Chapter Two, The Fowls

A few minutes after Silyah and Elijah's first encounter.

Silyah dragged her heels behind Elijah Fowl, still wondering why she had agreed to follow him to his house. Oh, right, he had very subtly implied that she was now considered a prisoner of the People. The girl rolled her eyes. "So, what will happen once we have called the fa – the People?" she inquired, avoiding the use of the word "fairy" to help her case.

"As I said earlier, we'll try to work out some dead-lines and then we'll see how things will pan out," replied Elijah, not exactly elaborating on the details.

"So we'll set the time I have left before I have to come to them?"

"Or before they come for you," nodded Elijah. "We will also plan how you'll get to spend your time until your meeting with the representatives of the People."

"Well that's nice," mumbled Silyah, once again using that strange bitter tone she had begun to use since she came back to District 3.

"No need for that tone," Elijah told her. "We're the good guys…"

Silyah raised an eyebrow. "If you say so," she retorted under her breath as the dark-haired boy lead her towards a gated house.

The residence behind the massive wrought iron gate was made of old, yet seemingly sturdy stones, which was covered in climbing vines from its first to its second floor. Oddly enough, the house, which would have looked out of place in a country like Panem appeared to have been built a long time ago and it truly belonged in the landscape. Seeing it, Silyah wondered how she could have possibly missed such a building while walking through District 3, but she then remembered that her memories had been the only ones left untouched after Artemis's departure.

Elijah smiled slightly. "We were always here… From your perspective, we weren't before the end of the Games since Artemis had not completed his timeline yet. When he was sent back, everything went back to how it was supposed to be." The boy's smile became a smirk.

The Hunger Games victor tried not to be affected by Elijah's statement. "Stop doing that," she murmured as she looked at the boy, seeing his all too familiar grin. "Sorry, but this is a bit of a traumatic experience…" she sighed. "First of all, there is this whole paradox to take in, and… Well, you look so much like him with that smirk on your face…"

"I'm afraid I didn't have a say in my genetic code, Ms. Natho," shrugged Elijah. "Now, this way." He opened the gate by entering a code on its digital keypad. "This might seem paranoid, but we have good reasons," he quickly explained.

"For once I understand you… I am no stranger to paranoia, Mr. Fowl," said Silyah as she followed Elijah towards the front door, wondering if being called "Mr. Fowl" would bug him as much as it had bothered Artemis. Due to the absence of dry remarks coming from Elijah, the young woman concluded that he didn't mind. Perhaps he was used to being called as such.

Once they reached the front of the residence, Elijah held the door open for Silyah.

"Thank you," uttered the girl quietly as she stepped inside the house. She had barely set a foot inside the dwelling that she was greeted by a clear and relatively loud voice.

"Oh my goodness! You're here at last!" rejoiced a girl with ebony hair and skin so light that there was no way to doubt the fact that her last name was Fowl. "I couldn't wait to officially meet you. I'm a big fan of yours. Well, how could I not be a fan; without you winning those Games, I would probably not even be here today." The girl's grin turned into a mischievous smile when she caught sight of Elijah. "Never in a hundred years I would have thought that you'd bring a girl back home," she giggled.

Elijah groaned. "Oh, be quiet Haley," he said under his breath. "Someone had to do it and they would not have trusted you to complete the task."

"Yeah, right," Haley raised one of her eyebrows. "Anyway," she sighed. "Nice to meet you," she told Silyah, coming up to her to shake her hand. "I hope my twin treated you nicely."

Elijah faintly muttered something that sounded like a bad word borrowed from the Gnommish lexicon.

"Well, I took it for granted that the Fowl boys were socially awkward with the ladies," replied Silyah, allowing a bit of humor and a sliver of hope to show through her voice since Haley seemed to be friendlier than her brother.

The Fowl boy in question gave her a look. "I am not socially awkward."

Silyah sent him his stare right back. "One of the first things you told me was that I would be a prisoner from now on," she said, causing Haley to let go of a small gasp and a chuckle.

"That's not what I said. I said that it was the closest thing I could imagine to describe what the Council had in mind." Elijah grumbled. "Females…"

"Hey watch it, mister," retorted Haley, sending her brother a serious look before cracking a small smile. "On another note, you better go to the conference room right now. You have a missed call from New Haven."

Elijah exhaled noisily. "Always so much to do these days, never a free moment…" He rolled his clear blue eyes. "Come on, Ms. Natho."

"See, that's a bit awkward," said Silyah, once again finding herself following Elijah. "Forget the 'Ms. Natho,' you can call me Silyah."

"I know… But first names aren't really… My thing… It feels too personal and…" Elijah sighed again. "You know how problematic that can become… Silyah…" The way he had spoken her name sounded so familiar to the girl that she was almost taken aback.

"Do you think that Caesar Flickerman and I are that close?" asked Silyah, trying to clear her mind by bringing the subject of conversation elsewhere. "We're barely acquainted, yet he still calls me by my first name every time we talk."

"Well, that's what Flickerman does," said Elijah. "I've never met him in person, thank goodness. Too eccentric of a character for me…"

"He's one of the very few Capitol residents who doesn't mind being seen with a District kid, so he's fine in my book."

"He might be, but he is still too extroverted for my tastes," commented Elijah as he made his way to the conference room's entrance.

"If you think that Caesar is extravagant, just try to picture Effie Trinket being at your side nearly 24/7," said Silyah, realizing that deep down, she missed the fashionistic Effie Trinket. The woman was so… oddly colorful.

Elijah shivered internally. "She seems a tad nuts at times. I have seen her when she visited District 3, but I never properly met her," he told the brunette, closing the doors of the conference room behind her, completely oblivious to the fact that Silyah was no longer paying attention to him.

"Wow…" breathed the surprised girl, looking around the room as if she was seeing for the first time.

Elijah grinned. "Fancy, isn't it? We're still Fowls, after all."

A large glass table projecting low holograms was at the center of the room, which was just light enough to actually see where one was going, yet as dark as it was required to optimize the holographic projections' quality.

"I won't get to play with the tech, right?" presumed Silyah, giving in to one of her first passions as though she was a toddler wanting to play with her father's tools.

"Maybe later when we don't have important matters to address," said Elijah.

"Fair enough," replied the girl, trying not to look too pleased.

Elijah sat down in a chair, the section of the glass screen in front of him lighting up, making his face and eyes reflect its soft blue light.

"Should I sit down too or should I wait for an introduction?" wondered Silyah.

"Wait there," Elijah told her. "I'll see what Kelp wants first."

Silyah nodded as the boy's fingers began to run over some of the holographic keys to get the conference started.

From the depths of the underground city of New Haven, a certain Trouble Kelp, now Head of the Fairy Council, answered Elijah's call. "Morning," said the elf dryly as soon as his image appeared in the Fowl's conference room, looking as though he was seated in one of the leather chairs surrounding the table.

"No need to be hostile with me Chairman," murmured Elijah. "I know you have some sort of an old grudge towards my family, but please, lay that aside during professional conversations." No wonder he annoyed Trouble; save for his Panem accent, he sounded so much like Artemis to the LEPrecon Commander.

"Which reminds me, Holly says 'Hi,'" the holographic man rolled his eyes, mouthing something along the lines of: "Professional," before clearing his throat.

"Tell her I send my regards," said Elijah, his tone like a businessman's, which was not too odd if one considered his ancestry. "Now… Haley told me you had called while I was away."

"Yes, she told me that you had left to get the girl who could pose us a threat and that you were yet to be back."

Hearing those words, Silyah could not help but furrow her brows.

"She could have been a threat, but she hasn't been up to date and I am certain that it will remain this way," countered Elijah. "Actually, she can testify that by herself."

"Tell her to enter the conference area."

On that cue, Silyah approached the table, eyeing Elijah to get his approval. The boy gave her a brief nod and the brunette thus sat beside him, suddenly appearing as a hologram on the conference table in New Haven. "Good morning," she said politely.

The elf saluted her. "Commander Trouble Kelp, Head of the New Haven Council," he presented himself. "Good morning, ma'am."

"So you act polite with her… How interesting," commented Elijah under his breath.

Ignoring Elijah's observation, Silyah went on with the presentations. "Silyah Natho… Victor of the 80th Annual Hunger Games." The girl tried hard not to wince at her own official title.

"Foaly the Centaur," added a new voice as a face appeared beside Trouble Kelp's hologram. "Under-appreciated LEP tech genius, and if I may add, the very person who saved your life and Artemis's a few weeks ago."

"And here we go," Elijah rolled his blue eyes. "You can gloat later, Foaly," he told the centaur. "We have more important things to discuss today, remember?"

"Yes, yes," acquiesced Foaly. "However, I have to mention that I have been pulled from my grandfatherly duties to be in this call, so I think that I was entitled to a proper introduction."

Elijah pressed his thumb and index finger on the bridge of his nose, his patience running thin. "Well now that you have, Foaly, why don't we go on with the reason of this call?"

"Of course," said Trouble, also tired of Foaly's self-loving behavior. "As you know, we wanted to evaluate the level of danger we're currently exposed to because of this mud girl."

"What did he call me?" Silyah whispered to Elijah, unsure of how she should feel about this new nickname.

"It's one of the People's ways to say 'human.' It is kind of obsolete and quite rude," he explained, looking at Trouble. "Her name is Silyah Natho, Kelp."

"And if I may add," Silyah cleared her throat, "I don't think I qualify as a mere 'mud girl' anymore…" She brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

Trouble slightly tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Why would that be?"

Elijah smiled a full-fledged vampire smirk.

"Well," began Silyah. "According to my theory, something happened during the last moment of the Games… I had to help Artemis go through the Ritual and… Because of the rush of emotions we both felt when we were sure that he was alive and about to be saved we… Kissed… Then, I felt something strange taking over me. If I am correct, it is at this precise moment that some of Artemis's magic transferred into me."

Trouble Kelp looked a tad shocked for a split second, but he quickly regained his commanding façade. "Do you have any proofs to support this statement?" he asked.

The girl turned to Elijah. "I have seen her heal small cuts," he confirmed. "She's not making it up, she does possess magic. I don't know how much she can do, but there were blue sparks."

"Therefore, if the secret you are trying to protect is both your existence and your magic, know that we are pretty much in the same boat now," stated Silyah. "Have my word; Elijah is the only one who knows about it, I have not even told my own parents." A realization suddenly struck the girl. "However…" she weighed her words carefully. "The Capitol might be onto something considering that when they picked me up from the arena, I was completely free of wounds."

"But no need to worry about that," added Elijah quickly. "They can easily be led off the trail," he said, as though he had some ties with the Capitol. "They won't draw any unwanted conclusions."

"The Capitol?" spat Trouble. "The people who have the ultimate power over Panem? Those who are not even bothered when it comes to using their citizens' lives at their own advantage?"

"Calm down, Kelp. Saying who they are and what they do won't change anything," retorted Elijah with a harsh voice. "I can deal with it. New Haven is as safe as it will always be under my family's guard."

"It's Commander Kelp!" snapped the elf. "And either way, as we previously discussed, this young lady must imperatively make her way to New Haven in District 13 and be kept in sight until she comes here. It is both for her safety and ours."

"I am fully aware of that, but you must keep in mind that, as a victor, Silyah must attend certain events, not to mention that it would raise suspicion if she were to suddenly leave District 3," Elijah turned to the pale-skinned girl at his side.

"We could wait until the Victory Tour," she offered.

"I suggest having someone watch over her until then. She could be accompanied to public events from now on, so you would be assured that she will not cause any scenes. Not that I think she will…" added Elijah, feeling the girl's squinting eyes falling on him.

"Any suggestions as to who that person could be?" asked Trouble.

"Myself, of course."

The LEP commander fell quiet for a moment. "You do seem to be already involved in this case…" observed the holographic elf.

"Indeed," confirmed Elijah. "It would spare you a lot of time to trust me; I am already in District 3 and I know how the surveillance of a person is to be handled."

"Hold on," interjected Silyah, who was already seeing a flaw in that plan. "If this whole thing is about not making a scene, how can we explain the fact that someone who happens to look like Artemis will follow me everywhere I go? Who could he possibly be?" she asked, pointing a thumb in Elijah's direction. "In this time, Artemis was believed to be Mayor Hewatt's adopted son. If I show up with someone who looks like him during public events, won't it be strange? Unless…" the girl paused, trying to put some order in her stream of thought.

"Unless what?" Trouble turned his attention to Silyah.

The girl now had Elijah's attention as well; he was curious.

"Unless we make this a family affair… Artemis had to be adopted for a certain reason, and here comes his family after his death, devastated over what happened and by how they were not there to support him through this tough time. The "current Fowls" could be Artemis's biological family…"

"Oh, I like this one! She's creative!" Foaly gave the girl a horsy grin.

"That would explain my likeness to him," nodded Elijah. "I'd be his younger… No, his older brother, actually. We could make this work."

"Older brother to his great-great-grandfather…" murmured Silyah, still feeling dizzy at the mention of Elijah's relationship to Artemis. "I'm sure that people could buy that if we can come up with a foolproof and plausible story regarding Artemis's adoption." The brunette silently praised herself for now being able to say his name without feeling a pain in her chest.

"It's a decent solution," said Elijah. "I'll see if I can make up a reason…"

Silyah took a deep breath, scanning her brain for ideas. "Money?" she suggested at some point. "Never mind that, with a house like yours, who would we be kidding?"

"I might have an idea," Elijah looked at each of his interlocutors. "What if Artemis's mother was not my father's wife? He could have been given for adoption, but since he'd share a link on my father's side, he'd still be a Fowl," explained the 16-year-old.

"That could work," approved Trouble reluctantly.

"Oh, I know exactly who his mother should be." Silyah smirked, her expression clearly borrowed from a certain Fowl she had once known. "The mayor's wife," she told the group. "She died a while ago… If we can use a little bit of your People's mesmer, we can build a story to cover everything up and satisfy the Capitol's gossip. This is a bit extreme, but what if the mayor's wife had a relationship with Elijah's father and died shortly after having given birth to their baby? In order not to tarnish Hewatt's reputation, your father could have agreed to let him adopt the kid as his own."

"That's quite dramatic," needless to say, Foaly almost felt like clapping.

A smirk matching Silyah's made its way onto Elijah's lips. "Excellent. As far as the technical aspect goes, that can easily be done. The only thing is that we will have to get Father's approval first." Elijah glanced at the LEP commander. "The Capitol will have enough Fowl drama to deal with if we feed them that story."

"Indeed…" replied Kelp, the hand on his chin going to the bridge of his nose as Foaly asked Silyah if she had ever tried to write romance novels. "Rather than answering the centaur, tell me, Silyah, do your magical abilities extend to the mesmer, or will we have to bring some of our people to work on the mayor's case?"

Elijah gave a little cough. "I can take care of it on my own. As you know very well, I do possess the mesmer, Kelp," he then said, clearly feeling underrated.

The commander had heard the boy, but he was still waiting for Silyah's answer.

"I don't really know what I am capable of," admitted the girl. "However, I can easily 'break in' the mayor's house. We both mourn the same person, after all…" She slightly lowered her gaze. "Perhaps I could bring him some aremèsias from my garden. He would probably invite me in and I could introduce him to Elijah."

"After that, I could do some quick brain work and we'll be all set. This shouldn't give us any problems," said Elijah with a confidence that usually drove Trouble insane.

"First good news of the day." Trouble fought against the urge to roll his eyes; he was indeed bothered by Elijah's "Fowlesque" self-assurance.

"Rough day, then," Elijah smiled slightly.

"Elijah?" A soft knock came from behind the door of the conference room.

The boy's expression turned into a light frown. There were a few more points that needed to be discussed. "A second, Mother," he called out before looking towards Trouble and Foaly. "I will contact you again after sorting this out with my parents."

Trouble nodded. "Is it safe to say that, for now, the situation is under control?" His eyes fell into Silyah's. He was staring at her as though they both were present in the same room.

"As biased as I may sound, Artemis trusted me with his life and your People trusted him; I think it is safe to assume that you can do the same with me," replied the girl with a firm voice.

"Good," said the elf, oddly softly. "Then you have the official permission to go back to your daily activities for now. We will plan weekly calls with you from now on… As for you, Elijah, we'll speak again soon."

"I'll call," agreed Elijah before ending the conversation.

The door of the conference room then opened itself and a petite woman walked in. "Dinner is ready, sweetie," she told her son. "I took the liberty of preparing you a plate," she added, looking at Silyah. "Haley told me you were here," she explained.

"Mother, please, don't call me like that; I'm not a kid, I'm sixteen," muttered Elijah to the dark-haired woman. "Calling me 'sweetie' makes me sound like a three-year old."

"My apologies," laughed the woman. "Won't you introduce me to our guest?"

"Silyah, this is Elysande, my mother."

The girl got up from her chair and walked up to the newcomer. "Pleased to meet you," she said, shaking her hand. It seemed to her as though she had become an expert hand-shaker ever since her return from the Capitol.

"Likewise," replied Elysande. "Our family owes you a great deal," she smiled, then turned her head. "We better make our way to the kitchen before the food gets cold."

Elijah got up. "So, I take it that Father is home?"

"Yes, he arrived shortly after you did."

"Good, we have to have a word with the both of you."

The dark-haired woman furrowed her brows. As of lately, her son's brain seemed to be completely geared towards the "mission" he had accepted from the People. As a child, the boy had been a bit more laid back, just like his sister, but then one day and out of the blue, he changed. Slightly shaking her head, Elysande led the two teenagers to the dining room where two people were already seated.

"Saved you a spot," smiled Haley as she caught sight of Silyah. She patted the seat beside her own.

Elijah eyed his sister. Sometimes, her behavior was a complete mystery to him.

"Thank you, Haley," replied the blue-eyed brunette as she sat beside Elijah's twin sister, hoping that she remembered her name right.

"So, what did the People say? Are you as dangerous as a nuclear threat?" asked the raven-haired girl, her grin turning into a Fowl smirk.

Elijah sat down at his usual spot, still looking at his sister. Was she trying to be funny?

"Not quite," answered Silyah. "Or at least, I don't think so… Well, I now have to be followed and watched when I'm in public for safety measures… Does that make me a danger?"
"Oh, let me guess, he's your watch dog?" Haley pointed towards her twin, who gave her a deadly gaze.

"I am not a guard dog, Hal," he blurted.

"If you say so," shrugged Haley, sharing an amused look with Silyah.

Elijah murmured something in Gnommish and turned to his food.

"Mind your language, son. Even Gnommish has its sensibilities," suddenly said the black-haired man seated at the end of the rectangular table.

The teenager lowered his gaze at once. "Yes, Father."

The man had a serious look on his face, but not exactly a severe one; once again, it was a trademark of the Fowl family. Although his son looked a lot like him, the resemblance between the young man's father and the boy Silyah had known during the Games was less obvious than the one he shared with Elijah… Well, that was until Elysande pronounced his name…

"Artemis, I believe that our son has something important to tell us, isn't that right?" All eyes went to Elijah.

The blue-eyed boy gave his mother the smallest of smiles. "Yes, it has to do with Ms. Na… Erm… Silyah… As she pointed out, Commander Kelp will not allow her to go to any public events without someone there to keep an eye on her…"

"Furthermore, we might have to make some modifications to your family history to explain Elijah's presence during those events," added Silyah as soon as she found her voice back; she was yet to be over the fact that the boy's father had been named after Artemis.

Not losing a second, Elijah rapidly explained the plan they had devised earlier to his listening parents.

"We came up with this idea on the spot," mentioned Silyah as soon as the boy was done. "I understand how this story could cause a scandal in your family, but it's still one of the most believable options."

"To be fair, this scandal would have fewer consequences than the one we are trying to avoid by putting this plan into action," Elijah hoped that his parents would approve of that reasoning.

"It is a logical plan," agreed Artemis Fowl the Third. "It has risks, but frankly, I'd rather face those risks and deal with them with your mother than seeing the other half of our family getting destroyed."

Silyah observed the man as he spoke and it was at this moment that she noticed something odd about this new Artemis; the man's ears were pointy. They were not like Elijah's, which were very faintly pointed and still acceptable by human standards; they were actually extremely close to those of the elf she had just talked to.

"Good, we'll start working on the application of the plan as soon as possible," said Elijah, pleased to have received his father's stamp of approval. He switched his attention to Silyah, noticing how the girl's eyes were on his father's ears. "Fascinating, isn't it? Elfin genes mixed with human DNA."

Silyah blinked a few times. "Let me get this straight…" she whispered slowly. "When Commander Kelp said: "Holly says hi," It was not only a friendly hello, am I correct?"

"She is my great-great-grandmother," confirmed Elijah.

Once again, the urge to dunk her head inside a bucket of freezing water hit Silyah. "She was Artemis's wife?" she managed to utter. "She's still alive?" she added, astonished.

"Of course, nodded Elijah. "She is an elf, her aging process is much slower than human's. She still looks very young, not a day over 40 human years."

Elysande Fowl looked at Silyah with eyes full of understanding. "We're sorry… This might be a lot to take in." She knew how the girl felt; when she had begun her relationship with Artemis the Third, she eventually had to learn about his peculiar family ancestry.

"It's okay…" Silyah shook her head. "I think…"

"It is merely how things are," said Elijah, rising from his chair. "Now, if you excuse me, we'll have to take back this talk in a few minutes. There are some other things I had to take care of today…"

"Am I supposed to follow you, or does this guard thing only work the other way around?" wondered Silyah, still not finished with her meal.

"I have to deal with private matters. I am sure that Haley will be more than pleased to give you a tour of the house."

"Indeed," smiled Haley. "The conference room is nothing compared to the living room."

Elijah sighed. "Be careful, Silyah, don't let my sister drag you into her chaotic mind."

"I'll take the warning, but believe me, I am sure that my mind is far more chaotic than hers," she replied with a tiny smile.

Elijah smirked, and then quietly left the room.

Silyah took a deep breath, mindlessly picking through the food-filled plate in front of her. She could not bring herself to think about the fact that with a single selfless gesture, she affected so many lives.

Happy birthday to Marie-Pier (aka Mary), one of the two members of the Take-2-Pay-4-1 team!