Author's Note: I finally got a 166 reviews:-D Sorry for the long update, but if you reviewed faster you probably would have gotten it sooner. It doesn't help that I was busy all weekend with parties and stuff. I had homecoming and loads of essays to write. Lol. I'm glad lots of you liked the last paragraph, I did too. Oh, and some of the content in this chapter may be considered similar to Agivega's The Aztec Incident. I did get some ideas from there, but they're not straight from the story. They're similar…
Another reason for this slow update was writer's block. You understand, right? Right?
Thanks to Zarroc, hogwartscharmed1, Rebel Rose, -anon-anon-anon-, -RoCK 4ng3l, Queen Dragon, chocolate smudge, Lucifer, anonymous- who reviewed 3 times, PrincessBob, an-angel-in-hell, RECONbabe, ravenmasteroftele, lxilightand Scottish Ninja.
Recap
"Sleeping on a hard surface is good for me anyway." He also tugged at the blankets so he had an equal share. "Night, Holly."
"Night." Holly pulled back on the blankets. Once again, it was going to be a long, long night.
Artemis stared at the sky, the total view slightly obstructed by tree leaves, but still showing some stars. Even though it limited his stargazing, he was glad for the cover, which would prevent some of the cold air from hitting him hard. Glancing at the night's peach tinted moon, he noticed the rays from it fell on Holly's face, creating a soft glow. He turned back towards the sky, looking at all the constellations and the patterns they made, and smiled. After a while he heard Holly's quiet but even breathing, and turned on his side facing the path they had traveled. He was warm, he was content, but most of all he was with Holly.
End of recap…
Holly was content. She didn't want to wake up fully, that would mean she would have to move away from the warm and comfortable position. She was warm, even though she was on the edge of the makeshift bed. She had no plans of opening her eyes yet, even though she had already felt the warm early morning rays upon her face. It probably was maybe seven in the morning, she could hear the faint sound of birds chirping and the louder rustling of leaves among the rushing water created the perfect place. Keeping her eyes closed, she yawned as she stretched, preparing for the day. "Ow," she muttered. Her right elbow hit something. A very hard something.
She opened her eyes, rubbing her elbow. Holly looked to her right, and gaped. Artemis was there, almost snuggling, and very close. He was still sleeping, slowly breathing, yet still was snuggling. Holly did not snuggle, especially with someone named Artemis Fowl. So that's what caused the warmth. She rolled away, and watched as Artemis moved closer to her. She stopped, thinking of the possibilities. Holly moved again, towards the creek, and glanced as Artemis followed. Continuing towards the creek, Holly watched and stood up as Artemis idiotically rolled into the cold, rushing water.
"What?" Artemis said, gulping a mouthful of creek water, "where am I?"
"You're in a creek, silly."
"No, really, Holly. But why?"
"Because you rolled over here…" Holly replied innocently, hiding a smirk.
"But how?"
"You rolled over on your side several feet until you landed in the creek."
"Why didn't you stop me?"
"Because…"
"You thought it would be funny, I suppose?"
Holly nodded.
"Why?"
Holly sighed. She didn't want to admit that was he had been doing bothered her, but now she could tease him. Hmm…what to say… "Uh…maybe because you deserved it?"
"What did I do?" he replied.
"You were snuggling me!"
"I was not," he argued.
"Then why were you up against me when I woke up?" Artemis blushed. Holly laughed. It was a weird, reddish, almost cherry blush covering his entire face, even his eyelids, almost to the point where it was disturbing. "What the hell…" Holly said. "Your hands are red!"
Artemis rolled his eyes. "I'm blushing, Holly."
"Your face is supposed to be red, not your hands."
He looked down, and got even redder. "You're saying I was, ah, snuggling? I don't snuggle. Sorry."
"What do you mean, 'sorry?'" Holly retorted, hands on her hips. "I would have been glad if you didn't!"
"Well, I didn't snuggle, and I have yet to, but least of all with you."
"Good." He turned around, facing the horse, who was watching them intently. "How'ld the horse not escape last night? Did you mesmer it or something?"
"It's a she, Artemis, and it's called a rope. Besides, the mesmer doesn't work on horses."
"Does it work on any animals?"
"The stupid ones."
"Like…"
"And I thought you know everything about the people," Holly tsked.
"Not everything." Artemis replied. "Just what was in the book and what I've learned from fairy contact."
"Like…"
"What do you want to know? You are a fairy."
"What you got from fairy-human contact."
"Well, can't I tell you while we're riding? We have to get to the chute first."
"Right. Let's go. Help me up." Holly undid the reins from the branch and let the horse slurp some water.
"Okay." Artemis boosted Holly up onto Holly the horse, pulled himself up onto the horse, this time without any help from Holly. All this physical activity was doing him well…
After a couple hours of riding at a steady pace, along with conversing, the summer sun was over their heads and beating down on them with sweltering heat. They were in the middle of a deserted field, surrounding by grass, and having not drank water for several hours, decided to pursue a stream. Holly jumped off the horse and walked off, looking back at Artemis who was just standing there looking at the ground hands in his pockets. "Hey, are you okay?"
Artemis looked up at Holly. "Fine. Just fine."
"Artemis, no one is 'just fine.'"
"I am." He stated.
"Come on, you cant fool me. What's wrong?"
"Just homesick, I guess," he admitted.
"Aw, Artemis…do you want a hug?"
"A hug? "he scoffed.
"Yeah, you know, when someone wraps their arms around another person to make them feel better. It releases endorphins."
"All right," he sighed.
Holly walked over and gave Artemis a hug. It was close, almost squeezing, but they stayed like that for several minutes until Holly let go. "Ok," she said, "that was…awkward." In reality Holly enjoyed the hug, it was a friendly hug, not too tight, like the ones Trouble gave her on occasion.
"Really?" Artemis asked. "What did I do wrong?"
"Nothing," Holly sighed. "Its just me."
"Shall we get food or continue riding?"
"Let the horse drink, and eat a bit I guess. The horse looks tired," Holly observed.
"Is she saying something to you?"
"Nah," she replied, "but wouldn't you be tired if you ran for three hours straight?"
"Most definitely. So let's eat." Artemis grabbed the reins, gently leading the horse towards the sound of water at the edge of the field.
After tying the horse to a tree next to the creek and an ample patch of grass, Holly took some food from the bag and sat down, handing a bit to Artemis. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Holly commented. "Especially after not eating at breakfast." She glared at Artemis, who laughed.
"Hey, don't blame me," he said. "Just eat."
The two ate in silence for several minutes, and soon rode away into the rising sun.
After several hours of riding, the sun was setting, leaving streaks of red and gold into the sky. Artemis was tired. Not just of being on a horse, but of riding, and of being here. He wasn't tired of Holly, or learning, just the fact that he wouldn't be sleeping on a bed or eating good quality food for a while exasperated the boy genius. "Are we there yet?" he inquired.
"For the last time, Artemis, not for a couple more miles." Holly groaned. The Mud Boy must have asked her every quarter mile for the past hour!
"But I'm tired," he complained.
"And you don't think I am?"
"I never said that."
"You're implying it."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Shut up, Artemis."
Artemis shook his head. When would they get there? "But Holly," he protested, "the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get home."
"I realize that, Artemis, I told you, only a couple more miles. That's less than half an hour. You've waited two weeks, you can wait longer."
"No, I can't."
"If you die of impatience, Artemis, I'll leave you out for the wolves," Holly retorted.
"Thanks, Holly."
"Welcome. Hey, this looks familiar. We're almost there."
"Really? What do you recognize?"
"Landscape, stuff," replied Holly.
"Nice descript, Holly. Very detailed."
"Welcome. Also welcome to the chute, Artemis, we're there."
Author's Note: Again, sorry for the long update, but…its high school. Its hard!
Please review, and Agivega, if you can, please email me.