Connie Bell

Connie was one of those wild young women, she had spent nearly every day of her schooling either being punished, admonished or beaten for the crime of talking back to her “betters”. Yet it had been a point of pride for her that she had never given in. She couldn’t exactly say why she had decided that she was never going to give in to what her family had wanted from her but looking back she was sure it had something to do with the way the light had gone out of her older sisters eyes the day she had been married off. The thought of becoming like her had sickened her then and even now, as she looked through the windows of the carriage at the stately manor that was the home of the Edgemont School, she still felt that same certainty.

The moment she had turned 18 the finishing school her mother had sent her to had told her to pack her things and go home. She had thumbed her nose at the withered old matron as she packed her things and laughed about how pointless all those punishments and telling offs had been.

Her jovial mood had lasted right up until she had gotten into the carriage and been handed the letter.

The letter that told her she was going to Edgemont.

She had the long journey to the school to consider her options. She still had the silk scarf her mother had given her before she was packed off to school. She figured that might be worth a few bob which could then be used to get her a couch or train ticket down south and from there she could find a place where they didn’t keel over if a young lady so much as slouched.

Those where burning bright in her mind as she was offloaded at the school and even as she clung to them she couldn’t help herself from feeling a creeping sense of dread as she took in the courtyard and the sharp-faced man who greeted her.

Captain Edgemont, always Captian, was tall and thin and looked like you could use him to cut down a tree. His neatly trimmed suit giving off the air of a military uniform without actually being one and his expression one of unending disdain for the specimen he saw before him.

He had prattled on for a while about the school whilst Connie spent her time taking in the exits. Yet she couldn’t help but notice the way the other students, all in clothes that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a nun, stared at her from windows or snatched glances as they were marched past by hard-faced men and women.

Eventually, Connie was shuffled off to a long cold chamber that could only be called a barracks, the bed basic metal frames with mattresses rock hard and covers paper-thin. Even with the sun still in the sky, she could already feel a biting chill draft in the air.

Still, could be worse. She thought to herself as she unpacked her things. I’m near the end and those windows look like they won’t give me much trouble. Then it’s just a clear run across the moors to the treeline and I’m home free.

She was so sure of herself, smiling and doing exactly what she was told for the rest of the evening as she was given her uniform and served some warmed-over slop. She hardly even noticed the sidelong looks the other girls gave her as they ate or the odd tension in the air of the barracks as they got ready for bed. She only really noticed the whispering and giggles of a pair of girls a few beds down from her but she ignored that, sure it was just the usual petty little gossip about the new girl.