((Private journal entry, but feel free to comment.))

Last night certainly ran the gamut for Miss Ahnyanka and myself. Unfortunately, Miss Ahnyanka was on the losing side of things.

I was enjoying the rooftop garden when I heard a faint alarum from the north, and saw a thin thread of smoke from there. I dashed into my apartment to change, then ran through Pennyfeather Park and past the Museum. To my horror, I saw that the New Champagne Rooms were blazing up.



I joined Miss Jedburgh at the entrance. Witnesses said they weren't sure if anyone was inside or not, so we thought it best to check, and quickly. The flames hadn't reached the door yet, so I cautiously opened it. Within seconds, we heard a faint sound of coughing, so I shoved the door open and ducked under the boards that Mrs. Foehammer had erected to try to prevent entrance.

Flames were licking through the ceiling, but we pressed forward to the entrance to the theater. Peering inside, I saw Miss Ahnyanka collapsed by the bar. Flames were greedily eating through the bar toward her, fed by the bottles of alcohol, so I dashed forward and dragged her a short distance away. She roused enough for me to be able to get her upright, with her arm around my shoulders, and help her outside.

I left her at the sidewalk on the farther side of the street, and returned to help Miss Jed and Miss Serafina in fighting the flames. Despite our best efforts, though, we were unable to save it. We're just lucky that the falling debris didn't injure anyone!



I saw that Miss Ahnyanka was really suffering, both from shock and from the smoke. I tended to her for a while, while many of the crowd that had gathered argued--and even, I'm afraid to say, threatened--Mrs. Foehammer, who had come to watch and harangue. I was afraid things might turn terribly ugly, for though there certainly is circumstantial evidence that she caused the fire--and perhaps more; I didn't hear everything that was said--such a matter should not be decided in the heat of emotions, so to speak. She was taken into custody by Father Pizzaro, and Mr. Blackberry Harvey arrived with a gurney to take Miss Ahnyanka to his hospital for treatment. Thankfully, that took away the foci for the crowd, and it soon dispersed.



So where is the gain in all of this? I must admit, it seems to be for me. Miss Jed and Miss Sera both volubly expressed their thankfulness for what they termed my 'heroism' in helping Miss Ahnyanka--not that either of them wouldn't have done the same thing! But truly, once I heard Miss Ahnyanka's cough, the actions I needed to take were clear to me. The danger didn't enter once into my mind. It's good, I think, to know that I can actually take decisive--and correct--action in a crisis now. The thought of that leaves me feeling more...confident. That is truly a gain.