A/N: Sorry for the ridiculously late chapter.

Disclaimer: ditto.

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Adia had gone through dinner, deciding that if she used the wrong fork; she'd survive. It was a truly daring move, and Artemis glared at her profusely for it. But she was strong, and she valiantly ignored his seeming lazer vision.

By now it was evening, midnight to be precise. Adia hadn't been able to sleep. She looked around 'her' room, and just gave up. The door slowly opened outward as she crept into the hall. She had changed to jeans and a t-shirt, not to mention socks for exploring. A small but strong flashlight rested in her hand, ready for the dark corridors.

Most of the servants were in bed, and all of the lights were off. Adia turned on the flashlight, a narrow beam slipping around and down the hall. Almost silently she began to walk. She passed through a hall full of portraits of the nastiest people she had ever seen, then a hall full of absolutely nothing but locked doors. Then she found a door she could open.

Adia grinned and quietly opened the hard wood door and stepped through, gently shutting it behind her. She swung the flashlight around in the darkness. She had stepped onto two some stairs. With a grin she climbed the winding steps, finally coming to their top and an old door.

Adia reached out and turned the handle, it didn't budge. It was locked. She let out a disappointed sigh, and walked back down the stairs to leave. She turned the other door, and it didn't move. She froze, "Oh no, no, no, no," she began to whisper, tugging on the door. But it didn't budge. She was locked onto a back set of stairs.

Artemis sat in his control room. He had gone up to quickly check the house and see that it was okay. The front hall way empty, so were most of the other rooms and halls. Then he saw Adia walking down a deserted hallway. He had to pause and watch, "What is she doing?" he asked no one in particular.

A slow grin spread on his face as he watched her walk up the stairs and become trapped. This should be interesting. He'd send a maid to help her in a while…

Adia walked back up the stairs, swinging her beam around for a sign of any missed doorways. At the top, she caught sight of a ladder. It led up to a trap door, probably the attic. Unfortunately it had a board padlocked over it so that idle explorers couldn't climb it.

She glared at it. It took more then a board to stop Adia! And she slid her feet onto the back and open end of the slanted ladder. She climbed sideways, clinging to the edges of the wobbly ladder for support. A step, another step, almost to the top. She'd reached it.

Adia laughed triumphantly and pushed against the trap door. It opened easily, grey pieces of insulation falling down around her. She froze; if she went in there she was going to itch so bloody bad…

Adia looked around; it was either that or wait for some help. Adia laughed and started to chatter with herself, a common and actually not insane habit of hers. "Since when have I ever waited for help? If I want something, I have to go get it." With that she slung herself into the attic.

She put the flashlight between her teeth, humming some old show tune absent mindedly. The insulation stirred around her as if she was in some sort of sea. She scanned the area with the light, turning her head this way and that. The grey dusty insulation went up to her elbows, brushing her stomach as she crawled in the low roofed space.

Artemis watched with interest as she climbed into the attic. He turned off alarms and sensors as she passed, switching them back on when she was out of the way. He wanted to see what would happen, and alarms would summon people. No, that would ruin all of the fun.

Adia felt carefully and slowly with her hands. If the floor had a rusty nail, she wouldn't know. That and she'd have to keep moving till she felt a trap door. Her hand slid over rough wood, more wood, still more wood. Then it thumped into some raised wood. She smiled and wedged her fingers under its edges, lifting the trap door.

Adia shined the light down the dark hole, uncovering another ladder; with a large piece of wood padlocked to it. She slipped down onto the top rung, the only uncovered part of the attic. Then carefully closed the trapdoor.

Adia slowly sat down on the wood, "careful now Adia, you don't want to fall." The wood bent but took her weight. "Oh I hope I don't get a splinter up my butt," and with that she slid down it. Surprisingly enough she moved easily, landing gracefully and without a splinter in her butt.

She grinned and looked around, holding the flashlight once more in her hand. "Well, at least I'm not on some stairs," she observed as she gazed around a large storage room. "Let's find a door." She began to wander, sweeping the flashlight in large arches. Then she saw it, "Door! Right there! Crawl under the old table, wriggle through the bookshelf, scramble over the rocking horse," and she was at the door.

Adia tried the door, and it opened. She peaked out into the hallway. It had a hardwood floor, and boring wall paper; but it was still nice. She stepped out and shut the door behind her, hearing it lock. "Well, I guess they don't mind people leaving; they just don't want people to come in. I wish those stairs felt that way."

She shone the flashlight to the left and the right of the hallway. "Which way, which way…" she mused. Adia closed her eyes and spun in a circle, then stopped. She opened her eyes, she was facing right, "Right it is." She laughed slightly as she walked, insulation flaking off of her as she scratched at her arms and legs. "That was the right choice if I do say so myself." She punned, badly.

Finally she reached a stair case and went down it, for three bloody flights. She reached the bottom and looked around, "Now, where am I?" she wondered. Adia walked around, she was in some sort of a sitting room. She walked over to the window and looked out, "I'm on the ground floor!" she said happily. And it was true; the window was no more than five feet off the ground.

Artemis smiled, so she was on the ground floor. Her room was on the second. Besides, it was easy to get to the right floor. Getting to the right wing was the hard part. If it wasn't for the security system, Artemis knew that a great many people could get lost for at least a week. Admittedly that was stretching it, but still. It was a large house.

Adia turned around and thought, "Well, I could wander this place and look for the main staircase…" she made a face. "Then I'd get hopelessly lost. I could just climb out this window and walk around to the front door…" She seemed to sway as she tried to decide what to do. "Out the window it is," she said firmly, "Oh please don't let me set off an alarm."

Adia walked over and set her hands on it, starting to lift.

Artemis' eyes widened and he hurriedly started to shut off the alarm. Just in the nick of time, "Stupid girl," he muttered angrily.

Butler watched from over Artemis' shoulder. "I think she's rather resourceful," he commented with a grin. He rather enjoyed watching this. Sure, her lack of awareness when it came to the security system was annoying, but other than that; she was doing very well.

Adia lifted the window and climbed out, shutting it behind her. Then, oblivious to all the trip wires Artemis had to desperately shut off, and then turn on again behind her; she walked around the edge of the house. Finally she reached the front door and walked in, not bothering to knock. She climbed up the stairs to her room, and took a lovely warm shower. She slipped into bed around three in the morning, she was tired now.

Artemis fixed all of the security systems, checking that his meddling hadn't broken anything. Then the exhausted, but entertained, boy went to his room and slept.