A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Sorry it took me so long to update. I hope this is worth the wait. Also, the reason I placed Eurydice into this story is so you can all see the mirrored idea that I've produced. Enjoy!
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Part Two; Eurydice
The black pebble beach was littered with bones washed ashore from Styx. Artemis crept towards the cottage, avoiding the decaying human skulls, his footsteps as silent as the dead of night. As he neared the tiny dwelling, he could see a dim candlelight shining through a dirty window. The effect was so minimal, that if the candle were to be blown out, no difference would be visible.
Once he reached the door, he took a moment to observe and swallow his surroundings. The cottage was constructed of black bricks, seemingly held together by the shadows. Had it not been so daunting, Artemis would have been impressed. Apprehensively, the man reached out and knocked on the door. There was no immediate response; the only sound was that of a distant growl that vaguely resembled thunder. Said rumbling had him hoping that he would never come face to face with Cerberus, the guardian. Artemis felt his heart grow heavy with sorrow as more answerless moments passed. Perhaps there was no one inside. Perhaps his entire journey was pointless. He turned half-heartedly, ready to walk back down the beach and be judged; now feeling truly dead. However, just as he stepped away from the cabin, Artemis heard the creaking of a door that had not been used in centuries. He turned sharply and saw two sea green eyes staring at him from the shadows. Cautiously, Artemis took two steps forward.
"Eurydice?" It was a guess, at best, taken only from what little information Charon had divulged.
There was no verbal answer from the owner of the mystifying eyes. Instead, the door of the cottage opened fully and a tall, slender woman, who looked no older than twenty, stepped onto the shores of Styx. Neat, white braids fell to her waist, tied with loopy black ribbons. Her skin was nearly as white as her hair, offset by a flowing black peasant skirt and a t-shirt. Artemis was confused to find that she was not, in any way, dressed like Charon. In fact, had her presence not been so intimidating, she would seem almost friendly. The stunning woman moved towards Artemis, her skirt brushing along the beach. Her pace was so fluid Artemis had a sneaking suspicion that she was floating, not walking. She stopped only inches away from Artemis and stared at him, looking him over, apparently sizing him up.
"Why are you here?"
Her voice was as soft as an early April shower, even if her features were impassable, not showing any hint of kindness nor hostility. Although, neither was better than the latter. Artemis thought about her question for a moment, pursing his lips.
"Charon mentioned you," he finally answered. Eurydice's nose wrinkled with dislike and her eyes flashed with contempt. Artemis hoped he had not angered her. That could be disastrous for his mission. Eurydice said nothing for a few moments, and suddenly turned back to her cottage. Artemis felt panic rise in his throat. Was she going to leave him out on the dreadful beach without so much as an explanation?
"Follow me," she muttered, walking inside. Artemis, his panic instantly doused, obeyed and entered her home, his jaw dropping in pure amazement.
The inside of the cottage was anything but similar to the dull and dreary outside. Contrary to what Artemis had previously thought, the one room home was brightly lit with pot lights, installed in the stucco ceiling. Oddly enough, it screamed 'new millennium.'
"It's an enchantment," Eurydice said, apparently reading Artemis' thoughts, "The modernism seems to annoy Charon, so I have to keep it inside. He's so old fashioned. I swear it's high time he realizes that the world has grown up, and the Underworld has to follow suit. Only Persephone seems to understand, what with her visits to the mortal realm and all. Thank Zeus for those."
Artemis was shocked into silence, still contemplating the presence of pot lights in the Underworld. He gazed around the rest of the room and saw various modern items strewn around, including the most recent issue of Vogue. Eurydice, who seemed to grow fed up with her visitor's silence, snapped her fingers in his face. Artemis blinked back to reality.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, "But…what? And this is the Underworld?"
"What gave it away?" Eurydice asked sarcastically, "The textbook image you mortals have created? I told Hercules to keep his mouth shut." The female sat down at the wooden table which was housed in the center of the room, motioning at the only other chair at the table, indicating that Artemis should do the same. He gladly accepted the offer; afraid that he would collapse is this got any stranger.
"You have no idea what's going on, do you?" Eurydice inquired, her pale lips unable to decide whether to smile or frown. Artemis shook his head.
"Well then," she smiled, "We'll begin with the introductions. I'm Eurydice, servant of Persephone. And you are?"
"Servant of Persephone?" Artemis echoed with genuine awe, "Is that really how the story ended?"
"Introductions now, explanations later," Eurydice said in a falsely bright tone. Artemis got the distinct feeling she did not like talking about the past. He decided to respect that. As of right now, Eurydice's word was law.
"My name is Artemis Fowl the Second," he said, reaching out with a pearly hand. Eurydice did not take it. Instead she smiled slyly, tapping a thin finger on her cheek.
"The goddess of the hunt," she mused aloud, "Interesting. Are you hunting something Artemis?"
"I am," he replied. Her words were a clear invitation to explain why he had knocked on her door, but first… "Would you care to answer me something though?"
"Depends," Eurydice shrugged. Artemis breathed out through his nose. He had questions, and Eurydice would provide him with the answers, whether she liked it or not.
"Why am I here?" The first question. "I mean, this is the Underworld. I'm not Greek. Nor am I ancient. I'm…"
"Not sure," Eurydice finished his sentence with her own words. Artemis raised an eyebrow in question.
"Pardon me?"
"You're not sure," Eurydice repeated, "About the great beyond. You see, everyone gets a different life after death, depending on what they believe. Say you believe in reincarnation. Well then, you keep getting reincarnated until you reach Nirvana or Brahman, whatever is most appealing to the specific individual. Christians get their heaven, hell, and purgatory. And so on and so forth. Make sense?"
"I suppose, but that still doesn't explain why I'm seeing this."
"Well," Eurydice continued, "We used to get quite a high frequency of souls down here; thousands every day. But then, new religions starting forming, people began to believe in other things. Now, the only ones we get, actually passing the gates down here are the people who aren't sure what comes after, mostly the atheists and agnostics."
"Interesting," Artemis nodded. It made sense, that for all the different lifestyles there were for the living, there would be equally as many for the dead.
"What about fairies?" The second question.
He couldn't help but to ask. After all, it was why he had overdosed in the first place. Eurydice looked at him sideways, as if to make sure he was being serious.
"You know about the fairies?"
"I do. Are there any of them down here?"
"Well duh," Eurydice said, and Artemis was reminded vaguely of Juliet, "They just don't get down here by means of the moron."
"Means of…?"
"Charon. We're not so fond of each other." Artemis nodded. He had a sneaking suspicion that their dislike stemmed from something far more ancient than Vogue magazine, not that he cared to mention it. The innocent young lady act did not fool him. He was in the Underworld; everything here had its own hidden evil.
"Right, so how do the fairies get here?"
"It's simple really," Eurydice told him, tapping her red fingernails on the table, "Every dead soul is here. Every dead soul is in heaven or hell. It's just we see things differently. Whatever the fairy believes is what they're seeing. Currently, all Christians will see you in Purgatory. Easy as that. Now, are all your questions answered?"
Artemis nodded unsurely. For now, he was content with the information that had just been fed to him.
"Good," his hostess said happily, "My turn."
He had expected as much, although he was not quite sure what to say when the question was asked.
"Why are you here?" Yes, of course she would have asked that again. He had not answered the first time. It was the sensible thing to do.
"I'm here because I've died," Artemis replied coolly, hoping to keep his nonchalant manner. Eurydice rolled her eyes.
"I'm not stupid. No one ever visits me unless Charon mentions it to them. That's the one good thing about him I suppose. He always senses when I'm needed. Although, I had started to think he became lazy. You're my first guest in over a thousand years."
"I guess love has lost its meaning," Artemis said quietly. Eurydice's eyes grew wide and the tapping of her nails stopped suddenly.
"You're young, you don't understand," she muttered darkly, "Only fools fall in love."
Artemis was not thrilled with the fact that everyone insisted on calling him young in the Underworld. Then again, both Charon and Eurydice were centuries older than him.
"Perhaps," Artemis nodded delicately, "Orpheus was in love, no?"
"He was a fool as well," Eurydice whispered, her voice devoid of any emotion, "He betrayed the trust of the Queen. He looked back and I was left here alone. Persephone, may Zeus bless her, took pity on me and kept me as a servant, instead of sending me back to the miserable Fields of Asphodel. Love is a fool's word."
"Then I am a fool."
Realization suddenly seemed to hit Eurydice, and a look of horror crossed her features, making her look centuries older.
"You're here to recover your lost love," she hissed, "Are you crazy? You'll never succeed. Your suicide was stupid and useless Artemis. Get out of my house! I can't believe someone would actually be stupid enough to think…"
"I never said anything about suicide," Artemis interrupted. Eurydice stood up and glided over to the mortal. She seemed to grow three feet in height and was now a rather imposing figure.
"I know," she said, "But you're obvious. You lose a loved one and decide to take your own life because you can't live without her. It's pathetic! You should have just lived your last fifty something years and forgotten about her."
"Orpheus never forgot about you, did he?" Artemis asked, "What was it like when he came down here after his real death, the one he couldn't escape?"
Eurydice fell silent. The power this mortal man held within his words amazed her. She moved to the window of the cottage, gazing out over the darkened beach, recalling a day, even thousands of years later, she could not forget.
The crowded boat hit the rocky beach as the maiden watched silently from her window. Souls stepped off the vessel one by one. She knew he was among them; Persephone had told her so. She was under strict instruction to not leave the cottage that day, no matter what. And then, she saw him.
She smiled at the fact that he still held his lyre, but any trace of a smile disappeared when she laid her eyes upon his ashen face, even in death soaked by tears. And then she heard him.
He was crying out for her, shouting her name at the top of his lungs. She pretended not to hear, under orders of the Queen. And yet, it broke her heart to hear his heart wrenching sobs.
And Charon pushed him along, towards the line of the waiting. The frail old man knew all about the situation, sticking his rat-like nose in places it did not belong. He glanced back at the cottage and winked, knowing she was watching from the window.
"No," Eurydice said sorrow seeping through her words, "He never forgot."
A silence fell upon the room, broken by Artemis' chair scraping across the floor. Moments later, he found himself by Eurydice's side, a hand on her shoulder, offering as much comfort as he could.
"I need your help," he said imploringly, "She wasn't supposed to die. She was supposed to outlive me by centuries."
Eurydice turned to face her visitor, he vivid emerald eyes brimming with tears.
"There isn't much I can do," she whispered, "Not for a bloody fool like you."
"Anything," Artemis was desperate now, "I gave up my life, even if it means seeing her one last time. There must be something…"
Eurydice held up her hand to silence him and he immediately bit his tongue. She seemed to be thinking, which was always a good sign. Finally, the woman let out a deep sigh.
"I can do one thing," she muttered, "But only because you're the closest thing to a gentleman I've seen in ages."
She held out her hand, and this time Artemis hesitated to grab it. Eurydice glared at him expectantly.
"Take it," she ordered, "And hold on tight, unless you want to end up a snack for one of Cerberus' heads."
Without another thought, Artemis grabbed Eurydice's hand. Dog chow did not sound so pleasant. Not while there was work to be done. As soon as their hands connected, Eurydice snapped her thin fingers. Artemis' eyes were met with a distorted reality, sceneries changing so fast before him; he had no time to process what he was seeing, save three pairs of glowing red eyes. After mere seconds, a solid setting came into view.
Artemis, Eurydice still by his side, was standing in a vast entrance hall, no doubt the palace of Hades and Persephone. The entire castle seemed to be engulfed by shadows and darkness.
"They don't exactly roll out the welcome mat," Eurydice commented, waving her hand around. She shoved Artemis towards a large door on the left side of the hall.
"Remember, be respectful, talk quickly, and make sure they know exactly what you want. Or else, you're screwed. Good luck."
With another snap of her fingers, Eurydice had vanished, leaving poor Artemis by himself. He wondered if he was really ready for an audience with Hades and Persephone.
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A/N: You know the drill. Reviews are much loved as are you beautiful children reading this. Thanks a billion! Cheers!
-Liv xoxo
