As Valkyrie hugged each of her parents and Alice in turn, she tried to savour everything about them – their warmth, their smiles, the smell of her mum's perfume and her dad's cologne mingling together in the air. She tried to do it without looking suspicious, and was grateful when her mum gave her a second hug.
"Study hard." Her dad grinned, but there seemed a slight sadness in his eyes.
"Be good. We're so proud of you, Stephanie." Her mother smiled at her, holding Valkyrie's head in her hands. Valkyrie nodded.
"I will mum. I promise."
"Good. Don't forget to take pictures of your friends to show us when you get back."
"I won't."
"We love you."
"Love you too." Valkyrie tried not to let her words choke her on their way out of her mouth. She couldn't help but compare this moment to the moment she might be seeing them for the last time. She couldn't help but wonder what they would be like if she told them the truth about her before Valkyrie was killed, Darquesse was released and the world was destroyed (or more hopefully, not destroyed with Darquesse being killed too – 'What a horrid thought' – 'Shut up you'). Would they be this kind and loving if they knew who she really was? What she had done over the years? How many times she had lied to them, and put them in danger? Valkyrie couldn't help but wonder.
She plastered on a fake smile as she kissed her parents and Alice goodbye, and picked up her suitcase.
"I'll be back before you know it." She smiled weakly and her mother smiled back reassuringly.
"Ok, well. I'm going now."
"Bye honey."
"Stepping outside the door."
"We can see that."
"Leaving the house, for nearly seven months."
"Have fun."
"Yeah… well, bye."
"Stay safe Valkyrie."
"I will. Love you mum."
"Love you too honey." Her mother was smiling at her, although her dad ad furrowed his eyebrows slightly. Valkyrie turned and began to walk down the path to Seamus's house when she heard the front door to her house close. Skulduggery was waiting by the Finnigan's front porch, and Seamus and his mother was just around the corner of the house.
"Ready to go?" Mrs Finnigan smiled broadly, and Valkyrie nodded.
"Oh, thanks for the present by the way Valkyrie." Seamus grinned.
"No problem." Valkyrie smiled. Mrs Finnigan took Seamus's arm and apparated away, coming back quickly for Skulduggery and Valkyrie, taking them separately to a hotel called 'The Leaky Cauldron'.
"Well, have fun sweetie." Mrs Finnigan planted a kiss on her son's head and he batted her away in protest.
"I'll see you all at the end of term. Goodbye Mr Pleasant, Stephanie dear." She apparated away on the last word and Valkyrie turned to Skulduggery, smiling.
"So, back we go."
"Back we go." He replied. He was smiling slightly as they walked into the Leaky Cauldron, Seamus leading the way. They each found their rooms pretty quickly and Seamus bid them goodnight. It was when Valkyrie grasped hold of the doorknob to her room, that she froze, and her eyes went wide. Had that really been said? Skulduggery noticed immediately.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Oh my God…" Valkyrie muttered "My mum called me 'Valkyrie'"
Melissa felt bad for being sneaky. She had found the answer to her question, but now a thousand more had been raised. Ever since she'd heard her daughter talking on the phone that day in the ungodly hours of the morning, she had been suspicious. Then she'd started to doubt the exchange program story, so she'd called up the headmaster of Stephanie's school – lovely man, always willing to chat – and he'd had no idea of any exchange program. What's more, Stephanie had suddenly stopped attending school a few months back, just before they'd got word of her going on the program. Of course, Melissa had thought it strange they hadn't seen their daughter off the first time she supposedly went, and that the program had started when the school year was already underway, but that was supposedly declared by the school authorities, right? Why should she have questioned it? And the sudden job proposal, where had that come from? Stephanie had never mentioned wanted to go into the police force before, nor had she mentioned anymore being interested in her as a recruit, not to mention she'd need training and probably a place in a further education college before she could even be considered being given a partner to work out in the field with. And then there was the tag in the bin. Melissa would have thought nothing of it, after all, it was Christmas day, there were lots of labels and tags in the bin, but one had stated To: Valkyrie, From Ghas- the last part being torn off so the word was incomplete. And a few days before Stephanie had been due to go back on the program, Melissa – scouring Stephanie's room for last minute washing for her daughter to take with her on the trip – she had found a strange set of clothes that looked almost leather in material. They looked worn, but still had a strange look to them, as if they were new. It was all just strange occurrences until she put it all together – Stephanie was hiding something. And that tiny interaction had just proved it. She had called her daughter 'Valkyrie' – the name on the tag, and Stephanie had reacted as if it were completely normal. Had she even registered the change in name? It all just didn't make sense.
Melissa hadn't said a word to Desmond, but as he looked at her curiously, asking why he called their daughter by something other than her name, she smiled and waved it off, saying he was imagining things. He wasn't of course. Melissa looked at her baby girl, who giggled in her arms, and sighed. She felt like she barely knew Stephanie any more. And if she wasn't just Stephanie, but was somehow known by 'Valkyrie' as well, then what else could her daughter be keeping from her?
Nightmares would plague her that night.
