I don't own anyone or anything. These are someone else's paints and canvas, and I'm only borrowing them for a little while.
She was nine years old when Dom had introduced her to Artemis. Four years his senior, and within ten minutes of knowing him she had come to find two things out about the boy. One, being, that he wasn't like most other boys his age, and two, that he scared the bejeezus out of her because of it. Because unlike her, he wasn't what she would then define as "normal", though to be fair, it's not as if he wasn't wholly undeserving of that particular judgment. He was, after all, Artemis Fowl. The Second, he had corrected her.
She didn't really care what his name was, or to what connotations were appropriate, however, because to her, he was just weird. At age nine, Juliet wasn't a member of the exclusive club of genii that Artemis belonged to, nor, to her chagrin, was she considered a family prodigy like her big brother. She was, for all intents and purposes, normal in every sense of the word, though that may have been a stretch for her, in hindsight, as she was a ranked martial artist in her own right (something encouraged and supported by her darling older sibling).
That aside, however, she was still what one would consider normal, if a touch tomboyish. But not him. Granted that she hadn't known many five-year-olds in her time, she had met a few, little bundles of energy that they were, and she knew that Artemis was nothing like them. He was... she really didn't have the words to describe him, really. He was strange, for certain, but in a way that constantly defied any real explanation. The way he talked, the way he moved and acted and had this... this way of looking at things ans just knowing what they were... it was unsettling for her.
And his eyes... she had only managed it once or twice, in all the times she'd seen him since, to look into his eyes for any extended period of time. There was something about his gaze, something both captivating and terrifying at the same time that set her off in a thousand different directions all at once. Looking into them was like staring into the darkest depths of the ocean and the coldest expanse of tundra all at once. Deep and mysterious and unforgiving, his eyes were something unlike anything she'd ever seen, or ever would see, really. Brutal and brilliant and calculating in ways that she never could understand, she was reminded of a snake she'd once seen on a trip to the zoo. It was big, bigger than her and Dom put together, and when they went to see it, it had looked at her with those same eyes, that same gaze with that same level of wicked intellect. It had a gaze that whispered sweet things and promises and tricks that were meant to distract and deceive, all while it wrapped itself around you, squeezing the life from you while you were helpless against it's hypnotic gaze.
That's what she felt when looking into his eyes, like he was going to gobble her whole without her ever knowing. When she had spoken to Dom about it, he laughed and smiled his confident smile and patted her on the head, telling her that was just how he was, and she believed it. But then he'd told her something odd, that she should still try to play with him, that he never got enough sun. Juliet had to agree there, because Artemis was pale and looked like a vampire from one of her picture books (though he was quick to point out how ridiculous vampires were, amongst other things). That in mind, Dom had suggest she take him out and see if he would want to play tag with her while he prepared dinner, just so long as she didn't let him out off the grounds or past the walls or really anywhere that he couldn't see from the kitchen, because Dom was paranoid like that, which was a word she'd picked up from the young Fowl and decided that she liked, so she used incessantly.
It was a plan though, and better than what she'd had in mind given how boring the Manor was normally, between distant but friendly Mrs. Fowl and scary Mr. Fowl who had no time for anyone but his associates. She was tired of spending her spare time staring at a television, or reading books (ugh) in the library, or even trying out some of the equipment in the somewhat forgotten exercise room. Besides, bothering Artemis was always a bit of fun, given his penchant for using strings of big, fancy words in response to her teasing.
So that was what she did, she went out and hunted him down (in his "study") and tried to coax him out into the sunshine with her. The attempt was mostly unsuccessful, of course, and he had sent her off with a glare and a list of reasons why he, Artemis Fowl the Second, would not go out side to play "tag", before kicking her out and shutting the door behind him. Juliet harrumphed, and crossed her arms and put her nose up, before stalking back to Dom, who had, during the entire ordeal, continued with dinner.
She stormed in, in a very traditional nine-year-old fashion, walked up to Dom, and told him that Artemis was a jerk and a prat, which was English for jerk (according to the young Fowl) and a meanie and a dozen other names filled with childish loathing while crossing her arms and swearing off the boy entirely. This, of course, lasted for as long as it took the elderly Butler to finish chuckling and ask his sibling about how she let Artemis beat her at her own game. Her response, of course, was to look at him, glare, open her mouth, close it, and then turn around and stalk back to where Artemis had squirreled himself away.
Dom heard a crash, likened to a door being forced open, and the sound of a few thumps, followed by the indignant squeals of his charge. Looking up from cutting carrots and dicing tomatoes, he watched, quite humorously, as the two walked by, the five year old was slung bodily over Juliet's shoulder and carried out to the lawn in traditional Butler fashion. And that was that.
Artemis would learn, very quickly, that genius meant little in the way of a determined Butler in the years to come.
AN: Just a short little something that I'd decided to put together. I love A/H pairings, don't get me wrong, but Juliet deserves some love too. I plan to add in at least a few more chapters to this little look into the lives of Juliet and Artemis growing up together. I'm going to be all over the place with this one as far as genre, but aside from that I do expect it to be quite linear. This version hasn't been beta'd, but if I spot any issues I'll go ahead and clean them up as they come. Anyway, R&R, and I hope you enjoy the ride!
P.S. Best viewed in 3/4