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The irate elf stormed through her small bed-sit throwing various necessary items into a rucksack. Ohh but her cousin had some nerve! Of all the horrible troll-like, down right dwarfish things to do this had to take the biscuit!
On passing the box that was currently acting as a table she reached down a slender hand and picked up the offending letter that had caused her foul form in the first place…
To Whom It May Concern: (There, right from the start this letter had been impersonal and insulting! It made her normally calm blood boil just to read those first few lines.)
I regret to inform you that due to discussions with a family member we have decided that you are not of the calibre that we are looking for… (Certain family member! She was going tokill Holly! Just because they didn't get on the hero Major of the LEP was trying to ruin her career dreams!) It has been suggested that perhaps you would inquire into some other branch of the force; I believe the shuttle terminal at Tara requires a new receptionist…
Yours Sincerely
Commander Kelp.
"Arrgghhh"! The willowy elf let out a groan of frustration and plonked herself unceremoniously onto the clothes covered floor. At 102cm Abby was just above average fairy height and with her golden hair that was naturally curly falling to just below her shoulders and sparkling emerald eyes was considered to be averagely pretty. Not beautiful as her slim hands were covered in various tiny scars from where she had cut them and her skin was a pale cream in colour, not the beautiful chestnut that was in fashion at the minute.
It wasn't that she hadn't made up her mind about what she was going to do; it was just that it was going to be a hell of a lot more difficult now that the Commander believed she was some sort of bimbo.
She had been relying on Holly to put her up too, but that clearly wasn't going to happen. Her cousin had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want Abby around. A clock striking nine made her jump a mile high "D'Arvit!" She rushed to her feet and resumed her frenzied packing, she had an hour, only a single hour to get on a shuttle and get herself to Haven and the LEP training school…
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Precisely one hour and 2 minutes later a tousled Abby Short threw her bag up into the overhanging locker and sprawled across the seat. This was the last shuttle to Haven for the day and thankfully was almost empty, except for her and a pixie family. She was glad it was like this, it gave her time to contemplate when her relationship with her only cousin had gotten quite so bad…
FLASHBACK 20 YEARS…
It was just after Holly's father had been killed while on active duty with the LEP. Abby's mother had taken her to visit her cousin and aunt. Normally the two girls would have played mud people together, but something had changed, Holly had called her cousin immature and childish. To be fair Abby hadn't been far behind with the abuse, throwing both 'boyish' and 'nasty' into the mix of insults.
What had started out as a childish argument between childhood friends escalated out of control, both of them were too proud and stubborn to apologise. When Abby had been signed as a model at just 70 Holly had called her a useless bimbo. Abby had retaliated with 'Stupid Dwarf!'
When Holly had been captured by that mud man, Artemis whats-his-face Abby had shrugged her delicate shoulders and gone to do a runway show in Atlantis. Similarly when Abby's mother had been killed during the goblin uprising Holly had done nothing, absolutely nothing. It was as if they didn't know each other…
END FLASHBACK
Abby couldn't help the flash of pain that crossed her face when she thought about her mother. They'd been everything to each other, Abby's father, like Holly's had been killed while on active duty with the LEP, but it had happened when Abby was only a baby, she had no memory of him. She'd seen how it had affected her mother and aunt though and sworn she'd never ever join a force like that, not when all it did was get you killed and leave your loved ones behind alone.
That had been before though, now she fully understood why fairies did it. It was to protect those that couldn't protect themselves, fairies like her mother. For the past three years Abby had lived, breathed and dreamed of joining the LEP. She'd done everything possible, gone for long cross country runs, joined a gymnastics club, given up the modelling, (hence she was completely penniless) and mixed with as many different fairies as she could, pixies, dwarves, elfs , spirits, even the occasional goblin.
Then when she was as physically fit as she could be she'd applied to the LEP, only to be turned down! Well she was going to show them, Abby Short had died back in Atlanta, for the next 6 months she was going to be Belle Taylor. There was virtually no possibility that Holly would be anywhere near the training academy, but even if she was chances were she wouldn't recognise her cousin, after all her name had changed and they hadn't laid eyes on each other in over 20 years…
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Wing Commander Vinyaya glared at the new recruits over her clip board as she walked down their ranks. Only ten had applied for the elite training this year, she was half way down the ranks when she stopped dead, raising her head from the list of names and urgently scanning the faces of the recruits, yes there! Standing almost directly opposite her was a female! The first female to apply for Recon since Major Short, Vinyaya smiled internally to herself, she had feared that Holly had been an anomaly, but now here was another! 'Please Frond let her stick it out…'
Abby clenched sweating hands into fists at her side, Commander Vinyaya! She was a legend! Rumoured to be an exceptional marksman and one of the best flight instructors in several centuries! As she looked up suddenly and found Abby's face the elf in question fought not to panic, the very last thing she wanted was for attention to be drawn to her. She hadn't realised she'd be the only girl on the course, she was just going to have to be extra careful to stay out of Wing Commander Vinyaya's way…
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Abby pushed open the door to her room blindly and groped for the light switch. She couldn't see a thing over the piles of kit that she had been assigned. There was a pair of practical but comfortable black calf length boots, three sets of forest green trousers, three similarly coloured shirts and two jumpsuits in a lycra material, fully flexible and breathable, for when she was out on duty.
Dumping the kit on a conveniently placed chair she paused to survey her new living quarters. They were basic in the extreme, containing a bed, a bookshelf and a chest of drawers. Abby sighed in contentment, compared to what she'd be living in if she qualified this was a palace…
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Foaly listened in silence to Vinyaya babbling on about the new recruits, it wasn't until she mentioned that there was a female among them that he pricked up his ears, "Female, are you 100 positive there's a girl?"
Vinyaya raised a delicately sculpted eyebrow at the centaur, "Yes Foaly I'm 100 positive it's a girl, name of Belle Taylor. Just wait until Holly hears about this, she's going to be so pleased!"
"I wouldn't do that if I was you, not if you want to retain this girly on your squad." Foaly loved to be infuriating and as he reached for a carrot he knew he was being just that. "Why wouldn't she be on the squad? So far she's shown plenty of promise; the determination to succeed is practically oozing out of her pores…"
"How long have you had these recruits, 3 months?" At the commanders nod he continued, "Well to put it frankly 'Belle Taylor doesn't exist, but Abigail Short does. The same Abigail Short that was turned down from the LEP for unknown reasons 3 months ago…"
Vinyaya's mouth formed an 'O' shape, "It's clear you have your suspicions Foaly, spill or so help me I'll toast both your and this Abigail's behinds!" He was about to make a sarcastic comment when he caught the dangerous glint in the wing commanders eye, and spill is exactly what he proceeded to do:
"Abigail Short is famous, or at least she used to be. She was the face of various fashion agencies, Atlanta and Haven's number one catwalk model. Then three and a half years ago during the goblin uprising while she was away doing some show her mother was attacked, raped and killed. The LEP were too far away and with no weapons, she was defenceless. Abby, as she is known was devastated. She left the fashion industry and as far as my sources tell me has trained her pretty ass off with a view to making the LEP ever since."
Vinyaya had been silent throughout Foaly's babbling now though she asked the question that had been bothering her for the last ten minutes, "So why would Holly be upset that she's here?" Foaly cleared his throat, "Abby Short, - Holly Short, they're cousins, cousins that haven't spoken for over 20years. Holly begged Trouble not to let her come, said she was a bimbo who would do the force nothing but harm…"
Vinyaya took a deep breath, several puzzles that had been annoying her slotted neatly into place, the shape of Belles / Abby's eyes, they were identical to Holly's, just a different colour, the slender figure, again Holly's on a different elf. Perhaps it would be best if she didn't spill the beans just yet, she'd grown fond of Abby, the little she'd seen of her and didn't want to see her leave just yet, not when she'd shown such potential. It was strange though, she didn't think Holly was like that…
"One more question, why did you protect this Abby?" Foaly considered his answer for a couple of minutes, "Honestly, she reminded me of Holly, and I think every fairy deserves a chance, she can always be kicked off the force if she's no good…"
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Well what does everyone think? My first Artemis Fowl fic, reviews would be much appreciated…xxxx