A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's taken so long, but here's the next little addition to the series. This one is more my style, like a structured storyline. I hope you enjoy!
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"Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one ever again."
-Willa Cather
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Mnemophobia
The fear of memories
It was the Saturday following the mindwipe of Artemis Fowl, and a certain fiery elf lay in bed, eyes closed tightly. Commander Root had given Holly the day off to; as he put it, recover from the Spiro assignment. In other words, it was time for her get her act together and forget about the Mud Boy. That was easier said than done.
Thinking about Artemis upset Holly. Not thinking about him made things even worse. She hated the fact that the boy's pale face was stuck on her mind and he had no idea she existed. It was an unfair irony. Holly opened her eyes and stared up at the stark white ceiling, not knowing what to do with her day off. Perhaps she would just stay in bed all day, tossing and turning, and attempting to forget Fowl. Yes, that was a good idea. And that was her plan of action.
That is, until she received an urgent call from her centaur friend Foaly, urging her to get her butt out of bed and down to Police Plaza. And so, half an hour later, after reluctantly getting out of bed, Holly stood outside the Ops Booth, a practised scowl on her face, a carrot in her pocket. She knocked on the door and Foaly's bright face appeared within seconds, allowing her to enter.
"Someone looks cheery," he commented as she took a seat on the far right side of his office. Holly shot her scowl in his direction and Foaly laughed.
"It's supposed to be my day off," she muttered darkly, "But since you so lovingly decided to bother me, I brought you a little present."
"Oh, you shouldn't have," Foaly said cheerfully, looking Holly up and down, "What is it?"
Holly reached into her pocket and pulled out the carrot. But instead of handing it to the centaur, she threw it at his head. Foaly, never much of an athlete, failed to catch it, and the carrot met with his left ear. He whinnied indignantly as Holly chuckled.
"I didn't do anything to deserve that," he said.
"I know," Holly nodded patronizingly, "Calling me here when I could be sleeping is nothing at all."
"One," Foaly began counting on his fingers, "You hate taking days off. Two, I doubt you were sleeping. And three, you won't be disappointed you came."
"And why is that?" Holly asked.
"Because of this," Foaly replied knowingly, pulling a silver disc off his desk, holding it up to Holly's eyes. The elf was unimpressed.
"Oh wow," she mumbled sarcastically, "A disc. You've really outdone yourself this time Foaly."
"Really funny Holly," said the centaur, "But I think it's the contents of said disc that will interest you."
"Okay," Holly held up in her hands in mock surrender, "You got me. What's on the disc?"
"A special Mud mind," Foaly answered, "The memories we took from Fowl."
Holly's breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat. In his hands, Foaly held the stolen thoughts of Artemis Fowl. Without thinking, she held out her tiny hand. Foaly smiled perceptively.
"I thought you'd like that," he said, dropping the disc into Holly's outstretched hand, "You can put it in that computer over there," he pointed, "And when the main menu appears, use the search function. I'll leave you two alone now."
Without another word, the centaur left his somewhat cramped booth, munching on the carrot that had been used as a weapon against him only moments earlier. Holly was alone, save for the disc of memories she now held in her trembling hand.
She carefully inserted the disc into the proper drive on the computer Foaly had pointed out. In an instant, the screen turned to a brilliant blue colour, with eighteen tiny bubbles, each one representing a month that they had stolen from Artemis. At the bottom of the screen, there was a tiny box with a blinking cursor – the search function.
With shaky fingers, Holly began to type, letter by letter, slowly, into the text box. Holly Short. She pressed enter and waited mere seconds before over two dozen tiny bubbles appeared on the blue background. Each had a name underneath, what Artemis had called the event in his mind.
She saw titles such as The Kidnapping, The Golden Favour, The Radioactive Train, Beating Opal Koboi, Butler's Near-Death Experience, The Spiro Needle, and so on and so forth. Holly stared at the screen, gazing over all the pilfered moments of the teenager's life, not sure which one she wanted to watch first, if she wanted to watch at all. As her eyes travelled down the screen, she caught sight of a tiny bubble, right towards the end of Artemis' time with the fairies. It was entitled My Real Thoughts on Captain Short.
It was the sight of this bubble that caused Holly to get up and leave. What she was doing was wrong. Artemis' memories were his own, even if he didn't remember them. She left the Ops Booth, without even bothering to leave Foaly a note saying goodbye. Holly headed straight home, spending the rest of the day in bed, her mood bordering on extremely miserable.
Not even ten minutes after her departure, Foaly strolled back into the Ops Booth leisurely. He noticed two things. Holly was missing. And she had left the disc running. Foaly trotted over to the computer and surveyed the screen. He noticed the many memories of Artemis Fowl concerning his favourite Recon captain, but one in particular grabbed his attention. The same one that, unknown to him, had made Holly leave without an explanation.
Foaly clicked the tiny bubble, not entirely sure what to expect. In moments, he was watching the world through Artemis Fowl's eyes. He appeared to be staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom, blinking at a slow pace, as if falling asleep. Suddenly, the computer emitted a voice. Artemis was speaking to himself, inwardly of course, and his voice served as the narration of this memory.
Tomorrow, I won't even know Holly. It seems like just yesterday we met, but I'm already losing her. Perhaps I shouldn't even be thinking this, as Foaly will no doubt go through my mind, find it, and show it to Holly. That would be quite embarrassing, for the both of us.
I wish I were better with matters of the heart. Sadly, that's always been a weakness of mine. And although I have not admitted it, I have a sneaking suspicion that Holly already knows. She knows me better than anyone, except perhaps Butler. But there is one thing that she may never know. I wonder, perhaps, if I should tell her how I really feel. Of course, it would make our separation so much more difficult. For her, that is. I will not remember her smiling face or stunning eyes in twenty-four hours. But she, she will recall everything from our first meeting to our final goodbyes. And I will not have our final moment together be full of more heartache than necessary.
There are some things that are meant to stay inside forever. And my love for Holly is one of those things. Still…I can't help but to wonder what…
Foaly exited the program right away, his throat dry. This was unbelievable. This was a startling development. This…was great teasing material.
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A/N: Blah! I tried to make it as cute as I could, but I think I failed miserably, somewhere in the middle. Oh well, hope it wasn't all that bad. I'll try my hand at another A/H sometime soon. Review please. Cheers!
-Liv xoxo