Chapter Six, Of Dreams and Mothers
Thus far, the Capitol's Victory Tour train had stopped in four of the twelve districts of Panem. Fortunately for Silyah, the event seemed to be going rather smoothly. There were very few people talking about Artemis's mysterious disappearance, no one had discovered Haley and even Elijah had managed to stay under the radar during the ceremonies. His presence was really only noticed by the guests of the banquets.
Every day was more or less a mere copy of the previous one, yet every night, new ghosts came to haunt Silyah. Being forced to remember the deaths of all the people she had been staying with under the constricted world of the arena was starting to take a lot of strength from the girl who barely had had the time to heal from her mental wounds. Although she had once been used to the nightmares, at this point Silyah had begun to be mortified by them once more.
As the sixth day of the tour dawned, her hoarse scream broke the silence in her room.
Haley jerked awake and gasped, trying to quickly wake her brain up to be able to process the situation unraveling before her. She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to acclimate them to the obscurity, then turned to her left to face Silyah.
"What's going on?" asked the Fowl girl, obviously shaken. "Silyah? Silyah, what's wrong?"
Haley's questions were of no use. Silyah was breathing to an odd rhythm, inhaling and exhaling in threes. Her chin was between her knees and her eyes were wide open, glistening in the feeble light.
Haley sat crossed-legged beside her, placing a light hand on the victor's back. Silyah immediately cringed away, engaging herself in a panicked struggle to dislodge her feet from under the bed sheets, to then quickly crawl to the corner of the room. Shriveled up on herself where the two walls met, she let out a raspy lament.
Haley wasn't sure whose heart was beating the fastest. She had no clue as to what was going on and it made her excessively worried. Silyah was now practically gasping for air with each long breath she took and she hadn't blinked in a long time; her eyes were just darting all over the room.
"Silyah?" Haley asked again, trying not to sound too alarmed. The brunette's stare locked on her as her nails began to dig into her knees. "What's wrong?"
Slowly but surely, Silyah's features softened up and she closed her eyes, setting her head back down to sob. This went on for several minutes, until she looked back up again to lean against the wall. She panted, as her shaking hand wiped her face.
Haley moved over to the edge of the bed, realizing that questioning the girl would not work. She would have to wait for her to open up.
Eventually, Silyah got up and went back on the bed to sit beside Haley. "Sorry. I'm sorry." She took three calming breaths, clenching her fists. "I'm sorry, Haley."
"Hey, there's nothing to be sorry about…" She wanted to put her arm around the girl, but decided against it, given what had just happened. "Bad dream?"
"They found out. They killed you," breathed Silyah, her voice trembling. "Because of me." There was still a sliver of panic in the girl's eyes.
"It was just a nightmare. I'm still very alive, believe me." Not caring about the outcome anymore, she began to rub Silyah's back gently. The poor girl was shaking as though she was in a mine wagon rather than in a high speed train. "Everything's fine. Do you want me to go get my brother? He has this thing, he can –"
"No!" Silyah shook her head and cleared her throat. "I mean, no need to wake him up…"
"He's probably already up, you know… Twin stuff… But that's not the point. We could help you."
"I'm used to the nightmares," protested Silyah. "I didn't really want anyone to know how I react to them." She let her shoulders sink. "But this one was really bad." Her voice cracked. "Worst one so far."
"I'm all ears if you want to share."
Silyah rubbed her stinging eyes. "So many corpses…" She breathed again, trying to find a way to make sense. She tried to keep her hands from shaking by interlocking her fingers together, massaging her palms with her thumbs. "They… Someone… Someone had found you here… Next thing I knew, we were in the Capitol and they had me hold a gun to your head for a public execution. I didn't want to shoot, so they put me on this…" Her voice was suddenly cut by a raspy breath. "They put me on this thing where I couldn't see what was below me. Your brother had gone completely crazy, yelling at me not to shoot you and begging them not to hurt me…" She sniffed, then coughed. "I didn't understand…" Silyah's throat was getting tighter and she could feel some tears beginning to burn her eyes once more. "I couldn't see what was going on, but your brother tried to stop it and then I saw him drop dead on the ground. I looked down and there were moving corpses underneath me. Geneva, Caskar, Kalheb… Silver… They ripped him apart and then they went back to me. The longer I waited to shoot you, the more aggressive they became. They started by scratching my feet, then one of them began picking at my toenails and tore them off… I couldn't… I couldn't stand it, so I pulled the trigger. I watched it all..." The memories were too vivid. She could not recall everything, but what she did remember was too detailed for the girl's own good.
Haley fought hard not to look traumatized. "It's all over now… It was just your worries tricking you." She gave Silyah a comforting, yet slightly awkward hug. "If it can make you feel better, I can debunk every element in that dream." She straightened her back and crossed her legs. "First off, I can assure you that even if someone saw a glimpse of me, my brother could easily make them forget me with his mesmer."
"And I'm fairly sure that the dead can't come back to life," nodded the brunette.
"Well…" Oh yes, Haley had heard of the tales from that fateful day during which an army of Berserkers rose from the underground. Not to mention what had happened to her great-great-grandfather…
Silyah looked at her, her eyes filled with terror and disbelief.
"It was a long time ago and no human could do it without the People's help. You don't have to worry about it. It will most likely never happen again. All you have to know is that Artemis the Second was involved."
"How's that supposed to help me rationalize things?" Silyah's wide and teary eyes scanned Haley's face.
"Sorry, I'm not used to socializing and comforting other people, aside from my twin… It's not too late to call him, by the way. If you don't want him to help using his magic, then I swear he wouldn't mind you taking him as a giant teddy bear for the rest of the night instead."
The corner of Silyah's mouth moved up by a few millimeters. "I'll pass on that offer. I'm sure that "teddy bear" is not part of his job as my watchdog."
"Not technically a part of his "job," but if we asked nicely, he could do it," shrugged Haley, grinning. "Alternatively, you can try falling asleep while picturing him wearing a teddy bear outfit in order not to think about your nightmares… Unless that causes you to have a whole different kind of nightmare."
"I guess I could try that," this time, Silyah couldn't help but smile. That mental image was actually quite amusing. "I'll go get some water. Do you want anything?"
"I wouldn't say no to a bottle of water," replied Haley, tucking herself back into bed.
Silyah got up and headed for the door. Before opening it, she turned to the black-haired girl.
"Thanks for listening, Haley."
"No problem. That's what I'm here for. It's nice to finally have a friend who's not my twin brother."
At this moment, something seemed to click for Silyah. She instantly seemed to acknowledge the fact that Haley was someone she could trust and that the Fowl girl trusted her as well. While this realization was slightly overwhelming, Silyah was, in a way, grateful that Haley had sneaked into the train.
A light tune was floating around the Fowl Manor, filling its old wooden corridors through a system of wireless speakers. At this point in time, everything inside the mansion appeared to be a contradiction; a strange, yet harmonious combination of ancient designs and cutting-edge technology. In the middle of it all, in the comfort of his room, was Artemis Fowl II. With his eyes closed, he was delicately moving his hands to the music, as would an orchestra conductor. He was also inhaling deeply, taking in the warm smell of his home. The plush duvet cover wrapped around him was only adding to the coziness of his surroundings. It had been a while since the manor had been this peaceful. It was almost as if the residence had been cut off from the rest of Ireland by a time stop and that the world outside couldn't even peek in.
Oddly enough, the strange feeling of emptiness that had been looming over Artemis for quite some time now had vanished that morning. Perhaps his mind had let go of something, or maybe that the time had come…
"Excuse me, am I at the Fowl Manor?"
Artemis opened his eyes, his gaze landing on his frail hands. It traveled from his thin, paper-like skin and thick knuckles to the door of his room.
"I'm sorry, do you happen to know where I could find Artemis Fowl? The Second?"
Artemis's heart skipped a beat. The girl at the door… He knew her, didn't he? Surely, it couldn't be her…
"Silyah?"
She took a few steps forward.
"Yes…" She toyed with the hem of her gray dress; the one she had worn during the Reaping. "I'm afraid I am a bit lost…" She looked at the elderly man in the bed and he looked back at her with one faded blue eye and a hazel one that still looked sharp and young.
"You really kept me waiting."
"Artemis?"
"Yes. I almost thought you had forgotten about me."
The boy Silyah had known was now unrecognizable. Even his voice had changed to something low and slightly hoarse. His once raven hair was now completely white and sparse. Silyah walked up to his bedside. The nearly translucent skin of his face was marked with deep lines formed by the time that went by.
"I arrived as soon as I could. It's only been a few weeks since I last saw you. The time stream was not exactly easy to navigate without a precise date," replied the fifteen year-old.
Artemis gave a low sigh. "I did leave a date, Silyah."
"No way…" She lowered her head, wondering how she missed it and where it could have possibly been hidden. "I'm terribly late, aren't I?"
"Well, I would have preferred your arrival to have been some decades earlier, but at least I got to see you before…" Artemis stopped. Surely the younger girl could see that his health was not exactly the best anymore.
She gave him one of her too familiar bittersweet smiles. "You look like someone who had good and long life. Quite a feat for a Hunger Games survivor, my friend."
"Yes. The Games haven't been something I've had to worry about for years. Although, it did leave certain reminders…"
Silyah took the liberty of sitting at the edge of the elder's bed as Artemis slowly pulled down the collar of his shirt, displaying a faded scar spawning across the entire width of his throat.
The young woman brought her hands close to the scar, but couldn't bring herself to brush his delicate skin. "Can't believe that for me, that scar was still fresh not too long ago…"
"Odd thing, time," stated the white-haired man.
"What have you done with all your time?" wondered Silyah.
"Oh, you know…" Artemis looked thoughtful. Surely he wasn't starting to forget things already. After all, he wasn't older than Holly had been when he first met her. "I founded the Fowl Industries at the first chance I got and beside that… Well, I waited for you."
"Did you ever… Meet someone? Start a family?" The girl was highly doubtful of those two things, but she asked anyway.
"No, I didn't… I never saw myself as a family man."
"Yeah, you and I are very much alike about that."
"So, what have you been doing since the Games?"
"Well, I took some time to heal, both physically and mentally… Then I started getting in touch with the People."
"Ah, I see. Is Holly still around? She came to check on me yesterday… Or the day before that…"
"Oh, I don't know." Silyah looked up to him. Was her face narrower that it had been just a few seconds ago? "I only dealt with demons."
Artemis furrowed his brows, unsure of whether his two different eyes were playing tricks on him or not.
"I see…" the elderly man paused. "Have you… met someone?"
Silyah's shoulder moved as she breathed, giving off something akin to a dry chuckle.
"Plenty of people here and there. No one worth keeping for too long. I learned that I get easily bored with people." This time, it couldn't have been a trick of the light; her cheekbones definitely looked sharper, and perhaps her lips were now a little less full.
"I see… Did you… ever… wish you could have stayed with me?"
"Why would I have wished such a thing? You helped me win the Games. You served your purpose. You might have been special back in your young days and in your rightful time period, but in Panem, you were basically nothing. Just the ghost of a pawn."
Artemis could have sworn his heart temporarily froze in his chest.
"You… Surely, you cannot mean that."
"Did you really expect me to waste my life away by constantly trying to look through the past?" Perhaps it was due to her expression, but some lines seemed to be digging their way into Silyah's skin. Her eyes, which used to seem so youthful and filled with hope had turned cold and dull.
"Well, I…" What had he been expecting? Everything had happened so long ago that he found it hard to remember that specific detail.
"If you really had wanted me to find you, you could have made your message clearer, genius. The fact is: I moved on, Fowl." She tucked a slightly graying strand of hair behind her ear.
Artemis inhaled deeply. He was truly confused, which was not a frequent occurrence. The elderly man slowly inched forward, eyeing the girl – no, the woman, with narrow eyes. She didn't have those graying streaks of hair earlier. He'd have remembered that. Was his memory failing him?
"Why are you looking at me?" asked Silyah, her voice clearly coarser than before. Silver and white curls were going down her shoulders and her skin was not unlike Artemis's.
"We were talking… Isn't it polite to look at someone when you're talking to them?" Artemis frowned. "You seem… older, somehow…"
"You should look at yourself. And I am much older than what I let show. The Capitol sees to that, thank you very much."
"No, I mean you appear to be aging." Was she caught between her life and his time stream?
"What do you mean, I'm human, it happens," she sighed, getting annoyed.
"Yes, that is true… But we don't age this rapidly. Silyah, you're almost as old as I am!"
"How do you know my name?"
"After all we've been through, I better know your name."
"All we've been through?" She looked around, concerned and as confused as he was. "Sir, I don't know you. What am I doing here? Where am I?"
Coming from someone else, he might have thought that the situation was a badly constructed joke, but Silyah had always been more mature than that. Had she?
"You… You came to visit me." Had she? This didn't look like the girl he had known. Not anymore.
The old woman squinted and shook her head.
Artemis tried to understand, but his brain would not cooperate, which was certainly a first. Frustrated, the man closed his eyes tightly and attempted to focus. What was he supposed to focus on again? The music filling the manor was getting too loud, too distracting. It was stressing him out! Artemis covered his ears only to replace the music by the rapid beat of his heart.
This madness must stop! he told himself. This has to stop now!
The old man opened his eyes, breathing hard. The music had toned down to its regular pleasing volume. Seeing that he was alone in his room, Artemis wondered if Silyah had ever been there at all, or if it was just the type of thing a dying man was likely to see.
Artemis jolted awake, finding it oddly disconcerting to wake up in the same room as the one in his dream. He rubbed his eyes and checked the time. It was a little past 3:00AM. How wonderful.
Now that he was a little more awake, the dream came back to him. Was he really nervous about Silyah showing up in a few hours? Yes, dear goodness he actually was. Who would have thought?
Sliding his feet over the edge of the bed and into his slippers, Artemis got to his feet. There was no way he'd be able to go back to sleep right away. He thus decided to go to the kitchen downstairs to grab a drink and try to think things over.
"Arty?" asked a half-awake voice as the teen walked into the kitchen. "What are you doing up this late?"
"Mother?" He was as surprised to see her as she was to see him. "Well, a strange dream woke me. Why are you up at this hour, though? Shouldn't you be resting?"
"Oh, I had a bit of a sore throat, nothing to worry about." She furrowed her brows. "You aren't usually disturbed by dreams… What's the matter sweetie?"
"I… I'm just a tad nervous about something."
"Something must be really wrong. You, nervous?" She took half a step towards him, wanting to take him in her arms.
"There is this person I'm expecting tomorrow, a friend," said Artemis, stepping closer to his mother, allowing her to hug him.
"Well, that's a bit unusual for you, but I don't see why it troubles you so much. Is it someone from school?"
"No, we met at the science conference I attended a little while ago. She… Well, it is quite difficult for her to get here, but if everything goes according to plan, she should be here in the morning."
A fond smile appeared on Angeline's face. "She?" This was definitely a first.
"Yes, Mother, she," nodded Artemis, ignoring the subtle heat in his cheeks. "Oh, don't smile like that, please. It's not like that…"
"If you say so," her smile was certainly not fading. She cleared her sore throat. "Yet, you are so nervous about her not making it that it troubles your sleep?"
"I… might like her a little…" muttered the teen, finally admitting it. "But I don't think it would work out very well."
"Look at you already trying to define the future. Take it from me, take the chance to enjoy every moment life can give you instead of always worrying about 'what ifs.' You deserve this. You seem to always be working on some type of plan or project…" she trailed off, shaking her head.
"I will. It would simply be unlikely for whatever there might be between us to last for very long. I am merely being logical, Mother," stated Artemis, brushing a rebellious strand of hair away from his face. "And if you must know, I actually enjoy working on plans and projects. It is what I am good at."
"I know, darling…" The woman ran her hand through his hair. "Whatever happens, I'll be thrilled to meet her tomorrow…" She glanced at the time. "Or, later today, actually."
"I'm sure you'll like her. Just don't get too excited; she might not be able to visit us again."
"I take it that she lives abroad?"
"Yes, she does. Quite far away," nodded Artemis.
"American?"
"No… Canadian," lied the boy. She definitely had a Canadian vibe.
"Still not too far. We do own multiple planes," smiled Mrs. Fowl. "Anyway, do you think she'll be joining us for the Charity Gala in the evening?"
Artemis had definitely forgot that detail. Not that he was to blame, he had been quite busy fighting for his life, after all.
"Perhaps. I'll mention it to her and we'll see what she says."
The boy's mother turned to the refrigerator and poured Artemis a glass of water.
"After that, off to sleep you go. You have to be in shape for tomorrow. I take it you'll have a big day ahead of you."
Artemis was strangely startled by the words "big day." They nearly made him shiver.
"Yes, big, big day…"
"If you don't mind, please turn off the light once you're done. I'll go get a cough drop and head back to bed too." She allowed herself to press a kiss on his forehead before going back upstairs.
"I will. Goodnight… mum…"
The woman pretended not to hear him, but with the overwhelming warmth she suddenly felt, she couldn't help but to whisper a "goodnight, Arty," back to him.
A few minutes away from District 8, Panem
"Are my tributes ready? We'll be arriving in 8 in less than five minutes!" Effie delicately knocked on the mahogany door before shaking her head. Tributes? "I mean, the victor and her guest."
"They're almost ready," replied Ilranor, who was combing the last stray lock on Elijah's head.
The boy's patience was about to run thin, but he avoided to voice his complaints. He wasn't going to win any argument at the moment, especially since he was wearing eyeliner. For now, it was thus better to endure everything and keep a low profile.
"There you go, I'm done," finally said the stylist.
"Now get of here and shine!" enthusiastically exclaimed Xarone, gently pushing both Silyah and Elijah out of the stylists' headquarters to join Effie.
"You two look perfect!" said the escort as she greeted the two teens. "Ready for District 8?"
Silyah nodded, barely murmuring a short "Yeah…"
"You'll see, District 8's people are wonderfully creative!" Effie sent her a beaming smile as Beetee arrived.
While Effie was going on about their destination, Elijah had taken notice of something. He had eyed the brunette victor up and down a few time, seemingly comparing something. "Is it just me, or do our outfits bear a striking resemblance?" he asked Silyah.
She looked down at her black outfit; a winter jacket with sharp shoulders and a dramatic asymmetrical collar. The back and sides of the coat brushed the floor like a skirt's train, but the front had been kept relatively short. The jacket was closed off-center, much like a double-breast coat, yet only the side that attached the two front panels was adorned with five textured black buttons. Silyah then glanced at Elijah, whose own jacket was roughly constructed like hers. He didn't have the collar, nor the slightly pointed shoulders and the train, but the style of the closure, the buttons and the fabrics were the same.
"At least yours doesn't extend into a skirt," shrugged Silyah.
"Thank goodness," muttered Elijah. "Luckily, nobody is going to see me right away."
"At least the whole team somewhat matches…" mentioned Silyah, not exactly keen about being associated with Elijah in the same way she had been with Artemis.
Something in her voice must have given that away, because the shadow of a frown had, for a few seconds, decorated Elijah's pale features. That was until Effie pushed the group towards the train's doors.
"Now, now! Put a smile on those faces!" she said.
The team obliged right as the train began to progressively slow down, arriving at the District 8 station.
"Oh, I thought of something for you," suddenly said Silyah, turning towards Elijah. She handed him a pair of sunglasses she had found in Ilranor's supplies. "Not much, but I thought it could help you stay undercover."
The dark-haired teen took the sunglasses, giving them a look.
"It could help, I guess," he nodded and put them on. They were not overly detailed and they seemed to work with his outfit.
"So, as I told you," babbled Effie, "the tour will start with a visit of District 8 and then we'll follow up with your speech, per usual. After the speech, however, we were given a special permission, so a surprise will be waiting for you."
"Surprise?" wondered Silyah, her gaze shifting from Elijah to Effie, whose smile couldn't possibly get any brighter or bigger.
The train completely stopped and without satisfying Silyah's curiosity, Effie took a deep breath. "District 8, here we are!"
Silyah turned back to Elijah. "Don't forget to stay within your leash's reach, watchdog," she told him, a teasing smirk on her face.
Elijah gave her the mother of all fake smiles. "How could I forget?"
The brunette gave him a side-glance as the doors of the train slid open. She plastered on a fake smile as well, surprised to see that this time, there was a good amount of photographers on the platform's floor. The tour was beginning to become a little more festive.
Elijah had tried to mentally prepare himself for the crowds ever since this whole "chaos" had started, but the amount of people on the District 8 platform still made him feel slightly dizzy.
"Just don't look at the flashes," mumbled Silyah, avoiding to turn towards her "watchdog," but nevertheless aiming her message towards him.
"Thank you for the advice, Miss Obvious," muttered Elijah faintly, but just loud enough for the girl to hear.
Silyah furrowed her brows, then raised her right one. "Miss Obvious?" Her reply earned her a look from Effie.
The raven-haired boy sighed. "Sorry, I don't like crowds…"
The group walked up to a car under the flashes that most likely belonged to the Capitol's official photographers. In fact, there were very few people who lived in 8 present at the train station aside from those who actually worked there.
"Since the station is a bit far from the main activities of the district, we'll be brought to the convertible tour vehicle that's waiting for us further up in town," explained Effie, pushing her group towards a long black car.
Silyah took a sideways step, letting Elijah climb on board before her. "Thought you might want to disappear as fast as possible… How's Haley?" she added the last part in Gnommish.
Elijah gave her a short thankful nod, happy to be out of view from the curious camera lenses. "She blended in with the photographers…" he replied in the same language.
Silyah slid in the seat next to him, followed by Effie and Beetee, who sat in front of them. The rest of the seats were then taken by the stylists and their teams.
"Only eight more of these if we count the Capitol," commented Beetee.
Elijah held back a sigh, he would just have to ignore all the people and focus on something else.
Silyah removed her scarlet gloves, setting them on her lap.
"So… Hopefully the rumors have not started yet."
"Rumors, Silyah?" wondered Effie.
Elijah had taken the dark glasses off, rolling his blue eyes.
"You surely know how people are Effie. They like to invent their own stories when they don't have the whole truth."
"Since he's not really supposed to be with us, he didn't want his face to be on every screen in Panem, but he was still seen at the banquets," added Silyah.
"Not that Panem would mind to see his face," said Effie.
The boy looked away after her comment. It wasn't the first time Effie hinted at her personal opinion about his looks. For some reason, it made him slightly embarrassed.
Beside him, Silyah leaned back, resting her head on the cold window behind her, barely troubled about the fact that it might ruin her hairdo. She closed her eyes for a short instant, then blinked a few times.
Elijah's gaze was still on her. His eyes seemed to go in her direction rather often.
"You better look a little more alive before you hold your speech. I am not sure that the people in 8 will react positively to the undead," commented the boy, realizing that he should probably have phrased his sentence a little more kindly a few seconds after the words escaped him.
Silyah stared at him, clearly not amused. "It might look bad, but trust me, death looks even worst. I've seen it from up close, if I may remind you." Needless to say, she also wished she could have taken back her sentence.
From his seat, Beetee coughed lightly.
Elijah turned to the man.
"Sorry, it seems that stress and sleep deprivation don't mix well for Miss Natho."
"Enough!" spat Silyah, slapping the boy's chest with the back of her hand.
"Ow… One would have thought you'd have left all your violent tendencies in the arena, Miss Natho."
"Stop it! I thought you were both more civilized than this," suddenly said Effie.
Silyah took a deep breath, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Sorry, Effie."
Elijah bit his lip, turning his head away from Silyah.
"I'm sorry, Effie," he muttered faintly.
"So… What's the first stop in the District tour?" asked Silyah, her tone much softer now than a few seconds ago.
"The fabric mills," replied the escort. "From there we'll start to weave our way to the city square."
Silyah raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless nodded. This wouldn't be that different from all the other districts she had visited. She'd do her stuff, Elijah would keep an annoying eye on her and Haley would stay safe, blissfully attacking the buffets.
All in all, this was pretty much exactly how everything got played out until a surprise came to Silyah.
After the victor's speech, the girl got back inside the Justice Building, as usual. At first, she barely noticed the two people waiting for her since she was still in a vague haze from having been in the spotlight, but eventually, she caught sight of the tall man with the broad built and pale grey hair. At his side was an auburn-haired woman.
"Grandmamie? Grandpapi?" It had been such a while since she had last seen them in person! She quickly walked up to them, greeting them both with a hug.
It was quite unusual for a family to reside in two different districts due to the strict regulations made to prevent communication between the divided sectors of Panem, but occasionally, it happened between neighboring districts. Given that Rochus Vale and Meriel Turscot, Silyah's grandparents, lived near the District 3 borders, their daughter Lysanda was granted the right to go work as a managing director in one of the district's factories due to her efficiency and the job demand. Not long after, the Government of Panem also transferred their tech-savvy son Pietri to District 3, since he was showing certain aptitudes with technology and that his sister was already there and well established. Indeed, before her brother's transfer, Lysanda had met Jeffreson Natho in her new district. After their wedding, the Vale woman was 'given the right' to permanently stay in 3, where she would soon raise her daughter Silyah, and later on, a son named Davrien.
That being said, Silyah's grandparents, who were now retired, stayed in District 8 for the sake of simplicity. They were only allowed one monitored call per month with their kids and grandkids, as well as a single supervised visit at the borders of District 8 and 3 every year.
"Your grandparents will get to sit with you at the banquet this evening," smiled Effie, joining the group with Elijah, Beetee and rest of the team. "They'll also be taken care of by the stylists, courtesy of the Capitol."
"That's great." Silyah was actually genuinely happy about that. Even though she didn't see them or hear about them on regular basis, she was really getting along with her grandparents. That was mostly because they were always on her side, unlike her parents.
"We'll be able to do a bit of catching up," said Meriel, gently rubbing Silyah's back. The older woman's gaze went over the whole group, lingering on Elijah just a little longer than on the rest of them.
"Guess I should introduce everyone." Silyah scanned her entourage. "This is Xarone and his prep team," she began, letting Nephelie, Ica Rose and Concetto name themselves. "After that, there's Ilranor and…" she paused, frankly unsure about the woman's helpers' names.
"Izolt, Throika and Marshia," the stylist permanently dressed in gold helped her out.
"Thanks… Then we have Beetee Latier, whom you might have seen before, Effie Trinket, whom you've definitely seen before and… Elijah Fowl… Guys, these are my mother's parents, Meriel and Rochus."
Meriel looked back at this new Fowl guy, then her eyes shifted back to Silyah.
"I'm Artemis's half-brother, ma'am," said Elijah, having noticed the wondering look the woman had given him. At this point, telling this fabricated story had gotten so natural that the words just rolled off his tongue.
"He never knew Artemis, so we mutually agreed to help each other deal with his death," added Silyah, once again flawlessly lying as her grandfather shook a robust hand with Elijah. The girl felt slightly guilty about telling lies to her own family, but she quickly shook that feeling off when she noticed that her face was a bit warm.
"Now that everyone is a bit familiar, may we move on to the preparation for the banquet?" In case it wasn't clear, that definitely was Effie's way of telling everyone to get their affairs in order and follow her schedule.
For once, Elijah agreed with Effie. It appeared that Silyah's grandparents weren't going to ask him too many follow-up questions. He like them already.
Hurrying slightly, he caught up with Silyah, who was now following Xarone. "You know, I really hadn't expected to be introduced to your family this early on."
"Ah, shut up," replied Silyah, her fist quick to land on Elijah's shoulder. "You should be careful about what you say during the banquet. Nothing sparks rumors like the family members of a girl after the said girl introduced them to a guy her age."
That last statement could not be denied. In fact, one could wonder if it would ever change given that the people in Artemis's days seemed to behave like that too. Little did Silyah know that many, many years ago, Angeline Fowl had spent a good half of the night dreaming about what would happen the following day; the day when Artemis would introduce her to his "girlfriend."