False Love
Disclaimer: I do not own Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box/Pandora's Box. It belongs to Level-5... However, all the games I've played have made me cry...
Lunaria smiled, holding her ticket with nothing but numbers as she stepped off the Molentary Express. She appeared to be alone, and her smile quickly faded as she saw how dark and grim the station was. Stepping carefully forward, a sharp gust blew her long brown hair about her face. Her brow furrowed as she fiddled through her bag for a hair ribbon. Quickly tying her hair back, she took another cautious step. The floor appeared to shake under her feet and lights flashed before her eyes.
"What's going on?" she asked, holding her head in her hands. The floor stopped shaking and the lights disappeared as quickly as they'd come. The girl stepped forward once again, walking in short strides. Two boys in hats were arguing over something as Lunaria walked out of the train station. One of the boys leaned against the fountain, his hat covering his eyes.
"I told you, go away, kid. I actually have a reason to be here, unlike you. Now beat it."
The other boy, younger by several years and wearing a light purple, pinkish hat, spoke next.
"There's enough room here for both of us, Rory."
"There isn't enough room in all of Folsense for us both!" The older boy, Rory exclaimed.
Lunaria watched with slight amusement, when an older boy closer to Rory's age walked toward the fountain.
"Stop, Rory. Picking on a mere child?" The older boy looked down to the younger one. "Go home, Niles. I'll be there after I deal with Rory here." The younger boy ran off, leaving the boy Lunaria assumed was his brother.
"I can't stand that kid, and you know that." Rory growled, looking to the floor.
"Well, I can't stand you. Stop waiting for your girlfriend that's never going to come back and go to the cabaret where you belong."
Rory stormed off, the girlfriend comment striking a nerve. The boy smiled, and Lunaria stepped forward.
"Oh, hello!" the boy said, surprised.
"Hi..." Lunaria responded, unsure what to say.
"You're new here."
"Huh? Oh, hehe, yeah." Lunaria looked into his eyes, realizing how handsome he looked. The boy cleared his throat and Lunaria blushed, realizing she had stared at him. "Sorry... But yeah, I am new. I just wanted to take a look around before my train left."
"You mean that train over there?" The boy said, pointing to the station. The Molentary Express was speeding away. The girl ran frantically, the boy following her.
"NO! NONONONO!" But it was too late, the train was long gone. "All of my things..."
"Oh dear, that's so unfortunate! And that train only comes by occasionally..."
The young woman's eyes filled with tears. She shrunk to the floor, holding her head in her hands.
"What am I going to do?" she asked.
"No, please don't cry." The boy sat down next to her, hugging her figure close to his.
"But I have nowhere to go..." The tears flowed from her eyes, staining the boy's shirt.
"Here," the boy said, pulling a hankie from his pocket. "Don't cry. My name is Duke. Duke Cambridge. What's your name?"
"... Lunaria Lewis."
"Good to meet you, Miss Lewis. Now, come over to my house. My brother's waiting for me." Duke stood up, grabbing her hand.
"No, I couldn't possibly. How could you explain this to your parents?"
"... My brother and I live alone."
"I'm so sorry, I didn't-"
"No need to apologise. Now, let's go. We'll figure something out there."
Duke held Lunaria's hand, keeping her steady.
"What is this town?" Lunaria asked as they walked past a place glowing pink, that she assumed was the cabaret.
"Folsense." Duke turned on a longer road, and turned again in front of a smaller building. He opened the door and motioned for Lunaria to go in. The house wasn't as small as she thought it would be, it was actually quite large.
"Duke, you're home!" The boy from earlier, Niles, walked down a spiral staircase. Niles ran to hug his brother, and Duke grinned. Lunaria smiled at the two boys. Niles broke the hug, then his eyes moved to the strange girl he'd never seen before.
"There's a strange girl here." Niles pointed at Lunaria.
"No, this girl is Lunaria. She's stuck here until the Molentary Express comes back."
"Why is she in our house?"
"She has nowhere else to go, Niles. Be kind." Duke motioned for Lunaria to come by him.
"Hi there." she said, looking to the floor. Niles smiled, grabbing her hand and shaking it furiously.
"Hello! I'm Niles, but you already know that." Niles turned to his brother, whispering something in his ear. Duke turned a furious shade of red, and shook his head like a crazy person.
"OF COURSE NOT!"
Niles and Lunaria looked at Duke, confusion written on Lunaria's face and amusement on Niles'.
"No need to lie, brother." the younger boy said, as if he knew something no one else did.
"Well, Miss Lewis," Duke said, ignoring his brother and sitting on a couch, "make yourself at home. Looks like you'll be staying here for a few days, until you get back on your feet. You'll need to get a job, if you want to move out. You're more than welcome to stay here. It gets awfully lonely when you're in such a large house.
"No, I couldn't. Are there any flats for rent around here?"
"Afraid not, the closest thing around here is a hotel, and hotels can be pretty expensive."
Lunaria sighed, sitting on the couch next to Duke.
"Are you absolutely positive I can stay here?"
"Of course, provided you can do housework. We all share this house, so we each have to do our share of the work."
"Naturally, but are you sure? You've only just met me."
"I dunno. You're... different from anyone I've ever met. I feel like I can just trust you."
"What if I'm homicidal?"
Duke shot the girl a look.
"Do you want to stay here or not?"
Lunaria smiled, giving up on the debate. "Of course. But be warned, I'm a dreadful cook."
And so, Lunaria began her stay with the Cambridge boys. The three grew together quickly, but Lunaria and Duke became nothing short of best friends. One day, while Niles was off roaming Folsense with Joanie, Duke and Lunaria decided to go shopping. Money was never an issue, the boys' parents had been extremely well off and the monthly allowance from the inheritance was more than enough for the two boys and one girl to survive on.
Garland's store was the only grocer in Folsense, so the pair had to endure the horrible garlic smell that came with the shopping visits.
"Ah! Yuck, you never get used to so much garlic." Duke exclaimed as he entered the store.
"'Course not, it's just so strong, and... Uh... What's the word..."
"Disgusting?"
"No..."
"Awful?"
"No, it starts with a P..."
"pungent?"
"Yes!" Lunaria yelled, alarming Garland, "That's it!"
"You have such a way with words, Luna." Duke said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Why thank you, Reginald."
Duke leapt at Lunaria, covering her mouth and searching around frantically.
"Sh! You can't just blurt my middle name for everyone else in the world to hear!"
"As if, we're the only ones in the store, genius. Ew, you pushed me into a pile of garlic."
Duke stood up and helped Lunaria to her feet.
"Sorry. Oh gosh, you smell awful."
"I noticed," she grimaced, pinching her nose.
The duo quickly grabbed the things they needed, sifting through the supplies to find the ones least garlicky.
"I CAN BREATHE!" Lunaria shouted once they were out in the fresh air.
"I can't. You still smell awful, Luna."
"Well, this is your fault. Now, you have to buy me new clothes."
"Can we burn the garlic ones?"
"Whoah, calm yourself, Mr. Pyro. But yeah, maybe... I don't think these clothes should go to the dump." Lunaria looked at her purple top and black pants, regretting what happened to them. At least her shoes were okay...
"Probably. Well, my mum actually left some of her clothes behind. They'd probably fit you. Wanna go see?"
"No! Duke, you know I could never do that!"
"It's alright, she had no use for them. And she was always the kind of person to give to those in need." Duke looked Lunaria over. "And you're definitely in need."
"If you insist..." Lunaria reluctantly accepted and grabbed Duke's waiting hand. They talked about the things friends talk about, ranging from kittens to fruit. Somehow, Duke always managed to bring the subject back to Lunaria's awful stench, causing raucous laughter from Duke. Lunaria covered her ears, causing Duke to laugh even more.
"Duke, your laugh always gets me. I never expect such a loud sound from you."
"Well, get used to it."
"What do you mean?" Lunaria asked, confused.
"Nevermind!" Duke flushed a light shade of pink.
As they neared the cabaret, music started to play. Outside of the cabaret, an accordion player and a violinist were outside, playing a folksy tune. Lunaria smiled and set her bag of groceries on the ground.
"Duke! Let's dance!" Lunaria clapped her hands and began dancing alone.
"I don't think so..."
"C'mon, I'll help you!" Lunaria grabbed the hesitant boy's hand and smiled. His feet move clumsily while hers moved gracefully, sweat beaded on his neck as she held him closer to direct his dancing. The tune slowed down, into more of a strange waltz, and their dancing slowed as well. Lunaria rest her head on his shoulder, thinking that if time stopped at that moment, she'd be just fine. Their dancing continued, until Duke said that if they were any longer, Niles would worry. Waving at the musicians and giving them the change they were given from the store, they continued home after grabbing their groceries.
"That was fun, wasn't it?" Lunaria asked as they turned down the long road.
"..." Duke stayed silent for a moment, pulling his hat over his eyes.
"Duke?" The brunette poked her friend in the arm. "Are you okay?"
Suddenly, Duke grabbed Lunaria's arm and held her close to him. "What are you-"
"This." he muttered, answering her question before she finished asking it. Lunaria stood in shock as he pressed his lips to hers, then kissed him back in bliss. In the back of her mind, she told herself that what she said before was a lie. If time stopped at THAT moment, she'd be just fine.
Unfortunately for her, time kept going on despite how much she wanted it to stop.
A/N: I had this idea with the whole Folsense hallucination gas thing. Like? Dislike? This'll probably be three or four chapters, it depends on where it goes. Please review!