Chapter 1-It was a dark and stormy encounter
The rain pattered on the window hard and the wind blew fast around Layton's household. The thunder rolled and the lightning struck. But, oddly all was silent in the manor. Professor Hershel Layton sat at his desk with a note in his hand. Reading, his mind pondered over the note's sudden, unexpected, and well timed arrival after a long vacation with his apprentice, Luke Triton. On the last day of their trip, an old woman was muttering something strange about strange occurrences of seeing the same exact people twice. Layton couldn't even get her attention, she had looked dazed. Layton took a sip of his tea before he looked over the note again.
Layton,
A mystery will arrive in an unexpected way.
The letter had no signature and no return address. He was reminded of several puzzles, but this one was an entirely new puzzle all of it's own. He looked away from the note and focused on the day's newspaper that Luke picked up. The headline read:
MYSTERIOUS MONOCLE FOUND IN RUINS
"A week ago, scientists discovered a strange monocle in the ruins of Ambrosia. The glass was tinted purple and it seemed to be in flawless condition, as if it were made yesterday. It was found in a small household on the edge of the ruins inside a pot that retained its beauty, even all that time in the water."
The rest was useless information that Professor Layton already knew on his trip. He sighed. There was also a notice of a thief running around town and taking food. The most recent victim was one of his neighbors, where the only things they took were the bread and the cheese. He sipped the last of his tea and started to head for bed when, amongst the quiet of the house, there was a small clatter. Taking his small lantern, he headed to the kitchen. Quietly walking, in he saw the refrigerator door open and two feet were right below the door. He walked be hind the person, completely unaware that he was there.
"Perhaps you could have asked for alms instead of stealing from others." Layton said sternly.
The figure turned around suddenly. It was female teen. Her hair was long, wild, and poorly kept back with a small piece of leather. Her brown eyes were filled with fear as she had her mouth on a piece of fruit. She looked dreadfully skinny, as if she was starving to death. Her clothes were too large for her and she was very dirty.
Her appearance startled Layton at first, but he held his ground and barred her way of escape.
"Who are you, and why are you stealing from us?" Layton demanded quietly.
The girl tried to escape, running head first into him and falling back down when she didn't even have enough strength to lift herself up. She began to sob quietly and curled herself up into a ball. She cried for a long while before Layton said anything.
He took her appearance into consideration of why she might be stealing from others. He seemed to have a vague idea of why she was doing what she was doing.
He gently put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up suddenly, her dirty face now smeared with tears and snot. She looked absolutely pathetic, and Layton knew now that the only way to get to her was with kindness.
"Tell me, why are you stealing? Are your parents not able to get food on the table?" Layton asked softly.
She hiccuped a little while before saying anything.
"I was taken away from my family..." she whispered. Tears started rolling down her cheeks again.
"Who took you away?" Layton asked. He was curious, this child looked a lot like the woman he'd seen on his last vacation day.
"A man..." she said, not looking at the Professor. She remained curled up and her tears would not stop flowing.
He looked at her with sadness. Pulling out his silk handkerchief, he handed it to the poor child.
"Come now, dry those tears." Layton said.
She looked a the handkerchief for a moment and wiped her eyes and a considerable amount of dirt with it. She hiccuped a few more times then looked at Layton with a sad smile.
He held his hand out to her to help her up she got up wobbly and held onto him like a walking stick, only her grasp was notably weak. When she let go, she fell like a rag doll to the floor. She tried to get up, but her body was too weak to support her. She began to cry again, a little louder than last time.
'My God... She's suffering from malnutrition...' He thought. He gently picked her up like a father would to his child and carried her to the spare bedroom they had. She struggled at first, but she was unable to push herself away and instead settled for the worst. He lay her on the bed and covered her with a blanket.
"Get some rest. You've been through a lot." he said to the child who was nodding off.
Soon, she fell asleep. She looked almost dead in her sleep. Layton left the room and headed towards his own. He went to sleep himself.
'Inspector Clamp will be looking for her, no doubt. I shall explain to him that she is only a child and she is barely managing to survive.' this was the last thing he thought before he went to sleep.