Nighttime arrival

Argenstrath Station, Two Days Before Start of Term

It was twilight when when Iona hopped off the train. The ride had been long, but she was thrumming with excitement. She'd gotten the acceptance to Argenstrath Medical Academy, the first person from their small town to do so. The letter had said that she was to meet a representative from the school at the station who would escort her to the dorms. As she dropped the last few feet to the platform, she started looking around.

The letter had just said that whoever was waiting would have a sign that said “Arriving Medical Students” and would guide anyone on the train back to the dorms. Since it was the a few days before the start of the semester, the new students were all arriving to get themselves set up, and the school had appointed a few trusted older students to act as mentors, or at least guides for the first few days. There were more people on the platform than she had ever seen in one place at a time outside of the big festival days. She took a moment to orient herself.

She saw a group of three well dressed young men her own age who were also looking about and asked one of them, “Excuse me, are you also here to attend the Medical Academy?”

The young man closest to her turned to look at her, took her in and said, “Wait *you* are a new student at the medical school?”

One of his companions turned around back slightly. “They do admit women nowadays you know.”

“Not women like *her*,” he said.

“Look, there’s someone holding the sign,” the third one pointed out.

The one next to Iona gave her one last look but turned to follow his friends. Iona trailed after them, keeping a bit of distance. She was slightly hurt, but she still had to get to the school, and she would have to travel with them. There were bound to be others like them, she supposed. She followed them over to a frazzled looking young woman who had set the sign at her feet. “And your name?”

The young man to whom Iona had spoken answered. “Barnabas Worthington.”

She ticked something off the pad of paper she was holding. “Welcome to Argenstrath, Mr.Worthington.” She glanced around. “We should be waiting on one more, a Miss Iona Carpenter.”
Iona stepped forward. “That would be me.”

“Excellent. Welcome to Argenstrath Miss Carpenter. Please, all of you, right this way.” She led them over to...Iona had never seen anything like it before. It was like a carriage, with wheels ,but there were no horses, just a large box where the horses ought to be and two lights on the front. There was no flame, just a dull glow. The lights flickered out, and then back again.

Barnabas snorted. “What, have you never seen a Paddock’s carriage before?”

“Lay off her,” one of his companions said. “We’re stuck in the back of the carriage with her, I don’t want the trip to be miserable.”

Iona wondered if she should be grateful or not and decided that it didn’t matter much. The driver came down to help her load her bag into the carriage and she climbed aboard. The inside was not particularly odd, though she hadn’t been in many enclosed carriages in her life. She slid in next to the young man who had told Barnabus to lay off her.

The carriage made an odd noise at it started up and whatever small steam engine that powered the thing was certainly not quiet, but Iona took it in stride. She presumed there were going to be dozens of new things she encountered as she began her semester at the academy. But there were two things she knew for sure; She would apply herself to her school work to make sure she kept her place, and she would never give Barnabas Worthington the time of day.