Violet.
"I can't do this," Valkyrie said. She was leaning her head against the window of the Bentley, staring at her parent's house. "What was I thinking?" I knew how she felt. I wasn't overjoyed about the upcoming conversation, either. But it had to be done.
"You were right, they have a right to know. They're suspicious, predictably. Two years of dating a mystery boy they haven't met once. If you keep lying to them, they'll know, and they'll eventually find out on their own. It's better to break the news to them in a controlled environment, right?"
Valkyrie hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. You're right. But my dad is going to be so mad… You know how he is about this sort of stuff. They're going to be so upset that I was lying to them… Oh my god, this is impossible. I can't do this." I got out of the car, went to the passenger side, opened her door, and bent down so that we were face to face.
"We'll take it in stages. First magic, then the reflection, then me. We'll be fine. They will understand why you had to hide it from them. I'd offer to take the blame, but I'm still a bit sore about you holding my hat hostage, so…" She laughed, and I offered her my hand before she could fall back into doubt. She took it and pulled herself out of the car, then led the way up the steps. While she knocked on the door, I tapped the symbols on my collarbones, and felt a false face flow over my skull. Valkyrie looked at me and made a face. I switched it, and she gave me a thumbs-up. Her mother opened the door, and Valkyrie turned to face her.
"Steph!" She cried, and pulled Valkyrie into a hug. I'd forgotten that I'd have to call her Stephanie. I sincerely hoped this wasn't a big mistake. Once she released Valkyrie, her mother turned to me, eyes sweeping me up and down.
"Hello, I'm…" I suddenly realized that they would probably remember my name from Gordon's funeral, all those years ago. Searching for a name, I finished the sentence without thinking. "Jack." I smiled carefully, and felt the façade follow the order for once. At least it wasn't misbehaving today. Valkyrie was looking at me from the corner of her eye, but didn't say anything.
"I'm Melissa. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." She glanced at Valkyrie as she said this, and held out a hand. I took it, and she looked straight into my eyes as we shook hands, clearly sizing me up. I hoped she couldn't feel the bones through the thin leather of my gloves. She released me after a long moment, and ushered us into the house. Her father was waiting for us in the living room. I shook his hand as well.
"My name is Jack," I said again, savoring the feeling of the words. I hadn't used that name in centuries, not since I chose my first magical name.
"Desmond Edgley," her father said, then went and hugged his daughter. We all sat, Valkyrie and I beside each other, facing her parents. "So, Jack, what is it that you do?" Her father asked.
"I'm studying criminology," I replied smoothly. Valkyrie and I had had several conversations about cover stories, wanting to lie as little as possible. At the end of the day, her parents would know the whole truth, but we wanted to ease them into it as much as possible. "But I'm already apprenticed at the detective office."
Valkyrie put her hand over mine, a causal gesture that signified to her parents that she was serious about me. "That's where we met," she said. Her mother smiled, leaning closer to her husband.
"That's wonderful," Melissa said. "Now, Jack, we've heard very little about you. You're going to have to fill us in." I hesitated for a moment, then started to talk, mixing truth with the necessary lies.
"Not very much to tell, really. Born in a small town about ten miles from Dublin. Moved here as a teen. I'd always been a strong believer in justice, and I liked old detective shows, so after reading Sherlock Holmes, I made it my life goal to become the greatest detective in Europe. My favorite color is green, I don't like texting, I never walk anywhere, and I loved your daughter from the first time I met her. It took us a while to realize we could be more than friends, though." I could sense Valkyrie beside me, trying to figure out how much of what I said was the truth. She leaned forwards, claiming her parent's attention.
"Mom, dad, I have to admit that this wasn't a social trip. There's a couple things that we have to tell you. And I know that a lot of it is going to sound really strange, but just listen, and I can prove it all at the end." Melissa and Desmond exchanged confused looks, and then turned to us, apprehensive.
Two hours later.
"Well, I think that went well," I said. Valkyrie shot me a look.
"My mom practically went into shock.
"At least she didn't faint. Unlike someone I know."
"Hey, I was twelve!"
I laughed softly and leaned back. I was at her house, beside her on the couch. We had left her parent's house fifteen minutes ago, and were trying to recover from the difficult conversation we had just had.
"I think they had the most trouble with the fact that I was dating a skeleton. I guess it's kind of kinky, isn't it?" Valkyrie grinned at me.
"Valkyrie, I strongly object to that word being used to describe our relationship. I never want to hear you say it again, in fact."
She sighed dramatically. "Fine, I won't call this kinky." She turned and kissed me, rolling over in the same movement so that our hips were touching as she continued the kiss. After two years, she was really good at this. When her lips were against me, I could almost forget that I couldn't kiss her back. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer, feeling every part of her move against me. She trailed her fingers across my back, her touch feather-light, teasing. It was her way of expressing amusement without ending the kiss.
She ran her hands around my shoulders, unbuttoning my shirt to trail her fingers along my collarbones. Valkyrie broke the kiss and focused on the exposed ribs under my white shirt. She gently curled her hand around one of them.
"I can't believe that someone having their hand inside you doesn't hurt," she said, sliding her hand along the curve of my ribcage. I shivered, barely managing to speak.
"Why, does having someone's hand inside you hurt?" I asked, letting humor flow into my voice. She smacked me lightly on the side of the head with her free hand.
"That wasn't even funny."
"Well, it made me smile."
She sighed and kissed me again, probably to shut me up. As much as I was enjoying this, there was something I had to do, and the longer I stayed here, the less likely it was that I would leave.
"Valkyrie, I've got to go," I said reluctantly. She looked at me, surprised. "I'm sorry. I'll be back soon, I promise." I could see suspicion in the look she was giving me, and guilt made me look away. I had put this off for too long already.
"Okay," she said finally, after it became clear that I wasn't going to elaborate on where I was going. "Have fun."
That was a laugh. Fun. "Not likely, but thank you," I told her, and buttoned my shirt. I pushed myself up from the couch, and headed to the door. Valkyrie followed me into the hall and leaned against the wall as I adjusted my hat.
"Be quick, okay? And will you tell me where you were once you get back?" I hesitated, uncertain of whether it was the right time to tell her. Her eyes narrowed, and I gave in.
"Yes, I will. It's a surprise, not a secret." She smiled, but I could see that she was still upset. I wanted to stay and comfort her, but this really couldn't wait any longer. So I left. I really wasn't looking forward to this. I reluctantly put the Bentley in reverse, turned around, switched gears, and left Valkyrie's house behind.
I pulled up to the same house that I had left only forty-five minutes earlier. I got out, and knocked. Desmond Edgley opened the door, his eyes widening as he saw me again, sans façade. He glanced around the street nervously, checking to see if there was anyone watching. Then he ushered me inside the house, closing the door quickly. He turned to face me, giving me my first look at his clothes. He was wearing a purple, striped shirt. And orange plaid pants. I congratulated myself for taking Valkyrie away from this man's fashion sense in time to save her natural style.
"Melissa is in bed. Where is Stepha-Valkyrie? What do you want?" He sounded tired, and slightly suspicious. It wasn't a good time, but perhaps it was the best time.
"Valkyrie is at her house. Mr. Edgley, I came here to ask you something." He looked at me with a strangely blank look on his face, then led me into the living room.
"Ask away," he told me, and sat in the chair opposite me. I leaned forwards, folding my hands together.
"I love your daughter. Always have. First as a friend, then as something more. She loves me too, I trust her when she says that. We've been together for two years, and I don't see us splitting up. I can't imagine a day without her, and I want to ask her to marry me. But I wanted to ask for your blessing first." Desmond blinked twice, then leaned back in his chair. He stared at the ceiling for a few moments, then spoke without looking at me.
"Asking her father's blessing. How old-fashioned of you." I suppose it is. But asking her first would have felt wrong to me. Showing my age, I guess. That was a fact we hadn't seen fit to share with her parents. Even people in the magical world had trouble accepting the age gap, and we'd decided that there was no use in making them more uncomfortable with our relationship.
"Old-fashioned is romantic these days. Tradition is important," I reply carefully.
"Indeed. I meant to ask how old you are, by the way. It's hard to tell. Lucky you, to not have to worry about wrinkles."
"Actually, it's not just being a skeleton. Mages don't age at the same rate. Valkyrie will look twenty-one, until she's four hundred," I dodged the original question as best I could.
Her father raised his eyebrows. "Immortal as well as magic. Impressive." Valkyrie had talked about her father a lot when she was younger. She had painted him as absent-minded, spacey, like Valkyrie herself on a bad day. The man who finally met my gaze was not the father she had described. He was angry, I could see it in the back of his eyes. The sort of anger that stemmed from fear. I didn't understand it, but I saw it. This would make his positive response harder to get.
"This isn't about magic. There will be more explaining later, as much as you want. Valkyrie has made the decision to trust you, and I respect that. But what I'm asking you has nothing to do with magic. It has to do with my love for Valkyrie, and hers for me, and yours for her." I watched Desmond draw in a deep breath.
"You think she'll be happy with you for four hundred years?" I hesitated, deliberating between modesty and honesty. Then I nodded. Desmond let the breath out.
"How long have you known each other?" He asked.
"Almost ten years."
"And how many fights have you had with each other during that time?"
"I lost count after the first two days."
He grinned fully, showing me most of his teeth. "That's my girl. I can tell you're an honest man, and I appreciate that. If you think she'll be happy with you, I do too. So go on, ask her. With my blessing. When's the wedding going to be?" I laughed.
"She hasn't said yes yet."
"She will, you'll see. Break a leg, son-in-law." I tilted my head in a smile that he didn't recognize, and stood.
"Thank you, Desmond." He looked up at me, and there was a vacant happiness in his expression that covered the anger, hiding it inside.
"Call me Des. Only Melissa calls me Desmond, when she's upset at me." He rose as well, shook my hand, and then I left.
I didn't go straight to Valkyrie's. Instead, I went to my house, and headed upstairs to the bedroom-turned-living room. I knelt and brought a fist down on the floor, popping out the floorboard. Underneath was a small, gold plated box. I opened it and winced. I hadn't gone through this for seventy years. Fighting the temptation every day, knowing that would hurt, and here I was.
In my hands was an ink sketch, on yellowed paper. It depicted two smiling people, side by side. The woman had long, dark hair, and was wearing a long dress with puffed sleeves. She was holding flowers; a bridal bouquet. The artist had paid special attention to her lips, sketching them as a thousand small lines that created one shape together.
The man beside her was drawn with his arm around her waist. The ink shadowed his cheekbones and dark hair. His face was made of angles, and would have looked severe. But a smile curved his lips, disrupting the pattern of harsh lines. It made him look younger, and the artist had captured the light in his eyes perfectly.
I traced the lines the ink pen had left, running my hands over the grooves. The picture had been drawn on my wedding day, in the 17th century. Was it really that long ago? Had it really been that long? It seemed like yesterday. I could still see her hair shining in the sun, and how beautiful she was as she was led down the aisle towards me. But it couldn't have been yesterday. Yesterday, I had been with Valkyrie. We had interrogated a vampire, and watched Chaplin's movie City Lights. I thought she'd be bored, but she laughed and gasped through the entire movie, the sound of her breath and her laughter filling the house. I put aside the ink sketch, and pulled out the thing underneath. The small dogwood box fit perfectly into the palm of my hand. I looked at it for a second, then opened it. The inside was crushed violet velvet. The golden ring almost glowed in the light, and I took it into my hands.
It had taken a lot of work to find this again, after the war had ended, and I'd been something resembling myself again. I'd tracked it to New York, and there I had met Gordon Edgley, on my way home from buying it back. We'd unexpectedly hit it off after I'd saved him from an ugly bar fight. And at his funeral, I'd seen the girl with dark hair and serious eyes, standing over his grave. I looked at the ring in my hand, and realized that it was the reason I'd met Valkyrie at all. So I put the ring back into the box, tucked the box into my pocket, and drove to Valkyrie's house.
I tried the door, but it was locked. She must really be upset. I considered going in a window, but if she'd bothered to lock the door, she'd probably done the same to the windows. So I knocked and waited. She took her sweet time getting to the door, but it eventually opened, and she let me come in. She walked away, and I followed behind. She led me into the living room and then stopped, still facing away from me.
"Well? What called you away so abruptly?" She asked the wall.
"Valkyrie, face me." I waited for her to turn. She did so slowly, eyes drifting up to fix on my eye sockets. Oh, she was not happy with me. "Valkyrie, you are an amazing person, and I am so lucky to have you. I love you more than even myself, and that's pretty spectacular." She didn't even smile. Something was wrong. "I will love you forever, and that's-"
"I don't need the speech," she interrupted. "Just tell me that you're splitting up with me, and be done with it."
"What?" I can honestly say that I was taken completely off-guard.
"You've been deliberating over something for weeks. You've been really quiet, you've avoided kissing me, and you've seemed distant, like your mind's elsewhere. I've been waiting for you to just tell me, and you haven't. So just say it."
"That's not what I-" I started, but she cut me off viciously, body tense, voice raised, hands moving to accent her point.
"Don't waste our time with pretty words. It's an ugly thing, and it's going to hurt no matter what you say, so just-"
"Valkyrie Cain, will you marry me?" I had dropped to one knee and was holding the box open to her. She went silent, staring at the ring, gold against the violet.
"What?" She asked, mirroring my earlier confusion.
"Will you marry me?" I repeated. Her lips were slightly parted, her eyes fixed on the box. Slowly, her gaze lifted to my face, meeting my eye sockets. When she finally spoke, it was hesitant and unsure.
"This is what you've been hiding?" I nodded. She bit her lip, looked at the ring, then back at me. Then her expression slowly spread into a smile. "You're crazy. Yes. Yes. Skulduggery Pleasant, I will marry you." Her smile widened as she spoke, and it sparkled in her eyes. I reached into the box and took out the ring. I tucked the box back into my pocket, and took her hand in mine. The smile faded into sudden seriousness as the cold metal touched her skin. She watched as I slipped the ring onto her finger and stood, facing her. She was looking at the hand I still held. Out of nowhere, she grabbed my shoulders and kissed me. She released me and waved around the hand with the ring.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I can't believe you proposed in the middle of that!" I pulled her against me, and spoke softly into her ear
"It was the only way I could think of to make you shut up."
"Bastard!" She cried, pushing me away from her, but I could hear the smile in her voice. In one movement, she pushed me against the wall and kissed me again, forcefully. She ran her tongue lightly along my teeth, and I relaxed between her and the wall.
Once she felt me lean back, she reached up and stole my hat. She danced away quickly, and settled into a fighting stance. I sighed, the sound incomplete without the sensation of air rushing out of my lungs.
"You'd rather fight than kiss, really?" Valkyrie smiled at me and settled my hat on her head, bringing up her fists. "Alright, you asked for it."
Thirty seconds later, my hat was back where it belonged, and Valkyrie was back where she belonged, in my arms.
A/N: Good to be back... I think this might be my longest chapter yet.
I'm leaning towards doing the Black chapter as an optional M-rated chapter, that people can skip if they're not comfortable with it, then writing the epilogue for everyone. Sound good? More opinions needed!
Coming next:
White- In which tuxedos are worn, Valkyrie refuses to wear a veil, and vows are made.