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“Maybe it’s better that way.” Something in Jamie’s posture shifted.

His shoulders curled inward, his frame seeming smaller, as the tension in his jaw eased, just barely.

As if the thought of Jesse knowing was worse than anything else.

For a moment, Jesse feared Jamie wasn’t going to tell him anything. But then, Jamie began to explain.

“Dr. Alevera wasn’t who we thought she was,” he said. “Her real name is Ezra. She followed me here after Eleanore sent me to your world to protect me, and thought it would be funny to pose as a therapist and toy with me.”

Anger rose up within Jesse at the very idea of it, but he forced it down. “So, Eleanore is the one who sent you here?”

Jamie nodded.

“But um,” Jesse scratched his temple. “I’m a little confused to be honest. When I saw her leave, she had white hair. What kind of powers does she wield?”

“Her powers are based on water and ice, just like mine. ”

Yeah okay, that made sense. Even more with the background that Eleanore was Jamie’s ‘Protector.’

“Ezra is the one with the fire powers,” Jamie continued.

“The way we’ve seen her until now, with brown hair and everything, that was her safe form.

” His expression darkened, a deep frown carving across his face.

“And every time I went to ‘therapy,’ she manipulated my memories. She made me remember the wrong person—just like she wanted me to.”

“B-but why?” Jesse asked in confusion. “Why would she do that?”

“Revenge,” Jamie said simply. “Before I came here, Eleanore killed Ezra’s Protector to save me, so Ezra wanted me to kill Eleanore in return.

I’m just lucky I did not.” His icy blue eyes darkened, something unreadable flickering within them.

“That blood on my hands when you found me; that was from Ezra’s protector. ”

Jesse swallowed hard. “I… I see,” he muttered, though the words felt empty somehow. But at least one thing was clear now—Jamie hadn’t killed anyone.

Jamie let out a quiet, bitter huff. “Even when I saw those things in my dreams that told me what I should be able to do; that was all Ezra’s work.

She let me remember how to get into safe form, because once I managed to lock my powers away, it got a lot harder for Eleanore to find me.

I thought I was learning how to use my powers, but all this time, Ezra only let me practice and prepare for the fight against Eleanore.

” Jamie’s expression hardened even more.

“And then, when your health started getting worse, she used my desperation to push me even further. That’s why the sessions with her got so hard towards the end, and why I got such awful headaches from them.

Because she was manipulating my memories over and over again.

” His voice dropped, barely above a whisper.

“She never wanted to help me. She couldn’t break through Eleanore’s memory seal and cause more damage than that—because Eleanore is far more skilled than her—but in the end, she didn’t even need to. ”

Before Jesse could fully digest the revelation, his mind latched onto something Jamie had just said. “W-wait! Memory seal?!” he asked, sitting up a little straighter on the couch.

So there was an actual term for it?

Jamie paused, his brow furrowing slightly as if realizing he might be moving too quickly. He cleared his throat, his gaze briefly dropping to the floor. “Sorry, I’m probably going too fast,” he said softly. “Should I… slow down?”

Jesse shook his head, a slight smile forming despite the weight of the conversation. “No, it’s fine. Keep going.”

Jamie nodded and let out a deep breath as if he was collecting himself. “Alright. Maybe I should… just take one step back.”

“Whatever works best for you,” Jesse replied, though his mind was honestly reeling .

“Alright,” Jamie said. “So, um… that… that scar on my head, that was Eleanore.”

“That’s why it’s cold,” Jesse realized. “Since her powers are like yours.”

“Yes. Eleanore realized I could no longer fight, so—” Jamie paused again, running a tired hand through his still-white hair.

“No wait, that’s too fast again. Thing is, I don’t know how Ezra’s Nation managed to get their hands on one of the most rare and ancient artifacts in my world, but they did.

Without it, Ezra would have never dared to attack me in the first place.

Ezra used that artifact on me, and with it, sealed my powers away.

Like a forced safe form. I could no longer defend myself, so Eleanore sent me to your world to protect me from Ezra, and sealed my memories away—apparently believing I would have rushed back into danger right away, with or without my powers. ”

Despite the seriousness of the tense situation—or, perhaps because of it—the remark somehow struck Jesse as funny, and he couldn’t help but let out a slight laugh. “Yeah, that sounds like you.”

Jamie blinked at him, looking a little surprised, but then after a moment of thinking it over, he gave in with a dry chuckle of his own. “I guess so.”

“So…” Jesse continued. “You had your powers and your memories sealed away, but by two different people?”

“That’s right. And today, Eleanore finally had the chance to break her memory seal and return to me my memories.”

And now they were getting to the important stuff. “You, um, remember everything now, then?”

Jamie nodded. “I do.”

“…B-but wait,” Jesse thought of something. “If your memories were sealed away, how were you getting those nightmares? And the paintings, how come you remembered things through that?”

“Well… it’s murky,” Jamie admitted to him.

“Eleanore didn’t have much time when she placed the seal.

More importantly, Protectors are physically incapable of causing harm to the people they are sworn to.

Sealing away my memories in order to protect me doesn’t exactly classify as ‘hurting’ me, but still, that line is blurry, so it probably affected the strength of her seal.

On top of that, no memory seal is perfect, especially when it’s placed in a rush and on someone like me, so it didn’t only affect my memories, but my entire being in a way.

That’s why I was… well, like I was when you found me. ”

At that, they both couldn’t help but chuckle a bit in quiet understanding.

“But over time, my body fought back against Eleanore’s seal,” Jamie went on.

“Because she wasn’t supposed to place it in the first place,” Jesse repeated, wanting to be sure he got things right.

Jamie nodded again. “Exactly. So eventually, some of my memories started slipping through. And if Ezra hadn’t tampered with them, my nightmares and everything wouldn’t have been as messed up as it was.”

“So… you two are enemies?”

“You could say that.”

Jesse furrowed his brow. Eleanore sealing Jamie’s memories off and sending him away to protect him; Ezra sealing Jamie’s powers away to make him defenseless, toying with him to turn him against Eleanore as revenge for her own Protector’s death—Jesse understood all that.

And yet, something about it all just didn’t add up, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on why.

“But…” Jesse tried again, searching Jamie’s icy blue eyes for answers. “Why did Ezra attack you in the first place? Before her Protector died, I mean? You said his death made her want revenge, but that can’t be why she came after you before that.”

Jamie exhaled, looking incredibly tired all of a sudden.

“No. The reason why she attacked me in my palace was that she wanted to kidnap me. To use me for blackmailing my Nation into… doing something for her. When she found me here, she meant to finish what she started, but once she realized what had happened to me, she saw an even bigger opportunity.”

Jesse blinked. “She wanted to use you for… blackmailing your Nation?” he muttered. Then another word hit him, delayed but heavy. “Your palace ?” His throat went dry. “Who… who are you?”

Jamie bit his lip, glancing over to the clock like he was calculating something.

“Well, I… See, in my world, every Nation has an Heir, and… I am… one of them. I was entrusted with a sacred set of powers; and as such, I have been charged with the duty of protecting my home and its people. I am… a guardian, in a way. The Protector of my Nation.” He swallowed, then straightened slightly, as if steadying himself.

“The Moon Nation.” Jamie’s fingers curled slightly against his knee, tension settling into his shoulders.

But then, his expression shifted—growing serious, resolute.

“My official title is ‘Son of the Moon.’”

“I… I see…” Jesse muttered again, and let out a long, shaky breath.

Slowly, the realization sank in that Jesse had no idea who Jamie truly was.

And though it was relieving to get so many questions answered like this, it still felt like something was wrong. There was a strange look on Jamie’s face, and Jesse could feel that what Jamie had explained now was still only a mere fraction of what was really going on.

“Ahem, so… this Moon Nation,” Jesse said carefully. “When are we going to go?”

“Um…”

Jesse’s heart gave an uneasy thud. “J-Jamie…?”

Jamie’s gaze dropped to his lap as he hunched his shoulders.

“Jamie, what’s going to happen now?” Jesse asked, still wishing rather than believing that he was just misinterpreting things.

But the tension in his chest twisted tighter.

“Your memories are back, so you’ll be able to remove your powers from within me, and then you’re going to take me with you to the Moon Nation, like you promised. Right … ? ”

Jamie didn’t look up, frowning deeply as he looked down at his hands. “I never said ‘promise,’” he protested quietly.

“A ‘yes’ is a promise,” Jesse told him, the dread in his heart beginning to grow more serious. “You said I could go with you! Why would you take that back now?!”