“Emmett, wait!” Ada called out as she pursued her friend. After the fireworks fiasco, she had to escape from an angry crowd in the night. But she needed to find Emmett first.

Her thoughts were in turmoil. How could I not know? But now that he revealed his secret, she could see the signs. She thought he had only brotherly affection for her, and he had been sympathetic when she confided in him that she was in love with his sister, Jasmine.

Emmett was the only one who knew about Ada’s love for Jasmine, though the latter might have guessed. Ada shouldn’t have spent so much time pouring her soul out to Emmett about his sister. She couldn’t imagine how much pain she must have put him through.

Meanwhile, the crowd went wild, with many crying out, “Where is Ada? How dare she imprint her name across the sky for all the world to see!”

Originally, Ada had arranged with Emmett to write her confession to Jasmine in the sky, through the fireworks display at the end of his sister’s birthday party. It was supposed to show:

Jasmine, I will always love you.

But, without Ada’s knowledge, Emmett had changed the addressee:

Ada, I will always love you.

At first, Ada was angry that Emmett should make fun of her for loving another woman, especially when the woman in question would never love her back. But after, Emmett divulged that the message was not from his sister, but from him. Then he ran off without a word.

Before Ada could find Emmett or be attacked by the mob, however, a familiar voice rang out, “Ada, here!”

Ada’s face went ashen, as it was Jasmine. It was one of the rare times when she didn’t want to see her friend. Ada’s face was hot, but she hoped Jasmine wouldn’t see. The latter waved her over, and she skipped to where the birthday girl was hiding behind a clump of trees. Jasmine smiled, and Ada was overwhelmed by the desire to kiss her but being unable to. Was this how Emmett felt towards her, too?

Ada whispered, “What are you doing here alone? You’re the birthday girl!”

Jasmine chuckled lightly. “I finished my dance with George, then I made excuses and slipped away. The party was agreeable enough, but the room was too stuffy so I came out for a breath of fresh air. And before I knew it, your fireworks started!”

Even in the faint moonlight, Ada could see the excitement on her friend’s face. Jasmine went on, “Thank you, Ada, that was one of the best birthday presents I have ever received. So beautiful and fabulous.”

Ada took a deep breath, wanting to dodge the issue but also not wanting to be a coward. “So what did you think of the fireworks’ message?”

Jasmine’s smile froze. She played with her hair like she always did when she was nervous. “Well…I suppose that was Emmett’s doing?”

Despite everything, Ada narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

Jasmine said gently, “Oh, he said he would tell you tonight. I assured him that was very romantic and I wished him the best of luck, though I didn’t realize he would use fireworks!” She paused and grimaced. “I gather that it went poorly.” At this point, Jasmine took out a mini lantern, a pretty, delicate thing, and it illuminated their faces.

Ada found the lantern blinding and distracting, and worried about others finding them. But since she was with the birthday girl, the proper protagonist of the party, Ada should be safe from any ambushes. She sighed and leaned against a tree trunk. “If you knew what he felt for me, why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice was brittle and contained a hint of bitterness.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jasmine whispered, “To be candid, I urged my brother many times to confess to you. I would be glad to see my two favorite people together!” Jasmine’s smile made Ada want to weep.

Jasmine continued in her obliviousness, “But he always turned down my advice, convinced that you would never see him in that way. It was a wonderful surprise to see him confess tonight, and in such a spectacular manner, too! I wish a man could confess to me like that one day.”

Ada winced and turned her face away. Jasmine patted her arm. “Ada, the crowds are dissipating. I suggest we get a carriage and hurry home. Come stay with us tonight!”

Jasmine’s cheerful, innocent face, always made Ada both joyful and hurt at the same time. Ada felt a flare of jealousy at the thought of a man who might sweep Jasmine off of her feet. Ada only hesitated one moment more. “But what about Emmett?”

Jasmine made a careless gesture, and her lantern quivered. “He’ll catch up with us later. I feel for him that he got turned down, but the course of true love never did run smoothly, did it? He’ll be fine and dandy later, after some time. I’ll talk to him as well if he doesn’t mind his sister’s babbling.” She laughed.

***

In the carriage, Jasmine soon dozed off and rested her head on Ada’s shoulder, as she often did. Ada relished the contact but hated that, in a sense, they were close but not close enough. She instantly felt guilty for having such thoughts. Ada was happy and honored to have Jasmine’s trust and friendship.

Even if Jasmine liked women, too, she clearly wasn’t interested in Ada, despite her kind compliments on Ada’s appearance. Emmett praised Ada too, but until today, she had believed he was merely being polite and encouraging.

Suddenly, the carriage jolted to a stop, and the horse whinnied like it had seen a monster. The driver cursed and tried to push the animal further. The horse protested and the driver reacted by yelling and kicking his mount.

At this point, Jasmine woke up from the commotion. She frowned and opened the window. “Stop the carriage. There’s no need to abuse a poor animal like that.”

The driver growled and spat out, “I don’t need your advice, pretty princess.”

Jasmine looked like she wanted to hurl herself at the man, even at the cost of her life. So Ada opened the window on her side as well, and shouted, “Do you know who you’re speaking to, peasant?”

The man turned his glare onto Ada, the horse completely forgotten. “I don’t care what rich family this lass is from. But I know how to do my job. When a horse doesn’t want to work, we kick him until he gives up and keeps going.”

Jasmine retorted, “No, your horse wants to stop for a good reason. You would be a fool not to listen. Leave the creature be!”

The man appeared as though he was about to lash his whip at Jasmine’s face, so Ada had to act swiftly. She shook out a golden hairpiece from her black hair, and darted it at the horse’s flank. The horse screamed from the needle prick, panicked, and threw his driver off his back.

Jasmine giggled at first when the horrible man fell off his saddle, but then she frowned. “Poor horse! I wish you didn’t have to hurt him.”

Ada replied, “Horses hurt much more when they’re whipped. This was just a tiny prick in comparison.” While the driver was still floundering to get up, Ada made another quick decision. She unfastened the front door of the carriage, and clambered onto the horse’s saddle. She gingerly withdrew the hairpin and re-threaded it through her hair.

The horse watched her with wary eyes while Ada smiled. “I’m very sorry about that.” She reached to rub the horse’s injured flank. Then she dug into her pockets. She had stored some leftover pudding from the party in a box.

The horse was instantly curious and neighed with pleasure when he tasted the treat.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The driver finally succeeded in getting up, and he pulled at Ada’s leg.

THWACK! A whip cracked onto the man’s arm. He yowled and let go. It was Jasmine. She had filched the man’s riding crop when he tumbled off his horse.

“Serves you right for abusing an innocent animal,” Jasmine said.

Ada exchanged a smile with Jasmine, and Ada felt her spirits lift. “Let’s go.” By some miracle, or perhaps because of the pudding, the horse listened to her, and set off at a brisk canter in the direction Ada desired.

Perhaps things were not going well in her life. But right now, with the rhythmic pounding of the horse’s hooves, and the comforting presence of Jasmine behind her in the carriage, Ada felt an odd sense of peace and confidence.