When Valkyrie opened her eyes she was lying in a field. A boy with crazy red hair and blue eyes helped her up. He had freckles and one tooth missing.

"Who are you?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. Instantly, Valkyrie recognised the young Skulduggery.

"I'm… er… Darcy" she said, thinking of the first name that came to her.

"Nice. I'm Sherman" Valkyrie had to stop herself from laughing in his face. The great Skulduggery Pleasant having a name like Sherman.

"That's some weird clothes you got there Darcy"

"Yeah. I'm not from around here. Do you know where I can find some new ones?"

"My friend's dad is a tailor. Come on let's go!" Skulduggery cried, pulling her after him. Valkyrie hesitated.

"I haven't got any money" she mumbled.

"What about your parents?" Skulduggery asked, confused.

"I'm an orphan" Valkyrie nearly started crying as she realised this wasn't a lie. She'd destroyed her family when Darquess had come out to protect her from her physco reflection.

"Where do you live?"

"I'm homeless"

"Oh! Come and meet my mamma and maybe she can find you somewhere to go"

"Thanks Sk- Sherman"

"No problem"

Skulduggery's mother was a huge woman with freckles like her son and frizzy blonde hair.

"Oh you poor thing" she cooed and Valkyrie made her eyes look big and innocent "I can't send you off to one of those awful orphanages. Look at you! You can stay here in the spare room. I've always wanted a little girl"

"Thanks Miss... um…"

"Just call me Mama. Everyone does"

"Thanks Mama."

"She'll need some clothes too" Skulduggery said.

"Indeed she will" Mama pulled out some slivery coins, "Sherman will show you where the tailor is"

Skulduggery grabbed Valkyrie's hand and led her to Ghastly's shop. A thin man with round glasses was sewing.

"Hello there Sherman. I see you brought a friend. Did you know Alex has chosen his name? Ghastly Bespoke!" The young Ghastly came out and winced as he expected Valkyrie to run away from his ugly scars.

"I'm Darcy" Valkyrie said, sticking her hand out. Ghastly shook it, warily. "I need some new clothes."

"Do you have a favourite colour?" Mr Bespoke asked.

"I like the colour black"

Mr Bespoke nodded; slowly "Can't go wrong with black" and he got bust scribbling down ideas.

"I take it you know about magic from the way you weren't horrified by my friend's scars and you keep playing with shadows" Skulduggery said. Valkyrie hadn't realised she'd been absent-mindedly playing with shadows.

"Yeah. I'm a Necromancer and an Elemental"

Skulduggery's mouth widened into an 'O' shape. "So am I!" he grinned.

"Cool!"

"I'm an Elemental" Ghastly whispered, shyly.

"The dress should be ready in a few hours" Mr Bespoke said "Until then you three should go play"

Skulduggery nodded and steered Valkyrie outside. Ghastly trotted after them.

"Where are you from?" Ghastly asked her.

"I was homeless until Mama gave me a home under an hour ago. I'm an orphan."

"I found her lying in the middle of our field" Skulduggery laughed.

"What's your last name, Darcy?" Valkyrie thought frantically for a name.

"Rose" she blurted.

"Darcy Rose. That's a pretty name!"

"Thanks. Ghastly Bespoke is cool and I don't actually know your last name, Sherman"

"It's Wilson"

"Sherman Wilson. Nice"

"It's not nice really. I'm taking ages to pick a taken name. I just can't find a name that suits me!"

"It's worth waiting if you pick the right one" Valkyrie nodded. They ended up in a narrow alleyway. A group of boys were wandering around, looking for trouble.

"Who's the pretty lady?" one of them shouted. She thought she recognised the voice but she couldn't quite place it.

"She's my sister, Solomon"

Valkyrie gasped as the young Solomon Wreath stepped out of the shadows.

"I like her. Hey pretty lady, why don't you come say hi?"

"I'm ok thanks"

"Aww. Come on now, don't be shy" he reached out and grabbed her arm. Valkyrie slapped him away.

"Leave her alone!" Ghastly said.

"Or what?"

"Or I'll hit you" Valkyrie said sweetly. The guys roared with laughter.

"You can't beat up Solomon Wreath" one of them scoffed.

"Want to bet?" she replied. Ghastly and Skulduggery were shaking their heads, frantically but Valkyrie took no notice.

Solomon chuckled and took a step forward, throwing a weak punch to intimidate her. Valkyrie caught it and flipped Solomon onto his back. Skulduggery's mouth fell open and Ghastly squeaked and took a step back. The boys that were around Solomon shuffled back a few steps too. Solomon growled and tried to use the shadows to sweep Valkyrie's feet from underneath her, but she jumped over them and use her own shadows to pin him down. Solomon tried to send a wall of shadows at Valkyrie but she rolled out of the way and stood over Solomon who looked up at her with a scowl on his face.

"Game over" she whispered and started to swagger away. Solomon sent some more shadows after her but she sidestepped them. Ghastly and Skulduggery ran after her.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"You pick up a few tricks when you're on the streets"

"You wait until the guys at school hear about this!"

"School?" Valkyrie asked.

"You don't go to school?"

"Nope. I know spelling and reading and all that but I'm not very good at science" she lied. Valkyrie knew more science than anyone on the planet at that moment.

"She can come to school with us, can't she Alex- I mean, Ghastly?" Skulduggery said, shaking his arm.

"Yeah. It's a magic school, by the way" Ghastly smiled. They began heading back to the tailors to pick up Valkyrie's clothes. She smiled when she saw what was waiting for her. It was a long, lacy black dress that showed off her thin waist.

"And this will be your school uniform" Mr Bespoke said "I assume you'll be going with Ghastly and Sherman" The uniform was a turquoise and white chequered dress with a pair of over knee socks and black shoes.

"You'll have to tie your hair up for school too" Sherman whispered.

"Is this enough to cover the cost?" Valkyrie asked, handing Mr Bespoke the coins.

"You don't have to pay. You've been kind enough to Ghastly and I owe Mama some money anyway. Besides, I've always wanted to help a homeless orphan."

"Thanks!"

"You're welcome" Valkyrie left the shop carrying the heavy material of the clothes. She got back to Skulduggery's house and Mama showed her the room she'd be sleeping in. It was a bit small and not very excitingly decorated but Valkyrie loved it. She closed the door and got changed into the dress. She stepped outside and a boy with straight blonde hair and freckles stopped in front of her.

"You must be the new orphan Mama took in. I'm Berty" he stuck his hand out and Valkyrie shook it.

"I'm Darcy Rose"

"I like your dress" he said, and Valkyrie thought she saw him blush a tiny bit.

"Thanks Berty. It's new" Berty nodded and continued walking the way he had come. Skulduggery walked up to her and grabbed her arm.

"Papa wants to meet you" he said, excitedly. Skulduggery led Valkyrie to the kitchen where a thin man with straight red hair sat talking to Mama.

"Hello there. I'm Papa" he said and rather than shaking her hand he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm Darcy" Valkyrie said and decided she liked Papa a lot.

"I'm a teacher at Sherman's school. You'll be starting school tomorrow"

"Ok" Valkyrie said and followed Skulduggery outside.

"Will you help us on the farm?" he asked.

"Of course! Just tell me what to do"

"Well Mama wants me to milk the cows. You could help with that."

"You'll have to teach me how"

"You've never milked a cow?"

"I've never touched a cow" Valkyrie admitted. Skulduggery gasped.

"This is Betsy" he said, gesturing to a huge cow who was lazily chewing something. Skulduggery showed her how to milk a cow and Valkyrie caught on pretty quickly. It wasn't long before they were finished and hauling back large buckets of milk.

"I can take them" Skulduggery said "You don't have to carry one"

"It's ok. I'm quite strong and I want to help" They struggled back with the huge buckets and Mama watched, impressed.

"It could be useful having you around. It usual takes Sherman two trips to carry all the milk back by himself" Mama said. Skulduggery scowled.

"It would take me a lot more than two trips to bring that lot back" Valkyrie said which cheered Skulduggery up a bit. The family gathered around the table and Papa set out bowls of peas, carrots and other vegetables which the family helped themselves to. The sun had set and Skulduggery yawned.

"Bed time" Mama said steering them in the direction of the bedrooms. Valkyrie scowled at the thought of such an early night but fell asleep surprisingly quickly. That night she had nightmares. She watched the young Skulduggery's skin melt away and her family, screaming her name as she destroyed them with a fireball. She woke up and bit her lip to stop herself from crying. A dark figure opened the door and shuffled in.

"Nightmares?" Berty asked. Valkyrie nodded and Berty sat on the end of the bed.

"I get them too" he said "It all started when I used to have a little sister. Mary, her name was. We were really close. She was five years younger than me but she liked me best. One day we went out to the cliffs. I turned my back for a second and Mary fell over the edge" A tear fell from his eyes.

"I accidently killed my parents and my baby sister" Valkyrie said and she found herself crying too. "Someone was trying to kill me so I shot a fireball at them. I missed and hit my family. The mortals just thought it was a gas leak that had been set alight that killed them"

Valkyrie wrapped her arms around Berty and he hugged her back.

"I know it's really selfish, but I'm glad I found someone who understands how I feel" Berty sniffed.

"Me too"

Berty and Valkyrie fell asleep in each other's arms, with Berty's chin resting on Valkyrie's head. The next morning, Berty left to let Valkyrie get ready for school. She pulled on her uniform which looked surprisingly good and thought about how she was going to wear her hair. In the end she took two sections of hair from the front and plaited them back. She took the rest of her hair and plaited it before wrapping it up into a bun. She pulled two bits down by her ears and smiled at her reflection.

"I like your hair" Skulduggery said as she skipped down to breakfast.

"Thanks" Valkyrie grabbed some toast as they left for school. The school was a big building with five floors and boys and girls wandered around until a shrill bell sounded out through the playground. Skulduggery led her to her classroom and she sat down in the only seat available. The one next to Solomon.

"Hello again"

Valkyrie shook her head and introduced herself to the class as Darcy Rose. One of the girls in the front row whispered something to the girl next to her who giggled. She had blonde hair that was scraped off her face and a gap between her two front teeth. The lesson went well and the teacher explained to everyone how disease was carried through bad smells until the bell rang. Valkyrie followed Skulduggery through the crowds and the girl from earlier tapped her on the shoulder.

"Who are you?" she asked with an ugly expression on her face.

"Darcy Rose"

"That's a dumb name"

"What's your name?"

"I'm Lillia Sparks" Valkyrie sniggered and she scowled even more.

"I see you're with Sherman. I think he only tolerates you because his Mama told him to. Look at you!"

"What about me?"

"You're so ugly. I mean what's up with your…" Lillia faltered "Hair!" she shouted, triumphantly.

"Says you, gap teeth" Lillia's hand flew to her mouth.

"You'll pay for that" she hissed. Ghastly walked up and looked from Valkyrie to Lillia.

"Making friends?" he asked. Valkyrie laughed and Lillia frowned. Valkyrie walked off with Ghastly to find Skulduggery.

"Fine! Go off with scar face!" she yelled. Valkyrie used the shadows to trip her up as she left.

Another girl tapped Valkyrie on the shoulder, shyly.

"Hi there. I'm Joanna" she said. She had blonde hair and huge brown eyes. Her hair was curly and although she'd desperately tried to tie it up a few loose pieces stuck out at odd angles.

"All the girls at school are talking about you. They say you're ugly but they're just jealous of the way all the boys like you. You're really smart too."

"Really? Thanks Joanna! Do you know where my next lesson is, I can't find Sherman anywhere!"

"I think we have maths. You can follow me if you want"

"I'd like that. Lead the way Joanna"

"You can call me Jo. Everyone does." Valkyrie started chatting to Jo as they walked. The bell rang as they neared the classroom. Valkyrie recognised Mr Bespoke and was surprised to find Berty in her class. She sat next to Jo and tilted her head at Berty.

"I'm a year older but I got moved down. I just don't understand all this math stuff" he whispered.

Mr Bespoke taught the class well and Valkyrie found herself being only just above average at maths. Lillia pulled faces at her frequently throughout the day which made Valkyrie laugh. Jo stuck her tongue out at Lillia which shocked everyone. She's always been a shy little thing and constantly bullied by Lillia and her gang. Finally, the time came when they had to line up for PE. Valkyrie couldn't wait to show off her speed and strength. Normal schools would be teaching the girls dance but here at Aranmore Elementary they taught combat. Valkyrie flattened everyone in her weight group and got moved up until the teachers had to pair her with some of the boys. Valkyrie grinned as she went up against Solomon.

"Round 2" she whispered and Solomon threw himself at her. Valkyrie dodged and threw a weak punch which Solomon went to catch. Valkyrie stopped mid-punch and kicked Solomon back. He rolled over and flipped Valkyrie over. Valkyrie twisted in mid flip and landed on her feet, crouching. Still crouching, she swung one leg out to trip Solomon and he landed flat on his face. Valkyrie stood up and brushed a loose piece of hair behind her ear. There was silence. Valkyrie looked around and realised everyone else had stopped fighting their opponents and was watching Valkyrie and Solomon. Most of them had their mouths open. Solomon made another desperate attempt to reclaim his pride but he was tired and Valkyrie easily threw him back down to the floor.

As Solomon was lying on the floor, Jo started clapping. People joined in until everyone apart from Lillia and her gang were applauding her performance. Valkyrie bowed. She was going to like it here.