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Author Note:
It's been a while since I've updated...I need to get back to writing...Sorry for the long wait... :)
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I remember it as though it was yesterday. Mom and Dad had been divorced for three years and Victoire and I had been living in Paris with Mom ever since. At first we had despised it, but we learned to love it. But it still wasn't the same as Fowl Manor.
I brushed my long, straight, raven black hair and looked over at Victoire's bed. My sister was still fast asleep. I grabbed a pillow off my bed and slowly walked towards her. I raised the pillow above my head and brought it down on top of her.
Victoire moaned and rolled over onto her stomach. "Five more minutes….."
I continued to hit her with the pillow. "No, get up. We're going to the mall and the library today and we need to get going. GET UP!"
Eventually she climbed out of bed, got dressed, and put her long, curly, blonde hair into a ponytail. We ran downstairs to tell Mom that we'd be back later, but stopped when we heard her voice. She was on the phone.
At first we were just going to wait until she finished, but our curious 13-old minds wanted to know what she was talking about. We pressed our ears to the door and listened. We couldn't believe what we were hearing.
"…They have adjusted fine, but I can tell that they miss being in Ireland…"
We couldn't hear the person on the other line, but we could tell that Mom was talking about us. We listened some more.
"….Really? Are you sure?...That sounds great. The girls will be thrilled."
I smiled. Mom was talking about us…and she sounded really excited.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. I love you too. Bye, Artemis."
I gasped and turned to see that Victoire was just as shocked as I was. Mom was talking to Dad and apparently something really good was up. What was going on?!
"Girls! I have something to tell you! Come on in because I know you're out there!"
I opened the door to Mom's office. She was seated at her desk, but she wasn't working on anything. She was smiling as we came in.
"Yeah, Mom? Something up?"
"Actually, yes. As you probably heard, " Mom paused to give us a look that suggested that spying wasn't something we should make a habit of, "I was on the phone with your father. Well, we've been talking for a few months and we're willing to give each other another chance. He's coming tomorrow, along with Jasper and Butler, to help us pack and we're going to move back to Ireland in three days time. How does that sound?"
Victoire and I were ecstatic, Mom and Dad were getting back together and we were moving back to Ireland. It was too good to be true.
"Really?! That's great!"
Mom chuckled. "I knew you two would like that. So, what is it that you girls wanted? Gwen?"
I smiled. "Well, we were coming to tell you that we were going to the mall and the library and we should be back around five. Is that okay?"
Mom looked at the clock. It was nine-thirty. "Do you two have your cell phones? Okay, be safe, I'll see you when you get back."
Victoire and I nodded and ran out. We grabbed our jackets, as it was a chilly September morning, and we headed out and started our walk.
We had barely got out of the driveway when there was a rustling noise. I quickly turned around and looked. There was nothing there.
"Gwen? What is it?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. I thought I heard something in one of the bushes. Must have been a bird or something."
"Well, come on! We got to get going!"
I turned back around and Victoire and I continued out of the driveway. We would be back that night on time. But we soon found out that whatever was in that bush, was most definitely not a bird….
Victoire opened the door and we entered the house. The first thing that we noticed that was out of the ordinary was that it was unnaturally quiet. Usually Mom was on the phone or listening to the radio. But there was nothing. No sound at all.
I called out. Maybe Mom was taking a nap or something. "Mom! We're home!"
We continued into the house and then we saw the second strange thing. All of the plants in the house….were dead…..They were fine this morning…Victoire and I had just watered them last night. Now they were just as dead as if they were in the middle of the Sahara Desert.
I called out again. I was starting to think that maybe something else was going on…"Mom! We're back! Where are you?"
"Gwen? Maybe we should look around for her? I'm starting to worry…"
I nodded. That was a good idea. "Good idea. You go to the library and I'll head to her office. If she's not there we'll check upstairs. Okay?"
Victoire nodded and we went off in search of our mother. I reached the office quickly and opened the door. The computer was on, but there was no sign of Mom anywhere. I turned to head back and see if Victoire had any luck.
And that's when I heard the heart-stopping scream….
When I heard Victoire scream, I took off running towards the library. I immediately got this feeling that something was really, really, wrong. I reached the library in a matter of seconds.
Victoire was standing in the doorway and she was sobbing uncontrollably. She saw me run up and she pointed inside the library.
"What is it?" I already knew the answer, but I didn't want to accept it. It just wasn't possible.
I slowly went past her and then….I saw it….
Mom was slumped over in a chair and at first glance you would have thought that she was asleep. But if you looked closely you could tell that she wasn't…she was dead.
I tried to remain calm, but I couldn't there was no way I could keep calm. My mother was dead. But…How?
Victoire was sitting on the floor now, still sobbing. She was unable to do anything. As the older sister, I was forced into action. I wiped my eyes, which was pointless because tear came back anyways, and pulled out my phone. I hit a number on speed dial and the person on the other line picked up after two rings.
"Hello?"
"Dad…Can you…come now?...we….need….Mom…"
I couldn't tell him. I gave up the fight to remain calm and I broke into sobs. Dad realized that something was extremely wrong and he spoke calmly.
"Gwendolyn….listen to me. I'm leaving now and bringing Butler and Jasper with me. We'll be there as soon as we can. Just stay where you are. Okay?"
I managed to mutter an okay and I hung up. Dad was coming. All I could do now was wait.
Dad arrived about one hour later. He rushed in the door, which we had left unlocked, and quickly found us in front of the library door. Jasper and Butler were right behind him.
He knelt down beside us. "Victoire? Gwendolyn? What going on? Where's your mother?"
We couldn't say anything. Victoire just sobbed and I managed to point into the library. Dad stood and hurried inside. Butler followed him, but Jasper walked over to us. His blonde hair was a mess as usual.
"Victoire? Gwen? What's going on?"
I finally calmed myself enough to speak. "It's Mom….she's….she's dead…."
"What?!"
"I…don't know…we weren't at home. She was fine this morning…I don't know what happened…."
Suddenly Dad called us into the library. Jasper and I helped Victoire to her feet and we entered the room. Dad was solemn.
"Children. You guys know Holly and the fairies right?"
We nodded. We had met Holly and the other fairies. They were some of Dad's friends, but they didn't come around often.
"Do you remember all of the stories I told you?"
We all nodded again. Dad had told us all about his adventures with the fairies. He sighed and continued.
"Well, I believe this is the work of Opal Koboi. Holly called me a few weeks ago and told me that she had escaped, but they didn't know where she was. I told them that I would keep an eye out for her. Apparently Opal somehow found out that Minerva and I were getting back together…."
Dad was mostly talking to himself now. It was a lot to take in at once. He recovered from his shock and continued speaking to us.
"This looks like the work of a bio-bomb. I noticed that all of the plants were dead when I walked in and I doubt you three would be so careless. It's the only explanation…"
Dad was silent for a while. Thinking. Finally he spoke. "Girls, go upstairs and pack your things. We're going home."
We nodded. While we knew that we were going back to Ireland, we didn't expect it to be this soon. Or without Mom….life was going to be really different now…
Three days later, the day that we were originally supposed to be coming back to Ireland, we stood outside on a foggy morning. The sky was dark and it looked like it was going to rain. It was the perfect setting for a funeral.
I stood between Jasper and Victoire as the guests walked by giving us their condolences as they left. After everyone was gone, three figures shimmered into view.
We all managed faint smiles. Holly, Trouble, and young Cameron had come up from Haven for the funeral. Cameron didn't really understand what was going on, being so young, and he was trying to wrench his hand out of his father's grip.
Holly gave us all hugs. "I'm so sorry, guys. This is awful. We're going to all we can to catch Opal."
Dad sighed. "I have a feeling that it's going to be a whole lot harder than we think."
Trouble nodded. He was the commander of the LEP and he knew all about this kind of stuff. "I believe your right, Artemis. We didn't even realize that Opal had escaped and was in France. We don't even know where she is now. We're working on it. I'll catch Opal, even if it's the last thing I do."
Dad sighed. "I just wished it hadn't ended this way….right before we were about to get back together….I just…."
Dad was silent. After a moment I realized he was crying. I looked at my siblings. They were just as shocked as I was. Normally Dad never showed any kind of emotion at all. But now…
Holly hugged him again. She tried her best to calm him. "I know…everything's going to be okay. I got to go. I'll talk to you later."
The four of us waved goodbye to the three fairies as they left. After a few minutes Dad turned to us and spoke.
"It looks like it's about to rain. Come on, let's go inside."
We followed him back up to the Manor and Jasper, Victoire, and I all headed to Jasper's room. We sat there and talked for a while before there was a knock on the door.
Jasper stood and opened the door. It was our Uncle Beckett. He smiled faintly at us.
"So, all of this funeral stuff is making everything all depressing. It's okay if you guys aren't up to it right now, but who wants to play a game of Monopoly?"
We all smiled faintly. Monopoly actually sounded really good at the moment. It was a way to escape the real world. A way to try to get things back to normal. Or as normal as it can get in Fowl Manor.
I smiled. "Sure, that would be great."
Uncle Beckett smiled. "Okay, your uncle Myles is already setting it up. You guys head down to the living room, while I go and try to convince your father to join us."
We headed downstairs and Uncle Beckett and Dad soon joined us. It turned out to be the beginning of a new life. Things were slowly returning back to normal, especially when Uncle Myles and Dad started arguing over who got to be the money bag. Uncle Beckett just laughed and took the small piece.
"If you two are just going to argue over it, I'll just take it to make it fair."
We all laughed. Things were returning to normal.
But I'm sorry to say that it didn't last long enough. Tragedy would strike the Fowl family once more four years later….
Lolz! XD Well, you guys know the drill. Review! The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll update! Thanks! XD
~Troublelover16~
