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Jasmine stared out the window, the creature she’d befriended earlier that evening curled up on the sill. It was late in the night, Violet already fast asleep in his own bed, but their shared room at the top of the Scrimgeour house was beginning to feel stuffy, like she was back at home again, burdened with responsibility she was never meant to have.
The latch made a faint squeal as she slipped outside, the creature bounding out with her. She shut the window behind her and clambered down the steep roof, exhaling a sharp breath when Violet didn’t come after her. For all his deceptively carefree, joking manner around others, he’d always struggled to disguise his protectiveness when it came to anything involving her.
She yawned, running a hand through her messy hair, and gazed up at the sky. The Scrimgeour manor was rather remote, and the night sky was clear, clusters of stars spilling out above her in a dizzying mural. She blinked, and in a dark patch of sky to the northeast, thin streaks of light bloomed, so faint she almost missed them.
What was it you did on a shooting star? Make a wish, right? She pulled her knees to her chest and closed her eyes, absentmindedly scratching her strange little beast while she considered her options. Her mind wandered to earlier in the day, to Violet’s offhanded comment about Philomela and Rian that had made her feel a sense of discomfort she hadn’t had the chance to unpack.
“I don’t really get it…the whole falling in love thing.” She said the thought out loud for the first time and then chuckled as her creature let out a purr. “Lucky one, aren’t you? You don’t have to worry about silly things like that.” Watching the meteor shower, she sighed. “I wish I could understand…” Love, was it? She didn’t get how Violet saw it in every potential pairing, like those few minutes he had on her equated to some vast difference she wasn’t prepared for. Philomela and Rian came across to her as childhood friends grown apart and back together, albeit rather adversarial ones.
And to find someone who set her heart aflutter…she groaned. What was even the point when they both knew Father would choose? Not that she’d ever been too concerned about that aspect. In a way, she secretly felt it was a relief that that part of her life, if it was truly a necessity with no way out, would be taken care of using solely logic.
Was that how she really felt, or was she rationalizing it knowing she had no choice? Jasmine rubbed her eyes. No, it was definitely relief. It was like a heavy weight was lifted from her chest when she reminded herself, and while everything else that was required of that future was still wishy-washy, she knew without a doubt that any trepidation she felt wasn't due to the act of predetermined selection itself.
Did that really make her so childish? She traced her hand along the ruby markings on her creature’s side, its shifting flesh curling around her fingers. Just because Violet’s ribbing made no sense to her didn’t mean she was completely clueless; she was simply looking at things through a different angle.
Like they were reflected in different blades.
She froze, her eyes settling on a particularly bright meteor as it arced through the night. A different perspective, huh? Jasmine hugged her creature to her chest and thought of Violet standing by her side, protecting her as she shielded him from the role that had been shifted away from him. Her parents, teaching her and Violet, concealing the aftermath of their duty until they were old enough to play their roles. The pets and familiars she’d raised and cared for. Her classmates, once landing between rivals and cautious allies at best, some now close enough to be considered friends. She would be heading over to one of their houses soon, the house of a mage. Her world was expanding, and within it…
Are all the people and creatures I love.
Jasmine let her wish die on her tongue. She’d had the understanding she was looking for all along. She didn’t know if it was narrower than what it typically was for people like Violet, or broader – but it fit her just fine, like how her creature fit in her lap. Or how it fit in a pillowcase, curled up after shredding the innards, she thought wryly. The creature made a yowling noise as if it had heard her.
“What do you think you’re doing up here? Last time I checked that little guy of yours won’t magically repair any roof tiles you knock off.”
She started as the window creaked open, followed by the sound of Violet clambering across the tile. Despite his light scolding, he grinned at her, gesturing for her to make room.
“Oh, sorry if I woke you,” she said, scooching sideways. “Wanted to get some fresh air and saw a meteor shower is all. Like the kind you make a wish on.”
Warm hands clasped her cheeks, and Violet’s hair tumbled around her face. “We both ought to know by now that wishes can be dangerous things in a world like this one, right?”
Jasmine pushed Violet aside to glance up at the fading streaks of light. Her creature plopped itself between the two of them, stretching its neck until she rubbed its head. “You don’t need to worry; I didn’t say anything. I think…my wish already came true.”
“Oh?” Violet nudged her conspiratorially. “You shouldn’t spill it to the world but that doesn’t mean you can’t tell me.”
“Can’t do, I’m afraid.” Jasmine shook her head and pressed a finger to her lips. She smiled at the two of them, her sibling and her secret, one bond old and one new. Bonds she cherished as much as any kind between any others.
They sat in silence, watching the shower into the early hours of dawn.