The whole room erupts into a coughing fit, and I grab Violet's hand. Mum stands up, and scoffs, "Yes, stand up and wail in anguish. That tingly feeling in your throat? That's the taste of my tingly, sensational revenge which like justice and sausages, has been served cold."
Violet pulls away from me, and yells, "EVERYONE? Esme Squalor has poisoned you with a deadly fungus called the Medusoid Mycelium! Even a single spore is deadly. The only cure is Horseradish."
"It's not Mycelium," Mum laughs. Carmelita jumps to her feet, and sings, "It's probably the pepper!"
Olaf groans, "You mean to tell me that you had the chance to poison this entire room, and you served them overly peppered sausages?"
"You people humiliated me, so I made you eat crow!" Mum snaps. I stare at her, in disbelief, and gasp as Justice Strauss directs everyone to drink water. She tells mum to go back to her seat, and we all do that. She also asks if Olaf wants to say anything to the court. He pulls up to a piano, and sings, "I'm innocent. I'm so incredibly innocent, that the word should be written on my face. The I would stand for I'm innocent. The N? Would stand for nothing wrong, which is what I've done. The a-"
"That's not how you spell innocent," Klaus interjects.
"I'm sure spelling doesn't count-"
"It does."
"Then innocent should be spelled O L A F," Olaf beams, "Because that is how I please."
Justice Strauss gasps, and whispers, "I'm sorry, Baudelaires, but my fellow judges want to know how you plead?"
I look at Violet in horror, as Justice Strauss whispers, "I don't like it any more than you do, children, but in light of recent evidence, I don't have a choice. How do you three plead?"
"Innocent," Violet whispers. Olaf scoffs, "Are you sure you can say that after everything we've heard."
"We're innocent... enough?" Klaus's voice falters. I put my blindfold on, just enough that I can vaguely see things. Olaf begins wrapping something round Justice Strauss's mouth, and I stand up, running to them. I walk along with Olaf, and we walk to the elevators. The elevator doors ping open, and I gasp as Violet, Klaus and Sunny slip in with us. The laundry room is our stop, and I follow Olaf down to the laundry room. He demands, "Tell me the codes, or eat harpoon."
"Just answer him," I beg. Olaf looks at me, and after a minute of hesitating, he asks, "What medical condition do all three Baudelaires share?"
I look at Klaus, who snaps, "We're allergic to peppermints. Every noble person has failed us, why should we protect the sugar bowl?"
Klaus types in the word peppermint to the lock. Olaf shoves him out the way, and mutters, "I know this one. P O Y-"
"Those letters are wrong," Klaus sighs, "Let me type it."
Olaf nods, "The second phrase is the weapon that left me an orphan. From the night at the opera, Klaus."
Klaus nods, and types in POISON DART. I wipe my eyes, blinking back tears as Olaf scoffs, "The third clue is the famous unfathomable question in the best known novel by Richard Wright."
I watch as Klaus says, "That's an interesting question."
The door flings open, and I gasp, "The sugar bowl isn't here, is it? It's a decoy lock. Dewey said-"
"Then Dewey wont be the only one dead tonight," Olaf smirks, "If I can't get what I want, nobody get's what they want either. I'll unleash the fungus, and destroy every soul in this hotel. I'll show EVERYONE IN HERE."
"Dad," I whisper. Olaf shakes his head as he smirks, "What do I do now?"
I look at him as we stand in silence. Violet whispers, "I'll get the boat off the roof."
"Burn down hotel," Sunny babbles. Olaf scoffs, "Yes! Yes, I will! Burn down the hotel. I'm going to pour this flammable chemical onto the sheets."
Olaf pours the chemicals on the sheets, and I watch as he rips the book from Justice Strauss's hands. He throws it onto the sheets, and laughs as he lays a lighter on it. The sheets burst into flames, and I sprint to the elevator, frantically dragging everyone in. They click all of the buttons, and I rest Sunny on my hips. At every floor, we meet people we know. The man with a beard and no hair, and the woman with hair but no beard. Mr Poe and Nero on the second floor. Babs and Jerome. Carmelita and Mum. And then we reach the roof. I sit Sunny down on the Carmelita, and sit with her. Violet hands me a tarp, which I try wrapping as a sail. Justice Strauss refuses to go with us, and I groan as we are being pushed off of the roof. Olaf jumps on the boat, and yells, "I'M THE CAPTAIN, AND I SAY SHIVER ME TIMBERS!"
I scream as we fall over the edge of the roof, gasping as we land safely in the water. The sun is setting over the horizon. Olaf laughs, "I have won. All volunteers will know that you are finally in my clutches at last! Xalia May, we've won."
"But now we're on a boat, on the ocean," I whisper, "Violet, try making the sail go up a little further."
"Why are you helping them?" Olaf asks. I mutter, "Because there are no noble people in the world, which would mean they are on the same side as us. Dad..."
"You're on their side?" Olaf looks hurt, "Why would you lie to me?"
I look at him for a second, trying to find a good man. There is one buried deep in him. I say, "I lied because I knew it was the only thing to do. I'll always see you as a father figure, Olaf, but I need to survive. This could have gone so differently if you would have just accepted things went the way they were going."
"But I could have given you everything-"
"No," I whisper, "We should never have met like this. You should have done something with your life, Olaf, and I should have done something with mine. We didn't deserve this."
YOU ARE READING
Xalia Squalor; because sometimes being in is not enough
FanfictionXalia Squalor is exactly who she wants to be. She's pretty, she's rich, and she is famous. But there is one small thing. She doesn't have a full tea set. Or at least, her mum doesn't and it's ruining her life. Meeting the Baudelaire orphans is both...
