"It's funny how it's a full moon tonight," said Juliet. One of the windows in Artemis's room was right open, and she and he were leaning on the sill.

"Technically, it's only the full moon tomorrow," said Artemis, "but close enough." He tilted his head slightly, grinning at Juliet. Luckily he knew the right kind of intonation to turn that sentence into a joke - being a genius did have a few advantages.

Juliet laughed softly, but there was a sad edge to it. "It may be three years since we last saw Holly, but it's even longer since we first met her, and you would never have cracked a joke back then."

"I know," he said, quietly. "But I've changed a lot since then."

"We all have, Artemis. Six years is a long time." Juliet rested both forearms on the window sill, hunching her shoulders slightly so she could get a better view of the moon. One of the trees in the grounds happened to be in just the wrong place.

"Not to Holly." And he was right, of course. Fairies lived about ten times longer than humans.

"Do you..." Juliet began, and then she stopped. She dropped her head, and continued in a more cautious tone. "Do you think she'll ever forget us?"

"Would you forget her, even if you lived to be eight hundred?"

"No," she replied. "No, I'd never forget. She''s the best friend I've ever had." She snorted through her nose, though it was an ironic noise, not a harsh one. "The boys in the village are too shallow to see anything more than a pretty face. And half of the girls are so jealous of the attention I get from the guys that they won't even speak to me." There was a slight pause. "The other half won't speak to me either, because they don't want to offend their jealous friends." She rolled her eyes, and shook her head.

"And what about me?" Artemis asked cheekily.

"You? Well, you're just weird, aren't you? I don't get you half the time..."

Artemis sniffed theatrically, and put on a mock-upset voice. "I'm a misunderstood genius!"

"Only because you want to be." Juliet punched Artemis lightly on the left arm. "I know you take delight in confusing people."

"What would be the point of a superior intellect if you didn't show it off?" Somehow he managed to sound all too innocent.

"What would be the point of modesty if you didn't use it?" retorted Juliet, and they both laughed. Then they lapsed into silence, turning their attention back to the moon.

The world was tinted with a brown hue, as though someone had taken a sepia photograph of the night. Although the moon was bright it illuminated little. Juliet and Artemis could only just about see each other, and not much else - his bedroom light was off, as was every other light in the house. Everyone else was asleep.

"What do you think she's doing right now?" said Artemis suddenly.

"Probably getting shouted at by Root." Despite the way he treated Holly most of the time, it was clear that he almost thought of her as his little sister. "Although I wish she was here..."

Artemis nodded and sighed. "Three years is a long time. And we had such fun togther, even if we did only ever meet in stressful circumstances."

"The first time wasn't quite so fun! You kidnapped her, she mesmerised me and punched you in the face."

"She punched me the next two times we met, as well," said Artemis, scratching his nose. "Just be glad you were always too tall for her to reach."

Juliet giggled. "Oh, I'm so glad everything's changed since that first time." She smiled softly. "I remember when she told me about your wish for Angeline to recover - that made me rethink my opinions about both of you. If she hadn't said that, I would probably never have forgiven her for the mesmer."

"I remember," started Artemis, "I remember when dawn had already broken, so Root said she could stay for a few hours."

"Just after we got rid of Koboi, yeah." Juliet smiled. "We went and had a picnic. That was the only time we've really been able to be ourselves, and not had to worry about someone trying to kill us."

"And Butler took a photograph of us..."

"Oh yes! We were all laughing so hard, and we didn't even know why. I have a copy of that in my photo album."

Artemis smiled shyly, and retreated into the room. Juliet heard the wooden sound of a draw opening, and then some rustling about, before he came back. "There," he said, limply offering her something. "I keep that in my bedside table."

Juliet took it, and looked at it. It was a copy of the photo, slightly enlarged, and in a pretty blue frame. All three of them wore the biggest smiles she had ever seen. It was one of the most precious memories she had.

"And, of course," continued Artemis, "there's the coin she gave me." Juliet looked back at him; he reached inside his shirt, and drew out a leather thong, upon which the coin-with-the-hole was strung. Artemis pulled it over his head and handed it to Juliet.

"You're so lucky," she whispered, taking the necklace with reverance. "Holly never gave me anything."

In the half-light of the moon, Juliet missed the look that Artemis gave her. All she knew was, the next moment he had reached over and, taking the necklace from her right hand - the photo was still in her left, slipped it over her head.

"You keep it." He nipped in quickly and kissed Juliet softly on the cheek. "I know she means a lot to you."

Whether stunned into silence by the gift or the kiss, Juliet could nevertheless not produce a single word. After about ten seconds of mouthing, trying to articulate her thoughts, she managed to stutter out a sentence. "She means a lot to both of us..." The whole time, she was blushing profusely.

Artemis shrugged, purposely avoiding Juliet's gaze. "I got to spend more time with her." And then it was his turn to blush, if only slightly. "And she did kiss me once..." He cleared his throat. "It was entirely platonic, though."

Juliet smiled; she knew Artemis had had a huge crush on Holly when he was fourteen. "And what was that, just now?"

"I don't know," he mumbled. Strange how even a genius finds it hard to say some things.

There was silence between them for a few minutes. Thy both shifted uneasily during that time.

"I should probably be getting off to bed now..." Juliet eventually managed to say, taking her weight off the window sill and straightening up.

"No, wait." Artemis caught at her arm, and indicated at the skyline. "It's already getting light. It'll be dawn soon. We might as well stay up and see it."

Juliet shrugged and smiled. "All right." She handed the photo back to Artemis, and leant on the sill again.

He looked at the picture in the pretty frame. That had been such a happy day... he hoped they would see Holly again some day soon, so that the three friends could be reunited. But, until then, it was just him and Juliet. And he might as well make the most of it...

Artemis smiled, and placed the frame on top of his bedside table, before turning his attention back to Juliet. They had two hours until dawn.