Disclaimer: All the characters in this story DO belong to me (cough my ass)…
Thanx to every1 who reviewed!!! Please keep reviewing!!!!!! Thanx!!!!
2 BFW: I warned you in the summary - you didn't have to read this! Some of us have a life and DON'T spend it flaming mary-sues!
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Rosetta gulped down some breakfast and tried to act normal. In her head, she was mentally planning out the stages of her escape. She formulated a plan. It was risky, yes. But she would never be able to get out otherwise, there were too many cameras around. She cursed Artemis Fowl under her breath. She didn't know why he even wanted such sophisticated cameras and detection equipment. To her, it was just a waste of money and more obstacles she would have to overcome. But she did know one part of the estate which had no cameras in. The stables. If she could somehow pretend she was one of those horse-riders who were always cantering around here, then she could get away. The only problem was that she didn't know how to ride a horse.
Rosetta spent the morning on the internet, searching for some pointers on horse riding. She browsed through the selection - 'Quick and Easy Guide to Horse-Riding' - 'Learn how to ride in a weekend!' - 'Terry's riders - cheap and easy-to-learn horse riding!'. The problem was, they all took at least two days, and Rosetta had three hours, max. She sighed. She would just have to improvise, and try not to get killed or thrown off.
Finally, after what felt like years, Butler and Juliet left the house. Rosetta rushed up to her room after bidding them farewell, and quickly packed. Everything that she owned went into her rucksack, the one that she had brought from California. She looked around to check she had left nothing, and her eyes fell on her bedside table. Lying on it was a small ornamental dagger, in the shape of a leaf. Its pure silver handle was studded with tiny rubies and amethysts. The blade was thin and wide, with the markings of a leaf's veins on it. It was beautiful. Rosetta had spotted it in a souvenir shop when they went on a trip to Knock, in County Mayo. Mr Fowl had paid for it straight away, without question. It was one of Rosetta's most valued possessions, along with the platinum ring which was the only thing she had left of her mother. She looked at it for a few minutes, and dropped it into her pocket.
Rosetta decided to leave a note on the table, explaining. She hurriedly scribbled a note and drew her small dagger out of her pocket. She laid it on the note and turned away, her eyes full of tears.
She hurried down to the stables. Now that she had actually come to escape, she didn't want to go at all. She had to force herself to enter the well-kept stables. She had seen the mare before. Her name was Holly.
"Come on Holly, good girl!" Rosetta whispered nervously. She had just realised that there were about a hundred things that could go wrong. She fitted the saddle on as well as she could. She had seen it being done on TV, but it was a lot harder in real life. She finally managed to fit it on in an almost correct position and tried to mount Holly. She tried to put a foot in the foothold thing but Holly simply took one step to the side and Rosetta's foot landed in thin air and she fell over. "Dammit!" she cursed. After about seven attempts she finally managed to mount the horse. Once she was on it, going forward was, to her surprise, actually quite easy. Rosetta rode out of the stable and down the track which led to the road and freedom. She was nearly at the road when she realised that she had forgotten to put a helmet on, and if she was going to pass as a proper horse-rider she definitely needed a helmet. Sighing, she turned Holly back towards the stables. She knew that she would have to hurry, there wasn't much time left. Meanwhile, Rosetta noticed that Holly was getting more and more twitchy. She tried to ignore it.
It was as she approached the road for a second time that the plan went haywire. A 4x4 with tinted windows heading for Fowl Manor sped past, and Holly reared up and threw Rosetta off. The car screeched to a halt and the Fowls stepped out.
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CLIFFHANGER!!!!! Sorry, but I felt like it. And the chapters are getting shorter and shorter! AHH!! I promise to make the next one longer. I'll try, anyway. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! Anything constructive including flames accepted, please don't just say something like 'weird' or 'this is interesting, carry on' coz they're nice but not they're not exactly helping me to be a better writer! THANX EVERY1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!