Skulduggery – Crow

Anton – Bear

Ghastly – Panda

Dexter – Wolf

Saracen – Weasel

Erskine – Snake

Solomon – Raven

Corrival – Pa

Chapter 92

And it started. It was good to dance at all, but with Nadia it was wonderful. They twirled and grinned and Nadia laughed when Valkyrie picked her up. They didn't stop for four songs, leading the room in sync as more couples joined the dance floor and they turned it into the dance room and the talking went to the other.

She saw several times people try to get into the dancers to interject their dance, but someone would always sweep up to stop them or engage them in conversation.

It didn't seem Nadia was able to go a full night of just dancing, though, and although it was not what she wanted, she carefully weaved them onto the outskirts of the room and at the end of the song they stopped and she held her arm out.

Nadia took it with a flushed grin, holding her arm in both hands and almost hanging on her in giddy happiness. She smiled and took Nadia quickly through the crowd and out to the hallway. She had to be quick on her feet and picked Nadia up for a bit of it where Nadia laughed far too much and Valkyrie joined in, and she was able to sneak them under the stairs and through the door of the downstairs snug.

It was set up already, of course, with drinks and snacks and a million cushions. It was a pretty place, perfect for reading or talking. Nadia smiled as Valkyrie shut the door. "Now that was sneaky," Nadia grinned. "So sneaky I didn't realise you doing it until just now."

She grinned back and sat on the loveseat. "I know. I'm just really clever. And I also really, really want to talk about us."

Nadia nodded and brushed her hair out her eyes again. She sat with Valkyrie but left a little space between them. "I think that might be a good idea."

There was a small, awkward silence in which they both thought of what they wanted to say but didn't dare. Valkyrie breathed in and took the lead.

"Maybe we should do it in order? Talk about why you broke up with me," she said somewhat calmly.

Nadia nodded. "Okay. To be honest, I had been thinking it for a little while before I said anything," she said quietly, a little tremor in her voice. "I was just really struggling at home. Mum and Dad wouldn't stop telling me to do it and they were saying about how bad it made me look to be with you, but it wasn't too bad until Daadii came. It was like a wall hit me, emotionally. I keep on thinking of when I started to tip in their favour, and I can't work it out. I just started to think they were right. Daadii would talk about how her friends spoke about you, and that everyone knew about you and all the fights you get in, and that they all think I was throwing myself away by being with you. She just made me feel so small and naive and stupid."

Valkyrie held her hand out and Nadia took it with a small smile.

"It was just difficult hearing it and feeling so stupid all the time. I thought if I broke up with you then I would be smarter for it, and that I'd be told I was being good, and my parents would be glad. But when I told them what I'd done, they just nodded and told me to study for school and I just completely broke down. I knew immediately that I'd made a mistake, but I thought at least I wasn't making you wait around for me in India."

"You could have called me at any time. I would have been happy to just wait," Valkyrie whispered.

She shrugged. "It just didn't seem that way. And then I waited and did nothing and went to school for months and it didn't seem right to talk to you because of how bad I treated you and the break up. And then I – there was this party after Christmas."

Valkyrie saw a tear slip down Nadia's face even as the girl looked away. That guilty look was back, and she wondered if she ought to look guilty too. "Tell me about it."

She nodded. "There was a party. I went with the girls I share a room with and I met someone when I was there."

"Who?"

"A girl," she said, her voice hitching. "All my friends were saying I should talk to her, and I did, and she was really nice, and she asked me to go out with her and I said yes, and we went out to dinner on a date."

Valkyrie nodded, taking a small breath. "Anything else?"

She nodded, dabbing her eyes gingerly. "I liked it, and she asked me on another and we went to this park. It was really nice. And we kissed."

"Anything else?"

"We had another few dates and kissed but nothing else. I just felt so bad at the time, but I really liked it too. I was talking to my roommates about how I felt, and they said they thought I should be with you, and then I was even more confused because literally everyone had been telling me the opposite until that moment. Regardless, I decided to break it off with her. She wasn't very nice to me when I said I didn't want to go on any more dates and it really hurt me. I just wanted to feel like I wasn't so stupid and horrible, but she just made me feel even worse about myself and more horrible for leaving you and dating her."

Valkyrie shuffled over and put an arm around her waist, holding Nadia's hand with the other. "It's okay. Just tell me everything else and we can talk about it after. But you should know you're not stupid and you are an incredible person."

She laughed as her tears took over and she sobbed out the rest of the story. "There isn't much else to say. Nothing happened at school, and I barely talked to anyone because I always felt like I was too stupid to do it. I got a few letters from Mum but they all just asked about friends and school and she never asked about me so I just stopped responding after a few. Got my phone after Christmas break but I didn't turn it on because every time I looked at it, I was hoping it was something from you and it was making me feel really bad. I know I should have just called you, but it… I just couldn't do it. It was really bad at home," she said through the tears, looking at their hands. "No one came to talk to me, so I just spent weeks sitting in my room alone. It was so horrible. Just sitting there all day, every day, with nothing to do or someone to be with. I didn't want to call my old friends because I haven't spoken to them in so long. I had no one."

"You have me now. I'll do anything to make it easier," Valkyrie said soothingly.

She laughed bitterly. "Why? How? I kissed another person, Valkyrie. I felt so bad, I knew I was emotionally cheating on you, but I still did it because I'm a horrible person."

"It's okay because we weren't together, were we? We hadn't been together for months. That's not cheating on anyone but yourself and your own emotions. You don't need to worry about what I have to think."

She nodded, unconvinced, as her eyes silently wept tears.

"Would you like to hear my side? I think it'll make you feel a bit better." Nadia took a moment to decide and then nodded. Valkyrie took a breath, as she didn't know if it would put Nadia at ease, but she had to be honest no matter what. It was hard stomaching Nadia kissing someone else, no matter how the relationship went, and it would likely be equally hard for Nadia.

I just need to be honest and trust that's enough, she told herself. "Well, I felt really bad for a few weeks after we broke up, and I felt so awful at your birthday I bought and wrapped you a present but didn't want to send it to you because I thought you might hate me. It's been seven months full of drama, to be honest. So much was happening, and I was struggling to keep up, to think and process things emotionally. So a few months ago I decided to live with the Necromancers for a month to see how it was. And I met a girl called Militsa there."

Nadia slowly locked eyes with hers and they looked at each other in quiet commiseration. They had done the same thing.

"She liked me a lot, and I thought she was really nice, and we spoke a lot, and I told her I didn't want a relationship but I wanted to kiss her, basically, and that's what happened. We spent a lot of time kissing, and she sat on me my lap a few times and we spoke. We spent most of our time talking about Necromancy, the outside world and you. She was actually supportive of me trying to talk to you. "

"She was?"

"Yeah. She made me promise to tell her if we don't work out, but she also told me good luck in talking to you again. She wants us and some new friends of hers to go to the cinema one day together. Not that that matters right now," Valkyrie said, biting her lip. "After that, I knew I wanted to be with you again and I worked myself out emotionally. I had felt bad because I kind of guessed you left me because of your parents. And I was a bit jealous you picked them over me. It's stupid, but that's how it felt."

"You shouldn't have been," Nadia whispered.

"Yeah, but I was. And, if I'm being really honest, I felt betrayed too. Because we said we'd only be, you know, intimate with each other so long as we agreed to not break up until we chose to. And then it happened and I didn't exactly feel like being the one to go to you when you'd gone back on your promise to me."

Nadia looked up at her with regretful, guilty eyes. "I am so sorry, I never meant for it to go like this."

"I know. I do. It took a few months and a big change of going to stay with the Necromancers, but when I had finally worked my way through the emotions, I knew I wanted to try and convince you to date me again," she smiled, looking at Nadia's unsure face. "I know I kissed someone else, but we were broken up and I think, in my head, I kind of needed to move on from the bad side of the emotions before I could think of the good ones. And then your parents came, and I ended up running into you, and voila. I got the Requiem Ball to be hosted here to trick you into talking to me."

She smiled despite the pain in her eyes. "You did. We kind of did the same thing, huh? But you chose better than me."

"We can talk about that another day," Valkyrie promised, knowing she wanted to beat that bitch to a pulp very soon. Who cares who she was, she made Nadia feel awful and Valkyrie did not appreciate that. "But right now, I want to know where we stand."

Nadia took a breath and thought about it. "Honestly? I don't think I can date you with my parents the way they are. I want to, I love you as much as I always did, and I've missed you, but my father hit you, Val. He came home and said he wished he could make you just disappear."

She smirked. "I think you're forgetting I'm a mega strong warrior queen. And anyway, I'm going to be an aunt soon, so I need to stick around."

She gasped. "Really? Who's having a baby?"

"Tanith and Ghastly," she grinned.

"Tanith and Ghastly!? I thought they'd never get together!"

"Neither did we and then Tanith got really, really sick and the doctors worked it out. She was really worried about it, but her brother came here today and is excited too."

"Oh, I'm so happy for them!" Nadia grinned. "Is it a boy or girl?"

"Boy," she grinned. She knew it would be a boy, no doubts.

"Aww!" She said, then laughed. "But still! My dad might hurt you Val."

"I'm willing to risk it. And, you know, my house is always open to you. You can come to stay with us any time for as long as you want. I spoke to Skulduggery and he said they can't legally make you leave either," Valkyrie told her, trying to be sweet and not sound as if that's what she wanted. Their relationship ended due to pressure, she shouldn't restart it putting pressure on Nadia, that was just a bad idea. "You could have your own room if you want."

Nadia smiled sadly. "I like that idea. But I can't just leave my parents."

"Could you leave to visit friends regularly?"

"I don't know. I can try." She bit her lip and looked at her knees. "I'm sorry I kissed someone else."

"Don't be. We weren't together," Valkyrie said before smirking. "Should I say sorry too?"

Nadia swatted at her arm for her attitude. "No, it's fine. And you made that girl sound nice and I can't hate nice people. But you, you are a truly bitch for what you have done. Daring to kiss someone when you're not dating anyone? Only a bitch would do that."

"I prefer the term, Princess Bitch, thank you," she said playfully.

Nadia smiled and leaned in and gave Valkyrie a small peck on the lips. They kept their faces barely an inch away and smiled softly. "I missed you, Val."

"I missed you too," she said, leaning over and pecking her lips also. "Does that mean I've convinced you to be my girlfriend?"

Nadia kissed her lips for a little longer. "Yes," she breathed and kissed her again.

Their breath becoming ragged as they breathed in the familiar smell of each other and felt each other's lips again. Valkyrie's hand did what Nadia's did, holding her side, then sliding to her waist, and up again to the side of her breasts. It was so good to just feel the girl and to press their bodies together on the sofa. She pulled Nadia on top of her, which was a little awkward in their dresses, but they made it work because the warmth and feel of each other was so important after their time away. Kissing a million people couldn't make up for the way Nadia made her feel in even the smallest of ways. There were moans and high pitched noises as they made out on the sofa and held each other tight.

It must have been a long time they held each other and ruined each other's makeup, but it was all worth it when they looked in each other's eyes as they attempted to catch their breaths and Valkyrie tried to get control over her suddenly fired up body. They giggled quietly.

"I love you Nadia," Valkyrie grinned. "Thank you for talking with me."

"I love you too. Thank you for listening and not hating me."

"I couldn't hate you," she whispered, kissing her again. "I don't think it's possible."

Nadia smiled and buried her head in Valkyrie's shoulder as they lay on the sofa.

"Hey?" Valkyrie asked. "What time is it?"

Nadia bolted up in a sitting position and looked at the clock on the self. She gasped. "It's nearly midnight!"

"Really? God, we've been here nearly two hours," Valkyrie said. "Quick, I hid some makeup down here."

Nadia laughed at Valkyrie's prep work but she sorted her clothes in the little mirror and they helped each other with their hair and accessories before they smudged and wiped at makeup and reapplied what they needed to look the same as before.

For Nadia, that wasn't just possible. Her happiness changed her whole face and she looked gorgeous with fire in her eyes and a big grin on her face. Valkyrie kissed her forehead.

"You better not forget how much I love you ever again," Valkyrie smiled softly. Nadia licked Valkyrie's nose. "I'm taking that as a yes."

They walked out that room looking happy and better than ever, and it showed. She didn't care what anyone else thought.

They didn't get far before Nadia's parents zoned in on them.

Valkyrie squeezed Nadia's hand and they stood still at the same time, both knowing what was coming. Nadia smiled up at her, and she knew she was in the right. How couldn't she be with those eyes on her?

"Nadia, where have you been?" Mrs Keena breathed unsteadily. She looked a little drunk and more than a bit frazzled.

"Cain," Mr Vinay growled. "Get your hands off my daughter."

"Dad, Mum, can you just listen?" Nadia begged, wrapping her other hand around Valkyrie arm securely as if she thought they'd be physically ripped apart. A few members of family on both their sides were glancing and that was bringing the attention of more people. "Valkyrie and I have been talking for the last few hours and that's why we weren't in here. We decided that we've both been making mistakes, but I've honestly done more. I shouldn't have broken up with her, and I lied a few weeks ago when I said I didn't love her. Me and Valkyrie both feel the same as we have since we met at thirteen, and we decided to get back together."

"You're in a relationship again?" Mrs Keena asked as her husband went a strange colour. "Nadia, darling, don't you think it would be best to work on getting some weight back and studying some more before you jump right back into a relationship?"

"I'm not jumping right back in," she said frostily. "I know how I feel, and that's it. I want to date Valkyrie and I will, but I won't lie to you about it."

Mrs Keena bit her lip and didn't say anything, looking a bit shocked at the strength Nadia suddenly had. Mr Vinay, on the other hand…

"Is there a problem?" Raven asked as he and Crow walked over arm in arm.

Mr Vinay ground his teeth. "Nadia, we are leaving."

Mrs Keena looked at him and wilted. She was no help, obviously.

Raven frowned. "Why on earth would you do that? This is a celebration! Not only for the ending of the war, but also the new generation falling in love," he said loud enough for the others in the room to hear. "I, for one, am very glad the two are dating again. They are practically made for each other. You don't see commitment and resolve as strong as theirs very often."

"That may be, but Nadia is my daughter and I wish to leave," he growled darkly. "Nadia, you know what will happen if you don't do what you're told."

Behind them, Mrs Prachi and Mr Farhan watched closely. "Dad, I'm going to stay."

"Nadia," he said warningly, his eyes glinting.

"Dad, if you don't accept that me and Valkyrie are together, then there's not much I can do. There's no one you can turn to that can make me stay away from Valkyrie. I can date who I want, and right now Valkyrie's home looks a lot more inviting than yours. So decide."

He took a quick step forward and the whole room held its breath as Valkyrie stepped in front of Nadia threateningly. As if her pretty peach lace dress and tiara made her threatening. She and Mr Vinay glared viciously at each other. "I will see you at home, Nadia," he breathed and stormed passed them.

As soon as he was out of the room it seemed to feel lighter. Mrs Keena looked down as she walked after him, only glancing at her daughter pleadingly before going.

Valkyrie and Nadia looked at each other. Hopefully her parents would come to terms with it, but their minds were made up. They were made for each other, just like Raven said. They'd make it work.

Ooh, that was fun to write! I'm sorry it took ages for me to post, but the chapter I wrote for the future is pretty epic and look a bunch of time! You'll understand in a while. But until then - NADIA AND VALKYRIE ARE BACK TOGETHER OH MY GOD YAY! I was going to make it slower and stuff but I was too excited, I love them too much! My heart couldn't take any more of this haha :)

I'd love a review of what you think about this aaahhh! :D