Haven City, 2016 AD
King Regulus Frond has just died, leaving the throne of Haven to his son, Prince Regulus Frond II and his sisters, Princess Lily Frond and Princess Holly Frond.
Regulus Frond was an ally of the Surface Lords, as, after a civil war, they helped him regain order amongst the Haven citizens. Regulus Frond II and his sisters are now arguing about the matter, and his sister, Lily, wishes to fight the Surface. Holly Frond wishes to ally with them, and so she has been banished to Atlantis. Now they are fighting over the succession to the throne. Princess Holly is arguing that she is the rightful successor to the throne, however her sister, Lily, disagrees.
Lord Artemis Fowl II is the current ruler of the surface, and has come to mediate between the family. He is the most powerful man in the world, above or under, and has taken all of the Surface lands, and United them under his name. There is only one place left. Haven and Atlantis, residence of the People.
"My lady, I am the Princess's physician." Apollonius, the physician to the Princess Holly, ushered the prostitute into the tent. She walked up to a small dividing cloth, and then whispered to her.
"Your majesty, what can I do for you?" She asked. A shadow can be seen through the cloth as the princess walks up to it, but does not reveal herself.
"I want to know how to seduce a man." She whispers back.
"Of course, my lady." The girl prostitute replied, although she was shocked by the request. "It depends on the man."
"This man is a genius." Holly replied.
"Ah, these are tricky." The woman replied. "You must convince them that, no matter how much they take, there is still more to come."
"Hmm." Holly mused.
In the depths of the sea, a small sailing ship is seen by almost no one, as it travels across the surface of the water to a small, brightly lit underground passage. The ship makes its way to Haven. Unbeknownst to the small fish that sees it, it carries a most important cargo. A carpet, rolled up, with a very special something, or someone within it. It is stopped at the entrance to a cavern.
"Who goes there?" A guard adorned in the ornate uniform of the house of Frond stood at the entrance.
"We are but a simple trader ship." An elderly elf informed the guard. The guard nodded.
"I'm afraid we will have to search your ship." He waved his men forward, and they leapt aboard the ship. "Please understand. The Haven Throne is under threat from the evil forces of the traitor Princess, Holly Frond. We must make sure she does not slip through."
"We understand completely." The elderly man replied. The search was completed, and the ship was waved through. "We wish you luck in your task."
A large black limo pulled up outside the royal palace of Haven, several smaller, black cars following behind. A large man stepped out of the limo, closely followed by a young woman with long blonde hair. The large man opened the back door, and Lord Artemis Fowl II stepped out. He nodded to the large man.
"Thankyou, Butler." He said. The large man nodded, and then the young blonde and the large man stood up beside him. The cars behind them opened, and more large, black clad men stepped out. They stepped up the marble steps leading to the palace. It was large and white, made almost completely out of marble, and it had crystalline accentuates. At the top of the steps was a short elf wearing the official, green garb of a palace guard.
"Lord Fowl." The guard addressed him. "If you would follow me. The King Regulus and his sister the Queen Lily await you."
"Thankyou." Artemis replied, and followed the guard inside. They reached the throne room, and walked inside to see a small elf boy, with red hair and olive skin, of about fourteen sitting on a throne. It was golden, and had a high, splayed back, like a peacock. Next to him, on a lower throne was a taller elf girl with long, red hair and brown eyes. Her face was simple and had very sharp features. At the time of their arrival, she had one hand on her brother's cheek, and was looking at him with an almost predatory look in her eyes. As soon as they walked in, however, she released him, and looked over at them. Her eyes seemed to be accusing him of something. He nodded his head to them. "Greetings, your majesties." He said.
"Greetings, Lord Fowl." The girl said. The boy remained silent.
"I have come to collect the money that the Haven Throne owes the Surface." He said, formally.
"Of course." The girl replied. Artemis smirked, and then walked up to throne with the boy on it.
"How old are you?" He asked the boy.
"Four... Fourteen." He stuttered, quietly.
"Hmm." Artemis mused. An older elf with greying hair then walked in.
"Greetings, Lord Fowl." He said. "My name is Antarius, and I am the head advisor to the King Regulus Frond II."
"Greetings Antarius." Artemis addressed the advisor.
"The Haven royal family requires your assistance on a certain matter." Artemis nodded for him to continue. "King Regulus II and Queen Lily are the rightful heirs to the throne, however their oldest sister, Holly, believes that she is the rightful heir. We need to solve this problem, and with the assistance of your legions..." Artemis held up his hand for silence.
"Your argument is very bias." He said. Antarius opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Artemis stopped him. "I will stay overnight to try and resolve the matter." He concluded.
"Very well." Antarius bowed. "Allow me to show you to your room." Artemis nodded, and followed Antarius as he led him to a side quarters.
The blonde girl, Juliet Butler, locked the door behind them, and then Artemis examined the quarters closely, looking for bugs. None were found, and he nodded, satisfied. He turned to the large man, Butler.
"Butler, I require a map of Haven." He demanded. Butler nodded, and unrolled the map that he had under his arm. Artemis examined the map. "What would it take to invade this place?" He asked Butler.
"A large drill and a battering ram." He replied. Artemis turned and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Humour, old friend?" He asked, Butler remained stony faced. He was serious. Artemis turned back to the map. Butler was right. The city was underground, and even then, it had large walls surrounding it. There was then a loud rap on the door. Artemis nodded to Butler, still examining the map, and he opened the door to admit two black clad men. They saluted, and Artemis nodded for them to continue.
"Sir, we found this elf at the gates." He said. The guard who spoke held up a dirty elf. "He had this with him." The guard gestured to his partner, who was holding a large, rolled up rug. "He was asking to see you."
"I see." He replied. "Butler?"
"Yes, my lord?" Butler responded to his master.
"Please take this elf." Artemis ordered. "I believe he wishes to speak." Butler nodded, picking up the elf.
"I bring you… Fine rug… gift from… Princess Holly…" He grunted. Artemis smirked.
"Very well." He said. "Escort this elf to the gate, and leave the rug there."
"My Lord!" The dirty elf protested. "The Princess ordered it to be unrolled in your presence immediately."
"Then do so." Artemis replied, disinterestedly. The elf was released, and he immediately went to the rug, and unrolled it slowly, as Artemis began to study the map once more. "Butler, if we were to…" As the carpet unrolled slowly, it revealed a beautiful female elf with olive skin and short red hair. She had high cheekbones and large, hazel eyes. Her ears were delicately pointed, her nose slightly hooked and her lips were plump and cherubic.
"Master Artemis…" Butler noticed her, and tapped his master on the shoulder. Artemis turned to see the beautiful elf upon the rug. He smirked, and walked over to her, offering her his hand to get up. She stood, and he began to pace around her.
"Princess Holly Frond." He addressed her. She smirked a little, and the corner of her mouth turned up.
"Lord Artemis Fowl II." She addressed him, slightly mockingly.
"So, you are the one they call a goddess…" He watched her closely. She smiled at this. It was a very angelic smile.
"I am the grand-daughter of Aphrodite." She said. But then she got down to business. "We need to talk, my lord."
"Of course." He led her out of the room, and down a long corridor to the throne room. The princess walked into the long room, and down towards the throne in the far back. She sat in it delicately, running her hands across it. Artemis sat in an audience seat nearby, steepled his fingers and they began to talk. "What is it that you wished to talk to me about?"
"I wish to talk about the rightful heir to the throne. Me." She said. "My father was a great man, a great Elven King, and when he died, he elected me queen."
"How do I know that you are telling the truth?" He asked her.
"I am the rightful heir." She insisted, standing sharply. "The people know this. They will support me."
"Hmm." He considered this thoughtfully. "I shall have to think about this overnight. Why don't you go get some rest?"
"I cannot." She said. "If my siblings find out that I am here, they will have me killed. No, there is only one bed which is safe for me tonight. Yours." Artemis smirked.
"Princess, I do not think that would be prudent." He said.
"Lord Fowl is not known for his prudence." It was true. Some of the tactics that he had used to take over the world had been less than prudent. She walked over to the door and held out her hand. He stood and took the hand, following her. As they walked into his quarters, it was deserted, his bodyguards having retired to their own quarters. Holly turned to him, taking in his appearance. The Lord of the Surface had black hair and deep blue eyes. His skin was very pale, and the planes of his face sharp and well-defined.
"Princess Holly, you do not have to do this." She just smiled at that. She moved closer to him, until their lips were almost touching.
"But perhaps I want to." She said. With that, she leant forwards, and pressed her lips to his. He moved his lips across her cheek and down her neck slowly, but murmured to her.
"You've never done this before, have you?" She didn't respond to that, simply moving backwards and sitting on the bed, then leaning back so that she was laying upon it. He followed her down, putting his arms either side of her, and leaning over her. She leant her head back, and he went to her neck, his lips burning a trail down her neck. She brought his head back up, then, bringing her lips to meet his in a fiery kiss.