John was correct in figuring Ariel would miss the lack of reflection in the shop window. She was far too caught up in gazing at the wares to notice that the man that had stepped up beside her lacked an actual image in the glass. If she noticed, as well, she would have seen the faint sheen of her own reflection over the items. But she didn't. She peered at the window overflowing with curiosity before being jolted out of her daze by the comforting make voice.
Ariel turned to look over her shoulder, blue eyes searching the man standing next to her.
She offered the stranger a warm, comforting smile and urged him closer with the lift of her palm and a gesture of closing her fingers against her palm. Lowering her hand, she pressed it tenderly against the glass of the shop and peered back at the items he was talking about. "They're lovely though," Ariel breathed. She recalled her own collection of trinkets she had left back in the sea, things she had gathered at the bottom of the water from ship wrecks or from having been discarded.
"Which is your favorite?" With the question, Ariel turned her attention back to the man. "My name is Ariel, by the way." She radiated warmth and new life. Maleficent had given her another chance and she was going to live up to her end of the agreement.