Princess in Practice Read online

  ‘We’ll simply have to pretend Lottie is the real princess forever. What a shame!’ Ellie doubled up with laughter – again. As expected, she’d found the story about the bronze statue absolutely hilarious. ‘After all, we can’t embarrass the Sir Yanovski.’

  ‘This is not a laughing matter, Eleanor,’ King Alexander said, slamming his wine glass down on the table.

  Ellie rolled her eyes, exasperated. Over the summer holiday Lottie had been reminded that Ellie did not flourish within the Maravish kingdom. She was clearly itching to get back to Rosewood, just as much as Lottie was.

  They were sitting in the powder-blue dining hall for an intimate birthday dinner, going over the details of that afternoon’s party. It was one of Lottie’s favourite places in the palace, its gold-flecked walls casting the room in a light like honey. Although her birthday had been a few days before Ellie’s they had agreed to celebrate together. The dining table heaved with all Ellie’s favourite foods as well as plenty of vegetarian options for Lottie. On the table by the wall was the stack of gifts Lottie had received on behalf of Ellie, all expertly wrapped with an assortment of frills and bows. Each gift had been checked meticulously by Jamie and Sir Nikolay Olav, no safety measure overlooked after the summer ball when Lottie had been abducted by Saskia.

  Looking at the towering pile of gifts, Lottie worried that her own present for Ellie, a portrait she’d painted of her friend, might seem small and pathetic among all the wrapping paper and ribbons. She was relieved that she’d left it in Ellie’s rec room rather than bring it here. She chanced a look beside her at Jamie, who met her eyes in expectation, the intensity making her quickly glance away. There was also a present for him, waiting with Ellie’s – a book about Pakistan, his mother’s home country, that had been meant for his birthday on 26 July, but she’d learned that, understandably, he did not celebrate it, because it was the same day that his mother had passed away. Instead she’d saved the gift; this way it was like they all had a birthday together.

  ‘At least we can agree it’s a gorgeous statue,’ Queen Matilde said, looking to her husband, ‘and a wonderful way to honour Eleanor’s Portman.’

  The king turned to consider his wife. ‘That is one way to interpret it.’

  Lottie had spent nearly two months with them and she was finally getting better at reading the tiny expressions on the king’s face. Right now his eyebrows were only faintly furrowed, the left side of his lip twitching ever so slightly. He was either tired or annoyed, possibly both.

  ‘But honestly,’ Ellie began, scooping some pâté on to her plate. ‘It’s the best birthday present I could have asked for, a big statue of Lottie – I will cherish it forever.’ Ellie grinned over at Lottie, who couldn’t help her cheeks going pink.

  Lottie subtly rubbed her temples. At the end of the birthday soirée she’d had to remove her tiara. Its weight had given her a terrible headache, and although she was trying her best to enjoy their more intimate joint birthday celebration the pain behind her eyes wouldn’t shift. Before Ellie and Jamie had a chance to pick up on her mood, the door clicked loudly.

  ‘Happy birthday!’

  The grand doors of the hall swung open and a gigantic cake was wheeled in on a mahogany trolley. White petticoat ruffles could be spotted peeking out from behind the trolley, but the servants’ faces were obscured by the huge mound of chocolate frosting. Lottie began to get to her feet, desperate to get a better look. Jamie coughed quietly at her side and she hastily sat back down again, slightly embarrassed about her obvious excitement.

  The trolley trundled to a halt and two maids peeked out from behind the cake. Midori and Hanna.

  ‘WAIT!’ Ellie cried. Everyone froze and Lottie sensed Jamie stiffen beside her. ‘I have to give Lottie her present.’ Ellie leaped to her feet, her chair clattering behind her.

  ‘Eleanor!’ her mother called after her, her brow furrowed. Then she turned to the servants, and forced a practised smile. ‘Midori, Hanna, thank you so much for the beautiful cake. It looks simply delectable.’

  At her mother’s command Ellie froze at the door and turned. Her bottom lip stuck out, which Lottie knew meant she was embarrassed. She could read her princess like a book, but even Ellie knew better than to be rude to the ever-polite maids. Then Lottie remembered. Ellie barely knew anyone beyond the palace. This was probably the first time Ellie had ever bought a birthday present for anyone outside the kingdom.

  ‘It’s OK, Ellie,’ she said in a reassuring voice. ‘We can exchange gifts after dinner. Let’s just enjoy your cake for now.’

  ‘No, I wanted to give it to you now so –’ Ellie was cut off by a low grumble and it took Lottie a moment to realize it came from the king. He was pinching the bridge of his nose as if he had a terrible headache.

  ‘Eleanor,’ he began, his voice low but commanding. ‘I think maybe this is what you want to get.’ He gestured to Midori, who stepped over to the table of gifts and retrieved a box that had been concealed by the presents for Ellie.

  Lottie watched as Ellie’s whole face lit up, then twisted into annoyance.

  ‘Why is it down here and not in my room where I left it?’

  The king dismissed his daughter’s question with a curt exhale before turning his gaze to Lottie. ‘We agreed that it would be more appropriate if we presented this gift formally from all of us.’ The king’s words must have had some weighty significance as Lottie saw both Ellie and Jamie turn to her. Ellie’s lips curved into an excited smile, while Jamie, as usual, remained impossible to read.

  Midori placed the box in front of Lottie. As she straightened up, she mouthed, Good luck!

  Lottie looked down at the silver box. It was easily the least lavish item in the whole room and yet it seemed important. She looked up at the Wolfson family gathered around the table, their eyes bright with anticipation. Lottie swallowed hard. Whatever was in the box, she was determined to be worthy of it.

  ‘Lottie, we want you to understand that bestowing this upon you is as much a gift for Eleanor as it is for you.’ The queen leaned her chin on her hand, her gossamer sleeves floating across the tablecloth.

  Lottie found herself turning to Jamie, who nodded at her to open the gift.

  ‘Thank you!’ she said, excitement sparking through her. She eased open the lid, finding it to be heavier than expected, and gazed down at the box’s contents.

  Nestled inside the blue satin walls of the box lay a small silver pendant on a chain. It was etched with the figure of a tiny wolf, the light catching it so that the creature’s eyes glittered. The pendant was identical to the ones Ellie and Jamie wore. Lottie’s heart skipped a beat.

  ‘Now you’re part of the pack.’ Ellie grinned at her, her white teeth shining like pearls.

  ‘This is …’ Lottie began but the words stuck in her throat.

  This was her official welcome into the household. Ellie and Lottie’s birthday present was to make Lottie not just a Portman but part of the family. She felt tears prick her eyes and had to hold her breath to stop from welling up.

  Part of the pack.

  She was so happy to have found a family, yet there was another creeping feeling struggling to be let out. It came from very far away, and it reminded her of the call to Rosewood. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel worthy. No. Lottie looked around at the smiling faces of the Wolfsons – her new family. All at once she knew what she was feeling.

  Guilt.

  What about her own family, her mother?

  ‘This is so kind of you,’ Lottie said sincerely, hoping her voice wouldn’t crack. Clearly she didn’t hide her emotions well enough as she saw Ellie’s excitement falter, her eyes darting to Jamie’s as they shared a look of concern.

  Damn it! thought Lottie. She hated when they did that.

  ‘The food is going to spoil,’ Jamie said, breaking the spell.

  ‘Yes,’ Ellie added. ‘We mustn’t let this amazing cake go to waste.’ She grinned at Hanna and Midori, who each bobbed in a curtsy.
‘Lottie, I’ll help you put your pendant on after we eat.’

  Lottie watched as people began to pile their plates with cake. She smiled all the time, refusing to let her happy face slip. But only she knew what she was about to ask – a question that could throw their lives into chaos. A question that could change it all forever.

  The pendant burned in Lottie’s hand as they made their way to Ellie’s rec room.

  ‘Lottie, if you’re worried about the pendant being too much, it was really nothing,’ Ellie began as soon as the door was shut behind them.

  Ellie’s rec room always took a little bit of time to adjust to – it was so different from the rest of the palace; a chaotic heaven of neon colours with framed movie posters, video games and comics lining the purple walls. The room had a retro 80s vibe, with arcade games flashing bright lights. A giant TV took up half the back wall and was hooked up to what Lottie had to assume was every games console ever released. The home cinema was accessorized with a popcorn machine and candyfloss drum, both of which Lottie had overused that summer. In the centre of the left wall was Ellie’s pride and joy, a guitar that had once belonged to and was signed by Joan Jett. The room was a teen fantasy come to life and was affectionately titled ‘the Vault’ for the lack of windows.

  ‘No, no. I love it, Ellie,’ she said quickly. ‘That’s not …’ Lottie glanced over at Jamie, who was settling down on one of the sofas. Was she about to open a can of worms?

  ‘Is that for me?’ Ellie cut off her thoughts, gesturing to the gift that Lottie had picked up.

  ‘Yes. I wanted to give it to you when it was quieter.’ Lottie held it out and Ellie smiled as she gently took the floral wrapped box. Their fingertips brushed, making Lottie’s skin tingle.

  Lottie watched as her dearest friend opened the gift. Ellie was much more careful about tearing open the paper than she had been with any of the presents in the royal dining hall. She felt her body sag with relief – this present meant just as much to Ellie as any of the others. Possibly it was the first birthday present Ellie had ever received from a real friend.

  Ellie held up the square of stretched canvas and glanced between the portrait and Lottie’s face. ‘You painted this?’ she asked in wonder.

  Lottie felt her cheeks go hot. ‘Well, yes. I was working on it over the summer and –’ She scratched the back of her head, a nervous twitch she’d adopted from Ellie. She came to stand beside her and together they looked at the portrait. Lottie had painted Ellie in a traditional style with oil paints that she’d found in the palace. The picture recreated one of her favourite memories of Ellie, a moment that captured exactly how Lottie saw her, the moment when she’d taken her mask off at the fencing tournament. Bold and beautiful in her pristine white gear, she was clutching a sabre and looking every bit like the heroic yet feral prince who had rescued Lottie at the summer ball.

  ‘Jamie, come look at this,’ Ellie called, holding the painting out for him to see.

  He joined them to inspect the canvas and Lottie held her breath as Jamie scrutinized her art.

  Jamie raised an eyebrow. ‘We should get you to do Ellie’s official portrait for the gallery,’ he said finally, a smile creeping over his lips.

  Lottie lowered her gaze, feeling shy from the praise. She loved decorating and making things but it had been a long time since she’d really painted anything. Her stepmother, Beady, had never been particularly encouraging, quick to get annoyed by the tubes of paint everywhere, so Lottie had put her paintbox and easel away, not wanting to upset her.

  ‘You should be really proud of this, Lottie,’ Jamie continued. ‘Ellie’s parents will love it, I’m sure.’ Lottie looked up at his words. His eyes were earnest and she was reminded how intense he could be, her mind flashing back to that terrifying vision of him subduing Saskia at the ball. Cold and deadly. Lottie needed to be as strong as Jamie if she were ever going to be completely useful to Ellie, and that meant tackling this odd feeling that was taking her over.

  ‘I’m glad you like it, Ellie, but …’ Lottie glanced down at the pendant in her fist, rubbing the pad of her thumb over the engraving of the wolf. ‘There is something I need to talk to –’

  Once again, before Lottie could get the words out, she was interrupted.

  ‘Is this also for Ellie?’ Jamie held up the other wrapped gift suspiciously, clearly worried that it was some kind of dangerous item.

  ‘Actually that gift is for you.’ Lottie nervously pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘I thought it would be sad if Ellie and I were both getting gifts and there was nothing for you. It’s just a little something.’

  The suspicion on Jamie’s face did not dissipate and he stared down at the rectangular package in front of him as if he had absolutely no idea what to do with it. Had he never received a gift before?

  ‘OK,’ he said bluntly, putting it aside without any indication that he wanted to open it. ‘Now, what did you want to talk about?’

  Lottie blinked, struggling to make sense of his strange reaction. Sometimes Jamie was too weird for her to even begin trying to understand him. She just had to hope he liked the gift when he finally did open it.

  With their eyes now trained on Lottie, she found herself unable to speak, too anxious about how much trouble she might be about to cause.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Ellie asked, gently putting down the painting before taking a step towards her. Both she and Jamie had been keeping a careful eye on her ever since the attempted kidnapping. They were both convinced that Lottie had been permanently messed up – which was why she needed to sort this out now.

  Lottie took a deep breath, pushing Jamie’s reaction to her gift out of her mind. ‘It’s just … Remember that promise you made to me before the summer ball?’ Ellie glanced nervously over to Jamie. ‘We agreed that I could tell my friend Ollie the truth.’ Lottie surprised herself with how steadily she spoke.

  ‘No,’ was Jamie’s curt response, but Ellie gave him a sharp look.

  She turned to Lottie. ‘I remember,’ she said softly, ‘but is that still something you want to go through with?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter if she wants to, Ellie. This is not a promise you should have made.’

  Ellie stared at Jamie, and Lottie could sense an argument brewing. Not today. Not on Ellie’s birthday. She looked down at the wolf pendant again, not ready to put it on until she knew she could do this. She had to tell Ollie before they went back to Rosewood; she needed to.

  ‘I don’t want to tell him. I have to,’ she said calmly. ‘Don’t you see? He’s the only one left.’ Her voice caught in her throat, and her friends stared at her. ‘He’s the only connection I have to my family.’

  ‘I see.’ Jamie relaxed. ‘But there are rules, Lottie. With this new threat of Leviathan, we can’t take any risks.’ Leviathan took particular interest in the children of royal families – hence the attempted kidnapping by Saskia. They couldn’t allow something like that to happen again.

  Still, Lottie was determined. She had to convince Jamie. Yes, she yearned to return to Rosewood and get to the bottom of this Leviathan threat, but she couldn’t enter the school gates again until she’d reconnected with something from her old life. With someone. With Ollie.

  ‘He’ll find out on his own, even if we don’t tell him.’ Lottie gave Jamie a serious look. She knew this was the only way to persuade him, and it was true; it had been a worry of Lottie’s for a while. ‘He’s far less of a risk if I tell him myself and swear him to secrecy.’

  Jamie rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘This is a terrible idea.’

  That wasn’t a no.

  Ellie grinned at Lottie, knowing that they’d won.

  ‘Aren’t we stopping at your home town on the way back to Rosewood anyway? So that you can pick up some belongings?’ Ellie reached for Lottie’s pendant. ‘You can tell Ollie then. It just makes sense.’ Jamie grumbled but made no further protest. ‘Jamie, indulge us. Consider it your birthday present to us.’ Her eyes twinkled wi
th amusement.

  She unclasped the chain and moved behind Lottie to drape it round her neck. ‘There. It’s perfect,’ she murmured.

  Lottie felt the cool silver against her skin and heard the clasp snap into place, the wolf resting close to her heart. She reached up and stroked the silver. She was one of the family now. She wondered just how different her next year at Rosewood would be.

  Lottie awoke the next day, the day of their journey back to England, with the strangest feeling that she was being watched. The sensation was subtle but unmistakable, the gaze of her watcher like a ghost breathing softly on her skin. Her eyes shot open, half expecting to see her statue in front of her, but instead her view fell directly on a pink velvet box that lay open on her lace-covered bedside table, her crescent-moon tiara reflecting rainbow light across her face. She pulled the peach fabric of her bedcovers up over her head and snuggled herself into the material like a protective cocoon. The palace beds were far too comfortable, like sinking into a fresh pool of feathers every night. She never imagined in all her life that this level of luxury would be something she’d become used to. Yet as comfortable as the beds here were, she could not let that enthral her this morning. They were heading back to England today and she had too much to get ready, plus the king had requested an audience alone with her. Reluctantly she shoved back the covers and swung her feet to rest on the sun-warmed floor.

  All her clothes had been washed, pressed and placed in suitcases along with her other belongings. It was all in stark contrast to the excited packing she’d done on her own the year before. A pile of books by one of the pink cases had her mind drifting to the gift she’d given Jamie, wondering if he’d opened it yet. She hoped it would make him feel more connected to his family, something she could sorely relate to.

  Lottie picked at the half-eaten cupcake sitting on her desk atop a shimmering golden plate, a leftover from yesterday’s birthday celebrations. The white icing left a sugary smear on her mouth that she caught sight of in the gigantic framed mirror. She paused, taking in the reflected person in the pristine nightgown. Her belly and face had got rounder, her hair longer and fluffier. She wiped the frosting off her bottom lip and licked her sticky fingers, thinking about the past few weeks.