Chapter 4
Me: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
Fang: We dont actually know what time it is in other countries but in Aus, it is currently about 20 past 7 in the morning
Me: and you lucky little chickens got priority over presents; i havnt been downstairs yet.
Fang: I GET A PRESENT!
Me: Mum told him last night that she bought him something so now he's all sugar high ish
Fang: BEST DAY EVAAAAARRRRRRRR
Me: Well enjoy the chapter my peoples :D
"Isabella, the boys will be fine, it's time for you to leave now" Chris and I were lying in wait on the staircase while Aro got mother out of the castle. Chris and I had been getting restless and I think Aro heard us shuffling around once or twice, he knew we were up to something, but he didn't say a word to mother. You have to love it when your grandfather covers for you. Mother left after half an hour or so, Aro was the most convincing person I have ever come across. I peeked around the top of the staircase and saw Aro standing in the hall still, Aro turned his head to the stairs ever so slightly and shot me a wink. I smiled and nudged Chris to get ready to move.
"'Bout time she left, mother is so stubborn" Chris muttered. We rushed quietly over to the door and ran down the hall to the hall of fame. "Where was that stone again?" I found the stone that opened the door before; under Jane and Felix's pictures. The wall swung open and we stepped inside. I pulled the wall closed to be sure no one would find us in here.
"We had better get looking for that blasted book" Chris smiled and our search began. I started at Father's desk; he may have left it close to him so it was on hand if he wanted to read it. I all but ripped the desk apart and found nothing, no books at all. I hit the shelves Chris hadn't checked yet and started to browse. There must have been at least 1000 books in this library and we had checked a good three quarters of it with no sign of the 'Dracula' book anywhere. I checked the couches, the TV stand, the movie/game case; everywhere. Chris and I swapped sides and re-checked all of the shelves as well as the remaining section.
"I found it!" I nearly fell from the ladder at the noise he made; the silence of the room had grown on me. I slid down the ladder to join Chris on the ground. We hunched over the book on the couch, flicking through page after page after page.
"There's nothing here" I slammed my hands on the couch and stood up. I was on the verge of smashing something to pieces.
"Calm down Chris, so we have the wrong book. We have six months to find the map and follow it" I sat back down, my head in my hands.
"What if we don't? What if we can't get father back?" Chris knew I was more connected to our father than he was, in the same way he was more connected to mother. He knew it hurt me a little more than it hurt him to have no idea how to get father back.
"We keep trying until we get him back; I refuse to give up for both your sake and mother's" I gave Chris a smile and we got back to work. We used my idea of checking the spines for wear; most of the books looked brand new. I pulled a few books down that looked pretty worn to check later but none of them stood out. Chris and I had a pretty tall stack of books to check through by the end of our search. We split the pile and flicked through each page of each book with no results. After two and a half hours I put down the last book and sighed in exasperation. I put all of the books back where they belonged and picked up the Dracula book again. I must have been staring at the cover and flicking through the pages for an hour before I threw the old book against a wall. I was furious. I wanted my father back and I wanted him now. I looked at the book lying against the wall on the floor. The book had fallen apart and the cover had split from the pages. I walked over and picked it up. I sat back on the couch looking at the pieces of the broken book. There was a small rise in past of the cover; like there was something underneath.
"Chris, come see this" I asked him to grab the letter opener from the desk on his walk to the couch. I used the letter opener to pry the velvet from the leather in the cover. As I thought there was a piece of paper inside the cover.
"You found it" Chris breathed and pulled the paper from the cover. "It's a map and a letter" Chris looked at the map and gave me the letter to read first;
My dear sons,
I'm glad you managed to find the map; you're still only a quarter of the way there though. The map leads to a person, someone I knew when I was human and also the first person I ever turned. This man is the key to getting me back, he knows me better than I know myself, and he can snap me out of the brainwashed state I'm in within a few days. When you find this man you will need to give him this letter, he will understand who you are and what he needs to do. I'm counting on you both; stay strong.
Your Father,
Alec Volturi
I smiled and handed Chris the letter and he passed me the map to look at. I could see the castle marked with a red 'you are here' style mark and then there were points throughout Italy and Western Europe.
"Why are there so many marks?" I kept my eyes on the map when I asked, trying to decipher it myself.
"My guess is he's one of the four western European nomads" I looked back up at Chris. If he was one of the western nomads we were going to have a hard time finding him because they are the masters of disguise.
Me: Kinda short but there you have it
Fang: we'll try to update at least once before new years
Me: if not two or three times
Fang: we'll go with the flow
Me: pretty much
Fang: BUT there will be an update on new years, dont you worry
Me: until i update again, farewell
Fang: Have a good Christmas everyone!
R&R :D