Carrying directly on from last chapter...
I own NOTHING!!!
RLD is officially the best beta in the history of fanfics.
Artemis was not the last one to arrive in the round room, despite leaving his room five minutes late. He'd found a small pile of Gnommish novels, and had managed to engross himself in one of the tales. All the tutors were already in the room, eating. Edan nodded to him when he entered, but Kelby firmly ignored him. Artemis helped himself to the buffet again, registering the subtle difference in the meals from last night to now. Where before there had been vole curry, there was now a steaming pile of bacon. Artemis wasn't certain why there would be bacon at a fairy table, but he took some anyway. He sat at the same table as before between Butler and Trouble. Holly walked in a couple of minutes later.
Edan called out to her. "There you are. We were about to send a search party."
"I was preoccupied," she said, filling a plate and sitting in the last free spot. Despite the fact that she sat opposite Artemis, she didn't glance at the boy even once. Trouble raised an eyebrow at him.
"What did you do, Fowl?"
Artemis was saved from answering by the Guardian walking into the room and clearing its throat.
"I hope you all slept well, and passed the time this morning productively."
Artemis, Butler, Holly and Trouble waited for it to say more, but it turned to the tutors and struck up a conversation in Gnommish. They were speaking too quietly for any of the tutees to make out what was being said and whatever it was, was over quickly. The Guardian moved back to the centre of the room and addressed them all once more.
"You have another five minutes, and then it will be time for your training to recommence."
It turned on its heel and strode out. Butler raised an eyebrow.
"A little abrupt."
Artemis nodded and resumed eating. Holly still hadn't looked at him. She ate fast, stood, and joined Edan.
"Shall we?" she asked, still resolutely keeping her eyes off the human boy. Edan nodded and they left together. Trouble slapped the table in front of Artemis, jolting the boy's eyes to meet his own.
"What did you do, Fowl?"
The boy was once more saved answering by Kelby's appearance at the table.
"Same room as yesterday, two minutes," the elf barked before stalking out of the room. Artemis pushed his plate away. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Artemis and Kelby were once again the first pair to stop practicing. The buffet was the same as the previous evening and, like before, they sat at opposite tables in silence, picking at their food. Artemis saw a pattern emerging.
Within the next five minutes the other three pairs had joined them, and both tables were once again full. Holly sat opposite Artemis, and though she now deigned to glance at him, she still wasn't talking to him. Artemis sighed and, after a meaningful glance from Butler and a kick from Trouble, spoke to her. He pitched his voice so that it would reach her, but wouldn't float over to the tutor table.
"Look, Holly, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."
"I'm not upset, Fowl," she retorted, keeping her eyes on the lettuce leaf she was ripping apart. "I'm angry. If you want to self-harm, that's up to you, just don't shoot me down because of some stupid male pride. I was trying to help."
"I know you were," he said, tone placating and a little patronising. It was the latter that made her look up. Artemis was staring at his plate, mumbling an apology that included a lot of very complex explanatory words. Holly pretended to listen to him for a few seconds, then interrupted.
"If that means that it wasn't pride, don't lie to me. You, Fowl, are one of the worst I've ever met for pride. It has a place, and getting beaten to a pulp is not it."
Artemis looked up but decided not to reply. The look in her eyes was not particularly friendly, and he had no desire to get hit. Trouble was glancing between the two, not certain whether he liked that they were arguing or not. He cleared his throat and spoke to Holly, not bothering to keep his voice low.
"What did he do?"
Holly looked at her Commander and shrugged.
"He's human."
Trouble took this as an explanation, which shocked Artemis. His species was a reason for callous behaviour? True, humans in general may be like that, but he had thought that Holly, at least, knew him better than that.
Edan stood and wound his way over to Holly's side. From the way his path weaved, Artemis guessed that his drink was somewhat alcoholic.
"I'm going back to the practice room. Come join me later?"
Holly nodded.
"Sure. Let me finish here and I'll be right there."
Edan nodded and left, path a little straighter, looking very pleased with himself. Both Artemis and Trouble glared at his retreating back. Butler let them glare and spoke to Holly.
""What was that about?"
"We didn't quite finish earlier."
"You've had eight hours," Trouble said incredulously. Holly just shrugged and ate the last bite on her plate. Artemis shook his head.
"I didn't think fairies were supposed to drink alcohol with humans. Doesn't it negate some magical contract or something?"
Holly rolled her eyes.
"Firstly, he wasn't exactly drinking with you, was he? Also, in case you haven't noticed, none of the usual rules apply here."
She stood and followed Edan out of the hall. Trouble waited until she was out of sight, then pushed his plate away and stood also.
"What are you doing?" Butler asked. Trouble hadn't finished eating. The elf looked at him with an isn't-it-obvious expression.
"Aren't you the tiniest bit curious as to what they're doing?"
Butler shrugged and began eating again. Trouble left, and Artemis rose. Butler groaned into his food.
"Not you too. Give her some privacy, will you?"
"I wasn't going to check on Holly," Artemis lied indignantly. Butler wasn't fooled. The boy turned and almost walked into Terran. The dwarf gazed up at him, smiling.
"Do not worry, Artemis. She is a fire element, as is he. They cannot coexist for long without burning each other up."
Artemis didn't like it when people read him. Then again, he was being pretty transparent right now.
"An elf and a human? Puh-lease," Kirby said, passing them on his way out. Artemis gritted his teeth. Apparently, he was being very transparent. Holly either hadn't noticed or didn't care. He didn't like the latter idea very much. Terran patted his kneecap.
"Odd as it may sound, fire and water are the best match for each other. Fire gives heat and passion to water, and water cools fire's temper. In the wrong amounts, one will destroy the other, but if they are well matched..."
Terran left the sentence hanging and vanished through the door. Artemis and Butler were now the only ones left in the hall. Caitir had left whilst Terran was imparting her wisdom, smiling to herself at the look on the boy's face. It was somewhere between irritation, embarrassment and delight.
Artemis recovered quickly and turned to Butler. The manservant was trying not to laugh. He stood and clapped a giant hand on the boy's shoulder.
"I think you and Holly are very well matched," he said, leaving before Artemis could form a coherent pithy comeback; his vast mental reserves didn't cover this sort of conversation. He shook his head and left. In the hall he spotted Trouble, crouching by a red door. The elf saw him looking and gestured him over.
"Don't stand there staring, you'll draw their attention," he hissed. Artemis saw that he was kneeling to peer through a tiny panel of glass. Now that he looked, he saw that there was such a window at the bottom of every door. He could see no logical reason for it to be there, but decided to inquire at a later date. He leaned forwards to glance though the glass, and saw Holly and Edan doing something that looked a lot like yoga. Holly was standing on one leg in the centre of a black marble room, facing their general direction, her arms extended for balance. Edan nodded with apparent satisfaction and touched her shoulder lightly, correcting her posture minutely. Artemis shook his head.
"This is called stalking," he said, but didn't move. Trouble sneered at his hypocrisy before turning his attention back to the two elves in the room. They couldn't hear what was being said, but both males gritted their teeth when Edan pushed at Holly's lower back with one hand (what he was hoping to achieve, neither of them knew). Holly wobbled and overbalanced. Edan tried to grab her, missed, and they ended up in a rather tangled heap on the floor.
"He wanted that to happen," Trouble growled. Artemis made no comment, but thought that Trouble was probably right. Edan pushed himself up on his arms, leaning over Holly. Rather than leaning down to kiss her, as both observers were expecting, he pushed himself onto his knees, allowing her to crawl out from beneath him. The onlookers quickly moved; Holly was facing the window at exactly the right angle to spot them. Artemis backed into something and looked up to see Caitir smirking down at them.
"It's not nice to spy," she said. Trouble groaned at being caught, and hauled himself to his feet.
"It's not what it looks like..."
"Then what is it?" she asked, pulling Artemis upright by the shoulder. Trouble mouthed at her wordlessly. He'd never been good at lying on the spot. She smiled and knocked on the scarlet door. It was yanked open by Edan, who was apparently sober once more.
"Hello?"
Caitir grinned at him.
"These two wanted to watch your training."
Edan blinked at them, then shrugged and stood aside to let them enter. Artemis and Trouble filed past him, ignoring Caitir's giggles. What else could they do? Holly narrowed her eyes when she saw who it was.
"What do you two want?"
Edan kicked the door shut and returned to her side.
"To watch, apparently. Now, let's try again. You can show off for your friends, huh?"
Holly glowered in their general direction, but allowed Edan to turn her away from them.
"Ignore them," he told her. Trouble and Artemis leaned uncertainly against the curved wall. There were no chairs in the room. They watched as Holly adopted the same position as before, arms extended and palms facing outwards. Edan stepped back and looked her up and down.
"Much better. Now, exhale and try again."
Holly closed her eyes and slowly blew out through her mouth. Her arms moved to above her head and her palms met, leaving a trail of flame behind them. Artemis gasped. Edan smiled as Holly opened her eyes and put her other foot on the ground.
"Well done. Not perfect, but better. We can leave it there for today."
Holy nodded and the fire hovering in an arc above her head vanished.
"You still haven't said why I have to do it standing on one foot."
"It's endurance. Any dummy can conjure fire when there's no pressure. Doing it whilst focussing on something else as well is harder. Also, it gives me a chance to catch you if you fall."
Holly punched him. He winced and laughed, rubbing his ribs. The four of them left and made their way back to the corridor where all the bedrooms were located. Caitir emerged from the bathroom and grinned at them.
"Have fun?"
She disappeared into her room, as did Edan. Trouble and Artemis both tried to hide their flushed faces, which actually drew more attention to them. Holly looked at them oddly.
"What's wrong with you two?"
"Nothing," they replied simultaneously. Holly looked from one to the other before coming to her own conclusion.
"If you like her, just ask her out already."
Artemis gaped, and Trouble stammered out a denial, but Holly ignored them and vanished into her room. The two males stood in silence for a couple of seconds before disappearing into their own rooms. There was nothing more to be said.
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Artemis opened his door, and wasn't entirely surprised to find that his room was already occupied. He sat on the edge of the bed and waited for his guest to speak. Butler stepped from the corner of the room and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"How did it go?"
Artemis shook his head. Holly thought he liked Caitir, and was apparently not at all jealous of the fact. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Butler squeezed his shoulder lightly and opened his mouth to impart wisdom, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Artemis? Can I come in?"
The boy leapt from the bed.
"Sure, Holly, come on in."
He tried to appear aloof, as if he didn't much care either way; the effect was spoiled somewhat by the fact that he sounded like he had a sore throat. Butler grinned and left as Holly entered, muttering that it was getting late. Artemis glanced at the clock. It was nine pm. Holly also looked sceptical about the manservant's excuse, but shut the door behind him.
"Artemis, we need to talk."
Artemis wasn't sure from her tone whether he was going to enjoy this talk or not. He patted the bed next to him and she sat, looking at her feet. She was still dressed head to toe in black.
"What is it, Holly?" he asked, once it became apparent that she wasn't going to continue the conversation. She sucked in a breath and lifted her head, meeting his eyes.
"Why did you come to watch me training?"
Artemis got the impression that this wasn't what she'd actually wanted to ask, but he answered it anyway. He actually had a convincing lie for this one.
"I was curious as to how everyone else trained. Kelby's all about the arm waving and shouting."
Holly tilted her head slightly to one side, eyes flicking up and down his body.
"You don't look as bruised tonight."
"He took it a little easier on me. I think Edan talked to him."
"You're welcome," Holly said, smirking. Artemis shook his head.
"You were very good," he said, referring to the flames she'd conjured earlier. She shrugged.
"It wasn't much really. How're you getting on?"
"Alright," he said, clicking the fingers of his right hand. Water spurted from his fist and splashed Holly in the face. She froze momentarily, then shook her head, sending droplets flying. Artemis got the worst of it – water drops beading on his cheek. He laughed. He hadn't been expecting such a childish gesture from the Captain.
"Sorry," he said, "my aim's not great."
"I noticed," she said. Water was beading on her eyelashes. Artemis swallowed and looked away.
"Was that all you wanted?" he asked. Miraculously, his voice didn't sound strangled. Holly shrugged.
"We haven't really hung out since this whole affair started. What with the training and the arguments..."
She trailed off, apparently very interested in the burn mark on the ceiling. Artemis glanced at it.
"Can you do that yet?"
Holly shook her head.
"It takes all my concentration to just hold those small flames. Fireballs are a long way beyond me."
"Not for long," he said confidently. Holly tilted her head to look at him.
"What about you? Can you do anything other than splash water at me?"
"Not really. Kelby doesn't explain well."
Artemis frowned. He wasn't used to having to ask for further explanation. Earlier, Kelby had yelled 'I thought you were supposed to be a genius?' at him. Was it his fault that the elf kept speaking very rapidly in Gnommish, using words that Artemis had never heard before in his life? Genius he may be, but he wasn't a computer.
"How long do you think we're going to be stuck here?" he asked, not wanting to continue along this line of conversation.
Holly shrugged. "As long as it takes, I guess."
"Very philosophical," replied Artemis dryly. "But hardly useful. I don't want to return home having aged. That would make Father even more suspicious than he already is."
"Edan told me that we don't age here. Something to do with the whole 'different dimension' thing. That and the Guardian."
"Right."
There was a semi-awkward silence, broken by Artemis.
"At least we know who emailed us both now. The Guardian probably got our addresses from Foaly..."
Holly stood rapidly, blood draining from her face.
"Oh, gods. Foaly! He'll be going spare! We have to contact him somehow..."
Thanks for reading, please review!
Next chapter: Embarrasing emails, and a really bad training session.
Love you all
Liris
xxx