Royals and Rebels 2: Love and War

One: Penelope Peters

One

Penelope Peters

My Mum's used Toyota puttered up to the campus, the breaks sounding like a screeching demon. I winced, observing several students passing by giving me disapproving looks. The car was the first sign that I didn’t belong there.

Mum glanced at the window, at the old, brick building that had been there since King Henry the Eighth. Hollow Hill Preparatory had been in existence for as long as anyone could remember. It had seen Kings, Prime Ministers, actors, directors, statesmen. All sorts of important people come through its halls.

The Toyota we had was the first clue that I didn’t belong there. The second was that I was a girl.

 For the first time in its over 579-year history, Hollow Hills Academy was allowing girls in. All because of a s*x scandal involving the old Headmaster.

And women on the faculty. It was a new dawn, a new era, and you could feel the tension crackling in the air. What’s more, The Prince was there all in the middle of this controversy.

The heir to the entire country of Wales. One of the most powerful countries in Europe, right alongside England.

“Well,” said Mum, brushing strands of blond hair out of her face, “this is all very exciting, isn’t it?”

“Exciting how?” I demanded. “They’re going to smell the poor on me. They’re going to know that I spent last summer working at a country inn instead of being in the South of France. They’re going to know I hate Polo, and that I will never understand the hats at royal events. I don't even know how I got that scholarship."

They would also know that I lost my virginity in a pub. To a perfect stranger, after finding out that her boyfriend was in love with her cousin.

But Mum didn’t know any of that.

Mum smiled at me. “None of that’s going to matter. The only thing that matters is your education.”

She was right, of course. But that didn’t mean I was going to stop worrying about the other things. I’d survived secondary school, and sixth form was certain to be a living nightmare. My teacher at my old school had encouraged me to apply, knowing that my dream was to go to Oxford. And I could study literature where the greats had.

But I hadn’t even stepped foot inside the place yet, and already, I wanted to run away.

“It’s alright, luv. Whatever happens, you’ll be one step closer to achieving your dreams. If it gets too hard, you can always come home. But I want you to at least try. Us Peters women, we’re not quitters.” She gave my shoulder a squeeze, and I sighed.

“Okay, okay,” I said, “one year, but if it’s as miserable, I get to come home. No matter what. Right?”

“Right,” she said.

Anything was better, I’d decided, then having to face Seamus Flannigan for the rest of my existence. Not while I still had a guilty conscience about my night with a stranger. And the brush off breakup I’d given my first boyfriend. I grabbed the few belongings I had. Then headed off in the direction of the administration building. It was large, intimidating, and standing in front of it was a statue of King Hugo the Fifth of Wales. The schools founder. It was a large, imposing thing, made of bronze, and I could feel him sneering down his nose at me as I walked past.

I struggled with a box in my arms to open the door. “Here, let me get that,” a posh, male voice said.

I glanced up and found myself staring into the most brilliant pair of green eyes that I had ever seen. The stranger in front of me was tall, lanky, with curly jet-black hair. “Thanks,” I said, aware that I was blushing like a Weasley.

He smiled. “Anytime. Want me to carry that for you?”

“You don’t have to---”

It was too late. He’d already taken the box out of my arms, into his. I had only my messenger bag, and roller suitcase. “It’s no trouble,” he said, “I’m Jasper Jefferies.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand, “I’m Pen. Well, Penelope Peters.”

“Nice to meet you, Penelope Peters.” He said my full name, as if it were magic, and looked at me that way too. Two boys, already in the blue and khaki Hollow Hills uniform, brushed past us.

One bumped roughly into my shoulder, making me wince. Jasper saw, and I watched as his gaze narrowed.

“Addington!” he barked.

The boy that had bumped into me turned around, a cocky smirk on his face. “What do you want, Jefferies?”

“I want you to apologize to Penelope here. You bumped into her on purpose.”

He laughed. “I didn’t even see her. After all, how can I see something that doesn’t belong here in the first place?” He sneered down his nose at me, and I felt my stomach churn.

 I knew this change was going to bring trouble. Girls weren’t supposed to be at Hollow Hills. Let alone scholarship girls like me. But I didn't know it would happen so soon.

“Piss off,” Jasper said, venom in his voice.

Addington, whoever the hell he was, rolled his eyes. “What are you going to do, Jefferies? Tell your boss?”

Jasper curled his fists together, clenching and unclenching them. “My boss is your future King. You should have some care. Wouldn’t want him making life difficult for you now, would he? After all, your cousin is so close with your mother. His cousin.”

I stared at Jasper for a moment, as I realized exactly who I had run into. Jasper Jefferies wasn’t any Jefferies. He was part of the house of Jefferies. The family that had served as the personal security to the royal family for centuries.

“You know what?” I said, catching them both off guard as I turned to look at them. “It’s alright. This is all new, everyone’s coming to terms with it. No trouble, at all. Also, I’ll take my box now.”

After having a one-night stand last summer, I didn’t need boys or drama. I needed to focus on school. This moment, right here, was why I needed to lay low. Boys were trouble. Taylor Swift had said it best, hadn’t she?

And drama.

Neither of which I needed.

I laughed, grabbing my things from out of Jaspers hands. I couldn’t afford to have it affect my standing at the school. Especially not on the first day. I wasn’t about to get kicked out because of some idiots.

I turned, and started walking inside the building, hoping, praying, that would be the end of it.

As I walked inside the building, I heard Addington say, “Got to love a woman who knows when to shut up.”

I tensed, and the minute I did, I heard the crack of a fist punching a nose. I dropped my box and turned to see Jasper punching Addington. He tackled him to the ground, and the two rolled down the stairs. His friend, a skinny boy with red hair and glasses, looked down at them.

“Do something!” he shouted.

“Me? What do you want me to do?” I demanded. It might have been about me, but it wasn’t my fight.

“I don’t know, you started it! You should stop it!”

“I did nothing!” I said. I stared at the boys rolling on the ground.

A small crowd had started to gather, and I heard the chanting of, “Fight, fight, fight!”

“Jasper!” I called. “Jasper, stop!”

“Enough!” a voice bellowed across the lawn. It wasn’t much older than us, but there was so much authority in it that even I stopped and stared. Standing there, looking furious, was the Welsh Prince himself.

Prince Cadoc, of the house of Banes.

He was fearsome figure, even only at sixteen. Tall, with blond hair, and grey eyes that swirled like a storm. “What’s the meaning of this, Addington?”

Addington, who was on the ground with a cut lip, pushed himself off and wiped blood away from his mouth. “Your Highness, this has all been a misunderstanding. I bumped into the girl, and Jefferies took offense to it. That’s all.”

“It’s not all,” Jasper barked, “he insulted her! He was being a misogynistic ass.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” I insisted, “it’s okay, I don’t care.”

The Prince’s gaze met mine. I was almost compelled to curtsy, the way I’d seen people do on the news at formal, royal events. But I didn’t let myself. I was already embarrassed enough, and I met his gaze head on. He looked at me; his expression unreadable. As I stared at him, I felt a ghost of something I couldn’t place. A strange sense of familiarity I couldn’t explain. That I didn’t want to explain, because a Prince was a complication I couldn’t afford.

“What’s your name?” he demanded.

I coughed; my throat gone dry. The Welsh Prince was asking for my name. I was in some weird dream. I’d wake up and be back in my town of Hay-on-Wye, where the streets were filled with books. I wouldn’t be stuck in this hell, facing upper class pricks and Princes.

“Penelope Peters,” I answered.

I could hear whispering. Everyone was staring at me now, and I had never felt smaller in my life. I needed to stop looking at him, but I couldn’t. Every time I gazed in his direction; it was like my world snapped back into place. After having been asleep for too long.

“What was it that Mr. Addington said about you? Because I know Jasper here. He’s the future Captain of the Guard. He wouldn’t attack someone for no reason. It had to have been awful for something to set him off like that, because he isn’t one to get into quarrels over girls. You’re pretty, but not that pretty.”

I winced. The Welsh Prince had said I was “not that pretty.” I supposed he was right. I was short, five foot three, with curly, brown hair that I’d chopped off that summer. Because I’d needed to do something to not be the girl who had a one-night stand with a stranger. My eyes were a boring brown, my breasts were small, and I was average at best. But being called “not that pretty” by the Prince was social suicide. And I decided then and there that I hated him more than any of the rest.

Even Addington, who had started this whole mess to begin with.

“I was trying to diffuse the situation,” I explained. "I turned to leave, Addington said, “Got to love a woman who knows when to shut up,” then, well----”

“I punched the prick,” Jasper finished.

He had the beginnings of a black eye, and blood was trickling down his nose. A small, almost smile crossed Prince Cadocs lips, but it was gone as  it came.

“Right,” he said, “so we get this over with, here and now: Hollow Hills Academy is now co-ed. We will treat our fellow, female students with respect. If I hear of one, single incident I’ll make sure your expelled from this and any other private institution in Wales. Understood?”

There was a murmur of agreement through the crowd. Addington rolled his eyes, but he nodded along with the rest of them. The future King had spoken. His word was law. For everyone else, and me.

Not that I planned on having any more encounters with him in the future. I was going to keep my head down, graduate, and get the hell out of there.

The crowd started dispersing. I mouthed, “Thank you,” to Jasper, and then I pushed my way into the administration building. As I entered, I felt compelled to turn around for some reason. I could see the Prince on the building’s main steps, his gaze unwavering and on me. 

I frowned, and turned around again, feeling as though I were being assessed in some way I didn’t like. Inside, there was a table. A friendly man with a salt and pepper mustache and blue eyes at it was handing out welcoming folders. And dorm room keys.

“Name, please?”

“Penelope Peters,” I answered.

He smiled. “Ah, you’re Joyce’s girl!”

I blinked in surprise. “You know my Mum?”

He nodded. “Yes, I used to live next door to you. I’m Mr. Oakly! My wife used to watch you when you were very small, but I came back to Hollow Hills after my wife died. Your Mum always made sure I had at least one casserole to eat. I kept in touch with her, and when I heard about the school going co-ed, I thought you would be the perfect fit. She messages me sometimes online and keeps me up to date about you. Told me all about your Oxford dreams. I think you’ll find Hollow Hills an exceptional place, Miss Peters.”

I flashed him my best smile. “Of course, Mr. Oakly! I remember you. Mum did mention something about that. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, “Lord Crowe is the man that does the scholarships. When he heard about your dreams, he was impressed. And with that pretty face of yours, you’ll be charming everyone in no time. Who knows? It could even be the Prince himself.”

He chuckled at his own joke and handed me my welcoming papers. “Schedules in there, the school map, the lyrics to the school song. And your teachers contact information. Welcome to Hollow Hills, Miss Peters. I’m sure you’ll make Hay-on-the-wye proud with your stay here.”

I took my things, clutching them to my chest. I hoped so too, but it felt like jinxing myself to say it out loud. “Thanks, Mr. Oakly,” I told him, and then I went off to find my dorm.