[A/N] Hello, my faithful readers! I'm back! I told you all I would update at Christmas Eve and so I have! I also said I would update more than one chapter but unfortunately, like the unlucky person I am, I managed to get a 39.7 degrees Celsius fever… on Christmas Eve. Aren't I lucky? I wanted to give you the first chapter, however so here it is! I'll be updating throughout these next few days so keep a look out, yeah?

I hope you like the new versions of the stories I write. Whereas there might not be many changes in the beginning, you will notice that they will gradually increase.

So without further ado, Enjoy!

Crimson and bare as I stand
Yours completely,
Yours as we go over

Sing for the lion and lamb
Their hearts are hunting
Still hunts hope ever and ever
Ever

Cold

"Cold" - Aqualung & Lucy Schwartz

What happens after death? It is the million dollar question of humanity. It is a question that has plagued the mind of humans for over decades, centuries even. Of course, nobody has even given us the answer we seek, but did we really expect something different, perhaps a different outcome? Unfortunately, there is no way someone can just go back to earth, which would be a lousy choice because earth sucks, after dying just to say; "Well, god has sent me back to tell you there is no reincarnation." Not that I am religious for that matter.

And so we live in ignorance, always dreading the inevitable unknown. I mean, sure, you can pretend like it doesn't actually matter, you can laugh it off, but that looming, ominous cloud of dark is always there. Maybe being positive is the right way to go. It's better than the alternative, being terrified. Of course, despite having the knowledge that we will never know what the afterlife holds while living, we cannot help but wonder. Will we be ghosts, watching the race of humanity progress until everything ends, or maybe we will be reborn, perhaps on a different planet, as another being?

There are hundreds of cults and groups out there who all have different beliefs. Some believe in heaven and hell, others in the simple nothingness. I always thought that was the best and most likely option, the nothingness I mean. There were no expectations, you just were. It used to frighten me, the fact that you lived and then just simply fade into nothing. There would be no mark of you on this earth because you weren't important enough. But now, after experiencing true life, I realize that you never just are and you leave your mark on the people you meet and love. The people you care for, such as family, friends and lovers.

I used to think that my destiny was simply to be, to endure and when the time came I would finally be free. I used to think that the thing that frightened me most about this earth was the people in it, and for me leaving couldn't come fast enough.

Until then, that was.

ONE

March 4th, 2006 (Saturday)

The humid weather and frequent thunderstorms of Richmond, Virginia were two of the few things that Sophia would most definitely not miss about her now former home. Sure, there were many great things about the state with its rich history, but even that became old when you knew more about said history than the teacher. She was slightly bummed about the weather in the state they were moving to as it was not much better than the weather in their former home state. Forks, Washington was known for harsh winters and rainy weather, and Sophia could not help but hope that she would be spared of the storms. Of course, knowing her luck, this was not going to happen. This didn't mean she didn't like the cold though. No, Sophia loved the rain and she was a total sucker for snow. She loved the whole lot of it – the snow angels, snowball fights and making snowmen. She and her best friends usually didn't stop at one snowman though. They mostly ended up making a whole army and pretended they were their servants and that the three of them were going to war. Their enemies were each other, obviously.

Her parents were once again bickering in the front of the car. Truthfully, you would most likely never find two people who loved each other more, they just had petty little arguments about the smallest things every once in a while. A small sigh escaped Sophia's lips as she took her phone and plugged in her ear buds, putting them in her ears and pressing play. As soon as the music started the soft notes of the intro to her favourite song flowed through the buds, chasing cars – Snow Patrol. Sophia never really had a specific style of music that she preferred over others. It usually completely depended on the song and its lyrics, but there was not one song which, to her, was better than chasing cars. She felt extremely connected to it.

As Sophia looked out of the window thoughts flooded her mind. She was going to miss this place. It had been the girls' home for seventeen years, that's a relatively long time. Her whole life had been here since the moment she was born, her friends, home, school and part-time job. Alas, her father had gotten a job offer at the local hospital in Forks, and the four of them were ready for this move. After everything that had happened in Richmond, they wanted out. Sophia's father was a neurosurgeon, and a damn good one at that. He had gotten a lot of offers from different hospitals, bigger ones with better salary, but they couldn't take them. The family didn't want to move to a big city after all, and her father, being the big teddy bear that he is, had chosen the smallest of the smallest towns he could possibly pick. Part of his reasoning was that they had been here before, he had friends here. They had lived here for a while when she was younger and his two best friends lived there still. Not that Sophia particularly minded. She was done with bigger cities and towns. In her mind this move was a good thing. Besides, they had enough money. Her grandparents had made sure of that.

Sophia sighed deeply as she turned her head away from the window. The girl turned in her seat and put her legs over the back seat, stretching and making herself comfortable, taking extra care not to hit her little sister with her obnoxious feet. It was going to be quite a long ride after all.

After a good hour of driving Sophia had decided to, in order to remove the bore she felt, just read her books. As she rummaged through her bag she pulled out two of them, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. It was always a tie between those two and both books were absolutely tattered, but in the end she decided on Lord of the Rings and slowly, but surely, the gracefulness of Legolas and the roughness of Aragorn sucked her into their universe and she was desperately turning pages in order to get to the end quickly. She had always been an extremely intelligent person and soaked up new information like a sponge. Of course, in contradiction to that, Sophia sucked at anything physical. Sure, she could memorise a full chapter of a book in half a day at most, but she had never been able to shoot a goal at football or get the ball into the basket while playing basketball and she don't even let her get started on any sports that involve rackets. She still had a dent in her forehead, she was sure of.

Sophia was pulled from her reading by the yawn her younger sister let out and looked at her. Leila Katherine Ainsley was a beautiful little girl. There was some sort of ethereal beauty to the four and a half years old. She had inherited their fathers' dark hair much like Sophia had only a slightly lighter brown whereas Sophia's locks bordered pitch black and she, unlike Sophia, had gotten their mother's beautiful bright blue eyes. Her skin was pale, once again like Sophia, which was quite curious seeing as neither of their parents had pale skin. Both were delightfully tanned and enjoyed those tans, taking pleasure from messing with both Sophia and Leila about being 'as pale as a vampire'.

Leila's rosy red lips and the perfect black curls that pooled around her body made her one of the most beautiful children many had ever seen. Their mother had tried cutting it once but Leila had screamed and cried until she was allowed to keep it long. It now reached the end of her butt and dear god was she proud of it. Leila was like Sophia in many ways both character and looks, but the one major difference between them was that Sophia wasn't skinny like Leila. Sophia had a noticeable tummy, big thighs and broad hips, but she was never ashamed of her body. In fact, she was proud of it. Sure, she had her insecurities but then again, who didn't? And sure, she was jealous of the girls who could fit into and pull off the clothes she could not, but her weight had never held her back. Her mother always told her she was perfect the way she was and if someone wasn't going to accept her the way she was, they did not deserve her and somewhere deep inside Sophia agreed with her.

Sophia and Leila's mother, a beautiful woman that went by the stunning name Bianca Louise Ainsley, was a petit blond-haired beauty who, at first sight, wouldn't seem too threatening but had a fire burning in her eyes that could not be tamed. She was everything their father wasn't and that was why they fit together so well. Her face wore a kind façade, but everyone who took the time getting to know her knew that it was a betraying thing. Their mother was a mother lioness who would stop at absolutely nothing to protect her precious family, and she was stubborn as hell. Sophia chuckled as she heard her mother complain about the map she was holding and her father just sigh and agree with her. "Yes, dear." was a phrase he uttered quite frequently.

Unlike their petit mother, their father was a bear of a man. Alexander Darius Ainsley was a huge man with muscles that were nearly as big as Sophia's head. He originally came from Scotland but moved to America to be with their mother, whom he met while studying abroad for a semester. She had been a nurse-in-training and he was in his last year of medical school. It was love at first sight- they had said. Their story was almost a fairytale. Alexander's pitch black hair was grown out and tied back into a ponytail he had swung over his shoulder and it reached the end of his chest, the beginning of his abs. His figure was intimidating but to Bianca, Sophia and Leila, 'his girls' as he called them, he was just one big teddy bear.

Sophia was once again torn from her thoughts when her sister roused from her sleep. Her eyes opened as she stretched and turned her little head towards Sophia, smiling slightly. "Fee!" she cried out gleefully. Sophia hated being called Fee, but it had stuck. Leila had never been able to pronounce her name properly when she had started talking and thus, for her and her only, it became Fee.

Sophia smiled back gently and took Leila out of her children's seat, which she still needed as she was still too young to sit in the car without one and because she was a really short child, and pulled her towards her, Leila's back to her chest, making sure to put her seatbelt in a way that it covered the beautiful little girl too. Sophia kissed Leila's head and hugged her tightly. "Hey, kitty. How was your nap?" She asked as she stroked her head gently as it was resting on her chest. Kitty was Leila's nickname because the girl, cute as she was, decided she didn't want to be a princess but one of those cute kittens when she grew up so everyone would love her no matter how old she got. In Sophia's mind it almost sounded a bit like Peter Pan, but their parents and Sophia herself indulged their little treasure and called her kitty, though in their father's eyes both of the Ainsley daughters were princesses nonetheless. Leila and she were his little princesses and in his mind that would never change, whether they grew up and got married or had children of their own.

Leila stuck out her tongue cutely, shaking her head. "It wasn't very fun, fee… I dreamt about the big, bad ice cream again." She said with a completely straight face as she shuddered slightly. Sophia laughed, amused by her ability to fantasize so incredibly much, and squeezed her a little before ruffling her hair. "The evil one?" she asked, her cheek against Leila's much smaller one. "Yup, the big bad chocolate, he was bullying Miss Vanilla!" Sophia hummed, putting her chin on her little sister's head.

"Hey mom, how long do we have left?" she asked as she blew in Leila's ear knowing it made her itchy and laughed as the little girl started complaining immediately. Their mother turned away from the map and looked at her daughter through the mirror. "I think we might have half an hour or so left, right, darling?" She asked Alexander for confirmation. Alex nodded his head and grinned at his beautiful eldest child. "Why, is my little princess anxious to get there?" he asked. Sophia grinned back. "Ecstatic." She said as she retreated back into her mind.

612 Steelhead Ave, Forks, Washington was their new address. Sophia had taken some time off school and work a few weeks back to go house hunting with her parents and though they weren't extremely thrilled about the houses in Forks, this one house called to their very souls. It was beautiful and slightly old-fashioned which was perfect for them. It was originally used as a simple holiday retreat for the former owners so there had to be some serious work done which was no issue for them. The house was surrounded by woods and right behind the house was a river which Sophia thought was called the Sol Duc River. She wasn't entirely sure about that though. The river had low bank access which was perfect as my parents both loved fishing. The bedrooms left things to desire, but they had hired a company to fix all of the stuff they didn't like to their liking before they moved in and when Alex had gone down to Forks one last time things seemed to have been going great with renovations. They made sure to keep the old feeling of the house though by keeping the old wood and stone. Sophia had already claimed the bedroom with the best view, as it showed both the forest and the river, and the private bathroom which, thankfully, her parents didn't object to. She had quickly changed the colour scheme of said room too. What used to be boring beige and broken white was now oak brown with royal blue. It was both her bedroom and her library, for yes, she needed one for all the books she had. Her parents had the bedroom with the view of the front lawn and her sister had gotten the bedroom that was slightly smaller and had a look out on the porch.

Oh, the porch. It was beautiful. It was made entirely out of dark wood, probably oak, and was big. There were benches and seats, enough for their family and more. At this point it was one of Sophia's favourite places in the house, especially since her father had gotten a few some new, comfortable seats and a few heating lights. The porch originally wasn't covered, but her father had gotten a 'roof' built for it. It would now be a great place to sit without freezing, and Sophia couldn't wait to try it out.

Sophia had her own bathroom which was en-suite. It contained both a shower and a bath, which she really didn't mind seeing as she liked taking showers but preferred a nice, long bath every once in a while. It was smaller than the other bathroom but Sophia didn't particularly mind as she wasn't the one sharing. Her parents had to share with little Leila, after all. Once again Sophia made sure to change the colour scheme as it used to be beige; she simply added some dark brown and emerald accessories.

The attic, which was completely re-done, had turned into a private study and library for Sophia to store all the books that wouldn't fit into her bedroom. She had a lot of them after all. Sophia loved reading and once she picked up a book, she couldn't put it back down. Over the years she had started collecting books and said collection had reached a point as to where whenever someone wanted to buy her a book for a birthday or other celebration or just a gift they had to ask her or her parents whether she had the book or not. Sophia thought it was quite hilarious, really.

She had taken a few old chairs from their old home, which she was incredibly comfortable in, and placed them on the attic, creating a small reading corner between all her books. The kitchen had stayed mostly the same, they just added some new appliances whereas the living room had been redone entirely.

Sophia was ripped wrong her thoughts when her father let out a loud laugh and slowed down a tad, pointing towards the large sign saying 'The city of Forks welcomes you!' and an odd feeling swept over her, she was back again. In a way it almost felt like coming home after a long holiday. "We're back, ladies." He said, grabbing a hold of her mother's hand and squeezing it, looking at her with adoration all over his face. "We're finally home."

Sophia grinned widely and hugged her sister tightly, looking out of the window. The scenery was beautiful, really. Everywhere she looked she saw nature and even as they drove through the town she could see the greenery poking through. It took them another good fifteen minutes to arrive at the house and it was approximately ten minutes away from the centre of the town. Sophia guessed it would take her father about fifteen minutes to go to work and around the same amount for her to arrive at her school, but she didn't particularly care. She didn't like driving but did have her licence and knew she couldn't catch a ride with her father every day anyway, even though he had to go the same way she did, so they had her and her mother's car brought over. Whereas her father had his Mercedes, a car he was very attached to and called 'Mary', her mother and her both had a Mazda 3. Hers was black, her mothers' was silver.

Slowly the car came to a stop and Sophia took a deep breath. Though she knew this new home was a good thing, she couldn't help but be worried that things wouldn't stay good. She loved Forks when she was younger, especially the kids over at the reservation as she used to spent lots of time there considering Alexanders' mother used to live there before moving to Scotland to be with their grandfather Mallory, but she had grown and so had all of them. Would she fit in?

Her little sister tugging on her hair was what dragged her from her thoughts. Leila's sleepy eyes looked up at her and Sophia chuckled. "We here, Fee." She said, her vocabulary still a little bit lacking in her age, but mostly because Leila couldn't be bothered making full sentences. To be fair, Sophia didn't particularly felt like it either. They had just taken a forty-two hours long trip and she was exhausted and tired of being in the car.

As the car stopped Sophia took off her and Leila's seatbelt and pulled the little girl to her side, carrying her on her hip while exiting the vehicle. She turned and looked at the house. It was as beautiful as she remembered.

Sophia chuckles as her mother wrapped her arm around her and Leila and looked at them. "Think of it as a new beginning. We deserved it, don't you agree?" she said as she strengthened her grip slightly. Sophia smiled and nodded her head, turning back to the house and slowly starting to walk towards it. The air was nice, pure, and Sophia liked it. Leila was looking around with renewed vigour, tugging her elder sister's long, raven hair and pointing at something in the trees. "Look, fee! It a skwearl!" she said excitedly and she beamed as she bounced in Sophia's arms. Sophia shook her head looking thoroughly amused and softly tapped Leila's nose. "It's Squirrel, Ley, but yes." Leila simply ignored the older girl- Sophia felt a sense of slight indignity fill her but simply chuckled it off, and continued looking around.

As her father opened the door to their new home they stepping inside and took in their surroundings. Everything had been covered in boxes and their furniture had already been delivered and placed in their supposed spots, curtesy of Charlie Swan- one of Alex's old friends and Sophia's godfather, whom had jumped to the opportunity when Sophia's father had asked for someone to oversee the movers, and it was slightly chaotic. Sophia sighed as she realised just how much work they still had to do. She hoped they would get it finished that day so she could take the last day before her first day of school to rest from the trip, but figured her hope would be unheard.

Sophia put Leila down and went to grab one of the boxes for the upstairs bathroom, the one her parents shared with Leila. Her boxes had already been placed in her room and her parents and she had agreed that she would focus on her bathroom and bedroom first. She had school on Monday whereas both of her parents wouldn't start work until Wednesday, both at Forks Community hospital, so they could spent more time resting than she and Leila. Sophia felt somewhat relieved when she remembered she had already been enrolled in Forks High School by her father last time he visited the house to oversee the renovations. It was weight falling off of her shoulder as it would be one less thing for her to take care of.

"Okay, Soph, you can start with your bedroom and bathroom. Your father and I will start downstairs." Bianca said as she took her youngest daughter by the hand, walked over to the couch and sat Leila on it with a drawing book and some crayons for her entertainment.

"Is that so?" her father asked with an eyebrow raised, arm crossed and a smirk on his face. Bianca simply looked at her husband, copied his stance and said with a mocking version of his voice, "Yes, it is."

Leila and Sophia laughed loudly at their parents and it wasn't long before they too joined their amused daughters. For a little while they simply laughed, teased and joked around with each other before they knew it was time to go to work. However a knock on their door stopped them once again and Sophia moved to open it. She turned the doorknob and stood aside as the two people in front of the door came in view.

"Hey, we came to help." Charlie Swan said with a lazy, slightly awkward wave. His left hand had been placed on the handle of the wheelchair the long-haired man sat in. He was wearing simple clothes, a red shirt and some jeans, and looked positively excited to see all of them. "Well, he came to help. I'm just here for moral support." Billy Black said while pointing at his wheelchair with the biggest grin on his face, making all four Ainsleys and his best friend laugh once again.

Sophia grinned and jumped at Charlie, hugging the man tightly. "Uncle Charlie!" she said excitedly. The man wrapped his arms around her waist and returned her hug. The man was mostly a very awkward individual but he had always been extremely comfortable with the Ainsleys. Mainly because they had been friends for such a long time. He had held Sophia at her birth for heavens' sake and was her godfather as well as Sarah Black had once been her godmother which had made Billy family in its own right.

There were many things Sophia loved about Forks and the fact that her family was here made her feel a completeness she hadn't felt in a while.

"Well then, let's get to work, shall we? Otherwise this is going to take ages." Bianca said as she pushed the box Sophia had put back down on the floor to open the door back into her arms and softly pressing her towards the stairs. Sophia simply said nothing and made her way up towards her parent's bathroom. She pushed open the door with her foot- her hands were unavailable after all, and dropped the box down on the floor quite rudely. Then she turned and walked towards her bedroom.

She opened the door and stepped inside all the while taking a good look at her surroundings. Her room had become beautiful. The once carpet covered floor was now made out of dark oak wood and the former beige walls had been painted a royal blue. The queen sized bed was made of the same oak wood her floor had been made and royal blue sheets that had little black figures on them along with the matching pillows were on the bed. It hadn't been made yet, but it was there. A soft, black rug was on the floor under her bed and two black chairs were in the corner with a small table by it. Her walls were covered by bookcases and as she looked at the boxes that read 'BOOKS' standing in the room she sighed as she immediately knew that it was going to be a lot of work getting the books where she wanted them.

With that being said Sophia started working. She decided she had to get the books out of the way first because it would be the most work to do and so she started opening the boxes, grabbing the books and putting them on the bookshelves all the while sorting the books by author and alphabet. Time passed quickly and before she noticed it was already two PM. She had taken three hours.

Then she finished the rest of her room and closet. Clothes were arranged by colour and her pictures were hung on the wall. Slowly, but surely the end seemed to be in sight. She was working with such concentration that she didn't hear or notice anyone moving upstairs until she heard the knocking on her door. Charlie took a few steps into her room and nodded.

"It's looking good, kiddo." He said, taking a good look around. Sophia smiled and thanked the man she had come to see as family. "Well, it's time for dinner. Alex told me to come get you. We ordered some Chinese." A grin appeared on her face. She loved Chinese.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a bit."

Charlie left, leaving Sophia to take one last look around her room, grab the folded boxes and head downstairs while throwing said boxes on the pile created at the front door. She walked into the living room, which had a dining table too, and took a seat next to her little sister and father.

As she took a look at the people sitting at the table she couldn't help but smile as a comforting feeling swept over her.

She was home.