I do not own anything except Apollo, if I did, the stories would be very different.
Funerals and Firearms
Vampire-like twins stared blankly at an empty coffin. A bodyguard loomed over the two children protectively. A mother desperately trying to hold back tears. And failing.
This was the Fowl family, or what was left of it. The nine-year-old twins', heirs of the fowl family, their butler, and their mother. Their father had been on a business trip to sell crates of cola cans to the Russians. The Russian Mafia didn't like people encroaching on their business.
Three days previous - Mrs. Fowl had been lecturing Apollo for what she thought must have been the millionth time, that nine-year-old girls don't wear pantsuits. For at the age of five Apollo deemed wearing dresses demeaning to women, and started exclusively wearing Artemis's Armani suits. Angeline had taken Apollo's extra phone, and was in the process of dialing Apollo's former dress seamstress when Butler came in with a call for her. She put down Apollo's phone, and took the phone from butler. "Hello, who is this?" She asked impatiently, still upset at Apollo, who stood smirking at her mother. Several moments of silence followed. Angeline's face drained of color, and the impatience fell from her face and voice. "Wh… when did this… How did this happen?" she asked, her composure failing her. Apollo's mouth fell into its default position, a somber frown. More silence. She said goodbye and hung up. "Go get Artemis," she told Butler, trying to keep her voice calm. Angeline slumped into a chair, and Apollo stood and waited for Butler to return with Artemis.
Angeline shifted slightly in her chair, and the doorway widened to show Artemis with Butler following closely behind. Seeming to sense the privacy of the matter, Butler began to close the door, with him on the other side. Before he could close the door fully, Angeline stopped him, saying, "This concerns you as well Butler, listen to what I have to say." Butler widened the doorway again and stood just inside the room. Angeline looked to the twins, she began to speak, her voice wavering, "The ship your father was on has been in… in an accident, there was an explosion. They searched through the wreckage, they couldn't… couldn't find him," she turned then to Butler on the verge of tears, continuing, "They couldn't find either of them." She burst into tears as she finished the sentence. Butler seemed outwardly unfazed, looked to the twins just in time to see their shocked faces, which quickly found composure. Angeline retreated to her room once she could stand again. She didn't eat dinner, and said nothing more to the twins or Butler. Artemis and Apollo stayed in the study for half an hour, not speaking, not moving, not even looking at each other. They decided to go to bed early.
The next morning Artemis and Apollo continued life as usual, but were careful not to disrupt their mother who spent most the day silently roaming the halls, still in her shocked state. Butler was overall unchanged by the situation, as he knew the role of a Butler towards a Fowl was often a dangerous one. He started taking care of Angeline in addition to his duty to the twins. He kept a careful watch over them making sure that they didn't destroy the manor, as they often performed experiments, and tested various theories indoors. Angeline came out of her stupor around dinnertime, and decided to proceed with the funeral as soon as possible, and began making preparations.
Butler drove them home in the Bentley after the service was over. No one spoke while in the car. Dinner was eaten in silence. Angeline sat across the table from the twins, slumped in her chair. Angeline looked up. "I'm not hungry. I'm going to bed… Goodnight," She said to them in a daze. It was the most she had spoken to the twins for two days. "Goodnight mother," the twins said in perfect unison, seemingly unbothered by the lack of communication from their mother. Butler began clearing the table as Mrs. Fowl left the dining room. "I don't think so," Artemis said without looking up from his plate. "Nor do I," Apollo replied with a glance toward Artemis. "We should begin searching for him then, since we both agree he survived.", she added between sips of coffee. Artemis stood from his chair and his mouth twitched into a vampire like smile as he began to head upstairs to their room. "I'll be up in a minute," Apollo said looking at her half full plate," I'm going to finish dinner." She added. Artemis slipped into the shadows of the hallway as he left. A moment of silence passed. Apollo looked up at Butler who was clearing Artemis's plate. She began to rise from her chair, and calmly said to the manservant, "I'm getting a gun," Apollo smoothed out her slacks and added, "Don't tell Artemis."
This is my very first story, I hope you like it. Constructive criticism is very welcome, and I will not be able to update very frequently, but I do plan to finish this story, no matter how long it takes!