Stolen Princess

Chapter 4

There were only two days until Christmas, the grounds were covered in snow, the view was something magical, it was like it had come out of one of Lottie's  fairy tail. The royal trio were still at Rosewood, not wanting to go back to Maradova. They had talked it out with Ellies parents and had managed to convince them to let them stay in Rosewood throughout Christmas. A lot of students were still at school but most of them were leaving tomorrow, the 23rd, wanting to go back to their families in time for Christmas. That night, Rosewood was having a small christmas party to celebrate before everyone left. Ellie decided she did not want to attend, preferring to stay in their room with Binah working over some sudoku book which Lottie had deemed impossible. Jamie decided he would be going as Ellie was safe. It had been Haru's idea and Lottie decided to join them to make sure Haru didn't do anything to Jamie. Not being able to tell him is worse than I thought Lottie thought to herself.

The party wasn't much. A bunch of students eating and talking. It was decorated with lights along the walls and a big, snow-covered tree in the middle. It brought Lottie memories of her first christmas at Rosewood, when she had found out Jamie and Ellie could sing as well as play the guitar. Lottie found the party pretty boring, having no one to enjoy it with, but this just made it easier for Lottie to not get distracted, she had to be prepared. Halfway through the party, Jamie told them he was going to the bathroom and asked Haru to take care of Lottie. When he looked at Lottie, he saw fear in her eyes and felt like Lottie was trying to tell him something which he couldn't quite understand. He was going to ask her something when Haru stepped in between them "we'll be fine" he said and so, Jamie turned around and left.

An awkward silence overcame them until Haru grabbed her arm, his fingers sinking into her skin a little too harshly, where she would soon get bruises as he dragged her away, hiding them behind a nearby bush so he was able to check the surroundings, making sure no one had seen or followed them. But there was one person who had seen the whole exchange but was too afraid to do anything. He covered Lottie's mouth before she was able to scream and blocked her arms making sure she had no way to escape. Lottie had a million thoughts rushing through her mind yet, she was frozen, her body wasn't reacting. She felt useless and defenceless. With no resistance, he easily carried her towards the woods, the only exit left unguarded. The guards left at ten pm, as it was past curfew and nobody should be going out, a fact Haru had quickly taken notice of. What surprised Lottie was that they weren't there today, sure it was past curfew but the students were allowed to sleep whenever they wanted as a small christmas gift so the guards should have been there too.  

When Jamie came out of the bathroom, he couldn't see them. He looked around the party, fearing for the worst, what if something bad has happened to them? he thought. He couldn't find them anywhere and decided to go look for Lottie in her bedroom just in case she had decided to go back without warning him, although that wasn't like her at all. He went to turn around when he came face to face with Gabriela. "Haru took her, Lottie" she said. She was on the verge of tears and Jamie was taken aback. Who was she exactly? he thought. He was suddenly very angry, "Why on earth did you let him take her without doing anything?" She was taken aback by his words, what did he think she was some superhero? "He had a knife she said, as she turned around to leave she said "save her." Her voice was shaking and tears were streaming down her face. He had to go find Ellie. He flew up the stairs and burst through the door, not even bothering to knock. He found Binah and Ellie and a bunch of books and papers sprawled across the floor. When he realised Lottie wasn't there, it hit him, his facade broke, all his worst nightmares were true. He suddenly remembered the warning Lottie had given him at the beginning of the year and the look on her face when she had first seen Haru. It all linked together, the playful punch he had given Haru in Japan, and how he had flinched, Ellie's reaction when she saw he was hanging out with Haru, the look in Lottie's eyes when he was leaving her alone with him. Ellie and Binah could clearly see the pain behind his eyes while he had an internal battle with himself. It was all my fault he thought, while he whispered "Lottie" nothing else came out, he had just committed one of the biggest mistakes of his life. She was in danger and it was his fault. Binah and Ellie immediately jumped and stood up; anxiety written over all their features "Haru, when I find you, I'm going to k-" started Ellie before Jamie cut her off, nobody could find out. Her enraged screams would be of no use. Jamie told them about how he had left Lottie alone with Haru. How she had seemed frightened and yet, he hadn't bothered to stay, trusting Haru over her. He chastised himself for not looking out for the tiny details yet, there was one thing he didn't understand, why had Lottie been so scared and most importantly, how had Ellie and Binah known it was Haru, without him telling them? He stared at them his eyes cold and demanding. He wanted an answer and he wanted it now. He saw Binah gulp while Ellie bit his lip. Should we tell him? they thought. A mutual nod came between them and Elie started to explain, "You see..." she trailed off, sacred of what Jamie's reaction would be. "Haru's part of Leviathan" Binah concluded, staring at her hands which were resting on her lap. To say. Jamie was angry was an understatement, he was furious and extremely disappointed. "Why didn't you tell me?" he spat making them jump. "It wasn't that simple Jamie, we made a promise" Ellie stated not daring to look into Jamies eyes. Usually she would have began to shout and made a big deal of things but right now, she just wanted her best friend back.