𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 | carlisle cullen (3)

(𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐬𝐢𝐱) teal thread

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CARLISLE WALKED RAPIDLY AROUND THE SIDE OF the building until he came to a small thicket of trees that lay bare in the winter months. Creatures swarmed inside, living blissfully. He continued down his path until Carlisle found himself stood in front of a small iron wrought door. It had been his escape from the castle centuries ago. The door he would use to go hunting as not to be called upon for questions about his strange dietary choices.

He breathed a deep sigh of hopefulness as he turned the circular bolt on the door and pushed against its mottled wooden surface. To his complete relief, the door clicked open. It pushed into darkness with a small creak and Carlisle stepped inside immediately. He didn't know how much time he had which meant he had to make the most of every second.

Hurrying down staircases, he kept looking at his watch as though knowing the exact time that Edward would finish his distraction. He didn't stop running until he made it into a corridor he recognised. Carlisle turned around very quickly to get his bearings, head snapping in every direction. As he paced up and down the beginnings of different corridors all lined with the same scarlet carpets, his eyes caught sight of a painting he recognised. As Carlisle thought to himself, the route clicked into place.

Walls of similar substance passed him by as he paced, keeping his mind on the goal of Estella's room. He didn't meet anyone but he knew that it wouldn't matter if he had, Carlisle would do everything it took until he couldn't anymore. There was determination fuelling his every footstep as he rounded another corner and found himself staring at a hallway he'd walked down with Estella.

He saw her there, in his minds eye. Wearing a long black gown, her lips curved into a smile while her hair lay just below her shoulders. Carlisle watched her for a moment as she turned and walked into the door that had belonged to her for a short period of time.

Carlisle pulled himself together and followed. By the time he'd made it to the door, she had vanished. He was left staring at her room that had been completely destroyed. His eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the way that everything had been torn apart. Pages littered the floor in sheddings and feathers clung to the walls from the tasseled cushions. There was broken glass from the mirror and what looked like a pocket watch. The gowns lay over each other in curves of ebony and emerald.

He got to work immediately. Carlisle ran his hands on every wall, trying to find a place where the stone had fallen apart. He took the light from the ceiling and took each candle out of their holders. He went through every book again even when they'd already been ripped apart. He created more tears in the sofa and opened up the large padding inside until it was seemingly impossible to find anything else there.

While he worked, he sighed in complete frustration. He was starting to believe that if the Volturi had ripped through the room and found nothing, he would have the same fate. He opened up the back of the mirror and examined the inside of the wardrobe. He even looked over the door, hoping to find a crack in the wood.

There was the pressure of time descending down on him, holding onto his shoulders. Carlisle threw one of the torn pillows across the room before he sat on the floor and looked around desperately. Este had believed that he would find the letter, she must have done, otherwise why would she even bother hiding it? She had kept faith that he wouldn't fail her and as Carlisle sat surrounded in mess and lost chances he got the impression that he had.

Carlisle ran his hands through his hair and wondered why she'd believe in him when she'd obviously hid the letter so well. It was when he was staring at the floor that he saw something. The door of the wardrobe had been torn off, dropped on the floor in chunks of wood. However around the circular doorknob was tied something so thin that it was hard to notice first time.