PLAYING THE GAME
She kissed him, and Artemis froze.
He thought, later, that it was a bit clumsy as far as kisses went, rushed and confused. Still it sent heat rushing through him from where her lips touched his. His mind screamed at him to pull away while his body had entirely different ideas, leaving him in an awkward state of inanimation. Her fingers on his neck were cool. Her lips were dry. She tasted like apples and honey.
Then she pulled away, dropping her hand and wriggling out from underneath him. In an instant they were both on their feet, staring at each other while somehow trying to avoid making eye contact.
"I'm sorry," she said in a rush, eyes flicking from his chest to the wall to her feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't- you- I mean-" She bit her lip and whirled away. "I'm sorry." She practically ran from the room, leaving him standing there feeling rather dazed.
After a long moment, he let out a breath and rubbed the back of his head. "What the bloody hell was that?"
Dinner was both a relief and a torment. A relief because his parents, brothers, and the Butler siblings made for familiar, welcome distraction from his racing thoughts. Even Viola's siblings began to open up and chat throughout the meal.
It was a torment because somehow, despite subtle efforts both made to avoid it, he and Viola ended up seated across from each other at the table. He could rarely look up from his dish without accidently meeting her eyes; they would both flush and look away, or she would turn to talk animatedly with Elizabeth and he would try to decipher Beckett's babble.
He couldn't get it out of his mind, the way her lips felt against his, the way she seemed to hold her breath an instant before they made contact, as though preparing to jump from a great height. For a moment he'd thought she'd merely been playing a game, crossing a line he wasn't planning to cross- but that wouldn't explain the way she'd reacted after, how flustered she'd been. She was the one who initiated it after all; it just didn't make sense.
He managed to focus long enough to hear Viola explain to his parents that Holly was going to be sending No1 to stay with them. His mother was glad to see the demon (she'd had a soft spot from him since his involvement with curing her of Spelltropy), and his father seemed interested in meeting him.
"No1 is a funny name," Beckett said sagely, breaking into the conversation.
"Don't be rude, Beckett," his mother told him, "and eat your peas."
He wrinkled his nose. "Peas are icky."
"Peas are icky, but treacle and espresso are a delight," Artemis muttered, ruffling his brother's hair.
Viola chuckled and he looked at her on reflex. He saw her cheeks darken and she looked down. He glanced away awkwardly, just in time to see Myles looking back and forth between them.
"You are acting strange," he said clearly, eyes fixed on Viola.
For a moment she froze, then she gave him a slightly puzzled smile. "Am I?"
He nodded. "You won't look at Artemis. Did you fight?"
Now the entire table's attention was on them. Artemis loved his brother, but in that moment he very slightly wished he'd never been born. "No, we didn't fight," he said calmly, determinedly not looking across the table.
"Then what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," Viola assured him. Her tone was perfectly casual; it would have fooled anyone, except a Fowl.
"You're lying."
"Myles, that's enough, love," Angeline said sternly. The child subsided, looking dissatisfied.
"Oh, you'll get used to him and his observations," Artemis Senior said jovially into the silence. He seemed to be talking to Viola's siblings. "Now, tell me again, where are you all from?"
Dinner was bearable after that, though it still seemed to drag on longer than the laws of physics should allow possible. Once excused, the teens headed for the stairs that led to their rooms in an awkward cluster. Somehow, Artemis and Viola ended up trapped in the middle. No one seemed much inclined to talk, so they all treaded down the hallway in painful silence. When they reached the door to Viola's room she disentangled herself from the group quickly, accidently brushing against his arm as he did so. He started slightly at the touch and hoped he wasn't blushing, feeling heat in his face.
"Well, night then," Viola said too quickly. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed her cheeks were just a little too pink.
"Good night as well," he said softly, slipping away to his room as the siblings each gave Viola a hug before letting her go. For a fraction of a second, his eyes met hers over Elizabeth's shoulders and their gazes held. Then she broke away from her sister and he closed the door, shutting out the rest of the world for a few blessed hours.
xXx
For the first night in a long, long time, Viola's usual nightmare did not come. She would have been thrilled under normal circumstances, and she was still rather relieved; unfortunately, the nightmare was replaced by hours tossing and turning, cursing herself for being an idiot and then spending far too much time thinking about the kiss in the attic. When she finally did fall asleep, thoughts of Artemis followed her. She couldn't remember the dreams, exactly- only that they were disjointed and confusing- but she remembered his eyes, the look of bewilderment in them the moment before she'd run away. And that other look, just before she kissed him- the look that sent a shiver down her spine and made her toes tingle.
"Damnit," she muttered when she woke from these strange half dreams the third time and realized it was actually morning. Great, now she had to get up and face him again. Maybe he'll forget, a tiny, hopeful voice suggested in the back of her mind. She snorted internally. Wouldn't that make things easier?
But why shouldn't it be easy? The thought came out of nowhere, and it surprised her. She paused in pulling her shirt over her head. You like him, he seems to like you- well enough, anyway. What's the problem? You know, boy meets girl, bla bla bla. It's actually pretty normal.
Right. Normal. She sighed and finished getting dressed. That's why it wasn't as simple as that; since when had she ever been normal?
"This is delicious," Lizzie declared over breakfast, swallowing a bite of omelet. "Who makes this food?"
"I do," Butler rumbled, completely monotone. Sam looked at him in surprised; Lizzie seemed too absorbed in eating to really care.
"I help," Juliet put in, elbowing her brother. "Don't think you can take all the credit."
"Well, it's amazing," Lizzie said, shoveling in another bite.
Viola laughed. "Slow down, jeez. You'll choke."
Her sister made a face at her and Viola chuckled; she looked like an angry chipmunk with her cheeks full of food. Evidently realizing this, Lizzie swallowed and complained, "I'm not a little kid, Vi."
"Yeah, then don't eat like one," Viola teased, nudging her. Liz pushed her back and the only thing that kept them degenerating into a shoving match was Connor saying tiredly, "Girls, manners."
Lizzie blushed and ducked her head. "Oh, right. Sorry Master Fowl, Madam Fowl."
"Angeline is fine," Artemis's mother said with a smile, daintily taking a bite of her own breakfast.
"So, what time is this demon guy getting here?" Sam suddenly piped up. His siblings looked at him and he shrugged. "Just wanted to know."
"Holly sent me a message this morning," Artemis said quietly. Viola felt her spine stiffen and had to force herself to relax. It was the first time he'd spoken since she'd taken her seat at the table, and up until that point she'd done a pretty good job of pretending he didn't exist. Now that she had to look at him, she felt her stomach jump nervously. Come on, pull it together.
Artemis, evidently, was not nearly as worked up as she was. He was his usual, cool and collected self when he told Sam, "No1 should be arriving in the early afternoon, so feel free to explore the house and grounds until he arrives."
"Really? Cool." Sam grinned.
"They could come see the horses," Myles offered.
"And Rosie and the puppies," Beckett chimed in. He looked at Viola, grinning. "You said you wanted to check on her, right?"
She laughed lightly, standing. "Okay, okay. Do you want to go now?"
Beckett's toothy grin widened even further and he scrambled out of his chair. As he raced over to her, Myles following, Viola looked to his parents and mouthed, This okay?
Artemis Senior smiled at her and nodded and she smiled back. Her siblings rose when she nodded toward the door and began to walk out.
"Artemis," Beckett said suddenly, turning to his still seated brother. "Do you want to come?"
Viola froze, then looked slowly back. Her eyes met icy blue ones, unfathomable as an ocean. "I don't think so, Beckett," he said easily, eyes never leaving her face. "You go on and have fun."
For a moment Viola wanted to tell him to come with them. She wanted to see that easy smile he had when his guard wasn't up, the contagious laugh she'd heard only twice. She wanted him to tell her more stories, about how he'd met Holly and Foaly, about- well anything. She just wanted to hear him talk. And she wanted him to tell her it was going to be okay again, to look at her the way he had in the attic, with total assurance.
And when she realized that was what she wanted she was terrified. So she stayed silent, letting her gaze drop from his and following the others out of the room.
After making sure Rosie was still steadily improving, Viola left the others to go see Shatan. Connor offered to come with her, but Lizzie stopped him. The sisters traded a look and Viola knew the other girl had realized she needed some time alone.
So she ended up in the stallion's stall, absently swiping a brush down his flank. "Maybe we'll be able to take you out for a run soon, now that you're all reformed," she told him, patting his withers.
He bobbed his head excitedly. He was let out into the paddock often enough, but he needed the freedom to really run, to heat his blood and combat the winter chill.
She smiled, putting down the brush and moving around to his head. "Would you let me ride you? Eventually?" she asked respectfully, digging in her pockets for the bits of carrot she'd grabbed from the kitchen.
He took them daintily from her hand, then nudged her chest with his nose. Of course. She was his herd, but he doubted she could keep up with him on her own two skinny legs. And no horse wanted to run alone.
"Yeah," she agreed, stroking his neck. "Most humans don't want to run alone either."
He tossed his head. Most? She didn't want to run alone either, no matter how much she pretended otherwise. He could tell.
She made a face. "Well, I'm not alone anymore. My herd is here now."
If it was possible for a horse to look droll, he did. Yes, her heard was here. But she needed more; she was a lead mare, down to her bones, in her blood. She needed a herd stallion.
She snorted, moving to pick up the brush again. "Please. The day I 'need' a stallion is the day I shoot myself. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
Shatan sighed. She didn't need a stallion to take care of her; she needed one for companionship. For the kind of togetherness a herd alone could not always be. He snorted, twisting around to nudge her side. Besides, in all likelihood, she'd be the one doing the caring for.
"Even if you're right," she said, pushing his head away, "and I'm not saying you are, how do you propose I go about finding this herd master, hm?"
Shatan neighed at her impatiently. She knew as well as he did; he could smell the human colt on her, the one with winter eyes.
Viola almost dropped the brush. "I-" she started, then trailed off. What was she supposed to do with that?
"Oh."
The voice made her start and whip around. She'd been so caught up in her conversation that she hadn't noticed the stable door opening.
"I- ahem. Sorry, I didn't realize-" Artemis stood in the aisle, looking in her direction but not exactly at her.
She swallowed, then said hurriedly, "No, I- I was just leaving." Shatan whinnied a protest and she shot him a glare.
"You don't have to-" Artemis began, then stopped. His face set in that expressionless mask. "Of course. Excuse me, Miss Sommers." He moved toward Breena's stall.
Viola felt her heart ache at the clear absence of her name. She put down the brush and slipped out of Shatan's stall. She heard, in a vague sort of way, Breena and Shatan complaining across the aisle to each other about how silly their humans were being. Really, all they needed was a push in the right direction…
Something planted itself firmly in her back and shoved her forward. "Wha-!?" she exclaimed, toppling toward the ground for the second time in as many days.
And, for the second time, Artemis caught her. Well, sort of. Shatan had shoved her forward with enough force that she mostly rocketed into him in an ungainly heap. She looked up at him, blushing furiously, and stammered, "S-sorry, I- that-"
"Why?"
xXx
Viola froze at his question, eyes locked on his. They were so close he actually felt her heartbeat stutter with nerves, though her face remained impassive. "Why what?" she asked, tone unreadable.
He shook his head. She knew. "Why?" he repeated, holding her eyes with his.
She opened her mouth, eyes narrowing slightly, and he expected some witty retort. But she said nothing. Slowly, she sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "I don't know." Her voice was almost strained, irritated, but not with him. Her hands rested on his upper arms from her attempt to steady herself as she fell; he felt her fingers clench spasmodically. "I just-" One side of her mouth curved up in a self-mocking smile. "I wanted to," she said quietly, eyes looking down and away.
For a long moment they just stood there in silence. Artemis felt like several thousand thoughts were all clamoring for his attention at once. But all he could seem to focus on was the slight flush to her cheeks, the sweep of her dark lashes against fair skin. Without his brain quite being informed, he dipped his head to press his lips to hers.
She tensed, surprised, and he hurriedly pulled away. "Ah- forgive me," he said quietly, letting his arms fall away from her and taking a step back. "I-"
She was looking at him, just looking, eyes dark and wondering. Before he could say anything else, she took a step forward to close the distance between them and looked up at him fiercely, arms wrapped around her torso.
"Why?" she demanded.
They stared at each other for an endless moment as he tried to identify an answer. Finally, he let out a sharp breath and admitted with and ironic half smile, "Because I wanted to."
She nodded sharply, eyes never leaving his face. "Good." Then she rose up slightly on her toes to kiss him again.
This kiss wasn't as rushed and awkward as the first, but he still wasn't quite sure what to do. Hesitantly, he reached up to cup her cheek, letting his thumb trace softly along her skin. Just as carefully, her arms went around his neck, almost as if she was afraid a suddenly movement would shatter them like glass.
After a long moment, they broke apart and stared at each other.
"Well." Artemis said eventually.
Viola nodded. "Yep." She popped the p.
Silence.
"So…" She seemed to realize she still had her arms around him and shuffled back awkwardly. He tried to step back as well and bumped into Breena's stall door.
"So." He agreed, rubbing the back of his neck.
More silence.
Slowly, a smile spread across her face. "Maybe we should, ah, head back? See how everyone's doing?"
He nodded firmly. "Yes. Of course." Thank goodness, something else to put his mind on.
"Right." They both started to move at the same time and bumped into each other.
"Oh, sorry-"
"Shoot, my fault-"
They stopped and stared at each other. Viola bit her lip, eyes dancing. Then she laughed, clear and bright. Artemis couldn't help it; he began to laugh too, shaking his head in bewilderment.
Artemis found that Viola's siblings were actually quite entertaining to be around. When he and Viola made their way to the kennel, the three teens were on the floor with his brothers, giggling as they were mauled by setter pups. He couldn't help smiling at the image.
A majority of the rest of the day he spent babysitting the twins while Viola caught up with her brothers and sister. All seven of them, by unspoken consent, ended up in the parlor. Elizabeth, Artemis, and Connor sat on the floor with the boys while Sam and Viola took the chaise. Every once in a while, he would glance up to meet Viola's eyes and she would blush prettily and look away and give him a fleeting smile.
It was strange; it seemed the awkward tension had eased between them to make way for a different kind of awkwardness. But…it wasn't exactly unpleasant.
"So, this No1- what exactly is he gonna do?" Sam asked, finally giving in to Elizabeth's coaxing and getting down on his knees on the floor.
Artemis stood. "Probably just a basic evaluation," he answered.
"And what exactly does that entail?" Viola asked. Myles was watching the conversation eagerly while Beckett hopped up next to Viola and handed her a plastic dinosaur.
"The green ones are the best," he explained solemnly. She grinned at him.
"Oh, of course."
Artemis shrugged in answer to her question. "I'm not entirely sure. It is possible for a warlock to gauge the abilities of other magic users, but I don't really know how that translates to all of you. As far as I know, you are the first recorded cases of humans with magic."
"So, after you guys figure all this out," Connor spoke up, "what happens? Are we gonna be in LEP custody?"
Elizabeth looked startled and Sam frowned at the idea. Viola's face remained calm, but Artemis saw her shoulders tense. He shook his head. "No, Holly and Foaly will work something out. You may be put under surveillance or something of the like though."
"Will they have to leave?"
They all looked at Myles, a bit surprised. The boy was sitting with a book on his lap, staring at them all intently.
Artemis blinked. For some reason, that thought had never crossed his mind.
"I- I don't know," Viola told the boy, sounding as though she'd never really thought about it either.
Beckett pouted. "I don't want you to go," he complained, staring up at her with wide eyes.
Artemis watched her smile and ruffle his hair and realized, Neither do I.
xXx
The demon arrived a few hours after lunch. Artemis's phone/communicator beeped and he told them all to wait in the room where Viola and the others had previously contacted Foaly, then went to fetch his friend.
"This is weird," Connor said softly as they all waited, twiddling their thumbs.
Viola snorted. He didn't know the half of it.
The door swung open and they all shot to their feet, not quite sure what to expect. Then Viola's eyes swung to the little creature that said cheerfully, "Hello!" and she had to exert effort to keep her jaw from dropping.
Whatever she had expected, it was not this. The word "demon" brought to mind a scaly beast with fangs and claws, perhaps enormous bat wings and glowing red eyes. No1 was…not. In fact, the best word she could think of for him was, well- cute.
"Ah, hello," she said when her sibling seemed unwilling to speak.
"I'm No1," the demon said with a smile, waddling towards her and holding out a hand to shake. She took it, baffled, and glanced over the creatures head to where Artemis was standing in the door. He seemed to be trying very hard not to laugh. She quirked an eyebrow at him, then addressed the demon again.
"I'm Viola," she said. Then, indicating the others in turn, "Sam, Connor, Liz. Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise," No1 chirped. Then he dropped her hand and took a step back, rubbing his palms together excitedly. "Now, let's get started, shall we?"
