Hiraeth: Belonging (II)

Chapter Nine

I didn't hear from Mike for the rest of Summer.

It didn't really bother me. He had a lot to do. I'm sure he would have spoken to me if he had been able to.

I searched the news for him every single Day. He was on it quite a lot, always smiling, always focused and determined.

Obsidian City was completed just a week before school resumed. It was very small, not at all a city but a little town as big as my neighborhood.

Every building was made of obsidian. They had their own miniature facilities: a library, museum, market, law enforcement, greenhouse, schoolhouse, and courthouse. It was announced that Mike was the mayor, as "Prince of Darkness," and had his own special office in the courthouse. The cook got her own restaurant, and the tailor got their own establishment, too. There was even a chamber built like the one I had seen on the obsidian island where Mike had his shadowbath.

To protect the city, since there were still beings who... disagreed with Governor Green about welcoming Mike's people into Idyll, it was surrounded by enchanted black gates. These gates were specially designed to detect weapons.

I viewed the grand opening on television the Thirday before school. Mike smiled through sobs as he gave a speech. Vincent, Liz, Quinn, and all the other beings of darkness opened the doors to their new homes while thousands watched.

Obsidian City was designed to be like the beings of darkness' old home. Not long after she announced her welcoming of his people, Governor Green had Mike travel with a team of historians to the obsidian island. They documented everything, including the murals of Hiraeth's darker history. With what they discovered, they used in the city's plans.

Thinking the segment was over, I was about to head downstairs and help my mum with work when I heard Vincent's voice from the living room.

He's getting interviewed?

I peeked at the television from the hallway. Sure enough, Vincent and Mike were both onscreen, along with a handful of younger darkness beings. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that Principal Python was also there.

"That's right, folks," a news reporter said as the camera focused in on him, my friends in the background. "The adolescents of Obsidian City will be attending SAM Junior High and SAM High, starting next week. Thanks to more generous scholarships provided by the schools' donors, housing arrangements have been made for those headed to high school. Additionally, buses will be taking the younger students to the middle school. Even younger children are to receive a personal teacher here in their new home."

Wow! That's...

That's a terrible idea.

It was important for the beings of darkness to have an education, don't get me wrong. But children, especially teenagers, could be cruel. I'd seen bullies harass other kids just for having a weird nose, or not being able to summon Magic, or having too many freckles (that was Derek in the second grade). I'd seen kids carry their parents' horrible ideals and opinions so well that it made a permanent mark on someone's face.

I witnessed just how negatively others viewed the beings of darkness every Day now.

Most Idyllians were on board with Kassandra Green's plan, but there were a lot of beings from all around Hiraeth who weren't so eager. In Bijou City, there had been two small protests calling for Governor Green to "keep the peace - get rid of the beasts." In Drift, even more beings were outraged. In Wondryn, entire mobs were threatening to come over to Idyll and march on Obsidian City.

No one could believe how much the governor was risking for one species. She was slowly falling out of favor with those who opposed what she was doing for Mike, and she was losing ties with the other continents. Although Idyll could function well enough on its own, if Drift and Wondryn kept cutting off exports, many were concerned that beings would panic and leave the continent. That would destroy the economy.