A/N: For those of you waiting for the seventh chapter of Diamonds Are Forever, I'm terribly sorry to have to tell you that it may be a few weeks. See, I wrote the entire thing, but it's on my Dad's computer…in Vermont…over fifteen-hundred miles away from where I am right now. And his internet got shut off. So now I have to wait for it to get turned back on so he can Email it to me. So, until then, you must deal with this. (sigh) Too bad. Oh, wait. You've been wanting this new chapter, haven't you? Okay, then. Hey, what are you still reading this for? Read the chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own whatever Eoin Colfer owns. It's that simple.
Holly sat in the kitchen of Fowl Manor, staring down at her hands. They were covered in blood. She wondered vaguely whose blood it was, and the moment she thought this, it disappeared. Her hands were clean. Then she heard a voice. A soft, whispered voice that was cold as ice.
"Holly."
She looked around her, and the kitchen disappeared, just as the blood had. She was now standing in white nothingness.
"Holly."
There it was again! Who kept saying that? She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but nothing came out. Her voice was gone. She couldn't make a sound. She tried again, shouting until her throat hurt. But although she felt her vocal cords vibrate, no sound left her lips. Then the voice spoke again, this time right in her ear.
"There's no use trying. You don't have a voice here."
She whipped around, and was amazed to see Artemis. Tears of joy welled in her eyes, and she tried to say his name, reaching out to hug him.
He moved away from her quickly, looking down at her with a strange look in his eyes. "I just barely told you." He murmured. "You have no voice here."
She frowned, smiled weakly, shrugging. She moved forward, holding out a hand to him. He took another step back.
"Do you love me, Holly?"
She opened her mouth, then closed it again, nodding and smiling.
He gave her an icy glare, and when he spoke again, it was loud and angry, and echoed all around the white space.
"Liar!"
Holly was shocked, and took a few steps back. 'I do love you!' she tried to say, but once again, nothing came out. She looked up at his face, suddenly angry, and then opened her mouth to scream.
There was blood. So much blood. Pouring from each and every pore on Artemis' body, gushing onto the white floor, running over Holly's feet. "You did this to me!" He shouted, the blood covering every inch of skin. "You did this!"
Tears were streaming down Holly's face. She ran forward, her hands reaching up and holding his cheeks, concentrating all her magic on healing him. But no. Something was wrong. The blue sparks wouldn't come. Her magic was gone.
"You cant save anyone, Holly!" He snarled, shoving her hands away. His skin was paler than usual as he lost more and more blood. "Not me. Not our son. You cant even save yourself!"
Holly fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. She looked down at her hands. They were covered in blood. Artemis' blood.
She heard him crouch down next to her, and heard his voice whisper in her ear. "Give up, Holly." He hissed, then his bloody hands wrapped around her neck, strangling her. "Give up!"
She tried to pull away, but she couldn't. She was suffocating, unable to breathe. She kicked and tried to scream, but she still had no voice.
"Give up. Give up! GIVE UP!"
"NOOOO!" Holly screamed, finding her voice. She sat up in the pilot's seat of the shuttle, looking around widely. She looked down at her hands. The blood was gone. The shuttle was on auto-pilot. She sighed, and switched back to manual.
Ivory poked her head through from the cabin. "Yo. Bitchy-elf-lady. What's wrong with you? What's with the screaming? You're gonna wake your damned brat."
Holly looked up at her, her eyes red and puffy. "N-nothing's wrong. I'm sorry I screamed. I…um…"
"Whoa!" She stepped into the cockpit, looking at her a little closer. "You're sweating like Hell. Did you almost run into a wall or something?"
"Uh…no…" Holly turned, looking out the windshield as Ivory sat down in the co-pilot's seat. "You know, civilians are supposed to stay behind the yellow line."
Ivory shrugged. "Well I'm not a civilian, am I? I'm a criminal."
Holly frowned slightly, glancing at her. "You don't seem to be awfully upset about it."
The Halfling laughed bitterly. "I've got used to it by now. Besides, I cant say I haven't done anything wrong anymore." She began counting on her fingers. "Assaulting LEP officers, theft, illegal possession of firearms, arson…"
"Arson? Firearms? You're just a little girl!"
"I have to protect myself, don't I? Funny thing about it is, I wouldn't have needed to resort to illegal self-defense if I wasn't considered a criminal in the first place. Kind of ironic, isn't it?"
Holly was silent for a while, staring intently out the window. Then she spoke again. "Mud elf…er, sorry…Ivory. Can I ask you something?"
"Hmm."
"Is that a yes or a no?"
Ivory shrugged.
"You know, you could just answer."
"Oh, shut up and ask the damn question. Gods above, you sound like you're idiot husband!"
Holly bit her lip, thinking of the dream. "He isn't my husband." She murmured.
"Oh? So the kid's a-"
"Don't say it!" She interrupted quickly. "And anyways, we would be married, but he's not eighteen yet. He will be in two weeks. Then we can get married."
Ivory raised her eyebrows. "You're waiting for him to get old enough to marry?" She whistled. "He's a bit young for you, isn't he?"
"I'm eight-four."
"Eighty-four and seventeen. What a lovely couple. Now, go ahead and ask the damned question."
Holly held back a chuckle. "Well, it's just…Why do you all live in filth? You and the other refugees, I mean. Surely you could do something to make your lives easier? At least by a little?" She looked around, and felt her heart sink. Ivory was staring into her lap, her body tensed.
"And how do you suggest we do that? We're all criminals because of our heritage. We cant get jobs, and it's too risky to steal too often." She looked up, smiling bitterly. "Most of us are either starving or too sick to be of any use. We still only what we need, but it's still considered theft because of what we are. That's why the elders get rid of those who do nothing to help the Refuge. Like me, for example."
Holly stared at her. "I…I'm sorry."
Ivory shrugged. "What's it matter? Our choice is that or death." She chuckled bitterly. "Not much of a damned choice, but who cares?"
Holly watched her for a few minutes, silent. She had been part of the LEP. Why hadn't she realized what they were doing? Well, that was obvious. The Halflings she had seen before were always fierce, large men who would try to attack their captors. Never had she seen someone so young. She bit her lip, sighing softly.
The young Halfling watched the elf thoughtfully. "Hey, don't worry about it." She smiled. "The LEP's trying to kill you know, aren't they? That makes us on the same side, even if you used to be an officer."
Holly looked down at her, then smiled weakly, nodding.
Blood…So much blood…
"I suppose you're right." She murmured, gazing at her. "But…are you really so willing to forgive me?"
You cant save anyone, Holly…
"No." Ivory replied, leaning back in her seat. "But what choice have I got? Either I forgive you for your stupidity, or I put the damned Refuge in danger." She shrugged. "I'd rather not do either, so I'll just have to pretend to forgive you."
You did this to me, Holly…
Holly sighed softly, switching off the auto pilot and beginning to guide the shuttle manually once more. "Well, that makes me feel better." She murmured, sighing to herself.
Give up, Holly…
The mud elf laughed bitterly. "You're a fugitive now. You don't get to feel good about anything." She stood, stretching. "But, who knows? Maybe you'll be lucky and they'll leave you alone because of who you used to be."
Who I used to be…Blood…So Much Blood…
Holly opened her mouth to respond, but the girl had gone. She sighed, switching back to autopilot. Who was she kidding? What could she do? Ivory was right; she couldn't feel good about anything anymore. She leaned back in the seat, her eyes closed.
Do you love me, Holly?
A/N: Yay! I am finished! Fear my almighty procrastination! Seriously, though, I'm terribly sorry. I'm working on the next chapters for Prisoner of Memory, School Project, and…um…what are the other ones? Diamonds are Forever I already have it written…it's just fifteen-hundred miles away. It will be out by Christmas though, don't worry.