A/N: Okay all-- here is the next chapter. This one is long and a bit technical, but I did have to get all the technicalities explained sometime. So if this chapter seems a bit dull, I apologize. It will be more lively and all the characters will be much more developed in the future chapters. Hope you do enjoy this one, though!
A Prince's First Love
Chapter 4
"So Foaly is here in the palace?" Artemis asked as he and Holly rowed down the canal once more.
"He is in charge of technology here," Holly answered, nodding her head, "if anybody would be able to get us out of this dimension, it would be him".
"Then at least we have somewhat of a hope of getting out of here," Artemis mussed slightly, turning his head away from Holly. The small elf looked up at the boy with a knowing smile.
"Was she really that bad?" Holly asked, eyebrows raised.
"She was different," Artemis answered after a few moments of thought.
"Not a spoiled princess then" Holly asked. Artemis shook his head. No, Alicia wasn't a spoiled princess, but truthfully, even that seemed a bit better than the odd personality that she did possess.
"So, would you like to do your duties as a tutor and read me a few passages of that," Artemis asked, pointing to the The Complete History of the Lion Kingdom. He wanted to get off the topic of his fiancée as soon as he could. Holly nodded and picked it up. The thought of reading while riding on a rocking boat was a little sickening, but the small elf was as curious as Artemis to find out more about the dimension that they had been tossed into.
Holly flipped through the book, looking casually at the pages. She stopped for a second, her eyes straying on a single page.
"Ever since the institution of the Lion Kingdom, fairies and humans have been living in complete harmony in Ireland," she read a loud. Artemis' gondolier nodded his head proudly.
"Ireland is still the only country that fairies and humans have such a harmonious relationship," the boy said, smiling. Artemis sat back on his gondola. He had been wondering why it was possible for Holly, Trouble, and Foaly to be out in the open. So that was one thing that was better in this dimension. Fairies didn't have to live underground anymore.
"Ah, so we get fresh air all the time," Holly whispered, thinking the same thing. She continued to flip through the book, a smile on her face. Humans and fairies working together. It was odd, but it wasn't a bad thing at all.
"Ah, here we go, a chapter that will interest you," she said as she turned the page. Artemis turned to her, one eyebrow raised.
"The education system of Ireland," she continued. Artemis nodded his head.
"I don't see how our education system will be so different," he whispered. Holly read over the pages silently at first, a curious expression on her face.
"I am very thankful that I didn't go to school under these conditions," she finally whispered to Artemis. The boy cocked his head.
"Why, what is the education system here like?" he asked. Holly flipped back to the first page of the chapter and started to read.
"Ireland is known throughout the globe as having the most competitive yet renowned education system," Holly read aloud, "since the institution of the Lion Kingdom, education has always remained the top priority".
"What makes this system so different from all others?" Artemis asked.
"The first round of tests for children start when they are three years old," Holly read, shaking her head, "the scores on that test determine what kindergartens that the children will attend. The top 5% of students in the nation are allowed admission to the private kindergarten located in Dublin. The next stage of tests happen when the children are 5, and those determine what primary school they will attend".
"There are other nations out there with similar policies," Artemis said, shrugging his shoulders. Holly shook her head. The boy was a genius and always had been. There is no way that he could see how hard this type of schooling system would be on average kids.
"There are also tests for junior high school, senior high school, and university," Holly said, "for senior high school, the two royal academies only offer admission to the top 2% of students."
"That's just the academic admissions," Artemis' gondolier piped in. Both Holly and Artemis tuned their heads towards him.
"Well, the schools also accept children of rich families who are able to pay the full tuition," the gondolier said quickly, "and of course, there are those students who get accepted on skill, such as the Crown Princess".
"Alicia?" Artemis asked. The gondolier nodded his head and continued to speak. Artemis frowned a bit, blocking out the boy's incessant chattering. So his fiancée had gotten into the Arts Academy based on skill? Is that what her odd behavior was, the stereotypical artists' temperament?
"…it is breathtaking, really," the gondolier kept saying. Artemis looked up.
"What is?" he asked. Holly shook her head. It seemed as though Artemis had drawn himself back into his own little genius world as he so often did. Some things didn't change no matter what dimension they were in.
"Alicia's work," Holly answered quickly, "she is supposedly very talented".
"Well I guess she has to have one redeeming quality," Artemis grumbled. Holly smiled a bit. It seemed that whoever this girl was had managed to shake Artemis to his core, something that not very many people had the ability to do.
"Tell me more about her," Holy said to the gondolier, "the crown princess".
"Why do you want to talk about her?" Artemis asked quickly. The gondolier looked down at Artemis nervously.
"Ah, don't listen to him" Holly said the boy, waving at Artemis dismissively, "you know he is always like this". The gondolier still looked a bit nervous.
"I know that the Crown Prince gets angry when the topic of the Crown Princess is brought up," the boy said. Artemis nodded his head—finally one similarity between him and whoever he used to be in this dimension.
"That is just because he doesn't know Alicia well," Holly said, "maybe if you tell us more about her then Artemis was warm up the idea of marrying her". Artemis just leaned back and closed his eyes. What was Holly trying to do now?
"Well, it is not my place to gossip," the gondolier said, though Holly could tell that the boy was bursting with gossip, "but if Lady Holly insists".
"Oh, I do," Holly said quickly, leaning forward. She wanted to hear all about the girl who had managed to take Artemis by surprise and leave him in the state he was in now.
"The Crown Princess is known throughout the kingdom as being the commoner princess," the boy said. Artemis opened his eyes.
"The commoner princess?" he asked. The gondolier nodded his head.
"The Crown Princess' parents own a small Irish restaurant and they are not a high class family at all," he explained. Artemis frowned.
"Then how did someone like her end up being engaged to me? Did she win some type of contest for the honor?" Artemis asked. The gondolier shook his head.
"Nobody quite knows," he answered, "all we know is that the Crown Prince's grandfather and the Crown Princess' grandfather made a pact long ago that their oldest grandchildren, provided that they were of the opposite sex and it was age appropriate, would get married. We believe that the Crown Princess' grandfather might have saved the Senior King during a hunt once, but no one save the two of them know the exact details".
"A hunt?" Holly whispered. What century were they living in? Even Holly knew that humans didn't involve themselves in royal hunts any longer.
"So Alicia is the oldest daughter of her family?" Artemis asked. The gondolier looked around and stooped closer to the two of them.
"Actually there is a rumor around the court that she has a sister that is one year older than her," the boy whispered. Artemis and Holly both frowned.
"If that is the case then why is Alicia the one who is going to marry me?" Artemis asked, "It most certainly cannot be because she wants to be wed". The gondolier shrugged.
"Once again, this is another mystery," he answered. Artemis sighed deeply and leaned back. There was too much mystery surrounding this upcoming marriage. Being dropped in a foreign dimension was confusing and frustrating enough as it was, he didn't also need some mystery fiancée complicating matters even more.
"She seems interesting," Holly said to Artemis, smiling, "I don't see why you seem to dislike her".
"I don't dislike her," Artemis stated, the words Alicia had poken to him earlier ringing in his ears.
To dislike you means that I would actually have to any sort of emotion towards you, and that requires more effort than I am willing to put into this relationship.
She was a sharp girl; Artemis would give her that.
After what seemed to be an hour, the gondola finally stopped in front of a small building.
"The technology center," the gondolier said, "this is where Master Foaly keeps his quarters".
"Thank you," Holly said to the boy, quickly getting out. This was it. This was the moment that would decide whether or not her and Artemis would be stuck in this dimension forever.
"Foaly better know what he is doing in this dimension," Artemis whispered to Holly as he stepped out of the gondola.
"He seems to be the same as how he is in our dimension," Holly whispered back, "he is the head of technology here after all".
"If there is one thing that this dimension should teach you it is to not make assumptions like that," Artemis said to the small elf as they walked up to the building. So far, every assumption that Artemis had made turned out to be completely wrong, and that was something that the boy just wasn't used to.
The two of them walked through the doors of the building and found themselves in a room filled with flashing computer screens and control boards with more buttons than Holly had ever seen before.
Standing in front of one of the computer screens was a very familiar figure indeed.
Foaly was exactly the same as Artemis and Holly had remembered him, from his tangled brown coat to the tin foil hat on top of his head.
"You two will have to owe me a whole field of carrots," the centaur said as soon as the two of them stepped into the room.
"What?" Holly asked. Such a statement was not unusual for Foaly, but on this case there didn't seem to be a reason behind why it was uttered.
"If I am able to find a way to get you back to your own dimension I expect you to till and plant a whole field of carrots for me," Foaly further explained. Holly's mouth dropped open and Artemis looked at the centaur with a mix of amusement and exasperation.
"How long did it take you to figure out?" Artemis asked. Holly gaped at the two of them.
"What do you mean how long?" she asked, "The fact that he knew is creepy enough! What is it with you geniuses? Do you attain some type of magical powers once your IQ gets to a certain level?"
"Once your IQ gets to a certain level, even magical powers are rendered useless," Foaly retorted before turning to Artemis, "and it took me around three hours to find out everything. I commend you on stumping me for that long".
"Three hours?" Holy cried out, "How were you able to do it?"
"Well when the Crown Prince and Lady Holly suddenly disappeared, it got me a little suspicious," Foaly explained, "normally the Crown Prince is not allowed outside the palace gates, and Lady Holly would be the last person out there that would help him break that rule".
"Ah, I forgot I was a total stiff in this dimension," Holly said, thoughtfully, "though that still doesn't explain how you figured out anything. Usually, dimension-hopping is not the first idea that comes to mind when two people disappear".
"Of course it isn't," Foaly scoffed, "once the two of you were found and returned to the palace, it didn't take long for the whispers of how the both of you were acting different to reach me."
"That is also not exactly a sign of anything," Artemis cut in. Foaly motioned to the countless computer screens on the walls.
"As you can see, I have surveillance cameras in virtually every place in the palace," he said, "So once I heard the rumors that the two of you were acting strange, I started to observe you. Now just slight odd behavior wouldn't bother me, but it seemed as though both of your personalities had changed completely. It set off alarms. It was then I decided to turn on the sound features".
"The sound features?" Holly asked. Artemis sighed deeply.
"You've bugged us, haven't you?" he asked. Foaly smiled wickedly.
"No, I didn't bug you," he said, "but along with the cameras I also installed microphones and audio tracking devices in most of the rooms and all of the gondolas".
"Doesn't anybody here get any privacy?" Holly asked, a bit shocked.
"I don't ever use the sound features," Foaly said, "The noise gives me a headache. I only turn it on in emergency situations!"
"So how long have you had audio traces on us?" Artemis asked. Foaly bit his lower lip.
"Around two hours now, I suppose," he said, before his face broke out into a big grin, "By the way, the Crown Princess is a riot! That imitation of you was spot on!"
"I think you used the sound features for your own amusement above anything else," Artemis sighed, shaking his head. Foaly shrugged his shoulders.
"It gets a bit boring with only computers to keep you occupied," the centaur answered.
"So you hard us talking about the possibility of you sending us back to our own dimension?" Holly asked. Foaly nodded his head.
"And you actually believed us?' Artemis asked, "I would have though that you would see us as being crazy, talking about different dimensions".
"I've done a fair bit of research in the topic of traveling through the dimensions," Foaly answered, "you two are not the first people in history to do so, you know".
"There were others?" Artemis asked, suddenly very interested, "do you have the names of those cases?"
"Sorry to break up your little knowledge colloquium," Holly said loudly, "but I think that the two of you are ignoring the main question. Foaly, can you take us back to our own dimension?"
"Possibly," Foaly answered shortly. Holly frowned deeply.
"When it comes to you talking abut stalking us, you can talk forever, but when we actually want to talk about important things you give us one word answers!" she cried.
"It might be complicated," Foaly further elaborated, "while the two of you were dropped off here, the Crown Prince and Lady Holly went to your dimension".
"So you are saying that the idiot Crown Prince has taken my place in my original dimension?" Artemis asked. The centaur nodded his head, causing the boy genius to feel queasy. The moronic prince was going to absolutely wreck his reputation.
"So, there are many variables in dealing with this," Foaly continues, "but nothing is every impossible for me. I will work on this dilemma, but I can tell you that it won't be solved any time soon".
"What?" Holly asked, "how long are we stuck here?"
"I can't give you a timeline," Foaly answered, "maybe a few months, maybe a few years. I have to locate your dimension, pluck the Crown Prince and Lady Holly from it, perform copious amounts of mind wipes. It could take decades".
"Decades!" Holly asked, her voice becoming shrill as it always did when she was distressed.
"I would recommend that the two of you just get comfortable here," Foaly said, "wll as comfortable as you can be".
"What do you mean by that?" Artemis asked. Foaly grinned up wickedly at them.
"As I said before, I have done some research in dimension travel before," he answered, "and I have found that in all cases, the travelers always feel what has been termed 'dimension sickness' a little while after they land in a new dimension"
"Dimension sickness?" Holly asked. Foaly nodded his head.
"The two of you just traveled through the annals of time and space and landed in a world completely different to your own. Do you have any idea what that does to your bodies?" the centaur asked.
"We haven't felt sick yet, though?" Artemis said. Foaly nodded his head.
"Well, be thankful for now. You will soon, though. It is supposed to be nasty. One man said it felt like all of his internal organs had turned into molten lava and that they were trying to escape his body… while he was being run over by a steamroller".
"How could that man have possible known what any of that actually felt like," Artemis asked dully, "I severely doubt that he had ever been run over by a steamroller nor had his internal organs every actually turned into lava".
"I am sure he was being hyperbolic," Foaly stated, "but I do here it is not supposed to be fun. Thankfully it only lasts for a couple of hours".
"Whatever," Holly said, "is that all the information you can give us now?"
"For now, yes," Foaly said, "I will contact you when I find out how to take the two of you back to your own dimensions, but do not expect to hear from me for a while".
"I can't believe we are stick here!" Holly cried.
"Well, at least you have hope of escaping," Foal said, trying to take a stab at optimism.
He failed miserably.
Holly and Artemis left the technology building not much happier or hopeful than when they had entered.
"It could take us decades," Holly said as they went back into the gondola, "what would be the point of it then?"
Artemis didn't say anything. He too was disappointed that Foaly didn't have an immediate way to get them back to their own dimension, but as the centaur had said, there was now at least a slight hope of escape.
Hopefully it would happen before his wedding.
It won't, Artemis thought bitterly, dashing his own hope, my wedding is next month, and Foaly said that it would take a few months at the least.
"Would the Crown Prince like to go back to his quarters?"
Artemis looked up to see his gondolier looking down at him.
"That's fine," the boy answered, shaking his head of wedding thoughts. He would just have to deal with everything for the time being.
"I will drop off the Crown Prince first and then Lady Holly," the gondolier said as he started to row, "at least the Prince's quarters are a short distance from the technology building."
Artemis nodded his head, as tough he had already known that fact, once again reminding himself to just bare with everything.
It's been a long day, the boy thought to himself, I will probably be able to think more rationally once I get some rest.
'A short distance' turned out to be twenty minutes, which Artemis supposed was a relatively short distance considering the size of the palace.
"Here we are," the gondolier said as they docked in front of another large building. This one was not at all as grand as the Northern Palace, but it was still beautiful and ornate looking, with marble and inlayed gemstones. And that was only the exterior.
"Rest well Prince," The gondolier said as Artemi stepped out of the gondola. The boy turned towards Holly, who looked as though the constant rocking of the boat was about to mae her physically ill.
"Get some rest, Holly. I'll come see you tomorrow," he said. The elf just nodded her head. She was afraid that the bile she was fighting back would come out if she talked.
The gondola drifted away and Artemis turned towards his palace.
My palace, he thought, walking up to it. It was still a strange concept for him to wrap his mind around. Of course he had always been wealthy, but he had never imagined that one day he would have a whole palace to himself.
Then again, I never thought I would land in another dimension and become the Crown Prince of Ireland, either.
Artemis walked through the palace doors and into the beautiful lobby that was complete with smooth floors, a soaring ceiling, and a handful of maids to fuss over him.
"Crown Prince," a maid said, coming up to him, "you have a visitor for you. They are waiting in the drawing room," she said, pointing down the hallway to the right. Artemis nodded his head started to walk down the hallway.
"Um., excuse me, Prince," the maid continued. Artemis turned around and looked at her.
"It is the first of the month," the woman said softly. Artemis nodded his head. Was that supposed to mean anything to him.
"That is usually the day when the maids get their night off," she continued. The boy genius' eyes widened a bit.
"Oh, of course, go on," he said. The maid stood where she was, nervously.
"Is the Prince sure?" she asked, "We can leave behind one maid like you usually request".
"No need," Artemis said, "take the night off." He was about to add 'have fun', but he was fairly sure by looking at the maid's exhausted face that the lot of them would just spend their night off sleeping... and the phrase 'have fun' seemed a little out of place in that situation.
"Thank you, Crown Prince," the maid said. There was such relief in her voice that it made Artemis believe that the real Crown Prince threw temper tantrums every month at the prospect of not having his legion of maids serve him. Not very surprising
"I will let you go then," the maid said hurriedly, "it is best not to keep your guest waiting". Artemis nodded and started to walk down the hallway reluctantly.
Another person to see me, he thought bitterly, can't I just get some rest once in a while?
He opened the door at the end of the hallway and found himself face to face with the one person that he would have liked to see the least.
"What are you doing here, Alicia?" he asked the shaking redhead in front of him.
"I am here because you are a little thief!" she cried out, angrily.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"My bowl!" Alicia cried, "the one that was on display outside of my room. I heard that you took it and ordered to be placed here".
"It's just a bowl," Artemis answered, "nothing to get so angry over."
"Oh yes, just a bowl," Alicia scoffed, "how could I expect you to understand? Just tell me where it is so that I can leave here".
"I asked Butler to send it here, I don't know where…."
Suddenly Artemis stopped talking. His eyes grew wide and he sunk to the floor, doubled over.
"What are you doing now?" Alicia asked, warily, "is this some type of charades?"
"My insides feel like they are molten lava," Artemis said wistfully, pain darkening his eyes. Foaly had not been lying about the dimension sickness, after all.
"How would you know that?" Alicia asked, "I doubt your insides have never actually turned into lava".
The irony of Alicia uttering the exact same phrase as he had was completely lost on Artemis, who was going through such intense pain that he wasn't able to think straight.
"Are you okay?" he heard Alicia ask. Had he been in his right mind he would had laughed at her. Wasn't it painfully obvious that he was far from okay?
The darkness around his eyes spread quickly until it blackened them completely.
The last thing that Artemis saw before he fainted was Alicia kneeling down next to him.
Wonderful, he thought as the last remnants of thought left his mind, I am fainting and the devil girl is the only one here to help me. I am as good as dead…
A/N: Okay, there it is. Hope you enjoyed it! Like I said, it was a very technical chapter, but now that much of the technicality has been taken care of, we can get on to the fun stuff =) As always, please tell me any thoughts/comments you might have about this chapter. Gracias y besos!!