In case any of you gets confused as to why Bliss is in this chapter, it is because I totally forgot to write in him in the previous chapter! ^^; I noticed it when I started to write this chapter and I hope that you won't mind this little misstake!
I also want to say that I think I am starting to get to the end of this story. The next chapter will be about the sinking and then I will write at least one more chapter after that which will be about the aftermath after Titanic has sunken under the ocean and the survivors are being rescued.
Everyone stood staring at the crewman who was fidgeting nervously and from the light of the overhead lights that lit the room you could make out the sweat that had formed on his forehead. "I understand that this news comes as a shock to all of you, but I must once again emphasize the importance of you all putting on your life jackets and heading up to the deck as soon as possible where you will receive more information from my colleagues. I must now proceed to the rest of the first-class passengers to give them the same message in order to try to save as many people as possible."
Seven pairs of eyes followed the man as he walked out of the cabin and none of the owners of these eyes said anything for a good while. The cabin was filled with such a tense silence that you could have cut it with a knife. None of the people inside the cabin knew what to say, as they were all shocked by the news they had just been given.
Skulduggery Pleasant was the first to recover. He took a step forward before turning around so he could look out over everyone in the room. He let his gaze wander over Melissa, Desmond, Tanith, Bliss, Caelan, and finally Valkyrie. "I understand that you are all shocked, worried, and scared about what is about to happen. I know this because I feel the same way, but we all must be strong and help each other if we are to get out of this alive. I want you all to listen to me very carefully now and do exactly as I say."
Everyone except Bliss and Caelan nodded. Skulduggery gave them a reassuring smile before continuing. "Good. Desmond and Melissa, put on some warm clothes and put things that you consider to be valuable, and which you can fit, into your pockets. Tanith, I want you to go to your cabin and do the same. We don't know how long we will have to be on the lifeboats before help arrives, so it is important that we are all properly dressed to reduce the risk of frostbite."
Melissa and Desmond disappeared into their bedroom while Tanith exited the cabin. Skulduggery turned to Bliss and Caelan. He gave them both a cold look before saying, "What you two choose to do, I couldn't care less about."
"If it were not for the fact that for some strange reason I cannot understand and probably never will, you have Mr. Edgley's trust and blessing to start a relationship with his daughter, that doesn't mean that I trust you or will listen to anything you have to say. You may have fooled everyone else in Valkyrie's inner circle, but you haven't managed to fool me, Mr. Pleasant. I have my eyes on you, don't forget that…" Caelan said in a dark voice, giving Skulduggery a hateful look before turning his back on him and exiting the cabin with Bliss close behind him.
Skulduggery followed Caelan and Bliss with his gaze until they were out of sight. He turned to Valkyrie and hugged her tightly. Valkyrie hugged him back and rested her head on his shoulder. She let her lips find Skulduggery's throat and gave it a small kiss before saying, "Thank you."
"For what?" Skulduggery wondered.
"Because you finally made him leave us alone, even if it's just for a little while."
Skulduggery laughed and kissed her. "To be honest, I did it for my own sake too. If I had been forced to listen to or see him much longer, I probably would have beaten him down before I would have tied him up in here and let him go down with the ship."
Valkyrie knew she should be horrified by the words that had just come out of Skulduggery's mouth, but they only relieved her and gave her a sense of security, as it showed that Skulduggery hated Caelan as much as she did and was willing to do anything to make sure she wouldn't have to share her life with him.
"It's the least he deserves."
"I couldn't have said it better myself. Now that we're in agreement about what a piece of shit Caelan is, I'd like you to put on a pair of pants if you have any and a warm jacket. My body heat can't keep you warm for very long, although I wish it did. I'd also like you to bring something that you consider very important and that you don't want to leave behind, if you have any."
Valkyrie did as Skulduggery asked her to do and when she entered the bedroom, she could see that her parents were just about to stuff some jewelry and important papers into their jacket pockets. Neither of them said anything to each other as Valkyrie got dressed and she was glad about that, because she suspected she would start crying then.
As she emerged from the bedroom, she let her gaze sweep the cabin in search of something she would want to take with her in the lifeboat. Her gaze landed on her dressing table when she thought she caught sight of something glinting there and she went over to check it out. When she got there, she saw the Heart of the Ocean lying under the note she had written, and she let her fingers slowly caress the piece of jewelry. She knew that if she took the piece of jewelry with her and managed to keep it in her possession if they survived this, she could save her parents from poverty by selling the jewelry.
She turned and let her gaze sweep around the room to see if anyone noticed what she was doing. Her parents were talking with Skulduggery and neither of them were looking at her right now. She let her hands wrap around the piece of jewelry before quickly putting it in her jacket pocket and zipping it up.
"Are you ready?" Skulduggery asked as Valkyrie came over to them. He got a nod in response. "Okay, then I want you three to put on your life jackets while we wait for Tanith."
Desmond helped Melissa with hers and Skulduggery helped Valkyrie. When everyone had their life jackets on, Valkyrie looked at Skulduggery with a frown. "Skulduggery, shouldn't you put on a life jacket too?"
"Mine is down in my third-class cabin."
"I can come with you and get it. I mean, shouldn't we go down there and warn as many people as we possibly can about what's happening? That way, as many people as possible can get a chance to get to safety."
"You're not going anywhere, Valkyrie! The ship's sinking, and we don't know how fast the water's coming in. Third class might already be waterfilled!" her mother said in a firm voice.
"Which is a very good reason to go down there, mum! Besides, Ghastly is down there and for Tanith's sake I must find out if he has made it!" Valkyrie protested and took Skulduggery's hand. She dragged him out of the cabin before her mother could stop her. She could hear her screams as she called out for her, though, which made her stomach clench with guilt.
Neither of them said anything as they ran down to third class. They met many anxious passengers along the way, looking both confused and scared. Despite this, they made it down to third class without any trouble. They hadn't yet seen a glimpse of any water, which relieved Valkyrie. It meant that the ship might not be sinking as quickly as she had feared, and that they hopefully had more time than she had first thought.
Skulduggery led her to his cabin and took out two life jackets. "One for me and the other for Ghastly if we manage to find him."
Valkyrie didn't like that Skulduggery was using the word "manage", because it implied that Ghastly might be dead, which was something she didn't want to think about. She had only met Ghastly twice, but those two times had been enough to make her like him. He was someone she would like to get to know better, and since he was Skulduggery's best friend, she wanted to help Skulduggery reunite with him.
They left the cabin and began walking towards the engine room while Skulduggery put on his life jacket. They hadn't gone very far when the sound of running footsteps reached their ears. They stopped and looked at each other with questioning glances. Neither of them had any idea what was coming towards them, but judging by the sound of running footsteps, there were many people running from something, and they both suspected they knew what that something was.
It wasn't long before several young men came running towards them. They all had expressions of horror and panic on their faces, making Valkyrie's stomach clench and make her feel sick. It took her a few seconds to realize that the men in front of her were Ghastly and some of the other workers she had glimpsed a few hours earlier when she, Skulduggery, and Tanith had been down to the engine room.
"Ghastly!" Skulduggery shouted.
Ghastly looked up, and when he saw Skulduggery and Valkyrie, his face broke into a relieved smile. He gave Skulduggery a tight hug before turning to Valkyrie and wrapping his arms around her in a much softer embrace. "God, I'm so glad to see you two! I assume you've heard the news by now?"
"Yes, that's why we're down here. We were looking for you," Skulduggery said, handing Ghastly the life jacket. "I think you might need this."
"Thank you," Ghastly replied, taking the life jacket. "And Tanith? Where is she? Is she okay?"
"Tanith is fine. Before we went down here, she was in her cabin, putting on some warmer clothes and gathering some things she wants to take with her in the lifeboat."
Ghastly sighed in relief and put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Thank you."
"Ghastly, why did you and the other workers come running from the engine room in such a panic?" Valkyrie wondered.
"Because the engine room is flooded. All of us who worked down there didn't make it out in time before the doors closed to prevent more water from entering the ship, so the ship has already suffered losses. That won't solve the problem though, just give the crew a few extra minutes to try to save as many as possible," Ghastly replied, and Valkyrie could see the sadness in his eyes at having lost some of his colleagues.
It was only now that Valkyrie looked at Ghastly that she could see that he and the other men who had stayed with them were soaked from the waist down. She now understood the danger they were all in and how quickly the Titanic was actually taking on water, which in turn meant that their time was running out. Her whole body was filled with pure terror, and she had to lean against Skulduggery to keep from falling over.
"Miss, how are you?" one of the workers asked, looking worriedly at Valkyrie.
"You must… hurry to your cabins. Put on new, warm clothes before you put on your life jackets and head up to the deck where you must try to board a lifeboat," Valkyrie said in a trembling voice.
"You heard the lady!" Ghastly roared, causing the young men to hurry away. When they had disappeared around the corner, he turned to Valkyrie and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Valkyrie. Come on, let's go to mine and Skulduggery's cabin so I can change too. I understand your fear, but I promise you that I will help Skulduggery make sure you, Tanith, and your family gets out of here in one of those lifeboats."
Valkyrie just nodded and let the men escort her to their cabin which Ghastly disappeared into. Skulduggery took her hands and looked into her eyes, where he could see Valkyrie's fear and worry reflected. "Valkyrie, you will survive this. So will your parents and Tanith. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"I'm not going anywhere without you, Skulduggery!" Valkyrie said firmly, squeezing his hands. "If you stay, I stay."
"Don't say that Valkyrie!" Skulduggery hugged her tightly. "If it comes to the point where I have to choose between saving myself or you, I will save you without the slightest hesitation."
Valkyrie felt tears start to flow down her cheeks and she pressed herself against Skulduggery while holding him tightly with all her strength. "You idiot…" was all she managed to say, but it made Skulduggery laugh softly.
"For you I can imagine being just about anything," he replied and gave the top of her head a small kiss.
Ghastly emerged from the cabin wearing a new set of clothes and his life jacket. He placed his hand on Valkyrie's shoulder and squeezed it. "Miss Valkyrie, everything will be okay, you'll see. I'm sure the crew is busy organizing everyone and getting the lifeboats ready so they can start ferrying the passengers to safety. I'm also pretty sure they've sent out a distress signal to the nearest boats, so hopefully help will be here soon."
"Thanks Ghastly," Valkyrie said with a small smile, wiping away her tears before taking a deep breath. "We should probably go back to my cabin now so we can all gather up before we head up to the deck with the other passengers."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea", Ghastly said with a smile before he held out a jacket towards Skulduggery. "You won't be able to protect her if you freeze to death."
"Thank you, Ghastly", Skulduggery answered and gave his friend a thankful smile before he put on the jacket. "Shall we go?"
When they returned to Valkyrie's cabin, they were met by her mother, who was half-hysterical. She was pacing around the cabin, talking to herself in an agitated manner. She alternated between whispering and screaming to herself while pulling her hair, biting her nails, or rubbing her face. As soon as she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, she looked up and when she saw her daughter standing in the doorway with Skulduggery and an unknown man, she began to cry with relief. She ran to her daughter and hugged her so tightly that Valkyrie thought she would break a few ribs.
"Valkyrie, you must never do that to me again! I thought I would never see you again!" Melissa sobbed as she held her daughter.
Desmond walked over to them and placed a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder. "So, Melissa. It's okay, Valkyrie is back now and she's fine. We should go up on deck now so we can get in one of the lifeboats and get out of here."
Melissa reluctantly let go of her daughter and nodded. "You're right, Desmond."
Out of the corner of her eye, Valkyrie could see Ghastly and Tanith embracing each other before giving each other a relieved kiss. She could hear them asking each other if they were okay and that they had been worried about each other, which made Valkyrie smile and her heart fill with warmth. It seemed like there was at least something positive to look forward to after hearing the terrible news of the Titanic's fate.
All six of them left the cabin and went up on deck. Up there, it was total chaos, and the crew was busy trying to calm all the anxious and panicked passengers so they could fill the lifeboats with as many people as possible. Everywhere you could hear shouting, screaming and crying from angry, confused and panicked people who just wanted to get to safety. The lines for the lifeboats were long and the crewmen had to struggle to make themselves heard over all the noise.
Valkyrie let her gaze sweep over all these people and that's when she saw Caelan and Bliss standing a little to the side of the worst of the crowd where they waited to try to figure out what would happen next. Caelan's gaze swept over the crowd, the crewmen and the lifeboats and Valkyrie could see that he was deep in thought.
Valkyrie pressed closer to Skulduggery and was now extremely relieved that he had told her to put on a warm jacket, because it was very cold up here on the deck. She suspected that the temperature was around 0 C (32 F) and if she hadn't dressed, she would probably have frozen to death.
She followed her father as he walked with determined steps towards one of the lifeboats that was just about to be prepared. He spoke to one of the men working on the boat and then nodded contentedly before returning to the others. "We'll all fit on this lifeboat along with some other first-class people standing in front of us."
"Thank goodness…" her mother sighed contentedly, taking her husband's hand.
Valkyrie could feel Caelan's gaze on herself and Skulduggery but chose to ignore him. She understood that he was not very happy about the news that he probably would have to share a lifeboat with two people from third class. Valkyrie could not have cared less right now and could not help but feel a small twinge of anger towards her ex-fiancé for his delusional way of thinking.
To dispel her anger, Valkyrie decided instead to let her gaze sweep over all the people standing around her. She could not feel anything but a sense of hopelessness at what was about to happen. She was completely aware of the fact that not all the people on board the Titanic would survive, because she knew that the Titanic did not have enough lifeboats. She felt guilty for standing here waiting for a lifeboat when she knew that there were probably people below her that were fighting for their lives and who would die a slow, painful death by drowning while all these people, including herself, were standing up here waiting for their turn to be rescued.
It was finally their turn to start boarding the lifeboat. Valkyrie was about to take the first step towards her rescue when a realization hit her. Skulduggery and Ghastly would probably not be allowed to board the lifeboat, since they were third class. First class passengers are, after all, the class that gets priority first. She went completely cold inside and felt panic begin to surround her. She was about to say something when she heard the sound of a little girl's tearful voice calling out, "Mommy, Daddy, where are you?!"
She turned around and saw Alice walking around among the other passengers with a teddy bear in her arms and tears streaming down her small cheeks. She let go of Skulduggery's hand and ran over to the girl. "Alice, what are you doing here all by yourself? Where are your parents?"
"I don't know! We got separated when we ran up here to avoid the water that started flowing into our cabin. I'm so scared, Valkyrie!"
"Come here," Valkyrie said, taking the girl's hand. She took her to her party, which had dwindled a bit since her parents were already in the lifeboat, and quickly explained to everyone what had happened. She turned to Ghastly and Tanith. "Take Alice with you and tell her she's your daughter, otherwise Ghastly will never be allowed on the lifeboat."
"What about you?" Tanith asked, lifting Alice up in her arms. She tried to comfort Alice by stroking her back and whispering calm words into her ear.
"I'm not going without Skulduggery."
"We can probably get the crew to let him on board too. We can say he is Alice's uncle", Tanith said and smiled insecurely while she looked at Ghastly.
"It's okay, Valkyrie. You go on board, I will just take the next lifeboat," Skulduggery said, and followed her to the lifeboat, which was almost full now.
Tanith, Ghastly, and Alice got on board, and Valkyrie now saw that there was only one seat available. She turned to Skulduggery and shook her head. When her mother called out to her to get in the boat, she felt how a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her into the boat. She turned immediately to Skulduggery and extended her hand to him. He took it and kissed her palm before the lifeboat slowly began to lower.
"I'll catch up, Valkyrie. I promise."
"I'll make sure he comes with me and Bliss on the next lifeboat," said Caelan, standing next to Skulduggery, giving Valkyrie a reassuring smile.
Valkyrie couldn't take her eyes off Skulduggery as the lifeboat was slowly lowered, and it didn't matter that her mother tugged at her jacket and told her to sit down. She continued to stand up and she could see Skulduggery say something to Caelan, who responded with a wicked smile, while Mr. Bliss stood behind Caelan with an expressionless expression on his face.
Then she realized what Skulduggery had done. He knew that he would never be able to board a lifeboat and that the reason why he had allowed her to board this one was to save her life. Considering the evil grin which Caelan had just given Skulduggery, he had gotten that suspicion confirmed. Caelan and Bliss would without a problem be able to board the next lifeboat, but Skulduggery would be stranded on Titanic's deck where he would remain when she sank. If he did not drown when the ship sank, he would freeze to death after laying in the cold water for a longer period.
Hell no! Valkyrie thought and stepped onto the edge of the lifeboat. She heard horrified cries behind her but ignored them as she prepared herself. The second the lifeboat passed the gap between the first- and second-class floors, she jumped off the lifeboat and back onto the deck of the Titanic. She could hear both her parents' and Tanith's terrified screams behind her, but she couldn't have cared less about them right now. All she had in mind now was getting back to Skulduggery.
"Valkyrie!" Skulduggery shouted above her, and she could hear the sound of his running footsteps.
She picked up speed and ran through the nearest door and up the stairs that appeared before her. She called out Skulduggery's name as she ran, and she could hear his voice further ahead as he called her name back. Her heart began to pound in her chest when she saw him, and she picked up speed even more.
When they were only a few feet apart, Valkyrie jumped into the air and wrapped her arms around Skulduggery's neck the second he caught her. She pressed herself hard against his body and began to kiss him desperately as tears streamed freely down her cheeks.
"Oh my God, Valkyrie! Why did you do that?! You're so stupid! Why?!" Skulduggery shouted between their kisses while he also pressed her hard against his own body. "You're so stupid! You could have died!"
"I told you before, Skulduggery: if you stay, I'll stay. I'm not leaving you here! If you don't board a lifeboat, I won't either!"
Skulduggery opened his mouth to answer when the sound of a gunshot passing above their heads interrupted him. They both looked up in the direction the sound had come from and there Caelan stood with a revolver in his hand, pointing directly at them. He had murder in his eyes and was just reloading the revolver so he could shoot again.
"Run!" Skulduggery shouted and took Valkyrie's hand while he turned around and started running.