Epilogue

Life sure was weird. With Artemis now living down in Haven having somehow managed to extend his life in some complicated way that I don't understand and the rest of the People wondering what the devious twenty five year old would do next, I was stuck in the unfortunate spotlight of the media. Blame Artemis. When he said 'I know' after I told him that his 'elf kissing days' were over, he was still stubborn enough to invent something to prove me wrong. If I didn't love him to death, I would have thrown him off the Cliffs of Dover years ago.

It's hard to believe how fast things went after that, I turned ninety three and the next thing I know, he's on one knee asking me to be his forever. I would like to say that I had said 'yes' straight away and we lived happily ever after… but to tell the truth, I slapped him. Hard. I was shocked OK. I mean, we had only been dating ten years, and that's a very short time for a fairy. But after I got over my initial shock, I said yes and we began the unbelievable plans for a wedding.

Now there's one thing that you need to know about the People before you ask one of them to marry you and that's the fact that our weddings aren't at all like human weddings. I mean, we don't even have rings. We switch acorns, the best acorn we can find to be exact and then we bury them under the earth simultaneously; hands intertwined as we are refilled with magic. Some guest then reads the passages on marriage and magic from The Book and then the warlock announces that we are married.

The problem is, once you are engaged, you need to go up to the surface more often to find an acorn and then you have to try to keep it fresh for the wedding. Or, as I found out after my own wedding, you could just ask someone on the surface to do it for you. Artemis of course, was doing most of the planning as he knew of the best spots and was able to predict the weather being the genius that he is. So I was left trying to find the perfect dress and bridesmaids. I had already decided that my friend, Jessica, the second female in recon and Trouble's fiancé, and Juliet should as they have both on numerous occasions saved my life.

I was thinking of a midnight blue for my dress, a straight satiny fabric and a lime green for the bridesmaids as the two colours really work together and both the blonde and brunette bridesmaids looked stunning in it.

Artemis had asked Butler to be his best man, but was declined, his old bodyguard was getting old and wasn't sure that he should be anymore than a guest. So instead, with the twins with other important jobs and No.1 as the warlock priest, Artemis was left with his only remaining male friend, Foaly (besides Mulch), who was absolutely delighted to be included in the bridal party.

"Oh my gods!" squealed Lili Frond, twirling me round. "You look amazing!" I still can't remember why I let her come and help me with my hair and makeup, though I vaguely remember her insulting my popularity and NOBODY insults my popularity; especially not Miss Popularity herself.

"Yeah," Juliet agreed. "You look absolutely stunning. I think it was the green eye shadow." I rolled my eyes, ten years after she forced me to wear it on my first date and she still brings it up.

"Now," Jessica said, directing me away from the mirror. "Time for us to go to the oak tree to meet your human." I grinned.

"Not human," I corrected. "I don't think that he really counts as a one anymore now he has magic and can live as long as we can." One side affect of his change had been his height. If we were living on the surface, it may have been a problem. But we weren't, so he blended in perfectly. He was still taller than me, but not by much and that was some consolation.

It was a few minutes after midnight when we arrived at the oak tree. The service had started and I was ordered by Mulch (the usher) to hide behind its large trunk before I made my entrance. Jessica and Juliet were adjusting my hair and attempting to keep the midnight blue edge of my dress off the ground. I listened to No.1 introduce himself to the small audience. I'm glad that Artemis didn't want a big white wedding with all his friends. All I wanted was his family and a few of our friends to be there. I heard Angeline sniffling happily; obviously watching her son who I assumed looked absolutely amazing.

"And now," No.1 said. "The Bride!" I took a deep breath. Juliet and Jessica walked around the oak tree and began their way down the small aisle as a fairy wedding march began to play. I counted to fifteen and began walking. Artemis Senior linked arms with me as I came round the oak tree, but I didn't really notice. Artemis was standing with his hands behind his back, looking cool and composed; though, after knowing him for more than fifteen years, I could tell that he was really very nervous, and that helped me get over my own nervousness. I straightened up and smiled at my soon-to-be father in law. He smiled reassuringly back, obviously understanding my nerves. Once we reached the tiny altar made from a fallen tree trunk, Artemis senior handed me over to Artemis, who clasped my clammy hand in his stronger- yet shaking-one. He looked down at me, a slight smile pulling at his lips. I grinned back, hoping it looked somewhat reassuring. We turned to look at No.1 who was watching us expectantly.

"Alright," he said once we had settled. "First I would like to welcome up Myles Fowl who is going to read a passage from The Book." Myles, who was now twelve-nearly-thirteen, strode up to the lectern.

"The Booke of the People," he read. "Page eighty four on the verses of Magic." He cleared his throat.

"From the earth thine power flows

Given through courtesy so thanks are owed

Pluck thou the magic seed

Where full moon, ancient oak and twisted waters meet

And bury it far from where it was found

So return your gift into the ground." He grinned briefly at Artemis and me and sat back down beside his twin brother.

"Thank you, Myles," No.1 said. "Now I will invite Artemis Fowl the second to read the passage on marriage." I was surprised. I had assumed that Beckett would be reading the passage, not Artemis. He squeezed my hand and walked to the lectern.

"The verse on marriage is from the Book of the People, page one hundred and thirty." Artemis rolled his shoulders.

"Marriage is thou connection with whom you love

Because thou will be tied with him, not free like the dove.

Thou must remember the laws, which are three

The first is to bury the acorn near the oak tree.

The second is to promise him that thou will stick to these laws.

The third: thou are bonded with him until thee are no more."

Artemis's smile didn't quite reach his eyes as he made his way back to stand beside me. I still hadn't got over my surprise at his reading. It was very unusual for the groom in a fairy wedding to read.

"Artemis. Holly," No.1 said. "I will now ask you to bury the acorns."

Beckett strode forward with the acorns on a pillow. He stood in front of us as we passed each other the acorns we had chosen for one another. No vows were needed at a fairy wedding as sometimes words on such matters were hard to express. Beckett sat back down by his brother, but not before he tripped over his loafers, nearly falling to the ground. I stifled a giggle and Artemis's eyes glinted amusedly as a quiet chuckle went through the congregation. The laughter finally subsided as Beckett glared at them all menacingly.

"Adhlacadh," No.1 said in Gnommish.

'The burial', I thought. What a thing to say at a wedding, no wonder he said it in Gnommish. Artemis took my other hand, the acorns now clasped between our fingers. We both knelt down, still facing each other. Artemis gently let go of my hands and drilled two holes in the ground with his finger. He put his acorn into one hole while I put mine into the other. I knew what came next, but I hadn't really thought about it. In order for us to be connected and the magic to flow through both of us simultaneously, we had to have a connection. Artemis didn't know of this, so I pulled him to me and placed a kiss on his lips. He groaned into my mouth as my tongue explored his mouth. I vaguely sensed the magic pulsating through both of us and the cheering from the congregation, but I kept myself focused on Artemis; it was our moment and nobody was going to take it away from us. Finally the magic dissipated and we broke apart, finding the guests once again quiet as No.1 placed a hand on each of our shoulders.

"I now pronounce you…" Both hand holders were amused. We both chuckled as No.1 finished his joke. "Man and elf." He grinned at us like a lunatic and looked at Artemis. "You may kiss the bride."

"No need to say it twice," Artemis said as he took my face in his palms and began kissing the life out of me.

While I was being devoured by my husband, I swore that I saw a small furry animal out of the corner of my eye. I cranked my head up, breaking apart from Artemis as I looked around.

"Holly?" Artemis whispered. I frowned as the animal seemed to have disappeared.

"It's nothing," I said, 'I thought I saw something."

Artemis looked at me worriedly before we were both pulled to our feet by Juliet and given hugs all round. I wished that I had had a camera on me as I watched Artemis getting hugged by his mother, he made choking sounds…then I thought that it was probably best that I didn't have a camera as I was given the same rib-crushing hug seconds later.

"Welcome to the family!" Angeline exclaimed proudly. I tried to smile through my pain but ended up grimacing instead.

"Angeline," I choked. "Can you please..?" Angeline quickly allowed me to breathe.

"Sorry dear," she said. "I'm just so happy that you are finally part of the family."

"Ditto," I replied.

Artemis turned and smiled at me, putting out his arm for me to take.

"Shall we?" he asked. I smiled, taking his arm.

"We shall."

And at the risk of sounding clichéd, we lived happily, ever after.

And there we are, the final chapter. Thank you everyone who has reviewed this story, you've all kept me going when I got bored and have made me a much better writer. If you go back to the first two chapters, you'll see how much I have improved.

Anyway...for those Percy Jackson fans, Rick Riordan has written a new book, The Red Pyramid which is about Egyptian gods, which is really good. But he has also written a sequel to the Percy Jackson series called 'The Lost Hero' and the first chapter is up on its site wwwDOTcamphalfbloodDOTcom the password is newhero. No spaces and no caps. And that unlocks the first two chapters, which are really good. Enjoy.

I lost the game!

-Captain Short