Yay for new story ideas. Don't be mad at me for character death so early in the story. D:

I clutched my heart in panic, hoping the throbbing pain would subside. Breathing deeply, I bent over and coughed. Spit splattered the ground. I looked all around me to see that no one was even around. I released my strongly held grip and let out a sigh. It was always like this when I was alone. When I had no one to rely on; That's when the panic attacks had started. I hated being alone. And with that being said, it made my situation even worse. He was gone; My brother.

I sat down on the curb until I felt my heart rate return to it's normal beating. Once it was fully down, I heard a voice. I looked up and saw that the voice was coming towards me.

"Are you okay, miss? You look scared out of your wits!" A younger boy, about the age of ten, walked up to me, holding out a teddy bear. "You can hold him for a few minutes to calm down, if you want." He gestured the bear towards my hand. I took it and began to stroke it's head, instantly feeling calm.

"T-Thank you." I muttered, giving the bear a hug, I smashed the bear's warm face up against my cold face. The warmth felt wonderful."What are you doing out here in the cold at night?" I asked when I gave the boy his bear back.

The boy shrugged in response. "I take daily strolls every night with my mentor." He looked down at the ground then, as if he shouldn't be speaking anymore about the subject at hand.

"Where's your mentor?" I asked, "They must be worried sick about you!"

The boy pointed up at the sky. "Professor is up there with his girlfriend, Claire."

It took me a while before I finally realized what he had meant. My mouth suddenly felt dry and went agape.

"Is your name Luke Triton?"

The boys eyes went huge and he nodded. "H-How did you know that?"

"Professor Hershel Layton...his beloved apprentice, Luke Triton. Luke, I..."

He gave me a smile and sat next to me. "I'm alright, really. Whenever I'm sad, I think about how happy he is with his loved ones."

"You're one of his loved ones, too, you know. From all the articles in the newspaper, it was as if you two were father and son, or brothers, even." I bit my lip and instantly wanted to hit myself upside the head. "I'm sorry..."

Luke laughed, "I told you not to worry about it!" He gripped the bear he held in his hands.

"Did the Professor give you that?"

He shook his head. "No. My mom did when I was seven. It's important to me and I carry it around everywhere."

"Is you mother...?"

Luke's eyes widened, "No! No! When I became the professah's apprentice, I moved in with him. He lived in London; My parents and I lived in Misthallery. My father was the mayor; He's not anymore."

"I'm glad she's still alive." My gaze lowered to the ground. I couldn't believe this was his apprentice. He was only ten for goodness sakes! But then again, Hershel was always good with children.

"Me too! What's your name, miss?"

"My name is Amelia Layton."

"L-Layton?"

"Yeah...Hershel is my brother."

Luke wrapped his arms around me at that very moment. I felt myself blush."Why are you feeling so sorry for me when your brother died just a week ago!" he exclaimed. "Amelia!" He began to weep into my shoulder, causing it to become wet with tears.

"L-Luke, I didn't mean to...I..."

"How come the Professah never spoke about you?"

"I assume it's because he worried about me too much. You see, I was adopted into the Layton family when I was twelve. Hershel was thirty at the time and had been over-protective of me ever since. We truly were brother and sister. Our hair color was even the exact same."

"Wow...It's so great to meet you!"

"It's finally great to meet you. I've seen you in the newspaper many a times, and I always thought you were the perfect gentlemen to be my big brother's side."

Luke blushed, "T-Thanks."

"Where's your cap?" I asked. I noticed that Luke had always worn his baby blue cap in the pictures, but right now his head was bare.

"Oh, I left it at the graveyard. It's a present for the Professor."

I ruffled his light brown locks and smiled. "I know he loved it, Luke. Did you notice that his grave was right next to Claire's?"

Luke nodded, "It made me happy, seeing that."

"His death is certainly a mystery. Did you hear anything about it?"

"I heard that he was shot." Luke bit his lip. "The cops don't know why it happened though. Or who did it."

"...Luke, do you want to go on a little adventure? We need to find out this mystery."

"I'd love to! It'll be just like old times."

That's when Luke and I started our adventure. The first place we would need to go?

The Molentary Express.