The clash of steel blades rang out in the Conch Gym. 

Ellie was in her fencing elective, sweating profusely in her suit. She let out a cry of frustration, before making another attack. Anastacia swiftly blocked each move with precision, nearly on the edge of the mat. 

"Remember the steps. Keep counting!" Dame Bolter yelled. Ellie gritted her teeth. Slash after slash, she kept going at Anastacia, releasing her fury. After a few moments of intense competition, the two girls stopped, panting. 

Ellie snatched her helmet off, tossing it. She threw her sword away, taking furious gulps from her drink bottle. 

"What's wrong?" a voice with a French accent interrupted her thoughts. Ellie glared at Anastacia. 

"Nothing. Just peachy." she lied through gritted teeth. Anastacia took off her helmet, shaking her locks out. "You were messy. Tell me."

"It's nothing." Ellie grunted. Cocking an eyebrow, Anastacia eyed her partner for a moment, before taking a drink of water. 

That morning, she and Lottie recieved another letter. 

Ellie woke up to a cup of water poured onto her head. She shot up like a gun, choking on water. Her eyes darted around, before focussing on Lottie. 

She heaved a sigh of relief, before she frowned, annoyed. "Lottie, why'd you wake me up? Its-" she looked at her alarm clock, "- five in the morning." Lottie rolled her eyes, before shoving an envelope into Ellie's hand. 

It was a cream envelope, with the same paw print wax seal as the last. She gritted her teeth. Leviathan. 

She handed it back to Lottie, before pushing past her to the bathroom. 

As Ellie stripped her wet pyjamas off, she heard the envelope being opened. Lottie gasped. 

"What is it?" Ellie called. 

"Dear Princess," Lottie read, "I hope you're alright. Not. It's Jamie here. I've joined the Leviathan. There's no turning back. Only forwards now. Speaking of which, they know your secrets. They know your weakness. And I hear the Fall Dance at school is coming up. Save a song for me, will you? Raised By Wolves by Falling in Reverse is my theme song. Love, Jamie."

Ellie froze. She quickly put on new pyjamas, rushing out of the bathroom. Grabbing the letter from Lottie, she ran her eyes over the content, muttering words. 

Ellie locked eyes with Lottie. "It's not Jamie." she deadpanned. 

"What?" Lottie gasped, "Who else would it be?"

Ellie gulped. "It's definetly not Jamie. He's would be formal if he wrote this. This is too..." Ellie grasped around for the right word. 

"Joking?" Lottie offered. Ellie nodded, eyes drifting down to the final sentence. Raised By Wolves....

"Jamie knows I love this song... and it's not his themes song, it's mine." Ellie mused, reminiscing. Lottie shook her head. 

"It has to be a hint! Ellie do you remember the lyrics?" Ellie scoffed. 

"Or course, Little Princess. But I'm tired, we should go back to bed." Lottie stiffled a yawn as Ellie slipped back into bed. Ellie planted her head on her pillow, grimacing at the squelch of the wet pillow. Lottie giggled. Ellie rolled her eyes. 

Ellie gritted her teeth. When she had woken again, she has a crashing head ache, making her irritable and snappy. 

Now Anastacia was getting on her nerves. 

Now more than ever did she wish Jamie was with her. He'd calm her down. 

"Alright students! Good session today, now go get changed!" Dame Bolter yelled. 

Ellie grunted as she bent down to grab her duffle bag, before swinging it over her shoulder and stalking out of the gym. 

Jamie... Hurry. 

🐺

As Saskia San Martin stepped her foot back inside the gates of Rosewood, she could already see her friends' greeting in her head. 

Anastacia would squeeze the life out of her, Binah would shake her hand and give her a quick hug, Raphael would pretend to tear up, Lola and Micky would smile their sweet smile before offering her candy. 

Well. That was before she became rogue, attempted to kidnap Lottie, then almost turned on them again before helping them fight against Julius and Ingrid. 

Saskia sighed, brushing stray locks from her face. So much had changed, and she almost wondered where it went wrong. 

The Partizan Council had reluctantly agreed to let her keep her role as Anastacia's Partizan, but she was to wear a tracking device. They had injected her with a serum that contained a tracking microchip, before sending her back to Rosewood. 

Saskia knew she was on thin ice around everyone, but she couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if she had been successful at kidnapping Lottie the first time round. She quickly shook her head. Banishing the thought of exile, Saskia left her luggage to one of the maintenance, before walking to the Conch dorm. 

She needed to talk to Jamie; she needed to warn him what was coming. 

"Good morning, how can I hel- Saskia! It's you!" she was greeted at the Conch foyer by a Conch prefect in the year above. She smiled and hugged her. 

"Hey, Rach. Could you tell me what period this is?" The girl nodded. 

"It's... currently third! You've got Maths then Lunch." Rachael said. 

"Thanks, Rach! Oh, and can you please inform Anastacia Alcroft of my return?" Saskia asked.

"Of course! I'll catch up with you later!"

Saskia walked away, smiling. As she entered the Conch building, she bumped into a purpled clad girl. 

"Watch where you're going." the girl huffed, before looking her over. 

"Good morning, Wolf." Saskia said cooly. Ellie growled, making a step to push past Saskia-

"Wait. Where's Jamie." Saskia placed a strong hand on Ellie's shoulder, stopping her. Ellie's raging eyes burnt out as she slacked. Her shoulders drooped, and her eyes diverted to her side. She bit her lip. 

"He's gone. Leviathan." Ellie whispered. Saskia furrowed her eyebrows, and chewed her lip in thought. Seemed like the Leviathan had carried out Phase Three of their plan. Saskia sighed, and grabbed Ellie's shoulders, forcing her to look at her.

"Look. There's danger coming. You need to keep an eye out for Lottie at all times. You hear me? Don't let her go anywhere without you or someone you trust with your life." Saskia comanded. Ellie's eyes widened as she nodded. 

"Ok, good. They have the formula, so now there will be new students at Rosewood as spies. Pick them out, and watch them. I have no idea who they are, but if they look suspicious, tell me immediately. Got it?"

Ellie nodded.

"And also watch out for suspicious behaviour in fellow students. They may have been kidnapped and injected with the formula. I'm not sure how many they were going to inject, but they know about my betrayal. So never let Lottie go, ok?"

Ellie nodded. Saskia's face softened. "Look. I know it's scary. But we're going to stop them. I promise, mi amigo. Now go, before anything happens."

Saskia released Ellie, causing her to stumble for a moment. Ellie looked lost, scared, unlike the brave mask she put on. She took a deep breath before pushing past Saskia to the gate, duffle over her shoulder. Saskia's eyes lingered on Ellie for a moment, before she started walking to class. 

🐺

Ellie crashed through the door, causing Lottie to wake up with a start. She gasped and fell off the bed, tangled in her covers. 

Bleary eyed, Lottie could just make out Ellie's purple uniform walking to her and helping her up. 

"What sa madder?" she slurred. Stifling a yawn, she rubbed her eyes. Ellie groaned. 

"Lottie wake up! Saskia came back today." Lottie opened her eyes quickly. "What!" she yelled. 

"Shh!" Ellie hissed, closing the door. "We need to keep you safe, Lottie."

Lottie blinked. Whatever happened to make Ellie this worried must've been serious. 

"Leviathan have sent new students in as secret agents, and they've also injected the Hamelin Formula into current students." Ellie whispered. Lottie blinked. 

"But that could be anyone! Percy could still under their influence! We need to watch out for him and-"

"Lottie. Look at me." Ellie grabbed her shoulders and stared into her eyes. Lottie gulped. They hadn't been this close after Ellie confessed to her. 

"I know it's scary. I'm scared too. But we can get through this together. You and me. Binah, Anastacia, Raphael and even Saskia will help too. But we need to stay calm, ok?"

Lottie slowly nodded. She took in a deep breath.

Be kind, be brave, be unstoppable.

Righteous, resourceful, resolute. 

Lottie opened her eyes. She smiled at Ellie, who smiled back in relief. "Stay here, Little Princess. I'm going to go get a little something to eat from the Ivy kitchen." Ellie said, before exiting the room. Lottie's mind flickered back to their kiss powder sugar room. 

She smiled sadly. 

I'm so sorry, Ellie.