Lost (A Rosewood Chronicle fanfic)

3 | the first letter

"Jamie... don't leave... come back..." Lottie shivered feverishly in her bed, writhing in her sleep.

"NO!" She screamed, waking up. Ellie shot out of bed like a gun, eyes hunting wildly for an intruder. Then she saw Lottie crying into her pillow, and her face softened.

Climbing into bed, she hugged Lottie, holding her to her chest. Lottie sobbed, shaken by her nightmare.

"Shh... it's ok. I'm here now." Ellie soothed, stroking her friend's head.

Lottie was comforted, slowly calming down in their little cocoon.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ellie whispered, aware that Lottie was still scared. She felt her shake her head. Whatever appeared in her dreams had really shaken her this time.

Ellie sighed, and continued to stroke her head and smooth her until she had fallen asleep. Ellie felt herself becoming drowsy, and succumbed to slumber.

🐺

Lottie was sitting by the Conch Pool, under the gazebo. With a blanket around her shoulders. She shivered, standing up. She noticed Jamie standing at the stone wall separating the pool from the gazebo.

She was filled with delight; Jamie had come back! She hastily reached out for him. But as soon as she touched him, he disappeared. Confused and scared, Lottie's eyes darted around, looking for him.

She looked into the pool. There he was, in the pool with his uniform on. But he had sunk to the bottom, eyes wide open.

Lottie gasped, shrugging off her blanket and diving into the water. She swam to Jamie, grabbing him. Planting her legs firmly on the pool floor, she propelled them up to the surface. Lugging Jamie's body onto the grassy bank, she wiped water out of her eyes.

"Jamie wake up... WAKE UP!" She sobbed. He was the strong one, this wasn't supposed to happen!

She started compressing his chest, and put her mouth on his, blowing air into his mouth.

She did it again, and again. But his eyes remained open, and Lottie could no longer feel his heartbeat under her hands.

"NO!" She screamed, waking up.

The sun was shining through the binds, glaring into her eyes. Lottie's breathing was uneven.

"Jamie." She whispered. She wanted him back, now more than ever. She wanted him to come back, and tell her it was a test, tell her off for being so worried.

She suddenly noticed the extra warmth behind her. Slowly and carefully, she turned around and saw Ellie, her black hair draped over her face. Lottie smiled through her tears.

Ellie stirred, grumbling. Her eyes peeled open slightly. A small, tired smile rested on her lips.  "'Morning, Lottie." She yawned.

"'Morning, Ellie." Lottie answered. She stripped back the covers, shivering from the biting cold. Ellie groaned, tugging them back up to her chin. Lottie laughed. "C'mon Ellie it's..." she checked the clock, then gasped as she saw the time.

"Ellie, it's lunch time, we're late!" She shouted. Ellie shot up and out of bed, rushing to the bathroom.

Five minutes later, the girls rushed down to the main hall, pulling on their blazers. They found Binah leaning against wall, waiting for them. 

"Sorry we're... late." Lottie panted. Binah grinned at them, taking in their messy bed hair and sleepy faces. "Come on! We've got burgers today!" The two girls followed Binah into the hall. 

They met the rest of the group at a table near the window. "Hey guys! Slept in today." Ellie mumbled with a yawn. "Lottie didn't sleep well last night." 

Micky immediately got out a bag of Tompkins' Caramels and handed them out, Ellie grabbing a few. She turned to Lottie, holding one out, but the girl was already asleep, her head resting on the table. Ellie smiled. 

"Lottie?" she whispered into Lottie's ear. She groaned in response. Anastacia grumbled. "LOTTIE WAKE UP!" She shouted. 

Lottie shot up like a gun, looking around for danger, only to see Lola, Micky, Raphael and Ellie laughing. She groaned. She didn't notice the worried looks coming from Binah and Anastacia. 

"Lottie, you want a caramel? The sugar will wake you up." Ellie asked through fits of giggles. Lottie mustered a weak smile, accepting the sweet and popping it in her mouth. 

Percy wandered past Lottie, as pale and tired as ever. Lottie noticed, grabbing his arm. He jumped, startled. He looked down at Lottie, who gestured at the empty seat beside her seat. He smiled gratefully, and placed his bowl of soup at the table. He signed to Lottie, who looked at Micky for translation. 

Thank you, Lottie. We'll find him soon. I know Jamie used to sit here. 

Lottie blinked in surprise. She didn't remember telling Percy that Jamie was missing, but Micky must've told him. She smiled sadly at Percy, his dark mop of hair looking remarkably like Jamie's untamed bangs. She sniffed. 

"I'm just going to go get some soup." Lottie excused herself, moving towards the buffet. At that moment, the bell rang for the next classes. Rolling her eyes, she slugged out of the hall, heading to her dorm to collect her books. 

As she walked past her mail box, she noticed there was something in it. She opened it, revealing a cream envelope. She turned it over. It was sealed by a black and gold wax seal, with a small wolf paw print inside a circle, stamped into the wax. 

She went into her room, and sat on her bed. A whiff floated  up from the parchment. 

Peppermint... fresh snow... Jamie!

She broke the wax excitedly. Pulling out a letter, she read it. Her excited face quickly shifted into one of worry. 

Dear Princess,

Before you jump to conclusions, ths is not Jamie. Jaie would never come back to you. He's with us. W'll get what we wnt. Then you'll be begging to come to us. You and your 'idekick'  too. Or should I say... Elenor Wolson. 

🐾

Lottie gasped, Ellie entering the room at the same time. 

"What's got you so flustered?" She asked from the door. Lottie jumped. "Better not be a message from Edmund." her face became serious. 

Lottie shook her head, but she was still worried. "I... don't know." She gave the letter to Ellie, who mumbled the words as she read them. 

"They know. They know about me." She said after several moments of silence. She couldn't decipher the spelling, because it was typewriter text. "But this spelling is bad... and I thought mine was!"

"Well, you could improve it, if you were in class."

Both girls jumped and looked up to see Professor Devine standing at the doorway, arms crossed. 

Lottie gulped in anticipation. 

You've blown it this time. This time, the voice sounded like Jamie's cold and disappointed. A strange pang stabbed her chest. 

The Ivy House Mother's face softened. "But seeing what has happened, I understand you both would be shaken. I trust you'll be safe in these walls."

With an affirmative nod, the Professor walked away, her rich purple cloak  billowing behind her. 

Lottie let out a sigh of relief. At least the teachers understood. Lottie rummaged around her bag. She finally found her tiara, placing it on her head. She took a deep breath, letting the tiara rejuvenate her. She opened her eyes, smiling at Ellie. 

"Come on. Got Maths next. Don't wanna make Mr Trigwell mad, do we?" she asked Ellie. She looked up from the letter. She smiled. 

The letter would have to wait.