10: This took a little longer than expected...
7: Yeah, people don't know how to review anymore. YOU CHEATED 10!
10: Hehehehe…. But it's sooo fun to annoy you. And anyhow, they needed the help and I was getting annoyed.
7: *glares*
10: I'm so scared. *rolls eyes* let's just get to the point.
7: *glares more* We don't own AF, and I'm thankful that 10 never will.
10: *frowns* What did I do?
7: *walks away*
Artemis was silent the whole ride there as they took the girl back to her house. His father noticed this and asked, "are you alright, son?"
"Fine," he said curtly. Then, "I'll take her in."
The older Fowl sighed as he watched his son jump out of the car and run down the block, carrying the woman with him. He disappeared out of sight for a few minutes, then ran back and slid back into the front seat of the car.
"Good?"
"All good," the heir confirmed, buckling in. "Climbed in her window, dropped her on the bed, climbed back out. No one else was even there."
"Alright. Let's go home, then, before your mother figures out that we're missing."
"That could bring up an issue."
"Yes, it could," Artemis Senior agreed. "The same way that elf in the basement could."
Artemis didn't answer, clenching his jaw and looking away.
"Come on, Artemis," his father sighed. "You need to be thinking about this. Her life is in your hands now; you have to decide what to do with it."
"I can't," he snapped. "I can't hurt Holly, Dad. We have to let her go."
"We can't let her go," he responded calmly. "She'll expose us."
"You realize Holly is a magical creature too, right?" Artemis seethed. "She couldn't walk into any government building to expose us without risking exposure herself!"
He sighed. "I'm not talking about getting reported to the government, Artemis. I know that. But what about her people? She could send them after us, and have them lock us up, or kill us. Or maybe even meet a fate worse than death, for that matter."
He looked at Artemis meaningfully. The boy didn't answer. "Look. I know you have feelings for her, and I know you two are close. But you have to make a choice, a responsible choice about this. Alright? And letting her go is not the responsible choice; at the very least not yet. We're still keeping her there tonight, and she's still going to have to be considered a hostage, just like you told her, but if you can convince her that we're not such terrible monsters and that everything will be okay, and all that stuff, then perhaps we can keep her alive. But otherwise, I really think putting her to death would be your best option."
Artemis closed his eyes, letting that sink in. Finally, he said, "I agree. Holly could never agree to being a prisoner for the rest of her life, even if the alternative was dying. I could never bring myself to change her, either; that's a fate worse than death. I don't think I could ever even force myself to feed off of her, willing or not. It's too nasty a thought. I want to, admittedly, I do, but I also don't want to hurt her... That leaves me with really no other choice than to kill her."
"If you can't make a choice about her, then why don't you let her do it?" Artemis Senior asked quietly. "I mean, tell her those options I gave you and let her pick for yourself. You'd probably be surprised by her answer."
Artemis considered this, then nodded. "That's probably my best option," he agreed. "But what if she wants me to just kill her? I can't do that."
"We'll see," his father replied. "You'll see. Just ask her." Then he put the car and park, turned it off, and got out of the car, leaving Artemis alone in the car.
That night, Artemis tossed and turned in bed; for the life of him, he couldn't get to sleep.
It's this damn guilt eating at me, he thought. I can't do this... I'll never get to sleep. Then he suddenly wondered: I wonder if Holly's awake... Only one way to find out.
He climbed slowly out of bed, sighing as he stretched out and looked at the clock. 3:27 AM. Great. Middle of the night, and he was about to go downstairs and wake his friend- well, technically his hostage now- up out of a sound sleep just because he was unable to sleep himself.
It's hardly fair, he thought, but got up and walked out the door anyways.
He crept silently through the house down to the basement cell, then cautiously looked around and clicked open the lock when he got there.
Opening the door, he looked over at Holly. She was curled up on the cot in a tight ball, seemingly asleep. He could tell by watching her back move up and down as she took in deep, smooth breaths. Smiling a little, he walked over and looked down at her.
Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, as if she'd cried herself to sleep, and she was shaking, even in her sleep. He frowned and put his hand on her arm; it felt like ice to his touch.
Angry and appalled at himself for forgetting how easily fairies froze, and for leaving his friend like this, he quickly left and went up to his room, grabbed an armful of blankets from the cedar chest in front of his bed, and carried them back down to the basement.
He wrapped the elf in several of them, then laid her down on the floor and put one over the cot before laying her back on it and laying beside her. Then, he pulled a blanket over both of them and pulled her closer, tucking it in around them as he sighed deeply and buried his face in her auburn hair and the skin of her neck, finally convinced the elf wouldn't freeze.
"Much better," he breathed against her flesh.
"Are you done now?"
He jumped. "You're awake?"
"I am now," Holly replied sleepily. "Being jostled all over the place kind of has that effect."
"I didn't mean to wake you, Holly. I'm sorry. But I came down to check on you and you were shaking... I didn't want you to freeze."
"It's okay," Holly sighed, rolling over in her little cocoon and putting her head against his chest. "I actually feel better now, anyways."
He pressed his lips to her forehead briefly, then sighed and nodded. "I figure. Your body temperature has definitely gone up." Silence fell over them for a minute after that, then Artemis said, "I'm sorry, Holly."
"For what?"
"For everything. Forcing you in here, having you see that, calling you a hostage, letting my dad give you orders... All of the stuff that went down tonight. I'm sorry."
"Did you tell that to the woman you were raping?" Holly asked.
"I wasn't raping her," Artemis snapped. "I was feeding off of her."
"That's why you pulled her pants down and were up between her legs." Holly snorted. "Yeah right."
"It's the truth, Holly," Artemis insisted. Then, his voice dangerously low, he added, "I could show you what rape is if you really want to accuse me of it."
"No!" Holly yelped, rolling over and looking at him. "Please don't, Artemis."
"I won't if you stop."
"Stopping," Holly whispered, closing her her mouth and locking her lips closed with an invisible key. But it couldn't last for long; she looked at him and said, "what did you do to her? And what are you going to do with me?"
He sighed. "Holly, I already answered that question. I was using her to feed. You, on the other hand, I have no idea what to do with."
"Then why are you here?"
"I couldn't sleep," he admitted. "I was wondering if you were awake too, and I figured I should check on you anyways... Good thing I did, otherwise you probably would have froze by morning."
"Yeah..." Holly murmured absently. "It took a while for me to get to sleep too." She looked up at him. "What time is it?"
"About three thirty," he admitted. "You should probably get some more sleep."
"No," Holly said, shaking her head. "We're both here, and awake: I want some answers."
Artemis groaned, lifting the elf and propping her against the wall, then moving over to sit opposite her. "Alright. I guess I'll answer some questions. But be warned: I don't have all the answers. My father started this mess, and frankly, he knows more about it than I do."
Holly nodded, then asked, "what are you? Some kind of vampire or something?"
"That would be a proper term, I suppose," Artemis agreed, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes. "There's so much wrong with that term, though... And we're not exactly your average, stereotypical vampires.
"We have the strength, increased senses, all that kind of stuff, but usually we don't use it. If we don't focus closely on using our increased senses, then we don't really use them; our senses of taste and sight are the only ones we can't really turn on and off in that way." He paused and looked at her. "Any questions so far?"
"Not on that," Holly said, shaking her head. "Why did you bite the girl's leg? I mean... Don't vampires usually bite people's necks?"
"Yes, in stories," Artemis agreed. "However, Dad and I pretty much decided that that was probably for convenience. In reality, the weakest spot on a person's body is where we prefer. No pun intended, but its the easiest place for us to sink our teeth into. It also contains the sweetest vein of blood in a person's body, and the most satisfying blood." He sighed. "At least, this is what I have been told by my father. But for the most part he seems to be right."
Holly nodded, digesting this for a moment before something seemed to occur to her. "Are you going to live forever, then?" she asked, looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes.
"The whole immortality thing, is also a myth. It is true that, depending on when you become like us, your lifespan can be increased by about a tenfold. However, we don't live forever. It doesn't matter when you are changed, you still will eventually die. It just happens much more slowly. Although," he added, when her face fell, "there is a way to check approximately how long our increased lifespan will be, and we did... It seems I will probably live almost as long as you."
Her eyes widened. "Seriously?"
Artemis opened his eyes and looked at her pointedly. "Would I lie to you about something like this, Holly?"
"I don't know. I hope not, but it seems like there's a lot of lies between us now."
"I never told you for your own protection! I was afraid of what would happen if you ever found out; I was afraid of this." He gestured around them.
"What is this?"
"This is a very bad situation," he replied.
"And what is this situation?"
He sat up and stared at her. "You saw us feeding. You know about us now... And now my father is dead set on having you killed."
"What?! Why?" Holly gasped. She sat up too, looking at him fearfully. "Is that what you really came in here for? To kill me?"
He inhaled deeply, frustrated. "I already told you what I was here for, Holly. I don't want to hurt you. In fact, this is what I was trying to protect you from. But I don't have a lot of choices here." He looked at her. "That's the problem."
"What are your choices?" she asked.
"I can kill you, I can keep you prisoner here, or I can change you. Those are my choices. And frankly, they all suck." Artemis sighed, looked at her with a conflicted expression. "What do you want me to do, Holly?"
She was silent for a minute, seriously considering it. "I don't want to die," she finally said. "And if I had to stay down here the rest of my life, I'd go crazy. But yet..." She let the sentence trail off, but Artemis finished it for her.
"But you don't want to be a vampire, either," Artemis sighed. "I know." He paused for a minute. "Holly... I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do. But if you can't choose for yourself, then I'll have to choose for you, and that runs the risk."
"I know." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Maybe... can I have the rest of the night to think on it?"
He shrugged. "Of course. I'll probably be back in an hour or so, though, so think fast if you're going to." She nodded, and he said, "do you want me to tuck you back in before I go?"
She looked up, about to make a sarcastic remark, but stopped when she saw his face; it was one of true sincerity and worry, something rare for Artemis Fowl. So she just said, "yeah, okay. That would be nice.. thank you."
He smiled and crawled over to her, laying her back down and tucking the quilt he'd previously had over both of them in around her gently. "Don't stress too much," he told her. "If worst comes to worst, I'll find a way to get you out of this. I won't let my dad hurt you. Okay?"
"Okay," Holly sighed. "Thanks Artemis."
He just nodded in response, then turned and walked out the door.
About an hour later, Artemis's father came in his son's room, looking grim.
"Ready?" he asked.
Artemis didn't have to ask to know what he was talking about. He put the book down that he'd been reading to distract himself, and then sat up and looked at his father. "Yes," he sighed. "I'm ready."
"Good. Then let's go get this over with." He turned and walked out, leaving the door open behind him for Artemis.
"You don't have to make it sound like you're going to commit a murder or something else dreadful," he muttered.
The man just looked at him with a raised eyebrow, as if to say, 'who said I'm not'?
More than a little unnerved by this, Artemis didn't speak again the rest of the way to the basement.
Holly was asleep when they went in. Both Artemises exchanged a look and Artemis Senior said, "I don't think she'd take too kindly to me waking her up."
"Do I have to?"
"Unless you would rather I go kill her while she's asleep," Artemis Senior answered.
Artemis growled. "You are not going to kill her. Forget it." He stalked over and started shaking the elf gently, kneeling beside her. "Holly. Wake up."
The tiny woman groaned and rolled over. "Artemis?"
"Shh, I'm here," he promised in a hushed voice. "Come on. Get up."
He helped her get into a sitting position and unwrap from her cocoon to the point where she could use her arms and legs again, then sat down beside her. They both looked at Artemis's father, however, Artemis's father only looked at him.
"Have you decided what you're going to do with her?" he asked his son.
Artemis looked at Holly. "I told you my options," he said softly. "Have you made a decision?"
"Yeah..." Holly admitted. "I thought about it... and I think I've came to a decision."
Both Artemises just looked at her expectantly, so she continued.
"I... Artemis, I already told you I don't want to die. And I also said that I didn't want you to change me. I meant all that. And that only leaves me with one real option that gives me both of those." She looked at him sadly. "You know where I'm going with this, right?"
Artemis shook his head. "Why? I mean, I'm glad you don't want to die, and I respect your choice, but wouldn't you rather be free? That's one thing that you can get from those two options that you can't by being a prisoner here, Holly."
"I know, but-"
"No," Artemis Senior interrupted.
"What?" his son demanded, glaring at him.
"Her life is meaningless, Artemis," the older Fowl snapped. "I already told you; I know you love her, but it's a waste to keep her alive if all she's going to be doing for the rest of her life is wandering Fowl Manor and not be allowed to leave. She would have no purpose."
Artemis growled, jumping up and turning to face his father. He was about to try to defend his friend, but she broke in by saying quietly, "I could provide blood."
Both men turned to her, surprise written all over their faces. "What?" Artemis Senior asked, seemingly dumbfounded.
"You heard me," Holly said, standing up and looking him in the eye. "I could provide blood, for Artemis to drink. I mean.. he can drink from someone more than once, right? And it's safe?"
"Of course. I drink from Angeline all the time. But would you be willing to do that?"
Artemis cut in before she could answer. "Holly, no. You can't be serious. I mean, doesn't that even scare you?"
"Of course it does, but if it's my only chance at life, then I'll do it. And anyhow, I know you wouldn't hurt me... right?"
"Never," Artemis agreed quickly.
"Would you be willing to drink from her?" Artemis I asked his son.
"Yes. If she was willing," he added.
"I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't," Holly said, when Artemis Senior looked at her.
"Fine, then it's settled. However," he added, looking at Artemis, "she still has to be a prisoner, and you still have to keep her close. Got it?"
"Yes," Artemis said absently.
"Fine. I'll tell Butler to prepare a permanent guest room. In the meantime.. well, I think you know what to do with her, son."
Artemis nodded, and the other man left. Holly watched him go, then looked at the human across from her. "What did he mean?"
Artemis walked up to her, picking her up and pinning her at head height against the wall. He pressed his cheek against hers, nuzzling her ear briefly before burying his face in the crook of her neck. He inhaled deeply, and she gasped as he scraped his sharp teeth lightly over her skin. This seemed to make her understand.
"Artemis... wait," Holly gasped.
"There's nothing to wait for."
"I know, but please.. I'm scared. Give me a minute," she pleaded.
He pulled back to look at her. "Holly, there's nothing to be afraid of. It won't hurt. And honestly, you probably won't even remember I bit you until I tell you."
"What? Why?"
"Blood loss," he replied simply, leaning down and sniffing along the large vein in her neck. "Usually, people pass out from blood loss... but it's just like drifting into sleep, I promise you. I know from experience. And after that I don't take much more. Too risky. Especially for someone as small as yourself."
Holly's eyes widened in realization. "Yeah.. can you even get full off me?"
"I believe so. Even if I couldn't on someone human your size, I believe your magic would make your blood more potent to drink, therefore I will be able to get full off of your limited blood supply. Especially if it comes from your weak spot." He looked up and smiled ruefully at her. "Anyhow... right now, I'm not going to worry about that. I'm mostly full, and this is more to seal the deal than anything, so I'm just going to bite your neck." She nodded lightly, and he said, "just breathe. Blood circulates better that way..."
Carefully, he dipped his head back down into the crook of her neck, then leveled his mouth over the vein he'd sniffed before and sunk his teeth into it.
"Oh!" Holly gasped. She could feel the blood being sucked from her body, and in all honesty, it actually felt good. It soothed the burn and the itch from where his teeth had cut into her skin, and anyhow, it actually kind of tickled...
After a few minutes, it started to feel like someone had put a sedative in her system. Her eyes started to get heavy. She knew it was really from blood loss, and it made her a little worried, but her sleepiness overruled her fear. She drifted off to sleep like that, pinned against the wall and above the ground by Artemis, even as he continued to suck the blood from her body...
10: Okay, so, five more reviews people! (7's rules..) I don't think she'd let me live if I bailed you guys out this time... So yeah, just tell us what you think! Review please!