⇗ Chapter 12

Sabine and Violet pulled on their climbing shoes, anxiously tying the strings with their freezing fingers. Sabine was anxious about many things: Sunny's safety, the integrity of the burnt up forks that were supposed to support her and Violet, the safety of herself and the two older Baudelaires and all three of the Quagmire triplets.

She sighed, giving her laces one last firm tug to make sure the shoes would stay on her feet. When they stayed put, she gave a small nod to Violet, which she returned after she tugged on her own laces.

They both stood up, dusted the snow off their pants, then made sure that their gloves were snug on their hands before turning to say their goodbyes to Klaus and Quigley. Violet turned to talk to her brother, and Quigley smiled softly at Sabine.

"Good luck," he said, his tone laced with sadness.

She gently cupped his face and gave him a soft kiss on his forehead. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her into a hug.

"Good luck to you too," she whispered, hooking her arms tightly around his neck. Kissing her cheek, Quigley reluctantly pulled away, holding Sabine at arms length.

"Be safe, baby doll," he sighed.

Sabine's mouth curled up slightly, her heart swelling happily at the nickname. She nodded, then pecked his lips. When she pulled away, she saw the blush on his cheeks and giggled quietly, then walked towards the waterfall with Violet. Giving Quigley and Klaus one final wave of farewell, the girls turned around and started their climb up the frozen waterfall.

~༄~

"We're almost there," Violet said after hours of climbing. "It's difficult to see with the sun going down, but I believe we're just about at the top of the peak."

"I can't believe we've been climbing all afternoon," Sabine panted.

"I guess this waterfall is about as high as 667 Dark Avenue. It took a very long time to go up and down that elevator shaft trying to rescue you and the Quagmires. I hope this is a more successful journey," Violet said.

"Me, too," Sabine agreed. "Do you think we'll find Sunny at the top?"

"Set!" came the reply.

"I couldn't hear you over the wind," Sabine said. "What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything," Violet said. She squinted above her, trying to see in the last of the sunset.

"Set!" someone said again, and Violet's face lit up in recognition.

"Sunny!" she cried.

"Sssh!" Sunny said.

"She's here?" Sabine asked hopefully, climbing up beside the eldest Baudelaire.

"It's Sunny," Violet confirmed, and hoisted herself onto the peak to see her baby sister, standing next to Count Olaf's car and grinning from ear to ear. Without another word, the two Baudelaire sisters hugged fiercely, Violet taking care not to poke Sunny with one of the forks she was holding. By the time Sabine reached the top of the peak and pulled herself up to lean against one of the car's tires, the two Baudelaires were smiling at each other with tears in their eyes.

"I knew we'd see you again, Sunny," Violet said. "I just knew it."

"Klaus?" Sunny asked.

"He's safe and nearby," Violet said. "He knew we could find you, too."

"Set," Sunny agreed, but then she noticed Sabine and her eyes grew wide. "Sabine?" she asked in amazement.

"Yes," Violet said. "She and Quigley led us to the headquarters, Sunny."

"Arigato," Sunny said, which meant something like, "I appreciate your help."

"Was it you who signaled us?" Sabine asked.

"Yep," Sunny said. "Lox."

"Count Olaf's been making you do the cooking?" Violet asked in amazement.

"Vaccurum," Sunny said.

"Olaf even made her clean crumbs out of the car," Violet translated to Sabine, "by blowing as hard as she could."

"I know, Violet. I can understand her," Sabine said. "But that's awful that you have to do that, Sunny."

"Cinderella," Sunny said. She meant something along the lines of, "I've had to do all of the chores, while being humiliated at every turn," but the two older girls had no time to respond over the sound of Count Olaf's scratchy voice.

"Where are you, Babylaire?" he asked. "I've thought of more tasks for you to perform."

The three children looked at one another in panic. "Hide," Sunny whispered, and immediately, they did. Violet and Sabine looked around the desolate landscape of the peak for a place to hide, but there was only one place to go.

"Under the car," Violet said, and she and Sabine wriggled underneath the long, black automobile, which was as dirty and smelly as its owner.

"All we've had to eat all day is that smoked salmon, and it's almost dinnertime," Count Olaf said. "You'd better get cooking, orphan."

"Tomorrow is False Spring," Esmé said, "and it would be very in to have a False Spring dinner."

"Did you hear that, toothy?" Olaf asked. "My girlfriend wants a stylish dinner. Get to work."

"Olaf, we need you," said a very deep voice, and Violet and Sabine saw two pairs of sinister black shoes appear behind the villain and his girlfriend, whose shoes twitched nervously at the sight of them. All of a sudden, it seemed much colder underneath the car, and Violet had to push her legs against the tires, so they would not shiver against the mechanics of the underside and be heard.

"Yes, Olaf," agreed the hoarse voice of the man with a beard but no hair, although Violet and Sabine could not see him. "Our recruitment plan will happen first thing in the morning so we need you to help spread the net out on the ground."

"Can't you ask one of our employees?" asked Esmé. "There's the hook-handed man, the two white-faced women, and the three freaks we picked up at the carnival. That's eight people, if you include yourselves, to spread out the net. Why should we do it?"

The four black shoes stepped toward Esmé's stylish pumps and Olaf's tattoo. "You'll do it," said the woman with hair but no beard, "because I say so."

There was a long, ominous pause, and then Count Olaf gave a little high-pitched laugh. "That's a good point," he said. "Come on, Esmé. We've bossed around the baby, so there's nothing else to do around here anyway."

"That's true," Esmé agreed. "In fact, I was thinking about taking up smoking again, because I'm bored. Do you have any more of those green cigarettes?"

"I'm afraid not," replied the man with a beard but no hair, leading the villains away from the car. "That's the only one I found."

"That's too bad," Esmé said. "I don't like the taste or the smell, and they're very bad for you, but cigarettes are very in and I'd like to smoke another one."

"Maybe there's another one in the ruins of headquarters," said the woman with hair but no beard. "It's hard to find everything in all those ashes. We searched for days and couldn't find the sugar bowl."

"Not in front of the baby," Olaf said quickly, and the four pairs of shoes walked away. Violet and Sabine stayed underneath the car until Sunny said "Coastkleer," which meant something like, "It's safe to come out now."

"Those were terrible people," Sabine said with a shudder, brushing oil and grime off her coat. "They made me feel cold all over."

"They certainly had an aura of menace," Violet agreed in a whisper. "The feet with the tattoo were Count Olaf, and those glittery shoes were Esmé Squalor, but who were the other two, Sunny?"

"Unno Narsonist," Sunny murmured. She meant something along the lines of "I don't know, but they burned down V.F.D. headquarters."

"Klaus found an important message that survived the fire," Violet said. "By the time we take you down the waterfall, I'm sure he'll have decoded the message. Come on."

"Nogo," Sunny said, which meant "I don't think I ought to accompany you."

"Why on earth not?" Violet asked.

"Unasanc," Sunny said.

"There's another sanctuary for the volunteers?" Violet asked. "And those horrible people know about it?"

"Do you know where it is?" Sabine asked.

Sunny shook her head. "Olafile," she said.

"But if Count Olaf has the Snicket file," Violet said, "how are you going to find out where this safe place is?"

"Matahari," she said, which meant something like, "If I stay, I can spy on them and find out."

"Absolutely not," Violet said. "It's not safe for you to stay here, Sunny. It's bad enough that Olaf has made you do the cooking."

"Lox," Sunny pointed out.

"But what are you going to make for a False Spring dinner?" Violet asked.

Sunny gave her sister a smile, and walked over to the trunk of the car. Violet and Sabine heard her rummaging around among whatever was in the back, but stayed put so Olaf or any of his associates wouldn't spot them. When Sunny returned, she had a triumphant smile on her face, and a frozen hunk of spinach, a large bag of mushrooms, a can of water chestnuts, and an enormous eggplant in her arms. "False spring rolls!" she said.

"I'm surprised you can even carry that eggplant, let alone prepare it," Violet said. "It must weigh as much as you do."

"Suppertunity," Sunny said. She meant something like, "Serving the troupe dinner will be a perfect chance to listen to their conversation."

"Sunny, that sounds dangerous," Sabine said.

"Of course it's dangerous," Violet said. "If she's caught spying, who knows what they'll do?"

"Ga ga goo goo," Sunny said, which meant "I won't be caught, because they think I'm only a helpless baby."

"I think your sister is right," Sabine said. "It wouldn't be safe to carry her down the waterfall, anyway. We need our hands and feet for the climb. Let Sunny investigate the mystery she's most likely to solve, while we work on an escape plan."

Violet shook her head. "I don't want to leave my sister behind," she said. "The Baudelaires should never be separated."

"Separate Klaus," Sunny pointed out.

"If there's another place where volunteers are gathering," Sabine said, "we need to know where it is. Sunny can find out for us, but only if she stays here."

"I'm not going to leave my baby sister on top of a mountain," Violet said.

Sunny dropped her vegetables on the ground and walked over to her sister and smiled. "I'm not a baby," Sunny said, and hugged her.

Sabine smiled at the two of them as Violet hugged her sister back and reluctantly said, "I guess you're right. You're not a baby. But be careful, Sunny. You're a young girl, but it's still quite dangerous for a young girl to spy on villains. And remember, we're right at the bottom of the slope, Sunny. If you need us, just signal again."

Sunny opened her mouth to reply, but before she could utter a sound, the three children heard a long, lazy hissing noise from underneath Olaf's car. The car shifted lightly, and Violet pointed to one of Olaf's tires, which had gone flat. "I must have punctured it," Violet said, "with my fork-assisted climbing shoes."

"I suppose that's not a nice thing to do," Sabine said, "but I can't say I'm sorry."

"How's dinner coming along, toothface?" called Count Olaf's cruel voice over the sound of the wind.

"I guess we'd better leave before we're discovered," Violet said, giving her sister one more hug and a kiss on the top of her head. "We'll see you soon, Sunny."

"Good-bye, Sunny," Sabine said. "I'm so glad to see you again. And thank you very much for helping us find the last safe place."

Sunny Baudelaire looked up at Sabine, and then at her older sister, and gave them both a big, happy smile that showed all of her impressive teeth. "Happy," said the young girl, and with that, Sabine and Violet headed back down the frozen waterfall.

𝔼𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣