A/N: Hi!!! Okay, my friend, ednra, has been begging me to update this. So
I will. Hee-hee... I love romance stories... specially when I get to
choose what happens... hee-hee...
Replies to reviewers:
PsychoDude: If you read the second book carefully, on page forty it says, "He had spent the first night of his charge's life standing guard on the Sister's of Mercy maternity ward." See? Artemis was born in the Sister's of Mercy hospital. I don't know who Sammy Keys is...
Alanna: The story isn't done yet! It was only the first chapter. I'm going to filter in little bits of information all over this story. And it is your job as the reader to find them. Anyway, thanx for the review!
italiangirl31: Holly and Root and Foaly will come in the next chapter I think.
ednra: Hi, ednra! Thank you for the review!
asil morilinde: Thanx for the review!
Gram: Thank you!
your auntie: Which aunt are you? Grammy told you about me didn't she? Thanx!
Crystalia: Danke for the review. I do hope you aren't still holding your breath...
becca: Hee-hee... I love making people wait for me... hee-hee
Thank you everyone for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own any Artemis Fowl characters, blah, blah, blah... Eoin Colfer, if you read this, I tell you your work is fantastic!!!! Your books are each a piece of priceless art!!! They are beautiful! Now, on with the story...
Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories
Chapter 2: Amnesia
Artemis didn't open his eyes immediately after he awoke. He was puzzled, and in pain. Odd thoughts were drifting through his mind. Where was he? Why did his *whole body* hurt so much? What was the warm thing in his hand? What the heck was that annoying beeping noise? What had happened? He didn't know the answers to any of these questions so he opened his eyes to find out.
He was greeted by two strange people, one was a burly bald man, who looked very scary with his grim expression, and a girl, a very, very, very pretty girl. The girl seemed nice, she was smiling, but looks could deceive, he knew that because he had learned the hard way, but he couldn't remember how.
So, of course, Artemis asked that simple question he just had to ask. "Who are you?"
The bald man's face fell, and the smiling girl stopped smiling, making her more fit the description of the horrified girl. He longed for that radiant smile to come back, like a fairy longs for the moonlight. Wait a second, fairies didn't exist! Why was he thinking like a mythical creature really existed?
"Artemis?!" The girl spoke, her voice was so beautiful like the ring of a harp string.
Who was Artemis he wondered, the bald man maybe?
"Artemis! You don't remember us?"
They though *HE* was Artemis! How silly, his name was... Wait a darn minute, what was his name anyway? He was shocked, breathless, he couldn't remember his own name. He couldn't remember his own name! He didn't remember *ANYTHING*. Zip, nautta, nothing, zilch, zero... he was in *BIG* trouble.
Artemis's eyes widened. He didn't know where he was, who were these people, and what terrified him the most was he didn't know *HIMSELF*!
The questions he couldn't answer started to pour out of his mouth in a babble. "Where is this? Why am I here? WHO AM I???"
"Artemis, calm down, okay? I'm going to go get a doctor." The scary bald man left the cold white room hurriedly.
Leaving him with the pretty-blonde-girl-who-wasn't-smiling- anymore. "Arty? Don't you remember me?"
Artemis frowned, hadn't they called him Artemis before? "Who is Arty?"
The girl's voice shook, "Y-you are Arty... So you don't remember? Do you remember anything?"
Artemis thought for a moment, he could trust this girl right? She didn't seem vary scary with the muscular bald man gone. "I can't really remember anything."
"N-Nothing?"
Artemis shook his head.
The door opened and the scary bald man all but dragged in a pale man in a white coat with a tag on his collar that said 'Dr. R. Whitman'. Butler let the terrified doctor into the chair next to Artemis.
"What is wrong with him?" Butler asked, or more it was a command for the doctor to heal Artemis.
"Well, um..." The doctor tugged at his collar and laughed nervously. Then he turned to Artemis, "Tell me your name."
"Uh..." Artemis shrugged, well as much as he could with a brace around his shoulders and all sorts of other things.
Doctor Whitman sighed, "Do you remember what happened?"
Artemis shook his head.
"Do you remember these people?"
Again Artemis's answer was negative.
The doctor sighed, "I think it may be amnesia."
At that moment the girl holding his hand burst into tears. He could only understand one word in ten, but he managed to figure out that it was him she was upset about.
The doctor continued, obviously used to people crying, "He has several severe head injuries so I'm not much surprised."
The girl gasped and started weeping even louder than before.
The scary bald man tried to comfort her but it was obvious his comforting abilities were not that great. What was amnesia anyway?
~*~
"Here, you can read these to pass the time." Butler handed Artemis a few magazines and some books.
Artemis puzzled at them he started to flip through the pages. All that was in them were a bunch of squiggly little lines, didn't make any sense to him. What was he supposed to do with these? He started turning them over and letting the pages fall down, then he turned it over again and let the pages fall that way. This was boring.
"Artemis?"
Artemis looked up at Butler. "What am I supposed to do with these?"
Butler's eyes widened, "Er... read them..."
Artemis frowned, "Read? What is read?"
Butler slapped a hand over his face and groaned, he had forgotten how to read. Oh yeah, just *fab*.
~*~
Artemis frowned at the two unconscious figures in the hospital beds before him. Everyone said they were his parents. But he didn't recognize them, well actually, he didn't recognize anything at all.
Everything here was like new to him. What is this? What is that? He found himself asking those questions quite often. No, more than often, he asked all the time. Now, everyone said he was going to go home. What home? He knew of no home.
Artemis felt empty, unfinished. It was like something was gone that had been there before but he didn't know what.
~*~
Belle watched Artemis hobble around the room on his crutch while trying not to cry. It was obvious he didn't recognize a thing, he hadn't even recognized his own parents. The doctors had said there was nothing they could do and Artemis was more likely to remember things if he was put into a familiar atmosphere. So of course, that meant Fowl Manor.
Belle couldn't see how he couldn't forget his own room. It was really, *really* nice. In one corner was huge queen size bed with a mattress so soft and cushy you could get lost in it and there was a beautifully embroidered blue quilt on top with silver birds, flowers, grapevines, and deer. Opposite the bed was a gargantuan entertainment system complete with a big screen TV, PS2, Gamecube, Nintendo 64, Xbox, DVD/VHS player, and surround sound. Some where thrown in with it was the stereo system, which was the only thing he ever really used, but to play classical music. Against one wall was an oaken antique desk with the best computer money could buy perched on its surface. There was rarely a minute when Artemis was home that the plasma monitor wasn't lit with whatever website or Word document Artemis was working on. This was one of those rare times, the screen was as black as an empty hole, just like Artemis's head, empty.
All of his past memories and knowledge was gone. No quotations from people in the last millennium or big confusing words left his lips. It had gotten annoying sometimes but now she missed his greater knowledge and wisdom. Arty just wasn't Arty anymore, he was just... normal. It wasn't right.
"So this is... my room?"
Belle nodded, "If you need anything my room is the next door down, okay? And Butler is on the opposite side."
Artemis nodded then frowned, "You live here, too? Are you my sister?"
Shyeah, right. Like she was related to Thee Artemis Fowl. "No, I am your girlfriend, I'm not related to you in the remotest way."
Artemis puzzled over this for a moment. "So, it you're not related to me then you have your own family, right? Why do you live here?"
Belle winced, he had hit the touchy subject. She had known it would have to be explained sometime but she wished it wouldn't have been now. "Ah... Well... You see... my parents..."
Artemis tilted his head to one side.
Might as well get it over with, "Well, my parents... They aren't really... you know, sensible people. They, well... My mother was, um... raped. See, we don't know who the father is and... My mother... didn't want me." Belle choked back a sob.
A look of worry creased Artemis's face. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. So my family took you in right?"
Belle squeezed her eyes shut trying not to cry. "Butler adopted me, but only because Juliet pestered him and he thought you liked me."
Artemis could see how that could be so, he had to admit he did feel attracted to her and he liked the thought of being her boyfriend.
Belle choked back another sob, she would be calm, keep her cool. Just because she was a girl that had been rejected by her own mother didn't mean nobody wanted her. Just like the psychologist had said. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl liked her, Juliet liked her, Artemis liked her- well, she hoped he still liked her after losing his memory.
"Do you still like me?" She blurted out, she just had to know. Belle had been so happy with Artemis before, what if he didn't like her anymore? If he didn't, then did that mean it had all been pretend before?
Artemis blinked at her, "Er..." He suddenly found his shuffling feet very intriguing to look at.
Belle leaned foreword on her crutch as far as she could without falling over. Did he? Did he?
"Um... Yeah..." He glanced at her then looked back down at the wooden floor.
His face was of a pink hue, he was blushing. That was good, that meant he was still attracted to her. Belle relaxed, spending so much time with him gave her the ability to read his body language like a book. Too bad Artemis didn't remember anything since he had woken up in a hospital bed two weeks ago.
Then an idea came to Belle's mind. She had seen several soap operas just like this. Some girl's boyfriend lost his memory in some tragic accident and the doctor said a sudden shock would break the mental barrier blocking out the man's memories. So the girl had kissed him and he had remembered everything.
As Belle thought about the idea of kissing Artemis some doubts came to mind. The doctor had said to *not* to try to push Artemis to remember things. And she had never kissed Artemis before. How would he react? Belle licked her lips, strawberry. Arty liked strawberries, right? Well, might as well give it a try, what could it hurt? Besides, she had always wanted to kiss Arty, he seemed to avoid it all the time.
Belle took a deep breath and stepped foreword, well sort of, she more of hobbled over on her crutch.
All she had to do was kiss him, them she would have her boyfriend back. Only how was she supposed to do it? Her right arm was in a cast and her other was needed to hold her up on her crutch. Oh, well, it would just have to be a little messy.
She put her plastered arm around his shoulders and carefully pulled him to her. Artemis's eyes widened as their lips met. Belle let her eyelids flutter shut and willed him to kiss her back. After a moment he did start to return the kiss. Belle didn't know how long it lasted, but she didn't want it to end. It was exhilarating, and blissfully pleasant. She took it all in, savoring the taste of him.
Finally she pulled away, even though she wanted to stay like that forever, she and Artemis still had to breathe. Belle stepped back, panting, to look at Artemis. He looked shocked, that was good right? Maybe he was remembering things. "So, do you remember now?" She asked eagerly.
Artemis blinked, "Remember what?"
Belle's hopes began to fall, "You know, do remember? Your past? Me?"
Artemis frowned, "Um, no. Was that supposed to make me remember?"
Belle slumped on her crutch, it hadn't worked. 'Oh, phooey... Note to self: Life is not a soap opera.'
There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Belle hollered to be heard through the thick wood of the door.
Butler opened the door, "Lunch is ready."
Artemis and Belle walked out past the burly man on their way to the dinning room. Actually, Belle was on her way, Artemis was only following since he would have gotten lost otherwise.
~*~
A/N: Okay, here is where I'm gonna have to stop. Tell me what you think of my story! Oh, and I think Holly will be entering in the next chapter. Hee-hee... All of you have no idea what is coming. Hee-hee...
Replies to reviewers:
PsychoDude: If you read the second book carefully, on page forty it says, "He had spent the first night of his charge's life standing guard on the Sister's of Mercy maternity ward." See? Artemis was born in the Sister's of Mercy hospital. I don't know who Sammy Keys is...
Alanna: The story isn't done yet! It was only the first chapter. I'm going to filter in little bits of information all over this story. And it is your job as the reader to find them. Anyway, thanx for the review!
italiangirl31: Holly and Root and Foaly will come in the next chapter I think.
ednra: Hi, ednra! Thank you for the review!
asil morilinde: Thanx for the review!
Gram: Thank you!
your auntie: Which aunt are you? Grammy told you about me didn't she? Thanx!
Crystalia: Danke for the review. I do hope you aren't still holding your breath...
becca: Hee-hee... I love making people wait for me... hee-hee
Thank you everyone for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own any Artemis Fowl characters, blah, blah, blah... Eoin Colfer, if you read this, I tell you your work is fantastic!!!! Your books are each a piece of priceless art!!! They are beautiful! Now, on with the story...
Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories
Chapter 2: Amnesia
Artemis didn't open his eyes immediately after he awoke. He was puzzled, and in pain. Odd thoughts were drifting through his mind. Where was he? Why did his *whole body* hurt so much? What was the warm thing in his hand? What the heck was that annoying beeping noise? What had happened? He didn't know the answers to any of these questions so he opened his eyes to find out.
He was greeted by two strange people, one was a burly bald man, who looked very scary with his grim expression, and a girl, a very, very, very pretty girl. The girl seemed nice, she was smiling, but looks could deceive, he knew that because he had learned the hard way, but he couldn't remember how.
So, of course, Artemis asked that simple question he just had to ask. "Who are you?"
The bald man's face fell, and the smiling girl stopped smiling, making her more fit the description of the horrified girl. He longed for that radiant smile to come back, like a fairy longs for the moonlight. Wait a second, fairies didn't exist! Why was he thinking like a mythical creature really existed?
"Artemis?!" The girl spoke, her voice was so beautiful like the ring of a harp string.
Who was Artemis he wondered, the bald man maybe?
"Artemis! You don't remember us?"
They though *HE* was Artemis! How silly, his name was... Wait a darn minute, what was his name anyway? He was shocked, breathless, he couldn't remember his own name. He couldn't remember his own name! He didn't remember *ANYTHING*. Zip, nautta, nothing, zilch, zero... he was in *BIG* trouble.
Artemis's eyes widened. He didn't know where he was, who were these people, and what terrified him the most was he didn't know *HIMSELF*!
The questions he couldn't answer started to pour out of his mouth in a babble. "Where is this? Why am I here? WHO AM I???"
"Artemis, calm down, okay? I'm going to go get a doctor." The scary bald man left the cold white room hurriedly.
Leaving him with the pretty-blonde-girl-who-wasn't-smiling- anymore. "Arty? Don't you remember me?"
Artemis frowned, hadn't they called him Artemis before? "Who is Arty?"
The girl's voice shook, "Y-you are Arty... So you don't remember? Do you remember anything?"
Artemis thought for a moment, he could trust this girl right? She didn't seem vary scary with the muscular bald man gone. "I can't really remember anything."
"N-Nothing?"
Artemis shook his head.
The door opened and the scary bald man all but dragged in a pale man in a white coat with a tag on his collar that said 'Dr. R. Whitman'. Butler let the terrified doctor into the chair next to Artemis.
"What is wrong with him?" Butler asked, or more it was a command for the doctor to heal Artemis.
"Well, um..." The doctor tugged at his collar and laughed nervously. Then he turned to Artemis, "Tell me your name."
"Uh..." Artemis shrugged, well as much as he could with a brace around his shoulders and all sorts of other things.
Doctor Whitman sighed, "Do you remember what happened?"
Artemis shook his head.
"Do you remember these people?"
Again Artemis's answer was negative.
The doctor sighed, "I think it may be amnesia."
At that moment the girl holding his hand burst into tears. He could only understand one word in ten, but he managed to figure out that it was him she was upset about.
The doctor continued, obviously used to people crying, "He has several severe head injuries so I'm not much surprised."
The girl gasped and started weeping even louder than before.
The scary bald man tried to comfort her but it was obvious his comforting abilities were not that great. What was amnesia anyway?
~*~
"Here, you can read these to pass the time." Butler handed Artemis a few magazines and some books.
Artemis puzzled at them he started to flip through the pages. All that was in them were a bunch of squiggly little lines, didn't make any sense to him. What was he supposed to do with these? He started turning them over and letting the pages fall down, then he turned it over again and let the pages fall that way. This was boring.
"Artemis?"
Artemis looked up at Butler. "What am I supposed to do with these?"
Butler's eyes widened, "Er... read them..."
Artemis frowned, "Read? What is read?"
Butler slapped a hand over his face and groaned, he had forgotten how to read. Oh yeah, just *fab*.
~*~
Artemis frowned at the two unconscious figures in the hospital beds before him. Everyone said they were his parents. But he didn't recognize them, well actually, he didn't recognize anything at all.
Everything here was like new to him. What is this? What is that? He found himself asking those questions quite often. No, more than often, he asked all the time. Now, everyone said he was going to go home. What home? He knew of no home.
Artemis felt empty, unfinished. It was like something was gone that had been there before but he didn't know what.
~*~
Belle watched Artemis hobble around the room on his crutch while trying not to cry. It was obvious he didn't recognize a thing, he hadn't even recognized his own parents. The doctors had said there was nothing they could do and Artemis was more likely to remember things if he was put into a familiar atmosphere. So of course, that meant Fowl Manor.
Belle couldn't see how he couldn't forget his own room. It was really, *really* nice. In one corner was huge queen size bed with a mattress so soft and cushy you could get lost in it and there was a beautifully embroidered blue quilt on top with silver birds, flowers, grapevines, and deer. Opposite the bed was a gargantuan entertainment system complete with a big screen TV, PS2, Gamecube, Nintendo 64, Xbox, DVD/VHS player, and surround sound. Some where thrown in with it was the stereo system, which was the only thing he ever really used, but to play classical music. Against one wall was an oaken antique desk with the best computer money could buy perched on its surface. There was rarely a minute when Artemis was home that the plasma monitor wasn't lit with whatever website or Word document Artemis was working on. This was one of those rare times, the screen was as black as an empty hole, just like Artemis's head, empty.
All of his past memories and knowledge was gone. No quotations from people in the last millennium or big confusing words left his lips. It had gotten annoying sometimes but now she missed his greater knowledge and wisdom. Arty just wasn't Arty anymore, he was just... normal. It wasn't right.
"So this is... my room?"
Belle nodded, "If you need anything my room is the next door down, okay? And Butler is on the opposite side."
Artemis nodded then frowned, "You live here, too? Are you my sister?"
Shyeah, right. Like she was related to Thee Artemis Fowl. "No, I am your girlfriend, I'm not related to you in the remotest way."
Artemis puzzled over this for a moment. "So, it you're not related to me then you have your own family, right? Why do you live here?"
Belle winced, he had hit the touchy subject. She had known it would have to be explained sometime but she wished it wouldn't have been now. "Ah... Well... You see... my parents..."
Artemis tilted his head to one side.
Might as well get it over with, "Well, my parents... They aren't really... you know, sensible people. They, well... My mother was, um... raped. See, we don't know who the father is and... My mother... didn't want me." Belle choked back a sob.
A look of worry creased Artemis's face. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. So my family took you in right?"
Belle squeezed her eyes shut trying not to cry. "Butler adopted me, but only because Juliet pestered him and he thought you liked me."
Artemis could see how that could be so, he had to admit he did feel attracted to her and he liked the thought of being her boyfriend.
Belle choked back another sob, she would be calm, keep her cool. Just because she was a girl that had been rejected by her own mother didn't mean nobody wanted her. Just like the psychologist had said. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl liked her, Juliet liked her, Artemis liked her- well, she hoped he still liked her after losing his memory.
"Do you still like me?" She blurted out, she just had to know. Belle had been so happy with Artemis before, what if he didn't like her anymore? If he didn't, then did that mean it had all been pretend before?
Artemis blinked at her, "Er..." He suddenly found his shuffling feet very intriguing to look at.
Belle leaned foreword on her crutch as far as she could without falling over. Did he? Did he?
"Um... Yeah..." He glanced at her then looked back down at the wooden floor.
His face was of a pink hue, he was blushing. That was good, that meant he was still attracted to her. Belle relaxed, spending so much time with him gave her the ability to read his body language like a book. Too bad Artemis didn't remember anything since he had woken up in a hospital bed two weeks ago.
Then an idea came to Belle's mind. She had seen several soap operas just like this. Some girl's boyfriend lost his memory in some tragic accident and the doctor said a sudden shock would break the mental barrier blocking out the man's memories. So the girl had kissed him and he had remembered everything.
As Belle thought about the idea of kissing Artemis some doubts came to mind. The doctor had said to *not* to try to push Artemis to remember things. And she had never kissed Artemis before. How would he react? Belle licked her lips, strawberry. Arty liked strawberries, right? Well, might as well give it a try, what could it hurt? Besides, she had always wanted to kiss Arty, he seemed to avoid it all the time.
Belle took a deep breath and stepped foreword, well sort of, she more of hobbled over on her crutch.
All she had to do was kiss him, them she would have her boyfriend back. Only how was she supposed to do it? Her right arm was in a cast and her other was needed to hold her up on her crutch. Oh, well, it would just have to be a little messy.
She put her plastered arm around his shoulders and carefully pulled him to her. Artemis's eyes widened as their lips met. Belle let her eyelids flutter shut and willed him to kiss her back. After a moment he did start to return the kiss. Belle didn't know how long it lasted, but she didn't want it to end. It was exhilarating, and blissfully pleasant. She took it all in, savoring the taste of him.
Finally she pulled away, even though she wanted to stay like that forever, she and Artemis still had to breathe. Belle stepped back, panting, to look at Artemis. He looked shocked, that was good right? Maybe he was remembering things. "So, do you remember now?" She asked eagerly.
Artemis blinked, "Remember what?"
Belle's hopes began to fall, "You know, do remember? Your past? Me?"
Artemis frowned, "Um, no. Was that supposed to make me remember?"
Belle slumped on her crutch, it hadn't worked. 'Oh, phooey... Note to self: Life is not a soap opera.'
There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Belle hollered to be heard through the thick wood of the door.
Butler opened the door, "Lunch is ready."
Artemis and Belle walked out past the burly man on their way to the dinning room. Actually, Belle was on her way, Artemis was only following since he would have gotten lost otherwise.
~*~
A/N: Okay, here is where I'm gonna have to stop. Tell me what you think of my story! Oh, and I think Holly will be entering in the next chapter. Hee-hee... All of you have no idea what is coming. Hee-hee...
