Safeholme DormsEckert Maelgwyn stared out over the front lawn. His three eyes were haggard and tired, he had just spent the last ten hours driving through Wales. When he had received the phone call, he barely believed it, but it didn’t stop him from taking his little Renault all the way up north. The first time this had happened, it had just been a quick trip to Cardiff.
The culprit that had caused this night time sojourn stood a few feet away, gently swaying from fatigue and a sleepless night. She had been standing there for at least thirty minutes, and was struggling to stay upright. Nerves had managed to keep her going through midnight and into the morning.
She opened her mouth to speak, and her father’s shoulders seized.
“Don’t.”
She shrank at what sounded like admonishment. The silence persisted as Eckert continued to stare out onto the lawn, the sun having come up full now. Wynne came into the room, having prepared some coffee and tea. Both father and daughter were given their cups directly, the clattering of dishware the only noise in the house.
“Thank you mum,” whispered the young girl. Wynne hugged her daughter, and departed to the kitchen to sit and drink her tea.
When the door closed, Eckert spoke.
“Drysi.”
The tea-cup almost fell to the floor.
“Yes, da.”
“Do you know why the Library of Cardiff has more librarians than books?”
Third Floor
Midnight
Since the morning exercise and a visit to the school counselor, Drysi had become more approachable, even bearable on extended occasions. She and Willow were able to have a conversation without the combative tendencies of before, and she seemed to have a greater sense of patience with her classmates. Still, she was guarded around most people, and kept to what immediate circle of friends she had: Vrey, Katerina, Johann, sticking closely mostly to Willow.
That changed as the semester neared its end.
In the last couple of weeks, while students were studying to make up for lost time, Drysi was falling asleep in class. Willow would wake up in the morning, and find her friend crawling into bed as the sun rose, her boots muddy. Each time she was asked why, the triclops had no answer other than that she needed time to think. No one would ever catch her leaving, saving maybe the RA, who had written her up once for breaking curfew.
Tonight was different. Tonight was final. Tonight would be the last night for Drysi Maelgwyn.
----
A feverish scribbling was the only sound in the quiet dorm that night, until the door to Willow's room swung open loudly. The sound of boots running down the hall followed, striking the stairs and fading off before silence took over again. A leaf of paper sat in the center of the hall outside the open door.
