Cherry's Wife
Cherry first meets their wife when she is acting as a soldier in their regiment, several years in the future from current events. After a typical evening of downtime between offensives on the front line -- which those familiar with the Skullduggans and their followers are free to imagine -- they both wind up in Cherry's tent for the night. The soldier wakes up in the early hours of the morning and shifts as if to leave, only for Cherry to reach out, grumbling sleepily, and hold her closer. This proves not to be a one-off occurrence, and by the time the tour concludes Cherry assumes she will come home with them to meet the Skullduggans. She isn't about to argue. A feisty woman, proud of her military record, ready to give as good as she gets, and loyal to Scrantz and its unorthodox ruling family, she is confident she can handle a Skullduggan long-term.
In due course, she is brought to the main Skullduggan villa and introduced to the family, particularly the Marquis and Robin. She meets with universal approval. There is no moral grandstanding on her part, no suggestion that she expects Cherry to be anything other than they are, merely that she loves them and can keep pace with their riotous family. That family in turn finds her amiable and up for a bit of mischief when required, which is all they ask.
'They really like this one, Cuz.' 'They do?' 'I can tell. They ruffle their hair before they talk to her, see? They think it makes them look more attractive.'
Robin only starts to feel trepidation upon the announcement of their engagement. She is outwardly overjoyed for her twin but internally divided: although wholly in favour of leading independent lives and Cherry carrying on the Skullduggan line, it feels strange to her that she will officially no longer be the closest person in Cherry's life. The only hint she ever gives of this is the sadness in her voice when she comments to the Marquis, primarily in tones of disgust, now I'll have to hang around with YOU.
(This is accompanied by a pout and mild offence taken by the Marquis.)
At first she is able to cope with the relentless Skullduggan skulduggery, but it quickly begins to wear when Cherry continues... being a Skullduggan, all the time, without rest, even after the birth of their first child. Despite the fiery arguments, Cherry doesn't see any problems at this point -- they think it is a normal way for a marriage to be, because the few Skullduggan marriages they have known mostly consisted of people shouting at each other behind locked doors.
She gives them a second chance, and a third, asking them -- she thinks quite fairly -- not to get killed before their second child is born. When she finds Cherry cradling the child for the first time with a bloodied face and a black eye, having celebrated in the usual Skullduggan fashion of causing mass civil unrest, she decides enough is enough.
I asked you just to stay alive until our baby was born and you nearly got killed over the terminology used in a by-law concerning your sister's fucking weaponised wasps for FUCK'S SAKE CHERRY--
Cherry is heartbroken. Robin is furious and somehow equally miserable. The Marquis is rather bored of it all and points out that at least she had the decency not to murder Cherry by shooting them in the throat with a crossbow. The Marquis is not invited to further consolation sessions.
The children remain with House Skullduggan, where they are raised, as is normal in the family, by anybody who happens to be around. Both Cherry and their mother are killed in action before they are old enough to understand the situation, and they grow up considering Auntie Robin and Cuz as their parental figures.