Rise of the Blood Empress

I: Welcome Home Part 1

           

Simone hadn't meant to start the fire. Even now, sitting in the station, her bandaged hands itching, she still wasn't sure just how she'd done it in the first place. The question of how she had managed to do it had not been brought up during the disciplinary hearing at the academy. No, the property damage alone had been enough for the counsel to come to a unanimous decision, and expel her. They had allowed her to return to her living quarters, the place she'd called home for nearly a decade, and collect what little she owned before getting on the next train off the island to the mainland. Had she been anyone else, they assured her, she would not have gotten off so easily.

             The Chevalier name still commanded a modicum of respect, not to mention a great deal of money.

             As much as she'd yearned for home during her years away, Simone wasn't looking forward to this reunion. Not this way. Her brother would be furious with her.

             The last of her tea cooled to room temperature while she neglected it, focusing instead on the tight-spaced text of the newspaper opened before her. The headline on the front page had caught her attention, 'Attack on Dig Site Validates Parliament's Initial Fears', so Simone had pinched together two marks for it. As she choked down the last dregs of her too cold, too bitter tea, her stomach growled, and she wished she'd spent the last of her money on something edible. It would be a long, hungry train ride all the way to Dolia.

             That is, if the train ever arrived.

It was already fifteen minutes behind schedule, according to the large, brass clock situated in the center of the station. The mechanisms housed in the base of the clock whirred quietly, and the globe like face rotated in time with the second hand, giving anyone a chance to see the time from any angle. With a soft, reluctant sigh, Simone neatly folded the paper and tucked it under her arm. Her spoon clinked against the white porcelain teacup as she placed cup and saucer on the counter of the small, family run café she'd been waiting at, tucked into a corner of the station.

             Not for the first time, she was amazed that her entire life could be compressed into one single piece of luggage. It was nonetheless heavy and awkward for her to carry through the busy terminal. Keeping to herself as best as she could, and apologizing when she couldn't, Simone made her way out onto the sunny platform. Pausing for a breath, she leaned against the brick wall of the building and let her lumpy bag sag to the ground. Her belongings rattled noisily as they settled. For what must have been the hundredth time that day, she checked her ticket. It had been nice of the counsel to pay for her passage. Other passengers grumbled around her, checking their own tickets, none of them pleased by the delay.

             The sun bathed the platform in warm, yellow light. Simone staked out her position against the wall as the minutes ticked by. A gentle breeze carried the scent of oil and coal from the tracks, but was a welcome relief from the heat beaming down on her. She had just started to roll up the sleeves of her soft, cream colored blouse when the train whistle wailed in the distance. Everyone gathered at the edge of the platform, angling and peering between and around one another to see down the tracks. Simone readjusted her bag across her body and went to join the throng that was being painstakingly corralled into something resembling a line by station attendants. The ground vibrated through the soles of her brown leather boots and up her legs. The whistle sounded again, this time much closer, and she could see the thick plume of dark smoke rising from the engine stack over the treetops. The locomotive rounded the bend and came into view, a machine of raw power and sleek design, louder than a stampede. The breaks squealed, and the train slowed, coming to a halt alongside the platform with a hiss and burst of steam.