Valkyrie froze when she heard the voice, thinking it was her father or Caelan who had found her. Though, how could they have found her so quickly? There was no chance they would have caught up with her as she ran from the dining room. Once they got up (if they had bothered) there was no chance they would have been able to see which way she ran, unless they asked the people she had ran past if they had seen her of course…

But there was something about the voice that didn't quite add up, as it hadn't sounded anywhere near either her father or Caelan or any of the other men she'd gotten to know these days.

Valkyrie slowly turned her head and saw to her relief that it was a stranger standing a few meters away from her. It was a young man who looked to be a few years older than herself (around 25 she thought). He was tall, thin and sinewy with dark green eyes, sharp cheekbones, full lips and cinder-colored hair. He had one hand outstretched toward her, and his expression was calm yet alert, as if he were approaching a wild animal in distress rather than a young woman.

The man slowly walked towards her while still holding his hand out. "Think carefully about what you're about to do, because there's no going back if you jump," he said, keeping eye contact with her as he spoke.

"Who are you and what do you want from me?! I was actually in the middle of something and you're distracting me! Get out of here!" Valkyrie snarled at the man who by now was almost right next to her. She couldn't decide if she thought he was brave or downright foolish for taking the risk of approaching a human who was considering jumping off a ship.

"I am no one special. I am a passenger here on the ship, just like you. I live in third class, but you've probably already figured that out. We don't hang out in the same circles, directly," the man replied, letting his hand wrap around the railing next to Valkyrie as he continued to look into her dark brown eyes.

Valkyrie couldn't help it: she let her gaze sweep up and down the man's body. It didn't take many seconds for her to see that he most certainly did not come from a well-to-do family. His clothes were worn and patched in places, and she could tell by his hands that he had worked most of his life, despite being so young.

"Yeah," was all she could think of to say. She had wanted to make a sour comment, but nothing came to her. It felt as if her brain had suffered a meltdown, so instead of saying anything more, she turned away from the man and once again reached forward as she let her gaze sweep over the black water below them.

Hopefully he'll be on his way soon...

"You will not jump," said the man next to her, causing Valkyrie to turn her head again.

This time she couldn't help but look deeply into his eyes. They were calm and they made her heart beat a little faster. The man was attractive, she couldn't deny that. Even so, she pursed her lips and said angrily, "What do you mean 'you won't jump'? You can't know that; you don't know me! We've never met, and you can't possibly read my mind."

"How do you know I can't do that?" The man said in an amused voice while giving a small smile that Valkyrie didn't return.

"Everyone knows that people who claim to be able to do such things are just scammers trying to rob people of their money."

The man laughed and that sound made Valkyrie's heart skip a beat. She glanced at the man as he laughed, and he became even more attractive, how that now could be possible. Valkyrie didn't know why she felt so strongly about this man she had just met, but there was something about him that captivated her. Could it be because he was so different from Caelan and the other men, she was used to having around her?

"How funny that I can make you laugh, but if you'll excuse me, I'd like to be left alone now," Valkyrie said, giving the man a look she hoped showed him she didn't want his company.

"I'm not going to leave you now that I know what you're thinking of doing," the man replied calmly, placing his forearms against the railing while looking at her.

"As I said a moment ago, you don't know me and you can't possibly know what I'm going or not going to do."

"Maybe not, but I would like to get to know you. Besides, I've come across enough people in my day to be able to tell when a person is going to carry something out or not. I have seen many people commit suicide for different reasons and in different ways. So, take my word for it when I say that I can tell you that you won't jump because you don't have the same body language or look that the people I've met and seen do it."

Valkyrie stared at the young man with wide eyes and gaping mouth. She had never before come across a human being as open as this man now was towards her. And so cheeky! Who did he think he really was, coming here with his claims!

She turned her back on the young man once more but this time she felt a certain uncertainty about the idea of jumping into the water. Instead of letting her gaze rest on the dark water below her, she chose to look straight ahead and hold tightly to the railing as she felt the young man's gaze burn against her neck.

"Are you aware that it's very cold down there, in that water? I would think it's about -2C (28,4F). If you jump in, you will be paralyzed by the cold before passing out. You won't be able to think or feel anything but pain before everything goes black. It will feel like a thousand knives cutting into your body at the same time and before you know it you will be numb before passing out. It's a horrible way to die."

"How can you know that?" Valkyrie asked, glancing at the man.

"Because I walked through the ice when I was little and tippled with my father. Where I come from it gets really cold in the winter, so I know what I'm talking about. It's nothing I wish on anyone else to go through, except possibly my worst enemy."

Valkyrie couldn't help it: she started giggling. She could see from the corner of her eye that the young man was also smiling before he extended his hand towards her. Valkyrie looked at his hand for several seconds before she understood what he meant.

"Let me help you. Whatever is weighing you down, it can't be so heavy that you think this is the only way out. If you still want to disappear from this life, then do it in a more painless way. I can also help you with that, if you would like. But before that, I would like to ask you for the chance to show you that life is worth living."

Valkyrie hesitated. She looked down again at the sea below her and now realizing how far the descent would be if she actually jumped and that she might not die on impact, the thought made her stomach clench, and her body lock up. She hadn't been able to jump no matter how much she wanted to.

She once again looked into the young man's dark green eyes as she slowly turned her body, so she was face to face with him. She grabbed his hand and let him support her as she slowly began to climb the railing.

"By the way, my name is Skulduggery Pleasant."

"Valkyrie Cain."

"An unusual name, but then you are an unusual woman too, Miss Cain," Skulduggery replied, giving her a smile.

Valkyrie laughed nervously, looking down at Skulduggery's shoes as she climbed the second step. As she was making her way up the third and final step, she didn't notice that part of her dress got caught under her shoe. This resulted in when Valkyrie set her foot down on the last step, her foot slipped on the fabric of the dress, and she lost her balance. She barely registered what was about to happen before she felt her feet buckle beneath her and she began to fall downwards.

She screamed loudly in terror and tried to grab the railing, but she was too slow. She felt the wind grab her clothes and a feeling of floating in nothingness wash over her before she was jolted back to reality (literally) as Skulduggery's hands gripped her wrist, causing her body to swing back and forth like a pendulum along the bow of the ship.

"Hold on, I've got you!" Skulduggery shouted. "Look at me, Valkyrie! You will get through this, but you must help me!"

"But how?!" Valkyrie screamed in horror. She felt panic begin to bubble up inside her. She knew that it was only thanks to Skulduggery's hands that she was still alive, that they were her lifeline.

"You must try to pull yourself up against me! I know it's hard, but you can do it! Look at me, Valkyrie. You can do this."

Valkyrie took a deep breath and managed to find a strength within herself that she didn't know she had. Somehow, she managed to pull herself up enough to grab the railing with her free hand, allowing Skulduggery to get a firm grip on her waist and pull her up to safety on the ship's deck.

Realizing she was out of danger, Valkyrie's legs buckled under her, and she collapsed on top of Skulduggery. She was trembling and her whole body felt heavy, as if it were made of lead. She had tears in her eyes and her heart was beating hard and fast. She looked up at Skulduggery and was about to say something when the sound of running footsteps made her look to the left.

Caelan and a few other men came running towards them and when Skulduggery caught sight of the men, he pulled away from her. Getting to his feet, he took several steps back and raised his hands in a reassuring gesture, making Valkyrie confused before she figured out what the scene must look like for Caelan and the others who didn't know what had happened.

"What is going on here?!" Caelan roared, walking towards Skulduggery with fury in his eyes. "What are you doing with my fiancée?!"

"Caelan, stop!" Valkyrie yelled, sitting up just as Caelan's butler, Mister Bliss, put a blanket around her shoulders.

"Shut it!" Caelan roared, grabbing Skulduggery's shirt collar. "Well, are you going to explain to me why you had your arms around my fiancée and why some crewmen told me they heard screams?"

"I saved her life," Skulduggery replied in a calm voice, his hands still raised in a gesture that would show the men that he didn't intend to cause trouble. "If you hadn't started yelling and accusing me of a crime I didn't commit without any evidence whatsoever, you would have figured it out yourself by now."

"How dare you speak to me like that?!" Caelan shouted, raising one fist as if to punch Skulduggery in the face.

"It's true!" Valkyrie said, managing to wedge herself between Skulduggery and Caelan, forcing Caelan to let go of Skulduggery. "I was standing by the railing looking down at some dolphins jumping around the ship when I tripped and fell over the railing. I tried to pull myself up but couldn't and that's when Mr. Pleasant here heard my screams. He saw what was about to happen, so he pulled me back onto the deck. He saved my life, Caelan."

Caelan stared at Valkyrie with disbelief in his eyes, but some of his anger disappeared. "Dolphins? You were about to fall off the ship and drown because you were watching a bunch of jumping dolphins? Are you pulling my leg, Valkyrie?"

"Typically, women, right?" said one of the crewmen who had accompanied Caelan, grinning. "I figure if no harm has been done, we can drop this whole thing and get on with our night, or what do the rest of you say?"

Caelan looked at Skulduggery for a moment before sighing deeply and turning his back on him. "You are right. We must make sure to get Valkyrie into the heat, she's frozen solid! Just look at her, she's shaking like an aspen leaf! You must be frozen, darling."

"There's nothing to worry about, 'darling'." The last word Valkyrie said with such irony that both she and Skulduggery were surprised by the fact that no one reacted. Caelan was busy wrapping his arm around Valkyrie's shoulders while talking to the other men about how lucky he was not to have lost his fiancée to the waves.

"No, we probably must go now. Your parents are very worried and if I don't take you to them soon your mother will be hysterical and we both know how long it will take her to calm down," Caelan said and began to lead Valkyrie away.

"Before we go, I think you should thank Skulduggery for saving my life," Valkyrie said, raising an eyebrow meaningfully as she pulled away from Caelan's embrace.

Caelan chuckled and turned to Skulduggery with a joyless smile on his face. "Well, do you think so?" He turned to Bliss before saying "Give him a penny for his good deed."

Valkyrie snorted and looked disapprovingly at her fiancé. "Am I worth so little to you, Caelan? What do you think my parents would say if they were told that the only gratitude you gave to the man who saved their daughter's life was 'a penny'?"

"My dear Valkyrie must not be quite happy with my arrangement," Caelan said, laughing again.

Skulduggery couldn't help but see the look of disgust Valkyrie gave Caelan behind his back when he said, "my dear" and he gave her a sympathetic look which Valkyrie responded by giving him a small nod.

"What more can I do to please her, I wonder?" Caelan thought for a moment, then a foul smile spread across his lips. "What would Mr. Pleasant say if I invited you to dinner tomorrow night with us in first class? So, everyone can get the chance to meet the man who saved my fiancée and thank him in person, because I can promise you word of your little act of heroism will spread like wildfire."

Skulduggery gave Caelan a crooked smile back before glancing at Valkyrie who was staring at her fiancé with disgust. They both knew Caelan wasn't doing this out of gratitude, but because he wanted to humiliate Skulduggery for not being in the same circles as them and because he couldn't stand the thought of a third-class citizen saving his fiancée instead of himself.

The people who moved in Skulduggery's circles were used as laborers and were not considered worth much.

"Then it's decided! If there was nothing else, I guess I may ask to thank you for saving my dear Valkyrie's life once more." Caelan put his hand around Valkyrie's arm in a firm grip and began to escort her away from Skulduggery, which was a clear sign that the conversation was hereby terminated.

"See you tomorrow night, Mr. Pleasant."

Before they disappeared out of sight, Valkyrie managed to turn and give Skulduggery one last pitying and forgiving glance as she whispered, "thank you" and gave him an apologetic smile. Skulduggery gave her a small smile in return and raised his hand in farewell. Once Valkyrie and her party were out of sight, he made his way down to his cabin where he lived with Ghastly and two other third class passengers.

When he stepped through the door, he saw that he was alone in the cabin, which made him a little relieved, because he had no desire to talk to anyone about what he had just been experiencing and what he would have to experience tomorrow night. He laid down on his bunk and couldn't help but start thinking about what had just happened to him and what tomorrow would bring.

He knew that unless he could find someone on the ship willing to lend him their finery, he would most likely fail to impress Valkyrie's family and the rest of the party that would be attending the dinner. Not that he would have the worst chance of succeeding anyway, but he wasn't one to give up in the first place.

At the same time, Skulduggery knew that it probably wouldn't matter anyway, because no matter how well-dressed, clean, polite, and well-behaved he was, they would still only see him as a third-class citizen who was worth nothing. They would only see him as a lesser human being and have fun at his misfortune.

At least I get the chance to see Valkyrie again. I must try to find out what her situation is and why she tried to kill herself. There's something about her that I can't quite put my finger on… Skulduggery thought before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.