A/N: So I know this chapter is pretty short and I apologize for that. This is just supposed to kind of introduce you to Davina and Viktor, and recap some of what happened in Twilight. This is a Femslash, so if that's not your thing, then don't read it. Fair warning.

Chapter 1: Dear Viktor

It was a seemingly average morning in Forks, Washington. The skies were full of dark clouds that threatened to drop rain at any moment, and the air was its usual shade of cold. People were dragging themselves out of bed to eat breakfast, shower, get dressed for the day, and head off to wherever it was they needed to be. The Cullen family, however, had a different morning routine.

Rather than trip over one another in the kitchen playing pass the coffee and the cornflakes, they all went about their own business, in no hurry to make it anywhere. They never slept, or ate, or did most of the things that humans did; because they were all vampires. All of them, except one.

Davina Cullen was the only member of the Cullen family that could eat and drink human food, and needed to sleep at least a few hours each night. This wasn't because she was human – at least, not entirely. There was a part of Davina that was definitely human, though she had never been entirely so.

Her mentor and adoptive father Viktor had found her as a baby and raised her as his own. From the moment he found her she smelled different from other humans – sweeter – and in raising her he found many other oddities about her physiology. Her heart beat like a hummingbird's wings. Her skin was paler than any human, but still held more color than a vampire's. The touch of her skin was hot, like that of a shifter. And though she did grow up, she did so incredibly fast – she was fully grown only seven years after her birth.

Viktor and Davina tried to research any and all myths and legends they could find on vampire children, but never found much of anything. Then again, the last time they tried was before the internet was invented. Viktor advised her never to tell anyone about her unique physiology, unless she absolutely trusted them, and she never did.

The running story had always been that she was bitten by another vampire and that Viktor had sucked the venom out of her system, thus leaving her only partly turned. Most vampires believed it and found her story fascinating – more that Viktor didn't drain her dry than her only being partly turned – but there were some, like Carlisle, that were smarter than that. Carlisle knew that such a thing was highly unlikely, if not impossible, but respected that she clearly did not wish to tell him the truth.

Davina sat at the island in the Cullen's kitchen, eating her breakfast alone. It was an odd thing for her to eat alone. She was so used to having company of some kind. When she lived with Viktor, he always found it fascinating that she could eat human food. Carlisle found it equally fascinating, but mostly just wanted to keep her company. Her nephew Edward had become her new mealtime companion in recent decades, but his attention had been diverted elsewhere of late.

Isabella Swan had come into their lives only a few months ago, and already she had taken the majority of Edward's attention. Davina held no ill will towards Bella for this; she had simply grown used to things being her and Edward against the world. Everyone else in the family had found their mate, leaving them the odd ones out, so they always stuck together. But Edward had Bella now, leaving Davina all alone.

On this morning, however, Davina welcomed the time alone. With the events of this past spring, and Edward unable to be truly alone with Bella – Davina was usually close by just in case – she'd fallen behind on a few things. It had been some time since she'd written Viktor, and her last journal entry was the morning of the baseball game.

Most people found it a bit cliché for a vampire to keep a journal. Emmett regularly made fun of her for it, when he was around. But for as long as she could remember Viktor tried telling her, "There's nothing wrong with keeping a personal log of one's life and inner thoughts." It just took her a few decades to come around to the idea.

She sat perfectly straight – by human standards – legs crossed, and sipped her coffee. She didn't need the pick-me-up, but she enjoyed the taste. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her breakfast away, and began writing.

"My Dearest Viktor,

My apologies for the extended silence between letters – though if you've decided to travel again, I doubt you will have noticed. Things in this part of the world became rather complex for a time. This past spring, especially.

Do you remember me telling you about that blood singer that Edward was trying to court? Remember how I said she was clumsy? Well, she must be exceedingly unlucky as well, because she was nearly killed this past spring, and it wasn't by Edward."

A strand of strawberry blonde hair fell into her view, and she tucked it away behind her ear.

"It all started out as a normal baseball game – Jasper has nothing on your batting skills, by the way – until the nomads showed up. They were only a small group of three, and only interested in joining the game; but Bella was out there, and two of the three refused to accept that she was off limits food wise.

As I'm sure you've guessed by now, things did not end as peacefully as my brother would have liked them to – ever the optimist. Carlisle invited them to our home, but along the way two of them broke off from the group. I'm not sure why they were unconcerned with me seeing them do it – I was bringing up the rear. Perhaps they thought I would tell Carlisle, who would simply say they were free to go. Or perhaps they knew I was already suspicious of them and would follow, but didn't care because they were two against my being one. Either way, I knew where they were going: after Bella."

Davina's walnut eyes strayed from the page and closed. She took a slow, deep breath before continuing the story.

"I tried Carlisle's approach, at first. I tried telling them what Bella meant to Edward, but they didn't seem to care. Edward was nothing and no one to them. I should have guessed as much, I know, but I just thought...As someone who had found his mate, that this James might understand. That he might be deterred from hunting Bella, without any need for bloodshed. But that was not the case.

What I did next might sound a bit medieval, but it worked. I could see that they both underestimated me and my abilities, so I challenged him to a duel. Go ahead, get your laughing out of the way now, I'll wait...Finished?...How about now? Well, regardless, I am moving on.

The fight, which I'm certain was only won due to your training and guidance with developing my abilities, would be between just him and myself. If I died, he got his wish to hunt Bella with no one to stop him. If he died, his mate had to give her word not to come after me or my family."

She could hear Victoria's words as clearly as if she were speaking them to her right now, "If you win, I give you my word I won't come for you or your family."

She had said the words with the same tone present on James' face. Neither of them expected someone from such a passive coven to be able to put up much of a fight. They likely thought she was there to martyr herself; to buy Edward time to get Bella out of town. An idea that appealed to James, because it would make for a more interesting hunt.

"I realize how naive I sound to believe that Victoria would keep her word, but I had no intention of simply taking her at her word. I just needed her to agree to stand aside while I took care of James – I couldn't take them both on all by myself. I knew once I had won that she would react in anger and in pain. You and I have both seen what a vampire is capable of when they've just witnessed their mate's death. Still, she surprised me.

She did not attack me, rather she ran away. She made no threat to come for me or my family, but instead for my mate. She vowed to take from me what I had taken from her. Given the luck you and I have in this area, I have a feeling she's going to be waiting a long time to collect on that threat."

"Why does it always take you so long to finish a cup of coffee?" came Esme's kind, yet teasing voice.

Davina smiled, but didn't look up from her letter, "If you couldn't afford coffee for the first 200 or so years, you'd learn to savor it, too."

"I don't know why you even drink it in the first place," Alice commented idly. "It's not like you need the caffeine."

"She likes the taste," Carlisle answered for her.

Everyone was beginning to gather downstairs, now. That meant it was time to start playing human, and get on with their day.

"I'm afraid I have to go now, Viktor. It's time to begin our day. I wish you well, and I hope to see you again soon. 47 years, only seeing each other for Christmas, is too long. Perhaps I can come stay with you a while when we leave Forks. Shouldn't be too much longer. Edward, Alice, and Jasper will graduate after this year, then pretend to go off to college, and then we'll move again.

Love, Davina."

"Ready to go, Davina?" Carlisle asked.

Davina glanced up briefly, as she folded the letter. "You go on without me. I'll be there shortly."

The running story for the Cullen family was that Edward, Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie were Esme and Carlisle's adoptive children – the first three being a year younger than Emmett and Rose. Davina was Carlisle's younger sister, only four years older than his adoptive children. Sometimes she would pretend to be younger and go to school with her nieces and nephews, but most of the time she preferred to avoid modern American teenagers. This was one of those times.

Davina was now 22, as far as anyone knew, and worked at the hospital with Carlisle. She claimed to be aspiring to become a doctor one day, and thus earning some credits for college by working in the hospital. She typically rode with Carlisle in the morning, but had other plans today.

"She wants to drop Bella's present off before tonight," Edward explained, seeing the confusion on Carlisle's face.

Davina gave her nephew a look, and scolded him playfully. "You stay out of my head."

Edward smiled, "I could give you a ride, if you want."

"I think I can manage on my own." She rose from her seat and grabbed her things. "Besides, I need to drop this letter in the mail for Viktor, and you could do with a little separation from your bonnie lass."

Edward gestured to the area around them, "You don't see me with her now, do you?"

She gave a light smile, still headed for the garage. "No one likes an overly clingy boyfriend, Edward. You'll see her at school."

When Bella saw Davina standing on her doorstep she smiled. When she saw the silver box in her hands, however, that smile quickly vanished.

"Happy birthday, Bella!"

Bella stepped aside and gestured for Davina to come in. "Don't remind me." She'd told everyone that she wanted nothing for her birthday. That she wanted no presents, no attention, nothing. And yet everyone seemed to be ignoring those wishes.

Davina stepped inside of the Swan residence, a smile still on her face. Charlie had already left for work, evident by his lack of presence and his car already gone from the driveway. Davina held the present out for Bella to accept. She took it hesitantly.

"I thought birthdays were supposed to be a happy occasion," Davina commented, taking note of her sour mood.

"For most people, they are," Bella replied.

"But not for you?"

Bella fiddled with the ribbon around her present. "I had a dream last night...I was old and grey, and Edward..."

"Edward was still young and gorgeous," she guessed. Bella's silence and the look on her face was confirmation enough. Davina put an arm around her and guided her over to the couch. "Bella, I understand your reluctance to celebrate your birthday – you see it as you getting older than Edward."

"Technically I am."

"But that's not how everyone else views today," Davina argued. "Birthdays nowadays are celebrated for one of three reasons. One, to throw a big party and have a good time. Two, to receive attention from everyone around them and get lots of presents. Or three, to celebrate the birth of someone you love."

Bella hadn't considered this perspective. She'd been assuming that everyone was just trying to make sure that she celebrated her birthday. That she didn't miss out on this human tradition, like going to prom. Not that she wanted to go to prom, but Edward had still made her go.

"Your parents love you, and this day is one of the best days of their lives. It's the day you came into the world and enriched their lives. Edward wants to celebrate today for the same reason. Celebrating your birth, the fact that you exist, is his way of expressing thanks that you've come into his life. It's why the rest of us want to celebrate. Well, that and the last birthday party we had was Emmett's and that was more than a few decades ago."

Bella gave a mild laugh. She still didn't like the idea of anyone celebrating her birthday, but this new perspective Davina had brought to her attention was pretty compelling. Maybe she could lighten up a little, and stop acting like today was one big funeral. Maybe.

"Just try to humor everyone today, please. Let them celebrate for them," Davina all but begged.

Before Bella could respond, there was a knock on the door. She glanced over at Davina as she stood up to go answer it. It was Jacob Black.

"Bella!" he beamed.

"Jacob! Come in." Bella stepped aside to let Jacob into the house. He noticed Davina still sitting on the couch, but ignored her smile. "Hello, biceps! You know anabolic steroids are really bad for you," Bella joked.

"Well, I'm just filling out, Bella. You know, it wouldn't seem so drastic if we hung out more."

Bella gave her trademark smile and nod. "So what are you doing here?"

"I was just buying a part for the, uh, Rabbit," he said proudly. "You should really come take a ride when it's done."

"Is it fast?"

"Um…" Jacob seemed like he was struggling for the right answer. Did Bella like fast cars? "It's-it's decent."

Bella smiled at him, "I'm kidding."

"Okay. Good." They both broke out in awkward laughter. Davina almost felt sorry for Jacob – he was so nervous. "Hey, happy birthday. Your dad told my dad, so…"

Bella didn't like this, but she couldn't exactly explain to Jacob why she didn't like celebrating her aging. She cast a glance over at Davina, who communicated with a look to remember what she had said about people celebrating her life, not her aging. "Yeah, of course he did," she mumbled.

Jacob pulled a small dream catcher out of his pocket and held it up. "I saw this the other day and thought of you. Catches bad dreams."

Bella accepted the gift, surprised by how much she actually liked it. "That's kind of perfect. Um…thank you."

"No problem."

There was a brief awkward silence, as both of them realized they had nothing more to really say, right now. Though Davina was certain that Jacob's lack of sociability had more to do with her presence than anything else.

"Well, I should, uh, I should get to school," said Bella, breaking the silence. "So should you."

"Right."

The two hugged somewhat awkwardly, and Bella thanked him again for the gift. Jacob shot another look at Davina on his way out, but she only flashed him another smile. He wasn't entirely sure why he was being rushed out, when the Cullen chick was still able to stay; but Bella must have a reason. Maybe he had interrupted something when he dropped in. Maybe she was saying goodbye to her right now. Whatever it was, it wasn't his business, and he certainly had no right being jealous that she got to stay longer than he did.

"See?" said Davina once the door was closed. "Now was that so hard?"

Bella dropped her eyes and greed reluctantly, "I guess not."

Davina laughed lightly, "I'll take it." She stood up from the couch and headed towards the door. "Well, I hope you enjoy my gift as much as you enjoyed Jacob Black's. Alice picked out the materials, but I made it. And fair warning, there is a party tonight, but you didn't hear it from me." She mimed zipping her lips shut.

Bella groaned internally. A party? Why did there have to be a party? She took a deep breath. "Thanks for the heads up…and the talk…and the gift."

"Have a good day, Bella." She was almost out the door, when Bella called after her.

"Hey, Davina?"

Davina stopped and looked back.

"How old were you? When you turned?"

Bella has just realized that in all of Davina's arguments, she had never once tried pointing out to Bella that she wasn't seventeen when she turned. It might have been just Edward's way of trying to get Bella to quit whining, but that still left Bella rather curious. Davina was posing as a woman in her early twenties, which Edward had said she did a lot. So how old was she exactly?

"That's a…complicated question," said Davina. "I never actually turned, so I consider myself to be around three hundred-ish."

Bella remembered the story Edward had told her last spring about Davina only being partly turned. He said Davina had been attacked by a vampire one night and left for dead or to turn, no one knew which. Viktor found her a while later, and sucked the venom out of her. The venom had already affected some of her body, but not all of it, leaving her only partly turned.

Bella assumed that this is what Davina meant when she said she was never actually turned. But she could at least tell her what age she was when she was attacked, couldn't she? Why did she have to make things more complicated than they had to be?

Davina took advantage of Bella's momentary confusion. "I'll see you tonight, Bella."

Bella tried to stop her and get a straight answer from her, but when she opened the door to call after her, Davina was already in her car. She smiled and waved to Bella, as she backed out of the driveway. Bella waved disappointingly in return, and then went back inside. She was running late for school, and really should get going. But before heading off to school – to see Edward – Bella decided to open her present from Davina.

She sat next to it on the couch, pulled the ribbon to untie it, and slid off the lid. Inside was a gorgeous, yet somehow simple, emerald green dress. It was absolutely beautiful. The dress looked tailor made, but how could Davina have made something so precise? Where had she gotten Bella's measurements from? Bella wanted to ask, but you didn't ask those kinds of things when someone made you such an incredible gift. To do so would have been rude.

She figured Edward must have measured her in her sleep or something, and then given the information to Davina. It was honestly the most logical explanation that Bella could come up with right now. She supposed Davina could have gotten her dress size from her clothes in her closet, but those were generic and this dress looked like it would fit like a glove.

It may not have been as useful as Jacob's gift, but it was still nice. Bella brought both gifts upstairs and put them on her bed. She grabbed her school bag, and headed back downstairs to leave for school. She thought of the party Davina mentioned. If there was in fact a party tonight, which there more than likely was, then she would suck it up and go for them; and she would wear the new dress.