A/N: I recently started reading Prof. Layton fics, and I thought I'd try my hand at a novelization of The Curious Village. I apologize if the characters aren't quite written correctly; correct characterization is a skill that I'm still mastering. This story will start just before The Curious Village and will also end just after the game ends. Also, I won't be going too in-depth with the puzzles from the game, nor will I be writing out every conversation that happens in the game. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the story.
The Princess of St. Mystere
Prologue
In the frightful tower of St. Mystere, a young brunette looked down upon the village that was built to protect her. Ironic…she thought. After many years of listening to Mama and Papa read me stories about Princesses and Towers, here I am, locked in a tower waiting for a new guardian. It's almost straight out of a fairy tale…
The young girl chuckled with mirth, finding some level of humor in her situation. Day by day she waited, waiting for someone to take her to a new home, yet each and every day, nobody showed. Please…anybody…come find the Golden Apple…
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Junk, junk, junk. Bill, junk, bill. Paycheck, junk, gratitude letter… The day continued like that as Luke Triton, Professor Layton's assistant sorted his mail; one of his many duties. Of all of my responsibilities as the Professor's assistant, this has got to be the DULLEST one yet… The blue-capped boy dryly remarked to himself as he finished the sorting.
Finally, this is the last one… As he looked at the envelope to figure out where to put it, something caught his eye. The envelope was embroidered with expensive jewelry, marked with a stamp that Luke had seen on urgent packages. "The…the professor must see this. PROFESSOR!" Luke yelled as he raced off to find Professor Layton.
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Dum-dum, dum-dum,dum-dum-dum-dum, duum-duum…Layton hummed as he worked on grading papers at his desk. Finished with the group he was grading, he had just finished putting the pile into his folder when he heard the call "PROFESSOR".
Layton shook his head and thought Only Luke… He then turned around to see Luke out of breath with the envelope in his hand. He chuckled and jokingly admonished "Remember Luke, a gentleman never yells inside of a home", tipping his tall hat.
Luke looked away, embarrassed by his antics. "Sorry Professor, but it's urgent; you just got a very important letter, here."
Luke panted for breath as he handed the professor the fancy envelope. "Hmm…Mrs. Dhalia Reinhold…" read the professor as he gently tore the envelope open and read the parchment. After reading the letter, Layton smiled an intrigued smile, stowed the letter in his pocket, and announced "Luke, grab your things. We're going to solve an inheritance dispute in a village called St. Mystere. I'll phone your father and let him know where you are."
Luke looked confused, but ran out nonetheless; he knew from experience that despite appearances, no case that the great Hershel Layton took on was ordinary at all. I wonder what adventure is waiting for us in ?! Luke thought to himself as he hurried to pack his things and meet the professor at the Laytonmobile.
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"I don't understand, Professor, why are we going to help solve an inheritance dispute?" they had been traveling in the car for a little over an hour now, and as beautiful as the countryside of England was to look at, the question had been bugging him ever since they left the house.
Layton just chuckled and replied "This is an altogether unique and exciting situation, and it has piqued my intellectual curiosity." That sounds like something the professor would say, alright. He then went on to explain the mystery of the Golden Apple and how it had puzzled all of St. Mystere. Luke listened with a poker face, but inside he was teaming with excitement at the mystery ahead.
Unable to keep his poker face any longer, Luke exclaimed "How exciting! I hope is ready for the famous archaeologist and puzzle-solving detective, Hershel Layton!"
Layton chuckled and remarked "Oh Luke, you know as well as I do that I am no detective. Lady Dhalia has asked me to investigate the situation. A true gentleman never refuses the request of a beautiful lady."
Layton smiled while Luke rolled his eyes, thinking That's the professor, alright. At the behest of the professor, Luke began to look at the map to St. Mystere, and was shocked to see no indication of a final destination; just some roads, houses, and one sentence at the top.
Having already solved the puzzle when he read the letter, Layton hid his smile and remarked "Lady Dhalia seems to have given us a test. We'll need to decipher this map in order to find the village." Luke immediately volunteered, and the professor obliged. It took a minute or two, but Luke beamed with excitement once he had found the answer.
"Now we can find the village!" Luke announced with pride. But as usual, Layton was one step ahead of him, explaining that a basic puzzle like that was easy enough to solve at a glance, then telling Luke to grab his things.
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Luke and Layton got out of the car and looked around, seeing a moat and a drawbridge, but the object that caught their eyes the most was the ominous tower in the distance.
"We're stuck on the outside! What do we do, Professor?" Luke moaned as he realized that the drawbridge was up.
After noticing that a man was standing on the other side, Layton politely asked if he could lower the drawbridge. He initially got a rude response, but ever the patient detective, Layton mentioned that he received an invitation from Lady Dhalia. Once he said the magic word, the man explained "the engine is busted, and I can only move the bridge with this hand crank. There's all these infernal slots I could put the crank in, but I got no clue which one to use…" Layton offered to assist the gentleman, and he obliged.
After a few seconds, the puzzle was solved, the drawbridge was lowered, and the young detectives were on their way into St. Mystere. "What a rude welcoming committee…" Luke murmured. "You'd think that Lady Dhalia would have given us a more friendly welcome, seeing as she was the one who asked for you…"
Layton ruffled his apprentice's cap and admonished "A true gentleman never moans about the circumstances. Now, let's find the Reinhold Manor." Luke sulked, but did as he was told as they got directions from the local townsfolk.
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"Well well well, visitors to St. Mystere, at last. But can they be trusted?" the elderly mechanic thought as he worked away inside the tower. "I need to buy some time to evaluate them, see if they're worthy of the Golden Apple…" It was then that he crept out of a secret passage, making his way towards the drawbridge.
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Watching up from the highest floor of the Tower, the young girl watched as the two visitors entered her village. Her eyes twinkled with hope as she evaluated the visitors. "The man in the tall hat looks nice, and the kid in blue looks kind of cute." She sighed and fell to the floor as a tear of hope escaped her eye and she thought Please, whoever you are, find the Golden Apple!
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A/N: Can you guess what Professor Layton was humming? Stay tuned for the next chapter