I said it'd be up soon, and here it is! (Don't expect other updates to be that fast though)
Thank you for all the reviews, it actually really motivates me to write the rest!
There are Implied spoilers for Azran Legacy, as well as a PL vs AA character (who isn't particularly spoilery)
I own nothing
Chapter 2: At the End of the Day
The rain hit against the streets of Folsense, as the hooves of horses thundered past. The people in the alleyways turned away from the inspectors and covered their children protectively. Everyone knew that they were never there to help the citizens, despite being heads of the law. The man at the front of the group halted to a stop outside the old factory, letting his companions know that this is where the mayor was likely to be.
Inside the building, women worked busily at their stations, needles moving almost in time with each other. The boss, a man named Jakes, walked between them, and it was clear to see that every time he passed a worker she would shuffle as far away as she could in her seat. He was affectionately named 'Third eyes Jakes' as he always managed to fire women because of a single thing they did wrong, even if he'd not been looking when it happened, almost as if he had an extra eye in the back of his head.
One worker he kept an extra close eye on was Claire Foley; a young woman who always seemed to come back to work broke just after being paid. He often wondered what on earth she was spending her money on.
Over the past few weeks, the other women noticed this sudden interest and suspected the worst of her, leading to nasty stories spreading throughout the factory. As they finished up work for the day, one of them finally found out what was going on. A small letter was peeking out of Claire's jacket, and she snatched it up immediately. "So what have we here then?" she remarked, signalling for the other girls to come over. Claire noticed and tried to grab it from her hand
"No Kira, Give that back!" She jumped for it as Kira retreated into the crowd and began reading it aloud; swapping her country accent for a high pitched London one intending to mimic Claire's voice.
"Dear Claire, You must send us more money. Your child needs a doctor-" She widened her mouth in surprise. "Child? You've never mentioned that to Jakes now have you, why not?" Claire snatched the letter back from her and stuffed it into her pocket, checking that he wasn't in the room.
"That is neither your, nor his business."
"How're you paying for it then?" Before she could stop her Kira was yelling for Jakes. Claire leapt at her and tried to get her to stop drawing his attention. At this moment, a bell rang as the door to the factory opened and a loud shout was heard.
"What is this fighting about? True ladies would never involve in such behaviour." Hershel Layton, though he no longer used that name, stood in the doorway. He shook the rain out of his top hat and placed it back on his head "I am the mayor of this town and I ask that you stop this nonsense." Jakes came running down the stairs to deal with the crisis but stopped as he saw the top hatted mayor.
"Ah, Mr Bronev what brings you here? I was told you weren't checking in till tomorrow"
"Please, Theodore will do just fine. I'm just on my way to meet the inspector, but I heard the situation. Though I am assured that you will be dealing with it in the proper manner." He shook hands with the man "Please be patient and sort this out." When he tipped his hat and exited to the next room, Jakes let out a yell.
"So who's causing the problem then eh? Who am I gonna have to throw out?" Claire tried to slink to the back of the crowd but Kira pushed her back forward and handed the letter to Jakes.
"Turns out that Ms Foley here has a kid back home, an ill kid. Notice how she never has money left the day after payday? Well there's why." Jakes laughed.
"But the amount this job pays hardly allows enough for a week's food; it'd never pay for a kid. If you tried to pay medical expenses you'd starve."
"Exactly." Said Kira, nudging Claire "And where'd you think she got the kid from? She ain't married." She dropped her voice low and hissed "She's obviously been sleeping about." Jakes raised his eyebrows in glee. Claire tried to ramble out an explanation.
"Sleeping about hey? I can't have women like that working here, you're no better than a bleedin' criminal." Claire's eyes widened, she couldn't afford to be sent off.
"But sir I need this job, You yourself just said that medical expenses-"
"Shut it, I don't want to hear your excuses. Come on girl, on your way." The other girls stared on in amusement as Claire was thrown to the street, yelling for someone to help her. As she saw Hershel through the door she began screaming for him, but he didn't look away from his conversation.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Thank you for your time Mr Descole, I know you have such a busy schedule these days. Is the new job suiting you well?" Descole removed his hat and held it against his chest.
"I thank you for giving me such an opportunity; this town is far better than that dock where I used to be. I'm more interested in catching criminals than watching over them" Descole looked towards Hershel, as if he had noticed something "Speaking of which, have we met before? I'm sure I've seen you while I was working there…." Panic rushed through Hershel's head, but he assumed he'd managed to hide it well as Descole's expression never changed.
"I don't believe we have. Believe me, I would remember" He laughed "that mask of yours isn't difficult to forget." Descole frowned and opened his mouth to speak again but never got a word out as there was a crash from out in the street. Hershel rushed to the window to try and see what was going on, but the crowds blocked his view.
"Hurry, we need to find out what's happened." Descole flipped his hat back onto his head as he followed Layton; they bustled through the crowds of women until they came to the doorway and saw the mess outside. A cart had fallen, trapping a man underneath. Hershel was disgusted to see that many of the townspeople were simply watching, as this man struggled. He moved over and began calming down the victim.
"Sir? Sir are you okay, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, but I don't think I can get out anyway" Hershel recognised that voice from when he was a boy, as his memory flashed back to those schooldays where Mr Schrader would bring his books back to him damp, because the old cart had crashed and fallen into a puddle. As he made his way over, a woman stopped him.
"Don't go near him sir, the thing's stupidly heavy."
"If you try and lift it. It'll kill both of you." Added another.
"Don't worry. I think I can get it. Somebody help me to raise this." He and a few others began to lift the wheels up, avoiding the old school teacher. "You, ma'am, adjust the angle over that side so that we can slide it over."
Descole watched from the factory doorway as the mayor hoisted it onto his shoulders with ease, figuring out the perfect strategy of how to solve the issue. He couldn't help but think of that prisoner who had broken parole so many years ago. The man who lifted the mast in such a way. It was an absurd thought but maybe, just maybe his search was over.
When Mr Schrader was finally free, he shook hands with Hershel "Thank you so much Mr Bronev, I really should get a new cart. This one's getting pretty old. Had it since I was just a young lad"
"I believe that would be a good idea" He chuckled. Descole walked over to the pair and looked into Hershel's eyes for far too long than was necessary "Mr Descole is something the matter?"
"Yes, there is. Yes I knew it. I was right." He was convinced that this was the man he seeked, he turned to get back onto his horse, planning to research further this 'Theodore Bronev", leaving Layton gazing in bewilderment and confusion after him.
In this story, canon family trees have been pretty much abolished, so no questions about Claire being the mother of... well you'll see
As for the prisoner number from last time, Good guess Fafaa61 but not quite (Though that guess is really good and probably better than the actual reason behind it)