""Claire... Claire...!"
A handmaiden was desperately trying to wake up a sleeping beauty... literally...
"Come on Claire! Wake up!"
The day as bright as always and the sky blue as ever. The sunlight, shone across through the window to a very delicate face...
"*Sigh* My last option then... Ten, nine, eight..." The sleeping beauty, hearing the count, woke up.
"I-I'm awake! I'm awake!"
"Whew... I thought you were in a coma for a second..."
"Sorry, I'm a heavy sleeper..."
Who is this woman you asked? Well, this is none other than a simple handmaiden...
...Claire Foley...
Chapter 1: The Devil's Whisper
The orange-red hair woman with onyx eyes made her bed and wore her work uniform, a black and white maid outfit with a white hat included.
She went outside of her room. Her friend, Aria, also came out of the room.
It has been a few days since Claire moved to London. She got a job of a common handmaiden at a rather profitable inn. It was her first time this woman worked as one. Despite that, she managed to get friends while at work.
"So how do you like it here, Claire?"
"It's really nice here. The people here are really friendly! ...Actually, they're too friendly..."
"Makes sense doesn't it? You're sort of a celebrity with the men here ever since you came."
"I-I'm not that popular... am I...?"
"Well, you're smart and pretty! It's no wonder they go crazy over you! I mean, they surround you wherever you go!"
Claire blushed. It was embarrassing for her to walk around town with boys starring at her and asking her out for a date... even more embarrassing that they fight each other to win her heart...
"Anyway, you're in charge of buying groceries today Claire."
"Groceries huh? My first time..."
"Don't worry! It's one of the most easiest task here." Claire sighed a relief.
"Soo... where's the list?"
"Oh, here... and the money too. There's a lot of things you need to buy, so maybe you need some help to carry it back to the kitchen..."
"Don't worry about me! I'll be fine..." Claire took the list from Aria and rushed out of the inn. 'It's only been five days since I've work at the inn... I need to make sure I won't mess up...' Claire thought.
She looked back at the inn. Admiring the nice walls of the inn that were made of red brick. The name, after all, is called Brickvale inn. And though it's only seven in the morning, many people were already renting rooms. Of course, the inn is famous for it's hospitality and it's heart-warming maids.
She took out a golden pocket watch and looked at the time.
'It's still early, I could relax a bit at least...'
She looked at the list. "Let's see... apples, celery, beef..."
Claire walked through a busy street of London. She saw a busy market nearby and went there.
"Ah! Miss Foley! Welcome, welcome!"
A man with a butcher knife welcomed Claire to his meat stand. The problem is, she doesn't even know him.
"Uh, t-thank you... excuse me sir, but... have we met before?"
"Hahaha! Technically no, but you're quite popular in this part of town." Claire was just speechless, this the first time she was actually popular... Looks like Claire is going to worry about stalkers and strangers...
"Oh! Do you want any meat?"
"Y-Yes... One kilo of beef please..."
While she was waiting for the beef, a sudden thought came to her mind.
She was hearing a lot of rumors and gossips lately... And she was wondering what they were about. She wanted to ask her friends but the thought always slip her mind.
"Here it is, Missy!"
"Thank you, how much?"
"20.19 pounds."
"20.19 pounds... here."
She said farewell to the butcher and headed on to buy fruits and vegetables.
While walking down to inn with a few bags of groceries, a few seedy men were stalking at her...
'Just ignore them Claire... Just ignore them...'
But to no avail, the men started to talk to her. "Hey babe, you must be Claire Foley."
"..."
"Never thought the woman herself is working as a maid..."
"H-How do you what I work!" The whole men became quiet. "W-Why suddenly so quiet...?" That's when she realized her own mistake... 'W-Wait a minute... I'm wearing my maid uniform...'
"Ha! This chick's not bad in body figure!"
"Wanna come play with us, babe?"
Claire panicked. She just kept clutching the groceries and started to slowly back away from them. But the men started to surround her. "No running away, cutie..."
'Oh no! What am I going to do! Aria did say something of a knight in shining armor would come when you're in trouble... This isn't the time to be thinking of some typical love encounter! I should be thinking of a way to get away from them!'
"I, uhh... have work to do so-"
But the men started to grab her arms. "Hey! Let go of me!" Her groceries dropped heavily to the ground.
"Oooh, this girl's feisty!"
Little did she know that a golden metal object fell down from her pocket...
"H-Help!" She cried for help but no one heard her. "Someone! Help!"
"Get away from that lady!"
'I-I can't believe it! It actually came! My knight in...'
Well... Claire thought the so called knight-in-shining-armor would look all cool and dreamy... but, the man who yelled was more of a guy-in-blue-coat.
"This... can't be my knight..."
"What's the matter, geezer. Need some hair-producing shampoo or something?"
The men snickered. Claire was still in their grasp, with a confused face in her face.
"Don't you people know who I am! I am the great Don Paolo!"
"Don... who?"
"Some kind of nut case I guess..." They just ignored him, even Claire ignored him too.
"You dare ignore me! I am an evil genius you know!"
"Whatever geezer..."
"Grr... Then take this you bubble-head idiots!"
He pulled out a very big cannon and pointed to the men. "Don't worry my sweet Claire! I shall rescue you from these goons!"
'Aren't you suppose to be the bad guy...?' Claire thought.
Anyhow, he started up the cannon and guess what? The men ran away in fear from the 'geezer'... Claire sighed in a relief that they were gone. She was finally free from their hard grip. "Umm... thank you! Don... Paolo?"
"Anything for an old crush!"
"...Old crush...?"
"D-Don't tell me you don't remember me..."
"W-What?"
"AARGGHH! She doesn't even remember me!"
"H-Huh?"
"This is all his fault!"
"W-Who?"
"All because of... I don't even want to say his name..."
Don Paolo was all furious that you could see steam in his ears. But he finally settled down and greeted Claire a good bye. "I'll be back, Claire! And I will make you remember me the next time we meet again!"
And he went off... to who knows where... "That was one weird conversation..."
She picked up her all the food that was dropped to the ground, luckily most of the food were in cans and plastic so they didn't got spoiled.
"The eggs are broken though... I guess I need to buy them again..."
Claire went again to Brickvale inn. There she saw Aria sweeping outside. "Claire! You're back!" Aria shouted.
"Yes, I'm back. Here's the groceries."
Claire handed the heavy groceries to her. "Let's see... huh? Where's the eggs?"
"Eggs? Oh! It was... err... I accidentally bumped to a wall and the eggs cracked!" Claire said nervously. She didn't want Aria to know about what happened just know, since she can break bones with one quick blow...
"...Really?" Aria didn't believe her, but since she thought it was no big deal so she just shrugged.
Claire felt something was missing... when she reached her pocket, it was empty.
The golden pocket watch was gone.
"O-Oh no! It's lost!"
"What's lost?"
"...I'll be back soon Aria!"
"Wait, what!" Claire ran as fast as she could... she tried to remember where she dropped it.
The only conclusion she drew was the street where she struggled with those seedy men...
"I hope they're not here..."
Walking through the same street from before, Claire walked silently and examine her whole surrounding with her soft eyes.
"I know I dropped it here... Don't tell me they took it from me!"
But Claire thought of another conclusion. "Or that Don Paolo guy stole it from me..."
'This is not good... If I lose that pocket watch... I..'
'Wait...'
'Why is it so important to me...? I don't even remember where I got it in the first place either...'
'Was it from someone... that I've forgotten...?'
Pondering from her thoughts, she didn't realize the sky turning gray. "The sky... It's going to rain."
"...And I didn't bought an umbrella with me..."
A white fog started to cover the whole city. Making Claire hard to see where she is going. "I can't see in this fog... Maybe I should go back..."
But she went the wrong way.
She was walking deeper to a very deserted place... Not a single soul was here except for Claire. "This place looks abandoned..."
The whole buildings were in need of repair... even the road was a bit cracked...
"Hm? I see something red in that wall..."
Claire walked closer to the mysterious read stain from a wall of an empty flat. What she saw... was indeed a very gruesome scene.
"KYAAA! Blood! E-Everywhere!"
A dead man was slumped to a wall with blood all over his body... Blood were also spilled to the wall. From the looks of the wound, it was a blade that ended his life. "D-Did a murder just happened recently...?" A massacre was more appropriate of a word. Dead bodies was laid out in the cold road to rot away... and the red color of blood stood out from the light fog.
Claire was horrified by the scene...
And was more horrified by the sound of footsteps coming closer...
'T-The murderer... is coming here...!'
The footsteps were becoming more louder...
Claire was frozen stiff. Not able to move because of fear...
A figure of a tall man appeared out of the fog... and it's seems to be holding a black umbrella...
He came closer to Claire... and his whole figure was clear enough to see. He has brown hair that also matched his eye color... He wore a black tailcoat, covering his red vest. A monocle resided at his right eye, and the most noticeable was the black top hat. A sly smile appeared on his face...
"A charming woman such as yourself shouldn't be walking in a silent street like this... A dangerous character might appear behind you..." Said the mysterious man with a silky voice.
His hand was reaching for her face.
But Claire just stood there, shivering.
His hand reached for her cheek, caressing it. "My... you're shivering... You'll catch a cold later when it rains..."
His hand moved to her chin, directing it to his devilishly handsome face. "Let me take you to your place... you work at that inn, no?"
Claire unconsciously muttered one single word...
"...Yes..."
Light rain pored down from the sky. He held the umbrella above the two of them. Claire just walked with him, but fear was still lingering in her.
"Is the bloody image you saw still inside your mind?"
"...!"
A low chuckle was heard from him. "There's don't need to be afraid of me my dear... I could tell you in full honesty I did not murder them."
"..."
"Oh goodness me, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Hershel Layton... very pleased to make your acquaintance..."
His voice was like none Claire has ever heard... his voice was like silk... and as smooth as honey... All Claire could do is listen to his seductive voice...
"Oh? We're here already..."
The Brickvale inn stood in front of the two pair. With all the staff and travelers inside, getting warm from the rain.
"It was a pleasurable time escorting you..."
Hershel reached in his pocket and placed it at Claire's hand. "You seem to be looking for this just now..."
When Claire took a look at the 'thing' he gave her. Her eyes went wide.
"This is...! B-But how did you..." Her thoughts of the bloody street was quickly forgotten.
"Happy to be of a help... I shall be leaving now..."
"Um!"
Hershel leaned to Claire's ear, and softly spoke with a bit of a sinister tone. "Oh don't... We'll meet again soon... Claire Foley..."
He tipped his hat... and went off to the darkness of the cold rainy night...
"Claire!"
Aria suddenly slammed the door opened. "Where were you! You've been gone for more than an hour!"
"O-Oh... sorry..."
"Just hurry up and go inside! You're gonna get wet!"
"O-Okay!"
Still confused about what happened this morning, she decided to think about it later. Well, she did miss an hour more of work duty.
'I wonder... who is he really...?'
She went inside, with the golden pocket watch in her hands...
Day seems to pass by soon... and the moon appeared on the dark night.
The same top hatted gentleman was sitting down at a luxurious chair with his legs crossed, pleasantly drinking a glass of wine.
"Who would ever thought I'll be able to meet her in a maid outfit of all things...? Heh... quite a surprise indeed..."
A knock on a door was heard through the dark room.
"Come in..."
A shadowy figure came through the door... his face was covered by the dark, only part of his body was visible by the illuminating light of the moon. But by that alone you can see all the sharp weapons stacked in his waist.
"I've done what you requested, master." A voice of a male teen emerges from his mouth.
"Oh? You finally manage to kill all of them?
"Yes."
"Are you sure? I dislike my dogs lying through their teeth... of course, you know that more than anyone."
"...I'm very sure, master..."
"Good boy..."
He took another sip of wine. "I've met a most interesting woman while I was taking a walk..."
"A woman, master?"
"Working as a maid at an inn."
"Ah..."
He looked face to face with his 'dog.' "Is there any other report you would like to inform me?"
"Nothing of importance, master..."
"What about Luke...?"
"Playing with those fierce guard animals as usual..."
"How nice... You're dismissed, I will be giving a you a task tomorrow, so be prepared..."
"Yes, Master Layton."
The shadowy figure done as he wishes. Leaving him alone once again.
"Oh Claire... I can't wait to see your lovely face again..."
My first romance fanfic... I'm not really into romance but, hey, I'll just give it a shot. This fic was inspired by Phantom of the Opera and (wierdly so) Maid in Manhattan. Colorcloud Palace too actually. I remember Shurei was frozen stiff when meeting with some kind of guy with long white hair from some clan. Anyway, how do you like evil Layton so far? I haven't revealed all of his personality though. Oh, if the price for the one kilo beef was wrong, could you tell me the real price so I can fix it? I know it's a small detail but I'm trying to make it as perfect as possible.
Please review! Can you guess who was the shadowy figure talking to the professor?