Chapter 21

Ariel hid in the bathroom for a while, staring in the mirror at her ragged figure as she tried to calm her nerves. Had it for one day. Does Mr. Lux think I stole the necklace now? Did he believe her?

Ring, ring, ring.

What is that? Oh! She pulled out her phone to find Jade calling her. "Hello?"

"Is everything okay?" Jade asked. "Are you busy? Just running late? The crowd of students has been thinning, but you still haven't come out."

"Um, I'll be there soon. Sorry for making you wait." She tried to talk steadily, hiding the shake in her voice.

"It's okay. I'm used to waiting, but more importantly, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah."

Jade sighed. "Where are you now?"

Why is that important? "In the bathroom."

"I'll be there soon."

Beep, beep, beep.

Ariel stared at her phone for a while. "Be right there? He doesn't know where the bathroom is, and this is the girls' bathroom. What in the world is he thinking?" She splashed cold water on her face and took a deep breath as the water dripped off into the sink. I look so miserable right now.

"Excuse me," Jade called out to the person passing by him at the entrance. "Would you please tell me where the bathrooms are?"

"There are two on each floor, one in the east wing, and one in the west wing. They're about midway down the halls. You can't miss them," the teen explained.

"Thank you." Jade bowed his head slightly and continued on his way.

"Does he even go to this school?" He shook off the oddity and met up with his friends.

I should've asked her for a map of her school and a list of her classes with the room numbers. His head swivelled back and forth as he searched for the bathrooms until he came across two doors without windows and little stick figures on them. Is this it?

One looked like a stick figure with a skirt, so he knocked on the door. "Ariel, are you in there?"

The door opened and a girl he'd never seen before walked out. "Sorry; I was the only one in there."

"This is the bathroom, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

Damn, I must've gone to the wrong one. "Sorry and thank you." He gave a quick bow and took off running towards the other end of the school.

"Don't run in the halls!" a teacher yelled at him, but he kept going.

Should I really wait here? Ariel wiped her face with a rough paper towel from the dispenser and leaned her back against the counter. But if I leave, and he shows up after, it'll be a whole mess. She glanced at her puffy cheek in the mirror. There's no hiding that from him. Her hand rested on her chest where her necklace was. Or this. How do I explain it?

Knock, knock. "Ariel?" Jade opened the door to the girls' bathroom door without hesitation. He stopped as soon as their eyes met.

"Hi..." Her leg twitched, and she stepped back. "This is the girls' bathroom, so you shouldn't be in here."

"What happened?" Jade approached her and gently touched her swollen, red cheek.

"Does it matter?" She swallowed hard. It's not like anyone can stop it.

"Of course it matters." He grabbed her shoulders, leaned in close with his eyes closed, and kissed her swollen cheek.

A warm sensation flowed through her cheek, easing her pain. "T-thank you." Her cheeks flushed.

Jade pulled back and sighed. "This is unacceptable. Why are you in this school if they've proven they can't protect you?"

"Because it's nearby? And I'm willing to bet any anti-bully tactics are wildly ineffective."

"What does your brother have to say about this?"

"Nothing? Kinda hard to when he doesn't know."

"Hiding things from him?"

"Well, he's kinda busy, and I don't want to burden him."

He gripped her shoulders tighter, his purple eyes boring into hers as he fought with himself over what to say. "I don't know if I have any right to ask you of this, but can you promise not to hide things from me?"

"Why? What do you plan to do about it?"

"I'm still formulating a plan, but I want you to because I care. I want to be there for you, as you have been for me."

"You give me too much credit."

"You gave me more than a roof over my head; you gave me a home. An entire room to myself, and use of the kitchen and—"

"But you have to worry about running into my brother."

"I'd rather not have to, but it's understandable. And you also became not only my friend, but my teacher. It pains me to see you treated in such a harsh manner." He stroked her cheek. "You deserve better, and I'll find a way to help you. Please, won't you tell me what happened? I won't be able to rest until I know the truth."

Guess I should've already known I can't hide things from him. I wonder if it's the same for the prince. Jade probably has a whole arsenal of ways to get people to open up to him. Glad I'm on his good side; I can only imagine how he faces his enemies. "It was the same three girls; what else is there to say?"

He slid his hand down from her cheek to her neck in her collar. "And your necklace? I somehow doubt you took it off completely while at school."

Unable to face him any longer, she looked down and rung her hands as tears threatened to fall. Maybe I don't deserve jewellery if I lose it in one day.

"If you don't answer, I'm going to assume those girls stole it from you." He pulled her into a hug and stroked her head. "Is that what happened?"

Ariel nodded and tears erupted as she buried her face in his shoulder and clung to his back. "I'm sorry." She sniffled.

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong."

"For losing the necklace you just bought me."

"You didn't lose it; it was stolen, and I intend to get it back."

"If you go after them, who knows what trouble will find you?"

"I can handle it."

"What if your magic wears off and your ears pop out?" Not that I'd mind seeing them.

"I have too much control over my magic for that to happen all of a sudden. I would have to be exhausted to the point of collapse for that."

When the tears finally stopped, he pulled away and wiped her cheeks with his sleeve.

"I told you before, if the bullying continued, I'd find a way to deal with it, so I will. They've gone too far. The only question now is, how much do we want them to suffer?"

"Suffer?" Ariel swallowed hard. "I'm not one for revenge tactics; I'd rather be left alone. That's all I've wanted from school..."

"Shouldn't they pay for what they've done? Who knows how much they've tortured other people, too?"

"They seem to have this weird obsession with me, so I doubt they bother anyone else. Also helps make them look good; if I'm the only one they treat badly, there must be something wrong with me. It's all crap, but it lets them persist."

"That's the problem; people stay quiet. Both victims and bystanders alike. No one likes to draw attention to themselves in fear of becoming the new victims, while the actual victims expect it to get worse if they speak up. All it does is let the problem continue. Let the bullying continue. We can't and I won't stand idly by."

"But... what can you do? You had trouble signing books out of the library."

His expression fell. "The difference here is I'd be willing to use my magic. I'm not going to use it at a library, unless you weren't able to sign out the books for me. Why waste my power like that?"

"But it's not a waste to use it to—"

"Infiltrate your school, no, it isn't. This may not be a country's war, but it is your own personal one, and I intend to help you win."