Author's Note:

Right, I am so glad I have finally uploaded a fanfiction for something that isn't Hetalia. It's taken me, what, twenty stories? And I finally did it!

So, hooray for my first Layton fanfiction!

This story has been stuck in my head for a few days, but I finally sat down this evenig and typed up the first chapter.

This is set pre-Spectre's Call, but will feature characters from all the games. Rated T in case I get carried away in later chapters. If I don't, I'll edit the rating (but I think it should remain T, for the Professor's favourite beverage ;) ). If there are spelling and grammar issues, please excuse them. I'm uploading from my phone. I proof-read, but spelling and grammar aren't my strong point.

Not a game designer, don't work for Level-Five, don't own the Layton saga, nor will I pretend to.

Pale skin. Hair the colour of copper, held in place by a white ribbon. Eyes that weren't quite blue, weren't quite grey, and weren't quite purple. Dressed in black.

There was no doubt that this was the infamous Witch of Misthallery.

The Calamity Witch, they called her.

She brought disaster in her stride.

And those who crossed her were punished.

Wren looked down, and took her brother's hand.

Socket, however, didn't reach the conclusion that something was wrong.

"Wren," he began, "ain't that the Witch?"

She shushed him, bringing her head up sharply and locking eyes with the copper-haired boy beside the Witch.

He glared at her, then reached out and took the Witch's hand.

Wren gulped. Socket continued to let himself ramble on about the Witch, Arianna.

"You're an idiot, Socket," she told him, watching the Barde children walk past. "You've doomed us. People who speak ill of the Witch are-"

The bickering siblings were soon out of earshot.

Arianna's eyes burnt with unshed tears.

She felt Tony squeeze her hand reassurigly, and looked down to see his smiling face.

"C'mon," Tony's eyes were wide with compassion, admiration, love. "Let's go home. We'll sit by the lake and play with Loosha. She's probably missing you."

Arianna spent the journey home, up twisting pathways, wishing.

Wishing the villagers of Misthallery would say their cruel, hurtful comments to her face.

Because then she'd have a reason to cry.

Then she wouldn't feel so pathetic.

Then she'd be able to fight back, without seeming like the hostile one.

But they were all too scared of her.

Besides, even if they did say horrid things to her face, she wasn't sure she'd be able to retort.

She never wanted to see someone look as hurt as Luke had the last time they'd spoken.

The twisted, rusting iron gate that marked the beginning of the Barde mansion came into her watery line of vision.

She pulled the sleeve of her dress down, and ran it across her eyelids, hoping that that would be enough to hold back the tears she longed to cry.

By the time her arm fell back to her side, the large empty house that they pretended was their home was in sight.

Every time she saw that house, Arianna's heart filled with maybes and could-have-beens.

Ever since their father had died, all the excitement had vanished from that house.

When was the last time it had been fit to burst with people? When was the last great party that could rival a ball from the century passed?

When was the last time they'd had a visitor?

The post man was too scared to venture past the old iron gate anymore.

And Luke... Arianna didn't even want to think about the harsh things she had said to him the last time she'd seen him.

She didn't want to thinkabout how he'd bit his lip in an attempt to stop it from trembling.

Or how his eyes had widdened in horror, then clouded with tears.

Or how she had practically heard the heart of the boy who had been her only and closest friend snap promptly as she screamed at him.

Sighing, she sat herself down by the water, watching the ripples in her reflection. Her skirt rested on the grass, and she played with it idly.

"Tony," she said, not realising her brother had gone inside to fetch her flute, "I don't think I'll be leaving here again. I don't want to-"

A rustle from the other side of the lake made her look up.

"Tony?" she asked, rising for a better view.

She saw not Tony, but the top of a familiar blue hat.

"L- Luke?" she called across the water, barely daring to believe it.

She heard a muffled response of, "There's no Luke here, miss. You must be imagining things."

She chuckled. "If there's no Luke, who am I currently talking to?"

"Um... Would you believe your conscience?"

Again, Arianna laughed. It felt good. It was something she only did whilst playing with Loosha nowadays.

"I'm afraid I wouldn't believe you if you claimed to be my conscience," she admitted. "However, if you said you were Luke Triton-"

"Gah!" With a yell, the boy sprang up from his hiding spot in the lengthy grass. "Arianna, I don't have time for this! I'm going to be late!"

As Arianna yelled, "Late for what?", he turned around, and began to run.

As far as Arianna remembered, Luke wasn't especially good at running.

But he must have improved since then, because he was running pretty fast now.

Curious, she hoisted up her skirt and waded through the water- it came up to just below her knees- all the while yelling things like "Luke, wait up!" or "Late for what? Luke!"

Finally on the other side, a little wet and muddy, she ran as fast as she could through the wooded ground.

Every now and again, she'd catch glimpses of blue through the foliage, and thanked God that she had always been faster than Luke.

Soon, she was practically behind him.

"Luke!" she called to him, slowing down.

He turned. His face paled.

"Oh no," he stated. "You can't have followed me. You'll get lost! You'll never find the way out of this forest!"

"You can take me back," she batted away his concern with flick of her wrist. "Where are you headed to in such a hurry anyway?"

Luke shook his head. "I'm sorry Arianna, I really am, but I can't say. Honest."

She felt her shoulders sag. Clearly Luke still distrusted her.

She didn't blame him. She had been horrible.

But she didn't understand why she was there catching her breath, and Luke was fine.

She was the more athletic. Luke was more... academically inclined.

"I can't stay and chat Arianna, I've got puzzles that need solving and," he shuddered, "jam tarts that need eating."

"Let me help you," she held out a hand. "If I remember correctly, your mother used to make the best jam tarts-"

"Mum didn't make these," Luke cut her off, speaking quickly. "Mum actually knows how to cook."

Arianna felt a dark eyebrow rise. "If your mother didn't make them, who did?"

"I can't tell you Arianna," his eyes were desperate, pleading.

She opened her mouth to speak, but didn't get a chance.

"Arianna, I really have to go," Luke glanced worriedly over his shoulders. "I don't want to, but I do."

She nodded, clutching her hands to her chest.

Looking down, she began, "I understand Luke, you still don't trust me after those things I said to you. But I just wanted you to know that I- Hey! Where are you going?"

Arianna had brought her head up slowly, so as to meet Luke's gaze, and instead found his back as he ran.

"Sorry Arianna!" she heard him call back to her. "I really have to go!"

He seemed so focused on running, he didn't notice a group of branches snatch hungrilly at his cap.

He didn't even notice when it was torn off.

Arianna had never seen Luke without his hat on. He wore it everywhere.

She couldn't handle the thought of being him without it.

So, despite being tired, she ran after him again, stopping to collect his hat, pulling twigs and dried leaves from it as she chased that small, quickly disappearing spec of blue in the distance.

"Luke!" she screamed. "Your hat!"

She ran after him, desperate, clutching his cap like her life depended on it, twisting through the trees, barely noticing as brambles and bushes grabbed at her, tearing away the tiniest possible fraction of her flesh, ripping treads from her dress.

One branch even won the struggle with her hair, now a demented orange mess resembling broom bristles as opposed to the neat, slick straight style she was so proud of, and snatched her ribbon from it's previously pristine bow.

Said ribbon now hung there, waving slightly in the breeze.

The branch in question trembled victoriously.

Perhaps it was because she was looking over her shoulder at her ribbon that she tripped and fell down the rabbit hole.

Or perhaps it was destiny that she tripped and fell down the rabbit hole.

Or perhaps it was because she truly was a Witch of Calamity.

Whatever the reason, she didn't realise she had fallen down the hole until she was sat on her sore arse, the wind completely knocked from her, arm twisted slightly, wincing at the dirt in her eyes, and at the bottom, looking up at the all too distant circle of sunshine.

She felt panic grip her heart.

Her chest tightened.

She felt dizzy. Her breathing increased.

"Calm down Arianna," she told herself. "Luke can't be too far in front of you. If you yell..."

"LUKE!" she screamed, her voice contorted with fear."LUKE! HELP!"

"Ah- Arianna?" A tentative, familiar voice called out.

That voice was far closer than Arianna had hoped.

But... It sounded as though Luke was down one of the numerous tunnels that came off of the one she was sat in.

"Luke," she replied, her voice tainted with tears and joy, at the fact he was so close. "Luke, help me, please. I've...I've fallen."

"Arianna, I can't," his voice echoed from all around her. "I'm gunna be late!"

"Luke, please," her voice came out as barely more than a whisper, tears creating long, clean paths on her dirt-streaked face.

Omnipotent, his reply came back even quieter than hers had.

"Follow me..."

Arianna gulped.

Follow me...

Surely she was imagining it?

Follow me...

It sounded as though the speaker was beside her.

Suddenly, she felt a hand, an extremely muddy hand, tighten around hers, and pull her to her feet.

"Follow me..."

The next thing she knew, she was being led through the winding underground passage by someone who felt so much like Luke, but surely wasn't Luke.

What was Luke doing in a burrow?

It was too dark for her to see anything, she doubted Luke would be able to either.

But someone was there.

Someone was holding her hand and running.

And she was holding their hand back and running too.

What would her father say, if he knew she was being led blindly by someone would could very well be a stranger through a maze of underground tunnels?

Would he even care?

He'd probably tell her she was too ill, and that the doctors said she should be resting, and ban her from living what was left of her life freely.

Still, she wished he was at home with her and To-

Tony!

She'd completely forgotten about hi-

Suddenly she was falling again.

She was alone, and she was falling.

And at a high speed.

A very high speed.

She braced herself for an impact that never came.

Her descent slowed.

It slowed to the point that she was practically floating donwards.

She opened her eyes, and gasped.

As she floated down the seemingly-bottomless abyss the stranger had led her too, numerous objects floated upwards, towards the top.

Normal objects.

Basic household objects; things like candles and brooms and books.

Except they weren't normal.

As they ascended, they whispered to her.

They whispered impossible things to her.

They whispered puzzles to her.

"What word, when pronounced right is wrong, but pronounced wrong is right?"

"There are three candles; a tall thin one, a small stout one, and a long winding one. When lit, which candle burns longer?"

"A man never leaves his house. One dark stormy night, he turns out his light and goes to bed. The next morning he's told he's responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. How did he kill them?"

"There's a street in which all the houses are painted black. The lights in the houses are off, the streetlights outside are off, and a man is driving his black car without the headlights on. A black dog runs out in front of the car, and the man stops. How did he see him?"

"There were ten candles burning. the wind came through the window and extingiushed two. Upon checking them later, you see another has gone out. You close the window to prevent any more going out. Assuming none do, how many candles are you left with in the end?"

"A man starts at A and tries to go to B-"

"A girl has seven eggs in a basket-"

"A family of four leave thier house on Monday-"

Arianna clamped her eyes shut tightly, and pressed her hands against her ears, trying to drown the whispers out.

"I don't know!" she told the objects. "I don't know the anwers!"

Then came the impact she'd pushed to the back of her mind.

She landed with an "omph!"

Her eyes opened.

She took a moment to recover from the shock, and catch her breath.

Her knees were sore, and she found herself blinking in the sudden light.

Light?

Great.

She must have fallen into the centre of the Earth.

When she'd pictured her death, it had never been by burning magma.

Slowly, her eyes came to adjust, and she slowly pushed herself from the floor.

She struggled to stand upright.

And then she noticed that centre of the Earth looked an awful lot like the Triton's hallway.

And there was a boy sat on the steps, staring intently at a book, casually turning the page every now and again, who looked an awful lot like Luke.

Except...

Except where Luke would have a hat, this boy had untidy dark hair, and long, white ears.

Rabbit ears.

"L-Luke?"Arianna called out to him tentatively, struggling to walk, holding on to the wall for support.

The boy jumped, and dropped his book with a small squeak.

He looked up, and met Arianna's wide-eyed gaze.

"Luke..." she whispered, startled.

"Um, h-hi Arianna," he smiled bashfully, hands behind his back, looking down slightly.

"You- You lost your hat," she extended her hand, holding the cap out to him.

He moved closer, his smile growing. He took the hat from her.

He then grabbed his ears- his real ears, his real, rabbit ears- and tucked them neatly and expertly inside his hat.

"Thanks," he said. "Can't visit the Queen in this state, can I?"

"Luke, what are you on about?" she asked, as he adjusted the rim of his cap, twisting it to the side slightly.

"I'm sorry Arianna," his smile fell into a frown. "I wasted enough time waiting for you to bring my hat back. I'm going to be really late now."

"But-"

Arianna had barely began before Luke had disappeared out his front door, running as fast as his legs would carry him, and leaving her on her own, muddy, exhausted, and without an answer.

Extended A/N:

So I hoped you enjoyed that. I want to keep writing this, regardless of whether anyone reads this. If you have read this, and enjoyed it, you can review or whatever, but don't expect regular updates, because this story comes after the other ones I've been writing for a while.

If you know the answers to any of the sucky puzzles in this chapter, post 'em. I'll be sure to award you an acceptable amount of Picarats for a correct answer.