So, I actually wrote this story WAY back in 2018 when I was really depressed because I lost my first child due to miscarriage and I wanted to re-write it since I did not really know as much english as I do now and the story had A LOT of grammatical errors, plus that I wanted to clean it up a bit. I will still have the original up and will re-name that one so you guys can se which one is the old version and which one is the updated. Hope you guys enjoy! :)

She turned around but could not see anyone. She wrinkled her forehead in a pensive wrinkle while continuing walking backwards, but slower now. After a few steps without seeing anyone, she turned around and started to walk forwards again. But as soon as she had turned around, the feeling came back.

The feeling of being observed.

She shook her head and continued walking without looking behind her shoulder again. It was only her imagination. There was no one else there besides herself. Soon she would be at Skulduggery's house, and then she would forget that she at all had been feeling observed. She probably would not tell anything about it to Skulduggery either, since she wasn't in any danger.

As far as you know, a voice whispered in her head, which she quickly ignored. She had listened to that voice too many times in the past and it had led her to turn into a killing machine named Darquesse. She had thought that voice belonged only to Darquesse, but that was not the case.

The voice was a part of her.

She looked up and saw Skulduggery's house fifty meters in front of her, making her smile and forget about being observed and what she had done in the past (at least for the moment). She ran the last bit and saw that he was at home since his black Bentley Continental 1954 was standing on the driveway.

She reached the stairs and took no time to breathe out before opening the door and throwing herself in. The first thing she met was a dark hall. She looked around and saw that it was bright in one of the many living rooms that existed in Skulduggery's house.

All rooms apart from two were living rooms, since Skulduggery did not have to eat, sleep, or wash himself because he was a living skeleton. The remaining two rooms were a kitchen and a bedroom with attached bathroom which Skulduggery had let install for her since she had and still spent a lot of time with him. Since she was a human, she needed her basic needs like eating, sleeping, and showering.

She said nothing but instead went to the light source where she found Skulduggery sitting in front of a desk where he was reading a book. The sight made her smile, and she could not help thinking aboutwhathe was reading. Just as she was about to ask him, he looked up at her and she could see on his body language that he was smiling when he saw who it was that had come over for a visit.

"Valkyrie," he said, closing the book at the same time as he stood up. He approached her and gave her a hug. "What are you doing here? Misunderstand me correctly, it's nice to see you, but it's unusual for you to just pop up in front of my doorstep without calling or texting first. Usually that only occurs when something has happened."

Valkyrie continued to smile and hugged Skulduggery back. She laid her head against his chest and breathed in his scent. He smelled of an expensive suit and something else she could not put her finger on. The only thing that came up in her head was...safety. Skulduggery smelled safely, just as you can feel safe when you see a picture, a thing, an animal, or another person.

She used her aura vision, and she could now see Skulduggery's aura. It brightened with a clear red colour and enclosed her with its warmth and glow when Skulduggery embraced her. The red colour symbolized Skulduggery's powers and personality and every time she saw a red colour like his, she always became happy and found herself with a smile on her lips.

"You are beautiful, Skulduggery..." Valkyrie whispered and smiled up at him.

Skulduggery leaned his head in a way that told Valkyrie he was thoughtful. "Believe me, Valkyrie, I'mwaytoo aware of that. What I do not know, however, is whatyoumean by it?"

Valkyrie laughed and said, "Your aura. It shines so clear and with such a warm fervency. I cannot describe it with any other word. It is beautiful, which means thatyouare beautiful."

Skulduggery also laughed and shook his head. "You are also beautiful, Valkyrie. With or without aura."

Valkyrie nodded. "I know. It's hard to be me sometimes."

This prompted Skulduggery to laugh again, and they both went out to what Valkyrie called "the master living room" as it was the largest living room of all those in the house. Valkyrie sat down on the couch and laid her feet on the table in a sigh of relief. The walk to get here had taken on her powers, and it was not strange that she felt it now that she was relaxing.

"Valkyrie, what have I said about putting your feet on my table?"

"Feet fit best on the floor or in a pair of shoes while tables are used to put things on and then especially things that you want out of the way."

"What are your feet doing on my living room table, then?"

"I needed to stretch them out on something. Did you know I've walked from Gordon's house all the way here? My feet are pretty tired, you should know. They have rights just like you and me, don't they?"

"Why did you not take the car or ask me to pick you up?" Skulduggery asked in a surprised tone. "It is very unusual for you to walk so far. You always complain as soon as we must walk a longer distance."

Valkyrie winced as if someone had given her a shock. She had just remembered why she had chosen to walk instead of taking the car. She had felt observed for several days and even earlier today when she left Gordon's house. She had chosen to let Xena stay put at home in Gordon's house, as she alone wanted to find out if her suspicions were true or not. She had noticed that when she was out walking Xena or had her in the car, the feeling of being watched had disappeared, which told her that whoever was watching her wouldn't attack when Xena was around.

Now, when she was in Skulduggery's company and felt safe, she could allow herself to really think back on the days that had passed. She concluded quickly, and it was not a conclusion she was happy to have obtained:

Someone had observed her in anticipation of being able to strike when she least expected it or weren't prepared.

Valkyrie hesitated before answering Skulduggery. Should she tell him what she suspected? It might not even be any danger. It could as well have been an animal that happened to walk the same way as she did.

Sure, just imagine that to yourself Valkyrie. An animal that gets so curious about you that it is deciding to persecute you fordays? Hardly likely.

"Valkyrie."

Valkyrie was interrupted in her thoughts by Skulduggery's voice. She looked up at him with an inquiring expression on her face. "Yes, Skulduggery?"

"Answer my question."

"Oh... Well..." Valkyrie hesitated before giving Skulduggery a dubious smile. "Because I felt like it?"

Skulduggery crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her with an expression that told Valkyrie that he would have raised an eyebrow if he had had one.

"Okay, I admit!" Valkyrie put up her hands in front of her in a defeated gesture. "I think someone has followed me for several days and spied on me. I do not know what this person wants me, but I have a feeling that it's nothing nice. I also think that this person won't attack me unless I am alone, since whenever Xena has been with me, I have not felt the presence."

Skulduggery said nothing for a while but just kept looking at her. When he finally said something, it was not exactly what Valkyrie had expected. "So, you are telling me that you were walking all the way over here justto make sureyour suspicion sued? Valkyrie, it was extremely stupid and irresponsible of you. What if the person that is after you had attacked you? You do not know who you are dealing with or what that person can do. You could have been killed!"

"But I wasn't!" Valkyrie got up from the couch and stood with her legs wide apart and her hands tied alongside her sides. "I can actually take care of myself, thank you very much!"

"May be, but you have not yet learned to fully control your powers. Damn, we do not even knoweverythingyou can do! We have no idea how you would react if this person suddenly jumped on you and attacked you. What if you lost control and did something you would regret later?"

"My god how much you are suddenly caring!" Valkyrie got something dark in her eyes. "Confess, Skulduggery. You do not want to let me go alone because you're afraid of what I'm going to discover inside myself. You're afraid I'll be a new Darquesse again, except with other powers. After all, I've done it once, so what's to say I cannot become it again? That's what everyone else thinks, so why would you be any different?"

Skulduggery let his arms fall alongside his sides, and Valkyrie could see that he was hurt. She wanted to apologize for what she had told him, because she did not want to hurt him but stubborn as she was, she said nothing. After all, he had started this argument, so he had to apologize first!

The silence leaned between them like a dark cloud on an otherwise clear blue sky. None of them said anything but just looked at each other. Valkyrie with an evil glimpse in hers and Skulduggery, who only had eye sockets and thus could not show any feelings through a pair of eyes, radiated pain through his body language.

After a while, which for Valkyrie felt like an eternity, she noticed how her body felt heavier and heavier, as if someone had put heavy weights over her shoulders and back. She collapsed and laid her hands in front of her face while a wounded moan escaped her. She hated it when they argued and especially when the argument was about her and her choices. After all, she was 25 years old and an adult woman, she could take care of herself. Sometimes it felt as though Skulduggery did not understand that which made her angry. He had, after all, known her since she was 12 years old and should therefore be able to understand how she thought and why she made the choices she made.

Without thinking, she threw herself in Skulduggery's arms and began to cry heavily. Where all the tears came from, she did not know for sure, but she had her suspicions. It had not been easy getting back to the magical society since many still saw her as Darquesse and were reminded of everyone they had lost every time they caught a glimpse of her. In addition, she had been struggling a lot with PTSD, nightmares, and sleepless nights.

She was exhausted psychologically, and it did not help her that somebody was spying on her and that she did not know what he, she or it wanted, plus that she just had let all her anger, frustration and pain go out over Skulduggery, her mentor and best friend who had not done nothing else but be there for her and supported her when she needed help.

Skulduggery laid his bony arms around her in a hard embrace. He said nothing but just hugged her. Even though he was dead and a skeleton, Valkyrie thought he was so warm and soft against her. She had never thought it was strange to hug him, even though he had no skin or muscles.

His arms were the only ones in which she could feel completely safe, calm, and loved.

"Forgive me, Skulduggery!" Valkyrie sobbed and clenched her hands hard around his suit jacket. "I meant... none of what... I said..."

"Sch, it's okay, Valkyrie..." Skulduggery whispered in her ear and stroked her back. "I know you did not mean it. It's okay. You've been through a lot these couple of years and you need time to heal. It will take time and that is something I have plenty of which I can give you. You know that I always have time for you, right?"

Valkyrie smiled despite the tears and despite that she felt like a real douchebag against Skulduggery. It did not matter that he said it did not do anything and that he knew she did not mean it. She had nevertheless seen his wounded expression and it hurt her more than it probably had him.

"It's not okay, stupid!" She looked up at him with tears running down her cheeks. "I saw how sad you became of my words, Skulduggery. I saw that I was hurting you, even though we both knew I did not mean it. That's the funny thing about words: they can hurt as much as they can make one angry or happy. Forgive me, Skulduggery."

Skulduggery stroked away some of her tears on her left cheek and Valkyrie could see that he was smiling. "Sometimes I wonder if you're not too wise for your own good, Valkyrie."

First, Valkyrie just stared at Skulduggery before her face broke into a big smile and she started laughing. Skulduggery always knew what he would say to get her out of her gloomy mood. It was one of the many reasons why they fit as well together as partners. "That's me, a hundred-year-old being stuck in a body of a 25-year-old."

Skulduggery laughed and gave her a new hug before pushing her away and putting his hands on her shoulders. He looked her in the eyes and asked "Friends?"

Valkyrie nodded and smiled. "Friends."

"Good. Then maybe we can return to what we talked about before, without any more interruptions?"

Valkyrie grimaced. "Do we have to?"

"Valkyrie, someone has spied on you for several days and you do not know what he or she wants. I'm having a tough time imagining that this person has planned something nice for you. I think you may be in danger and do not want to expose you to unnecessary risks."

Valkyrie sighed and rubbed her eyes in a tired gesture. "Here we go again... Do I never get any rest?"

"This may not be what you want to hear just now, but in this profession, you can expect people to kill, or at best, hurt you. Both of us have enraged, injured, or killed people who have had close relatives, friends, companions, or colleagues who wants revenge."

"Sometimes I wonder if we do not havea littletoo dangerousjob."

Skulduggery tilted his head. "I thought you liked it when it was a bit dangerous. That was one of the reasons why you chose to become a detective, right?"

"I was 12 years old, Skulduggery! How many 12-year-olds understand the meaning of what is 'dangerous' to the extent we are dealing with daily?"

"So, you mean that it was extremely stupid and irresponsible of me to take you with me as I did? If you have forgotten it, you actually had my hat as ahostage, Valkyrie. That's something I'm not taking lightly, should you know."

Valkyrie laughed and was about to answer when the window next to her exploded in a sea of glass splitter. She threw herself down on the ground and rolled around to escape all the glass. Fortunately, she wore her armoured clothes Ghastly had made for her, so she did not cut herself on the glass.

As she looked up, she could see a shadow coming in through the window. It flew right at Skulduggery that fell to the ground before turning to her. Without Valkyrie knowing how she knew it, she realized that this was the one who had spied on her. She could not see if it were a woman or a man, but she could feel the hatred that radiated from the person.

She was about to get up when she got such a hard kick in the chin that she saw stars. Before she could back away to get a little breathing room, she felt how a pair of strong arms lay around her waist and lifted her up. She just had time to look up to see Skulduggery sit up and stretch out a hand toward her before the shadow jumped out through the window and took her with it.

The last thing she heard before the darkness surrounded her was Skulduggery's voice shouting"Valkyrie!"