"We hold on to even the thinnest filaments connected to our human lives. We always will." - Reina Castiglione

Reina's POV

It was becoming abundantly clear to me that it was a time of many changes.

In a rather dramatic fashion, I was laying in the back of my mother's car, trying fruitlessly to avoid the California sun. We had lived there for less than a year, and only going out during the nighttime and the rare cloudy day was starting to wear on all of us, physically and emotionally. Our next option, and the closest, was the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.

I hated moving. But imagining shopping during the day without worry, sitting in a coffee shop on a rainy day, and being able to hunt more often...they were the images that built my excitement. I was most definitely ready for that.

My sister was sitting in the small space that my body did not occupy in the back row of seats. My junior by merely a year or two, her growth had been stopped as a fifteen year old when our mother bit us and brought us into this life. Still, she didn't much look like a child of that age. Her features were stern, and her posture perfectly proper. She was also, of course, stunning. Her short, black hair was formed into loose curls that touched the nape of her neck. Currently, her hair was framed sweetly over her face as she rapidly took notes in a weathered notebook. She was wearing a black dress, as per usual, with a white Peter Pan collar. The heels she was wearing were clearly intended to make her look a little taller. The poor thing was laughably short.

But, then again, so was I. I wasn't much older. I had been changed at around sixteen years old, I think; I no longer remembered.

My adoptive, vampiric mother was named Colette Castiglione. I had also taken her last name when she took me in, and changed my first name from Osana, to Reina. I was no queen, but I needed an aliases for a while, and it stuck.

My sister, however, was not adoptive. She had been my sister in my human life as well. Helena, she had been. 'Layla' was an aliases as 'Reina' was. We were Italian, born in what was modern-day Venice, Italy. I'd lost my father and brother to the Great Wars of Italy during the early 1500s. I'd lost my 'life' shortly thereafter, when I'd gone out with Layla—not knowing the fate of our dear brother—to find out where he'd gone, hoping to bring him home forever. A lonely, young Colette had found us, cold and nearly starving, in a back-alley. She had been changed about a year prior to that, in her mid twenties by a man who tried to seduce her. She changed us, showing an incredible amount of restraint for a near-newborn who fed very often; she had been that lonely, and that desperate to mother us.

So, I did not bear any resentment towards her. I did not remember my human mother nearly at all, but I doubt she'd been very kind if I'd wandered off looking for comfort from my long-gone brother and father.

"Reina?"

I blinked rapidly, if only out of shock. I guess I had been dazed for a while. "Yes, mother?"

"Are you all right, dear?" she asked tentatively, reaching back to run a hand through my black locks. "You've been quiet for so long. I'm sorry if this move is hard on you."

"It isn't, not at all," I answered with a sigh. "I'm relieved, too relieved even. I need to go out during the day without a parasol. It's something I've been longing for...for too long. A year shouldn't have felt that long. But a year without rain is a very long year."

And, to make me feel even better, we had entered a rainy portion of Oregon. I finally sat up, and adjusted my body so I was nearest to the side window.

I could see her smile from the front mirror. "We're in Portland. I think I'd like to settle in Forks."

"Excuse me?" Layla questioned quietly, raising an eyebrow. I knew a sarcastic remark would follow. "I thought that was a utensil. I'd rather live in a nice little apartment."

Mother snorted. "It's a small town in Washington. The population is a little less than four thousand. It's sort of thought of as a retirement-type town. I have an apartment lined up for us to move in when we get there."

"Oh, fantastic, we get to drink geezer blood." Layla huffed. She really hated change, but I could tell she was considering some of the same things I was. She was as tired of the California sun as I was, almost.

My mother, the speed demon, got us into Forks around an hour later. True to her word, we had an apartment waiting for us in this rainy town. It was quite nice. As I roamed around the area, I noticed three bedrooms, two bathrooms (though we didn't need those aside from if hunting got a little too messy), a kitchen (also unnecessary), a living room, a sun room (pointless), and a few closets. Carefully, so as to not appear too strong or too fast to the human tenants, we started to unload our furniture, clothing, and other sentimental items. We were asked several times if we needed help, but seeing as we were all very hungry, it would complicate things immensely. We already had to avert our red eyes until we could get in some contacts...

We tried to feed on the scum of the world. But in a small town, it would be hard. That was my only worry. I hadn't always killed rapists, murderers, and abusers. I couldn't. I slipped up, like any other vampire.

My life was full of guilt, as was the life of most other vampires who had managed to bring their human conscience back to the surface. I sat alone in the bedroom I had chosen, putting together my bed at an inhuman pace. I did not need that, either. However, it was nice to rest. It was nice to close my eyes, and feel peace.

Immortality...sucks. It really does. But I was making the best of it that I could.

It was the beginning of January, but Forks wasn't terribly cold. As I understood it now, most of the Forks' forecast was cloudy and rainy, with the very occasional snow, or sunny day. As the evening wore on, and my room came together, I began to itch for a walk, and a meal. Layla and my mother were both entirely focused on putting together a glass and wood case that held Layla's ancient collection of porcelain dolls, so they didn't notice me slip out of the apartment and take off. I wasn't entirely sure of where I was going, but the area wasn't terribly difficult to look around. I decided to take a look through the forest that was nearby. The amount of greenery here was almost too beautiful. It was amazing that, even in January, everything was just as green as it could be. I could even see a few flowers...or were they weeds?

Then, to my utmost surprise, the forest opened into a clearing.

And it was beautiful.

Flowers of all kinds bloomed around the open area, immediately capturing my interest. I pulled a camera out of the small bag thrown haphazardly over my shoulder, and took a picture. I'd meant to take more while we were on the road, but my mother hadn't been in much of a mood to take pit stops. Maybe she'd wanted this move even more than I did after all. I laughed to myself, quietly. I could hear some rustling near me, but it was probably just a deer. I'd seen a ton during my walk, and they did not smell appetizing in the slightest. But they were cute, in a way. I preferred cats. Mother, to soften the blow of having to uproot and move on such short notice, had promised me a cat soon. I smiled at the thought.

The wind picked up then, bringing rain with it, and the smell of flowers…

But it was so strong. It was too strong.

It was...human blood? All the way out here?

I spun around, my vampiric senses pulling me towards the smell unwillingly. Instantly, my eyes caught the source.

It was a girl.

Her knees were pulled into her chest, and she appeared to be very emotional. And she smelled so...good…

I shook my head. I needed to keep it together.

I held my breath as I walked towards her. Her long, mahogany locks were wet from the rain, but she did not seem to care. She shook slightly as well. I couldn't quite tell, but it had to be a bit cold. The temperature was comfortable with my body, which hung around fifty degrees, so to a near one-hundred degree human it was probably pretty chilly out here. What was she doing out here, and alone at that? She couldn't be much older than Layla and me. I tried to harden my footfalls slightly, so she could hear me approaching and I wouldn't scare her to death, but she was apparently quite upset, or lost. Or she just did not care what happened to her...the thought appealed to my insatiable blood lust, but more of me was concerned.

"Hello." I began uneasily. She slowly moved her head up, almost robotically, to look for the voice she had just heard. My God in Heaven, she looked pitiful. Not only was she clearly a few pounds underweight, but she looked like she hadn't had a good night's sleep in weeks. Her eyes finally met mine, and she blanched.

Whoops. My eyes are blood red, and this girl is a human. Way to go, Reina. Now you have to kill her.

However, her expression softened suddenly, surprising me yet again.

"Hello," she said softly. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"

"I could ask you the same," I laughed a little. "But now neither of us are alone."

"Who are you?" she asked, her uneasiness gone completely. In fact, she almost seemed eager. Maybe she didn't notice my eye color? I really hoped so. Maybe I could have a totally normal interaction with a human being, for once.

"Reina Castiglione," I answered honestly. No need to lie, if I was going to fit in here. "I'm new in town. Who are you?"

"Isabella Swan," she murmured. "But call me Bella, please."

"An Italian name, too, huh?" I smiled. "I don't have a nickname or anything. Could I even make one out of my name? Maybe Rei, or something, but I don't think it would catch on."

I was rambling. At this rate, I'd have to kill her just so no one knew how awkward I really was around humans.

Still, she seemed at least a little amused. "What are you doing out here, though, really? Are you hunting?"

Now it was my turn to blanch. There was no way she knew, right? She had to mean regular, animal hunting. But I didn't have a gun, or a knife, or anything else that would have indicated I was doing so. Did she really know about vampires? Did that explain her lackluster reaction to my eyes?

I had spent hundreds of years in Italy. I knew the Volturi very personally, and I knew it was very much against vampire law to tell a human about us. My eyes narrowed without me noticing, and she looked a little nervous now. She must know now that she shouldn't have clued me in to the fact that she knew. But, what vampire did she know? Did they have intentions to change her soon?

"My boy-..." she stopped, curling further into herself. "My ex-boyfriend was one of you."

Well that...that was interesting. As good as she smelled, I could understand why he was probably first drawn to her. But this girl was clearly hurting by the thought. What had he done to her? Clearly she had to understand that not all vampires would be docile enough to be friendly to her. In fact, nearly none at all would. Not that I would make a good point saying that to her, when I was being kind to her. I kneeled down a little closer to her, watching with unbridled interest as her eyes began to water. Would she cry? I was near the age of being married off by my parents when I was turned, but marriage and love didn't exactly co-exist when I was young. Bella obviously loved this man, whoever he was. I had never loved a man. The only real love I felt was for my mother, and sister. But humans were emotional and sentimental for each other more casually than vampires were. I felt bad for this girl, but I wanted to know more. Would she tell me anything else?

"Well, I won't hurt you," I said, cautiously. "I'm not too hungry."

"But, your eyes..." she pointed out weakly. "They're red."

"As opposed to what color?" I asked, crinkling my nose in confusion. This girl was weird.

"Gold," she answered hesitantly. "My...he had...gold eyes. He and his family drank animal blood. They called it a vegetarian diet for vampires. You drink human blood, don't you?"

I made a face. I had, from time to time, heard of that diet. But I thought it was merely a joke in the vampire community. I did not think it possible to satiate your thirst off of animal blood of any kind. "So you let me sit with you this whole time, thinking that at any moment I might kill you? Where is your sense of self preservation?"

"Gone, like him." she laughed tiredly, and it sounded a little maniacal almost. He really had hurt this girl, whoever he was. I couldn't see why. She was very pretty. If he truly loved her, and was able to restrain him to the point of never drinking a human's blood, there shouldn't have been a problem with turning her. Right?

"I haven't really been myself these days," she continued. "I used to be really careful, if you can believe that."

"And you let him change that." I pointed out, matter of factly. I hope she didn't think I sounded harsh, but why had she let a man, vampire or not, make her this sad?

"He was everything to me," she said, sadly. "I always wanted to be his Superwoman, but he never let me be anything but Lois Lane. Ed-Edward always thought that I would be giving up my soul if I became like him. So he left me human. His brother, the newest to the animal diet, attacked me on my eighteenth birthday..."

Here, she shivered, as if recalling this memory. I remained quiet and still, not wanting to upset her. If she needed to vent to me, I would let her. But why did she trust me? I didn't follow the diet of her ex-boyfriend and his family. To her, I must look like a monster.

I guess I am one. But I did my best not to be.

"I got a paper cut from opening a present," she laughed hoarsely, although it held not a trace of humor. "It seems like such a little thing, right? But the blood made his brother attack me, and Edward blamed himself for it. He said I wasn't good for him anymore, and he left me here alone. That was so many months he was with me, and for nothing. I should have known I could mean nothing to someone like him."

"Someone like him?" I raised an eyebrow. "A jerk, or a vampire?"

She smiled wryly. "A vampire."

"Vampires feel very deeply for their mates, is what I know to be true," I said softly. "If that is what you were to him, he misses you. Perhaps he left with your best interest at heart, but if you're out in the woods alone, I guess he did not expect you to lose your will to survive."

"He made me promise to keep myself safe," Bella said, cringing externally. "And I'm not doing that. But he promised never to leave me, so moot point, I guess."

"You should keep yourself safe, Bella," I replied, standing up as I prepared to leave. "Would you like me to walk you home?"

For a moment her expression remained the same as she got up to stand beside me, but then, she seemed overcome by a burst of passion. She whirled around to look at me, an intense look in her eyes. I stepped back unconsciously, a little shocked. This girl really had to at least hold a position in the top five strangest humans I'd ever met.

"Take me home with you," she pleaded. "They didn't want to give me my wish, but you can, right?"

"Your wish?" I questioned hesitantly. "Death?"

She made a face. "I want to be like you."

I thought about the prospect for a moment. A fourth family member would make things even, finally. She did seem to be very kind, and pleasant to be around. She already knew of the existence of vampires as well, so I would be doing her and those who had exposed themselves to her a favor by keeping them out of the Volturi's watchful eyes. But I would also be condemning her to an immortal life, one that would probably be pain-filled, as turning her into a vampire would not cease her longing for her ex-mate. In fact, it would probably only exacerbate it to an unbearable degree if she didn't train herself to slowly let go of those feelings.

"Please?" her voice broke. "I have nothing left..."

"You have no family?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, I do, but..."

I shook my head furiously, and she flinched like I'd hit her.

"It will be years before you can see anyone in your family again in close quarters," I warned her. "You have no idea what you're asking for, Bella."

"I do," she whispered. "There's a vampire after me, too."

"A vampire after you?" I narrowed my eyes. I'd heard of vampires who would go after one specific human. They were called trackers. But how could she have evaded one for any amount of time on her own?

"Her name is Victoria," Bella replied, as if the name were a curse. "Ed-he killed her mate last spring, when he decided to track me. Now she's taking his place to get revenge on Edward. I have to keep my family safe. And Jake and the pack..."

"Is Jake and the Pack a new band, or…"

Bella sighed a little. "They're shapeshifters—werewolves. They've been protecting me from Victoria since he left. They're just a bunch of teenage boys, but..."

I jumped back, immediately revolted. Did she just gravitate towards monsters? Adolescent werewolves were almost as big of a danger as newborn vampires. They were so easy to set off, and once you did, there was no going back. Maybe I did need to save her.

"Jake will never want to see me again," she continued, her tone mournful. "He's already made it pretty clear how he feels about vampires. But I have to protect him. I can't let Victoria get to him, or Charlie…I have to be strong enough to protect them somehow, and this is the only way I know. So please, please help me. I'll do anything. I'll be in your debt forever."

I shifted uncomfortably on the balls of my feet. This girl really was in a tough spot. And, without a doubt, I would love to have another sister. But how would Layla and Colette react? We had just started to settle in Forks, and now I was proposing the addition of another family member? Layla would probably want to eat her before even thinking about making her a sister. I would have to go about this carefully…

I looked into her eyes, pleading and lost.

I would help her. Welcome to the family, Isabella. For better or worse, you are my sister.

A/N: Umm...yeah. I don't really know how to describe this story. I created these characters years ago, and decided to rewrite this story on a whim. ^^;; We'll see if it goes anywhere...goodbye for now. Please review if you liked it...or if you didn't, and have some suggestions for improvement. I'll take it all!

-PatchyVoile