Chapter One: The Manor
Irish Airport closest to where Fowl Manor would be if it existed:
The girl hopped off the plane excitedly, eager to look at Ireland and its people. While she waited for the conveyor belt thingy to bring out her luggage, she scanned the crowd, looking for the airport exit, which was almost impossible to see, considering all of the people in her way. She was so busy trying to find the exit that she almost missed her luggage coming through. Luckily, she glimpsed it just out of the corner of hazel gold -eyes and grabbed the three huge suitcases before they disappeared into the pits of hell (a.k.a. the airport suitcase entrance with the black rubber flaps). Pushing her way through the crowd, she made it outside and managed to hail a taxi.
"Fowl Manor," she said to the taxi driver. He told her the price and then she was on her way to Fowl Manor. As she looked out of the window, her thoughts drifted back to when she got the message for this job...
Flashback U.S.A. three months earlier:
"Dad, I'm home!" she shouted before plonking herself in front of the computer. She eagerly clicked on her e-mail. Since school was going to be over in a couple of months, she had decided to get a job abroad, sending her, uh, very interesting resume over the Internet to different well-known companies and households all over the world. Why was she so eager to go to some job in a different country at only fourteen? It could have been the fact that she was bored; her father wanted her to see the world while she was still young, it could've been fun, or that she was a genius wanting to learn about other cultures from experience. Well, seeing that she was only fourteen, there weren't that many jobs available in foreign countries, even if she was a genius. The only ones that really appealed to the girl were: a maid for a rich family, a nanny for children, and different types of apprentice.
She scanned through the several messages on her e-mail account. Almost all of the replies from the companies and households rejected her resume, explaining that they didn't need a new employee. This disappointed her somewhat, but she kept on reading the other messages. Soon, she only had one e-mail left. Holding her breath, she opened the window to read the message. She scanned it quickly, and found the magic words that she'd been dying to read. You've been hired. She let out a breath, and then read who the e-mail had come from. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl in Ireland. She closed the window and shut down her computer, resolving to talk to her father about it at dinner.
"Hey, Dad, I got hired by a family in Ireland!" she had shouted. Her father, who had had his back to her, jumped. Then he turned around, a smile on his face.
"That's wonderful, honey! When do they need you to be there?"
"The Fowls said that I could start anytime within the next three months, which is perfect since school ends in about that amount of time. Plus, this gives me time to organize some things in town." Her dad grinned.
"Quite organized, aren't we, Simetra?"
After that, she had basically gotten more organized, buying new things, packing the old, and even raising enough money to buy her own plane ticket, since she had refused to let her dad pay for it all. But the hardest part was to say good-bye to her father, since they both very close. A lurch in the taxi that she was riding in ended her recent memories.
She wiped away a few rebellious tears and regained her focus on the outside world, gasping when her eyes rested on Fowl Manor. It was a lot bigger than she had imagined. Though 'big' hardly seemed to do it justice. Colossal was closer. Gargantuan even. She stepped put of the taxi and grabbed her three suitcases, heading towards the giant iron gates. Then, out of nowhere, a female voice asked, "Are you the new employee?" Startled, she looked around and located a camera and intercom near the gates.
Simetra pressed the intercom button and said, "Yes, I'm Artemis, the new maid from America." The gates swung open and she barely had time to hurry past them before they closed once again. She stared in wonder at the grounds, which were dotted with colorful summer flowers. Arriving at the front door of the gargantuan manor, she didn't even raise her hand to knock before the door opened and a woman in a resplendent outfit ushered her inside, suitcases and all.
"Artemis, how nice to finally meet you! I am Mrs. Fowl. My, aren't you beautiful!" Mrs. Fowl exclaims, taking in her rather exotic appearance: thick, curly black hair that fell to her waist, and hazel/gold eyes. She wasn't very tall (actually, only around four feet eleven), tan skin, a nice, slender frame, shapely legs, flat stomach, and a rather, er, shall we say, ample chest. Mrs. Fowl then called in a loud voice, "Timmy, please come and meet Artemis, our new helper." A man with a prosthetic leg came from the left, smiling. His voice was booming, yet gentle in a way.
"Artemis is it? Well, it could get confusing with three Artemises in the manor," he chuckled as he shook her hand.
"I call my husband Timmy and my son Arty. Do you have a nickname, Artemis?" asked Angeline. The girl nodded.
"My nickname is Simetra. That's what my father and friends called me. It's Artemis spelled backwards," she explained. Mrs. Fowl clapped her hands.
"Lovely! Now that we've all been introduced, Timmy and I will show you to your room." With that, she took a suitcase in one hand and Mr. Fowl followed, another suitcase tucked under his arm. Simetra lifted up the last suitcase and followed both of them up the grand staircase, staring at the portraits of past Fowls. She got the eerie feeling they were glaring at her. Creepy, Simetra thought. They walked through several closed doors, and Mrs. Fowl finally stopped in front of a room with double doors and opened the oak doors. She walked in.
As Simetra walked in, she heard herself gasp. It was a HUGE room. The room had a circular balcony, a desk, stereo, T.V., queen-sized canopy bed, and a crystal chandelier over the whole thing. The desk, bed, ceiling, and doors were all made of oak. The walls were painted a gorgeous shade of crimson red and the floor had lush, spotless white carpeting. The bedcovers and canopy were also red and white. Simetra turned to her new employers, and managed to say, "Thank you very, very much Mr. and Mrs. Fowl. If words could express the gratitude I feel right now, trust me, I would be saying them." Mr. and Mrs. Fowl both grinned at the girl and began to walk out.
"Come down at four-thirty for a small tour and a list of things to do," said Angeline before she closed the door.
Wasting no time, Simetra began exploring the room. Other than the double doors leading to the hallway and the door leading out onto the balcony, there were two others. Striding over to the closest, she opened it to reveal a walk in closet.
"Well, now I know where my clothes will go," she muttered. Mystery door number two had a spacious bathroom behind it (also red and white), with a bathtub, shower, sink, and toilet. Wow, they really know how to treat their employees, Simetra thought. She began to unpack, finishing pretty quickly since the suitcases were categorized as: clothes and personal item in the first two, and books in the last.
Simetra looked at herself in the bathroom mirror after changing into a black peasant skirt, white v-neck shirt, and comfy slipper/shoe things. After tying her hair to make it look shoulder length, the girl descended the stairs just on time. Mrs. Fowl was waiting at the bottom, and smiled pleasantly at her.
"Punctual," she said before continuing. "Okay, Artemis, I'm going to give you a bit of a tour, as well as a list of things you will do. By the way, you get weekends off. Are you ready to begin?" She nodded and Angeline began the tour.
FF>> to end of tour...
"What would you like for supper, Mrs. Fowl?" Simetra inquired as the two of them ended the tour in the kitchen. Angeline waved her hand as if dismissing the thought.
"Oh, it doesn't matter. Timmy, Arty, Butler, and I will eat just about anything, so just make whatever pops into your head. Here." She handed Artemis a list (and a map) of things to do every day. Nothing too complicated: cooking, cleaning, acquainting herself with Artemis Junior. Wait, what? She glanced at Mrs. Fowl, puzzled.
"Acquaint myself with Artemis Junior?" she asked, eyebrows raised. Angeline nodded.
"Yes, I would be very pleased if you did. You see, I think Arty should have more friends, but he refuses to make any at his school. So I was hoping that maybe you would try. After all, you are both geniuses and the same age." she looked at Artemis hopefully. She thought about it. Well, maybe this Artemis Fowl II wouldn't be so bad. Besides, she added mentally, it would be nice to have someone intelligent to talk to.
"Okay," she agreed. Mrs. Fowl smiled gratefully at her new employee, then left, obviously so she could make dinner without any disturbances. She gazed around the kitchen, and thought of what she should make. Since it was already five-thirty, she decided to make spaghetti.
Wow, only a one hour tour of Fowl Manor. Simetra knew that Mrs. Fowl had only shown her about half of the manor, but the half that she had seen had been extremely interesting. There had been intricate carvings on the wood, rich colors and tapestries, heirlooms, antiques on almost every corner. The manor was like a dream to Simetra, who had only ever seen two story houses. On the other hand, her intuition kept bugging her. She pushed the negative feeling away, thinking that it was probably just home-sickness or the long flight.
As she was finishing the spaghetti, she heard the crunch of gravel outside. Probably a car with Artemis II, returning home for the summer holidays, just as Madam Fowl had said he would. And, sure enough, Mr. and Mrs. Fowl were coming downstairs, speaking excitedly. Simetra heard the door click open and Mr. Fowl say, "Welcome home, son." She hurriedly put the spaghetti on plates, poured the steaming sauce over them and set all four plates on a trolley. Just as she was about to roll the trolley out into the dining room, she heard Mrs. Fowl calling her. She cast off her apron and washed her hands, then proceeded to the main hall.
Walking out onto the main entrance, Simetra saw the biggest Eurasian man ever. This guy is huge, she thought in disbelief. He was Butler, Artemis' bodyguard. The other person was obviously Artemis Junior. He was an abnormally pale youth, with eyes a beautiful, unusual shade of blue, and hair as dark as hers. Artemis Fowl II. He glanced at Simetra when she came in and she could have sworn that she had seen awe on his face before his expression became cool and aloof once more. Or maybe it was just Simetra's huge ego in the works. Whatever it was, she had no time to ponder over it because she suddenly realized that Mrs. Fowl was introducing her to her son.
"Arty, this is Artemis, our new hired help." she said. Simetra smiled, and extended her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Artemis. Call me Simetra."
Artemis shook her hand, commenting, "Simetra. Artemis spelled backwards, correct?" She nodded.
"Clever," he continued, a bit sarcastically, "Though I'm certain that not many people have guessed it the first time." Again, Simetra nodded, though she was a bit peeved at his aloof arrogance. Artemis was definitely going on her 'people to talk to' list. Though she couldn't put her finger on it, there was something in the way that he spoke that made her feel as if he knew everything, despite her just recently meeting him. Maybe he does know everything, she thought, then shook her head. She had to find out how he did that. She was introduced to Butler next, and then she almost went back to the kitchen without telling the manor's occupants that dinner was ready. Luckily, she remembered and turned around, addressing the babbling four (well, it was only Mr. and Mrs. Fowl asking hundreds of questions and Artemis and Butler answering them).
"Excuse me for interrupting, but supper is ready. Perhaps you should continue your conversation over a hot meal."
Mr. Fowl laughed and said, "What a splendid idea, Simetra." The four of them went to the dining room, while Simetra took her leave to the kitchen, cutting fresh baked French bread, loading tea, wine, and water onto the trolley, and finally pushing the trolley into the dining room just as her employers, their son, and his bodyguard were sitting down. After serving the four of them, she retired to the kitchen, cleaning it up and putting away the leftovers. Cleaning didn't take her that long, so as soon as she was finished, she began cutting up fresh fruit for dessert, which was taken to the dining room for the Fowls and Butler to enjoy. She excused herself and ascended the stairs to her wonderful room.
At eleven p.m., Simetra still could not sleep and was feeling restless, which she couldn't understand. She should have been feeling tired, but, well, she wasn't. Her intuition was bugging her again, but this time she couldn't block it out because she had nothing to occupy her. Eventually she decided to occupy herself. Normally, she would have been trying to figure out what was pestering her, but she couldn't really find out anything without going to the library (libraries helped her to think), going to the library required the map, since she did not remember where the exact location of the library was. She remembered leaving the map in the kitchen. Instead, she opted for a walk around the grounds to clear her head. Simetra figured since no one would be around the grounds (hopefully), she would just walk around in her pajamas: white silky shorts and a matching tank top. Being as quiet as she could be (though it hardly mattered since the Fowls and Butler occupied bedrooms way down the hall), she made her way to the front door, slipping out onto the moon-lit yard.
A magical full moon was shining that night, casting its radiant glow over the lawn, giving everything a shining, silvery color as a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves of an apple tree Simetra hadn't noticed earlier. She breathed in the crisp night air, feeling better almost immediately. All that I need now is a knight in shining armor, you thought, and almost giggled. Knight in shining armor. Right. As if romance will ever become a part of my life, she thought a bit bitterly, then she shrugged off all thoughts of romance and began walking, admiring the well-treated flowers and plants. All were in perfect condition. All but one. A lonely, browning rose was wilting, almost dead. The poor thing, Simetra mused. Looking around to make sure that no cameras or onlookers were near, she made her way towards the rose. She looked over her shoulders and up at the manor windows again to make sure no one was looking. Simetra bent over the plant, the breeze playing with her hair.
"Heal," she whispered. Blue sparks danced from her fingers onto the plant, making it healthy and beautiful. This particular flower would last longer than the others.
Had any human chanced to catch a glimpse of Simetra's magical performance, they probably would have thought they had seen an angel. An angel in white, with moon-light giving her dark skin an unearthly glow, the breeze playing with her hair, which was loose, cascading down her back like a black waterfall. An angel with golden eyes lit with strange fires. An angel healing a dying rose. An angel, she mused, and, surprisingly, chuckled. Yeah, right. Anyone who thinks I'm an angel deserves a kick from me. Luckily, no one did see an angel, or at the very least a half-fairy healing a flower, she thought, as she walked back to the dark manor. Unfortunately, Simetra couldn't have been more wrong. Unknown to her, someone had seen the magic. And had caught the moment on camera. Chuckling evilly, that someone turned and left, leaving nothing to indicate that he had ever been present.
Yes, Simetra is a half-fairy! Laughs maniacally
I am back and the second chapter will be up as soon as possible.