Chapter 3

Artemis scowled as he listened to his brother’s endless chatter about some annoying new pop star.It was now time for supper, but his mood had not lightened one bit. Actually, it had just gotten darker. And being forced downstairs to go on a family dinner had not improved it in the very least.

He had spent the afternoon thinking, not sulking, in his room about what to do with his brothers after escaping from his mother. He had come up with several schemes, some to complex to be carried out and others, like the one that involved a clown, bowling ball, and a garden gnome, to silly to even consider for long. He had had resolved to not leave his room until he came up with the perfect revenge. However, his mother had come up and forced him down, and to the fancy, tedious restaurant they were currently at for a family supper.

Artemis considered voicing his complaints to his mother, but one look at her jubilant expression was enough to send all thoughts of leaving early out of his mind. He recalled the words that she had used to get him downstairs with a resigned sigh.

“This will be the first time in years that we all sit down together for a delicious holiday supper! Isn’t it wonderful, Arty?”

Try as he might, Artemis just could not bring himself to ruin the evening by excusing himself to work on this latest project. Every time he considered the idea, a strange pain stabbed his heart, making him wince, and his brothers giggle at his expression.

Mother truly was amazing. With two simple sentences, she had ensured the fact that Artemis would stay for the entire meal. He could only wonder how she had managed to convince his father to attend as well.

Artemis’s last memory of the Fowl family having a holiday dinner together was when he was perhaps five, and even then, the meal had been interrupted halfway through by a phone call for Fowl Sr. regarding an account which had mysteriously lost several family heirlooms.

Similarly, all of the holidays following that one had involved Artemis’s father being much to busy to sit down for a meal with his family. Then, Fowl Sr. had vanished, and Artemis’s mother had had a nervous breakdown. When Artemis had finally managed to bring his father home, the holidays had been spent with him in the hospital, recuperating from his ordeal. And then Artemis himself had disappeared, so the holidays had been spent without him.

In short, the Fowl Family did not have much luck when it came to holidays. But this year, Angeline Fowl was determined to change that fact.

Clink, click, krrsh!

Artemis turned his attention to his father who had tapped his wine glass with a spoon in order to get everyone’s attention and in the process of doing so, shattered the poor glass.

“Oh, oops. Sorry about that, no Myles, don’t touch it, it’s sharp.” he said with a slightly embarrassed grin as he moved the glass away from Myles.

Artemis sent a glare towards his younger brother. Dinner had only just begun, and already something had gone wrong. Myles had no need to worsen the evening with a trip to the emergency room.

“Right, so how about we talk about our day?” Fowl Sr. said, continuing on as though there was no shattered wine glass next to him. He looked hopefully towards his eldest son. “Artemis, why don’t you begin?”

“Why him?” Beckett whined, slumping in his seat.

“All he did all day was mope around in his room.” Myles added, crossing his black coat clad arms across his chest.

“Boys,” Angeline interrupted gently, raising an eyebrow at them. “It’s your older brother’s turn to speak.”

Artemis looked at his parent’s hopeful faces and sighed. He had to make small talk with his own family. Why were things so awkward all of a sudden? He was still upset with the twins, so the annoyance towards them was expected, but why did he also feel uncomfortable with his parents?

“ I spent a few hours reading War and Peace,” he began, snatching his menu away from Beckett. “It was enlightening, though a tad dull. Then, I began on that ridiculous essay-”

“He also snuck outside even though mother said not to!” Beckett interrupted, annoyed that Artemis had taken away the menu before he could hide it.

Artemis subjected him to his best vampire glare which was met with an innocent, toothy grin.

“Oh, he was soaking wet.” Angeline interrupted, worried again. “I hope he doesn’t catch a cold.”

“Don’t worry,” Artemis’s father replied, moving his menu away from the prying hands on Myles. “He’s young and healthy. He’ll be fine.”

Artemis mentally screamed in frustration. If they weren’t going to listen, why did they bother to ask?

The twins were now chatting on about their day which revolved around the concept of them being sweet little angels. Prank their older brother? Why their innocent minds couldn’t even conceive the concept.

It was Fowl Sr. who first noticed his elder son’s darkening mood. Quickly realizing what was wrong, it wasn’t hard given the dark glare Artemis sent in the twin’s direction every minutes, he set about changing the subject.

“What an exciting day you two had.” he told the twins with a smile. “Now, what would you boys like as gifts?”

He nodded to Artemis.

“Artemis? You first.”

Some other stories by Moonlite Knight:

• Update to Secert World
• The End of the World
• If I Told You I Loved You...
• Boredom is a Powerful Weapon
• I Don't Like Lollipops

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