Disclaimer- All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Author’s Note:

I blame school, essays and writer’s block. Mostly the third one. :S

Luv

Creatress

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Persephone’s Crown

Chapter 9 – Best Served Cold

“This is a dangerous, difficult time for the People.” Root’s voice was strong this time, as it carried over the Council. This was the first time he’d spoken to them since Holly’s exile. “And it is in these kinds of times that a nation really needs its government, and its forces, to protect it.” Vinyaya was probably the only one who saw that he was lying through his teeth. “So I suggest this plan with the People’s concern in mind…”

xXxXx

Mulch only had a heartbeat’s time to look down at the still form of Artemis Fowl before his attention was diverted.

“Mulch!”

Mulch almost took a step back in fear when Holly shot toward him. But he managed to stay still, and she only hugged him for a half second (quite a feat, considering his scent) before she stepped away again. The dwarf was flabbergasted, and he barely managed to make sense of his words. “You… You’re hugging me? A thief?” He grinned, crookedly, pocketing the Neutrino he was carrying. “By Frond, lady, my earliest memory of you involves two kinds of weapons.”

Holly smiled, wistfully, trying to think back to their first encounter. It was incredibly good to see someone from her old life, even if it was low-life rat like Mulch. “I suppose a lot can change,” she murmured. “Besides, I remember what you and Foaly did for me.” She dropped her gaze to the unconscious genius. “What’s going on?” she asked, suddenly looking bewildered.

Mulch nodded, looking tired. “Long story, short: The LEP captured” – he made quotation marks with his fingers at the word ‘captured’ – “me again, but since they’re having some problems with human batteries, they had no other choice but to send me up to get Master Fowl here. There are a few commandos waiting out there, but most of them are on the look-out for dear Domovoi.” Mulch paused, frowning. “Speaking of which, I’d hide somewhere.”

As Mulch picked up Artemis and started dragging him toward the window, Holly ducked behind her bed. She stealthily watched around the hanging sheets as Mulch simply leaned Artemis’ head and shoulders out the window. In a few seconds, LEP commandos were at the window, the only thing to give away their presence being the slight disruptions in the air. Holly couldn’t tell how many were out there.

As soon as Mulch sensed them, he scrambled back from the window until he was standing in the middle of the room.

“Mulch!” One of the invisible commandos snapped in a loud whisper. Holly didn’t recognize who the voice belonged to. “Get back here!”

Mulch pretended to think about it. “Seems to me, you have one of two options. Take Fowl, get lost and leave me to my business. Or – I doubt you’ll like this one, boys – stay, and alert that big, protective Momma Bear we like to call Butler.”

Holly smirked at the lack of reaction coming from the other side of the window, but a sense of bitterness twisted in her stomach. A short month ago, she would have been on the other side of the window, feeling nothing but irritation at her colleagues’ silence before responding herself. It was difficult not to be delighted at the expense of the people who had locked her up for four weeks straight, but the very thought that she had been one of them, again only four weeks ago, made her want to vomit. There really was no wonder Artemis acted – nay, not acted – was so high and mighty all the time.

One of the commandos finally responded. “We will find you, Mulch.”

As Holly once again tried to think of who the voice could belong to, Mulch nodded, his face twisting into a somber frown of agreement. “You’ll need to find me to watch me escape.”

There was silence for a few seconds, and then Artemis’ body disappeared. Holly guessed that they had covered him with a cam foil in order to carry him out. It was a long moment before Mulch sighed, heavily, deflating a bit and turning toward the bed.

Holly emerged, her movements as graceful as ever, but the small scowl marring her pretty features was a little different than how Mulch remembered it. “Mulch, why did you let them take him?” she demanded.

Mulch frowned. “So that he can be questioned,” he mumbled. “It was Foaly’s idea,” he added, quickly, seeing the look on Holly’s face.

“What’s all this about batteries?” Holly asked, remembering what Mulch said earlier. She scowled. “Is Artemis planning something?”

Mulch suddenly thought that maybe this was why Holly looked a little different. It was odd to have her standing a few feet before him and being angry at someone else. “We don’t know. All we know is that there are a bunch of goblins running around with old LEP gear, powered by human batteries. Foaly just wants to make sure Fowl isn’t behind it all.”

Holly’s face twisted a little, as she considered the thought. “Goblins? That’s not really Artemis’ style.”

Mulch watched her for a second. “No,” he said, slowly. “His style is more along the lines of redheads with good aim and bad temper.” When Holly glared at him, Mulch wished he had taken the last few words back. “Sorry,” he whimpered. Warily, he looked at her and added, “But it’s strange to see you telling me the LEP shouldn’t have taken him and then trying to defend him.”

Holly stopped short, glancing away. “I hadn’t realized I was doing it,” she said, quietly. When she turned back to Mulch, her expression looked pained. “Why did you bring me here, Mulch? Why did you and Foaly…”

Mulch shook his head, looking apologetic. “It was the only thing we could think of. In your condition… There wasn’t anyone… We just…” He stopped trying, and wiped his brow before looking at Holly. “Butler promised us he would make sure you were okay.” He glanced around the room, as if expecting the bodyguard to jump out at him out of nowhere. “Here’s hoping he never finds out about this. With any luck, the mud boy should be back in an hour or so…”

“Butler’s loyalty lies with Artemis first,” Holly interrupted. “And what do you think he wants?” She turned away from Mulch and paced the length of the carpet, holding her forehead in her hand. “He doesn’t let me think straight anymore. One second, I think I should hate the fairy world. The next, I know that’s what he wants me to feel. But then…” Holly stopped and gulped. “I’m losing my mind.”

“Do you hate us?” Mulch asked, quietly. His heart almost stopped when Holly didn’t reply straight away.

Holly didn’t reply, either. She just turned to Mulch and looked him in the eye. “Have you ever just wanted…” She bit her lip, and smiled twistedly for half a second. “There’s no other word for it, Mulch. Have you ever just wanted revenge?”

Mulch sighed, loudly. “Holly…” he said, his voice almost begging. He didn’t like to see the elf like this. The girl before him was so different than the cadet who used to run after him along with Root.

Holly interrupted him, and her voice was clipped and angry, but quiet. “My powers, Mulch.” When she turned to face him, her eyes were red. “I am a descendent of D’arvitting Eros, for Frond’s sake. But I can’t even… I can’t…” She paused, steeling herself. “Mulch, I’ve lost the Gift of Tongues.”

Mulch felt as if he’d collided face first into a sheet of bedrock. He actually choked, not knowing what to say, the only phrase he could manage to think was ‘the higher they are, the harder they fall.’ Holly had lost the Gift of Tongues. The thing about the Shorts was that it was rumoured their ancestry went back to the Gods; Lili Frond’s connection to King Frond paled in comparison, but unlike the Fronds, the Shorts didn’t exactly run around bragging about their bloodlines. It was strange to hear Holly admit it out loud, but when one thought about it, it seemed to suit her. Holly was the descendant of Eros, who was the son of the God of War and the Goddess of Love… Holly lost the Gift of Tongues. “This is insane.”

Holly didn’t answer. She was staring into space, seemingly lost in thought.

“Even I kept the Gift of Tongues,” Mulch muttered.

“What will Foaly do if it turns out Artemis isn’t controlling the goblins?”

Mulch shrugged, getting whiplash from the sudden turn in conversation. “Mindwipe him and send him back here, I suppose.”

Holly frowned, and then she straightened the slightest bit, her eyes narrowing. Mulch suddenly felt the urge to run, but before he could, Holly spoke. “No.”

“Don’t mindwipe him?” Mulch asked, his voice almost reaching the tones of a whine. “But if he tells Butler - ”

“I’ll deal with Butler,” Holly interrupted. She licked her lips. “After you interrogate him, send him back, memory intact.”

Mulch tried to follow Holly’s line of thought. “If Foaly lets Artemis go with his memory intact, he’ll want pay back for kidnapping him,” he extrapolated. He looked warily at Holly. “You’re going to set Fowl on the LEP? On me?”

Holly shook her head. “No, Mulch, I’m thinking of another matter entirely,” she said. She sighed, momentarily closing her eyes. “Get off the grounds, and call Foaly.”

Mulch sighed, quietly, suddenly feeling forlorn. “I’m happy to you that you’re…” he trailed off, unable to finish.

Holly smiled, and it was kind and gentle, but it did little to comfort the dwarf. “It’ll be okay, Mulch. You and Foaly were right. I’m better off here, than on some street with no magic nor memories.” She paused, and her smile this time was sincere enough to calm Mulch down a little. “Thank you. Tell Foaly I thanked him, too.”

“Holly…” There was a note of objection in Mulch’s voice.

“Mulch,” Holly interrupted. “Go.”

xXxXx

Artemis’ eyes flew open. He jerked up into a sitting position, but quickly composed himself when his gaze landed on Foaly and Root. The look of alerted caution leaving him, he sighed too loudly and even went so far as to sit back against the chair he was in. “Gentlemen. What can I help you with?”

Root had only decided to think about raising a fist when Foaly’s hand came down on his shoulder. It was gone as soon as it had appeared, but it had the desired effect. Root stopped thinking about hurting Artemis and mused, instead, that the pony had a stronger grip than he might let on.

“Julius, this next part isn’t pretty. I’d wait outside,” Foaly said, his eyes focused on Artemis.

Root opened his mouth, but then seemed to think about it. He turned around and stared hard at Foaly for a second. For a few seconds, there was a heavy silence, but then Root only frowned before heading towards the door. “Don’t call me Julius,” he muttered, slamming the door shut behind him.

Artemis tapped the arm of the chair with his finger. “So does he know about Holly?” he asked.

Foaly smirked momentarily, turning to the human. “He never told us he knows,” he said, quirking a shoulder. Then he scowled. “How is she?”

Artemis, suddenly finding himself annoyed that they had interrupted Holly and himself right when she was about to open up a little – and not to mention the kidnapping – chose to be sadistic. “Alive,” he allowed.

Foaly didn’t react for a second, but then he lips twitched. “I know she’s fine,” he said.

“Then why ask?”

Foaly amended his statement. “I know that she’s physically fine.” He paused, trying to choose his next words carefully. “We sent her to you instead of just leaving her some street corner so that she might have a chance…” He trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Artemis nodded. “You sent her from the fire to the pan.”

Foaly studied the human for a second. “But it’s still a pan.”

Artemis frowned, sitting up in his chair. “Tell me, Foaly, what else do you need? I have other things to do with my time.”

Foaly’s eyebrows shot up a little. “Why do you think we needed anything else?”

Artemis smirked. “If you need nothing else, there’s no doubt I would have found myself waking up at home with no memory of any of this.” He lazily gestured around them.

Foaly smiled, wryly. “Not absolutely no doubt,” he said. “Maybe I just wanted to chat.” He shrugged. “But I guess that’s not the professional thing to do, so…” His voice changed, becoming deeper than it already was, each syllable resonating clearly. “It’s time to say good - ” Then, his cell phone rang.

xXxXx

It had been almost forty minutes since Mulch left, and Holly was beginning to get drowsy. She was lying in her bed, trying to read a book – in English, too – but she kept expecting to see that unmistakable haze against the sky again. The breakfast dishes were still on the table – apparently, Butler thought that she and Artemis were having a long discussion.

Finally, when she closed her eyes for more than a half second, her senses flared and her eyes shot open.

Artemis appeared in the middle of the room, seemingly stepping out of thin air, until he shrugged a long sheet of cam foil off of his shoulders. He seemed tense, his face set in a neutral expression, his lips pressed in a small, obviously displeased frown.

Holly glanced out the window, but there was absolutely no sign of anyone or anything there. So, she shot off the bed and almost took a step toward Artemis, but something about the vibe he was giving off made her freeze. Holly gripped the side of her footboard, suddenly rethinking the plan she’d thrown together earlier. “Artemis?”

Artemis brought his gaze to her, as if he hadn’t really realized she was in the room until she’d called him. Then, he took a step toward her. Then, another and another, until they were toe to toe.

Holly gulped, drily. “What happened?” she asked, suddenly wondering if Artemis had been behind the goblin mystery. That would throw her whole plan off course.

Artemis suddenly smiled. It was small and cold, and then his hand was on Holly’s shoulder. “Get dressed,” he said, simply. “You and I are going to Haven.”

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Gah, you hate me for cutting it off there, but I really need to get to bed. It’s hard to balance writing fanfics and originals this month. NaNoWriMo people, add me as your friend. My username is Ink and Pixels, but with underscores on either side of the word ‘and.’

Review, all. The next chapter will be longer to make up for this one and the last one, I swear. I’ll get back to you this Friday or Saturday. Some things got postponed, so here’s what’ll happen next time:

- the Opal/Foaly/Caballine confrontation.

- Artemis and Holly are in Haven together and Haven… reacts. (Fairy A/Hers? Didn’t think so.)

Luv,

Creatress