Out of despair and the fact that Stardust Firebolt has come to her senses
and abandoned me *sob*, my other Artemis Fowl story has been halted until I
can overcome my desperateness for having the most reviews in the Artemis
Fowl section.
Goodbye. *falls off a bridge*
Trisani
Thanks to Artemis Fowl the Second, slime frog, Eleida, Meshdo (get out of my sight, cranky! But wait until you've reviewed, please.), Lilyanna and Pink-Cherry-Blossom. And the one-whose-name-is-not-to-be-mentioned because she's a better writer than me *grumbles*. Sorry for taking so long!
Disclaimer: I will never, ever own Artemis Fowl. *Gets out of the river and falls off another bridge*
Now here's the story:
A Clashing of Minds:
In the LEP office:
"What's my vehicle this time, Foaly? One of those little antique things that Mud Men like to drive around?" demanded Holly, rolling her eyes. Her eyes were hazel-colored shadows, with little purple smudges under them, and she looked as if she hadn't slept for a week. It just showed that appearances could be deceiving. In reality, she hadn't slept for a week and a half. But, unfortunately, Foaly didn't fall for the baited trap that she laid for him, and silently led her to the chute bays. Holly frowned. This had to be serious. Foaly was, for once, keeping his mouth shut. What was this, the world's end?
She ran a hand through her buzz cut auburn hair, and strapped a helmet on. "What, is the great Foaly nervous that one of his inventions is going to break down midway through the lava, and the great pilot Holly Short is going to crash and die?" she joked nervously, her eyes never flickering away for more than a second from Foaly's clomping hooves. He finally stopped his exasperating silence, which was also completely unlike the normal Foaly, and turned and faced her. She gulped heavily. For all his sarcasm, and jokes, Foaly really knew how to make an impression. Having him being taller than her helped, too.
"Holly." He said, looking solemn, his tombstone teeth bared, in a grotesque, worried grin. "Yes, that's my name. You rang?" His eyes didn't waver, but she could've sworn she saw a flicker of amusement. "This might be a little dangerous." He said, walking backwards. Holly resisted the urge to grin. You haven't seen the funniest thing in the world until you watch a centaur walk backwards while you imagine him wearing a tinfoil hat, looking for all the world like an extremely paranoid Mud Man.
"Yeah, Foaly, I didn't know that going after the Medusa was going to be a little dangerous." She began sarcastically, pitching her voice high and whiny, like a civilian's. "I didn't know that THE MEDUSA HAS A GLARE THAT CAN TURN PEOPLE TO STONE!" Foaly looked annoyed. "That wasn't what I meant!" he whinnied sharply, brining his hooves down with a crack. "I meant that there might be outside forces besides the Medusa!"
Did he think that she hadn't considered that option before? "Foaly, the monstrosity was dead for a long, long time. She had her throat cut. Of course there are going to be outside forces." He frowned. "Even so," he said, "I think I should warn you that the LEP has no faith in your skills anymore, and they weren't so sure you had any at all. Actually, I wasn't sure why they kept you either!" Ah, the old Foaly, who couldn't resist a wisecrack, was back.
"So? The news that the Council doesn't trust me, that's really old news." She grinned deprecatingly at Foaly. "What's the matter, lost your subscription to the Little People's Herald because the deliverer couldn't stand your jokes anymore?" He glared at her. "Can't you see I'm trying to be Doom-Bearer here? Quit messing up my lines! Um. . Ugh, you miserable LEP jock you've made me forget my lines!" Holly smirked at him. "I can't help it." She said breezily. "It's my job."
"So?" she added. "What's the big problem?" Foaly cleared his throat, suddenly very amused and a bit scared of telling her what was going on, and the consequences behind it. Luckily he had already made his will. "Since the LEP has to trust you as the girl test case, because one of their best officers," here Foaly smirked. "Threatened to resign if they removed you from your position, all they can do is mumble a bunch of political jumble of words at you about how the world is going to end because you're still the girl test case, even though you helped Artemis Fowl recover his father."
"So?" she said again, extremely bored. "Foaly, they've done this before. It's not that big a deal to me." "Yes, but for this mission, they've assigned you a partner. The-" here he dropped his voice conspiratorially. "The Bimbo."
Holly groaned loudly, almost catching the attention of some male officers leaning on. . She almost fell over when she saw the shiny new pods that they were casually climbing into. "Holly, I didn't know the jaw dropping look was in this year." Quipped the centaur ironically. Holly shut her mouth (literally) but couldn't stop gawking inwardly. "But the budget. . What about the budget. . What about, oh D'Arvit, I sound like you!" she said, annoyed, and left Foaly's company to go run her hands over the newest one.
It was a sleek, shiny one, more built for stealth and speed than anything else, but had seats made of leather, and was modeled after the Atlantean ambassador's pod from last year, though with considerable more. . Attack options. And certainly equipped with lots more interesting buttons to push. Holly wondered dreamily if one of them would get rid of incredibly cryptic centaurs, who were technician geniuses.
"Ah, Holly." Foaly sounded almost pitying as he interrupted her daydream that involved Foaly, the pod, an extremely hot magma flare, and an explosion. "Here are the keys to your pod. The one you're staring at." Holly blinked. "You know," she laughed. "I could've almost sworn I heard you say that you were giving me the keys to the pod I was staring at." "That's because I did say that, Holly."
He was grinning insanely. Foaly's life was dedicated to driving people nuts. He had a feeling this "nut" was about to "crack". "You're kidding." She said dully, her eyes glazed over with hope. "Nope. All yours." Foaly made his voice maddeningly cheerful. "Unfortunately, she comes with-" he stopped when the pod door began to slide open to reveal. .
Corporal Lili Frond, the symbol behind the lively prejudice towards female Recon officers. At exactly four feet, two inches shorter than the average male sprite, she made a very attractive-looking sight, without even mentioning her flawless green eyes and eerily shining white-gold hair, both of which were frequently mentioned in love poems written for her. Holly pitied the girl. Anyone who had to read more than one ballad from Chix Verbil, who was incredibly fickle, was a cursed sprite indeed.
Lili Frond bounced out of the vehicle, her solemn face transforming into a glowing smile beyond imagination that made her even more beautiful. Holly grudgingly smiled back, her muscles churning in disgust. No wonder people were so disdainful of her. But she owed the girl the respect that all officers deserved, even one who was only a corporal. "Hello! I'm Lili Frond!" she grinned. "You must be my partner, Holly Short! I've heard all about you from last year of course, you were the one who was involved in the," here Lili dropped into a respectful whisper. "The Artemis Fowl incident."
For the second time that day, Holly resisted the urge to grin. "He wasn't such a strong Mud Boy after all, he was only-" " I wasn't talking about that!" Lili Frond said disdainfully, shaking her golden curls. She lowered her voice further. "That Artemis Boy, he was quite sweet looking, wasn't he? I digitally changed his scowl into a smile, and he looks very kind! I have it up on my bedroom wall, with everyone else." She added shamelessly. Holly stared at her. It had never occurred to her that Lili was as much of an idiot as she had thought. She'd always thought that Frond had made it through because of some. . Some great talent that she possessed.
"So, how'd you do on the entrance tests for the LEP?" she asked, trying to sound friendly. "Oh," Lili waved them away. "They copied tests scores off some other girl who was trying out, poor soul, and made mine just a little bit better. You see, they say that I'm so smart; I probably wouldn't have to take those tests! Now, come, we're wasting time, and I want to go save the world!" and she began walking away in her high heeled combat boots, only stopping to demand: "Are you coming or not, Holly Short? This is my big chance to get famous, and meet Mud-Boy at the same time!"
Holly was stuck there, mesmerized, and paralyzed by shock. The only other girl officer had gotten in because some idiot, probably mesmerized by the girl's almost statuesque-like beauty had changed her scores by copying (most likely) HOLLY'S test answers, and filling in the ones they knew were wrong. She simply stood there, feeling like a fool. Lili had already gotten on the shuttle. "Are you coming?" she demanded impatiently.
Holly looked back at Foaly, who was shaking with laughter. He was probably listening to the whole thing, she thought rebelliously, glaring at him. He sobered, and walked over to her. "Holly, in case you don't get back, being turned to stone and all, I want you to have this." It was a formless lump of blue, pencil thin, and about as long as Holly's tapered index finger, but as Holly stared at it, the blue shifted and changed over and over, until she could no longer bear looking at it. "What is that thing?" she demanded of Foaly. He looked indignant. "Riskless nuclear play-dough." He said sulkily. "It was my first invention, which I made in kindergarten."
She stared at him. "You made invulnerability to nuclear things in KINDERGARTEN?" she demanded. "Well." Said Foaly, faking a blush, and a careless wave, "Yes. But it only works in small doses of play dough. If you put too much of the play dough together, they create a nuclear explosion, and chaos ensues. But if you mold that lump over an acorn, for some reason it switches your body with the person it touches next. Or you could give it to Frond, and get her to switch with you. It's reusable, unlike the ugly stuff that Mud Men mine." He added, making a "Doom voice". She made a face at him. "And I hope you enjoy your time with Frond!" He cracked, grinning. She glared daggers at him, on her guard again, and, on her way to the shuttle, promised that the centaur would find a few buttons on the shuttle pressed in his honor. She preferred the big, red, and ominous looking one.
In Athens, Greece:
"You saw her? The girl of the snake hair? Where was she?" Artemis' voice was sharp, and angry, as he spat out Greek in staccato syllables. The shepherd nodded fearfully, and spoke quickly, scrambling the already difficult to understand language that Artemis had learned just two months before this trip. Luckily, his mother might have been cured of her disease, but she still thought that sending Artemis on "stress-relieving" trips were a good idea. He shook his head. Fond of his mother as he was, it was still an amazement to him how she had managed to breed a genius.
He rubbed his head tiredly. Ever since they had landed, he had both himself and Butler into a wild goose chase from one side of the island to the other. This was the fourth lead, and he hoped that it would be the right one. Any more trips during the day, now the only time the shepherds were willing to come out, and he would lose his trademark paleness, which would be a terrible shame, though some criminal authorities would find it harder to find him. He looked awful with a tan, and they weren't prepared to see that.
"Repeat, slowly this time, please." He said, trying to make his voice as soothing as an impatient fourteen-year-old criminal mastermind can go. The shepherd calmed down a bit, and sputtered meaningless bouts of "south" and "snakes like warmth". Artemis rolled his eyes. Didn't they think that he knew that? He was planning to move further south, much to Juliet's delight, because "the rays were so much better there."
"Thank you." He said coldly, cutting short the older man's babblings. The shepherd fell silent, then burst into a frenzy of how youngsters should be kind to their elders, after all who was the one who raised them, and who protected them. Artemis left, unruffled, and the old man made a rude gesture at him. Immediately Butler appeared. "Should I go get him, Artemis?" he queried. Artemis smiled icily. "I think we can leave him his life, intact for today at least." He said coolly, and Butler nodded, and guided him to the limousine, not that Artemis couldn't have found it by himself anyway.
"How did the interview go?" Butler asked as soon as they got back to the car. He opened the sleek white door of the limousine, and Artemis got in. Artemis gave a careless wave. "Oh, another insane little babbler." He said with indifference. Then he raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you listening, Butler?" "Well, it was all in Greek." Butler defended himself. "A language with which you are quite familiar with, due to the little incident in, oh, a decade past. And I seem to recall that it was in this area, too." Butler broke into a cold sweat. What was it about Artemis, that he knew so much of Butler's past? Artemis smiled, a sight that Butler would've preferred not have directed at him.
"Next time, don't lie to me, Butler. Your nostrils flare out when you do so to me, and if you must lie, try to make it more authentic." Artemis said softly, and turned to his solar-powered laptop, the new one that he had bought after Foaly had refused to relinquish his old one, after the "Arctic Incident", as he liked to refer to it. Butler turned his head back to the front, and continued driving.
A few moments later, Artemis said something. "I didn't hear you, Artemis." Said his manservant. "What did you say?" "I said, where are we going?" replied the younger boy. "Why, to the Hotel to meet Juliet, of course." Said Butler, keeping his nostrils out of sight. Artemis sighed again. "Must you lie so much?" he asked. "How could you tell this time?" demanded his exasperated bodyguard. Artemis smiled slightly. "I have my ways. Now where are we going?"
"I have an idea of where the Medusa might be." Said his bodyguard finally. "And we'll just leave it at that." "Ah, you and your past." Said his charge softly. "I was wondering when you were prepared to admit that you had something to do with. . The current situation." "It wasn't my fault!" said Butler desperately, wildly, completely out of character for him. "She persuaded me to do it! She said that-" He stopped there, realizing just what he'd given Artemis.
Artemis regarded him the way a cat watches tuna, though with a bit of disgust mixed in. "Fine." He said, his voice flat. "I could, of course, order you to tell me, but we'll just leave it at that, and I will find out at the most inappropriate moment." "Artemis-" "I don't want to hear it, Butler." His manservant sighed heavily. What was wrong with Artemis?
At that moment, though Artemis cried out. "Halt!" he yelled, and Butler screeched to a stop. "What's wrong with you, Artemis? Couldn't you see that- " Artemis wordlessly pointed at a rock up ahead, on a hill. "I couldn't get too close to the target." He said, his voice cold. "She would turn me to stone before I managed to even greet her in Gnommish." "Gnommish? You mean she's-" Butler began, and was interrupted again.
"Yes, there is a distant possibility that she belongs with fairykind." Artemis replied before Butler could even finish his question. "Artemis," said his bodyguard sternly, "You promised no more interactions with fairykind!" "Yes, but this isn't fairykind. This is a Greek Myth character." Replied the boy, trying to seem casual, and slipped out before his bodyguard could protest any further, and his acquiescent Butler followed.
If Stardust Firebolt ever comes back, after all her fame and glory of 100 reviews, is this long enough, finally?!
For the rest of you, PLEASE REVIEW!!
An extremely jealous of slime frog and Stardust Firebolt,
~Trisani
Goodbye. *falls off a bridge*
Trisani
Thanks to Artemis Fowl the Second, slime frog, Eleida, Meshdo (get out of my sight, cranky! But wait until you've reviewed, please.), Lilyanna and Pink-Cherry-Blossom. And the one-whose-name-is-not-to-be-mentioned because she's a better writer than me *grumbles*. Sorry for taking so long!
Disclaimer: I will never, ever own Artemis Fowl. *Gets out of the river and falls off another bridge*
Now here's the story:
A Clashing of Minds:
In the LEP office:
"What's my vehicle this time, Foaly? One of those little antique things that Mud Men like to drive around?" demanded Holly, rolling her eyes. Her eyes were hazel-colored shadows, with little purple smudges under them, and she looked as if she hadn't slept for a week. It just showed that appearances could be deceiving. In reality, she hadn't slept for a week and a half. But, unfortunately, Foaly didn't fall for the baited trap that she laid for him, and silently led her to the chute bays. Holly frowned. This had to be serious. Foaly was, for once, keeping his mouth shut. What was this, the world's end?
She ran a hand through her buzz cut auburn hair, and strapped a helmet on. "What, is the great Foaly nervous that one of his inventions is going to break down midway through the lava, and the great pilot Holly Short is going to crash and die?" she joked nervously, her eyes never flickering away for more than a second from Foaly's clomping hooves. He finally stopped his exasperating silence, which was also completely unlike the normal Foaly, and turned and faced her. She gulped heavily. For all his sarcasm, and jokes, Foaly really knew how to make an impression. Having him being taller than her helped, too.
"Holly." He said, looking solemn, his tombstone teeth bared, in a grotesque, worried grin. "Yes, that's my name. You rang?" His eyes didn't waver, but she could've sworn she saw a flicker of amusement. "This might be a little dangerous." He said, walking backwards. Holly resisted the urge to grin. You haven't seen the funniest thing in the world until you watch a centaur walk backwards while you imagine him wearing a tinfoil hat, looking for all the world like an extremely paranoid Mud Man.
"Yeah, Foaly, I didn't know that going after the Medusa was going to be a little dangerous." She began sarcastically, pitching her voice high and whiny, like a civilian's. "I didn't know that THE MEDUSA HAS A GLARE THAT CAN TURN PEOPLE TO STONE!" Foaly looked annoyed. "That wasn't what I meant!" he whinnied sharply, brining his hooves down with a crack. "I meant that there might be outside forces besides the Medusa!"
Did he think that she hadn't considered that option before? "Foaly, the monstrosity was dead for a long, long time. She had her throat cut. Of course there are going to be outside forces." He frowned. "Even so," he said, "I think I should warn you that the LEP has no faith in your skills anymore, and they weren't so sure you had any at all. Actually, I wasn't sure why they kept you either!" Ah, the old Foaly, who couldn't resist a wisecrack, was back.
"So? The news that the Council doesn't trust me, that's really old news." She grinned deprecatingly at Foaly. "What's the matter, lost your subscription to the Little People's Herald because the deliverer couldn't stand your jokes anymore?" He glared at her. "Can't you see I'm trying to be Doom-Bearer here? Quit messing up my lines! Um. . Ugh, you miserable LEP jock you've made me forget my lines!" Holly smirked at him. "I can't help it." She said breezily. "It's my job."
"So?" she added. "What's the big problem?" Foaly cleared his throat, suddenly very amused and a bit scared of telling her what was going on, and the consequences behind it. Luckily he had already made his will. "Since the LEP has to trust you as the girl test case, because one of their best officers," here Foaly smirked. "Threatened to resign if they removed you from your position, all they can do is mumble a bunch of political jumble of words at you about how the world is going to end because you're still the girl test case, even though you helped Artemis Fowl recover his father."
"So?" she said again, extremely bored. "Foaly, they've done this before. It's not that big a deal to me." "Yes, but for this mission, they've assigned you a partner. The-" here he dropped his voice conspiratorially. "The Bimbo."
Holly groaned loudly, almost catching the attention of some male officers leaning on. . She almost fell over when she saw the shiny new pods that they were casually climbing into. "Holly, I didn't know the jaw dropping look was in this year." Quipped the centaur ironically. Holly shut her mouth (literally) but couldn't stop gawking inwardly. "But the budget. . What about the budget. . What about, oh D'Arvit, I sound like you!" she said, annoyed, and left Foaly's company to go run her hands over the newest one.
It was a sleek, shiny one, more built for stealth and speed than anything else, but had seats made of leather, and was modeled after the Atlantean ambassador's pod from last year, though with considerable more. . Attack options. And certainly equipped with lots more interesting buttons to push. Holly wondered dreamily if one of them would get rid of incredibly cryptic centaurs, who were technician geniuses.
"Ah, Holly." Foaly sounded almost pitying as he interrupted her daydream that involved Foaly, the pod, an extremely hot magma flare, and an explosion. "Here are the keys to your pod. The one you're staring at." Holly blinked. "You know," she laughed. "I could've almost sworn I heard you say that you were giving me the keys to the pod I was staring at." "That's because I did say that, Holly."
He was grinning insanely. Foaly's life was dedicated to driving people nuts. He had a feeling this "nut" was about to "crack". "You're kidding." She said dully, her eyes glazed over with hope. "Nope. All yours." Foaly made his voice maddeningly cheerful. "Unfortunately, she comes with-" he stopped when the pod door began to slide open to reveal. .
Corporal Lili Frond, the symbol behind the lively prejudice towards female Recon officers. At exactly four feet, two inches shorter than the average male sprite, she made a very attractive-looking sight, without even mentioning her flawless green eyes and eerily shining white-gold hair, both of which were frequently mentioned in love poems written for her. Holly pitied the girl. Anyone who had to read more than one ballad from Chix Verbil, who was incredibly fickle, was a cursed sprite indeed.
Lili Frond bounced out of the vehicle, her solemn face transforming into a glowing smile beyond imagination that made her even more beautiful. Holly grudgingly smiled back, her muscles churning in disgust. No wonder people were so disdainful of her. But she owed the girl the respect that all officers deserved, even one who was only a corporal. "Hello! I'm Lili Frond!" she grinned. "You must be my partner, Holly Short! I've heard all about you from last year of course, you were the one who was involved in the," here Lili dropped into a respectful whisper. "The Artemis Fowl incident."
For the second time that day, Holly resisted the urge to grin. "He wasn't such a strong Mud Boy after all, he was only-" " I wasn't talking about that!" Lili Frond said disdainfully, shaking her golden curls. She lowered her voice further. "That Artemis Boy, he was quite sweet looking, wasn't he? I digitally changed his scowl into a smile, and he looks very kind! I have it up on my bedroom wall, with everyone else." She added shamelessly. Holly stared at her. It had never occurred to her that Lili was as much of an idiot as she had thought. She'd always thought that Frond had made it through because of some. . Some great talent that she possessed.
"So, how'd you do on the entrance tests for the LEP?" she asked, trying to sound friendly. "Oh," Lili waved them away. "They copied tests scores off some other girl who was trying out, poor soul, and made mine just a little bit better. You see, they say that I'm so smart; I probably wouldn't have to take those tests! Now, come, we're wasting time, and I want to go save the world!" and she began walking away in her high heeled combat boots, only stopping to demand: "Are you coming or not, Holly Short? This is my big chance to get famous, and meet Mud-Boy at the same time!"
Holly was stuck there, mesmerized, and paralyzed by shock. The only other girl officer had gotten in because some idiot, probably mesmerized by the girl's almost statuesque-like beauty had changed her scores by copying (most likely) HOLLY'S test answers, and filling in the ones they knew were wrong. She simply stood there, feeling like a fool. Lili had already gotten on the shuttle. "Are you coming?" she demanded impatiently.
Holly looked back at Foaly, who was shaking with laughter. He was probably listening to the whole thing, she thought rebelliously, glaring at him. He sobered, and walked over to her. "Holly, in case you don't get back, being turned to stone and all, I want you to have this." It was a formless lump of blue, pencil thin, and about as long as Holly's tapered index finger, but as Holly stared at it, the blue shifted and changed over and over, until she could no longer bear looking at it. "What is that thing?" she demanded of Foaly. He looked indignant. "Riskless nuclear play-dough." He said sulkily. "It was my first invention, which I made in kindergarten."
She stared at him. "You made invulnerability to nuclear things in KINDERGARTEN?" she demanded. "Well." Said Foaly, faking a blush, and a careless wave, "Yes. But it only works in small doses of play dough. If you put too much of the play dough together, they create a nuclear explosion, and chaos ensues. But if you mold that lump over an acorn, for some reason it switches your body with the person it touches next. Or you could give it to Frond, and get her to switch with you. It's reusable, unlike the ugly stuff that Mud Men mine." He added, making a "Doom voice". She made a face at him. "And I hope you enjoy your time with Frond!" He cracked, grinning. She glared daggers at him, on her guard again, and, on her way to the shuttle, promised that the centaur would find a few buttons on the shuttle pressed in his honor. She preferred the big, red, and ominous looking one.
In Athens, Greece:
"You saw her? The girl of the snake hair? Where was she?" Artemis' voice was sharp, and angry, as he spat out Greek in staccato syllables. The shepherd nodded fearfully, and spoke quickly, scrambling the already difficult to understand language that Artemis had learned just two months before this trip. Luckily, his mother might have been cured of her disease, but she still thought that sending Artemis on "stress-relieving" trips were a good idea. He shook his head. Fond of his mother as he was, it was still an amazement to him how she had managed to breed a genius.
He rubbed his head tiredly. Ever since they had landed, he had both himself and Butler into a wild goose chase from one side of the island to the other. This was the fourth lead, and he hoped that it would be the right one. Any more trips during the day, now the only time the shepherds were willing to come out, and he would lose his trademark paleness, which would be a terrible shame, though some criminal authorities would find it harder to find him. He looked awful with a tan, and they weren't prepared to see that.
"Repeat, slowly this time, please." He said, trying to make his voice as soothing as an impatient fourteen-year-old criminal mastermind can go. The shepherd calmed down a bit, and sputtered meaningless bouts of "south" and "snakes like warmth". Artemis rolled his eyes. Didn't they think that he knew that? He was planning to move further south, much to Juliet's delight, because "the rays were so much better there."
"Thank you." He said coldly, cutting short the older man's babblings. The shepherd fell silent, then burst into a frenzy of how youngsters should be kind to their elders, after all who was the one who raised them, and who protected them. Artemis left, unruffled, and the old man made a rude gesture at him. Immediately Butler appeared. "Should I go get him, Artemis?" he queried. Artemis smiled icily. "I think we can leave him his life, intact for today at least." He said coolly, and Butler nodded, and guided him to the limousine, not that Artemis couldn't have found it by himself anyway.
"How did the interview go?" Butler asked as soon as they got back to the car. He opened the sleek white door of the limousine, and Artemis got in. Artemis gave a careless wave. "Oh, another insane little babbler." He said with indifference. Then he raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you listening, Butler?" "Well, it was all in Greek." Butler defended himself. "A language with which you are quite familiar with, due to the little incident in, oh, a decade past. And I seem to recall that it was in this area, too." Butler broke into a cold sweat. What was it about Artemis, that he knew so much of Butler's past? Artemis smiled, a sight that Butler would've preferred not have directed at him.
"Next time, don't lie to me, Butler. Your nostrils flare out when you do so to me, and if you must lie, try to make it more authentic." Artemis said softly, and turned to his solar-powered laptop, the new one that he had bought after Foaly had refused to relinquish his old one, after the "Arctic Incident", as he liked to refer to it. Butler turned his head back to the front, and continued driving.
A few moments later, Artemis said something. "I didn't hear you, Artemis." Said his manservant. "What did you say?" "I said, where are we going?" replied the younger boy. "Why, to the Hotel to meet Juliet, of course." Said Butler, keeping his nostrils out of sight. Artemis sighed again. "Must you lie so much?" he asked. "How could you tell this time?" demanded his exasperated bodyguard. Artemis smiled slightly. "I have my ways. Now where are we going?"
"I have an idea of where the Medusa might be." Said his bodyguard finally. "And we'll just leave it at that." "Ah, you and your past." Said his charge softly. "I was wondering when you were prepared to admit that you had something to do with. . The current situation." "It wasn't my fault!" said Butler desperately, wildly, completely out of character for him. "She persuaded me to do it! She said that-" He stopped there, realizing just what he'd given Artemis.
Artemis regarded him the way a cat watches tuna, though with a bit of disgust mixed in. "Fine." He said, his voice flat. "I could, of course, order you to tell me, but we'll just leave it at that, and I will find out at the most inappropriate moment." "Artemis-" "I don't want to hear it, Butler." His manservant sighed heavily. What was wrong with Artemis?
At that moment, though Artemis cried out. "Halt!" he yelled, and Butler screeched to a stop. "What's wrong with you, Artemis? Couldn't you see that- " Artemis wordlessly pointed at a rock up ahead, on a hill. "I couldn't get too close to the target." He said, his voice cold. "She would turn me to stone before I managed to even greet her in Gnommish." "Gnommish? You mean she's-" Butler began, and was interrupted again.
"Yes, there is a distant possibility that she belongs with fairykind." Artemis replied before Butler could even finish his question. "Artemis," said his bodyguard sternly, "You promised no more interactions with fairykind!" "Yes, but this isn't fairykind. This is a Greek Myth character." Replied the boy, trying to seem casual, and slipped out before his bodyguard could protest any further, and his acquiescent Butler followed.
If Stardust Firebolt ever comes back, after all her fame and glory of 100 reviews, is this long enough, finally?!
For the rest of you, PLEASE REVIEW!!
An extremely jealous of slime frog and Stardust Firebolt,
~Trisani