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Chapter Five: Long Explanations
Artemis tried hard to think of a good excuse. When a brief search of his cranium relinquished nothing, he stood and tried to casually walk away. Tessa barred his way, looking surprised at her own nerve but determined nonetheless.
"Explain yourselves now," she hissed. "That was an elf, and she just vanished into the air. If you think that you can just walk away to leave us wondering, well, you're wrong."
Jennie blocked his retreat, hands on hips. "We've been waiting for something exciting to happed to us for our whole lives," she growled. "And now it has. What's going on?"
"Okay, okay," the mastermind sighed. "She was an elf. Can you let me go now?"
"No," the cousins chorused, glaring at him on either side.
Holly felt remorseful. She had just gotten her friend into a tight spot, and while she could just walk away unseen, she decided to stick it out. Besides, if these harebrained girls went for another witness, she could just vanish again.
Root's going to kill me when I get back, she thought, and unshielded.
Tessa was so surprised she sat down hard on the store carpet. Jennie swayed but stayed on her feet, gazing at the elf with something between reverence and awe.
"It's true," she whispered, staring at the pointy ears that poked through Holly's auburn hair. "Tessa, just think; we're looking at an elf!"
" 'Much that once was. is lost,'" the other murmured, following her gaze. " 'For none now live who remember.'"
The captain blinked. This was not the reaction that she had expected.
Suddenly Tessa transferred her eyes to Artemis, who was halfway to the revolving doors. He dove for them as he felt her eyes on the back of his neck, but Jennie charged after him and caught his arm.
"I still want that explanation," her companion said, glaring at the boy with stubborn eyes. "How did you come to be traveling with an elf?"
"He started it," said Holly calmly, seating herself on the aisle bench, "by kidnapping me three years ago."
"He kidnapped you?" the older cousin gasped, releasing her hold on his arm immediately. She eyed him with horror. "That's. How could you even think of such a thing?"
Artemis gave a long, exasperated sigh. Here we go again.
The captain snickered at his expression before turning back to the story. "I was the first girl - ever - in the Lower Elements Police. All faeries live underground now, and I had gone up to the surface to chase down a stray troll."
The criminal mastermind, intrigued, sat down on the floor with the cousins to listen. He hadn't heard this part before.
".so Root sent me to complete the Ritual when I didn't have enough power even to shield."
Tessa interrupted angrily. "You mind-wiped all those people?"
"We had to," said Holly sadly. "Mud People don't believe in us anymore."
The cousins traded outraged glances. "Oh, but they do!" exclaimed the other.
"More than you knew at the time," smiled Artemis. The captain scowled.
Jennie ignored the exchange. She leaned forward earnestly, staring at Holly. "We all do," she said softly. "Even Tessa and I did, though we're already teens. But children do too."
Her cousin interrupted again, her eyes bright with an idea. The elf shivered; she was reminded uncannily of Artemis. But the girl was already talking.
"If you just showed yourselves to the kids, then when they grew up most would remember you, and you could live on the surface again."
"I suppose," said the captain doubtfully, though underneath her pessimism she felt a spark of hope. Was there really something to this inspiration? Her mind streaked back to that fatal night in the Italian restaurant, and the little boy who had avoided being mind-wiped. Did he remember her?
Suddenly curious, she asked the cousins, "Do you live together?"
They looked at each other and smirked. "We didn't used to," said Tessa. "A year ago, I lived in a town called Silver City, in New Mexico, and she lived in Dallas, Texas. But then, our parents moved, and now we live here in Denver together. Which was just awesome for us, of course."
"Totally cool," beamed Jennie. She looked down at The Return of the King and gave a start, fumbling in her pocket for a wad of five-dollar bills. Holly looked curiously at the paper money.
"We came to the mall to buy the movie," Tessa explained, following her gaze. "It's only just come out in stores, and we've been waiting forever. Jen, get the DVD, will you? .and I'll get the video."
The girl nodded and took the items to the shop counter, where the clerk was staring at Artemis Fowl with a funny expression on her face. He scowled at her.
Holly continued the story. "Artemis and his Butler had gotten hold of a Book. though where he got it, I have no idea," she added, glancing at the boy.
He reddened. The story of the sprite in Ho Cho Minh City was not one he wanted to tell anymore.
Jennie returned a moment later. The cousins sat appalled as the tale unfolded, casting wary looks toward the now scarlet teen from time to time. When the captain related how the boy had rescued his father from the Mafiya a year later, however, they exchanged awed glances.
I'm sooooo jealous," sighed Tessa. "Imagine avoiding death by mere inches in a three-minute-period open fissure."
"Or climbing on the roof of a radioactive train," added her cousin ecstatically.
Holly and Artemis exchanged bemused looks.
"Or attacking a two-thousand-strong army of goblins with two men at your back."
"Or climbing through a tunnel of plasma."
"Why doesn't this stuff ever happen to us?"
"We lead such boring lives."
"Agreed."
"It's not fair!"
"The most exciting thing that ever happened to me was. I don't even remember what it was!"
"Falling into the lake at a miniature golf course and walking around with your mom's sweater for a towel?"
"Either that or running around a public pool with my face painted... and then the accursed stuff wouldn't come off in the bathroom."
Artemis snorted with laughter as the cousins continued their recollections.
"Or watching the Lord of the Rings for the first time."
"Or screaming and running away from that flying scorpion thing when we were in the hammock, and waking everybody up."
"Or flinging a Harry Potter pillow into my eye."
"That wasn't exciting. Imagine having an elf finger poking you in the eye!" Tessa added excitedly, thinking of Root and Holly's severed digit.
The captain wasn't sure whether she should be amused, disgusted, irritated, or just bewildered. "You want to have an adventure?"
"Oh yes," chorused the girls.
The mastermind, also slightly surprised by their attitude, warmed to the two instantly. "It's been a while since I've had a new exploit," he mused. "I wouldn't mind something interesting to happen myself."
"Why don't you come home with us?" suggested Tessa. "That would be exciting, or at least a little bit. we don't usually host criminals and elves. You wouldn't chance to have a dangerous quest to fulfill, would you?"
"I'm running away from home," said Artemis flatly.
Both looked unimpressed. "Is that all?" said Jennie. "We've done that loads of times." Her eyes misted over with laughter as she recalled their journeys.
"Do you remember the time," began her cousin, staring wistfully into the distance, "that we climbed the fence into your neighbor's yard and kept going down to the street over all those fences?"
"And the one at the end had a burglar alarm and we set it off?" The taller girl nodded. "I'd never seen so many policemen in my life. We were only grounded for two weeks for that one though. Remember when we got all the way across the highway at midnight and then you decided you wanted to go back?"
"If I recall correctly, that was you. But then I made you keep going and we got all the way to our church!"
"I think it was the other way around. But we both got grounded for a month anyway, in spite of which wanted to go back."
The mastermind interrupted, an exasperated look on his face. "I think you've led pretty exciting lives, for teenage girls," he snorted. "Even though most of those tales are kind of lame."
"I know," sighed Tessa. "It's awful. We do our very best to have a good time, and everybody else either gets mad or thinks we're insane."
"At least we have fun."
"True."
"Very."
"But we never got any magical experiences."
"Dreadful, that."
Artemis was getting tired of being left out of the conversation. Holly had wandered away some time ago, watching a television that seemed to be featuring the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
"Listen, you two. What are our chances of seeing you again?"
"Slim," said Jennie. "We leave for South Dakota on Sunday, and it's Thursday right now."
The mastermind waved a hand airily. "I'll just fly up and meet you there, then. Meanwhile, tomorrow I'll look you up by the operator and... mebbe tomorrow?"
They beamed. "Right."
And hurried away.
As they left, Artemis heard one say, "You know, I almost wish we hadn't wanted an adventure so badly..."
"Why?"
"Mebbe one would've come sooner. Take Bilbo Baggins... you know, from The Hobbit... prequel to the Lord of the Rings... that seems more than a coincidence... "
He shook his head in something close to despair and looked around for Holly.
*
Tell me what you think! PLEEEEEASE!
Disclaimer: I. Own. Me. No more.
Chapter Five: Long Explanations
Artemis tried hard to think of a good excuse. When a brief search of his cranium relinquished nothing, he stood and tried to casually walk away. Tessa barred his way, looking surprised at her own nerve but determined nonetheless.
"Explain yourselves now," she hissed. "That was an elf, and she just vanished into the air. If you think that you can just walk away to leave us wondering, well, you're wrong."
Jennie blocked his retreat, hands on hips. "We've been waiting for something exciting to happed to us for our whole lives," she growled. "And now it has. What's going on?"
"Okay, okay," the mastermind sighed. "She was an elf. Can you let me go now?"
"No," the cousins chorused, glaring at him on either side.
Holly felt remorseful. She had just gotten her friend into a tight spot, and while she could just walk away unseen, she decided to stick it out. Besides, if these harebrained girls went for another witness, she could just vanish again.
Root's going to kill me when I get back, she thought, and unshielded.
Tessa was so surprised she sat down hard on the store carpet. Jennie swayed but stayed on her feet, gazing at the elf with something between reverence and awe.
"It's true," she whispered, staring at the pointy ears that poked through Holly's auburn hair. "Tessa, just think; we're looking at an elf!"
" 'Much that once was. is lost,'" the other murmured, following her gaze. " 'For none now live who remember.'"
The captain blinked. This was not the reaction that she had expected.
Suddenly Tessa transferred her eyes to Artemis, who was halfway to the revolving doors. He dove for them as he felt her eyes on the back of his neck, but Jennie charged after him and caught his arm.
"I still want that explanation," her companion said, glaring at the boy with stubborn eyes. "How did you come to be traveling with an elf?"
"He started it," said Holly calmly, seating herself on the aisle bench, "by kidnapping me three years ago."
"He kidnapped you?" the older cousin gasped, releasing her hold on his arm immediately. She eyed him with horror. "That's. How could you even think of such a thing?"
Artemis gave a long, exasperated sigh. Here we go again.
The captain snickered at his expression before turning back to the story. "I was the first girl - ever - in the Lower Elements Police. All faeries live underground now, and I had gone up to the surface to chase down a stray troll."
The criminal mastermind, intrigued, sat down on the floor with the cousins to listen. He hadn't heard this part before.
".so Root sent me to complete the Ritual when I didn't have enough power even to shield."
Tessa interrupted angrily. "You mind-wiped all those people?"
"We had to," said Holly sadly. "Mud People don't believe in us anymore."
The cousins traded outraged glances. "Oh, but they do!" exclaimed the other.
"More than you knew at the time," smiled Artemis. The captain scowled.
Jennie ignored the exchange. She leaned forward earnestly, staring at Holly. "We all do," she said softly. "Even Tessa and I did, though we're already teens. But children do too."
Her cousin interrupted again, her eyes bright with an idea. The elf shivered; she was reminded uncannily of Artemis. But the girl was already talking.
"If you just showed yourselves to the kids, then when they grew up most would remember you, and you could live on the surface again."
"I suppose," said the captain doubtfully, though underneath her pessimism she felt a spark of hope. Was there really something to this inspiration? Her mind streaked back to that fatal night in the Italian restaurant, and the little boy who had avoided being mind-wiped. Did he remember her?
Suddenly curious, she asked the cousins, "Do you live together?"
They looked at each other and smirked. "We didn't used to," said Tessa. "A year ago, I lived in a town called Silver City, in New Mexico, and she lived in Dallas, Texas. But then, our parents moved, and now we live here in Denver together. Which was just awesome for us, of course."
"Totally cool," beamed Jennie. She looked down at The Return of the King and gave a start, fumbling in her pocket for a wad of five-dollar bills. Holly looked curiously at the paper money.
"We came to the mall to buy the movie," Tessa explained, following her gaze. "It's only just come out in stores, and we've been waiting forever. Jen, get the DVD, will you? .and I'll get the video."
The girl nodded and took the items to the shop counter, where the clerk was staring at Artemis Fowl with a funny expression on her face. He scowled at her.
Holly continued the story. "Artemis and his Butler had gotten hold of a Book. though where he got it, I have no idea," she added, glancing at the boy.
He reddened. The story of the sprite in Ho Cho Minh City was not one he wanted to tell anymore.
Jennie returned a moment later. The cousins sat appalled as the tale unfolded, casting wary looks toward the now scarlet teen from time to time. When the captain related how the boy had rescued his father from the Mafiya a year later, however, they exchanged awed glances.
I'm sooooo jealous," sighed Tessa. "Imagine avoiding death by mere inches in a three-minute-period open fissure."
"Or climbing on the roof of a radioactive train," added her cousin ecstatically.
Holly and Artemis exchanged bemused looks.
"Or attacking a two-thousand-strong army of goblins with two men at your back."
"Or climbing through a tunnel of plasma."
"Why doesn't this stuff ever happen to us?"
"We lead such boring lives."
"Agreed."
"It's not fair!"
"The most exciting thing that ever happened to me was. I don't even remember what it was!"
"Falling into the lake at a miniature golf course and walking around with your mom's sweater for a towel?"
"Either that or running around a public pool with my face painted... and then the accursed stuff wouldn't come off in the bathroom."
Artemis snorted with laughter as the cousins continued their recollections.
"Or watching the Lord of the Rings for the first time."
"Or screaming and running away from that flying scorpion thing when we were in the hammock, and waking everybody up."
"Or flinging a Harry Potter pillow into my eye."
"That wasn't exciting. Imagine having an elf finger poking you in the eye!" Tessa added excitedly, thinking of Root and Holly's severed digit.
The captain wasn't sure whether she should be amused, disgusted, irritated, or just bewildered. "You want to have an adventure?"
"Oh yes," chorused the girls.
The mastermind, also slightly surprised by their attitude, warmed to the two instantly. "It's been a while since I've had a new exploit," he mused. "I wouldn't mind something interesting to happen myself."
"Why don't you come home with us?" suggested Tessa. "That would be exciting, or at least a little bit. we don't usually host criminals and elves. You wouldn't chance to have a dangerous quest to fulfill, would you?"
"I'm running away from home," said Artemis flatly.
Both looked unimpressed. "Is that all?" said Jennie. "We've done that loads of times." Her eyes misted over with laughter as she recalled their journeys.
"Do you remember the time," began her cousin, staring wistfully into the distance, "that we climbed the fence into your neighbor's yard and kept going down to the street over all those fences?"
"And the one at the end had a burglar alarm and we set it off?" The taller girl nodded. "I'd never seen so many policemen in my life. We were only grounded for two weeks for that one though. Remember when we got all the way across the highway at midnight and then you decided you wanted to go back?"
"If I recall correctly, that was you. But then I made you keep going and we got all the way to our church!"
"I think it was the other way around. But we both got grounded for a month anyway, in spite of which wanted to go back."
The mastermind interrupted, an exasperated look on his face. "I think you've led pretty exciting lives, for teenage girls," he snorted. "Even though most of those tales are kind of lame."
"I know," sighed Tessa. "It's awful. We do our very best to have a good time, and everybody else either gets mad or thinks we're insane."
"At least we have fun."
"True."
"Very."
"But we never got any magical experiences."
"Dreadful, that."
Artemis was getting tired of being left out of the conversation. Holly had wandered away some time ago, watching a television that seemed to be featuring the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
"Listen, you two. What are our chances of seeing you again?"
"Slim," said Jennie. "We leave for South Dakota on Sunday, and it's Thursday right now."
The mastermind waved a hand airily. "I'll just fly up and meet you there, then. Meanwhile, tomorrow I'll look you up by the operator and... mebbe tomorrow?"
They beamed. "Right."
And hurried away.
As they left, Artemis heard one say, "You know, I almost wish we hadn't wanted an adventure so badly..."
"Why?"
"Mebbe one would've come sooner. Take Bilbo Baggins... you know, from The Hobbit... prequel to the Lord of the Rings... that seems more than a coincidence... "
He shook his head in something close to despair and looked around for Holly.
*
Tell me what you think! PLEEEEEASE!