Author's Note: Patience, Eleida. :) All will be revealed in due time. Meanwhile, the competition to win Holly's heart heats up. The following chapter may get a bit draggy, because I had a bit of writer's block from not writing for such a long time (I had to study for next week's exams so it's been a VERY long time since I last used the computer) but anyway, here's Chapter Nine. Enjoy!
Chapter Nine: Romancing Holly
(Artemis' point of view)
"Is everyone ready?" Artemis inquired.
"Bossy little Mud Boy, aren't you, Fowl?" grumbled Root.
Artemis ignored Root's comment and asked him, "Have you asked Foaly to run a scan on where Holly's father may be?"
"He practically gave us a virtual map to track Holly's father's movements," Root grumbled some more before pulling out a small device that reminded Artemis of a GameBoy. Artemis looked over and saw a red dot bleeping away merrily on an area labelled "China".
"We're going to China?" Artemis blustered.
Root shrugged. "So that's what you call the place."
"But it's winter there now, we'll freeze," Artemis rationalized.
Root glared at him. "Who's going to freeze more, me or you?" Root snapped, trying to remind Artemis of the fact that fairies didn't like the cold either.
"Stop bickering, the two of you! The least you could do on this trip is to give us a bit of peace around here," Holly piped up behind them, and Artemis turned around to look at her, feeling his heart rate speed up at the sight of her. Artemis hated to admit it, but even though Holly looked just as plain as ever (for she wasn't a very feminine person and didn't know the first thing about dress sense like Juliet), he thought that she looked exceptional in a way, even under the hood she was wearing to shield her face from the rest of Haven, so that they wouldn't rat on her and betray her to the LEP. Funny how your judgement is affected when you're in...
Love? Is that it, Artemis? he asked himself, confused, while Holly nudged him in the shoulder. Everyone had begun moving except for Artemis, who was lost in his own thoughts.
"Come on, slowpoke," she huffed, but Artemis knew better. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and her tone was teasing and light, showing she didn't really mean it. "You're so bloody slow. Can't you move faster? And I thought you said you had some physical training from Butler. Doesn't seem to have worked, has it?"
Artemis grinned, amused. "Does that mean you've actually been checking me out?" he replied.
Holly looked at him with indignation, her eyes the size of saucers. A flush crept up her cheeks and she sputtered, "Th-th-that's preposterous! There's nothing to see anyway!" she retorted, before turning away from him. Artemis smiled pleasantly. The fact that tough cookie Holly even blushed showed that she thought differently. It wasn't in Holly's character to blush.
"What's Mud Boy said to you that's gotten you all flustered, Holly?" Trouble asked gently as he put an arm around Holly's shoulders, as if he owned her. Artemis' eyes narrowed as a burning sensation made its way to his heart. Was this what people called...jealousy?
"Nothing!" Holly snapped, her face still aflame. She caught Artemis' eye and immediately looked away haughtily. Artemis knew it was all an act - Holly hated to be embarrassed.
"All right, all right, let's get moving, people," Root ordered, shuffling through the ruins of Haven. People had begun reconstructing the city of Haven, but judging by the charred and fallen buildings everywhere, it was going to take some time. Holly tried not to look conspicuous as they moved through the town. Artemis knew she wasn't going to risk being caught by the LEP. Why Trouble and Root had decided to help Holly instead of the LEP, he didn't know, but he guessed they both had a soft spot for her, just as he did. It was hard not to feel for her, Artemis thought to himself.
"Hold up, people," Artemis called out behind them, and three LEP officers turned around to face him.
"Are we too fast for Mud Boy?" Root snickered.
"We're forgetting Butler," Artemis said, ignoring Root's remark. "I promised him we'd meet him. You do need his martial expertise anyway."
"Er - like - WHERE exactly is he? His size isn't hard to miss but strangely, I don't see him anywhere, and I have perfect vision," Root retorted.
"We're supposed to meet him at the Honeybee Inn," Artemis said calmly.
Root and Trouble choked, and Holly turned red immediately.
"Honeybee Inn? Are you sure?" Root chortled.
Artemis shrugged, bewildered by their reactions. Root tried to calm himself down, and the red colour of Holly's face had paled considerably. Trouble and Holly shared a smile before Root showed them the way to a dark, dingy alley with a tangible stench that clung to the walls. Artemis wrinkled his nose, wondering what the heck Butler was doing in such an unrefined place.
Neon lights greeted the party of four as they entered a new area of Haven. Smoke from the recently put-out fire rose up to greet them as they walked through the area. Signs hung limply over provocative-looking shops, and Artemis involuntarily shuddered. This wasn't what they would call Haven's "red-light district", was it?
The four of them stopped outside a grimy inn, its sign knocked askew. The electronic sign flickered, reading "Honeybee Inn", with a picture of a nude woman beside it. Artemis hastily averted his eyes, embarrassed. What is Butler thinking, staying in a place like this? he thought. No wonder Root, Trouble and Holly reacted like that. Holly cleared her throat and tried not to laugh at Artemis' discomfort.
"Well..." she drawled. "Here we are."
"Aren't you going in, Artemis?" Trouble asked him, his eyes glinting wickedly.
"Er..." Artemis hesitated.
"Come on, be a man."
Artemis shot Trouble a lethal glare before he gulped and opened the door.
If my mother was here, she wouldn't have tolerated this. She wouldn't even allow me to step into a filthy place like this! he thought as he entered, causing bells to tinkle, signalling his arrival.
"I say!" a woman was now saying, her face heavily made up. "You're a bit young to come lookin' for girls, aren't ya?"
"Er, well, actually, I was looking for a man."
The woman's eyes shot up in alarm. "What are ya, gay?"
Artemis reddened. "Oh, no, no, of course not!" He felt very uneasy, and what little clothes the woman was wearing unnerved him. He felt very uncomfortable talking to people of such low calibre, as if they might influence him into what they were doing for a living. He shuddered.
"Then whatcha doin' here, boy?" the lady asked, her eyes sceptical.
"I was - I was looking for a big-sized man called Butler. You - you don't happen to have him here, do you? He - he told me he'd be here."
The lady thought for a minute. "We don't got no gigolo named Butler."
"He's - not - working - here," Artemis gritted his teeth, his feet shifting nervously. "I think he's staying here."
The lady stared at him, pondering. Any moment now she'll pounce on me, he thought nervously. After a moment she spoke, and Artemis almost cringed, afraid of what she might do to him. "Ah! I remember now. That large, sexy hunk of a man." She giggled, and Artemis shivered. "He's upstairs. Won't say much. I'll get him down for ya. Whatcha say your name was?"
"I didn't say my name....but it's Artemis."
"Ooh la la," the lady giggled, before she leapt up the stairs, calling "But---ler!!"
Artemis drummed his fingers on the counter impatiently. He looked behind him, and remembered about Holly, who was waiting outside.
What could she and Trouble be doing now? he thought, his fingers momentarily stopping their rhythm. Does Holly like him? Will she reciprocate his obvious affections?
"Artemis!" a deep voice rang out, and Artemis turned his attention on the giant of a man who strode towards him now. The provocative woman stood behind him, giggling. Artemis regarded Butler with a cool smile and opened the door to exit. He turned around to speak to Butler.
"Well, hurry up, won't you? We haven't got all day," he said placidly, before shutting the door and causing the bells to tinkle once more.
Somewhere out of Haven
A few hours after the previous scene
Night
(Holly's point of view)
It had been a few hours since they had left Haven, and Artemis, Root and Trouble had turned in for the night, but Holly realized that she couldn't sleep. The events of the day came back to her as she lay on the makeshift bed in the tent that had been set up in the middle of a grassland near the outskirts of Haven. It had been Root's idea to get some rest before they went aboveground, so they had set up a few tents on an open grassland outside Haven. It rather reminded Holly of the training camp she had been through in order to get into the LEP.
She chuckled for a moment as she recalled Artemis' reaction at realizing that the Honeybee Inn was Haven's most famed indecent place. Butler had explained how he had gotten there - it was the only inn left in town that offered a place for him to sleep, because the rest had been badly destroyed by the fire. It wasn't as if he had enjoyed the provocative lady's advances on him as well. He had had no choice.
Holly rolled over. Outside, she could see, and hear the fire crackling. Artemis had wisely decided to set up a fire in case they all froze to death in the night, being that they weren't residing in a proper house with blankets and all. Holly smiled at his thoughtfulness, something she hadn't seen in him since the last four years. Or had it always been there, just that she had never bothered to notice?
Holly sat up and opened the tent flap. She saw Butler sitting outside. Looks like she wasn't the only one who wasn't able to get any sleep. She walked over to him, and decided to start up a conversation.
"Can't get any sleep, Butler?" Holly asked, warming her hands by the fire.
"Uh-huh," Butler replied, staring into the open field beyond. Holly knew this man never said anything much. But unlike Artemis, Holly found it easier to approach this man, because every time she approached Artemis, she had a funny feeling in her gut or the feeling that Artemis could see right through her, and she wasn't sure if she liked it.
Holly sat down next to Butler, enjoying his friendly company, even if he wasn't talking. After a few moments of silence, though, she felt like she had to say something, even only if it was to be polite. She remembered what Artemis had said to her the night they had stayed up and talked. The night he had accused her of being judgemental.
"....It appears your perception of me is based entirely on your own coloured and prejudiced views. Have you asked Butler what I really am? Have you asked my mother? Have you asked my father? How about Juliet? I know I may not have many friends, but have you ever asked yourself why? Why are you so quick to judge, Captain Short?"
Holly turned to Butler and spoke, feeling the desire to answer the burning question in her heart: Who is the real Artemis?
"Butler...what's Artemis like at home?" Holly asked.
Butler kept quiet for a moment before he turned to her and smiled. Just a very small smile. "Why do you ask, Holly?"
"Oh....it's - it's just something he said," Holly murmured.
Butler turned his head to stare at the greenery beyond. "I know Artemis appears to be very unapproachable and arrogant, and that is further confirmed by the fact that he doesn't have many friends. But he's a very pleasant person in general - he's just very lonely and doesn't know how to cure that loneliness. He doesn't know how to make himself happy because he's been singled out by society when he was young - you know, being a genius and all. People don't naturally make friends with him."
"Really!" Holly said, surprised. She felt almost sad for Artemis.
Butler turned to look at her and smiled.
"But you know, Holly, Artemis is very concerned about you."
Holly put her hands to her cheeks, feeling the warmth of her fingers seep through them. Her heart began beating to a lively rhythm. Suddenly she didn't feel very cold anymore.
"What - what do you mean?" she muttered, trying to elude the topic.
"I don't know....I just see it. I know Artemis inside out. He's a master at covering up his emotions. But the day you lost your mind...the day you lost control of yourself...he went berserk. It's funny the way he couldn't hide his emotions. Perhaps when it comes to you, he doesn't know how to handle his feelings."
Holly felt that tingly feeling in her stomach again, but ignored it. "He doesn't know how? Tell him it's easy. He hates me, he just has to close one eye and let me die in my own insanity!" Holly replied.
Butler laughed, and Holly was shocked. You mean it's not true? she thought.
"It's the truth!" Holly insisted.
Butler smiled at her again, shaking his head. "I wonder. I wonder if that is the truth. I think Artemis is very fond of you."
"Don't make me puke."
"I mean it. I think he likes you."
Holly shivered, yet she wasn't cold. "Stop it, it's not funny," Holly retorted, her cheeks burning. She hated the feelings in her that confused her so much, tossing her about like a limp rag doll.
"All right," Butler turned away from her, chuckling to himself.
"I mean...we're not even of the same species!" Holly shouted.
Butler shrugged. "Sure sounds like you're in denial."
Holly stood up furiously and shook a finger at him. "You....you are talking gibberish!" she yelled.
"Calm down, Holly!" Butler cried. "At this rate you're going to wake up everyone." Butler looked nervous. "I didn't mean to agitate you."
"Just....just stop joking around with me!" Holly shouted.
"Okay, okay," Butler said hastily.
"What's going on?" a sleepy voice rang out, and a bemused Artemis came out of his tent.
Holly's and Artemis' eyes locked and she flushed furiously. Did he hear what Butler and I were talking about?
"Holly?" she heard Artemis coming up behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder. His voice was interlaced with obvious concern, and Holly tried her very best to ignore the rushing feeling that raced along her veins and gathered at the spot where Artemis' hand laid. She fought a battle within herself - whether to shrug off Artemis' hand or to leave it there, where it felt lovely. She almost slapped herself mentally.
LOVELY? YOU MEAN REPULSIVE! she screamed in her head.
"Is everything all right?" Artemis asked softly, his breath warming up her ear.
Holly shut her eyes and balled her hands into fists. "Leave me alone!" she said loudly. And be the sarcastic person you used to be! she added mentally, and stormed off to her own tent.
She heard Artemis' bewildered voice behind her as she stalked off, and tuned out.
Please...please whoever it is who decides the stupid fates of people...please let me be normal again...please let me be okay around Artemis...please stop giving me confusing feelings!
~*~
(Artemis' point of view)
Well, I don't know why Holly is so angry with me, but if the need calls for it, I will tell her my feelings.
I'll just have to get that Trouble out of the picture though.
He's obviously besotted with her as well.
I think I'll get Holly on a date tomorrow to talk things out with her.
(Trouble's point of view)
I must have Holly eating out of the palm of my hand!
I must make her love me as much as I love her!
Too bad that Artemis wants to challenge me in loving her as well. I know it, I can see it in his eyes.
Strange how that stinking Mud Boy managed to fall for Holly as well.
I won't give up until Holly picks who she wants!
I'll get her on a date tomorrow, once we're free.
~*~
The next morning
Tara Settlement
(Back to Holly's point of view)
The party of five packed up their things and were ready to go to the next town, Tara. Once they reached there, they could rest again and then board the shuttle to aboveground the next morning. Holly tried to ignore Artemis throughout the whole thing. She was very unsure of how to act towards him, because of the way her heart made her feel. Whether she liked him, she didn't know; and whether she hated him, she didn't know either. So ignorance was bliss, as most people would say, and therefore Holly decided to keep a distance from him. Everything would work itself out then. Then everything would be perfect.
Everything would be perfect, that is, if Artemis got the picture, which he clearly hadn't.
"Holly...I'm sorry," Artemis said quietly while she tried to stuff her neatly folded tent into her backpack.
"Sorry for what?" she snapped, hardening her heart.
"That's the whole point. Could you tell me?"
"Hmmph," she grunted, putting on her backpack and walking right past him. Immediately her heart gave a twinge.
Don't give in, Holly, your heart is just confusing you... You hate Artemis. You hate Artemis, you hate Artemis...
She heard Artemis sigh before he followed silently behind her. Holly walked quickly, trying to catch up with Root. Immediately Trouble appeared before her, a bunch of daisies in one hand.
"Flowers for a pretty young lady, ma'am?" he grinned at her. "I plucked it fresh from the grasslands just now." Holly tried to smile. She hated flowers, but she tried to appreciate the gesture. After all, Trouble was only being nice.
"Thank you," she said, and received the flowers from Trouble's hand. Trouble smiled and walked beside her. When she thought Trouble wasn't looking, she turned around and stashed the bouquet in her backpack. When she looked up and her eyes met the chilling blue of Artemis', she shuddered and turned back around, just as quickly, but not before he saw her flash a glare at Trouble, who glared back.
"I think we'll stop by there for a while," Root ordered, pointing up to a fairy settlement ahead, which must have been Tara. "I need food."
"Need a drink of water, Holly?" Trouble asked beside her, but Holly was in no mood to answer him. She still needed to sort out her own feelings, and merely shook her head. The scenery ahead suddenly became very interesting as she continued to stare at the town of Tara beyond, ignoring Artemis.
"How about a bit of food?" Trouble asked persistently. God, he was relentless, wasn't he? Holly thought, and shook her head. She heard Artemis' voice ring out.
"She wants you to leave her alone," he told Trouble. Her head whipped around, surprised that he knew what she was thinking, and immediately Holly got that tingly feeling again. Meeting Artemis' serious and icy gaze, she longed to go over and sit next to him and talked like they had that night. Holly was surprised at what she was thinking, and averted her gaze.
"Actually," she said loudly, a little too loudly, "I don't mind Trouble's concern," she said, giving Artemis a triumphant look. Artemis merely regarded her coolly, and Holly felt strange. Guilty, too.
The party of five reached Tara and Root booked a few rooms for the night at a small inn. Holly walked slightly ahead of Artemis, with Trouble sticking to her like a leech. Artemis was alone...again, since Butler was up ahead with Root.
"Why are you like this, Holly?" Artemis whispered in her ear as she put down her backpack, and Holly felt a tingling sensation on her arms. It was weird after how badly she treated him, he was still able to have that effect on her. Holly was angry with him - and with herself, for being so damn stupid about her feelings. She continued to ignore him, and lavished her attention instead on Trouble, who was obviously glad about it.
"Holly...I'd like to ask you something." Trouble asked.
"What is it?" Holly said distractedly. Artemis was glaring at Trouble, and Holly was trying to figure out why. WHY do you care what Artemis is doing anyway? she scolded herself, and looked away.
"Well...if you're free this afternoon...shall we go on a date?"
Holly's attention snapped back to Trouble. "What? A date?" she repeated. "Are you kidding me...?"
Trouble looked uneasy. "I've been meaning to say something to you, Holly, but it's not right to say it now. So can we go for lunch or something and I'll tell you?"
Holly gave him a strange look. "Er..." she hesitated. "Okay."
If what Butler says is true about Artemis liking me, well then I'll spite him by going out with Trouble!
~*~
Still in Tara
Holly's hotel room
About seven in the evening
(Still Holly's point of view)
Holly was exhausted. She had a right to be, after all the steps she'd taken to avoid Artemis. She tried hard to respond to Trouble's advances, even though she didn't like them very much. She was now fully aware that Trouble liked her, from all the concern he'd showed her, and when Trouble had asked her out on a date that afternoon, she had agreed. It didn't go very well though. First of all, Trouble had given her yet another bouquet of flowers. He must have bought them at a Tara shop, for they smelt fresh and looked it, too. Sad to say, Holly never really liked flowers. It wasn't really her thing.
Secondly, when she kept drifting away from reality, Trouble tried too hard to bring her back down to earth, and it irritated the hell out of her. She knew she shouldn't feel so frustrated towards him, because he had been nothing but nice to her, but every time she tried to respond to Trouble's efforts at keeping her interested, she only saw him as a friend. Then she would think that it was a pity his eyes were brown and not blue, that he could never understand what she was going through, nor say things in a way that tore her between laughing and decking him. In short, he was no Artemis, although Holly had absolutely no idea why she was thinking that. It wasn't as if she liked Artemis or anything.....right?
Holly shook her head, trying to get Artemis out of her head. She switched back to thinking about Trouble. He had said that he liked her. There was nothing wrong with that, but the sad fact was that she didn't like him back. She said she would think about it though, and here she was, thinking about it.
And thinking.
And thinking.
Trouble wasn't so bad, really. Granted, he was a bit boring at times, but he was obviously in love with her and was ready to do anything for her. He was a stable person whom she could rely on. If she opened her heart up a bit more, maybe she'd eventually be charmed by him.
Somebody knocked on her door, and Holly sat up. "Who's there?" she called.
"It's a century old ghost. Boo," someone said dryly behind the door.
Holly flung the door open. It was Artemis. "Ghosts aren't solid," she replied. "Or has your brain started to malfunction and you forgot?"
"Oh, the horror, the horror!" Artemis replied theatrically, before fixing her eyes with his. "It's me."
Holly knew it was him the moment he had spoken. Her heart started to beat erratically and she looked away. "I know it's you. Go away," she said.
"Why don't you want me around, Holly?"
"Because."
"That's hardly an excuse, it's not even a sentence. But I forgot, you're not that intelligent."
"Did you come here to laugh at my poor sentence structure, then?"
"No," Artemis said, in all earnestness. "I'm here to find out why you've been so cold to me."
Holly felt the loud thuds of her heart answer in shame. "Was I ever affectionate towards you?" she replied, lifting her chin haughtily.
Artemis lifted a hand and brought her chin down. The very touch sent her pulse rate soaring and her cheeks aflame. What did I ever do to react this way towards a person like Artemis? she thought, struggling with her feelings.
"Well, let's see how affectionate you can be. Will you honour me with your company tonight?" Artemis said softly, and a tingle ran down Holly's spine.
"Why should I?" Holly said, and looked away.
Artemis smiled, and turned her face towards his. "Because."
"That's hardly an excuse, it's not even a sentence. You told me so yourself, Mr. Intelligent," Holly retorted.
"I see you're learning from me. I didn't know you respected my intelligence that much."
Holly flushed hotly and turned away from Artemis, closing the door on him. Her chest heaved heavily, and the conversation between them reeled in her head. She tried to calm down.
"I'm still out here, in case you didn't know," Artemis' voice rang behind the door.
"Don't you understand the meaning of rejection?" Holly shouted back.
"No. Even though I have a wide range of vocabulary, that particular word is not inside. You're running away, Holly."
"Running away from what? Your ugly face?" Holly spat.
"You're running away from your feelings."
Holly whirled around and opened the door again. "I am not!" she said loudly in his face.
Artemis merely smiled serenely. "Yes, you are."
"I AM NOT!" she shouted for effect, raising herself to her full height.
"You are."
"I'm not and I'll go with you to wherever you're going to prove it!" she said angrily.
"Ah, so you've finally agreed to honour me with your company," Artemis replied, and the realization sank into Holly's brain.
"That was a trick!" she replied furiously. "You're such a sly, scheming...!"
"Thank you," Artemis said, his eyes laughing at her. "Will you take my hand now?" He offered his hand to lead her down the hallway.
"No!" Holly fumed.
"Okay, then I will take yours," Artemis replied cheerily, and placed his palm in hers. Holly's face was flushed with crimson, and her cheeks felt hot all the way until they were outside in the cool night air.
"Hmm. Let's see. Where do you want to go?" Artemis asked politely.
"I don't know and I don't care!" Holly retorted.
"Getting a bit grouchy, are we?" Artemis replied coolly, raising an eyebrow.
"I am not grouchy!"
"And denying it too."
"Move before I kill you," Holly hissed. "I have a lot of reasons to."
"For what? Making you blush?"
"I do not blush!" Holly screamed at him, and a few passers-by stared at her.
Artemis grinned. "Right you are, Holly. So I guess your face is red because you painted it."
Holly wisely decided not to reply and gripped on tighter to Artemis' hand, obviously hoping to crush the bones in his fingers.
"I say. I didn't know you liked to hold my hand so much."
Holly promptly dropped his hand and gritted her teeth. She watched as Artemis scanned the area for a place to go to.
"Why did you ask me out?" she asked Artemis curiously.
He only smiled mysteriously at her, and Holly shuddered. Funny how she could flit between her emotions so quickly when it came to Artemis. One moment she could joyfully have murderous thoughts in her head, and another she could feel her heart melt at the sight of his rare, genuine smile.
"Let's ride a gondola on Tara's cable car network. I heard it's famous in the fairy world, and I haven't tried it," Holly spoke, breaking the silence.
"So be it," Artemis replied, following Holly's lead as they jostled through the crowd that appreciated Tara's nightlife.
"We'd like to ride the cable car please," Holly told a man who stood at the controls. He grinned at them.
"Ah....you're a couple eh?"
"No," said Holly, while Artemis said "yes".
The man chuckled. "Such young love. Makes me recall about my wife. Too bad she's gone now."
The man noticed an empty cable car that was coming their way, suspending from a long cable railway, and stopped it. Holly hadn't seen anything like it before. It was like a little train compartment, also known as a cabin, that hung from a long cable wire that was attached to specific poles around the Tara network. She wondered if the cable would be strong enough to support their weight. Oh well, she couldn't back out now. And she wouldn't tell Artemis that she was nervous about the ride. She had too much pride. Besides, her reason was something she only kept to herself.
"Have fun," he said while he ushered them in. Artemis murmured a thank-you and clambered into the car, sitting opposite a nervous Holly.
"You haven't been in one of these before?" Artemis inquired.
"Have you?" Holly countered.
"Of course. When I was young my parents used to take me to countries around the world. Some of them had cable cars like this one."
Holly gripped her seat tightly as it began to move, and shut her eyes. She hated looking weak in front of Artemis.
"You're afraid of heights, Holly?" she heard Artemis ask.
"No," she said feebly. She tried to be strong, but feeling the cable car move made her heart beat to a shaky note of finality. There was no one sitting beside her. She felt so alone.
"You are afraid of heights," she heard Artemis cross over to her side and sit down beside her, and when the cable car swayed, it was all Holly could do not to scream out loud. She had to be strong. She had to get over the weak Holly.
"I - I didn't know - that - that it was so high up," Holly whispered, her stomach lurching as the cable car moved forward with every inch. Every inch to her death, she thought morosely. She hated feeling so weak.
I mean, flying is okay. But I hate this kind of situations. I hate that I'm not in control of how high this thing will be. At least when I'm flying I know how high to go, or far off from the ground I am. But I hate riding in high things which I have no control over.
She felt Artemis put an arm around her. "You should have told me, Holly. We could have done something else," he said softly.
"I'm...I'm not scared. Who said I was?" she said shakily, refusing to open her eyes.
Artemis squeezed her shoulder. "It's okay to be scared, Holly. I'm here."
"I just - I just hate being left so high up...and not be able to do a thing about it. I mean...if it crashes all the way to the ground below I can't even - can't even do a darn thing about it. Can't even fly out to save myself. Because we're...we're locked in."
"It's going to be all right, Holly." Artemis whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her ear. She felt an odd sense of comfort as a strange feeling began to grow in her body.
"Don't...don't laugh at me...okay?" Holly whispered back.
"I'm not laughing, Holly. Why should I laugh at you?" he countered.
"Because you hate me," Holly replied. She felt Artemis remove his hand from her shoulder, and she felt lost once again. She wished he had left it there.
"Ar...Artemis?" she called out, daring to open her eyes. The sight of Tara below her sent her head spinning and dizzily, she closed them again.
"I'm here, Holly," Artemis replied. His voice seemed so far away. Then he scooted closer to her and lifted her face to his.
"Open your eyes, Holly, and look at me."
"I - I can't...it's so high up.."
"No....it's not. It's not. Don't think about it. If you look into my eyes, and only into my eyes, you won't see the ground below you."
"R-really?" Holly said shakily.
"Trust me, Holly," Artemis whispered.
Holly gently opened her eyes and was surrounded by a sea of blue.
"You're...you're right.." she said, getting lost in so much blue.
"Holly...why do you think I hate you?"
Holly couldn't look away. She would rather bear with lying to Artemis straight in the face than scream with fright at the sight of Tara below her. "Because...because you do."
Artemis' eyes looked so sad, and Holly felt her own heart break. Artemis let go of her face. "On the contrary, Holly, that's not how I feel."
"Then...then what...?" Holly whispered. The strange feeling in her gut had started up again.
"I'm...I'm not very eloquent at sharing my feelings," Artemis replied softly, and smiled gently at her. "So I'll show you, but you must promise not to scream."
"I won't. I hope," Holly replied, smiling back. What was he going to do to her?
And then, sliding his arms around her waist, Artemis leaned forward and kissed her.