A knock came at Lily's door, startling her from her thoughts. She had no idea what time it was. After asking Carlisle how he was going to save her, Carlisle had just stared. It seemed that he was having trouble believing what he had just said, or done. Lily had rolled her eyes in a mixture of anger and annoyance before pushing past him and going to her room- which was actually his room- and fought her instinct to slam the door behind her. The curtains were closed, as well as the blinds, and she had quickly flipped on the lamp before sitting in bed with a sigh. Things still weren't adding up in her mind and now she held even more questions than before. The shock and surprise at how quickly Carlisle was able to move, and how he hadn't seemed winded in the slightest, puzzled her mind. She had no answers or even ideas on how everything added up. Now, being brought out of her thoughts, the woman sat up and leaned back against the pillows. Her voice was soft, but she had no doubt that whoever was on the other side would hear her. "Come in."

Rosalie peeked her head in before coming all the way into the room and closing the door silently behind her. "Carlisle told me everything."

"I'm not surprised," Lily muttered in annoyance. It hadn't been his story to tell, and Carlisle was very good at not sharing what wasn't his, but somehow she knew he would tell Rosalie.

"He only did it because of my own story," Rosalie said. She crossed the room and sat on the foot of the bed, bending a knee and pulling her foot up. Her toes barely touched the thigh of her other leg. Lily looked up and saw a sadness in Rosalie's eyes.

"You gonna tell me the whole truth?" Lily asked quietly.

"You think you can handle the whole truth?" Rosalie asked, true curiosity in her voice. She knew Lily hadn't been talking about her story.

Lily shrugged with a sigh, shaking her head slightly. "I don't know what I can handle anymore, Rose. Carlisle, he... It was like I blinked and he was in front of me. How is that possible?"

"It's not," Rosalie answered, looking down at her hands grasping her ankle. It was the first time Lily had seen her without heels, and somehow her bare feet were just as beautiful as the rest of her. "But I know you weren't imagining it."

Lily ran a hand through her hair again, tugging at the roots. Her voice was low, and she was talking mostly to herself. "None of this makes sense. The speed... The eyes... cold skin... Nobody can live with a body temperature that low... But then again, none of the boys should be living with the temperatures they have either... I'm imagining it. That's exactly it. The cancer is fogging up my brain and messing with my senses... I'm crazy. That's all it is. Maybe this isn't even real. I'm in some kind of medical coma because of the cancer, and this is all just some crazy coma-induced dream..."

Rosalie reached over and placed a cold hand on Lily's knee. She waited patiently until Lily looked up, her fingers still resting on her bottom lip with her opposite hand in her hair. Rosalie's voice was gentle as if talking to a child. "Vera, this is real. It's all real."

"No, no, no," Lily shook her head, her heartbeat escalating and her mind turning with half-thoughts. "It doesn't make sense."

"It will," Rosalie promised with wide, kind eyes. She was doing her best to look as innocent and human as she possibly could.

Lily continued shaking her head, muttering to herself. She wasn't in control of herself anymore, pulling harshly at the roots of her hair.

"Lily," Rosalie said. "Lily, stop. Stop. Vera!"

Lily froze. Rosalie had a hand on each of her wrists, though it wasn't rough or painful. At the sad look in Rosalie's eyes, Lily burst into tears and unstoppable sobs. Leah barged into the room, her arms shaking. She took in the scene with an angry expression. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Rosalie's voice was ice. "Carlisle let his emotions overcome him. I was only trying to help."

Leah only glared, quickly moving to the bed and sitting next to Lily. She pulled the woman into her arms, comforting a sobbing Lily. Her voice was soft and loving. "It's okay, Lily. Everything will make sense soon. We'll explain it, okay?"

Lily slowly began to calm down. Once her sobs had subsided to hiccups, Rosalie spoke up. "I wanted to tell her what happened to me."

"Fine," Leah said flatly. She didn't move from her spot, stroking Lily's hair with gentle fingers.

"W-What happened?" Lily asked. She sniffled and curled into Leah's side more. Leah sat back against the pillows to be more comfortable and pulled the blanket over Lily, though it wasn't necessary with Leah so close.

"The year was 1933," Rosalie began. She gauged Lily's reaction before going on. "I was coming home from visiting my best friend, Vera. It wasn't a far walk. The April night was chilly but felt nice. I was halfway home when I saw Royce King, my fiancé, standing with some of his friends. He called me over, bragging about my beauty. They were drunk. One of the men commented how he couldn't see my beauty with my coat and dress in the way."

"They..." Lily said with a shaky voice. "They hurt you."

Rosalie nodded. "I was left for dead in the streets. Carlisle smelled the blood. The next thing I remembered was the pain. Excruciating pain I couldn't have imagined up on my own. When I woke up, things were different- clearer. Carlisle explained that he found me on the brink of death before taking me home. The pain was the transition. I didn't understand at first. All I knew was that everything was clearer. I could hear the train from miles away, I could see the particles of dust floating in the air... That's when the thirst hit. My throat burned beyond belief. It was nothing I'd ever experienced before."

"What did he do to you?" Lily whispered, nearly falling asleep. She rubbed her eye, not moving from her spot in Leah's arms.

"He changed me into something I never believed in," Rosalie answered. "I soon found the thirst, the burn in my throat, was a craving for the lifeblood of everything around me. Carlisle did what he thought was best. He can't bear to see another person suffer, and he does everything within his power to save anyone from dying. We aren't human, Lily. My family and I- we're… vampires."

Lily furrowed her brow, her intellectual mind turning with the new piece of information. Clearly Alice had known about Rosalie's past, which was why she told Lily to talk with the woman if she needed anyone to talk to. As Lily thought, the pieces of information slowly came together in her mind. The cold skin made sense. Everything Lily knew about vampires revolved around the fact that they had all died one way or another. The eyes were all the same, turning from black to gold or gold to black. Somehow everything made sense, though Lily didn't really know exactly how her mind was putting it together. "What about Renesmee? She's different from you. "

"Nessie is special," Leah said quietly.

"Renesmee is half human," Rosalie said carefully. "She's different from the rest of us. Bella had her when she was still human."

Lily furrowed her brow. "I guess that makes sense. Her eyes are different, and she's warmer than the rest of you. More… human, I suppose"

Rosalie couldn't help the small smile that graced her face. "I think that's enough learning for now."

"Okay," Lily whispered sleepily. Rosalie stood and crossed to the door, only turning back when Lily said her name. "Rose? Thank you."

Rosalie nodded once before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. Leah shifted, lying back in the bed and trying to ignore the sickly sweet scent of the vampires in the house. The room wasn't too bad anymore, mostly smelling of Lily and Elsie.

Lily rested her head on Leah's shoulder, a hand across her waist. Leah had her arm around Lily's shoulders. Lily turned her head to look at the taller woman. "Leah?"

"Yeah?" Leah asked quietly, nearly whispering.

"Something is different about you guys too, isn't it?" Lily asked with a yawn. "Can you tell me?"

Leah thought for a moment. Jacob hadn't ordered her to keep this particular secret from Lily, and she reasoned that Elsie was Embry's imprint. Lily was going to have to find out at some point, especially when none of the wolves aged for a while. The woman let out a deep breath. "There are stories- legends- that my tribe has. One, in particular, says that the Quileute people are descended from wolves. There are protectors of the tribe. These protectors are men who turn to wolves whenever any Cold Ones- you call them vampires- are around."

"And it's real?" Lily asked sleepily.

"Yes," Leah confirmed. She looked down at Lily curled into her side with closed eyes. "It's late. You get some sleep and I'll tell you the rest in the morning."