The Purple Haired Craze

In Which We Return To Ende

I did say that I would be going on hiatus, but for reasons, I got another chapter done. This is for RedIvySparrow for being a complete and utter babe. Thanks hun xx

It was odd getting back into the swing of school, knowing that China Sorrows was a spy for Mevolent.

All of them had done their best to avoid her, knowing that associating with her could lead to them becoming suspected spies, but also not wanting to reveal to her that she was now being watched by the Irish Sanctuary in order to get more leads. Valkyrie certainly didn't want to compromise any official investigations into Sorrows and her family, so she kept herself to herself and they all did their best to be non-confrontational, only being in the girl's presence if they absolutely had to.

They had been back at the Academy for nearly two weeks. Not much had changed, apart from the very obvious fact that Livena and Anton were now an item, Dexter and Saracen were most certainly getting it on, even though they still hadn't officially announced anything...

"They sort of have on and off moments," Skulduggery explained. "Sometimes, you think they might as well be an old married couple. Other times, it is as if they don't even know each other. It make for some wobbly group dynamics sometimes. I always prefer it when they get on."

Her and Skulduggery?

Oh, they were most definitely an item.

They were inseparable. The awkwardness Val had experienced to begin with (what with Skulduggery being almost the Skulduggery, but not quite) had all but dissipated. Maybe it was because she was getting used to the fact that this was her life now, no longer expecting when she got up in the morning to be out on another case with her dead partner. Maybe it was because with each day that passed, she missed the modern day conveniences less and less. In fact, most days she didn't even think about the time that she had come from.

What was certainly nice was waking up most mornings with Skulduggery's arms draped loosely around her waist, the warmth of his body a comforting presence. It was certainly warmer sharing a bed in the middle of winter.

Valkyrie was still no closer to knowing why she was stuck in this century, but as time wore on, the question moved further back in her mind and she focused on simply enjoying the moment. After all, it wasn't every day that a girl from the 21st Century got a chance to live in history and Valkyrie had the mind set of turning everything into an adventure. She wouldn't have met Skulduggery if she didn't have that mental attitude.

She took the day's as they came. The lessons were fun, the teachers adored her, particularly the Physical Combat teacher, Mr Callen, and Mrs Crow from Magical Combat. She sparred with Skulduggery most days, ate with the gang, spent her evenings chatting to the girls. She had barely seen September, Elena and Elysia over the Winter break and she missed the three crazy girls more than anything. She and Liv spent most of the evenings catching up with them, having spent a lot of time with the boys during the break.

Not that the boys didn't join in the conversations. Sometimes they hung around, other times they went off and did their thing. Valkyrie didn't mind either way. Whilst she did love each and every one of them (yes, even Erskine), she never felt obligated to spend all of her time with them. They were comfortable how they were, they saw plenty of each other and they were all happy.

China knew she was being watched.

The teachers were all more wary of her and she had found multiple charms in her school bedroom. It hadn't taken her long to disable them, her proficiency in symbol magic coming in handy, but she was now having to clear her room of charms most evenings. She figured someone was coming in whilst she was at lessons and resetting them, but it was beginning to get worrying. She also noted that her roommate had been moved and not replaced by anyone.

She hadn't been in contact with her family since the meeting with Mevolent, fearing that she would lead the Sanctuary straight to his hideout. There was no knowing what would happen to her if word got out that she had betrayed him.

The meeting itself had been terrifying. Mevolent was unlike any other person she had ever seen. She was glad that she was on his side. There was no way that the Sanctuary would be able to defeat him and she personally valued her life.

The question was, could she convince everyone else that he was unbeatable?