To everyone (since many of you asked about this): the Middle English in Ferro's journal wasn't done by me. I sent the original, modern-language version to my friend British Michael who changed the text into Middle English. I couldn't have done it on my own, only a person whose first language is English could do it.
Mistri, Tonks Admirer: yes, Attila the Hun. Colfer wrote that magic got sucked out of fairies if they made direct contact with sunlight. And I'm sorry to say, but you only managed to be the second reviewer ;)
Jade Sabre: unfortunately I no longer remember where I read that fanfic guide… I read it at least a year ago… (btw, does your name mean that you like Star Wars and Mara Jade?)
bananaz: this chapter doesn't yet reveal the journal's connection to Arty and Holly, but a few chapters later you will find out.
Teya Yashitoda: I wanted to send you the modern language version of the journal but you didn't put your email addy into your ffnet profile, so I didn't know where to send it. If you still want it, give me your email address, please.
PeanutButteroreoCookieGirl: no, this isn't a too happy story (includes lots of angst), but it has several funny parts and a happy ending.
TroubleKelp: nope, English really isn't my native language, I'm Hungarian (there will be a few 'patriotic' moments in this fic ;) I don't exactly know what you mean by 'as long as the A/H is as it was in your first AF fic', but if you meant that you didn't want over-sappy moments, then don't worry, there won't be many of those.
Estella Heart: no, but you're not far from the truth.
C-chan1: no, you're not the only one, I'm HUGE Jar Jar fan too:D Let's start a Jar Jar Fanclub ;) Fiona wasn't using the mesmer on Attila and never will. She likes him too much for that.
avovisto: Huns and Attila are NOT from Star Wars, they are from HISTORY. More on them later.
Capt.HS: Attila couldn't be Holly's mother as Attila is a MALE and a human.
Also thanks to: Rebel Rose, Zodokai, mocha chocalatta, rubbishbin, AmethystPhoenix1, aperfectattitude, septempopuli, Calipotato, VampyGenieWitch, jasx316, Fudge1, manveri mirkiel, AutumnBreeze25, Eva Evans, ropo-ropo, El Diablo Ella Misma, yorkvillebird, Cyberspace, El Shabang, BeatlesLover, chocolate smudge, amber, ildibp, AnnieThePipster, Queen Dragon, obsessed4life, hogwartscharmed1, purple snowflakes, Chixawitch, Holly Rox, Fleury, Inken, Bethany, refloc, The OddBird, CheshireHare
Shoe issues
Artemis was staring at a pair of tiny shoes in his hands. He was just staring, and staring, and staring…
"Er…" Holly cleared her throat next to him, "are you all right?"
He nodded mutely, still not diverting his eyes from the shoes. When he had flopped down on the blanket and reached for a sandwich, he had found a small, white package in the picnic-basket. He had asked Holly what it was, but instead of answering, she'd just motioned him to open it, looking excited for some reason. And inside he'd found these shoes.
Baby shoes.
Well, that would explain why she'd been so excited. But… could it be possible? So soon? - He wondered. Holly and he had been living together for only two months (true, without any kind of protection), and she was… she was already…?
He chanced a glance at her to see that she was eyeing him with a worried expression, chewing her lower lip. She was totally endearing that way. Some locks of her red hair stood out in various directions, whether due to the summer breeze or the fact that she had run her fingers through it at least a dozen times in nervousness, Artemis didn't know. So dishevelled, so worried… so cute. Artemis felt his heart melt, and the only sensible reaction he could think of was reaching out, gathering her into his arms and kissing her gently.
She sighed against his lips - a sigh of both pleasure and relief. When he finally released her, he noticed that she was trembling. The funniest thing was that he was slightly shaking too. It was surely not due to the weather, as it was nice and warm; they had even sought shelter from the hot sunrays under the ancient oak tree.
"Are you okay?" he whispered.
"Yeah." She smiled somewhat insecurely.
"Then why are you trembling?"
Holly let out a small laugh. "Nerves, I suppose. I… I had no idea how you'd react, and… and… a…are you happy? At least a bit?"
"I'm happier than I've ever been before," he replied, caressing her cheek. "I always wanted to have a child with you the traditional way, Holly Short."
Always? I doubt that, Holly thought with a chuckle, but didn't voice it. "Yeah, this baby was definitely conceived in the traditional way…"
"It couldn't have been more traditional." He winked at her, thinking that it was possible they had created the baby right here, under this tree. This place had become their favourite; they had visited it as often as they could. Though neither of them was particularly sentimental, they called the river-bend 'our place'. The place where they had first met… All those years ago neither of them had thought that the little kidnapping would turn out like this: the kidnapper falling for his one-time captive, and vice versa. Recalling the night he'd first spotted the tiny, almost magicless creature here under the oak, Artemis allowed himself a reminiscing smile, then his expression changed to serious. "You know that we will have to tell mother and father about your… real self now?"
"Why?" She frowned.
"Think, Holly. This baby might take completely after me, but it might take completely after you. And if so, then he or she will be born with coffee-coloured skin and pointy ears."
"But… there's the MMM," she reasoned. It'd been just a week ago that Patrick wrote he'd managed to make a version of the MMM for half-human-half-fairies as well so that he'd be able to come and visit his parents once in a while. "That substance would surely work on the baby as well."
"No doubt it would." Artemis nodded. "But only a few months after its birth. Such substances might be risk-free for adults, but we cannot feed them to a newborn. Babies don't have an immune system developed enough, and… we simply cannot risk it. So even if you gave birth in the manor to avoid other humans seeing the baby's possible elfin features, my parents would still see them. And for all I know, mother might die on the spot if I present her a grandchild with ears like Mr Spock's."
"Elfin ears aren't that pointed!" Holly snapped.
"Are too."
"Are not!"
Artemis couldn't help but grin. This was a daily event ever since Holly'd joined him in Fowl Manor: fight, fight, and more fight. They quarrelled early in the morning, argued at lunch and even teased each other in bed. They would never admit it to anyone, but they truly enjoyed it.
"Are too! But I love them!" Artemis concluded the fight and kissed her thoroughly. "However," he continued after he was able to breath again, "we cannot be sure how mother and father would take it. So we've got to tell them the truth, Holly."
She heaved a sigh and nodded. "All right, Artemis. Let's hope that your parents can keep a secret."
"They can, believe me. Mother has never been a gossiping person, and father is… I couldn't imagine him go telling his business associates that his daughter-in-law is a fairy…"
Holly's eyes flashed. "Daughter-in-law?"
Artemis gave her a lopsided grin. "Why not? We can't let that baby come into the world illegitimate, can we?"
"No." She returned the grin. "We cannot."
"It's settled, then." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
Holly willed herself not to grimace. 'It's settled, then' - what sort of a proposal was that? Well, certainly it was one that she could expect from Artemis Fowl II. And, she had to remind herself, she didn't love him for his talents in romancing… He was good-looking, clever (even though no longer brilliant), amusing to fight with and amazing as a lover, but there wasn't a girl on the face of earth who would fall for him thanks to his smooth talking.
"But, before we tell your parents, we've got to tell Patrick. And Julius," she spoke up. "We've got to hear their opinion."
"Would their opinion change anything?" he asked.
"I don't know." She shook her head. "I just want to tell them. Forgive me, but I trust them more than your parents."
"No offence taken," Artemis replied. He didn't like the idea of spilling the beans to the older Fowl couple either, but it had to be done. He had known it from the moment Holly had come to live with him that if they happened to conceive a child, they would have to disclose their secret to his parents… but up till now he had banished the thought into the back of his mind, persuading himself that he had a lot of time to think it over before it really happened…
He had never suspected that it would happen this quick. One half of him felt proud of his potency, the other half was scared to death. It was one thing having a twelve-year-old son whose childhood he had missed completely; but suddenly becoming father to a small, bawling thing that needs a dozen nappy-changes per day was a wholly different matter. He wasn't sure he was up to it, but Artemis Fowl would never sink so low as to show anyone how scared he was. Especially not to Holly; as Holly was the person who most needed his support now.
He wondered how their son, Root and Foaly would react to their 'big news'. He already saw them in his mind's eye: Patrick making snide remarks, Root choking on his fungus cigar and Foaly grinning and winking at them. However, the biggest problem weren't even these fairies but Artemis the First and Angeline, as their feelings towards the whole 'Holly-matter' had been rather mixed.
A morning of two months earlier came to Artemis's mind…
Artemis woke up to feel an arm slung over his chest and auburn locks tickling his shoulder. He couldn't help but smirk in a satisfied way, recalling the events of the previous night. What a night it had been! He'd fallen asleep after the first - most tiring - lovemaking, but had woken up about an hour later and they'd continued with renewed power. They had done it… how many times? Artemis thought for a second and established that it had happened three times. Or three and a half - that would have been four, if he hadn't fallen asleep due to extreme exhaustion around five in the morning…
He gently peeled Holly's arm off his chest (she moaned in her sleep but didn't awaken) and fished his mobile phone out of the pocket of his Armani suit that he had dropped to the ground in a very uncharacteristically careless way in the evening. Well, at that time his mind had been on something else, and couldn't have cared less for the suit.
Artemis typed in a short message and sent it to Butler, then made his way into the adjacent bathroom.
Barely had he finished taking a shower when there was a knock on the door. Holly stirred but still did not wake up, and Artemis silently opened the door and slid out.
"Good morning, Butler," he greeted his one-time bodyguard.
"Good morning to you too, Artemis." The manservant sized him up from head to toe with a peculiar expression. Perhaps it was because he had never seen his young master in a bathrobe with dripping hair yet… but perhaps it was because of something else.
"Butler, are you all right?"
The manservant stopped scrutinising Artemis and nodded. "I was just wondering whether you were all right."
"I'm absolutely fine." A huge smile spread on the young man's face. "Never better. You, on the other hand… look somewhat tired."
"Not much sleep." Domovoi shrugged. "Someone in the room above mine was making a racket and even some old family photos fell off the walls…"
Artemis turned ruby red and bit into his lower lip. "Sorry, Butler. That was rather tactless of us, but we never thought… it didn't occur to us for a single second that…"
Butler held out a hand to stop the tirade that was about to come. "It's okay, Artemis. I'm not blaming you. Just a small request: have baffle boards installed in your room. As soon as possible."
Artemis turned even redder (if that was possible) and nodded. "I will. I just hope that mother and father haven't heard anything…"
"I doubt they have, they live in the other end of the building, after all, and you two weren't that loud." Butler winked at young Fowl. "I think it's not necessary to ask how your night was… I heard enough."
Artemis tried to stifle a chuckle and make it sound like a cough, but he wasn't sure he succeeded. "Ehm… yeah. The reason why I asked you to come is to tell Juliet to… er…" Artemis ran his hand through his jet-black locks in an embarrassed way, "…to get Holly some clothes. Perhaps lend her some of her own, as Holly can't wear hers any longer. I sort of… ripped them."
After a few seconds he chanced a look at his old friend to see a knowing smile on his face.
"You know, you could have told this directly to Juliet," Butler remarked.
"I know." Artemis stuck his hands into the pockets of his bathrobe. "But I know Juliet too well and I wanted to avoid a sudden outburst of enthusiasm. She simply cannot control her emotions, and if she started yelling happily, my parents would find out about Holly before I wanted to introduce her… officially."
"Officially?" Butler raised an eyebrow at him. "Exactly how official are you two? Proposed to her last night?"
"Er… no." Artemis shuffled his feet. "Should I have?"
"You have to know that." Domovoi shrugged.
"Perhaps… I will. Someday. But… it'd be too quick, don't you think? I mean, I don't want Holly to think that I'm being possessive at such an early stage of our relationship…"
"I don't know that, you've got to know her enough to tell whether she would mind you being possessive."
Artemis had to admit to himself that he didn't know Holly that well. He'd learned a lot about her in the past two weeks, but it was only two weeks. Some couples needed a lifetime to get to know each other properly…
Even though they'd crossed the Mexican jungle and fought their way across several obstacles, he and Holly were only at the beginning of their journey together. The road stretched in front of them, disappearing into the distance, into the haze-covered future. He had no idea what was hidden behind the haze; he only knew that he wanted to start down the path with Holly at his side. And wherever they ended up, they'd end up together.
"I so love her, Butler," he muttered under his breath. "I still have a lot to learn about her, but one thing I know: I love her. More than anyone, ever."
"That's the most important thing." His old friend said and gave Artemis's shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "I'm off to tell Juliet to get some clothes for your… girlfriend. And I'll tell her to try and hold back her enthusiasm."
"Thanks, Butler." With a smile, Artemis slid back into his room to see Holly stretching and yawning. Spotting him, she tried to flatten her tousled locks.
"Don't. You look lovely that way." Artemis sat down on the bed next to her, kissing the top of her head. "Good morning."
"Mo'ning," she mumbled, sitting up, barely able to keep her eyes open, but grinning like mad. Life was beautiful - waking up to see her gorgeous lover with deliciously wet hair; sensing him snuggle his face into her neck and hearing him ask between two feather-light kisses 'how're you feeling, love?'
"Wonderful," she replied, offering him more of her neck, enjoying his ministrations with closed eyes. "Just a little, ah, sore."
"Sore?" he stopped devoting attention to her neck and looked into her eyes with a slightly worried expression.
"Muscle fatigue, I think…" She grinned at him. "Last night I used muscles I hadn't even known existed."
"Yes, I remember that…" he whispered, his eyes distant, as though he were far away in thought.
Holly smiled to herself: Artemis was reliving certain events of the previous night.
"You know, I wouldn't mind refreshing those memories…" She said with as innocent an expression as she could muster.
Artemis, shaken back to reality, heaved a sigh. "I'd be more than happy to refresh those memories, but… we've got other things to do. Like introducing you to my parents."
"Ow…" Holly winced. She hadn't even thought of that. "So they're back from Canada?"
"Yes, they arrived yesterday afternoon. And I haven't even greeted them yet. I bet they're a bit impatient already, perhaps even miffed that I didn't deign to leave my room and welcome them…" He glanced at the digital clock on his desk. "Breakfast is in fifteen minutes, and we mustn't be late. Mother tends to bear a grudge against both father and me when we arrive late for family meals."
With that he stood up from the bed and began dressing. Holly looked around to see some pieces of her clothes lying on the floor. "And what am I supposed to wear? I doubt I could impress your parents much in a torn pair of trousers and a threadbare maternity dress…"
"Don't worry about that, Juliet will bring you something to wear," Artemis replied, fixing his tie.
There was a knock on the door and even before they could have answered it, Juliet stormed in, wearing the biggest grin ever, carrying a pile of clothes that she dropped on the bed, and practically flung herself on Holly's neck.
"I'm so happy to have you here! I barely could believe it when Dom told me, but now I see it's true, you're really here! Oh, Holly, I always said you and Artemis were made for each other, I just knew it, I knew it!"
"Juliet, would you please stop stifling my girlfriend?" Artemis tapped his bodyguard on the shoulder. "And for all you know, we could have been doing something… private in here, so in the future, please refrain from bursting in on us."
Juliet pulled back from her friend, madly grinning. Normally she would have given Artemis a snappy comeback, but now she was too happy for that. "Right, Arty. From now on I will pretend that I don't know the code to your door." She added with a wink.
"Really, why does she know the code?" asked Holly, reaching out for the peach-coloured shirt that Juliet had brought for her.
"Simple," Artemis replied, scrutinising his appearance in the full-length mirror that was built into the inner side of his wardrobe's door. "Juliet's my bodyguard. Should anything happen to me… say someone somehow manages to poison me and the poison only starts to affect me at night and I'm feeling so bad that I can't even stand up to open the door, someone needs to be able to open it without using a crate full of TNT."
"Ah, good thinking." Holly nodded, pulling on a denim skirt that was slightly too big for her.
Artemis made a wry expression at her comment, and Holly didn't even need to ask why: the loss of his genius was still his weak point, and she knew it would remain like that for quite a while… She knew it was her task to make him forget about the loss, and she was determined to do just that.
"By the way, what are we going to tell your parents about me?"
"Really, that's a good question," Juliet pointed out. "What shall we tell them?"
"We aren't going to lie to them," the young man said calmly.
"No?" both females gasped.
"No. We are just going to keep certain things a secret."
"Like what?" Juliet wondered.
"Obviously we cannot tell them Holly's a fairy. We can't tell them she's 94 years old and that we have a son. But we can tell them the following…"
Holly and Juliet listened to the 'plan', and when Artemis was finished, Juliet couldn't help commenting that she wasn't at all sure Artemis's IQ had indeed dropped…
Artemis could feel Holly's trepidation as they walked down the stairs. She tried to look carefree and confident, but he knew she was just acting the brave little girl, but inside she was really worried. And, if he admitted it to himself, he was slightly worried too. He knew that his parents had wanted him to get married for years, but they had imagined their little Arty's life-mate as the refined daughter of some bank manager or the second-cousin of Prince William. And what were they getting now? A temperamental, tomboyish girl with no enormous bank account and no family tree as big and old as the Fowl… then again, very likely Holly's family tree was much, much older than the Fowls' - but that was something that Artemis wasn't supposed to mention to his parents.
He still remembered how desperate his mother had been when he'd advertised for a wife. She had been yearning for a grandchild but she'd advised him not to marry someone through an advertisement, because women who responded to the ad only wanted his money. He seriously hoped that his parents wouldn't think Holly only stayed with him because he was rich…
All in all, they needed to make a good first impression.
That in itself was a hard enough task, given that the clothes Juliet had graciously lent to Holly were more than revealing - Juliet's style, of course. Artemis knew Holly would never pick such clothes for herself in a shop.
"You're late," came Angeline's cold voice from the dining room.
"I know, Mother, and I'm sorry," Artemis replied, entering the room, arm in arm with Holly.
There was a small gasp from the other end of the table, followed by the clatter of metal on marble - Angeline had obviously dropped a tray.
"Arty?" she muttered, her eyes wide.
"Artemis?" Fowl Senior raised an eyebrow at the newcomers.
Fowl Junior took a deep breath. "Mother, Father, let me introduce you Holly Short, my girlfriend."
"Good morning, Mrs Fowl, Mr Fowl," Holly said in a shaky voice, and Artemis knew she would rather be fighting with a troll right now instead of staring at the Fowl couple and waiting for their 'verdict'.
A few moments of silence followed, and Artemis could feel Holly's fingers digging into the flesh of his arm in her extreme nervousness.
Then, suddenly a small and slightly forced smile appeared on Angeline's face. "Welcome, Holly, dear." She took a few steps towards them, and Artemis could see her hesitation. She was clearly struggling with herself, unable to decide whether to hold out her hand to Holly, or rather gather her into a motherly hug… Then finally it was Artemis Senior who saved the day: he walked up to them and - to Holly's utter surprise - gave her a kiss on both cheeks.
"Welcome at Fowl Manor, Holly. Angeline and I are happy to get to know our son's girlfriend. It was high time, really…" He cast a sideways glance at Artemis and the young man could see an impish glint in his father's eyes.
"Thank you, sir," Holly replied, her voice no longer shaky. A warm little smile was playing on her lips, and Artemis thought she looked like a flower that had all of a sudden burst into bloom: the timid little bud had opened and started radiating its full beauty at the Fowl parents. Artemis the First returned her smile, and Artemis the Second had no doubt that his father had accepted Holly. He wasn't that sure about his mother, though.
Knowing that it would be awkward if she didn't greet Holly as warmly as her husband had, Angeline also leaned forward and hugged the girl.
"Nice to have you here, dear. Timmy's right, Arty should have long got himself a girlfriend… He's lucky to have one as lovely as you, dear. Now, perhaps let us have breakfast, and you can tell us about yourself…"
After they'd taken place at the table, Angeline began the interrogations in her elegant and subtle way.
"I hope you don't mind me mentioning, but your accent is unrecognisable to me. It isn't Irish, isn't even Scottish, Welsh, American or Australian… so, where exactly do you come from?"
"I've been travelling, madam. A lot. I could say I have no roots. I've lived all over the world, due to my occupation…"
"And that is…?" asked Mrs Fowl, reaching for the teapot.
"Interpreter," Holly replied.
"Then you must be good at foreign languages," Fowl Senior concluded. "How many languages do you speak?"
"Well…" Holly started counting on her fingers. "German, French, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Swahili, Chinese, Japanese… and Portuguese." And every language ever spoken on the face of Earth, she added in thought.
Artemis the First seemed impressed. "That is a lot of languages for someone so young."
Young, eh? Holly fought back a giggle. I'm about forty years older than you are, sonny… But aloud she only said: "I've always had a fascination for languages, and if I'm interested in something, then I enthusiastically study it."
"And you're interested in our Artemis…" The Fowl patriarch said good-naturedly.
"I am." Holly beamed. "And I know that I still have a lot to learn about him… but I enjoy every second of it."
"Really, how long have you known are son?"
Holly and Artemis's glance met and they couldn't help but smile. "Fourteen years."
"Fourteen?" Angeline gasped. "But… but… you were just children then!"
You mean Artemis was a child, Holly thought as her lover spoke up:
"Yes, I was a child, that's why I didn't realise what a wonderful person Holly was. I just… regarded her as an annoying girl."
"And the feeling was mutual," the fairy replied, her eyes glinting merrily.
"And when exactly did you get to know each other?" Angeline wondered. "You never mentioned any girls you knew."
"It happened when you were slightly… depressed, Mother, due to father's disappearance," Artemis replied. He knew that 'depressed' was a euphemism, as 'mad' would have been the proper phrase.
"Oh." Mrs Fowl nodded. "So you've known each other for fourteen years…"
"…but we haven't met for quite a while," Artemis carried on. "We only met again while you two were away in Canada, and we realised that we were made for each other. Right, love?"
Holly sent him a heart-melting smile as a response.
"So," Artemis the First poked the bacon with his fork, "You've only been together for two weeks, and you're already sleeping together?"
Artemis II and Holly blushed to the roots of their hair. "Yes." The young man nodded. His father must have assumed that he had slept with Holly because they had appeared together for breakfast. "But we're responsible adults, and we know what we're doing…"
"I never questioned that." His father held up a placating hand. "It just seems a bit… quick for me. Then again, when I was young, things were different. People were more… old-fashioned."
"Old-fashioned?" Son arched an eyebrow at his father. "You were young in the seventies, Father. In the middle of the sexual revolution."
Fowl Senior shrugged. "True, still… I was old-fashioned. But please, don't take this as though I were berating you or something… it's just difficult for the old people to understand the young. But," a mischievous smile spread on his face, "at least now we know why you were reluctant to come down to greet us yesterday. You were occupied with your lovely girlfriend, not a new invention…"
Artemis grinned back. "Er… sorry." He knew he should have greeted his parents the previous day, but he had been wallowing too much in self-pity then, and when Holly appeared, the last thing he thought of was the Fowl couple. While depressed, he had ordered Juliet to keep everyone from his room, and he assumed that the bodyguard must have lied to his parents about why he was reluctant to leave his room. Obviously she had fed Angeline and Artemis the First a story about him working on a new invention…
Truth was that he had been working on a new invention before he'd left for Haven with Holly. Now he wasn't likely to ever finish it, even though it could have been the greatest thing he ever invented… a time machine.
Willing himself not to think of his unfinished masterpiece, he directed his attention back to the conversation.
"Say, Holly dear, how do you imagine life with our Arty?" Angeline asked in a would-be-motherly way, but Artemis could hear the cutting edge of her voice. "You said you didn't have roots… how do you plan settling down, then? Or would you be satisfied with a distant relationship, only occasionally meeting our son?"
Artemis could hear even the unspoken words of his mother: '…only occasionally meeting our son to have a good shag? Is that all you want him for?'
"Well, Mrs Fowl, I could say that things have changed since I met Artemis again," Holly replied with a smile that - Artemis perceived - was pretty much forced. Holly's nervousness was almost tangible and he knew she was feeling very uncomfortable, thanks to his mother. "I love your son, Mrs Fowl. And he loves me, and…"
"…And I told her that I would be the happiest man on earth if she decided to move here to live with me," Artemis cut in to help her out. "She consented." He put an arm around Holly and kissed her on the cheek. "And with this, she indeed made me the happiest man on earth."
Seeing his mother's shocked expression, he cast a meaningful glance at her plate. "I believe your omelette will get cold if you don't eat it any time soon."
Angeline made a grimace very uncharacteristic of an elegant lady like her, and devoted all her attention to her omelette, to both Holly and Artemis's great relief. The rest of the breakfast passed without anyone saying anything more important than 'pass the teapot, please', and at the end Artemis ushered Holly out of the dining room without giving his parents an opportunity to question her further.
"Here." In the hall he pushed a flat little thing into her hand.
"What's this?"
"My credit card. Juliet knows the code and can use it, so she'll help you."
Holly gave him a confused expression. "But… what for?"
"Do you want to spend the next few decades in Juliet's clothes?"
"Oh." She smirked. "No. Of course not."
"Then I'll ask her to take you into Dublin and show you the best shops. Get out as much money as you want, buy anything you like."
"Artemis, it's not…" she began protesting, but he put his index finger on her lips.
"Shhh. I know what you want to say, and don't say it. You are my girlfriend, and you need to dress appropriately. You know, like a princess." He added with a wink.
She rolled her eyes but couldn't help grinning. "Show-off."
When Holly had left with Juliet (Butler drove them into the city), Artemis was left alone with his thoughts. Having nothing else to do, he wandered around the manor's corridors, memories of the past breakfast swirling in his head. Certainly, he hadn't expected his mother to approve of him living together with a woman without wearing a wedding ring, but he hadn't expected her to act this cold and aloof towards Holly either.
As he passed by a centuries old painting of Lord Hugo de Fole, he heard a voice coming through the half-open door of the nearby Emerald Room (one of the five elegant drawing rooms, Angeline's favourite).
"…I just don't know what to think of this relationship, Timmy! They're sleeping together! After only two weeks! And I assume using protection hasn't even occurred to them!"
"For some reason I can't see our Artemis not thinking of protection," Fowl Senior's voice replied. "He's a genius, after all."
A genius - I wish, the young man sighed outside the door.
"Anyway," his father continued, "I don't understand why you would mind if they forgot to use protection, Angeline. You've been twisting Arty's arm to get married and produce a grandchild for you for ages! Perhaps you're going to have one soon."
"But… but they aren't even married, Timmy!" The woman sounded almost hysterical.
"Trust Artemis to propose to her if she gets pregnant," came the calm answer.
"And what if that little trollop deliberately gets pregnant, just to make our Arty marry her? What if she only wants him for his money? I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Just look at her! Those clothes…! Only scarlet women dress like that! I wonder how many men she has bedded before our innocent little Arty!"
"Enough is enough!" Artemis burst into the room, his face red with anger. "Just for your information, Mother, I was her first! If you want proof, go and check the bed-sheet, I doubt Juliet has changed it yet! As for her clothes: hers got ruined in a rather unfortunate way, so she borrowed some from Juliet. Those are Juliet's slutty clothes; Holly would never, ever wear something like that if she could help it! She's the purest, noblest person I've ever known, and I will not tolerate it if you talk about her like that! Either learn to treat her like a human being, or prepare to see me leave this house - forever! And that is not a mere threat, Mother!"
With that he turned on his heels and marched out. He didn't even remember when he had last lost his head like that. Very likely never. Perhaps losing a few dozen IQ points did that to him: while his immense intelligence had held him back from doing insensible things, now this barrier no longer existed, and such things as shouting - that had earlier been beneath his dignity - didn't seem that insensible anymore.
"A…Arty? Arty!" His mother ran after him and caught up with him right before the portrait of Lord Hugo de Fole. "Artemis, I'm… I'm… sorry." She panted. "I never knew… never thought…" He could see despair in her eyes. Fear.
"What didn't you think?" he asked coldly.
Angeline reached out and grabbed his arm. "I… never thought she meant so much for you. I'm sorry if I hurt you, Son."
"You hurt Holly, Mother. And if you hurt her, you hurt me."
She nodded, her lips trembling. "When she returns, I'll try to be nice to her, I promise. Just don't shout at me like that, Arty."
Angeline kept her promise. She was as nice to Holly as possible and avoided asking any questions that could have made her or Artemis uncomfortable. However, Holly still felt some kind of awkwardness about the way Angeline treated her, and she even voiced her opinion to her boyfriend. Artemis knew well that his mother was acting, trying to make Holly believe she had accepted her, but deep in her heart she still had doubts about this relationship. He knew that Angeline was only being nice to Holly because she was afraid that otherwise she could lose him…
Life at Fowl Manor seemed to return to normal, with the exception that the table was set for each meal for four instead of three, and that Artemis had baffle boards installed into his room.
After one day Holly told Artemis that she would like to do something useful, he got her a job as translator for one of his father's childhood friends - an Italian man named Cesare Cavalieri. Holly truly enjoyed her job, even though she only got to translate business letters that Cavalieri sent to his archaeologist colleagues all over the world. Holly even mentioned it to Artemis that now Angeline could no longer look at her as though she were some sponger.
Ever since Holly had started to work (she worked at home on one of Artemis's computers), it was Artemis who occasionally felt awkward about not doing much useful. Certainly he took part in some business meetings and helped his father manage the Fowl finances, but he found that moneymaking didn't fascinate him anymore. Besides the occasional business meetings Artemis didn't do anything useful - for example he didn't experiment.
He hadn't told his parents about the loss of his genius, because he knew he couldn't have mentioned it without telling them the whole 'fairytale', but at his current state he didn't feel brave enough to try and work on any kind of invention. Truth was that he might have been able to invent things, but for some reason he didn't dare try. Something held him back… he couldn't have named it even if he'd wanted to.
His parents didn't seem to notice that their son was doing 'nothing', but it had been obvious to Holly. Artemis was a wonderfully tender lover at night, and at daytime he teased her as often as he could; but she knew that all the teasing and most of the passionate lovemaking sessions were just hiding his true emotions. Not his emotions about her, as he showed those pretty clearly; but his feelings about himself.
She knew he was insecure, probably even afraid; she knew he couldn't really find his place, and she knew he was trying to hide it from the world. One evening she tried to start a conversation with him about his lost genius, but he'd cut her off with nibbling at her earlobe and beginning to undo the buttons on her shirt. This had managed to take Holly's mind off of the conversation she was planning to have with him, and she hadn't yet found another opportunity to make up for the chance she'd missed.
Thus passed two months of bliss overshadowed by insecurity; and Artemis was now staring at the pair of tiny shoes in his hands. "All right, Holly," he consented. "Let's contact our son."
A/N2: I know that some of you who have read my Harry Potter fics as well might be rolling your eyes now, thinking 'oh my gosh, Agi's making the main character pregnant again'... I can only say that Holly's pregnancy was necessary, otherwise she and Arty wouldn't need to tell the Fowl parents about fairies, and... well, you'll see ;)
And now, review, please!