Daybreak

A twist on Twilight

Chapter One: *~*The Coming of Ahna*~*

Ahna Tempest was only 18 years old and already a vampire had broken her heart.

The tears were still fresh from Max's betrayal, stinging like venom in her shimmering ruby red eyes. What would she do know? Even she didn't know... Her mind was still full of so many emotions that pushed and shoved through her brain like a group of angry children. She could only sit and watch as sadness and anger battled it out in her crimson heart. Sadness because she had just left her true love over 100 miles behind her... and anger? Ahna looked down at her oh-so-pale hands and sighed. The more she thought about it, the more the memories came- those dark memories locked deep in her head, memories of red-hot pain and a fiery thirst for blood, of a darkish substance swirling through the ground, and calling to her so sweetly...

Enough, she thought to herself, looking around herself at the Paris International Airport, at the dozens of strangers pressed together in that bleak hallway. It was all so very gray. Dull and dank and gray, and smelling of all sorts of boring things, like aftershave and mold and stale coffee. For Ahna it was as if she'd just been thrown out of a sauna and into the frozen tundra. She was so used to her hectic, colorful life with the Volturi... and now, she was back in the real world, so boring and money-obsessed. But she would not let herself be daunted. She would press onward. Next destination: Forks!

Yet Ahna was still nervous; she'd only heard vaguely about Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his children. I'll just have to take a few deep breaths and I'll be fine, she thought, I'm sure that they'll accept me; I've heard that Carlisle is very nice. She had to repeat her calming little speech a couple of times to steady herself while she got ready to face the humans of this airport (she still had a bit of a weakness for blood).

There was a small desk at the corner labeled Information; Ahna ran towards it, her deep breaths still flowing awkwardly, watching the crowd flow by like a suited ocean tide. It was a bit strange for her; she'd always been taught to stand out, and here was a land where that was frowned upon.

The lady behind the desk looked like a pinched-up, scrawny mosquito that had been meticulously dressed in a boring brown suit. Her eyes had no color, matching quite perfectly with her silvery hair that had been tightly packed into a small bun at the top of her head, like a little gray pumpkin somebody had glued to her. Her lipstick was smudged.

She didn't even look up from the paperwork she was filling as she said, "May I help you?"

Ahna was struggling to keep her voice calm. She could smell the blood. "I'm looking for the next flight to Forks. Do you know when that is?"

"Next flight to where, again?"

"Forks." Ahna's explanatory tone was strained.

The lady rolled her eyes in a gesture of confusion and annoyance that she didn't try to hide, and looked up at Ahna. Then she gasped, her small eyes widening.

Ahna was thoroughly embarrassed now. This type of reaction was fairly typical for new vampires. And she had also come dressed to impress, just for the Cullens: a sparkly red dress, billowing in a nonexistent wind, on top of a long-sleeved gray shirt; pointy, dreadfully uncomfortable black and white shoesthat pinched like something awful but at least looked nice; and a golden star necklace with wired stone earrings. Her long, slightly wavy brown hair was loose with a red clip in the side. Ahna seemed to have just stepped off of a runway show.

But, of course, it hadn't been this that had impressed the mosquito lady. Ahna, having just become a vampire, appeared quite stunning with her shiny golden eyes and vivid skin that glittered quite brilliantly and almost magically. She was almost glowing!

"Er… I'm sorry; I do not quite know where that particular destination is." Said the mosquito lady; blinking, still wide-eyed.

Ahna exhaled quickly, desperately. "I don't know! In Washington!"

"Well, we have a flight to Washington D.C. at 11:30…"

Washington D.C.… no, that's the capital of America, not it… Ahna thought, before exclaiming, "I think it's near a city called Seattle?"

"There's a flight to Seattle, Washington that boards in 25 minutes at gate E10. Tickets will be 3,299."

Ahna smiled, despite her elevated heart rate. "Okay," She said, and handed over the cash.

But Seattle was not as expected.

"Oh! Which way is Forks?" She yelled through the hustle and bustle, but everybody she looked at quickly dashed away. Ahna stopped an airport official on his way to a gate. "Do you happen to know where Forks is?" She asked, her voice high-pitched from screaming.

He rolled his eyes. "Miss, I ain't no tour guide, and I don't got no clue of any Forks 'cept the ones in mah kitchen. Now, please, I'm kinda busy…" And he ran off.

"Everyone is 'kinda busy' here…" She muttered to herself, going to sit in a heap on a bench. But here she could not stop the memories of Max from flooding her brain. Sweet and caring, strong and protective…although, he did have a temper… "I miss him…" She whispered; her eyes began to fill up.

"Looking for a way to Forks, aren't you?" Called out a strong voice, and Ahna looked up to see another vampire standing above her.

He was really tall, with black hair that stuck out in all directions, some of it gelled into spikes and highlighted in silver dye. He wore a simple blue T-shirt and cargo pants. And through his pale face shone bright red eyes (reminding Ahna of rubies). By his side stood a girl with long black hair that had been highlighted in pink; her smile almost mirrored his, though it was more cautious. Their faces were identical; they were obviously siblings.

The guy smiled down at Ahna. "Me and my sis Mara here," -the girl waved- "…run a little transportation trip down to Forks. For tourism." He smiled. "So many people come here just to see the Cullens and the legendary Bella and Edward, who-"

"Cory, shut up, please. Anyone can hear you," Mara muttered, stamping on her brother's foot (he yelped), then turning and smiling at Ahna. "But, well, yeah. 'Cept the tourists-" She glared at Cory, "-haven't been coming very often lately, so right now we're waiting for anybody to transport."

"See, I have a card." Cory said proudly, handing Ahna a business card.

The thought of going to Forks so suddenly sent Ahna through a wave of pleasure and panic combined. But in the end, she couldn't refuse.

"Okay, I'll go," She nodded.

Cory turned to speak to Mara while Ahna was retrieving her luggage. "You sure about her? She's an animal eater!"

His sister nodded. "Her aura's bright pink. We can trust her. Not evil."

Cory agreed. "Yeah… and she's pretty cute too!"

"Oh, brother…"

Many hours later, Ahna found herself trying not to cry in Cory's stylish, swift blue mini cooper. Max had always been so kind to her, and what had she been? An awful girlfriend.

But as soon as the car got closer to Forks, Ahna got more and more nervous about something else as well. What if the Cullens don't accept me? What if I have to go back to Italy? She almost started hyperventilating. Stop it! They will accept me. They will.

Before she knew it, Ahna was standing at the front door of the Cullens' house- Cory beside her. He turned to look her in the eyes. "Remember," He said, "If you got any trouble, you can talk to me or my sis. We'll be there." He winked at her before driving off and leaving Ahna in a nervous, crying heap at the Cullens' door.

I can do this, just breathe and knock, don't start panicking. Hesitantly she reached her hand up and knocked once, about to knock again.

But before she could, a tall, blond-haired man answered the door and let in a view of a handsome room with luxurious furniture.

"Hi, you must be Dr. Cullen. Nice to meet you" Ahna said, her nerves flying all over the place.

"We've been expecting you, Ahna." Carlisle said calmly. He was handsome, with intelligently twinkling eyes and a calm face; he wore a pair of black jeans with a red sweater.

Now Ahna was thoroughly confused. "What?" She said, her voice a tiny bit squeaky. Oh no! They're going to kick me out! She nervously twiddled her fingers.

"My daughter Alice saw you coming; seeing the future is her vampire power." He replied, his voice once again perfectly calm.

Ahna was nearly speechless. "Oh wow, that's… impressive." My gosh! He's so kind… She thought. And imagine seeing the future… amazing… I wonder what my power is.

Carlisle smiled down at her. "Would you like to come in, Ahna?"

"Oh! Well, thank you for your kindness Dr. Carlisle. I'd love to." She was surprised at how easily that was for her. Why was I worrying in the first place? She wondered.

"Oh, you can call me Carlisle." He smiled.

As Ahna stepped in, she was amazed at what the house looked like, so clean and white and roomy. It amazed her after all that time in airports.

"This is… a very nice house you have." Ahna said, dazed. Her mind was about to explode with questions.

"Thank you." He said, glittering, "Would you like to meet the family? I'm afraid we're all a bit curious. And according to Alice, you were planning to stay a while, so you might as well meet them now." And just like that, a group of vampires was there, right there in that pretty sitting room. What is that sweet smell? Ahna asked herself. It was… familiar; but why was it here? It set her head spinning.

"This is my wife, Esme Cullen." He said. Esme walked up, pretty brown hair shimmering. "It's nice to meet you," She said, her kind smile aglow.

"This is my son, Emmett." Carlisle continued, with a hand gesture toward a big, muscular-looking vampire. All Ahna got from him was a giant, happy grin across his face.

"This is Jasper." Jasper, a blond boy, only smiled and nodded once.

"This is Rosalie." When Ahna went to look at Rosalie, she had to do a double-take. Rosalie was the most beautiful person (vampire or not) Ahna had ever seen; her shimmery, blonde hair was perfect, and her body so perfect, every single thing about her was perfect. Before long, Ahna was gawking at her and immediately closed her mouth. Before Ahna looked away, she could have sworn that Rosalie looked smug.

"This is Alice." A pretty brunette lady with a mystical smile on her face, Alice danced up to Ahna and kissed her on the forehead.

"It's nice to meet you, finally." She said with a big smile on her face.

"And last but not least, Edward, and his girlfriend Bella." When Ahna went to look at Edward, she could have sworn that his jaw tightened, and he moved into a protective stance over Bella. He just gave a slight nod looked away. But Bella must have been friendlier; she came up to Ahna in an awkward position because of the way Edward stood and tried to shake her hand.

Ahna looked closer at Edward. He seemed almost… scared for Bella. Ahna felt offended, but then wanted to know what Bella thought about her, considering she shook her hand. But the dark-haired Bella only looked annoyed at Edward's protectiveness. That did make Ahna feel better. Then it clicked: that's where the sweet scent came from. Bella was still a human. Bella's blood. That was it. Ahna abandoned immediately a thought from her brain, and then thought something else: wouldn't the Volturi kill her if she wasn't a vampire?

"Now that you've gotten to meet the family, Alice will show you to your guest room." Carlisle said disrupting Ahna's thoughts.

"Hmmm?" Ahna said confused.

"Well, Alice said that you needed somewhere to stay, am I wrong?" Carlisle said with no surprise in his voice.

"Oh, yeah, well thank you, it was nice meeting all of you." Ahna said, breathless.

And she slunk away, still lost in thought.

Chapter Two: *~*Cullen Consolation*~*

The bed had been nice, the food had been nice, Carlisle had been nice; but some things had definitely not been nice.

For example Edward. As Ahna had been going upstairs to enter her room, Edward had stopped her and looked her straight in the eye. "Leave Bella alone," He'd growled. "Alice says you come from the Volturi; who knows what those red-eyes will do." At this Ahna remembered her newfound friends Cory and Mara, and felt instantly guilty. They were red-eyed too, both of them, but that did not mean they couldn't be nice.

Ahna just gulped and listened to him, trying not to appear like a threat. It actually didn't surprise him that much that he protected Bella like that- Max had been the same. Oh, Max. She remembered so much about him: his spiky black hair (though it didn't shine as much as Edward's), his unending sacrifices for her (though perhaps each and every one of the Cullens would do the same, maybe even Edward), and his fiery temper.

But now that she realized it, Ahna was quite sure that she would find someone new. Someone nice and protective like Max, but perhaps not quite as… fiery.

Edward's protective! A small voice in the back of her mind said.

Ahna shooed it away. That thought didn't belong there. It had no place in her brain. She must keep her feelings to herself, particularly about who she thought was cute… even if she had thought Edward was cute, which of course she hadn't, ever, because Edward was Bella's, and that just wouldn't make sense.

The next few days were rather eventless, as Ahna wrote in her journal later. It had just been, seemingly, talking to the family, going out to different stores, and calling Lilly. The one interesting thing, perhaps, was Esme's cooking thing. She'd taken to making vampire-friendly, non-human meals that staved off hunger for a while. It still didn't dispel the need to hunt however.

And Ahna settled in with them, just another Cullen, and she was really starting to enjoy her time here.

But though it was pleasant enough, it was rather boring for a bit, and Ahna wondered why everyone said vampire lives were so dramatic. Her time had been anything but.

Until one afternoon when she was sitting in her room, drawing. There was a knock on the door. "Oh, it's you; I thought it might be Carlisle or Esme." Ahna said, a little surprised.

"Well, I just wanted to know what happened to you, if… that's okay." Bella said.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." Ahna was confused. What happened to me? Is it obvious that I'm sad?

"You're new." She said softly, "Jasper told me, he said he can sense it. And Alice said you seemed troubled, and sad. How did you become one?" She asked.

Both knew clearly what she meant.

"Oh, well…" Ahna didn't know what to say. It's kind of a long story, She thought. Will Bella really want to hear it?

"No, its okay, you don't have to tell me. I was just curious." Bella said as she got up to leave.

"No- wait, I was just confused on what you were saying!" Ahna answered, not wanting to disappoint Bella.

"No, it's fine, if you feel uncomfortable about it, you don't have to tell me." Bella said, as she opened the door. Edward was standing at the door.

"Really, I'm fine; I'll tell you the story." Ahna answered, a little frustrated and… jealous? Why does Edward not trust me? The family had gotten together often for events and things, including Ahna, and Edward's resentment for her was clearly evident.

"Okay." Was all Bella could say as she closed the door, and sat down.

"I used to live in Italy with my boyfriend Max; he worked for the Volturi. One day I had to talk to Lilly, his sister, and when I met her she grabbed onto my wrist, and pulled… hard, and she broke my arm. Max took me to the hospital and put me on morphine for the pain. He didn't like seeing me in pain so he decided to turn me into a vampire." Ahna's voice broke as she said the last word. She took a deep breath and continued.

"When my transformation was complete, I was furious at Max. He had turned me into a vampire without telling me. He just said that he kept putting me on morphine so I wouldn't feel the pain. He was right, but I was still furious. So I ran away from him after Lilly taught me how to hunt (I think she felt guilty about the whole thing). Not knowing what to do next, I thought I could come over here, because I heard that Carlisle's family didn't kill humans. And that's all I remember." Ahna said, as a few tears escaped her golden eyes.

All of sudden, Ahna heard this weird whining noise, and noticed it was Bella crying. Immediately, Ahna put her arm around Bella, trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, I feel so bad for you." Bella said, through sobs.

"Shh, shh, it's alright, I'm happy where I am, right now." Ahna said calmly. And I am. She thought, if a bit frustrated.

"Thank you for telling me the story; sorry again, I can get emotional sometimes." Bella said, wiping away her tears and blushing.

"That's fine." Ahna said, still trying to comfort Bella.

"Oh, look at the time; I have to go home now." Bella said. Her eyes were red from crying. Ahna couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

"Okay, I'll see you later." Ahna said, though slightly disappointed.

As Bella walked out, Ahna saw Edward stiffen because of Bella's state. And as the door closed Ahna could have sworn Edward was glaring at her. What did I do wrong! Another wave of anger and jealousy washed over her, but why jealousy?

Ahna sat down on her bed, her curious mind working furiously. She paced in her room all night. Why does Edward hate me so much? I already know that he doesn't trust me with Bella, but I have to dig deeper! She thought to herself. It was nagged away at her constantly. How am I going to get Edward alone so I can talk him about this hatred?

Ahna was so frustrated, until about 5 AM the next morning, when she looked out the window and immediately saw that it was going to be a sunny day. Yes, this is my chance! I just have to get him corned and make sure that were alone before I talk to him. She thought out the plan and decided to take it to action.

When she got downstairs, Carlisle was talking to his family.

"So Emmett and Rosalie should go south, Alice and Jasper you got west, and Esme and I will go north. We'll meet back here tonight." Carlisle said.

"Are you sure you want to hunt alone, Edward?" Esme asked, a little worried.

"Yes, I'm sure." He said firmly. His golden eyes glittered resolutely;

"Ok, well, you'll go east." Carlisle said calmly.

"I could go with Edward." Ahna said, walking down stairs. "Lilly taught me enough about hunting before I left. I think I can handle it."

Ahna could see Edward's nostrils flare with fury.

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" Esme said with delight, "You two could get to know each other better!"

They all looked at Edward as he made up his mind and then finally gave a slight nod, but only because he didn't want to disappoint Esme; he hated doing that. And with that, everybody dispersed. Finally, she got him alone. Time for the interrogation. She took a deep breath and walked beside him.

After Ahna was sure that everybody was out of hearing range she put her plan into action.

"Hey Edward, can I ask you a few questions?" Ahna asked trying to sound innocent.

When he got to the forest he started running.

"Hey!" Ahna yelled as she too started running to keep up with him. This is going to be harder than I thought. She said to herself. Trying to keep in pace, she thought back to what Lilly, Max's loud and slightly brash sister, had taught her.

Edward had always been the fastest in the family, so Ahna was always a few feet behind him. She finally got so frustrated that she yelled:

"Hey, what is your problem?"

That made him stop short in his tracks - Ahna almost passed him.

"What did you just say?" He yelled, furious.

"What is your problem? I ask if I can ask you a few questions and you start running away from me!" Ahna said, just as furious as Edward was.

"So? What if I don't want to answer your questions?" He yelled so loud that the birds flew away. The forest was silent except for their persistent shouts.

"What is wrong with asking a few questions? I may not be a person, but I still have feelings!" She shouted at him. Ahna didn't notice she was standing on her toes. She straightened herself and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. I can do this. Just breathe.

"Fine, but only a few." He said trying to calm down too.

"Thank you. Now my first question is: why do you hate me so much?" Ahna asked, as casually as she could.

"Because… you just came up to the door, and asked to come in, how am I supposed to know that you're not a threat?" He asked, breathing hard.

"Because… Alice would have told you, wouldn't she?" Ahna asked, surprised that he didn't know.

"Alice only said that a new girl was coming and needed a place to stay; she didn't tell us whether you were a threat or not. So I didn't let my guard down." Edward said, more calmly. His copper hair shone, like fire almost. Not at all like Max's.

"Hasn't Bella told you to calm down? Shouldn't you let her have a little freedom!" Ahna asked.

"What if you were a tracker? What would I do then? I would have to kill you and make sure you don't kill her. It would be so hard to know that she had to go through that!" He said his voice rising with every word.

"But I'm not a tracker!" Ahna yelled with anger and some… jealousy? Why am I feeling jealousy? She asked herself.

"Because," Edward said interrupting Ahna's thoughts. "What if something happened to her or she even got…" He couldn't finish the sentence, but Ahna knew what he was about to say. It hurt her far too much to even describe.

"I could never live with myself!" He yelled. By now all living creatures within a quarter mile of the place they stood had fled far, far away.

"Oh, so now it's about me killing her, and you not being able to live with yourself!" Ahna screamed, so loud even her ears hurt.

"What, you think it's all about you? Well it's not! You're not the center of attention all the time!" He yelled through his teeth.

"UGH! Why do you always act like this around me?" Ahna yelled; also through her teeth.

"Because… because…" He couldn't answer, and turned away from her.

Ahna looked him straight in the eyes and reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

It felt wonderful… but then it was over.

Her brain almost exploded with thoughts. What just happened? Did I just kiss Edward Cullen? The vampire who fell in love with a mortal? Yes, I did… Ahna thought to herself. But she now felt a wave of emotion toward Edward. He could be a lot like Max sometimes, and she and Max had been together… couldn't she be with Edward too, now that Max as gone? Oh, this is so wrong… I shouldn't have done that, now Bella will get so mad.

Edward gaped at Ahna incredulously, then turned away, fury plain in his eyes.

"This isn't right; I'm in love with Bella! She's going to feel so used and hurt! How could you do that to me?" He yelled, running off into the forest without a backward glance.

Ahna just stood there, dazzled. Then it clicked. That's why she had been feeling jealousy. She was jealous of Bella; she wanted Edward, wanted someone like him to protect her like that… just like she had wanted Max, such a long time ago.