Hiraeth: Belonging (II)

Chapter Ten

The school Day was over before I knew it.

I've still got auditions, though.

I decided to pay the "black building" a visit with the time I had before I needed to get to the band room. I asked the cloud portal to take me there, but I only emerged on the first floor of the alternative dorms.

I went into the hall, confused, and laughed.

Guess the portal doesn't know it exists.

I asked for the purple building instead and had to take the stairs.

The two top floors held the beings of darkness. The first was full of dorms, and the second was a few empty classrooms and more dorms.

"Excuse me, do you know where Mike's at?" I asked a being of darkness in the hallway.

"Oh! Prince Michael?" they replied with a heartened smile.

I nodded, returning the grin.

"Room one."

I found Mike's dorm, which was nearest to the door. I fixed my hair and outfit before I took a deep breath and knocked.

Mike's shining voice called hastily from inside. "Vincent, I'm sorry, I'm trying to t-t-tune my guitar. I-It's unlocked."

"It's me!" I said with a laugh. "Roxie!"

"OH!" I heard the sloppy striking of disoriented strings, then the sound of hurried footsteps. "Roxie!!!" Mike exclaimed when he swung the door open.

"Was Vincent gonna come over? I can go if it's not a good time-"

"-No, he just keeps coming over to ask me questions. I-I thought you were him."

"Oh."

"C'mon in."

I stepped inside. Mike's walls were filled with pictures of his people, the obsidian island, and Obsidian City. There were shelves of artefacts and gifts from the beings of darkness. He had his keyboard and speakers set up near his bed, which was made perfectly. His desk was stacked high with sealed envelopes and assorted papers. Above it hung a picture of his parents.

"What are these?" I asked, holding a paper in my hand.

"L-Letters." Mike sat back down to tune his guitar. His voice darkened. "D-Don't look at them, though."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine."

"Who are they from?"

Mike grimaced. "R-Read the addresses."

I picked up a letter and frowned. "Wondryn." I looked at several more. "These are all from Wondryn."

He nodded solemnly.

"What do they say?"

"Nothing new, really."

I picked one of the papers back up and read the first paragraph. I covered my mouth with one hand and set it back down quickly. "Mike..."

"I know."

"Have you told anyone?"

"W-Well, they get sent to the courthouse in Obsidian City. These are just from Seconday."

"Last week?!"

"Yeah."

"This is harassment!"

"Pfft. Trust me, that's nothing."

"It's a death threat!"

"A-A-And there's plenty more where that came from. I started filing them away once I figured out what they were."