My Artemis Fowl fan fiction

chapter 4

Chapter 4

Butler led Holly down the halls of Fowl manor, which by now she must have been quite used to. Artemis followed them a few steps behind.

"What do you know about her?" Holly asked Butler.

"Apparently only that she likes books." Artemis murmured to himself, though both Holly and Butler could hear him very clearly. Butler suppressed a growl, and Artemis added, "Oh yes. And her favorite color is purple." Holly, not in the mood for his smart-alecky attitude, stopped in the middle of the hall and specified her question.

"I meant a name or age. Anything on that, Artemis?" She turned and asked the boy, who knew Holly enough to keep quiet. Butler answered her by shaking his head and continuing to walk down the hall at a fast rate, urging his companions to keep up. He didn't like the idea of leaving the girl alone for long, and now that he wasn't watching the screen in the study he wasn't sure what she was up to. He didn't want to take any chances.

"You're trained in hostage communication, right? You know, therapy for citizens involved in hostage situations?" Butler asked hopefully. Holly nodded in response.

"Is she eating properly?" Holly inquired further.

"She refuses to eat anything at all. Artemis suggested injecting a vitamin supplement to keep her alive, but I'd like to leave that as a last resort. I don't want anything to happen to her." Butler stared straighted ahead of him, determined to reach the girl's room as quickly as possible. Holly couldn't help noticing his unusual attachment to the girl that he barely knew.

"Is there any reason that you'd like to help this girl Butler? You seem very... distraught at her condition." she pointed out. Butler pursued further down the halls, but shook his head.

"Why would I want an innocent child to die without even knowing why someone would want to kill her in the first place?" he asked simply, and no answer to his question followed. It was just as well, since they had reached the door to the room anyways. Butler knocked softly on the door and cracked it open a bit, poking his head in and announcing that he had invited a friend of his over to meet her. She just nodded and Butler widened the door so that Holly could step in. Butler came in after her, followed by Artemis. The girl clutched her sheets with a tight grip upon seeing the boy and yet another unfamiliar face.

"Hello." Holly said to her warmly, her voice just slightly peppered with the sedating effects of the Mesmer. The greeting was met with silence.

"She doesn't do well with strangers, she hasn't even responded to me yet." Artemis piped up from the front of the room, by the door. "She is, however, very attached to Butler, and the books." Holly smiled nicely at the girl, who seemed to relax a little bit.

"She seems like a nice girl. I hope she doesn't mind that I ask her a few questions." Artemis noted that talking about the girl in third person while talking directly to her was a smart approach and it seemed like she was making herself more comfortable around Holly. What had Artemis done that made the girl so afraid of him? Holly now tried a direct approach to her. "Hello. Do you know your name?" she asked softly. The girl shook her head a few times and pulled the covers up to her chin nervously. She then stared ahead without making any direct eye contact with anyone in the room and directed a stiff finger towards the door. Holly pointed to herself, silently asking if the girl wanted her to leave, but she again shook her head and continued to point at the door.

"I'm afraid that it's me she wants to leave." Artemis explained, opening the door and taking half a step out. "I am sorry for disturbing you..." he added before exiting the room completely. Butler followed him out the door, allowing the girl and Holly a few minutes of privacy. The girl let go of her bedsheets and allowed them drop to her lap once she was sure that Artemis had left the guest room.