Artemis Fowl

Captain Holly Short is an officer in the Lower Elements Police Recon division. She is the first female officer, and it is clear from her first appearance that this choice of profession greatly affects her identity. She feels pressure to perform well and is aware that her superiors watch her especially closely, calling her the “test case” for female LEPrecon officers. With her kidnapping, however, it also becomes clear that Commander Root is protective of Holly.

Holly is described as having “nut-brown skin, cropped auburn hair, and hazel eyes” (31). She is related to Cupid and just shorter than three feet tall. From her immediate warning to Artemis to “Stay back, human. You don’t know what you’re dealing with” (74), Holly asserts that she is unafraid of him; she remains stalwart in her devotion to the People, only faltering when he manipulates her. When Artemis makes her feel like she has betrayed the fairies, Holly’s sadness is likely deepened by her fears of failing as a LEPrecon officer. When the novel opens, she’s already make a significant error and getting kidnapped by a human because she was running low on magic is not promising for her career. A father-daughter-like relationship with Root takes shape in the way that he congratulates her; not only does it reassure her fears that she is not a failure, but it is also coming from someone whom she respects and trusts.

As the fairy who spends the most time with Artemis, Holly at first despises him. While she never comes around to fully liking the human, she thinks that “[f]or all his grand designs, Artemis had been a mere mortal in the end. And for some reason she mourned his passing” when she believes that he has been killed by the blue rinse (263). This likely results from seeing Artemis as vulnerable when he asks her to heal Angeline.

Holly’s empathy makes her especially sympathetic to Juliet Butler, as she sees Juliet as similar to herself: a tough woman who may or may not be taken seriously by her male colleagues and peers. She even goes so far as to try and save Juliet by suggesting an alternative to the bio bomb. Holly’s traits and actions show that she is a dynamic, round character capable of change and development.

Butler is a large, imposing figure and Artemis’s bodyguard. He comes from a long line of Butler family members who guard the Fowl family; in fact, his uncle was aboard the Fowl Star when Artemis Senior disappeared.

For Butler, “Artemis was the closest thing Butler had to a friend” (16), and likewise, he is a parental figure in Artemis’s life, protecting him from all danger and keeping an especially close eye on the boy after his father’s disappearance. He rarely questions Artemis’s plans, believing that “Master Artemis was a brand-new block, the likes of which had never been seen before” (17). His trust in Artemis is a double-edged sword, though, as it both nurtures the boy’s confidence and his intelligence. Butler’s relationship with Artemis shows how no one can stop Artemis from doing what he wants. He follows Artemis’s instructions precisely, providing the brawn to Artemis’s brain.

At first, Butler is not hesitant to let the fairies die, even questioning Artemis’s decision to leave the first one they encounter alive. Artemis has to likewise remind him that he “prefer[s] scared to dead. If possible” (131). Much of this is due to Butler’s training to protect Artemis at all costs, a notion developed further by the author’s emphasis that “If, at the end of their training, there was not a Fowl to guard, then the Butlers were eagerly snapped up as bodyguards for various royal personages, generally in Monaco or Saudi Arabia” (16). However, Butler comes to respect Captain Holly Short after she heals him from the injuries he sustained from the troll. This incident and his own reaction to it briefly shakes Butler’s faith in Artemis, who knows that “[t]o a man of honor like Butler,” refusing to release Holly at that point “was almost more than he could bear” (244).

Butler knows Artemis so well that, when the boy offers Juliet and Butler champagne, Butler instantly knows that the drink is a critical part of their plan. He, however, becomes furious with Artemis for drugging and sedating Juliet, and for the first time in the novel, gives Artemis an order to explain what he was thinking. This illustrates that even Butler has his limits, and Artemis’s decision to sedate them without warning or consent is Butler’s breaking point. However, his paternal nature toward the boy also allows him to forgive Artemis quickly.

Commander Root is Holly’s short-tempered superior. He is a long-standing member of the Lower Elements Police and an experienced reconnaissance officer. While he at first appears strict, he recalls being a young officer. For example, when Foaly reveals that Holly flew through the Alps on her way to complete the Ritual and points out that, even though it’s against LEP regulations, every officer does it, Root begrudgingly thinks, “Who could resist a view like that? As a rookie, he’d been placed on report himself for that exact offense.” (79). He is unafraid to berate Holly, but internally, he is very fond of her.

Root is also old-fashioned, feeling that he wants to enter a situation as “[j]ust a fairy, [with] his wits, and maybe a touch of magic.” (104). He joined the LEP long before Foaly started innovating different parts of their procedures using technology. This makes Root a particular contrast to Artemis, who relies on science and technology since he himself is not magical. He represents the tradition of the People, though he will make use of Foaly’s technology when the situation calls for it.

Root is also willing to bend the rules, as when he involves Mulch Diggums and sends him into Fowl Manor. He knows that he can’t enter the house if he wants to keep his magic, but Diggums has already forfeited his, and this is one of the few choices that catch Artemis off-guard, as he would be unfamiliar with how or why the dwarf would give up his magic.

As a leader, Root sees himself as someone who took “judicious risk[s],” which is the “essence of command” (107). This approach also sets him apart from Lieutenant Cudgeon, who immediately tries to pawn off responsibility when his troll attack fails to have the effect he desired. He takes decisive action but is unwilling to sacrifice Holly to the blue rinse, which is why he lobbies the Council to give Fowl the gold.

Foaly is a centaur and the technical wizard behind the Lower Elements Police. He is described as “a paranoid centaur, convinced that human intelligence agencies were monitoring” him (42). He also always wears a tinfoil hat to prevent them from doing so. Foaly takes a jovial approach to both Holly and Root, who is less comfortable with his familiarity. He takes great pleasure in being the smartest person in the room, and he dislikes that Artemis is able to rival his technological ability.

Unlike Root, Foaly wants to keep updating fairy technology, automating the time stop process and innovating the chutes systems that brings fairies to the surface. He does “not like to be told that any part of his system [is] out of date” (102).