{Javir}
Javir was in the middle of translating an ancient text when her office door burst open with enough force to scatter papers across her desk. She looked up, spell of protection already forming on her fingertips, only to find Jaylin standing in the doorway, chest heaving and face flushed like she'd run across the entire academy.
"We have a problem," Jaylin blurted out.
Javir took the misfire, gritting her teeth, letting the spell go.
"Knocking is customary before entering, you know."
"Sorry," Jaylin said, not sounding remotely sorry as she slamd the door shut behind her. "But this is serious."
"I gathered that from your dramatic entrance." Javir gestured to the chair across from her desk. "Sit. Breathe. Then tell what's happened."
Jaylin collapsed into the chair, still visibly agitated.
"The mory Snare. It's... changing."
Javir's expression sharpened.
"How so?"
"I saw a mory without touching anyone. Just by making eye contact."
[... Really?]
"With whom?" Javir asked.
Jaylin's cheeks darkened.
"Margaret," she mumbled, suddenly finding the floor fascinating.
[Of course it was,] Javir thought.
She'd noticed Jaylin's odd behavior around Margaret lately. The blushing, the stamring, the fleeing from rooms. Not exactly subtle. Naturally, she had no room to judge, given that a year ago she'd nearly kissed lisa.
"And what exactly did you see?" Javir asked, keeping her tone neutral.
Jaylin's face went from pink to scarlet.
"Um. Private stuff. You know. Between her and listair."
"I see."
"The point is," Jaylin rushed on, clearly desperate to change the subject, "the disc's power is spreading, right? Getting stronger? That's bad!"
Javir sighed, rubbing her temples.
"Yes, it's bad. It's exactly what I warned about." She stood, moving to the glass case where the mory Snare sat. "The ancient texts described this phase. As users continue to access mories, the connection strengthens, requiring less and less effort to activate. I didn't think that literally ant accessing mories from a distance, though."
"So what happens next? We start seeing people's mories randomly? All the ti?"
"Well, now I imagine that, eventually, yes," Javir confird. "Perhaps the boundaries between minds begin to blur. First eye contact, then proximity, then nothing at all."
"Shit," Jaylin breathed. "We need to do the ritual. Now."
"Oh? That's quite a change of tune from our last eting."
Jaylin had the grace to look embarrassed.
"Yeah, well, that was before I realized this thing was going to turn into so kind of walking mory leech. I'd like to keep other people's thoughts out of my head, thanks."
---
{lisa}
lisa hurried through the palace halls, flanked by two guards who'd been sent to escort her. The summons had co less than an hour ago—a royal ssenger arriving at the academy with an ornate scroll bearing Queen Aria's personal seal.
The ssage had been brief: Her Majesty requested lisa's presence imdiately for a matter of utmost importance.
lisa had barely had ti to change out of her practice clothes and into sothing marginally more presentable. Her hair was still damp.
The guards stopped before an elegant door carved with flowering vines.
"Her Majesty awaits within," one announced, opening the door and stepping aside.
lisa entered what appeared to be a private solar. A beautiful, sunlit room with comfortable furnishings and windows overlooking the palace gardens. Aria stood by one of these windows, dressed in a simple blue gown rather than her formal regalia. lisa hadn't been here before.
She turned as lisa entered, a smile brightening her face.
"Miss Blackfla. Thank you for coming so quickly."
"Your Majesty." lisa bowed. "I ca as soon as I received your ssage."
"Please, sit." Aria gestured to a pair of chairs arranged near a small table, where a tea service waited. "And in this room, you may call Aria. We're speaking privately, after all."
lisa sat carefully, hyper-aware of the last "private" mory she'd witnessed of the queen.
[Don't think about her masturbating. Don't think about her masturbating. Don't think about—dammit!]
"You seem nervous," Aria observed, pouring tea for both of them. "I hope my summons didn't alarm you."
"Not alard," lisa said quickly. "Just... curious. You ntioned it was important?"
Aria handed her a delicate porcelain cup, their fingers barely brushing in the exchange. lisa tensed, waiting for the mory Snare to activate, but nothing happened.
[Thank the gods for small rcies... Though, why didn't it work just now?]
"I've been experiencing sothing strange," Aria said, settling into her own chair. "Episodes, for lack of a better term."
lisa nearly choked on her tea.
"Episodes?" she repeated, struggling to keep her voice even.
"Yes. Monts where I... see things. mories, I think, but not my own." Aria's brow furrowed. "At first, I thought it was simply exhaustion. The duties of rulership don't allow for much rest. But they've been increasing in frequency."
lisa's eyes widened slightly.
[Oh shit. Shit shit shit.]
"That sounds concerning," lisa managed. "Have you consulted the court physician?"
"This isn't a dical issue," Aria said firmly. "It's magical. I'm certain of it. Which is why I've called on you."
"?"
"Of course. I an, you're a talented mage with several good connections. And soone I believe I can trust." Aria set down her cup, leaning forward slightly. "I need your help investigating this phenonon. Discreetly."
[She wants to investigate the mory Snare's effects without knowing I'm one of the people causing them. Fantastic.]
"I'm not sure I'm the best person for this," lisa said carefully. "Perhaps a more experienced mage—"
"I don't want soone more experienced," Aria interrupted. "I want soone who thinks differently. Soone who sees beyond traditional magical boundaries." She smiled. "Soone like you."
That made lisa's heart beat a little faster.
"I..." lisa hesitated. "What exactly have you been seeing in these episodes?"
Aria's pale cheeks flushed slightly.
"Various things. Mundane monts, mostly. People going about their daily lives." She paused. "Though so have been rather... intimate in nature."
[Like masturbating while saying my na?]
"And have you recognized the people in these mories?" lisa asked, struggling to maintain a professional tone.
"So. Palace staff. Citizens I've encountered. A few academy students." Aria took a sip of her tea. "Actually, just yesterday I experienced a particularly vivid episode involving you and that stoic friend of yours. Raven, is it?"
" and Raven?" lisa blinked, genuinely surprised. "What were we doing?"
"She was giving you flowers. Quite sweet, really." Aria's lips curved in a small smile. "She seed very pleased about your reaction, in her own reserved way."
[That just happened this morning!]
"Strange," lisa said weakly.
"Indeed. Which is why I need this investigated." Aria set down her cup with a decisive click. "Will you help ?"
lisa knew the right answer was "no." Or, rather, she should tell Javir about this developnt imdiately. The mory Snare's influence had clearly spread beyond their small circle, affecting even the queen herself.
But looking at Aria's expectant face, lisa found herself nodding.
"I'll help. But I might need to consult with Professor Folden. She has expertise in, uh, rare... magical phenona."
"Of course," Aria agreed. "Just maintain discretion. If word spreads that the queen is experiencing visions, it could cause... political complications."
"Understood."
"Excellent." Aria smiled. "I knew I could count on you, lisa."
"..."
lisa swallowed.
That casual use of her first na...
It was kind of thrilling.
[Get it together. She's the frickin' queen.]
"I should warn you," lisa said, setting down her cup, "magical investigations can be unpredictable. We might discover sothing unexpected."
"Oh, I'm counting on it," Aria replied, her gray eyes sparkling with sothing that might have been mischief. "The unexpected has always been more interesting than the routine, don't you think?"
There was a playfulness to her tone that lisa had never heard before.
"True enough," lisa admitted. "I'll start looking into it right away."
As she rose to leave, Aria stood as well, reaching out to touch lisa's arm.
"Thank you," she said softly. "It's actually quite comforting to know I have soone I can trust with such personal matters."
[... Well, yeah, except I'm literally the reason this is happening.]
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