She woke back at her grandmother's house to a knocking on her door. Her grandmother entered.

"Wake up Luisa. We have to find you something suitable to wear. We are touring Ruthin School today."

Brilliant. Just about the last thing I want to do.

Luisa flopped back on her bed and stared at the ceiling as her grandmother picked through her clothes, tossing them to the side as she dismissed them one by one.

"No. No. No. God what awful clothes. No. No. Useless."

Luisa sat up and frowned at her grandmother.

"Can't I just wear normal clothes?"

"I will have to find one of your mother's old dresses to wear Luisa. All of your clothes are quite unsuitable. We are going to one of the best boarding schools in the country, so no, you cannot wear your 'normal' clothes. You must look presentable."

Luisa was put into an old formal dress that used to belong to her mother. The collar scratched her neck and it smelt like mothballs.

Hugh picked them up and quietly drove to Ruthin School, he parked the car outside the school gates.

"Are you not going to take us in?" Luisa's grandmother asked sharply.

Hugh looked passed the gates and into the school grounds sullenly.

"No ma. I swore I would never go back there. I might have only been a little 'un... but a promise is a promise. I am not going through those gates."

Luisa's grandmother tutted loudly.

"Well that's ridiculous. I'm very glad you have maintained the maturity of a thirteen-year-old Hughbert."

Hugh said nothing, his rough hands picking at the rubber of the steering wheel. He would not meet Luisa's eye as she left the car.

Luisa and her grandmother went through the grand wrought iron gates and then stopped at the beginning of the long gravel path to the school. Luisa took in the sight. This was like no school she had seen before. The bright sun lit it up, enhancing every colour. There were immaculate rolling green striped lawns that led to a fine old stone building covered in a deep red ivy. The school beyond looked like a miniature castle. Carved into the rolling lawns was a white gravel path that led to the large main door. Standing in front of the door Luisa could make out a man in a three piece suit stood with a blonde girl to his side. Luisa looked up at her grandmother who was smiling proudly, the sun lit her face and she looked almost like a nice person.

"Luisa, welcome to Ruthin School. Our family have attended this school for a very, very long time."

They began to walk up the path. The suited man came forward with his hand extended,

"Ms. Wynn. It is very good to finally meet you. Your support of our school over all these years is truly, so very much appreciated. I am delighted to meet you in person. You must be Luisa."

He shook Luisa's hand.

"Welcome Luisa, I am Mr. Benson, the proud headmaster of Ruthin School. We have been educating students since the twelfth century, including quite a few of your ancestors as I am sure you know. We are widely recognised as one of the finest boarding establishments in the world. Allow me to introduce Tess. Tess is an outstanding student and has kindly agreed to help introduce Luisa to Ruthin School."

Tess was a little taller than Luisa and had a mane of blonde hair that was pushed back up and over her head. She was incredibly pretty with a golden tan and shining blue eyes. She looked grown up past her years wearing a blazer, blouse and fitted jeans. A large string of pearls were around her neck, and there were more pearls in her ears and she smiled to reveal a mouth full of large perfect pearl-white teeth.

A whole face full of pearls.

She looked Luisa up and down briefly before holding out her hand to Luisa's Grandmother first.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Wynn. Thank you so much for supporting Ruthin." Her accent was pristine, like cut glass.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Luisa."

Luisa reached out her hand and felt a very hard squeeze from Tess.

The headmaster continued,

"So, if it is agreeable to you Ms. Wynn, I will let Tess take Luisa on a tour of Ruthin and perhaps we could have a cup of tea and a chat in my office."

Luisa's grandmother nodded.

"Most agreeable, Mr. Benson."

Together they walked off into the school.

Tess looked Luisa up and down again.

"Come on, let me show you the grounds."

Tess made to walk then stopped again, she rolled her eyes, "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude... but, why are you wearing such weird clothes?"

Luisa blushed.

"God, my gran like, made me wear this stupid dress. She can be a bit, you know."

Tess just looked at her. A slight crease passed across her porcelain forehead.

"Weird. Is that your taxi?"

Luisa looked back at her uncle's maroon car still parked outside the gates. Tess had made her feel quite uncomfortable. She pushed a pebble with her foot.

"Oh, that is my uncle's car."

"Oh um, OK." Tess extended the 'OK' like she was about to undertake an unpleasant task, like unblocking a toilet.

"Anyway. Welcome to Ruthy, that's what we call Ruthin School." Tess turned and had begun padding across the lawn, hips swaying from side to side. Luisa had to walk fast to keep up.

"So Ruthy has been going since 1284. We have had lots of famous students. We have a Nigerian prince that goes here, a prince from the Middle East, and the children of lots of famous people, business people, aristocrats, obviously rich Russians; you know. My dad is a businessman. He works in the oil industry and so has to travel all the time. So what does your dad do?"

"I don't know... I don't actually know my dad."

Tess stopped walking.

"Really? So you are a bastard then?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I'm not being horrible. A bastard is someone who is missing a parent. So you are a bastard you see?"

"Oh. Well, I..." Luisa thought back to her own school.

Most people only had one parent didn't they?

"Anyway," said Tess with a shake of her mane as she continued walking. "I've just got back from doing a turtle conservation project in Costa Rica. Next year, I am building a hospital for like, kids in Africa or something, and the year after I am working at Slaughter and May for a summer in London. But I am so glad to be back. We are here doing summer classes at the moment."

"You have to go to school in the summer?"

"Well yah. Of course. We are all applying to Oxford and Cambridge, early, so are just like, knocking off GCSE's now. After Oxford, I'm going to be a lawyer, tax, and Maddie is going to be a stockbroker, Benji is going to be a pilot and Georgie is going to work at his dad's company. They sell Yachts.... So yah... it's a pretty tough life."

Tess flashed Luisa a grin just to show Luisa that it was really not a tough life.

"We kind of call ourselves the Ruthin Royalty."

Ruthin what?

Luisa raised her eyebrows. She opened her mouth but shut it again.

Tess looked back at her,

"So what are going to be when you grow up Luisa."

Luisa shrugged. She hadn't really thought about it.

"I don't know."

"Well if you don't know you will probably just be nothing. Sounds like that is what your Mum is. Oh god. I didn't mean to be mean. No offense."

Luisa stopped this time.

"That is actually really out of order, you don't even know my Mum."

Tess smiled with a faux warmness.

"Oh my god, I am soo sorry" she touched Luisa's arm. "You are right, that was really beastly of me. But Mr. Benson did tell me a little bit about you. So I do know a bit." She stood back on her hip and rolled her eyes. "Yah we get it, the Wynn family was a big deal once. Look, you should probably know that you are going to need more than just an old name and old money to fit in here Luisa."

Old name? Luisa didn't understand. She didn't have an old name, and they definitely didn't have any money, old or otherwise.

"Look, seriously sorry. I'm just giving you a heads up. Friends?"

Tess took Luisa by the arm and continued walking.

"So what do you think of the grounds Luisa?"

"Yeah they are really nice."

Tess snorted,

"Nice? God. Luisa if you are going to come here, please know that no one here says nice, its such a common word."

Luisa was silent.

Luisa was starting to sweat in the unfamiliar dress. If she hadn't have been with Tess she would have said it was a beautiful day to walk around such a nice building in these meticulously maintained grounds, with the rolling Welsh hills in the distance. Right now she would rather be anywhere than here.

Tess stopped walking again.

"That is enough of the grounds. I'm bored."

Tess turned and walked to the school. Luisa followed behind, watching the grandiose building approach. Tess deftly unlatched a large wooden door, pushing it open and padded through the cool oak-panelled halls.

"I was told I had to show you this."

They walked through the ancient corridors. The stone flagged floor was concave from eight hundred years of student footsteps. They passed student recreational classrooms, with thick carpets, stocked with full-size snooker tables and leather wingback chairs. On the dark oak panelling of the corridor hung fine oil paintings. They passed a beautiful library, its large shelves stocked with books and leather settees and a student cinema. Luisa couldn't believe that this was a school, it was more like a five star hotel.

They turned down another long-corridor. On each side hung dozens of portraits.

Tess briskly walked to a portrait a few paintings in.

"Ah yes, here we are. Mr. Benson told me you would want to see this."

She folded her arms and leant against the wall.

Luisa stepped towards the painting slowly taking it in. It was an old painting of a dark haired young man, with a long straight nose and high dark eyebrows. His intense eyes bored into Luisa. He wore a long exquisite blue jacket wide at the shoulders and tight at the hip. Decorated with beading the pattern of the cloth swirled majestically. His legs were covered with white stockings underneath. A mayoral style, chain of interlocking golden disks inlaid with black stones hung across his shoulders, and a small sword was slung on his side. At the bottom of the painting the artist had painted a small scroll with a name and a date,

SIR JOHN WYNN 1568

There was a small white card next to the portrait.

"This is a portrait of John Wynn painted while he was a student at Ruthin. John Wynn was descended from Owain Gwynedd. Knighted in 1607. He devoted his life to studying archaeology and antiquity at Oxford University.

As Luisa looked up at it, a creeping feeling tingled along her spine. She looked at Tess,

"He is.... related to, to me?"

Tess scoffed at Luisa in complete bafflement, the corners of her mouth were pulled down in disgust.

"You don't know?"

"No... I, I didn't ... who is he?"

Tess sighed irritably

"I think the Wynn's used to be an important family or something."

"Who is Owain Gwynedd?"

"God, I don't know, go and read a book or something. Look it up yourself."

Tess turned and continued down the corridor, as she walked she flicked her hand out and pointed out a few more prominent paintings that had Wynn as their last name.

Sir Richard Wynn 1588-1649

Sir Owen Wynn 1592 - 1660

Sir Richard Wynn 1625-1674

Sir John Wynn 1628-1719

At the end of the corridor, she turned to Luisa.

"Oh. There is something else you should know about Ruthy."

"What?"

Tess' lips drew into a cold smile.

"You know when you get here you are going to have to go through initiation right?"

"What?"

"Yah. Ruthy initiation. Not optional."

"What does that mean?"

Tess drew back with a haughty smile and crossed her arms.

"Depends... we made one of the Chinese girls, like hook up with one of the leavers. He had just got into Oxford, and like, couldn't go to university a you know, it was like his reward."

"What?" Luisa spluttered. "That's awful."

Tess snorted.

"She was Chinese! They do not fit in here."

Tess pulled her eyes into tight slants and did a mock Chinese accent.

"Haw haw ple' don' hurt me. Ple' don' hurt me."

Tess laughed and flicked her giant blonde mane over her head.

Luisa hadn't actually met someone who was racist before. White Manor had just about every combination of race on the planet.

If Stacey was here she would have put this chick's head through the wall.

Tess looked Luisa up and down,

"T.B.H Luisa, I don't see you fitting in here either."

Luisa swallowed, she could not take this right now. She knew she was staring at Tess, she could feel her fists ball. The corridor brightened; everything coming into a sharp focus.

Calm down Luisa. She isn't worth it.

"Anyway." Tess ruffled her blonde mane with her hand inspecting how perfect it was. "Mr. Benson's office is just over here. So you can tell your Grandmother you had a fabulous tour and simply can't wait to enrol yah?"

No one said a word in the car on the way home. There was little need because each knew clearly what the other was thinking. Hugh hated the school. Luisa was out at sea in thoughts. Her Grandmother was deeply angry at both of them for their ungratefulness and stupidity.

At home Luisa silently went to her room and closed the door.

She got into bed, held her pendant in her hand and closed her eyes.

"Please.... Get. Me. Out. Of. Here."

--

10 vials of Sky to the first person that can see / guess *ahemresearch* where I am going with the Sir John Wynn angle.

Just want to say - I toured Ruthin school for research and it looked fabulous. This absolutely IS fiction. Though Tess is based on someone I knew for reals.

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