Alice's Birthday Party

Chapter 3 - The Party Part 1

Three days later, the Bentley pulled up in front of the Edgley's house in Haggard.

"Are you sure I look alright?" Valkyrie asked for the fifth time during fifteen-minute ride from her house to her parent's, causing Skulduggery to sigh slightly annoyed.

"Valkyrie, since when do you worry about it? You're always beautiful"

"I don't want them to think that I am just lazily laying around and wasting Gordon's money"

"Your money"

"Whatever..."

"There is no way anyone will think badly of you. Unless they are intimidated by muscles. This way they very well may be intimidated by you because you look stronger than ever"

"Exactly, what if they think --"

"Then let them think. Is this about something else? Or someone else?"

She hesitated for a second before she said quietly "if they know what I did, they would all hate me. And they would be right to do so"

Skulduggery gently laid his arms around her shoulder and puller her into a hug. "Don't let bad thoughts ruin your day. You did what you had to do. Alice is alive, that's all that matters for now. She's alive and she loves you, and me on that notion, so we should go in there and make her day a bit better, shall we?"

She smiled a sad smile against his chest. "Am I a good person, Skulduggery? After everything that happened in the past 13 years, would you say I am a good one?"

"If we learned anything in the past years then it is that good and bad are twisted. We all have good and bad in ourselves, it's our choice which side wins. You, my dearest Valkyrie, are as good of a person than anyone else. You are a better person than I am. You care deeply for your family and friends, even as Darquesse you did. You would have never harmed your sister if the sceptre wasn't bonded to her and if you hadn't had the sceptre, Darquesse would have killed your family. You fought your bad side way more effectively than I ever did. And this makes you in my eyes to one of the most precious people I ever had the pleasure to meet."

A tear gently rolled down her cheek as she whispered, "Thank you". She leaned forwards and gently kissed his cheek bone before she stroked over his collarbone to have a façade cover his skull. Once it was done, she said more cheeringly: "Let's go celebrate a birthday now!" and quickly got out of the Bentley.

"That's my girl" Skulduggery whispered before doing the same. Armed with Alice's gift all wrapped up, they walked up to the front door and were greeted by Melissa Edgley before they could ring the bell.

"Stephanie! Skulduggery! So nice to have you here"

She pulled Stephanie into a hug and whispered "I need moral support", causing Valkyrie to laugh. She went to hug her father and saw from the corner of her eye that her mother greeted Skulduggery with a hug as well. Although they weren't quite happy with him upon their first meeting, they've grown more and more fond of him every time he met them. She liked that.

"STEEEPHANIE!!!" Alice frolicked, her eyes full of excitement and happiness, before she jumped into her arms. She has gotten bigger since the last time she had seen her, and it's only been a few weeks.

You don't deserve her admiring you so much, said the little voice in her head, but she muted her instantly. Today was about Alice, not her own self-destructing thoughts.

"Happy Birthday, little one" she said a happy as she could and kissed her cheek. Alice giggled and hugged her neck, discovering Skulduggery who stepped right next to Valkyrie.