Petibone (Fantasmical 2024)

10. Thief_ReshapeIt

Prompt: In a society where memories can be bought and sold, your character is a memory thief with a hidden past. When they steal a memory that can change everything, they must decide what future lies ahead.

**

On a beautiful morning, the wizard summoned me, and I was not pleased with this fact. I hoped I would have a few days' rest.

I wondered if Maxwell had fully forgiven me for delivering the message and exiled him to that strange place.

I still couldn't bear the glassy eyes of the stuffed animals. But Maxwell's expression was also grim.

"I have a rather dangerous task for you, and I really hope you'll accept it. I feel you owe me," he began, but I interrupted:

"Isn't it enough that I followed you and freed you? I've already proven myself."

"It's basic that you didn't leave me there. But you need to do more for me not to hold a grudge against you. For example, if you complete this task well, I won't bring up what happened again."

I had no choice but to agree.

"Have you heard of memory trading?" he asked, offering me a seat. If I had to sit down, I thought this must be a long story. I sat and shook my head, so he continued. "In this task, you won't be delivering a message but stealing something."

"A memory? I've heard of memory thieves, but that's a forbidden thing..." I hesitated to finish my thought because I knew the wizard was somewhat above everyone. If he said something had to be done, it was so, and it was pointless to bring up things forbidden to other mortals.

"In fact, you have to steal back a memory that's already been stolen, so we're just setting things right," he reassured me, but I wasn't reassured. I was a messenger, not a thief, even if I served a good cause.

He studied my face, trying to figure out what I was thinking, but I said nothing, so he continued, "And here comes the delicate part. I thought of you because you owe me, and I know you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."

I looked at his beard, which he had trimmed a bit shorter. I couldn't focus entirely on the matter because something in me resisted, perhaps because I had to steal something. But what could I do? I had to accept to regain the wizard's trust.

"There's chaos in the kingdom. You know that Sol and Morte, the king's two sons, are at war over who is the rightful heir."

"I heard," I interrupted, "that Sol wanted to have Morte killed to remove the rightful heir, which is why the war broke out."

"It depends on which perspective we take, but yes, we can say that Sol is the evil brother, and Morte is the rightful heir reclaiming his due."

He stood up and walked to his bookshelf. After a long search, he took out a worn, thin booklet. "This contains the description of memory trading, detailing the practical part, how it works, how to locate the memory, and how to extract it from the owner. I know you'll understand this. You don't need to learn it; I'm giving it to you as an interesting read because we have a device that can filter and transport the memory."

I flipped through the booklet absentmindedly, noticing mostly drawings depicting the brain from various angles. On one page, there was a pointed needle and a nostril, showing how they pierced up.

At this point, I began to feel uncertain. Maxwell noticed what I was looking at and saw that the sight distressed me.

"As I said, memory removal doesn't happen like this anymore. It's much more sterile now. I'll show you the device, but first, a few thoughts about the task." He took the booklet from me, seeing that I was too absorbed in it as if I were in school and the teacher had taken away my toy for not paying attention to the lesson.