AN: chapter six is here, people! :]


The moment she walked in the door, the strange sadness that had plagued Alice all day disappeared. Arabelle's tinkling laugh filled the air around Alice, her bright glow flaring in welcome, leaving shimmering trails on Alice's skin. "Welcome home, Alice!" she sang, her eyes bright. "I missed you! And you missed me too, I can tell." Alice gave a bemused chuckle. "How can you be so sure?"

Arabelle smiled condescendingly. "You smelled sad when you were in the hallway. But once the shimmers touched you, you were happy again! So you must have missed me." Alice paused. "What do you mean?"

Laughter burst forth from Arabelle, who was floating on her back beside the table. Slowly, her eyes started to clear, and she became solemn. "It's part of who I am. Light sticks to me, follows me around. That's why I don't have a shadow. But with the light comes things like good thoughts and feelings and just good in general. Happiness. Peace. I am who I am- it doesn't affect me. But for people who aren't used to it, it has… weird side effects. Like a drug or something. The more time you spend with me, the harder it is to get away.

"But you don't have to worry too much, Alice, because I've changed you. When I leave, you'll be miserable for a day or two or three. But it will pass. The unchanged, however, won't do well at all. Which is why I need to limit my time with them. And Alice, you and Carlisle need to take me to look at the library tonight. It's okay if I'm not myself; I'll come to eventually. But we need to find whatever it is soon, before the rest of your family must be changed so I can leave without bringing them harm."

Alice nodded, a pensive expression on her face. "Why don't we go now? Carlisle has everything set up in the sitting room, since the suite doesn't have a study. He's in there, I can hear him rustling pages." Arabelle jumped up and swept into the makeshift study, instantly illuminating the windowless room. "Hello, Carlisle, dearest," she trilled, her undisguised voice completely entrancing. She motioned for Alice to sit down, picking up a book herself. "Shall we?"

They searched through every book several times over before finally losing hope. "Maybe it's hidden in the cover?" Alice suggested, grasping at straws. Carlisle halfheartedly started to feel at covers, but Arabelle stopped him. "No. I know that's not it. I have a feeling… that we haven't seen the book yet. Alice, try to focus." Alice closed her eyes, bidding a vision to come to mind. A picture started to form but faded out, losing structure almost immediately. "I'm losing it," she growled, desperately trying to hold the elusive vision in place.

Arabelle sighed, and instantly Alice felt rejuvenated and supported. Without opening her eyes, she knew Arabelle's light was surrounding her, strengthening her. With a gargantuan effort, Alice finally brought the vision forward. "It's bright blue," she blurted out. "And small. There are jewels on the cover. They're real. The title is… I can't tell. I'm not getting a title, just an impression of one. It's gold." Alice's eyes were forced open by the sudden absence of comforting glow. "Is that enough for you to identify it, Carlisle?"

Carlisle started to shake his head, but then stopped. "I know what book you're talking about! It's a journal of some sorts, I think, but it's in a language I've never been able to identify. Aro presented it to me as a farewell present when I left." Arabelle leaned forward. "Do you know where this book is?" Carlisle nodded. "I've always had this strange… protective feeling about it. Like it shouldn't be in certain hands. I had it in a secret drawer at home, but I put it in my suitcase when we left."

"Go get it, quickly," Arabelle urged. Carlisle dashed out of the room and was back within the same second, the book held in his hands. Arabelle gasped, her eyes shining. "It really is…" she murmured. "I can't believe it."

"What?" Alice prodded. "What is it?"

"The very first Princess… she was unusually gifted. She had visions, often about the past or present. But occasionally she would catch a glimpse of the future, and she wrote every single thing she saw down in the journal her Companion made for her. But it has been lost for ages… literally long enough that we'd stopped looking for it. Oh, Carlisle. This is amazing! I can't imagine how one of your kind got a hold of it."

Carlisle smiled. "You're welcome to it. Keep it- it's of no use to me." Arabelle flashed a blinding smile, clutching the book to her chest. "I must start on it immediately, while there is still time. And Carlisle, you might like to know the language it's written in. It's our native tongue, which is not like your human grunt languages but more of a flowing medley of notes. Your tone and pitch combines with open vowel sounds. We can all speak human languages, but you'd be amazed how much easier ours is. It's a little like playing a piano with your voice.

"It's hard to write down, though, so we have a more set form for writing. It's a mixture of symbols and musical notes and our own unique alphabet. Only one of the Ah'lyah or High Rah'gied could have translated it. But in the wrong hands, it would have been an absolute disaster. You did well to keep it hidden, Carlisle." Carlisle smiled. "Thank you." Alice darted in to give Arabelle a hug. "I hope you find what you need in there," she murmured, then danced out of the room, pulling Carlisle with her.

Carlisle sat down with Esme, his grandchild sitting at his feet with Jake. "How was your day, Nessie? We haven't gotten to be with you a lot lately." Nessie grinned. "It was pretty fun. Jakey here made a new friend." She giggled as Jake growled and pretended to push her. Laughing, he looked up at Carlisle. "Arabelle had a meltdown, so I sat with her. And she was normal for a little while, but then she went sorta crazy. Followed me around all day. It was… odd. Esme said that she gets weird like that though."

Carlisle nodded. "I'm afraid the stress of losing her Companion has caused her to lose a good bit of control over her mind. She has good moments and bad ones. But she's sane more and more these days. I believe she may be on the path to recovery. Let's all hope that something in that book can help her move on."

At that moment, Emmett and Rosalie came through the door. "Hey, everyone! We figured we'd come hang out with the family for a little while. Edward and Bella are being party poopers, though. They want couple time. I can't imagine why. It's not like little Eddie's gonna get much done," Emmett announced. Edward appeared behind Emmett in an instant. "I heard that!" Rosalie laughed out loud as Emmett rolled his eyes like an overgrown child. "Well, I would certainly hope so. Considering that I was pretty much yelling. Your hearing must be suffering, although I can't imagine what could be doing that. Since you and Bella don't really get much action, definitely not anything loud."

Bella, who had shown up with Edward, shook her head and put a hand to her forehead. "He finally beats me at arm-wrestling and hasn't shut up since." Emmett laughed and wrapped an arm around Bella. "That's the way it goes, baby sis. I'm top man again and no way am I gonna let you ever forget it." Esme laughed and motioned for her children to join her. "Come on, let's watch some TV together or something. Jasper, could you find us a movie, perhaps?"

Jasper complied and the Cullen family settled down to watch a round of 27 Dresses- Jasper's turn to pick the channel or movie tended to be just an extension of Alice's turn, as he always picked whatever she wanted to watch.

The movie ended, and most of the Cullens wandered off to their own rooms. Alice, though, stopped Jake. "Stay here. I can see you with Arabelle, later. She's going to need you. Nessie, could you wait for him in your room? I fear that you won't be too much help." Jake gave a start. "You can see me?" Alice grinned and nodded. "Oh yes. Arabelle's glow has some wonderful side effects. My vision's expanded to include everyone." Jake swore playfully. "Now how am I going to trick you?" Alice laughed and started for the door, Jasper right beside her.

Suddenly, a loud, piercing scream erupted from the study. Alice rushed in, followed closely by Jake. "Nessie, Jazz, you need to get out of here. She can sense you, and too many of us will only make it worse." They found Arabelle on the floor, screaming, tears streaming down her cheeks. "No! NO! It wasn't supposed to be this way! It wasn't!" Furiously, she was attempting to rip the journal into pieces with her bare hands, but every time she ripped it, the book merely repaired itself. Alice darted forward and removed the journal from Arabelle's possession.

Deprived of the book, Arabelle began scratching at her own arms and face, her golden blood spilling out in a fountain of light. Horrified, Jake scooped her into his arms, holding her tight enough to prevent any more self-harm. Struggling fiercely, she continued to scream, sobbing desperately. "NO!"

A knock sounded at the door. "Ma'am? Ma'am, are you alright?" Jake panicked. "What do we do?" he whispered to Alice. For a brief second, she closed her eyes, then she opened them, grimacing. "Knock her out," she whispered back. "Just hit her as hard as you can on the back of her head. It won't hurt her, it'll just keep her unconscious for about five minutes." A pained expression on his face, he raised his fist and brought it down on top of her head, using all the strength he could muster. She slumped to the floor and Alice quickly rolled her out of sight. "Ma'am? Ma'am, I'm going to have to come in and check on you."

Alice swore, yanking off Jake's shirt and mussing his hair. "Unbutton your jeans," she commanded, slipping her own pants off. "Hang on, I'm fine!"

"I'd like to see you were all right myself, ma'am, if you don't mind."

"Okay, I'll be right there!"

Cursing like a sailor, Alice undressed with vampire speed, throwing a blanket around herself. "Try to look like you were having mind-blowing sex, if you don't mind. Put an arm around me. Look cocky." She ran a hand through her own hair and dragged him towards the door, getting there just as the employee opened it. His mouth dropped open at the sight of her and Jake growled, forcing the man's gaze back up to Alice's face. "Are you sure you're all right, ma'am? We got reports of screaming and it sounded pretty bad."

Alice laughed throatily, leaning into Jake. "Oh, I'd say I'm doing fairly well." He smirked at her and ran a hand up her side. "I'd been hoping you'd say that." The man squirmed uncomfortably. "I'm going to have to ask you to keep it down, then. You don't want to scare the other guests." Alice winked at him, running a hand along the edge of Jake's pants. "No problem. We can always get out the gag, I suppose." Jake gave a deep chuckle and slipped a hand down to Alice's waist. "Well if we're done here, I'd like to get back to business, if you don't mind." The man turned bright red and backed away a bit as Jake gave a possessive growl. "Of- of c-course not, sir," he stuttered, moving hurriedly off.

Jake quickly shut and locked the door behind him. Alice sighed in relief. "Too bad you're a werewolf, Jake. You could've had a bright future in acting. If it weren't for that little bit at the end, he would've come in here and found Arabelle." Jake laughed, buttoning his pants and slipping his shirt back on, then turning around to give Alice some privacy. "You were pretty good there yourself, Alice. I mean, 'We can always get out the gag?' Can you say, epic?"

Alice giggled, but her amusement was cut short by a groan from the study. "Do me a favor and keep her mouth covered this time, Jake." Jake nodded seriously as he picked her up, forming a sort of straightjacket with his arms. Her head flopped around as she slowly came to, but Alice supported it with one hand, stroking her hair with the other. Moaning, Arabelle finally opened her eyes a tiny bit, then forced them all the way open. Alice tensed, waiting for the inevitable scream, but Arabelle merely sighed sadly. "I am sorry. I lost control for a few minutes there."

Jake relaxed and released her arms, allowing her to curl into his chest. "Do you want to talk about it?" Alice questioned, rubbing Arabelle's arm comfortingly. She shook her head. "No, I do not. But I shall tell you anyway, because it caused you so much distress." Arabelle's eyes tightened and she sniffed. "In the book… In the book… Princess Lissandra had many visions. Several, in fact, were about me. I got to one… it was… it was horrible. It was about me… it was about Ihvon. It said…" she trailed off, obviously fighting back sobs. "It said that it was meant to be. Because of out differing ages. It said that Ihvon had to die first, was destined to be murdered by those brutes. He may have given up his soul willingly, but he wouldn't have had to if it hadn't been for those filthy Rah'gied. But Princess Lissandra knew it would happen! She knew, and she said that was how it was supposed to be!"

Arabelle shook her head violently, clutching her hands to her head. "It can't be true, but I know it has to be. But how? How could my God do this to me? He made us as one soul! Why does he expect me to give what I cannot?" She was sobbing openly now, clinging to Jake. "And the worst part is," she gasped through sobs, "is that Companions must always live the exact same number of years. That means I have over two thousand years to go." She burrowed deeper into Jake. "I can't take this," she moaned.

And with that, she was gone, her silver eyes fading to a dead black, her glow wrapping around her to make her untouchable.


AN: i would like to give a great big fat kiss and a thanks to my reviewers, because you let me know that i'm moving this story in the right direction. also, thank you to everyone who reads, because i'm always grateful to those who take time out of their day to look at my story.

:]