Chapter 81

Cupid's Chokehold

Holly's POV:

I have no idea where I am. As I look around, I see that I am sitting on a balcony, overlooking a hungry sea that is crashing violently against the rocky shore, devouring anything that was in its path. The black, iron guard rail matches the table that I'm sitting at and the chair that I am sitting on. When I look back into the house, I see a bedroom of which the central item is the large red bed. The room is made up of a series of lavish tables, chairs, and other furniture that marked the room as belonging to one of enormous wealth.

I should be afraid. I should be having a panic attack right, but the sensation of the sun on my face was so warm that all of my worries were forgotten. At least for now. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, loving this.

"It really is nice, isn't it?" asked a masculine voice from right across from me.

My eyes snapped open as I took in the intruder. He was an elf, and probably just a few inches taller than I would be if I was standing. I'd like to say that he's older than me, but it was hard to tell. His face was smooth and perfectly chiseled. His auburn hair swept across his face, giving him a mischievous boy band look. His large hazel eyes screamed innocent, but the perfect nose and cupid bow lips begged to differ.

Cupid bow lips. Appropriate since that's exactly who I was talking to. "Great grand father. What are you doing here?"

He chuckled and it sounded like the deep peal of bells. "I live here. You should be asking yourself why you're here."

My mom always described my great grandfather as… enigmatic, and I honestly think that that's one of the biggest understatements that I have ever heard from anyone, second only to describing Artemis as 'smart'. "Okay. Why am I here?"

"Would you like a drink?" he asked, changing the subject. With a wave of his hands, two glasses full of cranberry spritzer appeared in front of us.

I had seen magic my entire life. But none of that magic had ever included making things appear out of thin air. In fact, most would say it was impossible to do such a thing. "How did you do that?"

"You should know. This is your dream."

My dream. It all made sense now. "This is just a dream. None of this is real?" A sense of relief washed over me. This was just a part of my over active imagination, and soon enough I'd wake up and this would only be a page in my diary.

"I said that this is a dream, but I never said that it wasn't real."

"I don't understand." And I wasn't too ashamed to admit that it made no sense at all to me. How could this be both a dream and real?

"Well, heart of my heart, as you know, I am one very busy fairy. Lately, I've had an intense craving to see my favorite great granddaughter, but we both know that the Lower Elements don't exactly agree with me…" he began and I could see where this was going.

"So, you broke into my dreams just to say 'hi'?"

"'Breaking in', those are such ugly words. I prefer the term 'unexpected visitation'."

I rolled my eyes. Only Cupid. "How do you even do that?" I picked up my drink, swirling the glass before taking a sip. Frothy and delicious, just as I remembered from my night with Artemis. Just the thought of that night sent chills running down the length of my spine.

He smiled at me fondly. "Ah, to be so young, so full of questions, and so in love."

My drink spewed from my mouth, covering the table in droplets. Had he just said 'love'?

"Charming," he commented, summoning up a rag and wiping until the mess was gone. "Never failed. Tell a girl she's in love and she spits liquid at you."

I glared at the elf. Humans say that fish and visitors stink after three days. Well, this has been three whole minutes, and it's already starting to sour. "I am not in love with anyone."

Cupid shook his head sadly. "Don't lie to me, Holly dear. You're madly in love with Artemis Fowl. You just can't admit it yet." Not him too. Don't tell me Cupid, the god of love, believes in this too. Couldn't there be just someone actually in my corner?

"Ridiculous. You're the bringer of love, don't tell me that you're falling for this too."

"You know, you'd be a lot happier if you'd just accept the truth. After all, you're only really hurting yourself. And Artemis, of course."

"Where do you guys come up with these crazy ideas?" I sigh. There goes the nice family visit that I had almost hoped for.

Instead of being angry or frustrated like Foaly or the others, he seemed to be more…amused than anything. "As you put it a moment ago, this is my job, and I just happen to be very good at it. Seeing and feeling love is my duty and my pleasure." Personally, I don't understand how this could be a 'pleasure'. How much fun can it be to see everyone else's love and lust at all times?

"You've been looking too long. You're confusing friendship with love."

The friendly smile was still in place, but his eyes hardened, honed to a razor sharp edge that was ready to cut into me at any moment. "If you were LEP for two hundred years would there be any change to your ability to handle the job?"

I thought about all of the war wounds that I was likely to receive and all of the danger that my job entailed. "No. Short of death, I'll always find a way to be able do my job."

He nodded, a proud smile on his face. "Exactly. The same holds true for me."

I nodded, not wanting to offend the fairy of love. While he may seem soft and easy to get along with, I knew better. I had often heard stories of his wrath and those who were unfortunate enough to be caught within it. No, I value my own life too much. "Of course."

"Artemis was at your house not long ago. And while there you two visited the dragons and the phoenixes. Well, I happen to know that they showed him two possible futures. One with you and the other without you. Now, I want you to see the same so that you can make an… informed decision."

All of a sudden, we were no longer sitting at the table and there were no longer any crashing waves echoing behind us.

Instead, I was seeing Trouble and myself eating dinner together at a small, romantic table. "After a while, you realize that you do love Artemis, but it's too late because of his slight interaction with another woman that you misunderstood to be love. You're so distraught that when Trouble asks you out, you agree in order to escape the pain of loss."

The scene changed. Now I was standing on a stage in a long, billowing white gown and holding a bouquet of flowers. Obviously, I was a bride, so where was my groom? I looked up at him and choked n surprise. It's Trouble. I'm marrying Trouble Kelp, my commander and close friend! What had the world come to?

The ceremony went on with the vows being read by the official which is something that I would never do. If I cared enough to marry you then I would care enough to write my own vows about how I really felt. I suppose that was an indication that I was not here for love.

"Holly Short, do you take Trouble Kelp to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

I wanted to object, to say something, anything but the words wouldn't force themselves out of my mouth. Instead I said, "I do."

"You may now kiss the bride."

I felt my stomach and skin crawl. Kiss him? When I had been ambushed it had an unpleasant surprise, but this was blatant, public with a significant meaning. It would tie me to him forever. He leaned down and ravished my lips as I stood stiff and unresponsive until he got the picture and backed away. Frond knows it was not a second too soon. Not if he liked the way his face was arranged. "I married Trouble?" I hissed to the fairy that was sitting rather comfortably beside me, eating popcorn that came from who knows where.

He shrugged. "You felt bad for just dating him, and tying up his time for five years. You felt bad for asking him to hang around, so when he asked you promised yourself that you'd try your best to make it work. For both of you, but mostly for you."

Another change. Trouble and I posed for a picture. He's smiling so widely, and so happily, like he has just won some prize. And I'm standing there, with a fake smile plastered on my face, trying to hide how much I hate where I am. "You're miserable and you spend everyday trying to be a good wife, but your heart's not in it. Your heart's somewhere on the surface with Artemis."

"Artemis? I can't believe he'd sit there and watch my life turn into a train wreck." He wouldn't right? He'd at least try to help me.

"He couldn't accept the fact that he loved you or that you could marry Trouble if you truly loved him. When you do he enters a deep and dark depression that nothing can shake him out of." Even though I know it's not true, my heart clenched. I could never see Artemis hurt. His pain would kill me too, and if I were the cause… I don't know what I'd do.

"What happened?" I whispered.

"You weren't there to confront him on his behavior or comfort him in his pain, so one day someone snapped him out of it. She loved him past it. And by that point, Artemis grew so cold that he didn't mind marrying her out of convenience."

And now we were back at the wedding scene, but this time we were sitting in the front row of the audience. I looked up at the groom. Artemis and he looked amazingly handsome in his black, fitted tuxedo.

The bride began her slow march. I turn around and feel my throat constrict. Minerva Paradizo. Does he really become so desensitized that he can deal with a life time of her? It must be fake. Artemis would nevermarry someone like her.

She climbed unto the platform, standing next to Artemis. I can't help, but think that Minerva's dress was hanging unflatteringly on her frame. It was too tight on her chest and too loose in the area of her stomach and hips.

The two stood face to face, her eyes shining with love and his with deep, unreserved apathy. The service carried on with the vows. "If anyone objects, speak now or hold your peace." And no one even attempted to speak up. No one was going to stop this? Everyone was that unfeeling? I tried to stand up, but my legs refused to move. I was forced to sit and watch the bride maul the groom's lips.

"Enough," I push out from between my gritted teeth. "Stop this."

Everything faded to black, but I couldn't miss my great grandfather's grin.

I didn't want to think about what I had just seen, but one thought was dancing around in my mind, stinging my brain like an angry bumble bee. "What happens to him?" I whisper knowing it can't be good. Knowing that he can't be happy with her. He can't love her.

"They stay married for a few years. No kids, he couldn't bear to touch her body. Eventually Minerva gets tired and files for divorce. However, she doesn't take any money. She tells him that she understands what it's like to not get the one that you love." Strange, I had always pegged her to be a gold-digging type of succubus. Maybe, just maybe, she wasn't as bad as she seemed. But that didn't mean that she qualified for sainthood.

"And what about the two of us?" I didn't have to be any clearer. Both of us knew that I was talking about Arty. Always.

"Artemis finally comes to terms with his feelings, and tells you. It breaks your heart, but Trouble is a good man and you can't bear to hurt him by telling him that you've been lying for years. You turn him down which destroys you both. You try to continue the friendship, but there's too much lost and neither of you are ever the same."

"Well, that's a cheery version of my future," I shrug it off. This can't be real. It just can't be. Arty and I… we're smarter than that. We wouldn't let it get that far.

"No. It's your future without your other half. It's definitely not going to be happy," he shrugged. "But the alternative where you embrace your feelings…"

I was standing at the end of the aisle in a long, white dress that hugged my curves perfectly. I was struck by the beauty of the grassy area and all of the flowers hanging and shining with a dazzling brilliance that made me breathless.

Pochabelle's Canon began with the familiar 'dum-dum-dah-dum, dum-dum-dah-dum.' I began my slow march to the front, taking in the faces of all of our closest friends beaming with pride. Foaly, Mulch, No 1, Lily, Caballine, Doodah…

I climbed unto the stage, seeing my groom for the first time. For some reason, I was afraid to look at his face. What emotion would be there? I didn't want to look, but I forced myself to. There was Artemis, a few years older, a few years wiser with those beautiful mismatched eyes burning with passion and… love so very much unlike when he had stood in this very spot with Minerva.

"Glad that you didn't decide to ditch me at the altar," I muttered.

"Perish the thought. I do value my life," he replied.

I wanted to fire back with a sarcastic comment, but Butler interrupted me by stepping forward. He was wearing his usual black suit and obviously he was going to officiate. I suppose he's actually glad that he has that clerical license now. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the life union of Artemis Fowl and Holly Short. I now turn it over to this lovely couple that has chosen to recite their own vows."

He turned to me. I had no idea of what to say, but the words flowed from my mouth of their own accord. "Arty, you've been my best friend, my lover, and even though I didn't notice it at the time, my soul mate. It took me a while to realize it, but I love you. I need you in my life, and I want you to always be there for me. Just like I always want to be there for you. To make you laugh, to make you smile, and to keep you in line," I winked. "I guess, I'm just trying to say that I'll never leave you."

It was his turn. He smiled down at me. "Holly. You're my best friend, my soul mate, my other half. We all know who I was before I met you. I was a despicable monster. So, it's safe to say that you bring the yin to my yang. The good to my bad. You're the spark that brightens my life. You're the spice that adds passion, love, and true emotion to my life. Holly, you've changed me for the better, and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with my one true love, with my soul mate, with you."

The whole time that he was speaking, I felt tears pressing behind my eyes. His words were so beautiful, yet they were more than that. They were the honest to Frond truth. They were his pure unadulterated feelings for me.

"Holly Coral Short. Do you take Artemis Fowl II to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in richer and poorer, in health and in sickness, in good and in bad. To love, honor, and cherish him as long as you both shall live?"

I couldn't help it, the tears spilled down my cheeks. I looked into his eyes, basking in the glow of warmth that I felt there. "I do." And surprisingly my voice was not completely congested with tears.

"Artemis Fowl II. Do you take Holly Short to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in richer and poorer, in health and in sickness, in good and in bad. To love, honor, and cherish her as long as you both shall live?"

He was quiet for a second as he stared at me. I looked back at him. My hopes were in his hands. My heart was in his hands. After all, a wedding was a girl's most important day. And this was my most important moment. "I do," he said, His voice was full of overwhelming joy and happiness.

I heard the audience including Butler heave a sigh of relief. "Very good. I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride," he announced.

We leaned in to kiss. I felt fire. Close wasn't close enough. Rough wasn't rough enough. I wanted him. I needed him right now. I'm sure that some of our sounds and hand placements weren't strictly appropriate for company, but we ignored the giggling and throat clearing. Only a need for oxygen could force us to reluctantly pull apart.

"So, I suppose this means that you're stuck with me," he chuckled, looking free for one of the first times in his life.

"Maybe. Maaaybe not."

A barrage of images flashed in front of me. The first was of the two of us grinning in front of Fowl Manor. Apparently, we were moving in. That shocked me. No, I wouldn't mind at all, but I do wonder what happens to my job with the LEP. Do I give it all up for him? Would I do that? I know that I'm the type of woman to put all that I am in whatever I choose to undertake. If I cared as much as I said then probably… In fact, I probably wouldn't even have to think about it.

Next was a room that I didn't recognize, but that was most likely upstairs in the manor. Artemis had his arms wrapped around my distended, pregnant belly. We both look so happy, so ecstatic. I've never thought of myself as a 'kids' type of elf. Frond knows I had seen to many other love struck parents who couldn't see how bratty their own kids were, but if they were Arty's…I don't know.

It's sort of funny. Fairies in general aren't very fertile. Yet apparently, I get to have a child. A part of me wonders who the baby will look the most like. I'd never admit this, but I hope they look just like their father.

Next I was hurled forward to yet another image. Arty and I were sitting on a dark couch that looked exactly like the one in my living room. So, apparently I get to choose our furniture, yay. Though I'd be willing to sit on anything to snuggle up to Arty like I was. Just because it looked so incredibly comfortable.

When I looked down at the floor, I saw two children lying on the rug. The first was a girl of about four or five. She had long, thick black hair, pale skin, big, expressive blue eyes, and pointed ears. So, this was my daughter. Part Fowl and part fairy existing together in this beautiful child.

Next to her was a boy who was maybe a year younger than his sister. His skin was a darker brown like mine and his eyes were hazel like mine used to be. His auburn hair fell into his eyes and partially obscured his pointed ears.

The little girl smiled as she jumped up from her spot and launched herself into her father's lap. The boy, not to be out done, catapulted himself unto me, landing with a slight "boof".

"I love you mommy and daddy," they both said in unison as though they had practiced it a thousand times. And knowing Arty and his partial OCD, I wouldn't doubt it.

I couldn't help but smile. They loved me. I had two beautiful children who really loved me. I kissed their foreheads like my mom had done for me. "Love you too."

"I love you daddy," the girl said, tugging on his sleeve for attention. Ha, I remember doing that same thing to my own dad and I remember the attention that it had always won for me.

"I love you too, Artemis." He ruffled her hair. Just as our son was starting to pout, he did the same to his already messy hair. "And of course I love you too, Julius."

Artemis and Julius. I had never thought of it before, but now I see that if I had children, those names would have been at the top of the list. Julius for the Commander. Artemis for my best friend, most treasured confidant, and in this case my children's father.

The children grinned, both hugging their father. I know that most mothers would have been jealous, but I just felt a sense of warmth spreading over my chest. They loved him, and so did I. Sharing was caring, and I cared for both my children and my husband enough to share their time and attention. All Arty ever wanted is to be loved. Now, he has kids and a wife to do that. He's always secretly worried that people don't understand him and thus don't care about him, but I know better. Those children can and do love him for who he is, and I couldn't be happier about it.

My vision faded to black and the next thing that I heard was the crashing waves. We were back to the balcony. "Well, that was better…" I trailed off, unsure of what to say, of how to express whatever I was feeling right now.

"Yes, and you live happily ever after."

"That can't be real," I repeated more for my benefit than his. I was just waiting for him to laugh at me and tell me that it was a joke. That that really wasn't my future. It couldn't be.

"You don't believe me," he sighed, showing frustration for the first time that morning. I suppose I was probably the hardest client that he had ever had the misfortune of working with. After all, most women would love to fall in love with anyone who would give them the time of day. "And I don't blame you. Give me one last chance to convince you of the truth."

It's not like I could go anywhere… "Fine. Try to convince me."

"I will. I promise." And that promise worried me. When Cupid makes a promise, you can believe that he delivers on it. "Now, I want to show you something that even you can't deny." Something that even I can't deny? Somehow I doubt that exists. I can deny anything.

"Go for it."

The room around us changed. Now we were standing in a ballroom like the one from my dreams. The one that Artemis and Trouble had dueled in. It was exactly the same, s polished pine floor, high dark ceiling and twinkling lights. So much the same that I was now pretty sure that I knew where all of my disturbing dreams came from. "As Cupid, it's part of my job to be able to see and feel love. You unfortunately don't have that gift, so I want to let you borrow mine on a temporary basis, of course." Borrow his gift? This was definitely going to prove to be interesting.

"Look," he waved his hands and two people appeared in front of us.

The first was a dark elf with hazel eyes and auburn hair. The woman next to him looked just like me. Just as a person's mother should.

"Mom, dad," I muttered, reaching out to touch them, but my hands passed them through like they were holograms.

"I'm sorry. They're not quite here. I just want to demonstrate something for you." His voice was full of the same pain that I felt in my heart. At times I forgot that my mother had been his granddaughter, his favorite granddaughter.

He closed his eyes and murmured a word. All of a sudden, my vision changed. All around me, I was seeing a web of colors, connecting all of us. But the brightest glow was the gold that was radiating between mom and dad. "What is that?"

"It's called their love line. It basically marks the relationship between the two people," he explained.

"What does gold mean?"

He smiled sadly as he looked at the two. "True love." I felt my heart fill. True love. My parents were in real love, just like I had always believed them to be.

"Now, there are different types of love. But let's make this just a bit more relative to you." More relative than my parents?

With a wave of his hand, my parents dissolved to be replaced by Artemis and Minerva. Just the sight of that bimbo made me mad. Even in this fake form, she had a way of making me angry.

The lights between the two were different. Next to Arty, there was a large green beam of light meeting with a red beam that was flowing from her.

"Love isn't the same between everyone. That would be too easy. The green near Artemis shows that he views her as just a friend. Minerva's red is interesting. Pink is a crush, but red is just a bit beyond that. More like a passionate lust."

Lust. It figures. Arty is kind, sweet, and has an amazing heart. It just figures that she'd only want his body. Girls like her never want anything else. "Okay, so Minerva's a horndog that wants to get in Artemis's pants. I already knew that."

He shook his head at me like I was missing out on something obvious. "I thought you'd be happy to see that he's not interested in her."

"I already knew that."

He sighed, thinking that I was his most difficult client. Well, he had to earn his pay check. "Let's see how this affects you before I lose my mind."

I grinned as he waved his hand for the third time.

Now there was a hologram of me standing right next to Arty. My mouth fell open from shock. There was Arty and there was me, but that wasn't what was bothering me. No, the light between the two of us was an almost blinding gold. Mom and dad's had been a strand, but this one was like a steel girder, wrapping around our waists and tying us together with an unbreakable bond.

"It's the brightest light I've ever seen in any couple," he said. I turned and saw that he was actually wearing sunglasses as he stared at it. "After a few centuries in this business, I'd say that I know what I'm talking about."

I didn't know what to say. To deny the gold would be to accuse my great grandfather of lying and to discount my parent's love. But to accept it… that would be too much. More than I could bear. "No…" I muttered. "It can't be."

"You talk to him every night. Just imagine the one night that he didn't call."

I remember that night. Seven came and went with no call. It turned out that Beckett had fallen off of his horse and the whole Fowl family had been in an uproar. But the whole while I waited in suspense wringing my hands and running through scenarios of his demise that grew more and more grisly as they flashed through my mind. When he finally called, I cried from relief that he was okay, and couldn't stop for almost an hour.

"You love his voice, his face, and everything about him."

Of course, his smooth voice that made everything, even a lecture, sound so much better than it should . And as for his face… those mismatched eyes. One hazel and one blue. A true mixture of the two of us. His perfect nose and those perfect red lips that seemed so tempting at times. His body… his everything…

"You love that he knows you. The real you."

Arty. The only one who saw past my smile and past my lies. The only one who really listened when I said something. The only one who made me smile when I wanted to cry. He was my best friend, and he was always there for me. No matter what.

"You think about him during the day. You wonder what he's doing or where he is, and secretly you wish he was with you."

Everyday when I sit in the office, I have a few times in the day where I ask myself those questions. During the day when things go bad or when things are going well, I do wish that he was there to either share it with me or protect me from whatever was going on. Weak I know, but I couldn't help it. It was Arty after all, and he was the only person who would never see me as weak.

"You don't want anyone else."

Off course. Trouble was the first thing to pop into my mind. He's a decent guy. Handsome, funny, talented, interested. He has all of the characteristics that I should want in a guy, but I don't want him. In my mind, there's absolutely no appeal.

And then there's Chix. Aside from the green skin, he is a rather handsome man. From the women that I've talked to, he's actually really sweet on the inside once you get past the flirting. Yet, no part of me will ever feel the least bit inclined to see him in any way, shape, or form as a lover or anything even slightly more significant than my acquaintance.

"And more importantly, you don't want him to have anyone else either."

Minerva. The pretty blond girl that seems just perfect for Arty. Just thinking about her makes my blood boil. If Arty ever dated her… I don't know what I'd do. He deserves better. Better than her. Better than me.

"The kiss in the gorilla cage. Yes, I know about that," he added upon seeing my face. "The sparks that you saw weren't from your magic. No, they were from what is known as the soul mate's kiss."

The soul mate's kiss, I'd heard about it. Legend goes that when a fairy first kisses their mate sparks will fly in celebration so that a person may recognize him or her. But Arty was a human. Sure our kiss was incredibly powerful, I can't deny that. It had left me weak in the knees and unable to speak, but he couldn't be my soul mate, could he? It had to have just been excitement from the fact that he was alive, right?

"And the kiss in the Cavern of Lovers. It was compelling, wasn't it? The magnitude of your own feelings drawing you two together, the gold glow cocooning you. Only footsteps broke the spell, but it couldn't negate your emotions."

The cavern. Every time it crossed my mind I forced myself to believe that it was just the magic of the place acting on us. But what if it wasn't? What if the cave just brought us out of ourselves? And what would have happened if we hadn't been stopped? How far would we have gone?

"Would you give your life for him?"

"Yes," I said without even stopping to think about it. After all of our adventures, we had put our lives on the line for each other countless times. Somehow, we had always managed to survive, but if one of us had to die, I'd rather it be me. He was a teen, a genius. Sure he had lived more than most ever would, but not nearly enough to satisfy me. So yes, I would give my life for him and hope that he would live happily and safely once I was gone.

"What if he died?" he asked.

Artemis? Dead? Artemis not here? I couldn't even fathom that thought. Without him here to talk to me, here to comfort me… I don't think I could bear those days. I don't think I'd want to. Thoughts of my life without him filled my mind, and before I could stop them, tears slid down my cheeks in fat, wet droplets. "I'd fall apart," I answered honestly, hating myself for crying. I was stronger than this.

I could see his victorious smile. "Admit it. You do care for him as so much more than a friend. Admit it because if you don't then you'll lose him just as well as if he really is dead."

I stopped and for the first time, I considered it. Just thinking of his death was enough to force a small crack in a portion of my walls. Could I really love Artemis? I'll be the first to admit that he's a handsome mud boy. The male model type that'll drive any hot-blooded female crazy.

But he's more than his looks. He's a genius. Sometimes that's so…daunting but at others it's a thrill. Knowing that he knows exactly what you need and want. Knowing that you can't outsmart him, but you try anyway just for the challenge.

He has problems expressing his emotions, but I'm beginning to pull it out of him. I love the fact that I'm slowly forcing him to accept these things as a part of himself, and that he's already becoming a better person for it.

He's funny and sweet. I know for a fact that he would treat me like a true prize if I just gave him the chance to. Besides, he's my best friend, the person that I care for most. What could be more perfect?

I felt my stomach tighten as I asked myself that last question. Nothing. Nothing could be more perfect. I couldn't' believe it. Everyone had been right, and I had been wrong. I am in love with Artemis Fowl II.

A sense of abject horror enveloped me. I had broken the rules, I had fallen for my best friend, a human who was doomed to die. A human who couldn't possibly want anything to do with me. The tears started flowing heavily now. "How did this happen?" I sobbed. "Why me?"

Within a second, my great grandfather was standing there, wrapping his arms around me to provide comfort. It made me feel like a child again, but right now I needed this support. I needed someone to tell me that I wasn't as crazy as I felt. "Shhh, Holly. It's going to be okay, I promise."

"Why me?" I repeated.

"I don't know. This isn't my doing. It's all sent down from a higher power."

"Why would they do this to me?" I hated to sound like a whining child, but that's how I felt. At times it seemed like the odds were stacked against me, and this was definitely one of those times.

"Holly, if there's one thing that I've learned it's that love will make a way. I promise that things will get better. You've found your other half. Now you just have to claim him. He loves you and you love him. Just stop thinking and let your heart do as it wishes."

By this time, I had stopped crying. Cupid was right. I was Holly Short, Major of the LEPrecon unit, and multiple time preserver of the two worlds. Through all of that, I had never backed down, never given up, and I wasn't about to start now.

I love Artemis Fowl. I love him, I want him, and I'm not taking no for an answer. "Thank you great grandfather," I said, my voice infused with steely determination.

"Trust me. It was my pleasure," he grinned, showing off his perfect white teeth. "I do so love love."

And I loved this time that we were spending together, but I had somewhere else that I really needed to be. "So, how am I supposed to get back?"

"Click your heels together three times."

Really? Had I suddenly entered a twisted version of The Wizard of Oz? Was I really Dorothy? "Seriously?"

"Of course. Look at your feet."

I glanced down to see a pair of ruby slippers. "Cute. Very cute."

"I thought you'd enjoy them," he chuckled. And at that moment, it was easy to see that we're related. "Now click and go get your man."

I rolled my eyes and clicked my heels. "One!…Two!"

"Holly! Remember that love will always find a way!"

His smiling face and earnest hazel eyes were the last things that I saw before clicking my heels together again. For a moment I really felt like Dorothy. I was being pulled by a massive force, swirling in a black and white blur. Finally, I settled before an emerald door. Without the slightest hesitation, I opened it and stepped through. As soon as I passed the threshold, my eyes flew open and I was sitting in bed like I had never left. Well, it appears that Dorothy was right: there really is no place like home.

A/n:

Yay! Another Chapter Down! It's almost over. Can you believe it? I'm excited. I've decided to add the other chapters. Surely you guy will love me enough to read three to four extra. Hopefully. Thanks a lot.

So that June 19th deadline got blown out of the water by my summer writing camp. I want to set another deadline, but this summer I actually sort of have vacation plans. But rest assured that I will update as much and as quickly as I possibly can.

Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;)

Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!

Yours truly, madly, and deeply,

Einstinette