Work Text:
The room is square and the only furniture in it is a table and two chairs facing each other. They are pressed against the long side of the table. The room has no windows but is equipped with several cameras that film every millimeter of the room. There are also two doors on each side of the room that people can enter and exit from.
At the moment the interrogation room at the Irish Sanctuary in Roarhaven is empty but it will not be long before it will be occupied by two people who know each other very well and have done so for many years. One of them has been brought from one of the Sanctuary's prison cells because the person is in prison for murder.
The moment one of the doors is opening the cameras make a buzzing sound the same second they start recording. There are people watching what is happening in the room at this moment in another room nearby. This is to make sure that none of the people who are about to sit down and talk are trying to do anything that could be considered illegal, such as an escape attempt.
A woman with black hair and dark brown eyes who appears to be in her thirty's steps into the room. She is wearing a black coat, a t-shirt, black pants, and black boots. She has handcuffs around her wrists that cuts off her magic. She has black rings under her eyes, and her posture is hunched over, as if she is carrying heavy weights on her shoulders.
The woman sits down on one of the chairs and looks down at the tabletop in front of her. She says nothing and does not move. The door she came through closes behind her when the guards who has escorted her there walk out of the room before the other door in front of her opens. A tall, thin figure wearing a hat and a three-piece suit step into the room. The figure turns out to be a living skeleton with gloves over its skeletal hands, and it sits down on the other chair opposite the woman who still has not raised her head.
"Hello, Valkyrie," Skulduggery Pleasant says to his partner, Valkyrie Cain. His voice is as smooth as velvet, his tone tender. "How are you? Are they treating you well?"
Valkyrie Cain lifts her head and looks into her partner's black eye sockets. "Hello, Skulduggery. Under the circumstances, I'm okay. Not great, but okay. I'm doing fine. I can't complain about the treatment I've received so far. The only thing that could be better is the food, but I don't have an appetite anyway, so it doesn't matter much."
Neither of them says anything for a while. They are both buried in their own thoughts and they are both trying to figure out what the other is feeling and thinking at this moment in order to best continue the conversation, so they don't waste too much time, because they both know they don't have much time together.
Valkyrie is the one who breaks the silence with a question. "Is Fletcher really dead?"
She only gets a nod in response from Skulduggery, but that's all the confirmation she needs. She's known deep down that he's gone, but she's still held onto a small hope that he would have survived, because he's been mortally wounded before and still managed to survive. Fletcher, like her, has been incredibly stubborn and hasn't given up.
Hot tears stream down her cheeks, and she feels Skulduggery's hand lay over one of hers before he squeezes it. She starts to sob and squeezes his hand so hard that she can see how her hand is turning white, but she couldn't care less about that right now. It feels like a piece of her has been torn away from her body, leaving a black hole that nothing will ever be able to fill.
"I'm so sorry, Valkyrie. I really am, because even though Fletcher and I didn't always get along and he could be extremely rude and self-absorbed at times, he was a good person deep down." Skulduggery ran his thumb over the back of Valkyrie's hand. "I was actually starting to warm up to the guy, and if I had had time, I would have told him that as well."
Valkyrie nods in response but can't get any words out. She cries silently as Skulduggery continues to stroke her hand slowly. They both know that if she hadn't been handcuffed and if it weren't against the rules, Skulduggery would have stood up and put his arms around her in a tight embrace.
When most of the tears have stopped flowing from her eyes, Valkyrie whispers, "If it weren't for me, Fletcher would still be alive right now. If I had not initiated my relationship with Caelan, he would not have gone after me, Alice, Tanith, Fletcher, and all the other people he killed. It's my fault we are in this situation now. It is my fault and thanks to my bad decisions Fletcher was killed."
Skulduggery places his free hand under Valkyrie's chin and lifts her head up so he can look into her eyes. They are shiny and a little red from all the tears. In her gaze, Skulduggery can see the pain Valkyrie is currently going through. He squeezes her hand tightly while letting his thumb stroke her cheek.
"Valkyrie, now I want you to listen to me very carefully. It's not your fault that Fletcher was murdered. Caelan was after you and didn't have to go after Fletcher, but he chose to do it anyway. Caelan made a choice. No one will blame Fletcher's death on you."
"You can't know that Skulduggery."
"Yes, I can because it's the truth and deep down you know it too. Right now, you're grieving and can't think rationally, which is understandable."
Valkyrie sighs and closes her eyes for a few seconds. Skulduggery can feel her trembling. He wants nothing more than to put his arms around her and hold her tight, but he can't do anything other than hold her hand and stroke her cheek, because he knows that as soon as he tries to put his arms around Valkyrie, the guards will come rushing in, because they will interpret it as him trying to do something to Valkyrie or possibly give her something that she could use later on to escape.
"What about Tanith? Please tell me she'll be okay. I don't think I can handle another death," Valkyrie says, looking pleadingly at Skulduggery.
"She's doing well under the circumstances. She'll be back on her feet in a few days, and she says she'll come by tomorrow if she can and if Synecdoche is allowing it."
Valkyrie takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. She has a small smile on her lips and Skulduggery sees how she is relaxing a little, which makes him happy. "Finally, some good news."
"And they don't stop there!" Skulduggery says cheerfully, and Valkyrie raises her eyebrows in a questioning gesture. Skulduggery leans closer to his partner, whispering so that those watching through the cameras won't hear him. "Ghastly and I will break you out of prison in the next few days."
The room falls silent. Valkyrie stares at Skulduggery with wide eyes and open mouth. She says nothing for a long moment, and when she recovers from the shock, she can only shake her head. Skulduggery tilts his head to the side in surprise and is about to say something when Valkyrie interrupts him with a single word.
"No."
"No? What do you mean?"
"That you won't do it, Skulduggery. I can't let you put yourself in danger for me. I don't want to be broken out of prison. I have to stand my ground. After all, I am guilty and there are plenty of witnesses to prove it."
"So be it, but …" Skulduggery begins, but Valkyrie interrupts him again.
"No buts, Skulduggery. You know how I feel about that word."
"Sorry."
"Apology accepted. As I said, I am guilty and I shot the man who killed my family before the universe was restored before my sister could do it because I want to protect her from suffering the same fate as myself."
"Which was very noble of you, Valkyrie, but that doesn't mean you deserve to sit in prison for god knows how many years to come!"
"Nevertheless, I must stand my ground. I know that I have legally shot an innocent man because he technically had not committed any crime, as the murders of my family happened before the universe was restored and he was not aware that he had done it because no one without magical ability knows what has happened.
"I would rather spend a few years in prison for murder instead of Alice because she is only fourteen and has already been through so much because of me. I know she doesn't appreciate my protection, but that doesn't bother me. Hopefully, she will understand why I have made the decisions I have when she gets older and can forgive me. And if she can't do that, then I just have to accept it. I am her big sister, and it is my responsibility to take care of her and protect her. I do it with great joy, even if she hates me for it."
"Alice is lucky to have you as her big sister, Valkyrie," Skulduggery says in a soft voice, tilting his head in that way that tells her he's smiling.
Valkyrie smiles back and squeezes Skulduggery's hand. "I appreciate your concern for me. I really do, but don't do anything hasty. It will only make the situation worse and my sentence longer. I can't and don't want to spend the rest of my life on the run but would rather sit here in the Sanctuary's Prison or in Coldheart if I end up there after my trial."
"Neither I, Tanith, nor Ghastly will let you set foot in Coldheart. We will not give Cadaver any chance of taking control of you. He cannot be trusted, and any advantage we have over him will help us in the long run."
"I can't help but agree and understand that. I also hope you understand that I feel a great gratitude to know that you care about me so much."
"Valkyrie, you know I would do anything if it meant you were safe."
Valkyrie gives Skulduggery a smile and leans forward across the table. She lets her lips touch his cold cheekbone and kisses it tenderly. Skulduggery takes the opportunity to put his free hand around her waist in a quick embrace before they release each other and Valkyrie sits back down in her chair.
"Have you talked to Alice and/or my parents?"
Skulduggery shakes his head. "It is up to you and Alice to decide whether or not to tell your parents what has happened. I have told them that you will be unreachable indefinitely, but I have not told them that your current whereabout is in prison. I do not know either if Alice has told them anything, but I don't think so, because then I or Ghastly would have heard from them."
"I guess you're right."
"And even if I wanted to talk to Alice, I couldn't because she doesn't want to talk to me," Skulduggery continues as if he hasn't heard Valkyrie. "I think she's both angry and grateful to you for what you did, even if she doesn't want to admit it."
"I completely understand what she's going through right now. She needs time to herself, and I can only hope that she will make the right choice when the time comes. I will be there for her if she lets me, otherwise I will find some other way to get her back to us if that will be necessary."
"I know you will, Valkyrie."
Valkyrie is about to answer when the door behind her opens and two guards enter. They stand on either side of Valkyrie and place a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, but your time is up. Ms. Cain, we're here to escort you back to your cell now."
Valkyrie stands up without protesting and lets the guards escort her out of the interrogation room. Before the door closes behind her, she turns and looks one last time into Skulduggery's black eye sockets that is looking into her eyes.
"This is not goodbye, Valkyrie. I will visit you again very soon."