Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Hollow Kingdom series, nor the Artemis Fowl series. Also, there is a direct excerpt from the fifth Artemis Fowl book, The Lost Colony, indicated in italics, which I have included in this story.
Clash of Cultures:
Half an hour later, the disgruntled group finally stopped at a line of trees deep within the forest. Immediately, three members of the group dropped onto the ground in exhaustion. It had been a forced march from the intruders' landing site to where they were now, and only the fittest of the five had enjoyed the journey. The fittest, of course, was Tattoo, who saw daily exercise as a King's Guard—they weren't all out picking flowers; and Holly, whose training, more often than not, consisted of running rogue fairies into the pavement. To these two elites, the trip had been nothing more than a brisk jog in the park.
The remaining members, however, did not fare so well. No1 was not built for this sort of thing; his stubby legs did not allow for long strides, making it difficult to keep up with Tattoo. If he were ever in a situation in which speed was imperative, he would surely trip in the process of running for his life. Furthermore, he was a lover, not a fighter. No1 suppressed a little giggle as this colloquialism popped into his mind. Qwan had spent the better half of his life as a statue. Needless to say, he was out of shape, but at least the warlock had an excuse, unlike a certain boy genius whose slim frame was sprawled on the grass nearby. Artemis' poise—and how much he detested grass stains on his designer clothes—was momentarily forgotten. His breathing hitched and wheezed while his heart pounded against his ribcage. Artemis once again silently promised that should he ever return to his world, he would take up a sport—a real one.
No, he mentally corrected himself. I will get back to my world. As for the sport… We'll see. Maybe if I have a few free minutes between heists.
Just as Holly was about to ask why they had stopped, three tall figures appeared to materialize from between the tree trunks. Hunter was introduced to the previously sleeping members of the band of inter-dimensional travelers. Next was a slight man with curly black hair who leaned forward eagerly. His dark eyes sparkled with curiosity as he opened the book in his hand and immediately began writing in it. This was Seylin, the goblin King's chief advisor and also the elf King's tutor. The regal man next to Seylin, with the black hair and black eyes of an aristocrat, had an air of authority about him that the other two did not possess. This was Nir, the elf King.
"Magic is being worked here all the time. In fact, there are numerous spells that are in place for the protection of our two races. We can't halt those under any circumstances," Nir said.
Artemis pondered this piece of information. His companions waited for him to order his thoughts. The natives of the current world were surprised to see that the magical creatures deferred command to a human adolescent. Said human adolescent suddenly jumped up and addressed Qwan.
"The pull of Hybras is strong, so it would have taken equally—if not stronger—magic to pull us from the stream. That magic would also have to retain that level of power the entire time we've been here to block the pull for this long."
Qwan nodded as his mind quickly caught Artemis' train of thought. "Yes, you're right. It wouldn't be magic that occurred frequently, and it'd have someone immensely strong at its source. It wouldn't be a spell that has already been established, either, like the ones I found at the circle of trees before."
"Arianna has been in labor since yesterday," Seylin said, looking up from writing in his book as a sudden idea struck him.
"Congratulations!" No1 told the man who had been scribbling furiously up until now. No1 didn't see how this Arianna person being in labor was relevant to the conversation, but he couldn't blame the man for being so excited he just had to share the news. No1 had been fascinated to discover that in human cultures, the parents actually kept the children into adulthood. He reached out and enthusiastically shook the man's hand; it was a custom Artemis told him humans used to convey felicitations. Felicitations—what a lovely word. It comes with such happy connotations. Connotations—another nice word.
Nir had to cover his mouth to suppress the upward curl of his lips at the goblin's obvious embarrassment.
Seylin, a little flustered, politely returned the handshake before saying, "Yes, well… Arianna is actually not my wife." The stares Seylin received at this statement caused even Tattoo and Hunter to let slip a little laughter, which was quickly concealed by loud coughing. "She is the goblin King's Wife, and she is an elf."
Looks of comprehension dawned on the elves and his son-in-law's face, but the strangers merely stared at him expectantly.
"Clearly, we're missing something here," Holly stated. "What does being an elf have to do with anything?"
Seylin immediately launched into tutor mode. He explained how the First Fathers had incorporated all that was beautiful into the elves' genetic makeup. As a result, all elf women were extraordinarily beautiful, and their bodies were slender and frail. This structure made for extremely difficult childbirth, and constant magical attention was required in order for the women to live through the birthing process. Since this was the King's Wife, the King—the most powerful magician in the kingdom—was personally working the magic to keep her alive. Powerful magic.
No1 gasped. "That's probably it, then! The birthing magic is what attracted us to this world—wow, that sounded awkward. Anyway, once it stops, we'll probably return to the tunnel." He turned to Qwan for approval, and glowed with pride when he received a nod of acknowledgment from the elder warlock.
"So there's nothing we can do until the child is born?" Holly asked.
"That seems to be the case," replied the goblin scholar. Holly groaned.
Artemis stood up and dusted off his trousers. "Since we'll be here for an indeterminable amount of time, if you would be so kind as to provide us some lodgings…?"
The goblins and elves stared at him, then turned to each other. "I need the goblin King's permission to bring them into the kingdom," Tattoo said immediately.
"You never asked for permission before imprisoning elf women in your caves," Nir retorted.
"Those raids were all sanctioned by the previous Kings," Seylin interjected before an argument broke out. "Anyways, Marak Catspaw is busy aiding Arianna with her birth at the moment. I think it would be best not to disturb him." Seeing the sour look that crossed Nir's face, Seylin added, "And that was a marriage you sanctioned, elf King."
Nir did not deem this comment worthy of a reply. Instead, he shifted his attention to the strangers on his land. "I must do what is best for my people, and I am not certain that allowing a band of strangers into the camp is best for my people," he said.
Holly's head perked up at this comment. "You're the elf King, right?" She asked.
Nir looked down at the figure that barely reached past his knees. "Yes, child, I am."
Holly's face scrunched up at being called a child—she was in her sixties, for goodness' sake—but she dismissed it. "Well, good, I'm one of your people. If we're going to be stuck here for who-knows-how-many-hours, we need food and maybe even a power nap."
Nir stared at the child in amazement. "You're an elf?"
What happened next shocked him even more. He watched as the little girl placed her hands on the helmet that covered her head and lifted it to reveal large hazel eyes set in a childlike face and fiery red hair cropped close to the head. Nir's eyes were drawn to her sharp, pointed ears as she reached up to massage them gently.
After she finished making sure her ears were not flaking, she pointed at their tips. "See? I'm an elf. Now can we please have some food?"
The goblin adviser chuckled, "She has a point, elf King."
Nir shot a glare at the goblin instructor before he let out a defeated sigh and led the way to his camp. He didn't know why he had permitted the strangers into his territory. Perhaps it was because the girl was an elf, and therefore one of his people, thereby making it his duty to protect her for however long she was in this world. Perhaps it was because she was just a child, and children needed to be cared for. Or perhaps it was her red hair, which had reminded him of his wife, who was currently with the goblin King's other close relations at Arianna's bedside. He let out another sigh. It didn't really matter why he did it—it was done. He listened to the crunch of twigs behind him that signaled the others' progress through the woods. The human and imps made an awful lot of noise, which was typical for creatures that had not been endowed with superior grace. The girl, on the other hand, stepped lightly; he could hardly hear her treads behind him.
Just like an elf, he thought.
Hunter and Tattoo watched the retreating backs of the company. When they vanished from sight, the two leisurely returned to their patrol.
"Did I tell you how ridiculous you look with that haircut?" Hunter asked his silver friend, whose once long black hair now stuck up at comically odd angles and defied his every attempt to tame it.
"Several times. But Celia's been in a hairstyling craze lately. I wouldn't be surprised if she came after you next."
Hunter gasped and lifted his hands to pat his own beautiful blonde locks self-consciously. Tattoo smirked at the pretty elf as his comment achieved the desired effect.
"Oh, are you still bringing little Hunter over tomorrow night? I haven't seen him in weeks, and you can't deprive the poor child of seeing his favorite uncle. It's not good for his development."
"Favorite uncle, he says," Tattoo muttered.
"You go on and ask little Hunter when you get home. He'll tell you."
"Oh, I have no doubt."
They both let out amiable laughter as they imagined the child's reaction.