Skulduggery Pleasant – An enchanted night

A young man could be seen standing outside the gates towards a large house with gothic features. The wind whipped and touched his black hair and his knee-long black coat. On his head he carried a hat with white brim that concealed the upper part of his face. He lifted his head and looked up at one of the windows where a light could be seen, which was the only thing that showed someone was in the house.

He slowly approached the house, alert at every step he took. He knew who lived in the house and if the rumors he had heard were true there was a chance he would never reach the house unseen or unscathed. The person he sought was very much about her privacy and would prefer not to be disturbed unless you had agreed on a meeting in advance, that is.

For every step that was taken, he searched the surrounding area with his hand by feeling the air around him, thus attempting to detect guards, traps and the like that could warn the owner of his presence.

Something he wanted to avoid as much as possible… At least before he himself had catched a glimpse of her.

When he was only a few meters from the front door, he stopped and listened. The wind still whipped hard and did a good job of concealing other sounds that could tell him if he had been discovered or not. He looked around while continuing reading the air, but when he could neither see, hear or feel anything beyond what could be considered "normal", he nodded to himself.

He glanced towards one of the windows and slowly began to float up towards it. He stretched out his gloved hand and put it against the window glass. He then closed his eyes and concentrated. Within a few seconds the glass began to breeze and shine and he could easily reach his hand through the glass, as if it were not there, and grasp the handle on the inside. The window slid open silently and he quickly hurried in and closed the window behind him, but not before putting his hand against the glass and returning it to solid glass again.

While his eyes got used to the surrounding around him he listened for steps, the sound of a fire or anything else that could tell him where the owner of the house were. He thought he knew how he would have to go to get to the room where he had seen the light from the outside, but he wanted to be sure that the one he sought was in just that room. He did not want to go straight into a trap if he could avoid it. He had gone into too many traps during his lifetime already and he felt he didn't want to expand that list any more if it could be avoided.

When no sound other than the wind outside and the cracking from a lantern could be heard, he slowly sneaked towards the space in which the room he sought lay. Not even for a mere second he lowered his guard, but held all his senses on edge. A half-open door came in sight and a dim light could be seen, probably from the lantern he seemed to have heard.

When he was this close, he thought he heard someone cry, which surprised him. A worried wrinkle could be seen in his face. Never had he believed this, that she of all people, would cry this... heartbreaking and unhappy. What could have happened to get someone as strong as her to break like this?

Instead of opening the door and making his presence known now that he had found her (which had been his plan from the beggining) he stood outside the door and listened to her crying. He thought he could distinguish words between the sobbings, but they were too low-key to make out what she was saying. However, he thought he could distinguish a single word that returned again and again.

"Why?"

What could that mean? What was meant by this single word, "why"? What had happened to her?

Without thinking, he slowly and carefully opened the door and stepped into the room where she was. All that was inside it was an armchair in which there sat a young woman who did not appear to be a day over 25 with dark hair and brown eyes. She wore an sleeveless t-shirt, black pants and black boots. She had half-long dark brown hair that reached her just below the shoulders and tattoos on both arms. From where he stood he could only see the tattoos on one of her arms. On that arm he could see a lot of different names that were surrounded by a Fenix bird, whose head began at her clavicle and whose body continued down along her entire arm and ended with the tail feathers just above her wrist.

She sat down with her head bent and her hands in her face as tears poured down her face. Her body shook from all the crying and he felt how the sight of her pain caused his own heart to nab with pain.

A hand seemed to materialize from nowhere and laid itself on her shoulder. She immediately stopped crying and flew up of the chair. She brazed herself and kicked at the direction she had seen the hand coming from but just hit air. A movement in the corner of her eyes prompted her to quickly make a backflip while she formed a lightning globe between her hands as she sent it off against the shadow in front of her. Unfortunately, she missed her goal and felt how a puff of wind hit her waist that caused her to fall down on the floor. She shouted with pain when her shoulder hit the wooden floor but quickly rolled away before she stood kneeling and looked around.

She could not see or hear anything, but she could feel the presence of another person. "Who are you and what do you want me?" she asked the shadows that surrounded her. She let her eyes swipe along the rooms every corner while listening.

The young man still stood among the shadows where he knew she could not see him. It was not like this he had imagined their meeting to turn out. He did not want to hurt her, just talk. He had not seen her for such a long time, hadn't be able to talk to her, not been able to juggle ideas with her, not been able to joke, not been able to feel... human together with her.

The only thing he had wanted since his transformation was to meet her again. It had been five years since they last had seen each other and throughout that time he had done everything in his power to be able to be close to her again, but not like the skeleton he once was, but as a whole new man. Somebody she could... love.

"I only warn you once. If you don't come out voluntarily, I will have to stop playing nice. Who are you and what do you want me?" she asked again, but this time her voice was not afraid, but angry. She did not like it when people were playing cat-and-rat with her. She had endured that game too many times during her old life when she helped save the world together with Gastly Bespoke, Tanith Low and…

Skulduggery Pleasant.

Just the thought of his name spread a warmth within her that was mixed with pain. Why did he abandon her in that way? Why did he not trust her enough? Why did he just leave without a word of farewell? Why...

She was interrupted in her thoughts by a movement behind her. She felt how a pair of strong arms lay around her and held her against her will. She tried to get loose, but the person who held her knew what he was doing because she could not get loose despite how much she tried.

"Realease me or you will surely regret it deeply, I promise you!" she growled between twisted teeth.

The person who held her did not answer her but shook its head instead. She could feel how it leaned closer to her and when its mouth was right next to her ears, it whispered: "That's not really such a nice way to welcome your mentor and best friend, right, Valkyrie?"

Valkyrie felt like her body froze to ice. That voice... she would recognize it anywhere. That as smooth as silk voice she never could have enough of and that she could listen to for hours...

"Skul... Skuldduggery, is that you...?" she whispered and tried to turn her head to see the face of the one who held her, but it did not work.

The man nodded. "Yes, it's me", he continued to whisper. "Are you alone?"

Valkyrie nodded as answer and she felt how the grip around her loosened. Slowly, she turned around and lifted up her face towards the person in front of her who claimed that he was Skulduggery. It could not be him, it just could not, not after all this time that had passed…

And neither was it. The man that was standing in front of her was not a living skeleton that Skulduggery after all was, but this was a human being with flesh and blood, just like herself. He was as tall as Skulduggery and had the same kind of body shape as him and spoke just like him, but there the similarities ended. This man had black short hair, thin lips and a round face that was framed by a pair of ice-blue eyes.

"You're not Skulduggery! How dare you claim to be him?!" screamed Valkyrie and aimed a fist to the man's face.

The man ducked under her punch and grabbed her wrist when Valkyrie aimed a new blow towards him. He threw a quick eye on her arm and froze when he saw the tattoo on it. This tattoo represented Valkyrie and a skeleton embracing each other while two dark figures raised themselves behind their backs. One was wearing an armor that consisted of darkness only, while the other looked just like Valkyrie but with a huge grin in its face and bloodthirst in its eyes.

Valkyrie, who noticed that the man had frozen at the sight of her tattoo, took her chance and gave the man a kick in the side while sending away a force field against the man that made him fly straight through the door and into the dark corridor behind it. She quickly called forth some lightning globes that she sent away the same way the man had left, but instead of hitting the man, they floated around the hallway around him and lit up the room.

Before the man had time to get up once again, Valkyrie was over him. She sat down on him, grabbed the collar on his shirt that he wore under the coat and began to slam his head up and down against the floor while she, emphatically, said: "Dont... you... dare... to... claim... that... you... are... Skulduggery Pleasant! He disappeared out of my life several years ago without any explanation what so ever and I know that he will never return. He left me!"

Tears of anger, sorrow and deceit poured down her cheeks while she continued to slam the man's head on the floor. The man who claimed to be Skulduggery did not resist but allowed her to do it. After a while Valkyrie stopped and collapsed while crying silently. Her whole body shook from all the crying that came out of her and the man slowly stroked away some of the tears that poured down Valkyrie's cheeks.

In the same moment as Valkyrie felt the man's finger against her cheek she opened her eyes and stared at the man beneath her. He had brushed her cheek in exactly the same way that Skulduggery used to do when she was sad. He also used to say…

"Do not cry, Valkyrie Cain. If you continue, you will only get a lot of unnecessary wrinkles and get old early on."

At the same time as the words left the man's lips, Valkyrie understood that she had been wrong. This was no one who pretended to be Skulduggery Pleasant, this really was Skulduggery Pleasant. But how was it possible? Skulduggery was a skeleton…

"I have a lot to explain, but before I do, I want to ask for your forgiveness for everything, Valkyrie."

That voice, the way he said her name... Valkyrie could not help it. Even though she hated him because he had left her without telling her where he was going and had left her behind all alone, she could not stop a joyful smile from spreading over her lips and before Skulduggery as much as was able to say "I'm sorry" again, she had thrown herself around his neck and hugged him hard.

"You idiot! Why did you do it? Why did you leave me like this? You should have brought me along! I've been so lonely without you! Nobody to talk to, no one who understands me, nobody who makes fun of me, nobody who makes me crazy with his enigmatic answers..."

Skulduggery laughed and hugged Valkyrie back. This was more like the old Valkyrie that he had learned to know and that he loved above all else. "Oh, Valkyrie, if you only knew how much I have missed you. I really wish I could have taken you with me, but it would not have been possible. It would have been too hard for me. When I left, I did not even know if what I was going to try was even possible. I did not want to disappoint you... again."

"Skulduggery, haven't you learned by now that you can't disappoint me? Have you ever let me down in all the years we have known each other? Have you ever given up, even when everything else has seem meaningless? You know I would follow you down to hell if required. Why didn't you bring me with you this time?"

"Because this time there was a big chance that I would have disappointed you. There was such a slight chance that it would be a success that I could not risk hurting you. I... like you too much to hurt you so deeply, Valkyrie.

You understand, I had heard that there might be a way for me to get my body back and that was something I was really willing to try. Not because I was unliking being a living skeleton and all that, because it was cool in its own way, but in all the years I was 'the skeleton detective' there was always something missing. I missed the feeling of having a beating heart in my chest. I missed the feeling of being able to eat good food, drink a good wine, feel the warmth of another person..." Skulduggery interrupted himself and turned his face towards Valkyrie. "Most of all, I missed the feeling of a woman's lips against my own."

Before Valkyrie had time as to even start wondering what Skulduggery meant by that statement, he had laid his hands around her cheeks and pushed his lips against hers. First, Valkyrie could only dilate her eyes in surprise and chock, but soon she closed them and kissed Skulduggery back. The feeling was overpowering. Surely, she had imagined many times how Skulduggery had looked like as a human (he had repeatedly stated that "I did not look so bad if I could say so myself") and how it would be to kiss him, but now that she actually got to experience it for real, her fantasies did not even come close to what it was like in reality.

When they finally broke apart, they both breathed heavily. Skulduggery looked at Valkyrie with love in his gaze, but also missing. For how long had he not wanted to do this with her without being able to? He had also been too scared to admit his true feelings to her. Surely they had said they loved each other, but it had been said as friends, not like how a in love couple would have said it.

He accused himself of not seeking her up earlier in his new self. After all, he had been human for over two years, but was too shy and afraid. He had been afraid of how she would react. Had been afraid that she would not love him anymore, been afraid that she would think he had changed way too much. When he looked into Valkyrie's eyes, he understood that he had been wrong all the time.

So wrong...

"How long have you felt like this towards me? And how long have you been human, Skulduggery? How long have you kept me away?"

Skulduggery could not watch Valkyrie in the eyes. It hurt him too much. "For over two years... I did not dare to seek you up in fear of that you would not love me for the one I had become. I was afraid you would think I had changed way too much and that you would not recognize me. I also needed some time to get used to having a body yet again, but it went much faster than I expected. I simply did not know how to deliver the happy news to you.

I have been hidden away for the most part of these two years. I have just let China and a few others whom I trust meet me in this new form since I trusted that they would not carry on the news about my new appearance to anyone else. I did not want this to come out before I was ready for it and had met you in beforehand. It would not feel right to let you hear it through others instead of directly from me. What kind of friend would do that, I wonder?"

Valkyrie felt how she became angry when she heard China's name. She knew that China had been in love with Skulduggery before, and probably still was. That China had been one of the first to see Skulduggery as a human being again pained her more than he could imagine.

How could he?!

She got up and stared down at Skulduggery from where she was standing. "I understand, Skulduggery. You and China really deserve each other. You are both as equally rotten!"

Without a word, Valkyrie turned on her heel and went into another room that served as her bedroom and locked the door behind her. She could hear how Skulduggery went to the door and knocked on it, but she ignored him.

"Valkyrie, it is not what you think it is. I do not love China and have never done, either. The reason I went to her was because I wanted her to check on me to see if I had really reunited with my body and how long it would last for. Was it only for a certain period of time or had I really got it back for life? I did not want to show myself to you just to then let us both get deeply disappointed if it would turn out that I would go back to my old regular skeleton-I after a while. I could not stand hoping for a future together with you just to then see it disappear in front of our eyes. Please, Valkyrie, open the door so we can talk about this."

Valkyrie kicked the door so hard that the walls shook. "Do you really think I'm buying that shit, Skulduggery? Come with something better!"

"This is the truth, Valkyrie. Let me prove it, let me in." When Valkyrie did not answer, Skulduggery sighed and laid his hand against the door. Just like the window before, the door began to shine and bore like rings on the water. He stepped straight through the door to a gaping Valkyrie. She had been so surprised when she saw the door begin to breeze and see Skulduggery step straight through it that she could not do anything but gape like a fish on dry land.

Skulduggery laughed and put a finger on Valkyrie's chin and pushed it up slightly to make her close her mouth. "How long are you going to stand here with an open mouth, really? Are you so excited that I learned some new tricks that you have to stand here like a fool and stare?"

Valkyrie immediately closed her mouth and shook her head. She could not help it, but she actually smiled at what Skulduggery had said, because it was so typical of him. She could not be angry with him for a long period of time, because he always knew what he should say and do to make her think of something else. Even how much she tried to deny it, she had actually missed Skulduggery so much it had hurt her. To have him here again, it was simply…

Fantastic.

Without a word, Skulduggery put his arms around Valkyrie in an embrace and whispered in her ear: "You're the only one for me, Valkyrie. You must not believe anything else."

"I know, Skulduggery, I know. It was just such a shock to see you again after spending such a long time alone here in Gordon's house. Although it is mine now, it does not feel like mine. I will always see this as Gordon's house, not mine."

"He would have been proud of you if he had lived today. I know, not only because I knew your uncle very well, but also because I'm proud of you."

Valkyrie looked up at Skulduggery with surprise. "What have I done that you can be proud of?"

"Well, in addition of defeating the strongest magician who also proved to be the one destined to destroy the whole world, with the help of a very attractive skeleton detective, I should add", Skulduggery lifted his eyebrows up and down and smiled mischievously at Valkyrie, "you've always been quick to express your oppinions. You've never backed away from what you believe in, you've always done what it's required to protect those you love even if it meant you'd probably have met a certain death. You've saved the world more than once, you're smart, fast-paced, barky and furthermore very beautiful. Have I forgotten something?"

Valkyrie could not help laughing. "Yes, you actually have. If I did not think better, I would like to say that it was you whow you were talking about. Your description of me sounds very similar to how I would describe you. Well, that's what makes us work so well. That we are so alike, I mean."

"You're right, Valkyrie. I hope you are aware that I love you just the way you are and not because you try to be someone else." Skulduggery kissed Valkyrie again and this time Valkyrie was not slow of kissing him back.

Skulduggery pushed Valkyrie more harder against himself and the kiss soon deepened. Before Valkyrie knew it, Skulduggery had lifted her up and put her legs around his waist, all the whilst he continued kissing her. Skulduggery released Valkyrie's lips and instead gave her small, light kisses on her jaw and down along her throat and neck. Valkyrie shivered in pleasure and leaned her head backwards so Skulduggery could get better access.

Soon they lay on Valkyrie's bed, tightly clasped with their arms around each other. It was as though they could not get enough of each other's bodies. Both their hands explored the body of one another with eager but at the same time gently hands. Garment after garment fell to the floor until they both lay and stood naked in front of each other. Only then did they stop and look at each other. Their eyes wandered around every millimeter of naked skin that was visible and they liked what they saw.

Skulduggery was muscular at the right places, but not excessively muscular. The muscles were tense in a way that Valkyrie liked, making him look sexy. His cock was also perfect, not too big and not too small, but just right. Whole Skulduggery's skin glittered in the light of the moon, which shone through the bedroom window, making him even more beautiful and perfect in Valkyrie's eyes.

When he looked down at her, Skulduggery could only wonder why he had been waiting for so long to show his love for Valkyrie. She was so beautiful where she lay under him, naked, but not vulnerable. Her nipples were stiff of expectation and her breasts were perfectly rounded. She was curly and had a hint of stomach muscles, something that was extremely attractive on her. Her pussy was protected by a little, bright mane pubic hair that was the finishing touch and completed her beauty.

"You are beautiful", they both said simultaneously and burst out laughing.

Skulduggery stroked Valkyrie's cheek slowly and looked her in the eyes. "I love you Valkyrie Cain, in a way I did not think would be possible. Not after I lost my wife and my child. I now understand that love is not something that comes only once in life, but that it is possible to experience it more than once."

"I love you too, Skulduggery. I tried to intimidate my feelings towards you because I did not believe in us, which I now understand was a big mistake. That is why I was together with the teleporter Fletcher Renn and later also had a romance with that vampire Caelan. When they both ended, I did not dare to believe in love anymore. That is, until that day five years ago when you disappeared. That was when I understood what I really felt for you and that I could not possibly live without you, Skulduggery. You broke my heart when you disappeared and I really hope I will never have to experience that feeling again."

"You'll never have to, Valkyrie. I am here to stay."

With those words, Skuldduggery gave Valkyrie a kiss before he began massaging her breasts while kissing her face, ear, throat and neck. He noticed that Valkyrie liked what he did, for she gave up small moans while she shivered and moved around to give him better access. It was not long before Valkyrie grabbed Skulduggery's neck and pressed her lips against him in a passionate kiss while he continued massaging her breasts. Soon, Skulduggery let a hand lean down along Valkyries's belly, down to her butt to stop above her gender. Slowly, Skulduggery began to massage the inside of Valkyrie's thighs, something that caused Valkyrie to shiver even more. He could feel how she pushed her throbbing sex against his hand, but he did not want to give her what she wanted yet. He wanted to move slowly with this, get a chance to explore Valkyrie from the inside out. "Calm down, Valkyrie. We have no hurry, let's take it as it comes." Valkyrie laughed but the laughter soon turned into a moan of pleasure when Skulduggery's hand stroked against her throbbing gender. "I know... but I've been waiting... so long for this... You have no idea..." Valkyrie managed to moan. "I want you, Skuldduggery. I've been waiting for so long and now when you're finally here I'm not going to let you go." Skuldduggery felt how he was overpowered by love towards the young woman he had in his arms. He had not had a clue that she was so wary of not getting or being with him. Being a living skeleton, virtually all human needs like eating, drinking, going to the toilet, and the ability to want to have sex and feel lust towards another person, had disappeared. Which, in turn, meant that he had not fully understood Valkyrie's anguish during the five years he had been away. This, on the other hand, he intended to make up for her now. "Then you will get me too, Valkyrie." Skulduggery smiled at Valkyrie and slowly began to massage her pussy with his fingers both inside and outside. Valkyrie moaned high of pleasure and pushed her gender against Skuldduggery's massaging fingers. "God, Skulduggery! Do not stop!" Valkyrie moaned. "I am not planning to. Not at all", Skuldduggery fluttered and gave Valkyrie a hard kiss before pulling out his fingers and instead placing Valkyrie's gender right above his own. "Are you ready?" Valkyrie did not answer. She just looked Skuldduggery deep in his eyes, took hold of his hard limb and steered it into her. As soon as they both felt how their sexes was linked together, they both moaned and kissed each other. None of them could have imagined the feeling that occurred when they finally became one. It was like they merged into a person who had only been half for a very long time. Skuldduggery began to move inside Valkyrie and it did not take long before Valkyrie fell into his pace. She pushed herself as close to him as she could, as it felt like he could never get deep enough or close enough to her. She could not get enough of the feeling of having Skuldduggery so close, having given him all of herself, finally giving the chance to become one with him... "Don't you dare to disappear from me ever again, Skuldduggery. I love you too much to lose you again." Valkyrie stroked Skuldduggyer's cheek and looked him deeply in the eyes. Skuldduggery pretended to look perplexed and put his hand against his chest. "How can you say such a thing about me, Valkyrie? I, who is the honest man on earth!" "Try to convince yourself of that", Valkyrie answered, laughing. "How many times have you not pulled a little white lie or haven't been telling the whole story before you've been forced to?" As answer, Skuldduggery threw down Valkyrie on the bed and kissed her passionately to end her laughter. He pressed himself more harder against her and could feel how Valkyrie's pussy contracted itself more and more around his cock for every new thrust. He realized that Valkyrie was not far so he took a good hold of her hips and thrust himself as deep into her as he could. Between their kisses, he heard how Valkyrie began to breathe more and more strained and that her moans became deeper. "Oh, Skulduggery... I think..." Valkyrie began, but was interrupted by an orgasm so powerful that she saw stars. Her whole body was shaking with pleasure and her pussy contracted over and over again for each new orgasm wave that went through her. It felt like it would never end, but just as it started to wear off, she felt how Skulduggery turned her around and took her from behind. She understood what was happening and made herself tighter and pushed towards Skuldduggery to make it easier for him. It did not take long before Skuldduggery came inside Valkyrie. At the same moment as he did, Valkyrie got another orgasm that drained her of her last powers. Exhausted but happy she fell down against the pillows. She felt how Skuldduggery pulled up the blanket over their bodies and how he then made himself comfortable against her. He laid his face against her neck and drew in the smell of her. "I have not thought about it before, but you smell really divine, Valkyrie..." said Skuldduggery tiredly and laughed happily. Valkyrie laughed and laid her hand on Skuldduggery's where it was lying around her breasts. She made herself comfortable towards his chest and waist before she sighed tiredly, but happy. To think that she finally had experienced this day when she and Skuldduggery could finally show their love towards each other. She still had some difficulty digesting it all, but when Skuldduggery woke her up a few hours later with small kisses to her neck, she knew that it had not been a wonderful dream, but that everything really had happened. When Skuldduggery moved himself into her again without difficulty, she gave out a happy sigh. This was truly an enchanted night...

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