Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original character(s) and my plot. Twilight is Stephenie Meyer's, duh.

September 4th, 1920, approximately 10:00 P.M.
Capri, Italy

Two shrouded figures ghosted across the lifeless ground, weaving between the trees of the forest. The night was scarcely illuminated by the full moon overhead, which was half-obscured by clouds and treetops. If one examined the mysterious couple more closely, it might be said that they moved like predators, although their prey was not yet obvious. Not a sound came from their direction - even their footsteps were undetectable by human ear - but they wordlessly coordinated their paths.

The pair stopped, crouching down and watching a young woman appear from a small gap in the trees. She was one of the few inhabitants of the little town still out of her home, perhaps having taken an evening shopping trip and losing track of time. The couple followed close behind her, escaping her notice. When she paused, either because she sensed their presence, or simply to breathe in the night air, they ceased movement as well and waited - only for a moment. Before she could take another step, one of the figures sprinted forward and, in the blink of an eye, stood in front of the girl. She opened her mouth to talk, to scream, to do something, but she was silenced by the other being, who appeared behind her and slipped a hand over her mouth. The first figure leaned down, teeth bared, to her slim throat. The last things her terrified blue eyes glimpsed were fangs, glistening white and razor-sharp.

When she returned to consciousness, eyes still tightly shut, she was unaware of anything but the overwhelming, excruciating pain. Her veins ran with fire, not blood, and the flames within her danced an erratic tarantella. Her insides were filled with jagged shards of glass which pricked and scraped at her now shockingly pale skin. Her fragile and surprisingly clear mind contemplated, almost satirically, how she could possibly be conscious during such pain. She must be dead already... but then why did she still feel? A part of her told her not to scream, because it would only attract attention, but should she care?

She lifted her eyelids slightly - it was still nighttime - and forced herself to remain silent, although unsure why she must. Broken images of him drifted through her shocked psyche. Minutes passed, and she was sure she couldn't hold out much longer without fainting again, or worse.

The torment did not lessen; if anything, it intensified as the minutes stretched into hours. She was becoming more sensitive to the pain, to everything. The whisper of ocean breezes rustling the leaves on the trees, the glinting lights of the stars above her head reflecting on the nearby water. This beauty to which she was so accustomed, yet never failed to inspire awe in her, was not nearly enough to distract her. She wanted silence, blindness, death. Yes, death sounded pleasant compared to this cruel awareness of her body being torn apart from the inside.

The girl finally drifted back into the blackness, not knowing where she would end up, but feeling it had to be better than here.

September 6th, 1920

Bright, natural light invaded her darkness, peeking through her eyelids, but strangely, she was no longer begging for blackness, and welcomed the illumination. The pain had stopped, and the eerie awareness that had penetrated her was still present, but she found she didn't mind it. Every one of her senses was heightened, and as her eyes fluttered open, she took a moment to work out where she was. Trees; she was surrounded by trees. Nothing unusual, as she'd been getting used to living in these forested mountains, but she didn't see her house. Why wasn't she at home, or near it? A memory, strangely blurred in contrast with her sharply clear vision, flashed through her mind: she was attacked on her way home. By who? Or... by what? She had no way of identifying the man - although she knew he was a man - except by his teeth. She had heard legends of vampires in the Old World, and had long since given them up for fairy tales. But... there was no other explanation. The more she thought about it, the plainer it became: she'd been bitten, and thus changed...

Her logical side rejected it. A vampire? Impossible. Of course she didn't want to accept that as the truth, because it would mean one of two things; she was dead, or one of these mythical creatures herself.

Not really wanting to contemplate either option, she decided to focus on the things she -could- control. She attempted standing, and found it quite easier than expected. The girl rose gracefully and lightly to her feet, without dizziness or unsteadiness. A couple strands of jet-black hair obscured her view, and in the blink of an eye she reached up a tiny, pale hand to sweep them out of her face. The only remnant of the pain seemed to be a subtle burning in her throat, as if she had not drunk anything in days - and truth be told, she hadn't. Ignoring this anomaly, the girl continued onward.

However, walking forward with a purpose got her nowhere, perhaps even further lost. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to create a sort of mental map of the forest. Instantly, she noticed small movements amongst the trees that she did not before, as if she could sense all the life around her. One with heavier footfalls she could pick out about half a mile north, and she took off swiftly in that direction, hoping it was someone she knew and not something she didn't.

She stopped short of a clearing, several hundred feet wide, where a family of deer was grazing. The burning in the back of her throat surged stronger as she watched the defenseless animals. A small voice told her she should feed off the creatures, or she'd starve; a smaller voice said it would be wrong, and repugnant.

Being raised in the city, she hadn't exactly grown up accustomed to wildlife, but her brief time spent here made her fully appreciate nature and its children. Yet, along with the clear mind and odd grace she now possessed seemed to have come a vicious instinct to kill. The first voice, the spokesman of this instinct, was talking again.

They're just weak animals. Below you, Alessandra. Your needs come before theirs. Attack. It's quite easy. You are strong... much stronger than even the men of this village. If you'd prefer, you could overtake one of them, instead of these deer.

The girl, Alessandra, shook her head, both in disagreement and an attempt to clear it.

No? Well then, you have no choice. Your life for theirs. It's simple.

In that moment, she heard the twisted truth in those words, and resolved that for now, she could listen to this demon if it meant survival. In less than a second, she appeared at the male deer's side, and she leant down to the neck, somehow knowing how to extend her fangs and pierce the animal's skin. The buck had no chance to struggle, though she held him in place with two pale hands. She drank her fill and then, feeling much stronger, unlatched her canines and let the animal drop.

The reality of what she had done sunk in a moment later, and her scarlet eyes widened in horror. She stumbled backward before turning around and sprinting away from the clearing, faster than she ever thought possible.

Sasha, you're a monster now.

EDIT: Please review! :D Reviews make me happy and want to write more. I will update as soon as possible, if people are actually interested in this. xD