HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Okay, this is going up at 1am on the 15th.. But is still counts! I want to dedicate this to Zilla, a Valentine for you my darling! :D Thank you for all the wonderful pictures and great chats :P I love you gurl!

He'd been examining them for nearly an hour now and was truly none the wiser. Usually he could figure out puzzles in a pinch, riddles in an instant. But he was struggling with this particular issue. How on earth had they gotten in here? He had only left his office to go to the loo and found this upon his return. He had literally been three minutes at the very most.

Upon his return from the bathroom Professor Hershel Layton had been surprised to find his coffee table was not in the state he had left it in. All of his books and papers were now neatly piled on the floor beside the table and in their place was a vase of red roses and one of those cheesy heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. Both of them had a note attached, mercifully not on pink, heart-shaped pieces of paper. He had gone to the box of chocolates first and read the note.

- Hershel Layton,

No chocolates for you, I ate them all as a sort of gift from you to me. Instead I have put a little puzzle in each gap for you. I am sure you would appreciate those more than chocolates anyway. -

He had enjoyed the puzzles greatly. They were of different difficulties as well as based on different topics. He had sat down and done half of them before he even read the rest of the letter. He'd decided to save the rest of them.

-If you haven't already done so, I suggest you read the note I placed in the flowers. It is your first clue. At the end of this Valentine's Day hunt you shall find out my identity. But it isn't going to be easy or short. I am going to make you work for this but I am sure you won't mind.

Good luck, Hershel. I shall be waiting for you at the finish line at 7pm sharp. Try not to be late.

Your Secret Admirer (YSA)-

He had immediately gone to the flowers and pulled the note from between the flower heads. He hadn't had flowers sine Claire had been alive and he took a moment to just enjoy the scent of freshly cut flowers. The second note was far shorter.

'I am long, thin and am held in your hand. I sing when I soar and screech when I clash with another of my kind. My weight is essential for balance and although I jab, I rarely draw blood.

YSA'

He hadn't tried to figure out the riddle straight away, more interested in how his admirer had made their way into his office, cleaned his coffee table, placed down their gifts and left in such a short amount of time without him noticing. He sat down on the sofa and examined the notes again. They were typed on a typewriter so there was no way he could tell by handwriting who his admirer was. But really, he didn't want to figure it out. He would much rather play the game and find out at the end.

He placed down the original note and observed the riddle which had been left to him. So, it was something handheld that moved and hit against another of its kind. Jab, weight, blood.. He smiled as realisation dawned on him. The letter was speaking of fencing. Or at least a rapier. His rapier, most likely. It was kept in his locker in the staff locker rooms so he grabbed his keys, the box of puzzles and left the room. It was a good few minutes of a walk to the gym but he quickened his pace. He only had six hours to deal with all of these clues and he had no idea how many more of these clues there were going to be.

He unlocked his locker and found another note had been slipped under the loose metal door. He tucked the letter into his pocket and checked on his rapier before locking the door again. The rapier was the only valuable thing that he kept in the locker; he would often stay behind after hours and practice. It was nice when there were no students around and he had some time to himself. He sat down on the bench in the changing room and opened up the next letter.

-Well done, Hershel, you got the riddle. But they are just going to get harder from now on.. I warned you, this wasn't going to be easy..-

XXX

He had been following the clues for several hours now, thankfully his mystery admirer had allowed him some time to have a cup of tea and some form of light lunch. In fact, she had told him to do so. At least, he hoped his admirer was female, he did not wish to let down some poor young man. The last clue he had received had taken him out to the Police department. They had the clue for him at the front desk which held yet another letter.

-You've played my game for hours, and I thank you for coming this far. I promise you that it will be worth it. This is your final message, Hershel Layton and this time there is no clue. Just an instruction. Go home. Have a rest. A present awaits you in your office.-

His mind was racing. There were only a small number of people who could actually get into his home as well as all of these other places but he had promised himself that he was not going to guess the identity of his secret admirer. He wanted to play the game and he had been doing so for so long now that he was very anxious and excited to get to the bottom of who this mysterious secret admirer truly was. He placed the message in his bag with all of the others he had collected and strolled back to the Layton mobile, homeward bound.

There were no outward signs of anybody within his home as he pulled up outside. In fact, it looked just as empty as when he had left it that morning. Luke was back in Misthallery visiting his parents so he had been all alone in the house. It was strange but not altogether unpleasant. He walked in through the front door and immediately something covered his eyes. He knew not to panic. The item was a soft piece of material, clearly a blindfold. And he could only assume that it was his secret admirer who was currently tying it behind his head. As soon as she was finished she removed his hat.

He heard the rim gently touch off the table beside the front door and a small hand took his. It firmly tugged him, leading him through to what he could tell was his dining room. He was pushed down into a chair, he guessed at the head of the table, and the woman who was with him slid into his lap. She slipped one arm around his back then held something to his lips. He hesitantly opened his mouth.

"Bite it.." She breathed beside his ear, the action sending shivers down his spine. He did as she said and was pleasantly surprised to find he was being offered chocolate covered strawberries. He heard her finish off the strawberry.

"Dessert before dinner? I do not think that is appropriate." He chuckled. His companion made no sound but he was convinced she was smiling. Once again her lips were beside his ear, whispering so low he could not recognise the voice.

"This is the dinner.. Just wait for your dessert." She pressed her soft, warm lips to his cheek and he swallowed hard.

"Can.. Can you take the blindfold off now?" She jumped up from his lap and he felt her hands on his shoulders as she stood behind him.

"You can take it off if it is what you wish."

After a moment he lifted his hands and removed the blindfold from his eyes. Once his eyes had adjusted to the dim light of the room he realised that his dining room had been filled with candles, flowers, the fire was light.. It was a very romantic atmosphere. On the table was a bowl of those delicious strawberries accompanied by a bottle of champagne with two glasses. He smiled, knowing that he was in for a good night. But in order to enjoy himself he just had to know who it was that had set this up for him. He reached up and gently took her hand.

He gave her hand a small tug and she obliged him, coming round to sit in his lap again only this time he could see her face. And a lot more of her. The woman lounging in his lap was only wearing her underwear. Yellow underwear at that, with white polka dots.

"Emmy.."

"You know, Hershel, it took me a long time to set up this little scavenger hunt for you. But I knew you wouldn't disappoint." She played with the collar on his orange shirt. "And now that you are here we can finish up our dinner.. And move on to dessert."

His eyes widened slightly as she offered him another strawberry but there was no way he was going to refuse. What a great Valentines day.