A/N: Mum's watching Pringle (we mutually agreed that Bill is a dumb name for him and renamed him Pringle) so I have a little time to write. Things have been fairly hectic here; I'm starting to seriously wonder how I'll fit in NaNo, though if it's at all possible I'll keep up with this story as well. It'll just be much less frequent updates.
Reviews! There were so many this time, that I only replied to ones that really stood out. I still love you all!
xX-Fiona-Xx: Oh yeah... that was hilarious! I liked how the window was positioned, so it looked like they were actually having sex XD it was so funny. And when you were like "I'm in the middle of something!" And Melissa started faking orgasms... aaah, good times. You called him Sugar Pie?!?!? OMG you know he likes you... he might take it the wrong way and... ew ew ew.
Cheese Head: You should have been at the camp I just went to, now that was fun. This isn't porn, more like very light smut.
RiverWren: Ick... that must have been a pain. At least Pringle lets me sleep in until seven sometimes... I can't imagine being dragged up at five.
Annie-Morphs: Yes, brainache is possible... I get it frequently when I stare at a computer for long periods of time. That's why I got glasses this weekend. YAY, glasses:dances in her shiny new glasses
Annie-Morphs (again!): Hmm... I may be getting predictable. OR I MAY NOT! WAHAHAHA
hollybridgetpeppermint: Sorry, but it'll get worse before it gets better :S Most T-rated smut is way worse than this; I'm keeping things very PG for ya.
Brief note that belongs here: Please contact hollybridgetpeppermint to join the "I Hate Minerva Club". I know I'm making jackets :P (well not really. But ya know. They're imaginary jackets! YAY!)
Avalons-Healer: No... but I want information:googles:
elve-man: I don't know... that seems like such a cliché ending, besides, I already have one story ending in marriage (From Within) and I don't want to restrict myself like that. I'll keep it in mind, though.
devoted99: I've seen a lot of people doing this, and it strikes me as a better way to respond, because you're acknowledging all the awesome people who inspire you to keep writing, instead of letting their names wither away in the isolation of the review page. And A/Ns are allowed, and these are like A/Ns, just directed at specific readers. So I'll keep up with these for now, and see how things go. I have backups of my stories, so I can repost them if they get deleted.
WARNINGS: This chapter contains someone self-harming, and that may disturb. If it scares you, just skip that part, 'kay?
When Artemis Lost His Brain - Losing Control
Holly woke up bright and early on the first full day of her stay at Artemis' house to find her nose an inch away from him on the pillow. She kept herself from yelping and tried to pull away, but the boy's hold on her was too strong, and she had to resort to shaking him to wake him up.
"Artemis, wake up, it's morning." She said, resisting the urge to punch him on the shoulder.
Artemis' eyes dragged themselves open, and Holly could see the mass of eye goobies in the corner, which disgusted her slightly.
"Come on mud boy, get up and let go of me." She tickled him slightly in the stomach, and was surprised when Artemis doubled over laughing.
"Artemis? Are you ticklish?" She asked, shockedly.
"No... Of course not." Artemis said between giggling fits.
Holly rolled her eyes and tickled him again, sending Artemis into more giggling spasms. "Of course you aren't." She smiled evilly, and tackled Artemis, tickling him wildly and laughing. They rolled around for awhile, tickling each other and cracking up, before Butler came in to wake them up. He smiled when they didn't notice his presence, and leaned in the doorway, watching them rolling around.
When Artemis did notice, he tried to shove Holly off, and said between giggling fits; "Butler. Good... hee hee... Morning... Holly stop that."
Holly withdrew her fingers from Artemis' armpit, blushing slightly. "Morning Butler."
Butler smiled at the pair of them. "Breakfast is in a few minutes. Please be ready by then." He smiled warmly at them, then departed.
Holly retreated to the edge of the bed. "I should go get dressed." Artemis nodded. Neither of them moved.
"Holly?" Artemis said after a minute.
"Yeah?"
"You're still in my bed."
"Oh." Holly blushed, and went back to her own room. Artemis sighed, and went to change.
000
By the time Holly got to breakfast, Artemis and his parents were all there eating. Thankful that she had remembered to jam on a hat, she took a seat next to Artemis.
"Good morning, Holly." Angeline smiled, holding out a toast rack. "Sleep well?"
"Yes Mrs. Fowl, thank you." Holly said politely, taking a piece of toast and buttering it.
"Now now, there's no need for such formality! Please feel free to call me Angeline." She smiled at Holly. Artemis senior turned to Artemis junior. ((A/N: wow... this household would get confusing so easily. Especially if one twin was a girl, and happened to be named Angeline.))
"So, Artemis, I hope you're not going to vanish onto your computer, and leave your guest all alone."
"Of course not, father. I intend to be a good host."
Artemis senior smiled, and ruffled his son's hair. "That's my boy."
Artemis smiled back. "Have you and mother got any plans for the day?"
"I have physiotherapy all day. We'll be back for dinner, but I'll have to leave you in Butler's capable hands for now." Artemis Sr. replied, stretching slightly. "I don't know why, I feel fit as a fiddle."
"You have to keep up with it father, otherwise your health will decrease significantly."
000
At this point in time, somewhere else in the world, a teenage girl was sitting at her computer, chewing her left pinky nail.
"Oh bum!" She exclaimed, throwing her empty soda can away. "I've been stuck at this for three days. Let's just fast forward to the action." With an evil smirk, she resumed typing.
000
Holly and Artemis were sitting in Artemis' room, reading. Holly was halfway through the Harry Potter books Angeline had given Artemis for his twelfth birthday, while Artemis was flipping through his copy of the fairy book. (You know the one.) He froze when he reached the prophecy of MMVII. MMVII. Roman numerals for this year, 2007 ((A/N: I think so - I never learned roman numerals. Oh and yeah, 2007, because Artemis will have vanished in '04, and he was gone for three years.)) He read it repeatedly, wondering what it could mean. It had been written as some sort of riddle, and he couldn't make head nor tail of it.
Condemned by fate
Condemned by species
Destined for one another
The truth they find
The truth divine
Beginning of a new era
One lost heart
One lost skill
Return it all
Sealed feelings with a kiss.
Artemis was staring at the book with a look so intense it could shatter glass, when Holly fell over. Since she had been sitting on the floor, this was not good.
Artemis eyed her, annoyed at being snapped out of his thoughts. "Holly?" His annoyance vanished when Holly doubled over and started twitching. Blue steam flew from all her pores, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Artemis was powerless, and had to watch as blue sparks flowed out of Holly at every pore, her body bucking violently. Eventually she calmed down and opened her eyed, shivering as if a warm blanket had vanished, and she had been left in the cold.
"Artemis?" She asked sleepily. "What just happened?"
Artemis didn't answer, already checking her over. Holly batted his hands away. "I'm fine Artemis. Just a scratch." She touched a scrape on her cheek and thought 'Heal.' Confused when nothing happened, she tried again.
Artemis sighed when his fears were confirmed. "I don't believe we were so stupid..."
"What is it, mud boy?" Holly whipped around to glare at Artemis as if it was his fault.
"You drank alcohol with a mud man." He whispered.
Holly looked at him, horrified. "Oh Frond no... AUGH!" She didn't get to finish her sentence, because she fell on the ground, hands around her ears. Artemis could only watch in horror as Holly's ears shrank, and she grew taller and taller, until she was the same height as Artemis. Then she lay still, passed out from the pain of becoming human. Artemis' head was throbbing, but he picked Holly up, laying her on his bed. It wasn't long before he collapsed beside her, gritting his teeth and clutching his ever-worsening head.
000
I was floating through a dreamlike black space when I saw her. Curled up inside a tight, protective bubble with no way to get out. I hammered on the surface to no avail, and finally she noticed me. I was crying, trying desperately to reach her, but the bubble was resisting anything I sent at it. She scrabbled her fingers on it's slippery surface desperately. I could tell she was screaming and crying, but every sound, every movement, everything that she was was trapped in that bubble. Finally, I yelled out her name in frustration, and the bubble shattered. Wrapping our arms around each other protectively, we slipped off into the nothingness. I softly kissed her, and all faded to black.
000
Artemis awoke to hear birds singing, and feel a soft presence clinging warmly to his side. He smiled calmly, and enjoyed the few moments of peace before his massive brain reminded him of what was going on.
But nothing came. Instead, he was filled with a warm happy feeling, and decided to enjoy it. Holly was stirring beside him, and when he looked at her, he finally remembered. Her ears were small and rounded, and her body had stretched to make her the exact same size as him. To any human she would look just like an average fifteen-year-old girl. Not to Artemis though. To Artemis, in her sleep she was the very picture of loveliness, hair shorter than his stuck to her face, her mouth slightly open revealing perfect white teeth, long eyelashes covering beautiful eyelids.
The eyelashes blinked open, and Holly rubbed her eyes. "Morning mud boy... why am I in your bed again? Last I remember... oh hell no." She looked down at herself, moaning deeply. "Noo... I'm human." She buried her head in the pillow. "Please leave now Artemis, I need to scream." She said. Artemis obliged, somewhat dazed at the way he had looked at Holly. He had never really seen that before. As he was leaving, Artemis thought he heard a sob.
Down in the parlour, Domovoi Butler and Juliet Butler were arguing about something, Juliet holding both twins. She had been appointed as guardian and nanny to the twins, following her graduation from Madame Ko's academy at age 21, making her the youngest female ever to receive the blue diamond tattoo.
"All I'm saying is... Oh hey Artemis!" Juliet smiled, putting down one of the twins to give him a one-armed hug. "Haven't seen you in awhile! How are things?"
"Fine." Artemis said meekly, standing perfectly still while being hugged. "I have a friend visiting, and she might need to borrow some of your clothes if it's okay."
Juliet nodded. "Of course! Who is it, your girlfriend?" She smiled teasingly.
Artemis jumped slightly, blushing. "Absolutely not! She's a... I mean... She's not the dating type." He looked away. Why had he almost said she was a fairy? Before this he had been able to keep her under cover no problems.
"Ohh, you like her." Juliet winked. Artemis was furious. He dragged at Butler's sleeve. "I need to speak to you. Privately." He lead Butler into another room and locked the door, sitting down and wiping his face.
"Problems?" Butler asked, smiling slightly.
"Several. For one, Holly is now apparently human. She drank with mud people." He sighed ad Butler's alarmed sound. "She's in my room, she wants to be alone. Another thing is..." He hesitated, wondering how to word his troubles. "I don't feel as smart as I used to. Just now, I woke up, and couldn't even remember what was wrong. Earlier, I was looking at a potentially vital riddle, and couldn't figure it out at all. And when I woke up..." He looked away, blushing.
Butler allowed a smile to creep onto his face. "You noticed Holly."
Artemis nodded. "Replace noticed with couldn't stop staring at, and you've got it." He ran his fingers through his hair. "It's so strange... We keep having the same dreams about saving each other, and... uh... Other stuff." He fiddled with his fingers. "I don't know what's going on."
"Well I'm not sure either, but you should talk to Foaly. See what he can do." Butler suggested, returning to the matter of Holly's newfound humanity.
"Yes, that sounds wise." Artemis muttered, turning to one of his computers to see if he could set up a link.
"Oh and Artemis?" Butler said sadly. "There's something in this newspaper I think you need to see. I know you liked her..." Butler handed Artemis a newspaper.
Artemis scanned the front page wordlessly, then dropped the paper. Facing the ceiling was a glaring article, featuring a picture of a bespectacled girl with blonde ringlets of hair.
Murder in France!
Child prodigy Minerva Paradizo (15) was murdered late last night in an invasion of her father's mansion. The police have reason to believe that the raid was performed by one Jonah Lee (Alias Billy Kong) who was captured near the Paradizo mansion late last night. Lee is believed to be insane, continually screaming that Minerva owed him a demon. Continued on page fifteen.
"She's dead..." Artemis whispered.
Butler nodded. "Juliet didn't want me to tell you. I told her you two were old friends." He sighed. "I'm sorry Artemis. She was a friend of mine too."
Artemis couldn't deal. He couldn't bear all these burdens in one go. He could have yesterday, but today his intellect seemed to have abandoned him, and it was all happening too fast. Wordlessly, he stood up and walked to his room, displaying no emotion whatsoever.
Holly apparently preferred her own room, because he could hear her sobbing through the bathroom. Collapsing on his bed, Artemis curled up into a ball, staring blankly across the room, until his eyes alit on a letter-opener his father had bought him from Spain. Artemis walked over to his desk, picking the knife up, and examining it's blade. He had once read that some people cut themselves to find release from the agonies of living. Maybe it worked. Rolling up his sleeve, he brought the blade across his upper arm, gasping with the thrill of the pain as a dribble of blood ran down his arm. Artemis practically felt the pain evaporating from his soul as he made another cut, and another. He had placed the blade on his arm for the fourth time, when his bathroom door opened and Holly's eyes fell upon him.
She shrieked and snatched the blade out of his hand, glaring at Artemis scandalisedly. "How could you even think of doing something so dumb?" Holly demanded, throwing the knife aside. Artemis couldn't help it. Something inside him had changed, and he started to cry, tears running silently down his face.
Holly was shocked. "Artemis? What happened?" She moved forwards and touched his bare shoulder, looking at Artemis concernedly.
Without speaking, he turned to cry on her shoulder, and Holly put her arms around him, a part of her mind thinking how strange it was for her to have her arms around his shoulders instead of his waist.
They stood together for a long time, Artemis crying softly on Holly's shoulder. When he stopped, Holly stepped back, hands on his shoulders.
"Feeling a bit better now mud boy?" She asked, both lightly and seriously at the same time.
Artemis nodded weakly. "I think so."
"Good. Now don't ever do anything that dumb again."
"I won't." Artemis looked up, seeing Holly's expression of concern. He attempted a small smile. "I just cracked. I think I'm okay now."
Holly nodded, smiling back at him. "Is Juliet around? I want to borrow some clothes." She gestured to her top that was almost burst at the seams and her once-baggy jeans that barely covered her knees.
Artemis nodded, trying not to laugh at the outfit. "I already asked her if you could borrow some clothes. She went to get some, I think."
Right at that moment, Juliet burst in, a baby in one arm and a pile of clothes in the other. "Okay, here are those clothes. Oh hey. You must be Artemis' friend. I'm Juliet. Butler's sister." She eyed Holly. "What did you do, shop at a children's shop or something?" She laughed, handing over the pile. "You can keep those. I'm too big for them now." Juliet looked like she would go on, but the child in her arms promptly started crying, and she had to leave to change a nappy.
Artemis smiled nervously. "Juliet doesn't remember you, of course. Oh, and that was one of the twins."
Holly was still staring, stunned at the spot where Juliet had been standing. "Wow... she's sped up a lot..."
Artemis nodded. "It's the isolation of looking after children. She craves human interaction." He eyed Holly and the clothes in her arms. "You should probably go change."
"Yeah." Holly nodded, snapping back to reality. "Don't do anything stupid." She warned, before returning to her room. Artemis resumed pondering over the riddle now that his mind felt clearer, though he looked up at the sound of grunts and yells from Holly's room. Seconds later, she stormed into his room, the fly of her trousers undone. "I need help. I really don't want to cut these clothes off." She frowned at her jeans, as though they had personally wronged her.
Artemis blushed. "Help... help you change?" It was a world first; Artemis had never stammered in his life. And here he was, acting like a gibbering idiot.
"Yeah! Just grab and yank. My underwear has elastic." She rolled her eyes. "Stop thinking dirty."
Artemis nodded, grasping a hold of the bottom of her trousers, finding it hard to get purchase, they were so tight around her knees.
"Ready? One...two...three!" Artemis pulled, Holly pushed, and the pants came off.
Holly stood there in conservative black underwear, which thankfully still fitted.
"Thanks. I think I can get the top off myself." She smiled, picking up her pants and running back to her room. Artemis sat back down, wondering faintly what exactly happened.
000
That afternoon Artemis was sitting in the garden, poring over the riddle, when Holly sat down next to him. She was wearing simple black pants and a light green tank top with flowers on.
"You know, I can't ever imagine Juliet wearing anything this girly." She said, smiling at Artemis.
"You didn't know her when she was fifteen. She went through a feminine phase where she was totally against violence and anything that wasn't pink or flowery. Naturally, it didn't last long." He smiled back, putting the book down.
"What're you reading?" Holly asked, picking it up. She eyed the prophecy, reading it through a couple of times. "Hey... What's this?"
"That's what I was trying to figure out. It makes no sense to me at all. Beginning of a new era? It's strange."
Holly blinked. "Oh yeah! We studied this in Book Studies when I was a child. It should be coming true this year, though I can't remember what it's about. Something to do with interspecies cooperation." She shrugged. "I'll probably remember soon enough."
Artemis nodded. "Try your hardest."
"So you're feeling better?"
"Yeah. Just... dumb."
"Huh?"
"I don't know what's going on, but I don't feel as smart anymore. You know I know it's stupid to self-harm, but..."
Holly nodded. "That is wierd. We should talk to Foaly."
000
"Hey guys! What's happening?" Foaly smiled, then stopped, getting a visual of Holly. He whistled. "Oh dear... What's happened?"
Holly sighed. "We went drinking. Which, upon reflection, seems pretty stupid."
Foaly nodded. "I'm gonna have to do some research before I can find a cure. Anything else, while you're at it?"
Artemis nodded. "I appear to be losing my intelligence. Or something like that."
Foaly almost laughed. "That's easy. The magic is taking up your system, along with puberty. No more room in that big head for knowledge, so it gets shoved into corners and forgotten. The only cure I know of is giving up the magic."
"No. There has to be another way." Artemis frowned. "I'll find something. And I also wanted some information, if possible."
"Sure thing. What can I do for you?"
"I need to know everything you have about the prophecy of MMVII. Can you send it to me?"
"No problem. I'll e-mail you a file. But now I'm afraid I have to go. I have a date." He smiled. "Catch you two later." Foaly winked at Artemis, then closed the connection.
Artemis sighed. "It's getting late. We should get to bed. Preferably seperate this time."
Holly smirked at him teasingly. "But didn't you like waking up next to me?"
"It was somewhat confusing at first. Since I had a hangover, I thought I might have done something and then forgotten it."
"Well if you did, I did too." Holly smiled. "As far as I know we just fell asleep together." She yawned. "Whoo... Bed for me." Holly kissed Artemis on the cheek without thinking about it. "Goodnight." She blushed slightly, and left.
Artemis touched his cheek, having missed Holly's goodnight entirely. He snapped back to reality when Butler came in doing his regular before bed sweep of the premises. Shutting down the computer they had used, he went tiredly up to bed, and lay awake for a long time thinking.
A/N: Okay, that was long. I got stuck a lot, then poured most of this out in a day. Think from my brief cameo right to the end. And I have GLASSES NOW! WEEEE!
Anyway, happy halloween, I'll see you whenever I happen to see you next. Hopefully before too long and I lose all my readers... DON'T GO! NUUUUU! XD
Review, people! Longest chapter I ever wrote! And kisses to all 70 reviews I have at this point! LOVE you ALL! Let's see if I actually get to 100:O