Holly woke up a few hours later. She yawned and stretched, sitting up. Her eyes hunted around until she found a clock on her nightstand. She'd arrived around midday, and it was only around three in the afternoon now. She still had plenty of the day left to squander.

She climbed out of bed and stretched again, fully this time, then sighed and glanced around. She only had one meager duffel of belongings, so there wasn't really much for her to unpack. She did so quickly, putting her clothes in the dresser on the wall (which all fit in two drawers out of six) and took her toiletries in the bathroom. The only material items she'd brought with her that weren't clothes or hygiene products was her phone, its charger, and a handful of family pictures. She plugged the charger into the wall, hooked her phone to it, and put the photos in the drawer of the nightstand by the bed, then stopped and sighed, trying to decide what to do next.

She decided she needed a shower before she did anything else, so she grabbed a set of clothes and went into the adjoining bathroom. It felt so odd to do so - everything around her was big and grand, and it was hard to wrap her mind around the fact that any of it was hers to use at all, even if she didn't own it. It was just strange. Like the fact that she had her own bathroom. That would take some getting used to.

Holly got in the shower and sighed, tilting her head back under the water and closing her eyes. This would all take some getting used to, honestly. It was nice, though, undeniably; much better than she'd expected it to be.

Well, her conditions were, at least. The people on the other hand… she wasn't sure how to feel about yet. Mrs. Fowl seemed like a sweetheart, although she had no doubt the older woman could bring the hammer down if she wanted to. Butler, she honestly couldn't say much about - he'd been intimidating, yes, but he'd actually done nothing to her. He'd barely even got the chance to speak to her yet. She got the impression he was going to be a strict boss, but he didn't seem mean, either. Mr. Fowl, she'd only spoken to via email so far, and it was impossible to pick up anything that way. Juliet nor the twins she hadn't gotten to meet yet, so she couldn't pass judgement on them either.

And then there was Artemis. She felt her face heat up slightly at the thought of him. He was undeniably attractive; the problem was that he seemed to know it and had no problem with using it as a weapon or a tool to get what he wanted. Just from the few words they'd exchange she got the vibe he was going to be a jackass and probably do everything he could to make her job miserable - if he couldn't get in her pants, anyway. She was determined for that not to happen, though. Attractive as he was, he had an undeniably dangerous vibe, even if he didn't turn out to be an arse. Besides, getting involved with her bosses' kid - who was by all rights her boss by extension - didn't seem like a good idea.

Holly got out of the shower, pulling on a pair of jean shorts, a white tanktop, and a blouse. She threw her long red hair up into a bun without brushing it, slipped on her shoes, and then suddenly stopped. Where was she going?

To make a map, she decided. She had a faint idea of where everything was from the front of the manor, thanks to Mrs. Fowl's tour, but she didn't trust herself not to get lost in the long run, and it would be much easier to take steps to prevent it now before she screwed up horribly because of it. She found a notepad of paper and a pencil in one of the stands and stepped out into the hallway.

She glanced around her, leaning against the wall and starting to make a rough sketch of the halls around her. She started with her door at the bottom of the page, using straight lines to mark the hallways and little niches in them to mark the doors. She labeled each one she knew with tiny initials.

She started with her hallway, then started wandering around, marking down things as she walked. Within a half hour, she'd managed to make a makeshift map of the floor she was on.

Happy with her progress but deciding to do the maps by floors, she stopped by the stairs to label that floor and moved to flip the page when someone snatched the book out of her hands.

Holly whirled around, dropping the pencil in surprise. Artemis stood behind her, fully dressed now in dress pants and a white button up, studying the map she'd made with narrowed eyes. His eyes flicked up from the drawing to her as she turned, and he quirked a brow. "What is this for?" he asked her, closing the notepad with a snap.

She flinched at the sound. "I… me. For me. So I can find my way around."

Artemis frowned at her. "I was under the impression you've had a tour."

"I-I did. I just… I was afraid I would get lost, and since I don't have to officially start until tomorrow I thought I could just… take steps to prevent that now." She stumbled over her words, feeling paralyzed by his cold blue eyes on her.

He stared at her for a long moment, his gaze dark and unreadable. "Make sure this doesn't leave the Manor," he said at last, handing her back the notepad. Then the corners of his lips twitched up. "Although you know if you're ever lost all you have to do is come to my room."

Holly took it, surprised, unsure how to respond to his sudden change in demeanor for a moment. "I do?"

Artemis chuckled, smirking slightly. He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his slim chest. "Of course. As far as I'm concerned, you could make a full paycheck just staying in there with me."

"How-...oh," she murmured, flushing deeply as his smirk grew. "N-no thanks," she stammered. "I'm-"

"A beautiful, sweet, intelligent, soft prude?" He smirked again when she frowned slightly at the last word, pushing off the wall and approaching her. His hand found a stray wisp of hair that had escaped her bun, twirling it around his finger as he leaned closer to her. "Mm… who smells like strawberries and vanilla?" he added with amusement as he got close enough to smell her shampoo and perfume.

Holly shuddered, closing her eyes. He wasn't touching her, but he was close enough she could feel the heat radiating off of his body, and the slight tug against her scalp as he twirled her hair. "I'm not a prude," she whispered in protest, unable find her voice to raise it anymore.

"Really? The way you flushed the last time you saw me said otherwise," he whispered teasingly, his nose brushing her against the top of her head.

"You were only wearing a towel!" Holly protested thinly, her cheeks aflame again as soon as he said it. She tried to push the mental image away.

"Most girls my age would be thrilled to see me in a towel," Artemis chuckled, his other hand finding her hip and pressing her back gently against the wall.

Holly's breath hitched slightly, feeling his own hot against her ear and his nose in her hair. The urge to lean into him, bizarrely, was immense, even though she barely knew him and certainly knew better than to do so. She steelled herself and pushed him back with great effort. "I am not most girls," she told him. "And I certainly am not following the example of how girls your age would act."

Artemis frowned slightly, pulling back and looking down at her. "How old do you think I am?" he demanded, sounding torn between amused and offended.

"Older than me," Holly muttered, feeling like a petulant child.

"Yes. Older than you. By a year." He quirked a brow at her. "I'm only 20, Holly."

Holly flushed deeply. She was 19, it was true, but… "It doesn't matter," she told him. "I'm not interested."

Artemis chuckled darkly, leaning back down and putting his lips by her ear. "Mm…I'm so glad that I am a master at body language and can prove that you're lying," he whispered in her ear. "But… you may as well keep telling yourself that. You're going to need to." He pulled away, flashing a smirk over his shoulder at her before leaving.

Holly watched him disappear around the corner, releasing a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She wanted to feel irritated, but she couldn't bring herself to. Not when he was right. She really did need to keep telling herself that. And she needed to keep reminding herself of what she'd said earlier if she had any hope of not ending up trapped in his room with him.

Gathering her strength, she took a deep breath and set about the hallways again. She'd already decided not to map or explore more than she'd already been shown, and once she was able to work uninterrupted, she finished within another hour.

She had stopped outside the kitchen to put the finishing touches on her map when Butler reappeared, stepping out suddenly. She jumped, and he frowned at her for a moment. She looked back at him with wide eyes. "Don't linger outside doorways like that," he told her in his deep tones.

She nodded vigorously, straightening and closing her notebook. "Yes, sir. Sorry. I was just-"

"Do you have a phone?" he interrupted. Her mouth snapped shut, cutting off her fumbling excuses, and she nodded, showing it to him silently. He took it for a moment, starting to do something on it as Holly stared. It looked like toy in his massive hands. "Here. Now you have me on speed dial. Use it if you need to." He handed it back to her.

She blinked up at him, surprised. "Oh. Thank you. Do you need my number?"

Butler paused, having barely started to turn to leave. He looked back at her, something like amusement hidden in his dark eyes for a moment. "No," he answered, simply, and then disappeared back into the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

Holly blinked and frowned, staring at the closed door. "O...kay," she muttered, taken aback. Sighing, she pocketed the notepad and went back to her bedroom.

She opened her door and slipped inside, frowning slightly to herself. Was everyone in this manor that she'd have to deal with daily going to be either hostile or harassing? She sure hoped not.

She spun around and yelped, falling back against her door and clutching her chest as the answer stared at her from its perch her bed.

Said answer came in the form of two five year old boys, sitting on her bed and staring at her with bright blue eyes. Well, two boys, one set of blue eyes on her. Only one of them had looked up when she entered. One, the younger looking of the two - although she knew they were twins - had looked up from the notepad they had been drawing in opposite sides of while they waited on her; the other hadn't even appeared to register the sound of the door opening. They looked almost identical in their school uniforms, except for one crucial difference: one was blond, and the other had dark, ebony hair, just like his father and elder brother.

It was the blond who had looked up, and she barely had an instant to register her surprise and restart her heart beating when he'd leapt up and was suddenly hugging her leg. "Myles! Look! She's here!" he squealed.

The dark haired boy, Myles, blinked, his hand holding the pencil he was sketching with stopping as he looked up for the first time. "Beckett, you know they don't like it when you hang on them," he told him reprovingly, sounding so reminiscent of his brother that Holly frowned.

Beckett looked up at her with wide eyes. "Do you mind, Miss Holly?"

Despite herself, she had to smile slightly. Yes, this was her answer all right - these were the twins, and she could just sense the months of endless harassment ahead over every little thing, but… "No, I don't mind. You just scared me, that's all."

"Yay!" The boy released her and stepped back, looking at her with wide blue eyes. "When did you get here? Where were you? How long are you staying with us?"

Holly tried to answer the flood of questions. "I got here this morning, around noon, I was making a map so I didn't get lost, and… I don't know, until your parents fire me?" She frowned slightly, tilting her head and looking down at him.

"Yay! So you'll be here for a long time!" Beckett hugged her again suddenly, and she patted his head, looking at Myles for an explanation. She could already tell he was going to be the calmer and probably more intelligent of the two - whether that was a good thing or a bad thing had yet to be seen. The quiet ones were the ones you needed to watch out for.

"No one ever get fired," he explained, shrugging and turning back to his drawing. "Everyone always quits after a few days."

"Juliet tells us all the time that we're a handful," Beckett piped in. "Mommy won't admit it, but it's our fault they quit so much. No one likes us."

Holly frowned. "Well, I do," she told him, and was surprised to realize she meant it. They were going to be a handful, certainly, but that just made her more determined to last.

"Yay! Come play with us, Miss Holly!" He tugged her out of the room, and Holly stumbled into the hallway after him with Myles not far behind her. The thought struck her that she wasn't supposed to be playing babysitter until tomorrow, but the boys didn't seem to know that, and she didn't have the heart to tell them. She'd accomplished everything she'd set out to do anyway - thankfully - so she simply let Beckett pull her down the hall to their playroom, and into the start of her new life.