Artemis Fowl: Meetings
Summary: Among the People, Diana Byrd has never quite fit in. At age 15 the girl was considerably taller than her classmates, let alone the rest of the fairy population, except for trolls and centaurs or course. To top it all off, she has no fairy magic to speak of. With that, Diana is sent to boarding school in the world of the Mud-Men where she meets a mind-wiped Artemis Fowl. Can her connection to the People be enough to trigger Artemis' memories and unlock the key to her origins?
An: Sorry if the html tags show. Fanfic says that they accept them, but every time I've tried it hasn't worked. And now, back to the story…
Haven City, the Lower Elements
"Who is she, Commander," Captain Holly Short questioned, gazing at a photo of a young girl the age of 15. The girls' eyes were a shade of emerald green her hair was dark blonde and ran down to the shoulders.
"She is your next assignment, Captain." Root addressed as he blew puffs of smoke from his cigar. "Her name is Diana Bryd. Due to obvious circumstances, it has been thought best that the girl be sent to a Mud-Man's boarding school. You are to safely escort the girl and remain in contact with her until the end of term unless told otherwise. Is that clear?"
Holly nodded. 'The operation should be easy enough.' She thought to herself. Ever since the shut down and arrest of the remaining B'wa Kell organization, work had been slow. Most jobs consisted of paperwork as the goblin uprising was put to a close. Still, it was odd for a soldier of LEPrecon police to be assigned a simple escorting operation.
Holly shuffled through her assignment's data: "Height: 5'2'' Weight: 100lbs… Commander, you've got to be kidding, she's a-"
"I know what she is Captain!" Root's voice began to rise to its usual volume. "That is precisely why she needs an escort above ground. We don't want word of Haven to leak out to the Mud-Men. You know what happened the last time."
Holly shuddered at the thought of an icy cold boy with black hair and blue eyes. "Yes, sir. I understand. Why is she in Haven in the first place? Couldn't we have mind-wiped her and brought her back to her own kind?"
Root shook his head. "She was brought to us as a baby. Mind-wiping her now would mean wiping out her entire life's memories. Besides, we've tried before. For some reason fairy magic has no effect on the girl."
"I see," Holly said. She left Commander Julius Root's office and continued reading the Diana's files. "Intelligent, anti-social…hmm… no friends, lives in orphanage."
***
Ireland
Artemis frowned at the thought of going to school. He had convinced his father that 'Saint Bartleby's School for Young Gentlemen' wasn't up to par for a boy his age, unfortunately, Artemis didn't get exactly what he wanted. The heir to Fowl Enterprises was thus sent to a highly prestigious co-ed academy. Any 15-year-old boy would jump at the opportunity to be sent to a co-ed school. Artemis, however, is not just any 15-year-old boy. He'd rather have finished his studies online or anything with as little human contact as possible. Besides, there wasn't much else the young genius could study.
'At least Butler will be coming along this time,' the young Fowl thought.
For the pasts two years the bodyguard had not been at his physical best. Because of the fairy mind-wipe Artemis, Butler, and Butler's sister, Juliet, had agreed to go through, neither Artemis nor Butler had any recollection of the magical complications that happened during an operation that saved Butler's life.
It happened two years ago. Artemis was making some business deals with one Jon Spiro when the whole thing turned on them. Spiro had set up a trap that would have killed Artemis if Butler hadn't jumped in to intercept the bullet meant for the 13-year-old. The bullet just barely missed Butler's heart, but was fateful none-the-less. Some smooth thinking by Artemis saved his bodyguard until he could convince a fairy to heal the downed man.
Thank Haven for Captain Holly short. She was the one who healed the bullet wound. Unfortunately, there were still some problems. During the healing, Kevlar from Butler's bulletproof vest replicated into the 40-year-old's cells, constricting his breathing. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to kill him, just enough that he looked like he had a red 'I' tattooed to his chest and that his chest would be bulletproof to small caliber guns. After the mind-wipe, though, Foaly had his skin stained so the tattoo didn't show. The fairies weren't taking any chances with the Mud Man's memories picking up any triggers.
The Bentley Arnage Red Label pulled onto the side of the road in front of Artemis' new school. Butler grabbed the luggage and followed Artemis through the school grounds.
Artemis sighed as he sat down, mourning the loss of time. Time he could have used to begin another money making scheme. Ever since his father's promise to turn straight, it had been up to Artemis to make sure the Fowls stayed among the richest families in the world.
He noted Butler's heavy breathing, the man was truly getting old. "Sit down, Butler." The boy commanded in a sincere tone. Well, as sincere as Artemis could be. Artemis couldn't fire his only friend; besides, he could still use Butler's brains. Butler followed the small mercy. "We're supposed to be going straight now, Butler. That's the way father wants it."
Butler nodded as he studied his Principal. The boy was not somebody to argue with. Besides, maybe this'll give Artemis a chance at an actual childhood. 'Yeah right' Butler though, suppressing a smile. Arty hadn't been a child since he was four.
***
Chute Terminal E1, Tara, IrelandEmpty eyes met the LEPrecon Captain in the E1 Terminal. Holly walked over to her assignment. She smiled, "Diana, I am Captain Holly Short. I'll be your contact while you're above ground."
The girl surveyed her guard. "So the People sent me a LEP officer." She sighed. "Shall we go then?"
Holly nodded and followed the 15-year-old to the shuttle. She rolled her eyes, 'This'll be fun.' She thought.
"Have you ever been above ground, Diana?" Holly attempted making conversation with the girl.
Diana shook her head. "I've never been outside Haven City. They lock me up like I'm something important and fragile. They have no choice to take me above ground now because of the way I look." The girl's voice was bitter and terse. "If they did, I sure as hell wouldn't be here."
'D'Arvit!' Holly cursed, 'She doesn't know anything. What a shock she'll get above ground when she sees the Mud Men.' "The People have their reasons for what they do…"
Diana turned to face the fairy elf. A flicker of emotion shone in the young girl's eyes. "Like what? What reason does the People have?"
Before Diana could get any possible answer the Terminal chute was propelled by a magma flow and the two were pushed back against their seats. Because Diana had never been on one she had to close her eyes. Her head felt as if it were going to split open, the pressure was so intense.
When Diana next opened her eyes the terminal had stopped and it was light outside. She was breathing heavily, but, aside from that, none of her other appearances changed. Her eyes were still cold and distant.
Holly handed the girl what looked like tin foil. "Put this cam foil on, we're going to fly the rest of the way." Diana nodded.
In no time the two were soaring high above the clouds. When they reached the school, Holly landed in a secluded area. Diana pulled off the cam foil. "Stay shielded," the 15-year-old looked directly into the fairy's eyes. "Heads will turn if they see me walking around campus with an elf."
Holly nodded. 'She sees me even though I'm shielded.' The LEP Captain thought. 'No wonder this child has been kept away from the Mud Men. Someone like her could mean the end of Haven. But, is it fair for the child?'
"You're still Diana Byrd but you can't exactly say you're from Haven. If anybody asks, you're from the United States."
Diana nodded, absorbing the information. "What do I say about family? This is a prestigious private school. It'll look odd if I say I'm an orphan and yet I can pay the tuition here."
Holly chuckled, 'This girl's sharp,' she thought. "True. Your parents died in a car accident and you were the only survivor. You inherited all of their money. Here," Holly handed the girl what looked like an average gold necklace. "It's a communicator for if you get into trouble or something. Press the button in the back to turn it on. It will pick up vibrations so you don't need to speak loudly. I can't stay the whole time above ground with you."
Diana put on the piece of jewelry and stuffed it under her shirt. "I understand. The centaur made this didn't he? I read about his inventions within LEP. Most of them are quite impressive." She looked up from the necklace.
Holly smiled, 'Foaly's head would surely expand after hearing that.' "Yeah. He did," she looked at her watch. "It's gonna get dark soon. I better leave."
Diana nodded. She turned to the wardrobe and picked out a school uniform. The uniforms were pretty plain. Girls wore a gray skirt, with a white blouse, gray jacket and a magenta tie. Shoes were black dress shoes and the socks were long and white.
***
Artemis' Dormitory
Artemis straightened his tie as he stepped out of the bathroom. His uniform was similar except instead of a skirt he wore pants and his socks were not as long.
"Come, Butler. We have an orientation to go to."
***
Orientation Hall
To figures, a boy and girl, sat next to each other as the headmaster drawled on about the new school year. Neither were paying any attention as he spoke. The girl was playing with a gold necklace and the boy had his eyes closed and seemed to be meditating.
Diana stuffed the necklace back into her blouse. She took stock of the people in the hall. All stuck up kids with more money than they knew what to do with. She looked at the boy meditating beside her. "This is pointless. One, if they actually needed it, could get the same education on a computer these days." She muttered under her breath.
Artemis Fowl opened his eyes. He turned his head to the girl next to him. "I agree."
An: So what do you people think? This is my first attempt at an Artemis Fowl fic.