by Connie Glynn
She continued sprinting down the hill to Ivy Wood, determined to get as far away from Jamie Volk as possible. The air was heavy with the smell of wet soil, and the flora was lush from the storm, brushing her uniform with thick strokes of rainwater as she ran past them. Panting heavily she squeezed down a side trail, hidden by some ornamental bushes that Raphael and some of the other ‘rebellious’ kids had commandeered as a secret place to smoke cigarettes.
The hidden trail led directly to the pond outside the Ivy dining hall, if you crawled under the bush at the end. She would have to sacrifice her uniform to the mud but that felt like the least of her troubles. She turned on to the last bit of pathway expecting to come face-to-face with the bush but instead found herself confronted by … Jamie Volk.
They stood staring at each other.
Jamie was composed, serious and dry, his face partially masked by the shadows of the overgrown trees. He was the complete opposite of Lottie, who stood panting, her uniform and hair wet, and she was sure she had little twigs stuck in her blonde curls. The dappled light on her face through the leaves seemed only to accentuate her puffy red cheeks. Her mind was racing.
How did he know she’d come this way? How did he get here before her? What on earth did he want from her?
It hit her that she was in a secret area that no one knew about, trapped with a strange boy who thought she was the Maravish princess, and she felt hot red panic begin to prickle her skin. She had to run. She tried to turn round, but he grabbed her arm.
‘I said “wait”,’ he commanded, pulling her back.
‘Let go of me!’ she screamed. She swiped at him with her free hand, but he caught it effortlessly.
‘Lottie –’
‘I will call the police,’ she continued, trying to pull away from him, but she seemed to only be mildly annoying him.
How is he so strong?
‘Lottie, please, just listen for a –’
‘LET GO OF ME!’ She gave one final tug with all her energy and stamped down on his foot. He tried to pull his leg back but a strange static sensation shook him and the two tumbled quite ungracefully into the mud.
‘Eek!’ Lottie fell flat on her back, immediately thinking of her poor ruined uniform and hair. She had to remind herself that these were the least of her concerns right now and that she needed to deal with the boy on top of her. She was ready to scream when a pendant round his neck fell against her chest; there was a familiar crest on it with an engraved wolf symbol.
The Wolfson family crest, the same one Ellie wore.
He glanced up and they were forced to look each other in the eyes. Their breath came out in steamy wisps as they slowly panted. Out of the shadows now she could see his cold, vacant mask had dropped momentarily and Lottie found herself suddenly mesmerized by the soft warm glow of his hazel eyes. There was something there, something vulnerable, something that made her feel both comforted and nervous. A clap of thunder filled the pregnant air around them and jolted Lottie out of her trance.
‘You …’ Lottie’s eyes lit up with sudden, intense understanding. She looked into Jamie’s eyes and felt all the pieces slot together. All at once she realized how she knew him, why he was so strangely familiar. She had seen him every day since she’d arrived at Rosewood.
He was the boy from Ellie’s photo.
17
Jamie and Lottie stood awkwardly outside her bedroom door. Their uniforms were both filthy but he wore it naturally, as if it made perfect sense for him to be covered in mud. Lottie felt like she was about to burst with worry. She was absolutely dreading Ellie’s reaction to her bringing Jamie to their room, plus it was her fault he was there in the first place. After their little tumble in the hidden trail, they had talked and Jamie’s true purpose for transferring to Rosewood Hall had come to light.
He had been sent by Ellie’s family to figure out what exactly was going on, and why their newspapers were reporting that the Maravish princess was at a school in England. He had known the whole time that Lottie wasn’t the Maravish princess, which explained his attitude towards her and it left Lottie absolutely mortified.
‘I’m the Maravish princess … but you can call me Lottie.’ If she could go back in time, that would be the moment she’d choose to kick herself in the face. Upon realizing he’d known she was lying, she had stood blushing furiously and wondered if she could bury her head in the ground and maybe never, ever come out again. She would live there forever and never have the chance to embarrass herself again.
‘I’m not sorry for embarrassing you; I think you quite deserved it,’ Jamie had said sternly.
She couldn’t disagree with him.
The west side of the dormitory was the girls’ side, and boys were not supposed to be there. Jamie was quite clearly a boy and if anyone, particularly Professor Devine, caught them, they’d both be in tremendous trouble. Which led to her current predicament. She wanted nothing more than to be safe in the confines of her room where she could chuck Jamie out over the balcony should a teacher come by to check on them; he might break his leg or something but it was a small price to pay for her perfect school record. She could explain that she’d fallen in the mud and had to run back to change and everything would be fine. But she couldn’t bring herself to open the door. She was just too mortified by this whole series of events. Their decision not to fix this princess mix-up may very well result in Ellie being flown back to Maradova, and Lottie felt like it was all her fault.
How many times will I find myself standing nervously outside 221? she wondered regretfully.
‘And I suppose opening doors for yourself is against the rules of a princess, Miss Pumpkin?’ The sarcasm came from Jamie, who was making a point of tapping his foot impatiently.
All thoughts of worry quickly changed to irritation again. There was something particularly annoying about how well spoken he was. It added about fifty per cent more exasperation to the whole experience.
‘You know what –’ Lottie turned to him, clenching her fists in frustration – ‘I am getting a bit sick of your sarcastic tone.’
Jamie did not miss a beat: ‘And I’m getting a bit sick of waiting for you to open this door.’
‘Well, I was just about to.’ Lottie puffed up her cheeks in a particularly childish display of stubbornness, causing Jamie to roll his eyes.
They heard the latch on the dormitory door click and the door began to creak open. They both turned their heads in unison to see Ellie, jaw wide open, looking very confused at the sight of the two of them covered in mud.
‘Lottie?’ Ellie suddenly blinked as if coming back down to earth and her expression changed from shock to aggravation. ‘WHAT THE …?’ she started yelling, but Lottie and Jamie both had the same reaction, to push Ellie back inside and cover her mouth to stop her shouting.
‘Shh!’ hushed Jamie as he pulled the door shut behind them. ‘Do you want us to get caught? You need to think about your school record.’
Lottie snorted in annoyance.
He rolled his eyes again. She had a feeling she’d be seeing him do that a lot.
Lottie felt a hand grab her arm and pull her backwards. Ellie positioned herself in the middle of Lottie and Jamie, creating a block between them. There was a look on her face, the same fire she’d possessed when taking down Anastacia the other day on the field. Lottie moved to step out from behind her, but Ellie put her arm out protectively, pushing Lottie back. She looked up at her and Ellie gave her that trademark little side smile and affectionately pulled a twig out of a lock of her blonde hair. ‘I see you’ve met my childhood friend, Jamie Volk.’
She turned to Jamie and for a split second Lottie was sure Ellie gave him a heated look, like some kind of angry warning, but she couldn’t figure out why. The atmosphere in the room had turned uncomfortably harsh. The whole exchange was very confusing. Jamie had said he’d known Ellie her whole life: surely she should be happy to see him?
‘Jamie.’ She said the name curtly.
They stood stari
ng at each other for a moment, really taking the other in for the first time since being reunited, the Wolfson crest lockets around their necks perfectly lining up.
‘You haven’t sent a single letter; your parents have been worried sick,’ Jamie said flatly. Ellie looked away and Lottie could see she was biting her lip anxiously. ‘Not to mention you’ve been skipping classes and breaking curfew and –’
‘It doesn’t even matter!’ Ellie suddenly protested. ‘Lottie has perfect attendance and, as far as anyone knows, she’s the Maravish princess so I can do whatever I want!’ She tried to say the words with a sense of humour but it didn’t have the desired effect.
‘That is not how it works, Ellie,’ he said coldly, his tone the complete antithesis of Ellie’s lackadaisical attitude.
‘But what if it did?’ There was the tiniest trace of desperation in Ellie’s voice that made Lottie wince.
‘You know we can’t …’
‘But she’s basically a P–’
‘Briktah!’ Jamie barked.
Uh-oh, thought Lottie. That was definitely not a good word.
Ellie stamped her foot down hard, making Lottie jump. She barked something in another language, which Lottie guessed must be an old Maravish dialect, and started gesturing wildly with her hands. Lottie had never seen her like this and it was almost frightening. Her tone was completely different to a few moments ago and Lottie was reminded just how intense Ellie’s mood swings could be.
It was a strange sight, watching this mud-covered boy argue with a furious storm of a girl against the pretty rose-decorated background of Lottie’s side of the room. There was something almost hilarious about it but, although she couldn’t understand the language, the words ‘Lottie’ and ‘Portman’ kept popping up and it was clear they were discussing something critical. Lottie wondered if she should maybe leave them alone, but when she made a move to the side Ellie instinctively pushed her back without looking at her.
Finally, whatever they’d been arguing about, they seemed to reach an impasse. It was impossible to tell who’d won as they both still seemed frustrated. Jamie ran his hands through his hair in exasperation and sat on Lottie’s bed. He picked up her stuffed pig Mr Truffles and to Lottie’s amazement he began absent-mindedly rubbing its head before gesturing with his other hand as if giving Ellie permission to do something.
Ellie turned suddenly to Lottie, and the look on her face was so out of character – she appeared to be almost apprehensive – that Lottie felt very uncomfortable.
‘Do you know what a Partizan is, Lottie?’ Ellie asked uneasily.
Lottie instantly perked up at the use of a word she actually knew.
‘Why, yes,’ she said proudly. ‘Binah told me on the first day actually. They’re like fancy bodyguards …’ The serious look on their faces had Lottie second-guessing herself. ‘I believe,’ she added more hesitantly.
‘No, no … I mean, yes … you’re right. They are.’ Ellie looked over at Jamie and something odd flashed across her face, something akin to regret. It was quickly replaced by her usual mask of confidence.
‘Anyone willing to go through the arduous process and strict criteria can train to be a Partizan nowadays, but a true Partizan is raised from birth for their role. Primed from childhood to be a lethal protector, loyal only to their master, they are very effective and very dangerous but, most importantly, they’re discreet.’ Ellie looked up at Lottie again, a glint in her eyes.
Lottie found she was holding her breath. Binah had said Partizans seemed romantic, and she realized now what she’d meant. They were like something out of a story. Deadly, devoted assassins, trained from birth to protect their lord or lady.
I wonder how often they fall in love with each other? she thought to herself.
‘Wow,’ she said aloud, then a thought struck her and she asked curiously, ‘Do you have one?’
Jamie and Ellie turned to each other then, and a look passed between them. They seemed to share some kind of telepathic conversation that Jamie responded to by giving a swift nod.
Ellie turned back to Lottie and started rubbing the back of her head sheepishly as if she were embarrassed to continue. ‘Jamie … Jamie’s my Partizan.’ She bared her teeth in a little grin as if this information was no big deal. ‘The agreement was they’d send him here if anything went wrong and, well …’
A million questions began shooting around Lottie’s head and she didn’t know where to begin. Who else had a Partizan in this school? Were Jamie’s parents also Partizans? Had Jamie ever had to kill anyone? She quickly crushed that last thought as she found it sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine.
‘Lottie?’ Ellie asked with concern.
Lottie sat down hard on Ellie’s bed, feeling a little dizzy.
‘Sorry, this is just a lot to take in,’ she replied, still in a daze. She looked over at Jamie apprehensively. If he looked odd against Lottie’s pretty pink half of the room before, he now looked like a fish in the desert. No wonder he had been so cold and intense when they had first met.
This boy had been raised from birth to protect Princess Eleanor Wolfson of Maradova, and Lottie had unwittingly almost exposed her and put her in danger. To Jamie, Lottie must represent everything he’d spent his life guarding Ellie from.
So why did he make her feel so nervous?
‘Do you have your passport with you?’ This came from Jamie who was avoiding eye contact on the other side of the room, seemingly concentrating hard on something opposite him.
‘I … yes, I do. It’s in my bedside table.’ The words came out a little edgier than she expected and she knew there was no way she could hide her uneasy feelings from him.
‘Good,’ he replied. ‘You’ll be needing it.’
He stood up finally and Lottie flinched. He was completely different to her now she knew he was a lethal killing machine.
‘What does that mean?’ she asked as calmly as possible.
‘It means, Lottie –’ he walked over to the side of her bed and opened the drawer to pull out her passport and his fingers traced along the rosy pink cover, a smirk on his lips – ‘you’re coming to Maradova.’
It was the last thing Lottie had expected to hear.
18
Lottie had hoped that attending Rosewood would change her life dramatically, but she had never in her wildest dreams imagined that just a few weeks after she started she would be flying in a private jet with the riot-girl princess of Maradova and her deadly killing-machine-in-a-teen-boy sidekick. And she definitely wasn’t dreaming, she’d checked.
‘You don’t need to be scared of Jamie.’ Ellie was distracting herself by trying to solve the puzzle Binah had given her but was clearly having no luck. ‘He’s harmless, honestly.’
Somehow Lottie didn’t believe that. No matter what Ellie said, she couldn’t bring herself to trust him. She didn’t like not being able to tell what he was thinking. He was sitting on the other side of the plane, apparently engrossed in a book but she was sure he was discreetly surveying the area.
‘Are you sure? How do you know he’s not gone rogue and secretly informed someone at the school that you were coming to Rosewood?’ It was a thought Lottie had been mulling over during the flight. She was sure he was hiding something and it was driving her mad. She quickly cut herself off as she saw Jamie looking over at them. Lowering her voice, she added half seriously, ‘Does he have superhuman hearing as well?’
Ellie blinked at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. ‘Lottie, you are hilarious.’
Ellie and Jamie would not tell Lottie why she had to come to Maradova. Ellie’s irritatingly enigmatic response was: ‘If my plan works, then you’ll find out why you needed to be there … and if it doesn’t … well, let’s not think about that.’ So that’s exactly what Lottie was doing. Trying not to think about it.
The flight took five hours and landed at around 7 p.m. British time. Lottie had only ever flown twice in her life and she had never been ushered strai
ght through border control by an entourage of smartly dressed bodyguards in sunglasses. This was evidently a royalty perk. As soon as they were outside, Lottie was overcome by how very cold it was. There was ice on the ground and the air seemed frozen. They moved in relative silence once the entourage showed up. Ellie nervously chewed her bottom lip and distractedly rubbed the locket around her neck. Jamie remained completely composed and unreadable as always.
They all piled into a fancy black car as Jamie politely held the door open for them. As Lottie was about to follow Ellie into the vehicle, Jamie grabbed her arm and stopped her.
He looked at her with a fiery intensity. ‘You need to be on your absolute best behaviour when we get to the palace, do you understand?’ His voice came out as a low growl and made Lottie’s whole body tremble, but she simply nodded in response. ‘And, no –’ he leaned down and whispered in her ear – ‘I don’t have superhuman hearing.’
They drove in total silence and when they entered the palace grounds Lottie realized that the estate was so large she couldn’t see the top of the building out of the tinted car window. They had to go through two elaborate gilded gates before they even reached the driveway of the palace, although ‘driveway’ was a pathetically insufficient word to describe it.
Finally they pulled up by the door to the palace: magnificent in white oak with a gold, life-size snarling wolf’s head in the middle, a knocker hanging from its bared jaws. The crunching gravel underneath the wheels seemed to echo like a low growl as they came to a halt.
One of the mysterious bodyguards opened the car door, but Ellie scooted over and let herself out of the other side. Jamie tensed for a moment and gritted his teeth, but Ellie simply smirked at him before sauntering over to the front door. As they approached the looming figure of the wolf head, the door opened inwards and they were greeted by two women in pristine aprons and black working dresses, hair neatly arranged. Lottie didn’t get a chance to look directly at the wolf.
It was late and the palace was seeped in a milky-blue glow. Even the thick walls of the grounds couldn’t keep the chill out of the hallways and Lottie stared nervously at the paintings of previous rulers that stared down at her, the eyes following them through the corridors in what seemed like a never-ending walk.
