One Moment In History

So sorry about the timing. It was meant to be out a while ago but I just decided that sleeping was nice.

Normally however, this wouldn't appear because I would be inhaling the book by now, but I haven't been able to find it in Big W or Target!

The end of the world is nigh!

*cough* Anyway…

Warning: Slight use of interesting language towards the end of the piece.

Skulduggery looked over at Val as the two of them entered the only building on sight. It opened up like a mausoleum, ironically enough, as the necromancers were the enemies in this particular phase of the seemingly never ending war. The rest of the building continued underground and spread backwards away from the front line in a similar way to the trench designs on the Western Front of World War 1.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Skulduggery asked her.

"This morning when you proposed you certainly did. I mean, it took roughly 500 words and a few minutes to get out," she replied jokingly.

"I just wanted to make sure that if we die soon, you knew how much I love you." Valkyrie gave a big smile in return.

"I love you as well," she replied and leaned into him. Skulduggery wrapped one arm around her and pulled her in close looking down at her.

"I think I have seen enough mush for one point in time," Tanith said coming up from behind them. The couple ignored her tone and the first sentence of what she said. "Anyway, the battle is about to start outside, we think, and we need to get our strategy lined up before we can go anywhere with it."

"Any plan doesn't last first contact," Skulduggery commented, feeling all self important and then without looking grabbed Valkyrie's hand in his own spare one and started swinging it forwards and back, almost like a little child. Tanith grinned at the sight and walked away whistling merrily and, as Skulduggery noted, tunelessly.

"I'm not going to ask what that was all about," Valkyrie muttered and prised her hand from his.

She held the cloth covered bones up to the light and carefully examined the fingers through the glove. Skulduggery grinned as he watched. He knew that the two of them had their own little ticks when they were worried about the possible outcomes the future held for them, the largest one being that they pretended that they weren't worried. Val also only started getting really curious about things when there was something else extremely important to be done, and he instinctively held her close and ensured that she was well within his arms.

But that didn't matter right now, they had a war meeting to get to. Actually it was probably the thing that Tanith had ditched them for.

The less than impressive entrance opened up to receive them. All over there were Clevers and other people doing what looked like important jobs.

Naturally, Skulduggery walked in with Valkyrie under one arm whistling Me and Mrs Jones.

They arrived at the meeting fashionably late, problem was that they were in the middle of a war zone and so late was probably bad. Ravel watched them walk in and tried to get the right conversation going before another one developed.

Notice the use of the verb trying…

"We expected the army to attack three days ago, but they haven't. Now I think would be the best time for us to attack as they are either waiting for a specific event or attempting to regroup. This would mean that if we attacked now-"

"Your face gives me the shits," Skulduggery suddenly said to the man standing next to him at the war table.

"It does?" said the man.

"Yes. It does. If you would be so kind to get it altered, I would much appreciate that."

"Unfortunately, I wouldn't."

"Are the two of you able to ever stop fighting?" Ghastly asked.

"It wasn't me. John Grisley started it," Skulduggery pleaded. Ravel gave him a flat look and Skulduggery smartly decided to drop it.

"Which one of the enemies are we going to be annoying today?" Valkyrie asked curiously. They hadn't properly annoyed anyone lately and it was almost like a muscle. If you didn't use it often enough then it would disappear. She stopped paying attention as soon as they told her that there wasn't anyone to annoy, at least they hadn't decided on a specific person yet. She didn't need to listen anyway, that's what Skulduggery was there for. The group left the room when the conversation was roughly done (some walking out early enthusiastically to go off and kill something or because they lied about having something else to do) and started walked down a corridor to get to the next matter of business, drinks all round. Those remaining were close friends and were all forcefully paused when they reached the second floor.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie were in the very front of the miniature train, arguing. Skulduggery decided that he had enough of it and that they couldn't die angry at each other so he forced everyone to stop. They looked into each others eyes. They ignored the comments and rude gestures of their friends who were near by and embraced each other. As they did so, Valkyrie reached up and activated Skulduggery's facade. When he had skin again, he pulled her impossibly close and they kissed, enjoying their moment seperate from time.

Ravel had stayed a few seconds longer and tripped on the last stair coming up to the second floor. He knocked the couple flying and they went through the intended doorway.

It was the presence of ancient blood that had set the bomb off. As Valkyrie had stepped through the door, there was no escaping the effects. The bomb had been set up the night before with the assurance that the couple would enter the very next day.

Skulduggery hadn't lived through it, and in a way his deepest wish was achieved. There would be no coming back this time. -He wouldn't be forced to watch Valkyrie grow old whilst he remain immortal. He didn't have to worry about what he would do when she was finally gone, from injuries or otherwise. He had passed with her.

They had gone together, in each others arms, each being only a moment in history.

I know I misquoted halfway through this fic… if anyone could tell me what it actually really is, I would be ever grateful. The book isn't next to me right now.

First person to guess what book (and I suspect it is actually in two of them) the meant-to-be quote is from wins…

I have no clue…. You can send me a message and I will write a fic for you :)

So I practically wrote this thing backwards. I first wrote the opening two paragraphs, then the last two after the break, then the bit before the break and so on.

I am so annoyed that I don't have the book! Normally I would have it by now! But to help my sorrow, I watched the opening section of the Ball that they aren't having anywhere near where I could make.

But he did say that Australia was awesome! And that he was coming!

Unfortunately he is coming the day before my leaving school exam. :(

I am still going :)

Today, I was sad as well because I won one of those packs, but it didn't arrive. It just so happens to be my school's feast day though and we have a huge disco. I just treated that as though it was the ball, because I was with a whole lot of fans :) It was awesome, but depressing as it was my last one ever :(

But I should probably go and do something else….

Funny how this marks the 99th story I have ever posted…

And I have a plan for the 100th one. It will be awesome and in the SP area. :)

Aly