AN: Okay, this chapter is on the short side, so I apologize in advance. It's kind of a bridging chapter, so … Also, to answer a few reviews that asked questions:
RicaC: Artemis crawled through the window, and Butler couldn't fit. Besides, he didn't expect to find anyone in the house, and was carrying the gun just in case. No, Kim's not a witch. And this takes place after AI, and before EC, and there will be a reason Artemis doesn't know about Kim during it.
Night Genie: A Slytherin is a house from the Harry Potter series. Members of it go to any means to achieve their goals, are resourceful, and have a tendency to bend the rules a bit. Or a lot.
Wolfrat*Zostar: Nope, never read it.
Boogalaga: Next chapter. Yes, we're all waiting …
******************************************
Kim was stunned as she glanced around the entry hall. She finally concluded that she wouldn't see all this junk in five years if she had forty eyeballs, and that it looked like the Great Hall with the staircase from Titanic.
"Oh Jack, I fell like I'm flying," she muttered insanely to herself, as she followed Artemis into the living room. But it probably wasn't called that in this sort of house. It was probably called the Tea Room or something like that.
The room, like every other room in the house, was decorated with the finest of everything, and Kim was almost afraid to walk on the shag carpet. She was careful to keep well away from the Ming vases.
Standing by the doorway was the first normal being that she had seen in hours. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. At first guess, Kim would bet she was a Californian. She was wearing hip-hugger jeans, and a red t-shirt that made her look like a GAP model. She had sinewy muscle, though, and looked remarkably like the ape man.
"Hi. I'm Juliet," She said. Her voice was like a mixture of action movie hero and MTV video girl. "I guess you're Kim Holmes. Welcome to Fowl Manor. Bro, back off of her. I doubt she's got a weapon on her. What are you, like, twelve?"
"I'm thirteen, for your information," she said, still looking around. "Nice place you've got here."
"Oh, I don't own this, Arty's parents do. Butler's just his bodyguard, and I'm his sister."
"Who's sister? Butler's or Artemis's?"
"Butler's."
She studied her face. "I see the resemblance. You've the same eyes. No offence, but you people seriously scare me. A little while ago, I was watching Harry Potter for the 50th time, and fantasizing over a guy I'm never going to meet, let alone force to fall in love with me. Now, I've been kidnapped by a vampire and Mr. America. And when I meet someone half-normal, they seem to know exactly what's going on."
She folded her arms and sighed. "Well, get used to it. When you're with Arty, you never really know what's going on."
Kim raised her eyebrows. "Arty?"
"Juliet," muttered Artemis. "Would you mind not calling me that in front of possibly useful allies?"
"Oh, so now I'm an ally? I never hate anyone unless they give me reason to, and I'm pretty sure kidnapping a person is a very good reason. I wouldn't save you from a burning building, let alone be your ally. Besides, what ever happened to me being a mental?"
"Let me put this in terms that you should be able to understand. You are a typical teenager, therefore inferior to me. However unintelligent you may be, however, you can touch the Maple Stone without being burned. If it were not for that fact, you'd be back in your bedroom, either dead or permanently maimed."
"Oh, I'm inferior to you?! Come on, throw a punch at me and we'll see who loses the most teeth! Then we'll see who's inferior!"
Butler stepped in between the two. "It would be greatly appreciated if you two would calm down before you kill each other, as Mrs. Fowl dislikes blood stains on the carpet. No one needs to be hurt."
Kim muttered a few choice words under her breath, but took a step back from both Butler and Artemis. She knew she could have the boy bleeding within seconds, but if she did that, then the bodyguard would snap her like a twig.
She might have been clumsy, but she wasn't that stupid.
Artemis straightened his tie. "As I suspected, being raised in a rough-and-tumble environment has influenced you so that your first response to confusion is violence. Quite interesting, actually. Maybe I'll write a report after this entire ordeal is over."
The girl ground her teeth together, a habit that her orthodontist was always complaining about. She had only know the kid for an hour at most, and she could already see that he was a completely jerk with an ego the size of the Northwest Territories.
She took several deep breaths to calm herself down. "Could someone possibly tell me why I'm here? From what I've heard from you two, you're obviously not the most legit people on this island. This is an island, right?"
"It's called the Emerald Isle, isn't it?"
"I suck at geography, so sue me. Anyway, why would you drag me here? I'm not a gangster or anything. Unless, of course, you're some of those people tracking down music file sharers, in which case I'm in some deep shit."
"Like I have just pointed out, you are here because you happened to be the one who found the Maple Stone, and was able to safely handle it." Artemis said, sighing.
"Why, exactly, am I able to touch it when you can't?"
The boy took a deep breath, for an explanation, but at that moment, the doorbell rang.
Butler exited the room, and came back several moments later. "Master Artemis? They're here."
"Thank you, Butler. Now, Miss Holmes. Please do not panic when you see our, er, guests. I can assure you that there will be a logical reason for everything eventually."
Kim looked towards the doorway. Standing in it was three short people. With pointed ears. One was half horse.
She scanned her brain for something reasonable to say, then something less than stupid to say. Finding nothing, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she passed out.
Against all odds, she swerved at the last minute, causing her head to come down heavily on the solid oak coffee table, emitting a loud cracking sound as her skull came in contact with the wood. She sunk to the floor, bleeding slightly.
The horseman leaned over her slightly. He let out an amused whinny. "That could have gone better."
"Ya think?" grunted the other male, kicking the unconscious teen lightly in the ribs.
She swatted the air aimlessly. "Five more minutes … I don't wanna go to school …"
RicaC: Artemis crawled through the window, and Butler couldn't fit. Besides, he didn't expect to find anyone in the house, and was carrying the gun just in case. No, Kim's not a witch. And this takes place after AI, and before EC, and there will be a reason Artemis doesn't know about Kim during it.
Night Genie: A Slytherin is a house from the Harry Potter series. Members of it go to any means to achieve their goals, are resourceful, and have a tendency to bend the rules a bit. Or a lot.
Wolfrat*Zostar: Nope, never read it.
Boogalaga: Next chapter. Yes, we're all waiting …
******************************************
Kim was stunned as she glanced around the entry hall. She finally concluded that she wouldn't see all this junk in five years if she had forty eyeballs, and that it looked like the Great Hall with the staircase from Titanic.
"Oh Jack, I fell like I'm flying," she muttered insanely to herself, as she followed Artemis into the living room. But it probably wasn't called that in this sort of house. It was probably called the Tea Room or something like that.
The room, like every other room in the house, was decorated with the finest of everything, and Kim was almost afraid to walk on the shag carpet. She was careful to keep well away from the Ming vases.
Standing by the doorway was the first normal being that she had seen in hours. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. At first guess, Kim would bet she was a Californian. She was wearing hip-hugger jeans, and a red t-shirt that made her look like a GAP model. She had sinewy muscle, though, and looked remarkably like the ape man.
"Hi. I'm Juliet," She said. Her voice was like a mixture of action movie hero and MTV video girl. "I guess you're Kim Holmes. Welcome to Fowl Manor. Bro, back off of her. I doubt she's got a weapon on her. What are you, like, twelve?"
"I'm thirteen, for your information," she said, still looking around. "Nice place you've got here."
"Oh, I don't own this, Arty's parents do. Butler's just his bodyguard, and I'm his sister."
"Who's sister? Butler's or Artemis's?"
"Butler's."
She studied her face. "I see the resemblance. You've the same eyes. No offence, but you people seriously scare me. A little while ago, I was watching Harry Potter for the 50th time, and fantasizing over a guy I'm never going to meet, let alone force to fall in love with me. Now, I've been kidnapped by a vampire and Mr. America. And when I meet someone half-normal, they seem to know exactly what's going on."
She folded her arms and sighed. "Well, get used to it. When you're with Arty, you never really know what's going on."
Kim raised her eyebrows. "Arty?"
"Juliet," muttered Artemis. "Would you mind not calling me that in front of possibly useful allies?"
"Oh, so now I'm an ally? I never hate anyone unless they give me reason to, and I'm pretty sure kidnapping a person is a very good reason. I wouldn't save you from a burning building, let alone be your ally. Besides, what ever happened to me being a mental?"
"Let me put this in terms that you should be able to understand. You are a typical teenager, therefore inferior to me. However unintelligent you may be, however, you can touch the Maple Stone without being burned. If it were not for that fact, you'd be back in your bedroom, either dead or permanently maimed."
"Oh, I'm inferior to you?! Come on, throw a punch at me and we'll see who loses the most teeth! Then we'll see who's inferior!"
Butler stepped in between the two. "It would be greatly appreciated if you two would calm down before you kill each other, as Mrs. Fowl dislikes blood stains on the carpet. No one needs to be hurt."
Kim muttered a few choice words under her breath, but took a step back from both Butler and Artemis. She knew she could have the boy bleeding within seconds, but if she did that, then the bodyguard would snap her like a twig.
She might have been clumsy, but she wasn't that stupid.
Artemis straightened his tie. "As I suspected, being raised in a rough-and-tumble environment has influenced you so that your first response to confusion is violence. Quite interesting, actually. Maybe I'll write a report after this entire ordeal is over."
The girl ground her teeth together, a habit that her orthodontist was always complaining about. She had only know the kid for an hour at most, and she could already see that he was a completely jerk with an ego the size of the Northwest Territories.
She took several deep breaths to calm herself down. "Could someone possibly tell me why I'm here? From what I've heard from you two, you're obviously not the most legit people on this island. This is an island, right?"
"It's called the Emerald Isle, isn't it?"
"I suck at geography, so sue me. Anyway, why would you drag me here? I'm not a gangster or anything. Unless, of course, you're some of those people tracking down music file sharers, in which case I'm in some deep shit."
"Like I have just pointed out, you are here because you happened to be the one who found the Maple Stone, and was able to safely handle it." Artemis said, sighing.
"Why, exactly, am I able to touch it when you can't?"
The boy took a deep breath, for an explanation, but at that moment, the doorbell rang.
Butler exited the room, and came back several moments later. "Master Artemis? They're here."
"Thank you, Butler. Now, Miss Holmes. Please do not panic when you see our, er, guests. I can assure you that there will be a logical reason for everything eventually."
Kim looked towards the doorway. Standing in it was three short people. With pointed ears. One was half horse.
She scanned her brain for something reasonable to say, then something less than stupid to say. Finding nothing, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she passed out.
Against all odds, she swerved at the last minute, causing her head to come down heavily on the solid oak coffee table, emitting a loud cracking sound as her skull came in contact with the wood. She sunk to the floor, bleeding slightly.
The horseman leaned over her slightly. He let out an amused whinny. "That could have gone better."
"Ya think?" grunted the other male, kicking the unconscious teen lightly in the ribs.
She swatted the air aimlessly. "Five more minutes … I don't wanna go to school …"