Hi everyone! It has been many years since I've last read Twilight, but my passion for it is still here. I have decided to delve into the realm of writing fanfiction. Currently, I am working on a Star Wars fanfic, which is updated every Wednesday evening, but the idea of starting a Twilight one was too difficult to overcome and I haev begun writing for this too. If there are enough readers who are interested in the story, I'll start updating on a regular basis, but for now, updating will be spontaneous.

Just a warning: this fanfiction is going to be very dark. With that being said, you've had your warning. Proceed at your own risk! And if you enjoy it (or don't), please leave a review so I know how to improve for the future. I hope you enjoy!

"That'll be six hundred and eighty Euros."

I blinked once, then rested my elbow on the marble counter and cupped my chin with my hand.

"Are you sure you can't offer me a discount?" I asked, batting my long eyelashes in the process.

The employee who was standing over the counter gulped. I could see her throat bob up and down, and oh, it was so tantalizing. But I had already fed less than a day ago and although it'd be as easy as a quick snap of my fingers to lure her out into the back alleyway, even I had morals.

Besides, that wouldn't be classy.

"I'm s—sorry, ma'am. There are no discounts unless you're an employee or student."

I sighed, letting my line of sight droop. I was playing the perfect damsel in distress and I couldn't help but grin as my pitiful state overtook the poor girl's rationality behind upholding their company policy.

"O—Okay. I'll give you a five percent discount, i—is that okay?"

My disappointed state suddenly turned into a cheerful one as I lifted my head and grinned, taking care not to expose my sharp canines. "That's…sensational," I purred. The girl's eyes widened at the husky nature of my voice.

Oh, how I loved messing with humans.

The girl's hand only trembled slightly as she accepted my credit card. A quick swipe and a splutter of goodbyes from her mouth was all it took before I holstered the bag straps over my shoulder and left to go back home.

Heidi always took it upon herself to go shopping for the entire coven, and yet, after years of the same meticulous tasks, I started to find comfort in doing some trivial human things, such as shopping. Countless years of pointless missions without a real challenge led to me being constantly bored out of my mind, trying to fill in the hours and days with new activities. Eternity was too long.

I plowed through the castle's large wooden doors and made my way toward the receptionist desk. There was a blond receptionist—human, who had recently been instated by Aro himself—sitting at the counter, unfocused at what was supposed to be her job in organizing vampiric meetings due to the person next to her. I sighed. It hadn't even been a week.

"Elsie."

"Mom!" she spun around at my voice, lifting her elbows off the counter and straightening her back. The girl behind the desk looked crestfallen at the lack of distance between her and Elsie. I flashed her a menacing smirk.

"What did I tell you about playing with your food?"

"Mom," Elsie whined. "She's not food! She's my friend."

I looked over to the young girl just in time to catch her cheeks turn red.

"Is that right?" I asked her.

"Y—Yes."

There was a gentle tug on my shirt. "Stop it. You're harassing her."

I chuckled and then walked further into the castle, making sure to speak just loud enough so that the receptionist could hear. "Maybe we can both share her for dinner one day."

"Mom! Quit it! You're scaring the poor girl."

"I can't feel her emotions like you, honey."

"Oh, you know exactly what you were doing. It doesn't take an empath to realize what kind of response you were looking to elicit."

I chuckled again.

"Come on. Help me with these bags. Aro wants to see us."

"Why do I have to do it?!"

"Because," I rolled my eyes. "You can teleport and I can't."

Elsie pouted but obeyed me nonetheless. There was a small pop, and suddenly, she and the bags I dumped into her arms disappeared.

Using my vampire speed, I ran to my room and quickly changed into my cloak in front of the mirror. Call it narcissistic, but I loved admiring myself. The ruby red eyes that vindictively glared back at me spoke many emotions that could bring even the most hardened person down to their knees, to which I could then bend their powerless psyche to my will.

I sighed. Red was such a passionate color. One of love, one of lust. Too bad guard cloaks were of dark colors such as gray or black—a tasteless reflection of the senile age the rulers were. Forgo the drab colors, and import colorful ones.

After I finished putting on a pair of strappy black heels, I walked with human speed towards the throne room. The guards posted in front of the magnificent doors nodded in acknowledgement of a more enhanced predator as I approached. I strutted through the double doors to a room filled with vampires. And at the middle of the room were three large thrones, with three vampires accompanying each of them.

Elsie was in midst of chatting up Marcus when I made my way forward.

"Have you seen the news? The CEO of Tesla has his car out in space. Like, he launched it from Earth and shot it into space! That's freaking amazing!"

I cleared my throat. Elsie whipped around, a huge grin on her face.

"I beat you."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead bowed in front of the three.

"Masters," I greeted.

"Isabella!" Aro said, standing to his feet and clapping his hands in a resplendent manner. "So happy for you to join! Elsie was just telling us about how you forcefully drowned her with all the clothes you bought earlier today!"

My eye twitched.

Drowned?

Sorry, Mom. I had to. You know I can't resist pranking you.

Hmm. I think I'll have to make the blonde receptionist my next meal.

Mom!

I pull myself out of her head to hear Aro talking.

"—reports of an uprising over in the States. Many civilians have gone missing and our source says that there may be a newborn army currently in the making."

It took a lot of effort to hone in to the conversation, for I'd heard it dozens and dozens of times. News would come to us that a few rogue vampires were massacring people, and if it wasn't that, it was usually a few vampires trying their hardest to create a newborn army to overrun the Volturi. Not that it mattered. I think the last major battle was over a hundred years ago, and even with outmatched numbers, we won by a landslide. After all, most of the guard consisted of vampires with special talents that placed them in a much higher seat of power when it came to dueling a vampire with none. It was a memorable fight. I myself had the pleasure of killing the leader.

"The commotion is in Washington—"

My head snapped up. Washington?

Aro must've seen my reaction because he paused.

"Is there a problem, Isabella?" Caius spoke up from next to Aro.

It was a test to see how I would respond. And I would not fail it.

"No. Everything is perfect."

It's been a long time, I heard Elsie murmur.

That it has.

"As I was saying," Aro continued, "the issue resides in Oregon. Our sources say that there is a newborn army in the making. As to what their motives are, that remains to be discovered. However, the threat is credible enough for us to believe that this is both serious and pressing. I wish to send the two of you there. Isabella, you know the territory well, and that is why I have made my decision."

I could feel the end of his spiel coming.

"You and Elsie will take residence in Forks. Finish the mission and report back."

The car ride to the airport was in verbal silence. The only sound was the scream of the supercar's engine as it propelled us to our destination.

Elsie had long ago taken her boots off and rested her feet, covered with fuzzy socks, on the dashboard of the vehicle. She had been staring out into the lush scenery for the last few minutes when she suddenly turned to me.

"Mom…are you sure you're going to be okay?"

I subconsciously gripped the wheel, stifling the bit of anger that threatened to flare out of my chest. Elsie sensed this and frowned.

"Yes, honey. Aro just took me by surprise. It's been a while since I've heard of the state, let alone the town."

"If you're worried about your reaction when we arrive, I can always go by myself."

I smiled, my chest filling with warmth at my daughter. "Now, where would be the fun in that?"

"There'd be lots of fun! We don't have to split the fight up anymore, and I can get all the kills! That sounds really fun."

I chuckled, pressing my foot down harder on the accelerator. Elsie did always know how to diffuse a tense situation.

The airport grew larger and larger as time went on, until we ended up arriving at the departures. A young valet, a boy who couldn't have been more than eighteen, gawped at the car as we stepped out.

"Here," Elsie said, throwing the keys to him. He almost dropped them. "And here's the tip." She slammed a large amount of bills into his hand. The boy looked at it in surprise before resting his attention to us. His eyes widened at Elsie's eyes but grew even bigger when he saw my blood-red ones. People usually thought they were contacts anyways.

I couldn't help but lift up the corner of my mouth into a smirk.

My deadly look had the boy scampering into the car and speeding off. The next hour of mine was spent in heavy annoyance. Thank goodness Elsie was here. If she wasn't, I would've torn the whole airport apart in impatience at how tedious and long the process of getting on an airplane was. Then again, I wouldn't even be stuck in this crappy mode of transportation if it wasn't for my daughter's love of heights.

The airplane was crowded to the max. I had the window seat, and after massive teasing, I finally relented and gave Elsie the seat, choosing to take the middle one for myself. There was a man on the aisle seat, but he wasted no time in heading straight to sleep. After the airplane took off, he began to snore, and the sound of the airplane engines and his obnoxious breathing almost cracked my patience again. I decided to do something about it. Muttering so softly that my words got lost in the scream of the airplane, I spoke to Elsie.

"Do we have a base already set up in Forks?"

Elsie ripped her eyes away from the window.

"I bought a home with your offshore bank account last night."

"Are homes still overly priced there?"

"Not like it'd matter anyways, with your billions."

"Elsie," I warned.

"Okay, okay! No, it's not. I know how you hate that place, but I've been keeping tabs. Apparently there are hundreds and hundreds of empty homes for cheap. The town's population has steadily been on the decline over the last century."

"I wonder why that is," I muttered dryly.

A look of hurt flitted on Elsie's face and I immediately knew why. I was being too hard again, on the wrong matters.

"You did well." To prove my point, I ruffled her brown hair.

"Mommmm," she grumbled. "I'm not a kid anymore!"

I smiled, and it was one of the few times where it was a real, genuine smile. "To me you are."

We spent the remaining hours of the flight doing different things. I could sense Elsie's fidgeting and emotional changes as she watched whatever movies they had to offer as part of the in-flight program. I, however, spent the entire time with my eyes shut in a deep meditative state. Although vampires couldn't sleep, we could still close our eyes and drift away.

The journey ended almost as quickly as it began. Hours meant nothing and passed in a blink of an eye for those who had eternity at their disposal.

Elsie and I quickly got off the airplane and rented a car. The only thing that kept replaying in my mind as we drove to our destination was how moody the place was. Nothing had changed since the last hundred and fifty years. Forks was still surrounded by trees and the same dilapidated single two-lane road. Rain hammered down on the windshield and the frame of the car, the droplets so loud and heavy that it blocked out all other sound. The dark clouds in the sky and the low rumble of thunder cast an even gloomier look on the environment that I remembered.

The guards at Volturi knew me as an unrelenting, unmerciful steely-eyed assassin who was as dark and empty as a void could be.

So why did I feel so vulnerable?