19 Suspicions

Tyler buries his face in his hands while laying on his bed. Dani screams something from the hallway, and there is a pause before she screams again. Her and Marci are arguing about how the meeting was hacked into, but all of it is goes over Tyler's head.

One thing the pair of princesses agree on is that they think Carla called him to access the meeting. Tyler can't believe that though. Carla is kind, thoughtful, and normal; she wouldn't be involved with anything like this, he thinks.

Twisting and pulling a tuft of black hair, Tyler reassures himself that Carla can't be involved. Closing his eyes, he allows his mind to drift back to happier times. However, one strange memory pops into his head.

***

Music and laughter begins to fill the room as Tyler finds himself at the birthday party his friends threw him his senior year of high school. Several people wish him a happy birthday, and a muscular blonde boy twice the size of Tyler lifts him off the ground with a hug. Laughing, Tyler slinks away you where Carla is seated on a brown couch in the corner of the unfinished basement that served as party central for all of his friends.

She is staring at the grey carpet that is unraveling and wearing through in the corner where two bare cement walls meet. While everyone else is standing around a ping pong table or playing cards on the dark wooden coffee table, she seems to be in her own world. Her green eyes are distant and partially blocked by her brown bangs.

"Hey, are you okay?" Tyler asks, sitting down next to her.

"Oh, yes I am. Are you having fun?" Carla responds. A half-hearted smile spreads across her face.

"I am. Thank you for planning this for me!"

Carla smile becomes more natural. "Of course, anything for you Ty."

"I know you hate being around this many people, so let me know if I can make it up to you."

"That's okay, you do stuff like this for me all the-" Carla is cut off when her phone buzzes. Glancing at the phone Tyler sees that her mom is calling. "I have to take this!"

"Is everything okay?" Tyler's question goes unanswered as Carla runs up the stairs and answers the phone.

Several minutes pass with Tyler pretending to enjoy his party. A few people talk to him, but he can't recall what they say. He is asked to play ping pong but declines the offer. Finally, Carla appears on the steps.

"What happened?" Tyler asks, rushing to meet Carla half way up the stairs.

"Nothing," Carla sighs. She stares at the steps, seeming distant again. "There is something you can do to pay me back though."

"Really? Sure, anything! What do you need?"

"They—I mean—my parents want you to come over for dinner tonight."

"That's awesome! Yeah, I'm in! I guess I owe you two now though. Having me over for dinner doesn't count as something I'm doing for you..."

"Well, it's all I want." Carla adverts her gaze and blushes.

"You are amazing!" Tyler pulls Carla into an embrace. Although she seems to be caught by surprise, she eventually hugs him back.

"No, I'm not. You're the amazing one, Ty."

Nothing else noteworthy happens during the party, except Tyler's five game win-streak in ping pong. Even after everyone leaves, Carla is glum. Her mood only gets darker as they walk hand-in-hand down the sidewalk towards her house.

"What's wrong?" Tyler asks as they turn into her driveway, not able to bear the awkward silence between them.

"Nothing," Carla responds. She pauses and looks up at Tyler before continuing. "I'm sorry, Ty."

"Sorry for what? You guys always have me over for dinner. One day, I should cook for you!"

"I would like that." Carla smiles weakly and leads Tyler by the hand into her parents house.

That night her mother made fried chicken. Tyler remembers that: it's his favorite dish that she cooks. Unfortunately, his memory after that is distorted.

Scattered voices echo words that Tyler can't comprehend. In a blur, time seems to accelerate. He comes to his senses in front of his own house.

"Are you okay, Ty?" Carla asks, squeezing his hand. "You have seemed out of it for awhile..."

"Sorry, it's been a long day. I'm just really tired," Tyler responds. His legs wobble as if they are made of jello, and he sways dangerously.

"Tyler? Look out!"

Carla rushes behind Tyler and breaks his fall as he topples towards the ground. Both of them land in the grass with Tyler on top of Carla. Fear fills her eyes as she tries to say something, but Tyler's hearing fades out. The world goes black until the next morning.

***

"Tyler, wake up!" Dani shouts into Tyler's face.

"Who? What?" Tyler grunts as he jumps out of bed. "I wasn't even asleep!"

"You were snoring and moaning at the same time! Just another thing that I'll have to put up with when we get married..."

"I thought we were past this marriage stuff..."

"Never mind, we figured it out!"

"No, we didn't," Marci corrects her, clenching both fists to keep the rage out of her voice. "There are a few questions we need to ask before we can conclude what really happened."

"Oh, right, right. Sorry, you are so boring that I forget all of the tedious things you want me to do."

"Umm, what are the questions?" Tyler interrupts.

"You ask him, blondie. I already know what happened.

"If that's the case, you can leave, right?" Marci snaps. Dani crosses her arms and turns her nose up at the fair skinned princess but doesn't move or talk. "Tyler, we think that the serpents used a Frequency Splicer and magic amplifier to call you, then combine the calls. After that, ending your phone call would leave them connected to our meeting."

"Okay, so your question is... what?" Tyler mutters without understanding anything Marci is saying.

"Well, a Frequency Splicer has never been built. Similar to the Coordinate Splicer, it would have to be perfectly manufactured to work."

"These aren't questions..."

"Tyler," Dani cuts in, growing frustrated. "Did you ever use your magic for your other girlfriend?"

"What?"

"If the serpents have a Frequency Splicer, they used your powers to make it!"

"I didn't even know I have magic until I came here! How would I... wait..."

"What is it?" Marci asks, worry spreading across her face.

"This might sound crazy, but is there a way to use someone else's magic? Like if I were asleep, could you activate my powers somehow?"

"I knew it!" Dani shouts, thrusting a fist into the air. "Admit it, blondie, I was right!"

"No way," Marci mutters as all the color drains from her face. "You were right..."

"What? How is she right? What's happening?" Tyler stammers.

"It's called magical suggestion," Marci explains. "An illegal and heinous practice where you can drug someone so that they are not conscious of their actions, but they will still be able to use magic. In the past, it was used by rulers to exploit subjects with strong magical abilities."

"Ever since the five realm alliance was started, it's been highly illegal," Dani adds. "Just being suspected of using it can warrant the death penalty."

"Wait, you think that's what happened?" Tyler asks. His head begins to spin. "That's not possible!"

"Why not? Did you ever wake up physically exhausted, like you had used magic in your sleep?" Dani responds.

"Or have you ever felt like an entire day passed without you being aware of it?" Marci adds.

"Only a few times, but Carla wouldn't-"

"See, I was right!" Dani shrieks.

"This proves it," Marci agrees.

"Still, we have to find out who the informant inside you castle is."

"We are working on that, but it could have been a spy in any castle."

"Wait, there is a spy?" Tyler chimes in.

"Yeah, your exes timing was too perfect," Dani sighs. "In order to know when the meeting was, someone had to tip her off."

"However, the meeting was on a need to know basis," Marci says. "Very few members of our staff knew exactly when it was. My mom is in a lot of meetings too, so whoever it was knew the subject of the meeting."

"Not necessarily," Tyler disagrees.

"How would they know when to call then?"

"Well, I'm not in many meetings. If they knew I was there, then it would be obvious that it was the meeting they wanted."

"Hey!" Dani yells to Marci. "Didn't you send his attendant to pick him up?" She points at Tyler as she talks.

"Darnell?" Marci muses. "He is newer... I can look into that."

"Ha! I caught them both!" Dani places her hands on her hips in triumph.

Marci rolls her eyes in response and says, "We will look into both of them..."