"What is so important about this cube, Snowy?"

I pull the door of our apartment open and Snowy eagerly runs inside. "Why has it attracted so much attention?" I pull the cube out of my pocket before tossing my trench coat over the arm chair. "Where IS that magnifying glass?" I walk into my office, placing the cube on my desk and rumage through my drawers unsuccessfully, I slide between my desk and the wall, looking over the shelves until I hear Snowy whine.

I turn around and there he sat, the magnifying glass in mouth; I squat down to his level and pull the magniying glass free. "Thank you" I say in annoyance, it wasn't the first time he'd hidden it. I pick the cube up "Now lets have a look at th-" A loud growl rips it way through Snowy's throat, I turn towards him to see his teeth bared towards a siamese cat which was perched on the window ledge.

Things downfall from there.

I jump out of the way and the cat uses my chest as a launching pad from the window into the loungeroom. It springs to the coffee table. Snowy jumps at me as well and I tumble to the ground, the box escaping my fingers. "Snowy!" I jump to my feet and I desperatly try to grab Snowy, upturning a couple pieces of furniture, eventually I grab a hold of him and the cat jumps onto my face. I am pushed backward and I hit the armchair with such force, it rocks backwards.

There is a sickening crack and I didn't need many guesses as to what it was.

I scramble out of the chair and push it away, the box was now cracked and split, the sapphire was cracked into three jagged pieces and there where pieces of chipped wood everywhere. "Look what you did!" I turn the box over "You broke it! Bad dog!" Snowy whimpers and I sigh "Well where not getting anything out of this... Come on Snowy, where going to the one place we MAY get answers" I place the box onto the book cabinet before grabbing my coat and hustling out the door. "Come on!" I usher for Snowy and lock the door before heading out of the building.

Towards the maritime museum.

The muesum was near empty at this time of night, the windows where mosaiced with individually unique ships and the rows of historical books where slowly gathering dust.

"Snowy, here it is!" I was currently sitting at a desk near the west end of the museum, there where dozens of books lying around me and my back had gone numb from having sat at the creaky old chair for so long.

"The Decretio Puzzleboxes"

Also known as Pandora's Boxes, the Decretio puzzles were carved and created by Nathaniel Veleross Decretio; the lone survivor of the ill fated Pandora. The ship set sail for Barbados in 1880 on one of the most ruinous voyages in maritime history

Ship never reached destination. Attacked by pirates. All lost except for one survivor.

Decretio was said to have made the boxes whilst on his voyage, creating one for each of his children; however on return, he believed the boxes and his name to be cursed. The ship's manifest stated it was carrying a cargo of rum, tobacco and grain, but it was long since claimed the ship had been carrying a secret cargo

I turn to my white terrier whom was watching me with nothing but innocent curiousity, "What was the ship carrying Snowy?"

I flip to the next page.

This rumour has also been supported by the suspicions as to where the jewels from the boxes came from. Historians have tried and failed to uncover what happened both th voyage and what Decretio hid inside the box but it was never uncovered. His last words being

'Only that of my blood, will ever discover the Secret of the Pandora Boxes" I flip to the picture of Nathaniel, he had deep red hair and brown hazel eyes, the family crest was printed above him. It consisted of a ruby rose with its thorns intertwined with an unidentifiable fish.

I linger there in thought for a second before flipping through more of the books. Feeling the presence of someone else in the museum, Snowy and I turn in synchronisation. The edge of a blue blazer disappears behind the bookshelf and I look at the floor. The shadow of a round man disappears and a sudden crack of thunder makes me jump and snap my head back to the windows I'd been previously facing. "Come on Snowy.." And I grab my coat, snapping the book shut and hurrying out of the museum, my head swarming with questions as we leave.

"We're missing something Snowy!" I say as I shut the front door of the building, narrowly missing the light shower of rain; "We need to take another look at that cube" I say running up the stairs. I hurridely pull out my keys before pushing the door open; shutting the door behind me, I walk to the book cabinet. I hadn't turned the lights on but even through the lighting I could still see the empty benchtop. I have a moment of shock before I snap my fingers in frustration,"Of COURSE it's gone! How could I be so stupid..." There where only two people whom I could suspect stole the broken puzzle box.

There was the american man, but he was supposedly at the museum at the same time I was. And then there was the blonde man whom in a moment of thought; I'd identified as Leon Treshum. And I knew EXACTLY where to find him. I rush into my office, rummaging through my drawers until I find my torch, before I walk back out of my apartment. Locking the door behind me, I hurry downstairs, flip my collar up and proceed into the shower of rain; Snowy by my heels as we head towards Marlinspike Hall.

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Also I did some notes on this (Scribbled on paper) and I worked this out, Tintin is old enough to drink but he is still classified as a young adult, and he isn't in school. So by that I draw together he is 19 in my fanfiction, born in 1923 because the year this is set in is 1942 when Herge first published 'The Secret of The Unicorn'. My boy OC will be two years older then Tintin and my girl OC will be two years younger. On that note,my boy OC isn't going to appear until the middle of chapter 5 and the girl isn't until the end of chapter 5.

Anyways..

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