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Typical, normal, random and ordinary are some of the words that were rarely used to describe the Fowl family. Mainly because, on most occasions, almost everything they do is out of the ordinary and even if they act normally its still different from how the majority would describe the word 'ordinary'.

Even the simplest normal events always tends to be a little extravagant than expected. The family dinner during Christmas breaks is a perfect example of that. Sometimes, even Cerise herself can't get used to the Fowl Family's 'ordinary' dinner.

Dinnertime during special season like this is a dress-up occasion for the Fowls. And ever since Lord Artemis the First return after he got captured by the Russian Mafia years back, family time became a priority. During their own timeline in the future, dinners during Decembers are very special since it is the only time of the year where the whole family is there. Then as years passed, it became a tradition.

For Cerise, even uneasiness became a tradition as she felt the same uneasiness whenever important dinners like this happens.

"Oh don't worry, Cerise. You look great," said Juliet when she caught her suppose-to-be niece looking uneasily at herself on the mirror.

Apparently due to the obvious fact that they are going to need Juliet's cooperation, Artemis II agreed to tell Juliet about the two time travelers. At first, of course, Juliet stared at them in shock but after a few moments she returned to her usual self and was even quite happy when she learned that Cerise is actually her niece. But of course, Artemis never mentioned who his wife to be is when Juliet brought the question up. He even gave Cerise strict orders not to tell.

So that leaves that.

"Are you sure you're comfortable with those clothes?" Juliet asked, looking at Cerise as she put on a necklace. Of course, as usual, Juliet looked absolutely gorgeous and her attire that night matched her perfectly; who knew this girl can break one's bones in three seconds flat.

Cerise gave her an assuring smile and nodded. Juliet was the one who picked her attire for the night after all. Cerise insisted on wearing something with long sleeves to hide her three-inched gash on her right arm due to the 'incident' before they time traveled there. One Opal's minions manage to give wound her when she followed Temmy and much to her relief, Temmy didn't know about the wound yet or else she'll experience a sermon she'll regret. So she ended up wearing a beautiful white long sleeved dress complete with ruffles and sky blue lace lining at the helm of the skirt and sleeves. With matching hairstyle and high heels of course.

"You don't look comfortable though," Juliet pointed out with a smile

"Sorry…" Cerise mumbled, "It's just that, despite of being with the Fowls for a long time, I'm still not used at having dinner with them,"

That was the truth and the fact that she is having dinner with the younger versions of the family is not helping her either. She is sure Temmy will feel as awkward as she felt.

Cerise remembered her first time to dine with the Fowls without her parents or any of the Butlers present. It was six years ago, a few days before Christmas. Both of Cerise's parents were late that evening because of an unexpected storm, Cerise's mother was stranded and Butler needs to pick her up. Juliet's family was in Norway that time and cant make it that night because all flights were canceled due to a storm but promised to come as soon as the storm is over. The twins are expected to arrive the next day. So that only leaves the family's patriarchs, Artemis Senior and Lady Angeline and Artemis Junior's family and truth to be told, though Temmy was there to keep her company, she would rather spent the night in her room reading than having dinner with the Fowls. Even though Lady Angeline helped in breaking the tension and formality, it's still a little too formal for a normal dinner.

Artemis Junior wasn't much of a conversation starter; he always acts so formal and he always looks less cheerful, unlike his mother. Artemis II's wife, however, is like his opposite. A dangerously beautiful woman; kind yet brave, she can be like Lady Angeline on some occasions. Cerise could easily see why Master Artemis II loves her so much.

"Don't worry you'll get used to it in time. It took me quite sometime to get used to it too," Juliet said with a reassuring smile, "Besides you might be a member of the Fowl family in the distant future,"

Though she felt her cheeks grew hot, she gave Juliet a quizzical look but in return, Juliet just laughed at her niece's expression. Does being dense when it comes to love runs in both the Fowl and Butler families?

"Nothing," Juliet answered her smile never faded, "If you don't mind me asking, who is Artemis's wife?"

"I'm not allowed to tell," Cerise answered politely

"I see. Worth a shot," Juliet answered with a smile, "I'm just curious, do I know the girl?"

Cerise gave a single nod, hoping that didn't give much away.

Juliet smiled, "I'm going to check on Holly for a while. You can find your way to the dinning room, right?"

Cerise nodded again. Juliet gave her a fond smile before she opened the door and stepped out of the room. Then she heard Juliet suddenly say:

"Oh, she's just doing some finishing touches,"

Then she heard her walk off. Whoever that person she spoke to was Cerise didn't pry on. She has more things to worry about. Giving one last look at the mirror, she sighed as she put on her locket Temmy gave her for a Christmas gift two years ago.

"I guess I'm ready as I'll ever be," she muttered to herself as she looked at her reflection once more.

Giving up, she went out of the room. Though she was expecting Temmy to be waiting for her, she didn't expect him to be waiting for her outside her room. He was sitting on one of the nearby chairs in the hallway, his chin rested on his palm as his elbows rested on a drawing table, looking absent-mindedly at the floor. He was wearing a dark blue long sleeved polo with a matching tie and black vest that matched his pale skin perfectly.

Cerise remembered one time when Temmy picked her up from school when the Fowls visited Japan. Majority of the girls who saw him thought he was a real version of the vampires they've read in various novels. Almost every girl in school tired to catch his attention and some were even bold enough to talk to him. However, like his brother Riley, Temmy didn't give them much attention and most of the girls who talked to him either run away disappointed or crying.

"You know," Cerise began, "You're going to bore holes on the floor if you kept on staring at it like that."

Temmy immediately looked up, stared at her for a complete five seconds before looking away, and mumbled something incoherently.

Cerise looked at him curiously, "Did you say something?"

"Finally you manage to detach your self from the mirror," Temmy said mockingly, "Did it crack?"

Cerise frowned and slapped him playfully on the arm, making Temmy laugh a little but Cerise can see through that mask of fake emotion.

"Don't tell me you're still troubled?" Cerise asked as they started walking down the hallway.

For a moment, Temmy didn't answer. Cerise was about to say something before the uncomfortable silence gets too long when Temmy beat her to it.

"You look good by the way," Temmy said in his usual teasing tone.

"Ugh, I hate it when you do that. Why can't you be serious when I'm serious?"

"I am serious," he answered with a smile. Cerise could only roll her eyes at that. Typical Artemis III.

"The Homagram ring is malfunctioning," Temmy said casually as if it's a common thing to say but they both knew that its not. In fact, it is bad news, if they want to keep Temmy's secret that bad. Specially invented for the Fowl kids the Homagram ring allows them to hide their extra ordinary build up and to keep their abilities in control.

"How - ?"

"I…don't know. But I believe it has something to do with the change of time stream. The ring's power source depends on some future materials,"

"Does Master Artemis know?"

Temmy gave a nod, "Let's just hope it last long enough so I wont expose myself at dinner,"

-o-o-o-0-o-o-o-

Artemis Fowl II waited at the foot of the grand staircase for a certain female elf. Butler offered to usher Minerva to the dinner hall leaving Artemis to usher the female captain. As usual he is wearing one of his best suits. Though his mind is swarming with various thoughts, most of them focused on Temmy's situation, his face showed no emotion.

After a few minutes he heard the click-clack sound of a pair of high heels on the marble floor, making him look up to the source. No doubt, the person descending from the stair is Holly Short but her human appearance gave her a new physical look.

Foaly made a device that can temporarily change Holly's elfish features to human features. One notable change is her once pointed ears are now round. She also grew a little taller than her usual height and her physical structure is like that of a normal teenage girl. Also because of the device, her hair grew a little longer than before; reaching the middle of her back and her skin is paler than usual though it's still a little dark compared to Artemis' own complexion.

Artemis suddenly felt an uneasy feeling inside him as his heart seems to beat faster than before. He didn't even notice his mouth hung slightly open as he watched her.

"Keep your mouth shut Mudboy before something flies in there," Holly snapped

That reeled Artemis back to reality. He cleared his throat; mentally slapping himself for acting like that; after all, Holly is his friend. With his heart still beating faster than ever, he met Holly at the middle of the stairs and offered his arm like a gentleman. Holly rolled her eyes at the action but took his arm anyways.

"You seemed tensed Captain," Artemis commented after Holly gripped his arm tighter than he expected.

"Who wouldn't be? And where did all the formality come from?" Holly answered back quickly

"Holly, it's just an ordinary dinner. There is nothing to be tensed about," Artemis said reassuringly

"Artemis, your whole family will be there. Who wouldn't be tensed?" Holly hissed as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"We're not that bad," someone answered before Artemis could.

Both Artemis and Holly turned around just in time to see Temmy descend the stairs, one hand on the brandisher while the other inside his pocket. He was looking at someone behind him with an amused smile on his face.

"Oh they are not bad but you are," a female voice answered

"Prove it," he answered back and began going down the stairs again. It's only then did he realize that his father and his companion are standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking at him.

Temmy stopped in his tracks and blinked trice.

"You're as bad as any criminal - " Cerise stopped her rant when she saw Temmy's expression then followed his gaze. When she saw whom Temmy is staring at, she immediately closed her mouth and ducked her head.

Cerise went to Temmy and whispered something to him, which made the young Fowl grimace. The together they started going down the stairs. Knowing how awkward this is for both of the Fowls, Cerise prayed and hoped that somehow things wont end up bad.

"I'm terribly sorry about that," Cerise apologized when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Temmy gave a fake cough and looked away, not meeting his father's eyes or his companion's.

"Holly I would like you to meet Timothy and Cerise," Artemis said introducing the two time travelers to the elfin captain, "And this is my friend Holly Short,"

"A pleasure to meet you Miss Holly," Cerise said on Temmy's behalf knowing that the boy wont say a word.

"You can just call me Holly,"

Before they experience a deafening and awkward silence, Artemis II cleared his throat and offered, "Shall we proceed to the dinning hall then?"

Temmy gave his father a grateful look, "Oh yes. They must be waiting for us already," he said with a nod and nearly dragged Cerise all the way to the dinning room just to stay away from his father. He didn't even wait for them.

But when Temmy and Cerise arrived at the dinning hall, after a good five minutes of brisk walking, they came a little too early. Juliet just finished lighting up the candles while Minerva was standing behind a chair, watching Juliet with a slightly amused expression. Butler, on the other hand, just came out from the kitchen with two high chairs and placed them at the table.

"Good Evening," Cerise greeted

"Same to you," Juliet answered with a smile, "I thought you'll never leave your room."

"You might want to check your mirror later Miss Juliet, in case it has some cracks on it due to Cerise long hours of staring and fusing in front of it," Temmy teased the same moment Artemis and Holly arrived at the dinning room. Cerise automatically gave a slap on Temmy's arm, making Juliet giggle.

"Good Evening," Minerva greeted with a sweet smile, "It's been a while since I saw you Miss Short,"

"The same goes with you Minerva," Holly answered with a smile - an elf's genuine fake smile.

This must be the time when Holly and Miss Minerva are still not in good terms with each other, Temmy thought as he recalled the story about how Minerva discovered the existence of the People and how she wanted to experiment on No. 1.

"Where are Mother and Father? I thought they should be here by now," Artemis asked, casually looking at his watch, "I'm perfectly sure they have finished preparing awhile ago,"

"Oh, they're done preparing but those two angels are quite a hand full," Juliet answered

"Angels?" Holly and Cerise repeated at the same time.

"Oh right," Artemis muttered, "The twins"

Holly gave an amused expression at that. This is the first time she'll meet the younger members of the Fowl family. Artemis often complains about his brothers whenever he and Holly have the time to chat. He once said that one of his brothers ate his pet hamster while the other contaminated one of his Petri dishes. There was also a time when they spluttered him with paint when he refused to join them in finger painting. It would be interesting to meet two of the only few persons who can piss Artemis and gets away with it. And as if on cue, Artemis' twin brothers ran in the room and tackled their older brother as Artemis Senior and Angeline Fowl came in. Seeing Artemis being strangled by his brothers made Holly giggle.

This is surely a rare sight to see and she was sure Foaly would love to see and eventually tease the boy genius about this.

"Boys, how many times must I tell you to never tackle your brother when we have guests?" Angeline said, half-laughing.

At their mother's reminder, the twins immediately let go of their brother and went to sit on the high chairs as Butler offered a hand, helping his charge to stand up while the young Fowl brushed some imaginary dust out of his suit.

"Mother - "

"Arty, how many times must I repeat it?"

"Mom…Dad…" Artemis said as if forcing his tongue to say those words making Holly smirk, "May I introduce to you my friend Holly Short,"

At the name, Angeline Fowl beamed happily and gave the elf a tight embrace, "It's nice to finally meet you at last, my dear. You are very much welcome in our family Holly"

Temmy raised an eyebrow on that knowing that his grandmother already met the young captain in person. But then again, it must be a façade since Artemis Senior still doesn't know about the fairy people.

Then Artemis Senior shook Holly's hand in acknowledgement, "Arty told us so much about you Miss Holly. An interesting young lady he says. It's a pleasure to finally meet you,"

Temmy glanced at his father and if Artemis manages to hide his blush when he introduced Minerva to his parents, this time, he having a hard time in doing so; earning a few smirks from most of the Butlers while Temmy and Minerva gave no initial reaction. But Temmy knew that there is a small hint of jealousy in Minerva's eyes.

-o-o-o-0-o-o-o-

Dinner was as awkward as its going to get. Everyone is locked in a conversation. Artemis Senior and Butler are sharing their point of views on some political policy in various nations and every now and then Artemis II would join their conversation. Minerva is doing well sharing stories with Mrs. Fowl while the latter listened and occasionally tends the twins. Juliet and Holly are also having a good time catching up since it's the first time to see each other in years. Temmy and Cerise are contented in blending with the background, especially when Artemis Senior asked how Artemis Junior and Holly met. Of course, since Artemis Senior didn't know about the fairy race Holly had to improvise when she answered, telling him that she and Artemis Junior met in a conference years ago.

"What did he say to you?" Artemis Senior asked

"He gave me a lecture about biochemistry then after that, he asked my name," the female captain answered with a smile, "It really feels weird because he gave me a long lecture but he doesn't know me,"

"Well you don't have to elaborate it," Artemis II answered

Dinner went smoothly for the two time travelers but then fate decided that something must happen…

"So Timothy, am I correct?" Angeline inquired

"Yes ma'am," Temmy answered politely

"This is the first time Arty brought a classmate, how long have you been friends?"

Though the question is a simple one, it caught everyone's attention.

"As I heard," Temmy answered with a smile then caught his father's eyes, then proceeded in answering the question, "We've been friends for quite some time now,"

"Come to think of it, you haven't told us much about yourself Timothy," Artemis Senior said

Temmy gave a sheepish smile, "There's not much to tell,"

"Of course there must be something. Where are you from?" Artemis Senior asked

Temmy recalled the surname he said, "We live in Denmark. My mother is Danish but my father is Russian,"

"So how did you and Arty meet?" Angeline asked

"Oh…" that was a little unexpected. Since he is on his own on this one, he just said the first thing he could think of that he and his father have in common

"Horseback riding," Temmy answered, mentally slapping himself. Artemis II raised his eyebrows slightly, "We came across a topic about horse breeds in a biology group project. That's how I learned that he's a horseback rider."

"You are?" Holly asked

"I remembered Artemis telling me that he started horseback riding a few years ago, am I right?" Minerva said

"Yes, quite right." Artemis II answered showing no signs to elaborate.

"Maybe you can give your guests a tour outside tomorrow," Angeline suggested

"Of course Moth - Mom,"

"Mommy? Can we come with big brother Arty tomorrow when he visits the horses?" Myles asked. The twins always loved it whenever Artemis takes them to the stables to visit the horses.

"Please?" Beckett seconded

"Why don't you ask your brother?" Angeline said

Then both of the twins gave their brother a puppy dog look and said, "PLEASE!"

That was enough to make the others laugh, especially Holly. After quite sometime, Artemis eventually let out a sigh, rubbing his temples, "As long as you do as your told,"

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