Faster update, whoop! As ever, I own precisely nothing; RLD is the most amazing beta in the world, and please review! In the interest of a fast update and a reasonable chapter length, there is no swimming this chapter. I keep putting it off, sorry about that. It's on it's way, I promise.

Trouble stuck his head around his bedroom door and looked right and left. The coast was clear. He grabbed a towel and raced to the bathroom, locking himself into a shower cubicle with a sigh of relief. He'd half expected Holly to ambush him in the middle of the night, but nothing had happened. Still, he wasn't going to relax his guard. He even kept an ear out for footsteps whilst he had the water running, in case she tried to make off with his clothes. If he brought them into the cubicle with him they'd get soaked, so there was a little cubby-hole in the wall. Whilst it could be accessed from the shower, it could also be gotten at from the other side. However, he heard nothing, so he was feeling pretty happy when he pulled back the shower curtain and reached for his towel. All his fingers encountered was air; the compartment was empty. Panicking, he felt around the edges – there had to be something left, nobody was that cruel – and found a face towel, barely larger than his palm. Glowering, he ensured that he was as fully covered as possible before stepping out of the cubicle into the empty room. He stormed across to the entrance, and bumped into Holly at the divide between bathrooms. Her eyes widened as she gave him the once-over.

"Forget something, Trouble? Or did your towel shrink in the wash?"

He pointed at her threateningly, ensuring with the other hand that the flannel stayed firmly in place.

"Very funny, Holly. Now, where are my clothes?"

Holly frowned at him in (he thought) mock confusion.

"I have no idea. I've been in the shower myself."

Now that he took the time to look, Holly's hair was wet and she had a damp towel thrown over her shoulder. Trouble eyed it, and she sighed and handed it to him. He hesitated for a second, debating the best way to switch materials. Holly shook her head and walked out of the bathroom, her feet making distinct sounds on the tiled floor. Trouble tied the towel around his waist and shook his head, thinking hard. If not Holly, then who could have set him up, and why?

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Artemis was trying to meditate. He was in the lotus position, sitting on the floor at the end of his bed, attempting to make sure that he was calm before he had to face Kelby again. It wasn't working too well, mostly because of the noises he could hear coming from the adjacent room. He couldn't hear words, but the walls were thin enough for him to make out what appeared to be prolonged laughter. He sighed and opened his eyes. What was Holly finding so amusing?

He knocked on her door and she opened it a crack, peering out at him and trying to look sombre. She stopped when she saw who it was, and allowed a hint of a grin to creep onto her face.

"What do you want, Arty?"

Arty. He swallowed and changed his question.

"What's so funny?"

Holly glanced down the corridor to where Trouble was emerging from the bathroom, looking half contemplative, half murderous. She opened the door wider and beckoned Artemis inside. Interested in spite of himself, he obliged, and she snapped the door shut before Trouble noticed her. Caitir sat on the end of Holly's bed, holding what looked like a tiny torch in her left hand. Holly held up one hand and listened with her ear to the door until she heard Trouble enter his room. Then she nodded.

"Alright, play it. But turn the volume down."

Artemis opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but Caitir flicked a button on the machine in her hands, and it became very obvious what. He quickly closed his mouth and feigned indifference.

The torch was actually a miniscule projector, and what it was displaying onto Holly's wall was footage of Trouble (from the chest up) standing in the middle of the bathroom with a decidedly panicked look on his face. Holly and Caitir both stifled giggles. Artemis was just debating the wisdom of asking why the pair were watching this when there was another knock at the door. Immediately, Caitir turned the projector off and grabbed Artemis, tugging him out of sight of the doorway. Holly checked that they were hidden before opening the door and feigning surprise to see Trouble outside. His face was red, though whether from anger or embarrassment Holly wasn't sure. He was now fully dressed in tight white trousers and a top. It didn't pay to wear billowy material when you were working with air.

"When I got back in my room, my clothes were folded on the end of my bed."

His voice was calm and even, which told Holly he was on the verge of yelling. She decided to play dumb, and shrugged.

"So?"

He eyed her for a few seconds, his gaze narrowed. It was the look he used on Grub when he wanted information that his brother was unwilling to give, and it set the younger Kelp squirming in less than ten seconds. However, Holly was made of stronger stuff; she just glared back until Trouble gave up and handed the towel back to her with a sigh.

"Here."

She nodded and closed the door. A few seconds later, there was a muffled thud as Trouble slammed his behind him. Holly sighed and threw the wet towel in the general direction of the wardrobe in the corner of the room; then she sat down on the bed and grinned.

"That was fun."

Caitir nodded, her smile competing with the elf's, but Artemis shook his head as one would at a small and foolish child. He'd already worked out what was happening, and he didn't approve – mostly because his brothers had done the same thing to him once, so he knew how Kelp felt. Though at least he'd known who had done it; Trouble apparently had no idea what was going on.

"That was childish, Holly."

She stuck her tongue out at him, proving his point. He sighed.

"I'm going back to my room. Please, try to keep the giggling to a minimum."

Holly rolled her eyes. He ignored it and left, vowing to keep a closer eye on his belongings in the shower from now on.

Caitir waited until Artemis had gone, then sat beside Holly on the bed. There was a small silence, broken by the elf.

"Thanks for that."

Caitir had been the one who'd actually done the 'borrowing' of Trouble's things. She'd flown in, thus eradicating the footsteps problem, and arranged his clothes neatly on the end of his bed whilst Holly was in the shower. The tiny projector had been in Holly's hand when she'd emerged, and had captured a few moments of Trouble's alarm before he'd spotted her. The sprite nodded, her wings fluttering.

"No problem. It's always good to see another girl around the place; we have to stick together in these things."

"Yeah, and I told you he looked good shirtless."

Holly, looking at the wall in front of her, could just make out a blush on the sprite's cheeks. She pretended not to notice, but it confirmed her suspicions.

"That too, I guess."

There was another silence as the pair tried to think of a new topic. This time, it was Caitir who spoke first.

"So, Edan or Artemis?"

Holly blinked and turned to face the sprite, hiding the disquiet in her expression very well.

"I don't know what you mean."

Caitir scoffed. "Don't pretend. Everyone's seen the two of them fawning over you; the bets are on which of them you'll go for. Of course, neither of them is aware of the gambling... Personally, I've got my money on Edan. I mean, he's a fairy, he's handsome, he's your tutor..."

She trailed off and raised her eyebrows suggestively. Holly fumed for a silent moment, and then decided to hell with it.

"What about you and Trouble?"

It was Caitir's turn to fumble for a denial. Holly grinned.

"Don't pretend. Why wouldn't you go for him? I mean, he's a fairy, he's handsome, he's your tutee..."

Caitir suddenly decided that she had somewhere else to be. Holly watched her leave, then flopped back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. There were bets on who she'd pick? Caitir had said that Artemis and Edan didn't know about it, but that implied that everyone else did. She gritted her teeth. Butler was so going to pay when she saw him.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Holly walked into the round room at exactly midday. Artemis and Butler were already seated at one of the tables, debating something over their food. Well, Artemis was talking; Butler was staring at his bacon as though it could help him understand the undoubtedly complicated lecture his charge was delivering. Holly ignored the food and strode to the giant's side.

"Can I have a word?"

Her words were polite, her tone anything but. She sounded churlish enough to halt Artemis mid-lecture. Butler raised his eyebrows, but followed her from the hall to stand in the corridor just outside. Holly waited for Edan to pass before speaking; for once, the male elf didn't flirt with her, instead nodding as he passed. She watched him walk into to the hall, then turned back to Butler and snapped at him.

"Apparently, there are bets being taken on whom I choose – Artemis or Edan. Did you know about this?"

Butler could tell by her tone that she wouldn't believe him if he denied it, so he shrugged.

"I'd heard a rumour."

Holly fumed silently for a few seconds, then got her temper under control enough to speak pseudo-calmly.

"And?"

He frowned, unsure what she meant. Who did he bet on? Who was winning? He coughed and said the safest thing he could think of.

"And the general consensus is that you're lucky to have two men – and, apparently, one bird – fighting over your attentions."

He'd said the wrong thing – Holly all but yelled at him. "It's none of their D'Arvitting business! Whoever I... I mean...."

Butler knelt and put one huge hand on her shoulder, forcing her to halt her spluttering in order to devote her attention to not falling over.

"Nobody's prying, Holly. They're interested, that's all. Can you imagine how boring it must get around here when there's no training to be done? This is their version of a soap opera, and they're going to talk about it. But that's it; nobody is going to interfere."

She seemed calmer, and when she spoke again her tones had reverted to normal volumes. "I guess that would interfere with the bet?"

Butler chuckled. "I guess."

He stood and was halfway back into the round room when she called to him. "Who did you bet on?"

He looked at her over his shoulder and winked. "Artemis, of course."

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Artemis was accompanied into his practice room by Edan and Holly, both of whom were extraordinarily quiet around each other. Yesterday, he would have asked why (in the hopes of there being some sort of falling out), but having learned more than he cared to know in the copse, he didn't bother. He could work enough out on his own; they were feeling uncomfortable, but he didn't know whether it was because they were unsure about the impact of yesterday's incident (he couldn't bring himself to think of them kissing) on their professional acquaintance, or because there was hostility about the way Holly had handled the situation. He had a niggling feeling that she hadn't told him the whole truth about that.

Kelby was waiting for them on the other side of the lake. He stood at their arrival, though he didn't make any attempt to come closer. Artemis for one was grateful for this; Kelby could do enough damage from that distance. Holly on the other hand looked like she'd relish the chance to punch him again. Maybe Edan sensed this, because he caught her hand and pulled her away from Kelby, apparently only realising after he'd touched her what he'd done. He froze. Holly sighed and squeezed his fingers before letting go of his hand. Artemis suppressed the frown that was trying to form on his face. If Holly had felt any negativity towards the elf, she was apparently forgiving him for it.

Kelby coughed, bringing everyone back to earth. "Are we going to do this or what?"

Artemis noticed the abrupt hostility in the elf's voice, but either Edan didn't or he was ignoring it. He clapped his hands together and spoke as if he were instructing a gym class at St. Bartleby's. Artemis had gotten out of that by scaring the teacher and forging various notes to sit out. Pity that wouldn't work here; he could have used the break. Artemis and exertion were not generally words seen in the same sentence.

"Right then. Artemis, you and Kelby will do some basic training in manipulation. I know it's only been a week, but you should at least be able to lift the water by now, if not funnel it. Holly and I will do something similar, and then we will combine and show you how the two seemingly most conflicting elements can work together."

Holly and Artemis eyed each other and smiled. Edan nodded, apparently done with his instructions, and turned back to his pupil. Holly's eyes left Artemis's, and he grudgingly let his attention wander to Kelby. The lessons began.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Working in tandem with another pair was a mixed blessing to Artemis. On the one hand, it meant he had to endure about two hours of Holly being in the same space as him and completely ignoring him, all her attention focussed on Edan. The male elf kept touching her; hesitantly at first, then more confidently as he become sure that she wasn't going to hurt him/shout/run away. He was even beginning to flirt again. Artemis gritted his teeth and wished yet again that he understood Holly. Most people, he could read like an open book. A few gave him problems, but only one confused him in this way. Well, maybe two; Minerva had many of the same qualities as Holly, especially in the wild-mood-swings area.

The good thing that their presence did was to calm Kelby right down. His whole demeanour changed, at least as far as teaching method was concerned. He wasn't shouting; he was explaining properly, and Artemis found himself able to move the water relatively easily compared to previous sessions. Within three hours, he was able to shape the water into a cylinder and hold it in the air for up to a minute – longer than he'd ever managed before. Edan led Holly over to them and launched into another of his explanations.

"You've both developed your abilities to a high enough level for this to be possible. We don't usually combine powers like this so early in the training, but due to special circumstances..."

Artemis bit the inside of his cheek to stop the myriad of sarcastic responses that wanted to come out, Holly clenched her fists and Kelby refused to make eye contact with anyone. Edan cleared his throat and continued.

"Due to the circumstances we're going to try it. If it doesn't work, then it's not a huge problem; we can do some more basic training and combine your gifts later on. Basically, what you do is..."

He launched into a long-winded description of what was going to happen. Holly stopped understanding what was being said about six sentences in, and Artemis lost track (and interest) not long after. So when Edan finished and said 'clear?' in a tone that implied three-year-olds could have understood it, he got uncomprehending and semi-hostile glares in response. Kelby sighed and took a step closer to the group.

"Maybe a demonstration would be more useful?"

Edan nodded and waved a hand genially towards the water tutor. "After you."

Kelby waved one hand carelessly at the lake; a huge cylinder of water lifted and began to swirl around itself like a parody of a tornado. The gesture from the elf looked casual, but Artemis could make out the tension in his arm and the look of concentration in his eyes. Evidently, this was harder than he was making it look.

Edan allowed the swirling water to settle into a rhythm before rubbing his hands together and conjuring a fireball at his fingertips. Kelby's eyes narrowed and his fingers splayed slightly; the water/tornado split, making a sort of spiral in mid-air. Edan sent the flames from his hand to fill the gaps, creating a sort of flamethrower effect that filled most of the room. Sweat broke out on Artemis's brow, but Holly seemed unaffected by the sudden temperature rise; probably a side-effect of being a fire elemental.

The flames stopped coming from Edan's fingers, and the room cooled slightly. The 'tornado' spiral was now a roaring combination of both water and fire; somehow, the two were existing side-by-side without affecting each other. A little steam arose from the dancing spiral, but that was the extent of the interaction. Both Edan and Kelby were now fully focussed on their task, and both did the same thing at the same time. They pulled their fingers in to make a fist, and the spiral contracted into a swirling ball. Still, the water and the fire did not intermingle, but spun around each other in the sphere, creating a lava-lamp-type effect. The tutor's arms relaxed, as did the mixture of elements; the water and fire mixed, and the effect was immediate. The water bubbled, and vents of steam arose from it. The fire was no longer visible except for a slight orange tint to the boiling liquid.

They held this in the air for several seconds, though whether to show off or to allow Holly and Artemis a good look, neither tutee was sure. Gradually, Edan dropped his arm; the water slowed its bubbling and lost the orange tinge. Kelby lowered it back to the lake, where it was immersed with a hiss. Edan turned to Holly and Artemis.

"And that's how it's done."

"Oh? Is that all?" Holly asked, the sarcasm in her tone thick enough to walk on. Edan grinned at her.

"We'll start small, don't worry. That's the big finale. For now, you're just going to practise holding the elements together without extinguishing one or the other. That's the hardest part."

"And the flamethrower?"

Edan showed more teeth.

"We'll get to that. That's what the mannequins are for."

Holly's expression matched his – target practice, her favourite.

Kelby cleared his throat, causing Edan to roll his eyes.

"Alright, alright. I'm getting to it."

He turned his body to the left, including Artemis in the conversation. Kelby came a few steps closer, now almost part of the group. Edan nodded to him. "You and Artemis go first."

Kelby sighed and nodded to his pupil. "Lift the water like we practiced."

"Not too much to start with," Edan interceded. Artemis waved one hand, and a ball of water about the size of his head emerged. Kelby shot Edan a look that told the other elf to shut up, and nodded.

"That will do. Now, shape it and funnel it. It has to be hollow."

Artemis did so; some water sloughed back into the lake, but Kelby either didn't notice or didn't care. He nodded and showed the boy how to split the water to make a spiral. It took a few attempts, but Artemis managed it. Edan nodded, apparently impressed.

"That's the fastest anyone's ever done that."

Kelby glared at him, though whether it was due to the repeated interruptions or the praise, nobody was sure. Edan turned back to his own pupil.

"Your turn. Let's see if you can match Artemis."

How could Holly resist a challenge like that? She nodded and pulled several small flames to the tips of her fingers. Edan scrutinised them for a second before proclaiming himself satisfied.

"Good. Now, remember how you shape it?"

She didn't wait for his prompting, allowing the flames to coalesce and spin into a coil. Edan raised his eyebrows.

"Somebody's been practicing – nicely done. Now, try both together."

Artemis, who had let his water fall back into the lake, sighed and rolled his eyes at the smug look Holly shot him. He pulled another ball of liquid from the surface and formed the helix without being asked. Edan told him to just hold it still.

"This is the hard bit now, but it's going to be much easier if you can each control your element. Now, try to move the flames closer to the water."

Holly extended her fingers, and her flame-spiral moved through the air. As soon as it touched the water, both she and Artemis cried out in pain and let their attention fade. The water fell back to the lake with a splash, and the fire faded out of existence. Both of them glared at Edan, rubbing their hands together to try to get rid of the stinging sensation that had flared to life when their elements had touched. The elf shrugged.

"You get used to that."

"You could have said something," Artemis muttered. Kelby rolled his eyes, boredom clear in his expression.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Just try again without anything fancy. It stings every time, but you learn to ignore it. If that's all we get done this session, at least it's something."

Holly and Artemis looked at each other. This was going to be a long lesson.

Next time; hmm. I've not decided yet. But I can promise you action.

Thanks for reading, now be a darling and review?

Liris
xxx