Disclaimer: I only own Adam and Gabrielle in this story. D:

VICTORIA'S POV

I found myself fidgeting as I tried to sit still. Me, fidgeting. I must've been nervous; there was so much to be nervous about.

How one girl, a human girl at that, could have the undying (A/N: Cliché!) protection of seven vampires was beyond me. How could they bear to be around her, without wanting to rip her throat out?

I had been around her. I had smelled her scent, as intoxicating as it was. I almost lunged at her, right then and there, when the wind had turned in our favor, causing her scent to waft past us.

Had it not been for James, that putrid being of a girl would have been murdered right in front of those bastard Cullens.

James… Oh god, how I missed him. We may have had a rough start, and what a rough start it had been, but we'd make it work. He'd been my true love, despite what I thought at the time of my… transformation.

And now he was gone.

I leaned back in the armchair I was in. Everything will be fine, I assured myself. Laurent is in Forks, scouting out for me. We would find a fault in their protection.

I silently thanked my deceased–what a strange word for someone supposedly "immortal"–lover for taming Laurent. Although Laurent was the older of the two vampires, James's ferocity kept him at ease. I wondered how long it would be until Laurent broke free of my bonds, but for now, if was good to have someone to do my bidding for me.

The infernal fidgeting habit I had acquired was now fading; I had calmed myself by thinking.

But it wasn't completely gone. I was still toying with a paperclip, bending it and such, trying not to break it with my absurd strength. Maybe I could be calmer. I dug in my mind, searching for the only memory that, strangely, kept me in check.

Once found, I relaxed, closed my eyes, and let my past take over my mind…

"Adam, have you seen Gabrielle?" My voice rang out through the entire house. We lived in a small house, a nearby forest bordering our backyard.

Adam, my husband, shrugged. "She's probably in the forest, Victoria. She's a young woman, and she's probably curious about the outside world."

I gave a sigh, putting a damp dish towel on the nearby counter. "I'll go get her, then. It's almost time for supper."

Outside, I took a deep breath of fresh air. It was woodsy out in the forest, and I was suddenly uneasy. My daughter shouldn't be alone in a forest! my mind shouted at me.

"Calm down," I growled to myself. I was a good mother, but there was no reason to get all over-protective.

"Gabrielle?" I called out, stepping into the forest.

Leaves and twigs snapped underfoot, but I couldn't hear her voice.

"Gabby?" I tried again, louder this time. Where was that girl?

I stepped forward, dodging a low branch. My over-protective instinct was starting to kick in again. Why wasn't she responding?

"Gabri–" I didn't get to finish. Just beyond a thinning bush, I could see something moving. Not sure what it was, I didn't say anything. I was definitely not in any mood to be mauled by a bear or a mountain cat.

I inched further towards the bush. I could see what looked like a man now, and my first thought was something along the lines of, Gabrielle! Are you in the forest to meet with some guy?

But then I noticed he was way too old to be with my daughter. Gabrielle was only 11, and this man looked to be at least 25. It struck me that he looked extraordinarily handsome. Mesmerizing, even. His eyes were a frightening red color, like wine. He was leaning against a tree, muttering to himself. I was too far away to hear what he was saying, though.

A gasp caught in my throat as he lifted up a hand that was stained with red. Was that… blood?

I looked around the area he was in, and my heart stopped. There, on the ground, was my beautiful daughter, splayed out, her eyes wide open.

If my throat hadn't have closed up, I would have screamed for her. Gabrielle's emerald eyes were glassy, and clouded over with death. I felt my tears spill over.

"Do you have any idea how badly I craved to drink your blood, girl?" the man said, louder now.

I froze. Was he talking to me? How had he seen me? Was I going to… die, too? Oh, my Gabrielle. My poor darling.

He continued. "I've never smelt something so… delectable. Why were you so different?"

Then it hit me. He was talking to my daughter. My daughter, who had died.

More than anything in the world, I wanted to run. I wanted to run away, screaming, into the arms of my husband. But with this man, his metallic voice and inhuman looks, I couldn't move. I was frozen.

But then he left. Without even a sparing a glance at the woman he had murdered, he turned and walked into the depths of the forest.

The second he was out of my vision, I bolted into where my daughter was.

"Gabrielle," I sobbed, but I knew it was futile. She was gone.

I picked her up, cradling her in my arms like she was just sleeping.

When I reached the edge of the forest, I could see Adam running towards me.

"Victoria! What took you so lo–" He stopped in front of me, eyes on Gabrielle. "No," he whispered.

I just nodded, sobbing again.

We spent the whole night in each other's arms, crying. Our pride and joy, our beautiful daughter, was gone. Murdered, by some man.

The following days passed by slowly. As distraught as I was, I needed to find that man who killed her. I wasn't sure what I would do when I found him, but all I knew was that I needed to.

So I went into our town, disguising the real reason for being there by blaming it on grocery shopping. It wasn't exactly a lie; we had run down our supply of food.

Everyone I passed murmured their apologies about my loss, and it took every fiber of my being not to break out in tears. They would never understand.

Then I saw him.

He was just walking along the street, but the second I saw him, his gaze landed on mine. And I couldn't help it anymore. I fell against a wall, sobs racking my body. His eyes widened in surprise.

Several people crowded around me, but I didn't care. Was this all I needed? To see him and then break down?

"Victoria? Are you alright?" My friend, Kara, called out.

"I miss Gabrielle," I whispered, crying into her shoulder as she embraced me in a hug.

"I know, sweetie," she told me, rubbing circles into my back. "We all do."

Once I was composed again, I looked around. I knew he would be gone, but it still bothered me that a murderer was on the loose.

"I… I need to get home. Adam needs me." It was obvious that I was running away, but what else could I do?

It didn't take long to get back to my house, at the pace I was going.

"Adam? I'm back," I said, once inside. And I didn't buy anything, I thought with a wince. Damn.

Since I didn't hear his reply, I assumed that he was sleeping, taking a nap in our bedroom upstairs. He always was lazy…

I trudged up the stairs, thinking about mindless things. I couldn't afford to think about anything else, not in the state I was in. "Adam, what would you like for supper?" I called out, making my way past the hallway to our room. I knew cooking would take my mind off of... Gabrielle.

I cracked the door open, then was surprised at what I saw.

The room was empty.

"What?" I mumbled aloud. Where was he if he wasn't in our room? I closed the door and went back downstairs and outside. Maybe he was in the backyard…

Relief washed through me as I saw that the door leading into our backyard was open. Good. That meant Adam was outside, and still okay.

I realized how worried I had been when I couldn't find him. I'm just being cautious, I tried to soothe myself. What would I do without him?

"Adam…" I said, walking out the door. I winced at how cold it had gotten in such a short time.

"Victoria…" a voice said. I froze. That definitely wasn't Adam. I turned around slowly, and my breath was caught in my throat.

There, leaning against the walling of my house, was the man who had killed my daughter.

On instinct, I took a step back. Anything to get away from this murderer. "Who… who are you?" I whispered, almost inaudibly.

It shocked me that he had heard. "I am… someone who is very interested with you, to say the least."

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" I screamed at him, tears already cascading down my cheeks. "You kill my daughter, and you come back? For what? Just go away!"

He seemed slightly taken aback by my outburst; whether on the knowledge that I knew he had killed Gabrielle or by my sudden change in attitude, I was unsure. But he regained his composure almost as quickly as it had slipped. "I was curious," he said.

"About what?" I snarled. How dare he come back? All of my sorrow and grief was changing into rage, and adrenaline pumped through my veins. At this point, I didn't even care for my own life.

"Why your blood smells so intoxicating," he told me, after a moment.

I was completely caught off guard. What? Did he just say… my blood? "What… are you?"

He chuckled. "Are you afraid?"

I knew it was futile to say otherwise. I was completely paralyzed; frozen in my spot while my mind screamed for me to run away.

And then, suddenly, he was there, in front of me, amused at my fear. My mind didn't register what had happened for a couple of seconds. "How're you so fast?" I blurted out. He was not human!

"It comes with the package, dear," he whispered in my ear. I could feel his cold breath on my neck, intoxicating, mesmerizing…

"No!" I cried out. "Adam… I'm married to Adam! You… you're a monster! Leave me alone!" I wanted to run, run away and never look back. My legs had failed me, though. I was still immobile.

"Is that what that human's name was?" he asked nonchalantly.

I didn't miss the past tense. "Was?" I squeaked.

The man nodded. "Although he didn't taste nearly as good as your daughter."

It was then that it sunk in: Adam was dead. Gone. I fell to the ground, sobbing. "You… you monster!" I wailed through hiccups.

He kneeled down so we were both at eye level. "I'm a monster?" Amusement was dancing in his eyes. His blood-redeyes.

And suddenly, I knew what he was. All of the myths, the legends… everything he said made sense. My blood smelling good… "V… vampire…"

He grinned. "Indeed."

My legs started working again, and I picked myself up. Then I ran.

Ran into the forest, just away. Away from the monster who had killed my reasons for living. Everything I had built up, my family, my life, was torn away from me in a matter of days.

It was overwhelming.

When my sobs became too bearable to carry any longer, I collapsed. I wasn't in anywhere particular; just lost in the forest, crying.

And I lost all feeling in my heart when I heard his voice ring out, crystal clear, speaking to me. "I have never met someone so… interesting as you. Or rather, I have, but that was years ago. But then she died, and I never expected to feel that again. Here and now, I find myself wondering, 'Why am I pursuing such a pathetic girl? Why is she so different?'"

I was silent, hoping he had just spoke out randomly; that he hadn't actually found me.

But he continued. "I was enraged. How could someone like you make everything so bizarre? So I killed your daughter. Her blood called to me, but it was no where nearly as strong as yours. And I killed your husband. Quite honestly, I just wanted your reaction to that. When you started crying in the streets when I saw you, it piqued my interest." He appeared in front of me, grinning like a madman. "How had you known I killed your daughter?"

My mouth opened and closed again. "I… it was dinner. And I co… couldn't find her…"

"Oh." My answer was enough, for he seemed satisfied. "And now… I have a question for you."

What? What could he possibly want to ask me? "H… huh?" I managed.

He bent down, his breath once again cold on my neck. "Would you rather die or spend forever with me?"

I gasped, caught off guard. Surely I would want death over spending–did he say forever?–eternity with him? But, there was something…

Something that made me never want to leave him. "Kill me!" I wailed, wondering how I could possible want to spend time with this fiend.

He chuckled, and dug his teeth into my neck. Then, it was dark.

(A/N: Yeah, yeah. She transforms, blah, blah, blah. I don't really feel like describing all the pain, because I've read so many of those and I will just totally kill it. Fear my opinionatedness on not wanting to write the change unless Stephenie does! Because I'll fail miserably at it.)

I woke up gasping, not expecting to even be alive.

It hit me like a ton of bricks as I remembered what had happened.

I screamed, sitting up. What? I was on a… couch?

The man who I had never wanted to see again, was sitting there, amused. "You didn't have to scream."

I looked around, in a panic. Where was I? Why wasn't I dead? Hadn't I asked for him to kill me?

Or… was this Hell? What had I done to deserve this?

"Why am I not dead?" I growled, surprised that my voice sounded… different.

"On the contrary," he smiled, "you are dead."

I blinked. Obviously I wasn't dead, or I wouldn't be here. Was he not only a monster, but insane as well? "No, I'm not." It was also sort of shocking to believe I was no longer scared; no longer afraid of this man, this vampire. I did not fear death at all.

"You have no heartbeat, no blood pumping through your veins. Is that a good definition for dead?"

My hand flew to my chest in disbelief. Sure enough, I couldn't feel my heart. "How… how am I dead?"

"When one becomes a vampire, they… die." His face was slightly pained for a moment as he said that, but then it returned to normal.

Strangely, I was not angered or nearly as surprised as I should have been. "I'm a vampire? I'm dead?"

He chuckled now. "You asked for me to kill you…"

And it was true; I had. "What's your name, then?" I realized that I didn't even know.

"James."

As if his name had opened up a portal, he dove into everything about vampirism; why our eyes were red, what a tracker was, our abnormal speed, strength, hearing and eyesight, and lack of body heat. Everything.

Through it all, I found myself mesmerized by his voice, the way he spoke to me, every simple gesture he made…

I gasped. He noticed, pausing. "What is it?"

It took me a moment to collect my thoughts. Was it possible…? How this man, even through everything he had done to harm me, to make my live a living hell, could it be…? "James," I said, my voice shaking. "I think… I'm in love with you."

And he just smiled.

I growled as the memory faded. Why couldn't James be here with me? Why did he leave me alone? That Bella girl… she needed to die.

I grabbed the phone that was in my pocket, and hit the speed dial button for Laurent. Surely he would have new information about her and those damned Cullens. I would get my revenge.

And hey, my fidgeting habit was gone.