was, Sunny, it was grammatically incorrect but one of your siblings or Veronica will explain in correct English why you're here." Josephine said, looking at the three elders. "Because Captain Shame almost had us in his clutches. Everyone thought you were dead, and in your last will and testament, you wrote that we should be placed in the care of Captain Shame." Violet raged.

"He forced me to do that. We were only halfway through our fried-egg sandwiches when Captain Sham told me that he was really Count Olaf. He said I had to write out a will saying you children would be left in his care, or he would drown me in the lake. I was so frightened that I agreed immediately, but I hid a secret message I hoped you children would find. Of course, then I knew my life was truly in danger. I waited for my opportunity and faked my own death. It's a good thing I remembered to put gas in my recreation watercraft." Josephine explained. "Why didn't you take us with you?" Veronica questioned. "Why did you leave us all alone by ourselves? Why didn't you protect us from Count Olaf?" Her voice got louder with each word, as she became more stressed by the second. Sunny placed a hand on her chest, trying to calm her. "Oh, Veronica, it is not grammatically correct to say 'leave us all alone by ourselves.' You can say 'leave us all alone,' or 'leave us by ourselves,' but not both. Do you understand?"

"She's a loony." Sunny babbled to Veronica. Veronica could see that there would be no convincing of Aunt Josephine at all. She cared more about how they spoke, rather than their own safety from the man who would do anything to hunt them down. "We have all had a very tiring day, but I don't think Captain Sham will ever find us here. We can share Curdled Cave for the rest of their lives." Josephine said. "We're not staying here." Violet said. "We're taking the sailboat back to town and we're taking you with us." Aunt Josephine only protested to Violet's plan. "I am too frightened of Count Olaf to face him." She whimpered. "But if you tell Mr Poe what happened, then Count Olaf will be locked away and we'd all be safe." Veronica explained to the fear-filled woman. "You can tell him that if you want. I am staying here." The woman retaliated. "He won't believe us unless you come along and prove you're alive." Violet stated. "No, no, no, no, no, no! I am too afraid." Aunt Josephine went to hide behind a rock. 

"We're all afraid." Veronica whispered. "Veronica is right, we were afraid when you brought home Count Olaf. We were afraid when we thought you had jumped out a window. We were afraid to give ourselves allergic reactions, we were afraid to leave Veronica alone, we were afraid to steal a sailboat, and we were afraid to make our way across Lake Lachrymose in the middle of a hurricane. But that didn't stop us!"