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101flavoursofweird · 1 year ago

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Title: The Puzzle-Solver’s Wife

Spoilers: For the LMJ anime and for PL4

Description: Five times Marina couldn’t solve a puzzle on her own… and one time she succeeded.

Set: Before and during the LMJ anime. References are made to Steam Bison— the setting for Professor Layton and The New World of Steam— but this is just vague speculation as we don’t even have a release date for the game yet.

Warnings: Character gets lost in a city… Light reference to a university party with drinking and insinuations made by from Marina’s friends about her taking a boy home— nothing actually happens… The rest of events are seen during LMJ— including characters being taken hostage and imprisoned.

Note: This is a little late for @layton-npc-appreciation-week, but there we go

Marina had never been very good at solving puzzles.

She didn’t dislike puzzles— Far from it!— but she wasn’t all that familiar with them, having grown up in the quiet fishing village of Finnerton.

Her parents hadn’t given her puzzles while she was growing up, and her friends were the same with their families.

Everyone Marina knew seemed able to deal with their own problems— if they had any at all in their uneventful little town.

Maybe puzzles weren’t as commonplace in their part of the world… or maybe Marina just didn’t know where to look for them.

How would she even identify a puzzle? What set them apart from riddles, codes and quiz questions?

Did Marina’s homework count? Did her dad’s daily word search in the Finnerton Digest count? Did her mom’s studies as a marine geologist count?

Could you even find puzzles at the bottom of the ocean? In nature? Or did puzzles have to be presented by people?

Marina couldn’t remember anyone ever offering her a puzzle in her hometown…

The earliest, most striking memory she had of encountering puzzles for the first time was in Steam Bison.

When she was in eighth-grade, her class had visited the technologically-advanced city on a field trip.

Much to Marina’s (and her teacher’s) relief, they had spent the day following a tour guide, who had solved any puzzles they came across and steered the class away from the ‘unsavoury’ parts of Steam Bison.

The guide had only left them at the very end of the tour when they were apparently one street away from the bus station.

Marina had stopped in the restroom with her friends (It was a long journey back home and she was notusing the toilet on the bus!), but when she emerged, Marina found herself alone.

At first, Marina thought her friends were hiding from her. Huffing, she looked up and down the hazy cobbled street, waiting for them to leap out and shout, “BOO!”

A steam-powered vehicle with two metal legs clanked past her.

Marina waited a minute. Then another. And another….

Marina’s knees started to shake.

Where were her friends? All of her classmates? Her teacher?

They wouldn’t just leave without her, would they? Her teacher would have done a headcount… but what if they had missed Marina?

What if they had already headed off to the bus station?

The guide had said it was just one street away, right? But which street? What was the quickest way to get there? What if Marina took a wrong turn, or ran into a dark alley, or— or—?

Eyes darting all over the place now, Marina tried to find someone— anyone— who looked trustworthy enough to ask for help.

There was a scruffy salesperson waving flyers about… Two men in black business suits… Or a young woman grappling with a golden horse— a robot horse…

Marina inched towards the woman. “E excuse me—?”

“What?” The woman turned to Marina with a scowl. Her dark curls were poking out from beneath a black riding helmet. She kept a strong hold on the horse’s reins.

“P-Please can you help me?” Marina squeaked. She lowered her voice, wary of their neighbours, as she revealed, “I’m lost—“

“I would, but I’m kinda busy here,” the rider grunted. The horse huffed. “Peta’s reins are all tangled…”

Assuming that ‘Peta’ was the horse, Marina said, “M-maybe I can help, then you can help me…?” (Marina was good with animals… Well— aquatic animals to be specific!)

“Knock yourself out, kid!” The rider gestured from Marina to Peta.

Marina edged closer to Peta and inspected his reins; they were indeed all tangled up, like a bunch of wires. That couldn’t be very comfortable— even for a robotic horse.

“Hmm…” Marina tried adjusting the part connected to Peta’s long nose (The bridle, wasn’t it?) but Peta didn’t appreciate that. The horse snorted, steam escaping from its nostrils

“S-Sorry,” Marina stammered. She kept trying to unknot the reins.

Where was she even supposed to start? The bus would be departing soon— without Marina, at this rate!

In her impatience, she ended up pulling too hard…

Peta released a metallic-sounding whinny. Marina gasped, letting go of the reins. She watched, petrified, as Peta reared back on its hind legs.

The rider exclaimed, “Watch out—“ but just as the horse’s heavy hooves came slamming down, someone hauled Marina away.

Shuddering, Marina looked back at her saviour; a boy about her age, with light brown hair, a smart blue blazer and a flat blue cap.

“Are you okay?” he asked urgently. He had an English accent. His hand was still gripping Marina’s shoulder…

“Miss?” he tried again, frowning at Marina with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yes!” Marina breathed, though she did feel a little light-headed.

The boy nodded and let her go. He turned to Peta the horse and its rider, who had since calmed Peta down.

“What about you two?” the boy checked with them.

“We’re good,” the woman said. She aimed a glower at Marina. “No thanks to you.”

“I… I was just trying to help…” Marina struggled to explain as the boy glanced at her again. “…With the reins…” She trailed off, feeling very red in the face.

“I see,” the boy said. He pointed to Peta. “Can I…?”

“Sure!” the rider said, with a lot more enthusiasm than she’d had for Marina.

The boy crept towards Peta with a quiet greeting and studied the reins. Marina gaped at him, impressed.

Murmuring reassures, the boy managed to unravel reins in a single moment. “Puzzle solved!” he said.

The rider beamed at him. “Thanks, Detective Luke! We’ll be on our way now…” She clicked her tongue.

“Wait!” Marina protested as the rider pulled Peta down the street. “You said you could help me…!”

The rider didn’t spare her a glance. Marina sighed.

“Do you need help?” The boy— ‘Detective Luke’— was still there, right next to Marina. (He hadn’t abandoned her like everyone else…)

Marina couldn’t hold back a few tears. “Y-yes, please!” she blubbered. “I need to get to the bus stationbefore— before my class leaves!”

“Luckily, I know a shortcut,” Detective Luke assured her.

He strode through the street with Marina in tow.

The salesperson Marina had been reluctant to approach earlier waved at them, and Detective Luke waved in return.

Either Detective Luke must have lived around here, or he had a very good sense of direction! Even the tour guide hadn’t passed through Steam Bison with so much aplomb…

“…Here.” Detective Luke stopped in front of a gray building.

Marina blinked. She looked at Luke, who was smiling at her, and back at the brick wall.

Marina frowned. Was he trying to trick her? Had she been wrong to trust him?

“I thought you were taking me to the bus station?”

“I am! We just need to solve this puzzle…” Luke started pressing the bricks of the wall in a specific pattern.

“I don’t understand,” Marina muttered. She didn’t have time for puzzles— the bus would be leaving soon! “H-how do you even know there’s a puzzle here?”

“I’ve come this way before, but the combination has changed since— aha!” Luke selected one last brick, which retracted into the wall.

Marina gasped as the wall split in half like the doors of an elevator, revealing an alleyway.

With a satisfied smile, Luke said, “This way…”

He offered her his hand. Marina took it (The alley was kind of creepy!) and he led her through.

Marina instantly recognised the street on the other side. There was the bus station— and Marina’s class lined up out front!

“We made it,” Marina breathed. She beamed at Detective Luke. “Thank— thank you so much! I… I’d still be lost without you!”

“No problem!” Detective Luke tipped his cap to her. “A gentleman should always help a lady in need, especially…” He had been about to say something else— something Marina hoped to hear— but he shut his mouth and simply smiled.

He had a nice smile, and he was smart, and courteous, and kind. Marina had never met a boy like him before…

Marina was struck by a wild urge in that moment, but before she could see it through, she heard shouts behind her.

“Hey, Marina!”

“Where’ve you been?”

“Marinaaaa! Hurry up!”

“That’s— my friends,” Marina said bashfully. They were beckoning her towards the bus station.

She looked back at Luke. “I have to go now, but… thanks again, Detective Luke.”

“Take care, Miss Marina.” Luke squeezed her hand, before he let her go.

As she ran towards her class, Marina kept glancing back at Luke. When she reached her friends’ sides, she waved to Luke until he’d retreated through the secret alleyway.

Marina’s friends had a thousand questions for her as they boarded the bus.

“Where did you go, Marina?”

“Who was that boy? Did he take you on a date somewhere?”

“What’s his name?”

“His name is Luke,” Marina sighed. She gazed wistfully out the bus window as they drove away from Steam Bison. “Detective Luke.”

From then on, Marina decided she would dedicate her life to solving puzzles…

Though, it was difficult when no one else in Finnerton was invested in puzzles— not even her parents!

If other people wouldn’t give her puzzles, and Marina wasn’t any good at finding puzzles, how could she practice?

She made enquiries at her local library and learned there was something called a ‘Puzzle Index’— a book filled with puzzles!

The librarian ordered one in for her and it arrived after a month.

At home, Marina spent hours pouring through the Puzzle Index. Her parents thought she was studying. It certainly felt like it!

Each puzzle had a number of ‘Picarats‘ (points) that indicated its score and level of difficulty. Marina found she struggled even with the lower Picarat puzzles— 10 being the lowest.

Each puzzle also came with four hints, which Marina would usually end up reading.

It wasn’t cheating! A cheater would flick to the back of the book to look up the answers… Not that Marina ever did that!

After a month of studying the Puzzle Index, Marina managed to memorize every puzzle and every answer off by heart.

She returned the Puzzle Index to the library and asked if they could order the next edition…

For some reason— maybe the librarian forgot or they just couldn’t track down another Puzzle Index— it never came in.

Marina never went to check. She was so busy with school, water polo club, and her social life that it just slipped her mind.

But, somewhere in the back of her mind, she had tucked away that memory of Steam Bison, and the detective boy who had saved her.

When she encountered him again, five years later at university, she recognised him immediately.

His face had lost some of its roundness, his hair was fuller and his eyebrows were a bit bushier, but his eyes were the same— and his smile.

It was poorly-lit and packed with revelling students in the basement, but Marina was struck by the sight of him… of Detective Luke.

Was he even still a detective? What was he doing here— at the same university as Marina?

She took a deep breath, told her new roommates she was going to grab another drink, and waded through the crowd.

Luke had been trading puzzles with a couple of other boys— puzzles seemed to be popular at the university— but he caught Marina’s arm as she stumbled towards him. (He was always saving her…)

“Hey, are you…” He paused, squinting at her. His eyes widened. “You!”

“Me!” She’d only had one drink, but it had given her some much-needed Dutch courage! “Marina!”

“Miss Marina! You were in Steam Bison— on a trip— like, four years ago?”

“It was five!” Marina corrected him. “Why aren’t you still in Steam Bison?”

Even in the dimness, Marina could see how hard Luke cringed. “It’s a… long story…”

“Well, I’m listening!”

“What?” Luke had to raise his voice as someone turned up the music and the party-goers cheered.

Marina hollered right in his ear, “I’m LISTENING!”

“Ow… I hear you.” Luke lowered his head so that he was level with Marina. “Why don’t we, um, get out of here?”

“Sounds good!”

Determined not to lose Luke, Marina dragged him through the crowd as she returned to her roommates’ sides. When she informed them she was leaving the party with a boy, they waggled their eyebrows at her and told her to have fun.

Marina felt flushed as she made her exit with Luke and she brought him back to her dorm.

Well… That was the plan, but then, Marina couldn’t open the door to her dorm building. She noticed a small wooden block with colorful panels had been stuck to the door.

“Eh? What is this?”

“Looks like a puzzle lock,” Luke observed. “A Sliding Puzzle, to be more specific.”

Marina protested, “But— this wasn’t here earlier!”

No one had warned her she would need to solve puzzles to get back inside!

Oh, no… What if puzzles were a part of every day life, here at university?

Marina had picked up that Puzzle Index when she was thirteen, but she hadn’t solved another puzzle since then! How would she survive?

Luke held his chin in his hand, trying to hide a smile from Marina. “Maybe a secret Puzzle Societyplaced it here?” he suggested.

“I didn’t sign up for a Puzzle Society!” Panicked, Marina started surveying the building, hoping there was an open window they could climb through. “Sorry— there has to be some other way in…”

“Or, we could just solve the puzzle?” Luke inspected the block, sliding some of the panels around.

“Is it… like that puzzle wall in Steam Bison?” Marina recalled. “The one with the secret alley?”

The memory of Detective Luke holding her hand— guiding her through the darkness— suddenly rose to the front of her mind.

She was glad Luke currently had his back to her, so he wouldn’t witness the embarrassment on her face.

“It’s similar, but not the same type of puzzle,” Luke said cryptically. He glanced back at her, grinning. “Do you want to give it a go?”

“Um… I would, but I… I don’t have much experience… solving puzzles,” Marina admitted. He could definitely see her blushing now!

Luke blinked at her like she had just told him she was a mermaid or something.

“I mean, I… I tried a few when I was younger,” Marina stammered. “I got this Puzzle Index after I met— after that trip to Steam Bison, but I didn’t, um, persevere…”

Marina sighed and hung her head. Now he was going to think she was a pathetic failure…

She looked up with shock when Luke patted her on the shoulder.

“It’s fine,” Luke chuckled. “Nothing to be ashamed of! I was just surprised; where I come from, puzzles were everywhere, and my family— they practically raised me on puzzles.” He jabbed his thumb against his chest. “And, I was Professor Hershel Layton’s apprentice!”

He declared that with so much pride and joy that Marina knew this professor must have been a person of great importance… Unfortunately, Marina had never heard of them.

“Is that someone from Steam Bison?” she wondered.

“No, but he did visit Steam Bison when I was there… The Professor works in London—“ Luke coughed. “I’ll tell you more when we’re inside.”

In his excitement, Luke solved the puzzle on the door himself. Marina sighed with relief as she followed him into the dorm.

She knew she couldn’t just summon Luke whenever she needed help solving a puzzle— as nice as that would be!

Sooner or later she would needed to learn for herself…

But for now, she sat with Luke in the shared common room. He revealed to her all that had happened in Steam Bison when his mentor, Professor Layton, came to visit.

When Luke’s stomach grumbled, midway through the tale, Marina made them some popcorn.

She continued to listen, captivated, as Luke told her about more of his adventures with the Professor…

One month in to her marine biology degree and Marina already had a tonne of extra work to do outside of class.

Her roommates— for as affable as they could be— made it impossible to concentrate in the dormitory while they were playing board games, so Marina spent a lot of time at the library.

She wasn’t at all surprised to bump into Luke there.

He was very studious, but in a different way to Marina. While he was diligent, he seemed to posses a natural intellect that Marina lacked. (Fitting, for the apprentice of Professor Layton!)

Luke was observant and able to answer questions at the drop of a hat, whereas Marina liked to take her time preparing a response.

Maybe it was just a confidence thing, like Luke had said, but Marina wasn’t sure… “Marina… What’s your surname?”

“Huh?” Marina glanced up from her books on the desk.

“What’s your last name?” Luke rephrased. “I don’t think I ever asked…”

“It’s—“ Marina cut herself off. “Wait— actually, why don’t I give you a puzzle to work it out?”

“Okay!” Luke smirked. “Fire away…”

Marina felt like he’d put her on the spot. “N-not right now! I’ll need time t-to make it up…”

She had never designed her own puzzle before, but it had to be easier than solving puzzles, right?

For inspiration, Marina turned to her old friend: the Puzzle Index. The university library had at least nineeditions!

First, she had to choose a type of puzzle. The sliding puzzle was off her list right away— too much effort to construct.

What about multiple choice, with some clues from Marina? No… that would be too simple for Luke.

Could she use algebra? Or would that be more Math-based than puzzle-based?

It would be fun to do a pictorial puzzle— with little illustrations revealing Marina’s last name— but Marina couldn’t even draw…

A whole week went by— and she still didn’t have a puzzle for Luke!

Marina sighed and leaned back on the common room couch.

Her gaze drifted over to the pile of board games left by her roommates. When she saw a box for a jigsaw puzzle, her eyes widened.

The next day, at the library, Marina presented Luke with a homemade jigsaw puzzle.

Upon completion, it would reveal Marina’s last name.

It wasn’t the most original idea, but Marina had still put a lot of effort into it!

Luke took his time with the puzzle— probably longer than he actually needed— but within ten minutes, he had pieced the jigsaw together, forming a photo of a map— somewhere out on the ocean.

“Where is this?” Luke murmured.

Marina hummed knowingly. “Would you like a hint?”

Luke nodded— obviously indulging her. Marina gave him some numbers: “1,580 and 43”… and Luke grinned.

“Are those measurements for the Mariana Trench?”

“Yep!”

“So…” Luke considered it for a moment more, before he pointed at her triumphantly. “Your full name is… Mariana ‘Marina’ Trench!”

“Indeed, it is!” Marina confirmed, laughing sheepishly. (Her mom couldn’t resist the pun!)

Luke laughed with her. “I’ve heard stranger names, believe it or not!” He handed the completed jigsaw puzzle back to Marina. “How many Picarats was that?”

“Oh! I’m not sure… How many do you think it should be?”

“Thirty?” Luke suggested.

Marina scoffed. “It wasn’t that difficult—“

“Twenty-five, then,” Luke settled, holding out his hand to her.

Marina agreed and they shook on it. Luke pretended to put the Picarats in his pocket, much to Marina’s mirth.

She stopped giggling when Luke said, “Now you can figure out my last name!” and he placed his own puzzle on the desk.

It was a page of paper taken from Luke’s journal, with a written passage:

‘There was once a boy who befriended an archaeology professor, and they went on many adventures together.

Regrettably, the boy had to move away, leaving his dearest friend behind.

In his hour of need, the boy knew the professor would come to his aid. For the professor had promised him:

‘Time apart and distance are irrelevant to the bond formed by a true friendship.��

Of course, the Professor answered the boy’s call for help.

No matter how far apart they were, their bond would always endure.’

Panic had seized Marina when Luke sprung the puzzle on her, but as she read this passage— Luke’s story— she smiled softly. “That’s beautiful,” she whispered.

She wondered if the words could apply to her and Luke as well. The pair of them had met in Steam Bison years ago, only to reunite in university.

Marina didn’t really believe on fate, but she was grateful for whatever string of coincidences had brought her back to Luke.

“Thanks,” Luke said, scratching his cheek. “What do you think of the puzzle?”

Marina had almost forgotten about that!

She studied the passage long and hard, searching for Luke’s last name.

After fifteen minutes, she sighed and asked Luke if she could have a hint.

“You might need to look at it another way!”

Turning the paper on its side and upside down didn’t help. Neither did flipping it over…

Next, Marina tried folding the paper into different shapes, wishing she had paid more attention to her step-Grandma’s origami lessons. Still, the answer eluded her.

As Marina smoothed the paper out, Luke offered her a second hint:

“Read the passage in another direction!”

Marina read the entire passage backwards and wrote it down in her notebook, but it was all gibberish.

The third hint Luke gave her was a little more enlightening:

“Have you tried reading from top to bottom? Don’t overthink it…”

Marina followed his advice and finally, she noticed the first character of each line spelled out Luke’s last name. She circled the letters with her pen.

“T-R-I-T-O-N…!” Marina exclaimed. “Is your last name ‘Triton’?”

She had spent an hour figuring out the answer, but she still expected Luke to shake his head.

Marina was overjoyed, however, when he beamed at her.

“That’s it!” he cheered. “Now, you need to strike a puzzle pose!”

“Puzzle pose…?” Uncertainly, Marina pointed at Luke, as he had done to her. “Like this—?”

“Yes— you’re correct!”

Marina was correct! For the first time ever, she had solved a puzzle someone had given her.

“H-how many Picarats was that?” Marina asked.

“Ten,” Luke said, still smiling.

Marina’s ego deflated slightly. “Only ten?”

“It’s very similar to the first puzzle I sent to Professor Layton,” Luke confessed.

That made Marina feel a bit better. “Really? How fast did the Professor answer it?”

“As soon as he got my letter in the post,” Luke said reverently. “He came rushing to my hometown— Misthallery— to help solve the mystery behind the spectre’s call…”

With that, he launched into the tale of his first adventure with Professor Layton— and the Professor’s Number One Assistant, Emmy Altava.

He and Marina had already been at the library for ages by this point, but Marina was still hanging off the edge of her seat.

She frowned when Luke discussed the odd behaviour of his father— who, Luke assured her, he had since reconciled with. She gasped when Luke described the spectre’s appearances, and how Emmy had fought off a gang of thugs, and the Final Battle.

Luke spoke very fondly of his childhood friend, Arianna— though, he blushed slightly and quickly summed up their farewell.

Marina was going to ask him more about Arianna, but then, Luke quietly told her about Loosha, the giant lake dweller who had been mistaken for the spectre, when she was actually defending Misthallery.

Marina was entranced— so much that she might have shed a tear when Luke revealed Loosha had died in the Golden Garden… but thanks to her sacrifice, Arianna had survived.

By the time Luke had finished his retelling, it was dark outside and the librarian was shooting them impatient looks from her desk.

Marina sighed. “I’ve never heard— or done— anything so exciting in my whole life…”

Sure, she had been on boat trips and vacations with her family— mainly to visit her grandparents’ lake house up in Canada— but the most exciting thing she had gotten up to was water skiing.

She had turned down offers to go hiking with her dad, grandpa and older cousin because she was too ‘chicken’, as her cousin had put it.

She would never be brave enough to face villains, creepy towns and impossible puzzles like Luke…

“You… ventured through Steam Bison,” Luke pointed out. He started to pack his books away as the librarian loudly cleared her throat.

“I got lost in Steam Bison,” Marina reminded him, shoving her own books in her bag.

From what she had heard from him about Steam Bison, Marina was even more relieved that she had run into Luke back then. She could have ended up on the receiving end of a bullet!

Luke must have noticed how pensive Marina was as they hurried out of the library.

“Not all mysteries have to be as… hair-raising as what happened in Steam Bison,” Luke mollified her. “I’ve solved smaller cases too…”

“Maybe you could give me a call…?” Marina murmured. Realising what she had just suggested, she suddenly dropped her bag. Stooping to pick it up, she stammered, “W-when you next have a smaller case, I mean!”

“Can I…?” Luke knelt beside her and offered her a hand with her bag.

Blushing, Marina passed him her bag, and they both stood up.

Luke smiled at her. “That sounds like a great idea.”

It had started as a ‘smaller case’; one of Marina’s lecturers, Professor Monroe, had lost his treasured pendant.

Marina and Luke had found the pendant aboard an abandoned decrepit ‘ghost’ ship—

Except, it wasn’t abandoned.

Their feet pounded across the top deck, discordant to the sound of heavy boots and doors slamming open behind them.

“That one!” Marina pointed to the nearest life boat that didn’t appear to be decayed.

She and Luke reached the boat and ripped off its grubby cover.

Before they could release the boat, their pursuer— a figure wearing an iron mask and wielding a silver trident— burst out onto the deck.

“Get the boat ready!” Luke grunted, grabbing an oar.

“Luke, don’t—!” Marina shouted, but Luke had already charged at their assailant.

As Luke’s oar clashed with the trident, Marina looked at one of the davits keeping the life boat aloft.

Marina quailed when she saw the ropes of the pulley system were all knotted— kind of like a puzzle— kind of like that horse’s reins back in Steam Bison…

Her hands, slick with sweat, hovered over the ropes.

She had lived around boats her whole life.

By now, she had been practicing puzzles for months, with Luke’s guidance, but all that experience and knowledge drained out of her mind in the terror of the moment.

Her daze was broken by a strained yell from Luke. “Marina— how’re you doing?”

“I can’t do it—!” Turning, Marina saw that Iron Mask had backed Luke against the side of the deck with their trident. Luke was going to get skewered or pushed overboard!

(Before they’d boarded the ship, he’d seemed so worried, but Marina had insisted—)

Marina stopped thinking.

Seizing the other oar, she rushed at Iron Mask and smacked them on the exposed back of their head. Iron Mask dropped the trident and slumped to the floor.

“Thanks!” Luke exclaimed, skirting around Iron Mask.

He and Marina ran back to the life boat with the oars. Marina kept an eye on Iron Mask as Luke quickly solved the davits puzzle.

“Done!” Luke cried, just as Iron Mask sat up.

“Go-go-GO!” Marina yelled, working on the left ropes while Luke took the right. Together, they lowered the life boat into the sea.

Iron Mask leered at them from the top deck, but didn’t attempt to follow.

Marina let out a shaky laugh. “W-We’re free—!”

“LOOK OUT!”

Marina saw a flash of silver— coming right at her face—

Luke swung his oar like a baseball bat and knocked the trident into the sea.

“Guess I spoke t-too soon,” Marina gasped.

Taking both oars, Luke rowed them away from the ‘ghost ship’— it might have not contained any ghosts, but someone was haunting it!— until they were safely back at the harbour.

“Are you okay?” Luke asked softly.

Marina shrugged.

“It’s over now,” Luke soothed her, placing the oars in the boat.

“I just— froze up!” Marina grunted. She bunched her fists, nails biting into her palms. She glared into the bottom of the lifeboat. “Why couldn’t I solve that puzzle?”

Really— she was no better than five years ago— back when she was a timid thirteen-year-old…

“Marina, you saved me!” Luke squeezed her shoulder with his hand. Marina raised her head. “It doesn’t matter how— you were brave and we escaped… and we even got the pendant!”

Beaming, he pulled Professor Monroe’s silver pendant out of his pocket with his other hand. “See?”

All Marina could see right now was Luke’s smiling face, filled with elation and (somehow) admiration for her.

Maybe she was braver than she‘d been at thirteen. Maybe she could…

Marina lifted her head a little more, lips parted. Luke’s eyes widened, but he didn’t move away. Taking that as a positive sign, she pressed her mouth against his.

Luke kissed her back— much to her relief.

When they eventually broke apart, Luke was the colour of a lobster.

“Was that… correct?” Marina whispered.

Luke nodded. “Yeah!”

Of course Luke’s proposal included a puzzle.

Marina picked up the engagement rings— one silver and one gold— held together with two loops of string.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered, with a mock-scowl across their table.

Luke grinned at her. He did look most dashing in his dark blue jacket, brown vest and white shirt, so Marina supposed she could forgive him. (She hoped he liked the light blue dress she had chosen…)

“The evening will proceed as planned if you can solve this puzzle,” Luke informed her.

Humming, Marina tried to move one of the strings around the silver ring, but the ring was too large.

She attempted the same with the gold ring and the other string… Still, to no avail.

Don’t overthink it! Don’t overthink it…

Luke chimed, “Would you like a hint, dear?”

“Dearest,” Marina huffed playfully. “Would you like to be quiet so I can concentrate?”

Luke shut his mouth, though he looked like he was struggling not to laugh.

Marina held the puzzle right up to her eyes, squinting. There had to be some kind of trick to this… or brute force might work as well!

She tried with all her might to pull the strings apart.

“Oh, come on…!” she grumbled.

“Er, excuse me— are you two ready to order?” A waiter had appeared at their table. He raised an eyebrow at Marina and her personal game of tug of war.

“We’re just in the middle of something,” Luke explained. “I’m sure we won’t be long—“

“Can I have a knife?” Marina gasped.

The waiter passed her a knife just as Luke protested, “Wait—!”

“Puzzle solved!” Marina cried as she cut through the stings and the rings landed on the table.

“Th-that’s against the rules,” Luke wheezed.

Smirking, Marina pointed the knife at him. “All you said was ‘Remove the rings from the strings!’… You didn’t specify how— Ah! Sorry!” The waiter took the knife from her.

Luke scooped up the silver ring, left his seat, and got down on one knee in front of Marina, who didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Miss Mariana Trench… Will you marry me?”

Marina Triton had a lot of time to think while she was trapped at Cranscoll Cathedral.

It had been foolish idea on her part to follow Luke and Professor Layton to Southampton, but she had gone, because…

If Marina wanted to seem conscientious and sympathetic, she’d say it was because she had been frightfully worried about her husband.

While that was true, if she was being totally honest, she would admit that she was envious and she wanted to prove herself to Luke.

After some encouragement from Flora, Marina had set out after Luke and the Professor—

Only to be captured by a cult, dragged to the cathedral, and used as leverage to make Luke and Layton surrender.

The pair of them had been locked inside ‘coffins’, while Marina had been tossed in the crypt for a couple of months…

Not to die, it turned out. The head priest was so merciful that he had eventually decided Marina would join their ‘congregation’. (His name for the cult.)

They started by giving her mundane ‘harmless’ jobs; cleaning, gardening, washing robes…

If she dared put one foot out of line, the priest had made it very clear what would happen to Luke and the Professor.

Marina could run and contact the police— anyone outside the cult— but while she was away, there could another fatal error in the Relics Room, wherever that was…

The priest might as well have had Marina’s heart crushed in his fist.

So, Marina stayed. She followed orders and she kept her head down, but she was always watching. Watching and learning.

Two years into her imprisonment, she came to terms with the fact that no one was coming to rescue her.

Either Luke’s family and friends had forgotten she existed— or they had deemed it too dangerous to continue with the search.

Fine. Marina made friends on the inside. Her former warden— Josie— was her closest confidant.

Josie, apparently, wanted to use the Relics coffins for herself. She was more than happy to help Marina free Luke and Layton… if, in return, Marina could activate a coffin for Josie.

To do that, Marina would need to learn how to run the coffins safely— expertly, Josie said.

Despite her ‘obedience’ to the cult, Marina wasn’t allowed anywhere near the Relics Room— not even five years into her service.

Josie smuggled her books, blueprints and hastily-written notes from within the organisation.

Whenever Marina found a moment of peace, away from prying eyes, she would read— over and over, until she had every tiny detail memorised.

She couldn’t afford to make a single mistake— not when Luke and the Professors’ lives depended on her.

There would be no hints. No shortcuts… Just a potential window of opportunity that could arrive at any time.

That window was thrown open— eleven years after Marina’s capture— by a young woman who strolled into the cathedral with her friends. Katrielle Layton.

Marina had almost rushed out of her hiding place when Katrielle and her companions were surrounded by cult members— just like Luke and Layton years ago— but then, Katrielle had snapped her fingers and reinforcements had come storming in.

At last, the police had arrested the priest and his lackeys. Josie had shot Marina a look as she was led away with the other cult members.

“I’ll get you out,” Marina had mouthed, but Josie had shaken her head. Josie wanted in. She wanted to use the coffins to ‘escape to the future’…

But before that, Marina needed to find the coffins.

Thankfully, Katrielle took care of that too! She moved a candlestick on the alter like a lever, uncovering a secret staircase.

“Puzzles are puzzles because they can be solved!” Katrielle announced. Marina blinked.

That was true, wasn’t it? It didn’t matter how long it took to solve a puzzle— or even if you had help— just as long as it got solved in the end!

Marina emerged from her hiding spot when Katrielle and her assistants had disappeared down the stairs.

This was it… This had to be it. Luke and Professor Layton had to be waiting at the bottom of these stairs— in the legendary Relics Room… and soon, they would be free.

Marina would make sure of it. This was her mission— what she had spent the last eleven years of her life working towards. She would solve the puzzle of the coffins…

Or, if she couldn’t, maybe Katrielle and Co could help her. They would solve it together.

Marina smiled.

#professor layton #luke triton #marina triton #luke/marina #Lmj #lmj anime #my writing #my fics #Backstory for Marina and Luke #katrielle layton #layton npc appreciation week #Steam Bison gets a cameo

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