"Well my Uncle, he couldn't be here tonight, didn't want to let Mr Fowl down. They were friends back at school, or so I've heard" Tori Luck smiled at the elderly rather bejewelled woman in front of her for the hundredth time pulling the neckline of her strapless dress to try and make it cover more. She forced a blush across her cheeks as she admitted "I do try my hardest to pay attention to my family, but it usually goes through one ear and out the other"
The woman, Mrs Chenowith, laughed in a haughty tone, pulling the younger girl by the arm towards the string quartet. "Between you and me, I had much more important things on my mind than those silly business matters when I was your age. And if I were you, I'd be too busy trying to get the young man who's been watching you all night to dance"
Tori glared across the ballroom floor, trying to distinguish the boy the ancient and mind-numbingly boring heiress was talking about. Too old...too happily married...too gay...there!
Standing in the middle of a rather strange entourage, a gigantic Caucasian man, a muscly blonde woman and two twin toddlers stuffed into identical tuxedos, stood a tall slender vampire-esk teen aged boy, giving her a strange and if slightly creepy stare. And, as it happened, her mark.
"See, Juliet. She's looking at me" Artemis pointed out, lifting his chin triumphantly. He straightened his bow tie, stretching his trademark smile in the direction of the pretty girl across the room. The blonde girl peered over her friend's shoulder, focusing her gaze on the object of his not quite affections.
"Artie, I don't think she's so much as looking at you, as being creeped out by you and is too scared to look away in case you run over and attack her" Juliet embellished, her bored and restless mind coming up with a rather over the top story.
"Artemis" Beckket whispered loudly to his brother Myles "Simple toon"
"I believe you owe me twenty pounds" the 'simple toon' in question held out his hand to Juliet, finally understanding the satisfaction of a petty bet.
"Nuh-uh Artie!" The pro-wrestler shook her head, pushing his hand back disapprovingly "I said you could never get a girl like that to 'like' you" She nodded to the pretty raven haired girl Artemis had been grinning at.
"Butler tell your sister to define the term 'like' in her wagers"
The bodyguard experienced a brief moment of something close to panic as he chose between his only sister and his charge and close friend.
"Sir, I believe you still have yet to complete the task, so far we only know the girl knows you're looking at her"
It was not the answer Artemis had been expecting to hear.
"Oh please, you're grasping at straws!" He huffed excuses to himself, turning his attention back to the girl in question. She was fairly attractive, he thought, taking a drink from his champagne flute, not especially beautiful or stunning, but the mixture of ivory skin and ebony hair was enough to catch a few of the male portion of the party's attention, him included.
"For goodness sake Artie!" Juliet grabbed the boy's arm, rolling her eyes in frustration. "Just go ask her to dance! That's all I wanted!"
"Why do you care whether I dance with the girl or not"
"Just do it!" she snapped, using a lot of her strength to shove him toward the dance floor. He took a few tentative steps before looking back in an almost pathetic fashion. 'Go!' she mouthed furiously.
"Excuse me"
Tori turned as she felt a tap against her back, setting a fake smile on her lips and straightening out her dress. She was met with the collar of a dress shirt and the lapels of a tux jacket at her eye level, cursing her height, or lack of, she looked up.
"Hello" She smiled at the same boy who'd been creeping her out earlier. Sub-consciously edging towards where she knew one of the seven emergency exits was located.
"Hello" he nodded brushing a hand through his raven hair, giving her a good look at his calculating ice blue eyes. She also saw his gaze sweep over her own features, spending a little too much time on where the neckline of her dress ended. After she made a little snort of indignance he looked back at her eyes, his killer smile stretching across his face like the Cheshire cat's.
"Artemis Fowl" he stretched out a hand, somehow baring all his china white teeth.
"Victoria Holmes" She lied, swallowing back the small twitch of anger at someone, even herself, using her full name. Instead she slipped her small hand into his, noticing how long and elegant his fingers were.
"A pleasure to meet you" he smarmed, gently taking a step backwards and pulling her with him. "Care to dance?"
She barely had a chance to speak a syllable when he wrapped an arm round her waist and walked them over to the illuminated dance floor.
The string quartet started as Artemis pulled her close, smiling when she lifted a hand to place it on his shoulder.
As the soft cello music filled the room, the pair spun round the floor, blending in with the other couples surprisingly well.
Both quickly found neither were spectacularly gifted at dance, two pairs of feet constantly tripping the other up. Though after a few minutes the pair relaxed, gliding across the room, looking into the other's eyes as though in silent contest.
"You're not Victoria Holmes, are you?"
Tori narrowed her eyes for a moment, wondering how the next few minutes were going to play out. Swallowing down the rising nerves she allowed herself to be dipped. "Not quite"
Artemis chuckled, pulling her back up and spinning her round "How so?"
"My name is Victoria" She stepped in closer as the music slowed to a calmer pace. Leaning her head onto his shoulder provided the cover to search his pockets for the USB stick. "But, Holmes is my father's name" She slipped her hand into his jacket, feeling round in the lining for the small and extremely important device.
"So what's your real name?" He moved slowly with the music, letting his hands drop to her waist.
"Sorry, can't say" she grinned, her finger tips brushing along a small thin rectangle.
"Why, would you have to kill me?" Artemis was quite proud of himself, the girl was defiantly showing signs of attraction for him. Dilated pupils, flushed cheeks, the hands she'd raised to his chest moving with every beat of the music.
"No, but others would" She giggled, inwardly cursing her uncle for making her do this. Forcing her cheeks to blush again and swaying a little too far to the right on her feet so her partner reacted and pulled her upright. In the very second Artemis righted her stance, she slipped a hand into his pocket and took the USB stick.
His eyes were drawn to the healing burn scars on her arm, probably a few years old by the size.
"Where did you get those?" He brushed the puckered line with his fingertips, seeing the white skin of her hollow cheeks blush for a second before returning to pale.
"It's a long story that lasts a lot longer than I have time" She rushed, inwardly cursing herself for getting side-tracked.
He looked back to her pretty face, wondering who she actually was when the slow music ended and a second faster pace song began.
"And that's my cue to leave" She nodded, pulling out of his grasp and fleeing from the dance floor.
He watched as her black hair and ivory skin disappeared through the crowds, re-placed by his father's business partners and their spouses.
As he made his way to his former group, he snuck his hand back to his chest, wondering why someone else's' felt much more pleasing than his own. As his fingers brushed along the lapels of his waistcoat, he suddenly felt a jolt of dread. "Oh she didn't!"
Hurriedly rooting round the lining of his jacket, his fingers found no rectangle of metal. She took the USB stick, the little... well she was nothing short of a genius.
"Juliet" he handed over the twenty pound note, mouth pulled in a thin line. "I believe you won"
She sighed, patting him on the shoulder, "Sorry Artie, it gives me no pleasure to win, this time" It didn't escape his notice she'd felt no guilt taking the money. "What happened? Did you scare her?"
"No, and I resent that you seem so focused on me being in the wrong" he huffed, straightening his bow tie.
Victoria, or whatever her name actually was, had disappeared and there was little point trying to find her.
Instead, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, doing a quick search for the name 'Holmes'. Of course it wasn't just an internet search.
His phone was connected to most secret service networks, MI5 included.
After a few seconds the screen flashed with several news articles of a man's suicide.
"What's that Sir?" Butler asked his young charge, glancing down at the phone from the corner of his eye.
"Just some light reading"
A.N
Ooh look it's me, actually publishing again.
This was meant to be a proper multi-chapter-crossover thing with my Sherlock story but then it strayed too far away from that story, it was practically AU from my story and I just decided to put it in this category.
If you want to read more about Tori go to my profile and read 'The Original Baker St Irregular'. Or not, I don't own you.
I'll stop now because I'm being strangely offensive this evening.
Love Rosie