She wakes. Its not just her entire body that wakes, its her new soul. Shes lying down. Her chest aches as she breathes, air burns her lungs. She coughs, her throat feels like its been cut by razor blades. She tries to open her eyes, but her brain wont respond. Everything hurts. She lifts her hands to her neck, and she feels her skin; its smoother than before. Then she remembers.

Her hands fly to her stomach, but the knife is gone. In her mind she screams, she shouldn't have moved. It hurts so much. Her coat isn't there, its just a fine layer of cotton that separates her fingers and her skin. The wound is gone. I'm dead. This is what death feels like. She manages to stretch her arms out beside her, and she winces. She feels soft satin underneath her. She feels the soft plush ground beneath her. In her mind she frowns. She tries to open her eyes again, this time it works.

The first thing she sees is the white ceiling above her. She can see the brush strokes of the paint, and every speck of dust that is stuck into it. She tries to turn her head, her neck wont respond. She looks around, and she sees a wooden column, draped with cream transparent cloth. Her head pounds, and so does her stomach where her wound should be.

She wants to move, to see where death has taken her but its impossible. The pain is unbearable. She wants to cry. She hears soft thumps across the ground, she knows something is coming towards her.

'Aria.' a man says quietly. its so quiet she shouldn't be able to hear it, but she does. Her eyes dart to the left, as far as she can and suddenly he appears.

Jackson stands beside her looking down at her. NO! He cant be dead too!

She looks at him, her eyes welling up with tears.

'You're okay. We're okay...' he whispers to her as he strokes her hair. She wants to scream and run away.

He looks calm and relaxed as he notices tears in her eyes. 'Aria, you're not dead. You're safe. I'm here...' he whispers more soothing words to her.

He continues to speak softly. 'I know you're in pain. I know you cant move. You need to relax and try to ignore the pain while i explain things...' he sits carefully next to her.

'Aria, you're back at the academy. we're in your room and you're lying on your bed...' he says. she looks at him, her eyes shine with water.

'I don't know if you remember, but William through a knife at you. It hit you in the stomach, and you lost a lot of blood...' he places his hand back in his lap.

'Aria, you were on the edge of death. We thought you were dead. I know you wouldn't have wanted to die.' he runs his fingers through his tangled hair. its getting too long now.

'I had no other choice. Aria, I turned you in the woods just before you died. You drank enough of my blood just before we left the hotel that you didn't die straight away. It kept you alive long enough for me to turn you.' he looks back at her, his eyes damp now.

A single tear rolls down her cheek. I'm a vampire.

'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to die. I was stupid and left you unprotected. I never wanted to take away your humanity...' A blood drop streaks his face.

Jackson no! Please don't... I'm not dead. This is what i wanted all along!

'Jack...' Aria mumbles before she stops midway through. Its too painful. He looks at her.

'Don't try to talk. The pain wont go away for another hour or so. Then you'll be able to get up and move. I want you to know that i tried my hardest to keep you from this life. You are too perfect. But I am selfish, and to be honest, I'm so glad you're here; even though you're like me now.' he reaches down and places his hand over hers as lightly as he can. She closes her eyes to try and ignore the pain. Its a good pain. She opens her eyes again.

'Try to sleep. I will still be here when you wake up, i promise.' Jackson stands from the bed and disappears from her sight. She closes her eyes again and the pain slowly dissipates. She drifts off to sleep.

Her eyes fly open. The pain is completely gone. Jackson is already beside her when she opens her eyes. she turns her head and looks at him. He's smiling, but his bottom eyelids are beginning to turn red. He holds out his hand and she grabs it, slowly sitting up. She looks down at herself. Her jeans are dirty but her singlet is clean. She knows someone must've changed her clothes. She looks at her bare arms, noticing how pale her skin is now. She reaches up and touches her face.

'Hey...' he says to her, getting her attention. She looks at him and slides her legs over the edge of the bed.

'I love you'

She blinks. 'Jackson.' she breathes as he leans down and hugs her. He squeezes her tightly and she wraps her arms around his neck.

'I love you too' When he pulls away she stands, noticing how different it feels. She looks at her feet, she feels taller somehow. She smiles.

'Being a vampire suits you' he laughs a little. He takes her hand and pulls her toward her wardrobe. He pulls open the door and moves Aria to stand in front of it. She freezes.

The first thing she notices are her eyes. They've always been blue, but they're glowing Aqua now. Her hair is a paler blond now, and it ends just below her breasts. Her face is pale, her lips are redder than before. She's a new kind of beautiful.

'This isn't me...' she says as she touches her hair.

'Yes it is. Being a vampire enhances your natural features. It normally takes away most of the colour, but you're lucky with your lips...' he says, placing his hands on her waist.

'Why are my eyes so blue? Yours are golden...' she looks over her shoulder slightly.

'I've never seen any vampire with eyes like yours. Harley has green eyes, but that's because she wears contacts.'

I didn't know that. They looked so real...

'Aria, you're even more beautiful than you were before.' he continues, placing a light kiss on her shoulder. It sends shivers and sparks throughout her body. His touch doesn't feel cold like before. She looks at him.

He chuckles. 'Its weird isn't it? Everything is amplified.' She looks back at her reflection.

'I cant believe this.' she says astounded. Jackson pulls a jumper of a hanger in her wardrobe and hands it to her. She slips it on.

Jackson heads towards the door of her room just before Aria calls out to him.

'Where is William? Are the warriors okay?' she asks.

'William is dead. The warriors are all in one piece.' he says opening the door.

'Even Heath? His neck just...' she shakes her head.

'A broken neck doesn't kill us. It just knocks us out for a good while. He's absolutely fine. Come, they want to see you.'

Aria follows him out the door and into her new life.