Disclaimer- I own nothing related to Twilight, however, anything that is not recognizable from the Twilight universe is owned and created by me.

1218- The Native American Tribe of Winnebago- Nebraska

"Kachina, father says I should grow up to be just like you," my younger sister, Kanti, said to me as we collected wild rice from the season's harvest. The drought had caused many of the fields to dry out, and the people were beginning to starve. Even without a mother to aid us in our work, Kanti and I would be able to finish quickly.

"Oh really? And why would that be?" I asked her. She was one of the tribe's most important people and was the singer during ceremonies. Once, she had been specifically called to the chief to perform. My father had never been pleased with her though, as our mother had fallen horribly ill after giving birth to Kanti. Because Kanti had been born in the middle of the cold season, there was no way to get her to the healer on time and she died later that week. Ever since then, father has pushed Kanti harder than I, saying that she will get nowhere in life if he does not. The real reason, I think, is that he blames her for our mother's death.

"He says that if I do not stop rolling around in the forest that I will have no suitors when I grow up and will die alone and starving before I turn twenty. According to him, you have made many men fall to their knees begging for his approval to marry you, but he has turned down every one." Kanti looked over at me disapprovingly, her back hunched over from the weight of the rice she held.

"It is not like he will have the final say on who I marry, if I am to marry at all. In fact, I am just waiting for the right man," I begrudgingly stated, lifting my chin at the end of my statement to let her know that the matter was not up for discussion.

"Alright, it is your choice. Anyways, what song do you think I should sing for the tribal dance tonight?"

"I think that you should sing the one about the Great Spirit, I rather enjoy that one," I said.

"Many people of the tribe do from what I know. That one will do," she said with a nod.

For the rest of the sunlit hours, we gathered enough rice to last us a few weeks. Our family was more fortunate than many others because of our large field and small family. I was eighteen years old while my sister was just thirteen, so the two of us and our father alone did not consume much on a daily basis.

My sister was obviously struggling with her final bag of rice, so I took it from her and carried both sacks on my back as we headed back to our wigwam. As we entered the village, many young men stopped what they were doing to watch us. I could see that Kanti was feeling uncomfortable, and she hid her face behind her long black hair.

It took a few minutes to reach the wigwam, and along the way, I stopped to trade some rice for deer skin that I would use to make a new dress. When we went inside our tepee, I saw that it was empty. I set the bags in the far side, then Kanti and I began preparing for the ceremony that would be going on later that night.

"Kachina, I agree with father. You are the smartest in the tribe, the strongest, the fastest runner, and can shoot a bow more accurately than the best of the hunters. All I can do is sing silly songs," Kanti told me sadly.

"Not true. You are the most beautiful girl in the whole tribe and when you sing, everything stops what they are doing to listen. I have heard some say that your voice could be that of the Great Spirit, it is so pure and beautiful. The only thing standing in your way is you," I told her. It was true, all that I had learned was from watching others. A talent of mine was that I had always been able to do things that others did by just copying the general idea of what they had done, but I had no true talent of my own. Sighing, I helped my sister get her heavy jewelry on over her small dress.

I myself wore a small top made of deer skin with a matching skirt, along with a red feather and beads along two separate strands of my hair, and some jewelry. Once we were done dressing up, we walked together to the middle of the village, where the bonfire ceremonies were held every week. We arrived just as everyone was gathering around the fire, and Kanti went over to her spot near the chief while I went to sit alone. My father was a sort of second in command, and was second only to the chief in the tribe, so we got almost no time with him.

I sat on a very comfortable log, and was lost in thought when someone sat down next to me. Migisi, an eighteen year old hunter was the one who had settled there, and he looked over at me and smiled. He was well known as the most handsome person in the tribe, and had gotten himself a reputation as a wonderful hunter and a sweet man.

"Hello," I greeted him shyly.

"Hello, how are you?" he asked.

"Very well, you?"

"Great. We caught a bear, some deer, and even a wolf tonight so there will be quite a feast tonight," he said with a smile. My cheeks started to turn red as he stared at me.

"Wow, that's quite an accomplishment. Sounds more productive than harvesting rice all day," I sighed. He was about to answer when a bloodcurdling shriek rang through the night. The whole gathering went quiet, and everyone looked around for the source of the sound. Migisi and I shot up and stood on the log to see above the heads of everyone else. Soon, the village was filled with the sound of screaming and I saw two pale bodies moving through the village, bringing a trail of blood behind them.

"Vampires," Migisi breathed, his eyes wide.

"How do you know that?" I asked him, scared. Before I could get a straight answer, I remembered something.

Kanti.

I couldn't leave her! Leaping off the log, I scrambled through the crowd, trying frantically to find Kanti.

"Kanti! Kanti!"

"I'm here!" was all I heard before a small body flew into me, nearly knocking me over. "Kachina, thank the Spirit! We need to move this way, now! It is coming from over there," she said, pulling me towards the forest. We ran alongside one another until the sounds of screams were faint, but still recognizable. That's when I heard one voice that I recognized.

Migisi.

No, I couldn't allow myself to turn back. Kanti's safety was more important than Migisi's, who I barely knew and was most likely already dying. We kept walking in silence, until the last of the heartbreaking noises was cut off.

"I'm scared Kachina," Kanti whispered. I turned towards her and stooped down so that my eyes were level with hers.

"Don't say that, we will be fine. Trust me. If anything happens, I will be there, okay?" I told her, tears in my eyes. She nodded and we continued on our way until we both got tired and laid down on the soft forest floor.

"Can I sing you a song?" Kanti asked me.

"I would love that, how about the Great Spirit one you were going to sing at the ceremony?" I suggested. Kanti nodded and closed her eyes, then began her song.

"Wakan Tanka
Tokaheya,
Cewakiye lo.
Wakan Tanka
Tokaheya,
Cewakiye lo
Mitakuye ob,
Wanin wacin nan,
Cewaki lo.
Wakan Tanka
Tokaheya,
Cewakiye lo.
Mitakuye ob,
Wanin wacin nan,
Cewakiye lo."

Her voice was like magic, and it could enchant everyone with its beauty and power. Quietly, I applauded her so as not to awake the sleeping animals in the forest around us.

As we were falling asleep, I heard a small noise from the forest and I sat up quickly, scanning the forest around us. When I was telling myself that it was my imagination and had laid back down, I was hit hard by something from the side and the impact caused me to fly into a tree. A small grunt escaped my mouth and I fell to the forest floor with a heavy thud.

"What-" I was cut off when my throat was grabbed and I was lifted by it and pinned to a tree. From what I could see in the moonlit night, a beautiful pale skinned woman with bright red eyes was the one that had pinned me to the tree. Another pale figure, a man, held my sister's arms behind her back and I could see the tears that streamed down her cheeks as she looked at me fearfully.

"Look what we have here. You two have been fun to watch, as vampires you would have the most amazing gifts," the woman holding me said. She inhaled deeply and took my arm, studying it. "You really are beauties too, what do you think Blake?"

Her companion turned his eyes on me, then whipped my sister to face him. He walked over to me, forcing Kanti to come along with him, and examined the two of us closely. "You," he barked at my sister, "how old are you?" Kanti did not answer him, and he slapped her face- hard. She screamed and I could feel my lungs straining from the woman's hold as I tried to do the same.

"Th-thirteen as of last week," she replied. Her nose began to bleed, something that happened to her when she became nervous.

"No!" the female screeched at 'Blake' as a hungry look filled his eyes. She dropped me roughly and I gasped for air before I could gain enough composure to look up. The two were fighting with each other, and as I watched, Blake lunged around the woman and tackled my sister. Her screams were something that would haunt me for the rest of my life. For ten seconds, all I could see was my sister's body being covered in red and the sounds of her bones snapping echoed in my mind.

The female finally managed to tackle the man off of my sister, but they landed right on top of me. My screams of pain as one of my arms and several of my ribs were broken mingled with those of Kanti. Blake threw the woman into the forest and brought his feet down on my body, breaking both of my legs in several places. My scream was long and drawn out, and I could see black entering my vision. A sharp pain shot through my neck, but I ignored it as I welcomed death. Suddenly, I felt as the man's weight was removed from on top of me and a while later, I couldn't tell how long, I smelt something burning.

Burning.

It started as I was about to black out. The pain in my neck became slowly warm, and steadily rose in temperature until it felt like my neck was on fire. Confused, I tried to scramble back from the burning sensation, but my broken body wouldn't let my move anywhere, and I screamed in pain. Somewhere I could hear Kanti's screams echoing mine, but the only thing I could focus on was the fire spreading through my body.

Slowly, my awareness of my surroundings became dimmer and dimmer and I could feel myself dying and my heartbeat slowing.

No! You promised Kanti you would be there for her, you cannot die, I told myself. My eyes opened and I could feel my body convulsing in shock and pain as the fire burned on for an eternity. The woman never returned, but I was not going to complain. At some point, I became aware of my surroundings again, and realized that I could hear everything around me. None of this mattered since the fire was still racking through my veins.

After what seemed like forever, the fire began to retreat, and I welcomed the cool feeling in my fingers and toes. At least, I enjoyed it until it was sucked into my chest, where the flames became hotter. This process continued until all of the fire focused in my heart, becoming impossibly hot. I screamed until I was sure that my vocal chords would explode. I was absolutely sure that I was going straight to the underworld, since no pure being could deserve such a punishment as this. My heart pounded at an alarming rate in my chest and it stuttered a few more times before becoming completely silent. As this happened, I could hear Kanti's heart from a few yards away do the same.

We sat up in unison and stared at each other in shock. When I saw her, I gasped.

Her eyes were a bright, blood-colored red.

Hey guys! Hope you liked this. If any part of this is confusing, please let me know. Haha, I thought I'd try something different. I haven't seen any stories like what I have planned for this one so I thought I'd try something new. :) Please let me know if/how ya like it and if you think I should continue! Thanks! :) (BTW this does include the Cullens :D)