by Connie Glynn
‘It’s just a deer,’ Ellie snickered, trying to contain her laughter.
Lottie did not find it so funny and had to muster up all her courage to let go.
It took a good ten minutes of walking until the soil turned soft as they reached the river and the bridge. The sound of the water gushing meant they were free to talk more, but it was far too dark to see where they were going without a torch and Lottie feared they might put a foot wrong and wind up in the water. They slid their hands along the riverbank, clinging to the dirt as they looked for any give that might be an opening. There was nothing there but sludge. She’d led them to a muddy ditch in the dark where they would most likely get caught and be in so much trouble that Ellie’s undercover princess plan would be ruined.
Lottie’s mind did a little hiccup. Under! she thought excitedly.
‘Ellie, it’s not on the side of the ditch – it might be beneath us,’ she hissed excitedly.
Ellie needed no persuading, walking directly to the river’s edge and crawling around like a feral creature looking for an opening. Lottie froze, shocked by how much faith Ellie had in her tunnel theory. Before Lottie could protest, Ellie disappeared under the water.
‘Ellie!’ Lottie tried to keep quiet but couldn’t stop her voice coming out in a screech. Before she knew what she was doing she ran into the river to find Ellie, wading desperately into the cold to find her. Something grabbed her leg and her heart stopped. She opened her mouth to scream when Ellie popped up in front of her, quickly covering her mouth to stifle her scream.
‘It’s me!’ Ellie was completely soaked, her hair dripping with river water. Lottie’s heart was racing as she looked at her, her breath hot against Ellie’s palm. Ellie grinned, her teeth glowing in the moonlight like a wolf baring its fangs. She slowly led Lottie through the water and signalled downward, still smiling. Lottie looked where Ellie was pointing. There it was, reflecting the starry light, a tiny metal latch glistening just above the water’s surface. They looked at each other for a moment before leaning in together and pulling on the latch. It was much easier to open than Lottie had expected, but they had to be quick as the river water splashed into the opening.
‘Wow!’ Ellie exclaimed. ‘Good job, little princess.’
Lottie felt her whole body glow but didn’t have any time to dwell on the praise as Ellie immediately climbed into the tunnel.
‘Ellie!’ Lottie called. They had no idea how deep it was and it was impossible to see what was down there.
‘Come down – I’ll catch you,’ called the hushed voice from below her. Lottie stood shivering over the hatch, her heart still racing. She looked back at the woods once more, wondering how on earth she’d got here and realizing there was no going back.
Down the rabbit hole I go.
She lowered herself down into the tunnel, not caring that she was getting completely soaked. Two arms wrapped round her waist and helped her down. It wasn’t as low as she’d expected and she could easily reach up and shut the latch with Ellie holding her. Lottie could barely see in the tunnel, the only light coming through a sliver of space at the top of the hatch in the riverbank. Ellie’s hand grabbed hers; Lottie felt her body go hot and suddenly felt inexplicably nervous. Ellie leaned closer, her breath brushing against Lottie’s cheek.
‘OK!’ she whispered. ‘To the library office.’
They took careful, deliberate steps through the tunnel, relieved to find it winding upwards and, at last, they reached the art-supplies cupboard. Thankfully Lottie had forgotten to move the chest of drawers against the hatch and they were able to escape into the school. Quietly they crept through the school hallways, every tap on the stone floor seeming far too loud. Lottie had half expected to find teachers still hanging around as it was only midnight, but there was no one in sight. There was something unmistakably creepy about the abandoned corridors at night, and she couldn’t stop herself imagining that the eyes in the huge paintings were watching her.
They had to go the long way round the hall to avoid the entrance of the Stratus quarters where there would be guards. Once safely out of the main building, they zipped through the courtyard and over a hedge to the back of the library building. It was locked. They couldn’t enter with their student cards without it being a dead giveaway that they had sneaked out. Rosewood Hall kept a log of every student who entered and at what time.
Another thought occurred to Lottie. Did she even want to know who had taken the book out? Everyone was getting along; she was starting to feel like Rosewood was her home. Although people were still gossiping and whispering, she didn’t feel like she was in any danger. So maybe whoever left the gift really hadn’t meant any harm by it.
Before she could articulate these thoughts to Ellie, she watched in amazement as the princess jemmied open the glass panel of the door, reaching in to turn the handle from the inside. Ellie clearly had experience with not just sneaking out but breaking in as well. Next thing she knew Lottie would probably find out she had a personal trained assassin at her beck and call.
‘I can’t believe you persuaded me to do this,’ Lottie said in disbelief as they walked in. Ellie just grinned at her. The office was located on the second level of the library, a pristine crystal-decorated dome that overlooked the whole building. It was managed by a waif of a man named Clark. He kept the office so well organized that it was easy to find what they were looking for: a meticulous record of exactly who had checked out a book and when.
‘Got it!’ Ellie said, her tongue sticking out in concentration as she meticulously rifled through the folder.
Lottie felt her heart rate escalate again. She didn’t want to know.
‘You need to see this,’ Ellie said, failing to hide the satisfaction in her tone.
There were only a few names for the first day of school, and only three that they recognized. Written clearly on the paper in their own handwriting.
Binah Fae
Raphael Wilcox
Anastacia Alcroft
14
It took Lottie a whole night of begging to persuade Ellie not to confront anyone on the library sign-in list. They couldn’t assume anything: it was not sufficient evidence and she didn’t want to risk upsetting anyone over a hunch.
‘It’d be better to retain this information and add it to anything new we discover,’ Lottie had pleaded. Ellie had agreed, but it was clear that she’d decided Anastacia was her enemy – and it was about to reach breaking point.
The next day was oppressively hot. The weather had remained sunny and dry, making the air feel sticky, and there was a thick, stuffy tension as if the sky could explode at any moment. Although the majority of classes at Rosewood Hall were attended in companies, there were a few exceptions, and one of those was sports, which the whole year took together. This should have been great, a chance for everyone to get to know each other, but, as she soon discovered, Ivy House and Conch House did not play well together – especially when they had Ellie and Anastacia on opposing teams.
‘Anastacia. Ellie,’ called Dame Bolter. ‘Would the two of you please come forward as captains and pick your teams? Thank you.’
Ellie and Anastacia glared at each other with such intensity that Lottie imagined sparks between them. They broke off their heated look and took their places at the edge of the field, ready to build their lacrosse teams. For Anastacia, sports lessons were very much about Conch House pride, but for Ellie it was personal. She was not only intensely competitive but had found a worthy opponent in Anastacia.
‘Anastacia, you get first pick!’ Dame Bolter shouted across the field. It was no coincidence that Conch always seemed to get first pick; Dame Bolter was the Conch house mother, and she was not like any sports teacher Lottie had ever had before. She was fiercely intimidating in a way that commanded respect. She was also the stable keeper and moved with just as much poise and elegance as if she were performing dressage. She was easily the most feared teacher in the school and Lottie couldn’t imagine anyone in Dam
e Bolter’s classes approaching anything even close to misbehaviour.
‘Raphael,’ Anastacia said matter-of-factly.
And here we go, thought Lottie. Anastacia would pick all Conch students and Ellie would pick all Ivy, and they’d both have a scattering of Stratus, who were quite frankly above all this competitive nonsense. Lottie almost envied them, sometimes wishing she could throw all her purple Ivy stuff away and join the nice soft yellow world of Stratus, never having to worry about this silly rivalry.
Raphael sauntered over to stand by Anastacia, giving Ellie a little wink as he walked past, which earned him an eye-roll.
‘Binah,’ called Ellie. Lottie was not surprised by this choice. Ellie had been adamant that there was no way that Binah, one of the first friends she’d ever managed to make, could possibly have been the culprit. It also helped that Binah was an outstanding athlete.
Lottie reminded herself that Binah was the only student ever to be offered a place in all three houses so it made sense she was good at everything. Lottie was second to be called by Ellie, which was entirely undeserved as she was truly terrible at sports, and lacrosse in particular left her completely bewildered.
‘OK. This week we are going to win!’ Ellie encouraged. Once she’d picked her team, she had them all huddled in a group to listen to her pep talk. ‘I believe in you, and, Lottie –’ she looked over at her, her face turning surprisingly serious – ‘that means you too.’ Lottie groaned internally. She usually just stayed out of the way in team sports, tending to do more harm than good if she tried to help in any way. She’d never been at a school where they took physical exercise so seriously.
‘Now, those Conch boys and girls might seem bigger and more intimidating and I know that four of them are on the school lacrosse team, but I believe with enough naive underdog spirit we can win this.’ As motivational speeches went, Ellie wasn’t exactly the best at them, her sense of irony tending to get in the way. ‘Now let’s do this.’
‘With the heart and stomach of a king,’ added Binah under her breath a little mockingly. At least it was a reference Lottie actually understood for once.
Dame Bolter blew the whistle and the first game began. Lottie stayed firmly out of the way as the lacrosse sticks violently smashed into each other.
How can anyone enjoy such a ferocious game?
Anastacia barely broke a sweat, expertly catching the ball in her stick and forcing it from the Ivy team. Raphael seemed to find extra joy in teasing Ellie, using every opportunity he could to intercept her. Watching his dubious tactics, it was becoming easier to imagine he may not be trustworthy.
Lottie sighed as she watched them, feeling completely ridiculous as she wandered up and down the field avoiding the action at all costs.
As they approached the end of the class, most people were panting and sweaty, except for Anastacia who appeared completely unaffected. Binah and Ellie had scored a majority of the goals but the score was an even 4–4, and with only five minutes left of game time it didn’t seem likely that either team would be victorious.
Lottie was about to get back into position for the next whistle when Ellie grabbed her arm from behind.
‘Lottie, listen to me a second.’ Ellie had a very rare look of sincerity on her face. ‘I know you think you’re no help, but I really think if you try, you’ll be amazed at what you can do.’ She squeezed her arm a little. ‘Be unstoppable.’ Before Lottie could respond, Ellie winked at her and ran back to her position.
The whistle blew and the game resumed. Binah managed to stick-check the ball off a Stratus boy on the other team and passed it to Ellie who caught it effortlessly. She was instantly surrounded by the opposing team. She looked around for someone to pass it to but there was no one open. No one except … Lottie. She turned to her and got into position to pass the ball.
No, no, no! Don’t do it, Ellie!
She could sense Ellie pulling her little side smile and then, sure enough, she pelted the ball in Lottie’s direction.
It came flying towards her, whizzing as it split the air like a furious hornet intent on stinging her.
It’s going to hit me on the head, she thought with reluctant acceptance.
It felt as if the world began to move in slow motion. The ball was getting closer and closer, and there was no way she could stop it. She held her stick up in a last-ditch attempt to stop it whacking her and …
She caught it. Lottie stood in complete bewilderment for a moment staring at the ball that was very much in her stick. She’d really done it; she had really truly caught the ball.
‘I DID IT!’ she cried, doing an excited little jump.
‘Look out!’ came a boy’s voice from down the field.
She looked up to see Anastacia bearing down on her, eyes cool and calculating, not even remotely flushed in the heat as she raised her stick ready to knock Lottie down and take the ball. Lottie gravely accepted her fate, her moment of pride bursting as she realized there was, of course, no way she could get to the net.
‘BRIKTAH!’ screamed Ellie as she smacked Anastacia’s stick hard with her own, making a loud thwack that could be heard across the field.
Lottie had no idea what that meant but the intention behind it was clear.
Ellie’s eyes blazed as she stared Anastacia down, blocking her way to Lottie. Anastacia moved her weight over to her left side and did a graceful little pivot, sliding her stick away ready to come back round, but Ellie was too quick. She spun back and caught Anastacia’s stick again mid-swing – the whole interaction like a strange furious dance.
‘Lottie, run!’ Ellie cried.
Lottie quickly pulled herself out of her daze and mustered all her strength and determination, tearing off as fast as she could possibly go towards the net. Ellie had faith in her, Ellie believed she could do this and she didn’t want to let her down. On the periphery she could see Raphael and a Stratus girl homing in on her from both sides.
Just keep running, just keep running!
There was no way she would make it all the way to the net, they were running too fast, she would have to risk throwing it from further away, but the huge Conch boy in the goal would surely catch it if she didn’t get close enough. Her heart was racing but the net was just about close enough now to risk it. Raphael was only inches away from her, a little further and … In a sudden moment of determination she mimicked the move she’d seen Anastacia pull earlier, veering left then pivoting back round to his other side. It was nowhere near as graceful as when Anastacia had done it but it worked and Lottie found herself on the other side of Raphael with a perfect view of the net.
‘GO, LOTTIE!’ she could hear Ellie scream across the field.
She summoned all her willpower and let out a furious war cry as she catapulted the ball as hard as she could at the net. It zipped out of the stick, burning through the air as it raced towards the goal like a comet. Everyone went silent, watching the ball in awe as it whizzed by. There was nothing the Conch boy at the net could do; it was moving too quickly and too powerfully.
It was unstoppable.
It hit the goal with such force it tore a hole through the netting and flew out of the back until finally it rolled to a stop.
Lottie took off her helmet and turned back to look at her team, her hair falling in sweaty clumps around her shoulders. ‘I DID IT!’ she called, lifting her helmet up in the air in celebration and giving Ellie a big grin.
Both teams and Dame Bolter stared at her in shock for a moment before finally Ellie pumped her stick in the air and let out a victory cry, the sound tearing through the air like a wolf’s howl. The rest of the team followed suit and began cheering along. Even some members of the other team were clapping in admiration.
Ellie pulled off her helmet, dropped her stick and came tearing down the field. She grabbed Lottie round the waist and spun her around, still howling.
Lottie giggled uncontrollably as she turned, feeling completely elated. Ellie slowly put her down and said softly
in her ear, ‘I knew you could do it, little princess.’ Lottie found herself blushing and looked down at the floor, the heat nothing to do with the sun.
A whistle rang through the air, causing everyone to stop and turn to Dame Bolter.
‘Congratulations, young lady – your team wins the game.’ Everyone started cheering again, except Anastacia, who was noticeably gritting her teeth, the least composed display she’d probably ever shown in her life.
Dame Bolter raised her hand to silence them.
‘Miss Wolf, Miss Pumpkin, Miss Alcroft, please see me after class,’ she said sternly.
Lottie gulped. She wasn’t sure exactly what they’d done but it couldn’t be good.
Ellie, Anastacia and Lottie stood in a line opposite Dame Bolter’s desk. Her office was a beautiful eclectic mix of gorgeous traditional African ornaments as well as trophies and medals of all shapes and sizes. Her desk was large, made of dark mahogany and intricately patterned with a winding array of vines. In this setting, her looming presence was amplified to a gargantuan level.
‘I would prefer it in the future if you did not turn my sports classes into a sword fight, Miss Alcroft, Miss Wolf.’
Ellie opened her mouth to protest, but Lottie quickly pinched her before she could, earning a scowl in her direction.
‘But –’ Dame Bolter turned from her desk and began admiring one of the trophies on the shelf, polishing a speck of non-existent dirt – ‘you both communicated excellent stamina, agility and poise. Now I know you will be allowed to pick your extracurricular classes soon –’
‘I’m sorry, Dame Bolter, but I have absolutely no desire to join the lacrosse team,’ Ellie said bluntly, cutting her off.
‘Oh no, I don’t want you two to join the lacrosse team.’ Dame Bolter smiled slightly, proffering a paper she’d lifted from her desk. ‘I want you to become sword fighters. I want you to join the fencing team.’
