The Purple Haired Craze

In Which The Girls Are Chased In Heels

The six girls crowded into Valkyrie and Skulduggery's room that evening, Twinkletoes waving her make up at them whilst Liv was explaining that she was an expert at hair.

"Val, what dress did you pick?" Elysia asked as she threw her gown onto the bed, a deep green dress that looked almost black that contrasted her hair perfectly. It had black, floral beadwork on the bodice that shimmered in the light.

Valkyrie pulled out the dress from the wardrobe that she and Skulduggery had picked up after the end of lessons. They all gasped.

"Oh, that is a beauty!" exclaimed Elena, who was holding her own dress, a dark blue that shimmered with many different blues. "That is going to look absolutely amazing!"

"I know!"

September's dress was a deep red, edged with black that swept all the way down to the floor. Liv's dress was a dark purple which matched her skin tone and hair colour very well without clashing. It came with matching gloves and shoes.

"Right! We need to get ourselves looking fabulous in less than two hours," said Livena, standing on Skulduggery's bed, taking charge. "Seeing as there is five of us, we need some sort of order so we all get helped by someone. Valkyrie, you can do make up, right?"

Valkyrie nodded. "I just can't do hair."

"Twinkletoes, you can also do make up, right?"

"Best in the school! You can barely notice that it is there it's so good."

"Stop boasting," Liv giggled, good-naturedly. "I can do hair, Elena?"

"I can do both."

"Ely?"

"Same, although I'm not one hundred percent confident on make up. I always end up messing one thing up."

"Okay, let's do hair first so that when we come to do make up, our hair doesn't get in our face."

Liv decided to work on Valkyrie whilst Ely started fixing up September's hair and Elena beginning to put make up on the shortest girl. It took less than fifteen minutes for Twinkletoes' hair and make up to get finished (they had decided to pin it up into an artful bun and continued with the red and black colour scheme for the make up). Valkyrie's hair had been left loose, but Liv had crimped the tips so that they curled artfully. She pinned the strands of hair that got in her face back to make it easier to dance without flicking her hair into her own face. In her hair, Liv had stuck in some pins that had glass jewels stuck to them. They twinkled as she moved, enhancing her long beautiful hair.

They swapped around, ensuring that each of the girls had their make up and hair sorted out to suit what they were wearing, the whole process taking less than an hour. They helped each other to get into their dresses, tightening corsets and bodices and ensuring the ball gowns fell correctly.

"What shall we do now?" Val asked them. "There is still an hour to the dance."

"We can go to the sitting space," Ely suggested. "Most of the girls go there if they have time to spare before a ball. The guys aren't allowed in that area for the whole afternoon so they don't see their partners until the beginning of the ball."

They all agreed with the idea, although Valkyrie felt a bit hesitant. What if China was there? She shook the thought away, following the girls out into the corridor.

The room was a large, comfortable space that was one of the warmer areas of the school as it had a roaring fire in the hearth and rugs that helped to prevent draughts. Ely was right in saying the girls went here. The room was crowded with people, most of the perched on the chairs that were scattered around or stood near to the fire to stay warm. Valkyrie spotted China, who was gossiping with her friends in the corner closest to the blaze. As soon as they made eye contact, her eyes narrowed in anger. She broke away from her girls, striding quickly over to the door where Valkyrie, Ely, Lena, Liv and Twinkle were still standing.

"Now," China said, in her sultry voice. "Why would Skulduggery reject me for an ugly little toad like you? It certainly wasn't for looks, that's for sure."

Valkyrie noticed all her friends open their mouths to say something to the willowy girl who was glaring at her in contempt, but Val spoke before they could say anything.

"I didn't know Skulduggery was interested in bitches or people who wear dresses that have a neckline almost lower than their boobs." She gave Sorrows a pointed look, smiling cheerfully at the now seething girl before sweeping past her, followed by her friends, to a cosy corner that still had empty seats near a curtained window.

"Nice comeback," Liv said, laughing slightly at China, who was now storming back to her friends. "She completely deserved that."

Valkyrie glanced back and noticed that China was now pointing at her from across the room, her friends turning around to get a look at her. She was surprised to note that they were now all glaring at her. Valkyrie turned back around to ignore them.

"How many girls has Skulduggery had?" she asked.

Ely gave her a slightly sympathetic look. "The majority of the girls in the year group. China's friends have all been dated by him, even China for a little while. It's probably why they are beginning to wander over here."

Elena noticed the terrified expression that settled on Valkyrie's face. "Don't worry, love. I think Skulduggery might be serious when it comes to you. I've never seen him so unconsciously attracted to someone."

"That's the trick," Twinkle put in. "If you notice that someone is trying really hard to impress you to the extent that he behaves differently, then they are not being sincere. Skulduggery tends to lose his character when he is with other girls, but with you he retains his natural character. It's why we haven't felt it necessary to warn you away from him."

Liv stood up suddenly. "You may be the best fighter in school, Val, but for the sake of your dress and our efforts to make you look pretty for tonight, I think we might need to leave."

Valkyrie nodded, a little dumbly and allowed Liv to help her up, the five of them leaving through the nearest door to evade China's gaggle.

"Come on, we need to get to a teacher so that they don't try anything," said Ely.

Lena gave a little squeal. "My shoe fell off guys. I hate heels!"

"Take them off!" yelled Twinkle. "Quickly!"

Lena stooped to pull off her heels, running to catch up with them just as China and her girls rounded the corner.

"Valkyrie Cain!" China yelled. "Stop right there!"

"Not a chance!" Valkyrie yelled over her shoulder. "I'm not in the mood for a fight over a guy just to get bruises for no reason whatsoever!" Pulling off her own heels mid-run, she burst into a full on sprint, closely followed by her other friends that were also peeling off their shoes. Val vowed to never wear heels again and instead stick to boots.

They managed to outrun them by ducking into an empty classroom. Pausing to catch their breaths, they checked that their hair was still nice and their dresses didn't get damaged in the chase.

"I am so glad this dress didn't get torn," Liv muttered to them, pulling on her heels again. "Come on, the ball is in fifteen minutes. Let's head down to the entrance."

Ducking their heads out to make sure that there was no one in the corridor, they made their way down to the duelling hall where the ball was to take place. Their shoes clacked noisily on the floor and they half expected someone to jump out at them from round a corner.

"I think it's fair to say that you will not be going anywhere near China until she has cooled off," Ely murmured, breaking the long, tense silence.

"Can we not talk about her, please?" Valkyrie mumbled. She was still in shock about the whole fiasco, not expecting China to make a move in a public area.

"She's not thinking rationally, Val," Lena assured her. "As soon as it has blown over, she'll probably become less rash and will be less likely to attack you publicly."

"So what will happen when I'm alone?"

"You won't ever be alone, Valkyrie," Twinkle told her, hugging her arm. "We'll always be here for you."

The look Liv gave her told her otherwise.