Author's notes- I first thought of this fic whenever Ihought of how the whole berserker incident thousands of years ago could have been thought of as fact, and then it faded into legend. I thought that this could have happened to Artemis as well. I'm sorry to say that this is mostly- stratch that- all original characters.
Magnolia Rutwurst doodled absentmindedly on her paper while her teacher droned on and on about who-knows-what. Honestly, who even cared about that sort of stuff. That's right- no one did! Well, obviously the teachers did, or else they wouldn't be working here. Whenever she would have to get a job in the future, Magnolia would be sure not to get a job as a teacher. She couldn't even imgine how tiring that would be. She wanted to be something exciting like a movie star or a singer. Now there was something exciting to do whenever she finally got out of this dreadful place.
"Ms. Rutwurst!" Magnolia nearly jumped out of her seat whenever the teacher called upon her. True, her pencil- they were so technologically advanced, yet they still used the same basic materials that the humans had used thousands of years ago? Unspeakable!- did indeed fly out of her hand and onto the floor.
While Magnolia reached over to grab her pencil from the floor, she said, " Y-Yes, Ms. Sternback?" She involuntarily felt her face go red as she realized that everyone in the classroom was now watching her. Honestly, she had just been doodling on her paper- was that enough for the teacher to start an incident? Sometimes Magnolia thought that the teachers lived just so that they could make sure that she got in trouble for every single thing that she ever did.
Near the chalkboard, Ms. Sternback was pointing at a holographic slideshow that depicted a feirce looking bunch of fairies running towards an unseen enemy. True to her name, Ms. Sternback's bak was rim-rod straight and she had a... well... stern look upon her face. Magnolia wondered if she had always been that way, stern and firm. She found it somewhat funny that Ms. Sternback name signified what she was like- very, very stern.
" Can you please tell us in what time zone did this riot ahere occur? And why did the riot occur?" Ms. Sternback asked, driving Magnolia from her thoughts. What happened when what? How was she supposed to know the answer to the question? She didn't even remember them going over it! Well, perhapse they had, but that had to have been months ago... Right?
" Uh... I don't know." Magnolia said truthfully. Ms. Sternback got a triumphant look upon her face as she turned to face the rest of the classroom. " Hmm, well can anybody tell us the correct answer? Yes, Ms. Fogsworth."
Magnolia rolled her eyes. Of course it was little miss perfect who would take a shot at the question. Belinda Fogsworth was commonly known as the smartest girl in the entire world, as well as the prettiest. She was loved by everyone- she appeared to not have a single flaw in appearance or personality. Magnolia, however, knew differently. Belinda was a stuck-up snob who cared more for herself then the "friends" that she had in her life. So, no. Magnolia refused to be under Belinda's "spell". Because she knew better. She knew what Belinda was actually like.
" The riot occured in B.F.*, and occured because until that point in time, the People had yet to form a suffecient government to support them. When plans to start one formed, many fairies- to say the least- got very upset with this, and began to riot agains the possibility of not leading free lives of their own occord. Thus, this resulted in us not having a way of goverment to lead us by for at least three hundred more years." Belinda finished her statement, and looked even more smug then she had at the beginning, for she knew that she was right. " Correct, Ms. Fogsworth," Ms. Sternback said as she confirmed the fact that Belinda was indeed correct. " Now on to your homework for tonight..." She trailed off as she went to her desk and began to shuffle papers on her desk. They were several complaints to this. There were several "But its Friday's" and " Aw, come on's". Ms. Sternback, however, seemed oblivious to this.
Ms. Sternback straightened up and read from a sheet of paper their assignment. " For the weekend, your homework will be to discover an important event in the People's history, and write an essay on how that said event has effected current day Haven." Magnolia quickly jotted the assignment quickly on to a sheet of paper to make Ms. Sternback believe that she was actually going to do her homework this time.
The bell rang just as Magnolia had just finished writing down the assignment. Thank Frond, she thought to herself as she joined the sea of students in the halls going to their lockers to get things in their locker before they went home. Magnolia made it to her locker- which was at the very end of hall C- and quickly threw in her history book and grabbed her lunchbox and coat. The coat was really unecessary since she lived underground, but it was one of the latest fashion statements, and Magnolia had been desperate to get it. Not because of the fact that it was a fashion statement, but because she liked how it looked.
putting the coat on, she quickly shut her locker door and rejoined the sea of students who were going home.
Magnolia immediately flung herself- as well as her notebook and lunchbox- down on to her bed. Thank the Gods that it was Friday, she thought to herself as she thought of the pleasure of not having school for a two whole days. True, she did have homework, but it wasn't like she was going to do it anyway. In her own opinion, Magnolia thought of homework as a waste of time. The teachers already gave them enough work to do at school, why give them more to do at the place where they were free of the teachers cautious eyes?
Suddenly, Magnolia heard he front door open and shut from down the hall. She quickly got out from her bed and went to help her mother carry the groceries in from the car.
" Hi, sweetie," Her mother said as she struggled to carry eight bags at once. " How was school today?"
" Same old, same old." Magnolia said as she took four bags from her mother. Magnolia walked into the kitchen area, where she set the bags down and went outside to get even more stuff to carry in.
Outside, Magnolia shut the trunk of the car door and turned to bring the rest of the bags in. While she was turning, she spotted their neighbor, Mrs. Avian sitting as usual on her old wooden rocking chair on her front porch. Mrs. Avian was known to be the oldest fairy in all of Haven City. In fact, it was said that she was so old that she had stopped counting her birthdays. Mrs. Avian was nice but... the older lady preferred to keep to herself. After the death of her husband fifty years ago, Mrs. Avian had only went outside of her home to go and get food and other necesseties. Magnolia felt sad for the old woman, because she had no one left. All of Mrs. Avian's children had died not long after her husband died, and Magnolia had never seen anyone visit her. Magnolia waved her hand towards Mrs. Avian before returning into her home.
As she was setting the bags down in the kitchen Magnolia got an idea, and she was surprised that she hadn't thought of it before. " Hey, Mom." She called to her mother, who was now resting in the living roomfrom her long day. " Yes, dear."
"I was wondering if I could go over to Mrs. Avian's house and visit her. I mean, no one ever visits her, and she most be so bored being cooped up in that house all the time." Magnolia waited for her mother to reply as she began to put the groceries away.
" I don't know...will you just be going to Mrs. Avian's house?" Her mother asked, and Magnolia got what she was implying straight away.
"Come on, mom. Do you honestly expect me to go run around with a... boy." Magnolia's lips curled involuntarily at this last word. It wasn't that she didn't like boys, in all honesty, she got along better with boys than girls. But the idea of a boyfriend... Magnolia couldn't even stand to think about it. She didn't know why she desperately avoided having any romantic relationships, although a part of her suspected her parents divorce caused some of it.
" OK, but be back home by eight." Her mother said, and Magnolia quickly began to shove the rest of the groceries in the appropriate places. She hurried out of the kitchen and intoher bed room, where she pulled off her coat and grabbed her notebook. She didn't know what posessed her to bring it- she had planned not to do it- but... she still didn't know.
In a few minutes, Magnolia had been invited to Mrs. Avian's home, where the old woman asked her if she wanted anything to eat. Magnolia declined her offer and they were now sitting apart from each over on two different couches in the living room. They sat in silence for a while, until Mrs. Avian asked, " Is that your homework?"
Magnolia looked down at her notebook, and to her surprise found herself saying, " Yeah, it is." and then, to her utter shock and surprise, said, " I'm supposed to write an essay about an important event in the People's lives in the past, and how it effected our lives today."
" Have you done it yet?" Mrs. Avian asked, but not in a judgemental way, but in a curious way. Magnolia shook her head. Mrs. Avian hmmed and then said, " Have you ever heard of Artemis Fowl?"
Magnolia blinked, taken aback by the sudden question. Of course she had heard of Artemis Fowl. It was one of the most popular story that parents told their children at night. Magnolia even remembered her own parents teling her the story before... before they seperated. " Yeah, I've heard of the story. So?" Magnolia raised her eyebrows. What did the legend of Artemis Fowl have to do with her homework?
As if reading her mind, Mrs. Avian said, " Would you like to tell about it in your homework assignment?"
Magnolia blinked yet again. Whatever she had been expecting, this was most definetely not it. " But, Mrs. Avian, if I do the assignment, I have to use a historical event, not a legend." As soon as she said this, the calm demeanor upon Mrs. Avian face vanished and something close to anger appeared in its place.
" Oh, that story is real. It happened. I know it did." Mrs. Avian then got the strangest look upon her face, but Magnolia ignored it.
" How are you sure that that story is true, Mrs. Avian?" Magnolia asked. Mrs. Avian then began to fumble around in a music box next to her on the small wooden dresser beside of her. She moved her hands about the interior of the music box for a little while more, and then she brought out an ancient gold coin with a hole in the middle and a string through it. Mrs. Avian reached over to give it to her.
Magnolia stared at it in amzement. " Is that... is this..." Her quesions trailed off as she gazed at the object in front of her. Fortuneately, Mrs. Avian answered her unasked question.
" Yes, it is the same necklace that is in the stories." Mrs. Avian smiled as Magnolia continued to stare in wonder at the object.
Magnolia shook her head. " That still doesn't prove that it was real." To Magnolia's surprise, Mrs. Avian pulled aside her short iron-gray hair and showed Magnolia her ear.
" Why are you... your ear is round." Magnolia said, more surprised than ever before. " Why is your ear round?"
" My ear is round because Artemis Fowl the second was my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather." Mrs. Avian waited for Magnolia too take this in.
" So.. that would make you... part human?" Magnolia asked. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that Mrs. Avian could be part human. Hmmm, maybe that was why she preferred to stay in doors.
Mrs. Avian reached over and grabbed the necklace from Magnolia and put it back in the music box. " A tiny bit, yes. Now would you like to know about the story of my many greats grandfather?" Magnolia shook her head, excited to hear the story she had heard many times in a new way.
Mrs. Avian smiled and began the story.
A week later, Magnolia walked back home in a rage. They had just gotten their essays back, and Magnolia had only gotten a B. It wasn't the fact that she had gotten the B that had Ms. Sternback had said that it was the most well written essay in the entire classroom, but to next time write about something that had actually happened.
Magnolia stalked past her houseand went up Mrs. Avian's porch- her mother's car wasn't there at their home, so Magnolia assumed she was still at work. She rang the door bell, and seconds later Mrs. Avian appeared.
" Magnolia?" She asked, pulling the door wide open. " What are you doing here. Did you get your essay back?" Ever since Magnolia turned her essay in, Mrs. Avian had been excited to here if Magnolia's teacher had belived it to be real- which of course, it was.
In response, Magnolia handed her paper to Mrs. Avian, where she read the grade and smiled. " A B, Well, that isn't so bad."
" Mrs. Avian, I would have gotten a better grade, but my teacher didn't believe it to be real." Magnolia waited to see how Mrs. Avian would reply to this. To her surprise Mrs. Avian took it rather calmly.
" Hmm. I expected as much. But theirs no need to worry about it now. What's done is done, eh?" Mrs. Avian then reached inside her pocket and brougt out the necklace that she had shown Magnolia a week ago. " Here," she said, placing it into Magnolia's hand. " I want you to keep this."
Magnolia stared at her, shocked. "Why?"
" Because I now know that someone belives that that story is real. And I know that I am getting very old and I have no one family to pass it down to, so I am giving it to you."
Magnolia put the necklace around her head. " Thanks." She said before hugging Mrs. Avian good bye and reurning home.
Magnolia woke up late in the morning. She yawned as she got out of bed and went to the kitchen, where she joined her mother in having breakfast. If she would have been fully awake she would have noticed that her mother was unusually quiet, but she wasn't so she didn't take note of it.
" Magnolia... there's something that I need to tell you."
" What?" asked Magnolia, her mouth full with pancake.
" Mrs. Avian passed away in her sleep last night..." her mother trailed off, waiting to see how Magnolia would respond.
Magnolia got up from her seat and went back to her room and grabbed the necklace that Mrs. Avian had given to her just yesterday. As she put it around her neck, she promised herself that she would keep the true story of Artemis Fowl alive. When the time came, she would pass it down to her children- that is if she ever had any children- and tell them the tale of Artemis Fowl. Because people needed to believe it to be real, because it did happen.
Magnolia grieved for a few minutes for her lost friend before rejoining her mother. Yes... she would keep the legend of Artemis Fowl alive for Mrs. Avian.
authors notes- * Before Frond
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