My first Twilight Fanfic :)

This is set before Twilight. I hope you like it.

Edward POV

I sat down and flexed my fingers slightly. The storm outside roared and rain lashed furiously at the windows. Esme sat on the couch and looked at me, her eyes bright with anticipation. Her thoughts were calm and waiting and her eager smile lifted my own mouth into a semblance of a grin. I turned to the piano and placed my fingers over the keys.

I began to play; weaving the complex and soothing melody through a tune so peaceful all the others in the house stopped to listen.

Rosalie and Alice, both of which were looking at clothes, suddenly appeared at the foot of the stairs. I nodded to them, not pausing in my playing. Emmett came bounding downstairs a second later, but stopped when he realized what was happening. He pulled Rosalie into his arms and listened to me play, his eyes thoughtful. Jasper walked in, his body drenched with water, and disappeared. After a few seconds he came back down, completely dry and in new clothes, and stared at me, a small smile on his face. I knew he was thanking me for the peace and calm in the atmosphere, and the corners of my mouth lifted into a smile.

And at last, Carlisle came downstairs and sat by Esme, holding her close. She didn't look at him; she was too busy staring at me, lost in the music. I let out a genuine smile as I finished off my piece, dwindling away and ending on a small but graceful chord.

There was silence.

"That was beautiful, Edward. Thank you." Esme flew over to embrace me. Her thoughts were happy, and to my surprise, were tinged with a hint of sadness.

He plays so beautifully…but he still doesn't have anyone to play it to, or dedicate it to.

"This one was for you, Esme." I reminded her.

She smiled sadly at me. I know. But I didn't mean that, dear.

"That was good, man." Emmett said casually. But I knew the music had touched him, so I let his comment pass. Jasper smiled at me, letting me know he enjoyed the peace, and Rosalie just gave an abstract nod, staring at her reflection.

I realized Carlisle was staring at Alice. My eyes slid to her quickly, and to my shock she was gripping the banister, her eyes wide and glazed over. I ran over and removed her hand before the banister broke, and a vision swam across my vision, with me in Alice's head before I'd even noticed.

The rain poured from the heavens like oceans; the sky flashing with lightening every few minutes. The Cullen house stood proud and white in the darkness, and the lightening flashed to show five vampires in the window clustered around two who were standing by the banister.

The lightening split the sky.

Something small and grey hit the side of the house, falling onto the ground and laying still.

I wrenched myself away from Alice's grasp, and within seconds was outside. The rain fell in rivulets around my face as I raced around the side, spotting the grey thing immediately. As I neared it, its scent hit my nostrils, and I stepped back.

"Jasper! It's human!" I yelled. In my mind I saw him take off towards the forest in the opposite direction, shoving his head in the nearest pile of dirt and holding his breath.

Esme and Carlisle were by my side instantly. Carlisle lifted it and ran inside, with everyone but Jasper following. He laid her on the couch and looked down on her, his thoughts and face registering shock. I stepped around him and gazed down, my eyes widening.

It was a six year old girl with brown hair. Her body was crumpled, pale and weak looking, with bruises and what looked like needle entry marks up her arms. She had a strange skeleton structure, still human yet something else. In her scent I smelled something…I couldn't identify it, but it wasn't human. And she was unusually tall for a child.

But that wasn't what amazed me.

Attached to her back, and spread out underneath her, were a pair of tawny coloured wings.

I literally hit myself on the head before looking down again.

Yes. I wasn't hallucinating, which was impossible for a vampire anyway.

She had wings. Pure and simple.

I knelt beside her and took her hand. Her pulse was faint beneath my fingers, and her mind was blank.

"Carlisle…what is she?" I demanded. He stared at her, shaking his head slightly.

"Never did I think...I thought they'd been destroyed…" Carlisle sat down, his face pale.

"There was…well, is…a place called the School. Scientists are given free reign over genetics and mess with humans…and this is the end result." He gestured at the girl before me.

"Most of the time, none of the experiments are successful. But when they do succeed, it's a cursed life. This specimen…"

"Person." I growled through my teeth. "She's still human."

Carlisle nodded. "My apologies. This human is probably what they call an Avian Hybrid – possibly 99 percent human, 2 percent bird."

"The poor soul." Esme murmured.

"You mean…she can fly?" Alice squeaked.

"She probably can." Carlisle nodded.

There was silence before I suddenly stiffened. I glared at Rosalie, but she spoke anyway.

"Well…what are we going to do with it?" she demanded. Emmett looked excited.

"Can we keep it?" he shrieked excitedly. "Aw, please?"

It was so typically Emmett to think of this hybrid as a pet. "It's a she, Emmett." I pointed out.

"Sorry, Emmett. With Jasper having trouble adjusting as it is, I don't think he'll be able to stand her." Carlisle explained.

"But where would she go?" Esme worried. She pushed me aside and stroked the girl's head, her eyes filled with maternal love.

"She is an outcast among her own kind, Carlisle! She's a freak. Like us. She won't fit in anywhere – she cannot go anywhere without the press or government wanting her. If what you say is true, she has been tutored and experimented on ever since she was a baby. And her life…" she swallowed and brushed her hand over the needle marks on the girl's arm. "My life will be meaningless if you allow her to live in misery, with no one to love her; care for her."

Esme looked at Carlisle, and I flinched back. Her thoughts were filled with such love and pain it made me want to run away.

"Please." Esme whispered. "Let her stay."

Another silence.

Suddenly Jasper appeared inside, his eyes wild. Emmett and I leapt forward and restrained him, but he didn't go for the girl. Instead, he stared at Carlisle, his eyes pleading.

"Let her stay." He said forcefully. I stared in surprise. "I can handle it. I want to learn how to handle myself. Esme's right. How can she live any other way other than us? You tell me that. Tell me how she'll live a normal life with wings."

Alice rushed in to defend her mate. "She'll be looked after, and cared for with us." She said strongly. "And I can see she won't be a problem to Jasper. At all."

She squeezed his hand, and he smiled at her.

"Yea! C'mon, Carlisle let her stay! She'll be like the little sister I never had!" Emmett exclaimed. He looked over at Rosalie, seeking to placate her.

"Please, Rose." He knelt in front of her, his eyes so wide and trusting any human would have believed him without a second though if they were here. "You can dress her up and everything and teach her all the ways of beauty and make up and…"

"Shopping!" Alice squealed.

Rosalie frowned. "I don't care. Keep the hybrid if it pleases you." She turned and ran up the stairs. Emmett rolled his eyes before flashing a bright smile, running up the stairs after her.

"Edward?" Carlisle turned to me. I stared in indecision at the girls face. What would she bring to us? We'd have to tell her we were vampires; that was a first.

"We'd have to tell her we were vampires as soon as she awakes, to give her options." I said carefully.

There was another silence as everyone mulled over this difficulty. Then, Carlisle sighed.

"If we are able to take care of her, make sure she is raised properly, give her a good education, reach her full potential, coach her with the use of her wings…"

Everyone waited in bated breath. Then Carlisle smiled.

"She can stay."

Everyone let out sighs of relief. I smiled as Esme took the unconscious girl in her arms, rocking her gently and crooning. Carlisle began to tend to her, cleaning her cuts and trying to put her wings in a brace.

From upstairs, I heard Emmett cry, "Whooo hoo! She's staying! Yea!"

And then a loud smack.

I pressed my lips together as Emmett's voice, considerably quieter than it was before, mutter, "Ow, Rose. That really hurt."