Chapter 19

In the morning before school, Ariel stood in the bathroom, staring into the mirror as she admired the necklace.

I should stop staring at it so much, but I've never had something like this! Oh, school... Janice's sneer popped up in her mind, and she cringed. I don't want her to see this, but I want to keep wearing it. She tucked it into her shirt, hiding it. Can't admire it like this, but at least I can still wear it.

Downstairs, bluish-purple pancakes were waiting for her on the kitchen table. How is he able to cook our food so well?

"Good morning," Jade greeted her as he set his own plate down. "I've found a recipe for what they call Blueberry Pancakes in this recipe book I bought the other day. I hope they taste good. We have something with ingredients that seem similar, but with different fruit." He took a bite and tilted his head. "More sweet than ours, and these flattened after they sat. I swear they were thicker a moment ago." He held the pancake up to inspect.

"I'd help if I could, but I've never made pancakes." Not successfully; the salty mess from the one time I tried doesn't count. She took a bite, and her eyes widened from the warm, juicy sweetness that erupted in her mouth. "Oh my..."

"Is it that bad? I thought it was okay."

"Oh my, this is so good."

"More like the recipe is."

"I've tried to follow recipes in the past, and they came out a disaster, so it's more than that. You don't even know our food, but you can cook better than me already."

"To be fair, I think there are principles that come to cooking regardless of where you're from. As someone with a lot of experience, it shouldn't be that bad, even with unfamiliar ingredients. I must say, though; the flour you guys use is a finer grain than what I'm used to."

Ariel stopped eating for a moment. "With your magical powers, if there's a blueberry in your world by a different name, does the magic translate it?"

"It should translate something that is the same, or I can at least recognize that what it is. Like if there were blueberries, I would know them to be a small, round, blue fruit. We don't have ones as small as these."

Magic is so odd. "Does it ever get jumbled? Learning a language is massive, so to learn it through magic..."

"Sometimes I'll catch myself trying to say it in my language, and sometimes it takes an extra moment for the words to come to me. Thankfully, many languages have a set of common words, that if you know them, you can get by. Typically, that's a few thousand words."

Ariel coughed, choking on her orange juice. "That's a lot of words. I've never even thought about how many words an average person knows."

"I imagine you're above average, with your reading hobby."

"And I can only imagine how many you know, so I'd fail in comparison."

"That's not fair; I have magic that helps me learn. It's why most of my family ends up as diplomats, working with foreign countries."

"How'd you end up as a royal knight, then?"

"That's a long story, and you're short on time." Jade gestured towards the clock. "Let's focus on finishing breakfast. Can't start the day without a good one."

Ariel shrugged. "If you say so."

"You disagree?"

"Let's just say I'm not always hungry in the morning, so I don't always eat breakfast." Stomach in knots because I don't want to go to school, where who knows who might have it in for me.

"That's not good. How can you expect to concentrate in class without fuel for your body and mind? While I'm here, you won't be missing any breakfasts."

"Well, with how good this tastes, I probably won't want to miss them." And the thought of school had to take over. She shifted around and kept eating, despite the unease settling in her stomach.

"By the way, I see you're not wearing your necklace." He wasn't sure if he should mention it, but his eyes went to her clavicle as soon as she entered the kitchen.

Her hand shot straight to where it was. "I am wearing it, but it's underneath."

"Oh? Did you dislike it?"

"What? No way! I love it. I just..." Didn't want it to get stolen.

"I was under the impression that something like this would work for everyday wear. If you would prefer something more extravagant, then I can get you something—"

"No, no, no." She slid her finger under the necklace and pulled it out overtop of her collar. "It's not like that. I love this necklace." Especially since you chose it out. "But I thought it might grab attention." From the wrong people.

"Do people not show off their jewellery here?"

"Most people do, I imagine, but my circumstances... Oh no, it's time to go." She shovelled the last bit of food into her mouth and set the plate in the sink. "I still have to make a sandwich for lunch."

Jade held up a thermal lunch bag. "I made you something called a 'bento box' and put in a drink, along with a granola bar in case you needed it." Jade struggled with some of the unusual words he had only learned when he was looking up what to send with her. "I want you to eat healthier."

"Oh, thank you." Been a while since someone made me a lunch to take. She reached out, and he pulled it away.

"Since I'm walking you to school, I'll carry it for you."

No point in arguing. "Okay, thank you."

Jade smiled. "Good, then make sure you're ready, and we'll be off."

He walked Ariel to school once again while having idle chitchat about their hobbies. They stopped at the same spot as last time, across the street from the school. Jade's eyes swept across the schoolyard in search of a threat. "Oh, right, we forgot one important thing yesterday."

"What's that?" Ariel asked, her eyes peeled for Janice and her goons.

Jade pulled out his phone. "You showed me how to search the internet, but you never put your phone number in it. How do we exchange?"

"You want my phone number?"

"Who else did you think I wanted it for? Yours is the only number that matters."

Her heart skipped a beat. Shut up, heart; it's because I'm the only one he knows, for now. She showed him how to input the number and save the contact.

"What's this button for?" He poked it, and it turned on the camera. "What in the world?" He tapped the button again and took a picture of Ariel's foot, saving it as her picture.

Ariel chuckled. "That was a camera, used to take pictures of what the lens is aimed at."

He tapped on it again and aimed it at Ariel, whose eyes widened.

"What are you doing?"

Click. He saved the new picture with her face. "I see. You humans have created so many devices." He smiled at the picture.

"Oh, you don't have to have a picture connected to the contact. You can leave it blank." She reached for his phone, and he pulled it away.

"Why not? It makes sense to."

Why would he want to keep that picture? I must look horrible in it; I always look bad in pictures.

"You better go before you're late."

"Hmph, fine. I'll see you later."

"Have a good day, and call me if you need anything," he said, hoping she'd get the hint. Jade watched her go, waiting to make sure nothing happened.

"Is that who I think it is?" Pat asked, nudging Cherry.

"Oh! It's Ariel and that hot guy! He totally brought her to school today," Cherry said, drawing Janice's attention to her.

"I guess they are close," Janice sighed. "We'll have to step up our game."