A month later Grace is still working on Montressor and renting a room in the Benbow Inn (Jim had secretly ensured with Sarah that Grace has the room next to his.)

One night Jim is standing outside the Benbow when he spots Grace coming back from work late. He greets her and they walk over to the edge of the cliff and sit down on the ground. They have both spent much time together in the past month but it has been manly solar surfing and they haven't taken much time to just talk to each other.

"So how has your job been?" Jim asks Grace as they sit down.

"Oh well it's a job isn't it. It's not nice being cooped up in there the whole time but at least it doesn't wear me out as much as book carrying."

"Yeah well you know one of these days you might get lucky."

"Luck hasn't seemed to have followed me through life so far but you never know, I have been lucky, I met you." Graces blushes realising what she has just said.

Neither of them says anything, both embarrassed they just look out into clear night's sky.

"The stars are so beautiful here" says Grace quietly.

"Hey there's some place I should show you"

"Really..where?"

"Get up I'll show you" says Jim already stood up and reaching out for her hand.

Grace takes it and they walk together to the back of the Inn, through the back way and up into the top corridor.

"Come on now" says Jim climbing out of the window and onto the roof.

"Jim what are you doing?" asks Grace.

"Just follow me."

They both climb out onto the rooftop and walk along to the edge where Jim sits down.

"Now lie down."

Grace copy's Jim and they lie down next to each other and look up into the night. The faint rumbling noise of the costumers downstairs can still be herd but apart from that it is very peaceful. As they lie there Grace moves her arm a little and brushes Jim's fingers, he silently presses his hand into hers and they stay there as if frozen by that moment, completely still, starring into the stars, hand in hand. There happy moment is broken by the sound of Mrs Dunwiddle's shrill voice from down below. They let go and Jim laugh softly.

"That's the star Perliesa up there" says Grace starring at the brightly twinkling star "Fourth across from Linth and tenth from the Cassi."

Jim stares at her "how'd you know all that?"

"I have a talent for star gazing, I guess it combines with my gift of languages" say Grace smiling sweetly "as a young growing up on Lunsta I used to watch the great galleons sail by our little moon at night, watching from my bedroom window I dreamt of one sailing on those ships."

"Tell me more about your gift of languages."

"Well I'm half Mesttra from my dad's side and so I inherited some of the Mesttra abilities. Unlike pure Mesttra's my hair doesn't change colour but is naturally this reddish plumb colour you see here." Grace smoothes down her deep purple hair "Another thing I picked up is that I was born with the Mesttra gift of being utterly fluent in all languages. Even if I don't know what a certain language is I can still speak it with pure will."

"That's quiet something then."

"It can be sometimes but to be honest I'm rather ashamed of my father."

Grace says this in a sharp and curt tone of voice that makes Jim instantly feel guilty and wish he'd never mentioned Grace's past life. They both look away from and do not speak to each other. After a few minutes Grace sits up slightly and unties her hair from work Jim watches her and spots something on the back of her neck.

"Hey what's that?" he asks sitting up next to her and intently forgetting their troubles just minuets ago.

"Oh this" says Grace glancing around and holding the back of her neck "It's my tattoo."

"You have a tattoo?"

"Yeah, do you wanna see?"

"Sure"

Jim presses his fingers against Grace's neck and pushes back her hair. Sure enough down the back of her neck is the image of a crescent moon with a diamond hanging below it.

"Wow" says Jim impressed.

He knows that he should pull back now but something keeps his hands in place there, her neck is very warm and soft and he doesn't want to move. Grace doesn't reject it and stays perfectly still. Finally Jim realises his hands and Grace turns around to face him. They look at each other and are just about to move forward when the window flies open.

"James Pleiades Hawkins" yells Sarah from the window. "What in God's name are you doing up here when it is a madhouse downstairs."

"Oh sorry Mom" says Jim, slightly embarrassed. Sarah hasn't even taken a notice of Grace. "I'll come down and help you."

"That you will young man" replies Sarah and with that she shuts the window.

Jim apologetically turns back to Grace "what can I say she's my Mom, she has to be hard on me sometimes." Jim realises how rude that must have sounded considering Grace doesn't have a Mom.

"Yeah I understand" says Grace quickly "you'd better get now there."

"Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."