Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from the Professor Layton franchise, the rights to it belong to Level 5 games.
A gentleman's promise
It was a dark cold night of October.
Autumn had hit the city of London hard and there was a frigid chill to the air with a crisp scent always lingering.
Orange, yellow, brown and red leaves were carried away by numerous gusts of wind as had a habit of blowing around on occasion -just like they would every other October evening. Children were getting ready for Halloween and families were posting up decorations that would greet Trick-or-treaters at night. Spooky yet classic Halloween tunes flowed seamlessly through the air like a bird soaring, creating an atmosphere.
Professor Hershel Layton never could have expected to lead the life he'd been living now. After all of the hardships he'd been dealt with, after all the pain and trauma, he had friends and he even had a family. He had two adopted children -one was a young woman named Flora, whom he'd met after one of his many cases, and the other was young Alfendi, whom he'd found abandoned whilst out on a leisurely stroll by the Merseyshore docks one stormy day. It was after Alfendi came into his life that the Professor felt immeasurably happy and he thought that his family life couldn't get any better, he had not even considered adopting for a third time.
But he never expected what was about to happen one evening.
The gentleman archeologist strolled down the pavement with a tired smile on his face and he was on his way back from a long day at Greensheller university.
He was quite eager to return home and spend some time with his adopted son and he hoped that he would be able to get a good nights sleep after such an exhausting day of marking exams and tests that his students had dedicated weeks to writing out. It wasn't that he didn't like being a teacher or filling out exams or anything but it could take a lot out of a man at times, especially when a long weekend that promised relaxation awaited him...
He couldn't help but feel a strong surge of excitement at the mere thought of him just sitting on his favourite chair with a blanket draped over his lap, a book in his hands, and his head filled with puzzles. Heck, he didn't even notice that he slightly sped up with this eagerness of getting home, he was that excited!
...That and he was anxious to get home and see if Alfendi was alright.
The six-year-old knew how to look after himself, even though the Professor would insist that Flora (and even Luke on some occasions) babysit him while he worked over at the university. He knew that Al found it a tad annoying and even pouted at times because of it since he was a child who liked his time all on his own -no one knew why Al was such an isolated boy but if that was what he preferred then nobody could really blame him for that.
Professor Layton strolled casually down the road with one hand gripping tight to his top hat to stop it from blowing off his head. He pushed on through the strong winds that started to pick up and get increasingly harder to bare -seriously, he was starting to think that if he wasn't an adult as tall was he was then these winds could easily sweep him off of his feet and send him flying away, plus he refused to let his beloved hat blow straight off his head.
What sort of gentleman would he be if he didn't have his signature hat?
Minutes slipped by as he strolled casually on home, keeping both of his feet firmly planted on the pavement beneath them, as he trekked on and on. The road seemed to stretch in front of him so it seemed like no matter how many steps he took he would still never get any closer to his home.
That's how it appeared to him anyway.
On his way home, however, he was stunned into stopping dead in his tracks whence he spotted something -or someone- brusquely running down the pathway that led to his house; he didn't spot them too well at first as the mysterious figure seemed to have been no more than a silhouette to him, the distance and the fact that it was dark out contributed to this.
The Professor felt very confused.
Who was this person?
He hastened his steps and tried to stop this strange person in their tracks, and before he knew it he found that he had grabbed the mysterious figure's wrist in his hand and frowned at them with even more confusion. He could easily see now that this person was a woman yet he couldn't clearly identify her, or easily spot any distinguishable features about her.
Hershel couldn't make out her face much because of the hood that she wore to conceal her face but he could've sworn that he saw her eyes filled with tears as she held back a small sniffle of guilt and sadness, he could also make out her figure and noticed that she seemed unhealthily thin, almost to the point of appearing quite malnourished. He could even see that what little he could make out of her hair had clumps of dirt sticking to it so he couldn't make out her hair colour.
Seeing all of this confused the professor of archeology way more than he already was.
This woman seemed so upset and he couldn't help but wonder why...?
This was a strange situation.
A woman was trying to distance herself from him for some reason and she seemed quite frightened. The gentlemanly side wished to assist her in anyway possible because it was every gentleman's duty to help a lady in need, was it not? But he had to ask himself why? Why was she behaving like this? She was acting quite suspiciously and it was this behaviour that caused several questions to raise inside his mind.
Before all else, though, he decided to be polite and introduce himself.
"Greetings, Madame, my name is Professor Hershel Layton. Is there something the matter?" Professor Layton asked gently, "Perhaps I can be of assistance. After all, it is a gentleman's duty to help a lady in—!"
He gasped when all of a sudden the woman violently yanked her hand away with her teeth visibly clenched and tears continuing to stream down her face like little rivulets. She was clearly trying (and failing) to stop her tears from flowing like little streams down her face and she mumbled something low and inaudible to the gentleman archeologist's ears.
The Professor was absolutely stunned beyond words as she took off running down the street before he could even blink.
He reached his hand out towards her, a look of alarm pasting itself on his face. His dot-like eyes widened and his jaw dropped to allow his mouth to gape open as the cloaked woman ran away into the distance. He could only watch sadly as she blatantly ignored his calls for her and she disappeared into the darkness of night without looking back once.
"Wait! Come back!"
He lowered his outstretched arm and hung his head in defeat.
She was gone.
He had to wonder what that whole thing was about. Why would a woman sneak around like this? One could certainly argue that she was checking out some houses to see which ones would be good for trick-or-treating for a later date or something, however that explanation didn't sit well with him. No, there had to be more than that going on here.
But he didn't know what...
He sighed and shook his head. He was too tired to deal with this right now and he decided that he would report this strange encounter to the police later, there was nothing he could really do about it now.
So he continued his lengthy trek home, but that strange encounter stuck out in his mind for some strange reason. He couldn't stop thinking about how distraught that mysterious woman was and flashes of her tears continuously flashed in his mind.
He walked on and on until he made the turn towards the pathway where he had initially seen that woman run out from, the route to his house. He kept on walking passed several miscellaneous homes, flats and other buildings with a worn out spring in his steps -a flat-out sign of his exhaustion.
But then the Professor paused abruptly whence a sudden sound caught in his ears.
It sounded like a noise he'd heard before, and he couldn't quite bring himself believe what he was hearing. Out of instinct alone he somehow found the willpower within himself to break through his slight fatigue and start quickening his footsteps. He was now more than anxious to get home and it was more to investigate the noise at this point.
His surroundings became naught but a rushed blur, his breathing quickened drastically, his knees ached, his lungs felt like they were on fire as they thirsted for a proper intake of oxygen. He clutched his hands into fists at his sides and a cold sheen of sweat dripped down his face as he sprinted down the route he'd memorised for ages now, knowing exactly where to go.
Thankfully it didn't take him too long before he made it home.
He found himself panting heavily to catch his breath as he bent over to touch his aching knees, his face and the palms of his hands were covered in sweat and his eyes were still really wide whilst he tried hard to regulate his racing heartbeat. After a few moments he finally straightened his posture and he stared long and hard at the tall flat that stood before him.
Upon getting a good look, the professor didn't find much out of place.
But then he heard that noise again, he glanced down at the source of the noise and there was something that made him feel a bit of confusion and he arched his head to one side with an incredulous expression sticking on his rectangular-shaped face.
There, sat on his front doorstep, was a basket but it had a blanket draped over the top of it; the cotton blanket was dark green with a red and magenta chequered pattern and it looked quite soft. The basket was a bit too big to be a picnic basket, and seeing it piqued the gentleman's curiosity...however alarm bells started to go off in his mind when he saw something beneath the blankets moving.
The professor's dot-like eyes widened even more and he hardly hesitated when it came to leaning down and reaching a trepidatious hand forwards and gripping an edge of the blanket. He started to pull it off and reveal the mysterious thing that the blanket had been concealing and the sight shocked him to the core, this discovery was something that made his breath catch in his throat-he felt his spine stiffen and his heart sunk from his chest down into the pit of his stomach.
It was a baby!
When he saw the small infant, studying her carefully, he noticed that she appeared to have been just a month old. The baby girl slept peacefully with eyes closed and a small frown on her lips. Her cheeks were rosy and her skin was quite pale, atop her head she had a small curl of ginger-ish hair that drooped to the middle of her forehead. She didn't seem really aware of the Professor's presence but she did give a soft whimper as she shifted in her sleep in response to being exposed to the crisp autumn air.
The Professor couldn't help but feel a tad nostalgic at the moment since this was almost exactly like the time when he discovered baby Alfendi all alone in a cardboard box by the docks a couple years ago.
But then he started to ponder on what happened a minute ago.
That mysterious woman must have been this baby's mother, this would explain her suspicious behaviour as she seemed to not want to be seen. He didn't think himself as someone with powerful maternal instincts or anything. But he couldn't help but wonder why this little one was placed on his doorstep? Of course he didn't mind the idea much but he wasn't exactly what he expected to be the number one person to give a baby to.
He was in deep focus and he stroked his chin thoughtfully, but he was snapped out of his train of thought when he heard a sudden noise that caused him to refocus his attention on the baby girl in the basket at his feet.
The baby seemed to have woken herself up and simply blinked up at him in silent confusion, baby blue eyes wide with total perplexity. She cooed up at him and made cute little babbling noises as she stared at the top-hat-wearing archeologist standing over her, and she even put her hand into her mouth and tried to gnaw her gums against her tiny pudgy fingers.
Professor Layton couldn't prevent a small grin from sweeping across his face.
This baby girl was quite adorable, he had to admit.
"Hello there, little one," He murmured as he wrapped the infant up in her blanket and successfully swaddled her in it to bundle her up since he didn't wish for her to catch a cold due to her being exposed in such low temperatures -and it was fairly chilly this evening.
"Poor thing. You must be cold from being out here..."
The baby girl seemed to smile up at the gentleman with a toothless grin and she fidgeted in his arms and examined her surroundings with her extravagant sky blue pools wandering around the place so she could actively soak in her surroundings. She let out a few lively giggles as she shifted around and waved her sweet little arms around aimlessly.
The Professor couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as he reached down and playfully tickled the little girl's tummy, earning a flurry of adorable giggles from her.
"My, my, my, you certainly are an energetic little one aren't you?"
The Professor of archeology may not have known this baby for too long but she had already claimed a place in his heart, he could certainly see something special in this adorable little bundle of joy and he was already considering on taking this baby girl in should she officially be deemed abandoned and without any biological relatives to claim her. He decided to investigate the scene a bit more to find out if there was anything else -other than the baby and her blanket- that had been left behind.
He proceeded to delicately tuck the baby girl into the crook of his arm, making sure to do this very carefully as to not drop her or anything as catastrophic as that. He didn't want to risk her getting injured after all. Then he lowered himself to his knees and crouched down to investigate the basket a bit more thoroughly. He leaned in and squinted his eyes, getting a closer look at it and he could see that inside the basket was a small envelope that had been left sealed -clearly there was a note or something inside of it that contained a great deal of importance.
Meanwhile, the Professor pondered on discovering this note, perhaps it could explain the reasons for this sweet little girl's abandonment and why she was left on his doorstep of all people.
Maybe the contents of this letter could answer all of his previous inquiries and explain a bit about the mother...?
He carefully lay the baby girl back in her basket so he could spare both hands and do this task successfully and properly read the letter; he then reached down picked up the envelope, unsealed it by swiping his finger across the fold and removed the letter from within. When he held the note in his hands both eyes carefully scanned the words written neatly across the note, letting all the information sink in as he read the letter that (indeed) revealed the circumstances of the baby girl's abandonment.
"To whomever finds this note," It read, "If you are reading this then you have found my baby. I am afraid that I cannot afford to keep her anymore since I have found myself in bad living conditions which is not a good environment in which to raise her. I am ashamed to say that this is my last resort but I believe that it is what's best for her and so I must humbly ask that you provide a good home for my baby girl, she is always hungry so I ask that you love and treat her like you would love your own child. P.S. Her name is Katrielle (or Kat for short) —Thank you."
Professor Layton felt his heart breaking in half when he read this note explaining the circumstances of the mother of the abandoned baby girl -the poor woman must have been in serious financial dept if she had to resort to giving up this precious infant to give her a better chance at life. He couldn't help but glance from the note back to the baby whom now had a saddened look in her eyes, she looked as though she were about to cry actually.
The tiny girl squirmed with discomfort in her basket as her lower lip quivered with upset and a rather foolish part of the Professor wondered whether she was aware of her situation and was now lamenting on a tragic turn of events? Despite how very young she was...
He exhumed a breath he didn't know he'd been withholding and swallowed to loosen his tightening throat and glanced down at the small infant child. His eyes shimmered with sympathy and he couldn't help but feel quite bad for the mother and now understood that she abandoned her child because she no longer had the requirements to look after her properly.
"So your name is Katrielle? It is very nice to meet you, little one~"
Professor Layton reached into the basket and picked a whimpering Katrielle back up again, cradling her tiny body in his arms and bringing her close to him as a means to comfort her, he crooned softly with his voice a soft whisper as he rocked her a little bit as a means to keep her calm and pacified, all while Kat managed to look up at him with a teary-eyed look of curiosity.
"There, there, my dear..." He soothed "...I promise that you shall be safe with me."
Baby Kat snuffled as she snuggled into the warmth that came from the body heat of the kind-hearted gentleman that held her. She nuzzled her head against the Orange fabric of the long-sleeved jumper he wore beneath his dark brown jacket, feeling his heartbeat pound against her tiny ear. She closed her eyes and gave a small contented coo as she seemed to relax instantly in the top-hatted gentleman of archeology's arms.
The Professor couldn't help but feel his heart melt a bit; he hadn't felt anything like this since Alfendi was a baby, he could easily recognise the sensation of his heart soaring whilst a delightful inner warmth spread to his whole body to give it a feeling that made him feel extremely happy.
A deep-throated chuckle flew from his lips as he then proceeded to shuffle Kat into one arm as he used a finger from his spare hand to tickle her nose and he was rewarded with the cutest bunch of giggles he'd ever heard. Little Kat squirmed in his arms and kicked her legs in an attempt to escape the tickling and she managed to free one of her tiny hands from the restraints of her blanket and somehow furl her tiny digits around the long finger that stretched out to her, her tiny hands not being able to completely wrap around the tan appendage.
The gentleman's melting heart became so warm that he almost couldn't take how endearing she was whilst he bounced her in his arms a bit, causing a few more giggles to escape from her teeny vocal chords, and he smiled down at her playfully as he rubbed her nose against his own.
Little Kat smiled, delighted at the affection she was receiving, and giggled some more.
Professor Layton had begun the process of standing up, climbing to his feet so he could stand up properly, and when he was on his feet, he smiled down at the infant. He started to step up the small staircase as he made his way towards the front door of his home. He had the intention of taking baby Kat to the police station later on and seeing about adopting her as his own, he saw a spark in her eyes that he couldn't help but fall in love with.
That was then he promised to himself that, one way or another, this baby girl would no longer have to be alone.
He would make sure of that.
"I'll protect you for as long as I can...and I will always be there for you."
A/N: Here's the first part of this three-chapter fanfic.
I am currently still playing "Layton's mystery journey" and I'm enjoying it very much, and I am quite confused as to why the Professor had to abandon his children? This is really my interpretation of what happened and I'm also going to add some fluff in here as well. It's been awhile since I posted a Professor Layton story (a gentleman's Pearl doesn't count) and I thought that it might be a good idea.
I am hoping that you guys like it.
Please review and fave.
-Chloemcg