The young fairy stared at the manor from afar. The moonlight gave his property a mysterious and alluring feel. Slipping on the LEP helmet, she readied herself for action.
The fairy activated her shield and nimbly climbed over the gate, not having the luxury of wings for this particular night. She dashed towards the manor, not trusting the magic shield to hide herself from the cameras' view.
The petite character hugged the outer wall of the building, waiting a moment before she was sure no one was coming for her. Slowly, she took a step back and took out her homemade grappling hook, swinging it around as she prepared to throw it.
CLANG! D'Arvit! She accidentally hit the wall! Glancing around quickly, she took another step back and tried again. She threw it upwards . . .
. . . Not high enough. The fairy grit her teeth and tried again, tossing it as hard as she could.
CLANG! The metal hook stayed up there when she tried to pull it back down. Looking upwards, it appeared the hook had gotten caught on some sort of pipe or something. The fairy tugged a few more times before scaling the wall carefully.
The trip seemed long and tiring. The fairy swore someone was going to run outside any second and catch her. But she couldn't chicken out now. No, she was too far now. no point in backing out.
At last, she reached a high-up window. Looking at the map she had pulled up on her helmet, she was about to enter the room of the Mud Twins. Carefully, she popped open the window with the portable crowbar Foaly made at her request and slipped into the room.
Now, this room was sure to have cameras. In fact, there was one now. She ran to the other side of the room, opening the door and sliding through, knowing the children weren't presently in the home. This was it, she had to succeed. No turning back.
She ran down the hall, following a heat signature in the study. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the hulking bodyguard standing outside the door. He was scarier than her uncle had told her!
D'Arvit! They must know I'm here! There's no other way to get by . . .The fairy walked over and stopped in front of the bodyguard, unshielding herself.
-x-x-x-
Even though Butler knew the fairy was there (due to Artemis), he never expected her to unshield herself.
"Hi. May I speak to Artemis?"
The voice was young and unfamiliar to Domovoi. She seemed slightly nervous but was doing a good job to hide it. She wasn't using the mesmer, which was a good sign. The petite girl was wearing a LEP suit, complete with the helmet so he couldn't see her facial features. But Butler wasn't going to let a stranger near his charge - fairy or not.
"Butler, go ahead and allow her to see me," came Fowl's voice from the earpiece.
Butler hesitated before nodding and escorting her into the study. An order was an order.
Artemis Fowl watched the suited fairy look around the large study before looking at him. She seemed to straighten at the sight of him.
"Hello, little LEPrecon," the teenager greeted in Gnommish, revealing a hint of one of his vampire smiles, "What wrongdoing have the People accused me of doing on this lovely night?"
The fairy didn't speak. Rather, she took off her helmet, smiling from ear to ear. She was younger than Artemis had anticipated. Younger than Holly, that's for sure. Strangely enough, her hair style and colour was extremely similar to Captain Short's.
"Nahh, it's nothing like that, Arty!" the fairy chimed, leaving Artemis quite surprised. "I just wanted to get to meet you! Uncle Trouble told me a lot about you!"
Commander Trouble's niece? Artemis noted with amusement, Oddly enough, nothing like him.
"Yeah! Foaly and him have told me all about yours and Captain Holly's adventures! They're so cool! I'm your biggest fans!"
The word "fan" left both Butler and Artemis in speechless shock. Butler coughed slightly.
"I suppose Artemis has become quite a celebrity in Haven, then?" Butler joked. The little fairy girl shrugged.
"Ehhhh, not many people like him because he's a Mud Man. But, anyways, when are you and Holly going to get married, Arty?"
This time, Artemis lost all composure, speechless once again. This child had such an overactive imagination!
That's it, Artemis, he thought to himself, calming down, She's only a child. She doesn't comprehend the weight of her accusations. "Molly, are you there?"
Foaly snorted. "Then I could use it as blackmail material. Anyways, you're already past the puberty stage. Artemis Fowl wouldn't be doing something 'embarrassing'."The pale teenager rolled his eyes as Molly climbed onto the desk with a grin. "Hi, Foaly!"
"There you are! I should've known to not give you that crowbar! Trouble has been worried about you; he's been ready to send out a Retrieval team!"The fairy's face scrunched up in annoyance. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I'll come back now."
Before the centaur could reply, Molly closed the laptop and looked at Artemis, smiling again. "We can talk another time, okay?"
She quickly kissed the human on the cheek, shocking him speechless for the third time that day. Butler stepped forward to grab her but the fairy just jumped up and used the mountainous manservant's head for a footstool jump before joyously running out of the room in a giggle-fit.
Butler rubbed his head, noticing how his charge had turned a light pink.
"Artemis, I hope you don't make a habit of letting your fangirls in here. I'm getting too old to take care of rabid women."
Artemis shot his butler a look before returning to look at the door, as if the fairy was still there. "Don't worry, old friend. I'll just have to become even more indecent. That should keep them away."
"Artemis, if I've learned anything from Juliet, that's not how fangirls work . . ."