Chapter Twenty-Eight, "B"
At the end of the night, all of the archery practice had finally paid off for Artemis and Silyah. Back in their tent, the two tributes were eating a rabbit, which they had either caught by accident, or by an extensive amount of luck. For the rabbit, it had been an unfortunate happening, but for the District 3 team, the meat and the nutrients the animal offered had turned out to be a true gift.
Just as they finished up their meals, a familiar electronic tune faintly hummed from outside of Silyah and Artemis's bed sheet shelter. The dark-haired boy lifted one corner of the tent just as a silver parachute lazily made its way down the sky before landing a few centimeters away from the young man. Artemis reached outside, retrieved the small box and handed it to Silyah as he undertook the task of turning off and picking up his cooking machine.
"You seemed ready for dessert," the girl read from the small card that came along the small package. "It's signed by 'B,'" she added as Artemis sat a little closer to her. Silyah opened the sturdy metallic container, eager to see what they had received.
Artemis immediately frowned at the sight of the box's content.
"Truffles?" wondered Silyah. She had not been too surprised by Artemis's reaction; he had once told her that he despised those little sweets. The girl therefore, took one between her fingers. She would certainly not turn down a Capitol-worthy dessert after days of edible plants and meager amounts of meat.
"No!" Artemis's voice suddenly pierced the air as the truffle was getting dangerously close to Silyah's lips. "Do not eat any of those."
The girl hand froze in front of her. "Huh?" She stared at Artemis with eyes that betrayed an ounce of fear and a slight guilt.
"They are poisonous," explained Artemis as a matter of fact.
"How do you know that?" Despite her questioning, something in the young man's tone had made Silyah toss the truffle right back into its box.
"That is low, even for you," murmured Artemis, now speaking in Gnommish as he looked down towards the silver parachute.
"Artemis?" For the first time since the boy had awakened, Silyah was more worried about his mental health than his physical one. Maybe he was suffering from a post-traumatic shock…
Artemis turned his gaze back to the female tribute of District 3, a serious look appearing in his mismatching eyes. He had just taken a grave decision, but what he was about to say had to be revealed one day or another… "I think that it is time for you to know the truth about me, Silyah," he said, still using the tongue of the fairies, not wanting anyone in Panem to grasp a single word of the next sentences he would speak.
Silyah read through Artemis's stare, understanding the importance of the dilemma he was facing, but also knowing that all of the questions she might have had about him would soon find a logical clarification.
"I don't know if you have noticed already, but… I am not from this era."
Silyah took a few seconds to register the information. "Well, that would explain many things," she said speaking in the tongue Artemis had taught her.
Artemis sighed. "What gave me away?" It amazed him to see that the girl had not even flinch at the news.
"Your knowledge of the past, your slight confusion about the Games and perhaps the fact that you seemed to be unaware of who Katniss Everdeen was… Amongst other things…" She paused. "But I kept those things to myself."
Artemis gave the girl a bittersweet smirk. "I only knew what I had been told in school about this country; I was doing my best to appear aware of your modern History. In fact, I arrived in this time three days before the Reaping… Had I known what would have happened to me, I would have never taken the chance to travel to the future and neither would I have hacked District 3's computer system to add myself as a citizen…"
"Why did you add yourself to the system exactly? Why didn't you just… get back to your own time?" frowned Silyah, not exactly enjoying the thought of being a tribute without Artemis.
"Somehow, the time tunnel that allowed me to travel between eras refused to reopen itself when I tried to get back, which I did multiple times. Somehow, I remained stuck here… Most likely the work of the very person who sent us those truffles."
"The black-haired Gamemaker…" whispered Silyah. She had noticed how the woman had stared at Artemis during the parade and how he had responded when he saw her. "So you are not the only human to have traveled through time?"
"Even though you are right about who my enemy is, I can assure you that she is not a human being. Or at least, in my time, she was not."
Silyah blinked, this time truly needing an instant to let Artemis's last sentence sink in. "Not human?"
"Indeed," Artemis took a deep breath. "She is, or used to be, a pixie."
A pixie? Silyah briefly wondered if she should laugh or take the boy's temperature, but somehow, she felt like believing Artemis more than anything else.
Artemis looked at her as she nodded slowly. "Go on…" she told him.
"I guess that I should take it from the beginning then?"
Silyah's nods got faster. "Yes, please."
Once again, Artemis breathed deeply. "Everything basically started when I was 11… My father had left for a business deal in Russia; an expedition that could have ended up being fatal for him. During his trip, the ship he was traveling in was sunk and my father was declared dead."
The girl made a sound of acknowledgment, but raised one of her fingers in the air. "Wait… Where do you come from exactly?"
"Twenty-first century, Ireland."
Silyah murmured a "wow" before letting Artemis continue his story.
"After my father's proclaimed death, I was left with no choice but to take over my family's darker business as my mother lost her mind from the shock of losing her husband."
In a way, the District 3 girl could understand how Artemis's mother might have felt, though she kept that in her head.
"Her condition had got to the point where she could not even recognize me anymore…"
Awkwardly, Silyah brushed Artemis's hand with her own, seeing the brief flash of pain hidden in his eyes.
"So I kidnapped a fairy."
"What?" Silyah raised both her eyebrows.
"I know, I know… I was quite different back then and the desperate situation had called for a desperate remedy."
"I guess I can see that."
Artemis sighed. "So far you are taking this story very well, I must say; you have not screamed nor ran away yet."
"I don't see why I should not take this well, I mean, I'm a girl who comes from an era during which people believe that watching twenty-three kids die on live television is great fun."
"You've got a point there." Artemis ran a hand through his messy raven hair. "So, the elf I abducted was far from being a harmless creature… She was Holly Short, an officer of the LEP and her kidnapping had a lot more repercussions than what anyone could have expected."
"LEP?"
"Yes, the Lower Elements Police," said Artemis before engulfing himself in the retelling of his adventures. He provided Silyah with a few details about himself and the People, the enemies he had faced and the allies he had made during the past years of his life as the girl simply remained quietly beside him, taking in each of his words.
"So, Holly Short… She's the one who gave you that coin, am I correct?" wondered Silyah when Artemis's tale ended.
"Yes," murmured the boy. "And my left eye."
Silyah starred in the eye in question, trying to picture Artemis with two blue irises. "How did she give you her eye exactly?" asked Silyah, only slightly concerned by the strangeness of her question.
"We were time traveling," said Artemis. "Things got a little mixed up between dimensions."
"That's how you got your magic."
"Yes," confirmed the boy. "Speaking of, did you notice something odd about Geneva when you… fought her?"
Silyah knew that Artemis had meant "killed her" and she mentally praised him for his choice of words as she answered his question. "She was way too joyful and way too slow… A little bit like Elon and Crelin after their meeting with the Gamemakers…"
"Well, that was because I had used my mesmer on her…" confessed the boy. Artemis had almost expected Silyah to slap him like Holly would have done but instead, she smiled with a relieved expression.
"Thank goodness you did so! She would have killed me off so quickly if you had not, hum, mesmerized her." Silyah was not too sure of her use of the word "mesmer."
Artemis let out another sigh. "But it was my fault if she attacked you in the first place."
Silyah frowned, but decided that it did not matter. "The most important thing right now is that we are both alive and both have each other to keep on surviving." The girl's eyes went from Artemis's to the silver parachute in front of her. "I still have one question though… You did not tell me how you knew that the truffles were poisoned."
"They were sent by Opal Koboi; she hates me and clearly, after your earlier… surprising move," he said, referring to their kiss, "she will most likely try to weaken me by killing you."
"With truffles? When she has a whole arena at her disposal?"
"She has a soft spot for those sweets and I once used them against her. Killing you with a truffle would be a payback for that event."
"I see…" Silyah placed the box of truffles in Artemis's backpack. She had learned from earlier Hunger Games that sometimes, a quick way to end a life could be useful and since Artemis had revealed himself to her, a plan had started to build up in the girl's head.
"Well, I guess that this is all," said Artemis with another sigh, spinning his coin between his inverted fingers.
"If you want my opinion, that was quite a lot of information."
"Yes, fascinating, my life, isn't is? A pity it might end soon." Artemis gave a lifeless chuckle. "What about your life Ms. Natho? You know too much about me to remain a mystery. We must be on equal grounds."
"Me?" Silyah wondered how her life could compete with Artemis Fowl's adventures. "There is nothing fascinating about me… I am just the combination of everything I know." She sighed nostalgically as Artemis's gaze seemed to entice her to go on. "I lived in District 3 my whole life, though my mother originally came from 8. I know about sewing because of her side of the family while my father's side taught me about electronics. When I started school, I was already an advanced student and quickly became known as a teacher's pet." She toyed with the bracelet around her wrist as she spoke, noticing how loose it had become since she had arrived in the arena. "So, I grew up both as an artist and as a scientist, which simply resulted in my classmates sticking labels on me as I got older. Let's just say that when people talked to me, it was usually to ask me a favor because they knew that I was unable to be mean and refuse… Apart from that, not much went on in my life. I think that the most extraordinary things I have ever done were my crazy projects such as that one time when I got to sew and sell some electronic fashion accessories to help my parents with the school fees they had to pay for my brother and I." Silyah glanced to Artemis, who had remained immobile and silent as she had talked. "That's my life," finally shrugged the girl. "Not as exciting as yours, right?" she smiled.
"Oh, I don't know about that…"
The anthem of Panem began to play from outside the tent, though no one would be featured on the sky tonight.
Silyah let out a yawn. "Bed time?"
Artemis nodded. "Yes, why not."
The District 3 girl checked the fire one last time and took two bed sheets from the floor of her tent, crumpling one into a pillow since she would not have to check on Artemis's heartbeat tonight. "Good night, Ice Prince."
"Good night Silyah."
Earlier that day, Kalheb Frotz could have been seen wandering alone in the woods. He had never really cared for Geneva – she had only been a mere distraction for him – but being alone felt so odd to the boy. Back in District 9, he had been the center of attention of many ladies and even a few boys… Now, he was on his own.
The young man sat on a fallen tree trunk, making sure that his only company, the audience, would have a nice view of his exposed chest. He ran a hand through his dark curls, once again exploiting his muscles. He then gave a crooked smile to his Capitol and District fans as he pulled out a fruit from his pocket, undertaking the task of eating it slowly. He had been so conscious of every single one of his actions that he was not even surprised when a silver parachute fell to his feet. Once again, he smiled seductively at his audience. If he had nobody to flirt with, he would charm the public, he thought.
The dark-haired man opened the parachute's box carefully, his smile fading into a serious mask as he examined its content.
"Who killed Geneva?"
The card he had received had been printed like a riddle. Kalheb had to turn it upside down to see the question's answer.
"Artemis and Silyah."
The card was signed with a simple "B" and for daggers accompanied it…
"Interesting…" murmured the District 9 boy. "Thank you," he smiled at the sky for a third time.
Kalheb placed the knives with the rest of his equipment and went back to eating his fruit. Later on, he would give the audience a show, he decided. He would pretend to have cared about his District 1 lover and go kill either Artemis or Silyah, or maybe both of them. It was a shame thought… They seemed like nice people. Oh well, thought Kalheb as he dumped the heart of his fruit on the ground and leaned back on his tree.
Suddenly, a flash of pain went through the strong boy's wrist as though it was burning in an open flame. Kalheb bolted up and raised his arm, furiously trying to shake away the pearly white snake that had sunk his teeth into his flesh.
After a little struggle, the reptile finally fell to the ground and disappeared into the forest.
