Hi people!
Long time no see! Just wanted to say hi... but there's time for talk later. So, without bothering you any further, I say, enjoy!
(This chapter is dedicated to my friend SwordsMagician, who's birthday it is today. Happy 17th!)
Fowl Manor
Artemis leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. The imprints of the glaring white screen of the computer seemed to be permanently etched into his vision. There were so many obscure sources of information on fairies, so many websites containing false pieces of information that Artemis sometimes just wanted to give up on it all. But he never did, because whenever fairies were mentioned, there was always gold involved. So Artemis gritted his teeth, opened his eyes and continued to trawl through the wealth of information known as the Internet.
Downstairs, Butler was doing his routine checks on the security measures that Fowl Manor was saturated with. He had just finished measuring the sensitivity of the pressure board hidden in the stairs that lead from the entrance hall to the rooms upstairs when he saw Juliet sitting despondently on the side. He walked over and joined her on the floor.
"What's wrong, Juliet?"
Juliet sighed. "It's Mrs. Fowl, Dom. She's getting stranger and stranger by the day. She can't even remember who I am, and she keeps thinking that Mr. Fowl's going to come back at anytime."
Butler felt a deep weariness seep into his bones. Artemis' mother's getting worse every day, and he just sits in his room, refusing to eat regular meals or to sleep normally, Butler thought, but I can't do anything about it. I'm just a bodyguard. He patted his sister on the back, attempting to comfort her. "Don't feel depressed. We can only follow Artemis' orders, and do the best we can."
Juliet nodded. "Can I help you check the stuff?"
Butler assented, and brother and sister stood and slowly made their way down the hall, stopping occasionally to check a camera. He picked a button camera out of its hole. Although he was only a bodyguard, sometimes he felt the young Irish boy was more like a younger brother than a principal, and now Butler's protective-older-brother mind kicked in gear. I think I need to check up on him, he thought, his mind preoccupied on Artemis and Angeline.
There was something else niggling at the back of his mind, but try as he might Butler could not remember what it was that was bothering him so much. He had a feeling it was extremely important, but Butler dismissed the feeling. His priority was Artemis, and if he was forgetting it, it must be unrelated to Artemis, and therefore unimportant.
Some years later, Butler would come to regret not finding out what he was forgetting, but that was in the future, and so he couldn't do anything about it.
Opal's house
Merv lay the last tile down on the roof. "Yes! I'm done! How 'bout you, Scant?"
"Yeah, I just finished." Scant nailed the last board down onto the verandah.
Merv cheered. "We just finished Opal's house in two days! Are we amazing, or not?"
Scant nodded fervently. "I can't believe we finished this! Not sleeping for two nights was worth it. And it's only eight in the morning now. We can sleep for the next day and night!"
Merv voiced his agreement. A movement on the distant road caught his tired eyes. At first, he thought it was just because his eyes were tired. Merv dragged his hand over them. The car was still there. And it was red...
"Scant! Opal's here!" Merv scrambled down from the roof. Scant threw his tools into his bag and hurried over to Merv. Together they carried the ladder to a copse of trees on the side. Before they left, Scant swept his eye over the garden to see if they had left anything behind, and seeing nothing, the twins hurried into the cover of trees.
"Hurry, hurry!" Scant urged Merv. "Walk faster! We have to be out of here before she comes back, or we'll be punished again!"
Merv hissed back, practically running, ladder banging against his leg, "I know! What do you think I'm doing!"
Just as they reached the safety of Opal's trailer, in a clearing with a hidden view of Opal's house, Opal parked in front of the house. They quickly packed away the ladder and, hiding the tools under Scant's blanket, they rushed back outside. Trying to control their panting, they waited, until Opal emerged from the brush surrounding the clearing.
"It looks okay from the outside, Mervall, Descant. I'm happy with your work. After I get something to eat, I'm going to inspect the inside of it. If it's up to my standards, you can rest. If not..." Opal left the sentence trailing in the air. The pixies swallowed. Hard.
Opal disappeared into the trailer. Merv and Scant collapsed into a heap with relief.
"She said it was okay!" Scant whispered ecstatically to his twin.
"I know!" Merv replied, equally as ecstatic. "That's practically an 'It was perfect!' from her!"
Soon after, Opal re-emerged. Seeing the pixies in a tired heap, she laughed softly to herself. Mervall and Descant. Who could ask for more loyal servants? They knew that she'd betray them without a thought, but they were still so loyal to her. She shook her head at them. And all just because I promised them their own island after I conquer the world.
Opal cleared her throat. The pixies jumped to their feet, facing her.
"I'm going down there now. I won't be returning for a while, so stay here until I tell you to leave."
"Yes, Miss Koboi."
Opal smiled at them, and made her way down to her new house. Her plan was going all according to plan, and her miraculous find of Sana just sped her plan up by a few decades. She laughed in sheer delight. The laugh was as pure and innocent as a young girl shrieking with delight on a swing.
The twins stared at their boss's retreating back, raising their eyebrows at each other over her sudden amicability and happiness. Since they became her employees, Opal had never used such nice words or gentle tones at them, or laughed so easily. Why, she had laughed more than five times in the past day! That was more than the amount of laughter for the past decade.
Scant leaned over to his twin. "Opal's in a really good mood."
"Yeah," Merv nodded fervently. "Let's hope this mood of hers lasts for a long long time."
Opal opened the door to her house. From the outside, the house had looked beautiful, with its pale creamy bricks and teal roof. A white verandah fronted the cottage, leading to large, white French doors. When she had driven up the gravel path, hidden behind a strategically placed bush, she hadn't known what to expect. The twins weren't the most reliable servants, and she had expected a half finished hovel with steel beams everywhere. But this... they had surpassed themselves.
Opal carefully inspected everything inside, and then, lifting a board in the corner, she pressed a button. Immediately, planks began to move, until the staircase leading to the next level down had appeared. Noting down the speed of the planks, any sound emitted, and other technical details, Opal descended down the stairs. Many of her new inventions had been used while building this house and many more had been installed into the house. So far, the prototypes were working efficiently. Opal smiled greedily. She could already hear the money building up in her bank account.
Satisfied with everything she saw, Opal began to climb the stairs back to the main floor. After all, she had a guest to receive, and she couldn't present an empty shell of a house to her, could she?
Fowl Manor
Sana lay on her bed, munching on an apple she had stolen from the fridge when Butler wasn't looking. She flipped onto her side and stared at a phone lying on her bedside table, waiting for it to ring. But it hadn't made a sound since she got it three days ago, so why would it ring now?
Sana wanted to scream out of boredom. Artemis was wrapped up in his room, doing something or other. Angeline had been moved to the attic, and was now refusing to see anyone. According to Juliet, she even forgot who her own son was three days out of four, so Sana doubted she'd remember her. Juliet was leaving for Madame Ko in two days. Butler had forgotten about her, worrying over Artemis and Angeline, to the extent that Sana had needed to steal food from the fridge to feed herself. Sana had a suspicion that Artemis' actions and Angeline's escalating madness had driven all thoughts of herself out of everyone's minds, everyone forgetting that she now lived in Fowl Manor and not next door.
As if the phone could sense her boredom, it began to shriek its ringtone to the world. Sana snatched it up with relief.
Hello? Opal? Is that you? Sana had discovered, after much trialling, that Opal's phone could detect her thoughts.
Opal laughed. "Of course it's me, Sana. Who else would it be? Anyway, do you want to come over to my house?"
Sana sent a quick thank you to God. Yes! Of course! I'll meet you outside the Fowl Manor gates?
"Yeah, sure. I'll be there in ten minutes." Opal hung up.
Yes! Finally! Something to do! And what better than breaking her boredom by meeting up with Opal and helping her exact revenge on her parents' killers? Sana tore around the room, throwing her phone, keys, wallet and mini-whiteboard into a small backpack. She was about to leave the room when she realised she was still wearing her pyjamas. Sana quickly took them off, not caring if some buttons flew off in her haste, and quickly chucked on a large T-shirt and a pair of shorts.
Rushing down the stairs, Sana opened the doors and locked them behind her. She raced down the drive, knowing it took at least eight minutes of sprinting to reach the end of the driveway. Just as she climbed over the Fowl Manor gates and stood there, panting, Opal drove up.
"Sana! Get in!"
Sana climbed into the passenger seat, and Opal sped off.
"I live quite close to you, Sana. Just five minutes drive from Fowl Manor. It's really nice, and you'll love it..."
Sana zoned out, enjoying the car ride as well as the flow of Opal's voice. Soon, they reached a more woody part of Ireland. Opal drove towards a hill and right at a bush. Sana looked horrified. What was Opal thinking?
Opal glanced over at Sana's face. "Don't worry. My driveway is right under the bush." So saying, she sped under the bush. The gap was so low Sana could feel the leaves brush over her head. The car drove up a long, steep track, before arriving at the top. Sana gasped. On top of the slope was the most beautiful cottage ever.
Opal giggled at her reaction. "I know right? Every time I come home I still can't believe it's mine." So saying, she parked the car expertly in front of the house. Walking over to the door, she opened it.
"Welcome to my house, Sana."
Sana walked in. Her mouth dropped open. The entire floor had been designed for welcoming guests. Golden mock-wood planks covered the floors, while sunlight streamed from the many large windows to hit the creamy-white walls, creating the illusion that the whole space was filled with light. Roomy lounges had been arranged around a gigantic coffee table on the right, where a cinema sized plasma screen was mounted on the wall. On the left was a chest-high wooden barrier, fencing off a space with a large, polished oak table. A door in the far left corner led, presumably, to the toilet.
While Sana stood there, staring at the beauty of her house, Opal ran over everything with her eye once more. Her choice to get the environmentally friendly materials had been correct. She intended to rule the world, but she did not want to destroy the world in the process. Besides, the synthetic materials were more durable and more attractive than the real materials.
Sana frowned. Where are the bedrooms, the bathrooms, the kitchen? Sana wrote on her board.
Opal raised her eyebrows at the question. "I thought you were never going to ask." Leading Sana over to the far right corner of the house, Opal showed Sana the hidden stairs. Sana looked on in amazement. Were these even possible?
The lights in the lower floor immediately switched on the instant the stairs had begun to form, flooding the level with light that was exactly like the Sun's light streaming through the windows behind Sana.
Opal descended the stairs. "This is the kitchen and dining area." She led the girl to set of steps leading down, on the opposite wall of the stairs leading to the top floor. In this slightly zigzagged fashion, Opal led Sana through all six underground floors of her house, including the bedrooms, where the seven bedrooms all faced each other, three on each side and one on the end. Opal assured Sana that all the bedrooms had their own bathroom, and each was the size of a third of the top storey. Then came a level with an Olympic sized pool, complete with change rooms and showers, a fully equipped gym, a martial-arts training studio, and, strangely, a room filled with blank screens and complicated looking buttons lying row after row under them.
Sana had been silent the minute Opal materialised the first stairs out of the ground. Now she stood, staring at the technological marvels around her.
"What do you think, Sana?" Opal asked.
Sana looked at her. Her face broke into a huge grin. She took out her whiteboard and scribbled quickly on it. I love it! It's so cool!
"I'm glad you like it. Actually, I have a confession to make."
Sana looked at her, puzzled. Opal smiled. "Sana, I already have a house. I built this for you." Sana stared at her in shock.
"You see," Opal explained, "Rowan was my dearest friend, and she stood up for me countless times when we were younger. But, when she needed me the most, I ignored her and pretended she didn't exist, until a few years ago. That doesn't change the fact that I had abandoned her. So when I heard that Rowan had died, leaving behind her daughter, I vowed to create a space for her where she could relax and escape from the pain and sorrow, and somehow from that it evolved into this." Opal waved a hand around, and then felt a crushing pain where Sana was hugging her.
To her utter disbelief, Sana was crying. Opal couldn't believe how gullible she was! Why would anyone build a house for a young girl like her? That was one of the most unbelievable stories ever, yet Sana believed her utterly, and was even crying out of gratitude, or grief or whatever. Opal patted Sana's head absently while trying to bite back the laughter bubbling out of her throat. The more she knew Sana, the easier part one of her plan seemed to be.
"Don't cry, Sana." Opal said gently, belying the mirth she could feel. "There, there."
Sana slowly subsided into stillness. She let go of Opal and dragged an arm over her eyes. Opal handed her a key.
"This is the key to this house. You saw how to activate the first set of stairs. Come here whenever you want, okay?"
Sana nodded and smiled at Opal. She couldn't believe how nice Ma's friends were. They were so nice, so trustworthy. The house was beautiful, and now it was hers. How could she ever repay Opal for all this?
Opal, seemingly catching Sana's thoughts, smiled gently. "You can repay me by helping me with my plan. We both want to revenge your parents, right? So lend me your help, and that will be just repayment."
Sana took out her whiteboard. She wrote something down, and then spun it around to face Opal. Opal read it, and her eyes widened, her mind leaping with joy.
I will do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want.
So... how was that? Any comments? I have to apologise though that this chappie's all full of description and nothing on the story. So yes. I'M SORRY!!!!!!!!! *does the 'sorry sorry' dance*
Anyway, even though I said I was changing this slowly, I haven't done anything yet :D but I will. Shortly. Sometime. Maybe...
Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for visiting The Dance called Life. See you next time!
