Fair warning for all you traditionalists! In order for this story to work, Holly is going to be very very submissive. Now, I know that in the books she is not, but this story is as if she lived a completely different life. Not a stubborn Captain of the LEP.
Basically, if you dont like it, dont read it.
"Happy Birthday, Arty!"
Artemis smiled tiredly at his family, pausing on the bottom step of the staircase quickly to hug his mother as she ran up to him. "Thank you. I must say, I'm surprised you all remembered, with everything that's been going on with the Industries. . . "
"Oh, don't be silly," Angeline scolded her son, squeezing him once. "Of course we remembered. Now come, let's go eat."
The whole family was there, even the Butler siblings and his four year old brothers. They had all been standing around the bottom of the stairs, outside the dining room, waiting on Artemis to come down the stairs. Today was his fifteenth birthday, and everybody was ready to celebrate. Especially his little siblings.
"What are you going to do this year, Arty?" Beckett asked, tugging his brother's pants leg and blinking up at him with his wide, innocent blue eyes. Myles looked up at Artemis as well, an expectant and scientifically examining look on his face.
Artemis ruffled his brother's blonde hair and shrugged. "Nothing special," he answered, after a moment's thought. "I have a meeting to go to this evening, but otherwise I'll probably be working the whole day."
His brother frown and huffed, not happy that his brother wouldn't be playing with him the entire day. "Fine. Be boring." Then he ran into the kitchen, Myles following silently after him with his hands clasped firmly behind his back. Artemis smiled a bit and shook his head, putting his hands behind his back the same exact way-where the younger boy must have learned it from-and walked into the kitchen after them.
Everyone sat at the table collectively. Artemis Senior sat on the end. On one side of him, Angeline, the twins, and Juliet sat down, and Artemis Junior and Butler sat down on the other side. Butler and Juliet normally did not sit with them, but today was a special occasion. It went without saying that as soon as everyone was seated, the family started loading their plates.
"Huge breakfast this morning," Artemis commented on the buffet, raising an eyebrow at his mother and the Butlers. She didn't reply, so Beckett did.
"'Is for your birthday, simple-toon," he told him, staring at him as if it should be obvious. Myles snickered, holding back an eye roll at his ignorant brother.
"Beckett, don't call your brother names," his mother chided sternly, putting down her fork and knife. "It's not nice."
"But he is!" The young child protested, pouting in the cutest way.
"Beckett!"
"Angeline." Artemis Senior sighed. He patted his wife's hand, then looked at his son and shook his head. "Beckett, listen to your mother." However, he had a hint of a smile on his lips as he spoke, obviously agreeing with him on the blonde's exclamation before..
Beckett murmured, "Okay, Dad..." and turned back to his woman huffed, turning back to her food as well and shaking her head, frustrated.
A big breakfast it may have been, but after that, everybody ate and finished quickly. As Butler and Juliet were gathering up all the plates and putting them in the sink, Artemis Senior stood up and rubbed his hands together, announcing, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for presents."
The whole family broke out into grins, even Butler and Juliet as their backs were turned from the family to the sinks, although Butler's was more of a small smile. Artemis was the only one who didn't smile; in fact, he frowned quickly. "I told you not to get me anything!" he exclaimed, glaring pointedly at his father. The crime lord only smirked at his son.
"Oh, don't worry. We didn't get you much. But you know the boys wouldn't rest until they got you something, and that got your mother started. Eventually we had to just let everyone get you something. . . "
The genius shook his head, but nevertheless walked over where his mother was setting all the presents out and sat down without anymore protests. It was too late now, anyway, as much as Artemis hated it. He just wanted to get through the day as normally as possible, maybe a few "Happy Birthday's" here and there, but that was it.
His eyes swept over the mound of boxes that was slowly starting to form, and landed on one big one near the back of the pile. It was larger than all the others, looking to be a four feet by three feet cube. It had a heavy-looking velvet purple blanket draped over it. Butler had to bring that one out, he noted. It must be big, and heavy. At least too heavy for Angeline.
"What's in the huge box?" he asked, pointing it out to his bodyguard when he walked to stand behind him.
The manservant shrugged at the question. "I've been ordered not to tell by Mrs. Fowl. Sorry, Artemis."
The boy huffed, exasperated. "Fine. I'll get to it eventually, I suppose. . "
"Okay!" Angeline announced cheerily, bounding over to her husband and then grinning widely at her eldest son when he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You can open them now."
So he did. That was where he spent the next hour - sitting crossed legged on the ground in front of the huge mound of boxes with Juliet handing him more presents every so often, when he opened all the ones she'd shoved in his arms minutes previously. By the time he got down to the big cube he'd noticed before, he had a new watch, three new sets of suits, loafers, and ties, a new phone with a headset for it, and two finger painted pictures of himself (courtesy of Myles and Beckett). All that was left were a few bags, a small box, and of course the giant one.
Juliet made to hand him one of the bags, but Mrs. Fowl cut in and stopped her. "Let him open the big one first," she ordered, making the Butler stop halfway there. The girl nodded, and Artemis looked at his mother in confusion. "The contents will make more sense that way," she explained. Then she nodded to the cube. "Open it."
Artemis got up and walked over to the giant cube, kneeling in front of it and gingerly grasping the edge of the blanket. Slowly, he peeled it off, and then gasped when he saw what was inside.
It was a little girl. No, he corrected himself, noticing the pointed ears, it was a little fairy. An elf, by the looks of it. She was asleep, and curled in on herself, her head resting on her arms. Her stringy, yet fiery red hair covered most of her face, and the rest of her body was covered with another blanket, though he knew without looking she was probably wearing rags underneath. Most of them did.
Artemis closed his eyes and sighed, not even turning to face his parents. "I thought I made it clear that I didn't not want a pet fairy?"
"You did," his mother sighed.
"Then why did you get me one? I do not support Fowl Fairy Industries and what we do to these people."
Artemis Senior put a hand on his wife's shoulder, stopping her before she could answer. "Artemis, they aren't people. And we think it could be good for you. A little companionship might - "
"Companionship? That is not a companion, Father, it is a pet," Artemis countered. "And I do believe I've made my opinion clear on that quite a few times as well."
"Artemis, you have to stop being so arrogant." Angeline protested desperately. "It is the family business to supply people with these animals and what does it look like when our own son doesn't follow us with that?"
"I am aware!" Artemis shot back. "But what you don't realize is how badly humans treat them!" He didn't give them time to answer before plowing on. "At any rate, I told you I don't want one and I never will. Did you really think because you got me one behind my back meant that I would want to keep it?"
"Nobody said you would want to keep it, Artemis," Artemis Senior said sharply. "But we are saying that you have to."
"Why?" he demanded.
"It will be good for you. You know what you just said proved our worries. You will keep this animal, and it will in turn prove that it is, in fact, a beast." He raised his hand to quiet his son before he could interrupt him, Artemis knowing full well not to interrupt him. "We want you to get something out of this. An understanding. You don't have to keep her for long, but we wanted to give you a better understanding of fairies as what they truly are. You can keep her for a year before you get rid of her, let the press know you support us, even if you are faking it."
Artemis scowled, disgusted at what his father was suggesting. "Get rid of her?"
"Yes."
"Get rid of her how? Take her out back and shoot her in the head?!" He didn't want to have this argument, especially around the twins, but he was fuming.
"Artemis James Fowl the Second!" Angeline exclaimed horrified as she covered Beckett's ears. Myles didn't seem to mind, examining his nails as he sat on the floor.
Artemis sighed, bowing his head in defeat. He couldn't win this. There was no way. "There's no getting out of this, is there?"
"No." His father answered.
"I thought not." he said quietly. Then he sighed again. "Fine. I'll take care of her for a year, but after that, I am not keeping her. I'll send her back to the Industry to get a new owner." He looked at Butler, his eyes angered as well as the rest of him. "Take her upstairs to my room. Don't take her out of the cage." Then, without waiting for a response, he stalked out of the room.
There was tense silence for a moment before everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Nobody spoke. Nobody dared to.
Eventually, Butler murmured, "I suppose I should take her up . . "
Artemis Senior nodded. "Yes, go ahead. Thank you, Butler."
The manservant nodded at his sister, and she quickly joined him. They went over together and laid the blanket back over the top of her cage, piled the rest of the bags and the box on top, and then left. The elf was still sleeping as she was taken away.
Angeline watched them go and then turned to her husband. "What are we going to do with him?"
Artemis Senior's answer was as grim as the look on his face when he spoke. "I have no idea. But he better stop treating the family company name like this." he said to his wife, then turned and walked out.
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