Ariel opened her mouth to protest, trying to free her hand from Leroy’s grasp, but it was no use. He maintained an unaffected smile, as if nothing were amiss. Frustrated, she jerked her arm helplessly and caught sight of Mandy peering at her with a triumphant expression that was impossible to miss. Without a sleeve to conceal her feelings that evening, there was nothing between Ariel and her rival's evident satisfaction. Before she could see Taylor’s amused expression, Ariel quickly turned back to Leroy with a fierce glare.

"Leroy," she objected, tugging her arm forcefully, "this is ridiculous."

"What? You have four; show them proudly!" he encouraged brightly, lifting her arm higher.

"You're embarrassing me; this is nothing to be proud of!"

"Tell that to her," Leroy said, glancing towards someone Ariel couldn't immediately see.

Feeling flustered, Ariel turned over her shoulder and spotted a petite young woman about her age, holding up her small bunch of Magnolias with beaming pride. Ariel's face flushed even deeper as she turned back to the stage. Bad idea. At that moment, her eyes locked with Noah’s. He offered her a small, encouraging smile, which she returned weakly, her cheeks burning with heat.

"Alright," the woman on stage continued, glancing briefly towards Ariel and Leroy’s struggling figures, "How about six?"

Ariel's arm was growing sore, a numbing sensation spreading into her shoulder, when she was abruptly released from the monk’s hold. Ahead of them, a few women raised their arms voluntarily. As the blood returned to her arm in a prickly rush, Ariel shot a sideways glare at Leroy, who stood beside her, looking satisfied.

"Don’t look at me like that," he said, still staring up at the stage.

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Ariel frowned and flexed her fingers. "My arm feels half dead thanks to you."

Leroy broke his gaze from the stage. "Oh, never mind what you did to my arm—"

Ariel narrowed her eyes and gave him a push. "Oy—should I raise your arm again?" Leroy protested, rubbing his sore shoulder.

Ariel crossed her arms tightly. "You shouldn’t have raised it in the first place."

"It wasn’t that bad," Leroy remarked, looking unconvinced.

"Yes, it was," Ariel answered stubbornly.

"Okay, how about nine?" the woman on stage announced as the women with six Magnolias lowered their arms.

Ariel watched as twice as many arms rose in their place. A blush crept up her neck as she glanced down the line and saw Taylor raising her arm. Mandy stood beside the priestess, absently adjusting her larger bunch. Ariel frowned and found herself crushing her own Magnolias again.

That Mandy.

"Taylor managed nine," Ariel remarked, forcing herself to look away from her rival and back to the monk.

"Yeah, I guess so. She could have had twice that if she’d done more eye batting and less talking," Leroy replied, his eyes moving to the priestess, whose arm was proudly held in the air.

"You mean you didn’t see her receive those Magnolias?" Ariel asked, tilting her head and smiling slightly.

The monk blinked, raising an eyebrow. "No, I was out looking for you," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Actually," Ariel continued thoughtfully, pointedly ignoring Leroy beside her, "It makes sense. Imagine how many Magnolias Taylor missed out on because of your hovering?"

"I wasn’t hovering, I was out looking for—"

"I’m a Magnolia short because of you, and then I lost another with Jasper—" Ariel winced as soon as the words left her mouth.

Leroy’s eyebrows shot up. "Jasper too?"

"It’s one of those blank spots," Ariel explained simply, glancing back at the stage to avoid Leroy’s curious gaze.

"Over my dead body."

Ariel blinked, snapping her attention back to Leroy. "Excuse me?"

"Over my dead body," he repeated, "That’s what Jasper said."

Ariel’s lips parted in surprise. She stared at Leroy, bewildered. "I—what?"

Smirking, the monk shrugged. "I don’t know anything beyond that. One moment, they’re discussing Noah’s proposal to you; the next, Jasper is out of his seat and storming out of the room. It was under his breath, but I distinctly heard him say it as he passed me: ‘over my dead body.’"

Ariel felt her face burn, her heart pounding in her chest. Leroy placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.