A/N: So, after having this in my drafts longer than I planned, here's the prologue to the what-would-happen-if-Val-was-stuck-in-the-Mevolent-universe-and-had-to-marry-him-AU. There's a post on Tumblr about it, I'll link to it on my profile. Reason for the delay is, btw, that my computer randomly decides if it wants to work or not, so I couldn't finish the first chapter yet and it might take a while to do so. It'll be a lot lighter than the prologue suggest, promise.

The rain had soaked her completely by now, cold drops rolling down her face, mixing with sweat, blood, and tears. The dirty water found it's way through her shredded, once protective clothing and stung in her open wounds.

Valkyrie didn't care.

She just sat there in the shadows of the dark alleyway, gazing at the half-burned down wall in front of her without really seeing it. Her mind still reflected the image of friends and foes, slaughtered in excessive haze, and she wasn't able to review anything but the battleground around her.

She wondered how any of this could have happened.

There'd been the shunt. It took her longer than she'd like to admit to realize what the pain in her arm meant, but when she did, it was already too late. As soon as she woke up in a completely different world, it had hit her. The injury on her arm came from Silas Nadir's touch.
He was a shunter. He had somehow infected her.
While inspecting the dimension he'd sent her to, she waited for the throbbing in her arm to start again. Waited to feel dizzy, to show any sign of shunting back. She'd been sure she would. She had to. There was no way she'd stay here, in a world dictated by the most powerful sorcerer to ever live. After everything Skulduggery had told her about the war, she'd been actually relieved she wasn't alive back then to experience it. Now though, she didn't know what was worse – living in a world at war, or in a world where the war had been won by Mevolent.

It didn't take long until she was found by The Resistance, a small opposition still working against the dictatorship, surprisingly led by China Sorrows. After telling her story and being more or less deemed to be trusted, Valkyrie had joined them. And even though she worked for them, her main goal still stood first – find another shunter, get back home. Up to now though, she hadn't had much luck with it, and with every new battle, it slipped back more in her mind. She had neither the time nor the energy to think about it.

Until now, that was, because right now, the only thing she desperately wanted was to get back home. To have someone else fix the mess, to have someone to tell her it was going to be okay.
To have someone to tell her nobody knew.

Darquesse hadn't shown in month. Of course she hadn't been quiet either, in fact even became more present in her mind with every passing day since Valkyrie had arrived here. She'd never managed to get through, though. Valkyrie had been in more situations where she could have died these past few month than in her whole life before, but even with the constant fighting and struggling, she had kept her under control. It had become somewhat easier, actually. She'd put her screams and whispers and seducing offers in the back of her mind, right to the other voices.
War's voices. People's screams and warrior's cries, the sound of magic in the air, fire burning, steel clashing against steel. It slowly became a concrete stream of noises and she just blended in Darquesse's begging there, too.

And for a while, it had worked. For a while, she'd been able to stand alone. For a while, she was only Valkyrie Cain again, without anybody knowing of the looming threat that Darquesse presented, without anybody worrying about her.

Today though, everything had collapsed. An army of Redhoods had surprised and hopelessly outnumbered them. It was a close call, and if it hadn't been for Darquesse breaking through, they'd all be dead. Not that her appearance had changed anything about that. Most people that could have survived were killed by her right after she finished the Cleavers and it was only a small minority that had managed to escape her rage fast enough.

Once Valkyrie came back to her senses a few hours later, she fled the battlefield and, physically and emotionally exhausted, collapsed in the wrecked ally.

Now, in her crouched position, not able to do anything but listen to the rain, slow footsteps appeared over the calming noises and eventually reached her consciousness.

Upon the familiar sound, her eyes widened. Valkyrie gripped her knees tighter.

He came. He found her. He'd take her home.

He'd be disappointed though, she knew. He'd lower his head in that typical way, hat shadowing his eyes, not able to look at her while she'd tell him. While he'd witness the destruction. She knew he wouldn't have wanted her to give in, just to make the pain go away. Just to stop the endless struggle. Just to finally find some peace.

Peace she was so desperately wishing for. Ever since she had come to this dimension, there was war. The Resistance did a good job against Mevolent's army and while it was amazing they'd been able to hold it up for so long, Valkyrie just wanted it to end. She couldn't fight anymore. She was tired.

But maybe it was just that – her worn mind playing cruel tricks on her. It was possible, after all. She could be hallucinating. Dreaming. Wishing. Her mind was weak after battle, and a headache still throbbing painfully didn't make it better. She could be imagining. It could be an illusion, a new joke, and maybe, if she'd listen closely enough, it would hold Darquesse's voice.

Valkyrie tried to concentrate. Still steps, getting louder.
Maybe it was him, after all. It was just logical, actually, after all this time. He would always come for her. Until the end, that's what they've promised each other.

The footsteps stopped. Hope and fear boiled in her chest.

Don't look up. You'll only be disappointed.

She did anyway.

Her blurred gaze fell on Lord Vile's black armour.