Chapter 4
This is where it gets a bit complicated! Sorry if it makes no sense...
"FINE! I DON'T CARE ANYWAY!" Seraphim stormed out of the glass double doors and slammed them after her with such force that the huge bay windows on the east guest wing trembled, and a flock of parakeets flew up, flustered. She flounced across the gravel, almost tripping up in her anger, and fought for her keys in her handbag. Jamming them into her Bentley, she swung in and slammed the door shut, muttering under her breath about her parents.
"Stupid...always stopping me...my life...not theirs..." she grumbled, pulling onto the motorway and gunning the accelerator. She reached a red light and, with a groan of frustration, stamped on the brake. As the red light bored into her eyes, she took several deep breaths and calmed herself down. She pulled down the flap of the mirror and checked her dark, blood red lipstick. She smacked it back up, and sighed. How long was this going to take? She leant back on the plush leather chair, tapping her black painted nails on the steering wheel. Looking around randomly, her eye caught the sight of a black haired boy, a bit older. The figure turned, and caught her eye. Seraphim's eyes widened; but before she could open her mouth, the silver Bentley containing Artemis Fowl had driven off, with the green eyes narrowing in dislike. Awoken with a beep, she pulled onto the right lane and followed him, convincing herself it was only out of boredom.
She wound her way down a country lane, trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible; kind of hard when your car matches the persons in front and he's going in a particular direction. So she flipped up her car phone and called for some random people to follow him also. She smiled a tiny smile. Being important was SO good! She giggled delightfully as a car indicated left and followed the little rich boy.
Artemis drove steadily down the lane, his mind on that book and Dakota, He
would tell her today how he felt, and warn her. The traffic light in front
turned red, slowing down he saw Seraphim in her Bentleys just a little to
his right. Why was she driving around dressed in black at this time of
night? Never mind this, he was going to be late if he did not hurry, behind
him he heard the horn of a car.
Blaize walked from his old house on the outskirts of Oxford town towards the canal, his hands deep in his coat pockets. The long cloak billowed in the blustery autumn wind, and he pushed his face against the force. Girls were looking at him strangely, clutching fast food bags for their lunch, holding down their skirts.
"He looks like someone out of a book!" he heard them say. He growled slightly and sat down on a park bench, sullenly watching the water as it was thrown against the brick canal walls, leaves and branches floating around docked river boats. On his mind were two things; the Book, and Seraphim. He has seen her on the news again, as a news reporter pointed out their car speeding off, and closed in on her and her chauffeur's face, blabbering on about the Oxford society's greatest being bothered by the strange phenomena's going on in the quaint area. He looked down at his gloved hands, and was surprised at how quickly they had healed. He grimaced; the lighter he had been using to brighten up his way through the dark lane towards Artemis' house had fallen on his hand and, as he tried to pick it up, had badly burnt him.
He stood again and began to walk towards the dock. There he saw Dakota, a pink muffler covering half her face, her brown hair whipped around by the wind. He walked past her, nodding politely as she recognized who he was. However, he had not gone more than 12 paces before he heard her run after him. He stopped and turned.
"Yes?" he said, creasing his eyebrows.
"I...er, was just wondering if you-if your hands are still hurt?" She quailed under his icy stare.
"They're getting better, thank you, miss. How are you?" he said, trying to keep his voice even. He had little time for this. However, he was a patient enough man, and so he listened as she rushed on about her life.
"...Artemis asked me to meet him-"
"Asked you to meet him, hmm? Whys that now? When will he be here?" Blaize said, staring at her.
"Why he's seeing me is none of your business, and I hope I don't sound rude in saying that. However, I can afford to tell you that he should be here in around 5 minutes." She said, sniffily.
"Ah, yes, of course, Miss. Well, beg your pardon for wasting you time." He said, trying as hard as he could from forming a sneer on his upper lip. Dakota looked apologetic, and tried to resolve her coldness; but it was too late; he had walked off down the leaf strewn path and across the bridge. Dakota sighed. This was going to be hell on her shoes!
Blaize stopped again, angrily turning with a sigh of impatience.
"I wanted to know!" said Dakota, trembling slightly, "How- how did you know my name?"
"I live in Oxford. The Gilgalad family is rather important, you see." Dakota felt stupid. How could she possibly have forgotten? Was she so self absorbed in her own state that she had forgotten she belonged to one of the country's most important families?
"Dakota!" Artemis cried. The girl whipped around and greeted the boy.
"Hmm, hello, Artemis. Well, sorry to interrupt your little date. I'll be going, now." He headed in the other direction, the way he had been coming up, and had rather forgotten why he was going the wrong way. He stopped to cross the road and saw a black Bentley parked on the side. A girl emerged from it, dressed all in black, with a black hat tied around shadowy features, and black gloves to cover her hands. The eyes from under the black wisps of hair looked at him, puzzled, as if trying to remember something. Then her eyes widened and she hurried past him, making a wide berth. Blaize opened his mouth as if to say something, but shut it quickly; he had said enough today.
"Well, now. Let us see..." Seraphim muttered, taking out a black book and settling herself on the bench. She watched Artemis and Dakota from far away, over the top of her book, the tiniest of frowns on her pale features.
..
Parking his car, he looked up Dakota was talking with Dustfingers, the very
one person he did not want her talking to. Beside him was her chauffeur.
Hurriedly her walked over and called her. She turned round to greet him, her
hair fanning out behind her. However, before he could ask Dustfingers what he
was doing here-
"Hmm, hello, Artemis. Well, sorry to interrupt your little date. I'll be going, now"
What a relief not to have to tell him to leave, which would have just been plainly rude. Now he had Dakota all to himself. His heart pounded as he searched for the words.
"Dakota....I want to tell you something." This was going to be harder then he
thought.
..
Dakota stepped away from Blaize, following Artemis' rounded shoulders, guarding himself from the wind. Confused, she ran and caught up with him.
Much to her annoyance, she had now to turn away from Blaize, and talk to Artemis. Though in his e-mail he had sound urgent and she had only half of his story. The rest of it she had still to hear.
"What is it Artemis? Why did you call me out at this time of night? You do
no its not safe, dont you?"
"Er, yes. This is why I have to tell you it now. It's not safe to walk around anywhere, at anytime anymore, do you understand me?"
"Not safe? why ever not?" She said, looking behind Artemis at Blaize. What
was Seraphim doing here?
"Look, just promise me you won't go near metal things ok?" He frowned at her pretty face. He must sound so dorky. Now he knew what a normal teenager must feel like.
"Artemis, if you haven't noticed, which I find very unlikely, the whole world is covered in metal, there is metal everywhere!" Still her gaze followed Blaize as she he walked over to Seraphim.
"Yes but look, just promise me that you'll watch yourself."
"Artemis I don't need to watch myself; that's what bodyguards are for." Feeling annoyed, Artemis turned around and followed her gaze. Had Seraphim followed him, or
did she have a meeting with Dustfingers? And why was Dakota constantly staring
over there?
"Look at me! Just look at me and promise" He said, sounding desperate.
She looked at him, a guilty conscience began to build up inside. Here she was, a friend,
talking to Artemis, and yet she was looking at someone else. How impolite she must have come across to him. She nodded.
"Dakota..."Artemis said, frowning. "Listen to me. There's something else I need to tell you" He mumbled, wondering how he was going to say this.
"Huh? ... Oh yeah, sure." She said, standing on tiptoes to see Blaize, who was talking to a woman about to cross the road.
"Are you looking at me? I..." Artemis broke into her thoughts.
"Yeah.. Yes, I'm looking at you...You what?"
"This is hard for me to say...Dakota..."
"yes?" Artemis sighed.
"Please, have a little patience, stop looking over there." He snapped, now feeling a bit annoyed. He certainly didn't see what was so interesting about the elm tree.
"What? Sorry, I'm just a bit distracted..." She shivered, wishing she had brought a warmer coat.
"Okay. Well, you know that e-mail I sent you?" He began, taking a deep breath. "I..I have to say a bit more."
"Yes?" Dakota arched an eyebrow.
"I was stupid to try and tell it to you that way. Dakota, I..." He paused. Was this really the right thing to do?
"Artemis. There was nothing in that e-mail apart from you telling me to come here at this time, and a few other things I'd rather not mention."
"Well." He faltered again. What was wrong with him? "I'm talking about the other things. I-Dakota; Look at me!"
"No. Artemis... I don't think I understand this at all." She said. She looked at her gloved hands, watching leaves swirl around their feet.
"Okay...Look, I'll just tell you straight off, I..." Why was this so hard?
"...you?" she prompted, now looking at him with a disconnected gaze
"Erm..." he tried to catch her look.
"Wait- you're not, like, seriously ill or anything, are you?" Artemis smiled- a rare expression.
"No...But..." He straightened his shoulders and breathed in. Her perfume smelt faintly of lilies. "Okay. Just let me say this and you can go home. You can hate me for doing it..."
"Yes, it is getting quite late." She interrupted, looking at her watch. Perhaps if Artemis hurries I can catch Blaize before he leaves. she thought.
"But I have to spit this out." Dakota started. Was Artemis still talking? "Okay. Dakota. I...I love-"
She gasped. "Sorry but this is not the time, it's 12 in the night! My parents are going to kill me if they find out I'm not back yet" Dakotas eyes widened. How could she have been so careless?
"Wha...?" Artemis stopped. He looked at her.
"Sorry- perhaps another time, Artemis. Oh, I'll look out for the metal thing! Bye!" She smiled at him and ran, her hair flying behind her.
"I...I love you..." Said Artemis, to the dark, still night. Somehow it was easier to talk to no one in particular at all. He turned and got in his car. What was left of the night blurred as he drove home.
WAAAH! Major drama! . Hope you enjoy...
This is where it gets a bit complicated! Sorry if it makes no sense...
"FINE! I DON'T CARE ANYWAY!" Seraphim stormed out of the glass double doors and slammed them after her with such force that the huge bay windows on the east guest wing trembled, and a flock of parakeets flew up, flustered. She flounced across the gravel, almost tripping up in her anger, and fought for her keys in her handbag. Jamming them into her Bentley, she swung in and slammed the door shut, muttering under her breath about her parents.
"Stupid...always stopping me...my life...not theirs..." she grumbled, pulling onto the motorway and gunning the accelerator. She reached a red light and, with a groan of frustration, stamped on the brake. As the red light bored into her eyes, she took several deep breaths and calmed herself down. She pulled down the flap of the mirror and checked her dark, blood red lipstick. She smacked it back up, and sighed. How long was this going to take? She leant back on the plush leather chair, tapping her black painted nails on the steering wheel. Looking around randomly, her eye caught the sight of a black haired boy, a bit older. The figure turned, and caught her eye. Seraphim's eyes widened; but before she could open her mouth, the silver Bentley containing Artemis Fowl had driven off, with the green eyes narrowing in dislike. Awoken with a beep, she pulled onto the right lane and followed him, convincing herself it was only out of boredom.
She wound her way down a country lane, trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible; kind of hard when your car matches the persons in front and he's going in a particular direction. So she flipped up her car phone and called for some random people to follow him also. She smiled a tiny smile. Being important was SO good! She giggled delightfully as a car indicated left and followed the little rich boy.
Artemis drove steadily down the lane, his mind on that book and Dakota, He
would tell her today how he felt, and warn her. The traffic light in front
turned red, slowing down he saw Seraphim in her Bentleys just a little to
his right. Why was she driving around dressed in black at this time of
night? Never mind this, he was going to be late if he did not hurry, behind
him he heard the horn of a car.
Blaize walked from his old house on the outskirts of Oxford town towards the canal, his hands deep in his coat pockets. The long cloak billowed in the blustery autumn wind, and he pushed his face against the force. Girls were looking at him strangely, clutching fast food bags for their lunch, holding down their skirts.
"He looks like someone out of a book!" he heard them say. He growled slightly and sat down on a park bench, sullenly watching the water as it was thrown against the brick canal walls, leaves and branches floating around docked river boats. On his mind were two things; the Book, and Seraphim. He has seen her on the news again, as a news reporter pointed out their car speeding off, and closed in on her and her chauffeur's face, blabbering on about the Oxford society's greatest being bothered by the strange phenomena's going on in the quaint area. He looked down at his gloved hands, and was surprised at how quickly they had healed. He grimaced; the lighter he had been using to brighten up his way through the dark lane towards Artemis' house had fallen on his hand and, as he tried to pick it up, had badly burnt him.
He stood again and began to walk towards the dock. There he saw Dakota, a pink muffler covering half her face, her brown hair whipped around by the wind. He walked past her, nodding politely as she recognized who he was. However, he had not gone more than 12 paces before he heard her run after him. He stopped and turned.
"Yes?" he said, creasing his eyebrows.
"I...er, was just wondering if you-if your hands are still hurt?" She quailed under his icy stare.
"They're getting better, thank you, miss. How are you?" he said, trying to keep his voice even. He had little time for this. However, he was a patient enough man, and so he listened as she rushed on about her life.
"...Artemis asked me to meet him-"
"Asked you to meet him, hmm? Whys that now? When will he be here?" Blaize said, staring at her.
"Why he's seeing me is none of your business, and I hope I don't sound rude in saying that. However, I can afford to tell you that he should be here in around 5 minutes." She said, sniffily.
"Ah, yes, of course, Miss. Well, beg your pardon for wasting you time." He said, trying as hard as he could from forming a sneer on his upper lip. Dakota looked apologetic, and tried to resolve her coldness; but it was too late; he had walked off down the leaf strewn path and across the bridge. Dakota sighed. This was going to be hell on her shoes!
Blaize stopped again, angrily turning with a sigh of impatience.
"I wanted to know!" said Dakota, trembling slightly, "How- how did you know my name?"
"I live in Oxford. The Gilgalad family is rather important, you see." Dakota felt stupid. How could she possibly have forgotten? Was she so self absorbed in her own state that she had forgotten she belonged to one of the country's most important families?
"Dakota!" Artemis cried. The girl whipped around and greeted the boy.
"Hmm, hello, Artemis. Well, sorry to interrupt your little date. I'll be going, now." He headed in the other direction, the way he had been coming up, and had rather forgotten why he was going the wrong way. He stopped to cross the road and saw a black Bentley parked on the side. A girl emerged from it, dressed all in black, with a black hat tied around shadowy features, and black gloves to cover her hands. The eyes from under the black wisps of hair looked at him, puzzled, as if trying to remember something. Then her eyes widened and she hurried past him, making a wide berth. Blaize opened his mouth as if to say something, but shut it quickly; he had said enough today.
"Well, now. Let us see..." Seraphim muttered, taking out a black book and settling herself on the bench. She watched Artemis and Dakota from far away, over the top of her book, the tiniest of frowns on her pale features.
..
Parking his car, he looked up Dakota was talking with Dustfingers, the very
one person he did not want her talking to. Beside him was her chauffeur.
Hurriedly her walked over and called her. She turned round to greet him, her
hair fanning out behind her. However, before he could ask Dustfingers what he
was doing here-
"Hmm, hello, Artemis. Well, sorry to interrupt your little date. I'll be going, now"
What a relief not to have to tell him to leave, which would have just been plainly rude. Now he had Dakota all to himself. His heart pounded as he searched for the words.
"Dakota....I want to tell you something." This was going to be harder then he
thought.
..
Dakota stepped away from Blaize, following Artemis' rounded shoulders, guarding himself from the wind. Confused, she ran and caught up with him.
Much to her annoyance, she had now to turn away from Blaize, and talk to Artemis. Though in his e-mail he had sound urgent and she had only half of his story. The rest of it she had still to hear.
"What is it Artemis? Why did you call me out at this time of night? You do
no its not safe, dont you?"
"Er, yes. This is why I have to tell you it now. It's not safe to walk around anywhere, at anytime anymore, do you understand me?"
"Not safe? why ever not?" She said, looking behind Artemis at Blaize. What
was Seraphim doing here?
"Look, just promise me you won't go near metal things ok?" He frowned at her pretty face. He must sound so dorky. Now he knew what a normal teenager must feel like.
"Artemis, if you haven't noticed, which I find very unlikely, the whole world is covered in metal, there is metal everywhere!" Still her gaze followed Blaize as she he walked over to Seraphim.
"Yes but look, just promise me that you'll watch yourself."
"Artemis I don't need to watch myself; that's what bodyguards are for." Feeling annoyed, Artemis turned around and followed her gaze. Had Seraphim followed him, or
did she have a meeting with Dustfingers? And why was Dakota constantly staring
over there?
"Look at me! Just look at me and promise" He said, sounding desperate.
She looked at him, a guilty conscience began to build up inside. Here she was, a friend,
talking to Artemis, and yet she was looking at someone else. How impolite she must have come across to him. She nodded.
"Dakota..."Artemis said, frowning. "Listen to me. There's something else I need to tell you" He mumbled, wondering how he was going to say this.
"Huh? ... Oh yeah, sure." She said, standing on tiptoes to see Blaize, who was talking to a woman about to cross the road.
"Are you looking at me? I..." Artemis broke into her thoughts.
"Yeah.. Yes, I'm looking at you...You what?"
"This is hard for me to say...Dakota..."
"yes?" Artemis sighed.
"Please, have a little patience, stop looking over there." He snapped, now feeling a bit annoyed. He certainly didn't see what was so interesting about the elm tree.
"What? Sorry, I'm just a bit distracted..." She shivered, wishing she had brought a warmer coat.
"Okay. Well, you know that e-mail I sent you?" He began, taking a deep breath. "I..I have to say a bit more."
"Yes?" Dakota arched an eyebrow.
"I was stupid to try and tell it to you that way. Dakota, I..." He paused. Was this really the right thing to do?
"Artemis. There was nothing in that e-mail apart from you telling me to come here at this time, and a few other things I'd rather not mention."
"Well." He faltered again. What was wrong with him? "I'm talking about the other things. I-Dakota; Look at me!"
"No. Artemis... I don't think I understand this at all." She said. She looked at her gloved hands, watching leaves swirl around their feet.
"Okay...Look, I'll just tell you straight off, I..." Why was this so hard?
"...you?" she prompted, now looking at him with a disconnected gaze
"Erm..." he tried to catch her look.
"Wait- you're not, like, seriously ill or anything, are you?" Artemis smiled- a rare expression.
"No...But..." He straightened his shoulders and breathed in. Her perfume smelt faintly of lilies. "Okay. Just let me say this and you can go home. You can hate me for doing it..."
"Yes, it is getting quite late." She interrupted, looking at her watch. Perhaps if Artemis hurries I can catch Blaize before he leaves. she thought.
"But I have to spit this out." Dakota started. Was Artemis still talking? "Okay. Dakota. I...I love-"
She gasped. "Sorry but this is not the time, it's 12 in the night! My parents are going to kill me if they find out I'm not back yet" Dakotas eyes widened. How could she have been so careless?
"Wha...?" Artemis stopped. He looked at her.
"Sorry- perhaps another time, Artemis. Oh, I'll look out for the metal thing! Bye!" She smiled at him and ran, her hair flying behind her.
"I...I love you..." Said Artemis, to the dark, still night. Somehow it was easier to talk to no one in particular at all. He turned and got in his car. What was left of the night blurred as he drove home.
WAAAH! Major drama! . Hope you enjoy...