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Chapter Text

A large, majestic ship stood in the Southampton harbor. It had a black underbody with white railings, wood colored deck and four large chimneys. The crew were busy preparing for departure and there were thousands of people in the harbor that either was about to board the ship or that was going to wave goodbye to their loved ones. The ship had 2,566 passengers who were about to get on board and there were roughly 900 crew members whose task was to ensure that everything would work flawlessly on the ship.

It was April 10, 1912, and within hours the RMS Titanic was set to set sail for the first time on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, USA.

One of the passengers heading aboard was a young woman at the age of 20 who was going to live in first class because her parents were rich, or at least had been until just a few weeks ago. Her father had invested in some businesses that hadn't paid off and now they were almost completely ruined.

This trip would be her last before she was married off to another young man who came from another wealthy family. The only reason she had chosen to do this was to save her parents from having to become part of the third class, because she loved them both more than anything else and didn't want anything bad to happen to them.

The young woman looked up at the Titanic the moment she got out of her horse drawn carriage. She wasn't exactly impressed by the ship, but rather thought it was just a big piece of metal floating on the sea that would take her to her doom. Why would she think it was majestic when all this journey would give her was the illusion of being free?

Behind her, her parents stepped out and they both looked up in great wonder at the ship in front of them. The young woman's mother grabbed her daughter's arm and pulled her close to her own body while wearing a big smile on her face. "Isn't it amazing, Valkyrie? To think we are the first to experience this ship and all it has to offer!"

"Yes, mother, it's absolutely amazing…" Valkyrie said, with a voice that was dripping with irony.

Her mother gave her an accusing look that Valkyrie ignored. Instead, she let her gaze sweep over all the people around her who would either join them on the trip or who would remain in England. She envied all the people who would be left behind. She wished that she too could get back into the carriage and return home to her estate which she had inherited from her uncle Gordon and which she would now only be able to see a few times a year the few times her future husband would allow her to return home to visit her family.

And speaking of the devil… Footsteps could be heard behind Valkyrie and her parents, and it wasn't many seconds before a male voice said "Isn't she amazing? She is said to be unsinkable and who are we to argue against the experts?"

Valkyrie took a very deep breath and somehow managed to plaster a smile onto her lips before turning towards her husband-to-be, Caelan Stephens. He was a 26-year-old man with black hair and dark green eyes. He was tall and well built. He seemed to care about himself and his appearance, which to many women in their circle meant that he was a good catch, but to Valkyrie only supported her realization that the only thing Caelan was, was a self-absorbed piece of shit.

Ever since the first day they had met each other for the first time, she had understood that her marriage to Caelan would not be filled with love like her parents'. Instead, it would be marked by jealousy, suspicion, frustration, anger and violence. She had learned this the hard way, as Caelan could become very domineering, close, and violent when they were alone, especially if Caelan had had something to drink, which he usually did when her and his family got together.

She had also noticed that Caelan had a very short temper and could flare up over the slightest thing. It could be enough that someone looked at him askance or said the "wrong" thing. If you didn't apologize right away, you could end up with Caelan's fist in your face within the next minute.

So far, he hadn't beaten her, but Valkyrie knew that day would come sooner or later. Probably faster than she thought.

Caelan was now smiling at her with a twinkle in his eye that made Valkyrie shudder inside with loathing, disgust and hatred. She had seen Caelan give her that look many times before and she knew what he wanted to say with that look.

Soon Valkyrie you will be mine and then I can do whatever I want with you.

Valkyrie turned away from her fiancé and instead let her gaze wander over the Titanic. She had to admit to herself that now that she had gotten the chance to inspect the ship a second time, the ship was quite beautiful. She wished so deeply that this trip didn't have to be her last in freedom, but it was just to like the cards she had been given and try to make the best of the situation.

"Valkyrie, my dear, you are truly extremely beautiful this morning. That white dress and jacket really frames your body in a very flattering way," Caelan said, resting his hand on the small of Valkyrie's back.

Valkyrie smiled stiffly but didn't meet Caelan's gaze. "Thanks, Caelan."

"Now it's not far until we finally become husband and wife. Aren't you excited about our marriage?" Caelan asked, his grip on Valkyrie tightening slightly.

"I'm in ecstasy," Valkyrie replied as she met Caelan's gaze. Her smile had now disappeared, and she looked at Caelan with an icy gaze.

The idea was that they would get married when they arrived at their final destination of New York, USA, at one of Caelan's relatives' estates. Valkyrie knew that Caelan was very expectant as she is a young, beautiful and respected young woman with a good reputation in their circles. Having Valkyrie by his side would make him look good and give him more respect among the men, which in turn would make it easier for him to carry out his business. He also believed that Valkyrie should be able to give him many healthy, strong children considering her young age and because she was a virgin.

"A virgin means that she is completely pure which also increases the chance that she will be able to get pregnant more easily," Valkyrie had heard Caelan say to one of his friends a few days after their engagement had become a fact and those words had made her loathe for him to increase even more.

He just sees me as an object that he can do whatever he wants with, Valkyrie had thought to herself, making a promise to herself that she would do everything she could to make sure she couldn't grant Caelan his wish.

Before Caelan could say anything, a whistle sounded from above the ship, causing them both to turn their faces up towards it. Valkyrie could both hear and feel her parents approach them. "I think it's time to get on board now," said Desmond Cain, Valkyrie's father.

"It was really about time! I thought we would have to stand here long enough for our feet to start growing into the ground," Melissa Cain, Valkyrie's mother, replied before starting to follow the rest of the first-class passengers up a ramp that led up to the ship's deck.

Valkyrie followed her parents up the ramp and when they had come up to the deck she turned around and looked out at the enormous crowd below her. She once again felt that sting of jealousy over not having to go through with this trip, but now there was no longer any way for her to return.

Caelan stood next to her and put his arm around her shoulders as he watched the people below them. "Poor bastards who cannot afford this trip. They don't know what they're missing out on." He fell silent for a moment before continuing "Though at the same time, maybe it's just as well. After all, most of the people down there are third-class and the fewer of them we have on board this ship, the better."

Valkyrie recoiled at Caelan's words and glared at her fiancé with disgust and anger. If it weren't for the fact that she was a nice lady with a reputation to uphold, she would have beaten him so hard that he would have fallen over on his pathetic little ass on the ship's deck.

She turned on her heel and followed the stream of passengers heading to their cabins. She could hear Caelan calling her name behind her, but she ignored him. She entered through a pair of large oak doors and found herself in the first-class dining room. She stopped and couldn't help but admire the room. It was beautifully set with white tablecloths and silver cutlery on the tables. There were flowers on every table and a chandelier hung from the ceiling that Valkyrie knew would give the passengers light in the evenings after the sun went down. In one corner was a smoking table for the men where they could sit and smoke and drink whiskey while discussing important business, their wives and possible love affairs.

She walked through the dining room, letting her hands slowly caress the tablecloths on the tables as she passed. So, this is where she would spend her mornings, lunches and dinners during this trip? Seated among all other first-class passengers. This is where she would sit and look pretty while being silent unless she was allowed to speak. This is where she would sit day in and day out next to her loathsome fiancé and play the role of a happy fiancée who couldn't wait to be married off.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She wasn't going to show anyone what she really felt inside, because all this frustration, anxiety, anger and despair she would have a chance to vent off later. She would have plenty of time to cry when she was home alone in her new home in New York while Caelan was away on all his business trips and the only people who could hear her despair would be their servants.

Valkyrie emerged into a long corridor that consisted of doors on either side, and she suspected she had arrived at the first-class cabins. She walked up to a door and saw that it had a name tag that said "Johnson". Since it wasn't her cabin, she continued down the corridor. Each door she passed she checked the name tag but none of the doors had her name on them. It wasn't until she turned the corner and was halfway through the next corridor that she found a door with the name "Cain" on it.

She put her hand on the doorknob and opened the door. The first thing she was greeted with was a large hall that was adorned with a red and yellow carpet with some intricate embroidery that was probably supposed to be beautiful, but that Valkyrie just thought looked like someone had smeared a bunch of paint on it and called it "art". To the right was the bedroom, which consisted of a double bed and a single bed and associated toilet. To the left was a large wardrobe and straight ahead was the living room. At the end of the living room was another door, which Valkyrie suspected led to Caelan and his valet's cabin, since he and her parents had insisted on having their cabins side by side.

The thought of having Caelan so close to her even when she slept made her stomach knot in disgust. What was it that said he couldn't sneak up to their cabin in the middle of the night and watch her while she slept?

She was interrupted in her thoughts by the boat whistle blaring and the sound of the engines starting to move somewhere below her. She could feel the Titanic moving and she knew that now there really was no turning back. Now her journey to hell had begun and from now on her life as a free woman would be over.

The tears that Valkyrie'd been trying to hold back were now flowing freely down her cheeks and that's how her parents found her a few minutes later when they came to inspect the cabin.

Chapter Text

Three days passed as in a single blur, one day like the other. Up early in the morning to wash and put on make-up before it was time to put on fine dresses and then meet the other first-class passengers at the breakfast table where the women discussed the latest fashions, the food on board, their husbands and their husbands' business. The men sat across the table discussing their wives, their affairs and how majestic Titanic was and what an honor it was to be aboard the ship.

After breakfast it was time for the morning walk around the deck where you would admire the view, marvel at how beautiful the ship was and greet the crewmen who were on deck. Sit down for a while in one of all the sunbeds where you would chat a little more before it was time for lunch where you would chat even more.

After lunch you had a short rest before it was time for the daily afternoon coffee where you would discuss a little more before going on another tour around the ship. Then it was time to change into dinner clothes before dinner. At dinner the cooks would be praised for preparing such good food and after the meal the men would sit at the smoking tables where they would discuss business, and the women would go back to the cabins where they would wash off their makeup and put on their night clothes before it was time to sleep.

All this Valkyrie had been forced to endure for three full days, and she thought she was about to go crazy from all the bantering. Her face felt stiff and numb from all the smiles she'd had to force her lips into. Her ribs were also sore from all the putting on and taking off the cursed corsets her mother had forced her to wear under the dresses she had been wearing during the day.

She had tried to avoid Caelan as much as possible. Every time he had wanted to sit next to her at the different meals, she had moved to the other side of the table, or she had excused herself and left the room. If he had followed her out onto the deck, she had taken long detours to avoid having to have him close to her.

This she knew made Caelan very upset and pissed off, but she couldn't have cared less. Besides, she knew he couldn't do anything to her as long as they were both out among other people, because he had a reputation to uphold. If he were to raise his hand against her among other people, his standing with the other men would be tarnished and at worst lost entirely, which was something he could not afford to lose if he wanted to continue to be surrounded by money and keep Valkyrie.

Caelan wasn't the only one who had become frustrated by her avoidance. Her mother had reprimanded her several times during these days, but Valkyrie had just shrugged and told her that "I'll have plenty of time to get to know Caelan after we're married. I don't really have much of a choice, do I mother?"

"Valkyrie Cain, mind what you say!"

"It's just you and me here, mother. No one else can hear what we say. Besides, you know very well what I truly think of this marriage and what the only reason is to why I have agreed to go through with it."

Melissa had sighed deeply and given her a pitying look. "I know honey. I really wish there was another way, but…"

"It doesn't, unless we want to end up on the street. I know mother, and that's the only reason I'm doing this. I will do it for yours and father's sake. I do it because I want you to be healthy and not suffer."

"You're an amazing daughter," Melissa had replied, giving Valkyrie a tight hug.

After their conversation, Melissa had tried to calm Caelan down by explaining that "the reason Valkyrie is avoiding you right now is because she's trying to get used to the idea of no longer living in England with us. She leaves her entire well-known life behind to start a completely new, unknown chapter in her life in a completely different country where she knows no one. She doesn't even know you Caelan and needs some time to get used to you. You'll see that as soon as we get to New York and you're married, she'll begin to open up."

Caelan had reluctantly accepted that explanation, as he hadn't had much of a choice.

Valkyrie thought about all this as she stood looking out at the other passengers. She was standing in an alcove a few meters above the deck where she had spent a few hours every day for the past three days and from her little vantage point she had a good view of the Titanic's passengers. She let her gaze drift up to the sky where she followed some seagulls flying above the ship. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous of their ability to fly and travel where they wanted when they wanted.

"Imagine if I could do like you and just take to the skies whenever I wanted to. What would my life have been like then, I wonder?" Valkyrie said to herself.

She looked down at the deck when the sound of a familiar voice reached her ears. She couldn't hear what the person was saying, only the sound of the person's voice. It wasn't many seconds before she saw the silhouette of her mother and some of the other first-class women her mother had befriended under the three days that had passed.

The memory of what had happened when her parents had found her crying in their cabin four days ago swept through her. She remembered how her mother had looked at her with worried eyes before running over to her and asking her what was wrong, and how her father had been left standing in the doorway with a shocked expression on his face.

"Valkyrie, what has happened?"

"I… I don't know if… I can handle this…" Valkyrie had managed to sob and put her arms around her mother in a tight embrace.

"Ready for what, honey?"

"To marry..."

Melissa had stiffened at those words before gathering herself and putting her arms around her daughter while stroking her back in a comforting gesture. "So, calm down now. Take a deep breath and start over."

"I don't want to… marry Caelan!" Valkyrie had screamed with such desperation in her voice that both her mother and father had taken a step back in shock.

"Valkyrie, what are you saying?!" Melissa had said in an exasperated voice, placing one of her hands in front of her mouth.

Desmond had come over to both of them and placed his hand on Valkyrie's shoulder. "Valkyrie, why do you say that? I thought this was something you wanted to do."

"I thought so too, but now I don't know anymore..." Valkyrie had looked at her father with teary eyes. "I don't know if… he's the right man for me."

"You just haven't gotten to know him yet, Valkyrie. Give him a chance and you shall see that he is not as horrible as you think." Desmond had given his daughter a reassuring smile before putting his arm around her shoulders and kissing her head lovingly. "I understand that this is a big adjustment and that there is a lot that will change for all of us when we get to New York, but if we all just try to give this a chance, we will see that all of this will all work out in the end."

Valkyrie had wiped her tears and given her father a shaky smile. "Alright, father, I'll try to give Caelan a chance like you says. Don't expect it to happen overnight, just."

"That's what I like to hear, Valkyrie."

As she now stood looking down at her mother and her new friends, all the negative feelings she had felt since the day she found out she was going to be married off, came to the surface. Every morning when she woke up, she had to fight to get out of bed because she knew that the day would only bring her pain. She would be told what she would have to wear, what she would be forced to eat, what she would say and how it should be said so she wouldn't hurt someone's feelings. She would also be told what she could not say, how she would behave, who she would meet and what they would do during the day.

Despite that she was being surrounded by so many other young women that was her own age, she felt extremely alone. None of the other women had any desire whatsoever to talk to her unless they had to, as they already knew each other and had been married off several years ago. The fact that she was considered poor now that her father had lost most of his fortune didn't exactly make it easier for her to fit in either.

She hadn't laughed once since they'd stepped onto the Titanic, and she didn't know if she would again, given what awaited her after the ship's journey came to an end. She had already felt this way a few days before they boarded the Titanic, when she lay sleepless in her bed in her uncle's mansion. It was as if someone had sucked out all her happy emotions, leaving only the negative ones. She had tried to conjure up some happy memories that always made her smile when she relived them, but she hadn't been able to. Every time she had tried, she had only seen Caelan's grinning face in front of her and heard his voice whisper over and over "You are mine, Valkyrie, don't forget that."

She knew she was deeply depressed, but there was no one she could talk to about it because no one would take her seriously. She would only be ridiculed and tarnish her parents' reputation because the men on the ship Caelan surrounded himself with would think he had been forced to marry a "difficult" woman who would do anything to get attention. In their eyes there was nothing she had any reason to be upset about, since she "had everything, a woman ever could wish for".

The insight that her life as a free woman was also soon to an end did not really improve her mental health, either. She knew that as soon as she said "yes", her life would only get worse than it already was, and her depression would only deepen. Was she really willing to go through this for her parents? Were their lives worth saving if it meant her own would become hell?

She had not yet managed to find an answer to that question and that only made her depression worse. All Valkyrie wished for was to be in control of her own life and decide which direction it would take. She didn't want to be a housewife like her mother, but she wanted to travel around the world and get to explore what it had to offer.

She wanted to try to find herself.

Her mother's voice roused up to her and made her come out from her thoughts, and she all at once understood that it had become late. It was time to head back to the cabin to get ready for another pointless evening with a lot of unnecessary cold talk that would be topped off with a dinner she wouldn't be able to enjoy because she would think it tasted like nothing. The night would then end with her trapped in bed with her horrible thoughts which in turn would lead to yet another night of minimal sleep, which in turn only would deepen her depression another notch.

Valkyrie took a deep breath and turned on her heel before heading back to her cabin. She didn't greet her mother when she came in a few minutes later, concentrating entirely on getting dressed for dinner. She hoped that would keep her mother from asking a lot of questions about where she had been and what she had been up to. She didn't want to argue with her mother, not when she was in this mood because she didn't know what she would do if she snapped.

She needn't have worried, as her mother was too busy telling her father about all the delightful women she had come to know and associate with during the day. Her father smiled, nodded and agreed in places where he knew it was appropriate and Valkyrie couldn't help but roll her eyes at her own reflection.

When all three of them were done they walked into the dining room where Caelan, Bliss and the other men were already waiting for them. Caelan couldn't tear his eyes from Valkyrie as she stepped inside the door. Valkyrie couldn't help but notice that many of the other men also let their gazes sweep over her for a second too long before turning their attention away from her to give their own wives the attention they so desperately needed.

Valkyrie saw out of the corner of her eye that her mother had detected Caelan's gaze. Melissa smiled widely and her eyes glistened with held back tears. Valkyrie just wanted to throw up in disgust, but she still walked over to Caelan and let him escort her over to the table where he sat down next to her. He was talking to her, but Valkyrie didn't know what he was saying. She answered when he stopped talking and apparently, she must have said the right thing because Caelan continued to babble next to her until the food arrived.

Tonight, the cooks were serving some kind of duck that was apparently supposed to be some kind of delicacy, but Valkyrie had no appetite at all. She stared down at the plate in front of her and just couldn't bring herself to taste the food. She felt as if she had a large load of stones in her stomach and throat, preventing her from swallowing. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see both her mother and Caelan looking at her worriedly, but she just continued to stare intently down at her plate at her untouched food while the others at the tables ate and conversed happily.

It was then that she felt it: how she broke down. It wasn't her real self sitting here at the dinner table, it was just a shell of who she had once been. Her real self had stayed back in England at her uncle's mansion the night before they headed to the harbor to board the Titanic. A numb feeling spread throughout her body, and she didn't know whether to cry or laugh hysterically. Neither option would appeal to anyone at the table, as they would all think she had gone mad.

She stood up so quickly that the chair slid back with a scraping sound. Everyone sitting around her table and the tables around them stopped eating. Everyone stared at Valkyrie where she stood as rigid as a statue and with eyes that showed no emotion at all. The men had raised their eyebrows in a questioning gesture, while the women looked horrified.

"Valkyrie, sit down!" her mother ordered her in a whisper, placing her hand on her daughter's arm.

"No, mother, I'm not going to sit down. I need to get out for a while. Excuse me," Valkyrie replied and walked out of the dining room with everyone's stares burning into her back.

As soon as she was out of sight of all the staring eyes, she started walking a little faster and it wasn't many seconds before she started running with tears streaming down her cheeks. There weren't many people out this late at night, except for the crewmen, but the few who were out looked after her in surprise as she ran past them. The women she met put their hands over their hearts and let out a gasp, as if they were afraid, she was carrying something contagious.

Valkyrie was barely aware of this, but the only thing she was concentrating on was getting as far away from her parents and fiancé as possible. All she wanted was to try to run away from her problems, even though she knew it wasn't that easy. It didn't matter how much she ran around the Titanic; she was going to have to go back sooner or later. If she didn't do it herself, Caelan would make sure to find her.

She stopped short when she reached the bow of the ship. She took a firm grip on the railing before leaning forward, panting for a moment as her heart tried to return to a normal heartbeat. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of her labored breathing, the pounding of her heart in her chest, and the sound of the waves crashing against the Titanic's front as she slid across the water.

When she had stopped panting from exertion and regained some of her strength, she opened her eyes and looked down at the dark water below her. She couldn't tear her eyes from it and the thought of how easy it would be to jump in crossed her mind. She saw in front of her how she stepped onto the railing and jumped headfirst into the cold water. How easy it would be to just disappear into the waves and never have to feel anything again, ever…

Valkyrie took a deep breath and stretched. She turned her head to see that no one else was around. When she discovered she was alone, she began to climb over the railing. When she stepped over to the other side, she could feel the cold night wind blowing around her and she shivered from the cold. She looked down at the water below her and leaned forward, giving her a sense of weightlessness, as if she were floating in mid-air.

I might not fall to my death if I let go. Instead, maybe I'll do like the seagulls and fly away from here… she thought and smiled maniacally. It would at least be worth a try.

Just as she was about to let go to see if her thought would come true, she heard a voice behind her yell "Stop!"

Chapter Text

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 last few 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 very 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 that 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 does not seem to 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 that 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 his best friend 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.

Chapter Text

The next morning was a sunny and warm day without any clouds. Valkyrie hadn't slept very well during the night and was happy about the lovely weather as it perked her up. She had been lying in bed for several hours tossing and turning without being able to sleep even though she was completely exhausted. She simply hadn't been able to stop thinking about how close she had come to taking her own life and that it was only thanks to Skulduggery Pleasant that she was here, alive. If he hadn't discovered her in time…

Valkyrie had shivered as she had lay in bed with the covers wrapped around her and the darkness as her only company, as her parents had been fast asleep a few feet away in their own bed. They had been overjoyed when Caelan and Bliss had returned with her unharmed. When they were told that a third-class passenger had saved their daughter's life, they had been surprised but at the same time happy that the person had chosen to do such a selfless act.

"Caelan was so happy at the news that he decided to invite Mr. Pleasant to dinner tomorrow night," Valkyrie had told her parents, smiling to herself as she saw how Caelan winced at her words.

"Really?" Melissa had said, turning to Caelan with a smile. "That was really kind of you, Caelan! Then we will have the opportunity to thank this Mr. Pleasant face to face for his heroic deed."

"Yes, I have my moments," Caelan had replied with a stiff smile before excusing himself and walking into his own cabin.

Melissa and Desmond had hugged their daughter and questioned her about what had happened when she almost had fallen into the sea and Valkyrie had told them the same story, she had told Caelan and the other crewmen. Melissa had been on the verge of tears and had hugged her daughter tightly while her father had put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently.

Once Valkyrie had fallen asleep, she had had a nightmare about what would have happened if Skulduggery hadn't managed to pull her up. She had dreamed of how he had lost his grip and how her body had fallen, fallen down along the bow of the ship. It had felt as if she had been falling for hours before her body fell below the surface of the water. Once underwater, her entire body had frozen into ice, and she had been unable to move. She had sunk deeper and deeper below the surface until all she could see was darkness. It was only when her frozen body reached the bottom of the sea that she woke up with a pounding heart and cold sweaty body.

Now walking on the deck of the Titanic with her mother and a few other ladies from first class, the nightmare was just a thing of the past. Valkyrie let the warm sun warm her body and she laughed at something funny that the young woman walking beside her had just said. Her name was Tanith Low, and she was a few years older than Valkyrie, but not as old as Skulduggery.

Valkyrie had met Tanith two days ago and hadn't gotten to know her very well yet, but that was something she intended to change as Tanith was the only one of the women who had shown a genuine interest in Valkyrie and understood what Valkyrie was going through because she had already been married once, despite her young age. Her husband had passed away a year ago while out driving his carriage. Some robbers had attacked the carriage believing that Tanith's husband had a lot of money on him and when they realized that was not the case, they had shot him before fleeing the scene.

"He was a nice man and a good husband, and I will mourn him, but all I want right now is to enjoy my single life before I have to get a new husband to be able to survive when the money starts running out," Tanith had said to Valkyrie when she had told her about her husband's untimely death.

Valkyrie had been staring at Tanith with her mouth open, causing Tanith to laugh. "Close your mouth, Valkyrie. That is not an attractive look."

"Shut it," Valkyrie had replied with a laugh. "I don't understand how you can talk about your late husband's death so easily. You say he was a nice man, but I find it hard to believe when you show no emotion whatsoever about the whole thing."

Tanith had shrugged and given Valkyrie a small smile. "It's been over a year since the incident, our marriage was arranged and we didn't love each other, so I don't think you should be too surprised that I don't show more emotion. If Caelan were to die suddenly, you wouldn't mourn him either, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't. I would laugh and feel joy," Valkyrie had replied. "Then I'd probably throw a party to celebrate."

Tanith had laughed and put her arm around Valkyrie's shoulders. "That's the spirit, girl!"

Where the two young women now walked on the deck of the Titanic arm in arm, one would not believe that one of them had considered taking her own life the night before. Both women laughed and looked happy. If it weren't for the fact that Tanith was blonde and had blue eyes you would have thought, they were sisters.

"Valkyrie!"

Valkyrie and Tanith stopped in mid-stride when they heard a male voice call out to Valkyrie. They looked up and could see a young man waving at them a little further ahead with a smile on his face. From the corner of her eye, Tanith saw Valkyrie smile widely and her eyes light up, making Tanith suspect that she understood who the young man was. The news of what had happened to Valkyrie the night before had spread like wildfire during breakfast and all the first-class passengers who were part of Valkyrie's parents' circle had talked about nothing else all morning.

Valkyrie raised her hand and waved back at the man, causing Tanith to raise her eyebrows meaningfully. "Someone you know, Valkyrie?"

Valkyrie nodded. "You could say that."

The moment the young man saw that the women had noticed him, it didn't take long for him to reach them. Standing in front of them, he took Valkyrie's hand in his and kissed the back of her hand with a twinkle in his eye. "Miss Cain, we meet again."

Even though Valkyrie knew it was highly unacceptable behavior considering she was betrothed to another man, she couldn't stop what was happening: she blushed and giggled in delight. "Mr. Pleasant, it's an honor to meet you again. I am terribly sorry for the way we ended things last night."

"It wasn't your fault, Miss Cain. I totally understand why your fiancé is so protective of you. I probably would have reacted in a similar way if I were the one to marry you."

Valkyrie blushed even more and had to look away to collect her thoughts. When she felt herself regaining her composure, she turned to Tanith. "Tanith, allow me to introduce Mr. Skulduggery Pleasant. It was this brave young man who saved me last night."

Tanith turned to Skulduggery. "So, this is the mysterious Mr. Pleasant?" She let her gaze wander over Skulduggery and then nodded. "I can see why you've taken a liking to him, Valkyrie."

"Tanith!" Valkyrie whispered in horror, looking around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation.

To her immense relief, she saw that both her mother and the other women were far ahead of them. They had not realized that Valkyrie and Tanith had stopped to talk to Skulduggery, which was good considering that most of the first-class women couldn't keep quiet. If they saw that Valkyrie was standing there talking to an unknown man, it wouldn't take long before Caelan found out about it, which in turn would make his jealousy flare up thousandfold. Valkyrie had no idea what he could bring himself to do, but she knew that it wouldn't be anything good.

Skulduggery laughed and held out his hand to Tanith who shook it. "Nice to meet you, Miss Tanith."

"Are you looking forward to dinner tonight, Mr. Pleasant?" Tanith wondered, giving Skulduggery a knowing look. "I assume you will be at your best and that you will be dressed up as well?"

"So, you mean I can't come in my everyday clothes?" Skulduggery said with an ironic tone and an equally ironic smile on his face.

Tanith gave Skulduggery a look which said that this was not a good time for telling jokes. "I take that as a no. Luckily for you, I happen to have some of my late husband's clothes with me that I am going to give away when we get to New York. I think you are about the same size as him."

"I can't…" Skulduggery started to protest, but Tanith just shook her head.

"No buts. Didn't your parents teach you that it is impolite to refuse a gift?" Tanith asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I apologize. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it." Skulduggery gave Tanith a smile before bowing.

"That's how it should sound." Tanith smiled and turned to Valkyrie. "I'm going to leave you two alone for a while. You have some things to talk about."

"You don't have to…" Valkyrie began, but Tanith cut her off.

"No buts. I am going to keep your mother and the other women occupied, so you need not worry Valkyrie." Tanith turned and started walking back in the direction they had just come from. As she left, she said to Skulduggery "When you're ready, you can come over to my cabin, Mr. Pleasant. Say you are looking for Mrs. Tanith Low and someone from the crew will point you in the right direction."

Skulduggery and Valkyrie looked after Tanith as she left. As she disappeared into the crowd, Skulduggery turned to Valkyrie and extended his arm. "Could I have the great honor of showing you around the ship, ma'am?"

Valkyrie laughed and placed her hand in the crook of Skulduggery's arm. She let him pilot her around the deck while they talked about everything. Valkyrie was surprised at how easily their conversation flowed, as if they had known each other for a long time and not just a few hours. Skulduggery had a voice like velvet that she could listen to for hours without tiring. He had a relaxed body language and was close to both smiles and laughter.

"I'm curious as to how it is that such a young girl like you, who seems to have everything on the outside, would try to take her own life on the world's most luxurious ship?" Skulduggery asked, looking seriously at Valkyrie.

"You have every right to be Mr. Pleasant."

"But?"

"It's nothing I want to discuss. You probably wouldn't understand anyway."

"Test me."

Valkyrie looked at Skulduggery with a raised eyebrow. "Was that a challenge?"

"If you want, I can start by telling you about my upbringing and how I came to be on board this ship."

"Let it be heard."

Skulduggery smiled a mirthless smile. "Just a word of caution before I begin: it's not a sunshine story."

"As you said to me just now: test me."

Skulduggery laughed before letting his gaze wander out over the sea in front of them. He stopped in front of the railing and let his forearms rest over it. "I grew up in a small village deep in the woods of England where the winters are harsh and the summers extremely hot. I lived together with my father, mother, older brother, two little sisters and a little brother in a small cabin that was only big enough for a maximum of three people so that there was a lack of space is not an understatement, exactly.

My mother is a housewife, and my father is a logger. We had to turn over every penny he earned to afford food, but for the most part we managed to have enough food to keep us from starving. My older brother and I were often out hunting when food was scarce, which unfortunately became more and more common as we got older."

"Why was that?"

"Because my father was an angry alcoholic during the hours he wasn't out working in the forest. I can't tell you how many times he abused my mother, but it was often, and it was painful. He also attacked us children sometimes, but not as often. It was mainly my younger siblings who suffered much of his fury when he was done with our mother, as me and my older brother fought back. The older we got, the more we could defend the rest of our family from his tyranny. Unfortunately, many times it led to bloody wounds, and I have several scars on my body that have appeared thanks to my father."

Valkyrie stared at Skulduggery with wide eyes and a hand over her mouth in a horrified gesture. "But my God… Why didn't your mother leave him?"

"Because, as I said, she had no work, and she had five children to take care of. There is no job she could have taken that earned her enough to measure up to all of us and she refused to let me and my older brother work until we were old enough."

"Does she still live in the cabin with your father?"

"Unfortunately, she does, but at least now she has my youngest brother who can protect her from the worst blows. My older brother works in London at the same time as he takes care of our little sisters who he has managed to get into a good school, which will mean that they will be able to get an education and hopefully have the chance to find a profession that they will enjoy. I hope that eventually he will succeed in persuading both my mother and brother to leave father, but so far, he has not succeeded."

Valkyrie placed a hand on Skulduggery's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "I'm so sorry, Skulduggery. I'm surprised that you can see life so brightly when you've had the upbringing you've had."

"It is thanks to my mother, Valkyrie. No matter how much pain she was in or how sad she was, she always had time for us children and did everything she could to make us happy. It is thanks to her that I can feel joy and happiness."

"She sounds divine," Valkyrie said, smiling.

"She is." Skulduggery turned to Valkyrie. "Now that you've heard my story, maybe you'd like to share yours?"

Valkyrie sighed. "After hearing your story, my worries feel so pointless. You'll think I'm ridiculous, maybe even a wimp."

Skulduggery looked deep into Valkyrie's eyes before saying in a serious voice "No, I won't, Valkyrie."

So, Valkyrie told Skulduggery about her upbringing. How throughout her twenty-year life she had been taught how a nice girl from first grade should behave. What she can and cannot say, how she must dress, what is acceptable to do and what is not, that she will never have to work if she finds a good man who can provide for her and that she is expected to stick with this man whether she loves him or not. That she will stand up for him through thick and thin and that she is expected to give him children if he wants any.

If so, she must not demand that they protect themselves during their intimate moments and that she must be prepared for those moments to come at any moment without warning. The only reason why she should not have intercourse is if she is menstruating, as it is a period in a woman's life that is considered "dirty" and makes her unattractive.

When she finished telling her story, she felt as if a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She laughed before a sob went through her body. She felt tears running down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away. She didn't dare look at Skulduggery because she knew then she wouldn't be able to hold back the tears, and she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of him or any of the other passengers on the ship.

"And then you've met my future husband as well. Caelan comes from a fine family that my father has had a good relationship with for many years and if it wasn't for the bad investments he made that nearly ruined him, I wouldn't have to marry Caelan."

Skulduggery whistled low. "Then I understand why you were so desperate last night and wanted to leave everything behind."

Valkyrie laughed a mirthless laugh and wiped away a few tears that were about to roll down her cheeks. "Yes, living in first class is not as glamorous as many people think. I understand the allure, especially if one has grown up in a similar way as you have. It's true that we always have plenty of food on the table and never have to worry about freezing, going hungry, or having to walk around in torn clothes, but that doesn't mean we're happy. As you said before Skulduggery, we seem to have everything, but in reality, we have nothing. In any case, not what I consider to be the most important thing."

"And what is that, Valkyrie?"

Valkyrie turned her head and looked straight into Skulduggery's eyes. "Happiness."

Chapter Text

Skulduggery didn't answer, instead letting his hand wrap around Valkyrie's. Valkyrie flinched at the touch, but didn't pull her hand away. Skulduggery's hand was warm against hers. She could feel that he was both strong, steady and voluptuous after all the work he had done over the years. His dark green eyes looking into hers were calm and he tilted his head in a way that Valkyrie interpreted as thoughtful.

"What is it?"

Skulduggery laughed and squeezed her hand. "Nothing special. I am just so impressed with your strength, Valkyrie."

"My strength?" Valkyrie asked in surprise, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Yes. You could have thrown yourself overboard and ended your suffering, but instead you chose to keep fighting. I don't know what you will do when Titanic arrives in New York, but whatever you decide, I know you will make the decision that is right for you."

"You sound very confident in your claim."

"I am never wrong."

Valkyrie laughed before releasing Skulduggery's gaze and letting it wander out over the ocean where the sun was setting. Within a few hours the two of them would be sitting at a table having dinner with her parents, Caelan, Bliss, Tanith and the other first-class passengers who were part of their circle. Valkyrie didn't know what dinner would be like. The only thing she could hope for was that Caelan wouldn't be in his worst mood and let Skulduggery be, but she doubted it.

"How do you think dinner will go?"

"It will be as it will be. I will behave properly. Then whether the other guests will do the same is a completely different matter. I suspect that your fiancé will do everything he can to try and embarrass me just so he can show off to the other men in his circle."

"Yes, unfortunately," Valkyrie sighed.

"Don't worry about me, Valkyrie. If anything happens, it will not be on you, but instead will only prove to the first-class passengers that their view of my people is correct."

"You mustn't think like that!" Valkyrie said, staring at Skulduggery in dismay. "There is nothing wrong with you or the other third-class passengers."

"Oh, you say so?" Skulduggery asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're probably the only one who thinks so. It's fascinating that no one in first-class seems to understand that it's thanks to us in third-class that you can live the way you do. We're the ones doing all the crap that no one else wants to do, because we don't have much of a choice if we want to survive."

"If you're raised in first class, you don't know what it means to have nothing."

"It sounds like you have experience."

"I've seen my fair share of how your class lives, Skulduggery."

"You say that…" Skulduggery smiled wryly. "You continue to amaze me, Valkyrie."

Valkyrie smiled back. "Good, I hate being predictable."

Skulduggery laughed. "You certainly aren't. You are the first person I have come across who comes from the first class who actually cares about my people for real, instead of just pretending in front of others to raise their own social status."

"Unlike others in the first class, I do not come from a family that has been rich for many generations, but my parents had to struggle when they were young and newly married to rise in the hierarchy. When I was born, my father was just starting to get his business in order, which in turn led to some investors taking an interest in him. This in turn led to the money starting to roll in and overnight we were suddenly rich.

This then continued until about a year ago when my father invested too much money in a business that turned out to be anything but fruitful and he could do nothing but watch as the money he had built up over so many years disappeared under his feet as quickly as when you pull the carpet away from someone's feet. Suddenly, we were days from going from having everything to being without a home. If Caelan had not offered to marry me and to give some of his own fortune to my father as a wedding gift, we would not be here now."

"It sounds to me like Caelan saw an opportunity and took it before it was gone."

Valkyrie gave a wry smile. "He really did. He's been after me for years and has been very open about it, so when he came to our house the day after my father told us what was about to happen, I knew immediately what he wanted. The look he gave me when my father accepted his offer... Let's just say it's something I will never forget." Valkyrie shivered and hugged herself.

Skulduggery grabbed Valkyrie's arm and led her over to some third-class passengers who were busy playing soccer on the deck. They laughed, joked and cheered each other on as the game progressed. Regardless of who scored, everyone was happy and congratulated each other. As they played, the teams got bigger and bigger as more passengers joined the game. Both adults and children played. The adults supported and encouraged the children, which warmed Valkyrie's heart.

She couldn't help but feel a little jealous of these children who were allowed to play so freely amid laughter. How relaxed they all were and how their little faces shone with happiness, how their parents laughed and joked with them... How they were able to be just kids.

She herself had not had many such occasions during her childhood. Possibly in her early years before her parents had managed to become a full-fledged member of the other rich families, but as soon as their status went from middle class to first class, her childhood had been full of lessons that would teach her how a first-class woman should behave, talk and dress.

After that, there was basically no time left for play and fun.

Tears formed in her eyes. She didn't know what they were supposed to symbolize, but she suspected they were tears of pain, jealousy, and the loss of something she longed for but hadn't gotten. She tried to blink away the tears but the more she blinked the more they poured down her cheeks. She looked away from the playing children and tried to wipe away the tears discreetly because she hated crying in front of others.

Noticing that Valkyrie had become very absent, Skulduggery turned to her and flinched when he saw her tears. He was about to ask her what was wrong when he realized what she had been looking at before she turned her head away. He immediately understood what was going on inside her and gave her a pitying smile.

"Jealous?" he asked in a soft voice, causing Valkyrie to wince.

She did not answer at first but just continued to look down at the wooden deck as tears continued to stream down her cheeks. After a while she sighed heavily and looked up at Skulduggery with tear filled eyes. "Yes, a little bit. I had no time for play and fun when I was a child, at least not as much as I would have liked. When I see how happy those children seem to be even though they probably have no idea how their future will turn out or how long they will live, I cannot help but envy them. When I was at the age they are at now, I already knew what my future would look like and what was expected of me. Even at that early age I knew that my life would not be happy unless I found a good husband that I could fall in love or get along with."

"Come here."

Skulduggery opened his arms and Valkyrie gratefully stepped into them. She wrapped her arms around his waist and let all the negative emotions she was currently feeling drain from her. She didn't care how many people could currently see her sadness, the only thing that existed was Skulduggery's warm and safe body that was currently embracing her. Who told her that he was there for her if she needed someone to talk to. Who told her he cared about her even though they only met less than a day ago.

Valkyrie didn't know how long she stood there with her arms around Skulduggery, crying out her grief, but one thing she knew for sure. She felt much better after the tears stopped flowing and she was allowed to wipe her face with a handkerchief Skulduggery conjured from his trouser pocket.

"Better?" Skulduggery asked, giving Valkyrie a small smile.

Valkyrie couldn't help but laugh. She nodded and gave Skulduggery a smile back. "Significantly better."

"This may surprise you, but you are not the first woman that has used my shoulder to cry on."

"Not a bit. You seem like the kind of man who draws women to him wherever he goes."

"I don't know if I should take that as an insult or a compliment," Skulduggery replied with a smile.

"You can interpret that however you want," Valkyrie replied, dabbing away the last of her tears before turning back to the playing children.

The soccer match now consisted mostly of children while the adults were sitting on the floor and watching over the children while they played. Valkyrie only now discovered that most of the children looked no older than ten and the youngest couldn't be older than four. Taking a closer look at the parents, she saw that quite a few of them didn't seem to be many years older than herself. They seemed to be Skulduggery's age with a few exceptions who seemed to be closer in age to her own parents.

"How is it that so many of the parents are so young? It is common that many women in first class have children early, but it is unusual before the age of twenty."

"Because once you find someone you like and want to spend the rest of your life with, it's safest to have children quickly because you don't know how many years you have together. It is not uncommon for the men to take on many dangerous jobs in order to support both himself, his partner and eventual children."

"I see." Valkyrie let her gaze linger on the adults for a moment longer before once again letting it wander to the children. A little girl who looked to be around six had just received the ball and was now on her way to the opponent's goal. She kicked the ball which flew wide over the goal and bounced up against a wall in front of her before flying in a wide arc towards Valkyrie and Skulduggery. Valkyrie stretched out one leg and caught the ball under her foot before it could roll even further away.

Seeing where the ball was rolling to, the girl started to run towards them, but when she saw Valkyrie's fine clothes and make-up, she hesitated. She knew that Valkyrie was from first class and her parents had told her that she had to be careful when she was among people from that class because they lived a completely different life than themselves and did not understand what it's like to be poor.

The girl stopped a few meters in front of Valkyrie and nervously glanced up at her. "Forgive me if I am disturbing you…" she whispered, pointing at the ball. "Could I please have the ball back, miss?"

Valkyrie smiled down at the girl and bent down so their eyes were at the same level. She looked the girl in the eyes and held the ball up in front of her. "On one condition."

"Yes?" said the girl in a questioning voice.

"That I get to join in and play as well."

The girl's face lit up and she smiled widely at Valkyrie. "Of course, miss! Come and let's play! Your male friend is also welcome to join."

Valkyrie laughed and looked at Skulduggery. "What are you saying? Me and the girls against you and the boys?"

"I must warn you: I grew up with this sport. My siblings and I spent all summers playing soccer against each other every waking hour we were free from chores or work."

"We will just have to see if all those hours have paid off," Valkyrie replied with a challenging smile before following the girl and standing among the other girls on one side of the "soccer field".

"Prepare to lose!" one of the boys said, sticking out his tongue at Valkyrie and the other girls.

"Never!" said the girl that had been walking up to Valkyrie and Skulduggery.

So began the soccer match between the boys and the girls. Valkyrie held nothing back and took every opportunity to take the ball from one of the boys or Skulduggery, but he wasn't making it easy for her. Every time she managed to dribble the ball off him, he was immediately there trying to get it back, usually forcing Valkyrie to pass the ball over to one of the other girls.

Several times during the match, Valkyrie and Skulduggery got very close to each other and each time this happened, Valkyrie's heart began to beat faster. Feeling Skulduggery's sinewy, muscular body fit so well against her own lit a fire inside her she hadn't felt before and she wasn't sure what that meant. She decided to think about it later when she was alone, because right now she just wanted to enjoy this moment with the third-class kids and pretend that she too was a kid who was out playing with her friends on a lovely summer day.

At the beginning of the match, she couldn't help but notice that the children's parents looked at her a little suspiciously, as they didn't have much great experience with first-class citizens, but the more she played and joked with the children, the more relaxed the parents became as well. They even started cheering her on and calling out tips on how to get around Skulduggery, which made Valkyrie happy in a way she hadn't been in a very long time. Being given the chance to be part of a community like this despite coming from a completely different world from them gave her a strength she had wanted for a long time.

Skulduggery also couldn't help but notice how much fun Valkyrie was having. Her eyes shone with happiness, and she smiled the whole time as they played. Her body language was relaxed, and she laughed often. Something told him that this side of Valkyrie was something that didn't get to come out very often, which was probably one of the reasons why she was so mentally ill.

They didn't know how much time had passed when they were interrupted by an angry male voice calling Valkyrie's name. All the children, their parents, Skulduggery and Valkyrie stopped mid-play and turned towards the direction the voice had come from. Valkyrie's smile dropped from her face when she saw who it was that called out to her and her body language reverted to being withdrawn and uncertain, causing Skulduggery to clench his fists in pent-up anger.

"There you are! Finally, I found you! Do you know how long I've been looking for you? Caelan and your parents have been very worried about you since you have been gone for a very long time, Miss Cain. I'm here to lead you back to your cabin so you can prepare for tonight's dinner."

"I'm coming, Mr. Bliss." Valkyrie sighed and turned to the children. She gave them all a pitying look before saying in a sad voice "Duty calls I'm afraid. It was a lot of fun playing with you guys and I hope we can do this again another time."

"We had a lot of fun with you too miss," said one of the boys, giving her a big smile.

Valkyrie laughed and gave each of the children a hug before turning to Skulduggery. "See you later."

Skulduggery nodded and gave her a small smile. "We will. Now leave before you get into more trouble."

Valkyrie laughed before turning and following Bliss back to her cabin where she knew she was going to get a real scolding from her mother for daring to leave the group and go off on 'her own adventures'. She also knew that her mother would be disappointed and angry with her when she found out who she had been spending time with, as it could damage their reputation, which was something they really didn't need right now.

The children waved after Valkyrie as she left before turning to Skulduggery. "Will the nice lady really keep her promise and come back and play with us more times?" asked the girl that had been walking up to Skulduggery and Valkyrie to retrieve the ball.

"I'll do everything I can to make that possible," Skulduggery promised, giving them all a smile.

He stayed a while longer and played some more soccer until the sun began to disappear into the sea. He realized that the time for dinner was getting close, so he excused himself and told the children that he had to go because he had to go to an important meeting. The children were disappointed but understood. They were delighted when Skulduggery promised he would play with them for a while tomorrow too if they wanted, which they did.

Skulduggery waved goodbye to the children before starting to walk towards the part of the ship where the first-class passengers lived. He managed to find a housekeeper who told him how to walk to get to Mrs. Low's cabin. He thanked the housekeeper and followed her instructions. It didn't take long before he stood in front of a white wooden door with a nameplate that read "T. Low" on, and he knocked on the door.

Tanith opened the door and burst into a big smile when she saw who it was that had come to visit. "Come in, come in, Skulduggery! Make yourself at home. I've laid out the clothes so it's just for you to start getting changed. As you can see, I am already dressed and ready for dinner."

Stepping into the cabin, Skulduggery couldn't help but sweep his eyes over all the objects that adorned Tanith's cabin. It was a big difference from how he lived, but he wasn't surprised. He had been into enough houses owned by first-class citizens to know how they lived.

"The bedroom is in there," Tanith said, pointing. "I'll close the door after you so you can get dressed in peace and quiet. When you're done, just call me and I'll help you with the fine-tuning."

Skulduggery did as he was told and went into the bedroom. On the bed was a black suit jacket with a white shirt, black trousers, bow tie and black shoes. Skulduggery stripped off his worn but comfortable clothes before donning the fine clothes that would make him look like a first-class citizen. He didn't like it but only did this for two reasons: to get a chance to humiliate Caelan and being able to see Valkyrie again.

When he was done, he opened the bedroom door. "I'm ready."

Tanith turned to him and when she saw Skulduggery she smiled widely. "But look at that, they actually fit! Then the only thing left to do is to make some fine adjustments."

Tanith walked over to Skulduggery and straightened the blazer before she began combing his hair into a hairstyle that would make him look even more handsome. She finished by putting a small flower in his suit pocket. When she was satisfied, she took a step back and looked at her creation. She smiled widely and nodded in satisfaction.

"You look really handsome, if I may say so myself. Are you ready to outshine all the pompous gentlemen in first class?"

Skulduggery grinned. "Absolutely."

Chapter Text

"Where have you been?!" Melissa stood with her hands on her hips and looked at Valkyrie with an angry gaze. "Do you know how worried we have been for you?! One moment you were behind us, talking to Tanith, to in the next second be gone without a trace! And don't think I don't understand that Tanith was covering for you!"

Valkyrie walked past her mother without looking at her. She greeted her father who was sitting in one of the armchairs in the family room. Desmond greeted her back as he smoked his pipe and gave Valkyrie a small smile. "Did you have a good time on your excursion?"

"A very good time," Valkyrie replied, giving her father a smile back before walking into the bedroom.

Melissa followed her daughter into the bedroom and closed the door behind them so she could talk to her without being disturbed. "Valkyrie, don't you dare ignore me! I want you to tell me what's going on. Now."

"Nothing is going on, mom. I decided to play soccer with Skulduggery and some of the third-class kids. No harm done because nothing happened. I did a good deed today and that is what the other people in our circle is going to think as well."

"How dare you mix with that class? Do you want the last of your father's good reputation to disappear?! We have it hard enough as it is, Valkyrie! Never mind what the people here on the ship think, it's mostly Caelan and his family's opinions that I'm worried about! Do you want him to call off the engagement?! How can you be so selfish?!"

"Am I the one being selfish?!" Valkyrie shouted, turning so she could look into her mother's eyes. "I am the one who gives up my life so that you and dad can continue to live in luxury and glamour! I'm the one who will live the rest of my life with a man I don't love and who won't treat me well, but I'm giving up my life because I love you!"

Melissa's eyes filled with tears, and she took a step back, as if Valkyrie had struck her. She took a deep breath before saying "Don't you think I know, Valkyrie? Don't you think I am very aware that you are sacrificing your whole life for us? If I could turn back time and make your father back off that damn deal, I would! I wish there was another way, but I don't know what else we can do! I'm terrified that all three of us will end up on the street! It's not a future or a life I want to wish on anyone."

Valkyrie looked at her mother but said nothing. She could see her mother's worry and fear reflect in her eyes. Valkyrie also felt a big worry and fear of what could happen to all three of them if Caelan suddenly decided to call off the engagement. She had spent many sleepless nights pondering over solutions that could solve their financial problems, but each time she had come up empty handed.

Melissa took her daughter's hands in her own and hugged them. "Forgive me if I rambled on. I just do not want you to cause any problems for yourself that you will come to regret later."

"Don't worry, mom. I'm not about to do anything that could jeopardize this engagement. I will marry Caelan if he still wants me after this trip. I'm simply taking advantage of being able to do things that I won't be able or allowed to do when I'm a married woman."

Melissa smiled a sad smile and embraced her daughter in a tight hug. The two women stood like that for a long moment before Melissa let go of Valkyrie. She gave her daughter a warm smile before tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I'll let you get ready for dinner now. It wouldn't look good if we were late."

"You do know that nice people always come last, right?" Valkyrie replied with a smile, making her mother laugh.

Melissa turned and opened the bedroom door. She was just about to close it again when she stopped in the middle of a movement. She stood still for a second before turning to her daughter again and said "Valkyrie, can you promise me one thing?"

"What, Mom?"

"That after tonight you will not see Skulduggery again. I do not trust that young man."

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow but didn't answer. Melissa put her free hand on her hip and gave Valkyrie a stern look. The two women stood like that for a moment, just looking at each other before Valkyrie let out a deep sigh and turned away from her mother. She walked over to the closet and took out a burgundy dress that was embroidered with small pearls along the sleeves, around the chest and most of the lower part of the dress. She also took out a pair of white, elbow-length gloves and laid the clothing on the bed.

"Valkyrie, answer me!"

"I thought you wanted me to get ready for dinner."

"Don't you dare be sassy towards me, young lady!"

"I'm not either, I'm just telling it like it is."

"Leave her alone, Melissa," Desmond's voice was heard saying from the common room, causing Melissa to angrily turn on her husband.

"Mind your own business!" She turned back to Valkyrie. "Promise me, Valkyrie."

Valkyrie sighed and rolled her eyes as she turned her back to her mother so she wouldn't see. "Yes, mother, I promise to stay away from Skulduggery for the few days that's left of this trip."

"Good," said her mother, relieved. "Good, then we agree." Melissa smiled at her daughter's back before walking out of the bedroom and closing the door behind her.

The moment she was left alone, Valkyrie sat down on the bed and put her hands on her face. She took a deep breath to bring her high heart rate down and try to gather her thoughts. She knew that her mother only wanted her best and that it was her fear that made her act the way she did. Despite this, Valkyrie couldn't help but feel anger and frustration as she felt that her mother should be happy for her that for once in her life, she was given the opportunity to do things that she had never had the opportunity to do before and which would be taken away from her the moment she said "yes".

"Nothing I can do about it now… I will just have to try and enjoy this last night with Skulduggery as much as I am able to. I must try to take him aside during the evening and explain the situation to him. He'll surely understand, and I'll make sure I thank him for everything he's done for me in the short period we've gotten to known one another," Valkyrie told herself.

She put on the dress and some makeup before putting on the gloves. She met her own gaze in the mirror and took a deep breath before walking out of the bedroom and following her parents out to the dining room. Caelan and Bliss were already there along with most of the other first-class passengers. As soon as Caelan caught sight of Valkyrie, he walked up to her and gave her a smile.

"Valkyrie, you are truly beautiful tonight."

"Thank you, Caelan," Valkyrie replied, giving him a cold smile back.

"I see Mr. Pleasant hasn't turned up yet. It does not bode well."

"He is coming."

Caelan raised an eyebrow and was about to reply when he found that it had become very quiet around them. He turned to see Tanith Low entering the dining room, escorted by Skulduggery Pleasant wearing a fine suit and a big smile on his face. He politely greeted all the passengers and took the opportunity to joke with some of the men, which lightened the mood in the room.

Valkyrie smiled when she saw her friend and Skulduggery. Her smile grew even bigger when she saw Caelan's annoyed expression. She heard her mother let out a snort behind her before whispering to her husband "He's just trying to tune in. Don't be fooled."

"Mom, stop. Give him a chance."

"I feel I must agree with your mother, Valkyrie. You can't trust anyone from the third class. They do everything to get close to us so they can rob us of all our riches. They have no conscience, and it has happened on more than one occasion that they have murdered to come over money."

"Skulduggery is not like that! Don't talk about him like that when you don't know him! You don't know what he's been through!"

Caelan gave Valkyrie a look she couldn't decipher, and she didn't like the small smile that played at the corners of his mouth. Caelan didn't respond to her little outburst and instead walked over to Skulduggery. He extended his hand towards him and Skulduggery took it without hesitation. The two men looked into each other's eyes and Valkyrie understood that they were fighting some kind of silent power struggle. She had no idea which of them had the upper hand.

"Welcome Mr. Pleasant. I see you have managed to find a handsome suit for this special occasion. It really pleases me," Caelan said, letting go of Skulduggery's hand.

"Thank you so much, Caelan. It's a pleasure to be here and to get the opportunity to get to know you all. I must say I am very impressed. Unfortunately, we don't have it this nice down in third class, so this is a welcome change."

"How is it down in third class?" one of the young women asked curiously. "I have heard that you live very cramped, that you have no furniture except bunk beds and that it is very cold down there."

Skulduggery turned to the woman who had spoken and gave her a smile. "It's not as airy as you have it up here, that's true. We have furniture, but far from as comfortable and many as you have. It is true that we sleep in bunk beds, and it is common to live with three other passengers as there are two bunk beds per cabin. Some of us share a cabin with families that has children."

"And with whom do you share a cabin, Mr. Pleasant?" asked a man.

"I share a cabin with my dear friend Ghastly Bespoke and two other young men. In fact, it is thanks too Ghastly and the other men down in the engine room that the Titanic can move on the water at all. He works with shoveling coal into the furnaces."

"So interesting! But now I think it's time for dinner. Shall we sit down at the table?" Caelan said, demonstratively putting his arm around Valkyrie in a gesture that showed everyone she belonged to him.

"Lead the way," Skulduggery replied, escorting Tanith to the table.

Valkyrie, Caelan and her parents sat on one side of the table while Tanith and Skulduggery sat across from them. The rest of the first-class passengers spread out around them and just then the waiters brought forth the food. Everyone immediately started chowing down on the delicious food and for a while the only sounds to be heard were cutlery moving against plates, the chewing of food and people drinking wine.

"So, let's hear a little more about you Mr. Pleasant. We would like to get to know the man who saved the life of our beloved daughter," said Desmond to silence the silence.

"There's not much to tell, I'm afraid. I grew up in the forests of Ireland with my parents and four siblings: an older brother, two younger twin sisters and a younger brother. My father is a logger and an alcoholic, so my childhood was not always so bright. My brother and I were taught early on to be able to defend ourselves and our younger siblings against our father's wrath. As soon as we were old enough, we started helping around the house by taking on some odd jobs that gave us extra money that made our lives a little easier."

Valkyrie couldn't help but notice the silence, the horror on the women's faces, and the astonishment of Skulduggery's honesty on the men's faces after his story. She was proud of Skulduggery for being so open about his childhood, because she felt that more people in the first class needed to be aware that there were people out there who were not as well off as themselves and that that was the reason why some people went to such lengths as murder, for example, to survive.

"I'm… uh… sorry to hear that," her father said, clearing his throat. "How is your home situation right now?"

"My brother is taking care of my twin sisters who go to a nice school where they will have the chance to study further, which in turn will open many doors for them. My brother has a job and earns enough money to support all three of them. My mother and youngest brother still live with my father and my brother protects my mother from the worst of the abuse because he is old enough now to fight back, which has caused my father to back down considerably."

"Good to hear. As a thank you for saving Valkyrie's life, I'll make sure to send a little money to your mother and brother so they can hopefully tear themselves away from your evil father and have a better life. It's the least I can do."

"I would also like to donate some money," said a man on the other side of the table, and it wasn't long before all the men at the table had decided to give Skulduggery and his family money.

Valkyrie could see Skulduggery's eyes glaze over with held back tears and she gave him a smile as their eyes met. She raised her glass in a toast and said "Let's toast to Skulduggery and all his family. For a better life!"

"For a better life!" it echoed in the dining room, and everyone raised their glasses in a common toast before drinking.

"Thank you all. You have no idea what this means to me."

"It is only natural that you should help someone who needs support. So, let's hear what you're working on, Mr. Pleasant? And how come you're on board here on the Titanic? Do you have someone waiting for you in New York?" Desmond asked.

"I don't have a permanent job at the moment but jump from place to place. I simply jump in where workers are needed."

"Then I guess you've seen a lot and you're good at a lot of different things."

"Yes, you can say that. I have no one waiting for me in New York, but I am heading to America for the same reason as many others on this trip: for the chance to start over. It's actually only thanks to lady luck that I'm sitting here, because I didn't have a ticket to begin with. Ghastly and I won the tickets by playing a game of poker. The person who had them was desperate and thought that if he used the tickets as the top prize, the rest of us would become more careless, which in turn would make it easier for him to scam us out of our money and win."

"I guess that tactic didn't work too well considering you're the one sitting here and not him?" Valkyrie said laughing.

Skulduggery laughed as well, which made some of the other men join in as well. "Quite correct, Ms. Cain. He didn't take the loss too well, which is to be expected. If it hadn't been for me learning to defend myself thanks to my father and for Ghastly being a boxer, I don't know if we would have made it out alive."

"And we are all very glad that you did," said Desmond, raising his glass to Skulduggery.

Valkyrie could see that most of the men around the table were very impressed with Skulduggery, but there were two people who didn't look very pleased. Her mother and Caelan eyed Skulduggery with suspicion and Caelan also found it hard to contain his jealousy. This didn't surprise Valkyrie one bit because she knew that no matter what Skulduggery did or said, none of them wanted her to see him again.

Something she was pleasantly surprised by was that her father seemed to like Skulduggery. He was the one who had talked to Skulduggery the most and who had asked the most probing questions. If it hadn't been for Desmond, none of the other men probably would not have taken an interest in Skulduggery, which made Valkyrie happy because this meant she at least had one significant person on her side.

The people around the table continued to ask Skulduggery questions for the rest of the dinner: what was it like growing up in the middle of the woods far from the nearest town, what had he and his siblings done to pass the time, where had they gone to school, how it was jumping from job to job, what he thought his future would look like.

Skulduggery politely answered all questions and added some tongue-in-cheek comments and jokes, which made both the men and women laugh. When the dessert was eaten and the women started talking about how late it was getting, Desmond turned to Skulduggery and asked if there was anything else he wanted to say before they went their separate ways.

Skulduggery let his gaze wander over all the people sitting around the table before his gaze settled on Valkyrie. "You never know what hand you're going to be dealt next. You want to take life as it comes, to make each day count."

"Well spoken, Skulduggery! I couldn't have said it better myself. Let's make a final toast to those words. To make each day count!"

Everyone at the table except for Melissa and Caelan raised their glasses and toasted, causing Valkyrie's body to fill with such anger that she had to clasp her hands under the table so no one would see. She understood why her mother and fiancé didn't like Skulduggery, but that they had the guts to so openly show their displeasure made her blood boil. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds to calm herself down.

"Before we say goodbye, I'd like to say a big thank you to Caelan for inviting me here so I could have a chance to get to know you all. I think we should give him a toast as well," Skulduggery said looking at Caelan with a big smile on his face while his eyes radiated nothing but coldness.

Caelan flinched at Skulduggery's words but quickly recovered and raised his glass with a stiff smile along with the others. "Thank you, Mr. Pleasant. It was my pleasure."

The women stood up and excused themselves before starting to walk together towards their cabins, except for Tanith and Valkyrie who stayed behind. The men also stood up and walked over to another table at the other end of the dining room where brandy and cigars had been set out. Caelan reluctantly turned to Skulduggery and asked him if he would like to stay a while to drink some alcohol and smoke a cigar.

Skulduggery shook his head. "Unfortunately, I must decline your offer Caelan but thank you for asking."

"Then I'll have to thank you once again for saving my fiancée's life and I hope you continue to have a pleasant journey." Caelan shook Skulduggery's hand before turning and sitting down with the other men.

"You were incredible, Skulduggery! They practically ate out of your hand!" Tanith exclaimed and laughed when Caelan was out of earshot. "I've never seen them listen so interested to someone before."

Skulduggery laughed before turning to Valkyrie. He took one of her gloved hands in his own and raised it to his lips. He kissed the back of her hand as he looked into her eyes. "Would you and Miss Low like to come with me down to the third class for a real party?"

Valkyrie looked at Tanith who nodded. She turned to Skulduggery with a mischievous smile on her face before saying "We'd love to."

Chapter Text

Tanith and Valkyrie followed Skulduggery down a pair of stairs with a sign that said, "Entrance to 3rd Class". They could hear the distance sound of a party going on under them and the further down the ship they got, the louder the sound got. The women could hear that there were many people laughing, dancing, singing and playing music from an area a little way ahead of them. Valkyrie couldn't help but think that this was a stark contrast to how it was up in first class where everything should be clean, neat, gaudy and quiet.

They entered a large room where all the third-class passengers had cleared away all the chairs, benches and other furniture to make an improvised stage and dance floor. On the "stage" were five men of different ages with different instruments playing an upbeat melody. On the dance floor, people of all ages danced to the music and those who didn't dance stood by and clapped to the beat instead. They also cheered on those who danced while laughing and talking happily to each other.

"Wow…" was all Valkyrie managed to get out as she saw the scene unfolding before her. Tanith gaped as well and took Valkyrie's hand in hers. She looked at Valkyrie and in Tanith's eyes Valkyrie could see the same surprise she herself was feeling right now.

"This is what I call a party," Skulduggery said, smiling at the women. "Don't get me wrong, I had a good time in first class, but it was a little too stiff for my taste."

"Skulduggery!" a voice was heard calling and a young man who looked to be Skulduggery's age came towards them. He was tall, muscular and had brown eyes. His entire face was adorned with numerous scars that made him look nasty, but the smile he had on his face made it clear that he was really a friendly person. He was wearing black pants, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and a green sleeveless vest.

"Ghastly!" Skulduggery replied, giving the man a tight hug. "Did you finally get some time off from your miserable job?"

"It may be a piece of shit, but at least I get paid well for it." Ghastly turned to the two women standing behind Skulduggery and gave them both a friendly smile. "And who do we have here then?"

Valkyrie extended her hand to Ghastly who took it. They shook hands and Valkyrie was happy when she felt Ghastly squeeze her hand hard in a proper handshake, showing that he didn't care what class she was from. "Nice to finally meet you, Ghastly. My name is Valkyrie Cain, and I am a friend of Skulduggery."

"I am Tanith Low, a widow for the past one year," said Tanith, shaking Ghastly's hand as well. She let her hand linger a few extra seconds in Ghastly's before releasing it. "I'm Valkyrie's friend."

"Nice to meet you both. I have heard quite a bit about you, miss Cain. I must admit that it was under very special circumstances that you and my dear friend met. I hope you are feeling better now, because it would break my heart to see such a young, beautiful woman like yourself with her whole life ahead of her tragically taken from us prematurely."

At Ghastly's words Tanith raised her eyebrows and gave Valkyrie a questioning gaze. Valkyrie had not told the whole truth to Tanith but given her the same story she had been giving Caelan, her parents and the other first-class passengers. She had not want to worry Tanith and she had also been afraid that Tanith would blab to her parents about how mentally ill she felt about the engagement.

"I feel much better now, thanks to Skulduggery. He has made me open my eyes, which has caused my spark of life to be rekindled."

"I'm glad to hear that!" Ghastly gave Valkyrie a warm smile before turning to Tanith. He let his gaze slide over her figure before looking her in the eyes again. "However, I have not heard anything about you, Mrs. Low, but I would very much like to get to know you. Wouldn't you like to dance with me? It's a perfect opportunity to get to know a person, because dance brings out the best in us."

Tanith's cheeks turned a bit red, but she smiled widely at Ghastly's offer. "I would very much like that!"

Ghastly raised his arm to Tanith who laid her hand around it. Ghastly led her out to the dance floor with the other dancing passengers and it wasn't long before the two of them were completely lost in each other's arms. Valkyrie couldn't help but smile and feel happiness for her friend's sake. After the great favor she had done to Skulduggery, Tanith certainly deserved a reward in return, especially considering that Tanith hadn't been with a man for close to a year now.

"Those two found each other extremely quickly," Skulduggery said, laughing. "Ghastly usually has luck with women despite his looks, but this is probably a record. Something tells me those two were meant to meet."

"Just like you and me you mean?" Valkyrie said before she could stop herself. She felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment and she tried to hide it by turning her face away from Skulduggery. She concentrated on looking at the dancing couples on the dance floor instead, before saying "By the way, how did Ghastly get those scars?"

She could see out of the corner of her eye that Skulduggery was watching her. She couldn't read his gaze, and she didn't have time to think much about it before he let her go and instead let it wander over to Tanith and Ghastly on the dance floor. "He was assaulted by an insane man when he was a little boy. Believing Ghastly to be a monster, the man was armed with a knife with which he attacked Ghastly. It is a miracle that he survived and that the doctors managed to stitch him together without him losing his sight or his ability to speak."

"Really…" Valkyrie whispered, unable to stop a shudder from running through her body. "Is that why he has so close to laughter and smiles?"

"Yes. He if anyone knows how quickly life can turn around. Ghastly tries to live every minute, every hour, every day filled with laughter and happiness as much as he can."

"I wish I could look at life that way too," Valkyrie whispered, wrapping her arms around herself.

Skulduggery put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a side hug. None of them said anything, but just looked at the singing, dancing and laughing people in front of them. Valkyrie leaned her head against Skulduggery's shoulder, letting his closeness soothe her. She wanted to enjoy this as much as possible because these would be the last hours she would get to spend with him. She still didn't know how to break the news to him, but trusted that she would know when the time was right.

A little girl suddenly came up to them. It was the same girl that they had met earlier that day when they had been playing football up on deck. She had a big smile on her lips and waved to Valkyrie while she ran up to them. "Miss, so fun meeting you again! How come you are down here together with us?"

"Hello there!" Valkyrie answered and bent down so she could give the girl a hug. "I am here because Skulduggery invited me and my girlfriend that at the moment is dancing with Ghastly Bespoke, if you know who that is?"

"Yes, everyone knows Ghastly!" The girl turned towards Skulduggery and gave his leg a hug. "Thank you for taking the nice miss here. You promised that you would try to make sure we got to meet her again and you kept your promise!"

"Did he really promise that?" Valkyrie asked and looked surprised up at Skulduggery, which just smiled and shrugged in answer.

"Yes, he did. My mother has told me several times that it's very important to keep something you have promised."

"Your mother is right." Valkyrie smiled and patted the girl on the head. "By the way, I don't think I caught your name earlier today when we were playing football. Is it okay if I ask you your name?"

"My name is Alice, and I am seven years old. What's your name, miss?"

"Nice to meet you, Alice. My name is Valkyrie. How are you enjoying the Titanic?"

"Very good! Until now everyone has been so kind to me and it's so fun to explore the ship during the day when it's light outside and you can look at all the beautiful things the crew have equipped her with!"

Valkyrie laughed. "That sounds good, Alice."

Alice nodded before looking at Skulduggery with a pensive frown between her eyebrows. "Skulduggery, why haven't you asked Valkyrie to dance yet? You must dance with her now that you have invited her here!"

Skulduggery raised an eyebrow while Valkyrie tried (in vain should be added) to hide a smile. "I am terribly sorry, Alice. I shall immediately correct that mistake." Skulduggery turned to Valkyrie and extended his hand towards her. "Valkyrie, do you want to dance with me?"

"Yes please."

Alice claps her hands while laughing with happiness. She runs ahead to the dance floor, calling the attention of the other kids who are overjoyed to see Valkyrie and Skulduggery. They surrounded the couple and immediately started dancing together with them. Valkyrie laughed while she switched dance partner after dance partner, since everyone of all the kids wanted to dance a little bit with her. She could see in the corner of her eye that Skulduggery was being exposed to the same thing, which made her heart fill with warmth when she saw what a great connection he had with the kids.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she was once again face to face with Skulduggery and before any of the other children could take her away from him, Skulduggery put a hand around her waist and pressed her against his chest. He started dancing with Valkyrie and she was surprised that Skulduggery was a good dancer. She would even go so far as to say that he danced better than many of the men in the first class who could actually dance.

"How good you are at dancing."

"Surprised?"

"Yes. Where did you learn to dance this well?"

"By a remarkable woman by the name of China Sorrows who is the daughter of a famous dancer in Ireland. When I was 19, I had a summer job as an usher at a theater where China's mother often performed. I used to watch her when she was training for a show and China was usually with her mother on these occasions. When my shifts were over in the afternoons, China and I used to meet where she taught me how to dance."

"I bet she taught you a lot more than dancing," Valkyrie said, giving a wry smile as a small twinge of jealousy pierced her heart.

"You sound jealous, Valkyrie. What does it matter to you if I had a little summer fling six years ago? You didn't even know I existed then."

Valkyrie blushed and looked away. She couldn't explain why she felt jealous because she was aware that Skulduggery had been with other women before he met her, and it wasn't like the two of them were a couple. She should have no reason to feel this way, yet that's exactly what she did.

"You're right, Skulduggery. I have nothing to do with what you were up to six years ago. Let's forget about my little comment and instead concentrate on enjoying this evening while it lasts."

Skulduggery understood the hint and didn't push Valkyrie any further. Instead, he pressed Valkyrie close to his own body and swung her around in a passionate dance that left Valkyrie breathless. She couldn't help but notice the way Skulduggery's body moved as he danced and how close they both were to each other. How their bodies seemed to melt together and become one, as if they were two pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly when they were put together.

She hadn't been this close to a man before, not even with Caelan.

Their eyes met. In Skulduggery's eyes, Valkyrie could perceive a glow she hadn't seen in him before. She didn't know what that glow symbolized, all she knew was that she wanted to lose herself in it and never come back to the reality that awaited her in a few days when the Titanic arrived in New York.

Just as the band was about to finish their tune, Skulduggery dipped Valkyrie in an arc so deep she almost touched the floor. Their faces were only inches apart and Valkyrie could feel Skulduggery's warm breath against her face. He had a mischievous smile on his lips which rubbed off on Valkyrie and she started to laugh while keeping a firm grip on Skulduggery's shoulder and arm to keep from falling to the floor. Around them, all the third-class passengers applauded and some even whistled while shouting words like "Wow!" "Absolutely incredible!" "Well danced!"

What Valkyrie didn't know was that at that very moment a man was standing over by the stairs she, Tanith and Skulduggery had walked down earlier in the evening, watching them. The man did not show what he felt and thought, because he was a man who was very good at keeping his feelings inside. However, the man knew that the person who sent him there would not be able to do that. When he found out where his fiancée was and who she had spent the evening with, he would be furious.

What he then decides to do has nothing to do with me. It only concerns Caelan, Miss Cain, and Mr. Pleasant, Mr. Bliss thought to himself before turning around and heading back up to first class to hand in his report.

Skulduggery lifted Valkyrie as the band played the last note. They both applauded along with the other passengers and the band took a bow before saying goodbye. They packed up their instruments and left to get something to drink.

Valkyrie turned to Skulduggery and curtseyed. "Thank you so much for the dance, Mr. Pleasant. I haven't had this much fun in a very long time."

"The pleasure was entirely on my side, Miss Cain." Skulduggery smiled at her and ran his thumb along Valkyrie's cheek.

Valkyrie opened her mouth to say something, when her attention was drawn from Skulduggery to Tanith and Ghastly coming towards them. Tanith was blushing and her eyes were shining with excitement. She gave Valkyrie a big hug. "What a show you put on, Valkyrie! I did not know you could dance like that! Looks like you are having a great time down here. Maybe it isn't so strange now that I think about it, given the company you are finding yourself in."

Valkyrie laughed. "I don't think I've ever had this much fun! This is really something completely different to how we would have partied in first class. You then? Are you having fun too?"

Tanith smiles widely and can't help glancing at Ghastly who is standing talking to Skulduggery. "Ghastly is absolutely divine! I haven't felt this alive in a very long time. I had almost forgotten what it feels like to have fun. Get me right; I know I have no future whatsoever with someone like Ghastly if I want to continue living a life of luxury and comfort, but as long as I'm here aboard the Titanic, no one needs to know what I'm up to. Here I can be anonymous and take my experiences from here with me to the grave."

Valkyrie nodded. "You really deserve to have some fun after the year you've had. Take the opportunity to have some fun while you have the chance!"

Tanith gave Valkyrie a knowing smile and said, "Believe me, I am going to," before walking over to Ghastly. She placed her hand on his arm and whispered something in his ear that made Ghastly raise his eyebrows in a questioning gesture. Tanith nodded, whereupon Ghastly said goodbye to both Skulduggery and Valkyrie before accompanying Tanith to her cabin.

"I suspect we both know what those two will spend the rest of the evening and maybe part of the night doing," Skulduggery said, giving Valkyrie a wry smile.

Valkyrie couldn't help but smile back. "When Tanith wants something, she takes it. I'm glad she gets the chance to have some fun on this trip. She deserves it, especially considering what she did to you."

"I can't help but agree, Valkyrie."

The evening continued to slowly tick by. Valkyrie took the opportunity to get to know the children and their parents by talking to them. They told her what it was like to live in third class, and she told them what it was like to grow up in first class. The children listened attentively to everything she said, and Valkyrie could see in them that they were jealous that she could wake up every day knowing that she would not freeze, wear clean and whole clothes, and not go hungry.

A yawn escaped Valkyrie, and she began to realize that it had become very late. She thanked the children and their parents for the pleasant chat before turning to Skulduggery. "I would like to go back to my cabin now, Mr. Pleasant. It has become late, and it has been an eventful day."

"I see, Miss Cain. Let me escort you back so I know for sure you will arrive back home safely."

"That was kind of you, Mr. Pleasant." Valkyrie waved to the children and followed Skulduggery up the stairs leading up to the deck.

They walked side by side next to each other in silence. Every now and then their arms brushed against each other. When that happened, Valkyrie couldn't help but feel an electric shock go through her body. Her heart pounded hard in her chest, and she found it hard to tear her eyes from Skulduggery. She couldn't help but think how it had felt to have Skulduggery's body close to her own. How right it had felt, how good it had felt.

"Did you have a nice evening, Miss Cain?" Skulduggery asked as they stood in front of the entrance to first class.

"Yes, excellent! I haven't had this much fun in a very long time. Thank you so much, I really needed this."

Skulduggery gave her a smile. "It was the least I could do. You deserve to have fun, to laugh and feel happiness, Valkyrie." He let his hand caress Valkyrie's cheek.

Valkyrie's heart began to beat even harder in her chest and Valkyrie was amazed that it could beat so hard without breaking. Her mouth suddenly went dry, and she had to swallow to get saliva back into it. Her gaze drifted down to Skulduggery's lips, and it was only then that she realized how close they were to each other. If she leaned forward, she could kiss Skulduggery and she was frightened by how strong that impulse was.

Valkyrie swallowed again, took a deep breath and cleared her throat. So that she wouldn't freak out at the last second, she opened her mouth and blurted out "We can't meet again, Skulduggery. I'm happy for everything you've done for me and for everything you've shown me, but from now on we both must go back to our own lives. I will never forget you Skulduggery or what you have done for me, and I wish you the best of luck in America."

Valkyrie turned and walked through the entrance to first class without looking back once, leaving Skulduggery alone on deck in complete shock.

Chapter Text

The night was not kind to Valkyrie. By the time she got back to her cabin, her parents had already gone to bed so at least she didn't have to listen to her mother's scolding, which she was extremely glad for, as that was the last thing she needed right now. She felt like she had just broken up with a boyfriend, even though she and Skulduggery weren't a couple. She hated herself for the way she had left him, but she didn't know how she could have done it any other way.

She quickly removed her gown and gloves before putting on her nightgown and crawling under the covers. Although her bed was warm and comfortable, it could not warm her cold body and bad conscience. Try as she might, sleep would not come despite her being very tired. She tossed and turned in bed unable to settle. She couldn't let go of the thought of Skulduggery and how much she had come to like him, even though she had only known him for a day.

He was so different from Caelan and the other men in first class. Valkyrie had never come across a more open, honest and down to earth person like Skulduggery. He made her dare to come out of her shell and understand that the world had so much more to offer her than an unhappy marriage where her only role was to be treated as an object of exhibition. She was so tired of the role she had been assigned and it was thanks to Skulduggery that she had finally realized it.

Sleep finally overtook her, but it was not restful but was marred by nightmares that she could not remember when she woke up. The only thing they left behind was a sense of sadness and shame. She got up with a body heavy with sleeplessness and rubbed her face in an attempt to revive herself.

She saw that her parents had already gotten up as their beds were empty. She listened while looking around but could not see or hear them. They must have gone ahead to the dining room and started eating breakfast already. Valkyrie entered the bathroom and began washing her face. When she was done and about to dry herself, she saw a small note with her mother's handwriting on it, lying on top of the pile of towels next to the sink. She picked it up and read:

Valkyrie, we've headed to the dining room for breakfast. I asked one of the housekeepers to bring in some breakfast for you as I understand you need to sleep after the night you had. Mr. Bliss told us where you were last night and let's just say I'm not very happy with you. We'll discuss this later when we've all had some food in our bellies and have woken up properly. Kisses and hugs, your mother.

Valkyrie didn't think she could feel any worse than she already did, but seeing her mother's message made her angry. She crumpled up the note and tossed it in the trashcan before walking back into the bedroom where she dressed in a green summer dress that flowed freely from her waist down. She was so tired of all the tight dresses and corsets she had been forced to wear during the trip, so this was a welcome choice of clothing.

Valkyrie walked out onto the patio attached to the cabin. The table outside was set with food, and it was only then that she noticed how hungry she was. She sat down at the table and began to cut into the food, which tasted divine. This was exactly what she needed right now: peace and quiet while replenishing her energy.

The sound of approaching footsteps made Valkyrie look up and when she saw who entered the room she froze. Caelan sat down in the chair across from her. He said nothing, just looked at her with such an intense gaze that Valkyrie felt a shiver of horror slide down her spine. She didn't know what that look meant, other than it wasn't anything positive. She could tell from his body language that he was angry, downright furious and now she knew for sure that this meeting was not going to be pleasant.

"Good morning, Caelan," she said calmly, taking a sip of her tea. Partly to calm himself, partly to try not to anger Caelan even more.

"Where were you last night?" he asked, and Valkyrie raised an eyebrow in response. "I asked a question!" Caelan said angrily, clenching his fists in an attempt to control the immense anger he felt.

"Why would I have to tell you that?" Valkyrie asked, taking yet another sip of her breakfast tea.

"Why?" Caelan smiled an emotionless smile before his face turned into a mask of rage the next second. "I'll tell you why!"

He stood up and grabbed the breakfast table. He picked it up and threw it, sending food and crockery flying in all directions, causing a horrible sound to echo in the room. Caelan stared at Valkyrie with fire in his eyes as he shouted "Because I am your husband, and you are my future wife! If you haven't forgotten, I own you, Valkyrie!"

Valkyrie pushed herself back against the chair she was sitting in. She stared at Caelan with wide and terrified eyes while her body was shaking with fear. She had no idea what Caelan was capable of or what he was going to do with her. At best he would just scream a little and then leave, at worst he would force himself upon her and consummate their marriage before they were married.

Caelans eyes were glowing with rage, and he walked towards his fiancée with such clenched fists they'd started to turn white. He bent down until their faces were only inches apart while he laid his hands on the armrests so as not to give Valkyrie any chance whatsoever to escape from him.

"I know that when Bliss found you yesterday afternoon before dinner, you were in the company of some third-class kids and Skulduggery, playing soccer. I also know you were with Skulduggery down in the third-class quarters last night, laughing and dancing remarkably close to him."

Valkyrie swallowed and did not dare to let go of Caelan's gaze for a single second, since she was afraid that he would misinterpret her fear as disdain or defiance, which in turn would fuel his wrath even more. She opened her mouth to answer him, but she could not get out a single word.

Caelan grabbed Valkyrie's chin before pressing his lips to hers and began to kiss her both hard and intensely. Valkyrie tried to break free, but Caelan hindered her with his strong body which he pressed against her. He continued to kiss her for a little while longer before breaking it off as quickly as he had started it. He looked into her eyes again and said in a menacing voice "Don't forget that you belong to me and only me, Valkyrie. I'm not going to let anything come between us. Stay away from that Skulduggery Pleasant and nothing will happen to either you or him."

Valkyrie couldn't do anything else but nod, thanks to the chock that currently had its claws around her, and she swallowed hard in an attempt to moisten her dry throat. Caelan nodded and gave her a small, satisfied smile before pulling away from her. He turned and started to walk away from her before stopping mid-step as if he had just realized something important. He turned and walked back to Valkyrie. He looked at her for a second or so before raising his hand in a wide arc and giving her a slap across the cheek that sent both Valkyrie's head and body flying to the side.

It was only thanks to her holding on tightly to the chair that she did not fall to the floor.

Valkyrie gasped in surprise, shock and pain and put her hand to her aching cheek as she looked up at Caelan. He smiled an insensitive smile and said "A little warning, nothing else. If you behave yourself for the rest of the trip, nothing more will happen to you, Valkyrie" before he turned on his heel and walked out from the patio.

As Caelan disappeared through the doorway, Valkyrie saw that one of the housekeepers tending to their cabin was standing staring at her with wide eyes and hands over her mouth in a shocked expression. Valkyrie realized that she had seen everything that had just unfolded, and she couldn't stop a feeling of shame and embarrassment from washing over her. She hated the thought of anyone else seeing her weak.

The housekeeper ran up to Valkyrie and bent down in front of her. She placed her hand on Valkyrie's shoulder and asked with a worried voice "Miss Cain, how are you? Let me help you. That doesn't look good."

Valkyrie shook her head. "No, it's okay. Instead, let me help you clean up this mess." She was just about to stand up but immediately fell back onto the floor and felt tears stream down her cheeks. She clutched her chest and let out a stifled sob. The housekeeper laid her arms around Valkyrie and comforted her as best she could.

Valkyrie was just beginning to calm down when the sound of a door opening and footsteps reached her ears. Her heart began pounding hard in her chest and her breathing went from normal and deep to ragged and short as she thought it was Caelan who was back to give her another round, even though he had promised her he wouldn't hurt her anymore if she kept out of mischief.

"Valkyrie, are you here?" Melissa's voice was heard calling.

Valkyrie let out a loud moan of relief before she once again started to sob, this time from relief instead of fear. She could hear how her parents' footsteps were approaching and within seconds they were both out on the patio where they saw the mess Caelan had made and their crying daughter being comforted by a housekeeper.

Melissa ran over to her crying daughter and sat down next to her before putting her arms around her. "Valkyrie, what happened here?!"

"Caelan…" was all Valkyrie managed to get out

"Mr. Stephens, he was absolutely furious! He screamed and threatened your daughter before hitting her with his palm!"

Both Melissa and Desmond stared at the housekeeper in horror as they paled. Desmond clenched his fists and said "I'm going to find Caelan and have a serious talk with him! This is unacceptable!"

Valkyrie shook her head. "No, father. It's my fault, I was the one that made him angry. If I had just been quiet, he wouldn't have gotten this angry. Give him a chance to calm down. He won't redo this, believe me. He needs you on his good side if he wants this engagement to proceed."

"But, Valkyrie, he hit you! That's not how you treat your future wife!"

Valkyrie looked her father in the eyes while shaking her head. "No, you're not going to look for him."

Desmond sighed and ran his hand over his face in a frustrated gesture. "Okay, I'm not going to look for him, but take my word for it when I say that if he gives in to you one more time, I will personally see to it that this engagement ends."

"Thanks, Dad."

They all helped clean up the mess and when the room was sparkling clean again, Melissa took Valkyrie into the bathroom. Inside, she helped her daughter wash her face and put a cold compress on her slightly swollen cheek. To top it all off, in addition to the swelling, Valkyrie also had a red mark over the area where Caelan had hit her, and she knew no makeup in the world could make it go away. She hoped that the cold water would make the mark and swelling go away.

"How are you feeling, darling?" Melissa asked her daughter, taking her hand.

Valkyrie looked at her mother and sighed. "I don't know, mom... I'm shocked and sad. I've long suspected that Caelan was capable of this, but now that I've had the truth literally slapped into my face, I've come to understand that the situation is worse than I first thought. All I can hope for now is that Caelan will leave me alone for the rest of the trip as long as I stay on his good side."

"You shouldn't have to feel that way!" Her mother said, squeezing Valkyrie's hand tightly. "If I had known Caelan was like this, I would never have allowed your father to approve the marriage. Your life means so much more than our fortune, Valkyrie!"

"It is my life and my choice, mother. I understand your and Dad's concerns, but I love you both too much to leave you high and dry. As long as your finances are in shambles, I will be Caelan's wife. If Dad manages to renew his deals and secure them, he can surely buy me out of Caelan's clutches. That's all I can hope for at this point."

Melissa's eyes filled with tears, and she embraced her daughter in a tight hug. Valkyrie felt herself start to cry as well and she put her arms around her mother. Both women cried out their sadness at how unfair life could be at times and their frustration at not having found a better solution to their problem.

---

Later, when Valkyrie had had time to calm down and freshen up as best she could, she walked out of the cabin and onto the deck to gather her thoughts. Now that Caelan had crossed the line and physically hurt her, she was even more unsure if she made the right choice to marry him. She now knew for sure that if she went through with the marriage, her life would be filled with violence, abuse, assault and coercion. Did she really want to live such a life? Could she make that sacrifice to save her parents from falling into poverty?

At the same time, she couldn't help but wonder if she really had any other choice? What would happen to her if she did not consummate the marriage? Where would her parents and she go? How could they make a living? Valkyrie had never worked a day in her life and even though her parents had been workers before she was born, she wasn't sure if they would be able to find a job that they could pull off.

She sat down on a sun lounger and let her gaze sweep over the other passengers who passed her. She couldn't help but feel jealous of how happy they all seemed to be, as if they had everything in order and didn't have to worry about whether or not they would be able to put food on the table while she herself was sitting here on her way into a life she didn't want to live.

She couldn't help but start thinking about Skulduggery, even though she knew she should try to forget him. She thought about how, despite his tough upbringing, he was happy and took the day as it came. How he didn't let anything stop him from doing things the way he wanted to. How he makes her feel things she's never felt before, how he makes her think in ways she had never thought in before and how he makes her want to try new things.

She can't help but feel that the two of them were meant to meet right here, right now. That their paths were meant to cross.

As if sensing that she was thinking of him, Skulduggery suddenly stood in front of her. Valkyrie flinched and looked up at him. Skulduggery's face was serious, and he had dark circles under his eyes, which told Valkyrie that he too had had a rough night with little sleep. Skulduggery sat down next to her but said nothing. They both looked into each other's eyes for a good while as the world around them continued as usual.

Valkyrie felt her worry, anxiety and despair slowly fade away and was amazed at how easily she could forget everything as soon as Skulduggery was near her. Ever since yesterday when she had seen how Skulduggery and the other third classers lived their lives, a small seed had been growing inside her that told her that there was so much more she could bring out in life and that Skulduggery was the perfect person to show her that.

"Mr. Pleasant, I want to thank you for yesterday. I had a very nice time, but unfortunately, I must inform you again that we cannot continue seeing each other. I have a reputation to uphold, and I am to be married off to another man in a few days. I want you to know that I am eternally grateful for everything you have done for me in this short time we have known each other. You have made me look at life in a completely different perspective, which will help me a lot in the future when I start my new life." Valkyrie held out her hand to Skulduggery, waiting for Skulduggery to shake it, but instead he just looked at her with a sad and disappointed look.

"Valkyrie… I'm going to call you by your real name instead of your last name because I know what you're trying to do right now. You can't fool me. I am fully aware of why you are talking and behaving this way." Skulduggery grabbed her chin and turned her head so he could get a good look at her cheek. "I know Caelan has threatened you and hurt you, which are two things a husband should not do to his wife if he truly loves her. Did you really think I wouldn't notice how swollen your cheek is?"

Valkyrie didn't answer, just continued to look Skulduggery in the eyes, even as her entire being screamed at her that Skulduggery deserved better and that this was the wrong choice. Despite this, she managed to restrain herself and not show outwardly what was going on inside her.

"I know you're only doing what Caelan says to save your parents from being poor and homeless, but you need to start stopping thinking about others and instead focus on yourself and what you want. Caelan, has you trapped and if you don't break free you will die!"

"I know what I want Skulduggery, and I will not die. I have made my decision and there is nothing you can say to make me change my mind."

"Do you really do that, Valkyrie?!" Skulduggery asked in a desperate voice, beginning to caress her tender cheek with a gentle motion. "Is this how you want the rest of your life to be? Filled with beatings, rapes and a body full of bruises that you will try in vain to cover up so that no one will see how badly your husband treats you? Do you want to live in a loveless marriage that will be filled with nothing but suffering? I thought you were stronger than that, Valkyrie!"

Valkyrie felt tears begin to form in her eyes but she somehow managed to blink them away before they started to fall down her cheeks. "Like I said, I've already made my decision, Skulduggery."

"Damn it, Valkyrie!" Skulduggery stood up and began pacing back and forth across the deck. "Don't you understand that I'm saying this because I care about you?! Don't you understand that I'm saying this because I wish I was in Caelan's shoes right now?! Don't you understand that I wish I was the one about to marry you?!"

Skulduggery looked into Valkyrie's eyes with a desperation Valkyrie hadn't seen in anyone before and that she wished she'd never have to see again either.

Even though it would tear her apart inside, Valkyrie knew that the words she was about to say were necessary to make Skulduggery understand that this would be their last meeting. She stood up and looked Skulduggery in the eyes. "Your concern pleases me, Skulduggery, it really does, but unfortunately, it's not enough. I will live the rest of my life with Caelan. I love Caelan."

Skulduggery continued to look at Valkyrie with a desperate look while his face conveyed nothing but frustration. He grabbed Valkyrie's hands and pulled her towards him. When Valkyrie didn't resist, a hope lit up in his eyes that made Valkyrie burst inside, though outwardly she wasn't allowed to show it. Neither of them said anything, just looking at each other as their bodies were no more than a few inches apart. Skulduggery gave Valkyrie a nervous smile before leaning forward and trying to kiss her.

Valkyrie let go of Skulduggery's hands before turning away, saying "I have to go" and left him all alone on the deck of the Titanic.

Chapter Text

Valkyrie walked back to her cabin without turning a single time, since she knew that if she did just that, she would regret her decision and run straight into Skulduggery and his waiting arms. Instead, she forced herself to do nothing else but just looking straight ahead and ignore everything that existed around her. It wasn't until she saw the door to her own cabin that she dared to slow down and to take a look around to make sure that Skulduggery had not followed her.

She opened the door and walked straight to her dressing table where she sat down on the chair in front of the dressing table before picking up her hairbrush. She slowly began to brush her black hair to occupy her shaking hands with something. Normally these simple and mundane movements used to calm her down, but not today. Her pulse thundered in her ears, she felt faint, her head pounded with an oncoming headache and pent-up tears burned in her eyes.

Unwelcome and forbidden thoughts slowly began to creep up on her which she tried (in vain) to push away, but which persisted in constantly surfacing. She couldn't stop thinking about the look on Skulduggery's face the second before she had walked away from him. At how much she had wanted that kiss he had tried to give her. How close she had been to actually be letting him kiss her. How she now sat here in her cabin fantasizing about how it would have felt, how she would have pressed Skulduggery against her body before grabbing his neck to…

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening. In the mirror, she could see her fiancé coming toward her with a brown jewelry box in his hand. He had a big smile on his face and his eyes were twinkling. Valkyrie felt her cheeks heat up with shame at her erotic thoughts and she concentrated on continuing to brush her hair in an effort not to show Caelan what she had just fantasized about.

Or reveal the fact that only minutes ago she had defied his demands not to see Skulduggery again…

"There she is! My future wife," Caelan said in a soft voice, walking up to Valkyrie. He placed the jewelry box on the dressing table before leaning forward and brushing his lips against Valkyrie's cheek. "You are so beautiful, Valkyrie. Especially in this light."

Valkyrie gave Caelan a careful smile as she met his gaze in the mirror. "Thank you so much, Caelan."

Caelan grabbed Valkyrie's chin and turned her head so he could look into her eyes. Neither of them said anything. Valkyrie didn't dare because she didn't know what Caelan's intentions were. The slightest word or movement that he could misinterpret would probably result in her receiving more of a beating, which was something she wanted to avoid at all costs.

"I can't believe how lucky I am to finally have you to myself for once…" Caelan whispered, leaning forward so their lips could touch.

Valkyrie froze before forcing herself to relax and let the kiss happen. She closed her eyes and imagined that it was Skulduggery kissing her instead of Caelan. The kiss deepened and Caelan let his free hand wrap around her neck so he could pull her closer to him. He explored Valkyrie's lips with a hunger he had been keeping hidden for a long time and now that Valkyrie was letting him show her how much he wanted her, he was going to seize the opportunity.

Valkyrie was surprised that she could enjoy this kiss as much as she actually did. Caelan wasn't a bad kisser; she had to admit that. She found herself giving in to Caelan more and more. When his tongue touched her lower lip, she opened her entire mouth to him. A moan escaped Caelan and Valkyrie could feel the vibration of it in her own mouth, making her shiver.

"Valkyrie..."

"Caelan…"

Caelan gave Valkyrie one last kiss before reluctantly pulling away from her. His eyes glowed with pent-up desire. "If we only were already married..."

"It won't be long now. We'll be in New York soon and then I'll be yours forever," Valkyrie said with a smile she hoped seemed genuine when all she wanted to do inside was run out of this room straight into Skulduggery's arms.

"I can't wait," Caelan said. He gave Valkyrie one last kiss before caressing her cheek and placing his hand on the jewelry box. He opened it and gave his future wife a big smile. "I have something for you."

"For me? You don't have to…" Valkyrie began, but Caelan held up a hand telling Valkyrie that it would be unwise to continue.

"I want to apologize for how I behaved this morning. I shouldn't have stormed off like I did, and I certainly shouldn't have put my hands on you. This is my way of proving to you how much I love you and only want the best for you."

Caelan took a diamond necklace out of the box. The necklace was decorated with a heart and in the heart was a blue diamond. As the necklace was placed around her neck, Valkyrie could feel the weight of it, and it made her gasp in surprise. She let her fingers slowly touch the necklace and couldn't help but be enraptured by the beauty of the piece of jewelry. It glinted from the light of the lights in the cabin and Valkyrie knew without asking that it must have cost Caelan a small fortune.

"It is called the 'Heart of the Ocean' and I give this to you to show you that my heart belongs to you and only you, Valkyrie. I will do everything in my power to make sure you will have everything you ever want. You should never have to go without anything, but what you want I will get. Nothing is good enough for my wife."

"I… don't know what to say," Valkyrie answered truthfully while unable to tear her eyes from the diamond around her neck.

"You don't have to say anything, Valkyrie. I see in your eyes that you are just as enthralled as I was when I laid eyes on the Heart of the Ocean for the first time. When you wear this piece of jewelry, no one will be able to take their eyes off you. You will be the center of every party and the most beautiful woman in the room."

Valkyrie continued to caress the necklace slowly with her fingers while fighting not to show Caelan what she really thought of the piece. She couldn't help but feel like she was slowly being suffocated to death by the weight the necklace gave her. She didn't see a beautiful piece of jewelry, but a tool whose sole purpose was to weigh her down even more and give Caelan yet another reason to make her stay with him.

If he could buy a piece of jewelry like this without so much as raising an eyebrow at the price, it was just further proof of how rich Caelan really was. It was yet another reason why so many in their circle would consider Caelan to be perfect for her and her family, as Caelan would save them from poverty and also give her father a good start-up capital to start a new business idea like in their luck would allow them to stand on their own two feet instead of having to ask others for money, which was not looked on kindly if you were part of the first class.

Caelan let his fingers slowly caress Valkyrie's shoulders in small circular motions before letting his lips brush against her neck. "Unfortunately, I must leave you now, Valkyrie. I have a meeting I must attend. Ideally, I would like to cancel and spend the rest of the day with you, but duty calls."

"I understand, Caelan," Valkyrie replied, giving him a pitying smile. "Perhaps we can meet for a while after the meeting, if it doesn't take too long?"

"Do you really want that?"

"Of course. I want to get to know my future husband and since there are not many days left until our wedding; I want to take advantage of the time we have left."

Caelan looked surprised at first, but soon his face broke into a big smile. He leaned forward and gave Valkyrie a passionate kiss before reluctantly pulling away from her. "Glad to hear that, Valkyrie. I will try to speed up the meeting as best I can. Hopefully we'll have time to talk a little more tonight, otherwise I'm looking forward to tomorrow when I'll have the opportunity to have you to myself."

"I'm glad too, Caelan," Valkyrie said, giving Caelan a kiss on the cheek.

Caelan gave her one last smile before exiting the cabin and closing the door behind him.

As soon as Caelan was gone, the smile left Valkyrie's face. She felt completely drained and had to support herself on the dressing table to keep herself from falling to the floor. How would she be able to keep up this charade for the rest of her life? This brief moment with Caelan where she had done nothing but lie had left her utterly exhausted. She suspected it would get easier and easier the more she lied and kept up the facade, but would it all be worth it in the end?

Could it be that if she went through with this, she would die prematurely due to misery? She had heard stories of both men and women (mostly women) who had died due to broken hearts and depression, so what was it that said that she too wouldn't be able to suffer the same kind of fate?

The weight of the Heart of the Ocean brought Valkyrie back to reality. She stretched and settled back into the chair. She let her hands wander back to her neck where she let her fingers unclasp the jewelry and open it so she could take it off. When the necklace was in her hand and she was able to take a closer look at it, she couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful it was. Any other woman would probably have been overjoyed if her fiancé gave her this piece of jewelry.

But Valkyrie was not like any other woman.

All she wanted to do was throw the diamond right into the mirror, even though she knew that the only thing that would result in was that the mirror would break, and the diamond not have so much as a scratch on it.

A lump formed in her throat and Valkyrie desperately tried to swallow it down but couldn't. Instead, it seemed to grow, and she could feel tears burning in the corners of her eyes. She faced her own image in the mirror and let the tears flow silently down her cheeks. She had gotten very good at crying silently over the years, because a woman of her circle wasn't allowed to cry in a way that others could perceive.

Valkyrie placed the Heart of the Ocean back into the brown jewelry box as tears continued to flow silently down her cheeks and onto her dress. She couldn't stop images of what her future together with Caelan would look like. In these images she saw herself, alone in a gigantic mansion where she did nothing during the day but walk around the empty rooms with only her own thoughts for company. Perhaps now and then she would be joined by a servant or maidservant, but they would not be there because she asked them to come with her, but because they wanted to talk to her about something.

She saw herself sitting alone at the dinner table while Caelan was away on yet another business trip and the butler standing a little way from the dinner table, waiting for her to eat up so he could clear the table and pass the dishes to the kitchen counters. How she would then go up to the bedroom to await Caelan's return and prepare for their marital obligations as husband and wife.

How she would lie awake after the act feeling soiled, maybe even a little bruised if Caelan proved to be rough in the bedroom as well.

"No!" Valkyrie stood up so quickly that the chair slid backwards across the carpet. "No, I cannot allow any of that to happen! I'm not meant to live my life that way! That's not me, I'm so much more than a housewife! I am supposed to look around the world and experience it. I am supposed to be free and make my own decisions!"

Valkyrie met her own gaze in the mirror and the person looking back at her was not a helpless, scared and defeated young woman. No, the person in this moment looking back at her was a determined, strong and brave woman who would not let anything stand in the way of her dreams.

"Time to make a final decision, Valkyrie Cain. Either you stay here, or you go out on deck and go the way you've wanted to go for years now. Are you going to remain a gray mouse who is nothing but prey, or are you going to break free from your chains and show everyone that you are a hunter?"

Valkyrie wiped her tears, took a very deep breath which she held inside for a few seconds before slowly letting it out. She closed her eyes and the first thing that appeared inside her eyelids was the image of the person who had changed her life and had made her realize her own worth. The person who had stirred so many emotions within her, even though she had only known the person for two days. The person she was only now beginning to realize she had developed feelings for and who for some inexplicable reason she wanted to spend her time with.

She opened her eyes, again meeting her own gaze in the mirror before nodding and giving herself a smile. She went into the bedroom, retrieved a cardigan which she draped around her shoulders and exited the cabin.

-----

The sun was setting, casting an orange-pink glow over the sky and the Titanic as she flew across the water. At the front of her was a young man looking down at the sea with a sad expression on his face. His arms were crossed over the white railing, and he had a forward leaning posture.

Skulduggery Pleasant couldn't stop thinking about Valkyrie Cain and their last meeting. He was both pissed off and disappointed in himself that he hadn't been able to reach Valkyrie and make her understand that she was entering a life of contempt, hatred and violence. That she would be extremely unhappy if she took Caelan as her husband, as Skulduggery knew very well what he was capable of and what he would make Valkyrie suffer, just because he owned her and because he felt it was his legal right.

Valkyrie not reciprocating his feelings had saddened him, but not devastated him like many other men probably would have. He'd had his heart broken once before, the same summer he'd had an affair with China Sorrows. He had been nothing but a fling to China and she had made that abundantly clear to him just a few days before his summer job ended.

He understood very well why Valkyrie had no romantic feelings for him, as they were complete opposites on a social level. She was born in a completely different world than himself and had a completely different view of how the world worked, although Skulduggery understood that she was still partially aware that not everyone had it as good as those in her class, which pleased him.

He was not like any of the other men she had met before, nor did he act like a man "should". He wouldn't be a bit surprised if Valkyrie found him "too wild", way too honest, brusque and forward. She was used to the men around her mostly only talking about her beauty, what womanly duties she had to perform and whether or not she had behaved decently during an event.

Valkyrie was unlike any other woman he had met before, and he suspected that was what had drawn his attention to her. He had never felt this strongly for another woman before and all he wanted was for Valkyrie to be happy. If she chose to go through with the engagement, she would definitely not be happy with Caelan.

Footsteps approaching him from behind caused Skulduggery to snap out of his depressing thoughts. He stretched, started to turn around and just had time to wonder who it could be that wanted his attention when he froze in surprise the second, he saw who it was that was coming towards him.

Valkyrie Cain came walking towards him with a smile on her face. "Hello, Skulduggery. I… changed my mind."

Skulduggery felt immense relief and joy when he heard Valkyrie utter those four words. He gave her a relieved smile before extending his hand to her. "Do you trust me?"

Valkyrie looked him in the eyes before answering "I trust you completely."

She took Skulduggery's hand in hers and let him pull her up onto the railing. Skulduggery positioned her in front of him so Valkyrie could look out at the sea ahead. It was only then that Valkyrie realized that it was in this exact spot that she had been standing two days ago and that it was in this exact spot that she had met Skulduggery for the first time.

"Close your eyes," Skulduggery whispered in her ear and Valkyrie did as she was told. She could feel Skulduggery grab and lift her arms.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a laugh.

"You will soon see." Skulduggery wrapped his arms around Valkyrie's waist before whispering softly in her ear "Okay, now you can open your eyes."

Valkyrie did as she was told and the moment, she did she could feel the wind passing through her body and how high up in the air she was. Looking down at her body, she could see that Skulduggery had stretched her arms out from her body so that she resembled a T, giving the illusion that she was flying. Valkyrie felt light as a feather, and she couldn't help but laugh with happiness and joy.

"I… I'm flying, Skulduggery!"

Skulduggery laughed behind her and Valkyrie could feel the vibrations against her back. He let his hands find hers before he began to sing a tune that Valkyrie had never heard before but that made her body fill with joy. Skulduggery played with Valkyrie's hands and fingers as he sang, making Valkyrie smile. She could feel how goosebumps filled her body from Skulduggery's caresses and a shiver running up her spine.

Skulduggery chuckled as he felt Valkyrie shiver and stopped his singing to whisper "Do you like this?" before continuing to sing as if he hadn't said anything at all. Valkyrie didn't trust her own voice, so instead of answering, she just nodded while leaning back against Skulduggery's chest to get closer to him.

Skulduggery let his fingers slowly wander away from Valkyrie's hands and fingers. He began to wander upwards until he reached Valkyrie's upper and lower arms where he slowly let his fingertips caress the sensitive skin. A gasp escaped Valkyrie, and she couldn't help but think about how it would feel if Skulduggery let his fingers wander to other, more sensitive places…

Skulduggery let his lips brush against Valkyrie's ear as he sang the last words of the song before letting his hands once again wander down to Valkyrie's where he let his hands cup hers. He lowered their entwined hands to Valkyrie's waist as he looked into her eyes. Their faces were now only inches apart and the smiles they had both been wearing disappeared. They looked into each other's eyes for a brief moment to make sure they understood what the other wanted.

Skulduggery leaned forward and let his lips wrap around Valkyrie's for the first time. At first the kiss was gentle and a little hesitant as they both wanted to make sure that this was exactly what the other wanted. As they continued to kiss, they became more daring, and it was not long before they were both fully engulfed in a passionate kiss that neither of them wanted to end…

Chapter Text

The sound of two people laughing filled the first-class corridors closely followed by running footsteps. A door opened and closed and none of the other first-class passengers could hear anything after that. They assumed that it was two young people who'd had a little too much to drink and were now going to sleep off their intoxication.

Valkyrie looked around the cabin and found to her great relief that she and Skulduggery were alone. Caelan's meeting seemed to drag on and her parents were probably in the dining room hanging out with their friends. She didn't know how much longer either of them would be gone though, so they needed to hurry if they were going to do what they came here to do before they were discovered.

Her eyes landed on the Heart of the Ocean and her heart began to beat faster. Memories of what had happened and what had been said just hours ago flooded through her. A sudden pressure on her chest made her gasp and she had to grab onto Skulduggery to keep from falling to the ground.

"Valkyrie, what is it?" Skulduggery asked in a worried voice.

"The Heart of the Ocean…" was all Valkyrie got out as she pointed to the piece of jewelry lying on her dressing table.

Skulduggery followed her finger with his eyes until he caught sight of the piece of jewelry. He widened his eyes in surprise and walked over to the piece of jewelry. He picked it up and inspected it closely. Valkyrie could tell that it was the first time in his life that he held something so precious in his hands and he didn't know what to feel and/or think.

"It is very beautiful, I can't deny that, but yet I cannot feel anything but disgust when I look at this because I suspect I know what Caelan wanted to say when he gave you this piece of jewelry."

"Actually, it's because of that piece of jewelry that I was able to make my decision to leave Caelan to be with you instead."

Skulduggery looked up at Valkyrie with a surprised expression. "Was it?"

Valkyrie nodded and walked over to Skulduggery. She took the jewelry from him and let her fingers slowly caress it. "He came in here and apologized for the way he had behaved towards me earlier in the day. He claimed he wouldn't do it again and that he only wanted the best for me. He said, and now I quote, 'This is my way of proving to you how much I love you and only want your best. I will do everything in my power to make sure you will have everything you ever want. You should never have to go without anything, but what you want I will get. Nothing is good enough for my wife'."

Valkyrie looked up at Skulduggery and she wasn't the least bit surprised to see that his gaze had darkened. "So, Caelan seriously thinks he can buy your love?"

"Yes. The likes of Caelan cannot feel love, only ownership. They think it's the same thing. I've seen this happen more times than I can count over the years."

Skulduggery wrapped his arms around Valkyrie and gave her a tender kiss. "You are not an object, Valkyrie. You will never have to worry about me treating you like one, you have my word on that."

Valkyrie smiled and kissed Skulduggery back. "I know, Skulduggery. I think that's one of the reasons I'm drawn to you so strongly. You see me as a human being with feelings and you respect those feelings, instead of trying to make me think it's wrong for me to give vent to them."

Skulduggery smiled back and hugged Valkyrie tightly. "I'm so happy to hear you say those words. All I want is for you to be happy and live your life to the fullest. It's the least you deserve."

"Thank you," Valkyrie said and kissed Skulduggery before walking over to the desk that stood in the space of the cabin that was being used as a living room where she took out a pen and paper. She wrote a message to her parents and Caelan which she placed on her dressing table before placing the Heart of the Ocean on top of it.

Dear Caelan, Mother and Father. I hereby wish to notify all three of you that the engagement will not proceed since I am choosing to call it off. I have made the decision to walk my own path in life instead of getting stuck in a loveless marriage that will bring me nothing but unhappiness and misery. When we arrive in New York, I will disappear among the other third-class passengers and seek out my own happiness. Mother and Father, I wish you all the best and hopefully I will see you again sometime in the future. As for you Caelan, you can rot in hell for all I care.

Sincerely, Valkyrie Cain.

"Done?" Skulduggery asked, placing a hand on Valkyrie's shoulder.

Valkyrie nodded and placed her hand on top of Skulduggery's. "Yeah, let's get out of here before someone comes and sees us."

They got out of the cabin and started walking along the long corridors that were lined with all the first-class cabins. Valkyrie couldn't help but think how many more cabins there were up here compared to third class and how unfair it was that first class could have an entire cabin to themselves if they wanted, while the people in third class were forced to share the small space with three others, perhaps complete, strangers.

Valkyrie took Skulduggery's hand and squeezed it. She could feel him push back and she glanced up at him. He had a relaxed smile on his lips and his eyes sparkled with happiness, making Valkyrie smile as well. She still couldn't quite understand what she had done and what the consequences might be. A part of her, though it was very small, wanted to turn around, throw away the note and tell Skulduggery that she was sorry and that she was going to marry Caelan because it was what was best for her parents. She didn't know how they would survive without Caelan's money, but that wasn't her problem to solve. Besides, her parents had escaped the harsh clutches of poverty when they were young, so they could probably get out of it once more.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Skulduggery stiffening and pulling her close. Valkyrie was about to ask him what was wrong when she heard the sound of an all too familiar voice. Her heart began to pound hard in her chest with fear and she began to breathe in short, gasping breaths. Skulduggery raised his finger to his lips without letting his eyes drop from the hallway in front of them. Valkyrie took a quiet, deep breath and tried to calm herself, but it wasn't the easiest thing because she knew that if they were to be caught now, it would all be over.

"I guess I'll have to thank you for tonight. It was nice doing business with you, Mr. Smith," Valkyrie could hear Caelan say to someone she assumed was standing next to him.

"I'm the one to thank, Caelan. Wouldn't you like to come with me to the smoking room and have a little glass to celebrate our new partnership?"

Caelan was silent for a few seconds and Valkyrie held her breath. She thought, accept the offer, please! to herself and she could feel how even Skulduggery tensed up. She understood that if Caelan were to decline the offer and discover them, Skulduggery was prepared for things to get… nasty.

"Why not? I would be a fool to turn down such an offer," Caelan said before joining Mr. Smith.

When the sound of their footsteps died away, Valkyrie dared to breathe again. She took a deep breath and blew the air out slowly while holding Skulduggery's hand tightly. "That was close. Too close…"

"Agree." Skulduggery stood in silence for a little while before turning to Valkyrie and wrapping his arms around her. "If he had discovered us, I want you to know that I would have done everything to protect you, Valkyrie. I'm not going to let Caelan take away your future, Valkyrie. I don't give a damn what could happen to me, as long as you are safe. Do you understand?"

Valkyrie nodded and kissed Skulduggery. "I understand. I just hope it doesn't have to come to that…"

Skulduggery kissed Valkyrie back before taking her hand and leading her down the hall. They hadn't gone many steps before a door further down the hall opened and Tanith Low stepped out. The moment she caught sight of Valkyrie and Skulduggery she raised her hand in a wave and walked towards them with a big smile on her face. "Valkyrie, Skulduggery, nice to see you!"

"The same, Mrs. Low. How are you after last night's party?" Skulduggery asked.

Tanith laughed. "A little sore, but otherwise fine."

"I think I know why." Skulduggery gave Tanith a knowing smile which made all three of them laugh.

Tanith caught sight of their intertwined hands and put her hands over her mouth. She let out a small, delighted squeal of joy as she embraced them both. "Finally! I am so happy for your sake, Valkyrie. I was wondering how long it would take for you to realize that Caelan wasn't good for you, and I am so glad you made the right decision before we arrived in New York."

Valkyrie smiled big. "Thank you. I am very happy with the decision I made. I just hope that my parents will understand. I don't want to hurt them."

Tanith gave Valkyrie a pitying smile. "You shouldn't worry about them. They will be shocked at first, but they will understand your choice. They love you and only want the best for you."

Valkyrie felt tears burn in her eyes so she blinked them away before they could run down her cheeks. To have something else to think about she asked, "What is your status with Ghastly, then?"

Tanith smiled widely and took Valkyrie's arm in hers as she led both Valkyrie and Skulduggery away from the cabins and onto the deck. "He is divine, Valkyrie! I have felt attracted to men before, but not like this. I have spent the whole night and most of the day with him. I actually just came out of my room after freshening up after spending hours in Ghastly's arms. If it weren't for him having the night shift tonight, we'd probably still be in bed."

Valkyrie laughed. "I'm happy for you. Do you and Ghastly plan to keep seeing each other after you arrive in New York?"

"We have talked about it, yes. I have money saved that we can live on for a while, while Ghastly looks for a job. We can live with one of my parents' relatives until I find something of my own. You then? Have you talked anything about how you intend to do when we arrive?"

Valkyrie blushed a little. "We haven't really... had time to get that far. All of this is still very fresh and if I should be honest, I haven't dared think that far." She looked at Skulduggery who shrugged and gave her a small smile.

"Valkyrie is right. We haven't talked about it, but I'm used to getting out of difficult situations. We'll probably figure something out."

"Why don't you live with me and Ghastly until you both find a job and a place of your own?"

"We can't do that, Tanith! We don't want to intrude on…"

"Stop, Valkyrie. It's no problem, my relative doesn't care. She lives in a large mansion with many rooms just standing and gathering dust."

"If you say so…" Valkyrie said hesitantly but inside she cheered.

Tanith led them both down to the engine room where they found Ghastly hard at work along with some other workers shoveling coal into the large furnaces. The air was very hot, smoky and a little hard to breathe. It smelled strongly of charcoal and heat and Valkyrie could feel her clothes sticking to her body. She didn't understand how Ghastly, and the others could manage to stand down here for several hours, but she supposed they got used to it after a while. Also, all the workers were muscular, and they made the hard work look like child's play.

Tanith let out a whistle that made Ghastly and the workers closest to him look up. When Ghastly caught sight of the three of them, his face lit up in a big smile and he waved at them. Tanith walked up to him and gave him a kiss. "Hello, Ghastly. Thanks again for the night and day we spent together."

"You're welcome. I had a nice time together with you that I hope I will experience more times. But something tells me you didn't come down here just to thank me", Ghastly said with a smile.

"You left your handkerchief in my room." Tanith took out a red handkerchief from a pocket in her dress that she gave to Ghastly which put it in his back pocket.

"Thank you," he said and gave Tanith another kiss before heaving some coal into the oven. He then looked at Valkyrie and Skulduggery and couldn't help but see their intertwined hands. He raised an eyebrow in surprise before meeting Skulduggery's gaze. Valkyrie could see the two men having a silent conversation with just their eyes, which made her understand how deep their friendship truly was.

"How about that…" Ghastly said softly to himself before giving Valkyrie a smile. "Welcome to the gang."

Valkyrie laughed and squeezed Skulduggery's hand. "Thank you, Ghastly."

"I know we haven't decided anything yet, but I thought that if you'd still like to hang out with me when we arrive in New York the day after tomorrow, I thought Skulduggery and Valkyrie could live with us and my relative. At least until they find a job and a place of their own to live."

Ghastly nodded approvingly. "That sounds like a good idea. Then I'll get a chance to get to know you two beautiful women better."

"Then it's decided", Tanith said and nodded contentedly, which made Ghastly, Skulduggery and Valkyrie laugh.

Skulduggery put his arm around Valkyrie and gave her head a small kiss. "There you go, Valkyrie. You have nothing to worry about."

"Who has said that I have been worried?" Valkyrie asked but Skulduggery just smiled.

"Can you follow me for a second?" he asked, which made Valkyrie raise one of her eyebrows questionably. "Please?"

Valkyrie could see in the corner of her eyes how Ghastly and Tanith smiled meaningly towards each other, which just made her confused over what was up. "Sure, I'll come."

Skulduggery took Valkyrie's hand and pulled her behind one of the machines where he knew they would be allowed to be in peace from prying eyes. Valkyrie was just about to open her mouth to ask what Skulduggery was up to, when he put his hands around her cheeks and began to kiss her hungrily.

Oh, so this is what he wanted… Valkyrie thought and smiled inwards. I cannot complain, Skulduggery is a very good kisser…

Valkyrie wrapped her arms around Skulduggery's waist and neck to be able to pull him closer while she responded to his kisses with the same kind of hunger. Her whole body vibrated with pent-up desire and all she wanted was to feel Skulduggery's bare skin under her hands, but she managed to control herself. She wanted the first time she gets to feel Skulduggery's naked body against her own to be when they were completely alone.

"Valkyrie… I just can't get enough of you…" Skulduggery whispered, taking her bottom lip between his teeth, causing Valkyrie to moan softly. She pressed her body harder against Skulduggery's and could feel how much he wanted her.

She let her hand settle between their throbbing sex's, causing Skulduggery to moan against her lips. He let one hand cup one of her buttocks as he pressed her hard against him, causing Valkyrie's hand to move up and down the length of his desire, which in turn made them both moan again.

"God, you're driving me crazy…" Skulduggery whispered.

"Not as crazy as you make me… I need you, Skulduggery…"

"Let's find a remote place where we can be alone."

Valkyrie looked Skulduggery in the eyes and could clearly see his desire reflected in them. She gave him a questioning smile. "Where would that be?"

"We'll probably find something. I can be very inventive when I put that side to me", Skulduggery answered and smiled mischievously.

Valkyrie laughed and reluctantly pulled away from Skulduggery. She took his hand and walked back to Tanith and Ghastly who were talking. Tanith only needed to glance at the two of them to understand what had happened. She gave Valkyrie a knowing smile before saying "My cabin is available if you need some… alone time. I was going to stay down here and help Ghastly with his work, anyway."

"Are you certain?" Valkyrie asked and Tanith laughed.

"You need a place where you won't be disturbed and where neither your parents nor Caelan will come looking, right? My cabin is unlocked so it's just to waltz in."

Valkyrie gave Tanith a big hug and whispered "Thank you" in her ear.

Tanith hugged Valkyrie as well and whispered back, "Have fun."

Valkyrie waved goodbye to Ghastly and Skulduggery gave him a nod which Ghastly responded by blinking one eye. The way back to Tanith's cabin was filled with an expectant silence and Valkyrie's body felt like it was full of electricity. Her whole body seemed to tingle, and her ears were buzzing. She didn't dare look at Skulduggery because she was afraid, she wouldn't be able to keep her hands off him. She sensed that he was probably very expectant too, but probably not as nervous as she was.

When it came down to it, he was not a virgin after all.

Once they arrived at Tanith's cabin, they looked around one last time to make sure no one saw them enter before entering. Once inside the door, Skulduggery took a "do-not-disturb" sign that was on the table next to the door and hung it around the handle on the outside before closing the door and locking it.

They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, as if they really wanted to make sure that what they were about to do was something they both wanted to do. Valkyrie was the one to take the first step (literally) and the moment she broke the distance between them, their lips instantly found each other. The kiss was passionate, fiery and desperate.

Skulduggery led Valkyrie to the bedroom where he laid her down on the bed without breaking their kisses. He let his hands slowly caress Valkyrie's dress, causing Valkyrie to shiver in pleasure. Skulduggery broke their kiss and looked Valkyrie in the eyes before whispering "Are you sure about this? Do you really want it to be me that takes your virginity, Valkyrie?"

Valkyrie looked Skulduggery deep in the eyes and in a grave voice she replied, "Make love to me, Skulduggery."

Chapter Text

Skulduggery didn't need to hear any more. He began to kiss Valkyrie eagerly, hungrily, and passionately, all at the same time. He let his hands slowly undress her, and with each new piece of skin exposed before his eyes, he let his hands and mouth explore. He caressed Valkyrie warmly with his hands and drove her crazy with desire with his lips and tongue. He could both feel and hear this in the way Valkyrie gasped, moaned, and writhed beneath him. He could also see out of the corner of his eye how Valkyrie clenched her hands around the sheets as he explored an extra sensitive spot.

Valkyrie's body was filled with a desire she had never felt before, and the only thing that kept her from throwing herself at Skulduggery was the knowledge that Skulduggery wanted to make her first time special and that she would feel attractive, sexy, and loved. Even though all she wanted was for Skulduggery to press himself into her and take her, she kept those thoughts to herself. That was partly why she held onto the sheets so tightly.

Skulduggery had by now reached Valkyrie's chest and continued down to her stomach where he let his lips kiss the sensitive skin. He continued until he reached her panties where he let his fingers caress her clitoris and labia on top of the fabric, making Valkyrie moan in both pleasure and frustration.

"Skulduggery, please..." Valkyrie begged and pressed her gender against his fingers.

Skulduggery laughed and let his fingers continue to the side where he caressed her inner thighs. "Patience, Valkyrie. We're in no hurry."

Skulduggery continued to wander down until he reached Valkyrie's feet. He began to caress the top of both her feet before letting his fingers wander upwards over both of her shins and calves. As soon as his hands traveled over an area, he let his mouth follow. He caressed and kissed all the way up Valkyrie's legs until he reached her thighs. Then he grabbed the hem of her panties and slowly pulled them down before throwing them down on the floor where her dress lay.

He let his fingertips caress the inside of her thighs right next to the spot where he knew Valkyrie wanted him the most. He leaned down and blew gently on her labia and clitoris, which made Valkyrie shiver with both pleasure and desire. She grabbed Skulduggery's head while pressing her throbbing gender against his mouth. Skulduggery laughed before he let his lips touch Valkyrie's pussy. Valkyrie gasped before she began to moan from the pleasure Skulduggery's mouth gave her.

Skulduggery alternated between kissing and licking Valkyrie both slowly and quickly, all to give her as much pleasure as possible. He also let one of his fingers slowly sink inside her while he licked her, which made Valkyrie tremble and take a tighter grip on Skulduggery's hair.

After a while, when Valkyrie felt she was close, she grabbed Skulduggery's head again and lifted his face up. She gave him a smile before pulling him up, so he was kneeling above her. "I want to explore you too, Skulduggery, before we unite."

"Are you sure, Valkyrie? I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with."

Valkyrie nodded. "I'm sure," she replied and began to unbutton Skulduggery's shirt. Skulduggery tried to help her, but she shook her head. "I want to do this myself."

Skulduggery smiled before kissing her and letting his hands fall to his sides. "Go ahead, I'm yours to do with as you please."

"That could be a dangerous thing to say to someone," Valkyrie said and smiled.

"Not to you because I know you won't hurt me."

Valkyrie felt her chest fill with warmth as Skulduggery said those words. Seeing him surrender himself to her like this showed her how much he trusted her, and she didn't want to disappoint him.

She let Skulduggery's shirt slide off him and when she saw his body she couldn't help but gasp. He was so beautiful, so perfect… She slowly let her hands caress his skin before she began to touch his chin, neck, nape, collarbone and chest with her lips. Skulduggery shivered at her touch and whispered her name, letting Valkyrie know he enjoyed the way she touched him.

She continued down his body until she reached his belt. She paused, unsure of how to continue and looked up at Skulduggery. "May I…?"

"That's up to you, Valkyrie. Only do things that you feel comfortable with. You only need to do something that you think I want you to do if you feel like doing it," Skulduggery replied, caressing her cheek.

Valkyrie smiled up at him before unbuttoning his belt and pulling down his pants slowly. She could see Skulduggery's desire towards her from the bulge in his underwear and she carefully began to caress it with her fingertips, causing Skulduggery to gasp as he tied his free hand.

"Did I hurt you?" Valkyrie asked worriedly, pulling her hand away.

Skulduggery shook her head and gave her a reassuring smile. "No, I just wasn't ready. It's been a while since I last felt a woman's caresses." Skulduggery grabbed Valkyrie's hand and placed it back on his erection. "If you still want to continue, I promise to tell you if you do anything I find uncomfortable or painful."

Valkyrie smiled in relief and slowly began to caress Skulduggery's length outside his underwear, causing Skulduggery to close his eyes and let out a soft moan. Valkyrie leaned forward and gave his length a small kiss before grabbing the side of his underwear and pulling it down so she could see Skulduggery's full length. She caught her breath when she saw it and felt a twinge of worry as she became unsure whether Skulduggery would be able to fit inside her, but she quickly pushed that thought away and thought it would be fine.

Even though she had never had sex before, she had learned about what happens in a woman's body when she gets aroused and that the pussy is very good at adapting to different shapes and sizes of penises.

Valkyrie let her fingers slowly feel their way alongside Skulduggery's length to get a feeling of what Skulduggery liked, but also to get used to the size and how it felt. She let her hand wrap around him and slowly began to move her hand up and down. Skulduggery moaned and followed her movements with his hips. He looked down at Valkyrie and she could see his desire reflected in his eyes as she hadn't let go of him since she started caressing him because she wanted to see his reaction to her caresses.

"You are doing a very good job, Valkyrie…" Skulduggery whispered, while caressing her cheek.

Valkyrie felt her lower abdomen tighten at Skulduggery's words, and she couldn't help but let out a small moan of her own. She began to move her hand a little faster while letting her free hand caress Skulduggery's hipbone and inner thigh. Skulduggery let out a louder moan and grabbed Valkyrie's hair.

Valkyrie let her gaze wander from Skulduggery's face down to his penis. She stretched out her tongue and let it slowly circle the glans, knowing it was one of the most sensitive parts of a man's penis. She could feel Skulduggery's trembling the second her tongue made contact with his glans, which only reinforced her belief that she was doing the right thing. That she could make him feel the same kind of pleasure which he had given her a couple of minutes ago.

Valkyrie let her tongue play with Skulduggery's glans a little more before she opened her mouth and encircled Skulduggery while letting her hand continue to move up and down. Skulduggery was moaning very loudly now as he grabbed her head with both of his hands. He bent his head back and gasped out her name while moving in time with the movements of her mouth.

Valkyrie continued to move back and forth as she gradually took more of Skulduggery into her mouth. The feeling that went through her when she heard how much Skulduggery enjoyed her caresses made her desire increase, so she continued with her little "treatment" for a while longer until she felt that he couldn't wait any longer. She let go of Skulduggery's penis and took his hands in hers while she lay down on the bed and pulled Skulduggery with her so that he was on top of her. She could feel Skulduggery's cock pressing against her wet pussy and she moaned.

"I'm ready now, Skulduggery."

Skulduggery looked Valkyrie in the eyes and stroked her cheek. "Promise me that you'll tell me if you feel the slightest uncertainty, discomfort or pain, because then I'll stop right away. I also want you to know that since it's your first time, it might hurt at first and you might bleed a little. I'll be careful, but if it hurts too much, you must tell me."

Valkyrie smiled and kissed Skulduggery. "I promise. No more talking now. I want you to take me, Skulduggery. I want to feel you inside me."

Skulduggery placed his hands on Valkyrie's hips and let his cock touch her entrance for a moment so she would be given a chance to get used to his size. As Valkyrie nodded at him and parted her legs to give him better access, Skulduggery slowly slid into her. Valkyrie gasped as she felt Skulduggery fill her and it hurt a little, but not so much that she wanted him to pull out. She could feel her innermost muscles trying to widen to make room for Skulduggery and she relaxed because she knew that once she got used to it, the pain would turn to pleasure.

Skulduggery began to slowly move in and out of her with the tip of his penis and Valkyrie noticed that the more times Skulduggery thrust, the easier it became. After a few thrusts, she actually started to enjoy it and she started to move in time with Skulduggery's movements. She had started to adapt to him now and even dared to apply a little pressure every time she met Skulduggery.

Valkyrie put her arms around Skulduggery's back and arched her back a little to signal that she gave him permission to push himself deeper into her. Skulduggery took a firmer grip on Valkyrie's hips and slowly began to push himself a little deeper into her. Valkyrie gasped when she felt how easily Skulduggery could now slide into her and she was slightly surprised at how quickly her body had adapted to him.

"Valkyrie, I'm going to try to push my whole self into you now and this is where it might hurt. Promise me you'll tell me if I should stop, because I don't want to hurt you," Skulduggery said and kissed her cheek.

"I'm ready Skulduggery."

Skulduggery took a deep breath before pulling out of Valkyrie to press his full length into her in the next second. A sharp pain shot through Valkyrie, and she let out a small scream while pressing herself hard against Skulduggery's body. She could feel something warm flowing from her, and she understood that she had gotten that little bleeding that Skulduggery had explained to her.

Skulduggery looked at her worriedly and was about to say something, when Valkyrie interrupted him with a shake of her head. She began to slowly move back and forth along his cock and although it hurt at first, the pain quickly gave way to pleasure. She began to moan and put her legs up around Skulduggery's hips so that he would have better access to her.

Skulduggery began to move in step with her and it wasn't long before he too began to moan from the pleasure that was running through him. When he felt that Valkyrie had completely gotten used to him, he began to move faster. Valkyrie in turn pressed herself harder against Skulduggery so he could go deeper into her. She couldn't get enough of the feeling Skulduggery gave her every time he thrust into her.

"God... You're so beautiful..." Skulduggery whispered in her ear and Valkyrie couldn't help but laugh.

"You are pretty good looking as well..." she replied and kissed him passionately. Skulduggery returned her kiss and let one hand caress her breast, which made Valkyrie gasp. She pulled away a bit from him so she could look into his eyes. "Skulduggery, I would like to ride you."

"I wouldn't mind," Skulduggery replied. He grabbed Valkyrie's waist and lifted her up while leaning back without pulling out of her. Valkyrie put her arms around his shoulders and began moving her hips up and down along his cock, which made them both moan loudly. Skulduggery grabbed Valkyrie's hips so he could be able to assist how she should move to give them both absolute pleasure.

Valkyrie leaned back as she continued to move up and down in almost desperate movements. She moaned loudly and trembled from all the pleasure she felt. She put her hands on Skulduggery's legs to be able to get some support but also to be able to push down along his entire length. She wanted him to fill all of her, she wanted to feel him fill every corner of her pussy…

"I'm close..." Valkyrie gasped and pushed herself even harder against Skulduggery.

"Me too..." Skulduggery replied and took a firm grip on Valkyrie's hips to be able to push into her with everything he had.

It didn't take long before they both started moaning louder and their bodies shaking with pleasure as the orgasm began to build inside them both. Valkyrie pushed down along Skulduggery's length a few more times before she felt her pussy contract in an orgasm she had never experienced before. She screamed out Skulduggery's name as she came, and it wasn't many seconds before Skulduggery followed her over the edge.

Neither of them said anything for a long moment, they just held each other while they panted. Valkyrie's body shook and she felt tired. Her lower abdomen was a little sore, but in a good way. She suspected she might be in some pain tomorrow, but right now she couldn't care less. She felt satisfied in a way she had never been before, and this feeling was something she would want to experience many more times.

Skulduggery gave her neck a tired kiss while he let his hands slowly caress Valkyrie's back. He carefully pulled himself out of Valkyrie and then laid them down on the bed. He put the covers around them both before closing his eyes and pulling Valkyrie against him. She crawled into Skulduggery's arms and settled herself against his chest. She could hear the sound of and feel how his heart was beating fast and hard against her ear and cheek. She let one arm wrap around his waist before letting her lips touch his sternum.

"So, what kind of rating do I get? Was it as good as you imagined?"

Valkyrie laughed, caressing Skulduggery's hipbone with her fingertips. "You were absolutely perfect, Skulduggery."

"So, I didn't hurt you?"

Valkyrie shook her head and kissed his neck. "No. It hurt when you pushed all of yourself into me the first time, but it was something I was prepared for and knew would happen. Partly because you said it, and partly because my mother has told me a lot about sex and what happens in a woman's body."

"I wish I could have avoided it, but unfortunately it is not possible. The main thing is that it didn't continue to hurt afterwards."

Valkyrie propped herself up on her elbow and looked into Skulduggery's eyes. "You were absolutely incredible, Skulduggery. I couldn't have wished for a better first time. I'm glad you're the person I lost my virginity to, don't believe otherwise."

Skulduggery smiled. "And I'm glad you let me have that honor."

Their lips met in a gentle kiss that was unfortunately interrupted by a knock on the door causing them both to freeze. Valkyrie looked at Skulduggery in horror and clung to him as her body shook with fear. "What if it's…" she began but was interrupted by Skulduggery putting a finger to her lips.

"I'm going. If it's Caelan standing out there, I want you to get dressed as quietly as you can and sneak out the back door. Surely Tanith also has a door at the back of the cabin that you can use to get out of here?"

Valkyrie nodded.

"Good, then I want you to go out that way and go down to the engine room. Ghastly works for a few more hours so he can keep you hidden while he works." Skulduggery gave Valkyrie a quick kiss before getting off the bed and walking over to the door. "Who is it?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"It's me. I hope I am not disturbing you?" Valkyrie heard to her great relief Tanith say from the other side of the door.

Skulduggery laughed with relief and opened the door. Tanith was about to say something when she caught sight of Skulduggery's naked body, causing her to gape in surprise. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before regaining her composure and hurried into the cabin. She closed the door behind her before any of the other passengers could see Skulduggery's naked form.

"Are you out of your mind?!" she snarled, giving Skulduggery an angry look.

Skulduggery just laughed in response and went back to the bed where Valkyrie was sitting upright looking as shocked as Tanith had been when Skulduggery opened the door. Skulduggery walked into the bathroom and started to clean himself. Valkyrie in turn tried to find her way back to herself after the shock and embarrassment she was currently experiencing. In an attempt to regain some sort of control over the situation, she turned to Tanith, who hadn't been able to take her eyes off Skulduggery. "I am so terribly sorry for that, Tanith."

Tanith finally managed to drop her gaze from Skulduggery and instead turned it to Valkyrie. "My God Valkyrie, you've really hit the jackpot! No offense to Ghastly, because he's built like a god both with and without clothes, but Skulduggery isn't far behind. Something tells me that you two are going to have a lot of fun with each other going forward if I'm going to go by your body language and the wrinkled sheets."

Valkyrie felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment and she pulled the covers over her to avoid showing how embarrassed she was. She could hear Skulduggery laugh from the bathroom and hear the sound of his footsteps that came closer. The second thereafter she could feel the weight of his body as he sat down on the bed next to her. One of his hands found its way under the covers and began caressing her leg playfully.

"Valkyrie darling, aren't you going to get dressed, or were you planning to walk around the ship naked? Not that I wouldn't mind, but I think there could be a lot of unnecessary attention that we don't want right now, or what do you think?"

Valkyrie gave Skulduggery's hand a playful slap before pulling off the covers. "You'd really like that, wouldn't you?" She gave him a teasing smile before leaning in and giving him a kiss.

She got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and gave herself a smile before she started to clean her tender body. She was especially exact with her lower body, and she couldn’t help but winch a bit when she cleaned her lower abdomen. She was definitely going to be sore in the morning.

When she was done, she walked back out into the bedroom and started gathering her clothes that were scattered on the floor. She got dressed and was about to say something to Tanith when another knock came from the door. Skulduggery approached Tanith. “Are you expecting someone?”

Tanith shook her head. "No. No one has any reason to come to my cabin unless something has happened."

"Stay with Valkyrie. If there's trouble, I want you to take the back door out of here and head down to Ghastly. Protect Valkyrie at all costs. I'm not going to let that bastard get off this ship with Valkyrie around his arms. Is that understood?" Skulduggery asked in such a serious voice that a shiver ran through Valkyrie's body.

"You have my word," Tanith said just as seriously, putting her arm around Valkyrie's shoulders.

Skulduggery nodded and walked over to the door. He opened it and the sight of the person standing outside caused Valkyrie's body to freeze into ice. She gasped for breath and if it hadn't been for Tanith she would have fallen to the ground.

Standing outside the door was her fiancé Caelan with a furious expression, a body which was shaking with anger and clenched fists. He looked at Skulduggery with pure hatred in his eyes that Valkyrie had never seen in him before, which only reinforced her instinct that she had made the right decision in choosing Skulduggery over him.

Caelan started to open his mouth to speak, when he caught sight of Valkyrie and Tanith. His pupils narrowed and his lips pursed in an angry grimace. Pushing Skulduggery with his shoulder, he pushed his way into the room and walked up to Valkyrie at a speed no one of the other people in the room had thought possible.

He let his hand wrap around Valkyrie's wrist so tightly that Valkyrie winced in pain. Tanith tried in vain to hold onto her, but Caelan was stronger. He pressed Valkyrie against his body and hissed "You are coming with me back to your cabin, now."

Chapter Text

Valkyrie tried to pull away from Caelan's grip, but he was too strong. His grip on her wrist tightened and Valkyrie knew she would probably get a bruise if Caelan didn't let go of her soon. She could feel Tanith's arms on her shoulders and hear her trying to get Caelan to let go by speaking to him calmly.

"Don't get involved!" he told Tanith and gave her an angry look.

"Tanith is right, Caelan. Please let go of me, you're hurting me," Valkyrie begged but Caelan didn't listen to her plea. All she could see in his eyes was pure hatred and Valkyrie felt her blood freeze in her veins. She had never been as scared as she was right now, and she couldn't stop the thought that these could be the last minutes of her life.

Skulduggery walked up to Caelan and laid his hand on his shoulder. "Let go of Valkyrie now, otherwise I can't guarantee you will walk out of this room unharmed."

Caelan laughed, but it was not a happy laugh, but one that was completely devoid of any emotion. "You are to stay away from Valkyrie, Mr. Pleasant. She is my fiancée, and it is I who have been promised her hand in marriage. You are nothing but a parasite that attaches itself to others in order to survive. You are the dirt I scrape off from under my shoes on the doormat when I step inside the threshold. You are nothing!"

Skulduggery tightened his grip on Caelan's shoulder and said in an icy voice, "Let go of Valkyrie now."

Valkyrie managed to break free from Caelan's grip now that he was distracted from his power struggle with Skulduggery. She ran around him and placed herself behind Skulduggery to get protection from Caelan's wrath. She clasped her hands and laid them around Skulduggery's back while at the same time pushing her body against him. She shook from both fear and adrenalin. She could feel how Skulduggery's free hand lay itself around her arm and pushed it to show her that he was there for her and wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"Valkyrie, what do you think you are doing?!" Caelan roared. "You belong to me and only me! How dare you do this to your own family? Are you going to throw away their future for a man you have just met and who you don't know?! Don't you understand that he's taking advantage of you?! You'll never have stability with him! You'll never know from day to day if you'll have food on the table or if you'll have a place to live! With me, you'll have everything you could ever want. With me, you'll be safe!"

"The last thing Skulduggery would do to me is take advantage of me. He is a loving man who cares about me and my feelings, unlike you, Caelan, who only thinks that what you feel for me is love but which is nothing more than possession. I may never know from day to day what my life will be like if I go with Skulduggery, but at least I will always be surrounded by a person who only wants what's best for me and that will do everything to make sure that I am happy. If I were to go with you instead, Caelan, I would be forced to live a loveless life. I would have a life marked by hatred, disgust, and violence. I would be a bird locked in a cage, and I cannot live that way."

Caelan could not do anything else but stare at Valkyrie with an open mouth and a chocked facial expression. He was not used to that other people talked back to him and especially not women. He did not know how he should react to Valkyrie's resistance since this had never happened before. He was also very aware towards the fact that he had both Tanith and Skulduggery against him, which meant that he was alone against two women and a man which he did not have a single clue about how far he was prepared go to protect his fiancée from himself.

In pure desperation Caelan turned towards Tanith and pointed angrily at her. "This is your fault! You've tricked Valkyrie into believing a bunch of ideas that she's come to believe in! I knew that I should have never allowed Valkyrie to hang out with you! I knew you were trouble from the moment I laid my eyes on you!"

Caelan was about to stab Tanith in the chest when he saw the bed behind Tanith. He let his eyes scan the bed and it wasn't long before he saw the wrinkled sheets and a small bloodstain standing out against the white sheets. The realization of what had transpired between his fiancée and Mr. Pleasant in this room before he found them suddenly dawned on him. He suddenly understood why they had been in Tanith's cabin and that Tanith had probably lent it to them. Hell, she might even have joined them during the act itself. Who knew what that Pleasant could manipulate women into doing!

If Valkyrie thought she had seen Caelan angry before, it was nothing compared to what he was feeling right now. His entire being seemed to exist out of nothing but pure hatred that was about to consume him completely. Caelan was desperate now and losing control.

"You bastard!" he screamed, raising his fists to hit Skulduggery in the face and other places he knew would hurt. The only thing that existed in Caelan's mind right now was revenge and that he was going to do everything in his power to try to kill the man who had defiled his fiancée. "You have defiled her with your filth! She is no longer pure! She has become impure!"

"Caelan, stop!" Valkyrie screamed, trying to step between the two men, but just as she was about to do so, a loud scraping sound was heard and the entire Titanic shook violently. It only lasted a few seconds, but the shaking was so intense that paintings and other objects fell to the floor.

Skulduggery put his arms around Valkyrie reassuringly as the ship shook and Valkyrie held on tightly. She had no idea what was happening other than that she understood that the Titanic must have either collided or hit something large. When the ship had stopped shaking, everyone in the room noticed that the ship had stopped moving. They couldn't hear the sound of the engines whirring or feel the small vibrations against their feet that usually occurred when the ship moved and that you could only feel when standing still or sitting down.

"What the hell was that?!" Tanith exclaimed, looking around as if she expected the answer to materialize before her eyes. "That didn't sound good… I do not like the fact that we are standing still."

"I have no idea what just happened, but it couldn't have been anything good. The Titanic must have hit something big to cause that kind of shaking," Skulduggery replied, tightening his grip on Valkyrie. "How are you, Valkyrie?"

"I'm fine…" Valkyrie replied in a shaky voice. She suddenly widened her eyes as a thought struck her and she looked up at Skulduggery with a worried look. "We need to go check on my parents!"

Skulduggery nodded and gave her forehead a reassuring kiss. "We can go over to your cabin and see if they're there if you want."

"Yes, please!" Valkyrie said in a relieved voice, earning a reassuring smile in response from Skulduggery. He took her hand and turned his back on both Tanith and Caelan. He started to lead Valkyrie towards the door, when Caelan grabbed Valkyrie's arm and jerked her back so hard that she almost lost her grip on Skulduggery's hand.

"You're not going anywhere with him!"

"Let me go, Caelan," Valkyrie said in an icy voice. Her concern for her parents was far greater than her fear of Caelan, and all she could think about right now was making sure they were okay, because she had a gut feeling that the sound they had just heard did not bode well and that something terrible was about to happen.

If Valkyrie only knew how right, she was...

Caelan was so surprised by her tone that his grip on her loosened a little, which gave Valkyrie the opening she needed to pull away from his grasp. She turned her back to him and walked out of the cabin, holding Skulduggery's hand in a secure grip. She looked nowhere but straight ahead as they walked, her sights set on her cabin, which was down the next corridor. She could hear both Tanith and Caelan following them from a distance, and she hoped that Caelan wouldn't try anything while Skulduggery had his back to him.

As they rounded the corner and found themselves in the corridor that led to her and her parents' cabin, Valkyrie could see that the door was wide open, causing her heart to pound in her chest and her pulse to increase. The lump of worry she had been holding in her stomach grew larger, now feeling almost as big as a rock. She could hear agitated voices coming from inside the cabin, and she let go of Skulduggery's hand so she could run the last bit.

"Mom, Dad, are you in here?!" Valkyrie called and ran into the cabin.

"Valkyrie!" her mother called out, hugging her daughter tightly the moment she ran into the cabin. "Where have you been?! We saw the note you left and were so worried!"

"Never mind that now, Mom! Do you know what just happened? What was that noise and shaking?"

"An iceberg," said her father, who was standing a little way from them, talking to a crewman.

"There's nothing to worry about, miss. Everything is under control. We saw the iceberg too late and didn't have time to move out of the way in time. Luckily, it was only the side of the ship that was hit and we're currently examining for any damage. I'm asking you all to stay in your cabins until we know more," the crewman said before exiting the cabin.

"This is truly awful!" her mother said and started to sob. "I was so scared, especially since I did not know where you were. I am so relieved to see that you are okay, honey."

"I'll stay here with you until we find out more information, Mom. I won't leave your and Dad's side, I promise."

"I'll stay here with you too. I won't let Valkyrie out of my sight since I have promised to protect her," Skulduggery said, putting his arm around Valkyrie's shoulders.

"Thank you, Mr. Pleasant," Desmond said, giving Skulduggery a grateful smile. "We appreciate it very much."

"What do you mean with appreciate?!" her mother exclaimed, giving Skulduggery an angry look. "It's thanks to him that we didn't know where Valkyrie was when we got back here a little while ago!"

"Mom, please, don't make a scene," Valkyrie begged, taking her mother's hand. "Let me explain…" she began but was interrupted by Caelan.

"We should have the captain arrest Mr. Pleasant for rape!"

"Caelan, what are you saying?" her father exclaimed, staring at Caelan with wide eyes.

"I can prove that Mr. Pleasant here has had sex with your daughter. When I entered Mrs. Low's cabin, I saw a bloodstain among her sheets, which furthermore were unmade and wrinkled. We all know that Valkyrie is a virgin, or at least she was until very recently."

"And how do you know that it wasn't me who has bloodied my own sheets?" Tanith asked, standing with her arms crossed behind Caelan.

"So, you want to play that game, Mrs. Low? In that case, would you mind accompanying Mrs. Edgley into the bathroom and proving to her that you have your monthly bleeding?" Caelan asked with a wicked grin on his face.

Tanith opened her mouth to respond but hesitated because she knew that no matter what she said, she wouldn't be able to get out of this situation without proving to Caelan that he was right about his accusation against Valkyrie and Skulduggery. She was about to open her mouth to protest, trying to buy them all some time, when Valkyrie stepped forward and decided that it was just as well to confess.

"Okay, Caelan. Do you want the truth? Then you'll get it. Yes, Skulduggery and I had sex, but contrary to what you think, it was consensual. Skulduggery didn't rape me; I was the one who asked him to take my virginity."

The room went so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone was staring at Valkyrie, but she only had eyes for Caelan. She could see the consternation on his face, but also how he had to fight not to jump at her and break her up and tear her apart. According to him, she had gone against him in the worst and most humiliating way a woman could do towards another man.

He could not understand how she had dared to stand up for herself in this way and that he was now beginning to understand how strong Valkyrie really was. He also understood that he had seriously underestimated her from day one and that she had played her role as a typical first-class woman a little bit too well.

"Mr. and Mrs. Edgley, I understand that this comes as a shock to you, especially considering the fact that I have only known your daughter for a few days. You could even argue that neither of us know each other. That is true in one way, but wrong in another. During these days that I have spent with your daughter, I have come to know her on a level that only you know her on. She has opened up to me and told me about her life, her upbringing, her feelings, her positive and negative experiences of living as a first-class woman, but she has also shared her dreams and her thoughts about her engagement to Caelan and what it would mean for her future.

All of this has given me a good picture of the kind of woman your daughter is and the picture I have gained is that she is a beautiful, selfless, strong and independent young woman with her own dreams that she wants to pursue and that she will not have the opportunity to do if she marries Caelan. She didn't want to tell you this before because she knows what it could mean for your future. She loves you and only wants the best for you, just like I do.

Desmond and Melissa Edgley, I love your daughter. I understand that my words may not mean that much to you and that you don't trust me at all, which you have every right to do, but what I am trying to tell you is that Valkyrie is a young woman who has her own ambitions and who wants more out of her life than just becoming a simple housewife. The only reason she agreed to this arrangement was because she wanted you to be safe and avoid ending up on the streets. She loves you so much that she was willing to sacrifice her own life to save yours."

Valkyrie gasped for breath when she heard Skulduggery's words, and she let go of Caelan's gaze to instead being able to turn towards her parents. Desmond looked at Skulduggery with a look that Valkyrie could not interpret, and she did not know if it was something good or bad. Her mother had taken a step back and put her hands over her mouth. She looked at Valkyrie with teary eyes and all Valkyrie wanted to do was go over and hug her mother, but she didn't do it because she did not know if her mother would accept it.

"Is all this which Mr. Pleasant is saying true, Valkyrie?" Desmond asked, looking at his daughter.

Valkyrie nodded, feeling how tears were forming in her eyes. She took Skulduggery's hand in hers for support, and when she felt him squeeze her hand, she found the courage she needed to tell her parents the whole truth. "Yes, it is true what Skulduggery is telling you, Dad. I did all this for your sake. I would never have married Caelan if it weren't for our financial situation."

"Honey…" her mother said, walking over to her daughter. She wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. "My beloved little Valkyrie…"

"No matter what happens, I want you to know that I love you and that I intend to start a new life together with Skulduggery. He is a much better man than Caelan will ever be."

"In that case, there is only one thing I want to know, Mr. Pleasant." Desmond looked Skulduggery in the eye. "Will you be able to promise us that our daughter will be safe with you?"

"No, I cannot. As you probably know, a third-class life is not a bed of roses. Danger lurks everywhere and you never know from day to day whether you will have food on the table or a roof over your head. I cannot promise you the security that Valkyrie has had during the years she has lived under your roof. The only thing I can promise you is that I will do my very best to make sure she doesn't get hurt and that I would sacrifice my life for her if we were in a life-or-death situation," Skulduggery said in a serious voice, never taking his eyes off Desmond.

"That's all I wanted to hear. Thank you for your honesty, Mr. Pleasant."

Caelan stared at Desmond in disbelief and shock. "You can't be serious now, Mr. Edgley?! You don't know this man! How can you let Valkyrie get off the boat and start a new life with a man she just met and who has clearly bewitched her!"

"All I care about is my daughter's happiness, Caelan," Desmond replied calmly.

"She won't be happy with him! He'll get her killed!" Caelan screamed.

Valkyrie looked at Caelan in disgust. "Mom, Dad, now maybe you're starting to understand why I can't marry Caelan. He may seem like the perfect husband on the outside, but behind closed doors he is nothing more than a tyrant who loves to humiliate, hurt, and manipulate. My life with him would be a living hell on earth and I would be nothing more than a prisoner locked in a false paradise. He's already laid hands on me once, so what's to say he won't do it again?"

"You have done what?!" Desmond roared, turning his gaze to Caelan, who didn't move an inch. "This is completely unacceptable! I'm really starting to understand why my daughter didn't trust you from the moment you came and asked me for her hand! If she hadn't made this decision herself, I probably would have done it myself!"

"Dad…" Valkyrie whispered.

"Think really hard about what you're saying now, Mr. Edgley…" Caelan said in a cold voice. "I can make life really miserable for you and your family."

"You can always try, Caelan. I'm not afraid of you and never have been. Your family may be powerful and have a lot of money, but wealth only gets you so far. There are other ways to destroy a man."

Desmond and Caelan stared at each other with an anger that could be felt in the air, and Valkyrie was afraid that they were going to start a fight. She was about to step between them when she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Everyone turned their gazes to the cabin door, which opened and the same crewman who had told them about the collision with the iceberg entered. He looked nervous and he put his hands behind his back while taking a deep breath.

Whatever this man was about to say, it would not be anything good… Valkyrie thought to herself while she tried to prepare herself for what was to come.

"We have now completed our examination of any damage the ship may have sustained after the collision and…" he cleared his throat and suddenly looked scared, which made Valkyrie's gut feeling that something terrible was about to happen even stronger.

"I'm sorry, but the Titanic is taking on water, and fast. I must ask you to put on your life jackets immediately and head for the lifeboats."

"This is absurd! The Titanic is indestructible, she cannot be damaged, which means that she is also unsinkable!" Caelan exclaimed, giving the crewman a look that said he thought the man was incompetent and didn't know what he was talking about.

"I wish that were the case, sir, but unfortunately, I am speaking the ultimate truth. The Titanic will sink to the bottom of the ocean within a few hours."

Chapter Text

Everyone stood staring at the crewman who was fidgeting nervously and from the light of the overhead lamps 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 it.

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 are not going anywhere, Valkyrie! The ship is sinking, and we do not know how fast the water is coming in. The 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, what's wrong?" 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.

Chapter Text

The sound of running footsteps echoed in the hallway, and terrified people threw themselves to the side to avoid being hit by a bullet. They had no idea what was happening, but they didn't want to find out either. They had other things to think about than getting in the way of the madman running around with a revolver in his hand.

Valkyrie couldn't help but look over her shoulder as they ran, even though she knew it might throw her off balance. She wanted to know where Caelan was and whether he was going to fire another shot to avoid getting her and/or Skulduggery shot. She could see that Caelan raised his arm again and that he had his hand on the trigger, which told Valkyrie that he was going to shoot them again in a matter of seconds. In his eyes, she could see nothing but pure hatred and murder.

Caelan has truly crossed the line now… If he survives this, he will no longer be the same. All I can hope for now is that we make it out of here with our lives intact and that Caelan will leave my parents alone if he also gets out of here alive… it went through Valkyrie's head the second before Caelan shot again.

Valkyrie pushed Skulduggery and the bullet missed them by a wide margin. She let out a sigh of relief, but it wasn't long before another bullet whizzed past them, closer this time. Skulduggery swore and dragged her into a hallway just before a third bullet could be heard being fired. Valkyrie watched it pass where they had just stood, causing her stomach to clench with fear.

"Skulduggery, we must hide! Caelan is getting more and more accurate!" Valkyrie said in panic.

A fourth bullet whizzed past them and this time Valkyrie could feel the draft it created as it passed them. She threw herself to the side while screaming loudly in fear. Skulduggery tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her down a flight of stairs that appeared before them. Valkyrie hesitated for a second because the hallway below the stairs was half full of water, but when she heard Caelan shout her name behind her, she followed Skulduggery down the stairs.

The moment the icy water enveloped her body, she gasped for breath. She could feel how her legs and waist was already starting to get cold, and she knew that if she stayed in this icy water for a longer period of time, she would start to go numb and lose sensation, something she wanted to avoid because it could quickly lead to hypothermia, which in turn would lead to her death.

Skulduggery pulled her around a corner and they both pressed against the wall so they wouldn't be visible from the stairs they had just run down. He put a finger to his lips and Valkyrie nodded to show Skulduggery that she understood what he wanted to tell her. She looked into his eyes, trying to catch her breath so that Caelan wouldn't hear where they were standing.

She listened for Caelan's footsteps, but her heart was pounding so hard in her ears that she had trouble hearing any other sounds.

"I know you're here somewhere! You can't hide from me!" Caelan shouted from the top of the stairs.

Valkyrie bit her lip to keep from screaming in fear, and Skulduggery squeezed her hand to calm her. They could hear the sound of approaching footsteps and then the splash of a body moving forward in the water. Valkyrie could see the rings forming on the surface of the water as Caelan moved. She looked up and just had time to catch a glimpse of the revolver before Caelan's arm became visible.

Every part of her body seemed to have turned to ice, and she knew that it wouldn't matter now how fast they ran, because this time Caelan would have time to shoot at least one of them, maybe even both of them before they had taken many steps. She began to shake with fear and felt tears forming in her eyes. She turned her gaze away from the revolver and instead let it rest in Skulduggery's eyes. In them she could see nothing but determination and that he had his gaze fixed on Caelan's arm. She could also feel how tense his body was against hers and she understood that Skulduggery was preparing to fight and that the fight would not be easy for Caelan.

Caelan took another step forward and now his face was visible. He turned his head towards them and the moment he caught sight of them he smiled a smile that could not be called anything else than manic. His eyes shone with triumph as he raised the revolver towards Valkyrie. "There you are," he whispered and pulled the trigger.

Valkyrie screamed before closing her eyes because she was sure that she was seconds from dying, but instead of feeling pain she felt something cold embrace her body. It took her a few seconds to realize that she had been pushed into the cold water instead of being hit by a bullet. She opened her eyes and saw that she was sitting on the floor.

The water around her was moving uneasily, and she could now hear the sound of a battle taking place a short distance away. She lifted her head and could see Skulduggery and Caelan fighting for control of the revolver. Caelan was bleeding from his nose, and Valkyrie knew that Skulduggery must have landed a good punch in an attempt to distract Caelan long enough to keep him from firing the revolver again.

"Why won't you die?!" Caelan screamed, punching Skulduggery in the stomach, sending Skulduggery plummeting below the surface. Valkyrie screamed as she saw Caelan raise the revolver and fire a shot at the spot where Skulduggery had just disappeared from.

"No!" she screamed, lunging forward. She jumped onto Caelan's back, wrapping one arm and both legs around his body as she tried to grab the revolver.

Caelan twisted and tried to throw her off, but Valkyrie had a firm grip on him. When she couldn't get the weapon, she instead started to tear Caelan's face apart. Caelan let out a roar that sounded like a wild animal and tried to grab Valkyrie's hands, but as soon as he thought he had a good grip, Valkyrie managed to pull her hands away.

"You fucking whore! I'm going to tear you to pieces!" Caelan roared and tried to hit Valkyrie with the barrel of the revolver.

Valkyrie twisted and turned to avoid being hit, which made her grip on Caelan's body weaken. She could feel herself starting to lose her grip and she tried desperately to stay put, but when Caelan managed to land a blow to her shoulder with the barrel of the revolver, she had no choice but to let go of him.

She fell to the floor and immediately began to back away from Caelan on all fours to try to get some breathing room, since most of her strength had disappeared while she was clinging to Caelan's back. He followed her and grabbed the shoulder strap of her life jacket as he reached her. He lifted her up, pressed his face close to hers, and panted heavily. His eyes were wide open, almost bulging from their sockets. His mouth was pulled back so hard that all his white teeth were visible.

"This has been going on long enough now, Valkyrie. Your third-class lover is dead, and you will be following him in just a minute. I will tell your parents that you chose to stay on the Titanic together with him, where you both drowned when she sank to the bottom of the ocean." Caelan put the revolver against Valkyrie's cheek. "Then, when we are all safe and sound in New York, I will take back all the money I have lent your father and laugh as I watch your parents' entire existences unravel around them. I will make the rest of their lives a living hell!"

“Caelan, no, please leave them alone!” Valkyrie begged. “It’s me you are angry at, it’s I who have angered you.”

“You know, it is a shame that I didn’t get the chance to fuck you, because I am convinced that you would have been a really good fuck”, Caelan said, completely ignoring Valkyrie’s plea before he laid his finger against the trigger.

“She sure is, but you won’t have the pleasure to experience it”, Skulduggery said from behind Caelan before grabbing the revolver and raising it towards the ceiling.

Caelan fired a shot that made Valkyrie flinch and put her hand over her ear that rang painfully from the shot while she instinctively backed away. Skulduggery grabbed the revolver with his other hand while kicking Caelan's knee. Caelan screamed in pain and lost his grip on the revolver. Skulduggery pressed it to Caelan's head and looked at him with a cold expression on his face before pulling back the hammer and putting his finger on the trigger. "How does it feel to be outwitted by a person who is nothing more than the dirt from under your shoes that you sweep off on your doormat when you step inside the threshold?" Skulduggery asked before firing the revolver.

Caelan's head shot back in a wide arc as his eyes went from glowing with hatred to completely blank. His dead body was pulled beneath the surface of the water before floating up a few seconds later, slowly bobbing up and down. The water around his body was stained red with his blood. Skulduggery threw the revolver down on Caelan's body before running to Valkyrie, who was shaking with adrenaline, shock, relief, and fear. She couldn't believe that Caelan was gone and that she had finally gotten rid of him forever.

From now on, she was a free woman.

Skulduggery laid his arms around Valkyrie and hugged her hard before he lifted her chin upwards so he could look into her eyes. He bent forward and let his lips enclose hers in a tender kiss that made Valkyrie's inside flame up. She laid her arms around Skulduggery and kissed him back.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt?" Skulduggery asked when they were done kissing.

Valkyrie nodded. "Yes, just a little shaken up."

At the same moment she said that her body started to tremble, and Skulduggery laid his arms around her again while he stroked her back in slow movements. Valkyrie closed her eyes and leaned her head against Skulduggery's shoulder. So, they stood for a little while before a metallic sound made them open their eyes and look up. They now noticed that the water had risen to chest height and that the ship had started to tilt, which made Valkyrie's fear lay its evil claws around her.

"Skulduggery, we must get away from here!"

"Come", Skulduggery answered and started to lead her up the stairs which they had been running down for what felt like an eternity ago.

They managed to get up onto the deck where they could both see very clearly how much water the Titanic had taken on. Her bow was leaning straight down, and water was rushing up at a furious speed. The place where Skulduggery and Valkyrie had first met a few days ago and where they had had their first kiss was now completely underwater. They could also see people trying to get higher up on the ship to avoid the water and the lifeboats which by now had rowed away a good distance from the ship to avoid being sucked in with the Titanic when she sank below the surface.

Valkyrie let her gaze wander upwards along the ship and could then see that Titanic's stern had begun to rise, which explained the tilting they had been feeling down on the stairs. She looked at Skulduggery with a panic-stricken gaze.

"What should we do?"

"We must check if there are any more lifeboats that hasn't been launched yet and try to get on board one of them."

"And if there isn't any left?"

"Then we must try to stay here as long as humanly possible and jump off just before the ship sinks. Then we must try to swim after the lifeboats and hope that one of them has room left for us."

Valkyrie nodded and wrapped her arms around Skulduggery's waist. A lump had formed in her stomach that only seemed to grow bigger and bigger by the second. She couldn't stop thinking about what was about to happen to her, Skulduggery, and all the other survivors who were stuck on the sinking Titanic. She also couldn't help but think about all the people she knew had already been lost and who were below the surface along with the part of the Titanic that had already sunk. She couldn't stop thinking that she could soon be one of them and that her death would be painful and where she would slowly feel her life fading with every passing second.

"Come on, we must try to get some ground. She'll just fill with more water and the bow will sink even more, which will soon make the stern stand straight up," Skulduggery said, pulling Valkyrie up the deck with him.

All around them they could hear shouts and screams of fear, anger, confusion and panic from the people who were still on the ship. People were running around and over each other in a desperate attempt to escape the approaching water. The problem was that the more water rushed over the ship, the steeper the slope became, which in turn meant that it became increasingly difficult to get up. Many were forced to grab the railing and pull themselves up to be able to move forward at all.

Valkyrie could hear some of the panicked people around her shouting for help and wondering where the lifeboats were, to which other people shouted in response that there were no more lifeboats and that it was, "every man for himself." This created even more anxiety and panic, and Valkyrie had to hold on to Skulduggery tightly to keep from being pushed away. She looked up at him. "Skulduggery…"

Skulduggery looked into Valkyrie's eyes and said nothing, only tightening his grip on her. He looked around as they continued to climb upward, pushing away people who were in their way. His body was tense, and his gaze swept across the deck in search of lifeboats, but even he was beginning to realize that there really were none left. He stopped to catch his breath and pressed Valkyrie tightly against his body. "We will get out of this alive, Valkyrie. Do you hear that? I promise I will do everything I can to make sure we survive. I want you to promise me one thing in return."

"What, Skulduggery?"

"If I get seriously injured and you will be forced to leave me to save your own skin, then you must. You can't sacrifice yourself just because I'm beyond redemption. I want you to have a chance to live the life you've dreamed of for so long. Don't let the opportunity slip away from you."

"I… I can't…" Valkyrie started to say, but Skulduggery cut her off.

"Promise me!" He said with a desperation Valkyrie had never heard from him before and that made her flinch. She could see in his eyes that he was bloody serious and that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I promise," she whispered, and Skulduggery pressed her tightly against his own body before kissing her in a way that made Valkyrie understand how much she meant to him.

Just then, there was a loud crack and a metallic sound as the Titanic shook violently. All the people who remained on board the ship could feel the wooden deck they were standing on vibrate beneath their feet just before a powerful tremor ran through the ship. Seconds later, the black, cold night was filled with a deafening bang as the Titanic split in half due to the shifted center of gravity of her bow and midsection, which was now completely submerged below the water surface.

Those who were unlucky enough to be at the exact spot where the split occurred fell straight into the ship and disappeared with terrified screams. Some died relatively quickly by hitting themselves on a hard beam or being penetrated by sharp pieces of wood, while others received a strong current through their bodies. Others were not as lucky, but were wedged in and drowned as the bow and midsection of the ship sank below the water surface.

The stern of the Titanic slowly began to lean downward and slightly to the side as the rest of the Titanic disappeared beneath the surface, but when it could no longer hold on, the stern broke free from the rest of the ship, causing it to fall back down to the surface of the water at a furious speed. Those people who were not holding on to the railing or anything else fell carelessly into the water or hit something on the ship. Some even fell onto their fellow passengers, resulting in even more deaths.

When the stern was once again at rest on the surface of the water, Valkyrie dared to open her eyes and look around. She just had time to catch a glimpse of the Titanic's bow as it sank into the water, and she couldn't help but feel an incredible sense of relief that she had survived what had just happened. Her relief didn't last long, however. She heard a bubbling sound coming from the part of the stern that had broken apart and when she looked down, she could see how it too began to slowly sink. She could feel the tilt that occurred as the stern began to rise again and she knew that it wouldn't be long before it too disappeared into the water.

"Valkyrie, listen to me!" Skulduggery shouted to be heard over all the noise around them. He grabbed her chin and turned her head so he could look into her eyes. "We have to climb over the railing at the very back of the stern and hold on for all we're worth, so we don't fall off the ship as it sinks."

Valkyrie nodded and followed Skulduggery as he climbed up, and it wasn't long before they were over the railing. They both lay flat against the metal, holding on tightly to the railing as they looked down at the water in front of them. They could both see the water getting closer and closer, and more and more people starting to jump off the ship and try to swim away before the ship sank.

"It's almost time! You need to take a really deep breath right before we sink below the surface. As soon as you get below the surface, you need to swim up as fast as you can, because the ship will try to suck you down with it. Do you understand what I'm saying, Valkyrie?"

"I understand!"

"Good." Skulduggery took Valkyrie's hand in his and squeezed it. "Hold my hand tightly the whole time and don't let go! I'll help you swim up. Do you trust me?"

"Yes, I trust you!" Valkyrie shouted, squeezing Skulduggery's hand as she gave him a kiss.

"Good, get ready!" Skulduggery shouted. He looked down at the water that was now only a few meters away from them and approaching very quickly. "Now! Hold your breath!"

Valkyrie took a deep breath just seconds before she ended up underwater. Her entire body immediately went ice-cold, and she felt as if hundreds of needles were being pressed into her skin at the same time. Her entire body was telling her to scream out her pain, but she managed to keep it inside. She could feel Skulduggery's hand in hers and she immediately began to swim upwards, but it was harder than she had thought. An enormous amount of pressure was pushing her downwards, threatening to pull her even further below the surface.

She kicked hard and felt the pressure ease a little, giving her enough strength to continue pushing upwards. She could see the surface of the water right above her and she had just enough time to think "I will make it!" when she felt her grip on Skulduggery's hand loosen.

She started to panic and began waving her hands in front of her in an attempt to locate where Skulduggery was but could feel nothing but water around her. She felt the air in her lungs start to run out, so even though it hurt, she used the last of her strength to swim to the surface. The second her head broke the surface, she took a deep breath before spitting out some water and looking around. She could see other people in life jackets bobbing around her, calling for help, but she couldn't see Skulduggery anywhere.

"Skulduggery!" she shouted and started swimming as a weight settled on top of her head, pushing her below the surface.

Chapter Text

All she could see was a black nothingness surrounding her from all sides. She could feel the weight of whatever it was that had pinned her down above her and wouldn't let go of her, no matter how hard she tried to free herself. She didn't know what awaited her up there, but she didn't care. All she had on her mind right now was getting to the surface so she could start breathing again.

Valkyrie pushed herself forward, causing the grip on her hair to loosen and she could swim up. As soon as her head rose above the surface, she took a deep breath before turning around to try to locate what had pinned her down. She saw a terrified man next to her who put his arms around her as soon as he saw her. He pushed her against him and held her so tightly that she couldn't get away.

"Help me!" she screamed, turning her head back and forth to try to get someone's attention, but no one heard her. If they did, they either did not care or were too busy with their own fear and panic to help her.

When Valkyrie realized that no one was going to help her, she turned her face to the terrified man. "Please, let me go. You're hurting me and we could both die if you don't let go of me," she said, but it was like talking to a wall. She tried to catch the man's gaze, but it wasn't working because his eyes were darting in all directions.

Valkyrie called out for help once again, a little more desperately this time. She heard someone call back and a surge of hope ignited within her. She called out again and this time she heard the person call her name. She managed to free one of her arms and began waving it in the air while screaming, "Here I am!"

She just had time to see someone start swimming towards them when she was once again pushed below the surface by the panicked man. She could feel his hands and arms pressing down on her and this time she couldn't get free, no matter how hard she fought. She could feel her strength starting to drain from all the fighting and the cold water surrounding her. The air in her lungs was also starting to run out and her body was screaming at her to take a breath, even though it knew it would lead to her death. She held back, even though her lungs had started to burn from the lack of oxygen by now.

I'm so sorry Skulduggery, Mom, Dad, Tanith, Ghastly and Alice… I fought all the way to the end, but it wasn't enough… Valkyrie thought and was about to open her mouth to take that last, deadly breath when she felt the pressure above her head disappear and a pair of hands grab the shoulder strap of her life jacket before she was pulled up.

As soon as she surfaced again, she started coughing violently before taking a very deep breath to fill her lungs to the max with oxygen. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see someone shouting something to the terrified man who had pushed her underwater before the person punched the man right across the nose. The man screamed in pain and put one hand over his nose before swimming away in pure panic.

Valkyrie turned to the person who had just saved her life. When she saw who it was, she gasped for breath and felt her whole body fill with relief. "Skulduggery!" she screamed and swam towards him. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly before giving him a passionate kiss.

"Valkyrie, how are you? Are you okay?" Skulduggery asked, grabbing her face so he could look into her eyes.

Valkyrie nodded. "I'm fine. How are you? Are you injured?"

"You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine. Come on, we need to find something that floats so we can get out of the water, or we'll get hypothermia. If that happens, we're done for."

Valkyrie nodded and followed Skulduggery. As they swam, they encountered many panicked people screaming for help and their loved ones. Some said nothing, just staring straight ahead with blank eyes. Valkyrie did not know if they were already suffering from hypothermia, if they were in shock, or if they were already dead. Even though she wanted to turn back and try to help all the other survivors of the sinking, she knew she couldn't do that. All she could hope for was that a rescue boat was on its way that would be able to pick them up as soon as possible.

If we're very lucky, maybe the lifeboats will come back and pick us up, she thought as she swam after Skulduggery.

"There!" Skulduggery shouted, pointing to a wide wooden panel floating a short distance ahead of them. "Come on, it's not far. You can do it, Valkyrie."

Skulduggery took Valkyrie's hand and helped her swim the last bit. When they reached the wooden panel, Valkyrie could see that it was one of the doors that had led into the dining room. She hoped it would be sturdy enough to support both of their weight. Otherwise, neither of them would survive…

Skulduggery helped her climb up the door. When he was sure she was safe and that the door would hold her weight, he tried to climb up too. The door sank below the surface as he climbed up, but as soon as he sat up, it bobbed up again and they were both now above the surface of the water. They were out of danger, at least for the moment, and they both knew that they now had a slightly better chance of survival.

They wrapped their arms around each other to try to conserve and warm their bodies a little, as it could be the difference between life and death. They said nothing for a good while, concentrating entirely on holding each other in their arms and allowing themselves to feel relief that they had both survived the sinking.

They tried to suppress all the terrified screams and cries for help that the people around them were making, but it was difficult. Valkyrie couldn't help but feel guilty that she had gotten away from the freezing water and in doing so had given herself a better chance of survival than all the other people around her which were also fighting for their survival. At the same time, she was extremely happy about the fact that she might now have a chance to see her parents, Alice, Tanith, and Ghastly again.

"I am so glad we did not lose each other after we got separated," Valkyrie said and tightening her grip on Skulduggery's waist. "I was so scared when I felt our hands lose their grip. I had no idea where you were, if you were hurt, or if you were going to come back up. Then when I was pushed under the surface by that man, I thought for sure that I was going to drown…"

"I was pulled down by the maelstrom that formed when the Titanic sank. I don't know how far down I was pulled, but I was very close to losing consciousness when I finally managed to break the surface. I didn't have time to take more than a breath when I heard your terrified cry for help. I couldn't see you, only hear you. I swam toward your voice and just managed to catch a glimpse of you before you were pulled under the surface.

As afraid as I was in that moment I have never been before. I knew if I didn't get you up quickly you would die, because I could see on the man that I wouldn't be able to talk to him, he was too scared. I managed to get him to let go of you and push him away from you before I pulled you up. I was so angry and scared. I let it out by screaming and punching the man in the face."

"I saw it. I didn't know it was you at first, because I only saw you out of the corner of my eye. I'm glad you came and saved me, Skulduggery."

Skulduggery looked Valkyrie in the eye and stroked her cheek before giving her a kiss. "I'm glad I made it in time."

Valkyrie smiled and sat on Skulduggery's lap before resting her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. She was so tired and her whole body ached. She was also very cold, and she hoped that either the lifeboats or another ship would come and pick them up soon. She sincerely hoped that the Titanic's radioman had managed to send out an SOS before she sank and that there was a ship nearby that had picked up the distress signal, because otherwise they would not survive.

She did not know how much time had passed when she next opened her eyes. The only thing she knew for sure was that she had dozed off and that she had been awakened by a sound that she could not place. She sat up and looked around to try to locate the sound and find out what it was that she had heard. She could see a light a good distance ahead of her and she also thought she could make out the sound of voices shouting something, but she could not hear what they were saying.

She squinted in an attempt to make out what it was that was coming towards her. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was. It was one of the lifeboats that had turned around and was now heading back to the spot where the Titanic had sunk to search for survivors! Valkyrie's heart filled with hope, and she placed her hand on Skulduggery's shoulder.

"Skulduggery, look! The lifeboats are returning to save us! We'll be fine!" she shouted happily.

When she got no answer, she turned to Skulduggery and saw to her horror that his eyes were closed and that his lips had turned blue. She shook him but got no response. She started screaming and shaking him harder, but it didn't help. Skulduggery neither moved nor said anything. In pure desperation Valkyrie slapped him across the cheek, but it didn't do anything other than make his head fall to the side.

"Skulduggery, answer me! You can't do this to me! You can't die!" Valkyrie screamed, feeling tears start to stream down her cheeks. She put her hand on Skulduggery's chest and could feel him breathing, but that there were a few seconds between each breath and that they weren't deep. Skulduggery was alive, but if he didn't get help soon, he wouldn't last much longer.

She looked around, but all she could see in the dark night were still bodies, black water, and debris that had come loose from the Titanic and were floating around the bodies. She stood up and started waving her arms above her head while screaming loudly. "Here we are! Help, we need help!"

She didn't know if the people in the lifeboats could hear her, but she could see how the light source began to move back and forth, as if it was searching for something. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something glint and when she turned her gaze towards it, she could see that one of the bodies had a whistle in its mouth.

She jumped into the water and started swimming as fast as she could and had the strength to reach the person. When she reached it, she pulled out the whistle and started blowing it. A sharp whistle could be heard in the otherwise quiet night and now Valkyrie could clearly hear the people in the lifeboat shouting. The light source turned towards her, and she continued to whistle so that they would understand which way to row to reach her.

She hurried back to Skulduggery and crawled up to the door. She put her arms around Skulduggery while she continued to whistle stubbornly. She could feel her strength starting to fail and she understood that if the lifeboat didn't come soon, neither she nor Skulduggery would make it out of here alive.

No, we will survive! Rescue is just within reach. They will get here in time. I just need to keep whistling so they can find us.

"Is anyone there?" she heard a voice calling and she let out a whistle in response, because she did not dare trust that her voice would be loud enough to reach the people in the lifeboat.

"Over there! Shine that way!" Valkyrie was suddenly blinded by the light she had seen and had to turn her head away. "There, I can see two people sitting on something! Hurry up and row over there!"

It wasn't long before the lifeboat arrived at their place. Valkyrie was now shaking badly from exhaustion, adrenaline and cold. She tried to speak, but all she could get out was a hoarse croak. She then pointed at Skulduggery instead and when the crewmen were close enough for her to see their faces, she managed to whisper to the one closest to pick up Skulduggery first, since he was in a worse condition than her.

The man nodded and ordered the other men to help him lift Skulduggery into the lifeboat. Two other men helped and managed to get Skulduggery down onto the floor of the lifeboat. The other men quickly wrapped Skulduggery in several blankets to try to get his body heat back up. Valkyrie was helped into the lifeboat by the man she had whispered to and as soon as she put her feet in it, she felt a blanket being placed around her shoulders.

She pulled the blanket tightly around her own body before lying down next to Skulduggery. She put her arms around him to give him even more warmth, but also to regain some of her lost body heat. She could feel the lifeboat begin to move and she knew that they had rowed away from the door. Tears of relief began to flow down her cheeks, and she was amazed that she was able to cry at all considering how exhausted her body was after the tough strain it had endured.

"Any more survivors?" she heard the man who had helped her, who was sitting at the front of the lifeboat, ask one of the other crewmen rowing. He got a no for an answer and Valkyrie could hear the sadness in the sigh he let out after receiving that message. "Fuck… We waited too long… We were too late… Let us hope that the other boat managed to pick up some more."

Valkyrie settled down next to Skulduggery and closed her eyes. She also felt very sad at the news that she and Skulduggery were the only ones they had managed to save, because she was aware that there were so many bodies in the water around them. At the same time, she was so terribly relieved to finally be safe that she felt a little dizzy. She pressed herself closer to Skulduggery and forced herself to breathe in calm, deep breaths in an attempt to let her body rest and recover from the exertion it had endured.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she heard the sound of a boat whistle sounding a little way off. She sat up carefully and saw the outline of a ship coming towards them that bore the name Carpathia. She laughed with happiness and could both see and hear how the other crew members who had saved her and Skulduggery also began to laugh with relief.

"Skulduggery, another ship is heading towards us. We are saved! We will survive!" Valkyrie whispered in Skulduggery's ear, kissing his cheek. "Everything will be fine. Soon we will both be in a warm bed where we can recover from this terrible event. We will finally be able to start our new life together that we have been talking about. We will finally be able to be together!"

Skulduggery let out a low moan and grimaced. Valkyrie wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek again. She could feel Skulduggery moving beneath her and her heart filled with relief. Skulduggery had regained some of his body heat and he would probably be fully recovered if he could just rest.

"Okay, everyone, listen up! We must make sure this young man is the first to board the Carpathia if he is to have any chance of survival. As soon as the crew has lowered the rescue ladder, we must help carry him aboard the boat so that the crew can arrange a cabin for him. Understood?" said the crewman sitting at the front of the boat and who was the leader of the group.

Everyone nodded before turning their gazes to the ship that was getting closer and closer. In a few minutes, it would be upon them and then they would finally be able to get out of the nightmare they had been in for several hours. The men aboard the lifeboat began to talk excitedly to each other and pat each other's backs while relieved smiles could be seen on their lips.

Valkyrie smiled too and couldn't stop a relieved laugh from escaping her. She hugged Skulduggery tightly. "The nightmare is over, Skulduggery. We did it. We made it out of here, just like you said we would."

"Valkyrie…" Skulduggery whispered, lifting his hand so he could caress her cheek slowly. "Is that… you?"

"Yes, I'm here, Skulduggery. You're safe now. A ship is on its way to pick us up. You'll be the first to board, and you'll be helped by the crew so you can fully recover."

Skulduggery gave her a small smile but kept his eyes closed. "That sounds good…" he muttered before his strength ran out again and he fell asleep in her arms.

A few minutes later, the Carpathia had reached them, and Valkyrie could see that the deck was bustling with activity. She could hear people shouting orders to each other and it wasn't long before a ladder was lowered over the rail. One of the crewmen walked up to Valkyrie and looked her in the eyes before saying, "I'll carry your boyfriend up the ladder now. As soon as we get on deck, you can start climbing too."

"Be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you or Skulduggery."

"I promise I'll be careful and make sure he gets up safely," the man replied, lifting Skulduggery up before placing him over his shoulder.

Valkyrie didn't let her gaze tear from the man as he climbed up the ladder with Skulduggery in a firm grip. As soon as he got on deck, Valkyrie could see some of the crew helping to carry Skulduggery away, and she suspected they were planning to take him to a cabin where they would put him in a bed with lots of blankets to raise his body temperature.

Valkyrie walked over to the ladder and started climbing it too. With each new step she took, her heart started to beat faster. She was aware that if she lost her footing, she would kill herself on the way down. She pushed that thought aside and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. As soon as she had climbed the last step, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her up the last bit.

"How are you, miss? Do you need anything?" asked the man who had helped her up.

Valkyrie shook her head. "I'm fine, considering the circumstances. I'm just a little cold, that's all. Where did you take Skulduggery?"

"I asked some of my men to take him to a cabin for rest and warmth. They'll take good care of him, I promise you. Everyone who works on board here is good people."

Valkyrie smiled and wrapped her arms around the man she now understood was the captain. "Thank you so much for coming and saving us. If it weren't for you, none of us would have survived."

"You don't have to thank us, miss."

The sound of people climbing a ladder made Valkyrie let go of the captain and turn around. She could see the other men from the lifeboat coming up onto the deck. They shook hands with the captain and thanked him for the rescue and asked how they could be of help. Valkyrie took a step back and let the men discuss in peace. She walked to the railing and looked out over the water.

She couldn't believe that just a few hours ago she had been aboard the world's most luxurious cruise ship, which was considered unsinkable, where she had experienced steamy intercourse with Skulduggery. And now here she was, aboard another ship after spending God knows how long sitting on a wooden door while people drowned or froze to death all around her.

She let her gaze wander out over the water where she could perceive movement. She understood that it must be the other lifeboats heading to Carpathia to get away from the cold and the water. She wondered how many people were onboard those lifeboats and how many dead people were around them in the water who had not managed to survive. She wondered how many more lives could have been able to be saved if the lifeboats had decided to return sooner.

She turned to the men standing there discussing. "Is there anything I can do to help the other survivors who will be coming aboard soon?"

The men turned to her and Valkyrie could see the captain's eyes light up with approval. He gave her a smile. "Of course, miss. You would be very welcome to help my crew try to calm and reassure the survivors that they are safe. I have asked some of the men to clear out the deck so that everyone can have somewhere to sit while we try to figure out what to do with all of them."

"Thank you, captain."

"My name is Meritorious. Could I have your name, miss…?"

"Pleasant. Valkyrie Pleasant," Valkyrie replied, surprised at how easy it was for her to lie about her last name. She didn't really know why she had chosen Skulduggery's last name, but she suspected it was because starting today she would be starting a new chapter in her life and that she wanted to leave her old name behind.

"In that case, Miss Valkyrie, I will not bother you any further for the time being. I must make a tour of the ship to make sure that preparations are going as planned, but I am sure we will meet again soon," Meritorious said and left.

Valkyrie spent the next hour helping the survivors aboard the Carpathia by going around and talking to as many as she could. She assured them that they were indeed in safety and comforted those who needed comfort. She cried a little herself at times, especially when it was children looking for their parents or vice versa. She was shocked by how few people had come aboard and it was only now that she understood the extent of the disaster that had befallen them.

So many people had lost their lives both during and after the sinking. So many people who would never see their loved ones again and who would not be buried, but who would forever be part of the sea.

"Excuse me, have you seen a young woman with long, black hair wearing a green jacket and black pants? She is our daughter, and we were separated from her when the lifeboats were launched," Valkyrie heard a familiar voice ask one of the people behind her. She turned around, her heart pounding. Could it be…?

"Mom?"

Melissa Edgley looked up and looked straight into her daughter's eyes. Next to her stood her father, Desmond Edgley. The moment their eyes met, Melissa's eyes widened, and she stared at her daughter with her mouth open. Neither mother nor daughter said anything for several seconds, as they were both too shocked.

"Valkyrie!" Melissa screamed and ran to her daughter when the worst of the shock wore off. "Valkyrie, you're alive!"

"Mom, Dad…" Valkyrie sobbed and began to cry with both happiness and relief. She could feel her father putting his arms around her from behind. "You made it…"

Chapter Text

"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 just absorbed the information Valkyrie had just now 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 become 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 the 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 Skulduggery’s mother 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 had 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 carriage and begun 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 carriage 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 carriage 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 carriage. 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."