Aquilon

Alexandria

                 Orange-yellow spring sunlight streamed through the windows of Henderson Estate. At 5 sq. mi the complex dominated the Imperial City’s High Rim District. Its marble walls gleamed in the early morning light and the intricate architecture was a sight to behold. Within the high walls, which wrapped around the gem of house were several small groves and ponds adding to its grandeur. Here lived Nathan James Henderson. A man of about 6 feet, his stature was by no means diminutive. Neither was his wealth. To call him rich would be an understatement. As head of a private tax collection agency for the lower districts as well as a leading politician he held massive clout in governmental affairs. Not to mention massive sums of money in bank accounts. But did this powerhouse bureaucrat live in his gem of a house? No. The sole occupant of the chateau, aside from the help and workers, was his daughter: Alexandria Henderson. A student at Walterton’s Academy for the Upper Echelons the 16 year old had carte blanche on the grounds for 5 days a week when her father was working. During business days her father stayed in the Capitol Ring and even when he came home for two days a week he resided in his on-estate office building and paid her little notice. Not that it was a problem though. Alexandria loved the freedom. The cooks, maids, and lawn workers didn’t bother her either so it was fairly peaceful. Despite being born into this class, she didn’t fit the stigma too well….

              A siren sliced through the room as the alarm went off, tearing Alexandria from her sleep. Ughth… Monday. She had been up late the night before working on some diagrams for her engineering course. But for now, there would be no experimenting in the realms of mechanics. No today she had to rush off to the academy. What made today special? Just that there was a new truancy officer: one that didn’t know her too well. She was able to pay off the old officer, a lazy old man nearing his retirement. He couldn’t have cared less as to what she did allowing her to skip whenever she saw fit. This new women however was a witch all right. Everything was subject to her probing glares. Alexandria had to watch her steps and cover her trail.

Sliding off from the bed, she trudged over to the window to open the curtains. Bright light blinded her momentarily but she soon glanced out over the grounds: thrushes and jays glided about above the glades, the fountain was up and running and the grass was green as ever. She gave a slow groan and pulled herself to the washroom, careful as to not step on the work that covered the floor. Turning on the shower she shifted to face the large wall mirror.

              “Well… might as well get it over with.” Alexandria muttered, ruffling up her already messy orange hair and aversely looked forward to the day ahead. Putting thoughts of the day away, she strolled back over to the shower, stepped in and let the hot steam envelop her. Despite living her entire life in the chilly Imperial City, she had always loved steam. It made her feel at home. Most likely that it was the product of countless hours in the workshops. After getting clean she pulled on the school uniform, toweled and ruffled up her hair again then set off for the door. Before leaving however she went over to the corner and grabbed her knapsack and jacket.

Stepping out through the door she looked around. Just as she expected, the hall was empty. She made her way down the dull hallway to elevator and after descending for a few moments she found herself in the lobby and made ner way over to the dining room.

I swear this house is too big. It takes years just to get downstairs… “Hello! Anyone here?” She called out through the kitchen but it seemed no cooks were present this morning.

                “Eh. They’re probably in some other wing.” She shrugged, looking over at the large grandfather clock. It was still 7:00 am; there were still 2 hours till she needed to check in.

                “Well might as well get some breakfast outside.” And she knew just where to go. Bursting through the great doors at the entrance she raced over to the offset building to get the motor scooter. Then, after letting it get started she hopped on and zipped off for the gates. It took almost 10 minutes for her to get to the exit of the estate and by the time she was out the sun was high up in the sky.

                “Okay I probably have an hour and a half left. That’s more than enough time to get to Hawthorne’s!” Hawthorne’s was a fancy and expensive tea place further down the avenue her estate branched off from. Ever since she was young she visited that shop and developed close ties to the owners. Mark Hawthorne, the owner and founder of the Tea Shop was the closest thing she had to real parent. He was always there to help her out with whatever it was vexing her at the moment. His son, Sam, was also one of her few friends. Sam was 20, 4 years older than her and had recently graduated from the Academy 2 years ago. When Alexandria first came to the school at age 12 he was a prominent figure on both campuses. Due to a lapsus calami she ended up having to attend classes in the boys buildings and as fate would have she would be partnered up with Sam for a project. Mrs. Hawthorne was also close to Alexandria and was her only true female role model.  All were people she would be glad to see. I can just get something quick to eat there. As she zipped through the street dodging its rich patrons her thoughts once again wandered to the day ahead. It was shaping up to be fairly uneventful: lectures in every class, until 4 pm that was. 4 pm was her favorite part of every other day. It meant she was free from the mundane chains of the schedule for an hour. During this slot she stole off campus to go to the other side of the school, the boys campus, to attend her mechanics class. That was one of the benefits of having her standing. But this privilege too was in jeopardy. While the new officer didn’t know of it yet, Alexandria was certain she wouldn’t take too kindly to such a blatant disregard for the rules. That’s why she was up the night before finishing her newest project. Today seems a good enough day to unveil it. She smiled to herself at the thought.

                “Well that ride went by quickly…” Arriving in front of the teashop she chained up her motor scooter to the rack outside and made her way to the door. Before she opened the door however, a poster caught her eye.

Attention!

The Imperial Army Needs YOU!

Anyone interested in applying for the positions of, and not limited to, soldiers, pilots, mechanics and other specialists!

To Apply, Head To The Airship Docked In The Harbor!

The Ship Departs May 15th marking the last day for this opportunity!

“Well this is great! More than great! Perfect! Wait… the 15th.” With that her heart sank, “That’s the day after tomorrow!”