Jacks arrives at Tella’s room to escort her to their dinner engagement with Empress Elantine. Tella wears a dress whose shade matches the plumerias she has woven into her hair. Despite Jacks’ villainous intentions, he behaves like a gentleman as they climb the tower. Along the way, he stops Tella and reminds her that because his position is insecure, it is imperative that the empress believe that they are in love. He draws her attention to a mirror, where she sees Jacks looking more youthful and alive, and she appears to be more beautiful than she ever was. When they arrive, the empress greets them both and treats Jacks like a son. Tella is pleasantly surprised to find the empress full of life rather than a struggling older woman. Jacks eats nothing but apples throughout the feast, while Elantine regales Tella with all the information that Jacks has shared about her. When the empress calls for dessert, she presents cakes filled with colored jellies, which represent different marriage outcomes. Jacks’s cake has red jelly for passion, while Tella’s has black jam, but the empress does not notice because she sees the opal ring on Tella’s finger.