Chapter Thirteen: Revelations
Toad Ball is a game many have tried to describe but find their adjectives often fall short. Quite simply there isn't any real way to explain the euphoric feeling fans of the game and players get when a match is occurring.
The sport was first invented during Theodore's freshman year at college when he was taking a course in fairy tale analysis and the class began to take a look at The Frog Prince. Theo, being the unusual boy he was, began to wonder exactly why the prince had been turned into a frog in the first place. He discussed the matter with his more eccentric friends and soon found that the theories they had woven would "make a bloody brilliant game."
It indeed went on to become a glorious sport with a cult following throughout England. However when asked which game he had played was his favorite Theodore chose the league's first Irish match. The reasons he gave for this choice included it being a particularly tense game due to the need for a last-minute substitute and it being the first match featuring the now famous "Ribbing Ring-Around" technique.
However it is believed by some that the real reasoning behind Theodore's choice in fact had nothing to do with the actual match.
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Artemis had seen the football field where the Toad Ball game was being held several times since that was always where St. Bartleby's annual pubic science fair was held. However as he entered the arena he could have sworn he had never seen the building's inside before in his life, the transformation was incredible.
All around the stands were medieval props which by themselves gave the place a suitably intriguing atmosphere but the really incredible sight was on the field itself. It had been covered from end to end by a complex double-layered maze and had a throne set up at either end.
Artemis mentally noted that the sport must have a better budget than he would have supposed but soon set the thought aside to focus on his mission at hand. The stadium was already beginning to fill and he could tell it would be tricky to navigate through the crowds soon. If he could manage it he had to try and find Matt before too many started crowding in.
Because he was so intent on his searching Artemis didn't notice the first time his shoulder was tapped from behind, however by the third time the tapping became impossible to ignore because it transformed into a hard thump on the back. Artemis turned in mid-stumble and was surprised to see that the insistent attester of his attention was Juliet Butler.
"What on earth are you doing here?" he asked taken aback.
Juliet smirked; it wasn't often that she got to surprise the young genius. "I decided to come home for a visit and your parents told me where to find you and Butler." She looked around. "Where is my brother anyway?"
"He's checking the building for explosives. I have no reason to believe this game could come under attack but it's best to be on the safe side. I am after all a millionaire's son."
Artemis watched her carefully as he said all this. After he and Butler had regained their memories Artemis had thought it would be for the best that Juliet not regain hers. It would only make her want to get involved with Artemis' schemes again if only to be able to reconnect with the People. He didn't want that though, Juliet had established a good life for herself, and he didn't want her to give that up.
The trouble was Artemis wasn't entirely sure what Juliet did remember about the past three years. Of course anything specifically involving fairies was out but there were many things she had done because of the fairies that might have caused a spark in her memory. Many of these things would involve Artemis' criminal tendencies and he knew he would have to be careful about what he said around her until he knew just how thorough Foaly had been.
Juliet nodded, apparently nothing Artemis had said had sparked her memory. "Actually Arty there's something I'm supposed to talk to you about--." However she was suddenly cut off by the stadium's loudspeaker making an announcement.
"Would a Matthew Burbenshire please report to the Team Jingoist locker room? Matthew Burbenshire."
Artemis's head snapped towards the speaker and then back to Juliet. He needed to find the locker room quickly but he wasn't sure he'd be able to get away without explaining things to her. However this proved to be an unnecessary worry on his part when Juliet surprised him for the second time in those five minutes.
"Matthew Burbenshire, isn't that the friend you're here to make up with?" Juliet stifled a giggle at the wide-eyed look on Artemis's face and explained. "Your parents told me about it, apparently they found out from Butler."
Artemis shook his head, making a mental note to do something about this conspiracy when he had the time; right now he needed to find Matt.
"Do you have any idea where the locker rooms are?" he asked hastily.
"Yeah, I came in through the back entrance and I saw them there. Come on, I'll show you."
Artemis quickly followed the wrestler's brisk pace and soon found himself in the back-area of the stadium. He looked around anxiously and soon spotted what had to be the locker room he was looking for since it had a sign reading "Team Jingoist" on it door.
Now all that was left was to find Matt but the boy was no where in sight. The trouble was the hall was quite crowded with players and fans alike, many of whom seemed to be worriedly discussing a player who had gotten injured and could no longer play. Just when Artemis was about to give up and go back to his seat he heard a voice behind him.
"Theo, why did you have me paged? You said you had to get ready for the game."
Artemis whirled around and sure enough there was Matt, but it suddenly became painfully apparent that this wouldn't the happy reconciliation the young genius had hoped for. It was going to be a lot more awkward.
Matt was wearing a dress.
Artemis stared.
Matt stared back with a look of horror.
Neither moved for what felt like an eternity but they were saved from the awkwardness of breaking the silence by Juliet.
"Hello you must be Artemis's friend Matt. I'm Juliet, a friend of his family's," Juliet took Matt's hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you. Actually I'm surprised to see you're a girl, I assumed from your name that you were a boy."
"So did I," muttered Artemis. It wasn't that Matt was cross-dressing (Artemis prided himself on his open-mindedness and he could have handled something like that), it was that the fit of the dress revealed that, in fact, this was the first time since he had known Matt that she wasn't cross-dressing at all.
Theo stood off to the side watching the drama unfold. He had known his plan would be risky but he had also known that the best medicine for discovering a dark secret was to reveal one of one's own. Seeing the expression on his sister's face now though made him think that perhaps he had been too hasty in his planning. It was of his hands now though. All Theo could do now was let the two friends be alone to work things out.
He quickly took hold of Juliet's wrist and twirled her around to face him. It was lucky for him that she decided it would be a bad idea to break any of his bones before she knew who he was. Once the turn was complete Theo launched into one of his most charming acts.
"Hello Miss Juliet. My name is Theodore Anton Burbenshire; I am Matthew's elder brother. Now please forgive me for the suddenness of my request but you seem to be a fit girl, would you be interested in participating in our Toad Ball game? One of our key players has gotten injured and we'll unable to play without your help."
Juliet smiled, she had no idea what Toad Ball was but she had a feeling she was about to find out. After all, Artemis could use some time alone.
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Now that the missing player issue had been solved the hallway was emptying rapidly. Soon all that was left were the two teenagers who were in an unfolding drama all their own.
Matt leaned against the wall and clutched her head her hands. "I'm going to kill that bloody bastard of a brother of mine."
"I really don't think you should be the angry one here," said Artemis scornfully. "You're the damn hypocrite who never told me you were a girl."
Matt was quiet for moment as she let the statement sink in. "I may be a hypocrite," she said slowly, "but you never told me you were a thief."
Artemis froze and his brain went into an immediate overdrive. How on earth could he—or rather she— have found out? He went through all the possibilities he could think of but before he could come to any conclusion Matt spoke up again.
"It was last month," she said. "You lent me a disk for a project I was doing in my multi-media class. I guess you were in a hurry or something because the disk you gave me had some sort of diary entry on it…" Matt let the sentence trail off.
It was all coming back to him now. He remembered his surprise when he had discovered when writing in his diary about Tomoe that he hadn't recording anything since before he had planned his painting theft. Artemis had accidentally used the wrong disk some weeks before when he had written out his diary entry about his plans to steal the Old Woman in the Wood painting. Once he had discovered the error he had planned to transfer the file to his normal disk but had forgotten about it when he had become preoccupied with the bullies assaulting Matt. She must have read the file when she saved her multi-media project.
"Apparently it doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl, you still have shockingly little respect for my privacy," he said rather scathingly as he desperately tried to change the subject. If he could stall long enough he might still be able to save himself. "What is your story anyway? What are you doing at St. Bartleby's? How did you get in, in the first place?"
Matt blushed and turned away. "It's because of my name. I, err, wasn't well-liked by the students at my last school. I didn't have many friends, well none really, and so I decided to apply for a scholarship to go to a better school. Well, the woman working at the application office heard that my name was Matthew and checked me off as a boy so here I am. But you're dodging the subject at hand, your diary entry on the disk."
Matt turned back around to face Artemis. "At first I thought that it might have been some sort of story you were writing on the side; but then I went to research the painting you wrote about online a few weeks later and found out it had been stolen while you were with your parents in the same city. It was too much to be a coincidence--."
"Wait a minute," Artemis interrupted. "You mean to tell me your name is actually Matthew? What kind of a girl is named Matthew? And your story doesn't explain what you're doing here at all. Why would you just allow them to say you were male? Although," he studied her, her chest was practically flat and could be easily hidden beneath loose clothing and her hair barely reached her ears, "I can see how they might make that mistake."
Matt blushed again, this time indignantly. "So what if my name is Matthew? What kind of a boy is named Artemis? That was a girl's name last time I checked. Besides, my parents raised Theo, don't you think they have the right to be a bit nutters? As for the applications board, I didn't know about their mistake until I saw what schools I had been accepted in. When I saw that I got into a school as prestigious as St. Bartleby's I knew I couldn't pass it up. You may not have noticed between your criminal adventures but I love to learn. I had no way of knowing if I could get into an educational opportunity nearly as good if I re-applied as a girl. Besides," she looked down at her shoes, "everyone's always told me I look and act like a boy. I thought I might stand a better chance of making some friends if I really played the part."
Matt took a deep breath and looked at Artemis again, this time with eyes full of determination. "You can judge my lies however you want Artemis, but it doesn't change the fact that you lied to me too. You're a criminal, I know that's true and I've known since you came back from France."
Artemis watched her carefully; searching for any holes or lies in her story. "If you knew that why didn't you turn me in? Or at least confront me about it?"
Matt's head snapped up and she glared at him angrily. "Because I liked you, you jerk! You were the best friend I ever had. You didn't care if I was weird, you even liked me for it. You always helped me with my schoolwork even when it took me hours to understand something that was easy for you. You saved me when I was being beaten up and didn't make fun of me when you found out I couldn't fight. We teased each other and laughed about it and not once did you act like I was a burden. You did all of this for me and never asked for anything in return. I didn't want to ruin all of that! What did I bloody care if you stole some stupid painting? All that mattered to me was that we could still be friends."
Suddenly the hallway seemed impossibly silent and for once in his life Artemis found himself utterly speechless.
Matt looked away from him and continued. "And then this whole thing with Tomoe happened. Artemis, I hated to even admit it to myself but you looked downright evil that day. For the first time since I'd known you, I was scared."
Artemis Fowl was not generally one to regret his actions, though it had been happening more frequently in recent times, but as he looked upon the young girl who had trusted him so utterly, he could have sworn that his cheeks became slightly tinged with pink as a feeling of shame washed over him.
"I think I know what Theo intended when he arranged for us to meet like this," Artemis said sullenly. "He probably thought that if your secret was revealed to me we would find ourselves on equal ground and be able to reconcile our differences. It's a shame that the magnitude of your secret pales in comparison to mine. I truly wish that Theo's plan could have worked. I'd had such high hopes when he wrote back to me."
Artemis was beginning to get very uncomfortable. He wasn't used to being in situations that were so emotional. He didn't know what he could say now but he also knew he couldn't leave, not until some resolution had been reached.
"You wrote to Theo? About me?" Matt was looking at him again and Artemis began to feel a slight ray of hope. "I thought he that did all this because of me, I wrote to him for help too."
Suddenly, Artemis felt his intellect stirring again. "If you wanted help as well that means that you also still want to be friends. What can I do so that we can move past this?"
Matt was quiet for a moment. She knew this was a very important question and she needed to be careful about her answer. Finally she arrived at a decision. "I need two things Artemis. First, I need to know the whole truth about your life, I don't want to be keeping things from me any more, and second, I need to know if you're sorry."
"For my criminal actions?"
Matt shook her head. "That can be for you to decide on your own time. I need to know if you're sorry for lying to me."
Artemis thought about it for a moment. "The first part sounds fair, it could be dangerous for you to remain ignorant at this point anyway, but the second part depends."
"On what?"
"On whether you're sorry for your own lies to me."
Matt smirked slightly, it was good to see Artemis acting clever again, she had missed that recently. "That sounds fair enough. I'm sorry for lying to you about my gender."
"And I formally apologize for hiding my criminal side from you and for any lies that might have stemmed from that."
"Thank you," was Matt's quiet reply.
"So does this mean we trust each other again?" asked Artemis.
Matt smirked a bit, "It means that now we can start to try to again."
Artemis felt slightly disappointed at this but realized that it was fair in light of the circumstances. Unsure of what to do now that the worst was over he put his fidgeting hand in his jacket pocket. Inside he felt something he had bought earlier that day and he smiled.
"Oh, I almost forgot," he said. He brought out the small box with a bow and presented it to Matt who took it hesitantly. "Happy birthday Matthew."
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A/N: Hello everyone. I'm extremely sorry for the long wait but I hope the contents of this chapter make it worth your while. I had hoped to actually describe how Toad Ball works in here but I couldn't find a way to make it fit. Sorry.
Anyway, Matt's secret is out. I've kind of been dreading this for months because I'm sure how you guy's will take it but it has been my plan since the beginning and if you were to re-read other chapters you would see a bunch of clues early on.
For those of you who might be worried, no, I'm not going to pair Matt and Artemis. I was considering it for a while but now I've decided it would be far too cliché. It doesn't matter though; the rest of the story works either way.
As for the next chapter, I'm not going to commit myself to any sort of deadline seeing how my last one got so messed up but it's going to go back to Holly and her side of the story. This will be a refreshing change from what I dub the "Soap Opera" aspect of The Charity Case.
Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. See you some time in the future.