"Oh, honey, we've been so worried about you!" Melissa sobbed, hugging her daughter even tighter. "We didn't know if you had managed to get on one of the other lifeboats, if you had drowned on the Titanic, if you were lying somewhere in the water calling for help, or if you had managed to get to safety on any of the debris that had been floating around in the water since the sinking."
"Skulduggery and I managed to stay out of the water by sitting on a door that kept us afloat while we waited for help."
"Where's Skulduggery?" Ghastly asked, looking at her with a worried look. "He's not here with you, so where is he?"
Valkyrie took Ghastly's hand and squeezed it. "Skulduggery is in one of the cabins, being cared for by the crew. His body temperature had dropped to a dangerous level before one of the lifeboats came back and picked us up. He is not dying as far as I know but will hopefully recover fully once his body temperature rises."
Tanith put one arm around Ghastly's waist and hugged him. "I am so glad to hear that you both survived the sinking, especially considering how many people have had to give their lives so that the few of us who managed to get a lifeboat could survive."
Valkyrie let her gaze wander over all the people around them and she could not help but agree with Tanith. "Too few have survived…"
"And Caelan?" Desmond asked.
"Dead."
"How?"
"Skulduggery shot him with his own revolver. After I jumped off the lifeboat you were on, Caelan went crazy when he saw me running back to Skulduggery and telling him that I was not going to leave the Titanic without him. He fired several shots at us, which thankfully missed. We had to run down a flight of stairs to a flooded corridor to hide. Caelan found us and a fight between the three of us began.
Luckily, Skulduggery and I managed to disarm Caelan before Skulduggery took his revolver from him. He shot Caelan in the head, and we ran back up onto the deck where we discovered that all the lifeboats were already gone. We then had to make our way up to the stern of the Titanic where we held on until the ship sank below the surface. We got separated due to the maelstrom that formed when the ship sank but managed to find our way back to each other in the end and that's when Skulduggery found the door we were sitting on when the lifeboat found us."
No one said anything for a moment, but absorbed the information Valkyrie had just given them. Desmond was the first to say anything. "It's sad to hear that Caelan has lost his life, but at the same time I can't say that I'm particularly surprised by the news or that it makes me sad. He wasn't the man I thought he was, and if Skulduggery hadn't ended his life, someone else would have sooner or later."
"But what's going to happen to you when we get to New York?" Valkyrie asked, taking one of her parents' hands in both of hers.
"Don't worry about us, honey," Melissa said, giving Valkyrie a reassuring smile.
"Your mother's right, Valkyrie. We've been in trouble before and managed to get out of it, so we're in no trouble. We'll figure something out."
Valkyrie nodded, squeezing her parents' hands once before releasing them. She then put them in her own jacket pockets to warm them, when she felt something cold touch her left hand. She wrapped her hand around the object, and when she realized what she was holding in her hand, she couldn't stop a big smile from spreading across her lips.
"Mom, Dad, I think I've solved your financial dilemma."
"How?" asked her mother.
Valkyrie continued to smile broadly and took out the Heart of the Ocean from her jacket pocket. The moment her parents saw the blue heart, they gaped and couldn't take their eyes off the piece of jewellery. Alice, who had been standing in front of Desmond and Melissa, now walked up to Valkyrie and let her fingers caress the piece of jewellery.
"It's very beautiful, Valkyrie! Where did you get such a beautiful necklace?"
"I got it from the man we were talking about just now. He was very mean and thought he could make me love him if he gave me this heart."
Alice stuck out her tongue and said in an angry voice, "Serves him right for no longer being alive!"
"Valkyrie, do you know how much that piece of jewellery is worth…?" her father asked, and Valkyrie shook her head. "If I sell this, we can live well for many years without having to worry about running out of money. It will give me plenty of time to rebuild my reputation and find new business partners."
"That's the point, Dad." Valkyrie put the piece of jewellery in her father's hand and closed it. "This is my gift to you for always being there for me and for letting me go my own way in life. I know you only agreed to the engagement because you thought it was what I wanted. If only I had been honest from the very start, none of this would have happened. Forgive me."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Valkyrie! We should have seen how badly Caelan treated you from the start and not when it was almost too late to back out!" her mother said in a serious voice, taking her daughter's hands in hers. "This is another thing we have to thank Skulduggery Pleasant for when he gets better."
Tanith walked up to Valkyrie with tears in her eyes and hugged her before turning to Desmond and Melissa. "I want you all to come with me to my relative's mansion when we arrive in New York. You can stay there until you have sorted everything out. Please consider this my thanks for being so kind to me during the trip and for allowing Ghastly to come aboard with us on the lifeboat."
"Thank you so much Tanith. That was very kind of you," Melissa said, giving Tanith a grateful smile.
Valkyrie turned to Alice and took her in her arms. "Alice, have you managed to find your parents yet? I remember you saying you were separated from them."
Alice shook her head and tears began to stream down her small cheeks. "No, not yet. We've gone around asking many people here on Carpathia, but no one has seen them. I don't think they're alive, because then they would have been here. They either drowned on board the Titanic or froze to death in the water after the Titanic sank."
Valkyrie hugged Alice tightly and felt herself start to cry too. "Alice, I'm so sorry." She looked up at her parents and asked, "What's going to happen to Alice when we arrive in New York?"
Desmond sighed sadly. "I'm afraid she'll end up in an orphanage."
"Never!" Valkyrie said in an angry voice and tightened her grip on Alice. "I know what happens to children who end up in orphanages. I've both heard the stories and seen it with my own eyes. Alice shouldn't end up in an orphanage, she doesn't deserve it!"
Melissa and Desmond looked at each other and exchanged a look that Valkyrie couldn't interpret. They turned back to her and Alice before bending down in front of Alice. "Alice, look at us," Melissa said, and Alice did as she was told. Both she and her husband placed a hand on Alice's shoulders before Melissa asked, "Would you like to become a part of our family? Would you like us to be your new parents and Valkyrie to be your big sister?"
Alice stared at them before turning to Valkyrie who looked just as surprised as Alice. "Valkyrie, is that true? We would be... sisters?"
Valkyrie looked at Alice and gave her a smile. "If you want to be part of my family, we would be."
Alice started to cry with happiness and first hugged Valkyrie before hugging Desmond and Melissa. "Yes, I want to!" she screamed with joy and started dancing around the deck, which made everyone laugh.
"Congratulations, Valkyrie," said Tanith. "You told me the other day that you always wanted a sibling and now it seems your dream has come true."
"Yes, it seems that way", Valkyrie laughed and gave her parents a big hug. "Thank you so much for doing this for Alice."
Her parents just smiled and hugged her back before Melissa lifted Alice in her arms and hugged her. "Welcome to the Cain family, Alice."
Valkyrie stayed on deck for a little while longer with her family and friends before she excused herself. She wanted to check on Skulduggery because she hadn't seen him in a while and needed to see with her own eyes that he was okay. She had no idea how long it had been since she had boarded the Carpathia but based on the first light of dawn which was now beginning to seep up the horizon, she figured she had been on the ship for several hours by now.
Not knowing which cabin Skulduggery was located in, she asked one of the crewmen walking around the deck where she was supposed to go. She thanked the man and walked over to the cabin he had given her directions to. As she opened the door and stepped inside, she was greeted by Skulduggery sitting up in bed and looking at her with a big smile on his face.
Tears of relief streamed down Valkyrie's cheeks as she ran to Skulduggery and jumped onto the bed he was lying in. She threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly, and was overjoyed when she felt his warm body against her own. His body temperature had risen several degrees since she had last had her arms around him, which meant that he would hopefully be unharmed.
Valkyrie let her lips encircle Skulduggery's repeatedly as her hands roamed over his body, searching for any possible injuries which he might have sustained during the sinking of Titanic. When she could not find any, she let out a huge sigh of relief and looked into his eyes with a relieved smile on her face.
"Skulduggery…" was all she could manage, but it was enough. She could see in his eyes that he understood what she wanted to say.
"Valkyrie," he replied, stroking her cheek. "I love you."
"And I love you."
About three months after the sinking of the Titanic, Valkyrie and Skulduggery were outside a small cabin deep in the woods of England. They could hear the sound of a woman singing to herself inside the cabin and the sound of an axe chopping a tree echoing far away in the woods behind the cabin. Neither of them said anything, but they just looked at each other while holding hands.
Skulduggery was the first to move and he walked over to the cabin door where he knocked on the door, which made the woman stop singing. They could hear her asking something and getting an answer from another person who was also inside the cabin with her, but they couldn't hear what they were saying to each other. Soon they could hear footsteps approaching and it wasn't long before the door opened.
The woman looked a lot like Skulduggery with her dark green eyes and blond hair. She looked to be around 45-50 years old, and Valkyrie could tell she had had a hard life based on the bags under her eyes and all the wrinkles that adorned her face. Despite her hard life, the woman had a friendly smile on her lips as she opened the door, and her eyes radiated nothing but calmness. However, when she realized who it was that was standing on her porch, her eyes widened in surprise, and she put her free hand over her mouth. "Skulduggery… Is that you?"
"Hi Mom," Skulduggery smiled and hugged his mother tightly. "I'm here to take you and my brother away from here. I've managed to find a place where you can live well and not have to worry about hunger, starvation, and disease."
"What are you saying…?" his mother said, staring at her son. "The last time I saw you, you were on your way to America to try to scrape together enough money to send some back to us so we wouldn't starve. When I did not hear anything from you, I thought the worst, because don't think that the news of the Titanic's sinking hasn't reached us. I thought I had lost you forever!"
"I understand your concern, and I'm sorry I didn't send a letter saying I survived and that I'm doing well."
Skulduggery's mother was about to say something when she spotted the young woman standing behind her son. "Skul, who is that with you?"
"Hi, my name is Valkyrie Cain and I'm Skulduggery's fiancée." Valkyrie smiled and extended her hand. "I understand this must come as a shock to you, but I want you to know that I love your son and that over the past three months I've gotten to know him quite well. You've truly raised a wonderful person, Mrs. Pleasant. As a thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet Skulduggery, I would like to repay you by offering you a position as a housekeeper for my parents where you will have a roof over your head, several hot meals a day, a comfortable bed to sleep in every night, and access to all the latest technology. Your son is also welcome, of course, where he will be able to go to school so he can have a chance to further his education in something he wants to do in the future."
Mrs. Pleasant stared at Valkyrie. She opened and closed her mouth several times but could not get any words out. Tears began to form in her eyes, and she walked over to Valkyrie and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you so much…" she whispered.
Valkyrie hugged her back as Skulduggery walked into the cabin with a smile on his face. It wasn't many seconds before Valkyrie could hear a squeal of joy from inside the cabin and the sound of running footsteps. Skulduggery said something before he started laughing. Valkyrie smiled and took Skulduggery's mother to a small bench that stood a little outside the cabin where the two women sat down.
"So, I guess you have no idea what has happened since Skulduggery said goodbye to you this spring?" Valkyrie asked and got a headshake in response.
She started telling the whole story from the beginning. Her upbringing, her engagement to Caelan, her feelings about her situation and how she had been seconds away from taking her own life aboard the Titanic. How Skulduggery had saved her and how after that night they had continued to see each other even though she knew it wouldn't be viewed kindly by the other first class passengers.
She continued to tell him about how they had begun to develop feelings for each other, how Skulduggery had made her realize that her life could be so much different and that she deserved the chance to experience her dreams. About the night they had spent together just an hour before the Titanic hit the iceberg, what had happened between them and Caelan after she jumped out of the lifeboat and what had happened while the Titanic was sinking and everything that had happened before the Carpathia arrived to save all those who had survived the sinking.
"Oh my God…" said Skulduggery's mother, holding her hands over her heart that was pounding hard in her chest. "You were incredibly lucky to survive, Miss Cain. I also want to take this opportunity to thank you for saving my son's life. Many people wouldn't have done what you did, especially not in the situation you were in."
Valkyrie smiled before taking Skulduggery's mother's hand in hers and squeezing it. "You don't have to thank me. I did it because I love your son and because I can't live without him. He is my soulmate."
"You must be, considering the circumstances under which you met. But now I want to hear the rest of the story of what happened after you arrived in New York, because I understand that a lot must have happened in the months since the sinking."
Valkyrie nodded and continued her story. After they had arrived in New York on April 18th, three days after the Titanic sank, they had been met by a massive crowd demanding answers about what had happened. There were many journalists there from various newspapers trying to get interviews with the survivors, and it had taken them a long time to get out of the harbour that day.
They had finally managed to get out of the harbour and set off for the mansion of Tanith's relatives after notifying the authorities where they could be found. The next few days had been spent giving interviews to the newspapers and giving testimonies about what they had heard, seen, and experienced aboard the Titanic the night she sank. Valkyrie's parents had also been busy fighting for the right to adopt Alice, as her parents had been found dead among the bodies floating in the Atlantic at the wreck site that the authorities had ordered to be retrieved the day after the Carpathia arrived with the survivors.
Valkyrie and Skulduggery had rested for the most part in the first few days after they had arrived at the mansion. Skulduggery had been weak for several days after the sinking, and he had had to strengthen his muscles that had become stiff and weak after he had almost died from the cold in the Atlantic waiting for rescue. Valkyrie had also been a little stiff, but not to the same extent as Skulduggery.
After about two weeks, her father had managed to sell the Heart of the Ocean, which had meant that her family had become financially independent for several years to come, something that had lifted an enormous weight from Valkyrie's shoulders, as this had been something that had weighed on her ever since the day after the Titanic sank after she woke up in Skulduggery's arms in the cabin he had been assigned.
When they had been at the mansion for almost ten weeks, Skulduggery had approached Valkyrie's parents and asked for their permission to take Valkyrie back to England, as he wanted to visit his mother and brother and tell them that he had survived the disaster. Melissa and Desmond had approved this because they wanted to return to Ireland. Valkyrie had then told them that they could all move into Gordon's mansion that he had left to her after his death, as it was far too big for just her and Skulduggery to live in.
"There is plenty of room for you, Alice, me, Skulduggery, his mother, brother, and our servants," Valkyrie had said, causing her parents to smile and embrace their daughter, thanking her for her generosity. She had also turned to Ghastly and Tanith and said that they were of course welcome to stay as well until they found a home of their own.
It had taken them nearly a week to get from New York to Ireland, and once they arrived at Gordon's mansion, they had spent about another week moving all their furniture and servants from their old house, as well as getting everything ready for Skulduggery's family to arrive. When everything was ready, she and Skulduggery had boarded a cab to begin the journey to England to reunite Skulduggery with his family.
When Valkyrie had finished her story, Skulduggery's mother had tears in her eyes, slowly streaming down her cheeks. She squeezed Valkyrie's hand tightly, which Valkyrie had not let go of the entire time she had told the end of her story. "I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I must thank you again for everything you have done for both us and Skulduggery, Miss Cain. I don't know how I will ever be able to repay you."
"You already did that by giving me Skulduggery," Valkyrie replied with a smile.
As if he had heard his name, Skulduggery came out the front door with a younger version of himself behind him. Valkyrie stood up and extended her hand to Skulduggery's younger brother, but he put his arms around her and spun her around in the garden. "Skulduggery has told me everything that has happened since he left and I accept your offer, Miss Cain. I also want to thank you for saving my brother's life. I don't know what I would have done if he had died on the Titanic."
"You're welcome," Valkyrie replied with a laugh.
Skulduggery's brother set her down on the ground before extending his hand to his brother's fiancée. "My name is Respair Pleasant. Nice to meet you."
Skulduggery's mother started to laugh awkwardly and stood up before extending her hand to Valkyrie as well. "Forgive me for my rudeness! My name is Quinlan Pleasant, and I should probably take this opportunity to welcome you to our family."
Valkyrie smiled and shook Quinlan's hand. "Thank you so much Quinlan and Respair. It is an honour to finally meet you both. I don't want to sound rude, but I would like you both to go and pack things that you don't want to be parted from. There is a cab a short distance away that will take us to Ireland where my uncle's manor is located. I would prefer to do this while your father and husband are out in the woods working. I know how badly he treats you and I would prefer to get this over with in peace and quiet without any problems."
Respair turned immediately and ran into the cabin with a big smile on his face, while Skulduggery had to lead his mother inside. He spoke soothingly to her and Valkyrie understood that this must be a very difficult decision for Quinlan since she probably loved her husband despite all evil things he had subjected her to under all these years. She probably also thought it would be difficult to leave the home she had lived in for so many years and that held so many fond memories for her.
Valkyrie decided not to accompany Skulduggery and his family into the cabin, wanting to give them a little time to themselves. She walked over to the cab and patted the two horses pulling it. She began to whisper to them, receiving a few loving nudges from their mules in response. She also talked to the driver to pass the time, and when she finally heard the sound of footsteps approaching her, she turned around. She could see Skulduggery coming toward them with his mother and brother beside him.
Skulduggery was carrying two suitcases in each hand, and Valkyrie felt a small twinge of sadness when she saw how small they were, as it made her realize how little Skulduggery's family actually owned.
Skulduggery helped the driver strap the suitcases to the roof while Valkyrie helped Quinlan into the cab. When everyone was seated and the driver gave the command for the horses to start moving, Valkyrie took Skulduggery's hand in hers and squeezed it. She turned her gaze to Quinlan and Respair before placing her hand on her stomach. "Now that we're alone and don't have to worry about being disturbed, there's one more thing I want to tell you before we get to your new home."
"What more do you have to tell us after everything you two have been through lately?" Respair asked, laughing.
"What about the news that early next year you'll be an uncle, and your mother will have the great honour of calling herself a grandmother?" Valkyrie said as she stroked her stomach.
Both Respair and Quinlan stared at Valkyrie's belly with open mouths, which made Valkyrie laugh and Skulduggery squeeze her hand while giving his mother and brother a happy smile. Quinlan turned to her son and asked, "Is it true?"
"It's true, Mom. Valkyrie is pregnant with my child."
Skulduggerys mother's and brother's name is taken from the books. I don't know if Respair is the youngest Pleasant sibling, but he was the one that stood last on the list of Skulduggery's siblings, so that's why I choose that name.
So here we finally are, 2,5 months later! I really did not think that this story would take me this long to finish or that it would be this long! I am happy with most of it and I guess that's the most important part. I really hope that you have enjoyed reading this story and follow along Valkyrie and Skulduggery's journey both on the Titanic and afterwards. I wanted to end this story on a positive note, considering how dark and purely sad this story has been overall.