"I don't know why Alice and Renesmee have lost their powers, but I know where we can find out," Carlisle said, patting my shoulder reassuringly. "Let's head back home and we'll see what we can find."
"We'd better get changed first," I said, glancing down at my bedraggled dress, ripped stockings and dusty shoes.
"Good idea, let's go," said Renesmee, who was similarly dishevelled.
We trooped into the cottage, took turns showering and changed into clean clothes.
I swapped my soiled clothes for a periwinkle blue floral dress, suede belt and denim jacket. Renesmee changed into a ruby red turtleneck jumper and high waisted black denim jeans. She wore the outfit with matching red lipstick.
Alice was feeling poorly so she decided to stay behind at the cottage. She positioned herself on the couch while the mice helpfully draped a multicoloured blanket over her.
"I have a bad migraine so I will need to sit this one out," she said wearily.
Jasper brought over a steaming cup of blood. She took it in her trembling hands and drank deeply.
Jacob went back to La Push because he had to check on Seth and Leah, two of the wolves in his pack. He promised to ask his father Billy Black if he had heard of any legends about 'the Cold Ones' losing their powers.*
We made our way down the silver stones that formed the path between our cottage and the Cullen house. The glass-panelled wooden home stood majestically amidst the green undergrowth of the forest.
"Ella, you may notice that since you have joined our coven, this house has undergone some changes," Carlisle said. He indicated to the ramp, which was now running up to the front door of the house.
"Now I can get in by myself!" I exclaimed wondrously.
"We have never had a disabled vampire in our coven before. We didn't realise that not everyone can access things the same way," he said.
"I guess you'd had no incentive to think about it," I said.
"I can't wait for you to see the other renovations we've done," Carlisle exclaimed.
I wheeled up the ramp and made my way through the front door, which was now wide enough for me to fit my chair through. I wheeled towards the staircase. Next to the stairs, stood a lift.
"I've always wondered what's upstairs," I said excitedly. "Now I can see for myself."
"That is good because the answers we hope to find are upstairs," Carlisle said.
I wheeled into the lift alongside Renesmee and Carlisle. I noticed the lift buttons indicated that there were three floors in the house.
"We are going to the third floor," said Carlisle mysteriously.
"I didn't realise there was a third floor to the house," Renesmee said with wonder.
I pressed the button and the doors responded with a ding and a gradual shutting sound. We ascended simultaneously. Once again, a ding sounded and the doors opened.
We were in a bright hallway with an ornately carved, ancient door at the end. I suspected that the door had been newly restored. Carlisle pushed the door open to reveal an awe-inspiring sight - the most incredible library I had ever seen.
The room was cavernous and lined with rows of perfectly bound books of varying sizes, thicknesses and colours. Dim light was provided by old bronze reading lamps which sat upon battered oak desks.
I remembered when I used to work at the Forks library. Part of my job was organising the shelves. I was glad I didn't have to organise the shelves in this library because it would have taken two days! The ceiling was coffered and featured an insignia of three crowns and a book with a latin inscription.
"It means God is my illumination," said Carlisle. "This library has been built as an exact replica of the Bodlean Library at Oxford University. I spent time there studying during my travels. I missed that library so much that I recreated it."
"Isn't the Bodlean Library where they filmed parts of Harry Potter?" I asked.
" Yes," said Carlisle.
"I thought so," I said.
" The Bodlean Library is one of the most beautiful libraries ever made and has been used in a number of films, including Harry Potter. It is loved by many famous people. Even CS Lewis studied there. If the answer to our problem isn't here, I don't know where else we can find it."
I wheeled up to one of the desks. Carlisle place a pile of bound volumes on the desk.
"Time to start researching," he said.
After spending numerous hours flipping unsuccessfully through the pile of dusty books, I reached the last volume.
The cover was mahogany brown and felt brittle under my fingers. It smelt like wet leaves, even though the pages were dry. The spine appeared to have been elegantly gilded, however now it was worn down by time. I opened the book with care. The pages coughed their reproach with a plume of dust. The yellowed pages contained handwritten text and drawings of supernatural creatures. I felt a sense of hope - I was on the right track! I turned to the next page and gasped with excitement.
"I've found it!" I said enthusiastically. "I know how to get Alice and Renesmee's powers back..."
Soundtrack
Whilst I was writing this, I was listening to:
* Editor's note: Ella was having difficulty deciding what to do with Jacob in this chapter so we used Hochman's 'But, Because, So' sentence expansion activity to build three sentences from the clause 'Jacob went back to La Push".
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