Undercover Princess

by Connie Glynn

  Ellie beamed excitedly. ‘Sounds like a party.’

  Saskia, Anastacia and a small group of other Conch students were standing against the wall of the dorm with bottles in their hands, looking giddy.

  ‘What are you guys doing?’ Jamie asked Raphael matter-of-factly as they approached.

  ‘We’re going to break into the Conch House pool,’ he said, grinning wildly.

  ‘But it’s off limits!’ Lottie immediately felt like an idiot for stating the obvious.

  ‘Well, duh! That’s what makes it fun!’ This came from a petite Conch girl with a red bow in her hair.

  Lottie looked to Saskia who was giggling. Why was she letting this happen?

  Lottie thought about how incredibly uncool it would be for her to try to dissuade them. She wished Binah or Lola and Micky were there and she could just do fun safe things with them like drink hot chocolate and watch Disney films.

  ‘Yes! A break-in!’

  Lottie jumped as Ellie dived forward, wrapping an arm around Saskia’s shoulder, saying, ‘Y’know I always liked you, Saskia.’

  They both burst out in senseless laughter and Lottie found herself feeling that familiar prickly sensation in her chest and scowled at them. She wanted to prise the two apart and tell Saskia to go away.

  Ellie caught her eye and smirked at her as if she knew what she was thinking.

  ‘We’re not going,’ Jamie’s serious voice cut in, a stark contrast to the juvenile atmosphere.

  Saskia squinted at him, her whole aura suddenly changing. ‘It’ll be fun –’

  ‘Quiet!’ Jamie gave her a sharp and furious look, and Saskia instantly fell silent, a cold expression on her face.

  She shook her head and put her smile back on. ‘Well, you know where to find us if you change your minds.’

  Saskia made a signal and the group moved off down the path. Anastacia hesitated only for a moment, her eyes lingering on Lottie, before glancing at Ellie as she walked past. She didn’t seem pleased and it was clear that Anastacia was the only non-giddy member of the group.

  Ellie turned sharply to Jamie and shoved him, a totally futile move as he didn’t budge.

  He blinked slowly at her like she was a child having a tantrum. ‘We are not going, Ellie,’ he repeated.

  She stared at him for a moment, then looked down the path at the others. When she turned back she had that determined look on her face that could only result in trouble.

  ‘We have to,’ Ellie replied. ‘We can’t let them think we’re afraid.’

  Jamie remained firm. ‘No.’

  ‘Well, I’m going. You guys can do whatever you want.’ She stuck her tongue out at him and quickly pivoted out of Jamie’s reach.

  ‘Ellie, come back now!’

  ‘You’ll have to catch me!’ she called, running to catch up with the others.

  Jamie grunted in annoyance and took off in a sprint after her.

  ‘Ellie, if you and Jamie go, then I have to … GUYS!’

  It was too late. She would either have to stand there on her own or follow them. Begrudgingly she began walking after them.

  I’m definitely going to regret this, Lottie thought.

  35

  Two plastic cups filled with clear liquid appeared in front of Lottie and Jamie.

  ‘Here, have a drink, you two, and lighten up!’ Ellie smiled down at them in an attempt to make them feel better.

  Lottie and Jamie were stood by the side of the pool under the gazebo, wrapped in blankets and looking very much like they had accepted that the world was about to end. Lottie resented that she agreed with Jamie about how stupid this was, but drunk kids and a pool in December just seemed like a really terrible combination.

  ‘I don’t drink,’ Jamie said firmly. ‘I have a respons–’

  ‘It’s not alcohol; this is Anastacia’s lemonade. We warmed it up,’ Ellie said, rolling her eyes. ‘I’m not a complete idiot.’

  Jamie took one of the cups begrudgingly and allowed himself a tentative sip. ‘Fine,’ he said.

  Lottie took the other cup, grateful for its warmth.

  They sat under the gazebo in awkward silence, Jamie occasionally taking furious gulps of the hot lemonade, while Lottie warmed her hands round hers.

  Ellie was dancing with Saskia on the other side of the pool, twirling and dipping her like she was some kind of Prince Charming and Saskia was her princess. An involuntary pout crept on to Lottie’s face and she told herself it was only because she resented being there and not because she was jealous of Saskia, because that would be completely and absolutely ridiculous.

  ‘I bet you ten pounds someone falls in the pool,’ Lottie said.

  Jamie continued staring stony-faced across the water, gritting his teeth as hot air escaped from his nose into the cold. ‘Twenty pounds says I push one of them.’

  Lottie almost choked. Was that genuine humour? Her mind was abruptly thrust back to when they had first met, before she knew he was a Partizan, before she’d given her life over to being Ellie’s Portman. It almost felt like there were two of him: the serious, mature mask he wore and the teenager that was hidden underneath him. Again that voice whispered in her ear. Who are you, Jamie Volk?

  ‘Don’t you ever wish you could just be an ordinary boy?’

  Lottie blurted out the question before she’d even processed it in her own head. Jamie didn’t reply at first and she instantly regretted asking such a rude question, wondering if she’d blown her chance of ever uncovering his mystery.

  ‘I’ll never be an ordinary boy.’

  She tensed at his response. There was something undeniably vulnerable in his voice and she felt as if she were luring a deer towards her and had to be incredibly delicate in case she scared it away.

  Jamie stood up slowly, knocking over the dregs of his drink as he shook off his blanket. She watched as he walked to the gazebo’s edge, leaning on one of the stone pillars, and stared out almost wistfully into the water’s sapphire surface.

  Carefully, still with the deer in her mind, Lottie stood beside him.

  The Conch House pool was hidden away behind thick rosehip bushes and crab apple trees, the red berries peeping out from the branches, contrasting to the dreamy blue atmosphere of the silky moonlit pool.

  ‘But hypothetically,’ Lottie asked gingerly, ‘if you could be?’

  He smirked and gave her a little sideways glance. ‘I almost wonder if you’re insulting my skills as a Partizan.’

  Lottie was not expecting this response and Jamie laughed at her confused expression.

  ‘What I mean is,’ he went on, ‘it’s my job to try to blend in with the other students as much as possible. Do you not think I’m like other boys?’ he asked, a glint of humour twinkling in his eyes.

  Lottie pretended to think for a moment, tapping her finger on her chin as if trying to tap the thoughts out of her head. ‘Hmm,’ she began, ‘I mean, for one you have about zero sense of humour, and you’re so freakishly strong that you’re basically a superhero. You’re definitely not like other boys.’

  A soft smile spread over Jamie’s lips and he laughed low, the sound humming through Lottie’s body. Then the twinkle vanished from his eyes and he was serious again. Lottie worried that she’d scared away the deer, but he turned back to the water and she could sense he was still with her.

  ‘When you live your life for someone else, you find strength you didn’t know you were capable of.’ He spoke with a powerful sense of assurance – and Lottie found the words made her heart ache.

  ‘That sounds awfully sad,’ she said, involuntarily hugging herself as if trying to find comfort.

  He looked at her earnestly, his head tilted slightly, his eyes glossy and intense. ‘Really?’ he asked. ‘Are you not doing the same thing? Did you not sign your life over to the Maravish royal family?’

  But I had a choice, Lottie thought, trying to stop the tears springing to her eyes.

  And once again, as if he could read her mind, he lean
ed close to her and said gently, ‘This is our choice, Lottie.’

  His breath brushed her cheek, making her shudder. It had a strange sweet smell, like baby powder, which made her nose tingle. She looked up and realized how close their faces were.

  Something wasn’t right.

  Has someone spiked his drink?

  Jamie’s eyes turned hazy and he leaned forward, causing Lottie to step back towards the wall that separated the gazebo from the pool, one hand resting on the stone for support.

  ‘Jamie …’

  The moonlight twinkled between them and the look on his face made her catch her breath. His manic grin reminded her of a wolf. His eyes were dark under his messy hair; it was a distinctly predatory look that made Lottie’s heart race.

  He sniggered as if reading her mind again.

  ‘You’re still afraid of me,’ he said with a smirk.

  Lottie felt a blush creep on to her cheeks, but not because she was embarrassed. His words had made her suddenly very angry. ‘Afraid of you? Of course I’m afraid of you!’

  This was obviously not the response he’d been expecting and his face showed it.

  ‘Nothing I do will ever impress you,’ she added.

  He shook his head in confusion. ‘You don’t need to impress me –’

  ‘But I do! I need to prove to you that I’m capable.’

  ‘I don’t think you’re not capable.’ His face twisted a bit as if he were struggling to summon the right words. ‘I think you shouldn’t have to be capable.’

  ‘I … what?’ Lottie blinked at him, perplexed.

  ‘You’re just a kid, Lottie.’ He said this softly, whispering in her ear as he gently stroked a strand of her hair. Lottie felt the blush creep back, but this time she had no excuse for it.

  ‘Well … so are you then.’ She tried to sound confident, but her words were breathless and uneven.

  Jamie looked distant for a moment, the haze completely consuming him. ‘I never had that luxury –’ he turned back to Lottie, a pained look taking hold of him – ‘and I can’t stand seeing it taken away from you.’

  He leaned in so close Lottie could feel his heartbeat. She was leaning as far back as she could now without falling in the pool.

  ‘Jamie, you’re drunk or something – we need to …’

  His expression instantly changed, all the softness being replaced by confusion.

  ‘No, I don’t drink. I’m …’ Then realization dawned on his face, confusion shifting to anger. He grabbed his head in his hands, trying to will some kind of stability into his thoughts.

  ‘Lottie, I’m going to pass out. Listen …’ He scrunched his eyes shut, desperately forcing his mind and mouth to work together. ‘You can’t trust Anastacia …’

  And then he fainted into her arms, plummeting them both over the wall and into the freezing-cold water.

  36

  Cold water flew up Lottie’s nose, and her blood felt like ice in her veins. She opened her eyes under the water to see Jamie, still unconscious, a muddled blur sinking with her.

  I have to get him out.

  She wrapped her arms under his shoulders.

  Hold on, Jamie! Please don’t drown! Please don’t drown!

  She’d swum against wild currents in the sea in Cornwall, and she’d dived to retrieve coins at the bottom of the local swimming pool, but pulling another human from the water, fully clothed, felt like a gargantuan task.

  I will not let you drown.

  But no matter how much she tried to push for the surface they were just too heavy in their shoes and clothes. She was running out of time, every second felt crucial.

  I need more momentum.

  Slowly she allowed them to sink the two-metre depth, then firmly planted her legs on the bottom of the pool and pushed up with all her strength.

  They broke the surface and Lottie desperately gulped in as much air as she could before struggling to the side. She could see people at the pool’s edge calling out but she couldn’t hear them. Hands came down and lifted her and Jamie out of the water.

  They were hauled on to the grassy bank, and someone came to her side, saying her name but she pushed them aside; she had to get back to Jamie. She leaned over him. He was still out cold, his tan-brown skin coated by a porcelain sheen of frailty.

  It felt wrong: Jamie was supposed to be strong, unwavering and unbreakable. She wanted him to wake up and shout at her, tell her it was a test, and chastise her for getting so worried – but, no matter how much she willed it, he remained still, not breathing.

  What do I do? She felt tears pricking her eyes. What do I do?

  Somewhere in her mind a soft voice replied: Kiss the princess to wake them up.

  Her body moved on autopilot. She pushed down on his chest three times, covered his nose and gently placed her mouth over his, filling his lungs with her air. Then she did it again, and again and …

  Jamie coughed underneath her abruptly, causing her to jolt back.

  He drew in a shaky breath before mumbling, ‘That’s not how you do mouth-to-mouth.’

  Lottie gasped at his voice, then he spluttered a few more times, his eyes trying to focus, before he reached up and stroked her cheek. His hand was freezing against her face. ‘So warm,’ he muttered, before passing out again.

  Lottie sat beside him, still holding his hand against her cheek.

  He’s OK. I did it. I saved him.

  Tears began to fall down her cheeks and she finally looked up. Everyone was standing around them, their faces glum. Ellie, in particular, looked horrified.

  ‘It’s OK, guys …’ She hiccupped a little sob. ‘He’s OK.’

  Slowly she looked up. There stood Professor Adina Devine, her winter cloak billowing in the wind like a whirlwind of furious power.

  ‘All of you. To my office. NOW!’ She stormed over to where Lottie was kneeling on the ground by Jamie. ‘Raphael, Thomas, help me get Jamie to the infirmary.’

  Lottie watched as they hauled him up, desperately wanting to go with them. Everyone began walking off but Lottie couldn’t move.

  A hand gently rested on her shoulder and she turned to see Ellie holding a blanket. ‘I’m sorry, Lottie, I shouldn’t have made you guys come out here … I’m …’

  Lottie took the blanket from Ellie, still looking off into the distance.

  ‘Someone did something to his drink …’

  Ellie stared at her, dumbfounded. ‘What? Who?’

  ‘I don’t know …’

  You can’t trust Anastacia.

  It was the only logical conclusion. It had been her drink they’d been given; all signs were pointing to her. She looked at Anastacia as she walked off with the rest of the group, a blurry red figure slowly moving away. Lottie couldn’t understand why she would do it. What could she have wanted to gain? It didn’t make any sense.

  ‘Lottie, you’re shivering – we need to get you inside.’

  Lottie let Ellie wrap the blanket round her and slowly they walked to the Ivy dorm. She wasn’t even nervous about going to Professor Devine’s office. Something weird was going on at Rosewood. It had nearly got Jamie hurt tonight, and she needed to figure out what was going on before it was too late.

  37

  As punishment for breaking into the pool, they were all given one month of leaf-sweeping and litter-collecting and had to write a five-page essay on the importance of respecting water. Saskia was grounded until term started again and Professor Devine stated, ‘She should count herself lucky she isn’t having her title revoked.’

  Lottie had wanted to protest her punishment as she’d not wanted to go to the pool in the first place, but she remembered what the professor had said about how they needed to be responsible for each other, and held her tongue. The guilt was punishment enough for Ellie, judging from the sombre look on her face.

  Jamie was released from the school infirmary after only an hour. They couldn’t find any evidence of anything suspicious – no toxins, no poisons, absolutely no
thing – but Lottie couldn’t shake the memory of that strange sweet smell that she’d noted on his breath. Something wasn’t right.

  They sent him to his room to rest and he adamantly asserted that he was ‘fine’, even though he could barely remember a thing. He gave Lottie a particularly stern look as he told them to ‘forget the whole thing ever happened’.

  Meanwhile Ellie and Lottie had been left alone with Professor Devine.

  She eyed them coolly, before gesturing to the cushioned seats by her desk. ‘You may sit. I will keep this brief as I can see our young Miss Pumpkin is quite distressed.’

  Lottie was still wrapped in blankets, enjoying the warmth of the fireplace in the corner.

  The professor’s gaze fell upon Ellie, and Lottie had to bite her cheek to keep from crying again, her eyes were salty and swollen enough already, as Professor Devine continued to speak.

  ‘I can very well understand a desire to explore the many forbidden areas of the school –’ even in Lottie’s weary state her brain clung to the word ‘many’, holding on to the information for later – ‘and, Lottie, it was quite tremendous indeed how you aided Jamie. It is not easy to think clearly in situations such as those and we will remember your bravery. But,’ she said with a note of caution, ‘what disappoints me is that two such promising Ivy girls failed to bring out the best in each other tonight.’ She rubbed her forehead in thought for a moment and Lottie felt a soporific wave of warmth from the flames beside her. ‘I shan’t keep you here longer; I feel this is a lesson I cannot teach you in words. It’s best now that you go back to your room and consider what has happened.’ She gave them each a weighty look. ‘You’re dismissed.’

  Lottie lay in her bed, staring vacantly at Mr Truffles as she chewed her lip. She didn’t even register Ellie’s warm body climbing in next to her.

  ‘I really am sorry about tonight,’ Ellie whispered, gently stroking Lottie’s hair.

  Lottie nodded, trying not to let any more tears escape.

  ‘You really think someone did something to his drink?’

  ‘It’s the only explanation.’

  Ellie hesitated. ‘And you’re sure you guys didn’t just fall in the pool and he hit his head?’