Hi guys! Thanks again for reviewing - it means a lot!!!

While I was planning this story, I was wondering where it could be in Ireland that Frond met Niamh. I originally thought of Limerick, as it has a kind of romantic name and all that, but then I thought of Wexford. As many of you will know, Wexford is the home county of Eoin Colfer himself. So, I thought what better place to send Arty and Holly:D

So, onwards, and let the search begin...

Chapter Four

Wedding Plans Go Askew

"The Wedding Documents," Foaly explained into the camera that linked up to a computer in Fowl Manor, "were placed above ground by King Frond himself, when he was unable to marry the Mud Woman he fell in love with. No one has yet to find them, according to my records, so there's still hope. These documents will enable you two to get married legally, until death do you part and all that blarney. All you've got to do is find them."

Artemis was tempted to roll his eyes at the centaur's laid back approach to the whole idea. He had already had to put up with Foaly mocking him for his engagement to Minerva, and to be honest, at the moment, his temper was wearing a bit thin. But he refused to show this. Artemis Fowl never lost his temper, especially not in front of a spunky elf and a melodramatic centaur. So the boy decided it was best to remain quiet and let Foaly continue.

But Holly was finding this news rather hard to swallow. "Frond was in love with a Mud Girl?" she asked, astonished. "And during the war as well? No wonder we lost. But why has this never been announced?"

"Clearly his family and his people were embarressed by him," said Artemis lazily. "If you had a member of your family courting a human, you wouldn't want the news shouted around, would you?"

Holly had more unanswered questions. "Yes, but, I'm pretty sure Frond had a son. And he was born many years before the battle, before he even met Niamh. What happened to him?"

Foaly cleared his throat. "Yes, well. The Council weren't very happy about that certain heir. If you remember, he was never actually crowned king. Yes, er... he was the result of a rather... exciting night for young Frond." He chuckled almost to himself. "Oh, Frond did have a few problems, didn't he?"

There was a sharp knock on the door to Artemis's study and Butler walked in uncomfortably. Artemis had broken the news of his and Holly's engagement not half an hour ago, and the manservant hadn't taken it too well. It meant that his charge had more of a change of either getting himself killed by unhappy fairies, or being dumped by Minerva. Artemis had informed Butler that under no circumstances should Minerva know about what he and Holly where doing. But the bodyguard was finding the information difficult to hold on to, it was so ridiculous.

"Er... Artemis. Minerva wants to see you. She says she has a surprise for you that she urgently needs to tell you about."

Artemis tried his hardest to prevent the blood rushing to his cheeks, but to no avail. Foaly was laughing hoarsely down the mike.

"Ha! Artemis, you are popular with the ladies today, aren't you? A proposal from Holly, and now Minerva has a surprise for you. I'll tell you what, I'm surprised you can handle all these females."

Artemis closed his eyes and breathed out of his nose. He then flashed his best vampire smile towards the camera on the desk. "Yes, Foaly. But at least my girlfriend didn't leave me for a younger centaur."

Now it was Foaly's turn to blush. It was true and Foaly should have seen it coming. Caballine had broken up with him almost six months ago to be with a spritely young centaur, that had just graduated from college. It was still a sore subject for Foaly, and one that Holly was keen to bring up every now and again. It had been just a joke between him and Holly, but hearing from a Mud Man, and this particular one at that, that he had been dumped for a student who spent all his time popping spots in his bathroom mirror was about all he could take. Holly, Artemis and Butler watched as Foaly's face disappeared from the screen as he had no doubt left for one of his customary sulks.

Artemis turned to face Butler again. "Tell her that I apologise, but I can't see her at this minute. Tell her that I have very important business to discuss with Holly and that I will come and see her as soon as I possibly can. But remember, do not mention anything to her about this engagement."

Butler sighed. "Yes, Artemis, I understand." He paused, wondering if he should consult Artemis on a matter like this. "Artemis?"

"No, Butler, I do not think it wise to tell Minerva," Artemis retorted, as if reading Butler's mind. "It would only cause problems that I do not have the time to fix at this moment in time."

Butler nodded, slightly saddened that his charge had not yet learned that it was important to not keep secrets hidden from your loved ones. He quietly left the room.

Once the door clicked shut Holly grabbed the microphone from its place next to the camera. "OK, Foaly," she shouted into it. "Stop being a baby and help us."

There was no reply. Anyone else whould have thought that the centaur had left the room, but Holly knew better. She spoke into the mike again, this time using a softer tone.

"If you help us, Foaly, when I get back underground I'll bring you a big bucket of carrots."

The centaur's head shot into frame immediately. "Two buckets, and we continue."

"Fine, it's a deal," agreed Holly, placing the mike back onto the table. "And I'll get Artemis to help me dig them up."

Foaly smiled broadly, seemily satisfied, and continued with his briefing. "Right. I've done as much research on these documents as I possibly can. All I know for certain is that they are hidden somewhere around Europe. So, I tried to think like Frond. Where would you hide these documents if you'd fallen in love with someone, but couldn't marry them?"

Holly thought for a moment. "I guess I'd hide them where I first met this Niamh person."

"Exactly!" Foaly happily punched the air. "I did yet more research into where this could be. It is said that Frond met her just after he had sent some men to battle. So where did Frond send them from?" He waited, trying to build up the suspense, though neither Artemis or Holly were amused. "Wexford," he pronouced proudly.

Artemis nodded as he took a place in his large, leather swivel chair. "Yes, that seems plausible. Wexford is situated on the south-east coast of Ireland. That would have made it easy for Frond to send his troops over to England."

"Yes, thank you, Foaly." The centaur congratulated himself, hoping to encourage the other two to follow. But they didn't. "Wow, you people are miserable today." He walked out of frame once again, and Holly and Artemis wondered if he had once again gone for a sulk. But thankfully, he returned within a few seconds shuffling a pile of papers. He produced one and skimmed through it, then placed it down and looked at them through the camera. "Now to what you're looking for. No one knows what the documents look like, so I'm afraid I can't help you there. But, I do know this. Apparently, when Frond went to find Niamh, her house had disappeared. Presumably, knocked down. Then, when he went up to hide the documents, it is thought that he rebuilt Niamh's house in the exact spot it had been upon their first meeting. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the most probable hiding place of the Wedding Documents."

Artemis frowned. "Surely not. The war between the humans and fairies happened thousands of years ago. No building could ever survive that period of time. There won't be anything there to look for."

"Ah ha!" Foaly shook a finger at Artemis. "Very clever, Artemis. There you are, trying to outsmart me again. But, no. You are wrong. You see, as king, Frond had many powers that a normal elf did not possess. With this magic, he would have been able to cast a spell over this building, therefore preserving it for eternity. Now, am I good, or am I good?"

"Yes, Foaly," admitted Holly. "You're good."

"Unless he's making it up," pointed out Artemis.

"Making it up?" spluttered Foaly. "What are you talking about, making it up?"

Artemis sat back in his chair, folded his arms, and stared out of the window. "I don't know," he muttered. "I'm very sceptical about this whole thing. It just seems too... out of this world."

Holly couldn't help but laugh. "Out of this world, Artemis? Is that what you think? You've battled trolls and demons, defeated an evil pixie twice, tricked the fairy People out of their gold, stopped a goblin revolution and travelled through time, and you're saying that searching for a few documents is too out of this world for you?"

Artemis had to admit, it did sound rather strange, but he still wasn't sure.

"Look," said Holly. "We'll go to Wexford, see if we can find these documents and take it from there." She glanced out of the window. "It's still light. If we hurry we can go now before night falls."

"Oh, yeah," piped up Foaly. "You won't want to be there while it's dark. It's rather overgrown now. Well, actually it's a forest, but you get my point."

Artemis sighed. He had promised to spend time with Minerva and no doubt she was getting fustrated. He considered it, and decided that this was more important. Holly had only a month to marry, and there was no point in wasting time. He nodded to show his consent.

"Good," Holly said happily, reaching up and punching him on the arm. "I suggest we fly. It will be quicker. I won't be able to take Butler, my moonbelt's a bit rusty. But we'll only be gone for a couple of hours. You go and tell him where we're going and that I'll look after you, and I'll get the stuff ready in here. Oh, and you might want to mention something to Minerva about you disappearing. I have a feeling she won't be happy."

"Thanks for the tip," uttered Artemis sarcastically.

Artemis found Minerva sitting in the drawing room, reading quietly. He gently knocked on the door and walked towards her. She stood, delighted to see him, and outstretched her arms. Artemis returned her embrace as he had done when she had arrived.

"Artemis, how long have you been?" she asked longingly. "I have been waiting to tell you something very important. It cannot wait, for, you see - "

Artemis held up a finger, signalling silence. Minerva obeyed reluctantly.

"I'm afraid it will have to wait, Minerva. I have to travel to Wexford with Holly right away."

"But I have only just arrived," Minerva cried. "I have not yet spent any time with you. Why is this Holly girl more important to you than me, Artemis? What is going on? I am fed up with waiting to see my own fiancé. We're getting married and you don't make an effort to see me."

Artemis shook his head. "Nothing is going on. We will not be more than a few hours and as soon as I return, you can reveal this surprise to me, I promise. Then you will be able to see your fiancé. You only have to wait a short while. Can you do that for me?"

Minerva whimpered softly. "Yes, I suppose. But I will miss you," she whined.

Artemis smiled and nodded. "I'll see you when I get back."

Minerva kissed him on the cheek and Artemis left. Even as he left the room he could feel Minerva's blue eyes boaring into his back. It felt uncomfortable. Perhaps Holly was right. Perhaps he was letting Minerva push him around.

Once Butler had been assured by Holly that absolutely no harm would come to Artemis, the two were ready to fly. Holly stuck a whisper sensitive microphone to Artemis's face, and screwed an earpiece into his ear so they could communicate during the journey. Artemis strapped himself to Holly's moonbelt and covered himself from head to foot in camfoil.

Foaly spoke from underground. "Now, Holly. I'll be with you as long as I can. But as this isn't Section 8 business, if Vinyaya gives me something to do, I'll have to do it."

"I've got it, Foaly."

"You two be careful," warned Butler. He turned to Holly. "And if anything happens to him, there'll be a price to pay."

Holly grinned and nodded, but Artemis poked his head out from beneath the camfoil.

"I am perfectly capable of looking after myself thank you, Butler," he said, disgruntled. "I am not an infant."

Butler placed a massive hand on his charge's shoulder. "I'm sure you are, Artemis. I'm sure you are. Now, I'll keep Minerva company, and you hurry back."

The flight didn't last long, but was uncomfortable. Ten minutes after they had left Fowl Manor the heavens opened and Artemis was completely soaked within what seemed like seconds.

"This is ridiculous," he had spat into the mike. "I should have foreseen this."

A shielded Holly laughed somewhere above him. "Just be a good Mud Boy and hold on."

Foaly led Holly to their destination and the two of them landed roughly on the sodden Curracloe Beach. Holly unshielded and Artemis emerged from his camfoil and surveyed his surroundings. The waves were grey, and fog was beginning to roll in from the Irish Sea. The sand under their feet was saturated with water and small streams trickled past them. The temperature had dropped a few degrees since their departure and Artemis's breath appeared in clouds, partially hidden by the screen of rain. He shivered as his cold, wet clothes clung to his skin, and considered that the only good thing was that there was no one there to see them.

Opposite the sea, a large wood stretched the length of the beach, seperating the sea from Ireland. Artemis stared up the length of the trees as he waited for Holly to finish her conversation with Foaly. He was envious of Holly's waterproof suit and helmet and wondered exactly how long they were going to have to spend out in the rain.

Holly lifted her visor and couldn't help but chuckle to herself at Artemis's suffering. Foaly too, who was watching all the action from a tiny camera clipped to the top of Holly's helmet, was having a good laugh, though Artemis wasn't to know.

"Yes, this is all very amusing, seeing me look like a drowned rat, but I'd really rather like to get back to the Manor as soon as possible, so if you don't mind..."

Holly composed herself and explained what she had heard from Foaly. "Niamh's 'house' is somewhere amongst those trees. Foaly has no idea whereabouts, so I suggest we start looking." And without another word, she turned on her heel and hurried towards the trees, leaving Artemis to trial behind, trying to fold the camfoil into a convenient size.

Once Artemis had caught up with her he began to argue.

"We can't possibly find anything in there. We'll get lost, retrack our own steps without knowing it, and end up travelling in circles. Besides, the chance of finding something so small in such a large expanse of foliage is tiny."

Holly didn't stop, walking straight into the woods, but replied to Artemis nonetheless. "We can't fly above the trees as our vision will be blocked from the canopy. We can't fly underneath the canopy as my wings will be broken by the trunks. The only way is by foot. We have my helmet to help us, we just need to be careful not to get lost. OK?"

Artemis agreed grumpily. He had not been in the mood for this when they had left, but now that he was sopping wet and being forced to do physical exercise he was ready to give up all together. But he didn't. He was doing this for Holly, and he wouldn't let her down.

The search seemed to go on for a decade. It was an eerie experience, not knowing where they were, being completely disorientated by identical tree trunks. At some times they were able to hear the angry waves crashing on the sand, at others they could hear voices of people complaining about the weather as they approached one of Wexford's historic towns. But most of the time, all they could hear was the cracking of twigs as they stumbled forward, the sound of each other's breath and the rain patting onto the damp leaves beneath their feet. Not much communication was exchanged between them. Holly spent her time concentrating on her helmet and Foaly's suggestions on where to go next, while Artemis just made sure that he didn't lose an eye due to a protruding branch. The leaves of the trees spared them from the worst of the rain, but occasionally a large drop of would fall from a leaf and hit Artemis squarely on the crown of his head.

At least two hours of this passed, by which time Artemis's hands were cut and sore from removing branches from his path. His loafered feet were sore and tired and his wet hair insisted on falling out of place and covering his eyes. Artemis got to the point where he had given up hope and threw himself down on a stump, no longer caring about his clothes. Holly ignored him as she spun slowly on the spot, trying to find anything that looked remotely hopeful.

Then Artemis saw it. "There," he called, pointing with a cold finger. Holly swirled around and followed his finger. Could it be?

She immediately took off, running as fast as the trees would allow her towards what Artemis had seen. It was quite a distance away, and surrounded by foliage, but it didn't stop Holly squeezing her small frame between the tight gaps.

Artemis, on the other hand, groaned loudly at Holly's speed. He forced himself off his perch and made after her, clumsily striding towards his find.

When he finally got there, having fallen half a dozen times and received a few cuts on his hands, he found Holly standing in front of a small, cylindrical stone hut that looked as if it had been crafted by someone who had not really known what they were doing. It was only really big enough for two average sized humans and it looked to be leaking in more than one place.

Artemis wiped his hair from his eyes. "Do you think this is it?"

Holly nodded. "Yes, I think this is what we've been looking for. What do you think, Foaly?"

Artemis watched as she waited for an answer, but there didn't appear to be one.

"Foaly?" Holly furrowed her eyebrows and turned back to Artemis. "He's not there. Vinyaya's probably keeping him busy. But I say this is it. D'you want to go inside?"

"After you," he gestured and Holly stepped passed him and through the small, stone arch doorway. Artemis entered after her and gazed around.

The hut consisted of one circular room with a doorway and a tiny square window. Water was trickling in from numerous places in the roof and the stone walls and floor were damp. A few cobwebs, decorated with raindrops clung to the ceiling, though their owners were long gone. And that was it. The hut was completely empty.

They both looked around, confused. Was this it? Where were the documents?"

"Where are they?" questioned Holly, disappointed. "What are we even looking for?"

"I wish I knew," replied Artemis, now angry that he had made all of the effort that he had for nothing.

"But there's nothing here," exclaimed Holly, exasperated.

Five minutes inside the hut proved that there was no treasure to be found, and the two of them left. Artemis glanced around sadly, spotting a huge, old oak tree and the remains of what had once been a river. "Maybe it's a decoy," he suggested, breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if it were me, I would build more than one possible hiding place, to trick people. I generally do that when I come up with plans. I leave more than one answer so if anyone is hunting me down it is harder to find me. Frond wouldn't want these documents falling into the wrong hands, would he?"

Holly sighed loudly and removed her helmet. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

Artemis grinned his vampire smile. "I always am."

The murderer watched eagerly as the strange couple clambered into the hut. She had hidden herself behind a large oak and had waited patiently for over an hour now. But it had been worth it. They had arrived, and that was all that mattered.

Her black robes, now heavy from the rain, hung from her arms in an uncomfortable fashion, but she did not care. There was only one thing on her mind. Murder.

In her hand she tightly clutched a knife, waiting for her moment to pounce. It came soon enough. The couple exited the hut and stood next to each other, looking solemn. The Mud Boy glanced up in her direction at one point, but did not see her, and did not pose a threat.

She waited for the couple to move apart, knife held at her shoulder, ready to aim. But they did not move. They continued to stand side by side and discuss something. The murderer scowled. This was going to be more difficult than she would have liked, but it could be done.

Aiming carefully, her breath held in her chest, she threw the knife with all the strength in her body.

Holly was the first to see the knife speeding towards them and acted instantly.

"ARTEMIS, DUCK!" she screamed, grabbing his wrist and pulling him to the ground. They both lay in the wet leaves and heard the knife bury itself deep into a tree trunk. They looked up slowly, afraid of what they might see.

Nothing abnormal could be seen in the woods.

Holly jammed her helmet back onto her head and using its filters searched between the trees for any sign of their attempted killer. If it had been a human Holly's helmet would have easily picked them up. If it had been a fairy, even with its shield on, the case would have been the same.

Again, nothing unusual.

She shook her head. "Whoever it was, they've gone." Her heart was racing behind her ribs from the adrenaline rush and her hands were rather unsteady. Glancing at Artemis, she could see that he was in the same state. She decided to go and study what could have been the cause of their death.

The knife had embedded itself in a nearby tree, and was still wobbling from the huge amount of force that had been put behind the throw. As Holly approached it her heart stopped.

"That," she pointed at it uncertainly, "is identical to the knife that killed Chix."

Artemis, who had been focused on removed the leaves from his front, snapped his head round to see Holly, a look of concern etched on his face. "Identical, did you say? Meaning that it was used by the same person?"

"Well, I assume so," said Holly hurriedly. She was beginning to lose her cool. An officer could not see danger easily in a wood. "Look, let's talk about this later. It's already getting dark and it's dangerous in here. Butler will kill me if anything happens to you."

"No." Artemis stopped her. "Wait a minute. Were you with Chix when he was killed?"

Holly thought about it quickly. "Yes. He was following me to my house. I ignored him and walked on. I thought it was strange that he had given up so easily, so went back and found him dead with a knife sticking out of his back. Why?"

Artemis stared at her. "Don't you understand, Holly? There has been a murder and an attempted murder. The same weapon has been used in both cases, and you have been present both times. Whoever threw that knife at us Holly, wants you dead."

The journey back to Fowl Manor was worse than the first. The winds had picked up and Artemis was swung helplessly from side to side. There was no talking, as Holly was still turning what Artemis had revealed to her around in her head.

They landed in Fowl Manor's front garden, Artemis feeling rather sick and Holly quietly relieved to be back in a place where she was not wanted dead. Apart from Minerva, possibly. Holly had a feeling that that Mud Girl wouldn't mind seeing the back of her.

Once in the front entrance Holly turned off the shield and Artemis removed the camfoil. Artemis made for the stairs. "Holly, there's a bathroom straight ahead. Go and dry yourself and then go to my study and try to make contact with Foaly. I'm going upstairs to change and talk to Minerva. I'll be with you as soon as I can."

Holly rolled her eyes as the teenager disappeared upstairs. Foaly had been right. It was surprising that he could put up with all these females. All he had done since Holly had come to see him was promise Minerva and herself that he would be with them as soon as possible.

After cleaning herself up in the bathroom Holly made herself at home in Artemis's study. It was nice to be able to put her feet up and she savoured the moment. She relaxed, letting her small body sink into the deep leather. She closed her eyes...

"Hello?" called an inconsiderate voice. "Anybody home?"

Holly jumped. She was still very twitchy after nearly being sliced in two. Foaly's face was beaming at her from the computer screen and Holly sank back in her chair and closed her eyes once more.

"Hello, Foaly. Where were you back there? You missed all the action."

Foaly's eyes widened. "Action? What action? Did you find them?"

Holly sighed sleepily. "No." Holly slowly accounted the days events to Foaly. He took in every word, thankful that he had not be the one stuck in the woods in the pouring rain. Then Holly got to the part of the story involving the knife.

"Foaly, it was exactly the same, if not the same knife that was used to kill Chix." She felt awake again, her heart pouding as she recalled the fright.

Foaly was looking at her anxiously. It was the same look Artemis had given her before. "You know what this means, don't you, Holly? It means - "

"I know what it means," Holly broke him off. "Artemis told me. But why? Why does somebody want me dead?"

That question was not answered straight away, as at that precise moment Artemis burst into the room. His eyes were wide and if there had ever been any colour in his face, it was gone.

Foaly didn't seem to realise that the Mud Boy was clearly distressed about something and light heartedly said, "How's the wife to be? What's this surprise she's so eager to tell you about?"

Artemis swallowed. "It's the wedding date," he said hoarsely. "She's changed it. We're getting married in a fortnight."

Oh no! Poor Arty. What an evil thing to do to him. I'm sorry it's a cliffie guys! You'll just have to review to find out the rest ;P

Thanks for reading.