#finally finished the ‘sequel’ to the other thing I wrote about artemis’s parent issues

[fowlblue]

Mater et Filius

———————

“Mother?”

“Yes?”

Angeline’s voice was light as she answered him. She didn’t look up from her book, which somewhat frustrated Artemis, but he didn’t bother to point it out, instead focused on what was currently the source of his excitement.

“You know next week is my first violin performance? At school?”

She nodded, narrowing her eyes slightly. Artemis wasn’t entirely sure if she was listening. Nevertheless, he didn’t raise his voice or repeat himself- that was impolite, something his father had told him never to be towards his mother. So he waited a beat, hoping she was paying attention.

“They’re letting me play my own music! I’ve been practicing all week.”

Angeline finally looked up, turning in her chair to face him. Her smile seemed slightly tense. “The practicing... I’m very aware of. I’m sure your performance will be wonderful.”

Artemis nodded furiously, overjoyed to have finally gotten her full attention. Granted, she didn’t seem too happy about his mention of practicing (he was beginning to suspect she found it annoying), but at least she was focused on him now, instead of her novel. He scrambled up beside her, choosing to perch on the chair’s arm.

He knew was very young to be performing in front of such a large crowd, being only seven, but like everyone around him always said, Artemis was no average child. And to be playing his own original music! It was an honor that was very rare for someone his age. She shifted away to give him some room.

“Are you and Father coming?”, he chirped, unable to contain his excitement.

His mother sighed then, loudly, interrupting his thoughts. She turned her gaze back to her book. Her expression was tense, and Artemis felt his heart still slightly. “Butler will have to take you this time, dear. Your father has a conference, and I’m going with him.”

Artemis paused, turning to look at her quizzically. “You said you were coming a few days ago...”. He distinctly remembered her nodding when he had first told her of the event. He received no comment, so he continued. “ Can’t you stay here? You went with him last time.”

“I changed my mind, Artemis. Your father is a very busy man, you know that. And as his wife, I want to support him. That’s what the family does- they look out for each other, remember?”

Who’s gonna look out for me?, Artemis briefly wondered, before shaking the thought away. Such speculation was unhelpful. He considered dropping the topic in favor of asking her what she was reading (Angeline loved talking about her books), sensing her growing frustration. But he didn’t really want to lie to his mother and pretend he wasn’t disappointed. That didn’t seem very logical.

“I know that, Mother. I just... wish you were around more, that’s all. I miss you and Father when you’re away.”

Angeline snapped her book shut, startling him, turning to give him a stern glare. “I know, Artemis. I miss you too. But I’ve already made up my mind- you know both me and your Father are often busy. We’ve discussed that with you over and over again. I’m going, and that’s final. Butler will take you. That’s the end of it.”

Set slightly on edge by her tone (Mother rarely raised her voice at him), Artemis slid down from the chair’s arm, and opted to walk away. Clearly his mother was busy (as always), and he had only annoyed her with his complaining. He should have known better.

“Great, now I’m the bad guy...”

He heard her mutter angrily as he slunk off. A pang of guilt stabbed Artemis. He hadn’t meant to make her upset, and he paused, turning to look at her with as much of a reassuring expression as he could manage. “I don’t think you’re bad.”, he mumbled into the now-silent room, hoping to comfort her.

If his mother heard him, she gave him no sign, her focus already returned to the book in her lap.

——————————————

Angeline never did attend one of his violin recitals.

She was always busy, even more so that Father, and as Artemis grew, he eventually stopped asking. She was clearly disinterested, and he respected that (though he wished she wouldn’t praise his musical talents to their friends- if it was a point of her conversation, he would have liked for her to have shown up at least once). But that acceptance never could fully alleviate his disappointment.

His mother never seemed to realize the sheer amount of people that asked after her: How was she doing? What was she up to? Why didn’t she show up today? Each one was asked by people from the village, parents from his school, curious friends- The questions were exhausting, especially seeing as he never had the answers. He never understood why, either, beyond his mother simply having priorities that didn’t pertain to him.

Then, the Fowl Star sank and his life fell apart.

His mother never recovered from the news. The first few days of bearing the news had been awful. More than anything, he had needed her, but she wasn’t never the same after that.

Her answers to his questions shortened to clipped words and indecipherable sentences, her mind entirely occupied by grief. Her once-light and loving voice turned bitter at the sight of him, and she no longer seemed interested in what he had to say. She simply paced around the Manor, paying heed to no one. She saw things in the shadows that he couldn’t, and as much as he tried to help her and be there for her, he had no idea what to do.

Those same questions continued to be asked, as the news of his father’s disappearance spread like wildfire and his attendance in school dropped. However, they no longer came from friendly neighbors or inquisitive classmates- instead, it was concerned teachers and counselors, school psychologists, all asking the same question- Where was his mother?

Artemis didn’t know. He couldn’t answer. So he brushed them off, retreating into a frighteningly cold personality that served to scare away even the most persistent. He told them it was not their business, and that he didn’t want their help, and that he was smarter than them anyway, so why did they care? He only had his mother left, he wouldn’t let anyone take her away from him.

And then, one day, she didn’t recognize him anymore.

Juliet took care of her, after that day. Butler refused to let him continue to do so. Artemis hated it, hated the way it burdened Juliet (who he had always seen as a sister), but there was nothing he could do to help Angeline anymore. Any appearance he made before her only ended in venomous words and on a few frightening occasions, thrown objects that shattered against the wall.

He didn’t see his mother much after that.

————————————————

“Artemis, dear? What are you doing in here all by yourself? Aren’t you going to come outside?”

The genius in question raised his head from his arms, tiredly blinking in an attempt to clear his fuzzy vision. His skull throbbed with the movement, and he winced. His mother stood framed by the much-too-bright doorway, her face set in a slight frown. “Aren’t you supposed to be playing with your brothers?”

“I apologize for not watching them, Mother, I’m having a migraine. I asked Butler to take over for me- they should all be outside, with Father. If they’re not there-“

“Don’t you think coming outside would help? You should spend some time with everyone.”

Artemis mentally groaned. He shook his head, immediately regretting the action as a sharp throb of pain shot across his temples. “The sunlight makes it worse.”, he rasped. “That’s why I’m in my bedroom with the door shut- I’m trying to recover, so it will be gone by dinner.

Angeline huffed lightly. Her eyebrows raised. “You could put on some sunglasses. You have those fancy mirrored ones, might as well use them.”

Normally, Artemis wouldn’t have argued. He hated arguing with his mother, because he was always left feeling unusually bitter afterwards. His head was aching terribly and he was tempted to abandon his desk and crawl back into bed until his body recovered, something he hated to do. Her suggestion, nevertheless, was out of the question. “I can’t do that, Mother.”, he groaned. “Why does it matter so much?”

Angeline crossed her arms, tilting her head slightly in a manner that suggested she didn’t like his answer. “Because you never spend time with the whole family anymore. Because you could do with some sun. Because normal children don’t spend all day inside of their rooms with the curtains drawn, dressed in suits. Normal children enjoy spending time with their families.”

This again.

“I have a headache-“

“You always have something wrong with you these days, Artemis!”

Artemis practically hissed as her elevated tone made the pounding sharpen. His head felt like it was splitting open, and he could no longer hide the weak frustration in his voice.

“Mother, I can assure you that this has nothing to do with spending time with anyone, nor with going outside or wearing ‘normal’ attire. I am having a migraine, and I need darkness and quiet to make it go away. My head hurts- please, please leave me alone.”

She sighed at that, but at least she turned to leave. Her final words caught him off guard.

“What happened to my little Arty?”

Artemis’s vision suddenly blurred, his breath hitching in his throat. His hands began to tremble.

“Get out.”, he hissed, his voice breaking. His heart began to pound. He felt bile rise in the back of his throat, and he fought to control the wave of panic swamping him. When Angeline froze, he snarled. “Get out.”

He believed he could make out the sounds of her fleeing, shouting for Butler, but he wasn’t sure, seeing as his hands were now firmly and immovably curled around his ears. He hunched in his desk chair, tears racing down his cheeks, eyes shut as tight as he could manage as he struggled to ride out and breathe through the sudden waves of pain and panic overwhelming his senses. Everything dissolved into white static- odd, since he could have sworn he heard the sound of smashing pottery.

‘You’re not my little Arty.’

—————————————————

#finally finished the ‘sequel’ to the other thing I wrote about artemis’s parent issues #yeah angeline’s not that good of a parent either #admittedly most of this is headcanon but you get the idea #artemis fowl #angeline fowl #fowldom #my fics #familia supra omnis