ASN: Greetings and hallucinations, all. We're back, with a chapter that is slightly longer than the last.
AN: But not by much.
Chapter 31 Fathers, Part two
Antoine Badeau strolled into the infamous Fowl Manor as if he had a search warrant in his hand.
"Hello, miss." he said graciously to the teenage girl who had opened the door. "Are you employed here?"
The girl glared at him. Though she was dressed in the casual fashion of one her age, she seemed to radiate a sense of perpetual danger. "Sort of. I'm Juliet Butler."
Badeau froze. A Butler. He had heard about the Butlers; they were the amazing bodyguards of the Fowls. Quiet, professional, and deadly. And this one was obviously in a bad mood.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Butler." he said, belatedly turning on the charm.
"Uh-huh." Juliet seemed unimpressed. "Since you've invited yourself in, please, have a seat in the living room. The Fowls will be in shortly."
Badeau refused to be intimidated by a teenage girl. Well, he refused to show that he was intimidated by a teenage girl. "Thank you, miss." He sat down, eying the decorations and statues. He also studied the pictures on the walls. It was quite possible they were fake. After all, the young Fowl was rumored to be an artist.
"You must be Inspector Badeau." a voice interrupted. "Welcome to Fowl Manor. I am Artemis Fowl Senior." A tall man with black hair and a slight limp shook the inspector's hand. His face was still slightly scarred from his imprisonment in the Arctic. The man seemed much too weather beaten to be a rich businessman, and certainly too kind to be a suspected criminal.
"This is my wife, Angeline." A graceful looking, slim woman with light brown hair was standing behind Fowl Sr. She smiled demurely and held out a manicured hand.
"Hello, Inspector." she said warmly.
"And this is my son, Artemis Junior." Fowl Sr. introduced as a teenage boy whose raven hair contrasted sharply with his pallor came down the stairs.
This Fowl was more along the lines of what Badeau had imagined. While the parents were warm, welcoming, and radiating hospitality, Artemis Jr. was distinctively cooler, more distant, and definitely warier.
"Inspector." he said formally. Badeau smiled, and Artemis realized who Simone had inherited her all-knowing and slightly condescending manner from.
"I've heard a lot about you, son." Badeau said as he shook the teen's hand firmly. Quite firmly.
"I'm quite sure you have. However, it is wise not to believe everything you hear."
Badeau laughed. "Quite right, young Fowl." he said. "And I'm sure some of what I'm heard is false. And exaggerated."
The unsaid part of the Inspector's sentence '…but not all' hung in the air awkwardly until Angeline broke the silence with a small cough.
"Artemis, why don't you run upstairs and tell Simone her father's here?" she suggested.
Artemis didn't say anything; he just turned and disappeared up the stairs. Angeline resisted the urge to sigh, then motioned to Badeau. "Inspector, this way, please."
"Oh, call me Antoine." Badeau purred. "After all, you're taking care of my daughter ever so graciously. There's no need for formalities."
Artemis just sighed as he continued up the steps. He knocked once on Simone's door.
"Simone?" he called quietly. "Your father has arrived." There was no answer. The teen frowned. "Simone?" he said again, a little louder.
Nothing.
He took a deep breath and opened the door. Simone was still fast asleep. "Laissez moi seule!" she murmured, rolling over and swiping at her forehead. After a moment, she snuggled back into the covers.
"Leave me alone." Holly said into Artemis's ear. Artemis refused to jump or show any sort of surprise. He wouldn't give Holly the amusement.
"What?"
"That's what she said. 'Leave me alone.'" The elf grinned. "Do you think she's having nightmares?"
"I wouldn't know. Why are you in here?"
"I heard you knocking. Is it possible to wake her up?"
Artemis walked over and gently touched Simone's arm. She moved away, then settled back down. "No. She seems to be soundly asleep. What did Foaly do to her to ensure she would sleep for so long?"
"Trade secret." Holly muttered. She gingerly went forward and poked the sleeping girl. Simone just stayed where she was, and kept dreaming.
"This isn't good." the elf pronounced. "She's out like a light. I have no idea when she'll wake."
"Can you get in contact with Foaly?" Artemis asked. "If you are able to, he might know a way to wake her."
Holly fiddled with her helmet comm system. "Foaly? Foaly?" She listened for a moment, then frowned ferociously. "I know you're there, you stupid centaur, come in!"
A distinctly ruffled voice clicked on. "What, Holly? I'm in the middle of an important conversation."
"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times! Once a convict, always a convict, dwarf!"
"Just because I was a criminal doesn't mean I'm a bad person, Julius!"
"DON'T CALL ME JULIUS!!!"
"Okay," Foaly admitted, "I'm in the middle of eavesdropping on an important conversation."
"Simone's father arrived, he wants to talk to his daughter, and she won't wake up. Fix it." Holly commanded.
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am." Foaly groused. "Do you have any magic left?"
"A little." Holly said as she held out her hands, and grimaced. The sparks were much paler than usual.
"Well, if you can, send a bit of your magic into Simone."
"Why?!"
"The shock will wake her up." Foaly explained sensibly. "After all, a lingering effects from the mindwipe might be a reason she's sleeping so much. If her body's trying to heal, it will help if she gets a little bit of magic in her."
"And if I want her to suffer?" Holly growled, laying both hands on the girl's arm. She shielded first, then Artemis watched as light blue sparks traveled down Simone's arm.
Simone's eyes snapped open and they focused on Artemis. She didn't notice the sparks, which disappeared the second she sat up.
Artemis saw the look of shock, then of fury in the French girl's eyes, and frowned. Suddenly, her fist was flying through the air, headed straight for Artemis's jaw.
The boy ducked.
"What are you doing in here?!" Simone demanded, not at all pleased she had missed him. "And what did you do to me?"
"I was trying to get to you to wake." Artemis replied, a little icily. "Your farther is here."
Simone glared at him and stood. She grabbed a brush off her dresser. "Why didn't you knock?" she asked, combing out her tangled hair. "Were you looking for an excuse to come in and snoop?"
"I did knock." Artemis said calmly. "You did nothing."
"Oh."
Artemis studied the girl for a moment and then turned. "He's downstairs in the drawing room."
"Did you like my father?" Simone asked sweetly.
Artemis spared her one glance over his shoulder. "What do you think?" He left, and Simone sighed.
"I don't know what to think anymore." she muttered softly. "You seem too perfect, Fowl. What are you hiding?"
**********************
AN: You know what I noticed. The reviewers keep trying to kill me.
ASN: *Evil grin* Oh, really? No, I hadn't noticed.
AN: Uh-huh.
ASN: By the way, in the last chapter, Lessa exaggerated just a tad. Her arm is not broken.
AN: Bruised beyond recognition, yes, but not broken.
ASN: *Glares* You know where liars go, don't you?
AN: *Bright smile* Washington.
Badeau left with Simone, and pulled her into a corner in the hall. "What do you mean by 'homesick', dear?" he asked.
"I mean, I'd like to come home because I can't find anything about them." she answered, a little irritated. "I've tried being nice; I've tried sneaking around; about all I haven't done is offered to help them plan out a crime!"
"So," Badeau was floored, "You're telling me that they have no incriminating documents anywhere?"
"They are completely and utterly clean." Simone said. "About the only thing wrong is Arty."
"What about him?"
"He's a jerk."
Badeau opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. "Ah."
AN: In case reviewers can't tell by now, we are NOT going to have Simone and Arty fall in love.
ASN: *Goes green at the thought*
AN: …I have nothing else to say.
ASN: That's never stopped you before.
AN: Grr. Anyway, before I was interrupted, we will… we really really need a way to end these notes.
ASN: I'll think about it.
AN: You do that. I'll freak about my Trig.
ASN: *Grins* You do that.
AN: *Glares* Till next time, all.