One more chapter…


Entry #24: Written August 15th

Dear Diary,

Today was it.

It was our last day in Paris.

It was also Monsieur Rhett's funeral.

Diary, I almost threw you out the window. I was tempted to just never write in you again. And (a terrible part of me thought of this) I thought that Skulduggery would just waltz in and pick you up and read you again. I've been avoiding him like the plague. He's been sleeping in China's room for the past days, and he doesn't really come out that much. Maybe he died.

Nah, that'd be too good.

I haven't really been doing much, either. Madame Gabs and Monsieur Spar showed up randomly a few days ago, asking how we were and everything. They didn't seem too happy, so we're all on the same boat. I asked how Aya was, and they said she's just sitting, locked up in her office. She hasn't come out in days. Her actual living space is attached to her office, so she can go eat and everything, but still. It doesn't sound healthy.

Madame Gabs informed us quickly that our flight back home to Ireland would be the day of Monsieur Rhett's funeral, which was today. They said that we should definitely come to the funeral to pay our respects and such. I knew that I wanted to go, but we didn't have anything good to wear. So when Ghastly quickly jumped at the invitation and agreed to it, Fletcher and I just stared at him. When Madame Gabs and Monsieur Spar left, we rounded on Ghastly.

"We don't have anything to wear!" I said, exasperated.

"Well," Ghastly responded, "a motto of mine is to never go anywhere abroad without a black suit – or a black dress in your case. It's come in handy more times than I count. You never know when you'll be sneaking into a black tie event, searching for an evil mage."

"Oh, yeah, right," Fletcher snorted, "that happens loads of time."

"Who came?" Skulduggery asked, suddenly striding into the kitchen. He and I froze, but then Fletcher broke the tense and awkward silence with, "Your mom did."

Silence.

I leaned over and gave Fletcher a quiet high-five. Ghastly sighed tiredly, face-palming. Skulduggery glared at Fletcher, then turned to Ghastly.

"Really, who did come?"

"Madame Gabs and Monsieur Spar," Ghastly said. "The funeral for Monsieur Rhett is on the 15th, and so is our flight back home."

"Did anyone bring nice black clothes to wear?" Skulduggery asked.

"Ghastly apparently raided our closets and got some type of fancy-shmancy black thing for each of us."

"Seriously," I said, "Ghastly, go drink a beer and cut down a tree or do something manly!"

He laughed and patted my shoulder. "I'll go look for everything I packed and tell Tanith and China about the funeral."

"I should probably start packing for the flight back," said Fletcher, easing himself up. He hesitated a moment when he passed Skulduggery. His eyes darted to mine, but I just stared at the floor. I listened as Fletcher left, and Skulduggery shifted around uncomfortably.

"So…" he mumbled.

"There's no point in small talk, Pleasant," I said. You know I'm pissed when I use his last name.

"Oh, no last name usage, please. China won't stop calling me that. It's infuriating."

I gave a small laugh and got up too. Skulduggery gripped my hand suddenly as I strolled past him. "I really am sorry," he merely stated.

I exhaled deeply and just stared into his eye sockets.

He grunted and let me go. I shrugged slightly, then turned and jogged up the stairs to my room. Tanith was there, holding up two black dresses.

One dress was floor length, and it flowed around softly. There was a skinny gray belt right below the breasts, and the flowing fabric bunched up at the belt a little. It was strapless.

The other dress went down to the knees, and wasn't as flowing and free as the other dress. It had thin straps, with a sash and a bow tied around the waist. There was a small layer of navy blue embellishment at the hem line at the top, and the light caught it, making it sparkle gloriously.

"The long one is mine," Tanith said when she noticed me, "but do you want it?"

I shook my head. "No, you take your dress." She handed me the shorter dress and placed her dress on the bed.

"How have you been holding up?" she asked. "China told me about the, uh, incident. I came this close to kicking his bony ass."

"Well I threw a knife at his face, so it's okay."

"But still! Breach of personal space!"

I shrugged. "It happens, I suppose. Everyone fights with everyone."

"But this is…This is a huge fight!"

I shrugged again and picked up my dress for the funeral. "Yeah, but...Look, I have no idea what to do, Tanith. We'll be civilized for the funeral and the flight back home, but once we get back…I don't know how we'll be. I may just disappear for a while. Or I may break off all contact with him. Or I may forgive him."

Tanith nodded and sighed and got up and placed a hand on my shoulder. She gave me a lop-sided smiled and hugged me tightly.

"You'll be alright," she said quietly then slipped out of the room.

Okay, fast forward. It's the funeral. At around 10 in the morning we were all gathered in the kitchen, just sitting around, finishing breakfast. Ghastly, Fletcher, and Skulduggery were dressed in sharp black suits. Ghastly's undershirt was navy blue; Fletcher's was gray; and Skulduggery's was white.

China's black dress was knee-length, like mine. It had black lace at the bottom, and it was all lacy on the straps holding it up. It was form-fitting, but not inappropriate or anything. Her lips were cherry red, and her hair was done up in an elegant bun.

Tanith let her hair remain wavy, and it spilled all down her back. She had a simple pearl necklace on her neck (no duh) and had clipped a little flower in her hair to keep the shorter pieces from getting into her eyes.

China had forced me to put little crystal flowers in my dark hair, and she tied it all up in a ponytail for a while, and then let it all out. My hair was slightly less wavy as Tanith's, and didn't go down as far.

We were all also in high-heels.

China wears them, like, everyday.

I think I've only worn them twice. Tanith tripped twice on the stairs, and she fell in the hallway three times already. I've tripped four times, and fallen twice.

Fletcher caught me heroically once, and then promptly began reciting butchered Shakespeare lines from Romeo and Juliet.

Ghastly managed to get us out of the house quickly, and without injury, and Skulduggery took the wheel in the bigger car. It probably took an hour and a half to get to where we needed to be for the funeral, and when we finally got there, we all sort of gasped.

A quiet cemetery was situated a way off from a small, narrow, dirty road. The weather was just sunny enough with just enough clouds to make it a somber day. Everyone piled out of the car, and we stalked up little hills along a rock pathway. The grass was soft and green and pretty. We passed a tree that had an eerie looking tire swing hanging from one of the branches. The tree groaned from the weight of the rubber tire.

The path curved suddenly, and we were greeted by a lone daisy on the ground.

"Bonjour!" Monsieur Spar said from afar, noticing us. He waved us over solemnly. Everyone trudged up the grass and joined him.

"Good morning," he said. "How are you all?"

We all shrugged, but Tanith said, "Just a little depressed."

He nodded and gave a sweeping of his hand to the gathering of people in black. It was like a swarm of birds. Through the mass I saw them part. A figure in a scarlet colored dress pushed through the pathway. Madame Gabs had curled her short hair so it hung around her glasses. She was still wearing her gray, fringe boots.

"Merci for coming today," she muttered. "Half of these people aren't magical; I don't know how to deal with them. I heard that your parents, Mademoiselle Cain, aren't magical. How do you do that? How is everyone today? Are we well? You look dressed up. Sorry about the keeping the disguise on, Monsieur Pleasant. We-"

"Rochelle," Monsieur Spar said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We should get started soon. No telling how long this will take and everything."

"R-Right…Okay, yeah, right…" Madame Gabs allowed Monsieur Spar to lead her over to the mass of people. Tanith shrugged and took the lead and followed them.

And then I heard someone yelling at someone else in French.

"Hey, hey! Calm down, Christine!"

"I will not calm down! He won't move to let our Irish friends through."

"Did you ask him nicely?"

"Oh shut up, Jules!"

The group parted to let Aya Robin wheel herself through. A gray-haired man followed her angrily.

"Glad you're here," she mumbled to us. "I'm seriously considering leaving."

"You're brother wouldn't like it if you left," said the man wisely. "Please relax, and we'll get your friends situated nicely." His gaze lifted to us. "Bonjour, I've heard your Irish. I'm Jules Dupont. I'm Christine's therapist. It's pretty remarkable she made it outside again and in such a short time!" He gave her a small pat on the back.

We introduced ourselves, and Aya led us through the clearing and past the whole group. A few people looked angry, but Tanith just glared right back at them, which was enough to make them stare at their feet. Aya stopped right at the opened coffin.

Immediately a few tears escaped my eyes.

I'll probably soak the pages of you, Diary, if I describe what Monsieur Rhett looked like in his coffin, but I'll just say he looked like he was sleeping. He looked so peaceful…

Anyway, Aya wheeled herself to the side of the coffin and began to speak.

"Bonjour all. Merci for being here today, August 15th," she began solemnly. "Felix Leroux was a caring guy. He helped me through my unfortunate car accident through my growing paranoia of the outside world. Thanks to the convincing words of a friend, I'm here today, outside, before you all." Her teary eyes glanced up to mine. "My brother Felix was killed, sad to say. We haven't found his murderer, and I'll make it my job to find his killer.

"Felix was rarely selfish, and when he was, it was because he didn't want someone else to touch his piano or for someone to get hurt. Ever since my accident, he became protective, like a guardian for me. He made sure I was comfortable in my home, where I stayed for years. Felix would come into my room every night to make sure I was situated and relaxed.

"Many people who know me and who work with me know that I'm not a very loving person. I'm not the nicest, and I tend to shout and yell at people for the simplest of things. Felix never got mad at me for shouting at him. He would nod when I said he had done something wrong and would correct it. He was, pretty much, the best brother one could hope for.

"I'm sad to see him gone so fast and so young."

There was a silence that settled over everything awkwardly, but Aya just backed herself up, and Madame Gabs stepped forward.

"I worked with Felix Leroux for only a few years. We didn't get off on the right foot, since he believed that I shouldn't be in with his line of work. But the days and months went on. We grew closer together after a day where we had to go find someone who hadn't paid their debts. We helped each other, and we respected each other from then on."

Her voice began to quiver.

"And many of us were there when he was killed, but no one saw his killer, or saw them get away. Earlier I thought that we could have stopped his untimely death, but as I've recently been informed, he chose to jump in front of the murder weapon and save a friend. Felix showed true hero-like qualities then, and he'll continue to show them, even as he has passed from this world to the mysterious other side."

Madame Gabs patted the dark wood casket and staggered away, Monsieur Spar keeping her steady. When she turned back around, she had a few tear streaks down her cheeks, as did Monsieur Spar. I looked over through my watering eyes and saw China and Mr. Bliss standing together, who had arrived earlier. Ghastly and Tanith were standing together, his muscular arm wrapped around her own. Doctor Jacques stood a way off, his head bent low. He wiped his face delicately with a handkerchief. Fletcher was standing extremely close to Lythia.

Skulduggery remained alone, and something was edging in me to go over there and hold his hand or something. His arms were crossed across his tan coat, and he remained perfectly still.

It was almost exactly like when I first met him at Gordon's funeral.

Sheesh, that was a long time ago.

Well anyway, an elderly priest got up there and began talking about Monsieur Rhett more and preaching and such. It was a beautiful ceremony, and a few sobs were heard as the casket was lowered six feet under. Everyone took turns throwing a handful of dirt into the deep whole. Aya threw her handful in last and muttered something under her breath.

And so, everyone left there, and drove back the hour and half, and arrived at a small, tranquil hall. Bouquets of orchids decorated the halls and navy blue carpeting had been rolled out.

So, this little after-funeral party thing lasted for about three hours. We mingled with a few people, but mostly just stood there in a corner. Our flight was at eight at night, and it took about an hour to get to the airport. We all piled into the car, but not before Monsieur Spar, Madame Gabs, and Aya came up to us.

"Merci for being here, again," Monsieur Spar, shaking all of our hands. "It meant a lot to Mademoiselle Robin. She's…a character, non?"

Tanith laughed and nodded. "We'll miss you all, be assured," she said suddenly. "Write to the Irish or British Sanctuaries if you ever need help again, or if you just want to keep us updated."

"I'll talk with the Grand Mage about setting up a search party for Neva," Skulduggery added. "We'll get her, so tell Aya not to worry."

"I'm not worrying!" she called out from a while off. She sighed angrily and wheeled herself closer to us. She gave us each a hard glare, then smiled lightly. "Merci for everything," she said. "It's been an interesting time of my life, I admit. I'm sad to see you all go, but we'll definitely keep you updated on everything."

She shook all of our hands one by one. Her smile grew wider as she shook my hand. Aya nodded once, and I could tell it was in gratitude.

"Does your Sanctuary have any type of computer?" she suddenly asked.

China nodded. "It's so very old, and I think everyone is afraid of it. I'll get my brother to turn it on every once in a while."

Aya nodded slowly, her eyes rolling around, staring at the sky. "Alright, I'll get in contact with you if we hear any news easily then," she mumbled, counting something off of her fingers.

"Leave the work back at the Sanctuary, please, Aya," Madame Gabs joked.

Aya laughed. "Oh, this wouldn't be work; it'd be too easy."

Madame Gabs leaned up against her wheelchair and smiled at us all. "We'll miss you," she said, and it sounded genuine. "It's been an adventure, to say the least. Come back and visit us sometime. We'd love to have you here again, yet on some sort of vacation, and not on business that involves terrifyingly large gargoyles."

"Or better yet," Fletcher said cheerfully, "you could come to Ireland!"

Madame Gabs bit her lip and nodded slowly. "We could manage that, right, Carel?"

Monsieur Spar nodded shortly from beside her.

Aya sighed. "Okay, you guys…should probably leave soon. Don't want to miss your flight, right?"

"WAIT!" someone suddenly shouted. We all turned and watched as Lythia and Doctor Jacques came charging at us. Doctor Jacques stopped right in front of Skulduggery, and he thrust a small package into his hands. He began mumbling in French to him.

"What's he saying?" I leaned in to ask Aya.

She shrugged. "I can't hear him."

"Secrets, secrets are no fun unless they're shared with everyone!" Tanith sung happily, bouncing around Skulduggery. I expected Fletcher to join in, but he had meandered off a few ways and was talking quietly with Lythia.

"Oui," Doctor Jacques suddenly said loudly. He threw his arms around Skulduggery and gave him a bear-hug.

Doctor Jacques hugged each of us in turn, and then Lythia came over and kissed us all lightly on the cheeks. Oh, those Europeans.

Okay, so finally, we all piled into the car. Skulduggery fired up the engine, and we took off slowly. Tanith and I hung out of the windows, waving goodbye to the five still standing.

We turned the corner, and we lost sight of them.

I remember, Diary, how I said that I really hated Madame Gabs when I first met her. She was a brat, pretty much.

But now…I…I'm really going to miss them all.

Alright, I feel the tears welling up in my eyes, so I'm just going to hurry up here.

We got back to the villa, and everyone rushed inside to change into more comfortable clothes. I rushed into my room and yanked off my dress, took all the flowers out of my hair, and wiped off my make-up. I threw on jeans and my protective coat. As I dragged a brush through my hair, Gordon materialized next to my bag.

"I can't believe you're throwing me in there again," he grumbled.

"I can't believe you came here and barely came out of your stone," I snapped.

"Oh, excuse me, princess. You didn't seem to need me that much."

I stuck my tongue out at him in the mirror reflection, and he glared at me and disappeared.

Once I was completely dressed, I grabbed my bag and rushed out of the room. China and Skulduggery were waiting around in the entryway.

"That was a beautiful funeral, don't you think?" China said casually.

I nodded. "It was nice and simple, yeah."

China's eyes glazed over my face, and she began staring at Skulduggery.

He began to squirm under her gaze. "Stop, China, please," he grumbled.

"Why won't you tell me what was in that little rattling box that Doctor Jacques gave you? I won't tell a soul."

"Because," he said, waving the box that he had been given around, "it's personal stuff."

"What personal stuff could you possibly need? You're a skeleton for goodness sake."

I chuckled. China smirked in my direction, and Skulduggery just pulled his hat down lower. After a few more minutes, everyone came trudging down the stairs. We all headed outside, and climbed into China's car, since we took it here.

"Waaaait," I said, "where's the Bentley?"

"The people who brought her here took her back to Ireland," Skulduggery replied hesitantly. "I already miss her."

Ghastly laughed quietly.

So, for the rest of the hour-long trip, no one said anything. We pulled into the airport, and after everyone had gotten out of the car, China reached forward and touched an invisible symbol on the car. The car instantly disappeared.

We all stared.

"Security reasons," she said happily.

I'll spare you the boring and gory details of the airport, Diary. We got on the plane without alarm, and I didn't even hyperventilate or anything. I was in the middle of a three-seat thing, with Tanith in the aisle, and China at the window. Skulduggery had the window, Ghastly the middle, and Fletcher was in the aisle again in the other three-seat-er.

The flight wasn't too unbearably long, which was good. We made it off the plane slowly, and everyone shuffled over to the Bentley, which was miraculously parked in the exact same place as before. Ghastly and Tanith took to Ghastly's van, and they drove off. They offered me a ride, but I declined. Fletcher was too tired to sit and ride, so he just teleported home.

China, Skulduggery, and I rode in the Bentley. Though Gordon's wasn't exactly the first and easiest house to get to, Skulduggery still stopped there first. I jumped out and went to grab my bags, but Skulduggery's gloved hand stopped mine and he hoisted my bag up and carried it to the front door.

"China's faking a call to Mr. Bliss because she still wants me to apologize, even though I keep telling her it'll do nothing to help this," Skulduggery mumbled as I opened the front door.

"Why is she so determined to, uh, fix this?" I asked as I flipped on the light. I beckoned Skulduggery in, and he hesitantly entered.

He froze up at my question, and seemed to think about an answer for a while. "She, uh, she just wants you, uh, happy."

I rose an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged. "Alright," he said, "I'm lying, but I can't tell you the real answer."

I sighed and reached for my bag. Skulduggery awkwardly handed it to me, and he stood there a moment, just staring at me.

"I'll…call you if there's a case…or something," he mumbled and quickly turned and left.

I sighed sadly as I watched him shut the front door and as I heard the Bentley drive away smoothly.

Diary, I don't know what to do.

Help me, please.

~Valkyrie


Okay.

2 things.

1. Toy Story 3 is the greatest movie ever made.

2. I'm now on the Skulduggery forums, known as Nerdy_Skeleton. Friend me or something!

So thanks for reading and sorry for any mistakes! :D