Chapter 36
Revenge is Always Sweeter
A/N:
Okay, this chapter takes place while the last one was going on. And, (yay!) it's in Arty's POV
Artemis's POV:
"Artemis," Butler called from outside of my bedroom door.
For a moment, I toyed with the idea of not answering, but deemed it to be too childish. "Yes, Butler. In here."
Butler threw the door open and entered my room. "How long have you been up?" he asked taking a seat on the bed. It made me feel like smirking. To see a man as mountanous as Butler on such a fragile looking bed. It was definitely laughable.
I regarded him cautiously from my seat at the chair by my desk. I noticed his eyes go straight down to the powerbook that was nestled in my lap.
"Quite a while," I said.
Butler's mouth quirked into his approximation of a smile. "And why didn't you sleep late today?"
I smirked at my old friend. He is always so very concerned. Yet he should know that he needn't be. "I did sleep late. I usually only sleep to around seven or eight, but today I slept until 11:00."
"Yes, but you were out until seven this morning. That means that you only got four hours of sleep."
I felt like 'pulling a Holly' and rolling my eyes, but that would have been juvenile. And juvenile is the the last word that would be used to describe me. "I am well aware of how much time I slept. When I woke up, I was no longer tired and didn't see the point in just lying idle."
Butler chuckled in such a way that would surprise anyone who thought that they knew him. "I believe that you're the only teen in the world who would say so."
"I usually am," I replied, turning back to the computer on my lap.
Butler sat silent for a few minutes before getting to what he really wanted to ask of me. "So, how was last night?"
"It was entertaining to say the least," I smirked as I thought about last night.
"Quite," Butler smiled. I could tell that he was proud of how I had conducted myself. In fact, I'm sure that he has all ready discussed my actions with my parents. "I thought tht you would enjoy it."
"I did," I admitted.
"And what did you think of Holinda?" he asked, obviously wondering about where we went last night.
"She's a nice girl. Friendly, kind, smart, clever, and sarcastic. I feel that she'll make a wonderful friend."
"Hmm," Butler mumbled. "I saw the two of you dancing."
"Yes," I replied vaguely, looking back at the computer screen as I surfed the internet. "It was quite enjoyable."
"Where did you disappear to? Juliet just told me that you were with Holinda and that she was going to drive me home."
"Ahh, Juliet wanted to stay, but Holinda didn't. I was ready to leave, so I offered her a ride back to the hotel."
"Good to see that you were a gentleman," Butler nodded encouragingly. "If you don't mind me asking, where exactly did you two go?"
"Not at all. We just went to the meadow around the corner from the club."
"Mmm?" Butler mumbled and I could feel his interest peaking. He knew that I had never taken anyone there before. Over the years, it had sort of become a... 'special place'. Even Butler had never been there, though the curiosity was killing him.
"Anything you want to tell me about?" he asked with arched brows and a mischevious smirk.
"No," I said in a way that should have ended that conversation, but Butler isn't one to take no for an answer.
"Are you sure that you didn't...?" he trailed off suggestively. Honestly, sometimes Butler is just like a randy school boy.
"Quite sure. We only talked." And once again, I went back to looking at the screen in front of me.
I didn't speak for a few minutes. Just as I began to get back into my work, Butler spoke up. "You seem... distracted. Even more so than usual."
"Preposterous," I sniffed. "I am not distracted at all."
"You do know that you're not nearly as good at lying as you think you are, right?" Butler asked with a twinkle in his dark eyes.
I felt a bit offended at that. I am Artemis Fowl. I'm good at anything that isn't physical and that incluses lying. I chose to just ignore that comment, for his benefit, and continue my search.
"What are you up to Artemis?" Butler asked nervously.
"Just research," I replied vaguely.
"Hmm, he murmered. "What are the chances that your 'research' is something human-related?"
"Zero to none," I asnwered honestly. Though it was a bit of a joke since zero and none are both relative terms. Besides, recent mathematical studies show that zero may just have a relatively small value that can be considered as none though it really is something.
"I can tell that that was supposed to be a joke," he said, shuddering at the thought.
"I thought that it was rather funny," I replied in shock.
"We really must have a talk about jokes one day." (A/N: Keep this in mind. It may come back one day. :D)
"Of course," I said,but I was not looking forward to it.
"But, what are you really working on?"
"Foaly wants me to see something. He intentionally let the word 'website' slip so that I would find something. The question is: what does he want me to find?
"How can you possible do that?" he demanded. "You only have the word 'website'. There are over a billion fairy websites out there."
I couldn't help but smirk at him. He should know by now to never doubt Artemis Fowl the Second. "I can do anything. Finding this will be as easy as one, two, three."
"How long will it take you to do?" Butler was a bit swayed, but obviously still very unconvinced. Very well. It would only make it all the sweeter when I proved him wrong.
"Give me fifteen minutes," I replied with a smirk.
"Fine, you have fifteen minutes starting... now."
I didn't say anything else. I focused wholly on the screen in front of me. My fingers danced on the keys, slowly stroking the keys and drawing the information out of them. I felt in my element. This was my hobby and one of my taletns. With knowledge, I can do anything.
I had finally gotten to where I wanted to be. I clicked the last button and looked at the time. "Time," I called. I had had fifteen minutes and only used five of those.
Butler's eyebrows raised. "Really?"
"Of course," I grinned in satisfaction. "It wasn't that complicated."
"I'd expect nothing less," Butler nodded and came over to where I was sitting.
He stood so that he was reading over my shoulder. I know that he was just doing it, because he knows that it bothers me. How juvenile.
"Horsesense(dot)gnom? What exactly is this?"
"It's a gossip website," I replied not trying to hide my contempt. Gossip. How trivial and a waste of time and brain power.
Butler's eyebrows raised. "You were searching for a ... gossip website?"
"Not a gossip website. The gossip website," I chided. "If you read the articles then you see a real, in depth version of what's going on in Haven. It's highly factual."
"So there's a spy?" he demanded, eyes scanning the room as if looking for cameras or miniature spies.
"No, there is no spy," I replied resisting the urge to laugh. "The articels aren't highly private at all. It's more of a truthful accoundt that gives in-depth research into many fairy contreversies."
"And how far back does this go?"
"About fifty years before the seige."
"Hmm, so I suppose the seige is on here?"
"Oh yes, very reliable, insider information."
Finally, Butler got down to the million dollar question. "And why did Foaly recommend this site?"
"Well, first of all, he didn't recommend it. He just... dropped the hint. On purpose, of course."
"And second of all?" Butler prompted.
"And second, he wants me to see it because he wrote it and needed to display his splendor."
"He wrote it?" Butler asked flabbergasted, forgetting how much I hate for questions to be repeated. "How do you know?" Ahh, what an intelligent question.
"The site's name is horse sense. There aren't exactly a ton of centaurs running aroudn the Lower Elements. Couple that with the insider information and you have only one possible explanation."
"Foaly?"
"Bingo," I applauded.
"Well then, why did he want you to find it?"
"That's the million dollar question," I smirked. "And I plan on finding the million dollar answer."
"Then I suppose that I'd better leave you to it," he said straightening. Butler would have loved to stay and ask me a series of questions. But over the years, he's learned that I do not like to be bothered when I'm working on something that is relatively important.
"Thank you Butler," I replied, secretly glad that he was leaving. I need space and time to put my scheme into action.
"Just be sure that you don't forget to eat," he reminded me from the door.
"I won't," I promised.
Butler smiled a bit, knowing that my words were hollow. When I get preoccupied, one is lucky to see me at all. Over the years, it has become a part of my daily life.
Butler's mountainous frame was standing at my door with his hand on the knob. "Artemis?" he called with barely concealed humor in his voice.
"Yes?" I answered.
"About last night..." he trailed off.
I was growing rather impatient. I just wanted to work without the distractions. Is that too much to ask? "Yes?" I snapped sharply
"Don't let Holly find out," he laughed, shutting the door behind him. I couldn't think of a single thing to say so I just shook myu head and went back to what I had been doing.
The website was a bit... overrated in its appearance. A black background with sarts and the cloudy shape of a centaur. In other words, it was just Foaly's style. I glanced to the side bar and clicked the 'find' link.
I typed in the words 'Holly Short' and got 1,324 hits. Incredible. Hmm, apparently Holly is famous. Though I suppose noteriety isn't very beneficial in a field like hers.
I slowly sifted through the pages and find lots of things that were useles. Hmm, I need to refine my search. So, I tried 'Holly Short and Trouble Kelp'. There were only about 600 of those. Much more manageable. I then clicked on he first article.
Article 1: New Couple Saves Haven from Smugglers.
There was a black and white picture of Holly and Trouble standing in front of a large shipping truck. Most people would descirbe them as looking heroic and confident. Then there were a few brief details about Holly and Trouble actually stopping tthe smugglers.
Article 2: Holly and Trouble are Dating?
This article included a large, colored picture of the two of them holding hands. It was obviously taken after one of their missions. Of course this one declared that the two finally got someone who didn't know Holly then it would really seem like they were together. But for anyone in the know then they would laugh at the very idea.
Article 3: Trouble in Paradise.
This article had two photographs. One was of the two standing back to back with scowls on their faces. This particular article seemed to declare that the two were on a 'break'. Obviously they were mand at each other, which is apparantly where the article's name came from. The next picture had a caption that read: One week later. It showed Trouble sitting and talking to Lili Frond, who was smiling goofily at him. You couldn't see Trouble's face, but his body language obviously said that he was smiling.
The articles went on and on. There were citings. There were break-ups and make-ups. It was rather like a prime-time, overly dramatic soap opera. In fact, I found one article that subtly insulted me as a 'immoral homewrecker'. How charming. Foaly is quite the spin-doctor. Though he can be overly idiotic at times like this.
There were also tales of Holly spiraling into depression or Trouble attempting suicide. That made me want to chuckle. No, he would never do anything that convienient.
Eventually, I was finished and had read everything. It was sickening and somewhat wrong. Depicting Holly like that almost seemed... sinful. I'd never imagine myself to be the 'over protective friend' but I really am. And because of that, Foaly was going to feel my wrath for this. After all, revenge is always sweeter.
That was only 600 pages. Meaning that there would be 724 other pages. I'm curious. What could they be about?
They say that curiosity killed the cat. Goodness knows that I've looked death in the face many times and lived to tell the tale. So, why was I so worried about doing this? Fowls do not worry over unimportant details. I took a deep breath and typed in 'Holly Short and Artemis Fowl.'
There were 700 pages about the two of us. I clicked the first article knowing that it would not be something that I wanted to see. Fowls are not faint-hearted. So, I inhaled deeply and began to read.
Article 1: Siege Depletes Ransome Fund.
The first thing that I noticed was a large picture of me at twelve years old. I had that old, sly and somewhat evil look in my eyes. Whoever had chosen this picture changed the shadowing so it looked like I was lurking and leering. How kind.
The article wient into the siege in great detail. There were a few compliments to my intelligence, but the rest were depreciations to my character and sanity. It even had a psychological report form the Psych Brotherhood. Strangely enough, one found me to be a cold, manipulative, insane pathological liar. The other found me to be a sad, lonely genius who may grow up to be anything. I found this interesting. Though the worst part was at that time, I was a lot of both accusations.
Article 2: Public Enemy No. 1 Saves Haven from Deranged Pixie.
This picture was of Holly and I after the Koboi incident. I had the smallest smirk on my face and Holly was rolling her large eyes.
The words were obviously about the incident at Koboi's lab. It was very accurate. Much more accurate than the account from Haven's actual newspaper. Though, it seemed to paint Foaly in the best light. Yes, according to it, he was the 'unsung hero of the tale'. Foaly, he is quite at what he does.
Article 3: Artemis in the Arctic
The picture for this article was definitely annoying. It was one of Holly and I in the snow after my fahter had been rescued. She had her wings on and was hovering with her cold hand hon my shoulder. Her hair was plastered to her face and she was looking at me indulgently, all things considering. I was smirking back at her. Some helpful person had edited the picture and put hearts around our head. Cute. Very cute.
It basically outlined the rescue of my father and told of my first real moment with Holly. It seemd to think that there were raging hormones just underneath the surface. To me, the idea was just plain laughable. At that point, we weren't even really friends yet. She was just a person that I had respect for. So, how does one jump from 'mutual respect' to love?
The articles went on and on. The first few were mostly about our historic dislike and described me in a very negative light, to say the least. The later ones got better and descirbed us as friends. The latest articles were based on our.. 'budding realtionship'. They pointed out glances between us or one of our few hugs. They especially highlighted on the jaunts into the past, saving the demon race, the Spiro problem and my mind wipe, and the Opal incident.
The next article was of the same bent, but made me chuckle. Apparently, 'poor Holly' was stuck in the middle of a love triangle between 'the dashing genius, Artemis Fowl' and the 'handsome, courageous Trouble.' There were bets on who would win her favor. The comments had who her fans thought that she needed. At the moment, we were very close. Though, he only had 999 and I had 1,001. Ah, I always win even if it is only by a small margin.
I clicked on the last article and almost fell out of my chair. It had allegations of Holly and I doing... things together. Things that made me blush. Foaly is definitely going to pay for this. The picture was even worse. She was kissing my cheek and I was blushing with a surprised and soppy grin on my face. Oh yes, the centaur was definitely going to regret this.
Just then, a plan occured to me. It was perfect, and devious. Though, rather simple in comparison to my other great plans. Regardless I have plenty of time to refine and plot.
I was definitely smirking as I scanned all of the articles that I had just read and pasted thiem all to one document. I was still smirking as I opened the file tab and clicked on the button that was labelled 'print.' Ah, revenge is always sweeter.
A/N:
Whoo-hoo! Another Chapter down. Okay, so I hoped you enjoyed that one. The next one is in Holly's POV and we get to find out who her mysterious visitor is.
I'm soooo sorry that it's taken me forever to update. I've been away from home on a trip and it's been hard to update. So, sorry!
Anyway, I plan on updating soon. Keep reading. Note that this is my main focus at the moment and that I have a ton of stuff all ready written for it. Yes, the Haven parts are almost done being written.
So, yeah, thanks to all of my reviewers and people who added me or this story to favorites. I love you reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;)
Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!
Yours truly, madly, and deeply,
Einstinette