THE LOWER ELEMENTS POLICE, HAVEN

Holly took off her helmet, letting her auburn hair fall around her shoulders. It had grown considerably; probably due to the fact she never had time for a haircut. She pushed open the door to her office, imagining the frighteningly tall amount of paperwork she had 'forgotten' to do over the months.

Instead she found herself being roughly shoved to the side by some flying force, landing with a loud 'ufff!' on the ground. She tried to struggle but her tired muscles hadn't healed yet, leaving her almost helpless. As soon as the weight receded she flipped onto her back and glared at her attacker.

'What in Frond's name-'. She was surprised to find herself staring at the heavily mascaraed eyes of Lili Frond. 'What are you doing here?'

Lili stood up and dusted herself off as Holly scrambled to her feet. 'To help you get ready for the party,' she said simply.

'Is there anyone in Haven who doesn't know about the party?' Holly asked angrily.

Lili blinked at her innocently.

'Get out. Now.' Holly added. She knew Lili was stupid, but not that stupid. Anyone with half a brain would just leave Holly in peace. But she still didn't move. Holly just glared at her, too tired to do anything.

'Holly,' Lili said gently. 'What do you plan to do? You can't go to a 'Christmastime love' themed party in a recon jumpsuit ,'

Holly could see her point, but jutted out her lower lip stubbornly. There was no way she was taking orders from someone who lived her whole life in makeup and six-inch heels. 'Make me.'

Lili sighed. 'Look, I know I'm not your favourite person in the world, but Foaly wanted to make it up for the whole hologram incident –'

Holly interrupted. 'He showed you the hologram thing? I will kill that centaur'

'A group of us were watching as part of our end-of-year training'

Holly clenched her fists angrily, but let Lili continue.

'So anyway, Foaly got us to organise a makeover session'

Holly finally took the time to look around her. The whole room had been redecorated – her desk had been covered in pots and tubes of makeup and a bunch of Lili Frond's giggling friends gathered round in clumps. A large mirror had been propped up against a wall and a clotheshorse full of dresses sat demurely in a corner. Holly grimaced. Most of the dresses were pink.

Maybe, she thought, it would be easier to just let Lili help. After all, she probably does this all the time. She sighed and shook her head to clear her mind, which was cloudy with exhaustion.

'Okay,' Holly sighed. Any anger for the ditzy elf had disintegrated and she was too tired to put up a fight. If this was what Foaly wanted, he could have it. She could make him eat his hooves later.

Lili's face brightened.

'But I'm not wearing pink. If you make me I swear I'll rip your ears off,' added Holly firmly. 'I can put up with makeup, and if you want to do my hair that's fine with me, but absolutely no pink'

Lili looked slightly disappointed, but soon recovered and ushered in a bunch of giggling Lili look-alikes. Holly gaped.

'Why exactly do we need all these people?'

'Three reasons,' Lili didn't seem to realise it was a rhetorical question. She ticked the answers off on her fingers. 'a) We have exactly three hours now to get you ready for the party , b) We still have to get you up to the surface on time, and c) we will all be working on separate things.'

'Okay, okay, I get it' Holly replied warily. 'Now what do you need to do?'

'You don't have to worry about a thing,' said Lili, sounding fiendishly delighted for someone who had put fluoro pink hearts on her LEP uniform. 'Just sit down and we'll do the rest'

Holly shivered.

FOWL MANOR, DUBLIN, IRELAND

Artemis watched as a pair of headlights made their way up the driveway, cutting through the darkness like sharp blades. From the second-story window he see the everything, from the giant statue centrepiece to the driveway, which was illuminated by delicate fairy lights. Even the trees had thin strings of fairy lights surrounding them, making it appear they were bearing diamonds instead of fruit.

He got up from his position by the window and made his way down the stairs, surprised at how desolate it looked without all the party organisers and caterers filling the main entranceway. Butler, ever dutiful, stood by the doorway – but he looked more relaxed, like a host rather than a bodyguard.

'Butler, do you mind if I greet our first guests?' he asked cheerfully. 'I think you may have to check the ballroom for Beckett and Myles – they were sliding on the floor in their socks earlier.'

'Of course, Master Artemis,' replied Butler, taking a hint. 'I might just go and check on them now.' Artemis blinked gratefully up at him before walking up to the limo that had just pulled up. A French flag waved in the evening breeze. He graciously opened the door.

Minerva Paradizo stepped out, her silver dress glowing in the gentle moonlight. Her corkscrew curls were perfectly arranged, pinned away from her face by heart-shaped diamante hair slides. She had grown since Artemis had last seen her – physically, Artemis and Minerva were the same age, even if legally Artemis was three years older. She was only slightly shorter than him, and had lost any childishness she had when Artemis had last seen her.

Once again it struck him how pretty she was, but he didn't feel anything more than friendship between them. To him Minerva was no more than a friend, and never would be. But Holly was different. It was as if he had been through so much with Holly it was almost right for them to be together. All he needed to know was whether or not she liked him back.

He smiled at her, not entirely sure what to do – should he shake her hand or try to strike up a conversation? He was caught somewhere between them when Minerva leaned forward and kissed just past both his cheeks in greeting. Artemis felt incredibly stupid – he should have remembered the French custom instantly. His normally razor-sharp brain seemed to turn a bit jelly-like around girls, namely Holly and Minerva. Minerva didn't seem to share his discomfort.

'I haven't seen you in ages! How's the family?'

'Good,' Artemis replied, relieved she didn't seem awkward. 'The twins are as playful as ever – Myles is turning into quite the scientist'

Minerva laughed. 'It looks like there might be an Artemis Jr. in the making'

'No,' Artemis corrected good-naturedly. 'I'm Artemis Jr.'

'Okay then,' continued Minerva, unperturbed. 'Artemis Junior Jr. then'

They both laughed together, and Artemis felt happy to have someone his own age to talk to. He already felt a friendship developing between them now they were away from the stress of Taipei 101. He shivered as a gust of cold wind buffeted around them.

'Do you want to go inside?' Artemis offered. 'You have to fill me in on what happened since I last saw you'

Minerva's eyes brightened. 'Of course! You wouldn't believe what happened last summer...' she started. And with that they both went inside, Butler smirking as their chatter faded into the distance and all was silent again.

* * *

At six thirty the party was in full swing, the main ballroom at the back of the manor filled with people dancing along to jazzy Christmas music. Artemis and Minerva sat on a couple of chairs off to the side, watching couples sweep across the dance floor. The awkwardness had slowly returned – they had run out of things to say and Artemis didn't know what to do next. He couldn't help feeling Minerva was waiting for him to ask her something. He shuffled his feet.

Finally Minerva stood up, obviously tired of waiting, 'Are you going to ask me to dance or what?'

Artemis turned beetroot red, his pale features flooding with colour. He cursed himself for not asking her to dance- after all, they were friends, weren't they?

Artemis got to his feet and held out a hand, trying to hide his embarrassment. 'Do you wish to dance?' He asked politely.

'Of course,' replied Minerva, obviously happy he hadn't turned her down. She took his hand and they stepped out onto the dance floor. Artemis was relieved to have all his dance lessons come flooding back to him – he had hired a personal dance tutor before the party so he could at least do the simple dances without tripping up over his own feet.

He couldn't help wondering where Holly was – he knew she was coming by the short message he had received. It only had two words on it, but it was all Artemis needed. He couldn't understand why Holly was so late – he doubted there would be any hidden meaning behind the message – all it had said was 'I'll come'. He pushed it to the back of his mind – she would probably just be caught up at work.

'It looks like you've done this before,' he commented, noticing the way Minerva glided across the ballroom, her feet barely touching the ground. She made him feel big and uncoordinated.

'I've been dancing since I was seven,' she replied, then frowned. 'Mère insisted I take lessons'

Artemis immediately felt sorry for her – her mother had run off with a gardener about a year before he first met her. They danced on in silence.

'Arty!' Artemis heard his name being called through the crowd. He stopped abruptly, almost knocking Minerva over in the process. His mother walked towards him, holding Father's hand. She looked impossibly happy, her cheeks flushed. 'Someone's come to meet you'

He left Minerva to go off and find Butler before following his mother. They weaved around people talking and dancing towards the end of the ballroom.

'You'll see them soon,' Angeline murmured, before walking back into the crowd. Artemis was left standing alone, puzzled.

A girl stood in the doorway connecting the ballroom to the main foyer, somehow looking calm and uneasy at the same time. She wore a beautiful red strapless dress that sparkled in the light and her auburn hair was twisted back – it almost looked like she was dressed for the Oscars. It took Artemis a full minute to realise who she was.

It was Holly.

* * *

Holly stared at Artemis, feeling strangely self conscious out of her Recon uniform. She couldn't deny that Lili had done a good job – somehow Holly had been dressed for the occasion without so much as a single scrap of pink.

Her heart leaped when she saw Artemis, but she kept her face carefully neutral. Until she knew exactly what she thought about him, she wasn't going to give anything away.

The last few hours had been a blur – all she could remember was being handed a dress to try on and falling asleep in a chair. Lili and her followers had twisted her hair back, letting small wisps down to frame her face. Holly's makeup had been done as well – she was wearing subtle eyeliner and red lipstick.

'We want that red carpet look,' Frond had babbled, showing her pictures of humans at some film awards ceremony. Holly had gotten the feeling Lili was enjoying the makeover session a bit too much. Holly was surprised to find herself enjoying it a little too.

She stood by the entrance to the ballroom, expecting to see Artemis return her gaze with a friendly wave, or at least some acknowledgement. But instead he just stood there his mouth hanging open idiotically. There was no recognition in his eyes, only wonder.

Suddenly he seemed to snap out of his trance-like state, swapping his vacant look for one of surprise.

'H-Holly? Is that you?' he stammered. 'You...you look...' he couldn't seem to finish his sentence.

'Awful?' Holly finished laughingly. Artemis's face still held a twisted look of surprise.

'No...never awful. You look – beautiful'

'Well...um, thanks,' Holly replied, a little surprised herself at his response. She had expected maybe a good or pretty, but not beautiful.

Artemis still remained standing awkwardly, looking a bit like a confused five-year old.

'You look like a confused five-year-old,' Holly pointed out. Artemis shook his head and laughed.

'I guess I do,' he replied, looking relieved the awkward moment had passed. 'I feel a bit like one too. To tell the truth, I'm amazed. I never thought I would see Captain Holly Short wearing a dress and makeup.'

Holly laughed 'I don't know how Foaly managed to get me up to the surface without half the LEP knowing.'

'He's Foaly,' Artemis reasoned. 'He could probably smuggle a couple of elephants into the LEP and no one would ever know'

'I can barely remember how he got me to the surface. I was half asleep.'

'You don't look very tired now,' Artemis commented.

'I stopped off at Tara along the way,' Holly explained. She let a small flicker of what looked like blue electricity form around her fingertips. 'Magic seems to wake me up'

'Just as well. We can't have you falling asleep at the party,' Artemis said. Holly noticed him looking at her with his head tilted to one side.

'What?' Holly asked.

'Seeing as you seem to have grown by 25cm, I am guessing Foaly fitted you out with some new footwear. And looking at your posture, they must be of the hovering kind.' Holly rolled her eyes. Foaly had given her some special shoes – but even though they hovered over the ground, walking still felt the same. Only Artemis could have noticed any difference.

'Although,' he continued. 'That may also be because one of Foaly's new mini Neutrinos tied to your ankle.' Holly looked down at her dress, which was so long it touched the floor, hiding both her hovering shoes and mini Neutrino.

'Spill, mud boy. How did you know that?' Artemis tapped the side of his nose and smiled mysteriously.

'A true magician never reveals his secrets' Artemis quoted, grinning.

'More like a true annoying mud boy never stops acting smart,' Holly shot back good-naturedly.

'Anyway, enough of the talking,' Artemis said. 'More dancing. This is a party, you know'

'Obviously'

'So, Captain Short, would you do me the honour of sharing this dance?' He held out a hand. Holly snorted.

'Please, spare me the theatrics'

Artemis sighed, but kept his hand outstretched. Holly laughed.

'Of course, Arty. Would I ever say no?'

And with that they walked out onto the floor, hand in hand, just as the lights dimmed and the starting chords of the next song began to play.

(Another annoying) Authors note:

Awww...so romantic *sighs*. Finally the drama of the party is upon us, so please don't stop reading. I will keep writing – this is one of my favourite parts of the storyline. Please keep coming with the reviews – one of the reasons this chapter took so long to write was because I (sadly) had very few reviews for Chapter 10. So if you want to find out what happens at the party for heaven's sake REVIEW!