Artemis woke up with a light headache the next day and went downstairs for a glass of water. He stood at the top of the stairs barefoot at 6 AM, definite signs that he was distressed. He stumbled blindly down the stairs groggily rubbing sleep from his eyes. A delicious smell wafted through the house growing stronger as he walked closer to his destination. As he reached the entrance of the kitchen he could make out a silhouette of a girl around his age. As he only saw her back he could not make out everything but could see most of her physical features. She had long black hair reaching down to her hip that was tied back in a ponytail. She was tall and pale. He sat down slowly at the kitchen table and watched her. Artemis stared at her trying to find similarities with his old friend. Although she was all of the traits he had noted in her younger years he could not remember her being so… so refined and elegant and most of all breathtakingly beautiful.

"Are you going to stare all day or come in?" She announced breaking his intense stare as she flounced towards him. "If you chose the former, take a picture it lasts longer." She smirked skipping back to her former position by the stove. Yup, this was most definitely not the sweet, innocent Victoria he remembered. She gave the plan one last flipped and expertly, using a spatula, maneuvered pancakes onto a plate and placed it down before him. "Eat up," She grunted "you`re going to need your energy if you`re going to spend the rest of the day giving me a tour." "When was that decided?' Artemis asked while eating. You can`t blame him, it was 6:30 and he`s already been shocked two times; something that he`s not used to. "This morning when I arrived." She chirped. For Heaven`s sake woman it`s still morning, it`s 6:30 AM IN CASE YOU HAVEN`T NOTICED!" "Not a morning person I see. Oh well, that can always be fixed later." She mumbled to herself. "Oh, and just a side note in case you weren`t informed, don`t call me Victoria I hate that name, call me Rix.

"And this is my bedroom" Artemis concluded his tour. Rix laid down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling in wonder. "So this is what you see right before you go to sleep and when you wake up." She mused. "Where are you staying while you stay at our manor Rix?" he asked interrupting her thoughts. "Why, so you can sneak in and molest me in my sleep?" she asked. Well, Artemis thought, two can play at that game (A/N: Typical Artemis, won`t back down from a challenge^^) He crawled onto the bed and pinned her down "Do you want me to?" he asked huskily. She faltered for a minute, turning her head to the side then faced him again, a glint of determination in her eyes. "No thanks, I`d like to save that for after the wedding thank you very much" she grinned mischievously and lashed out at his joints making him collapse while simultaneously she flipped on top of him "I`m trained in a lot of different styles of martial arts, don`t underestimate me. She walked out of his room then backtracked "Are you going to stay on the bed all day shell shocked and gaping like a fish? Come on you lazy bum." She called out. That girl, Artemis thought shaking his head, is going to be troublesome, a smile gracing his lips.

Author`s Note:

How was it? Better? Worse? The same? Special thanks to greenluvr14, Andie, Troublelover16^^ It was a pleasant surprise getting two people who reviewed AND a favorite story alert thingy on the day I let it out. If anyone has any suggestions I`m all ears. As always please review, flames are appreciated.