Artemis Fowl
Register
Advertisement
BooksButtonOnFilmsButtonOff
Message-alert-outline HOLLY: "Are you suggesting I occasionally stray from the rule book?"

FOALY: "No. I'm suggesting you do not own a copy of the rule book, and if you do, you have certainly never opened it."'

This article is in need of a clean-up, revision or other improvement. Holly Short needs general information

Holly Short is a Commodore in LEPRecon, first becoming known for her involvement in the Artemis Fowl affair,and later on for many subsequent events involving Artemis Fowl II, and occasionally Myles and Beckett Fowl. She is the first and only female to reach Captain status in LEPrecon. She is also the "angel", a type of mentor, of Lazuli Heitz in The Fowl Twins.

Personality

Holly is strong-willed, courageous, confident. She is dedicated to her work in the LEP, taking her role very seriously. However, she sometimes strays from regulations, or goes against direct orders from superiors, when her instincts tell her that following said orders to could lead to harm to coming onto others. She has a very strong sense of morality and judgment. An example of the latter is when she was opposed to the use of the bio-bomb in the Siege of Fowl Manor, as it would result in the deaths of children and innocents like Juliet.

She has a good sense of humor and sarcasm which is not appreciated much in LEPrecon and by her fellow officers. She is loyal and caring to those close to her, engaging in playful banter with her friends and protecting her loved ones at all costs.

Holly experienced major character development in regard to her relationships with others, specifically in perceptions of humans. At the beginning of the series, she was bitter and resentful of humans, not just for the long history of conflict that led The People to retreat underground, but for personal transgressions, like the death of her mother as a direct result of human radiation pollution.

Over the series, she develops strong bonds with members of the Fowl and Butler families, despite her negative first encounters with them. Holly's relationship with Artemis in particular, starting from mortal enemies after her abduction, to begrudging allies, to close friends, is the most prominent example. Her witnessing Artemis's personal development proved to her that not only are there many moral and good-natured humans, but that even those that have done harm can change and become a better person.

According to Commander Julius Root, Holly is one of the best officers the LEP ever had.

Appearance

Holly Short is an Elf with pointed ears and dark nut-brown skin, cropped auburn hair, and hazel eyes (the events of The Lost Colony cause her to swap an eye with Artemis Fowl, resulting in her having one hazel eye, and one blue eye). She stands at 99 centimeters (40 inches) in height, one centimeter shorter than average fairy height.

Her nose has a hook and her mouth is plump and cherubic, which is appropriate considering her great-grandfather is Cupid. In The Time Paradox, it is also mentioned that fairies, in general, have much wider foreheads, which make their faces seem more akin to heart-shaped.

Holly has a slim frame and long tapered fingers. It was revealed in the graphic novel that Holly's physical appearance was as depicted in the Novel, with a slim waist.

The Graphic Novels depict her with chin-length golden-brown hair, dark brown eyes with green sclera (also known as the whites of your eyes) fair skin, and approximately the same height as Juliet Butler and Artemis. In the original books, this is true for the first two, however at just over one meter Holly is fully grown and as a year passes between each book Artemis and Juliet continue to grow, while Holly does not.

She is often described as rather attractive.

Biography

Past

Born on 14th June, Eoin Colfer states, Holly Short was the first female member of LEPrecon, enlisting after her mother, Coral Short, died a week after a prolonged mission in a LEPmarine vehicle from radioactivity poisoning. She swore to her mother that she would destroy all the humans (because it was a human tanker that dumped radioactive waste on the sub), and her mother, on her deathbed, whispered, "Holly, I spent my life saving creatures. Do not undo my work. Save them as well." Coral Short died a few years before the Spelltropy outbreak.

She originally started out in LEPtraffic, then, when her promotion came, she had to prove herself worthy to Commander Julius Root. She is at least 80 years old, as The Arctic Incident notes her father died when she was barely sixty, which was nearly twenty years ago. Sometime in her life, she says she was bitten in the behind by a Swear Toad, a major nuisance of the Lower Elements.

To get into LEPrecon, Holly was taken to an island not far off Tara (Tern Mor), where she was challenged to tag Root with a paintball gun before he tagged her. Whilst being filmed by Trouble Kelp, she noticed someone hidden by Cam Foil lying on the beach. When the two investigated, they discovered Turnball Root's secret hideout and later foiled the fiend's plans.

Artemis Fowl

In Artemis Fowl, while performing The Ritual, Holly is kidnapped by Artemis Fowl and Butler, taking her to Fowl Manor. There, she is kept in a cell and Artemis tells Commander Root that they can only get Holly back if they pay a ransom of one ton of 24-carat gold. Root refuses and launches a time-stop to save Holly. The LEP lays siege to Fowl Manor for eight hours. She manages to complete The Ritual while in her cell and escapes, not long after the LEP send in a squad to save her. Holly almost dies during this escapade, which involved saving and healing Butler after fighting with a troll. Holly is set free after the LEP sends in the gold in exchange for the still-alive Holly. The LEP then bio-bombs the house and assumes Fowl is dead; however, they underestimated Fowl because he becomes the first human to escape the time-stop. Artemis also gives back half of the gold in exchange for the healing of his mother. Mulch steals a large-sized portion of the gold left over.

The Arctic Incident

Hollyarctic

Holly

Later, in The Arctic Incident, Holly is assigned to watch E37 with Chix Verbil. After detecting the presence of moving gray on a heat scanner (which is supposedly impossible) and in the injury of Verbil, Holly investigates and learns that they are in fact goblins in fire suits. Equipped with Softnose Lasers, they take Holly on but lose due to their stupidity. Foaly then finds out that the goblins are trading with the humans, and Holly speculates Artemis is behind it. Upon further investigation, it is revealed that Artemis is not the culprit; it is Opal Koboi and Briar Cudgeon. Holly and Commander Root agree to help Artemis find his father, who is being held captive in Russia. They are unable to complete their mission, due to a Goblin Hit Squad sent by Cudgeon. Artemis and Holly then logically conclude that if Goblins were sent above ground to kill the head of the LEP, Root, then they are also after the body, which means rebellion. Foaly confirms his suspicions by sending a text message to Artemis's phone. While trying to get on a train full of radioactive waste to get away from the goblin hit squad, Holly loses her finger. Without a drop of magic left, Holly needs to complete the ritual. They then foil Cudgeon and Koboi by breaking into Koboi Labs with the help of convict dwarf Mulch Diggums.

The Eternity Code

Hs

Holly

In The Eternity Code, Holly helps Artemis recover the C Cube from Jon Spiro. She is only convinced to help him after seeing how Butler almost died as a result of Jon Spiro's goons. She had developed a respect for Butler, and so decides to put her best effort to heal him with her magic, which revives him, but uses up some of his life energy and causes some unforeseen complications, such as the fusion of some Kevlar with his chest. Artemis is eternally grateful, but additionally asks her to help get the C Cube back as its ability to track fairy communication and intelligence would put The People at possible risk of being discovered.

She saves Artemis from imprisonment at the hands of Spiro as a part of the plan. She initially is opposed to Artemis's step in the plan where she is to remove and then re-attach Spiro's finger to gain access to the safe. After the plan starts to go wrong, she maintains following Artemis's lead while helping him devise solutions. She foils Spiro by making Artemis invisible by shielding. The LEP then mind-wipes Artemis, Butler, and Juliet, despite her resistance to the idea, as she worried erasing Artemis's memories would cause him to regress into criminal behavior, undoing all the moral development he has gained.

The Opal Deception

One year later, in the Opal Deception, Holly witnesses the death of Commander Root, for which she has been blamed. Holly then goes to the Kronski hotel to try and save Artemis and Butler from a Bio Bomb, which was meant to kill them. However, Artemis cannot remember her, though he tries to help Holly stop Opal's plan nonetheless. The two are taken to the replica Temple of Artemis in the Eleven Wonders Exhibition, where they are nearly killed by trolls. In this latest near-death scenario, she proclaims that her and Artemis can finally be considered friends. Artemis remembers all of the past year's adventures, thanks to the computer disk that he gave to Mulch Diggums, disguised as the coin Holly has given him. Together with Artemis, Butler, and Mulch, they then foil Koboi's plot and save Haven City. In the end she quits the LEP because of the replacement for Root.

The Lost Colony

In The Lost Colony, readers discover that Holly and Artemis have been working together on cases that Holly takes for her private eye job with Mulch. She later gets recruited by Commander Vinyaya for Section 8 and is sent to ask Artemis why he made contact with a demon and Foaly was off by ten feet. She maintains her presence throughout the novel until she is sent by Artemis to rescue N°1. From that moment on she "sits in the driver's seat" switching between Artemis and other characters on occasion. After rescuing N°1, Holly, Artemis, and Qwan (a demon warlock) take to the skies with a bomb strapped to Holly's wrist. The plan was to fly to a safe location and dismantle the bomb. Only her suit can't take the weight so they fall from a great height. Artemis uses his wits to enact a plan that sends everyone connected to Holly to Hybras. There Holly dies begging Artemis to help her. Artemis takes one glimpse of her and walks away, as he has to dedicate his full focus to blast a shot into a portal to the past to prevent her death from happening in the first place. He saves Holly, Qwan, and N*1 by reversing time after Abbot, the traitor demon, kills them. Eventually, Artemis transports everyone on Hybras (including a living Holly) to a future three years from the time they left. Holly rejoins the LEP because Trouble Kelp becomes commander. The end for another saves the secret society adventure.

The Time Paradox

In The Time Paradox, Holly teams up with Artemis once again when Artemis manipulates her into helping him, by blaming her for infecting Angeline Fowl with Spelltropy, a debilitating disease that decimated nearly 25 percent of the fairy race. Holly and Artemis then proceeded to travel back in time to rescue the last silky sifaka lemur, whose brain fluid is the cure for Spelltropy. Holly exited the time tunnel as a teenager and Artemis grew older. She is also reverted to an adolescent emotional state. While trying to rescue the lemur from Artemis' younger self, Artemis is mortally wounded. She heals him and then kisses him. However, when he confesses that he lied to her about giving his mother Spelltropy, she is appalled and becomes icy towards him. Later, when he tries to make it up to her by letting her say goodbye to a (younger) Julius Root, Holly became unsure of herself; she tells him that he is forgiven, but adds that his 'Elf-kissing days are over'. At the end of the book, the atmosphere between them seems uncertain. She heals Artemis from the Kraken explosion and has conflicting feelings as she carries the unconscious boy back to Fowl Manor. She uses her wings to rise to eye level with him, paused, kissed him on the cheek and says: "In another time," and then left.

The Atlantis Complex

In The Atlantis Complex, Holly was one of the four fairies invited by Artemis to attend his presentation of the Ice Cube. She later concluded that Artemis is suffering from Atlantis Complex, then witnessed the homicide of Wing Commander Vinyaya along with fourteen LEP officers by the rogue probe Turnball Root cannibalised as part of his bid for freedom. Eventually, Holly saved a then delirious Artemis from being crushed by the descending probe, reverting Artemis' alternate personality, Orion, into control in the process, and used his Ice Cube to fend off the murderous Amorphobots while Artemis lay unconscious from her Neutrino blast. When the Martian probe dives down beneath the ice sheets, Holly, with Foaly and Orion in tow, pilots a service pod after it, only to find it aiming to crack Atlantis's Dome. She was forced to knock out her passengers and falling unconscious herself while struggling to send word to Haven due to a leak in the oxygen tank.

Upon breaching the water surface, Artemis was back in control and the trio received contact from Commander Trouble Kelp. They were later rescued by Mulch Diggums and the Butler siblings, before falling hostage to Turnball Root while tailing him and his Amorphobots. Holly was then branded with a thrall rune and sent to detain N°1 to grant Leonor Carsby her youth. Orion later incapacitated her and witnessed Turnball and Leonor's deaths.

Holly was last seen remaining by Artemis's bedside inside the Nostremius hospital ship, back in control of herself. She caringly consoles a guilt-ridden and miserable Artemis, assuring him of the J. Argon clinic's credibility and promising to keep him company during his rehabilitation. She comforts him by saying that despite all the tragedy that has occurred as a result of this incident, that he has shown great growth in his motivations now being about protecting others and the Earth as a whole. She assures him that she and his other friends will be there with him through his recovery process. She lastly stated she would leave soon to put a stop to Juliet's wrestling match with a jumbo pixie.

The Last Guardian

In the final book, Holly develops a fascination with the clone of Opal, cruelly nicknamed "Nopal". Artemis discovers her staring at the clone shortly after he is release from the J. Argon clinic. They are then called to Internal Affairs to witness the younger Opal being held hostage by pixies. Holly flies them to Fowl Manor and plays a large role in the Battle of Fowl Manor, taking out a large number of Berserkers.

When Holly discovers Artemis plan to sacrifice himself to save the lives of his friends, family, and humanity as a whole, she tries to prevent him by sedating him, to then take his place. Artemis is forced to sedate her in order to complete the final step of his plan to defeat Opal and close the Berserker's Gate. Before she passes out from the drug, Artemis kisses her forehead, thanking her for "fixing" him, telling her he was a "broken boy", and leaves. He is killed shortly after, but not before Holly sees him helpless in the force of the closing of the Gate. Holly then brings Artemis's DNA and they make a clone. His spirit comes and inhabits the clone, therefore essentially bringing himself back to life. He does not yet remember anything, and so Holly is last seen walking with the newly resurrected Artemis back to Fowl Manor, telling him the story of his life.

The Fowl Twins

At the end of The Fowl Twins, it is revealed that Holly has been promoted to Commodore in the LEP, and has a number of shuttles under her command. She also has a hand in the training of new LEP cadets. Lazuli Heitz refers to Holly as her "angel mentor", and was trained, at least in part, by Holly. Holly is additionally surprised to see NANNI, designed after her brainwaves and Artemis', to be operating under her voice and image.

Quotes

Artemis Fowl

"D'arvit"
Artemis Fowl
"So what is this master plan, Fowl? Let me guess: World domination?"
Artemis Fowl

The Arctic Incident

"No, 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."
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident

The Eternity Code

The Opal Deception

"Seven and a half hours to save the world. Isn’t there some law that says we get twenty-four?"
The Opal Deception
"Friendship is not a science, Mud Boy. Forget about your massive brain for one minute. Just do what you feel is right."
The Opal Deception

The Lost Colony

The Time Paradox

"Thanks, Arty."
The Time Paradox
"But your elf kissing days are over."
―Holly
"I see."
―Artemis
"It's not a challenge, Artemis. Over is over."
―Holly
"I know."
―Artemis, The Time Paradox
"You saved me."
―Artemis The Time Paradox
"Of course I saved you. I couldn't do without you."
―Holly The Time Paradox
"I liked you better asleep. My head hurt less."
The Time Paradox
"Always good to be dressed when you're stealing monkeys."
The Time Paradox

The Atlantis Complex

"Save the world? Same old Artemis Fowl. And I say that sarcastically as saving the world is not like you at all."
The Atlantis Complex
"It wasn't in my report, OK? Because there was no moment of passion."
The Atlantis Complex
"Foaly is singing. Surely that's illegal."
The Atlantis Complex
"Close your eyes if you love me."
The Atlantis Complex

The Last Guardian

"Great, thought Holly. No matter what dimension you're in there's always a big-headed male trying to take over the world."
The Last Guardian
"Now is not the time to blame Artemis... There will be plenty of time to blame Artemis later when this is resolved."
The Last Guardian
""Wow, I feel great now that the blinding pain has faded. ""
The Last Guardian

Relationships

Holly is friends with Artemis Fowl, Butler, Foaly, and Trouble Kelp.

She has gone on 3 dates with Trouble Kelp, the last ending with them both being thrown out of a crunchball match.

During The Time Paradox, Holly kissed Artemis in excitement after just saving his life, due to her emotions being jumbled from the time jump.

By The Fowl Twins, Artemis has created NANNI in Holly's image, combining both of their brainwaves in creating the artificial intelligence.

Advertisement