Hello! Sorry I have not been heard from in a while. I've been vigorously writing my own novel which is at approximately 50k. WOO! :)

Anywhom, please do enjoy this new concept and I shall update ASAP (Act Swiftly Awesome Pachyderm).

"Skulduggery?"

"Mm?" He replied, not taking his gaze from the road.

"You honestly don't have to answer this if you don't want to. I'm just… curious."

"Curious about what, Valkyrie?"

"Well, you always refer to your family as wife and child," She noted how his fingers gripped the steering wheel, but didn't mention it. "And, I was wondering why that is. I mean, how hard is it to say son or daughter if you say wife instead of partner?"

Skulduggery didn't waver in stance. He seemed barely conscious enough to drive. Valkyrie would have sworn that he was sleeping or meditating, but she betted on him fuelling with rage.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked-."

"I don't say because I don't know." Skulduggery interrupted.

Valkyrie chewed her lip and listened to her mind screaming a thousand curses at her.

"Do you remember when Auron told you about Lord Vile?"

"I do,"

"And the time we went to Prussia?"

"The time you picked up his dagger."

"Yes. I do believe that he told you when it was?"

"No,"

"It was a couple of months after I was married. We knew the war was coming so we rushed getting married. I didn't regret it. I still don't. There's no way I could. I loved her and I still do. So we were married," He said, a hint of pride engulfed by his tone of sorrow.

"And then I went off to war. I almost refused the offer to be part of the Dead Men. Not because I was afraid to die; because I was afraid to leave her alone. "She told me to go. She knew how much it meant to me, and encouraged me, telling me that we'd both be fine. I loved that about her, she always put the doubt out of my mind."

Valkyrie watched him carefully, not daring to touch him in case he spontaneously combusted into fits of tears. He wouldn't do that. He couldn't and he most certainly wouldn't.

"I left when the war started; she had to persuade me to do that, too. And then a few months later I found that she was… well, you get the gist." Skulduggery spoke carefully, making his voice stay strong. "I was due to go home in less than a week and by that time I'd already made quite a powerful enemy."

"Serpine," Valkyrie breathed.

"Yes," Skulduggery muttered. "He took her before I got the chance to return. I was going to stay with her. At least until the baby was born. I never got the chance. I saw her one last time; but that was when I watched her die. When I watched her get tortured to a point of begging. But I don't remember her like that. She was always so strong; fearless. The first thing she did when she saw me screaming at her, begging for her, was smile. She smiled right at me. And all I did was scream at her; scream for her.

"It's horrible. My wife died with my screams fresh in her mind. I died with her smile. And he murdered a child. My child. Not even born yet." He said forlorn and distraught. "I'd like to say I'd done the right thing. But you know who I was. I wasn't rational." He let forth a small chuckle, but it sounded out of place. "The thought to use magic never crossed my mind."

"And he killed you, instead." Valkyrie ended sadly.

"Yes, he did. He killed us all on the same day."

"I'm so sorry," Skulduggery shook his head and Valkyrie tried a weak smile. "So, what was her name?"

"What?" Skulduggery replied, taken aback.

"Your wife, what was her name?"

Skulduggery's bony fingers gripped the steering wheel and his jaw clenched tight. He shook his skull in one fluid movement and exhaled sharply.

"Oh, Skul, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" Skulduggery's hands began to shake against the wheel. Valkyrie looked from them to him and deep into his eye sockets. "Stop the car."

He turned his skull to her and stared for a few moments. "I said stop the car, please."

Skulduggery complied and the Bentley slowed to a stop. Skulduggery sighed and leant against the steering wheel.

"Look, Valkyrie, I'm-," She lunged at him and enveloped him in a hug.

"I'm sorry," She laughed meekly into his suit, "I thought you could use a hug."

Skulduggery smiled his skeleton smile and hugged her back.

Just a thought. ;)

A cute, little, innocent though.