Chapter two: Remembering What We Should Forget
"Artemis?" Croaked Holly, hoping she wasn't going insane. His face stayed the same and Holly rubbed her eyes mumbling to herself. "Get a hold of yourself Short, no time for a trip to the white room…" Holly looked up again at the pale face of her former arch enemy and met a pair of sapphire eyes staring back at her.
"I'm afraid you are not insane quite yet Captain, a tad paranoid perhaps, but not insane." Artemis Fowl smirked and sat up in his bed. He pushed his hair back out of his face and the smirk was gone, replaced by the old Artemis stone cold stare. "I assume you are not here just to say hello and get caught up."
Holly gawked at him but soon recovered her dignity, fire returning to her eyes for the first time in years. "I'm not insane but you are!" Holly punched him in the shoulder and glared daggers. "What was the grand idea in terrifying me then making me seem like I'd gone off the deep end!" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"My, my Captain Short, I was just having a little fun, that hardly warrants you calling me insane. I am far from insane, I am a genius." The prodigy feigned a look of hurt and put his hand on his chest. "You wound me Holly."
"Pft…there's a fine line between genius and insanity Artemis," She spoke his name venomously.
"Now let's cut the chit chat I have a job to do and I intend to do it before my deadline. I'd really rather not have to write a report for Root telling him why I was late completing it." Captain Short jumped from the bed and got her equipment setting it up at the foot of the bed. "So…if you don't want me to use force, just cooperate with me."
Artemis bit his tongue to keep the look of real hurt from showing on his face. "As you wish Captain Short…as you wish." Holly moved closer to him and started attaching the first of many wires and such. "But first….."
Holly sighed. "What Artemis?"
"Might I ask how everyone is?" He locked his gemstone eyes with Holly's hazel ones, a look of sincerity in them.
"Very well….Everyone has been fine, Foaly is still too smart for his own good, Root is still Beetroot, Mulch is out of jail, and Opal is still in jail, everyone and everything is fine." She returned to her work, biting her lip to hide how much this was making her heart ache.
Artemis caught the look in her eyes before she could remove it by biting her lip. "And what about you Captain…how have you been?" He emphasized 'you' every time and didn't remove his eyes from her face.
"Fine…just fine." Holly absently rolled up her sleeves and continued to work, oblivious to the look of shock on Artemis' face at the site of the many scars covering the nut brown skin of her arms.
"Holly…" He took her hand, making a mental note that this would be a first, he Artemis Fowl was about to be nice. "How did you get so many scars?"
Holly's eyes shot up to meet his. 'He looks like he actually cares…' She wanted to pull her hand away, but her body betrayed her. "Just a bit of depression, it was nothing serious." She could drown in those eyes…
"Holly, how could you call this nothing serious?" Artemis ran his hand down her arm softly. "Why did you do this?"
"I was lonely I guess, but why should I tell you!" Holly glared at Artemis again and pulled her hand away. "It's none of your business; you won't remember any of this in a few hours anyway." Holly winced at what she had just said…why did she always have to be so short tempered? (A/N: pun definitely intended )
"Sorry…I didn't mean to upset you. But now I'm curious, you never seemed like the type to be lonely." He tilted his head, staring at her.
Holly Short rolled her hazel eyes and put the mind wipe equipment to the side, sitting cross-legged she faced Artemis. "You wanna have talk time, let's have talk time, but I only have till midnight."
"Fair enough" Stated Artemis "tell me why you were lonely, you had Root and Foaly and Trouble and all the other fairies."
The Captain took a deep breath 'fine I'll tell him, he won't remember…' she opened her eyes again and began. "I have always been lonely, I have no family to speak of and very very few close friends, I've never had good luck in romance and…frankly Artemis, I missed you. I missed the excitement you brought, the danger, the adventures we had."
Artemis looked slightly taken aback at this; he furrowed his brow trying to comprehend what he'd just heard.
"Oh don't tell me I finally tongue tied you." Holly smiled lightly and punched Artemis again. "Now, you have to tell me how you got your memories back." Artemis smiled slightly 'At least she's still the same old Holly.'
"Mulch." A simple word, but all Holly needed.
Suddenly a knock on the door spooked Holly so bad she fell off the bed with an umph. Artemis hid his grin with his hand as he looked down at Holly, calling over his shoulder. "Enter."
Butler opened the door and closed it speaking as he turned back around. "Artemis, your mother and fa…." He trailed off when he saw Holly climbing back up onto the bed, a perplexed look on his face. After a few tense moments of staring between the elf and the man servant Butler strode over to the bed and extended his hand. "It has been too long Captain Short."
Holly smiled warmly and shook one of his huge fingers. "Yes it has Butler, Artemis and I were just discussing how long it's been."
"Right. Now what about my mother and father Butler?" Artemis moved from his bed to his closet pulling out a suit and stepping behind his dressing screens, emerging just as Butler stopped completing his previous thought. "They wish to see you down in the grand hall; they're leaving for New Guinea today."
"Ah quite right, well then shall we?" Artemis opened the door and motioned for Holly and Butler to exit.
"But…the mind wipe…oooooh." Holly glared at the back of Artemis' head mumbling to herself.
They made their way down the grand stair case and into the large foyer. Holly shielded and waited at the foot of the stairs next to Butler's leg as Artemis said goodbye to his parents.
"We'll be back in a few weeks Arty dear." His mother kissed his cheek and picked up her bag. Artemis watched them pull down the driveway and out of site before turning round.
"Breakfast?"
Fowl Manor, Kitchen, 8:37am
Butler bustled around the kitchen cooking a large breakfast for Holly and Artemis as the two just mentioned sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen playing a friendly game of chess. SMASH!
Well…it used to be friendly.
"HOLLY YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Artemis gathered up the shattered remains of what used to be a glass knight and stared open mouthed at the grinning elf.
"Says who?" was her only response and she smugly moved her piece a few paces. "Checkmate." The word echoed through the kitchen and Butler dropped a frying pan, running over and gawking at the bored.
"She……she just beat you Artemis."
"I am WELL aware of that Butler." Artemis sulked a little softly running his fingers over the broken object. "You didn't have to smash it Holly."
"I know." Holly's smile stretched from one pointy ear to the other as she collected the pieces and put them away. She looked up when she finished, finding Artemis still staring at his poor utterly defeated knight. "Oh come now Artemis, you learn more from your defeats then from your victories." She took the knight and slowly pieced it back together. "See…no harm done." She tried to smile at him but he wouldn't look at her. 'He really has changed…'
Artemis sighed and nodded. 'I've never lost before…well no that is not true. But Holly is the only person; scratch that, the only being to ever beat me more than once. In fact, Holly is the only one who always seems to beat me in some way, even if I technically win.' It was infuriating. As far back as Artemis thought, through all his adventures with the People, Holly had always been the one to beat him. She was the only one with the guts to hit him or talk back to him and despite not being a genius, she managed to stump him frequently and leave him tongue tied, breathless and conquered. 'And that is precisely why I like her…you know, as a friend. Perhaps the word like isn't what I meant…respect, that is why I respect Hol…Captain Short.' They ate their breakfast in silence after that, Holly sneaking glances at Artemis when he was looking the other way.
Butler watched this display in amusement a slight grin playing at the corner of his lips. 'Master Artemis really has become quite fond of her. And she too, seems to have developed a soft spot for Artemis.' Just then a yawn was heard from the opening to the kitchen. There standing in the arch way was Butler's younger sister Juliet. She stretched and rubbed her eyes as she walked over to the counter and got herself a bowl on lucky charms. "Hallo Butler, morning Artemis, good to see you again Holly….HOLLY!" Juliet dropped her spoon and grabbed Holly, hugging her tightly. "Holly it's been so long, I'm missed you so much! How have you been, what are you doing here?" Holly wriggled out of strong blonde girls embrace and smiled.
"Good to see you too Juliet. I missed you as well, I've been…honestly not too good but that's not important, and I'm here on a not so happy occasion sorry to say." Holly adverted her gaze as the subject of the mind wipe came up again.
"What do ya mean Hol?" Juliet tilted her head to the side as she questioned her fairy friend.
"I mean Juliet, that my reason for coming here is not to see you all again and say hello and get reacquainted. My reason for being here…is to disappear." Holly dropped her gaze to the floor as the mood in the room took a noise dive.
"Oh…so you have to mind wipe us…again. Holly why can't you just leave and say you did it. I'm sure Artemis isn't planning anything against the People, and if he ever does again I'll wrestle him till he gives it up." The blonde girl looked hopeful and Holly just couldn't bare to crush her…in fact she liked Juliet's idea, but she knew it wouldn't work.
"Juliet, listen, I don't want to do this mind wipe…believe me I don't. I'd rather you guys kept your memories, and I trust Artemis…I know he isn't planning to hurt us, but I have to. If I don't Foaly will find out and I'll not only have to come back up here and mind wipe you, but when I get back down to Haven they'll have my badge." Holly sighed and looked over at Artemis who seemed thoughtful; he hadn't said a word in a while. "I'm sorry."
"Well then…we'll just have to have a party. A welcome back/going away party, so that this isn't a totally depressing day." Juliet hopped up and giggled, scampering off to decorate and do whatever else she felt necessary for a party.
"Nice Holly…you got Juliet started; now we're having a party." Artemis rolled his eyes, standing up and walking around the counter to stand in front of Holly. "So…you are going to stick around for this little shin ding are you not?" His cold eyes burned into Holly's very soul making her shiver.
"Well…you know I can't stay past midnight…and I'll have to…mind wipe you before midnight…oh Artemis stop looking at me like that, yes, I'll stay, happy now?" She glowered at him, her hands clenching into fists.
"Very good. Juliet will no doubt lend you some cloths; you will find her up the stairs second door on the left. The room with the irritatingly loud music." Artemis smiled his vampire smile and turned to Butler. "You and I have some planning of our own, meet me in the second study in ten minutes."
"Yes Master Artemis."