You won't recognize yourself, the things that you've done.
And you're too cold to melt.
And you've come undone.

- Data Romance, Bullets

Chapter 13

18 months later

So the doppelganger was graduating from High School this week. How exciting.

Kathryn nonchalantly rocked her spinning chair from side-to-side. She felt somewhat guilty about her plans to kill the girl, Violet, after her graduation. But the curse needed to be broken… she hadn't endured thousands of years of torment for nothing. She would be with Alexander again, once everything was fixed. Kathryn thought herself very kind to even have let her doppelganger live for this long. It had been a year since she had discovered the doppelganger, after all.

It angered her that Jacob had not told her about the girl; but she supposed he had a good reason to try to screw her over and protect the doppelganger, after everything she had done to him. She liked him even more for that; despite the fact that she was an original who could easily crush him, he continued to stubbornly fight against her. It was sexy; she would be entertaining thoughts of him if it were not for Alexander.

Jacob appeared to be otherwise engaged, as well, however; he spent nearly every moment of his existence with Violet. The pathetic little human clone of Kathryn and all of her greatness. It humored Kathryn to think that Jacob actually believed that he could protect her.

"Kathryn?" Brynne stepped into the room, two guards at her side.

"Yes, Brynne?" Kathryn asked, turning her chair and slamming her heels down to the floor. She crossed her legs expectantly, putting on a mischievous smile.

"We have everything in place as you asked. We have as many guards as there are graduation guests; if the doppelgangers try to escape, the guards have orders to kill them all."

"Excellent." Kathryn's eyes lit up with delight. "And tell me… is the Cullen family aware of the situation?"

"No," Brynne answered, her smile now matching Kathryn's. "They have not told the Cullen family. The family believes it to be as simple as Jacob falling in love with a human girl. Just as their Edward and his beloved Bella."

"Are there any signs of her being back as a graduation guest? We already have one newborn to deal with; he can be taken care of easily, but with her in the equation as a newborn with those incredible powers of hers, our plans may not operate as smoothly."

"She does not intend to return; she will be staying at her school for the summer to continue taking classes."

"Good. And you remembered the rest of my plan?"

"Everything is set in place," Brynne promised confidently.

"Perfect." Still smiling, Kathryn stood up, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm glad to have such a great friend with such an amazing gift. Still no visions of the doppelgangers, though?"

Brynne's expression fell with frustration. "No. I still cannot see them. My visions are compromised by them being doppelgangers, of which I have never been."

"That is alright," Kathryn purred, pulling her friend into a tight hug. "We will still conquer," she whispered into Brynne's ear.

She pulled away, walking to stand back in front of her large office window. She gazed down at her vast lawn victoriously. "I always get what I want," she whispered to herself, a wicked grin lighting up her features.

Three days later

"You have your tassel the wrong way," Jacob said, pulling the tassel over to the right side of Violet's cap.

"Oh right; I forgot you've done this before," she replied, nervously peeking out at the crowd of people awaiting the start of the ceremony. It was her graduation day, and she was nervous. Not only was she worried about the common things graduates worry about (such as tripping on stage or losing her tassel as she walked), she also had a nagging feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong.

"What's wrong?" He asked, gently pulling her face to look at his. "You seem distracted."

"I just… I have the feeling that something bad is about to happen." She bit her lip nervously.

"You're just nervous about graduating," he consoled, ignoring the fact that he had the same feeling. "Don't worry, everything will go fine. And then after the ceremony we can leave and go wherever you want."

"Meaning, you're going to hide me from Kathryn until I look too old to recognize," she translated.

He smiled. "Couldn't you just call it 'finding yourself' like other graduates do?"

"Not when Kathryn is calling it 'finding the doppelganger' at the same time."

"Places, everyone!" Mrs. Flora shouted, her and two other teachers beckoning students to head towards their respectful places in the line. Violet glanced nervously once more out at the crowd awaiting the start of the ceremony.

"It will be fine," Jacob told her again, placing a soft kiss on her lips. She wove her fingers through his hair, pulling him in for a longer, deeper kiss.

The loud noise of a man disapprovingly clearing his throat sounded behind them. "Break it up, kids. Arms length apart. Arms length apart!"

Violet turned to see Emmett and Edward walking up behind them, Emmett with a huge smile on his face. "Yes, Principal Emmett," she sarcastically obeyed.

He scooped her up into a big bear hug, spinning her around so rapidly that she grew dizzy. "Congrats, kid," he whispered into her ear. "First time graduating is always exciting."

"And what about the next few?" she teased.

"Much less exciting," Edward laughed.

"Come on little bro, you can see your girlfriend after the ceremony." Emmett grabbed Jacob, pulling him away, Edward following closely behind.

Jacob turned to smile at her as Emmett dragged him towards the front of the line. "It will be fine," he promised again, Emmett and Edward oblivious to the double meaning in his words. "Smile! It's your big day."

She feebly smiled at him, letting the smile fall from her face as soon as he had turned away. She found her place in line next to Katy, uncomfortable with the distance between her and Jacob. She always felt much safer when he was nearby.

"Hey! Big day! I'm so nervous," Katy said, pulling Violet into a hug.

Violet hugged back tightly. "I feel such a strange sense of finality," she confessed to her friend.

Katy grinned at Violet, flicking her friend's tassel. "It's a good feeling, okay?" She leaned in closer. "We never have to see any of these morons and assholes again."

Violet laughed, the tension she felt easing up slightly. "True. And I am very thankful for that."

"I as well," Katy nodded with a wise expression. "Such a day of grandeur in which we all strut across a stage, taking in our hands the flame of which lights the wick of our futures; we burn brightly as newly lit candles, whilst we wear square pieces of cardboard upon our heads."

Violet giggled again, her nerves beginning to relax. She briefly caught her reflection in a mirror down the hallway from Katy, and turned back to it to check for one last time how she looked before she walked across stage with something stuck between her teeth. She met the eyes of her reflection, and reached up to adjust her tassel. Suddenly, her reflection smiled at her.

Violet gasped as she realized, with horror, that there was nothing in that hallway for her reflection to catch on. Kathryn she mouthed, unable to find her voice. Kathryn grinned at her, disappearing down the hallway. The cap that had been on her head fluttered to the ground, leaving an unbearable void in its place. Now that Kathryn had left her sight, she had no idea where she would pop up next. Would Kathryn go after her friends? Her parents and her brother? Or worst of all… would she go after Jacob?

"Violet? What's wrong?" Katy asked, a look of deep concern on her face. Violet did not answer; she instead spun on her heel, lurching dizzily forward towards Jacob.

"Miss Mercer, please get back into your place in line," Mrs. Flora said, pushing Violet back into her place.

"No, Mrs. Flora, this is… this is really important," Violet frantically stuttered, attempting once more to move past her teacher.

"Miss Mercer, back in your place," Mrs. Flora commanded, for once not smiling.

Violet sighed in frustration, helplessly remaining in her place. She glanced around, searching for Kathryn. She stared at the back of Jacob's head in between glances, willing him to turn around. He had his back to her, deep in conversation with Alice.

"Just breathe," Katy whispered, giving Violet's hand a slight squeeze as the procession began heading outside towards the stage.

The graduates reached the stage, and the valedictorian began giving his speech. Violet felt as though she looked insane, her eyes rolling around in search of Kathryn. As the valedictorian continued on with his never-ending speech, Violet's eyes met those of Esme Cullen. Esme and Carlisle, who sat by her side, both smiled brightly at Violet. She smiled back. Then she noticed that the three men sitting behind the happy couple were equally as pale. With the camera flash of a proud parent, their eyes lit up with a brilliant red. They were vampires.

She looked around, realizing that there were vampires placed strategically throughout the ceremony guests. She looked forward in the line to see Jacob staring out into the crowd with an expression of pure horror. She followed his eyes to an unnaturally beautiful blonde vampire. The blonde was smiling at Jacob, threateningly revealing for a moment the fangs that protruded from her mouth. The dark haired girl sitting next to her was also smiling; these must be Kathryn's two best friends that he had told her about.

Violet continued to look around, finding no sign of Kathryn. Kathryn must have been hiding somewhere, waiting to strike. She tightened up, preparing to make a run for it. She looked towards Jacob, hoping that he would see her and realize her plan.

Their eyes met, and realization dawned on his face. No, he quickly mouthed. She thought for a moment on why he did not want her to run. Did he want her to get killed? She felt tears brimming up in her eyes. Nobody paid any attention to her tears, presumably believing that they were happy tears. She realized as she stared out at the sea of vampires mixed in with humans why Jacob had told her not to run. Kathryn had planned it so that if she tried to run, everyone in both the audience and the procession would die.

The ceremony ticked by at a painfully slow pace. The vampires in the crowd smiled pleasantly as if proud of their fictional graduating relatives on stage. As Violet received her diploma, the blonde vampire turned a camera to Violet, her companion gesturing for Violet to smile. Violet felt a fearful tear run down her face. They thought this was funny. They thought that ending her life was simply a fun game; to them, there was nothing horrific about this ceremony.

After what felt like years, the ceremony finally ended. The graduates began running towards their families, and Violet felt dazed in the crowed. Dizziness consumed her as she spun around, trying to find a way out. An arm wrapped around her waist, a hand covering her mouth as she screamed.

"It's me, Violet. It's me." She turned to see that it was Jacob standing beside her.

"They found me. They're going to kill me," she sobbed, feeling herself spiraling into delusion.

"Come on." He grabbed onto her arm tightly, dragging her through the crowd.

Through the sea of bodies, Violet momentarily met eyes with Kathryn's dark haired friend. She whimpered as Jacob roughly tugged at her, stumbling as her feet repeatedly lost their grip on the ground, just as her mind was losing its grip on reality. Jacob stopped short.

"Jacob! So nice to see you again," a female voice purred. Violet turned to see the blonde smiling seductively at him.

"Brynne. I wish I could say the same," he replied darkly.

"You look so dashing in a suit." She ran a finger down his chest as he pulled Violet against his back. "You know you're going to have to hand her over, right? After all, we wouldn't want to cause a scene."

The humans in the crowd had begun to disappear, heading off toward the parking lot to get pictures with their graduates. The Cullens, much to Violet's horror, were nowhere in sight. It was just her and Jacob now against the multiple vampires that swarmed around them. Unable to contain them any longer, the sobs burst from Violet's mouth as hysteria set in.

"Please don't kill me," she pleaded, peering at Brynne from her place behind Jacob. She gripped his arm with a strength that was inhuman, the kind of strength that comes from pure adrenaline and fear.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Brynne taunted in a sympathetic tone. "But that's not my decision to make." Suddenly, the evil gleam in her eyes went out of focus. "Go, go quickly now," she told them, motioning for Jacob to hurry. 'Kathryn will be here at any moment."

"Thank you," he told her as he took Violet's hand and pulled her off towards the woods. Violet watched in amazement as Brynne and the guards simply watched them leave.

Jacob let go of her hand and turned to her. "You're too slow. Close your eyes and hold on." Before she could answer, he scooped her up in his arm, bolting through the woods at a dizzying speed. "They're older; the older a vampire is, the stronger they are. But with my newborn speed, and my ability, we have a good chance at escape."

"Ability? Like Alice, Jasper, and Edward have?"

"Yes," he replied. "Back when I was… alive… I had the ability to shape-shift."

"What the hell?" she moaned, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and burying her face into his chest.

"Long story, not important," he told her, his voice showing no exhaustion despite his speed, the distance he had covered, and the hundred pound human girl he carried in his arms. "When I became a vampire, that ability heightened. I can no longer physically shift; I can put thoughts into the minds of others, however, and take thoughts out. Make people see things differently, or see things that are not real. That's why my eyes look brown to you; you see the eye color I was born with, while in reality I have the bright red eyes of a newborn."

"Have you ever used your abilities on me?" she asked, upset by the idea despite everything that was going on around them.

"No, never. You have my word," he promised.

"When you say you can take thoughts out… you mean like mind reading? Like Edward has?"

"Yes, I-"

His words were interrupted by an unseen force roughly crashing into them. Violet flew through the air, her head hitting the ground roughly. She lay there, stunned.

"So we meet again, Jacob," she heard a voice identical to her own drawl.

"Kathryn," he said curtly.

Violet looked up, her blurry vision showing Kathryn walking a half-circle around Jacob, eying him up and down in a predatory manner. "I'm sorry to break up your little love fest here, but your girlfriend has something I need." Violet whimpered in fear as she fainted, and Kathryn took a step closer to Violet's unconscious body.

"Don't do it, Kathryn," he calmly pleaded in a civilized tone. "She's your granddaughter. Your own flesh and blood."

"Precisely why she is the key to breaking my curse," Kathryn purred in return. "Do you really think I want to do this, Jacob?" For the first time since she had begun discussing these plans so many thousands of years before, she let the sadness she had always felt show in her words.

"She has to die," Kathryn explained sadly. "There is no other way. Don't you want your life back, Jacob? Don't you want to have everything go back to normal?"

"I can never have my life back," he said with hatred dripping in his voice. "You murdered my entire family."

"You did not obey me," she explained, as if that justified her cruel actions.

Something inside of him snapped. "And you think that's a reason to murder dozens of people?" he shouted, so much spite in his voice that she felt fear for the first time since her years as a human. She flinched away from the rising fury inside of him. "You cold bitch! You killed them all. My family. My friends. You killed my three year old niece!" She now saw a tear fall down his face, forgetting in the heat of the moment that it were not possible for a vampire to cry, and seeing that tear pained her more than any pain she had ever felt.

"I'm so sorry, Jacob," she whimpered. "I shouldn't have done it. If I could fix it, I swear, I would. If I could do anything to make it better."

"Don't kill her," he begged, gazing down at Violet lovingly as three guards ran up and grabbed him from behind. "Don't kill her, please. She's all I have left. Not her. Anyone but her."

Kathryn stepped away from Violet, walking over to Jacob and wiping the non-existent tears from his face. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this." She felt him trembling beneath her fingertips as she gently placed a kiss on his cheek.

As she did so, she pushed a needle into the vein on his arm, injecting the Dead Man's Blood that she had collected earlier that day into his system. She lowered his unconscious body to the ground, looking down at him sadly before turning to her victim.

She walked slowly over to her granddaughter of so many generations, the granddaughter who looked exactly as she did at that age. So young and innocent, with so many horrible changes that she did not deserve occurring in her life. Right at the age where she should be heading off to conquer the world, and instead was dying. Kathryn wanted to give this child a chance to live; she wanted to turn and walk away, to never look back. To remain a vampire forever, alone without Alexander, lost in her eternity so that the child lying unconscious before her could grow up, get married, have children. Grow old and sit on a rocker someday as she watched her grandchildren playing out in the yard.

But it was too late to turn back now. As she kneeled down, she noticed the ancient necklace wrapped around the girl's neck; it was the one that she had given to her daughter so many centuries ago, leaving it as the last and only family heirloom that she would ever contribute. She wanted her granddaughters of every generation following to have it. It felt like in that way, she remained a part of the family. And now, she was ending that same tradition she had started. She was, in a way, ending her own family.

She gently lifted the child's neck to her mouth, inserting her fangs into a vein. "I'm sorry, Violet," she whispered to the child as she felt her body temperature rising, the transformation back into a human setting in. A single tear rolled down her face as years of regret gleamed in her bright blue orbs.

She then sunk her teeth back into her granddaughter's flesh.

A/N: So what did you think? I've now revealed the answers to the two biggest questions I get; what happened to Jacob's family, and what his powers are. I had so much fun writing this chapter; I surprised myself with how dark I made it. This story is not over now; in fact, it's only beginning. So please leave a review and let me know what you think! Especially those of you who never review. I seriously have 25 people with this story on alert, and typically only get 4 reviews at the very most. Which I totally appreciate, of course, thanks so much to those of you who do!

Just wondering, do you hate Kathryn now, or do you feel sorry for her? What do you think will happen next? Chapter 14 kicks off part two of the story, so I hope you will continue reading on! Thanks for all the love for this story so far, I love you readers so much!

PS: Did you see my new icon? The girl is an actress who I edited the picture of to be Kathryn/Violet. So now you know how I envision her.