Wistful Kisses...Chapter 1...
I know everybody that does Skulduggery Pleasant just has to do Valduggery, and yeah, I'm adding yet another one to the collection. It's only my second story, it's just an experiment, I have no idea where it's going yet, and I have a hard time really capturing Skulduggery's character, but I tried so, yeah, enjoy, I suppose (: By the way, none of this is mine, all the characters are Derek Landy's genius...
oO0Oo
Skulduggery dipped the wide-rimmed hat low over his false green eyes, watching as Valkyrie hopped in the back of the Bentley, the wind whipping her hair back, away from her face. She clicked the seatbelt home and Tanith greeted her with a broad grin, wrapped in the usual, skin-hugging brown leather.
"Hey, Val. How's Alice?" she said in a vague London accent.
"She's good, y'know, same old annoying six-year-old. She used my toothbrush to paint the landing yesterday," Valkyrie shrugged. Skulduggery chuckled, his emerald-eyed, dark haired facade grinning; he really was getting good at controlling his facial expressions.
"I hope you got a new toothbrush," he said, pulling away from the pier, where the wind tore at the sea, stirring the glassy surface into an undulating mass of foaming, raging waves. The sight was breath taking.
"What kind of idiot do you take me for? ...Actually, don't answer that." Skulduggery just laughed, his velvet voice smooth and light.
oO0Oo
"What're we doing today then?" Tanith asked, changing the subject; she was bored. She needed to talk about something, and the car was too slow. She wanted her bike, she missed it.
"We're off to see Erskine and Ghastly; they have a job for us." Skulduggery shifted gears, weaving the beautiful Bentley through the mild traffic of Haggard town centre with an expert eye. "Remember Tesseract?" he questioned, and Valkyrie blinked.
"Tesseract...that's the big guy with the mask, the one that broke my back, right?" She shuddered at the memory. Skulduggery's gloved hands tightened on the steering wheel. He remembered that day; he'd been so afraid she was dead. He'd carried her himself, and she'd seemed so fragile. He felt the break even through the protective clothing, such an odd angle for her to be bent at, and he'd prayed, yes, prayed, that she'd be okay, that she'd walk again. Kenspeckle really outdid himself that day; losing the man was a real shame.
"Yes. That was Tesseract." His voice, usually so composed, was slightly rough, though it was virtually undetectable. At twenty years old, Valkyrie had come to know her partner well in the last seven or eight years, well enough to discern his many different gestures. It was unusual for him to become tense, especially not in such an obvious way. Apparently, Tanith didn't miss his distress either; she shot a look in Valkyrie's direction, eyebrows pulling together, but said nothing.
"But he's dead, right? Vile killed him," Tanith put in, unaware that the Skeleton Detective was, in fact, the infamous Lord Vile himself, and Skulduggery hoped that she'd never need to find out. It was hard enough seeing Ghastly everyday, after Vile murdered his mother, without them finding out just who the monster really was. If they ever realised that Vile was a large part of Skulduggery, he'd never be forgiven. He didn't want to lose his best friend, or Tanith, for that matter.
"Yes, he is dead. But apparently, his fans aren't. It seems an especially twisted adept took a fancy to his nice little trick. The adept in question has acquired a particular talent for disfiguring bones with a single touch."
"That's not good, I take it?" Tanith asked, her hand automatically reaching to pat the gleaming sword at her side, as it rested in the lacquered sheath by her leg.
"On a scale of one to ten on the Evil-Assassin-O-Metre, Tesseract was a ten. So no, this definitely isn't good," Skulduggery answered darkly.
"...Unless this guy's like Scapegrace," Val decided.
"Ah, The Killer Supreme, I'd entirely forgotten about him. Do you think he's enjoying his cosy cell? I certainly hope he isn't," the skeleton said cheerfully, his false face smiling again.
"He didn't enjoy being in one with me," she said smugly, remembering how easy it had been to beat him; even while he threatened to kill her, she was stomping on his broken fingers.
"Valkyrie, do tell me, what normal person would ever enjoy being locked in a small room with you?"
"You do it regularly."
"Yes, well, I'm not a normal person," Skulduggery snorted, amused.
"But you're still a person."
"Guys, I'm still here, you know," Tanith said, raising a blonde eyebrow when she was completely ignored.
"That's beside the point; I get paid to be near you. It's my job to put up with you."
"But you still hung out with me when Guild fired you. Admit it, you enjoy my company," Val said smugly, enjoying herself.
"You will never, ever make me say that, Valkyrie. It would do far too much damage to my ego."
"But your ego's the size of Jupiter; there'd be plenty of it left unharmed."
"I admit that I am amused by you. To say I enjoy your company would be going too far." He was teasing her now, smiling as he drove. It was good to see him like this, to see him relaxed and beaming, though she did miss the permanent grin of his gleaming white skull; the facade, as good as it was, it just wasn't him.
oO0Oo
"Guys! Can we please get back to the point of this journey? Before you drive me insane?" Tanith didn't like being ignored, and Valkyrie immediately felt guilty, fighting the delicate flush of heat that threatened to take over her cheeks; she'd become absorbed by Skulduggery. Again.
"Yes, right, the point...Where was I?" Skulduggery pushed the hat up a little as they left Haggard, heading for the Sanctuary in Roarhaven. Despite the new authority there, it was still a bedraggled, dried up little town.
"You were telling us about Tesseract's number one fan." Tanith pushed her blonde hair back over her shoulder and twisted it up into a ponytail. Valkyrie chose to leave hers down; she hadn't tied it up since Skulduggery told her that her long hair suited her, back at a party organised by Ghastly some three months ago. She hid her blush, remembering how pleased she'd felt at his compliment.
"Yes, it appears that the big brute did actually have an admirer. A woman by the name of Wistful."
"Wistful what?" Valkyrie asked, focussing back on the conversation.
"Just Wistful."
"I know her," Tanith said quietly, the colour gone from her cheeks. "She's my sister."
"You told me you only had one sibling." Valkyrie was surprised; Tanith didn't usually keep much from her. This was...this was big.
"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly proud of having a sadistic, crazy murderer in my family."
"Why/ What does she do? Why is she so bad?" Tanith kept her mouth closed, so Skulduggery answered for her.
"She eats children, Valkyrie."
oO0Oo
Ghastly Bespoke, a member of the Council of the Elders, and Skulduggery Pleasant's best friend, greeted them with a warm smile. Skulduggery let the facade flow back into the glowing symbols on his collar bones, revealing the familiar grinning skull. Something released in Valkyrie's heart when she saw those big, empty eye sockets, like she'd been starved of oxygen and could finally breathe again.
"Welcome, come in. I've made us all a pot of tea; Erskine should be here any minute," Elder Bespoke shook Skulduggery's hand warmly and once again, Valkyrie wondered how hard it must be for Skulduggery to look Ghastly in the eye and pretend everything was normal, while memories of murdering the mother of his best friend festered in his empty skull, reminding him all the while of the darkness in his soul.
oO0Oo
"It's good to see you again, Elder Bespoke," Tanith smiled shyly. Valkyrie rolled her eyes and leant over to whisper in her friend's ear.
"Will you hurry up and ask him out already? The Remnant isn't inside you anymore, what's stopping you?" Doctor Nye, the Sanctuary's senior surgeon and the only replacement that matched the talents of the late Doctor Kenspeckle, had found a way to destroy the remnant without harming Tanith. It'd been a long, painful process for her, but she survived, thank God.
"I'll ask him when you ask Skulduggery," was her whispered retort. Valkyrie blinked, and Tanith cocked her head to the side, tugging her away from the two men, who were already deep in conversation.
"Did you think I didn't know?"
"Didn't know what?" Valkyrie was still surprised, caught off guard by the abrupt response she'd received. She was more than a little scared; Tanith had figured it out, so did that mean Skulduggery had worked it out too? Or was Tanith going to tell him?
"Oh, come on, Val! I know you, I've seen the way you look at him...And I've seen the way he changes when he's around you. Like this morning in the car, when you mentioned Tesseract hurting you, Skulduggery looked like he wanted to destroy something," she said. "And the way he is at parties, when other people, other men, dance with you."
"What are you getting at?" Valkyrie asked, seated firmly in the pit of denial, or so she hoped.
"You love him."
"Yeah, that's funny-"
"And he loves you." Tanith cut her off. Val said nothing; her mind was spinning. Tanith had hit the nail on the head, whether Val liked it or not, and now she'd unlocked that particular drawer, she couldn't shut it again. The memories of all the training sessions, the cases, the lounging around, the laughs they'd shared, everything to do with Skulduggery. Valkyrie realised that her world revolved around him. It had done since she was thirteen. She shot a glare at her friend.
"I hate it when you're right," she muttered. Tanith chuckled. "Thanks for bringing that little problem to the front of my brain. It's all I can think about now."
"Well that's easy to fix; we just have to find out how he feels." A strangled noise escaped Valkyrie's throat.
"I have no intentions whatsoever of asking him out, just to make that absolutely clear."
"I'll tell him myself if you won't."
"What?" Valkyrie panicked. "No! Don't do that."
"I'll make you a deal, Val, because I'm practically your sister and because I love you. When I tell Ghastly how I feel, you have to tell Skulduggery. Deal?" Valkyrie thought it over; Tanith probably wouldn't tell Ghastly for a while, she'd been putting it off for years already. She decided to accept, just to keep her friend quiet.
"Deal," she nodded, shaking Tanith's hand.
oO0Oo
As soon as Val released her, Tanith rose to her feet and strode boldly towards Ghastly. Valkyrie watched, open mouthed, as her chosen sister took the Elder's face in her hands and kissed him passionately. Ghastly froze for a second, but melted soon enough, and kissed her back. When they broke apart, Ghastly was grinning broadly, and Tanith was flushed, her blonde hair mussed. Val's heart sank in her chest.
oO0Oo
What do I say to him, Valkyrie thought. How will he take it? Will he reject me? Will it be awkward? Or maybe, just maybe, he might admit he likes me too?
oO0Oo
Skulduggery watched as Tanith finally kissed Ghastly. It saddened him to think he couldn't share the same experience with another person. Well, just one person, actually...
He cast that thought away quickly, afraid of where it would lead him. Now was not the time to be thinking of her, of the way those brown eyes sparkled, of how he'd watched her grow and mature. He didn't need to think of how beautiful she'd looked at the Requiem Ball, aged seventeen, a vision in black, perhaps even a match for the astounding China Sorrows. He didn't need to think of how jealous he'd gotten at the many parties after that, when so many others had danced with her, none of them him. Skulduggery tried his best not to remember how one day, without realising it, he'd fallen for Valkyrie Cain. He tried to ignore it, but God, it was hard.
He watched her get to her feet, pale and scared looking. If he'd had a face, he would've frowned; why was she afraid? There was nothing in this room to be scared of...well, apart from him. She couldn't be scared of him; she'd seen him as Lord Vile, she'd been near him in his darkest moods, she'd seen him fight thousands of times, she'd even fought him as Darquesse, had him smash her bones, rupture her organs and stop her heart dead, yet she stayed by him, partners to the end. Even as a thirteen year old, she'd been insistent and bold. She couldn't be afraid of him, not her, not now all of a sudden...Could she?
oO0Oo
Valkyrie reached Skulduggery, feeling like her legs were made of concrete, weighing her down. It felt like every single one of the sanctuary lights were focussed on her as she walked across the room to tell the man she loved just how she felt. Because that was how she saw him. He was a man to her, not a skeleton, and even at thirteen, his voice had an alarming effect on her. It was the first thing about him she'd noticed, all those years ago, at Gordon's house, when the man in the tan overcoat had found her in Gordon's study. He'd intrigued her even then.
Skulduggery tilted his head, watching her as she moved towards him. She stopped in front of him, and he waited patiently for her to speak. She was all too aware of Tanith staring at her. She gathered the courage to raise her eyes to his big, empty sockets.
"Valkyrie, what's wrong?" he asked softly, so softly. There was so much concern in his voice. Valkyrie took a deep breath, arranging the words in her head before she said them.
"Skulduggery."
"That's me," he answered, a gentle smile in his words.
"I have something to say...I...I lo-"
oO0Oo
Erskine entered the room, cutting her off.
"Wistful has killed another one of my agents," he said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He looked like he'd been crying. "That's the third time today somebody's reported a murder, and they've all been done by her."
"Who was it this time?" Ghastly asked, his eyes dark. One hand rose to rub the scars on his forehead, the other snaring Tanith's fingers. Despite him appearing totally distraught, Erskine's lips twitched.
"It was Aurora, Ghastly. Wistful killed the mother of my child." Erskine's lip trembled a little, and Valkyrie found tears in her eyes; he looked heart broken, weary, older. "Congratulations to you two, by the way. I was wondering when this would happen." He gestured to their clasped hands, brightening up a little, though not by much. Valkyrie didn't miss the look he shot her and Skulduggery. She fought the heat that threatened to make her face burn; was there anybody that didn't know how she felt?
oO0Oo
"Oh dear. Poor Aurora; she was a fine woman," Skulduggery sighed. Ghastly placed a comforting hand on Erskine's shoulder.
"Who's Aurora?" Valkyrie asked, curious.
"Aurora Borealis was Erskine's girlfriend." The Grand Mage lowered his eyes, inspecting the floor. Valkyrie thought she saw a stray tear glistening on his cheek, but when he looked up it was gone.
"Isn't that the name of the Northern Lights?" she asked, distracting herself from the sorry state of her friend.
"Exactly. She took that name because of the way her power chose to manifest itself. She was a rather spectacular adept, much like China Sorrows, in the way that if you were to see her, you would fall in love with her. Unlike China, Aurora rarely used her abilities for her own gain, and while China is beautiful on the outside, Aurora was quite average, until she lit up," Skulduggery explained patiently.
"Lit up? What's that supposed to mean?" Valkyrie raised her eyebrows, not sure how to take the news that the woman in question could possibly be a human light bulb.
"She encased her body in light; some people said she showed her soul. It changed colours, and shone like the Northern Lights. Hence the name Aurora Borealis. It's a shame she was killed, her powers were a tad more potent than China's," Erskine put in. "I was quite in love with her for a very long time."
"She was in love with you too, Erskine, so much so. She said herself that your relationship was wonderfully fruitful," Ghastly said.
"Ahh yes, without her, I would never have been given a daughter. Speaking of which, here she comes."
oO0Oo
Valkyrie had never met Erskine's daughter before; the little girl was a vision. At five years old, she had gently waving black hair, down to her lower back, and the biggest, brightest green eyes Val had ever seen.
"Valkyrie, this is Aurora, Erskine's daughter, named after her wonderful mother," Skulduggery told me. The five year old wandered forwards and grinned, showing a gap where her front teeth were missing. She was adorable. The little girl stretched out a pale, slender hand.
"Hallo," she said. Valkyrie bent to clasp those little fingers, and suddenly she was wrapped in a rainbow. Erskine gasped, and Skulduggery's jaw dropped open.
"It would seem," the Grand Mage said, not bothering to disguise how proud he was, "that my beautiful little girl has inherited more from her mother than I originally thought."
"Wow," Skulduggery murmured, but he wasn't looking at Aurora, who was trailing her fingers through the gorgeous, shimmering blanket of light, humming a soft lullaby. He was looking straight at Valkyrie. An unspoken communication flashed between them, and his hand twitched aching to reach out to her. He loved her, God he loved her so much it hurt him.
oO0Oo
Erskine handed them each a thin file. It held maybe three pieces of paper. One sheet held a profile of Wistful. One sheet held a blurry picture of her, and the third held a list of the killings she'd been involved in. He focussed on the profile; it held her name, and a whole lot of empty space. The date of birth, current address, past address, family members, employment, and nationality, all of these things had one word next to them. Unknown.
"I think I can help you with some of this," Tanith said bitterly. Erskine raised an eyebrow.
"You can?" he asked. He looked so tired; it was a miracle he was still standing.
"Yes. As much as I hate her guts, she's my sister. I know enough to tell you her date of birth, her nationality, family members, stuff like that." She took another look at the crime sheet. "And the list of killings is nowhere near long enough."
"It isn't?"
"Nope; you didn't count the children."
"Children?" The Grand Mage ran a hand through his hair, his face turning grey.
"Yeah, the ones she ate." He spluttered, caught off guard.
"...She ate them? Isn't that what Goblins do?" He looked repulsed; the grey went green.
"Yes, if there's one thing Goblins love, it's eating babies," Skulduggery said. "Apparently, she's aspiring to be the best Goblin she can be." He looked at the crime sheet, just like Tanith. "So I'd say you can add some more killings to that list."
"A hundred and fifty two, to be exact," Tanith muttered.
"And counting," Skulduggery added. Erskine left to throw up.