Chapter 22

"You know something, Ariel. What is it?" Jasper's voice sliced through the quiet. Ariel stopped mid-lick, frozen.

"Huh?"

Jasper pressed on, "You know something. What is it?"

Is he talking about the man, the picture? Not this again!

Ariel wrestled to keep her composure, scrambling for a believable answer. Meanwhile, Jasper's piercing eyes locked onto hers from across the table. He placed his hands down and leaned in, his face now deadly serious.

"Ariel, if you're hiding something..."

A sudden burst of courage surged through Ariel, matching Jasper's stern demeanor. "There's nothing to tell."

Jasper leaned back and crossed his arms. "You're lying."

Defiantly licking her ice cream, Ariel's sugary daydreams shattered like fragile glass. A moment ago, she had desperately wished this was Jasper coming to rescue her from her tangled mess of shame and sorrow—but she saw through his intentions now. He just wanted a chance to interrogate her; well, she wasn't going to make it easy.

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

Jasper's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized her. "Where were you, Ariel? I know you didn't just fall behind."

Taking a large bite of her cone, Ariel chewed slowly and stubbornly glared at Jasper. "Believe me or not, I did fall behind," she retorted.

Jasper answered with an icy silence while Ariel retained a faint smile—she wouldn't let his cold stare break her spirit.

"Oy—Ariel!"

Her head snapped around to see Leroy approaching with the rest of the GPI team and Mr. Warner in tow.

"What's going on? You just took off..." Leroy questioned as he reached them, casting a wary glance at Jasper. "Am I missing something?"

"No, nothing," Ariel replied cheerfully and held up her cone. "Ice cream?"

Leroy settled beside Ariel, still eyeing Jasper suspiciously but took the remainder of her offered bribe with a nod.

"Nothing, huh?" he pressed on, still doubtful as he took a bite of the cone.

"Well, Jasper was kind enough to get me this," Ariel replied, smiling even sweeter at her thoroughly vexed boss.

"My, what's happening here? Late-night cravings? Couldn't this wait?" Mr. Warner exclaimed as he came closer, just in time to see Leroy take another bite of ice cream. Mandy glanced from Ariel to Jasper and back again. A knowing smile tugged at Ariel's lips.

So what if this was all a ploy to coax me into talking? Mandy doesn't have to know...

With a mischievous grin, Ariel shot Jasper another sugary smile, though it faltered when he frowned and turned away. Mandy caught this exchange, and a fresh smile spread across her face. Ariel crossed her arms and swiped Leroy's last bite.

"Hey-" he protested.

"Is everything okay?" John asked, his eyes filled with concern for Ariel. With her mouth full of ice cream, Ariel managed to swallow and return his gaze with a warm smile.

"Everything's fine. We should probably head back before the play starts," Jasper declared briskly, refusing to look at Ariel. Mr. Warner looked relieved,

"Yes, yes good idea," he agreed, offering his arm to Mandy. Leroy stood and offered his arm to Ariel. As they walked back, the monk whispered in her ear,

"So what really happened?"

Ariel shrugged thoughtfully,

"Ice cream, I suppose."

Leroy looked puzzled by her response but didn't press further as Ariel seemed troubled by the topic. They merged with the crowds once more and somehow Ariel found herself stuck behind an even taller person than before.

"I can lift you up again..." Leroy offered gently, but Ariel shook her head. Enough was enough for one night; she didn't want to risk being seen again. She would just stand and listen to Noah's play. The lights swung around and the curtains opened once more; romantic music from the band filled the air. Shiloh's voice rang out,

"Ah, a place to rest after my long journeys..."

Ariel suddenly envisioned a fair maiden arriving at an old-timey inn. Her cheeks flushed red once more.

"Come in, please miss, take shelter here!" called out a second voice, a male's.

"No, no, no..." Mr. Warner protested upon spotting Ariel merely standing there, staring at the back of the man in front of her, "This simply won't do; you can't see the stage!"

"Oh- uh, Mr. Warner, really, I'm fine..." Ariel tried to resist, but the playwright had already taken her hand and was guiding her away from the crowd. For the second time that night, she was spirited away.

Well, at least this can't end with ice cream and a surprise attack...

"Here, how is this?" Mr. Warner asked, sounding pleased as he extended his arms to reveal the vast stage. Now much closer and standing where the crowd wasn't as dense, Ariel felt a little more at ease.

"Thank you, this is much better," Ariel whispered gratefully. The fair maiden accepted a splendid meal from the accommodating Innkeeper. Mr. Warner beamed,

"Think nothing of it; it's my pleasure."

Just then, someone caught Ariel's eye—and apparently Mr. Warner's too. A woman standing a few feet away, quite alone, glanced over in their direction. Her blonde hair shimmered in the moonlight and her eyes held a hard gaze.

In an instant, her attention shifted back to the stage where the fair maiden had come down with an illness and the Innkeeper was nursing her back to health. Mr. Warner's smile faded; he leaned in and whispered seriously,

"If anyone questions your presence here, just tell them you are here on the compliments of Mr. Daniel Warner—they should not press further..." Ariel followed his gaze to the mysterious woman and nodded slowly.

"Good," Mr. Warner exclaimed cheerfully once again, "please enjoy the show!"

With that, he hurried off most likely to rejoin his dearest Mandy. Ariel tried to focus on the unfolding play but found her attention drawn repeatedly to the enigmatic woman ahead.

There was something about her—something almost familiar—that Ariel couldn't place. So consumed was she by this curiosity that she lost track of time and missed much of the play. She was jolted back to reality by a particularly loud piece of music and looked up just in time to see Shiloh accept the Innkeeper's proposal and throw herself into his arms. The curtains closed, the music ceased, and thunderous applause erupted.

Clapping just as fervently as those around her—even though she'd hardly watched any of it—Ariel saw the woman clap for a moment before vanishing into the crowd. Ariel had half a mind to follow her but decided against it, lest she run into the Williams while trailing after her.

The crowd began to thin out, everyone laughing and chatting about the marvelous play without thinking to question Ariel's presence. Alone now, she wandered towards where GPI had gathered. Halfway there she ran into Mr. Warner,

"Ah—Ariel! Just the person I wanted to see! What did you think? Wasn't Shiloh wonderful as May?"

"May?" Ariel asked distractedly as Mr. Warner linked arms with her, his joy and excitement evident.

"Yes, you remember. The wandering Maiden whom the Innkeeper fell in love with!" Ariel felt a flush rise to her cheeks. He named her May... "Oh, yes," Ariel finally responded, "Shiloh was incredible!" Mr. Warner beamed, "Yes, everyone seems to agree it was one of her best performances, some even credit me," the playwright remarked with a wink. Ariel forced a smile.

"Ariel! There you are. You need to stop disappearing on me like that!" Leroy scolded as soon as the duo came into view. Ariel crossed over, linking arms with him and smiling warmly, "Sorry, it's not my fault I keep getting carried away."

Mr. Warner bustled toward Mandy, "Mandy, dear—I haven't even asked how you liked the play?" he inquired expectantly. Mandy smiled politely and admitted to enjoying it quite a bit, "I especially liked the female lead, May. Noah is quite creative for coming up with such an original character," she said, emphasizing the word 'original' with a meaningful look toward Ariel. Ariel pretended not to hear and glanced at the rest of the GPI group.

Over the next few minutes, Mr. Warner gathered almost everyone's opinion of the play to his satisfaction. John thought it nice and light-hearted; Leroy found it amusing and gave Ariel a knowing look; Taylor found it a bit boring but acknowledged some fine acting. Neither Max nor Jasper had any comments.

"Well, I'm glad you all liked it, but it's getting late. Mandy, shall we turn in?" Mr. Warner suggested, noticing the festival grounds emptying out. Mandy nodded and wished everyone goodnight, giving Jasper one last look before being led away by the playwright. Ariel tried to catch Jasper's eye, but he seemed to be avoiding her gaze.

Fine then, be that way, Ariel thought as she crossed her arms. Leroy patted her shoulder and yawned, "I think we should head in too." There were murmured agreements as always Jasper led the way with Max closely behind him. Taylor followed shortly after while Ariel and Leroy walked arm-in-arm with John keeping stride alongside them.

"Hey—wait!" a voice suddenly called out behind them. The group halted and looked back to see Shiloh running toward them breathlessly with her arms full of roses.

"I-I'm sorry to bother you, but have you seen Daniel?" she panted anxiously looking at each of them in turn. From her glowing face, Ariel had a sinking feeling that Shiloh wanted to hear Daniel congratulate her on her performance.

Leroy exchanged looks with John and Ariel before answering,

"Uh-yeah, just a little while ago. He was tired and headed back home."

Shiloh's smile faltered,

"What?"

Ariel frowned and nudged Leroy,

"Nice touch."

"He was heading home?" Shiloh repeated as the glow left her cheeks.

"Yes—but he spoke of nothing but your great performance all evening! I'm sure he can't wait to talk about it with you tomorrow morning," Ariel reassured her warmly—maybe overdoing it a bit—but she felt for Shiloh and wanted to keep her spirits up.

Shiloh smiled weakly and nodded,

"Oh yes...thank you. I guess I'll be going."

With a polite wave, she turned away; her glow and excitement gone.

Ariel watched Shiloh leave—with a heavy heart.

That Mandy!

"Come on Ariel," Leroy said gently pushing her along.