I awoke suddenly, in the middle of a large, secluded meadow. Awoke from an unbelievably excruciating dream.

Or... was it a dream?

Everything feels so different.

New.

My eyesight seems sharper, more focused.

I can now smell things that I'd never once smelled before.

My hearing has become unbelievably more pronounced, to the point that I can hear cars honking, and footsteps on gravel, though I'm surely miles away from any roads.

And there's that other thing that I can't quite explain.

I have no pulse.

I can no longer feel, or hear, my heart beat.

It's simply... stopped.

Odd.

Does this mean that I'm dead?

It must.

But does that make this heaven?

No, it can't be. No big white puffy clouds, golden arches, angels floating around...

It's like the place I was before the dream.

Only... different?

I sat up and looked down at myself. My clothes were torn and stained with dried blood. My arms and legs were pale - a different kind of pale than before.

I carefully reached out and touched my legs.

Soft and smooth. Yet hard...

More durable than before. No longer like my skin could be easily cut through, or harmed in any way.

I don't understand. What happened?

I tried to rack my brain, trace my last memories to find out what had happened before I had the pain filled dream.

Flashes...

Just flashes...

I saw red eyes.

A strong, pale arm grabbing me, holding me in place.

Then the pain started.

Burning, searing me from the inside out as if I was being burned alive.

I don't know how long it lasted.

Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks...

Judging by the dried blood on my clothes, it must have at least been a few hours. Maybe days.

I stood up carefully, testing myself. I didn't fall, stumble, wobble, or tip. I just stood upright with ease, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Which, for me, it wasn't.

Normally I could find a way to trip over solid, even ground.

And after what I had just gone through, whatever it was, something severe enough to make me spill blood all over?

I should have fallen straight back down on my ass.

But I didn't.

What happened to me?

I took a few steps, very carefully, unaware of what would happen.

Nothing.

I took a few more steps.

Nothing.

So I began walking, away from the direction that all the street noise was.

I picked up my pace as I reached the end of the meadow, entering a large thicket of trees.

I didn't trip once.

Empowered by my new found balance, I began to go even faster, to the point that I was jogging through the trees, dodging them all, as well as all the large rocks and hanging vines, with ease.

Though at one point I had to slow down to squeeze through a pair of trees.

My shoulders scraped against the bark, giving me a wave of odd sensations that I'd never felt before.

None of them pain.

Once I was out to the other side, I looked down at myself curiously.

Not a single scratch.

I reached down and pinched some skin between my fingers, testing myself.

No pain.

Just another wave of weird sensations.

It was if I was feeling and touching everything for the very first time.

"Huh," I mumbled.

That's odd. Does my voice sound different?

"Huh," I repeated, louder this time.

I think I'm just beginning to imagine things now.

This can't be real.

I need to find some answers.

So I began to run, the trees passing me by in a blur of brown and green, suddenly desperate to have some sort of human contact.

To find out what's happening, if I've gone crazy, if this is all just a dream, if everything before this was just a dream...

I have to know.

Eventually I reached the end of the thicket, only to find a large open field. At the end of the field was a house.

A huge house.

I let out a sigh of relief as it grew closer and closer with each frantic step I took.

Please let someone be home...

I ran up the steps and came to a sudden halt.

I didn't slip.

"Hello?!" I shrieked in my new, foreign voice, as I began to pound on the door. "Is anyone home! Please!"

The door swung open. I quickly pulled my hand back so I wouldn't hit the person who opened it.

It was a man - a young man, with the strangest colored bronze hair I'd ever seen.

He was gorgeous, stunningly me momentarily.

He looked at me in pure shock, before suddenly shouting the name "Carlisle."

I had a feeling whoever the people who lived here were, they were going to be able to give me some answers.

I heard a loud, grinding noise of a chair being pushed back across the floor in one of the rooms, probably from up the stairs.

A young looking man with short blond hair came running over to stand beside the bronze haired man. I assumed this was Carlisle.

"What is it, Edwar - my God...."

He stepped forward, gazing intently at me. The bronze haired man, who I guessed was named Edward, kept looking back and forth between me and Carlisle, looking quite unsettled.

"She's... one of our kind," Edward said, with what sounded like confusion.

Carlisle cautiously reached a hand out, and took a piece of the bloodied, tattered fabric of my shirt between his fingers.

"Miss... Are you aware of what has happened to you?" He asked me slowly, as if speaking with a four year old.

"I... I don't know... I woke up down there," I gestured behind me, to the thicket I'd just come from, "and... and everything's different now. Have I gone crazy or something? I don't understand... I think I was attacked, but I can't remember much. There was the dream, the pain... God, the pain," I shuddered.

"There must have been travelers," Carlisle mumbled bitterly, turning to Edward. "Why wouldn't Alice have made us aware of this?"

Edward just shrugged.

"I didn't see a thing. Either it slipped through, or she was hiding it from me."

Carlisle nodded and stepped aside, allowing me room to enter.

"Please, come on inside. We can help."

I closed my eyes, letting out a long, slow sigh of relief.

"Thank you."

About twenty minutes later, Carlisle finally managed to give me an answer.

"So... i'm... a vampire?"

"Well, since Edward and I are unable to sense a heartbeat, and with all that you've told us... And with all my hundreds of years of medical experience, yes, I'm afraid that is the case."

"But - but, no, that can't be. Vampires are like unicorns, you know? They - they just don't exist!"

Edward scoffed, and turned his gaze away from me.

"Then what are the three of us doing here?"

"I don't believe it," I gasped, unable to fully process what I'd been told.

Vampire.

"I'm sorry, Miss."

I shook my head, not liking the way he addressed me.

"Miss..."

"I have a name, you know."

"Of course," he nodded. "My apologies. So then what is your name?"

"Ummm..."

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force it to come back to me. Carlisle and Edward waited patiently for who knows how long until it eventually struck me.

"Bella," I shrieked, my eyes shooting open. "My name is Bella."

I noticed the sides of Edward's lips twitch up into a slight smile.

"That's a beautiful name," he whispered, glancing cautiously at Carlisle out of the corner of his eye, as if waiting to be scolded for saying so.

I just shrugged, unsure of what to make if his words.

"Thanks?"

His smile grew wider.

"Well," Carlisle started, standing up and gesturing for me to do the same. I did, as did Edward. "You're welcome to stay with us until you're comfortable with your new self, or for as long as you'd like. We have plenty of room, and I'm sure there's still much you would like to learn of... our kind."

"That's real nice of you, but I don't want to impose, really."

"It isn't a problem, I assure you. We'd love to have you. Right, Edward?"

Edward looked at me then, long and hard, as if contemplating, before smiling and giving a nod of approval.

"Yes, it would be an honor. In fact, I'd even like to take it upon myself to help you become more at ease with everything."

I bit down on my lower lip nervously, unsure of what to say.

They're being so kind, even though I just barged my way into their lives completely unannounced.

I couldn't possibly take advantage of them.

But on the other hand, I would like some help with everything, and this family seems to know all the answers....

"Alright," I sighed, defeated. "But only if you promise to let me know the moment I become a burden."

Carlisle just laughed at that.

"Very well. Though I have a feeling you'll be waiting a very, very long time."

"Then thank you."

"Edward, why don't you go upstairs to Rosalie's room, and find a change of clothes for Bella. I'm sure she can't wait to get out of that... outfit.

"Of course. I'll be right back."

And with that, he turned and ran up the stairs at a speed so incredible, I'm surprised I was even able to see it.

Carlisle smiled at my reaction, and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"As you see, there's much to get used to."

I guess so...

So i've started up a new story. I've got quite a few plans with this one! Though, since I'm still working on my other story Intern And The Vampire, updates won't be very often. I'll try to crank out at least one chapter a week, though I can't make any promises with that.

Thank you for reading!

- (Prime102805)