Examine the contents

Carrying the box around is unnecessarily cumbersome, particularly if it doesn’t have anything of value. Xabar finds a small alcove and sits down with the box in his lap.

He pulls the two keys out and examines them. Nothing on their surface reveals which one — if either — unlocks Riggins’ door, so he pockets them both. Next, he pulls out one of the envelopes and studies it. Clarice’s name is written on the front in a firm, hurried, masculine script.

Pulling a folded piece of paper from the envelope, he scans his eyes over it and sees “Cyrus” scrawled as the signature. “So this is a letter from Professor Riggins to Clarice,” observes Xabar. “I wonder what Professor Papa had to say to his little love interest and what was so important that she risked keeping it.”

Xabar begins to read,

“My dearest Clarice,

As I write this, I am still captivated by the precious few hours we shared. It is hard for me to believe that so many years separate us, because your wisdom and maturity offer insight well beyond your years. In truth, I could bask in your bountiful thoughts all night!”

_“_Hmph,” thought Xabar, “if that’s the same Clarice I’m thinking of, he’s mistaken her IQ for her bra size!” He remembers Potions Class, when Clarice nearly destroyed the classroom by combining dragon tears with unicorn blood “because unicorns are so cute, and I thought it would make the dragon more cuddly.” If Xabar was any judge of feminine charms and male motivation, he suspected Riggins was spending a lot more time dreaming about basking his face between those two giant hogans under her sweater, rather than trying to glean any kind of worthwhile thoughts.

He scanned the rest of the letter and dismissed it as syrupy, seductive blah-blah-blah. Replacing it, he took out another. This one was dated a few days later:

“My sweet Clarice,

Last night was so magical. I can still feel your breath on my chest as we lay together, entwined in each other’s arms!”

“Bingo!” thought Xabar. “The Professor scored! Maybe those sappy, romantic words are worthwhile, after all.” He made a mental note to go back and memorize some of Riggins’ lines.

He is about to put the letter back and forget about reading the rest, when one line catches his eye:

“I must remind you not to say a word to anyone about us — at least until I can square things away with Morganna. You have my heart, but she has hold over me in other ways, and it would not do for word of our love to get to her. Trust me, wait for just this short time, and then we will be together openly and always!”

Xabar rolled his eyes. If Clarice believed that, she was more stupid than he imagined. Riggins’ promise to love her forever, once he took care of this Morganna gal rang about as believeable as “I love you, too,” “It’s my first time, as well,” and “Of course I’ll still respect you in the morning!”

“Morganna....” Xabar mulls over the name. “I wonder who that is, and what kind of hold she has over Riggins. More to the point, what’s it worth to me that I have evidence in his own handwriting that he was dorking the gal who is out of school due to the fact that she is bearing the spawn of their illicit coupling? A wife? A mistress? Another student?”

Xabar ponders these thoughts as he puts the letters in his pocket and stands.