Princess at Heart (The Rosewood Chronicles)

Nothing was going right. In fact, Ellie was pretty sure the whole world was currently conspiring against her and all she wanted to do was run to the bridge and scream into the abyss below.

Pulling at the hem of her damned tartan pinafore, she tried to cover up some of her exposed skin as she pushed the Stratus Side door open with her shoulder. It was club hours, and Stratus students tended to be in the library. Despite this, she checked and double-checked to make sure the coast was clear before she approached the stone statue of the falcon Elwin, the Stratus mascot, and the door to Rosewood’s greatest secret.

Twisting the ‘W’ until it turned into an ‘M’, she waited for the cogs to turn, the sound always making her jump even if she was ready for it, until the bird slowly lifted, revealing the staircase below. It was a shame none of the Stratus students could use this secret room that was hidden in their house quarters as inspiration for their Presentation of the Pillars tribute, but this place was Lottie’s secret, so Ellie and her friends would protect it with their lives.

Rubbing her arms at the cold that sighed out from the hidden door, she began her descent into the secret study that had belonged to the school founder, the lost princess Liliana Mayfutt under her cover identity of William Tufty – the very study that had revealed Lottie’s true heritage. Ellie hadn’t ever given much thought to the secrets and resemblances that Lottie had inherited – the underground study, the tiara heirloom, and her matching wild honey hair. So why did it now leave a hard lump in the pit of her stomach? One that was shaped unmistakably like guilt.

She could be so much more without you, a voice sneered in her mind.

She could hear them talking as she lingered at the end of the winding stairwell, peeking into the room without giving herself away as Raphael’s distinctive hybrid Los Angeles and Oxford English accent echoed through the door.

‘So the fire just blew out completely?’ Raphael sucked his teeth, turning to Jamie for an answer and receiving only a shrug in response.

The twins were being strangely quiet in the corner, absorbing the information like two creepy ornamental dolls while they nibbled anxiously on nearly gone lollipops. The look on Micky’s face was vague, the kind of half-there stare adopted by people who weren’t comfortable with what they were hearing.

Part of Ellie wondered if his expression was something to be concerned about, but she was also selfishly relieved she’d missed having to listen to Lottie recount their meeting with her family. She wasn’t sure she could keep a level head if she had to live through it again.

‘Perhaps it was a freak weather event?’ Binah offered, snapping Ellie out of her thoughts. ‘Sometimes rain-cooled air can produce descending columns of wind with destructive damage comparable to the high-velocity gales of a tornado. Although the two are not to be mistaken for the same thing.’

Ellie was sure she’d be the last one there after her accident at lunch, and she was itching to explain to Lottie why she hadn’t been able to find her in the dining hall, so she was more than a little surprised to find Saskia and Anastacia were nowhere to be seen.

‘Is that going to be on the chemistry exam?’ Raphael asked, jotting it down in his notebook that was supposed to be for Leviathan information.

‘Yes, it’s on page fifty-six. I read ahead.’ Binah turned to the side, her canary-yellow prefect cloak fanning out around her shoulders. ‘You can borrow my notes if you like.’ She signed to Percy and he nodded, then the two of them huddled together to copy Binah’s meticulous notes.

Ellie watched the scene like she was peering into a snow globe. Surrounded by twinkling fairy lights and the delicate star ornaments that hung from the ceiling above, everyone on the other side of the glass looked like they were floating in a dream.

They could just be normal students. They would be happier without you, that same voice sneered again, and before she could stop herself she let out a grunt of frustration.

‘Ellie, thank God.’ Lottie almost jumped on her, and the deep indent of worry on her brow made Ellie want to curl up and die. She hated that she was the cause. ‘Where were you? Why are you wearing a pinafore?’

They all stared at her as if hell had frozen over.

‘Bad day?’ Percy signed, and she hated how obvious it was.

‘Sorry I’m late – I had to drop my regular uniform in the laundry room.’ She scratched at the back of her head. ‘Someone spilled coffee all over me just as lunch started.’

Jamie lifted an eyebrow, but she shook her head, letting him know she was fine.

Ellie coughed, trying to hide how she was feeling and move the conversation along. ‘Have you made any progress?’

Binah sighed, tapping her jaw in thought where she stood by the blackboard. ‘I’m afraid the information is unsatisfactory. Nothing the royal family said during the meeting takes us any closer to understanding Claude’s motivation, nor his ultimate goal.’

Binah, along with Anastacia and Saskia, were their only friends at Rosewood that knew Ellie was the real princess, meaning she was always careful with her choice of words.

What was more worrying was the look Lottie gave her, still focused on the pinafore that hung awkwardly over Ellie’s body, eyes flickering a mile a minute. Puzzle pieces were slotting together, making her apple-blossom lips set into a hard pout. But Lottie didn’t have time to question her as footsteps echoed towards them, like the sound of an angry giant.

‘I swear when I find out whose idea this was I’m going to –’

‘Arrêtes, Saskia!’

From the dark of the stairwell appeared Saskia and Anastacia, twenty-five minutes late and both holding their Rosewood Library reusable coffee cups.

Anastacia noticed Lottie glancing at the cup in her hand and scowled. ‘No, we are not late because we got coffee.’ She strode into the room in a cloud of perfume, her blow-dried mahogany hair flowing behind her.

‘We’re late because of this!’ Saskia gave a powerful kick with her left leg, and Ellie stared at the metal band fastened round her ankle.

Only Jamie reacted, sucking in a breath.

‘I’ve been leashed!’ Saskia screeched indignantly, slamming her foot down.

‘What is that?’ Raphael asked, shuddering like it was some ugly accessory she’d actually chosen to wear.

‘It’s a tracking band,’ Jamie said. ‘Some people request them from the Partizan council so they can track their Partizan in case they’re compromised, but most people consider it a violation of privacy.’

Ellie winced, unable to think of anything someone as carefree as Saskia would hate more, and she noticed how Lottie’s lips quivered, as if she was trying to hold something in.

‘Apparently one of the new school security found out about the little, um –’ Saskia coughed awkwardly, giving a sideways glance to Lottie – ‘kidnapping attempt when I was under Leviathan’s influence and requested that I only be allowed to attend classes again if they can track me and make sure I never leave the grounds.’

Anastacia put a comforting hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder, their Partizan and master bond melting away into something even more powerful. Then she sighed, pulling a mirror out of her bag to check her make-up, and her eyes flickered up to Lottie and Ellie for just a second, like they were being frisked. ‘It’s truly been the day from hell. I’ve got a detention tomorrow,’ she said, and everyone turned to her.

Anastacia Alcroft getting a detention was unheard of. It would be like the queen of England going to a warehouse rave. It was unfathomable. ‘Yep,’ she continued, distracting herself with the mirror so she didn’t have to make eye contact. ‘My book went missing before Mr Trigwell’s calculus class and he thought I was making excuses for not doing my homework.’ Lottie winced, knowing just how difficult the notorious maths teacher could be. ‘The strange thing is, though, I know I put it in my bag. It was almost as if someone stole it, specifically to get me in trouble.’ Once again her sapphire eyes shot up, and this time they stayed on Lottie, honing in like a missile. ‘Perhaps any number of the students are angry about who I choose to be friends with.’ Her voice was shards of glass grating against Ellie’s skin.

‘Don’t be rude,’ Ellie immediately growled, knowing exactly what Anastacia was suggesting.

‘I’m not being rude, Ellie; I’m being realistic.’ Anastacia snapped her mirror shut, and the rest of the room went quiet. ‘People are really angry with Lottie for what they assume is somehow her fault, and we have to assume, with everything we know about how the Hamelin Formula works, that the reporter who broke in and attacked Dom was under its influence, and that, therefore, this is part of a Leviathan plot.’ She gave Saskia, Ellie and Lottie a hard look each, a warning. ‘I think it’s time we told everyone about –’

Ellie could almost hear the words on the tip of Anastacia’s tongue; she was about to tell the others about Haru, and Ellie knew that if she did Jamie would lose it. He’d never forgive her for keeping this secret. A part of her couldn’t help feeling that maybe she deserved his outrage.

From the corner of the room came a sound somewhere between a whimper and a plea that rattled Ellie’s bones. When they turned, they only caught a glimpse of Micky’s crumbling face before he rushed out.

‘Micky!’ Lola called after him. ‘I’ll go and calm him down.’ She was looking directly at Percy, the two of them sharing the same concern. Percy’s head dipped to the side, a question, and Lola appeared to answer a wordless yes before vanishing herself.

The rest of them turned to Percy in unison, knowing he’d be their best bet at understanding what had just happened since he was dating one half of the twins. He was against the wall by the blackboard, looking like a ghost, a thick gloom that was different to the regular shadows he dragged around with him, his black hair resting over his eyes, cutting up his features with thick lines.

‘We were waiting to speak to you about that,’ he signed, his weary gaze cast downwards. ‘Lola and Micky … their dad has taken a turn for the worst; we’re not sure he has very long left, so for the moment –’ he shrugged, hesitating over his next words – ‘I don’t want either of them coming to these meetings. I warned Micky it would upset him too much and, well, you can see for yourself.’

Everyone’s faces dropped, a reminder that there was more going on; there was always more. This was what they should all be able to focus on, exams, clubs and their friends and families, not this stupid Leviathan stuff – this should be Ellie’s problem only, but she’d infected everyone with it.

Ellie turned to Lottie, whose eyes were glossy with tears, probably already taking on this burden too, then slowly she looked at her Partizan.

Jamie was as unreadable as ever, but as soon as he locked on to Ellie she knew they were sharing the same thought, a wordless agreement that came out in a long sigh.

‘This meeting is over,’ Jamie announced. ‘Let’s reconvene next week. There’s clearly a lot on people’s minds with the PoP, exams and family matters, and we don’t have any new information, meaning there’s no point in keeping you all here.’

Lottie opened her mouth to say something, but her focus was on Ellie, and slowly it closed again, locking away whatever thought had almost spilled out of her throat.

‘Is that really OK?’ Raphael asked, looking like a guilty dog. ‘We’ll stay if you need us.’

‘No, it’s fine,’ Ellie said, clearly shocking Lottie with how controlled she was. ‘Everyone, go. Go and live your lives.’ And then she did something she’d never done before; she gave the room that fake smile she had learned from Lottie, praying that she could hold it long enough to convince them.

There was only a moment’s hesitation, with Percy the first to make a move, unashamed that he’d rather be comforting his boyfriend than be deep in the bowels of Rosewood, dishing up old and awful memories. Raphael was next, giving Jamie a wave at the stairwell, followed by Binah, then Anastacia and Saskia.

Ellie spotted a look of panic on Lottie’s face, like her mind was trying to scrape something together.

‘How about we meet up next weekend after we’ve had some time to think?’ Lottie offered, her fist meeting her palm and a determined look that was completely at odds with what Ellie had witnessed a second ago. Because this one was fake.

Anastacia seemed to pick up on something, pausing at the lip of the stairwell. ‘How about a self-care day in my room?’ she replied. ‘To take our mind off things, just us girls?’

‘Yes, great idea, Ani,’ Lottie said, beaming, her eyes a little too intense. ‘I have so much I need to get off my chest.’

Both of them nodded, hoping Jamie wouldn’t clock anything suspicious. Ellie scrutinized them; it was no coincidence Lottie was trying to form a meeting with Anastacia and Saskia, the only other people who knew about Haru’s and Ellie’s real identities.

The other girls nodded, instantly understanding that Lottie had something to tell them. Ellie just hoped it wasn’t more terrible news.

It wasn’t until they’d gone that Lottie turned to Ellie, hands balled up at her sides, her face looking like her heart was about to shatter into a million pieces. ‘Why did you do that?’

Neither of them responded, but Ellie could feel in the way Jamie’s breathing turned deep with regret, shadows growing long over his face like he was hiding away, that they were both thinking the same thing. She was the first to say it aloud.

‘Just leave it, Lottie.’ She spoke calmly, as though this was the most important realization she’d ever had. ‘You need a break from all this as well.’