White.
Skeletons look good in tuxedos. I believe this should be universally acknowledged. But then again, I haven't seen many skeletons in tuxedos. So it should just be recognized that this certain skeleton looks very good in a tuxedo. And there I was, standing in front of a floor-length mirror, tying my bow-tie. Best looking skeleton I'd ever seen. Ghastly walked in and smiled at me.
"I can't believe you're actually doing this."
"Of course I am. Have you got the rings?" He nodded and patted his breast pocket. "Thank you for the tuxedo," I added. "Perfect as always." He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Don't thank me until you've seen her dress." I laughed, and slipped a pocket watch into my suit, leaving the gold chain showing. Everything was accounted for, except for one thing.
Ghastly handed me the hat, and I held it out to admire. My usual style in black, with a thin white ribbon tied around it. I put it on, and felt complete. Almost. I hadn't seen Valkyrie all day. The women-folk had locked her away in the name of wedding preparations, and I missed her. Ghastly was saying something, and I turned from the mirror to focus on him. He had his head slightly to one side, waiting for an answer. I replayed the last few seconds, and made out the question.
"I've always been ready," I replied, and walked out of the room. Ghastly walked beside me, through the hall, down the stairs, and outside. Gordon's backyard had undergone a transformation. There were rows of pretty white chairs on the lawn, and the chairs were filled with people. They turned to look at me as I came into view. My gaze was fixed on the little stone porch where Gordon had dabbled in astronomy, around twenty years ago, for a few years. It had been turned into an altar. A white arch had been erected over top, and it was draped in pale paper flowers. It was picturesque and dreamlike, with a fragility that made the whole world seem breakable, as though an errant breeze would shatter it.
I took my place at the altar, with Ghastly standing behind me. Valkyrie's mother was in the first row, and she waved at me. I nodded to her, and then there was an expectant silence. Erskine Ravel stood at the altar, hands clasped solemnly. And then the music began. The crowd hummed along happily, and the bridesmaids entered, stunning in light green dresses. Sara, Crystal, Nyxa, and Never, were an assembly of old and new friends. Behind them came little Alice, tossing petals into the air with enthusiasm, and a large grin. As the bridesmaids took their seats, Valkyrie stepped into the sunlight.
According to tradition, I hadn't seen her dress, and I now understood what Ghastly had meant. It was obviously modeled after the dresses of the 1800s. Old-fashioned, but not from the era of my first wedding. She had refused to wear a veil, as I had heard from Ghastly, so her long hair tumbled loose around her shoulders, dark against the purity of her dress. She was carrying a bouquet of white roses, tied with a black ribbon to match my suit. I could tell that she was nervous, and I couldn't blame her. But when she looked up and saw me, she smiled.
Her father was at her elbow, unassuming and barely noticeable next to his daughter. She was beautiful. I'd never seen her wear white, she hated it, but it looked amazing on her, accenting her dark hair and eyes. Before I knew it, she was facing me, close enough to touch. She was trying to be solemn, but a smile kept springing up, and eventually, she stopped fighting it. Erskine stepped forwards, calling the audience's attention.
"We are called here today to witness the marriage of Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant. According to their wishes, this ceremony will be a mixture of mortal and sorcerer traditions, because they're unique that way. To begin, if anyone has a justifiable reason why they shouldn't get married, they should speak now or forever hold their peace. And keep in mind Skulduggery will probably shoot anyone that tries to stop the ceremony."
He left a short silence, and when nobody spoke, he continued. "Desmond Edgley will now speak." I watched Valkyrie's father step forwards and nervously adjust his tie before speaking.
"Traditionally in both mortal and sorcerer marriages, at this point I would give my daughter away to Skulduggery Pleasant. We have chosen to skip this section, because I'm not letting go of Valkyrie entirely, and besides, she's not mine to give away. So we're just going straight to the vows, but that doesn't mean I don't support this marriage. I believe my daughter is the happiest she's ever been, and that's enough for any father." He sat back down as the audience applauded. Ravel stepped forward and faced me. Everyone fell silent, and into the expectant hush, Ravel spoke.
"Skulduggery Pleasant, do you take Valkyrie Cain for your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love, honor, comfort, and cherish her from this day forwards?"
"I do," I said easily. The words were short, and over too quickly. Ravel turned to Valkyrie and made the mirror question to her.
"I do," she said strongly, as though daring someone to challenge her. Nobody did. Ravel faced the audience.
"As has always been sorcerer tradition, and popularized in modern mortal society, both Skulduggery and Valkyrie have written their own vows. Skulduggery?" I could feel dozens of eyes on me, waiting, but I ignored them all and focused on Valkyrie.
"Valkyrie Cain, I vow to protect you from all harm in all forms, to the best of my ability. I promise to respect you, your decisions, and your fears. I promise to let you chose your own path, walk it beside you, and catch you when you falter. I promise to let you beat me in chess occasionally, and maybe, someday, in a fight. I vow to help you, guide you, follow you, and love you, until I cease to exist on this or any other plane of existence."
The audience applauded loudly. Valkyrie had a wide smile on her face, and her eyes were glistening. When the audience died down, she spoke.
"Skulduggery Pleasant, I vow to watch your back in every aspect of life. I promise to accept all pieces of you, every facet of your confusing personality. I promise to never go to bed angry, or keep secrets from you. I promise to never let you forget who you are, even if you don't see yourself clearly. I vow to stand beside you and behind you, forgive what you cannot, remember what you forget, and love you until I'm incapable of thought, and after."
The people around us applauded again, and I could see tears glistening in the sunlight. Valkyrie and I stared at each other, her smile eager and joyful, my head tilted in pride and love. Ravel stepped between us, interrupting my line of vision.
"Does the best man have the rings?" Ghastly stepped forwards and put the golden bands into Erskine's outstretched hand.
"Who is casting for the bride?" Erskine asked.
"I am," Sara said, stepping forwards.
"And for the groom?"
"I am." Ghastly stepped out to stand beside me. Ravel held the ring out to Ghastly and he took it, carefully offering it to me in his open hand.
"Skulduggery Pleasant, with this ring, you join yourself to Valkyrie Cain, irrevocably and eternally. I give you my blessing and my magic to form this bond, and offer it of my own free will. Do you accept?"
"I do," I said for the second time, and took the ring. I could feel Ghastly's magic inside the metal, warming it to body temperature. I turned to Valkyrie, and took her hand lightly. "With this ring, I join myself to you, irrevocably and eternally. I complete these vows of my own free will. Do you accept?"
"I do," Valkyrie said, and I slipped the ring onto her finger. This was an uncertain moment. The rings formed an emotional and magical bond, which had never been done with a skeleton before. It was risky. Valkyrie gasped. Her eyes closed, and opened again, staring at me as her tears overflowed and rolled down her cheeks. "Skulduggery, you're beautiful," she said, and her voice was full of wonder. Her words were swept away as Ravel handed Sara the other ring.
Valkyrie accepted Sara's magic to make the bond, and I accepted her vows. She took my hand in hers, and put the ring onto my bare bone. The gold sparkled against the white, and then shrunk to fit me. Suddenly, sensations swept through me. A heartbeat. Breath, rushing in and out. I could feel it. Pride, happiness, a hint of nerves, and none of it was mine. I was feeling Valkyrie's emotions, and she was feeling mine. She didn't let go of my hand, and Ravel made his final pronouncement from behind us.
"With these rings, you are bound of your own free will, with the power of love, magic, and matrimony. You have done so under the blessing and the witness of all those gathered here today. You may seal your vows with a kiss."
So I pulled Valkyrie close to me, and she leaned her head up to kiss me, carefully, as though I were fragile. At the same time I felt her lips on my bones, I felt my bones against her teeth. I could feel how nice it felt for her to have my arms around her. I tightened my grip, and felt her heartbeat pick up a little.
And then it was over, and she was looking at me with wide, shining eyes, and I all I could feel was love, and I could hear the crowd's applause, and Ravel was saying "I present to you the married couple, Mr. And Mrs. Pleasant Cain!" but no one is listening to him.
The rest of the wedding was a blur. Sara caught Valkyrie's bouquet, and I felt her hope for Sara and Fletcher as though it were my own. We danced all day, and in the evening, we went out for dinner, and listened to embarrassing stories told about us. Eventually, I stood, knowing that Ghastly was drinking too much, and was likely to tell the banshee story if I didn't leave soon.
"I hate to stop the party, but Valkyrie and I have a ten o'clock plane." Everyone laughed and got up to say good-bye. They all knew where we were going; only Valkyrie was going to be surprised. I led her out to the Bentley, and waved good-bye to our friends as we drove off. Valkyrie leaned back as I drove, her smile glowing. "I'm Mrs. Pleasant Cain," she exclaimed. "Valkyrie Pleasant Cain." I nodded.
"And I'm Mr. Cain Pleasant. Lovely." I took my focus off the road to tilt a smile at Valkyrie, feeling her renewed excitement. The feeling made me curious. I could feel her heartbeat, and her life, but what could she feel from me? I asked as much, and she paused thoughtfully before answering.
"I can feel this weird magnetism, like I'm being held together by more than muscle. And I can feel this tingling sensation over my skin, it makes everything feel weird. I guess that's your aura. Which I can see again, by the way." I remembered how Darquess had been able to see and manipulate my invisible essence.
"You can see it again? What does it look like?" Valkyrie looked me up and down, frowning slightly.
"Well, it's sort of like a mood ring, I think. Different colours come and go as you feel them. You've got a lot of blue and purple right now, but there's a spiral of black right here." She reached out a hand and brushed it across my ribcage, curling her fingers into something I couldn't see. I couldn't see it, but I felt it.
A shot of fire and pleasure shot through my body, and I made a sound that was equivalent to a gasp. Valkyrie cried out faintly, feeling it with me through the rings. She pulled back her hand, and I tried to pull my focus back onto the road.
"What was that?" Valkyrie asked, her breathing loud in the lack of mine. "That was amazing!"
"I'm not entirely sure," I said. "But I agree with your assessment." Amazing didn't even begin to cover it. I hadn't felt anything like that in a long time. Centuries, in fact. My attention was traitorously wandering. If that had just been a caress, what would it feel like if Valkyrie dug her fingers into the aura until she reached bone? Valkyrie's breathing got rougher beside me, and I winced, remembering that I was transferring all my emotions to her. I could feel her reaction to my thoughts. She wanted to try it, she was looking forward to it, but trying to contain herself.
My hand found hers, and we laced our fingers together. She leaned her head against the window, pushing her emotions down, and I did the same while focusing on the road. Eventually, once we were both reasonably calm, I spoke.
"There's a dress in the back. I assumed you wouldn't want to get onto the plane in a wedding dress, so I brought it for you. You can get changed in the car, I promise to keep my eyes on the road."
"You don't have eyes," Valkyrie said, but I heard the sound of a zipper being undone, and felt her relief at being able to breathe freely again. "Jeez, that dress was like a corset!" True to my word, I kept my focus on the road, catching movement, black fabric, and skin at the corner of my awareness. I could feel playful happiness coming from her, as she slipped into the dress I had brought. "Okay, you can look now."
I glanced over and tilted my head to admire her. Black was the colour she looked best in, the most familiar thing to see her wearing. "You're beautiful," I said honestly, and I felt her pride-happiness-embarrassment, saw her cheeks flush with it.
"Thank you," she said, and changed the subject. "So, will you tell me where we're going? None of the bridesmaids would tell me. So much for my friends."
"We're going to Italy," I replied. "For our honeymoon."
A/N: Hello, everyone. I'm back...finally. This chapter gave me a fair bit of trouble, and I'm still not quite happy with it, but I don't want to over-work it. My beta (the extraordinary ticklethedragon1) is out of town at the moment, so any and all mistakes are mine, mine, mine!
Coming next:
Black- In which Valkyrie shows off, Skulduggery is speechless, and hats are thrown.