Valkyrie's Pov
Valkyrie screamed. Again. She shot up in bed and glanced around her room, disorientated. Ever since Tanith had been taken from her she had been having nightmares every night. Yes, taken. Valkyrie didn't think of her as having run away. After all, it wasn't her who had done the running. The remnant had taken her. Taken her love of Ghastly and her sisterly love of Valkyrie. Taken her personality. Taken her kindness. Taken her mind. And taken her soul. Tanith was gone. All because of an insignificant black monster. Tanith was gone. The words echoed painfully around Valkyrie's skull. Tanith was gone.
"Steph!" Her mother called up the stairs. "Breakfast!" Valkyrie glanced at the door blankly. Breakfast. She hardly ever ate anymore. Her face was hollow. Her eyes blank. Valkyrie Cain was hardly even there anymore. She sent the reflection down to eat. Valkyrie stayed at Gordon's mansion now. She could not bear having to act cheerful in front of her parents, instead having the reflection out of the mirror 24/7. The only reason she was here now was because Skulduggery forced her to get some clean clothes to take back to Gordon's. After staring into space for an immeasurable amount of time, Valkyrie stirred to the sound of steps coming up the stairs. She recognized her mother's voice talking to the reflection. Grabbing her suitcase with an impassive expression, Valkyrie jumped out of the window, using her shadows to lower her down. She uses necromancy a lot more now. It better reflects how she feels inside. She steps out onto the road just as the shiny Bentley pulls up. Valkyrie did not say anything, just nodded to the skeleton as she got into the car.
Skulduggery shot a blast of air toward her. Valkyrie blocked with her shadows. Skulduggery seemed disappointed that she was using necromancy rather than her elemental powers to fight with. He shot fire at her. Again she blocked. He even got frustrated enough to try and pour water over her just to annoy her. He failed. No matter what Skulduggery tried he could not touch Valkyrie. Her face looked almost bored as she dodged his attacks. After a while, she got bored of playing with him and shot shadows under his feet, causing him to slip. Valkyrie continued her assault using both her elemental powers and her necromancy, giving Skulduggery no time for a respite. In less than 20 seconds Valkyrie had her mentor and friend pinned. She had defeated the great Skulduggery Pleasant. Sure, it was only training but she had still beaten him. And she had beaten him easily.
Skulduggery's Pov
Skulduggery looked up at his student who was holding out her hand, keeping him pinned. Her face was emotionless, as it had been for the last 6 months since Tanith had been taken over by the remnant. She had changed so much. She had grown so very powerful. I don't even recognize her any more. Ever since Tanith had been taken from her she had been having nightmares every night. And when Tanith was taken, so was Valkyrie. Yes, taken. Skulduggery didn't think of her as having changed. After all, it wasn't her who had done the changing. The remnant had taken her. Taken her love of Fletcher and her daughterly love of Skulduggery. Taken her personality. Taken her kindness. Taken her mind. And taken her soul. Valkyrie was gone. All because of an insignificant black monster. Valkyrie was gone. The words echoed painfully around Skulduggery's skull. Valkyrie was gone.
Valkyrie's Pov
Valkyrie screamed. She shot straight out of bed with her limbs already tensed for battle. When she got her bearings, she groaned. Her nightmares were getting worse. Lately, Fletcher had taken to staying with Valkyrie at Gordon's. He could not stand to see her alone. Not that it was much fun for him. Valkyrie never spoke and she barely even looked at him when he passed her. She was like a ghost. Valkyrie knew it was impossible to get back to sleep and she wouldn't have wanted to even if she could. Getting changed, she jumped out of the window and started walking, not caring where. Before she knew it, Valkyrie turned up at a bus stop. It was such a normal place that she almost laughed, but such shows of emotion were beyond her now. Valkyrie suddenly felt a strong yearning to do something normal. Her life had been constant danger and pain from that fateful moment when she turned 12 and Skulduggery turned up in her life. Besides she hadn't felt any type of yearning in so long. She followed it. Valkyrie sat on the bench and waited for the bus to arrive. She checked her pocket. Eight Dollars. Perfect. When it arrived Valkyrie jumped on and paid the bus driver, planning to take the round trip. She sat in the front seat and relaxed. They had been driving for 10 minutes when Valkyrie heard a familiar laugh. She would know that sound anywhere. Her blood ran cold. The man to her right stood up and started walking down the bus. The women followed. Valkyrie quickly tightened the hood of the cloak as far as it would go and dropped her head, making sure none of her face or her long black hair was visible. The two walked past without incident. When they were off, Valkyrie jumped up just before the driver shut the door.
"I'll get of here." She whispered. Hoping the woman wouldn't hear. Valkyrie jumped off the bus with her hood still pulled tight. The bus driver looked at her suspiciously. Probably thought she was going to rob a store or something. Whatever. Valkyrie stood facing the bus and pulled out her phone, pretending to text someone until the pair moved. Valkyrie heard the man murmuring something to the woman and listened harder.
"I know it's a bad time dear, but I'll only be a couple of days. I have set you up in this very nice an' may I say expensive hotel. You'll be having so much fun, you won't even realize I'm gone." Valkyrie knew that Texan accent oh so well.
"Fine!" The woman pouted.
"Good girl. I have to go now, could I have a little bit of that leaf? Pretty please?" There was silence at first, then a sigh and a rustle. The man sighed in relief.
"See ya later sweetheart." There was a crumbling sound and Valkyrie glanced out of the corner of her eye, seeing the man just as he was disappearing into the ground. The woman sighed again. Valkyrie closed her eyes and took a deep but quiet breath and counted to three. 1…2…3. When she reached three Valkyrie spun around to confirm the identity of the woman, not that she had any doubts.
Standing not two feet away from her, still oblivious to Valkyrie, stood the one and only Tanith Low.
Yes, the first paragraph and Skulduggery's Pov in the third paragraph are meant to be almost the same. It adds to the effect…I hope.