Holly Short's Diary

Perhaps it is best this way. I've been working almost non-stop for years. Three hundred sixty five days isn't all that long. And plus, at least I'll get to see Artemis. I'm not sure still how I truly feel about him, but the way he looks at me is too wonderful. I admit, sometimes I look at him the same way.

In fact, all Holly thought about was Artemis, and occasionally Haven. She missed her home tremendously, but it wasn't so bad in the Fowl Manor. Every morning when she woke up she would sneak out the window into Angelina's fabulous garden. Most of her time was spent there, and most of Artemis's time was spent there as well. She had only been there two weeks, but she was already forgetting about her homesickness.

"Hello Holly," Artemis was walking the stone pathway to marble bench she was sitting on.

"Oh, Arty," she twisted around "Hey" she was expecting some light chat about the scientific nature of some long lost type of citrus, or the fairy technologies that Artemis was so interested in (she didn't enjoy the topic too much, she never really cared about how it worked just as long as it did) But Artemis surprised her by sitting, admittedly, uncomfortably close.

"I wanted to talk about us." He confessed.

"Us as in…" she prompted

"Us as in love" His lips formed the word love correctly but it sounded odd to Holly.

"Are you regretting?" She stared into the garden with an icy eye. She had begun building up a wall around that tiny detail that seemed to be revealing itself all too often now; she had never fallen into love. Sure, she tested the waters as a teen, and she even slipped a few times. But now she knew the difference. She had fallen, hard.

Holly blocked out the emotion and removed the idea of "love" from her head completely. Two weeks without mention of them as a couple, they had chatted as if nothing had changed between the two, and Holly had started to think that nothing had indeed changed. That's why Artemis's next words came as such a shock.

"How could I regret the truth? I thought at first, that all this could be the product of desperate times and hormones. Though, I realized, I had not simply stepped into love," Why won't he say it right? Holly thought with frustration "I have, inadvertently, fallen in love with you"

Those were the words that unlocked her. Every emotion she had held back over the years spilled out as tears. She sobbed into her hands. Artemis was afraid that would happen. He had written enough romance stories to know what to do. He did know what to do but he couldn't do it. Artemis placed his hand on her back and let her cry. The LEP won't take her back at all if they find out a few words could do this to her…

After her tears had run dry she sat up at Artemis, she couldn't believe she was throwing away what could have been the only true love she would ever have. Holly didn't see how they could be a couple. Human and Fairy marriage laws were completely different. They could never be wed, ever. But perhaps just knowing that they would always have each other would be enough?

"Artemis? You don't really think this could work do you?" she chocked out the sentence because she knew the answer.

"Technically, it would work, physically, it would work, but I'm afraid in reality; you'll still be alive and well when I'm dead. You need someone you can have for a lifetime, I can't be that person." It was all true, Holly had never despised the truth as much as she did now. He might not live as long as she would but who knew what his magic would allow him to do? Maybe, it would extend his life too...

"Yes, as always, you're right," she sagged "but that doesn't mean we can't love each other now. And don't you think your magic will keep you alive longer?" Holly stroked his face but he gently pushed it away.

"I suppose it might. Though a Mud Man and an elf shouldn't be in love, I realize you might never find another elf you love" I don't want you to "but we only have a year, after that we may never see each other again." Holly looked down at her hands for a moment then at Artemis. She had a challenging look in her eyes.

"A year's enough" Artemis couldn't help himself anymore, he touched her auburn hair and said it again.

"I do love you Holly" Holly almost laughed I do, he said I do! She thought so loudly she could have sworn he could hear it. Although she said something very different, she had heard him saw "love" again, as if he had never said the word before.

"Why won't you say it right?" Artemis was taken aback

"What? Say what right?" Holly paused, and whispered "love" like it was a terrible curse word. Artemis cocked an eyebrow at her,

"I'll say it right if you do." She hadn't noticed that she was saying "love" differently then usual, but as she thought about it, she had thought hard before saying it any time she did. She cleared her throat go for sincerity; don't think about the fact that it's so wrong, let the word just slip out.

"Artemis Fowl, I love you" she smiled. Your turn

"Holly Short," He paused longer then she would have liked. Then did something very surprising; he stood up and offered her his hand. They stood inches away.

"I love you"

Then, today, instead of kissing, they hugged each other. This was going to be a long year…