Chapter 7 - I Dreamed a Little Dream

Artemis Fowl stared at his ceiling. The annoyingly loud sound of an alarm clock filled the room. Artemis turned on his side to see the time. 6:00 AM. This was Artemis' routine wake up time. He reached over and de-activated the alarm. He turned onto his back, to continue staring at the ceiling. He lay in his bed, in which just moments ago, he was absolutely sure he just made love to Holly. It made sense that the whole thing was a Dream. He sat up straight, and rubbed his eyes. It seemed unreal, but he had hoped that this Dream in particular never had to end. He slid off the bed, and walked into the bathroom. He stopped at the mirror, and gazed into his reflection. A disheveled and disappointed man stared back. He turned on the cold water tap in his sink and splashed some water in his face. He turned off the tap, and resumed looking at himself in the mirror. He was still awake. He threw his face into his hands, and began to fight back tears. Artemis wasn't happy.

Recently, Artemis had been acting differently. He had been seeing things through a perspective entirely foreign to him. Butler noticed he sometimes counted his steps. He also seemed to be fond of the number 5. Butler suspected puberty was the cause for this. Artemis wasn't exactly sure why he wanted to cry - he just did. He knew he wasn't acting like himself. He decided to go over everything he could remember from the Dream. This sometimes comforted him.

Let's see... I'm still 14, for another two weeks anyways. Juliet's unaware of the fairy's existence as she has not recovered from the mindwipe, as far as I know. I doubt I would call a meeting simply to announce that I have started exercising more. I wouldn't be in the Gym lifting weights without Butler there. Bad Romance would not be playing in my Gym. I don't like fast food. Holly's a vegetarian. I found the movie 'Detroit Rock City' to be not of my taste and to be more for the teenage Kiss fan audience. Most importantly, I don't have feelings for Holly... Do I?

Artemis wasn't sure how he felt for Captain Short, as she had been a friend to him for quite some time. It may have been the puberty taking control of his mind, but he couldn't help but feel attracted to Holly. It was because of Holly that he had changed his criminal ways. It was because of her that he could trust people more. Recently, however, he felt as though his trust for people was gradually disintegrating. He recently also developed some sort of guilt complex, perhaps for not forgiving himself for his criminal ways, and for lying to his good friend in the recent months. Still, his uncertainty of feelings towards the Elf kept bothering him. He looked into the mirror, and met his own mismatched eyes. Whatever feelings he may have for Holly, he knew he wouldn't be able to act on them - not at least until he was sure he had feelings for her, and after he launched THE PROJECT. This time, Artemis Fowl II was focused on saving the World.

Artemis walked back into his room, and decided to get changed. He took off his robe, leaving him standing in his boxers, a pair of socks, and wearing a necklace he had made years back with a very special coin a very special friend had given to him. He brought the coin to his face, and studied it. He looked at the hole in the middle. You keep it, to remind you. To remind you that deep beneath the layers of deviousness, you have a spark of decency. Perhaps you could blow on that spark occasionally.

He remembers those words to this day, determined to blow on that spark. He looked down at his flabby body. Perhaps modifying my work out routine is not such a bad idea. A little more than horseback riding is needed to fix this.

Artemis sat at a desk, fully suited. He held the coin in one hand, and placed it down on the surface of the desk. He then removed a ring on his finger - a ring that he used to communicate with Holly. In this instance, he decided he would use it as a video diary. He set the ring down so it was facing him. All these newfound feelings were driving him insane. He pushed a button that initiated the recording on the ring. Before he said anything, he knew he couldn't get too personal, in case someone got a hold of the ring. Unsure of what to say, he picks up the coin and holds it in between his thumb and index finger, which is techinically his middle finger. He studied it for a moment, then realizing he was being recorded, slammed the coin down on the desk. He picked it back up and tried spinning it. It didn't work. For some odd reason, he couldn't leave the coin alone. It was frustrating him.

"People called me a boy genius. A wunderkind. Perhaps I was a prodigy. But I will be fifteen soon and too old for that label. So what am I then? A teenage criminal mastermind perhaps. Or just a common thief. Who can a thief trust? There were a few I thought. But could I have been wrong? Is that possible?"

The sheer thought of possibly being wrong disgusted Artemis. He tapped the coin against the desk a couple times. Four, to be exact. This worried him, so without stopping, he tapped the coin 16 more times on the desk. Multiples of four. Four sounds like the word for 'death' in Chinese. Although 16 was a multiple of 4, it added up to 20, which was a multiple of 5 - Artemis' new lucky number. He rubbed the deep line between his brows in frustration.

"I thought I knew everything. Now I think I know too much. This new knowledge, these complications are taking me over. Soon they will drive my very speech pattern."

Artemis tapped the coin on the desk 20 times again. He then terminated the video recording sequence. He buried his face in his hands, and took several deep breaths. There was so much going on for Artemis. He was seeing people in a different light, in more ways than one. He put the ring back on his finger, and stood up. He walked away from the desk to begin working on THE PROJECT. Within those two weeks that lead up to his birthday, Artemis began training with Butler more, and grew less and less trusting of the people who were close to him. His obsessiveness got worse, forced him to see numbers all around him and lose trust in himself. He planned on revealing THE PROJECT to his fairy friends on his birthday.

THE END