Many thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapters! Your reviews are seriously encouraging, wheee :)

Whoops, forgot to add a disclaimer earlier, so here goes -

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or anything else from the Artemis Fowl books - they belong to Eoin Colfer. But I do own the minor characters that may pop up along the way :P

Chapter 2: Interlude

Breakhill Road, Haven City

One of the most galling things about returning home, as Holly Short told herself, was how much things had not changed on her street. Her flat was situated within one of Haven's inner suburbs, close to Police Plaza, near to where she had grown up three roads away. It was a quiet area, mostly lined with apartment buildings and houses belonging to the younger Haven fairies who lived like Holly did – alone, or perhaps recently married, with their careers and futures in mind.

But despite her disappearance for three years, the same rubbish bins remained, the same scraps of stray wrapping and paper flapped on the pavement and even the same sun strips flickered on and off in the same spots along the road.

Foaly had kept her flat vacant for her, expecting her to come home any day. The landlady had been a bit difficult on that, insisting that other fairies would pay much more for the rent, thank you very much, and she didn't see why she had to keep the flat open to some elf who might not even be back alive. It was only until Vinyáya had a private chat with the landlady herself that the gnome had relented and agreed to keep the flat for a certain elf who was lost in time but might be back any time soon.

And so Holly had her flat back. The first few days had been a nightmare of house-cleaning, and considering that she had not been the fussiest housekeeper even before she vanished, there had been a lot to do. But Trouble had – inexplicably – rescued her ferns for her and kept them healthy while she was away. So that was all right then. One particular pot of catnip had been a gift from her LEP Academy friends when she had moved into the flat years ago; she had been rather fond of that and was glad to see that Trouble had remembered to keep it alive for her.

Trouble, now. Holly rubbed the back of her neck as she headed down the road to her flat. He used to live in the next road, within easy reach, but these days he had a house in a different neighbourhood. He was a commander, after all. All the perks and privileges of being a commander would mean nothing to Trouble – he would only be concerned about his duty as a commander, knowing him – but it was protocol for him to live in the appointed residence.

She stopped midway along the road, where several street vendors plied their trade in the early evening and into the night. There was a new face among the vendors, a certain pixie who looked Asian, with her dark hair and eyes. The pixie smiled at her as Holly approached the stall. She had passed this place nearly every night and morning on her way to and from Police Plaza, but had not had time to stop and chat.

'Hello,' said the pixie, her face friendly. 'I've seen you around recently.'

'I used to live here,' said Holly, casting her eye over the vendor's wares. Jars and jugs of iced liquid were ranged on the steel top of the stall. 'I was away for a while, now I'm back.'

'Hey Holly,' said the vendor from the next stall, tossing a bar of seaweed crunch to her, 'have this on me. Long time no see eh?'

'Been busy, Clam,' she said, grinning. 'Thanks.'

'Busy saving the lost family eh?' said Clam, to laughter from the other vendors.

'Yeah.' She tore the wrapping of the crunch and bit into the seaweed. It was good to be back.

'Want to try one of these?' said the pixie, gesturing to her goods. 'Drinks and desserts.'

'What's this then?' Holly pointed to a jar with brown liquid. There appeared to be green worms floating in it. And kidney beans, strangely enough.

'Cendol,' said the pixie, ladling out some into a bowl. 'Try it, it's free.'

'I haven't seen this before.' Holly gingerly dipped the proffered spoon into the dessert and sipped it. It was sweet and icy.

'Oh, it's a specialty in the Southeast Asia region,' the pixie explained, laughing. 'I used to live near there. Packed up and moved here three months ago. Heard that there was money to be made here, so I came.'

'So how's it been going then?' Holly chewed on a worm, wondering why it didn't taste anything like worms did.

'That's made of rice flour,' the pixie said, noting Holly's bemused expression. 'Business hasn't been too bad – I tried my first week in Frond Square, but the LEP gave me a friendly warning to move my stall.'

'Don't want to clutter up the place with foreigners,' said Holly, smiling. Frond Square was where the rich and influential fairies clustered – the old families often had their second or third homes there.

'I suppose so,' said the pixie, shrugging good-naturedly. 'What's your name?'

'Short, Holly Short.' Holly put down the bowl to shake the pixie's hand. 'And yours?'

'Hani.' The pixie shook her hand. 'Pleased to meet you.'

'How do you like it here in Haven, Hani?'

'I haven't had time to explore the city yet,' the pixie laughed. 'I've been so busy. I pick up what I can from these people here.' She waved a hand behind her, where the other vendors were listening in on the conversation.

'I might show you around someday,' Holly offered. Now where did that come from? It wasn't like her to offer new acquaintances her company on a whim. She still had her LEP duties to attend to, didn't she?

But the rest have been so busy…

'Thank you for that.' Hani nodded, her dark hair falling into her eyes. 'I'm a bit curious to see the demons, myself. I've heard so much about them.'

'They're still in quarantine though.' Except for the demon warlocks – Qwan, No. 1 and Qweffor – the Council had seen it fit to keep the demon colony out of the public eye until the newcomers understood the ways and customs of present fairy society.

'Maybe someday.' Hani smiled in understanding.

'Yeah.' Holly finished the last of the crunch and dropped the wrapping into the nearest bin. 'Night, Hani. It's been nice talking to you. Thanks for the dessert.'

'You're welcome. Nice meeting you, Holly.'

The elf waved to her and the other vendors before running across the road to her flat. There were her ferns to water, maybe a phone call to make to a certain Mud Boy, and then time for bed.

Her life seemed so normal now. But there was a feeling she couldn't shake off, despite her constant thoughts on the matter, which kept her jumpy and uneasy. Her life looked the same as it had been on the surface, but underneath, she wasn't too sure about it.

Beacon Street, Haven City

Mulch had been there for the past hour, a quiet, stocky figure standing in the corner between two shops. It wasn't unpleasant exactly, despite the heavy pedestrian traffic, but waiting outside a shop for someone who wasn't supposed to see him ceased to be pleasant after the first half hour or so.

One of the doors to the shops in the row opposite swung open, and a single elf stepped out into the street. Her long silver hair was bound into a neat ponytail, which seemed to gleam in the half-light as she hurried towards the junction where Beacon Street intersected with the busier main streets of Haven City.

Mulch detached himself from his corner and shuffled after the elf, as though he was out on a leisurely stroll himself. He glanced behind him as he did so; careful to check that no one he knew was watching his back. The coast was clear – none of the fairies milling about the street seemed to have paid any interest in him whatsoever.

Vinyáya paused before she joined the tide of fairies heading down Tara Road and glanced casually behind her. Mulch came to a halt and pretended to squint at one of the shops. It appeared to be selling costume dresses for elves.

When the dwarf turned back to look for her, the elf had vanished in the crowd of fairies.

A/N: Cendol. Best. Dessert. Ever. You can wiki it for more information!

Hani's name is pronounced the same as 'Honey'. I thought it was funny when I wrote this - she having a name like that when she sells desserts. Sorry about the lame humour!