A/N: I do not own Twilight; original characters in this are mine, however. Hope you enjoy :)

BPOV

I was laying in the forest. My world was gone, he'd left me. I couldn't breathe. I was numb. There was nothing for me in this world now.

I heard a crack next to me, coming from the bushes. Maybe he...no, he doesn't love me anymore. He never did.

My mind retreated once more… and then I'm floating in icy arms. "E...Edward...?" I whisper, hoping beyond hope.

But the feminine laugh isn't his. Nor is it Alice's, Rosalie's or Esme's. Who...?

I come back to myself with enough strength to just manage to lift my head. "V...V...Vic...Victoria..." I stutter, momentarily afraid before I realise maybe she'll end me. Maybe she'll kill me. Gods do I hope she does.

Then I'm being placed down. My brows furrow slightly in apathetic confusion. We're in the baseball meadow. Why...?

"Bella, Bella, Bella. I see Edward loves you no longer? Well, my plan has now changed, it seems. A mate for a mate was a good bargain, but now I can make the cause of my pain suffer for all eternity – well, that sound like a better deal to me."

"P...please. J...j...just kill me." I stammered warily.

"Oh no, Bella. I'm not going to kill you..." She was suddenly crouching over me, her face millimetres from mine, "...I'm going to send you to hell and see if you'll come back." She paused, making sure I was watching her eyes. "Bella, I'm going to change you." Her voice whispered faux-tenderly.

My heart fluttered and tears began to fall once more. She smirked before leaning down and biting.

The pain lasted 15,552,343 long, excruciating seconds. Each one feeling like one thousand fiery eternities. And yet...and yet they weren't as bad as the gaping hole he had left in my chest.

I woke and looked around me. Everything was brilliant. The vibrancy and clarity were astounding. And yet I still hurt. My throat burned. I needed to hunt.

Without even thinking, I sniffed and began to run. I smelt something delicious. Tracking it down, I came upon a silver-streaked grizzly. It was huge and lumbering and I pounced, leaping on its back and crushing its spine before it could fight.

I drained it quickly and felt pleasantly relieved. I then buried the remains and ran. I ran from my old life: hopefully, Charlie wouldn't assume I had run away with Ed... him.

I don't know how long I ran for, but I stopped eventually to once more quench my thirst. Then I ran again.

After about two weeks of running until I was thirst, hunting and then running again, I came upon an abandoned lodge in the middle of dense forest. Perfect.

I lived in the lodge for countless months, going out to hunt and eventually to steal creature comforts. I realised quickly that human blood repulsed me (thank the gods) and my eyes began to turn golden topaz.

As the hole in my chest numbed – or rather, I learnt to work around it – I realised I'd need money to live in civilisation once more, so I began to steal small amounts of money here and there. From some people, I took one dollar, others one hundred dollars. No one missed what I'd taken and soon my money grew.

I bought myself new clothes – black; I couldn't deal with too much colour in my life when I felt so... so dead. After what, according to the newspapers, was ten long years, I moved. I ran to Canada. Not too far in the border, as I didn't know where Denali is, and couldn't risk seeing them, him.

It was in Canada that I found the twins. Noah and Aidan. They were identical in every way, right down to the guilty crimson eyes. I'd stumbled (not literally, vamp grace stopped my clumsiness) upon them as they were drinking from a lone traveller. They finished, looked up and hissed at me in unison before freezing, staring at my eyes in confusion. They were both around my age – seventeen, but looked as though they were fourteen, pushing fifteen. Their black hair curled slightly and was long, reaching the bottom of their ears. They were both exceedingly handsome and looked so innocent, I spoke without thinking.

"Hello. I'm Bella. Bella Swan. I'm...different from the normal vampire. I don't drink human blood."

"You...you don't drink human blood?" One twin had asked.

"Nope, can't stand the stuff. I drink animal blood only."

"How...?" The other began.

"How did I know I could survive off animal blood?" I completed for him. They both nodded warily so I told them to sit, and did so myself, showing I wasn't a danger. Once they sat, I began "B... before I was changed, my b... b... boyfriend and his f... family were vampires. Only, they blended in with society. The Coven leader, the father figure, C... Carlisle, refused to drink human blood after his change and ran from all humans. He tried to kill himself, but couldn't. Eventually, he grew weak. He hadn't fed after his change. He was laying weak in a meadow when a deer came along; he instinctively killed it. Thus started the vegetarian diet. He bit m...m...my e... ex-boyfriend and then his own mate, then R...R... Rosalie and then her mate, E... Emmett. Their coven grew more when A... Alice and J... Jasper joined. Another coven, the Denali Coven, are also vegetarians. C... Carlisle's coven l... left me as a human a...and m... moved on. The n... night E... he left, a vampire whose mate was killed b... because of me, changed me. I refused to hunt humans and eventually found I was repulsed by their scent."

I had avoided looking at the boys as I'd stumbled through my story with minimal detail. I was startled, therefore, when one said "We'd like to join you, to learn your way of life."

I looked at them and nodded "I'll be glad for the company. Now, if you want to, please, tell me about yourselves."

And so they did. They had been changed on the sixteenth birthday by an uncle who had been M.I.A. During World War One. He had appeared and killed their parents, changing them and telling them he was their father and now also their creator. They had killed him after two years of planning, and escaped. They were born in 1912, nine months after their uncle and father had gone to war, seven months after their uncle had gone missing and five months after their parents were married.

They were so lost and innocent, it was as though they were still little children. They became my 'brothers'.

After five years of seclusion, graduating up to shopping in busy malls, the twins and I were ready to start high school again. They were starting ninth grade as I started tenth. It meant we'd be there for longer.

School was great. I bought a plot of land and we built a small log cottage with three bedrooms, a huge living room and no kitchen. The bedrooms were small, with enough room for ourselves and our small personal touches, but we focused on the lounge. We bought large squishy couches and a huge TV with a PS3, Nintendo Wii and x-box 360. One wall was entirely devoted to games and DVDs. Another to books, the third to a huge window, and the fourth to music. Noah and I had similar music tastes whilst Aidan didn't really like it that much. We'd bought a guitar, which I was learning to play, along with a drum set for Aidan (as he enjoyed bashing things and we wanted to make him more musical) and a violin for Noah (as he was already musically gifted).

And so the pattern grew where we moved schools, built a home, played, learnt and became a family. It lasted thirty years before we came upon a clearing in the Amazon Rainforest. Two teenage English human girls played tag. They both looked to be fifteen and were identical, much like my boys. We went to join them, as the day was overcast, but I almost backed out when I saw the black lust in the boys' eyes. Then I realised, they must be their destined mates, like Alice and Jasper, Carlisle and Esme, Rose and Emmett, me and Ed... no, not us. He LEFT me. He didn't love me.

"If you believe they are your mates, restrain yourselves. Get to know them, then tell them what you are. After that, ask them if they would be willing to change for you." I whispered to them. They both nodded and stood.

After a year of wooing the girls, Emily and Grace, they told them what we are. The girls took it as well as I did, which made me smile. Six months later, Emily came to me and told me she was dying, as was Grace. They had a genetic disorder that was as of yet incurable. They only had a month to live, according to their doctor. She cried, telling me she didn't want to die and leave her Noah behind. And Grace didn't want to leave Aidan.

I talked to the boys, and the next day, the five of us left. Once in seclusion, I bit the girls. The Swan Coven officially grew to five members, and the black hole in my chest was filled very slightly by my younger siblings.

The girls found that they too were immune to human blood (maybe it actually had something to do with what happened before you are changed), so after two years, we once more began the school circuit.

It has now been sixty years since E... since I was changed; my black hole was still there, but I existed (ha, existed) with my younger siblings with me.

We are starting a new school now. We had just finished building our house and moving all our stuff. Emily and Noah shared a room, as did Grace and Aidan. I had mine to myself and was the only non-mated member of the coven. Okay, maybe non-mated is an exaggeration, more like without a true mate.

The morning we were going to start the school I was waiting by our car. Noah walked out first, wearing casual dark blue jeans and a green top. Emily followed behind him with a green dress and white sandals, a matching white bag and cardigan and a green and white flower tied in her sandy-blonde hair. Next came Aidan wearing black skinny jeans and a white top with a black leather jacket, his black hair skilfully ruffled. Noah and I shared a glance and rolled our eyes in amusement. Lastly, Grace floated out with matching outfit to Emily, except her dress was black, as was part of her flower. I smiled and said "Finally, my little elementals, now, jump in before we're late."

They all rolled their eyes and climbed in. Emily sat shot-gun.

I may have forgotten to mention that before. My twins had control over the elements. Emily was Air, Noah was Water, Grace was Earth and Aidan was Fire.

I keep my powers a secret, because if anyone found out, I'd be taken by the Volturi that the C... Cullen family liked to threaten me with.

I drove my beautiful black BMW to school as fast as possible and we managed to arrive five minutes before the bell rang. We went to the office and I spoke "Hello, we're the Swan and Smith children. We're new."

"Oh, well, hang on a second. Why don't you all take a seat." I nodded and we sat as the overweight brunette searched for our timetables. "Now, who's who?" She asked over-cheerfully.

"If you just give them to me, I can sort them out." I said with a charming smile. The woman became flustered and handed me the five timetables.

We headed out and I passed them around. "Score, I'm with Emmy for every lesson!" Noah exclaimed. Emily grinned and kissed him soundly.

Aidan beamed and copied the action with Grace, not saying anything. "I think we can safely assume that means he's with Gracie for all of her lessons." I said wryly, and he pulled away and stuck his tongue out at me.

I was glad we had made the move at the beginning of the year, as less people questioned my presence. I had several boys follow me, reminding me of Mike and Eric and Tyler, and several girls who approached me, wanting to be my friend. They reminded me of Jessica and Lauren. Sadly, I'd not met anyone who reminded me of gentle Angela. I missed Ange more than I missed Jacob – the boy I was sure would have become my friend, if not for the fact that he's probably dead.

I drifted (carefully – teachers still enjoy being sneaky) in my lessons, as I knew everything the textbooks had to teach me.

And so we spent six months with the twins as the hottest couples in the school – or maybe I should say hottest couple – singular, as the girls were scarily identical, as were the boys and no one except the five of us could tell them apart.

When the six-month mark came, there was loads of gossip about the new kids, a large adopted family. Five kids.

I remained cautiously curious and kept my eye out for them when it happened.

I pulled up my black car into the school parking lot, and climbed out. Noah had been shot-gun and he was out just before me.

"Bells," he'd whispered, "the new kids are vamps."

I was out like a shot, subtly sniffing the air. The scent was familiar, which meant...

My family jumped from the car. I sent my shield out to encompass my family as they formed a protective square around me. We all knew what it meant. The Cullens.

They walked from the office and suddenly stopped. They were still how I remembered them, but none of them were smiling. He looked the worse. He looked how I felt. But he still looked gorgeous.

They were looking at us, or, rather the twins, as my little brothers were blocking their view of me.

"We mean you no harm." Jasper said, sending emotions to us that couldn't pass my barrier. "Would you be willing to meet with our Coven Leader? Or would you prefer we meet with yours?"

So, this is protocol for meeting other vamps in school. I thought absently.

My coven turned to me, the boys still shielding me from their sight.

I sighed and whispered "May as well get this over with. At least my shield can stop physical things too, now."

The twins chuckled uneasily and I drew a deep, unnecessary, breath and nodded to the boys. As one they side-stepped. and my old family gasped.

"I'm Isabella Swan and this is my coven. My brothers: Noah and Aidan. And their mates: Emily and Grace Smith."

They seemed stunned, until Alice squealed "BELLA! Bella!Bella!Bella!Ohmygod,I'vemissedyousomuch!Ican'tbelieveyourhere!Wethoughtyouweredead!We'resosorryweleftyou."

She then ran and bashed into the shield. Everyone looked stunned.

"I... I think we should take this elsewhere." I said quietly, conscious of the human eyes watching us curiously.

The Cullens nodded carefully and I said "follow me" then jumped back in my car. Alice looked as though she was crying as Jasper helped her off the floor. Once the twins were in, I started driving. Rosalie was driving the other car, a red BMW, but a lot sportier than mine.

I led them to a clearing in the forest and my coven sat: my elemental twins sat in a square around me. I left my shield up.

"Carlisle and Esme should be here in five minutes." Jasper said cautiously, eyeing me as though I were dangerous. If only he knew. I thought before nodding and closing my eyes. My chest hurt so much and I unconsciously rubbed it, trying to soothe the hurt. My siblings moved in closer when they saw this, each touched me – a shoulder, or a knee – giving me strength.

Finally, I heard Esme's gentle "Bella...?"

I opened my eyes and saw Esme and Carlisle – the two I'd thought of as second parents, only to have them abandon me – staring with hopeful longing at me.

I nodded and she began to move forward when Alice warned her "They've a shield around them. Nothing can enter. I've tried, but I can't even see past it."

I smiled inwardly before saying carefully "Hello."

"It is you!" Esme exclaimed before she smiled sadly. She looked as though she would have tears rolling down her cheek, were it possible. "We've all missed you so so much, sweetheart. We came back after a week. None of us could stand the hole you'd left. But then Charlie said you were missing – had been since the night Edward left you..." I flinched as she said is name and she began dry-sobbing "...we th...thought y...you were d...dead. I l... lost a d... daughter, and it was as b...bad as losing m...my baby."

I carefully stood and stepped out of the shield, signalling the twins to stay. They couldn't let the Cullens see how bad I still was. Not just yet.

I stepped to Esme and she, seeing that I was out of the shield boundaries, reached out and pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back tightly and she whispered "I'm so, so sorry."

I nodded and held her as she sobbed. When she stopped and pulled away, I stepped back slowly and slid once more behind my shield, so no one else could get to me. Noah stood and took my hand, pulling me behind him as Aidan stepped forward, remaining inside my shield. "Explain why." He demanded.

The Cullens looked momentarily confused before Esme said "I... I think that that explanation should be between Edward and Bella alone."

"Well, that doesn't cut it." Grace stated stubbornly.

"You need to explain it to all of us, or we will disappear and you won't see us for another century." Emily added.

Alice stepped forward and said quietly "We didn't want to, we swear. But after Jasper attacked you, we were all beginning to think it would be safer for you if we left. Then Edward came home and said he'd made his decision. We were leaving. We wanted to say goodbye, but thought...a clean break and it'll heal quicker. We'd leave you alone and safe with nothing more than dream-like memories of us."

"It broke our hearts to do so." Esme added.

"Edward's never recovered." Alice said, indicating behind her, to where Edward was hidden in the shadows, self-loathing evident on his face. "We lasted a week away from you and when we got back... Charlie searched our home, accused us of kidnapping, then murder. He dropped the charges when he realised how depressed we'd become in your absence. We all grieved for you. He tried to move on with Sue Clearwater and her kids. He died ten years after you left. Angela told us."

I could barely stop the sobs; my focus was failing. My siblings moved and gripped my arms tightly, strengthening me with their supportive presence.

"We've been moving ever since. But our family has never been the same, Bella." Carlisle said gently. "We couldn't move on without you."

Rosalie whispered "We've been broken since we left you."

I felt my knees shake and sank to the floor, my siblings moving with me. All the Cullens were around the shield in a flash, watch on in pained sorrow.

Noah, my sweet little brother, broke the silence with an angry hiss. "Explain why the hell you left her and said those things to her and my family won't pound you all into the dirt and watch you burn."

Everyone flinched, our family never having seen Noah like this and the Cullens hearing the honest threat behind the words. My chest was in complete agony, as though all the healing had been cut away. Sixty years of numbness and filling was ripped away and I felt as though I was bleeding to death whilst going through the change twenty thousand times over.

And then he spoke. His voice tortured with guilt and self-loathing and coated in denied love. "I thought it was best. She'd move on, get married, have kids and live. I didn't want to damn her soul to an eternity of unrest. I loved her too much that I knew I had to give her what I couldn't; the only way to do it was to tell her a lie. The biggest, most horrible lie of my entire existence. And then simply walk away. I left her there, believing she'd be safe, thinking she would move on. But I was too selfish and I missed her too much. I went back to Forks to find her. To apologise and beg her to take me back. When she wasn't there, I knew something had happened and I hadn't been there to save her. I thought she was dead." He paused, and I could hear the physical anguish in his beautiful voice.

"I... I tried to go to the Volturi, get them to end my broken existence, but I was weak from the thirst; Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle were stronger. I gave up, eventually. I was hurting my already hurt family."

I shuddered, biting back sobs as he whispered "I had lost the meaning of my existence. My love. My mate. No one should go through that."

His voice was so broken, I let down my shield without a thought, and whispered "Edward."

The next thing I knew, I was dry-sobbing in his arms as he held me, also sobbing.

Slowly, our sobs decreased and he whispered "I love you for all of eternity, my Bella."

I clutched at him and began to sob once more, the hole in my chest mending, as though it had never existed. When the pain was but a memory, I pulled away slightly and caressed his cheek, saying "I love you, too. For the rest of my eternities multiplied together."

He helped me stand shakily and I was pulled away by Emmett, who gave me a bear-hug, booming "I missed you so much, little sister!"

He then put me down, only to be replaced by Rosalie, who whispered "I'm sorry for everything" in my ear.

Next came Jasper, who tried to apologise for attacking me. I turned his gift on him and told him I didn't blame him.

Next came Carlisle, who said "Welcome home, Bella."

Esme grabbed a quick second hug, which left Alice hanging back, looking sad.

"I'm sorry about the shield earlier, Alice. I promise that to make up for it, you can play Bella Barbie for a day."

She squealed in excitement and pounced on me, sending us both crashing to earth.

A nervous-looking Noah helped me to my feet and I pulled him into a hug, whispering "Don't worry, love. We'll stay together, no matter what."

After the hugs, I was pulled back into Edward's arms, but I tugged him towards my coven, and introduced him to them all.

They exchanged sly glances, and Aidan said "So, you want our Bella?"

Edward slowly nodded, looking nervous. I watched on, hiding my amusement from Jasper.

"And you understand that if she cries once..." Noah started.

"Because of you..." Grace added.

"We'll rip you to pieces and burn you to ashes before you can say 'Vampire'." Emily finished sweetly.

Edward nodded, looking scared, and Aidan said with a growl "Good."

I couldn't hold it in any longer and I burst out laughing.

I used my powers from Jasper to send everyone some of my amusement and my two families relaxed.

We sat in the meadow and relaxed for a while longer before Carlisle asked the inevitable question. I answered truthfully, leaving nothing out. Even my twins hadn't heard it all.

When I was finished, I received another round of hugs and then Emmett asked curiously "Do you guys have any powers?"

I grinned at the twins, who smirked back, and replied "Each twin can control one of the four elements. I can shield against all attacks and absorb other vampires' powers. For example, because I've been near Edward and what he can do, I can read minds. I've practised enough that I can use all four elemental powers plus my own powers at the same time. Also, Emily, Grace and I are all immune to the smell of human blood. Before I changed them, I thought it was merely because of my aversion to it as a human, but then I changed them and neither had the same aversion as me prior to being bitten, so I simply assumed it was either something I passed onto them through my venom, or it was because they knew about the boys and me before they were changed. We only changed them this early on because they had a month to live."

Everyone stared at me in shock – it was the first time I'd openly talked about my powers. The Cullens were awed and impressed, which caused me to smirk smugly.

"Would, if everyone agrees, you like to merge covens?" Carlisle asked.

I looked at my twins, and grinned. "Nope." I paused and everyone bowed their heads in sadness. "I and my twin siblings would like to become members of the Cullen Coven, if you would accept five more 'teenagers'."

A stunned pause before... "Of course!" and "Whoo! Bella's back!" "The family's grown!" "More siblings!"

I sat and laughed as all my siblings jumped around the meadow, celebrating. Edward was at my back and Carlisle and Esme watched all their children – old, new and returned – with happy, loving smiles on their faces. The Cullen Coven, no, the Cullen Family was large and happy with its twelve members.

Life was good, at last.

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