Valkyrie takes in a deep breath. Strides forward to the tall, thin unmoving figure.
"Hi," Valkyrie cocks her head upwards. Skulduggery regarded her.
"I missed you," Valkyrie could not think of anything else to say.
"I missed you too," Skulduggery replies.
"Really?"
"No, it was nice to not have you babbling nonsense all the time. It's just that I'm quite sure your IQ is lacking from the absence of my intelligent conversations, so I won't say anything quirky or sophisticated and say everything normally like normal people so you'll understand what I'm trying to say. " Grumbling, Valkyrie stuffs her bags in the back and slides into the Bentley. She frowns.
"My seat's not right" she complained. Skulduggery starts the car and started driving, then looks at her.
"What did you think? I had other passengers too and they complained," Skulduggery pauses "plus they whined a lot, I had to shut them up." Valkyrie brightened.
"So I'm not replaced that easily," she concludes.
"Oh no, I never said that. You're just as annoying as them."
"What? But… but I don't complain and whine a lot!"
"You are whining and complaining a lot right now. Plus, you can't hold an intelligent conversation anymore." Valkyrie fumes in her seat.
"Can't you just let me feel nice for a bit just because I'm going home? Please?"
"Absolutely not."
On the plane back to Ireland, Skulduggery meditated to conserve his facade. Valkyrie was still not as confident as before around Skulduggery, for she had not seen him or made contact with him in six years.
She hadn't seen Alice in six years.
She hadn't seen her parents in six years.
She hadn't seen any of her friends in six years.
She is determined to make that change. As Skulduggery said before, redemption is the way.
"Aren't you going to ask me a stupid question?" mumbles Skulduggery. Valkyrie stares at him.
"What?"
"You always ask me stupid questions when you get bored." Skulduggery replies. Skulduggery thinks for a moment, then continues,
"Unless your intelligence increased, though I'm quite sure it decreased." Valkyrie sighs.
"Fine. Why is the sky blue?"
"I told your intelligence decreased," Valkyrie mutters darkly.
"To answer your question, the sky is blue is simply because it is blue," Skulduggery says, and then promptly goes back to meditating.
Home.
Timid.
Excitement.
Dread.
The Bentley pulls up at the driveway of her parents' house.
How will her parents react? Disgust? Happiness? Or what? Most of all, will Alice remember her? Valkyrie was sure that her heart will break if Alice looks at her like a stranger. Valkyrie heaved her bags out, and walks up to the house. Skulduggery quietly drove away to give her room. Valkyrie didn't notice. She rang the doorbell. An argument started. There was a shuffling of slippers. Desmond opened the door, dressed as a bunny in an onesie.
"Sorry for my odd clothes," he said, tugging the bunny ears headband "my daughter Alice insisted I looked adorable. I think I do look adorable. And cute. I think cute and adorable means the same. What about you?" He looks up. Stares.
"Hi," murmurs Valkyrie quietly.
"Steph?" says Desmond "Or are you a clone? I must warn you, I don't like clones. They are creepy. I want a clone though. But I'll probably be scared of it."
"I'm the actual Stephanie,"
"Oh yay! Finally! Alice! Melissa! Come quickly! Stephanie who is not the clone is home!" Desmond shouted.
There was an excited yapping noise.
The sound of her sister never sounded so sweet.
Her mum came to the door, eyes shining, hands over her mouth.
"Oh Steph," she murmurs.
Valkyrie's heart spiraled out of control. Her eyes had new wetness to them.
Her sister bounded to the door.
"Steph-a-nie," she announced, big blue eyes, so familiar, so familiar, so familiar.
Valkyrie dropped everything, and hugged Alice. Laughed. Crying freely.
And knew there was no place quite like home.