Artemis was walking with Butler and Kent one summer evening. Butler was proud of Artemis; he already knows how to talk to classmates rather than Butler, Juliet, business partners and his parents, although Kent was just one of the classmates, oh well, that's near enough.
"Have you seen a Nox?" Kent asked, breaking the silence.
"No Noxes, never seen. Holly never even mentioned about them." Artemis answered.
"Well, they are one kind fairy that could turn into any living creature that could communicate, mainly humans."
"You are informing me of this, because?"
"I would love us to go near their presence." She said as a matter-of-factly.
There was a screaming silence. She simply is true to her word, she never said that the wants us to go with her, she's giving an option, Artemis thought. But Butler thought she was as daring as Artemis. Only Artemis would think of such.
"Where would they be hiding? I suspect that they are not in Haven City." Now it was Artemis to break the silence.
"Of course not, they live just everywhere. You see, Noxes could not breathe underground. They transform into mud-people and simply fit in with normal mud-men such as you."
"Why do you want us to come with you?" Butler asked remembering all the products of Artemis' plans such as running through a swarm of fairy creature disguised as humans.
"Why? I simply want to show the obnoxious creatures, knowing the fact that you haven't. Plus, I am going to buy something that only they could hold"
"I'm listening; if they stay here above ground, in what part of Irish lands do they cover?" Artemis sounded very interested.
"Think! If they want to fit in, in what way would they do it?"
"Why, they would own houses, go to schools, build a shop and sell."
"Correct. They would sell, if I'm in my right mind, this is the place."
They stopped in front of an old store called, "Seasons". Two humans came out from the store talking at each other in fluent gnommish. If Artemis was not informed of both information; first is that Noxes changing appearances, and second is the language of the fairies, he would have thought that these were simple humans talking in their secret made-up language.
"igo ler eff li eg?" one said. You think she's too stupid for Artemis?
"haa, itt um kuhn." the other replied with a slight giggle. Yeah, I'll be better for him.
"eit tum cre est? u khan po, iffu ner iet." Kent interrupted. You call me stupid? I don't think so, I am hardly a goblin.
Both the Noxes was quite shock to see a human talk their dialect that they ran as if a tyrannosaurus was behind them roaring.
"Why did you do such an impulsive act?"
"I simply told them Garfield was not a dog, that's all."
"Forget them, look."
Artemis pointed to an old newspaper lying on the cemented ground. Butler picked it up. It was no ordinary newspaper, it was written in Gnommish, and Artemis' face was on the first page. It's my turn to show my gnommish. Artemis held it and read it aloud.
"Artemis Fowl, Captain Holly Short, convict Mulch and Commander Root together with Butler, saves Haven from the goblins led by Opal Koboi and an ex-Captain Briar Cudgeon."
"Last-last year's issue, I presume?" Kent asked
"Yes, I remember the Koboi laboratory." Butler answered relatively speaking.
Artemis insisted that they keep the paper for future's use. They went in the store, Kent told them to wait for her by the cashier, warning them that all the Noxes could turn into her image in less than a second.
"You might be interested to my map, Mister" the cashier asked. He was utterly disguised as a fat merchant with a moustache.
"No, I am not." Artemis answered.
"You're not allowed here, mud-boy." the merchant pulled out a gun that looked like the guns in Martian movies, definitely not a Neutrino 2000.
"hon! fig us nub bbh." Kent came, holding a green brooch. Halt! They are with me.
"futt? futt hn opp nug ggs" he placed the gun back to his pocket. You? You are hardly a nox yourself.
"Maybe I am no nox at all, but without me, this shop would have been part of a toy company."
"You don't say. Are you Miss Katerina?"
"The one and only. Now, sell me this." She placed on the cashier table the brooch. Now, Artemis got time to look at it, it was an emerald stone, circled by a gold frame giving the brooch flower shaped.
"May I ask you, are you really sure you are Miss Katerina?" Butler obliged to ask as the merchant punched Kent's order of the brooch.
"Listening to my warning, I see? You may question me, if you must, Butler. Please do not ask too deep, I am but a closed book."
A joke, Artemis thought, it is the real Kent, and she mentioned 'may question', which is hardly an order.
"It is useless, Butler. She is Kent." Artemis said before Butler could ask a question about their lunch.
"I think I could wait till later when we arrive at the Manor of how you noticed." Kent smiled, paying the grinning merchant.
At the manor, Kent's room, an hour later------
"What a clever idea to do. You listen to my words to know that I really am the real Kent." Kent said after hearing Artemis' explanation.
"I try to keep it that way." Artemis shrugged.
"Hey you guys, dinner's ready." Juliet knocked at her door.
"We better eat, I am feeling quite hungry at the moment." upon saying this, she stood up casually and walked up to the door.
As both of the teens walked at the empty hallways, Artemis swallowed all his courage to ask.
"About your brooch…" He started.
"I daresay you are suspicious of the "Heart of Telthea", very well. This brooch was given to King Frond, by an old widow, now well known as the 'Black witch of the east'. As you may see by now, the Book did not talk about this."
Artemis nodded, it all makes sense, and I have read of the heart, the Book also says that its history is forbidden.
"Yes, the Book mentioned that all this was forbidden."
"I think it did say so. Anyhow, the witch has tricks up her sleeve. Apparently, the brooch has a spell; anyone who wears it would have powers beyond imagination!"
"The heart should be kept in a safe place, somewhere much safer than a store!"
"No, actually, they wanted to get rid of it. The brooch gave enormous powers to a power-hungry mailer. He tried to take over the whole world, including the mud-men." She went on "When he was un-equipped of the brooch, the humans, who did not understand what was happening, was outraged."
"I see."
"They marched against the fairies, which in the other hand tried to explain. When the mob then became bloody, all the fairies could do was defend themselves form us. But they were out numbered, and so they hid themselves from the face of the earth and went under ground."
"Hmm, explains a lot... but we have to talk more of this later on, we would have to eat first."
"Hmm, I smell fettuccini!"
Artemis opened the door to the dining hall; Kent sat beside Angeline, Artemis in front of her. They both smiled at each other. Kent rubbed her brooch which was inside her skirt pocket.
Haven, Council Coffee Hall
"You think we should buy a new coffee maker?" an elder of the Council, named Flash Doaman, complained.
Their coffee maker always turns itself off even before heating their coffees; it always had been that way since the death of LEPrecon's best Commander Julius Root. Many said it was his ghost wondering around; of course it was a joke. Human's interpretation of a ghost was a see through dead man, but actually, those are fairies half shielded.
"Maybe we should, I'm tired of lukewarm coffee every morning!" Gant answered, he was a centaur too, Foaly's long cousin, twice removed.
"Stop your bickering and listen!" Oboe Linege said, there was immediate silence, who would not follow the head of the council?
Then they heard a tiny beeping, all three of them sat the table, Linege opened his communicator, there was a blue 3-D plasma screen that showed Foaly.
"What have you got?" Gant asked, knowing that the centaur never call without danger.
"Well, cousin, I have a tail, hooves, head and two hands, one of which is going to show you a message."
Doaman rolled his eyes as another blue 3-D plasma screen opened, it showed a mud-lady, with glasses.
"Father, Long Lim, was working for the LEP years ago, when he met my mother, a human. The council was outraged. They could not allow this to happen; they mind wiped father and mother, confiscated his Magic along with everything." she sighed "He lost the entire drop of magic that once flowed through him. Then I started searching for answers when he started talking nonsense."
"Tell me, Katerina, what do you really want?" another voice, Holly, Linege thought.
"I want my Book and my Rights."
"What Rights?"
"You, know, those Rights of every fairy."
"You need to talk to the Council about this"
Then the record stopped, the screen disappeared and all heads turned to Foaly.
"Is she really Katerina Lim?" Doaman asked since he himself was there when Long was mind-wiped.
"Yes, plus, she was the one who bought the "Heart of Telthea" from the Nox store."
"Where did she get all of this information?"
"Long remembered everything when he got off a coma last year, he found his Book and gave it to Katerina, his only daughter."
"Use less to her, she can't possibly open the Book, it's not hers. She would tire herself trying."
"But her father told her everything that's written in there. So, she knows."
"What do you want us to do?" Linege asked.
Foaly shrugged
"You could give her what she's asking for or you could mind-wipe the family again."
"No use, Artemis would surely help her, and we finally got rid of the heart."
"What, give her the Rights?"
"Well, if she does something good for the People."
Then there was a silence, everyone could hear the "Die Walkure" background in their heads.
"That's a suggestion worth giving out in the Council meeting tomorrow; today we would give ourselves a well deserved rest. We would also get a well deserved brand new coffee maker"
Linege stood up, turned off his communicator and yawning walked out the coffee hall.