AN: This is a set of scenes from Artemis's memories, not a real 'story' with a set plot. The breaks mean a jump in time.
ASN: And again, they are not ours....
AN: whimper
Light.
Voices.
A tall man hovering over me. He's a little scary, but I know he won't hurt me. He's always been around me, like a shadow, and he's never tried to hurt me.
Butler, he's called. I wonder why.
And then there's her…the lady. She's also tall, very thin, with brown hair, pale skin, and a smile that's too bright. She calls herself Mother.
The other man—Father, they say—is hard to describe. I suppose the only word is overpowering. I do not see him very often, but every time I do, he is closely followed by another large man who resembles Butler.
As odd as they sound…this is my family.
I stand up and began to walk. Mother notices me after a moment and squeals, dropping her book. "Artemis! You're walking! This—this is wonderful! Butler, come see!" Butler, who was just outside, comes in and nods slightly, seemingly uncaring. I think he is pleased, however.
Mother yells for Father, but he does not show. After a few minutes, I leave to find him. He is talking to the major—Butler's uncle. I stand at the door on my unsteady legs and listen closely.
"Gold is power in these times. Aurum Est Potestas. Whether legal or illegal, any way you can get gold is a good way. It doesn't change." Butler's uncle nods, then notices me.
"Mister Fowl?" he says, and points at me. Father turns.
"Artemis?" His voice is shocked. "How did you get up here?"
I don't answer his question, because I can't talk that well yet. I should have more practice, but I don't like talking anyway. It just seems silly, talking if you don't need to.
Mother comes in behind me, and sweeps me into her arms. I struggle briefly, but settle down as she begins chattering to Father about my walking. He doesn't seem impressed.
"I see." he says calmly. "That explains how he made his way up here alone."
With that, he turns back to the major. Mother stands for a moment, then she takes me and walks out. I think we've been dismissed.
I wonder why he is so uninterested in me.
Father and Mother are sitting together on the couch and I am at their feet looking up at them. Mother is talking, but Father is ignoring her. He does that a lot. Now he is reading a book. Intrigued, I look closer at the book and sound out the title.
"Financial…Powers in the…Modern World."
Father looks over the top of his book. Mother looks down at me and her eyes are wide. "What did you say, Arty?"
I point at the book. "I wanted to see what Father was reading." I say carefully.
Even Father looks surprised. I don't know why. Reading is fairly easy; I've been doing it for a while.
"Oh, Timmy!" Mother gushes. "I can't believe it! He's only four years old! And to know words like financial!" She leans in closer to Father, but I can still hear her. "I think we might have a genius on our hands."
Father only nods and returns to his book.
I get up after a minute and go upstairs to my room. Mother and Father were surprised, if just for a moment. I don't understand why. The young should learn and grow; it's the only way they will ever be taken seriously. Even so, they always underestimate me.
Perhaps that will come in handy later on.
Ever though Mother knows I can read quite well on my own, she stills insists on reading me a bedtime story. I let her—all my protests would only encourage her. Father has shown me that.
Tonight it is a story of leprechauns, rainbows, and magic…and this story actually holds my attention. Magic…and gold. Imagine, gold at the end of a rainbow. It was a rather poorly written story, and slow moving, but it has brought up a great many ideas.
The rain pounds on the roof.
I go to the stairs as quietly as possible. The rain has stopped, and dawn has arrived. There is a faint rainbow outside. It's very early and no one else is awake, but I know that if I wait, the rainbow will be gone. So, I'm sneaking out.
I'm working on the security code…it's fairly complicated, but if I want to leave the house alone, I need to turn the system off. 8…5…3…2…7…9…2—that's correct. The numbers are worn, and it was only a matter of putting them in the right order.
Besides, I've watched Father do it.
The alarm is off, and I can leave without awaking anyone. I slip out the door.
The air is cold, but I brought a jacket. I see the rainbow; it seems to be very close. I should be able to reach other end quickly, before anyone at the house awakes.
But I run and run and run, and the rainbow doesn't get any closer. It must be an illusion—I have to be getting closer. I'm becoming tired. I'm not athletic; I prefer books or the computer.
As the rainbow starts to fade and dissolve, I slow, then stop. I hadn't made it. The gold eludes me.
I hear someone behind me; the noise is too faint to be anyone but Butler. I wonder how he knew I was here. Then, he almost always seems to know exactly where I am and what I'm doing.
"Artemis," he says as he approaches, "You should not have come out here alone. Your parents are worried."
"I know. I'm done." I tell him calmly as I turn around and begin to return to the house. We walk back in silence. I should probably be concerned about what my parents will say, but for some reason, I am not.
Mother comes running out the door. Father follows at a slower pace, looking displeased. "Arty, where have you been?" she cries. Before I can respond, she sweeps me into a tight hug. "We were so worried!"
"I am fine, Mother." I tell her, subtly trying to escape from the crushing embrace. Why does she always hold me so tight?
"How did you get outside?" she asks, letting me go. "The security alarm should have sounded. Did we not set it?" The last question is directed to Butler.
"I turned it off." I say matter-of-factly before he can speak.
Father, Mother and Butler all stare. "You turned it off?" Father repeats.
"I did. It took me almost five minutes." I say calmly.
Mother and Father study each other for a moment, and I know I've shocked them. They underestimated me again. Finally, Mother takes my hand and leads me inside, saying, "Why did you leave, Arty?"
"I was searching for the end of the rainbow."
Her face lights up and she whispers to Father, "Chasing rainbows. It's from the story I read him last night."
Father frowns. "That's a childish thing to do, Artemis." he tells me firmly, ignoring the look on Mother's face. She touches his arm, bringing his attention back to her.
"But he is a child, Timmy! He's barely six!" Mother tells him.
"He may be a child, but he is obviously bright. Breaking the security code so he can chase rainbows is not what I believe is good for him. There's no logical reason behind it."
I just stand and listen with Butler silently behind me.
"Can't he be a boy for one day?" Mother asks Father. He doesn't answer. She turns back to me. "Were you looking for the gold?"
"Yes, Mother."
"To find a leprechaun?" she asks, darting a triumphant glance at Father.
"No, Mother." I answer. "I just wanted the gold."
Mother stops, and has a shocked look on her face; on the other hand, Father looks fairly satisfied.
"A logical reason. That's my boy." he says loudly, and he pats my shoulder as he walks up to his study.
This is the first time Father has ever been pleased by what I do.
Butler is lecturing me about leaving without him earlier. Most people would think he was as calm as always, but I know better. He is angry—I see it in his eyes. But I do not know whether he is angry with me…or himself.
"I am here to protect you, Master Fowl. I cannot do that if you are not here. Do not leave here without telling me where you are going again."
I start. Is Butler giving me an order? He's never done that before. "Are you ordering me?"
He looks at me. "Yes, I am. I will never give you an order I do not think is important. But when I do give you an order, I will expect you to take it seriously."
I nod. This is obviously important to him. "I will not leave here without telling you."
"Good." Butler states. After a moment of silence, he starts to leave. As he does, he says, "I was worried about you, Master Fowl."
I stay sitting in front of my computer. I knew Mother would worry—but Butler? I had expected him to be professional; to not let his feelings get in the way.
Odd.
I do not think I am ever going to enjoy school.
The day starts out simply: get everyone's name, pass out books, and go over basic rules. For an average child, this would be a strain. For me, it is monotonous. After sitting through an hour of learning my classmates' favorite foods and television shows, I am quite ready to return home to my computer and never come again.
Instead of covering any sort of relevant material, we have a 'naptime'. I read the entire literature book and find almost twenty different discrepancies in the science textbook. Certainly the people who wrote these did not think 6 year olds are so dense to not realize light is considered energy. This first grade material is covering things I have known and used for years.
The other children here still believe the sun goes away during the night, and I am fully convinced my vocabulary is larger than my teacher's. I know, after only one day, that this time will be purely wasted, and that it will contribute nothing to my life.
If this is how school is always going to be, I honestly do not know what I will do.
I sit at my computer. I have been in school for a few weeks now, and Father just received an email from the principal. I know that is not a common occurrence for children my age. I do not know what it is about…but I wish to find out. I am going to find out.
I access Father's email account, but it asks for a password before it will let me into his inbox. A frown creases my forehead. This is similar to the security system, but harder. There are no worn numbers to place in the correct order here.
I can do it.
Concentrate...
Frustration.
Success!
It takes an hour, but I am in finally. The word, FowlManor, is a fairly simple one, and easy to recognize, if you know my father. I am not sure if I should inform Father that his email is easy to hack into or not. If I can do it with my limited technological ability, I'm certain Interpol can as well. However, he could become angry with me. This is my first crime.
Out of many?
Perhaps.
The principal was complaining about the offhand and cold behavior I display during class. He says my parents should be more careful when it comes to my 'attitude.'
Nothing really different there.
"Hey, Fowl!"
I know that voice. It is the scourge of the third grade, a bully and fool named Ardal Daly. I keep walking.
"Fowl!"
I am in no mood to deal with him today—or anyone, for that matter. I know a way to deal with the time I spend in school; I use it to plan my future crimes. Tonight, I am going to try and hack into Interpol's files again. I've been attempting to for some time, but their security keeps getting in my way. It's important that I have time to concentrate.
"Fowl! Are you deaf? Or just dumb?"
A fairly subtle insult, designed to attack one's sense of self-worth. Perhaps Daly isn't so stupid after all.
He appears in front of me, looking angry. "You ignorin' me, Fowl?"
Or perhaps he is.
"I was." I tell him calmly.
His face reddens. "Oh, really?" It's almost pitiful. He tries so hard to be tough and intimidating, and he fails so miserably. After all, he is only in third grade, yet he's already close to bursting a blood vessel. Being a bully obviously isn't healthy. I tell him so.
"Do you have a problem with me, Fowl? Is that what you're trying to say?"
As pitiful as this is, I have no time for it. I try to walk past him, but he steps into my way.
"Scared of me?" he taunts.
"Only of your dazzling stupidity." I snap, all patience gone. "You will excuse me; I have a multitude of things to accomplish and listening to your posturing is not one of them."
I begin to walk past him again, but he gets in my way again. My eyes narrow. I know I am not large and muscular, but most of these bullies have learned by now not to annoy me. Why is Daly so insistent?
"Just because you're smart, you think you're better than us, don't ya, Fowl?" he growls, slamming a fist into his palm.
That's what this is all about??
"You are mistaken—" I begin, but he interrupts.
"You getting all high and mighty again?"
This has degenerated far enough, and I know it. If I know it, then I'm certain others know it as well. A crowd is starting to gather.
"Well?" Daly demands. "You think you're better than the rest of us?"
"No, I am not a better person." I respond. "I am just more intelligent, which you yourself admitted to, and that means I am a better student. Thusly, being a better student means I will be more successful in life. In conclusion, I am a more successful person, yes, but better? No. Excuse me."
Daly and the rest of the crowd stand dumbly as I finally start to get away. I make it an entire two steps past him before he yells again.
"Don't turn your back on me, Fowl!"
I sigh and turn back around. Daly has a fist pulled back.
A wave of shock. Someone is daring to threaten me?!
Daly manages to move his fist an entire inch before it stops—apparently without his permission, judging by the stupefied look on his face. Butler is holding his arm firmly. He looks to me.
"Artemis…"
"I am fine. Thank you, Butler." I say, finally able to leave the scene. I can almost hear Daly quivering in his shoes as Butler coolly explains to him what a stupid move that just was. He came through for me once again.
I know he will never leave me alone in such a situation. Or at all, for that matter.
The doorbell rings, and I hear loud, ear-piercing squeals from the foyer. I am mildly concerned as to whether someone was really strangling a parrot in the front hall, so I go down the stairs.
A blond girl of about 12 is racing around downstairs. She hugs Butler and the major hard and then begins to run again. She babbles the entire way.
Juliet's back from her second training period with Madame Ko.
"Ahh! It's so great to see you! I've missed you so much! I've been gone for over six months, and you never wrote! Ever! What have you been doing that would make you forget to write?"
"I've been working, Juliet." Butler says. He has a look on his face I have never seen before. It's very soft, a sort of amused tolerance. "And you shouldn't be lecturing us. You hardly wrote at all anyway."
Juliet stops bouncing and smiles sheepishly. "Yeah, well…it's principle." She grins. "Speaking of which, where's Artemis?"
"Here." I say calmly as I step out from the shadows. She jumps, and then she spins to face me. I notice she's fallen into a general fighting stance used for defense. She realizes it's me and grins.
"Don't do that! You scared me!" she complains.
"Greetings once again." I say, gingerly shaking her hand. I know that is what Butler expects me to do, and she knows that is all the physical contact I allow.
She grew a lot while she was gone in Japan. I have to look up to see her face now, and I find that annoying. I do not like being smaller than those around me.
Mother comes in before we can say anything else.
"Juliet! It's been such a long time, how have you been?" Immediately Mother latches into her arm and drags her to the kitchen, nattering the entire way. Something about not writing. I smirk.
Butler touches my arm slightly as he walks by. "Artemis…you know Juliet has always been a little high-strung, but she has reached the age where she could become...annoying. If she bothers you…"
"Butler." I say. "Do not worry. I am certain she will be fine." Odd. That wasn't what I was planning to say. I was going to say something along the lines of 'as long as she doesn't annoy me, everything will work out.' I blink.
Butler looks surprised—and pleased. "I'm glad you feel that way."
I nod once to acknowledge his words and continue to my room. I have been working on a copy of the Mona Lisa. It is turning out to be an impressive likeness. I wonder if I can sell it to some unsuspecting fool. We shall see.