DISCLAIMER:
Too tired to think of a funky poem right now, read the others and don't sue!!
Chapter 6: Enter the Inspector's Daughter
Before Juliet left to pick up the Fowls, Artemis had sat her down and showed her the Book, and told her of Holly. Nothing had helped her, until he had pulled out a picture of the Spiro Needle. The first word out of her mouth had been 'Mulch.' Apparently the dwarf had made an impression on her.
Artemis also copied the Book file again and scattered them throughout his hard drive, saving them as school projects. Hopefully, if the LEP tried to mindwipe him again, they'd miss one. Of course, if Holly really did trust him, he might not need it. But Artemis had never been able to understand Holly and her mind completely. The precaution had taken several hours; his parents would most likely be home soon.
A clatter downstairs informed the teen that his guess had been correct. He dutifully left his computer and walked to the front hall, so he could say hello. Maybe if he made a good impression, this Simone would leave him alone for the rest of her stay.
Right. And Root was going to grant him an honorary membership to the LEP.
Juliet and Butler were standing with the suitcases, looking vaguely uncomfortable. Angeline and Artemis Sr. were smiling widely, pointing out various things in the hall, including a set of slightly dented armor that brought a small smile to Artemis's face. And the girl stood calmly, taking it all in.
She was beautiful. Long blonde hair cascaded down to the middle of her back in loose waves. Her face shape was thin and narrow. She was tall, skinny, and slightly tan, with long arms and delicate hands. It almost seemed as though she would break in half if a breeze pushed her over too far. Her eyes were brown, surrounded by thick lashes, and full of apparent boredom. To sum it all up, she was breathtakingly gorgeous.
Artemis was unimpressed.
"Where is that boy?" Angeline murmured, spinning around and scanning the hall. "I'm certain he heard us; Artemis pays attention to almost everything." she said to Simone. The girl nodded, glancing around the huge place.
"Yes, Mother, I heard you." Artemis said calmly as he descended the last few stairs. Angeline and Artemis Sr. turned, looking slightly surprised. Angeline then rushed up and hugged her son, much to his dismay.
"Hello, Arty!" she sang out happily. Artemis closed his eyes briefly and camouflaged his sigh with a cough.
"Oh, sorry, dear!" His mother released him, then turned and gestured grandly to the girl. "Artemis, I would like you to meet Simone Badeau. Simone, this is my son, Artemis Fowl the Second."
Artemis extended a hand politely. "Bonjour, mademoiselle." he said in perfect French.
The girl took his hand and gave him a cold look. "You need not bother with speaking my native language." she said sweetly. A little too sweetly. "I most likely speak better English than you do."
The Irish teen nodded once and let go of her hand. "I will let you continue believing that fantasy."
"Ahem." Artemis Sr. interrupted. "Artemis, why don't you show Simone the house, and then take her to her room?" Artemis turned to glance at his father with one eyebrow raised in surprise. "And try to be a little nicer." his father hissed. Artemis successfully controlled the urge to roll his eyes and turned back to Simone.
"Follow me." he said, and began walking. Simone glanced back at the two parents, who smiled at her encouragingly. She followed, albeit reluctantly.
The tour included the regular rooms in any house, plus a few of the odder rooms present in a manor, including a pool room and a library. Simone just walked along behind Artemis quietly and studied his profile. The boy seemed quiet, withdrawn and fairly snotty. Who knew what he was hiding under that still façade. Of course, he was a Fowl. And she knew about the Fowls.
After a while, they came to the upstairs. Simone stopped when Artemis walked past his room without saying anything. She glanced in quickly, craning her neck to see in the crack between the door and the frame. There was a high tech computer, along with a laptop, and a bunch of equipment that looked fairly familiar. Almost like hacker equipment. Was this boy a hacker…?
The crack closed firmly, surprising her. She turned to gaze into Artemis's dark blue eyes. He looked perfectly calm on the surface, but she could see the slight annoyance in his eyes.
"That is my room. I would appreciate any efforts you made to stay out of it." he said. Simone sniffed, backing away.
"I was just interested. Why, is there something in there you want to hide?" she prodded. Artemis didn't twitch one muscle.
"There is nothing I need to hide except my need for privacy. I plan to stay as far away from your room as possible during your stay; it's only courteous if you did the same to me."
The two stood glaring at one another for several seconds before Simone spoke. "I don't trust you, Fowl. Crime has been prominent in your family's bloodline for generations."
"You will excuse me if your opinion does not matter overly much to me." Artemis returned.
"Um, Artemis?" The boy looked over at Juliet, who had just rounded the corner and was looking slightly surprised with the way he and Simone had been talking to one another. "I hate to break this up, but I just talked to-"
"Hello." Simone interrupted, much to Artemis's silent dismay and Juliet's astonishment. She stepped forward and took Juliet's hand warmly. "I know we were introduced earlier, but with all the confusion, I've lost your name. I'm Simone."
"Juliet." the older girl said, looking uneasily at Artemis. "Um…"
"Why don't you take Simone to her room, Juliet?" Artemis said.
"But Artemis, it's important…" Juliet started. Artemis raised one eyebrow.
"I'm certain it can wait a little longer." At her expression, he coughed. "It would be very helpful to me."
"Oh, okay." Juliet said as she finally got the subtle hints. "Come with me, Simone." She began to head down the hall. Simone smiled and followed; she was very glad to be away from the younger Fowl. Artemis was equally pleased to see her go. He opened his bedroom door, seeking some peace and quiet after the mess with the French girl.
An elf was sitting on his bed.
"Hello, Arty." Holly said cheerfully. "Miss me?"
There went any hope of peace and quiet.
"Holly?" Artemis asked unbelievingly. "How did you get in?"
"I knocked on Juliet's window and she let me in."
Artemis sighed loudly. "That's what she wanted to talk about. Next query: What are you doing here?"
"Well," Holly said, a smile appearing on her face, "When I arrived back at Haven, not only was I not missed, but Root called me into his office soon after and gave me some vacation time. Now that we have most of the goblin mess cleared up, he's letting officers go on break, just a couple at a time. Since I had been worn out by the healing I performed on Trouble, I was one of the first to be relieved."
"That doesn't exactly answer my question." Artemis said, trying to stay patient. "What are you doing here?"
Holly's grin widened. "Watching you deal with a common teenager is much more fun than any resort."
Artemis studied the elf with carefully hidden shock. "You are not even considering staying here for your vacation." he said in disbelief. "I will not put up with you, even for a day."
"That's alright." Holly said, standing and stretching, "I won't be here for a day." Artemis relaxed slightly with relief.
"I'll be here for fourteen."
The boy stared at Holly. She just flashed him a bright smile. "Where should I put my stuff?"
Artemis sank into his computer chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose. With the way things were progressing, it would probably be a smart idea to buy stock with an aspirin company.
***********
Butler stared at Juliet in shock. "Holly…here?" he asked. The two Butlers were making their final rounds of the Manor, making sure that everything was secure for the night. Juliet was filling Butler in on the elf situation.
"Personally, I think she's here to keep an eye on Arty and make sure he won't be a danger to the People." she said, flipping her long braid over her shoulder. The two bodyguards paused outside of Artemis's door. For just a second. It wasn't like they were eavesdropping or anything, just doing their jobs.
"After all, Fowl, show me a little gratitude. I could have accidentally let it slip that you and Butler had regained your memories. Then, instead of having a nice, quiet, peaceful evening at home-"
"This isn't exactly what I would refer to as peaceful." Artemis interrupted snidely.
"You could be having your minds wiped instead." Holly continued without noticing. Or pretending not to anyway.
Juliet and Butler began walking again. Butler grinned slightly.
"I can see your reasoning behind Holly's so called vacation, but I think the sole reason Holly is here is to return every bit of grief he ever gave her. With interest." Juliet thought for a moment and then folded her arms across her chest.
"Care to make a bet?"
**********
Just as Butler and Juliet were making their final wagers, Artemis opened the door and looked out.
"Butler, Juliet, will you come here for a moment?"
The two bodyguards glanced at each other and came back down the hall. "Um, how did you know we were there, Arty?" Juliet asked a little nervously. She knew Artemis would not be amused at their idea of pastime.
"Everyday, when you are going over the house for its night inspection, you pass my room roughly nine minutes and 25 seconds after starting. Butler informed me ten minutes ago that he was beginning the rounds." Artemis sat down in his chair and steepled his fingers. "Simple, really."
"So impressed." Holly muttered, still perched on Artemis's bed. Juliet smiled when she saw the elf.
"Oh, so you found out, Artemis. I was worried she'd surprise you."
"She didn't."
"I did." Holly piped up.
Artemis took a deep breath. "Holly is actually the reason I asked you two here." he started. "I was wondering if you had any ideas on where she could stay that was out of my parents' way." He ignored Holly's triumphant grin. "I really don't want to explain the presence of an elf to my parents. Or Simone."
"Well," Butler started, "There's the spare room up near the attic. It's empty; she could use that."
Juliet shook her head. "Mrs. Fowl has been planning to turn that into a guest bedroom. If she found an uninvited guest, especially one of another species, things could become…"
"Difficult." Artemis finished. "All right, Juliet, what is your suggestion?"
"She can stay with me."
Artemis raised one eyebrow. "With you." he repeated.
"Sure. Mister and Mistress Fowl never come near my room if they can help it, and Simone didn't seem all that impressed with it when I showed it to her. I doubt they'll be coming by voluntarily."
"I'd love to stay with you, Juliet." Holly said brightly before Artemis could veto the idea as she knew he wanted to. "After all, I'm certain we have a lot to talk about. Did you ever get that blue diamond you wanted so badly?"
Juliet shook her head as she stood and motioned to the door. "No, I tried out for an American wrestling team instead."
"Great!" Holly said. "How's it going?"
Juliet sighed. "Well, I made it, but I got kicked off the team after my first match ended with the other person in a body cast for three weeks."
Holly grimaced. "Oh. Sorry?"
"It's okay. I'm not sure what to do now, though…" Her voice trailed off as the two girls walked out. Artemis and Butler glanced at each other.
"Maybe she'll be occupied with Juliet and leave you alone." Butler offered.
Holly stuck her head back through the doorway. "Don't bet on it."
Artemis closed his eyes and leaned back in his computer chair. The next two weeks were going to be very long.
AN: Sorry about updating; my 16th birthday was yesterday (Yeah!!!!!!!!!! I'm 16! Give me the keys, give me the credit cards and get out of my way!) , so I've been busy. I'll try to do better.
Okay, peeps, this is IMPORTANT. My sister and I might seriously update the beginning of the story. As in, a total revamp of how Artemis found the Booke. If we do, I will say so in the summary, but keep an eye out. Also, I might be changing my name; if so, I'll put it in one of the chapter notes before I change, so you are prepared. And, of course, my sis and I might actually think up a title, so it could be changing as well. If so, I'll find some way for all the readers to find out. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing, everyone! I really appreciate it!!