Hello, Disciples! It's 12:00 AM. Here's chapter four, because I love you. How much, I hear you half-heartedly mutter? This much. On a less creepy note, any criticisms (constructive or otherwise) and praise are welcome. I am needy and require constant attention. Go on, keep me motivated. Listening to new medicine for this chapter. Alright then! Let's get started.

~Yours in madness,

Lendruel.

Oh, and to those who asked my previous name…

This is a question that can be answered by only one person. And he delights in not talking.

Holly was beginning to come down from her exuberant high over her new room. She was packing her belongings into on huge walk in closet, one of the many features she had exclaimed over. Normally, of course, she was a no-nonsense kind of girl, but she was on vacation wasn't she? She was allowed to indulge in a little materialism every now and then. Her supply of clothes and belongings barely made a dent in the closet's free space.

Toppling backwards onto her double bed, she heaved a sigh of happy exhaustion. Remembering her minor victory, but a victory nonetheless, over Artemis, she allowed a smile to grace her features. Seeing him stammer was fun. Of course, this led to recollection of her own stammering. Before she could allow this to spoil her mood, she put the whole mess out of her head and entered the bathroom.

This was another "money is no obstacle" part of the manor- all white, shining marble, with shining faucets and a bathtub that was practically a Jacuzzi. To her small elven frame, it was practically a pool. She gleefully ran the faucet at its hottest setting. This would normally be too hot for a human, given the excellent plumbing of Fowl Manor, but she was used to showers heated by the molten core of the earth. As such, the water here was actually a little below what she would have preferred. Still, the bath itself was far nicer than the one at home. She could probably swim laps in this one.

Stupid LEP budget. I should turn to crime, if you get a bathroom like this… holly's mutinous thoughts were soon drowned in the steam rising from the bath.

Artemis lay on his bed, even more distracted than before. He picked up his laptop, intending to return to his work, but with no luck. He found himself staring at a blank screen, the glow from the machine casting him in a ghostly light. He pushed the computer away, and picked up a book. Not the one holly had given him- if she had been telling the truth, that one would have to be locked away safely somewhere. Not destroyed, though. It had… sentimental value.

He soon found himself unable to concentrate on this new book, either. When he had read the same sentence in an analysis on the works of Plato for the fifth time, without registering a word, he tossed the book aside. Giving up, he simply lay back and immersed himself in thought.

He recalled telling his mother and father of holly's arrival. The reaction had been odd. Angeline was ecstatic, of course, and he had neglected to tell the twins. He wanted to surprise them. His father, however, had seemed almost nervous. He had stated that he would be glad to meet the fairy girl, but he looked like a teenager who wanted to impress his girlfriend's parents. He was fidgeting, which is an essentially non-fowl trait.

Trailing back further in his memory, he thought of holly herself. I missed you, she had said. And he had acted like a buffoon.

I could just kick myself! She did that on purpose, making me feel like a little child… I shall best her next time. Artemis ignored the little voice in his head that informed him, rather sarcastically, that he had started plotting again. Self-doubt is ill-becoming of a genius.

Finally, Artemis decided to take a shower. The hot water should clear his head, and if nothing else, he was sweaty from the hot day. The water was suspiciously cold- it seemed that all the hot water had gone elsewhere. Still, the cool water was refreshing after such warm weather.

Toweling himself off, and stepping out of the shower, Artemis surveyed his wardrobe. There was an expansive- and expensive- array of designer clothes to choose from, as it was something that he secretly put rather a large amount of effort into. Eventually, he chose a simple outfit- a black, slim fit dress shirt and black pants. Hot though it may be, he had an image to maintain. He elected to leave the tie out, however, so as to unbutton the top buttons. His mother would be thrilled, he thought wryly.

Just as he put the finishing touches on his clothes, he heard Butler's voice through the door.

"Artemis, dinner will be on the table in a moment. Would you like me to tell holly?"

"No, Butler, that's alright. I'll tell her myself." Hearing his lifelong protector retreat down the stairs, he examined himself in the mirror. The cut of his clothes had the effect of making him seem even more slender than usual- he could foresee forced extra helpings from his mother to fend off malnutrition. Satisfied with his appearance, he made his way to Holly's room.

Artemis stood outside her door, hand on the doorknob. He had been about to enter without knocking, and had caught himself just in time. His mind was now trapped between the horrible awkwardness and possible benefits that could have resulted of walking in unannounced. Shaking his head sharply, he raised the hand and knocked. Three sharp raps, to get Holly's attention.

Holly was just putting on her shoes when she heard Artemis knock. It couldn't have been anyone else- only he could sound so formal when knocking.

"It's alright, you can come in," she called, and stood up. She brushed an imaginary piece of lint off of her jeans as the door opened.

Artemis stuck his head around the door, as if readying himself to jump back out of the room if she was 'indecent'.

"I came to inform you that dinner is about to… be… ser…v…" Artemis trailed off. For the second time this night, he was at a loss for words.

Holly grinned at his speechlessness, chalking up another victory for herself. Artemis absentmindedly stepped fully into the doorway.

"Well? How do I look? Am I up to Fowl standards?"

Artemis made a curious coughing sound. He rarely saw Holly in anything other than her LEP Recon suit, as casual clothes had no place in their adventures. He was completely unprepared for anything else.

She wore a green, billowy shirt, light so as to combat the heat. The cut of the fabric made her look slightly exotic, foreign in some way. The jeans she wore were less alien, but just as eye-catching. They seemed to have been perfectly… fitted, not to put too fine a point on it.

I suppose you have a lot of time to find the perfect fit when you live as long as the People do, Artemis thought numbly. What he said was:

"…Good. Very… good." It was as close to articulate speech as she was going to get under current circumstances, he decided.

Holly laughed at this, not calling him out for once on his rare lapse in coherent speech.

"Well, then," she said, striding past him yet again and out the door. "Shall we go?"

By the time she was out of the door, Artemis was at her side. And, once again, mentally berating himself furiously.

Don't worry; there'll be less stammering on Arty's side from now on. Next chapter out by tomorrow evening. Probably earlier, as I've already written a bit of it.