Oh my... has it really been that long? I'm so sorry! Anyone who wants to know the long list of excuses, they're at the bottom. For now, here's the next, long-delayed chapter
Artemis felt recovered enough to go to dinner at 8 o'clock. Butler was already in the room, but not eating. As soon as the boy entered he hurried over, checking him for injuries and asking complicated questions. Artemis sighed and pulled away.
"I am fine, Butler. Thanks to Holly."
"Actually, it was Edan who jumped in after you," Trouble interrupted from his place at the table. Artemis sat down next to the elf, wearing a strange expression. He didn't much want to like Edan, but it was getting harder not to. He shook himself and looked around the hall. Terran and Caitir were seated at the other table, deep in conversation. There was no sign of Holly, Edan, or Kelby.
"Where are the others?" he asked, picking at the stew Butler placed in front of him.
Trouble shrugged. "They'll be here in a few minutes I suppose," he said unhelpfully. His words were proved partly true when, five minutes later, Edan walked through the black door. Instead of getting food, the elf made his way over to Artemis.
"Are you alright?"
Artemis nodded and thanked him. He shrugged.
"It's no big deal. I spoke to the Guardian; Kelby will still tutor you, but there will always be somebody else in there with you. Most likely myself and Holly, but the others will also take turns."
Artemis nodded. He was being babysat, but if it stopped him getting killed then his ego wouldn't suffer too much. Besides, Holly training with him couldn't be a bad thing.
"Where is Holly?" he asked, only now noticing that she hadn't come in with Edan. The elf shrugged.
"We stopped practice early; I haven't seen her since."
Artemis got the distinct feeling Edan wasn't quite being truthful, but didn't pursue it as the elf walked away. Trouble frowned at him.
"Where's she got to?"
Another ten minutes passed, and Holly still didn't put in an appearance. All three men got more and more worried, until Trouble finally pushed his plate away and stood.
"I'm going to find her," he declared, prompting the other two to stand also. They left the room together, going first to her room. Trouble knocked several times, but got no answer. He opened the door and peered around inside, just to double-check, but the room was empty. He shrugged. "Somewhere else then."
They emerged back onto the main corridor, Trouble employing the same searching technique as Edan had earlier. He shrugged at the raised eyebrows Butler was shooting him.
"Caitir told me about it," he mumbled, returning to his search. Finally he found a door with a black rim around the glass and stepped closer, pushing it open a little. The Guardian's voice floated into the corridor, punctuated occasionally by Kelby's sullen tones. Artemis leaned forward and tugged the door shut.
"I doubt she's in there."
They continued up the corridor, finding the last door on the left to be the only other room occupied. None of them had yet been in this room, so they had no idea what to expect when they pushed the door open. As one, all three men let out a soft 'wow'.
The 'room' was the biggest one in the place, with snow-capped mountains visible in the distance and, closer, a small copse of trees to their right as well as a field with a small tributary running through it on the left. There was no sign of Holly, but with the expanse of the room that was hardly surprising.
Trouble cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered her name as loud as he could. There was a muted reply from the copse, but it could as easily have been a bird as an elf. There was no distinction to the sound. Still, it was something. The three headed towards it, realising as they approached that it was quite a bit larger than they had anticipated. Still, this room was obviously used a fair amount, because there were four paths weaving through the trees, though one looked too small to be a fairy-made trail. Probably that of a small animal – were there animals in this room? Artemis vowed to check with somebody later. He coughed to draw the attention of the others.
"We should take one path each. We have a better chance of finding her that way."
Trouble rolled his eyes. "Or we could call again." He did so but got no reply, then swore softly and sighed. "Alright, Fowl. We meet back here in ten minutes."
He took the path nearest him, leaving Butler staring at Artemis. The boy sighed.
"I will be fine alone, Butler. So long as I stick to the path, I cannot get lost."
The manservant reluctantly agreed, taking the middle path. Artemis watched until his companions were out of sight before proceeding down the remaining viable path. He walked for about three minutes, getting deeper into the tree cover before he heard something that made him falter. Twittering, like a bird singing, accompanied by a more human voice – Holly, talking to the animals. He took another few steps forward and emerged into a small clearing, really just a widening of the path he was on. He stopped dead. Holly was seated on a fallen tree, surrounded by an assortment of brightly coloured birds, all of whom were twittering at her. She was smiling, and listening to the cacophony as though it made sense. Artemis cleared his throat.
She looked up and smiled softly at him, beckoning for him to come closer. He did so, picking his way carefully among the birds until he was at her side. He would have sat down, but small feathery creatures covered the log. Holly chirruped at them, and they turned to stare at him. It was rather unnerving to be glared at by maybe twenty small birds, but their attention didn't last long. Holly made another noise, and they shifted to leave a space alongside her on the tree, just big enough for him to sit down. He did so, and a tiny purple-feathered bird immediately landed on his head, singing at the top of its voice. Holly laughed. Artemis froze, not daring to move in case it upset the bird. He didn't want to be pecked. Holly lifted her arm, and the miniscule creature transferred to her hand, preening its feathers and looking, Artemis thought, rather smug. It was the only bird actually touching Holly, maybe that's what it was.
Holly listened intently to its song, as did many of the other birds. When it was done, she smiled at it and kissed its head gently. It chirruped again and hopped from her finger to her shoulder, settling and looking quite comfortable. Artemis shook his head incredulously.
"How do you do that?"
Holly looked at him. "Do what?"
"Charm the birds out of the trees."
She shrugged, causing the purple bird to chirp in alarm. She trilled an apology, and it curled itself back up by her neck. Some of the other birds gathered around returned to the trees while the others moved closer; Artemis had never seen birds act like this before, and wasn't entirely comfortable with it. It was creepy, but Holly seemed perfectly at ease. She held the arm that didn't have a bird at the shoulder out, and another small creature flapped onto her hand, this one yellow. She held it out towards Artemis.
"Go on. They won't hurt you."
The bird glared at him. Artemis swallowed.
"I'm alright, thanks."
Holly shrugged again and, ignoring the purple bird's protests, removed both creatures from her person. They flew away dejectedly, followed by the crowd gathered at her feet. Within seconds, there was no sign that there were any animals living here at all; for all their bright colours, they were very good at vanishing. Unnerved, the boy turned back to face Holly.
"What was all that about?"
Holly shrugged. "They just sort of gathered when I sat down. Animals are good at sensing when people don't feel right, and they like elves."
"What's wrong?"
She exhaled sharply and closed her eyes, leaning back against the tree behind her. Artemis would have imitated her posture, but there was nothing behind him – falling on his backside would be undignified. Instead he leaned forwards, closer to her than he had been in a while.
"Tell me. Maybe I can help."
She cracked open one eyelid incredulously.
"Artemis Fowl wants to know about my problems? Is this some attempt to psychoanalyse me?"
He shook his head, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.
"You missed dinner, and you are sitting alone in the middle of a forest, surrounded by rather strange birds. It doesn't take a genius to know that something is wrong, Holly. I could work out from other sources what it is, but it will be much quicker and easier for you to just tell me yourself. The end result is the same, after all."
She opened both eyes now and looked him in the eye, debating what to tell him. Eventually she spoke, her tone making it clear that she was uncertain this was the right thing to be doing.
"It's...complicated. You probably don't want to hear it."
Artemis raised one eyebrow at her. She huffed and turned her head away from him, looking at the lowest branch of a nearby tree. The tiny purple bird that had made itself at home on her neck was sitting there, watching the pair intently. She spoke to the bird rather than to the human; it felt less like a confession.
"Edan kissed me."
Artemis felt his heart skip a beat. She was right; he was the last person she should be telling this to. He opened his mouth to tell her so, but no sound came out. She didn't see his reaction, and continued in the same half-embarrassed tone.
"I was telling him about Coral, and he..."
She stopped, self-conscious, and turned back to face him. The look on his face made her own embarrassment almost worth it. A smile twitched at the edges of her lips.
"I told you, you didn't want to know."
Artemis nodded.
"Next time I'll believe you," he deadpanned. He shook the images from his head, scolding himself for allowing them to form, and stood, brushing leaves and feathers from his hair and clothes.
"Now that we can move without danger of squashing several small birds, I suggest we find the others. This way."
She stood also and followed him down the path in silence. Artemis stood it for about a minute, then he cracked.
"What did you do?" he demanded, hoping that her answer involved violence and then wondering why he hoped that. His disturbing thoughts were interrupted by her answer.
"I left and came here. I've been here for a while, talking to the birds."
He turned to look at her, his eyes narrowed.
"Really, must you gather followers?" he asked, pointing behind her. She frowned and turned; the little purple bird had followed them down the path and sat on a low branch some five feet away. It saw her look at it, and chirped happily. She shook her head and replied; the bird's wings drooped. Artemis watched the exchange with something bordering on fascination.
"What are you saying?"
"He wants to come with me."
Artemis rolled his eyes.
"I hope you told it no?"
Not bothering to reply, she overtook him and was at the place where the paths coalesced long before him, explaining where she had been to Trouble and Butler, who were already there. Artemis arrived in time to hear most of the conversation, and noticed that she avoided mentioning Edan altogether. He leaned against a tree while the three talked, Trouble scolding her for wandering off. Holly crossed her arms.
"I'm in no danger here, Trubs. It's not like I'm going to disappear; don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."
At which point she was dive-bombed by a small, feathery something. She pulled the bird out of her top and sat it in her hand, where it chirruped somewhat dazedly at her. She sighed and put it down on a rock, twittering something which Artemis assumed meant 'stay there'. Trouble's eyes widened. Butler looked from Holly to the little purple fluff ball, bemused.
"Did that bird just attack you?"
Trouble answered, unsure whether to laugh or not.
"Not exactly – it was trying to follow her. You've made a new friend, Holly!"
"Shut up," she snapped, turning on her heel and leaving the copse. She was at the door by the time the other three caught up to her. Mercifully, the bird didn't emerge from the trees. Trouble had by now decided that the whole thing was rather funny, and twittered at her in birdsong. She answered him in Gnommish, expanding Artemis's vocabulary with quite a few choice words. Trouble laughed.
"Is that any way to talk to your Commander?"
She smiled at him sweetly. Artemis felt the sudden impulse to run for cover.
"You're not Commander here, Trubs."
She opened the door and left. Artemis was wary of following; he had expected far worse than that. Trouble seemed to be thinking in the same vein. In the end it was Butler who followed her into the corridor first, muttering about overreactions. Trouble was the last one to leave, cursing the fact that his room didn't have a lock. Artemis watched as the Commander disappeared into his room, and smirked. For once, it wasn't him that Holly was mad at.
Ok. So, I'll do everything else down here. Firstly, disclaimer; I own nothing. Never have, never will. Second, it's thanks to three people that this chapter is out as soon as it is, and none of them are me. Firstly, Tammerly, who bugged me until I updated. Seriously, do it guys, throw PMs at me. It works, I update faster. Also, RLD, who is the best and most patient beta in the history of fanfics. Finally, Ru55el. You know what you did, and I can't thank you enough. Chapter dedicated to all three of you.
Now, the 'what-the-hell-was-that-about?' bit. Yeah, this is kind of filler, but it will be important later, I promise. I'm also aware that I promised swimming lessons and paired trianing sessions. Change of plans; that'll next chapter. Along with more of the A/H/E triangle.
Warning readers: here be the lame excuses for my lack of updates.
1) My muse flew away to someplace hot about five weeks ago, and only saw fit to return recently.
2) I moved to Uni two weeks ago, and I'm still settling in. Lectures are killing me, as is freshers flu and a bout of homesickness.
3) I had no internet access for about three days, and in that time I managed to lose the only copy of the half-finished original version of this chapter. Sorry.
4) I totally forgot. And now I'm out of excuses.
Like I said, feel free to pester me for updates, and also please review. I know I don't deserve it, but pretty please? *puppy-dog eyes*
Thanks so much for reading the chapter and suffering through this (very long-winded) author note.
Liris
xxx
