Artemis sat alone in his study. His eyes traveled over the floor to ceiling shelving, and the multiple Mac PowerBooks that hummed on their respective desks. The Irish youth sighed, rising from his Victorian armchair, and ambled over to the nearest computer.
His fingers danced across the keys, pulling up various windows on his monitor. The white glare of the screen made his face appear ghostly, and his eyes did not blink as he opened his email. Conspicuously empty. For a teenager, this was unusual. Then again, Artemis was hardly the usual boy. All he had were a few messages from Butler when the manservant had taken a brief retreat at the spa in Blackwater.
Artemis chuckled as he recalled what those messages entailed, how Butler had refused to accept a massage, preferring to remain in his room and practice his martial arts. The maid had been quite frightened when she'd walked in on Butler mid-nerve jab. Butler's computer camera had caught that tape. Artemis had insisted that he send it to him.
He contemplated opening the files once again, just for laughs, when a knock came at his door. It was Butler, stepping in silently. He closed the door behind him. "I've checked the grounds. We're secure. I'll be in my room. Need anything?" The body guard's deep blue eyes contemplated his charge, noting his amused expression. "Something wrong?"
"Oh no, no. Not at all." Shaking his head, he waved goodbye to Butler. "See you tomorrow."
The bodyguard departed, and Artemis returned to his screen. He was very surprised to see an enormous carrot disappearing down a dark, watery hole, with much crunching and sucking noises. Utterly bewildered by this strange video feed, the mystery was solved when Foaly leaned back, having repaired his camera. "Hey there, Mud Boy," he managed to say, around a mouthful of vegetables.
Artemis's eyebrows rose marginally, expressing his silent curiosity. His computer was supposed to be secure. Then again, Foaly possessed an affinity for technology that rivaled his own. If anyone could hack into his computer without breaking a sweat, it was Foaly.
"Well, if it isn't Foaly."
"That's right."
"So tell me, Foaly, what have you been up to?"
The centaur whinnied in mild amusement. "As if you didn't know. I found the bead cam you left in my office. Nice try, but the People's secrets stay with me. You've already taken enough."
"Come now, Foaly," he said, reproachful. "You don't think that I would want any more fairy secrets, do you?"
Foaly didn't bother answering that. They both knew they answer. Artemis shrugged. "So sue me. Old habits die hard."
The centaur shook his hairy head. "Amazing. Last I remember the great Artemis Fowl would have done anything to extort us. You've really changed."
Artemis shook his head, sensing something. "Okay Foaly, out with it. I sense a ploy here. You didn't just hack into my computer just to have a pleasant little chat. Holly tells me you've got quite a bit of work on your hands finding Koboi."
Foaly's face darkened. "Actually, Artemis, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."
Artemis sat forward in his chair, curiosity piqued. "Oh? Koboi?"
"No. Holly. She's been acting strange recently. For the most part she's okay, smart-mouthing everyone, you know the drill. But sometimes she gets… weird. Distant."
Artemis shook his head. He considered himself well-versed in psychology, at least of the human variety, but this wasn't enough. "You've got to give me more than that, Foaly. Can you tell me when? How?"
Foaly squirmed nervously in his seat, surprising, considering he had four hoofed feet, after all. Still, Artemis knew this was why he'd called him. Foaly and Holly were close. Most things could be worked out between them with ease, but something was different here…
"It's you, Fowl. Ever since you two got back from your little trip, she's been acting all funny. Especially when she's talking to you. It came to my attention earlier today, when you two were chatting. You may not have caught it, but she was blushing when you offered your help."
Artemis' heart skipped a beat. Impossible. Holly Short? The elfin Recon officer who'd always been so tough? Things had happened in the time stream, but, and he'd been dwelling on them, he knew, but… Holly?
His mouth opened and closed slightly, like a fish's, and, for once, Artemis Fowl was dumbstruck. Eventually he managed to compose himself, pinching the bridge of his nose to relax. Angling his head down, he closed his eyes for a moment, and then looked back up at Foaly, ready to lie. His brain was already cooking up a convincing story, maybe he'd…
"Save it Fowl," Foaly said, though not unkindly, as Artemis opened his mouth to speak. "My thermal sensors are painting your face completely red. I can tell when you're going to lie. Although I must admit, you're usually very good at it." Sitting forward in his chair now, he asked, point-blank, "What happened?"
Artemis remained at a loss for words. Sitting back in his seat, he muttered, "Things happened, Foaly, that should best be forgotten. For Holly's sake."
Foaly wouldn't have it. "No way, Fowl. She's been getting weirder and weirder. Last mission she strolled right into a crowd in Disneyland Paris. Completely forgot to shield. Lucky for us that fairies aren't conspicuous there. Now, I need you to level with me."
Artemis sighed once, just once. Then he raised his blue eyes to meet Foaly's, black hair framing his face. "She kissed me Foaly. Something happened, I don't know. Call it stress; call it whatever, something happened back there. You satisfied?"
The centaur didn't reply, no sardonic remark escaping his lips, as was his norm. Foaly simply sat back, amazed. "Holly?" he finally managed to say. His eyes traveled to the human teenager he saw through his computer, and his shock doubled. Eventually, he decided to try another word. Maybe a sentence, actually. "You… she… What made her kiss a Mud Boy?"
Artemis arched his eyebrows, returning somewhat to his usual state of being. Affronted, he reminded himself that the general fairy population found humans to be strange, frightening, even repulsive. And here was Artemis Fowl, the most infamous human under the world, saying that Holly Short had kissed him. Still, Artemis was a teenager, and his ego took a bit of a bruising at Foaly's statement, cultural prejudices aside.
The centaur shook his head. "Wow. That's worse than I thought. I… I've got to look into this. I need to talk to her. No, you need to talk to her."
The boy's face had alarm written all over it. "What? No! We put that behind us. We said it was nothing. It was nothing!"
But a nagging little voice in his head couldn't help but mutter, Was it?
Artemis didn't know. Still, Foaly was right. Holly was just as distracted by this as he was, and most likely twice as embarrassed. She'd kissed him after all. And she was the fairy.
And if it bothered her, if she couldn't forget about it… Did she actually like him?
Some part of Artemis, the normal teenage part, felt an enthusiastic whoop in his stomach, a feeling of excitement. But the calm, cool, collective Artemis saw this as it was: a problem.
Nodding in final consent, he said to Foaly. "Okay, Foaly. Tomorrow."
"Negative, Mud Boy. Tonight. Holly's got another Recon job tomorrow. I don't want her getting herself killed."
Artemis understood. "Very well. I'll send her a message. I think I can tactfully word it…"
"Again: no. You've got to see her. Face-to-face. I want this sorted out. She's my best friend, Artemis. I think, despite what she says, she's your friend as well. I've never heard of something like this, I'll admit, but we've got to get this sorted out."
Foaly was beginning to look drained again, tired from his search for Koboi and now this: playing matchmaker for an elf and a Mud Boy! Sighing to himself, he mentioned, "She'll be arriving in an hour or so. I'll make something up."
E1 Shuttleport, TaraHolly disembarked from the shuttle, stepping into the crowded shuttle port. All around her, the tourists hustled and bustled about, little pixies getting escorted by their parents through the crowd, large gnomes thundering about, making the place smell like a pig sty, young sprite couples making out in a corner. The typical stuff.
As she wound her way through the crowd, she contemplated what Foaly was thinking. He'd sent her up to the surface again, claiming it was an important Recon mission. Yet he was sending her to Fowl Manor. Why? Obviously he was lying about the mission, but what could be his motivation to spirit her away to Fowl's house?
But curiosity overcame her suspicion, and, in truth, some deep subconscious part of her wanted to see Artemis. It was a younger part of her. The part that had kissed him that day. That part that was even now still in…
No. He was a human, she was a fairy. He was a thief, she was a cop. It couldn't work out. And yet she was surprised that she even wanted it to work out. She shuddered. This was Fowl she was thinking about! The same Mud Boy who'd she'd hated for so long! Holly was a soldier, albeit a civilian one, and she detested problems that she couldn't solve with a swing of a buzz baton or a kick of her boot. And yet neither seemed appropriate now to handle Fowl. She was frustrated, even angry with him. And for what? Because she couldn't get him out of her mind.
Holly snagged a pair of Koboi DoubleDex wings from a LEP rack. After all, the design was sound, even if its creator was not. Holly turned on her shielding, and walked out the front door of the fairy fort. Emerging in scenic Ireland, she immediately fired up her wings, and rose to a few hundred feet. Speeding along, savoring the surface air, her eyes looked over the sea, a few miles away. It was a beautiful deep blue today. Where had she seen that color? She was always certain that green had been her favorite, until now. What had made her like it so much?
She knew the answer. At least part of her did. The part that understood that it was exactly the shade and hue of Artemis's human eye. Deep and thoughtful.
The other part of her convinced her that she'd seen the color before on a trip through some European country. That was it. Maybe Italy.
While this part of Holly deluded herself into believing that, she flew close to Fowl Manor. Losing altitude, she gracefully alighted on the driveway, past the gates. Confused, she remembered Foaly's instructions. Go inside, talk to Mud Boy. But why?
Feeling distinctly awkward, she approached Fowl Manor, finding the door wide open. Apparently Fowl was expecting her, because she didn't double over puking when she crossed the threshold. Entering the main foray, her eyes took in the usual somber eighteenth-century decorations. She noted with a degree of fondness the suit of armor Butler had donned to fight the troll. She'd never forget that until the day she died.
Walking along, she ascended the stairs, light feed barely making a sound on the Tunisian rug. Once she had reached the top, she noticed the only open door down a hallway to her left. A soft, warm glow emanated from there. A fire.
Holly approached, cautiously. She still couldn't shake the old memories of this place. Maybe she never would. Entering the room slowly, her chestnut hand pushed back the door, to reveal Artemis sitting in a winged armchair before a roaring fire. He was garbed in a maroon bathrobe, and he rested his head on a hand, apparently asleep.
She felt distinctly embarrassed as she approached Fowl. But a funny feeling stirred in her chest, sort of fluttery and light. That embarrassed her all the more. What if Fowl sensed it? She shook her head. Maybe that small part of her was still—
He awoke, or seemed to at least, assuming that he'd been sleeping at all. Artemis's sapphire eyes gazed about, oblivious to her presence. Oh gods, she noticed the blue one. It was the same color as the ocean. Exactly.
She shimmered into the visible spectrum, and some small part of her delighted to see him smile.
"Holly, how nice of you to drop by." The Mud Boy said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Holly nodded curtly, determined to smother these
strange feelings. "Fowl. Foaly says you had some information for
me?"
Artemis glanced about, seemingly fearful of
something or other. Holly couldn't put her finger on it.
"Yes, Holly. I do have something to tell you." He rose to his significantly greater height, and began pacing about. "Holly," he began, but he couldn't find any words.
Curious, she asked, "What's going on, Artemis?"
He sighed, and seemed to compose himself. "Holly, Foaly's figured it out."
She felt her heart-rate quicken. Foaly knew what? She didn't have that many secrets, and one of the few she did she prayed no one but Fowl knew.
"He knows what happened to us."
"D'Arvit," she swore under her breath.
For a moment they both stood there, seemingly frozen in time. Eventually, Artemis plucked up the courage to speak. "Holly, what did happen to us?"
It was a question that had been plaguing her for the last few months. Apparently, he'd been troubled, too. "I don't know, Artemis. Things changed. I was younger. The time stream must've addled our brains, or something."
But they both knew it was more than that. If her theory was true, then the effects should have ended upon their return to the present. They hadn't.
Artemis leveled those sea-blue eyes at her hazel ones, and smiled at her. "Is it possible that…?" His words trailed off.
That part of her jumped with excitement. "Yes?" she baited.
His words increased in strength and passion, and he faced her, kneeling at her height, grabbing her by the shoulders. For some reason, she didn't resist his touch. His eyes were alight with excitement. His courage had returned. "Holly, I—"
Suddenly, every alarm in the building burst to life.