NOVPUB{Jaylin}
Jaylin stood up, satchel slung over her shoulder, heart pounding like she'd just sprinted up all six floors of the academy tower. Margaret was in the kitchen, humming softly as she prepared breakfast, seemingly untroubled by, or perhaps not remembering, last night's drunken kiss.
[Just act normal,] Jaylin told herself. [Pretend nothing happened. She was drunk. She probably doesn't even remember.]
She took a deep breath and stepped into the kitchen.
"Morning," she said, aiming for casual but landing somewhere between nervous and constipated. "I'm heading out."
Margaret turned, a bright smile lighting her face up. Her silver hair was tied back in a loose braid, and she wore a simple dress that somehow still managed to showcase her impressive cleavage. No sign of a hangover darkened her perfect features.
"Good morning, sleepyhead! Want some breakfast before you go?"
"No time," Jaylin replied, already edging toward the door. "Meeting with Javir."
"Always so busy." Margaret shook her head fondly. "At least take this." She held out a pastry wrapped in cloth. "Can't have you starving during your important research."
Jaylin stepped forward to accept the offering, her mind suddenly filled with a brilliant, terrible idea.
[Do it. Just do it. Be bold.]
As she reached for the pastry, she deliberately miscalculated the distance, stumbling forward slightly so that her face aligned perfectly with Margaret's. Their lips met in what could plausibly be called an accident.
It lasted only a second—a brief, soft press of mouth against mouth—before Jaylin pulled back, eyes wide with feigned shock.
"Sorry! I—I tripped—"
Margaret's eyes sparkled with amusement as she touched her fingertips to her lips.
"My, my," she giggled, that familiar flirtatious tone making Jaylin's knees weak. "If that's how you say goodbye, I can't wait to see how you say hello next time, haha."
Jaylin's face burned hot enough to forge steel.
"I didn't mean to—it was an accident—"
"Mmhmm." Margaret winked, clearly not buying it for a second. "Run along then, before you have any more... accidents."
Somehow, Jaylin's legs carried her out the door despite feeling like jelly. Her heart was doing a ridiculous victory dance in her chest.
[I kissed Margaret. I KISSED Margaret. Holy shit.]
It wasn't until she was halfway to the academy that she realized something odd. The kiss hadn't triggered a memory. No vision had flooded her mind, no glimpse into Margaret's private moments.
[That's weird,] she thought, frowning slightly. [Does, uh, lip-to-lip contact not working or something?]
A more troubling possibility occurred to her. What if the Memory Snare was changing? Evolving somehow?
She quickened her pace. She figured she should probably tell her aunt about this.
---
{Melisa}
Melisa paced the length of Javir's office, energy practically crackling off her as she gestured wildly.
"It's not just a memory-stealing device," she said, pointing at the glass-encased disc on Javir's desk. "I mean, it was intended as such, but in practice... it's a connection creator. That's why the effects are spreading—why Aria can see our memories without touching us, why Jaylin is getting visions through eye contact."
Javir leaned forward, resting her chin on steepled fingers.
"So, the Memory Snare was designed to create permanent psychic links between people?"
"No, I'm saying that's its unintended side effect." She paced around, side-to-side. "They designed it to steal memories from nim, to gather intelligence during the rebellion. But... I think the reason it ended up being hidden away like it was is cause some of the human agents who used it started experiencing nim emotions, having dreams from nim perspectives, even developing sympathies for those they were spying on."
"There were a couple of cases..." Javir murmured, recalling stuff she'd read. "Human agents who went rogue and joined the nim they were supposed to be monitoring."
"Exactly. The Memory Snare wasn't just showing them memories - it was creating lasting connections that strengthened over time. That's why it was eventually abandoned." Melisa tapped the page emphatically. "The humans realized it was changing their agents, making them sympathetic to nim. It became a liability."
"And you believe this explains why Queen Aria is experiencing memories despite never touching the disc directly?" 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
"Exactly." Melisa nodded eagerly. "She's touched me several times since I was affected. I think each contact created a thin thread of connection, and those threads are strengthening. She's becoming part of our Memory Snare network without ever touching the artifact itself."
Javir removed her glasses, rubbing the bridge of her nose wearily.
"If you're right, this is far more serious than I initially believed. We're not just invading people's privacy—we're potentially creating permanent psychic bonds with everyone we touch."
"And the longer we wait to do the ritual, the stronger and more widespread these connections become," Melisa added grimly.
The office door burst open without warning. Jaylin stood in the doorway, breathless from running.
"Javir! Something's weird with the Memory Snare. I—" She stopped, noticing Melisa. "Oh. You're here too."
"Discussing the same thing, apparently," Javir replied. "Melisa has a theory about the Memory Snare's expanding influence."
Jaylin entered, closing the door behind her.
"I kissed Margaret this morning," she blurted out.
Melisa's eyebrows shot up.
"You did what now?"
"It was an accident!" Jaylin's face reddened. "Well... kind of. The point is, nothing happened. No memory transfer, even though we made direct contact."
"But you've seen her memories before through touch?" Javir asked.
"Yes. Multiple times." Jaylin's blush deepened. "Very, uh, vivid ones."
"... Actually, this supports my theory," Melisa said, turning back to Javir. "The connections are evolving beyond simple touch activation. They're becoming something else entirely."
"Okay, someone want to fill me in on this theory?" Jaylin crossed her arms, looking between them.
Melisa quickly explained her findings, watching Jaylin's expression shift from confusion to alarm.
"So we're all becoming... what? Psychically linked?" Jaylin asked.
"In a manner of speaking," Javir confirmed. "And it appears the links are growing stronger and more independent of the original artifact."
"Shit," Jaylin whispered. "Does that mean Margaret and I are... connected now?"
"Possibly," Melisa said. "But more importantly, we need to perform the ritual as soon as possible, before these connections become permanent."
"Agreed," Javir nodded. "I'll contact Raven immediately. We should perform the ritual tonight, while the moon is in the correct phase."
"Tonight?" Jaylin's voice rose in pitch. "But I haven't had time to prepare, or—"
"Would you prefer to spend the rest of your life psychically bonded to my mother?" Melisa asked dryly.
Jaylin opened and closed her mouth several times before sighing in defeat.
"Fine. Tonight it is."
The office door flew open once more, this time revealing Raven. Her usually pristine uniform was wrinkled, and most shocking of all, she was breathing heavily as if she'd been running. In her hand was a crumpled newspaper.
"Raven?" Melisa stepped forward in concern. "What's wrong?"
Raven held out the newspaper wordlessly. The front page headline screamed in bold black letters:
ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON QUEEN ARIA!
"One of her knights," Raven said, her voice uncharacteristically strained. "He tried to kill her during her morning court session. The queen was badly wounded."
Melisa felt the blood drain from her face as she snatched the paper. The article detailed how a trusted member of the royal guard—a man with a scar across his left cheek—had suddenly attacked Queen Aria with a spelled dagger. She had survived but was gravely injured.
[The guard I warned her about,] Melisa realized with a sickening jolt. [The Shadow Mage.]
"This is my fault," she whispered. "I knew about him. I warned her."
"No, it isn't," Javir said firmly. "But it does complicate our situation."
"How?" Jaylin asked.
Javir's expression was grim as she replaced the glass cover over the Memory Snare.
"If Melisa's theory is correct, and the queen has formed a connection with her through the Memory Snare's influence..."
"Then her injury could affect Melisa," Raven finished, understanding dawning in her eyes.
"Or worse," Javir added quietly. "If the queen dies while connected to Melisa's mind..."
She didn't need to finish. The implication hung in the air like a storm cloud.
"There's no true guarantee, but it could happen," Javir muttered.
"We need to perform the ritual immediately," Melisa said, her voice tight. "Before anything happens to Aria."
[And, well, before anything happens to me.]
