A/N: So I'm out of my rut, isn't it great? I know you missed me, maybe not this story but me anyway. Much love, enjoy the twisted plot's beginning. R&R.
Ps. Keaira, the other prostitutes, the pimpand this crazy plot are mine, everything else belongs to rich people. The quotes I start my chapters with are mine too. Mhmm!
"If I could save you, but only by losing myself, I'd walk into the deepest woods and wipe my memory for you."
The city streets were dark now and similar to the dirty alleyways of New York. Shadows slunk in and out of side streets, striking deals or looking for a good time. One particular shadow walked down the center of the abandoned street with an air of power and grace. The figure seemed unfazed by the chill in the air though her torn and bloody clothes were only barely covering her small frame. As the figure approached a door, wary eyes scanned the surrounding area. Then quick as lightning a tiny hand struck out and hit the door only once.
"Password." Came a gruff voice from the other side.
"Abunai." Spoke the figure at the door. With a slight creak the heavy metal slab swung forward revealing a stout pixie.
"You better be." He stated and stepped aside.
The figure walked past the pixie without a smart retort and made her way down the long dimly lit hall. Upon coming to a new door she opened it without knocking and walked briskly past the other occupants taking a seat on a stool in the corner.
"Holly…so good of you to join us…finally." Said a large goblin. His head was bandaged and he looked very irritated, the two female elves at his sides giggled and stroked his face. A fire burned in his lizard like eyes, a mixture of hatred and reverence for Holly. Holly grunted a non-verbal response and looked the other way trying to hide her swollen lips and the bruises covering her scantly clad body. "I'm glad to see you back here; it proves that you're smart, just as I thought."
"Mm."
The goblin stood and walked over to her; he reached out his hand and grasped her chin turning her eyes upon his bruised and scratched face. He whispered viciously "I don't ever want this to happen again." The threat was obvious and Holly adverted her eyes knowing what he could do. "Do we understand one another?"
She didn't answer. He yanked her face close to his, warm, rancid breath spread over Holly's cheek. "Do we understand one another."
"Yes…"
"Good."
Fowl Manor
Artemis stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He hadn't meant to fall asleep. 'Damnit all….' He lifted himself from the bed and went to check on Holly, after last night he wasn't sure quite what to do. His fingers unconsciously found their way to his lips and brushed against them softly. 'Why did I do that…?'
Artemis walked down the hall momentarily dropping his guard and swaggering like a normal adolescent male. He scratched the back of his head and yawned. "I must be losing my mind." He said to himself.
"Not yet Arty." At least…he thought he was talking to himself. Artemis looked down the hall to find Juliet poised outside Holly's door. She was leaning against the wall nonchalantly but had an air of slight panic to her.
"Well thank you for your reassurance, what are you doing?" Artemis came to stop in front of her and placed his hand on Holly's door, ready to open it.
"I wouldn't." Juliet whispered.
"And why not?" Juliet sighed and pushed the door open. 'Strange…I thought I'd shut that.' It swung easily and without sound revealing the empty room. Artemis stared for a moment. Perhaps it was a joke. Maybe Holly got up early feeling better and was playing a trick. Maybe she got Juliet involved. "Where is she Juliet?" However the maid's silence in the face of his question brought the familiar lump to his throat. "She's gone…." Juliet nodded pointlessly and put a hand on Artemis' shoulder. "Tell Butler…to get the Bentley."
Tara
"Are you sure of this master Artemis?"
"Yes Butler. She's in trouble…I know it." Artemis returned his gaze to the passing Irish landscape. He made a promise, and he wasn't about to break it. And certainly wasn't going to lose her…. The Bentley came to a stop in a seemingly normal part of the country side. But Artemis knew better. He walked up to a rock, squatted down and tapped on it. "Foaly? I know you can hear me down there, open up…it's serious."
A little lens opened up and almost blinked at him. Then Foaly's irritated snort sounded. "Yes Artemis oh master of the universe who we must serve whenever he calls upon us."
"Stop the smartass jokes Foaly, we have a problem, a big problem." The lens blinked again and then a sigh was heard. "Leave it to you to only drop by when there's trouble. Can't you ever just stop by and say hello?"
Artemis smiled slightly. 'Only Foaly.'
In moments they were crammed into a shuttle heading for Haven and Foaly had shut off his intercom so they wouldn't hear Sool chewing him out for answering Artemis' call.
LEP HQ, Sool's Office
Artemis Fowl the second strode down the tight hall of the LEP, his normal air of power back intact though his insides were doing a sick salsa. He turned on a heel, faced Sool's door, reached out, grasped the knob, turned it and was met with the tail end of what must have been an emotionally scaring rant.
"Sorry to intrude but I don't have time to wait till you've finished verbally abusing you're underlings." Sool glared at Artemis but couldn't for the life of him come up with a good enough come back.
"Pleasant to see you again mud boy." Sool sneered at him and turned back to Foaly. "If anything from this comes back to the LEP I'll have a couch made from your hide." Foaly swallowed thickly and nodded as Sool left the room.
"I really hate him" He said once the door had shut and the foot steps faded. Artemis cleared his throat and Foaly started, turning his gaze back to Artemis. "Right, sorry. What's the big emergency?"
Artemis sat down flanked by Juliet and Butler, he steepled his fingers and sighed, his eyes closed. "Do you know where Holly is?" His voice was quiet and very slightly shaking.
Foaly quirked his eyebrow and scrunched his horse-like face up. "Well…come to think of it. No. I haven't seen or heard from her in…weeks. After Root…well…she's been secretive and reclusive. She wouldn't see anyone….Why? Have you heard something?"
Artemis took a moment till Juliet's hand on his shoulder helped him steady his nerves. "We've more than heard something I'm afraid." Foaly's eyes became worried and he leaned closer to hear Artemis' barely above a whisper voice. Artemis told the story of how Holly was brought to his door step by Mulch on the brink of death. He told Foaly everything and with each passing second of the tale Foaly grew more and more horrified for his little Holly.
As Artemis' tale ended Foaly's mouth hung open and his hands shook. "Holly…" he said softly to himself. "You have to find her Artemis. But I can't help you, not really, Sool will have my ass. He'll actually fire me, unlike Root. But you have to find her…" He let the statement hang in the air and Artemis nodded his response.
Downtown, the Underground Prostitution Ring HQ
"I hate waiting." Holly grumbled and resisted the urge to puke. The air was thick with cigarette smoke and the other girls were gathered round a table playing cards. One girl looked up and smiled softly. "Holly, why don't you join us?" She motioned for Holly to come over as she ground her spent cigarette in an ashtray.
Holly rolled her eyes and walked over taking a seat next to the girl. She had pitch black hair with streaks of aqua green/blue rolled up in a messy bun. Her eyes were small for an elf and a very vibrant lilac color. She was thin but had a healthy glow; that was the advantage to being in a ring…you had a better chance at keeping your health. Holly did actually know this girl, her name was Keaira and she was from Japan, though only half Japanese. A sweet girl with spunk Holly had gotten along well with her from day one. Keaira was almost like Holly's mentor, she protected her as best she could, and Holly respected and thanked her for that.
"You've been really quiet Holly…and you look…well you look like you got hit by a truck. What happened?" Keaira's eyes were warm with concern but Holly wasn't about to tell anyone.
"Nothing, I messed up is all. Got what I deserved." She laughed falsely and avoided eye contact. The other girls shrugged and went back to their game, Keaira watched Holly a moment longer.
"Alright Hol…if you're sure. Why don't you go get changed…I've got some clothes in the other room, go put those on." Holly smiled a little. In a strange way these girls had become family. They treated each other like sisters, had little nicknames for one another, took care of the new girl, joked and laughed. Holly only wished they'd met under different circumstances.
Holly stood and went into the other room. She reentered moments later in pitch black pants and a tight black tank top. Her arms were hidden by an oversized zip-up sweatshirt of deep purple. She took her seat next to Keaira again and smiled her thanks. "So what are we playing?" The girls laughed and re-dealt the cards.
"Chokkou." Said Keaira grinning at each member of the table. A mutual groan went around the room. Chokkou was Keaira's best game.
Streets of Haven, Downtown
"Artemis do you have any idea where to even start looking?" Juliet wanted to find Holly as much as he did but this was ridiculous; walking around aimlessly hoping to just run into her.
Artemis stopped, his fists clenching and his teeth grinding together, so that he spoke through them. "No Juliet, I do not know where to start looking, but I am not going to just sit around and wait!" His voice had steadily risen until it was almost a scream, it even cracked slightly. He was upset that was for sure, but knew that walking around was pretty much a waste of time. He sighed lightly and ran his fingers through his hair. "We'll find her…no matter what it takes."
The pale genius slumped against a tall building and looked around. They were not in a good part of town. Most of the buildings were run down and the homeless seemed to possess the sidewalks, moving about like zombies. It hurt Artemis to know that even the great People, so advanced, still had the problems of humans. Artemis slammed his fist against the structure supporting him and cursed. Why couldn't he find her? He could find the exact location of a long lost enchanted paper clip in the ancient pyramids for Kami's sake but he couldn't find one elf in a city no bigger than New York.
"Holly…."
U.P.R.
"Read 'em and weep bitches." Holly stated triumphantly, earning her a few half hearted slaps to the shoulder. She bit her lip to hide the pain those small violent expressions of affection caused her.
"Oooooh not again. When did you get so good at this!" The girls moaned together glaring playfully. Keaira stood and brushed a few raven locks from her face. Everyone at the table followed her with their eyes. "Where are you going?"
Keaira eyed them for a moment, her beautiful lilac pools digging into their souls and reading their minds. "Just to get some fresh air, it stinks in here." She stated blankly as she walked to the door. "I'll be back in a bit. Don't kill each other while I'm gone." She smiled at her last comment and exited.
Keaira squinted at the light outside the building and stretched her arms out in front of her. Her legs compelled her down the ally and into the street where she promptly put on a stone cold face which would serve to tell anyone interested that she was "closed."
As she wandered down the sidewalk, she began to hum. It was a sad tune she'd heard Holly singing softly late at night.
On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone
I walk with him 'til morning
Without him, I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way, I close my eyes and he has found me
In the rain
The pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me forever and forever
And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say there's a way for us
I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone
The river's just a river
Without him, the world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers
Holly was such a sad girl…she wasn't cut out for work in a ring. Unlike the other girls, Holly had someone who cared about her. That was obvious to Keaira, even if Holly had never mentioned him. Normally Keaira didn't become this attached to her "sisters" but she felt an overwhelming desire to help Holly. Keaira thought hard as she walked along humming. 'But where do I start?'
Back with Artemis
Butler put a massive hand on his principles shoulder and squeezed lightly. Seeing Artemis like this was horrible. It was his job to protect Artemis, but he could do nothing to rescue him from the emotional trials of life. And he could do nothing to guard Artemis against the pains of love.
Juliet's blue eyes watched the silent exchange of power between her brother, and the boy she considered her brother. She was lagging behind a bit to think, much like Artemis stormed ahead to think. As her thoughts ran away with her Juliet heard a melody drift down the street. '…Holly…' Juliet's mind struggled to escape the deep pondering that was drugging her. '…that's Holly.' Her mind screamed at her. "Holly!"
Artemis spun around, his sapphire eyes large and frantic. He looked around Juliet but didn't see a thing aside from the depressing city surrounding them. "What are you talking about Juliet?" He demanded, approaching her.
"Shh" Juliet hushed urgently. "Listen…do you hear that?" She asked her voice low. They all listened intensely until.
"What is it?" Artemis asked. He then rolled his eyes. "Stupid question, don't answer that."
"On My Own, from Les Miserables. That's Holly's favorite musical, she used to sing it late at night while you were asleep." Artemis quirked an eyebrow and looked around for the source of the gentle music.
He took off at a run up the street. "It's coming from up here." Artemis ran with all he had in him. He ran like his life depended on it, and honestly it did. In these past few days, Artemis had come to the conclusion that he could not live without Holly, and he wouldn't lose her again, or he would lose himself. He rounded a corner, body shaking and came within three centimeters of colliding with an obsidian haired, purple eyed elf.
A/N: Read and Review loves! If you don't know japanese, Abunai means be careful, and Chokkou means nonstop, rough translations from my dictionary, ya know. Next chapter out...at some point.