Chapter Two

"Oh come on Artemis, we haven't been far at all."

"Just…give me…one second…" He replied, bent down, panting with his hands on his knees.

Holly rolled her eyes. Sometimes Mud Boys never change.

"It was your idea to go hiking in the first place. Don't tell me you've never been before."

Artemis shrugged. "I didn't imagine it would be much different to bush walking I had done with my parents."

"Big difference Arty, one's flat, one's up"

Artemis felt the twinge he always got when Holly used his mother's pet name for him.

"Did you by any chance bring along any water?"

Holly rolled her eyes once again.

"Now why would I go on a hike and not bring any water along?" She answered, reaching inside the Grav-Pack that Foaly had issued among the LEP, remembering what the centaur had told her when giving her a sneak peak.

"This beauty not only makes everything inside it lighter, using the same technology as the Moon belt and Floaters, but also either makes the contents smaller or the inside bigger" He had told her, marvelling at his own genius.

"So which is it?" She had asked.

"Hmm?"

"Inside bigger or contents smaller?"

For a moment, the centaur looked genuinely puzzled, not something you would normally see.

"I think I'll get back to you on that one."

Holly smiled, as she gave Artemis his water.

He took three gulps before he managed to compose himself to his regular self. "Shall we move on then?"

They continued on for another hour, before stopping in an open mossy patch atop a small hill for lunch.

Artemis was hungrily rummaging through Holly's Grav-Pack, when he heard a cry come from where Holly had momentarily wandered off.

Immediately alert, Artemis got up and ran over to the cry as quickly as his legs would take him, to find her lying on her front on the edge of the hill, with a stunned look on her face.

"What happened?"

"I'm…not sure… Something just whizzed past me, knocking me over, I didn't have a chance to see it."

Artemis helped up his fallen companion and she brushed the excess twigs and dirt off her front.

"Do you know which way it went?"

"I think it was going in the direction of that open space at the bottom of the hill."

They both moved to the edge of the hill, to see if whatever the strange thing that knocked over Holly was down in the open area.

Whilst observing from their vantage point, atop the hill, Artemis frowned, and leant a fraction further forward.

But gravity, seeing its chance, grabbed hold of his slight frame, pulling him to the ground.

Caught entirely by surprise, Artemis flung out and grabbed a hold his elvin companion in an attempt to steady his self.

If he was hoping that Holly's small fairy body could hold up his weight, he was hoping in vain, and only succeeded in pulling her down the hill with him.

Holly uttered a short squeal as she was yanked into an involuntary descent to the bottom.

Luckily for them, the slope also had a large moss build-up, so the unexpected adventure was softened and was practically painless.

After the initial shock wore off, Artemis found that he was actually quite enjoying himself, rolling uncontrollably down a slope with his closest friend.

This must be one of those moments I missed out on as a child. Artemis thought. The ones that adults are continually saying to cherish forever.

As much fun as it may have been, the slope eventually came to an end, and Holly and Artemis rolled onto the more solid gravel that made up the ground under the hill, panting, and both laughing their heads off.

After a few minutes of genuine joy from Artemis, Holly rolled over and held herself up over Artemis' upper body.

"What's this?" She said. "Artemis Fowl laughing out loud and having fun? What is the world coming to?"

A sheepish grin spread across his face, yet said nothing.

They both remained in their positions, still panting slightly from the descent, staring into each other's blue/hazel eyes.

In Holly's mind, she was having a sudden realization.

Oh god, I do. She thought. I do love him.

And with that she did the one logical thing to do

She lowered herself closer to Artemis, and pressed her lips up against his.

Artemis immediately, had a stunned look in his eyes, and then slowly closed them.

It seems like the right thing to do in this situ…

But got no further than that, before his brain simply stopped functioning, and his heart came into action.

After a long passionate kiss, they parted.

Holly looked into Artemis' eyes and tried to see what he was thinking, but they had a blank, vague look about them, then all of a sudden, his brain came back on line, and he suddenly had a smug grin upon his face.

"My elf kissing days are over eh?" He said in a smug voice, quoting Holly.

She playfully punched him on the arm.

"That was my rational side speaking, it has no control over my soft, sensitive, companionate side."

Artemis raised his left eyebrow sceptically.

"Okay, it might not be that soft and fluffy, but there is something like that deep down somewhere inside of me, and I think it likes you"

"It would have to be one of the first" He remarked.

"Don't fret over it, I think I quite like you as well" Holly reassured him, planting another kiss on his lips.

"Hmm." He said thoughtfully. "Do the People by any chance have any laws about inter-species relationships?"

Holly laughed, and rolled onto her back, her head resting upon Artemis' chest. "I wouldn't think so, the council wouldn't approve, but there are no laws, I don't think it ever occurred to anyone that someone would consider it."

Artemis chuckled.

"It's always good to be first. Come on, Butler will be worried if we stay out here too long."

And with that, he stood up, offering a hand to Holly, completely forgetting the reason they had come close to the hill in the first place and they walked back to Fowl Manor, hand in hand.

Just an FYI, I have absolutely no idea what knocked Holly over, I needed an excuse to be near the hill, but open to any suggestions, my imagination only goes so far.