Hypnosis

Kit, come quickly… I need you… I have an emergency… - Charles

Kit read Charles' note in a panic. "Oh, no," she worriedly said. "Charles!" She hurriedly left for the Lucky Smells Lumber mill.

Fifteen minutes later…

Kit raced into the lumber mill in a panic. "We do not allow visitors during working hours," Foreman Flacutono sternly said as he stepped in front of her, stopping her in her trace.

"I'm not a visitor," Kit said in a panic. "I mean, I am, but… it does not matter at the moment… Charles, one of your workers, sent me a message that he had an emergency…"

"No worker can have an emergency during working hours," the foreman sternly said. "Besides, we have not had an emergency here in thirty days…"

"I can't just stand here and argue with you," Kit angrily said. "I have an emergency…" As she stepped past the foreman, the foreman smiled and extended his foot in front of her. Kit, not looking where she was going, tripped, and her body roughly fell against the hard ground.

"Oh, no," the foreman said in a fake worried voice. "You had a little accident…"

"You tripped me," Kit said in a muffled voice because her face was on the floor. "However, it does not matter at the moment… I must see Charles…" She tried to get off the ground; however, she could not.

"Oh, no, you're not," the foreman roughly said as he helped Kit stand up. "You need a new pair of glasses immediately," he said, looking at Kit's broken and smashed glasses. "I'm going to take you to Dr. Georgina Orwell…" As he led a protesting Kit to the building, Kit gasped once she saw what the shape of the building was.

"Please don't take me in there," she begged him; however, the foreman was not deterred.

"Oh, relax," the foreman smiled and laughed. "There is nothing to worry about. You are going to an optometrist, not a mortician!" He smiled. "What could possibly go wrong?"

However, Kit was still worried… worried until she saw Dr. Georgina Orwell. Dr. Georgina Orwell had blonde hair that was in a bun, a friendly face, and she had typical optometrist clothes. What was Kit so worried about? Kit tried to reassure herself about her situation as she looked at the optometrist. "Oh, my, you really broke your glasses, didn't you," the optometrist smiled.

"Yes, I did," Kit weakly said. "However, my friend has an emergency…"

"Don't you dare worry about Charles," the foreman smiled as he pushed Kit towards Dr. Orwell. "I will check on him and make sure that everything is alright…"

"Of course it will be," Dr. Orwell smiled as she led Kit into her office. "After all, you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar, can't you?"

Kit wondered and worried about this statement. Why would an optometrist say something like that? That statement usually meant that someone bad was trying to pretend to be someone good… As Kit thought this, Dr. Orwell smiled and took her glasses from her. "My technicians will prepare new ones for you," Dr. Orwell smiled and explained.

"Then, what are you going to with me," Kit asked in confusion. "I just had an eye exam a few months ago…"

"That's good," Dr. Orwell smiled. "Because I'm not giving you an eye exam…" She produced a pocket watch and swung it back and forth. "Kit," she smiled. "I do believe that you are getting sleepy… you are getting sleepy…"

Against her will, Kit fell under Dr. Orwell's hypnosis.

Minutes later…

Count Olaf uneasily walked into Dr. Orwell's office. The hypnosis was taking too long… "How is she," Count Olaf asked Dr. Orwell.

"Hypnotized," Dr. Orwell smiled. "The noble Kit Snicket would now kill someone if you told her to…"

"I don't want her to kill anyone," Count Olaf angrily said. In response, Dr. Orwell looked at him in confusion.

"Why did you want me to hypnotize her, then," Dr. Orwell asked.

"That's my business," Olaf harshly said. "Now, please leave us alone…"

"Oh," Dr. Orwell smiled, her eyes shining. "What are you going to do to her? Are you going to kill her? Torture her…" She paused. "Oh, by the way, Olaf, the command word is 'Kit,' as you requested, and the word to bring her back to normal is 'Love,' as you requested…

"That's good to now, but, again," Olaf said, his voice rising in anger. "What am I doing with her is my business… now, for the last time, unless you want to join Monty and Josephine, please leave us alone!" In response, Dr. Orwell curled up the ends of her lips in an angry frown and she hurriedly left the office, slamming the door behind her. However, Olaf's attention was not on a slamming door… it was on Kit. She looked the same as she always had looked… elegant velvet dress and her hair in a messy bun with two pencils sticking out of the bun at odd ends. However, something looked different… her eyes. Instead of displaying her usual warmth, humor, and love for life… Kit's eyes displayed vacancy… nothing. It felt to Olaf as if he had murdered the woman that he loved. The thought made him sick; however, he had to remind himself of the original purpose of the hypnosis. "Kit," he smiled and whispered.

"What can I do for you, sir," Kit robotically said. Again, her voice displayed vacancy… nothing… the thought scared Olaf; however, he felt determined to proceed with his goal.

"Kiss me, Kit," he smiled and whispered. In response, Kit leaned forward and kissed him. The kiss was robotic… no warmth, no love, no passion… no overwhelming sense of love… just nothing… vacant. If Kit knew where she was, she might kill him. However, Olaf still had to know that she was still herself and, to him, the price of dying was worth knowing that. "Wake up, love," he said in a panic. In response, Kit's eyes fluttered in confusion. As she realized where she was and who she was with, she promptly slapped Olaf.

"Why have you brought me here, Olaf," she angrily demanded. "Are you going to kill me? Torture me for information about VFD? Try to figure out where the Baudelaires are?"

"No, no, no," Olaf said in annoyance. "I wasn't going to ask you about the whereabouts of those Baudelaire brats…" Kit's eyes narrowed at that remark. "And I would never dream of torturing you or trying to kill you, Kit…"

"That letter from Charles…" Kit paused, thinking. "You wrote that, didn't you… to get me to come here so that you could trap me!"

"I did, but, I did not write that letter to you so that I could trick you," Olaf sadly said.

"Why did you write that letter and hypnotize me, then," Kit angrily demanded. In response, Olaf sadly looked down. "Olaf," Kit suddenly and slowly said, remembering what had happened during the hypnosis.

"Yes," Olaf unsurely asked, looking up at her.

"You know," Kit smiled. "You didn't have to hypnotize me to kiss me…" She smiled again before she kissed him. In response, Olaf smiled and kissed her back.

THE END