So, yesh. They're going shopping, but its more of a learning thing then a clothes thing. This shallt not be a montage-worthy scene!

Continue reading. And yes, I start mid-conversation just to bug you and keep things mildly confusing and/or mysterious.

Chapter 4
"Unfortunate"

Ireland, Exclusive Mall

"Yes," Agreed Artemis, "And do you know why?"

"Because you're a jerk?" Holly offered, in children clothing with her hair placed over her ears.

Surprisingly, the Fowl's had been sent children female clothing when Angeline was pregnant with the twins. That just goes to show how much they payed attention and whether or not they actually cared if they got the clothes gender-friendly and age appropriate. The clothes were for preteens, children, and even some for Angeline, while she was pregnant. Holly now wore one of those dresses, complaining about them any time they were out of hearing range from other people at the mall.

"Funny, Holly," retorted Artemis. "Now Ethryn, would you like to answer?"

Ethryn recovered from laughing at Holly's latest remark before replying, "Because when humans do things that goes against their society, others bring it upon themselves to bring them to justice, or at least, some form of it. That's why you did it."

"Correct," said he. "And, as it turned out, I sold it for a profit anyways. Apparently, some long time person hounding after the hotel, and just waiting for the perfect opportunity to take it."

"Whatever," Holly grumbled, once again pulling at the hem of the dress that did not quite fit her.

Butler chuckled, "Well, Holly. It seems you're not one for undercover, are you?"

"Undercover is one thing," Holly whined, glaring at the dress. "Skirts are something entirely different."

"Ah, Master Fowl!" The over-enthusiastic store clerk shouted as they approached the entrance. You had to pay just to get a reservation, and then a background check on your credit to make sure you could pay for the things in the shop. "So nice to see you! To what do we owe this visit?"

"We have a reservation," Artemis explained.

He'd hardly gotten the words out of his mouth before she was speaking again, "Reservation? Oh, I won't even check. The Fowl's don't do anything without planning, do they?"

"So it would seem," he replied, with a look to his companions that said 'she can't be serious, can she?'.

"Very well, follow me," The doorman held the curtains aside, and she pushed the doors open. They entered with Butler warily eying all of the shoppers and workers, ready to spring at any moment.

"Wow," Ethryn gasped, staring. With a gentle nudge from Butler though, she composed herself before anyone could see. Rather then pretend to be impressed, she gave a look to Artemis, just as they'd practiced earlier. "This is where you wanted to take me, cousin?"

It was best to be heard, in front of a witness, that they were related, and that one of the famous Fowl's was not just parading around a gold-digger or some first-class slut. This was made very clear by both Artemis and Butler.

"Yes, I know," the genius replied, examining his nails. "It was the best I could do on such short notice, Ethryn. I know how you love to shop when you're in the area."

"Surprise visits are my specialty," She agreed, with a sigh. "Very well, it'll do. But you're paying, then."

"Like it matters," He scoffed. Then, knowing full well the clerk had been hanging on their every word, instructed her. "We'll call you if we need any help. You may go."

Straightening, she nodded vigorously. "Yes, Master Fowl." She then nodded to Ethryn. "And it was nice meeting you, Miss Ethryn. We love having new shoppers into the store, and we do hope its to your liking."

"Yes, well," Ethryn eyed up the woman (who gulped, self-consciously) like she herself spoke for the store. "We'll just see about that, now won't we?" Ethryn held her hand out to Holly, then. "Come on, little sister. Let's see what we can find here, yes?"

Holly nodded. She wasn't allowed to speak, because obviously, her voice wasn't that of a young girls. People automatically began pointing, gesturing to the small party. But as soon as Artemis or Butler looked at them, they were silent. Though still very young, Artemis was intimidating as always. And the giant Butler wasn't exactly fragile looking, either.

"Look at this," Ethryn said, catching Artemis's attention.

He looked to see her holding up a backless, white dress. And it flowed, just like she liked it. It seemed to go to her knees, and was much freer then the cinched dress she'd arrived in. Also, that one was partially blood-stained, and in need of a few repairs. Artemis was not one to enjoy 'shopping', as most teenagers were these days. Instead of acting joyfully, he simply allowed the garment a nod before looking around the store idly. Holly gave it a thumbs up, keeping her mute role.

"Its very pretty, Ethryn," Butler commented, allowing a small smile.

Ethryn nodded her agreement, letting it drape over her arm before going through rack after rack, removing at least one thing from each of them, which caught the eye of the clerks and a few shoppers. Some females were eying them enviously, as Ethryn was obviously naturally prettier then all of them.

"Don't you want to try those on?" Artemis asked, eventually, as she was now examining them warily.

The Angel seemed surprised, lowering her voice, "You can do that?"

Artemis nodded, snapping his fingers. Immediately a different woman from before, this one surprisingly pretty and genuinely kind. Still, she had nothing on Ethryn, and even Holly was prettier. Not to say that Holly wasn't attractive. She just had a different beauty then this girl's shy-like appearance.

"Hello, I'm Kara. What can I help you with?" She asked, immediately.

Artemis appreciated she hadn't asked 'Do you need anything?'. Obviously, if he had been trying to catch someone's attention, he needed assistance with something. He gestured to Ethryn, "My cousin would like to use the dressing room."

Kara eyed the large amount of clothes, but thought better of mentioning the dressing room limit. "Alright. Follow me, please. This way now, Miss Fowl."

Ethryn followed after a pause, realizing she was Miss Fowl, for the time being. Holly hadn't even looked at anything at first, explaining she wasn't going to be out in public. But Artemis insisted that as long as Ethryn was going to be around the house in human clothes (and they would probably be spied upon, as Fowl's from out of town were adored by press), it was best she do the same. After all, they might have to make a few appearances, so as not to arouse suspicion on why Ethryn and Holly were being kept in seclusion.

So to her dismay, Holly had a few shirts and pants. Not one single skirt, Artemis noticed with amusement. He covered his chuckle, turning it into a cough, but Butler seemed to think this funny as well. He let his smile show a moment before returning to steel.

"Here you are," Kara unlocked the doors to the stalls, revealing unnecessarily extravagant rooms. Ethryn seemed pleased, and Holly didn't seem to approve. Artemis was used to things being over-exaggerated, and so did not care.

"Have fun," he commented, smirking, as Holly was pouting and Ethryn all-too-excited.

Kara waved, "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything, Master Fowl, Miss Fowl."

"We won't," Artemis said, bluntly. Seeing it was time for her to go, she left, hurriedly.

Holly watched her leave before glaring at Artemis, "Shut it, Mud-Boy."

His smirk widened as she slammed the door shut, and Ethryn simply closed hers. Butler watched him sit on one of the couches, hack into the stores Wi-Fi with ease, and begin to working on his project of reversing Global Warming with Foaly. The snowflakes were just beginning to come into the building process, and the only thing was to figure out which radiation dump company was the worst, and so which to blame it on. There was also overlooking some of his financial stocks, which his father had yet to notice were still in Artemis's care, and so the boy was continuing to handle these with pleasure. They were doing extremely well, and he'd just begun to move some of his investments around when he heard the door open, and glanced up.

"Alright," Holly hissed, quietly. The dressing rooms each had separate sections, so as to provide maximum privacy, but still. It never hurt to be cautious. "Who slipped this into the pile?"

Holly held up a dress, for a child, and was admittedly pretty. She wasn't wearing it, instead had on one of the pants and a black shirt she'd grabbed, as a last resort. Artemis bit his lip, to hide his laughter, but shook his head. Holly glared suspiciously at him until Ethryn came out, in the first white dress she'd grabbed (having grabbed at least six, and multiple white shirts with slim, designer jeans).

"That would be me, actually," she admitted.

Artemis gave Holly a defiant 'I told you so' expression before going back to his laptop.

"I thought you might like it," The Angel continued, sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Its fine," Holly grumbled before shutting the door.

Artemis did not keep track of time, instead paying attention to the work at hand. Butler simply stood by, silently, as he normally did. Surprisingly, the store did not do a weapons check, or surely they would not have been allowed inside.

"Well, I'm done," Holly said, sounding tired and plopping down next to Artemis. She peered over his shoulder, "What are you doing, Fowl?"

"Nothing illegal, which I'm sure is what you meant." He replied, not even bothering to look up at her. "But if you must know, I'm working out our Global Warming problem, Holly."

"Oh," She then sat back, boredly. A few minutes later, Ethryn came out, seeming satisfied.

"I'll have the workers ring it up, then," Artemis said immediately, shutting his laptop and standing. "I'll return in a moment."

Holly watched Butler follow him, automatically, and Artemis paid him no mind. It wasn't until she noticed Ethryn eying him from behind did she allow a wry smirk.

"Checking out your host?" Holly asked, smirking.

Ethryn smiled as well, turning to Holly and shaking her head, "Artemis is simply . . . interesting. He tries to hide a lot about himself."

"That's Artemis," Holly agreed, crossing her legs and slouching. "Mister Mystery."

The Angel giggled, "Not many can hide anything from an Angel." She placed a few fingers on her chin, in thought. "Artemis is actually easier to figure out then you'd think. Not predictable, just indifferent."

"That makes no sense, I hope you know that," Holly pointed out. Ethryn cleared her throat and she sat up, immediately, uncrossing her legs like a lady and fixing her hair over her ears quickly.

A few workers turned the corner, about five, each folding the clothes and taking them to the front counter. Holly's brow rose, watching as each of them had a large load.

Artemis watched, bored, before gesturing for the girls to follow them. They stood, and Holly continued to fidget with her dress until Artemis took her hand, handing it to Ethryn. He was clearly uncomfortable pretending to be either of their relatives, and so left it to the better actors. The teen genius was good at being an asshole teenager, not an affectionate family member. Ethryn and Holly gave each other looks, smiling, but Ethryn led her 'younger sister' right along to the counter. They both stifled shocked expressions at the price, but Artemis hardly took a glance at it before handing them his credit card. After signing the receipt, he asked they take the bags to his car, which they did, and easily slipped them into one of the larger cars his mother usual took when shopping. Artemis forced them both into shoe shopping as well, for as comfortable as Ethryn was with walking around barefoot and Holly in her combat boots, it couldn't be allowed in public. The shoes they wore now had been rush-ordered, and delivered within the hour.

"Ugh," Holly groaned, getting in the car and flipping her 'watch' open to show a holograph of an irritated Foaly. She ignored him, speaking to Artemis instead, "Does shopping always take this long for you rich people, Artemis?"

"Yes, why?" He questioned, turning in the seat across from her. The seat lined both walls, curving like a limo and about as extravagant as one, however unnecessary. Ethryn was currently playing with some of the necklaces she'd bought. Artemis hadn't really cared. It didn't seem like he cared if they decided to buy the whole mall complex, which he probably could afford anyways.

Ethryn held a silver necklace with a small blue diamond in front of Holly's face, showing her the piece. "What's this gem called?"

"Diamond," Foaly answered for her. "I see you girls had fun."

"Some of us did," Holly once again tugged at her ensemble. "I can't wait to be back in my nice, comfortable uniform. I can't understand why you Mud-Men like these things."

"Mud-People aren't the only ones, Holly," Foaly reminded her. "Fairy girls wear dresses too, you just don't follow the flow."

"Mm," Holly hardly payed attention, instead pulling at the collar. "Can this thing go any faster, Butler? The sooner we get back the manor, the quicker I can get out of this thing."

"I'm right on the speed-limit, Holly," Butler informed her, after speeding up. "We'll be home soon, don't worry."

"So, everything comfortable for you, Ethryn?" Foaly asked.

Ethryn nodded, "Yes. All backless. I should be able to stretch my wings while wearing these."

"Yes, we're actually looking at your clothing material, if you don't mind. We're curious as to how your wings just automatically go through without snapping."

"Of course I don't mind," she leaned back in the seat, looking around. "Wait, no one can see us in this car, right?"

"Tinted and bullet proof," Butler informed her. "Actually, they're missile proof too, but to answer you're question, no one can see you if you want to stretch out your wings."

Immediately, they spread wide, and she sighed in relief. "Ah, much better. I was starting to get sore."

"Weird," Foaly's hologram leaned forward, looking at the still patched wing, "I would've thought the stitching would've fallen off."

They pulled up into the manor and weren't entirely surprised to see paparazzi there. Immediately paranoid, Ethryn slowly pulled her wings back in, pressing her face close to the window before flinching as a camera flashed unknowingly in her face.

"Ow," she rubbed her eyes.

Holly touched her arm, "You okay?"

"Yes, I just wasn't expecting that."

Artemis glared at them, "They can be quite annoying, sometimes."

"So it would seem," Holly agreed.

They pulled up and Butler began unloading the car.

"Remember," Artemis whispered, before opening the door, "Let them see you. We don't want to make it look as though we're hiding anything, alright?"

"Got it," Ethryn gave him a thumbs up before exiting the car, circling around to open the door for Holly, who pretended to have trouble getting out, as she was so young looking. For good measure, she gave optimistic but disapproving expressions to the paparazzi.

"This is ridiculous," Holly muttered.

Ethryn nodded her agreement, winking at Holly before releasing her, approaching Artemis. "Cousin?"

Artemis's brow rose as he pulled his laptop out of the car, "They can't hear us, Ethryn."

The Angel pinched his cheek, "I bet the paparazzi will love this though!"

Quickly, he pushed her hand away, scowling. He'd always hated when people did that. "Stop that."

"Stop being so fussy," she insisted, with a grin. "Whose older, me or you?"

Artemis rolled his eyes, "That depends. How old are you, exactly?"

"I've just turned sixteen, in human standards and Angel standards."

"Then I'm older," he replied triumphantly. "I'm halfway to seventeen."

Ethryn grinned, "Then that means Holly and I are you're annoying younger cousins."

Artemis sighed, rubbing his temples as they entered the house. "The two of you are going to drive me insane."

Holly laughed, as did Ethryn, and once again, Butler allowed a smirk before entering the house.

It wasn't an hour later until Artemis got a call on his cell phone. Reading the caller ID, he groaned, flipping open the device. Of course, Butler was there to witness this.

"Hello, mom," He said, hiding his stress at having to talk to her.

"I see you've made yourself busy," His mother said, amused. "Let's see here, this article says, 'a worker on the inside informed us the older girl's name is Ethryn, but the younger cousin has yet to be identified'. Artemis, how could you not tell me family was visiting?"

"Mother, now is hardly the time for jokes."

"Tell Holly I said hi," Angeline insisted, ignoring him. "So what species is this Ethryn? Nymph?"

"Angel, actually, but not the kind you'd think," Artemis responded. "We're trying to make her blend while we figure out how to proceed with her, eh, problem."

"I get it," Mrs. Fowl replied. "Need to know basis. I miss you, Artemis. Vacation isn't the same without you, and your siblings are starting to get impatient. Hurry up so you can come back and join us."

"I'll do my best," he promised, without actually promising anything. "Now, I really must go, mother. Shall I call you later?"

"Only if you have time," His mother replied, cheerfully. "Goodbye, Artemis. Don't stress yourself out too much, you understand me? I don't want you catching that . . . disease, or whatever you called it, again."

Shivering at the memory, he agreed, saying 'I love you too, mother' at least three times before being allowed to hang up. When he did, he sighed, shaking his head. "I swear, Butler. I'm going to have an ulcer by the time this is over between dealing with this and my family."

Butler eyed his stressed charge, "Maybe you do need a vacation, Artemis."

"Perhaps."

At this time, they heard a commotion, and some unknown buzzing sound in the other room. Butler immediately took out his gun, motioning for Artemis to stay put before racing outside. To his dismay, he saw Artemis peek out of the room behind him, following slowly. The sound was coming from the music room and he quickly burst in, the door nearly blown of its hinges. He then froze, as a scream was heard. Artemis immediately ran in to see, and realized why Butler had placed his gun down.

Ethryn was playing with the instruments, watched by the elf guards. "I didn't mean to . . . what's that?"

Butler placed the gun back in its proper place, "Nothing. Please continue with your, eh, music making."

Artemis looked around the room, "Where's Captain Short?"

"You mean Holly?" Ethryn corrected, running her hands along the piano. "She said something about changing."

"Of course she did," Artemis grumbled before waving, heading back into the other room to think.

Ireland, Location Unknown

Both hit the floor, knocking the wind out of them for a split second. Tristan recovered before Ellen could, and gripped her by the front of her shirt, forcing her to her feet. He gave her a pat on the back, forcing the wind back into her lungs. It wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling.

"You're . . . insane," She hissed, gasping.

"That may be true," He replied, his wings pulling back into his body. The two looked over the area. "Hm, not exactly a sight-seeing place, is it?"

"Fields," Ellen agreed, finally recovering. "So now what, brother? Are you hunting her down, then? Terrorize the citizens in whatever dimension we're in until you find Ethryn?"

Tristan held up the necklaces they no longer wore, "Even if she doesn't have it, I know where it is. I'll find her."

"And if she left it somewhere?" Ellen demanded. "You're plan has flaws, Tristan. Please, let's just go home and forget about this-!"

"NO!" He shouted, and Ellen felt like she'd been slapped. The two stood, frozen, with Tristan having an numbing grip on her arm. Eventually, he loosened his grip and began dragging her. "Let's go."