As the banker went to knock, the knocker was pulled back. I was confused, but then I saw a shadowy figure from inside. When he tried to look inside the knocker was put back in place. Mr Poe then went to knock again, only to be stopped by a loud voice from inside.
"Intrude!" It said. Great, a complete whack job. Cautiously we stepped inside. Our footsteps echoed through the empty hall. My first impression was that with a bit of TLC, this place could be actually habitable.
"Well, hello, hello, hello." The voice from before spoke. A man with grey sticky out hair greeted us from the top of the stairs. His fashion sense was not at all great, and his overall appearance was freaky. He resembled a creepy old guy who you would avoid at all costs.
"I am your beloved Count Olaf." He spoke. That meant we were now in the possession of a nut case. I heard Sunny gulp from the other side of Klaus. (I was holding his other hand.)
"And welcome to my lovely home. You may find solace within the womblike warmth of its downy plume." He said, as if he was quoting some play. Then I remembered he was an actor. Just by the way he spoke I knew he was bad.
"Or as the Greeks in the ancient times would say: Orphanis, Encribo, something, something, something. Music builds to a crescendo. Ending on a right foot. And strike a Fosse!" He sang. We jumped, and went wide-eyed at his creepiness. I almost turned around and left then, but Klaus held me firm in my place.
He came over and stood in front of us.
"Ah, my dear Violet. Enchante." He said and extended his had towards her.
"How do you do?" She nervously shook the hand of her new guardian.
"And this must be Klaus. Young Klaus." He spoke, while gripping Klaus's face. I felt his grip on me tighten as he looked from his sister to me.
"Your left side is the good one." He said. If that wasn't creepy I don't know what is. Only I do, because what happened next was my start of a series of unfortunate events.
"You must be Freya. Your beauty is stunning." He commented, turning his attention to you. The creep lifted your hand and placed a kiss on it, while his eyes stayed on you. Klaus tensed at his actions, but calmed when he pulled away. I turned to Klaus and smiled a smile saying I was Ok. He returned my smile and looked at Olaf addressing Sunny.
After calling Sunny a monkey, practising his reactions to bad news, saying he wanted our fortune and getting rid of Poe, he took us on a tour. One thing I didn't tell you. My parents were rich. They were as rich as the Baudelaires. So when they were killed the Harrington fortune was put aside to me until I turned 18.
"This is the living room." He announced. It was hardly a living room, just a shelving unit collecting dust as well as some uncomfortable looking chairs. Not to mention the cracked walls and lack of heating.
"The kitchen. I know what you're thinking. This place could use a little TLC." He motioned to a room, after hurrying us around. I couldn't call it a kitchen. It was room with thousands of plates, bowls and dishes lying around. Numerous bottles stood on different counters. This place didn't need TLC, it need to be knocked down or at least deemed unsanitary to support any food being made there.
"I trust you've has you're tetanus shots. Polio, small pox, malaria." He said, leading us to the next room. We didn't need shots; we needed to be isolated to stop contamination.
"This is the entertainment room. I'm told the ceiling can be brought back to life in no time. You're not afraid of heights are you? Ha! Imagine that a monkey afraid of heights." He was on a roll with these bad rooms. I couldn't even imagine the state of our bedroom.
"This way." The Count was prancing about his home, but he missed a large spiral staircase.
"What's that up there?" Asked Klaus.
"The tower, which you are never to enter. Under any circumstances." He glared at us with his eyebrow raised and leaning closer to Klaus. Klaus himself just looked shocked at his answer. His eyes widened. Our expressions were like that a lot now.
The tour ended with our 'room'.
"And this is where you'll sleep. Nighty, night." He then left mocking Violets protest. I stared at the space ahead of us. A broken window was the only source of light, apart from the various gaps in the roof. One bed was in the corner, as well as multiple chairs and a trunk. This would be so fun to sleep in. I looked at the others to see if the thought the same, which they did.
The night fell and we had made the trunk into a bed for Sunny.
"You girls take the bed, I'll sleep in the chair." Klaus said while pulling out the largest chair that hardly looked safe.
"Klaus, that hardly looks safe." I replied. He sat on it and it seemed fine. He grinned at me, grabbing one of the curtains we found. We turned off the light from Klaus's head-torch and went to sleep. Violet and me had top and tailed on the hard mattress. I couldn't sleep at all. I gave up and sat up, shivering as I gave the blanket to Violet.
"Can't sleep?" I heard a sleepy Klaus ask. I smiled and continued shivering. Klaus got up and sat on the floor with his blanket and opening his arms. I jumped off the bed and into his arms. I heard his chuckles as I snuggled into his chest. Lying down with me in his arms while stroking my hair, I began to fall into a dreamless sleep.
I awoke the next morning to laughter. I felt Klaus behind me stir as I left his warm embrace.
"How did I know that I would wake up to you two together?" Violet laughed to herself. Sunny let out a loud giggle. Klaus and me got up and we all sat on the bed watching Sunny dance around. During this time Klaus kept catching my gaze, or I would see him staring. I blushed whenever this happened.
"Orphans!" We heard a sinister voice bellow from downstairs. I rolled my eyes and lead the way downstairs to be greeted by a list.
"Do them or you'll be punished." Olaf snapped. I snatched the paper out of his hands and we began.
Somehow we managed to do them apart from the last one. Clean the floors. For then next twenty minutes we scrubbed away at the floor tirelessly. Suddenly the acting troupe came in. Ignoring them, I continued scrubbing. I was half listening to the conversation.
"Are you coming Frey?" Klaus asked as he motioned to the kitchen.
"No. Ill finish here then come to you when you serve it." He nodded and left. I scrubbed at the floor until the time came. I got up, brushed off my blue dress and went to the dining room.
