Flower Petals

You worked at a local library and was great at your job, you read to children and often babysat for some of the parents. But one group of adults intrigued you. Their names? Laura, Michael, Sussie, and Beatrice McMasters. They claimed to come from a few towns away and wanted to give Beatrice (Who was just a little girl no older than four) a fresh start in life. There were many things that happened in that town so you believed them. Ever since the fire at the Baudelaire Mansion, things had been going on that were strange. Multiple murders of the Baudelaire's guardians, with the exception of their first guardian Count Olaf. Your family was completely convinced that the children were guilty, with the exception of you. They often told you about the many things that might've happened and how the Baudelaire's "killed" their guardians. They soon moved out to VFD, where you led a very tiring life with being forced to do all of the chores. But soon, you stole some of your parent's money, carjacked the first person you saw, and moved back into the city.

But you and Michael got along well. You both had a common interest and spent time talking about the various books you'd read. You learned that Michael had gotten a degree in English when he was just fourteen and had been writing books and publishing them at the age of fifteen. Most of them lined the shelves of various stores, as the library barely had any books by the male, so you had never read any of the males' books. While you didn't get a degree or anything because you hadn't really had schooling. On school days you'd stand by the window and try to read the lips of the teachers. Most people would try and get you to go back to your parents' house in VFD, one man even tried to get you to ride with him to your parents' house, but you often rejected their help and constantly ran away to an abandoned building that the people easily got lost in.

But here you were twirling Beatrice around in the living room and grabbing your makeup bag that held kiddy makeup.

"Now Beatrice, behave while we're gone," Laura said as she shrugged on her coat.

"No biting, or playing with the can openers," Susie said as she opened the door and exited with her green dress on.

"(Y/N), would you mind ironing my shirt?" Michael asked as he rushed down the stairs in his suit and tied his tie, before grabbing his coat out of the front closet.

"No, I don't mind ironing your shirt." You said to Michael as you picked up Beatrice.

"We'll be back by two. You don't have to stay awake if you don't want to (Y/N). If we're not back by then, then call the number on the refrigerator." Laura said as she stepped closer to you. "I love you." She said planting a kiss on Beatrice's head before waving goodbye and tugging at Michaels' tie to lead him out of the house.

"Looks like it's just me and you." You said bopping Beatrice on the nose and setting her down before you suggested that you two played hide and seek.

~A few hours later~

It was past two in the morning and you were starting to get worried. You'd set Beatrice down to watch a movie and somehow you both passed out within the first few minutes of the movie. When you awoke it was 2:37 am, and there was no sign of the older McMasters in the house. You instantly began searching the house, but not before lifting Beatrice up and carrying her to her room and tucking her into bed. During your search you checked each room, starting with Laura's room since it was right by Beatrice's room. You found nothing out of the ordinary, outside of a few things that were said to belong to the eldest Baudelaire child, ribbons, photos, and a file concerning the Baudelaire children. You just thought that maybe she was trying to locate the children and give them a fair trial.

Next was Sussie's room. It was normal, outside of the pet snake that was in her room. It was black and looked very dangerous, but they told you about Ink and how it was really harmless. You searched her room and found a whisk and a few photos, ones that looked recent. It had Beatrice, Michael, Laura, and Sussie in the fountain that was located on the financial side of town. They were all in the fountain jumping in the water and laughing, so you thought nothing of it. It was just a mere memory that she wanted to recreate, that had little significance to your life. Or so you thought.

Next was Michael's room, which was the easiest to get lost in. It had several bookshelves lining the walls and several that were on the floor. proving the room to look like a maze. You had found his closet and nothing looked out of the ordinary. Well outside of the fact that it had the middle Baudelaire's iconic outfit in there. You completely ignored this as you reached inside the closet to get a shirt to iron for him, but quickly stopped when you saw that there was more than just the outfit. There was a box of files that held the Baudelaire's case and newspaper clippings that had the story of the Baudelaire's in them. Most of all, the files had 'wrong's written in bold red ink and circled as if the person pointing out what was right and what was wrong had experienced what had happened first hand.

And that's when it clicked. Laura, Sussie, and Michael were the Baudelaire's. Then who was Beatrice? You searched through as many files as you could to find Beatrice's birth certificate, but found nothing. There had to be a reason as to why the Baudelaire's would have such a young child living with them. Violet was only nineteen going on twenty, and Beatrice was about four, so that wouldn't work out. Sunny was only thirteen or so, so she wasn't a candidate. And Klaus was just barely scrapping eighteen, and judging by the way he constantly brushed off women, has no interest in having a child. So you looked through the files one more time and found three names that stuck out. Beatrice Baudelaire, Kit Snicket, and Olivia Caliban. Beatrice was their mother who died many years ago and long before the child could've been born, and there were no hospital records for Mrs. Baudelaire within the month that the orphans said Beatrice was born. Olivia had disappeared off the face of the earth, and many people said that they thought Olivia was Madame Lulu. Last was Kit, who much like Olivia disappeared off the face of the earth. The only difference was that you saw her journal and the last date she had written in it. It told that she looked forward to seeing Dewy and having her child and that she was about to help the Quagmires with their balloon trouble. This was the hint you'd been looking for, that connected Beatrice to Kit. But how did the Baudelaire's get Beatrice?

Creek!

You shoved the papers back into the box and saw a Beatrice standing in the doorway with her blanket clasped in one hand as she rubbed her eye with the other.

"(Y/N), what are you doing in Klaus's room?" She asked as her head drooped down a bit from her just waking up.

"Uh, I just got him a shirt so that I can iron it." You said as you picked up the shirt and headed back to the doorway to pick up the girl.

"O-oh. Can I stay up a little longer?" She asked and you went down the stairs and into the washroom to iron Klaus's shirt.

"How about, after I'm done ironing his shirt, if they're not back I can take you over to my place." You said pulling the cord out and plugging it into the socket.

"Yeah!" Beatrice said as she climbed on the washing machine.

~After ironing the shirt~

You quickly packed Beatrice whatever you could stuff into her little suitcase and placed it in the car. You picked up Beatrice and set her in the child seat in the back and climbed into the driver's seat. You started the car and sped off, with your only thought being Beatrice's safety. You sped right past the Baudelaires' car and didn't give a frick.

When you arrived at your house you quickly took the suitcase out of the trunk and took it into the house. Then you grabbed Beatrice and entered the house and locked all of the doors and windows. You took Beatrice upstairs to your room and took a knife with you. You couldn't risk her getting taken or worse, killed. You pushed the dresser in front of the door and blocked all of the windows with whatever you could stack up there. You flipped your bed over and pulled Beatrice behind it with you.

"(Y/N), why are we hiding." Beatrice asked, looking at you her eyes filled with fear.

"Think of it as a game of hide and seek, Beatrice. We're the hiders, and your aunt's and uncle are seekers, we have to hide for as long as we can to win, so don't make a sound." You said to the little girl who's eyes lit up slightly at hearing hide and seek mentioned.

~Time skip to the next day~

You held Beatrice's tiny form and patted her hair, you resigned a few minutes ago saying that you'd found another job that paid better money. You reassured Beatrice about you two living in the house, you had already stockpiled food long ago and had plenty of funds to support you long enough. You didn't watch TV but chose to read books to give Beatrice some sort of entertainment. You were reading her the story about a prince and a princess that never really liked each other but were forced to marry when you heard knocking at the door.

"Go away!" You yelled from the kitchen as you shoved Beatrice into the nearest closet. But the person continued to knock.

"Don't you get the hint?! I don't want any company!" You said as you swung the door open reviling the three Baudelaires.

"Please, (Y/N) you have to help us find Beatrice. When we saw that you were gone, we thought you had gotten our message that we were on our way home and you could leave. But when we went upstairs to say goodnight to Beatrice, she was missing. We've been looking for her since earlier today." Violet said as she began to burst into tears.

"I left her upstairs at your house, was the windows open when you went into her room?" You asked, faking your panic.

"Yes, one, directly by her bedside. There was no way that she could open it without help from....." Violet trailed off as she tied her hair up in a ribbon.

"She must've been told to use one of my inventions to open and close the door," Violet said as she looked at Sunny and Klaus.

"(Y/N), will you please go with us?" Klaus asked as he extended his hand.

"No, I must look for a job and maybe get some cleaning done." You said shutting the door and turning around to get Beatrice from the closet.

You wish you didn't have to lie to them, but they lied to you so you called it fair. You helped Beatrice out of the closet and picked up the book to read where you left off. Little did you know, a certain dark brown-haired male stared through a little slit in the window at you. He saw how you were so careful with Beatrice and how you even tried to calm her down when she tried to go through the front door and run after them. He wanted something like that, someone who would bear his children and love him just as much as he loved them. And unfortunately, that person was you.

Now when you went outside, you could feel a pair of eyes on your form. It felt so unnerving when you just went to buy milk and would feel like someone was watching you. You constantly went over to the Baudelaires house asking if they "found" Beatrice, to which their answer would always be no. You were glad that you fooled them, maybe Beatrice could live a seminormal life. You even planned out her life, homeschooling her would be a great thing as you could easily keep an eye on her. You bought a kitten for her when she said that she was lonely when you left to go to work or the store. Sometimes you'd take her out, but would heavily dress her in makeup and different clothes to keep people from recognizing her.

This was one of these times where you'd take her out, you two went to the ice cream parlor and went shopping. Currently, you two were browsing the makeup aisle because you were running low on makeup due to using it to disguise Beatrice and to make yourself look presentable. When who walked down the aisle, Klaus Baudelaire. You didn't notice him at first, but he made it clear that he was there, after a while. When you saw him, he had his eyes pinned on Beatrice, as if he knew too much. You quickly grabbed her and pulled her behind you. you threw the cosmetics in the handheld basket and marched off holding Beatrice's hand firmly.

"(Y/N)! Beatrice!" He called out as you stopped in your tracks giving him enough time to catch up to you and Beatrice.

'He knows. He knows that I've had Beatrice this whole time and that I lied to them. That only means that the others know.' You thought as you turned around and forced Beatrice behind you once again.

"Well, it's nice seeing you again Mr. Baudelaire. Or should I call you Mr. Baudeliar?" You remarked, giving him the information you knew.

"Nice seeing you too, Ms. (L/N). Or should I call you Mrs. McMasters?" He asked as you back away from him.

"Are you trying to propose something, Klaus? Or are you just bluffing?" You asked as you slipped your hand into your coats' inside pocket.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you, it would really get you into trouble," Klaus said as he pointed to the CCTV camera in the store.

"Fine," You said removing your hand from the pocket. "But, I'm not trading Beatrice for my freedom. I know where this is going, I'm not stupid." You said urging Beatrice to run to the cash register and report harassment to the cashier.

"You have too. Either that or become my wife, the others wouldn't know what happened here or what even happened to Beatrice outside of the fact that she was returned safely. You'll be hailed as a hero in their eyes that just so happened to marry their brother.' He said advancing towards you as your back hit the wall.

"You're rich, and you have a rather large estate that's waiting on you right now. You also did keep the secret, but I have to refuse your offer." You said leaving Klaus with his jaw dropped.

"You do have a very, very comfy home. And also are very, very rich. And if you and your sisters did get a fair trial, and were proven not guilty you'd be even richer which would be a great reason for me to marry you. But my morals won't allow me to do that." You as you watched his jaw drop lower.

"Mister, this young girl said you were harassing this young woman." A man who worked at the store said approaching Klaus.

"She was just an old friend of mine." He said turning and leaving the store.

"Thank you, sir." You said as you bowed slightly and rushed up to the checkout.

~

When you got home, a feeling of dread washed over you. You felt like you should just turn around and go someplace else, but you urged on and unpacked everything. That night you had decided to try and call your parents or a relative of your to see how they were doing, but when you called your parents they picked up. They'd normally ignore you saying that you were a disgrace to the family, but now they picked up for the first time in years. They moved out of VFD when they felt like it was too cultish and moved far away from you. You were beyond happy, they finally took you back.

"Mommy, daddy, it's me (Y/N). I'm just calling to check up on you." You said happily into the phone.

'(Y/N), how many times do we have to tell, stop calling here. We don't wish to speak to you, you're an embarrassment to your whole entire family.' Your mother said into the phone leaving you speechless for a few seconds before you recovered and said.

"How about we have diner? My treat, we can just talk." You asked.

'No, (Y/N) you just don't get it. We don't wish to-'

"Mom, please? I haven't seen you and dad for over five years, I want to make up for the lost time." You begged.

'NO!' Your mother yelled into the phone and hung up.

You didn't burst into tears this time, you knew they didn't like you. You knew they stayed true to what they said. You also knew that your mother and father were both smart, and gave you a few clues that told you their street address. Which meant that they were in trouble. There was a system that your parents and you had put in order, if they breathed a certain amount of times before speaking they equaled an address or code. Your mother breathed five times when you first called, zero when you cut her off, and nine times before she hung up. That gave you the address of 509 (Sorry to anyone who lives at a house with this number). She put emphasis on certain letters and words, so that gave you Main St., where she told you she was going to live in a postcard. You quickly packed Beatrice into the car and picked up your emergency backpack that sat by the door, and were off to your parents' house.

Which now brought you to your current situation, you were forced to choose between your parent's lives and your freedom. And who was their captor? Why Klaus Baudelaire of course.

"(Y/N), please don't save us, we've been terrible parents." Your mother said as tears ran down her eyes.

"(Y/N), listen to your mother." Your father said sternly as motioned his head towards a knife that sat right by you.

"Klaus, please, maybe we can negotiate a deal. Something fair that we can agree upon." You said as you stepped forward and reached a hand out towards Klaus.

"I made the deal fair." He said looking at you as you cautiously took steps further towards him.

"Yes, I suppose it is fair. I'd rather my parents live than be an orphan." You said triggering him to slit your parents' throats and you to scream.

"You. You did this to me!" He said as he began walking towards you threateningly.

"You made me kill them!"

"Klaus, please no. I-I forgo-"

Slap!

"I've heard enough from you! Now shut up!" He yelled causing you to stop screaming.

You stopped saying anything at that point in life. You only spoke when directly spoken to, and never spoke to a male you saw outside of Klaus of course. And you rarely spoke to him. He always requested that you would be in his presence when you did move in with him. And when you did first arrived there you yelled and screamed, and kicked, but after a few beatings and being neglected for more than two weeks you quickly started acting like the angel he wanted. You two got married and you gave birth to two children and you named them Kit (M/N) Baudelaire and Jacques (F/N) Baudelaire. You clearly were unhappy in your life there but stayed even when you could get out because of your fear for your children and what would happen to them if you left.