-So yeah, I think it was time to let China smile a bit after this uhh, too-much-devastating tragedic story of her screaming and torture, blood etc, getting too graphic and stuff... This is an apology to her, but it also reveals a rather queer yet lively secret of hers. I'm not in the mood of a footnote, so I'll stick on the headnote then ;D So enjoy!

- You beloved Zombie Queen, the Tea Lover.

China Sorrows finished her tea with milk and put the empty cup on a small desk in her library, after she took a last sip from the warm tea. She enjoyed this little tea moments. She sighed with relaxation and contiuned examining the bookshelves. Perfect as ever. With a delicate wave of her hand, the shelves were replaced with history books. She examined them and touched slowly to their volumes, as if she were stroking them with love. This was the last of them. She grasped her coat and wore it as she opened the door and a strong, freezing wind filled the library. "It didn't look so well." she said to herself, adjusting her black, furry coat. She activated the protection symbols with a step on an expensive, as usual, carpet and headed outside.

She walked quickly with her high-heeled shoes, ignoring the stunned faces of people. She winced when she heard a whistle behind her but she just couldn't get enough of that classic melody.

She glanced around as she was standing in front of her apartment's door. Then she took out her keys but she touched a small, barely visible, carved symbol under the door handle. She opened the door and went inside.

She looked at her heels and sighed. Always heels. Delicate, beautiful women were supposed to wear heels, for her liking but she really didn't find it them too amusing after wearing them for over 300 years. It was more devastating than it sounded. She opened her closet and grabbed a pair of shoes in a blink of an eye and went inside to her room to wear them.

She stepped outside to her balcony and sighed. "This is ridiculously intiriguing." she thought, as she looked down at her comfortable trainers. She knew this meant something was terribly wrong but she had fun. She had that weird feeling that somebody was eventually watching her and was like, for the lack of a better word, "What the...". She knew she looked as beautiful as usual, but this opportunity comes in hand so rare that she finally decided to enjoy that feeling of not wearing heels. But, again, eventually, somebody was watching her. But maybe he was too bemused to do what he wanted to do.

Billy-Ray Sanguine's empty eye sockets looked wider under his trademark sunglasses. He liked those moments when people just admired how courageous he was when he still wore those glasses on the darkest day of the year in Ireland. But this time, she lost his psycho look for 9 seconds. That was a record. Tanith smirked on his face but it disappeared in seconds when she saw China. Tanith wasn't used to see some too-much weird events on a good old freezing cold weather, so she gave herself 10 seconds.

Silence before the storm.

Billy-Ray turned to her girlfriend to laugh at her face, but her face wasn't there. Seriously, it wasn't. He looked down but was hit in the face and knocked unconscious before he could even observe the unconscious Tanith. China arched her eyebrows at them. "That went well." she said. It really did. The whole thing lasted 11 seconds.

Skulduggery Pleasant turned to China with a rather confused tilt of his head after he gave directions to the Cleavers. After months, Tanith was finally found and retrieved to the Sanctuary, thanks to China's trainers. What an exciting day.

If Skulduggery had a face, China was sure he would be raising a curious eyebrow. "You shouldn't look so surprised Skulduggery. We all knew this day were to come finally." she said, placing a smile on her delicate lips. Skulduggery nodded slowly,

"I am surprised, although I don't think I'm showing it too much."

"I hear things. What can I say?"

She knew Skulduggery was really smiling this time. China continued before Skulduggery could move his jaw to counter her.

"And I have done a good job. It looks like I still have a little adventurer deep inside me. Too bad she won't be coming out a lot after this."

"We can take care of her absense China, no need to worry. But still, you have to enlighten us. Detective issues, you see."

"Then enlighten I shall, detective." China said, with a warm grin. "I was trying on some shoes left in the good old days to make sure they still fit me. You see, I know this isn't me, but still, they can be a good part of your group of detectives." She then turned around and started walking.

"That is amusing.". Amusement was really evident in Skulduggery's voice. "But what-..." He looked down.

"They still look good on me, don't they, dear Skulduggery?" said China, with a small gesture of her feet with trainers. This was the first time Skulduggery remained silent for over 4 seconds. She wanted to enjoy that moment, too. So she turned around and left the waiting room of the Sanctuary and the amused detective proudly with her trainers. Statue of Phil Lynott shrugged when it saw China's trainers. He was glad that he was a statue. Those trainers really looked good on her. She exited from the Sanctuary building. The amusing part was the fact that she was still smiling.