Chapter Four: Fairy Tales

Lower Elements

Holly looked on as Foaly placed her precious rose into one of his specimen jars.  She took a significant amount of offense to it, and was surprised at both her sudden feeling of offense as well as her tolerance for what Foaly was doing.  Foaly, however, took notice of the look in Holly’s eyes.

“Don’t worry, Holly.  It’s safe,” he said, trying to ease her rigidness.  It didn’t quite work.

“So what did you find out?” she asked, hiding the curiosity and impatience in her voice.

“I know this’ll sound strange, but do you remember any of the old fairy’s tales that they used to tell us when we were little?”

Holly remembered being in her mother’s lap, wrapped warmly in her favorite blanket.  It was an old family treasure, and it was hers to keep.  Her mother used to whisper exciting stories of the old fairy’s tales, ranging from great deeds to extravagant romances.

Holly nodded her head.  “What about them?”

“Well,” started Foaly, “do you recall the one about your great-grandfather?”

Suddenly, Holly felt her head start to spin.  Of course she remembered it.  How could she not?  However, it had slipped her mind the moment that it should’ve registered in her mind.  She shook her head, not wanting to uncover her sudden self-realizations.

“Really?  Hmm, well… I don’t blame you, considering how crazy the story does sound, but…  I guess now would be the best time to tell you then, Holly.  It’s actually almost taboo to even speak of it these days.”

Holly felt her cheeks redden.  She used all of her mental and physical ability to control herself.  She knew exactly why Foaly had called her here.  She now knew why he recognized the rose, why he was so suspicious, why he couldn’t help but ask questions;

 ”It’s the story of your great-grandfather Cupid,” began Foaly.  “and how he was the first fairy to ever fall in love with a human.”

Fowl Manor

Artemis’ fingertips stroke various keys upon the Fowl grand piano, each stroke summoning a finely-tuned note that soon weaved together with the numerous phrases and chords.  He was composing a song that he intended to present to Holly.  Considering how much she had enjoyed her rose, he couldn’t help but wonder what her expression would be towards her very own lullaby.

He continued striking the keys, stopping every now and then to copy the notes onto his sheet music.  He felt every note call out her name; every melody was a wave of calm that caressed him, and every chord that he struck was a loud cry of his utter devotion to her.

He stopped abruptly.  His head titled up in uffish thought.

What shall I title this piece?

Lower Elements

Foaly began the fairy-tale:

“Cupid was once the happiest man in the entire world.  He had a beautiful wife and a beautiful daughter; he had been blessed by the higher gods.  Then, one day, tragedy struck.”

Holly held her breath.

“A jealous pixie of painful beauty attacked Cupid and his family.  She had always desired Cupid, even though she herself was married.  In an angry outburst, she summoned the forbidden dark magic against Cupid, wishing to kill him and herself in the process.  Oholibama, in her love for her husband, guarded Cupid and instead was hit by the murderous beam.”

Foaly hesitated.

“In her anger and pain, Oholibama placed a curse upon the pixie and her future generations.  The pixie soon perished, consumed by the very black magic she had summoned.  Cupid held his wife in his arms, grieving over her.  All his magic could not repair her wounds.  In her last words, Oholibama blessed her husband and child.

‘Husband, your love will always prevail; live your life, and learn to love others.’

‘Child, your life is so innocent and pure; keep it so, and follow your heart.  Your legacy will continue forever…’

Cupid looked at his wife in pain and sorrow.

‘My love for you is undying… But, my husband… Your love for me can be used for the better!  Use it to help the world… Use it to unite others like you and I have.  Use it to quell the troubled souls of the fairy race, but do not forget that our Mud People are also our far family…’

Cupid nodded his head as his tears dropped onto her cheeks.  He professed his love to her one last time.

‘As I love you, my love…’

And with that, her eyelids shut, and her soul rose upwards, past the layers of dirt and rock, past the surface, past the sky, and beyond the stars into Harmony.  Cupid’s heart shattered, and his tears flowed.”

Holly felt the tears come to her eyes.  She fought with all her might to keep them back.  Her younger self got the better of her.

Fowl Manor

“Hmm…” Artemis hummed aloud.  He drummed the top of the piano lightly, trying to think of a name that was both complex and simple, strange yet sweet… Something that could reflect his affection for Holly.  Perhaps a phrase that would bring back an old memory?

Artemis chuckled as he tried to match up several flashbacks with his musical piece.

Kidnapping Fairies?  Punched by a Fairy?  The Artic Incident?  The Eternity Code?  The Opal Deception? (Artemis shuddered at the thought)  The Lost Colony?  The Time Paradox?

He stumbled for words, trying to piece together a title.

Lower Elements

Foaly continued the tale:

“Oholibama’s last blessing had altered Cupid’s magic.  It added a soft essence of purity, allowing him to follow her last request.

He began to wander the Lower Elements, casting his magic in areas where love and peace were beginning to dwindle.  His magic, however, was not like that of a normal fairy’s; whenever he used his magic, it would move quietly and peacefully.  Unlike the blue essence of normal magic, his own was golden with streaks of crimson.

He was also attracted to anguish and despair, sadness and depression.  This attraction brought him to many cities and many villages.  Within these locations were the hearts of those suffering because of their confusion and misunderstanding of love.  His heart beckoned him and drew out his magic, healing the wounded hearts and pushing the indecisive to follow their hearts. 

As the years passed him, his daughter grew to be a young woman.  Tiresome from their constant traveling, his daughter requested to return to their home.  Cupid considered it for a moment, but shook his head.

‘I love you,’ he said to her.  “You truly are the most precious thing in the world to me, but I can never return home.  Your mother has given me a task in which I’m to complete, my child…’

His daughter could only nod her head as silent tears erupted from her beautiful hazel eyes.

‘Go home, and be happy…  Perhaps one day, we will see each other again.’

With one last goodbye, Cupid let his daughter return home, where she fell in love and soon started her own family. 

Cupid, however, continued to roam the Lower Elements, fulfilling his wife’s last wish.

Fowl Manor

“You’ve been at that piano for quite some time, Master Fowl.  May I bring you lunch?” Butler asked, stepping into the room.

“Only if you can join me, old friend,” Artemis said, turning to him.

“Any suggestions or requests?” asked the bodyguard.

“Nothing with meat,” he replied.

“…Not to pry, but is there any particular reason…?”

“She’s–”

“A vegetarian?  Understood.” Butler walked out of the room.

A vegetarian?  Well, there goes tonight’s steak dinner… Butler thought to himself.

Lower Elements

“The magic in Cupid’s veins was much more than he had expected; it caused a growth spurt in him, making much taller than the average fairy.  Unable to walk amongst the fairy-race, he ventured onto the surface world.  As he got closer to the surface, he could feel the anguish and pain of the Mud People arise in his heart.

Nearer and nearer, he could feel the weight of painful wars and battles, plagues and extinctions, hunts and savage murders…

When he finally stepped upon the wet grass of the surface, the cool winds and fresh air of the surface world caressed his face, and his hair flowed peacefully in the breeze.  It was an ironic contrast to the unsettling pain that pulsed in the surface essence.

Not even taking five steps, he came across a wounded dove.  Picking it up, he summoned his golden magic and whispered ‘Heal.’  The dove’s feather glittered brilliantly and it and a wave of healthiness washed over it.

However, when the dove left Cupid’s hands, it became wounded once more.  As he examined it, Cupid realized that the dove had also been plagued with the forbidden dark magic.  He wept for the dove and vowed to keep it with him on his travels, to never let it die.

As he set off into the unknown surface world, with the bird perched upon his back, he felt a shiver run up his spine.

The same magic that had taken his wife was somewhere on the surface world.  Would he be able to stop it?

Fowl Manor

“I never realized the potential taste that mushrooms had,” Butler said, chewing a bit of the vegetarian meal he had prepared.

“Well, of course; it came from the Earth, did it not?” Artemis replied.

It was a well-rounded meal, consisting of a light salad peppered with a dressing that Artemis could not quite identify, and a mushroom/sun-dried tomato combination sandwiched between two wholesome slices of multi-grain bread.

“May I ask what it is that you’ve been composing, Master Fowl?”

“I’d like to name it a lullaby, but–” Artemis tried to find words.  “…but it seems to tell a story as well.  Any attempts I’ve had at giving this a title has been unsuccessful.”

“Hmm.  What story is it telling?”

“Ours.  When we discovered the fairies.  Our adventures, our dilemmas, our victories, our sorrows, our friends.  It’s–”

“–about the Captain as well, am I right?” Butler interrupted.

“You have a bad habit of finishing my sentences, Butler.”

“My suggestion is,” Butler started, collecting their plates and silverware and placing it on a silver tray, “to name your piece with the memory most vivid in your mind.  Whatever it is that caused you to begin writing your song.”

As Butler exited the room, Artemis chuckled to himself.

Butler, my wise and emotional bodyguard.  Absolutely one of a kind.

Lower Elements

Foaly continued the story:

“As he healed the hearts of the Mud People, he soon came to realize how savage and wicked their hearts were.  They were born suffering, born with heavy hearts.  The dove continued to cling upon him, sharing his sorrow for the Mud People.

As he traveled, he learned of the surface world’s history, and learned great tales of Mud Men who led their people and saved them.  He was astonished to learn that these Mud People had done such tremendous deeds without the use of magic; rather, they had relied solely in their love for their people, and in their faith.

In the ancient years, the Fairies and the Mud People were in unity.  Although the Fairies were magically superior, the Mud People were capable of magic, despite it’s limited capabilities.  However, the Mud People began to sway away from their magic, preferring logic and reasoning, thus surrendering their magic.  It was then that the Fairies left the self-destructive Mud People and the link between Fairy and Human ceased to be.

He traveled many long years, and the dove stayed perched upon his back.  However, as Cupid gazed at the setting sun, he felt a soft presence enter his mind.  It wasn’t a thought of his own; rather, it was a self-individual thought that resonated from the dove.

‘Beautiful Cupid, he who comes forth from the hidden world, I hath lived beyond my own destined fate.  I thank you for your never-ending kindness, but I must leave… Harmony beckons me to the Heavens.  Before I cease, however, I grant you my wings, for I shall always be a part of you.  Use them to inspire the humans.  Use them to inspire love…  Fly forth, Fairy-Man! Farewell!’

And with that, the dove’s spirit rose into Harmony.  Cupid began to weep silently when suddenly he felt the the dove’s lifeless body sink into his skin.  The wings became a part of him, and they grew extravagantly.

He shut his eyes and extended his wings to their fullest reach, the feathers glowing a bright gold from the setting sun.  As he inhaled, he felt an alarming disturbance in the essence around him.  It was a brooding sensation; he could feel a terrible event slowly happening…

An explosion.

He opened his eyes and spotted a city yonder, with flames rising from it’s towers and monuments.  With it’s sight came the brooding sensation of a wicked evil.

Rising high into the heavenly sky, Cupid glided forth with his newly endowed wings.

The disturbance was not of the Mud-People.

It was magic.

The Forbidden Dark Magic.

Brazil

The world’s most deadly assassin stood in front of two child-like twins.  One twin was slightly taller.

“I do not extend my services to children,” said the assassin.

“On the contrary,” said the tall twin.

“We are adults with money,” concluded the other twin.

“I am more interested in the Justice that my stroke of death will serve,” persisted the assassin.

“It will bring Justice to those that this criminal has taken down–”

“–and the world will finally be rid of that child.”

“A child?  I do not kill–”

“He’s not just a child.  He is a young adult now, and the most dangerous being on this planet–”

“–and his name is Artemis Fowl,” the words seethed from the shorter twin’s mouth like acid.

“And how do you two fit in any of this?” questioned the assassin.

“We are,” they said simutaneously, “two perfect Opals in a world influenced by Fowl play.”

“This is more for vengeance than it is for Justice,” stated the assassin.

“Yes,” they twins said in unison.

Fowl Manor

As Butler began to put away the dishes, he felt a sudden twinge in his thought processes.

He sensed danger.

He immediately rushed to check on Artemis.

The young master was still at the piano.

Butler exhaled, but the sensation remained.  It was a premonition of events to come.  Terrible events that he could not decipher nor understand.  He rubbed his temples and took several deep breaths. 

Taking a seat closest to the hall that Artemis was located in, he calmed himself down by performing his favorite ritual:

He took out his Sig Sauer and began to clean it.

Lower Elements, Downtown Haven

Turnball Root opened his eyes.  He was smart enough to realize that he was not in his previous jail cell at the LEP Plaza.

“Turnball Root, my name is Opal Koboi.  I am the air that you breath, the energy that keeps your heart beating; I am your Goddess, and you are under my command.”

“What’s in it for me?” he asked, almost reflexively.

“For you?  How about freedom?  How about being alive?  Or shall I take those liberties away?”

Turnball had the notion that the chick on the speakers wasn’t kidding.

“Fine.  What do I do?” he grumbled, rubbing his wrists and scratching his belly.

“First of all, get rid of your disgusting habits.”

“Old habits die hard, lady,” he said carelessly.

“The credibility of that statement can be tested, you oaf.”

He shut his mouth.  The giant metal doors of his cell opened with a few clicks.

“In the LEP Plaza, I want you to find Foaly.  He has a flower that I want.”

“A flo–” he shut his mouth before his comment could be finished.

“If there is so much as a petal missing, I promise you that you’ll be missing a finger.”

Turnball stepped out of his cell and found an LEPrecon suit hanging on the hook just outside.  He zipped it on and headed out into Haven, enjoying his freedom.

He walked briskly to the LEP Plaza, wondering why the name Koboi sounded so familiar.  His solitary sentence had cut him off from the outside world ever since his arrest.

Time to pay my brother a visit, he thought, and see why the hell this flower is so damn special.

Some other stories by Stick:

• Blue Sparks: Part 3
• Blue Sparks Questionairre
• Blue Sparks: Part 1 (Warning: TTP Spoilers)

Skip to chapter: 1, 2, 3,