James Sior March 9, 2010
**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I cannot claim to own any of the persons, places, or objects in the Professor Layton series – all such persons, places, and objects are the property of their owner, Level 5 Inc. Any resemblance to any real world persons, places, or things is coincidental.**
Chapter One: A Fresh Start
A young lady slept soundly in bed. Slowly, she began to stir. She sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes to wake up. She had no idea where she was. The last thing she remembered was driving away from her hometown village of St. Mystere in a small red buggy with an obscenely high roof. She remembered an outspoken young boy, just about her age, with a blue hat and a satchel bag, and a scholarly gentleman dressed in orange with a large top hat. That moment, she heard a chime, then another, and another. She stood up, got out of bed, and walked hesitantly towards the window. She hesitated, and pulled back the curtains. She looked out the window in awe. She saw a remarkable city with large skyscrapers, bustling streets, and people – so many people! She didn't think there could be so many people! She was most amazed by the gigantic clock in the middle of it all, slowly chiming out the time. She listened – one, two, three, … eight. Eight o' clock.
She was so entranced by the bustling of the city that she almost drowned out the knocks on the door. Snapping out of her trance, startled, she quickly changed out of her nightgown and into her favorite dress – a plain white garment with short red sleeves. She took a quick look around the room – it was much smaller and less flashy than her cottage in St. Mystere. She rummaged through her bag and put on her white gloves – she never went anywhere without them. The gloves, along with her favorite dress, were gifts from her mother, the late Lady Violet Reinhold. Just then she heard another knock:
"Flora, dear, are you awake?" Startled, she replied, "Y-yes... c-come i-in...".The door opened slowly to reveal a tall, well-dressed gentleman with a large top hat that somehow managed to fit through the door. Suddenly, it all became very clear to her. She remembered this man, the man who climbed the dreaded tower in St. Mystere and saved her from that awful Don Paolo and his flying contraption. She remembered him, the man Lady Dahlia had read about in the papers, the world renowned archeologist... "Good morning Professor Layton!". She started to weep and run into his arms. She was still emotionally frazzled over the events that had taken place yesterday.
"Now, now Flora, it's quite alright, dear. I understand how you feel, but crying like this is not becoming of a lady of your beauty. Come now, I'm sure you're quite hungry, and I've got a pot of tea boiling. What say you and I continue this conversation over breakfast?"
Flora composed herself and followed the Professor slowly out the door. It occurred to her she must be in his house - everywhere she looked she saw hand-made furniture, books on everything from archeology to murder mysteries.(After all, what self-respecting British gentlemen hasn't read Agatha Christie's works?). She smelled the thick, sweet aroma of hot tea. As she sat down she heard a yawn, and a young boy walked out of a room, fully dressed and ready to go. "Good morning Luke, my boy. You're just in time. I have important business to discuss with the both of you."
Flora and Luke took their seats at the table as the Professor laid out a traditional 'Full English' breakfast. "Wow! Just look at all the food!", Luke said as he drooled and reached for a plate. "Now, now Luke. Where are you manners?". "Oh.... sorry Professor, I wasn't thinking. Go ahead Flora, ladies first."As the three sat down to eat, the Professor produced a letter from his pocket and placed it in the center of the table. "Professor, what's that?", the ever-inquisitive Luke asked. "This, my boy, is the important business I was talking about."