Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Professor Layton franchise.

Chapter 26 Daffodils and Frustrations

Next up was the talk with the king. The professor, Emmy and Luke waited in the garden for the princess to arrive with good news. At least, that's what they were hoping for. The professor was eyeing a particularly beautiful yellow flower that had started to bloom. He stroked his index finger past the soft patel, wondering how much longer it would take for the pretty thing to turn into the beautiful flower it was meant to be.

''It's lovely.'' Emmy walked up next to him.

''Certainly.'' he smiled.

The colour had always made him happy. Something about it that reminded him of good times.

''Professor...can I ask you something?''

''Of course. Ask away my dear.''

She squatted down next to the flower and poked at a leftover droplet from one of the leaves.

''The thing that made me want to forget everything, did it...really hurt me that much?''

He looked down and watched as the wind rustled her hair.

''I'm not sure...we didn't really talk about it. But...I think it did.''

''Did it...hurt you?''

The question was complicated. And the feeling behind it, even more so. How was he going to answer it without her ending up hurt again. Without explaining the whole ordeal. He didn't know…

''I..''

''Everyone!''

They turned around and found the princess waving to them from the other side of the garden. She had a big smile plastered over her face, indicating good news. When they approached, she told them quickly her father was ready to receive them right away. He had cleared his schedule for the next few hours for them, since he had promised to help them out to the best of his abilities.

She beckoned them to follow her over to his chamber, where he was ready to talk. The king's chamber once again felt immense and impressive. Emmy and the professor, who had not seen the inside before, felt like they didn't have enough eyes to look around with. They approached the king and bowed to show their respect.

''Come sit with me. I heard from my daughter that you wished to talk to me about the relic.''

They took a seat on the table close to him and watched as the professor placed the previously found research onto the table.

''Is that?'' the princess asked.

''Yes. Emmy had indeed hidden away these papers in her room. We found them outside on her balcony.''

''Scattered in some tree.'' Luke chuckled.

''That's good news! Father, could you take a look at these?''

The king grabbed the pieces of paper and studied them close.

''I recognize these writings!'' he called out. ''Adofo, get me the ancient papers.''

''From the encasing my king?'' Adofo asked, confused.

''Yes, yes! Hurry boy.''

Adofo ran off out of the room and returned around 10 minutes later with another stack of documents. The king grabbed them from his hands and started comparing the writings on all the papers.

''Hm yes...I believe...''

The professor and the rest waited expectantly. They had no idea what the old king was going on about, but hoped for the best.

''HAH! I knew it!'' he exclaimed.

''What? What is it father?'' the princess asked.

''The handwriting on these is the same!''

He placed the pieces of papers on the table and spread them out next to each other for everyone to see. The group leaned forward and compared the different scribbles.

''It's true…'' the professor mumbled. ''They are close to identical.''

The king sat back in his chair with his chest puffed up, obviously proud of his discovery. The professor picked up the new pieces of paper to see what they had to say. He found different inscriptions about the necklace. The one thing that stood out to him in particular was the location of the temple of Thoth somewhere deep in a forest.

''That is where king Metjen found the Necklace. All other documents concerning their travel to it or what else they found there have unfortunately been destroyed. This was the only thing left.'' the king explained.

''This might be a good place to visit next. If we can discover more about each of the relics, we might be able to solve this. Emmy, is there anything about the ring that seems strange to you?''

''It's really clamped on my finger.'' she sighed while fumbling with the silver trinket.

''Father...I do not wish to be disrespectful, but could it be that the necklace was never removed from my great-grandmother's body? Like with Emmy, it is possible that the necklace is impossible to remove?'' the princess asked.

The king sighed and clasped his hands together.

''We could confirm it, if we were to open her casket in the family grave. It is however, highly disrespectful and against our traditions.''

The rest turned their heads down to the table, not wanting to insinuate anything of the sort.

''But...If it helps with relieving you both from these gifts, I will not hesitate to do so.''

''Father…''

The princess reached over and placed her hand on top of the king's hand.

''Thank you…''

The rest of the meeting continued with the king telling them all the story of king Metjen once more. He referenced the documents on occasion to really paint the image and told the story in a colourful way. The sun had started to set when he finished.

''Thank your majesty, for the thorough description of your family's rich history.'' the professor thanked the king.

''Oh please, you may call me Ruia. We are as close as family now.''

He reached out to shake the professor's hand, which the gentleman took immediately.

''We should probably plan our next step, right?'' the princess asked.

''Yes, the temple will be our next destination. How far is it from here?'' the professor asked.

''I have travelled there once as a child, and I believe this took around 9 hours to travel on the back of a camel.'' the king answered.

''I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think it might be better to go by car instead of on a camel.'' Luke sighed.

A small tear formed in the corner of his eye, as he looked out over the city dramatically.

''You like camels or something?'' Emmy asked with an eyebrow raised.

''I love all animals!'' Luke beamed. ''Even spiders.''

Emmy shivered in her seat at the thought of creepy crawlers. She wasn't sure why, but the very thought of the tiny creatures made the hairs on her skin stand up straight.

''I see you're still scared of spiders.'' Luke laughed and stuck his tongue out to Emmy.

''Listen here you little twerp,'' Emmy started, but stopped when the professor placed a hand on her shoulder.

''Anyway, would it be doable in the jeep we used before?'' he asked.

''Yes, I think it will take about 4 to 5 hours in that case. We will make everything ready tonight for your departure tomorrow morning. For now this is all.'' the king stated.

''Father, I have to insist on joining them.'' the princess insisted.

''But daughter…''

''I am safe now. We figured out what had caused the attack earlier this week and we do not have to worry any longer about the curse. Please father, I think I might be of help to them.''

''Hrmph….well, as long as Asim joins you, I am alright with it.'' he huffed.

The princess beamed at the guard stationed on the other side of the room, who returned a smile and a nod to his princess. The meeting was adjourned and everyone retreated to their rooms for the time being.

Later that evening, the professor strolled through the garden to collect his thoughts. He had wanted to talk to the princess about what happened earlier in the day, but didn't find a chance to do so yet. He sat down on one of the benches near the outlook over the city, when he heard a rustle from somewhere close.

''Hello, is anyone there?''

''Busted.'' Emmy's voice reached out from behind the bush.

She walked around the shrubbery and took a seat next to the professor on the bench.

''How are you?'' she asked.

''Good. Just...a lot on the mind.''

''Yeah...me too.'' she sighed.

''Anything you'd like to talk about?''

''..If you don't mind.''

''Of course not.''

''It's about...my memories. I'd like to know what happened to make me do it.''

''Oh…''

Their conversation from this morning echoed through his mind.

''I don't know about this, Emmy..''

''Professor...I think I have a right to know. We are doing this whole investigation to retrieve them are we not? My memories. Certainly you not telling me doesn't mean you have no faith in our success.''

The professor sighed. The moon's light casted down on her face beautifully, making it hard to look away. Her hair rustled in the wind and her expression looked fierce. She was beautiful and she was right. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair of him to assume the outcome to all of this. To think that they will fail and part ways. Or worse...succeed and still part ways.

''Me not telling you...and the rest not telling you is for your own good. It's a precaution. We have to take into account the prospect of us failing. I'd rather you not know about it in that case. It's what she wanted.''

''Yes it's what I wanted.'' she cried out exasperated. ''But what about what I want now? You talk about me like I am some different person, but it is still me! Even though I don't have all the facts, I still have feelings and thoughts. What I want right now is to find out what happened. To find out why I would be so stupid to give up my memories.''

He wanted to speak up. To retaliate. But...he couldn't.

''If you tell me what happened...I'll accept that there might be a different outcome.''

She grasped the front of her tunic against her heart.

''I'll accept my new life.''

''Emmy I…''

''Professor...please.''

He turned his head towards the ground and grabbed the brim of his hat. He had to.

''It all began years ago. You started working for me as my assistant at the start of one of my investigations. We were sent to help solve a mystery in Luke's hometown…''

He continued the story sparing no detail. He reminisced about their time together in Misthallery, in Monte D'or, on the island Ambrosia and finally at the end of it all, in the Azran sanctuary. He talked about the shock he felt when she had turned on them. How she had grabbed a shard of ice and pressed it up against Luke's neck. How he had never truly understood why she had done it. What her relation was to his biological father and why she chose to leave in the end. He explained how Luke and himself had forgiven her for all of it and how she was welcome to come back at any given moment.

Emmy listened silently and nodded every once in a while. She couldn't tell how this made her feel, but somewhere inside of her, she could tell this was something she had experienced. The professor looked sad throughout the whole thing. He avoided looking her in the eyes as well.

Something inside of her pulled her towards him while he finished up his story. The same part of her that told her everything was going to be okay. She moved an arm towards him slowly, unsure what exactly she was going to do. She wrapped the arm around his and pushed her face against his shoulder.

''E...Emmy?''

She sighed. What was she going to do with these feelings? With these unresolved issues that really needed some attention. Why hadn't she just confronted them? Explained her reasoning. Explained her behaviour.

Was it all really that painful?

The professor felt confused by her reaction. He had expected her to feel sad or conflicted after hearing the truth, but nothing like this. He could feel his cheeks flush and his heart rate speed up. They hadn't been this close since he had held her outside the cave.

''Thank you. For telling me. I think…''

She lifted up her face from his shoulder and moved back slightly to look him in the eyes.

''I think I would still like to get them back.''

Emmy has made up her mind.