Tanith walks through the forest, casting glances behind her to make sure she's not being followed. She had given Valkyrie and Skulduggery a bunch of false leads for a false case. Just to make sure they wouldn't follow her. Still, she knows it won't take them long to figure it out. Especially Val. Val's Smart, Tanith thinks to herself, Skulduggery though… She snorts and keeps walking until she comes to a clearing. Kneeling there, in the packed down dirt, is Ghastly.
She runs to him, his grey scarred face that she once called ugly. His stone features are calm, and she imagines him standing next to her. In her head, she hears his low, smooth voice that's filled with wisdom. All at once, words tumble out of her.
"Oh, Ghastly, I didn't realize until it was to late how much I l-need you. You were always giving me advice, mainly on what not to do. When I would go and do it anyways, you would never say 'I told you so'. You were always so kind, and on that day – on the day you sacrificed yourself for Skul and Val, I looked back at you kneeling here, and-and… I realized you were always more than a friend to me, and now it's too late! Ghastly, I-I'm so sorry!"
Silent tears stream down her face as she rests her head in his hard lap. She feels one drop of water, and then another. But when she sits up, Ireland's sky is clear for once. She looks at Ghastly, studying his stony features. Then in the distance, she hears a twig crack. She cusses under her breath and starts to run away. Then, she turns back to Ghastly, sprints towards him, and lightly gives him a kiss before running away.
Ghastly wishes he was human. He knows that even though he has all his sense right now except for smell, he won't remember anything when he wakes up. He hopes Tanith is still alive when he does. God, is she beautiful. He listens to her talk, and he finds his eyes wishing for the tears that won't come. He is wishing that too, so that she could know how he feels. That he feels the same way that she does.
She rests her head in his lap. Her golden/dirty-blonde hair rustles his pants, and he wishes he could stroke it. Suddenly, he feels two droplets of water on his cheeks. They travel down to his chin, where they drop onto Tanith. She sits up suddenly, and looks up at the sky, clearly puzzled. He hears something in the distance, and Tanith springs up, her sparkling eyes wide. She starts to run away, then she sprints back to him, and he feels her soft lips touch his.
Tanith sneaks into the room where Ghastly is held. She makes sure the coast's clear, then locks the door. She pulls out a book that she "borrowed" from China's library, and start's reading. If you want to wake someone from a long sleep, this is what you do…She pulls him into another room, grunting at his weight, and outs him in a patch of sunlight. She says the words from the book, then leans down and kisses him on a scar. Then she jumps back, fingers crossed. She watches in awe as stone becomes flesh, clothing becomes real again, and his somewhat still-grey skin gets, well, skin-colored.
"Ghastly?"
