Chapter 1

one

. . .

Lottie

"Hey, I'm not the princess. Focus on her." I put my hand up to cover my face as a photographer aims his camera lens at me.

Seriously! How hard is it to get? I'm the help. The personal assistant. I don't need my mug plastered all over the papers, thank you very much.

The guy shrugs and turns his attention back to her.

Princess Alexandra.

She's beautiful and perfect in every way imaginable. The crown princess of the UK and the darling of the media. Definitely something I'm not. But that's okay. I'm much more of a behind-the-scenes person. I excel at making other people look good.

Princess Alexandra throws her back in a laugh as a puppy jumps into her lap and starts licking her cheek. The sun is shining at just the right angle to set off her newly highlighted blonde hair. Her baby pink cardigan over baby pink dress is the perfect reflection of her young, wholesome, and hopeful brand.

The cameras are eating it up.

"Ten more minutes, people." We need to move along. She's due at a food bank later this afternoon and then a gala dinner tonight to fundraise for veterans. The princess maintains a very busy schedule, filled with very important things to do. Some people might argue that looking beautiful and posing for photographs isn't real work, but I would beg to differ. We have data that prove her involvement in a cause increases donations by at least twenty percent. But it's more than that–Alexandra is genuine. She really cares about the causes she backs. That's why I, the British public, and people all over the world love her.

I check my watch again and confirm that yes, indeed, we need to get inside in ten and get on with our day.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of a furry little critter with a mischievous glint in its eye.

"Grab that one!" I push the animal shelter volunteer toward one particular puppy sniffing around the hem of my boss's dress. "He's going to wee on the princess!"

The volunteer stares at me dumbfoundedly and I stifle a groan. Can't trust anyone to do anything these days. If you want things done right, you have to do them yourself.

I dart out from behind a photographer and grab the puppy around his middle. But I'm too late. Just as I lift him off the ground, there goes a stream of yellowish fluid arcing through the air.

I spin away from the princess, but that only turns the damn puppy into a yapping little sprinkler. The row of photographers shrieks as pee sprays in their direction.

"Sorry! Oh my god, sorry!" I drop the puppy who lands on all fours and scampers away like he hasn't just contaminated everyone at the photoshoot–me included. My hands are covered in puppy pee. Ugh.

I hold my hands away from me, not entirely sure what to do now. I need to scrub them–immediately–but I can't leave Princess Alexandra unattended.

"Oh goodness, Lottie, are you all right?" she asks, one hand covering her mouth to hide a laugh.

"Yes, of course, ma'am." I give my hands a shake. "Just, erm…"

She laughs again. "Go ahead and wash yourself off. I'll be fine."

I glance at her, still seated on the low stool in the middle of the grassy courtyard. Her personal protection officer is hovering not far away, as is her stylist team. She'll be okay on her own for a few minutes, won't she?

The scent of puppy pee stings my nose.

Yes, the princess will have to be fine, because I can't go another second like this. I rush inside to the loo and stick my hands under water that is hot enough to scald. I don't care. Burning off the top layer of my skin doesn't sound quite so horrific at the moment. I scrub my hands with soap, counting the full thirty seconds to make sure every trace of germs is gone before rinsing and drying.

"Ahhh!"

The blood-curdling scream is followed immediately by a thunder of feet and more screams.

What the fuck was that?

I rush out of the toilets to find a wave of people running down the corridor, in the opposite direction of the courtyard. Shit. The princess. I need to find Alexandra.

It's like swimming upstream trying to push past all the photographers, animal shelter staff, and volunteers. When I finally burst into the courtyard, my brain can't comprehend the utter chaos that I find.

People are screaming. Dogs are barking. There's a deafening roar in the air.

And there are giants.

Literal giants with waist-long hair, towering heads, and shoulders above everyone else. They're blue. Head to toe. Every inch of skin, and I mean, every inch . The only body parts I can't confirm with my own eyes are the… ones covered by honest-to-god loincloths.

What the actual fuck?

Have I stepped onto a movie set? Or maybe into another dimension?

What the hell are these things? I stumble backward in an attempt to run, but instead, I trip over something small and squirmy at my feet. My arms windmill as I go down, and I land hard on my tailbone. Pain shoots through me and the wind is knocked out of me.

One of the blue giants rears his head, zeroing in on me. He growls something, then takes a couple of stomping steps in my direction.

I scramble backward, only to hit a wall. Shit. Crap. Fuck.

He growls again and it sounds suspiciously like "princess."

Princess? Princess Alexandra! I don't see her. But then, it's hard to see anything around the blue giant looming over me. I can only hope that her protective detail has ferried her safely away.

"Wh-what do you want?" I ask, heart in my throat.

"Prin-cess," the blue giant says again and there's no mistaking the word this time. They're looking for Princess Alexandra. They want to kidnap her, maybe hold her for ransom, maybe kill her. They don't look like the type who give up after the first failed attempt.

The blue giant bends over me, his dark hair billowing around him like a cloud. His icy blue eyes narrow as they take me in, raking down my body, then back up again. It feels like he's examining me, assessing me.

I squirm, trying to curl myself into a ball, as if he won't be able to see me if I'm small enough.

"You. Princess." He points a blue finger at me, then gives me a poke in the chest. It's surprisingly light, like he's testing to see if I'm real.

Does he… does he think I'm Princess Alexandra? No, he couldn't possibly. The princess and I look nothing alike. She's tall and blonde and beautiful. I'm a short, mousy brunette with glasses. She wears one-of-a-kind designer dresses while I'm in my staple pencil skirt and blouse. No one with eyes would ever mistake me for her.

"Me?" I shake my head frantically, then stop. If they think I'm the princess, then they won't go after Alexandra. If they think they've been successful, then they won't try again. Which means…

"I mean, y-yes, I–I'm Princess Al-alexandra. I–I'm the one y-you're looking for." The words feel wrong on my tongue and shame fills me as I lie. Not just lie, but pretend to be a member of the Royal Family. I don't know which laws I've just broken, but I'm sure the punishment for impersonating royalty has to be severe.

The big blue man grunts and straightens, his eyes never wavering from me. "You. Princess," he says again, with more conviction this time.

I think he believes me. He actually thinks I'm Princess Alexandra.

He gestures to two others behind him who immediately step forward, and reach for me with giant hands. Did I mention they're blue? Because they are. What in the Avatar is going on?

"No! No! What are you doing?"

They manhandle me, one hand on each arm, and haul me off the ground.

"Don't touch me! Get your hands off me!" My fight or flight instinct kicks in and I'm in one hundred percent fight mode. Much good it does me, though. My feet land uselessly against their legs. I try to dig my heels in instead, but they have no issue dragging me along. Wrenching my arms out of their grasps only hurts my shoulders even more.

"Let me go! You big, blue bastards! If you know what's good for you, you'll let me go this instant!"

They stop and for a second I think my screaming has gotten through to them. But no, they're not stopping for me. They're stopping because a scrappy little thing has thrown itself at them.

The thing is tiny, with scraggly fur and a bark that sounds more like a chirp. I'm not sure what it is. I never cared much for dogs, let alone toy ones. But this one… it's harmless. The blue giants could crush it with their feet, could send it flying to the stratosphere with a well-placed kick. But the dog growls and bites at the man who looks to be in charge.

It would be hilarious if I wasn't in the middle of a kidnapping. My kidnapping. Fuck my life.

I watch on. Miniscule dog with fur in its eyes versus an enormous blue man–and the dog seems to be winning. The giant tries to shoo it away, but the dog latches on with its little teeth. He shakes his leg, trying to dislodge the dog, but it doesn't budge. The man lets out a series of grunts and growls, almost like he's trying to talk to the dog before he finally gives up.

He bends down and grabs the dog. He looks like he's going to wrench the poor creature in half, but he doesn't. He just holds it in front of him. The dog bares its teeth at him. He bears his own teeth back. They're at a standoff until the doors of the animal shelter burst open and armed police officers stream into the courtyard.

"Help me! Help! Please!" I scream, struggling against my captors again.

"Put down the dog! And let the woman go!" one of the police officers yells but he too is probably in disbelief at what he's seeing. "We… we have the building surrounded. There's no way out."

These blue barbarians don't appear to have any weapons on them, not any that I've seen at least. They're trapped, they're caught. It's over.

But they don't release me. Instead, the guy holding the dog grunts loudly, and suddenly the air shimmers and the world disappears.