"A-annie."

"Zzzmmm? - Lucette? - what the fuck is that -"

Whatever it is it doesn't stick around once Annie's up.

"I-I-" Words aren't happening right now, apparently.

"- it's gone -? What was - are you okay - Lucette -?"

Nope, still not happening. Just heavy breathing and silent tears.

"You don't seem injured - you're breathing, your heart's going really fast but it's regular -" Will it help if she strokes Lucette's arm and brushes her hair out of her face and tries to de-tearify her face with her sleeve. "Do you need the healing power anyway? Should I go ask someone for help?"

"N-no you shouldn't."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, you scared me a little but clearly whatever that was scared you more, what was it?" Pet pet.

"That's not what I'm sorry for."

"What is it, what's wrong?"

"I-I'm."

She swallows and tries again.

"I'm sorry for mind controlling you to be in love with me."

"...that was an artifact. Like all my weird properties."

"I-I-arranged for you to touch that artifact. And the one to make us go to another world, and the other ones too. B-because I wanted. I really really wanted you to be in love with me and helpless and away from everyone who could stop me."

It will clearly not be helpful to Lucette for Annie to say "you really should be taking better advantage of the situation if you wanted it so much". So she doesn't.

"I think artifacts explain my situation and the magic you have here does not explain it nearly so well. Also you mostly haven't seemed like you wanted me to be in love with you. - Lucette, what was that thing with the arms and the book."

"-I. I'm really sure it was me I remember ... doing... "

What was that thing.

".... oh. That was... probably a demon?"

...pet pet pet. "So - you got a demon and - it gave you false memories -?"

Lucette leans into pets, then flinches away from them, and then leans back into them again.

"I....that. might be possible?"

"I remember doing this to you using artifacts, not my world's magic. Since I'm not from this world-or ... I wasn't from this world? When it happened?"

Annie makes a small sad noise when Lucette flinches away but doesn't notice herself doing this. "I think you thought you were from this world yesterday. Does that sound right?"

"Yes?"

"And it is normal for people to be from only one universe, and for that not to change day to day. Right?"

"...yeah."

"And it would be the sort of thing a demon could do, make you confused and misremember things the way you might if you were dreaming."

"I think so. I-I don't know much about demons...they only haunt empowered. And I'm half commoner."

"Do you want to see if you're - stronger, now, or anything, to check -?"