A/N: Yes, I know- a rather quick update! Its amazing! Anyways- reviewer replies at the end!

Artemis Fowl and the King of the Trolls

Ch. 4: The Real Reason

Fowl Manor

Emily sauntered into the basement lab at the Fowl Manor. She was a half-hour early, so she decided to use Artemis's computer.

"Hmmm…. let's see…" she muttered to herself, as she checked some of the forums she was a member at. This had been happening for a couple weeks now- Emily would be early, and she would just go on the computer. Artemis never seemed to mind, so she decided that it was fine.

Emily had been working with Artemis for about a month, but he was still a mystery to her. He never talked about himself, he usually just steered the conversation toward her. Emily sighed, as she exited the browser. She put her chin in her hands, and thought about Artemis. He wasn't bad looking, on the contrary, he was rather dashing, but Emily knew that, even if she wanted to, her grandparents would never permit a romantic relationship with him. They were already looking for a suitable fairy bachelor. Emily sighed again; she would never be allowed much freedom in choice by her grandparents- they always told her what to do, because 'they knew best'. Emily closed her eyes, and sighed again.

"You know, if you keep sighing, I'm going to have to throw you out- its rather annoying." Emily jumped about ten feet in the air, and whirled around. Artemis stood behind her with a smirk on his face, and his arms folded. Emily took a few deep breaths, and said,

"Why can't you just say 'hello' like a regular human being?" she asked, a blush creeping up her cheeks, when she saw that Artemis was wearing his shirt half undone, and his tie un-tied and draped around his neck. "And what the hell happened to you?" she added, her cheeks still red. Artemis's smirk disappeared, and he replied,

"Follow me." Emily followed him into one of the back rooms- one of the ones she had never boon in- and saw that it was a hospital- like room. "I never told you the real reason that I'm researching this cure." He said, and Emily looked up at him, Artemis's face was clouded, and she could tell that this was a personal matter.

"Look, Artemis, you don't have to tell-"

"No, I want to." Artemis said, cutting Emily off. Emily nodded, and listened as Artemis told her his motif for finding the cure.

LEP Headquarters

"Foaly, get me a clean-up crew." Trouble Kelp said, looking around at his new office, which had been trashed by some goblins who were working for Sool.

"What am I, your secretary?" Foaly asked, sending out the request anyway. Trouble smiled,

"And what if you are?" he asked, looking innocently at Foaly, who looked just about ready to throw something at Trouble's head.

They had managed to stop Sool from creating any damage, and they had caught his goblins, but, somehow, Sool managed to run away before he could be arrested. Trouble sighed, and started to pick things up off his desk.

The room still faintly smelled like Root's fungus cigars, which made Trouble a bit sad. He righted the picture that he had of himself, Holly, Foaly, and Root. The picture had been taken a week before his death, when Trouble had been promoted. Foaly stood next to him, and said,

"He was a good man, we all miss him." Trouble nodded, and sat down in the chair behind his desk. He missed Root a lot, and sometimes, Trouble thought that he saw him standing outside of headquarters smoking his cigar and shaking his head. Which, of course, could never happen, because he was blown to pieces by Opal Koboi.

"Well, Trouble, I'm off." Said Foaly, giving the new commander a wave. Trouble waved back, and sat back in the chair. It was going to be a long day.

Fowl Manor

Emily walked out to her car, Artemis's explanation weighing on her mind. He had told her his reasons, and then given her the day off, and now Emily was pondering what Artemis had said.

"Have a nice day, miss!" said Fred, the doorman. Emily smiled at him, and replied,

"Thanks Fred, you take care! And tell George I said hi!" Fred nodded, and went back to his post. Emily looked back at the house before she got in her car, and noticed that it seemed a little more grey and sad then it had just a few hours ago. It was probably Artemis's story weighing on her mind. She sighed, and got in the car. Before she could drive off, though, someone back-ended her. The little Honda Accord shot forward from the force of the hit, and Emily had to pound on the brakes to stop it before it hit the brick wall. When the car came to a screeching halt, Emily sat in her seat breathing hard, her arms outstretched, hands holding on to the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles were white. Emily's arms started to shake as she removed her hands from the wheel. She opened the door, and got out to look back at the manor, and see that she had been hit by an SUV. The driver of said car was running towards her, and she looked extremely worried.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed when she arrived at Emily's car, "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you!" Emily smiled weakly at her, and clutched the car to keep standing. Her legs were shaking so violently that she felt like they would collapse under her at any moment. All of a sudden, Artemis was at her side.

"Juliet! What did you do!" he exclaimed, taking in the sight of Emily, whose entire body was now trembling.

"I'm sorry, Artemis! I was in a hurry… and I didn't see her car!" Juliet bit her lip, and watched as Artemis picked Emily up, and carried her into the manor.

"Fred," he said at the door, "please open the guest room door for me." Fred nodded, and took the steps two at a time, and opened the door for Artemis. Artemis walked in, and laid Emily down on the bed. She was still trembling from shock, and her face was as white as a ghost. Juliet had walked in behind Artemis, and watched as he tried to calm Emily down. Soon, Emily's body stopped trembling, and Artemis sat her up.

"How do you feel?" he asked, watching as Emily's face gained some color.

"I-I guess I'm okay… I don't think anything's broken." She said, "What about that other girl? Is she okay, too?"

"I'm fine." Said Juliet, walking up to the bed. "And, I'm really sorry about back-ending you. I'll pay for everything, seeing as it was my fault." Emily looked up at her, and said,

"Don't bother, my parents have given me a car every birthday since I was sixteen. I have enough right now to give to a small country and rid them of wagons and the like. Hey- maybe you should back-end me more often?" Emily said, giggling. Juliet giggled also, and Artemis restrained himself from rolling his eyes. "By the way, my name's Emily." She said, holding out her hand.

"Juliet." Said Juliet, shaking Emily's hand. "And now, I've got to go check on something- I'll be back soon!" Artemis nodded, and Julia hurried out of the room.

"That's Butler's sister." Artemis said to Emily, who was still smiling.

"Is she really? Oh…" Emily frowned, "Well, then, I don't blame her for being in such a hurry." Artemis nodded, and said,

"Now, lay down, you need some rest." He pushed Emily down into the pillows, and started to walk out of the room.

"Hey, Artemis?" Emily asked, "Why'd you carry me?" Artemis paused before exiting the room, and though Emily couldn't see, smiled.

"Because, you looked like you were about to collapse, and I couldn't have you be unconscious right now- we're rather close to finishing the project."

'That's not true.' He thought, 'I was actually worried about you.'

A/N: fwee! XD anyways, did you like the Harry Potter reference there? XD Fred and George! And that's it for Ch. 4! YAY FOR THE CLIFFIE!

Reviewer Replies:

keepondreaming16: yup! And I'll try to update again soon!

Out of touch with Reality: don't you just love that pairing? Anyways.. that is all part of my evil plannnnnnnn

Trouble Kelp: merci! And I shall!

Ph33r the island ona: HUZZAH! XD

Captain Arianna Trouble: shall do!

Schizophrenic squirrel: its not lame (your review.. I mean! XD)!