Madame Mist was struggling to stand. Dismayed at the loss of so many of her spiders. Clutching her ruined arm. So pale and so frightened. China reached out with both hands, clamping her fingers round Mist's shoulders. Mist tried to scream, but she was dead before she could make a sound. China let go and she crumbled, a smoking, charred, blackened thing, not even recognizable as a corpse.

China allowed herself a single moment of satisfaction, or something approaching smugness, and turned and saw Skulduggery looking at her.

"What have you done?" He asked.

She could barely hear him over the roar in her ears. Ravel was on his knees, his hands shackled behind his back.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry for what I did to your family."

"We're engaged."

The words hit China Sorrows like a brick to the face: cold, hard, and very uncomfortable (to say the least). Despite this, she managed to keep a professional air. "That's fantastic, Skulduggery," her smile was tight and her words sugar-coated with false happiness, "She's a very lucky woman."

"I know," Skulduggery's smirk made her heart flutter, "she won the lottery when it comes to men."

I should have won. You were supposed to be my prize. "Yes, she did." Another smile obscured China's true feelings.

There was a pause that filled the air; it wasn't awkward or unpleasant, but rather accepted for what it was. Moments of silence between the two were often used for processing deep thoughts and sometimes turned out to be the most enjoyable parts of their time together. This time around, however, China's thoughts were anything but enjoyable. How could Skulduggery be engaged? It felt like he had only known the girl for a few weeks, although China reasoned that her judgment was being clouded by her emotions.

And it was a dangerous thing when China Sorrows was overrun by her emotions.

"Do you want to go to the wedding?"

The question caught the woman off guard. "Uh, no," she replied quickly, "thank you, sweetie, but weddings aren't my cup of tea. Too emotional and lovey-dovey for me."

Skulduggery laughed. Oh, how she loved the sound of his laugh. "I get it. Will you at least consider it, though? She's taken a liking to you, you know."

"Everyone likes me," Sorrows gracefully smoothed out her dark hair, "Er, rather, everyone hates me yet is passionately in love with me."

"She actually likes you, I swear."

"You're just trying to make me feel good, aren't you? Don't even try; my beauty and my books are enough to satisfy me."

"Making people feel good is not in my range of capabilities. I suppose that isn't a very good trait to lack when it comes to marriage and parenting and whatnot."

China arched an eyebrow, "Parenting?"

"Well, you know, if it ever happens. I am too amazing to not breed, after all. My genes need to be passed down."

The chuckled that came out of her mouth was forced and full of jealously. You should be passing down your genes. You just need to pass them down with a woman who is actually worthy of such an honor. "Hopefully they won't be as egotistical as you are."

"If they weren't, then would they even be mine?"

China smiled once again, and this time is was at least somewhat genuine, "I suppose not."

October 20th (several years later)

"I love you."

"Yes, I know, now back to my original question: is your child with you?"

The wife of Skulduggery Pleasant nodded, her eyes unwavering with a love for a woman she hardly knew. China could tell her knees were weak, as if the sheer job of loving was too much for her body to handle.

"You are my everything, China."

"That's lovely, dear," Sorrows brushed past the weak-minded woman and into the house. Glancing up the stairs, she called out, "Elizabeth?"

A few seconds later a small girl came down the stairs; with the same crazy hair and bright eyes, it was easy to tell that Skulduggery had sired this child. She bore a curious, almost cautious look, somehow able to resist China's beauty.

"Who are you?"

The woman couldn't help but laugh and the child's demanding tone; she was definitely the spawn of Skulduggery. However, all it took was a simple smile and Elizabeth's will crumbled in front of her like an old, rotting building. "Come with me, dear, and everything will be alright."

Like a duckling to its mother, the daughter of Skulduggery Pleasant drifted to China's side. Elizabeth slipped her tiny hand into China's, and for a moment the most beautiful woman in the world felt a small wave of love for the child wash over her.

This love, however, only lasted for a moment.

With Skulduggery's wife and child in tow, China slipped out of the house and through town, the two innocent people glued to her like an adoring pose. Their deaths would please her not only because it would further her success in the Great War, but also because it would be revenge.

If China Sorrows could not have Skulduggery Pleasant, then nobody could.

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