Disclaimer: I own, of course, nothing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As Holly waited for somebody to answer the door, a very unwelcome thought entered her head.
"What if *he's* the one who's been trying to kill you?"
"He knows the rules. New game. He can't do that," Holly instantly told herself, but started to get worried.
"He's a human. He can do whatever he wants," the voice reminded her.
"No. He is *not* responsible for this," Holly insisted. Considering that she actually had no idea if this was true or not, the voice left her alone, knowing that she didn't need any help getting nervous.
"Oh, shit," Holly thought to herself. "What if it is him? I can't use my mesmer . . . don't have enough magic left for that. Well, too late now."
"Who's there?" Butler called into the night, not looking down.
"Umm . . . Down here," Holly stammered, using all of her energy to keep her voice under control. This was *not* the time to go to pieces.
Butler looked down and blinked. "Captain Short?" he asked incredulously.
Holly nodded and glanced at the sky. It was almost dawn. "I hate to rush you, but can I please come in?"
Butler moved aside to let her in and quickly closed the door behind her. "What are you doing here?"
"Umm . . ." Holly stammered, inwardly flinching at using the word "umm" twice in a row. "I . . . well . . ."
"Would you like something to eat?" Butler asked, noting how weak Holly seemed.
"Yes, thank you," Holly said gratefully and followed the giant manservant into the kitchen.
"What would you like?" he asked.
"Hang on a sec," Holly replied, struggling to get herself seated in the human-sized chairs. Eventually she managed it and said, "Some fruit?"
"There's some leftover fruit salad from last night, if you'd like that," Butler offered.
"That sounds great," Holly said and gratefully took the huge bowl Butler handed her as well as the oversized spoon. "Do you have anything smaller?" she asked sheepishly.
Butler's brow furrowed. "There might be some small spoons leftover from when Master Fowl was a child," he said and began to look through drawers. Eventually he pulled out a small spoon made for a toddler. "Here," he said, handing the new spoon to Holly and taking the old one back. "I assume you can to talk to Master Fowl?"
Holly nodded uncertainly. "I guess. I came for shelter."
"Why are you up here in the first place?" Butler asked.
Holly felt herself blush slightly. "I . . . umm . . . well . . ." she stammered, not liking the fact that she had lost the ability to formulate sentences.
"Or would you rather tell Artemis?" Butler suggested gently.
"I guess," Holly repeated doubtfully.
"I'll go get him," Butler replied and left, leaving Holly to her huge bowl of leftover fruit salad.
*
Artemis' brow was furrowed in concentration. He had been working on this program since he had woken up at five, an hour ago, but he couldn't get this one part to work. He read over the code again, trying to find what was wrong.
"Sir?" There was a knock on the door.
"Can it wait, Butler?" Artemis asked, still scrolling slowly through the seemingly endless code.
"I'm afraid not," the manservant said, opening the door.
Artemis leaned back in his chair angrily. "What is it?" he snapped.
"Captain Short is here to see you," Butler told him. "I believe she has run away."
"Captain Short? Impossible," Artemis replied, but closed the code and looked at his cameras. There she was, sitting at the kitchen table, looking like a doll somebody had left out. A doll that was having difficulties eating leftovers.
"You said she ran away?" Artemis asked, getting out of his chair.
"It appeared that way to me, sir," Butler said. "Unless I am mistaken, she has been through quite a lot. Be gentle."
Artemis didn't say anything as he left the room and walked to the kitchen. He stood in the doorway for a couple of moments before making his presence known.
"Good morning, Captain Short."
*
As soon as Root recovered from his bout of shock, he called Foaly.
"Has Captain Short walked by?" he asked nervously.
"Yeah, she just left," Foaly replied. "What happened? She looked really upset."
Root swore under his breath. "Nothing. I'll be down in a second." He hung up and quickly went down to the Ops booth where Foaly let him in.
"What happened?" the centaur asked.
"She left. She doesn't want anyone to get hurt if there are any more attempts to kill her," Root explained.
"But she has to stay here!" Foaly protested. "She could stay in the Ops booth with me-"
"She's already gone!" Root snapped.
Foaly quickly brought up the cameras that surrounded and were inside the LEP. She wasn't anywhere. "I recommend letting her cool down. She has to calm down eventually. She'll either come back here, go to your place, mine, or some other close friend's, possibly a motel."
"They're already looking for her," Root said and recapped what had happened last night.
Foaly whistled. "Well, she'll eventually turn up," he said, although he didn't sound as sure of himself anymore. "If she's not back by tomorrow, we can start a search or something."
Root sighed. "I guess," he said and went back to his office. He opened his desk drawer, reaching for a cigar, but then thought better of it. He started gnawing on one of Foaly's carrots.
*
Holly had been aware of his presence since he had walked down the stairs, but hadn't said anything. Now, she slowly turned around to face him. "Good morning, Artemis Fowl."
"I take it there's some reason for you coming here other than to just say hello?" he asked, walking over to the table and sitting down opposite the elf. She really did look tiny surrounded by his human sized life.
"I needed shelter," she replied, leaving it evident that there was something else.
Artemis eyed her. Her clothes were dirty and torn in some places and she had large bags under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in the past couple of days. She looked . . . beaten. He hadn't seen her like that before. "What on earth had happened to make her look like this?" he asked himself. Butler had said it looked like she was running away, which was definitely true.
"Well, Captain, I can give you shelter and food for today, but unless you tell me why you came here, I am afraid I can't let you stay any longer than that," Artemis eventually said.
"Two nights," she bargained. "I just need to stay above ground until there's a full moon."
"I take it you need to complete the Ritual?" he asked and was rewarded with a nod. "Why can't you go below ground?"
"I'm on vacation," she replied, looking back at the fruit salad.
This was so obviously a lie, Artemis wondered momentarily why she would bother to say it. Was it possible that she was *afraid* to tell him? "Quite likely, actually," he thought to himself. But he wasn't one to give in easily. "One night. I might extend my offer if you tell my why you're here, but other than that, I'm afraid I can. For my own safety, of course."
Holly looked back at Artemis. "Are you aware that I had a sister?" she asked him.
Artemis was taken aback. Why was she asking this? "No, I wasn't."
"She died ten years ago," Holly said carefully, watching his face for any recognition.
"I'm sorry," Artemis replied, still confused *Be gentle* . . . Butler's words echoed through his head.
"Would you like to know *how* she died?" Holly asked him.
"If you would like to tell me," Artemis responded, refusing to let his confusion show on his face.
"She was killed in a terrorist attack," Holly replied. The only reaction she got from Artemis was one of surprise and confusion. She relaxed slightly. He hadn't done it.
"I'm sorry," Artemis repeated.
"Thank you," Holly replied and went back to eating.
Artemis watched her closely. She had told him that because she was looking for a reaction. His had satisfied her. What was going on? "Captain, considering the circumstances, I'm afraid I must insist you tell me why you're here."
Holly had been afraid of this. She couldn't tell him.
"Why not?" the voice in her head asked.
Holly sighed. "Fine," she snapped at the voice. "There was another terrorist attack a few days ago," she said carefully. "I almost died. My apartment was blown up." She paused.
Artemis didn't say anything, merely watched the internal debate she was going through.
"I had been staying with a friend," she finally continued. "But I felt that I was putting him in danger so I left. The next day I said that I couldn't stay at work until the terrorist was caught since I would be putting everyone at risk. I was ordered to stay but left anyways. I came up illegally, so I can honestly say I didn't know I was by Fowl Manor until I saw the wall. The sun started to come up so I needed shelter. I felt I didn't have a choice so I came here."
Artemis stared at her. "Fascinating story," he said dryly and noted Captain Short's look of panic when she thought he wouldn't believe her. "Considering that I'm putting my life in danger, letting you stay here even for one day as I promised is an enormous act of hospitality on my part." He paused for a moment, thinking. "But since your situation is far worse than my own and since nobody knows you're here, I suppose you can stay until you have completed the Ritual, but no longer. Understood?"
Holly nodded. "Thank you," she replied and turned back to the fruit salad. "I think I'm done," she said and yawned. "Do you have anywhere I can sleep?"
Artemis smiled, thinking of the last time she had stayed in Fowl Manor. "The room you stayed in when we first met is still in working order, but I believe I can come up with something more comfortable. Follow me."
Holly got up, followed Artemis up the grand staircase and into what appeared to be a guest room.
"I'm afraid the furniture will be too large for you, but-"
"No, it's fine," Holly interrupted and all but pushed Artemis out of the room. She kicked off her boots and collapsed on the bed. She fell asleep instantly.
*
"Interesting," Artemis commented as he went back into his study where Butler was waiting for him. "You were right. She is on the run."
"Why?" Butler asked. "She doesn't seem the type to run away from her problems."
"I wouldn't have thought so either, but I believe it is justified in this case," Artemis said and then added, "But if she didn't tell you why earlier, it isn't my place to do so now. She said she will be staying here for two days, although she might want to stay longer. Mother won't be back from visiting Father in the hospital until next week, so that should work out."
"Is there anything you need?" Butler asked.
"Yes. I need not to be disturbed," Artemis answered. Almost as an after thought, he said, "If the Captain needs anything, give it to her."
"Yes, sir," Butler replied and left, closing the door softly behind him.
*
When Root finally got home form another unproductive day at the office, he collapsed on the couch in his living room, already noticing how empty it felt without Holly. She had only been there a couple of days, but it already seemed as if the house was too big.
"Like after Nichkola died," the voice in his head prompted.
"No, because then I was in love with her and had spent the past thirty years of my life with her," Root snapped.
"And you aren't in love with Holly? What about that dream?" the voice asked him.
"It was just a dream!" Root roared in his head.
"You seemed much calmer when Holly was here," the voice pondered.
"I had other things to worry about," Root spat.
"And you don't know that she's missing?" the voice asked. "Interesting."
"No, I do!" Root replied, frustrated. "Different things! Things like where she is!"
"Which is why you're more irritated, right?" the voice questioned. "Or is it that Holly's not here?"
Root thought. "I don't want to loose one of my best officers," he finally replied.
"Is that all she is? Really, Julius, I thought you knew better than that," the voice replied.
"Fine. I don't want to loose one of my friends," Root revised angrily.
"Closer, but not quite," the teacher voice said, finally making an appearance. "What is she really, Julius?"
Root put his hands to his head. He was getting a headache. "She is really Captain Holly Short, one of the best officers in the LEP and one of my closest friends. Only friends, for that matter."
The voices sighed. "We're disappointed in you," they said at the same time and left.
Root got up to take some medicine. He couldn't think properly when he had a headache.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There's chapter eight. Again, I hope it's not too out of character.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As Holly waited for somebody to answer the door, a very unwelcome thought entered her head.
"What if *he's* the one who's been trying to kill you?"
"He knows the rules. New game. He can't do that," Holly instantly told herself, but started to get worried.
"He's a human. He can do whatever he wants," the voice reminded her.
"No. He is *not* responsible for this," Holly insisted. Considering that she actually had no idea if this was true or not, the voice left her alone, knowing that she didn't need any help getting nervous.
"Oh, shit," Holly thought to herself. "What if it is him? I can't use my mesmer . . . don't have enough magic left for that. Well, too late now."
"Who's there?" Butler called into the night, not looking down.
"Umm . . . Down here," Holly stammered, using all of her energy to keep her voice under control. This was *not* the time to go to pieces.
Butler looked down and blinked. "Captain Short?" he asked incredulously.
Holly nodded and glanced at the sky. It was almost dawn. "I hate to rush you, but can I please come in?"
Butler moved aside to let her in and quickly closed the door behind her. "What are you doing here?"
"Umm . . ." Holly stammered, inwardly flinching at using the word "umm" twice in a row. "I . . . well . . ."
"Would you like something to eat?" Butler asked, noting how weak Holly seemed.
"Yes, thank you," Holly said gratefully and followed the giant manservant into the kitchen.
"What would you like?" he asked.
"Hang on a sec," Holly replied, struggling to get herself seated in the human-sized chairs. Eventually she managed it and said, "Some fruit?"
"There's some leftover fruit salad from last night, if you'd like that," Butler offered.
"That sounds great," Holly said and gratefully took the huge bowl Butler handed her as well as the oversized spoon. "Do you have anything smaller?" she asked sheepishly.
Butler's brow furrowed. "There might be some small spoons leftover from when Master Fowl was a child," he said and began to look through drawers. Eventually he pulled out a small spoon made for a toddler. "Here," he said, handing the new spoon to Holly and taking the old one back. "I assume you can to talk to Master Fowl?"
Holly nodded uncertainly. "I guess. I came for shelter."
"Why are you up here in the first place?" Butler asked.
Holly felt herself blush slightly. "I . . . umm . . . well . . ." she stammered, not liking the fact that she had lost the ability to formulate sentences.
"Or would you rather tell Artemis?" Butler suggested gently.
"I guess," Holly repeated doubtfully.
"I'll go get him," Butler replied and left, leaving Holly to her huge bowl of leftover fruit salad.
*
Artemis' brow was furrowed in concentration. He had been working on this program since he had woken up at five, an hour ago, but he couldn't get this one part to work. He read over the code again, trying to find what was wrong.
"Sir?" There was a knock on the door.
"Can it wait, Butler?" Artemis asked, still scrolling slowly through the seemingly endless code.
"I'm afraid not," the manservant said, opening the door.
Artemis leaned back in his chair angrily. "What is it?" he snapped.
"Captain Short is here to see you," Butler told him. "I believe she has run away."
"Captain Short? Impossible," Artemis replied, but closed the code and looked at his cameras. There she was, sitting at the kitchen table, looking like a doll somebody had left out. A doll that was having difficulties eating leftovers.
"You said she ran away?" Artemis asked, getting out of his chair.
"It appeared that way to me, sir," Butler said. "Unless I am mistaken, she has been through quite a lot. Be gentle."
Artemis didn't say anything as he left the room and walked to the kitchen. He stood in the doorway for a couple of moments before making his presence known.
"Good morning, Captain Short."
*
As soon as Root recovered from his bout of shock, he called Foaly.
"Has Captain Short walked by?" he asked nervously.
"Yeah, she just left," Foaly replied. "What happened? She looked really upset."
Root swore under his breath. "Nothing. I'll be down in a second." He hung up and quickly went down to the Ops booth where Foaly let him in.
"What happened?" the centaur asked.
"She left. She doesn't want anyone to get hurt if there are any more attempts to kill her," Root explained.
"But she has to stay here!" Foaly protested. "She could stay in the Ops booth with me-"
"She's already gone!" Root snapped.
Foaly quickly brought up the cameras that surrounded and were inside the LEP. She wasn't anywhere. "I recommend letting her cool down. She has to calm down eventually. She'll either come back here, go to your place, mine, or some other close friend's, possibly a motel."
"They're already looking for her," Root said and recapped what had happened last night.
Foaly whistled. "Well, she'll eventually turn up," he said, although he didn't sound as sure of himself anymore. "If she's not back by tomorrow, we can start a search or something."
Root sighed. "I guess," he said and went back to his office. He opened his desk drawer, reaching for a cigar, but then thought better of it. He started gnawing on one of Foaly's carrots.
*
Holly had been aware of his presence since he had walked down the stairs, but hadn't said anything. Now, she slowly turned around to face him. "Good morning, Artemis Fowl."
"I take it there's some reason for you coming here other than to just say hello?" he asked, walking over to the table and sitting down opposite the elf. She really did look tiny surrounded by his human sized life.
"I needed shelter," she replied, leaving it evident that there was something else.
Artemis eyed her. Her clothes were dirty and torn in some places and she had large bags under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in the past couple of days. She looked . . . beaten. He hadn't seen her like that before. "What on earth had happened to make her look like this?" he asked himself. Butler had said it looked like she was running away, which was definitely true.
"Well, Captain, I can give you shelter and food for today, but unless you tell me why you came here, I am afraid I can't let you stay any longer than that," Artemis eventually said.
"Two nights," she bargained. "I just need to stay above ground until there's a full moon."
"I take it you need to complete the Ritual?" he asked and was rewarded with a nod. "Why can't you go below ground?"
"I'm on vacation," she replied, looking back at the fruit salad.
This was so obviously a lie, Artemis wondered momentarily why she would bother to say it. Was it possible that she was *afraid* to tell him? "Quite likely, actually," he thought to himself. But he wasn't one to give in easily. "One night. I might extend my offer if you tell my why you're here, but other than that, I'm afraid I can. For my own safety, of course."
Holly looked back at Artemis. "Are you aware that I had a sister?" she asked him.
Artemis was taken aback. Why was she asking this? "No, I wasn't."
"She died ten years ago," Holly said carefully, watching his face for any recognition.
"I'm sorry," Artemis replied, still confused *Be gentle* . . . Butler's words echoed through his head.
"Would you like to know *how* she died?" Holly asked him.
"If you would like to tell me," Artemis responded, refusing to let his confusion show on his face.
"She was killed in a terrorist attack," Holly replied. The only reaction she got from Artemis was one of surprise and confusion. She relaxed slightly. He hadn't done it.
"I'm sorry," Artemis repeated.
"Thank you," Holly replied and went back to eating.
Artemis watched her closely. She had told him that because she was looking for a reaction. His had satisfied her. What was going on? "Captain, considering the circumstances, I'm afraid I must insist you tell me why you're here."
Holly had been afraid of this. She couldn't tell him.
"Why not?" the voice in her head asked.
Holly sighed. "Fine," she snapped at the voice. "There was another terrorist attack a few days ago," she said carefully. "I almost died. My apartment was blown up." She paused.
Artemis didn't say anything, merely watched the internal debate she was going through.
"I had been staying with a friend," she finally continued. "But I felt that I was putting him in danger so I left. The next day I said that I couldn't stay at work until the terrorist was caught since I would be putting everyone at risk. I was ordered to stay but left anyways. I came up illegally, so I can honestly say I didn't know I was by Fowl Manor until I saw the wall. The sun started to come up so I needed shelter. I felt I didn't have a choice so I came here."
Artemis stared at her. "Fascinating story," he said dryly and noted Captain Short's look of panic when she thought he wouldn't believe her. "Considering that I'm putting my life in danger, letting you stay here even for one day as I promised is an enormous act of hospitality on my part." He paused for a moment, thinking. "But since your situation is far worse than my own and since nobody knows you're here, I suppose you can stay until you have completed the Ritual, but no longer. Understood?"
Holly nodded. "Thank you," she replied and turned back to the fruit salad. "I think I'm done," she said and yawned. "Do you have anywhere I can sleep?"
Artemis smiled, thinking of the last time she had stayed in Fowl Manor. "The room you stayed in when we first met is still in working order, but I believe I can come up with something more comfortable. Follow me."
Holly got up, followed Artemis up the grand staircase and into what appeared to be a guest room.
"I'm afraid the furniture will be too large for you, but-"
"No, it's fine," Holly interrupted and all but pushed Artemis out of the room. She kicked off her boots and collapsed on the bed. She fell asleep instantly.
*
"Interesting," Artemis commented as he went back into his study where Butler was waiting for him. "You were right. She is on the run."
"Why?" Butler asked. "She doesn't seem the type to run away from her problems."
"I wouldn't have thought so either, but I believe it is justified in this case," Artemis said and then added, "But if she didn't tell you why earlier, it isn't my place to do so now. She said she will be staying here for two days, although she might want to stay longer. Mother won't be back from visiting Father in the hospital until next week, so that should work out."
"Is there anything you need?" Butler asked.
"Yes. I need not to be disturbed," Artemis answered. Almost as an after thought, he said, "If the Captain needs anything, give it to her."
"Yes, sir," Butler replied and left, closing the door softly behind him.
*
When Root finally got home form another unproductive day at the office, he collapsed on the couch in his living room, already noticing how empty it felt without Holly. She had only been there a couple of days, but it already seemed as if the house was too big.
"Like after Nichkola died," the voice in his head prompted.
"No, because then I was in love with her and had spent the past thirty years of my life with her," Root snapped.
"And you aren't in love with Holly? What about that dream?" the voice asked him.
"It was just a dream!" Root roared in his head.
"You seemed much calmer when Holly was here," the voice pondered.
"I had other things to worry about," Root spat.
"And you don't know that she's missing?" the voice asked. "Interesting."
"No, I do!" Root replied, frustrated. "Different things! Things like where she is!"
"Which is why you're more irritated, right?" the voice questioned. "Or is it that Holly's not here?"
Root thought. "I don't want to loose one of my best officers," he finally replied.
"Is that all she is? Really, Julius, I thought you knew better than that," the voice replied.
"Fine. I don't want to loose one of my friends," Root revised angrily.
"Closer, but not quite," the teacher voice said, finally making an appearance. "What is she really, Julius?"
Root put his hands to his head. He was getting a headache. "She is really Captain Holly Short, one of the best officers in the LEP and one of my closest friends. Only friends, for that matter."
The voices sighed. "We're disappointed in you," they said at the same time and left.
Root got up to take some medicine. He couldn't think properly when he had a headache.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There's chapter eight. Again, I hope it's not too out of character.