20 Amelia Razork

Tyler paces back and forth across his room. Marci and Dani has told him that they would stop by after a quick investigation or interrogation, depending on which princess he asked. They have a habit of arriving early and leaving late; however, today they are taking their time.

As the door swings open, Tyler shouts, "Finally! What did you find out?"

"Did you need me to look into something for you, sir?" Darnell asks, standing in the door frame.

"Uh, no, it's fine. I thought you were someone else."

"Of course, one of the princess, perhaps?"

"Yeah, do you know where they are?"

"They won't be by for awhile. I have orders to fetch you for... another meeting."

Darnell steps aside and gestures down the hallway. His face is hidden by shadow of the door, but Tyler imagines a sinister grin on his face. There is no meeting scheduled that Tyler knows of.

"I'm not feeling well, so I'll pass on this one," Tyler stammers.

"Sorry, sir, this meeting isn't optional," Darnell insists. "They came directly from my employer."

"Isn't Marci your employer?"

"Not exactly." Darnell smirks and gestures again. "This way, sir."

Shuffling out of the room, Tyler is led down the hall to a large set of wooden double doors. Throwing them open, Darnell leads the way into the throne room. Everything is white with blue trim, like the rest of the castle, but the room is the size of a soccer field and two stories tall.

A royal blue carpet lined with marble pillars leads to a large throne. Tyler's eyes follow the rug up at to throne, wide with fear. Alice, Marci's mother, is not sitting upon it. Rather, it is a short woman with long dark hair wearing a crown. Tyler gasps when he recognizes the figure in the seat.

She is dressed in all purple, twirling her black hair that falls to the floor, golden scepter waving in her hand, eagle on her crown reflecting the light from the fixtures on each pillar, magenta eyes boring into Tyler. His legs begin to tremble as she continues to glare at him. He manages to stumble in front of her and bend at the waist.

"What in Edenburg is that?" Amelia asks, glaring at Tyler.

"I think he was attempting to bow, your majesty," Darnell suggests.

"Thank you, Darnell. You may go if you wish."

"Wait, but—what? How?" Tyler spouts.

"Darnell is my personal spy. I've had him planted here for about a year now."

"Why?"

"Alice has always been a strong willed leader, but her progress in the war with Qaplurg took an impossible turn around then."

"What do you mean?"

"The war should be over. Flayria didn't have the resources to continue. Alice begged us for aid, but we all agreed to remain neutral in their... affairs. Yet, she found the means to bring the war back to a stalemate."

"Wait, you were going to make them lose the war?"

"I was going to avoid taking sides." Amelia tools her eyes and sighs. "They decided who would win and who would lose. Isn't that the point of a war? Anyway, what is more important is that Flayria had to get their aid from somewhere."

After an awkward pause, Tyler asks, "So?"

"People rarely give anything away for free. Serpent attacks in Qaplurg increased eight-hundred percent in the last year, and they have been one step head of all of our plans. Now, they are hacking our private Z.O.O.M. meetings."

"You think Alice is the spy?"

"She is the spy. We just need to know who else is involved."

"Let me guess, my phone was the link, so I am a suspect."

"No, your phone was used to gain access to this world, and we want to know who figured out how to do that."

"I-I don't know who did it," Tyler lies.

"Really? Those two princesses seem rather jealous of someone who you don't even know," Alice points out as her purple eyes bore into Tyler.

"Where are Dani and Marci?" Tyler fidgets and sweat forms on his brow.

Alice gestures to the door. "I have no clue. Their interrogation finished awhile ago. Keeping track of those two is like listening to them: it's annoying."

"Oh, then they are both innocent?"

"In regard to assisting the serpents, yes. If they lived in Edenburg, I would throw them in jail to protect everyone else from their hair-brained ideas."

Tyler sighed in relief. "Well, if I'm also innocent, can I go?"

"No. We haven't even started yet."

"Started what?" Tyler glances around the room to see if there is a clue as to what Amelia is up to.

"Your interrogation."

"W-what? I-I th-thought that you k-knew I was innocent!"

"So?"

"Why would you torture me when I'm not guilty of anything?"

"Torture? You have the wrong impression. My magic allows me to observe thoughts and memories. There will be no need for torture."

"How does that work?"

"Come here," Amelia orders. She motions for Tyler to approach her.

Tyler takes a few steps with trepidation. Standing, Amelia meets him halfway to the throne. Her black hair flies around as if a breeze made its way into the closed chamber, and she places a pale hand on Tyler's forehead.

Struggling to keep his eyes open, Tyler watches a smile spread across Amelia's face. She begins to glow with a soft purple light, and Tyler collapses against her chest.

Swirling and spinning, images begin to appear before Tyler. Everything is fuzzy, but it slowly comes into focus. Fried chicken is piled up in front of him to the point that he can't see his surroundings.

"Is he out?" a female voice asks.

"Yes," Carla whimpers.

"Jeez, he went down right on the plate. He might not be able to use magic in that state. How much sedative did you give him Agatha?" Carla's father asks.

"One and a half the usual dose. After all, didn't you say he wasn't out long enough last time, Doug?" Carla's mom responds.

"Can we just get this over with?" Carla interrupts.

"Sure, sure. Do your thing, girls," Doug sighs as he stands up to leave.

"He in such a bad mood today," Agatha mutters.

"What did you want me to do this time?" Carla asks.

"It's called a Frequency Splicer. The blueprints are down in the basement."

"Frequency Splicer?"

"Something to help us break into the meetings with the five realm alliance. If that group gets any more unified they will pose a threat, so the council wants this as a contingency."

"How complicated is it?"

"Nothing he hasn't done before."

"Could we at least do this in two trips? Your last design almost killed h—"

"Finish it tonight: they want it tomorrow even if it kills him."

There is a ruckus as Agatha pushes her chair back and storms away from the table. Carla sighs and puts a hand on Tyler's shoulder. "Sorry..." she mutters as she lifts you upright in your seat. "Ty, let's get you cleaned up and hangout downstairs, okay?"

Tyler groans incoherently in response, and the images start to swirl again. Suddenly, he is back in the throne room. Amelia is holding him against her with one hand in his forehead and the other around his shoulders. Her glowing purple aura fades by the time Tyler can stand.

"What did you do to me?" Tyler shouts with tears blurring his vision. He stands up and turns his back to the queen.

"I told you, my magic let's me observe thoughts and memories," Amelia responds. She rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips.

"That never happened!"

"Even if you don't remember it, that memory was yours. Everything is stored in your subconscious, but few people get to actively explore that part of their own mind."

"You're lying. That wasn't—"

"You can go," Amelia interrupts.

"But... I..."

"All I really needed from you is to know how the Frequency Splicer was built. As you said before, you are innocent."

"W-What a-are you going to d-do to her?"

Amelia turns and glares at Tyler. "Why do you still care?"

Unable to answer, Tyler takes a few shaky steps towards the exit. Tears flow down is face and drop into the blue carpet, leaving a trail of dark spots leading to the large double doors.

"Why?" Tyler whispers on the other side of the door before slumping against the door and sliding into a sitting position. He sobs uncontrollably while repeating the question. "Why? W-why? Why?"