Fatum Universus

By: Sango Ai

A/N: Hi everyone! I know I have way too much in-between stuff. I was talking to my mom about this the other day. I told her that I loved to write but the one part of my own writing that I think I'll always hate is the beginning stuff that has to be laid as groundwork before anything else can be accomplished or built upon. Anyway, if I make any more stupid mistakes I apologize. I'm beginning to hate my own writing in general anyway. Not to mention I'm getting sick of my own story… which is never a good thing. The concept was interesting enough to me but the application of it seems far to contorted now, but I'd like to actually finish something for once in my life.

One more note: I am also thinking of changing my pen name one last time to something I can stick with that was original to me: Amaya Night Reign. So if you use pen name search I'll probably be under that soon.

ArtyChick: Thanks for pointing that out to me. When I was writing random thoughts down to prepare for writing this story down on notebook paper Daegana was a bit of an afterthought that didn't get put in until the day before I started writing… I've made that same mistake several times before but caught myself before I saved the document. I did fix it though. It's true I am a bit of a night owl… or a night and day owl. I just don't like to sleep when it isn't necessary. Thanks again!

Me You, obviously: The main reason I like you as a reviewer is that you're honest. I tend to take that stance against OCs at first, except Darla and Agi have a way of winning me with theirs.

Chapter Seven: La Vida Loca

Fowl Manor, Seven Hours Later

Ariana sighed and laid the contents of her bag out on the table in front of her in perfect symmetry; each of the items had a label on it and was placed in alphabetical order. When she was finished she stood up over it and looked at it, confirming in her mind that each of the items was at as close to perfectly even as was possible. She frowned at a tube of toothpaste and picked it up, squeezing the bottom of it carefully with nimble fingers in an attempt to get its contents even within it, and set it back down on the table evenly.

At that point she noticed that Artemis was watching her hands intently and looking at her collection of toiletries, chemicals, and tools.

"Can I help you?" she asked, cocking one eyebrow slightly.

"Very organized," he commented, nodding toward the table.

Ariana's finger went up to her mouth reflexively. "It helps me keep track of things," she said quickly.

Artemis looked from her to the table and nodded quietly.

Ariana got up and started to walk away from the table with the first four items, all of which were medical astringents, to take them to the guest room that Artemis had told her to keep her things in.

"Miss Fioré?" Artemis asked, realizing something.

Ariana turned back around on the balls of her feet, "Yes?"

"The labels…"

"What about them?"

"They're written in English but you're a fairy... aren't you?"

Ariana rolled her eyes, "Of course I am."

"Doesn't that mean that your first language should be Gnommish?"

Ariana's eyes shifted once as she had to think quickly, "Well I labeled them before I left. I didn't think that it made any sense to label them in Gnommish since some of the people who would need to read them probably don't know Gnommish."

Artemis decided at that point that there was no point in prying so he abandoned the subject. "No, of course, you're right. Do you need help carrying your things?" he asked, preparing to pick up the next of the various bottles and tubes that were laid on the table.

"No!" Ariana exclaimed, moving herself quickly between. She cleared her throat, composing herself, "Sorry… it's just… I mean, it's all right, I don't need help."

Artemis raised his eyebrow at her slightly taking down another mental note, "All right."

Ariana let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes, steadying herself by holding onto the back of the chair. "What is the matter with me?" she asked herself quietly.

She shook her head, forcing steel to override her emotions, not entirely unlike another female LEP officer, and went back to her work.

When she reached the guest room she walked into the adjoining bathroom and again began to lay out the bottles in alphabetical order in even rows. After about ten trips the entirety of her room was dotted with neat rows of bottles, tubes, and bandages. Lastly she placed a small cloth bag on the table next to the bed. She sighed and sat down on the bed, folding her legs up into a lotus position, but instead of actually meditating she just stared off into space, not even bothering to close the door of her room first.

After what seemed like an eternity Ariana was startled by the sound of a light pecking on the door facing. When she looked up at the door she saw Juliet, peaking around the door.

"Hey, you all right?"

Ariana smiled weakly, "Yeah, fine."

Juliet laughed, "You're about as good at being fake-happy as Artemis. Anyway, we were gonna eat and Foaly and Root are supposed to call, don't ask me how… You coming?"

Ariana looked back around the room quickly, eyes landing on the cloth bag, she then looked back at Juliet, "Yeah, I'll be right there."

Juliet nodded and turned back around.

Ariana heard the clicking of Juliet's feet running down the stairs and sighed, tapping her finger against her knee a few times. "All right, buck up Ariana. There's nothing wrong other than your nerves… which are just being ridiculous anyway. This is your job, stop acting like a little girl," she told herself and got up and walked down the stairs without any further second thoughts.

When she walked into the conference room where the motley crew were eating and watching a satellite television screen she heard Foaly's voice coming from the speakers, "…traced a credit card in the name of Jon Spiro to Las Vegas, Nevada. Jon Spiro is still in prison so that's where our Anthony Spiro is, so that's where you're headed."

Juliet suddenly looked more interested, though her older brother looked nothing but pleased.

"A bodyguard's worst nightmare…" he said under his breath.

"Why?" Holly asked. "What's in Las Vegas?"

Artemis looked at her, surprised, "You haven't heard of Las Vegas?"

"No, I know Nevada's in America but I've never been there…"

Ariana spoke up, "It's commonly referred to as Sin City in human culture. Basically, it's a hub of money, greed, lust, and glamour."

Holly shrugged. "Sounds fun to me," she said sarcastically.

"It does have some good things in it…" Juliet said, trying her best to quell the excitement in her voice.

"Murder, larceny, obstruction of justice, prostitution, the American Mafia, gangs, take your pick," Artemis replied to Juliet's remark.

"Well in any case," Ariana began, "It looks like we're about to go live la vida loca."

Juliet started to hum the Ricky Martin song by the same title.

An extremely gentle elbow from her older brother followed. Any more and it might've broken or bruised something but it served its purpose, to shut her up. For all her skill in some areas Juliet still hadn't learned fully when the appropriate time to be serious was.

Ariana smiled a little, and then cast her gaze to Artemis. "Is the Lear jet on standby?" she asked.

Artemis shook his head. "It isn't, but it can be," he said, reaching for his cell phone.

"Why not use the shuttles underground?" Holly asked.

"Because it'd take forever to get clearance to even get to North America, much less the western side of it. And no offense to any of you but I'd like to get home," Ariana replied, looking briefly at each person in the room.

Artemis nodded and stepped briefly out of the room to call Dublin Airport. When he returned Ariana had taken some water from a hot kettle that was on a serving tray in the center of the table and poured it over a small bag of Earl Grey tea. She fiddled with the string, stirring the bag around evenly.

"Can we be ready to leave the manor in a half an hour?" Artemis asked.

Ariana nodded, not looking up from the cup.

The rest of the group agreed and within a few minutes the only occupants of the room were Artemis and Ariana.

Artemis smiled a little, "A fairy that likes tea…"

"I learned it from my father," Ariana said absently as she threw the tea bag away. Ariana blinked as she realized what she had said, she didn't want to reveal her history to anyone in this era, and it could ricochet into the future and have serious repercussions. "He spent a substantial amount of time around humans," she explained as she turned up the sup of tea and drank it in one gulp to avoid saying anything further.

Artemis blinked and looked at her in slight awe, "Would that not burn your esophagus?"

Ariana winked and smiled, "Fairies are made out of stronger stuff."


Within an hour the group had boarded a plane and well on their way to Las Vegas, Nevada where Anthony Spiro was patiently waiting for the group to play into his hands.


Review please. I really hate this chapter myself so it's understandable if you do too. I'm quite tempted to give up on this story and start another one since I've read the Opal Deception but I really would like to finish something for once. What do you think?