*Clack, clack*
My shoes echoed as I staggered my way through the garnet-red halls of the history building. The windows curtains were wide open and bright streams of sunlight pooled into the hallways, cut into crosses by the windowpanes. They swirled little motes of dust, dancing around like moths in the light.
Along with other students, suitcases, bags, and other odd bits of furniture cluttered the hallway near each classroom door. Glass lamps lined the walls.
"Se nd T o Fr it z Se nd T o Fr it z Se nd T o Fr it z Se nd T o Fr it z Se nd T o Fr it z—"
Every step made my temple throb like crazy. I staggered, bracing myself against the wall.
…How far was it to the Admin building again?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I managed to make it out of the history building and onto the paved-brick roads that connected the campus and into the admin building, where I stumbled to the receptionist's counter, and—
"...Yuki?"
The receptionist at the counter looked exactly the same as Yuki, the receptionist at Majorie's Journalist guild.
The woman smiled politely. "Hello, Ms. Rien. I'm Yuki's twin sister, Yuuki. She told me quite a lot about you."
Maybe it was the pounding and send to fritz's going off in my head, but their names sounded identical. "Ah…"
"What can I help you with today?" Yuuki asked.
"I'd like to send a letter," I managed.
"Of course. One moment." Paper rustled as Yuuki placed an envelope and sheet in front of me. "When you're finished, just hand it back."
"Thank you." I leaned against the cool marble counter as I pulled out my new brass fountain pen.
"Se nd T o Fr it z."
My thoughts blurred as the lobby's noise faded into something distant and muffled—all the voices, footsteps, paper, and scratching of pens blurring together.
Then, my vision started fogging up.
I felt for the cold brass nib of my pen, spilling jet-black ink all over my fingers. I paused then began writing away. My writing must have been really messy as I was scrawling just based off of muscle memory, my eyes blurry as heck.
In the letter I detailed most of what was happening—save for the faceless girl and asked Fritz to look into the three strange students for me.
I don't even quite remember all of what I wrote before I handed the letter to Yuuki.
She looked concerned about receiving the envelope from my trembling, ink-soiled hands but still sealed it and pushed it into an 'outgoing mail' slot in the cabinets behind her.
"Thank you—"
My legs gave out.
Yuuki yelped in surprise as I fell onto the cold, rough, well-worn floor.
"Miss Rien!" Paper clattered as she rushed around the corner. "Are you alright?"
So tired…
I managed one blink before everything tilted and went black.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[Inspector Aerel's POV - later in the afternoon]
It was later that day when Inspector Aerel found out about the letter that Rien had written and its contents.
Sunlight poured through the tall office windows in pale, cold gold. The room smelled faintly of paper and ink. For some reason, it was cold too, and warm fog escaped Aerel's breath as she breathed. It didn't bother her, though.
Aerel sat behind her desk, a case file in her gloved hands.
"Ma'am."
Aerel looked up.
Casey stood stiff in the doorway, clutching a paper envelope in her hands. Her hair was tucked in the normal black messy bun, but several strands escaped and curled against her neck. She met Aerel's eyes and quickly averted her gaze.
Aerel thought it was cute, in a way, but the memory of yesterday's… incident was still fresh in both officers' minds.
"...The officer in charge of screening mail notified me five minutes ago," Casey said quickly. "Here. We intercepted this just before it was sent. You might find some of the details familiar, in particular the bit about the three students."
Aerel closed the file in front of her and set it down with a soft thump. A ribbon of her snow-white hair slipped loose as she leaned forward. She tucked it neatly behind her ear, brushing her pale bangs from her eyes before taking the envelope.
The room fell quiet except for the faint ticking of the wall clock.
*Tick, tock, tick, tock, jjae-kkak, jjae-kkak*
Aerel's face of confusion went to apprehension then back to neutral all in a span of six seconds. "Who wrote this letter?"
"A student named Rien de la Fontaine, ma'am," Casey replied.
"A student…?" From the way the letter was formatted, along with the details, it looked more like an incident report than a simple letter to a family member. The writing was incredibly precise and clinical. A student writing something like that was… dubious, at best.
Aerel pursed her pale lips. "Do we know the relationship of the student to the recipient?"
"No, ma'am."
"...Where is the student now?" Aerel glanced up at Casey.
"According to the administrative receptionist, she fainted shortly after finishing the letter. They've moved her to the medical wing."
Aerel hummed softly.
The chair legs scraped against the floor as she stood.
She crossed the office and lifted her hat from the coat rack beside the door and slipped on her black trenchcoat. Sunlight struck her hair as she gathered her long white ponytail and swept it neatly behind her collar, the fine crystal strands catching the light in brittle flashes.
*Ttak!*
She picked up her cane from against a cabinet.
"Well," she said lightly. A small smile curved her pale lips. "Let's go pay our little student a visit, shall we?"