Soon the empty white was filled with an image of two people dancing, free and happy in each other’s arms, just as Lottie had been with Ellie two years ago at the ball. Only this was not her and her princess. This was the two sides of William Tufty, soft as summer like Lottie and intense as a storm like Ellie. It was so obvious now what she’d been missing. Whenever she looked at her reflection and struggled to see which one she was more like now, it was because she was becoming both.

She’d been so afraid of what she’d be without Ellie, pushing away any thought of a future where they might not always be together. But that wasn’t right. They would always be with each other. They had been bonded into something strange and new and that would never go away.

She breathed her name into the canvas, colour springing to life where she made her marks, confident bold strokes to tell the world her story. ‘Ellie, I don’t know what you’re hiding from me, or how you plan to save Jamie, but, no matter what, we’re meant to be together.’

She knew now that what she needed to do first was to make Ellie see that they were better people because of their differences – and that they were each perfect just as they were. The Wolfsons had lost Jamie because they’d been so afraid of him leaving them. They dreaded that he’d turn into something they couldn’t cling to any more, that they couldn’t control, and it was exactly that which had driven him away. But Lottie could see it now, so plain and simple, that it didn’t matter that they all had their own separate paths and journeys; no matter how they grew and changed into new versions of themselves, they’d always be connected.

She had to speak to Ellie.

Dropping her brush and slipping Jamie’s ring back into her pocket, she ran from the room, overalls covered in primaries and pastels fluttering around her like butterflies. ‘Sorry, Samuel,’ she called behind her, racing down the steps. ‘I’m heading back to the dorm.’ She was only briefly aware of Samuel giving chase, too focused was she on finding her princess.

When she arrived at Room 221, her breath was ragged with nerves. Without hesitation, she pulled the door open, and there she was, sitting in the centre of their room, right where both their worlds collided into magical chaos. A circle of frosty sunshine from the balcony encased her in a spotlight.