He watched her from the shadows, but then he felt he was always in the shadows, even when the sun was high and bright in the sky. He hadn't questioned the impulse to follow her out of the castle and into the moon lit night, like every other time he had just gone. The need to see her, to drink in the sight of her delicate beauty drowned out his voice of reason, as it always did. He knew he should turn around and go back, forget this obsession with the pagan goddess currently sitting in the dew coated grass, her white cotton night dress billowing around her, but his feet didn't move. He didn't want to go back, not really, what he wanted was to walk over to her, slip his arms around her and press his mouth to hers. It was tempting, oh so tempting, to forget everything when he was near her, and yet he couldn't.

He could never have her, not for forever. To the girl sitting in the moonlight he would always be the forbidden, the dirty little secret, anything else would destroy her. He knew, just as he knew, if she ever felt more for him then that vague attraction and friendship it would end badly. Her family and their beliefs were too important to her, an integral part of her that had made her the person that he had fallen just a little bit in love with, they would never accept him, never trust him, and it would hurt her to choose. No, it would be better if he walked away now, made it a clean break.

And Oh, was he coward. It wasn't just her family that he thought of when he had these crazy thoughts.

The idea of defying his parents, turning his back on the life they had planned for him from the very first breath he had drawn had him breaking out in a cold sweat. He knew they loved him, in their own fashion, knew they always would, just as he knew he would never have the courage to disappoint them.

She was so beautiful sitting patiently in the moon light. He dreamed of her sometimes, the secret little tilt of her lips when their eyes met in a crowd, the way her eyes sparkled and her face glowed when she was happy. That dazed look that came into her eyes after he had dipped his head down to hers to sample those lush pink lips.

She was everything sweet and good, everything that he couldn't have, shouldn't taint.

As he stood, watching her watch the moon, she started to hum. He didn't know the song, but he knew it was her favorite. She hadn't told him, but it was one that she hummed all of the time, one that he would never forget.

He shifted, to go to her or back to the castle he would never know. He must have made some sound, stepped on a twig of something, because the humming stopped and she turned, searching the shadows like so many times before until she found him, leaning under an old gnarled tree. Even with just the moon and stars for light he saw her eyes glow with warmth and that secret little smile tilt her lips and knew he was lost. How could he walk away from her? From her warmth and kindness?

All of his doubts and fears for the future melted away as she stood and started to move towards him. Tonight, his last night of his seventh year all that mattered was her.

He met her halfway, buried his hands in the dark red curls that cascaded down her back and brought his lips down to hers. In the shadows and moonlight she brought him sunshine and laughter, and he was home.

-Fin-