Haven City 6:15 Holly Short's Apartment
"Yes, Juniper! Another fine day in Haven city!" a man's voice said from the radio "That's right, Birch! Now in other news, a gang fight between some younger goblins broke out yesterday…." I moaned and whacked the sleep button on my radio. I pushed my hair out of my face and looked at the time. It read 6:15. I yawned again and rolled out of bed. I winced when my feet hit the floor. I forgot that my leg had a wrap cast on it. I forgot my leg was broken. How could I forget that?
Because I am pushing back the memories. Trying to forget the pain, the look on his face… I can't focus on this! It's already happened. I'm not dead. Neither is Artemis… I tried to push that thought out of my head. I couldn't live without Arty. I walked, no limped, over to my wardrobe. I noticed I left my sling on my arm last night. I pulled out my most human-like clothes. A pair of black sweat pants and an earth green pull- over hooded sweater. Juliet had gotten both the sweater and pants for my birthday last year.
I laid them on my bed and decided to go jump in the shower. I spun on the taps and the water, cold at first, hit my skin like bullets of ice. I spun the taps again and it warmed to my skin. It felt good to my broken bones and bruises. My body was in auto pilot while my mind wandered in thought. 'Was there anything I could have done to prevent it? Should I really do this? Should I go?' I turned the water off and jumped out. Hitting the chilly air made me shiver as I ducked my face into a towel.
I dried myself off and slipped into my underwear. I walked into bedroom and grabbed my sweater and pants. I noticed the big purple stains that covered my skin. My eyes were locked on them. I couldn't look away. It was like when you see someone with a scarred face or a car accident. It's horrible and you want to look away, but you can't. I closed my eyes and when I opened them I focused on getting ready.
I sat down and yanked the pant leg over my cast and then over my other foot. As I stood up, I shimmied the pants up and they sat perfectly on my hips. I walked back over to my dresser and grabbed a white tank top and slowly pulled it over my head. I slipped my good arm through and then grabbed and pulled my other arm through. I pulled the sweater over my head and my hair stuck up with static. I pressed it back down and walked over to get my sneakers.
Both of my feet were a bit swollen so I had to stretch out my sneakers. I pulled them onto my feet and sat down on the bed to lace them up. I finished tying both shoes and looked up into my mirror. My pointy, elfin ears were peeking out from in my hair. I reached out for the holo-phone on my bedside table. I punched in my code, and then punched in Foaly's number.
Finally after 5 buzzing rings from the speaker, Foaly's face shimmered into light. "Hey, Holly!" "Hey, pony boy," I said tiredly "Oh, someone's tired!" he whinnied "Ugh. Look Foaly, I need some cover up for my ears." "Uh why, may I ask?" "No." "Didn't think so," he sighed "One second, Kelp is banging on my window." "Ok." Should I tell him why? I thought he would just get after me…maybe I should. He would understand. It's a reasonable reason to visit…
"Back. He wanted to know if he could change his email password. He said he thinks there are people watching him. Psh! As if anyone could hack my passwords!" "Foaly, the cover up?" "Oh yeah, I have some here. Drop by anytime." "Ok, I'll be there in a minute." I paused "Foaly? Are you still there?" 'Uh, yeah?" "The reason I'm needing the cover up is I'm going up to visit Artemis."
"Yeah, that's what I figured." He paused "It might not be pretty Holly; humans don't heal as fast as us." "I know. I'm fine." "Alright, tell me about it when you get back." "Alright. Have that stuff ready when I get there." "Yeah, I will. You know, 'Commander' Trouble didn't want me giving this out unless they fill out forms or ask him or something…" I love how Foaly can make me laugh even when I am sad "Yeah, sure Foaly. I'll get you some of your favorite hoof cream." I smiled "YES!" he whinnied "See ya Holly!" "Yeah," I said quietly "See ya."
Dublin, Ireland 12:45 Dublin Hospital room 1995
I was saddened to see my young charge like this. Paler than we usually is, limp in bed. He was as sick as a dog. Machines and tubes swirled and blinked connecting him to fluids and medication. If he was awake, he wouldn't like it. They had placed him in hospital clothes and had his legs and arms hung in the air at different angles. He had broken six ribs, a leg, an arm, part of a vertebrae and his nose.
I looked out the window at the bright sun on the June afternoon. I smiled at myself noticing how June and afternoon rhymes. I looked out the port hole-like window in the door and saw Artemis Sr. face. He was talking to one of the doctors that helps Artemis. I started trying to read his lips. 'Artemis…fine….comatose…accident…alright…tell…Angeline….visit...food ...yes…' accident.
What happened wasn't an accident. Artemis brought it on to himself. He was going to simply meet Holly and… I always knew some day something would happen and no one would be able to stop it. Something that's completely unexpected. But, I can't help but think… if I was there, could I have stopped it? Juliet is younger. She has more agility and is faster than me as I get older but she doesn't have the experience. I was getting older. I am defiantly not as quick as I was before. I looked back at the doctors and Artemis Sr. 'Yes…butler…ever since…yes…yes…I know…him…never….no…never…leaves….always…yes…like….family…yes…ok…yeah…sure…you can…'
I straightened up getting ready for my introduction. "Butler? This is Dr. Miles. He is one of the many men helping out Artemis." "Yes. Nice to meet you, sir" I said standing up, solemn faced. We shook hands and the doctor went on to explain how Artemis is doing. "You see, Artemis has been in a coma for about half a day now now. He is healing well actually. Some of the gashes and wounds were closed and some had even started healing when you brought him in. Which was weird because it only happened almost minutes before...?" "Well, you see" Artemis Sr. said "Butler is trained in some of the different healing methods from around the world. He was able to heal some of the sustained damage on the scene." "Oh! So you were there?" the doctor looked at me. I looked at Artemis sr. He thought I was there. I forgot that. "Uh...yes I was there.
"So explain to me again what happened." The doctor said slowly and questioning. Think think think! I told myself. "We, uh, Artemis and I, had taken the Fowl horses out around the court yard. Artemis had finished his school work and I wasn't working on anything so we decided to go riding. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl were not at home at the time. So anyway, we were riding and a rabbit darted through some of the brush. It had startled the horse Artemis was riding on. The horse knocked him off his back. He fell near some rocks on the brush which had opened some wounds. I had jumped off my horse and they're trained to go back to their stalls, so I gave them the command to go back. I then picked up Artemis and ran back to the house and treated him a bit then drove into the city. By the time I had arrived here, he had lost a lot of blood and it had been about an hour."
Of course that's not what actually happened. But it would have to work. I had Juliet plant some evidence back at the manor, so I have some back up. Of course the broken vertebrae would be explained through getting knocked off a horse's back. Actually, it was quite common in riding accidents.
"Well, certainly, it was an unlucky accident," the doctor muttered writing something down. "I'll come check on him later. Thank you." The doctor then left. It was silent in the room for a while. Angeline was stroking Artemis's head. "Well, Angeline, why don't we go get some lunch?" Artemis Sr. said with a grim smile. "Alright dear," Angeline smiled back "Butler thank you for watching him." "You don't need to thank me," I said "even if I wasn't needed or you didn't want me here, I would still stay by his side."
Dublin, Ireland Dublin hospital Room 1995 1:03
Is that really what happened?
I can't remember...
A riding accident?
Is that a lie?
If something happened with...
What?
Why can't I remember?
I can't remember anything.
Well some things...
Butler
Mother and father
I'm injured
My name
I'm in Ireland
My multiplication tables and some computer numbers and passwords
My phone number and adress
I can basically hear what everyone is saying...
I know I haven't had any visits except mother and father.
Butler is always there...
And then there's the occasional doctor and nurses every hour.
But why hasn't she come?
I can't remember her name
Or face
Or a lot of information
Except that she's important and I want her to come...
What's her name... a place? An adjective? Is it French? Another language? A flower yes that's it... Lilly? Rose? Daisy? Poppy? Marigold? H- Holly? There's something about that name... maybe... maybe that's her.... I... I can't remember.