Swamped

Well, it's not that late, really. You can take an hour or two. You stopped right in the middle of Lady Madeline sneaking out onto Captain Penelope's ship after dark, and she was just caught.

Unsurprisingly, it was by her lover. You were expecting that, but that doesn't make it any less satisfying.

And as she held Penelope in her arms, Lady Madeline wished the stories of time magic were real, so that she might preserve this moment forever.

That, however, distracts you. And not simply because that's a bit over-the-top, even for a Dreamers book. It reminds you that time magic is what brought you here.

And you don't know how to manipulate it on your own. Which means, to the best of your knowledge, nobody is actually maintaining the spell. What happens if the time-aligned ether runs out? Do you simply get pulled back to your own time period... or do you get trapped here, with no way back?

Either way, you're no longer sure you have time to spare for this book. You sigh, put it down, and close your eyes. Perhaps someday you'll have a chance to find another copy.

But for now, all you can do is dream, and see what it brings you.