PROLOGUE

Butler usually had no time to call his own. He was always taking care of Artemis, making sure he was safe, and ensuring that he stayed alive.

While Artemis was upstairs in his study, Butler decided to make himself a sandwich. He gathered all the ingredients one by one, choosing only his favorite ingredients, and just as he was about to start assembling it, a small bell rang. It was the bell that signaled when the Fowls mail box had been filled by the mail carrier that they had specifically employed to check and deliver the mail. Butler looked at his sandwich-to-be, then at the direction of the front door.

A few more minutes won't make a difference. It won't go anywhere. And if it does I can always hunt it down.

He then quickly walked to the door.

In the mail was the usual amount of magazines for Mrs. Fowl, a letter for Artemis from his school, but most strangely of all: right there at the bottom of the pile was a green envelope addressed to Butler. He then froze. There was no return address on the letter, but on the back it read, "From the Shadows." He flipped the envelope over in his hands a few times. Then he made his way up the stairs, toward the study. His eyes never leaving the envelope.

He entered the study, but stayed close to the door. Artemis was working on his computer which was no surprise to anyone that knew him.

"Yes, Butler?" asked Artemis from his desk, not looking away from the monitor.

"Mail," Butler mumbled, and held out the letter from the school. Artemis raised his hand as he typed something out, expecting Butler to be closer. When he didn't feel the envelope in his hand, he looked up. Butler was still standing near the door, looking at the green envelope with a blank expression.

"May I see that?" Artemis asked, pointing at it.

Butler said nothing.

Artemis got up from his chair to go stand in front of Butler. Artemis carefully slid the letter from beneath Butler's fingers, who made no effort to stop him. He looked at the writing and determined that a woman had written the address, in a nervous state of mind. When he looked at the back, the writing changed drastically. It looked strangely like Butler's handwriting.

"Was there any mail for me?"

Butler, who had been staring off into space, came back to life and went through the pile in search of Artemis's letter. When he whipped it out, Artemis took it and briefly looked at the address.

"What we could do is open each other's mail and tell each other in a more assured way."

"We could do that," Butler said uncertainly, wondering if he really wanted to open the unpredictable boys mail.

They both quickly opened each other's letter. They read the letters once, then twice. Butler face adopted the look that he would use when thinking up strategies of attack. Artemis's face, on the other hand, looked shocked, scared, and upset. He then put his emotions aside, his face returned to its normal impassive look.

"What was in my letter?" he asked.

Butler cleared his throat. "Well, Artemis. Your school is going to be combined with an all girls' school."

"What?!"

"Well, they are helping an all-girls' school in California. So the girls are going to live in the dorm with the boys."

"That's going to work out well," Artemis observed sarcastically.

"What…" Butler sighed. "What did my letter say?"

"Two things."

Artemis paused to awkwardly clear his throat. "One: you have a daughter."

Butler's jaw dropped.

"It gets worse," Artemis continued. "She's coming to visit."

This chapter is only slightly modified but I feel that it runs smoother now and that Artemis is actually acting like himself now. Butler changed very little.