Princess at Heart (The Rosewood Chronicles)

They’d been gone for two days, just two days, and in that time the safety of the school Lottie loved so much had been destroyed, and, worst of all, she was sure she knew who the culprit was.

The hall was buzzing with feverish energy, every inch of the tiered benches occupied, with everyone grouped by their house colours: purple, yellow and red. None of them wanted to be there, and they kept staring at Lottie.

Trying her best to ignore it, she focused on the lines on the basketball court, following them like a maze, anything to stop her from looking at the crowd, or, even worse, at the furious faces of Ellie and Jamie beside her.

‘Good evening, students.’ Headmaster Croak took his place in the centre of the court, right hand resting against a simple wooden walking stick. He’d always looked old, spongy and mottled like a dried-up baked bean, but since the summer he seemed to have aged about a hundred years. Yet it didn’t make him appear any more frail. Instead he looked more like an ancient wizard, and his long patchwork cloak and what could only be described as an emerald Santa Claus hat that further served to cement that image.

‘Thank you all for your quick and orderly response to this emergency assembly,’ he began, looking around with gloomy intensity. ‘We have a few points of discussion and we’d like you all to please remain calm and understanding while we go through them.’

‘Nothing like telling people to stay calm to encourage them not to freak out,’ Ellie whispered to Lottie.

With everyone’s attention on the headmaster, Lottie allowed herself to glance around, searching for the rest of their friends. Anastacia, Saskia and Raphael were the easiest to spot, the three of them standing out like supermodels at the top of the Conch House bleachers, and yet even their immaculate appearance couldn’t disguise the dread on their faces. Next she searched the yellow Stratus benches to find Lola, Micky and Binah, only there was something off about the twins. Their usually pale skin was tinged with a sickly green hue and they looked like ghosts of their former selves.

Finally she looked along the purple Ivy rows to find Percy. He generally blended into the shadows, but she found him nonetheless on the bottom bench next to the school councillor who translated for him in sign language. He stared ahead in horror, his sunken eyes watching the scene play out like it was bringing up some awful memory.

‘We shall start with the good news,’ the headmaster bellowed, clearly expecting this to be worthy of applause. No one responded, and he coughed before continuing. ‘Despite everyone’s concerns with regard to the changing school rules and schedules, we will still be going ahead with our Presentation of the Pillars in the spring term, or, as some of you students prefer to call it, the PoP.’ Again he waited for applause and was met with silence. ‘Our school is founded on three pillars, righteousness, resolution and resourcefulness, and you are all in the house for whose pillar you have the closest affinity. The Presentation of the Pillars takes place every three years and gives you each the chance to use your creativity, charm and wit to create something in honour of your house’s namesake: Florence Ivy, Balthazar Conch and Shray and Sana Stratus, respectively.’ The headmaster paused, looking up through his caterpillar eyebrows to make sure all the students were paying attention before he dealt his last card. ‘Participation is mandatory and will go towards your university applications. We look forward to seeing what you all have to offer. Now –’ he quickly swept his hand to the side, welcoming the Conch House mother up to hit them with the bad news – ‘we will be breaking down the new school rules we have decided to put in place for safety reasons. Dame Bolter, if you would, please.’

Nervous chatter began to erupt through the students, everyone anxious to hear about the incident from the night before, but they were quickly stunned into silence by a sharp look from Dame Bolter. She stood nearly six feet tall, her long, athletic body and shaved head matching her fierce warrior glare. They all knew Mercy Bolter used to compete in the Olympics, but seeing her command a room so easily made her seem more like a god than an athlete, and exactly what one would expect of the Conch House mother.

Lottie searched the hall again, secretly hoping she wouldn’t spot who she was looking for.

‘I’m sure everyone is very concerned about Rosewood’s plans following the unfortunate incident involving a break-in last night,’ Dame Bolter began, her voice booming through the hall like a foghorn. ‘To put the rumours to rest, the trespasser was a reporter from an online website, and they were looking for a particular student who we shall not name.’

Everyone immediately glanced at Lottie, and she felt Ellie and Jamie tense at her side, the former’s hands clenching into tight fists.

‘They appeared unable to behave or think rationally, and threatened a student,’ continued Dame Bolter.

Lottie felt sick to her stomach, thinking of Dom having to go through something so scary – she could only imagine what he was feeling right now – and all because … She paused in her train of thought, turning to Ellie, and she nearly bit her tongue.

Her princess was shaking, her tired eyes blazing with a simmering storm, and upon her lips, barely audible, she whispered like a curse, ‘This is my fault.’

Lottie wanted to tell her that wasn’t true, but before she could Dame Bolter carried on.

‘It has been decided that, due to the high volume of students here from important families, we need to reconsider our security within the school, starting with a strict eight-thirty curfew for all students, which we will be implementing via a registry system,’ she announced, and immediately whispers and chatter broke out while Dame Bolter went on with the list of limitations. ‘We will also be blocking off the Rose Wood completely with a high fence, and we will be placing security around the premises; no one will be allowed to enter or leave the school without permission, and, yes, that includes those of you in the sixth form.’ The whispers among the students grew in volume, a low moan coming up through the crowd like the sound of a creaking ship. ‘I know some of you in higher years were looking forward to the privilege of leaving the campus during lunchtime and on weekends, but for the foreseeable future we will be retracting that privilege. These measures have been suggested by a trusted member of faculty, and we hope you can understand their importance and help keep our school a safe and secure environment.’

Lottie felt her heart race, but not because of anything that Dame Bolter had said or the outcry from the students, but because of a scent in the air, warm and disarming, like a summer breeze. She knew who it was, and when she turned her head she saw him walking down the steps beside her to join the other teachers and assistants.

Haru.

His hair was just as fluffy as she remembered, with a splatter of freckles across his nose like constellations, and big brown eyes with heavy lashes behind a pair of thick brown glasses. The moment he caught her eye his mouth split open in a smile so soft it felt like lying down in freshly cut grass. She could almost have believed that he was simply a sweet and kind Partizan on sabbatical, but she knew better. She knew he was part of Leviathan, a spy with an unknown plan, and that somehow this was his doing.

It took all her strength not to scream when he turned his smile on Jamie, leaving her to watch, helpless, as Ellie’s Partizan returned him a nod of respect, oblivious to the true identity of the young man he called his friend.

‘With you all here, we would also like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a new member of staff.’ Dame Bolter held out her arm, gesturing for Haru to join her, which he did to more whispers from students who were already falling for his charms. ‘Haru Hinamori will be joining us as a teaching assistant for the year, all the way from Rosewood’s sister school in Japan. We hope you will give him a warm welcome.’

A slow applause started up among the student body that gradually became more enthusiastic when the Partizan waved bashfully out at the crowd, sharing one of his tooth-achingly sweet smiles, instantly winning everyone over with his perfect performance of a charming and innocent heart-throb. It was just as the applause was dying down that she caught the moment – so fast she nearly missed it – when Haru latched on to her, the flicker of a shadow falling over his face. The mask dropped, revealing his true self for a split second.

A thought sliced through her mind like a blade. He knows you know.

The sickly fear that accompanied it made the hall feel like it was spinning, and all she wanted to do was get out of there, to the safety of her dorm as fast as possible.

They had to tell Jamie about Haru, she decided. Despite her promise to Sayuri and Ellie’s stubborn determination to deal with their problems by herself, they couldn’t keep Jamie in the dark, not when there was a fox hiding in their coop. She had to persuade Ellie this was the right thing to do.

Dame Bolter clapped her hands twice, making a boom like a thunder crack. ‘You’re all dismissed.’