voice test ;

[poisondarts]

Let's start, shall we?
Exceptionally good taste, I must say.

Maybe another read of a certain Unauthorized autobiography is in order.
Of course I yield to you, dear girl.

Not for a poor start though. I am ever pleased to be here.
You say there are others I must talk to.

I am unsure if this is wise, since both villain and volunteer may show up.

Apprehension is a good word, indeed. For if a certain Count appears, there is a loss of words.
Maybe I should find Bertrand. I would find several words for him.

So here I am, my willing writer.
Only in search of more adventure, of a ribbon to tie back my hair, and a good book.

Relax, darling.
"...Rêvé le miracle d'une prose poétique", as a French writer with a particular last name would say.
Yours sincerely, Beatrice

Comments

[quadro_dent]

[Sunny just stares, unbelieving. Her mother. It's her. It's unmistakably, absolutely her. But... She's quite a bit younger than she remembers. But her voice, her eyes, her face... Everything she's longed for since that terrible day.

This is all very confusing.

Regardless, her eyes tear up and she whispers one of the few words everyone can understand.]

Mama.

[poisondarts]

[She bends down to the small child, frowning. Who would leave their baby?]

Hello, little one. Are you looking for your mother?

[quadro_dent]

[She reaches out one small hand to her mother. Even if she doesn't remember her she can still take comfort in her presence while she's here. She shakes her head.]

Erdam. [which simply means "No. You're my mother, you just don't know it yet."]

[poisondarts]

We could search together. [She takes the small hand in hers. The girl looks so sad.]

I'm Beatrice. And you are?

[quadro_dent]

[She smiles at the familiar feel of her mother's hand holding hers.]

Sunny... [She opens her mouth to say "Baudelaire" but second guesses herself, wondering of it would be wise to tell her the truth. After a moment she just smiles again and repeats.] Sunny.

[poisondarts]

That is a pretty name, Sunny. [She wonders if she's been taken by the VFD, yet. She knows Lemony was still in his crib when they took him. So she has to test her:]

I didn't realize this was a sad occasion.

[Of course she doesn't know how ironic those words are, a phrase meaning she doesn't know that she's the dead mother of the child whose hand she's holding.]

[quadro_dent]

[Of course it is, Beatrice, you picked it out yourself.

It is a very very sad occasion. And, since Sunny does not yet know the depth of that particular phrase she simply nods]

Viklau [Which means, of course, "I just wish Violet and Klaus were here to see you, too."]

[poisondarts]

Are they people you know? [She doesn't fully understand baby speak, but she gets the gist.]

[theabjectauthor]

Ah!
Surprise is foremost in my mind.

Aghast, perhaps, would be the best of words.
Mysterious and heartwrenching as your appearance here may be, it is welcome...

If, that is, my heart can handle the strain.

[poisondarts]

Why would you be aghast?
Harrowing as it is,
You are the one presumed dead or in jail.

Arguably both.

Regrettably you've been absent.
Extensively, I looked, but often volunteers end up traveling.

You've aged, though I know that face anywhere - disguise or no.
Obviously something happened.
Utmost apologies, but my writer is insistent on not telling me, so I must ask you.

[theabjectauthor]

Absence was necessary, though my heart was already as fond of you as it could possibly be.

Forgive me, my dearest Beatrice, but it is not my place to say.
Admittedly, if I could tell you the entire tale, I would shy away.
Truth may be my venue as a student of rhetoric, but I am a coward in ways I wish I were not.
Even if time were on my side - which, in several ways, it is not - I cannot enlighten you.
Facts and figures I have, in abundance, about the events which have transpired since last you saw me... but the sum of them is far too great, and their price even more costly.
Unfortunate events, one could say, have been unfolding in a long, long series for quite some time now.
Lemony Snicket is not a name spoken with warmth or welcome in several circles, these days.

For a start, you may ask those whose hearts are not necessarily lighter than my own, but perhaps stronger.
In fact, I may be able to point you in the proper direction, if not directly give you the answer you wish of me.
Recall the words of Frederick Douglass: "It's easier to build strong children than repair broken men".
Ergo, look to those younger than I. They may provide both enlightenment and comfort.

[poisondarts]

At least you have remained the same, even if age has aged you. Like a
Red wine, perhaps. No, I would prefer rootbeer floats.

Eternally.

Younger, you say? Do you speak
Of the child in search of her mother?
Undeniably charming child, I must say.

Whether or not a certain fire fighting group has nabbed her is unknown.
Except I think not. Her ankles do not look like they've been touched.

Let me guess though, another fortune thwarted. Denoument, Snicket...
Lecherous villains, worse than the Lachrymose Leeches.

[theabjectauthor]

It seems I should inform you of a change in our charter:
No longer do we mark the ankles of our inductees.

Whether this youngster you speak of is a member of our
Hallowed institution, I cannot say for certain
Admittedly, she shows the hallmarks of a possible
Trainee, as
Well as great potential.

As for your guess?
Yes.

[poisondarts]

Ah.
New implementations. To keep us safe?
You see, she did not know the world was quiet.

Woe is me, then.
Always there are fires, and I hope there are volunteers to match.
You seem sad though.