Chapter Twenty-Five; Face to Face
"Holly," Artemis let out a sigh of relief, "What happened in there?"
"Long story," Holly grunted, rubbing some rubble off her arm.
"Do tell," she heard Foaly in her earpiece, "And while you're at it you can explain about your little adventure in Hybras."
Holly sighed. If Artemis had been standing beside her, she would have punched him, extra hard, for spilling the secret. She heard Foaly let out a sigh as well.
"Long story short," Holly muttered, "Griffin's have sharp claws." She heard a rather sharp intake of breath.
"That's impossible Holly," she heard Artemis say, "A griffin?"
"It's very possible," Holly replied, "You felt it, didn't you?"
"Yes," Artemis gulped, almost unsure of whether or not he should have answered.
"Is that why you totally lost it?" she questioned, "And is that why you spilled everything about Hybras?"
"That's not really the point Holly," Artemis said, sounding slightly exasperated, "And if we're going to get into interrogations perhaps you can answer as to why you had your equipment turned off."
Holly glared at the wall of the cave, picturing it to have Artemis' face. If there was not the possibility of hundreds of rocks crushing her, she would have shot at it. Instead, she answered the question.
"I didn't want to worry anyone," she said lamely.
"Oh, well that worked wonderfully," Artemis retorted, his voice full of sarcasm. Holly scowled. Artemis could be so intolerable.
"Look Holly," he continued, this time with more heart, "We were all worried about you and I did…lose it, I suppose. I'm sorry." The elf nearly smiled. That was more like it.
"It's alright," she said, "Now, no more small talk. I have a mission to finish." There was a quiet thoughtfulness on the other headsets.
"Are you sure you want to do that Short?" asked Trouble, "It could be dangerous."
"I'll be fine Commander," she assured him, "No worries."
"But Holly," this argument came from Foaly, "You may need help."
"I'll be fine," she said again, this time mostly for convincing herself, "Just give me a little while. Artemis, hurry up with that weakness. I have a feeling we'll need it."
"Me too," Artemis sighed, taking off his helmet. He retreated back to the oak tree and began meditating.
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Holly crept away from the griffin before it could wake up and do her any more harm. She had just finished a rather snippy conversation with Artemis and was, needless to say, rather angry. The Mud Boy had quite some nerve questioning her like that. But then again, he had said he was worried about her. Did that make it alright? Holly honestly didn't know, but she did know that Artemis had admitted to feeling something other than smugness. That was good. She smiled; the Mud Boy had changed greatly over the course of time which she had known him. It was definitely a change for the better.
However, something bothered Holly. She had called him hopeless; about what she wasn't sure. It had sort of just slipped out. And of course, at a very awkward moment. She and Artemis had been having…a moment? Well, maybe.
Yes, maybe, said her inner elf, maybe you love him.
Holly wasn't sure whether to laugh or slap herself across the face with certain violence. She decided on the previous, as she had enough physical abuse for the day. Love was a strong word. She most definitely did not love Artemis Fowl. Not a chance. Not love.
But maybe like. Maybe she liked him. Holly mentally shot herself in the foot. Foaly wasn't far off with the cheesy Mud Man novel idea. She could not possibly have feelings for Artemis Fowl. He was a Mud Boy. She was an elf. No. No, no, no, no, no.
Yes.
Holly was about to go with her second option of slapping herself when something distracted her. There was a glowing light coming from a tunnel to the right of her; two possibilities. She had either found who she was looking for, or she had died and that was why she was having these thoughts about the pale Mud Boy. Both options were good ones in her opinion.
Holly followed the tunnel and, upon reaching the light, found herself in a vast cavern. In the middle of the cavern sat a very scared looking Arielle. Holly breathed a sigh of relief.
"I've got her," she muttered into her helmet microphone, "She looks scared, but she's alive. No sign of the witch though." Holly didn't bother listening to what her companions said back. She had a job to do, and it would get done. As Holly approached, Arielle looked at her. Holly smiled and knelt down beside her.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Mostly," Arielle answered, "But we're in danger. We've got to get out of here."
"My thoughts exactly." Holly stood up and held out her hand so Arielle could get up. Arielle wrapped her fingers around Holly's hand and the elfin captain pulled her up.
"Let's get out of here," she muttered darkly, "Before…"
Holly didn't finish her statement. She heard footsteps echoing down the cavern.
"D'arvit," she said, "Please tell me that it's the griffin again."
"There was only one griffin," someone said. Holly shuddered. The voice was creaky and cold. It was worse than the voice Artemis had used when they had first met. She didn't like it one bit.
"And it seems as though my pet will be out for a little while. That wasn't very nice of you."
Holly spun around and came face to face with Celestia. There was a look of determination in Holly's eyes that paralleled the evil look in the eyes of the dark queen. This was to be a showdown. And there would only be one winner.
Celestia broke Holly's gaze and conjured up a ball of purple sparks in her fingers. With one swift movement she threw them in Captain Short's direction. Holly jumped out of the just in time. This was the griffin thing all over again. Inside, Holly deeply hoped that Artemis was close to a solution.
Right outside the magical cave, Artemis Fowl's mismatched eyes snapped open. He had an answer, and he was eager to share it.
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A/N: Well, hop you enjoyed that one. Cheers!