I was a vampire.

I sat by the water as Carlisle told me everything that had happened since the night of the attack. But even though he was talking and I remembered everything he said, I couldn't help but lose focus on what he was saying. Everything was catching my attention, from the leaves rustling in the breeze to the flow of the water next to me.

And even Carlisle himself. When he was explaining how I had been attacked by a vampire on the way home and that he had heard my screams, I couldn't help but stare at him. He probably thought I was crazy, but he was beautiful. I thought Daniel was handsome, but when I saw his face in my mind, I wasn't affected like I once had been. Looking at Carlisle was like looking at the sun, it almost hurt. He was so bright, like his soul shined through to the surface.

It didn't take him long to explain what had happened, so when he stopped talking I wasn't ready for him to leave. "What do I do now?" I asked him.

"Well Annalise, that is up to you. You can stay with me and learn to live as I do, or you can go on your own and live how you would like to" he calmly told me, "But, if you choose to live on your own, you must remember this. There is a group of vampires, like us, called the Volturi. They keep watch over us and make sure that no one exposes our secret."

"Our secret? You mean I can't be with people?" I was shocked. I was alone?

"Yes can but it takes time and you have to know how to keep from being revealed. We can't show our extreme speed or strength in front of humans. And in the daylight, we must be careful; it is hard to go unnoticed when you look like us in the sun." I went to ask a question but he was ahead of me.

"You will see when the sun comes up. Now I know this is sudden but I need to know, are you going to join me or live on your own?" I looked up into his strange golden eyes and couldn't help but feel safe.

"I will join you Carlisle, but are you sure that you are okay with this? Won't I be a burden?" He chuckled and shook his head. "I could use the company. You wouldn't be a burden at all. But I would like you to know that to live with me; you have to follow one additional rule." I nodded urging him to continue.

"You cannot feed on humans like you did with the man from before. I will not fight you from feeding on them, but while you are with me you will refrain from doing so." I thought about it. How hard could it be to not feed from humans? So I nodded.

"Alright, I understand. I will not feed on humans while I am with you." He smiled at me, and I felt a fluttering in my stomach.

I was in the process of dusting off my dress when he said, "I was on my way to New York; I never stay in one place at a time for too long. Seeing as we are frozen in the state we were changed it gets hard to go unnoticed."

I stopped. "Wait, you mean that I will not grow older?" The thought made me feel weird. Carlisle nodded. "Yes, you will never get a gray hair on your head or a wrinkle on your face."

"Well I guess I am lucky, I will be forever young. If only mother knew; she would be so intrigued." I sighed, "What do we do now?"

He smiled again, "We run."

Then he took off running through the forest. I laughed and followed. It was easy too; all I had to do was follow his scent. It was like a trail of perfume that allowed me to keep him in my sight. He was fast, so I tried to run faster. The funny thing was that it didn't take long for me to pass him.

"Annalise?" I heard him say once I ran too far ahead of him. I stopped in my tracks and waited for him to catch up. "Yes Carlisle?" He shook his head, "We don't want to run into the ocean, now do we?"

I looked at him, he had to be joking. New York was a two day journey from where I lived. "You are lying Carlisle. There is no way that we are already there. That is a far longer journey."

"Annalise, I told you we are fast. We are just outside the city of New York." I looked around the forest surprised we were that close, but I could hear the sounds of the city, so I nodded. "Now I think you should stay here while I find a new dress for you. You cannot be seen in something like that; the humans would get the wrong idea."

I nodded, "Okay, I will wait here until you return." He gave me once last glance then took off into the city.

It didn't take long for him to return with my new clothes. He handed them to me with a new pair of shoes too. I was going to change but he just stood there looking at me. "Are they alright, did I get the right things?"

I smiled, "Yes, of course, but I would rather you didn't watch me undress."

His expression changed to one of embarrassment and he stumbled over his words, "Yes, uh, of course... indeed. What was I thinking? I'll, uh, just be over there. Call me when you're finished."

I waited until he was out of sight then quickly changed into the new dress and slipped into the shoes. "Carlisle, I am finished." In a breath he was standing before me.

"Very good, now I am afraid we have to go on our way. We have to find a place to stay; I am planning on staying here for a while. Not long but, at most a couple years."

I nodded but then a thought struck me. "If you are moving again, where are all of your belongings?"

"I leave them behind for whoever finds them. I cannot carry everything I own and keep out of sight. I just get new books and clothes when I get to the next place I'll call home. Now I believe we should seek a place to stay now before the sun arrives. I don't want to be caught in the morning."

"Okay, let's get going then." I went to walk into the city but Carlisle didn't move. "Carlisle?"

"I have one last thing to ask of you Annalise. I know we are going about this faster than normal, but I have a feeling about you. I know you will do your best." I walked back to stand in front of him. "I think we need a story to use. I would say we are brother and sister but we don't look anything alike. I want to keep your exposure to people as limited as possible for a while. I think we should be together, you can be my fiancée but you are sick and cannot be out around people. You will understand once we find somewhere to stay."

I was confused, but I trusted him so I nodded. He walked up and linked his arm with mine. "Let's get going." We made our way to the road, and then walked into the city. I was immediately attacked by smells. My throat dried up, and a fire started to burn. I felt a growl starting to form.

"Annalise, just keep walking. It is hard at first, I know. But you can't let that part of you free. We will hunt nightly if we have to. It's just easier to go unnoticed in a busy crowded city, than a small town. It will take time, but soon the scent of human blood will be common nature and you will not be affected so much."

I nodded again; I couldn't bring myself to talk. "Now I found a place that we can stay, just up here a little way. Once we are there I need you to try your best at acting. I need you to act as though you are weak and sick."

I coughed, even though it didn't help. "I suppose I can do that. I will try my hardest."

Carlisle looked down at me, "Annalise, I know you can do this. I would not have invited you to stay in a place filled with people if I did not believe in you." I smiled.

We walked in silence the rest of the way to where we were staying. I noticed Carlisle slowing down so I looked to where he was facing. It was an apartment building, on the small side and not so nice looking. "Carlisle, are you sure this is the place?"

He smiled, "Yes, this is just temporary. I have a lot of things I need to straighten out before we can look for a more permanent place. I have limited money while my accounts are still in another city. But don't worry, nothing can harm you. Now, I need you to start acting. Walk slowly and lean on me as if you can't walk without me. Don't look at anyone and I want you to hold your breath while we talk with the owner. Once we are in the apartment you should be fine."

I mentally took a deep breath, "Okay, I think I can do this." I slumped my posture and leaned against Carlisle. He stumbled to the side, and almost fell. "Careful Annalise."

I laughed, embarrassed. I didn't mean to hurt him. So I tried again and didn't push against him so hard, I laid my head on his arm and looked down. Then we headed into the building.

I shuffled my feet and then held my breath. Once we were inside I couldn't smell anything. It was uncomfortable but I didn't want to let Carlisle down. We headed to the desk, the man looked up from his novel and I quickly made sure I wasn't looking at him.

I focused on looking sick.

"Good evening, I wanted to look into getting a room for us." The man answered and I was surprised at how strange he sounded, how imperfect his voice was. I was shocked, how much had changed.

"Yes, yes, well we have 4 apartments available; I can give you one on the third floor, is that alright?"

"That's perfect, we'll take it." I heard the rattle of a key and Carlisle reaching into his pocket for money.

"This is your wife? Is she alright?" The man said as he handed over the keys. Carlisle shook his head. "Not yet, she is my fiancée and she is quite sick. Not contagious I might add; she just is very weak."

"Well feel better ma'am, and welcome to the apartment." Carlisle nodded and we made our way to our room.

Once we were there Carlisle closed the curtains and locked the doors. "Welcome home Annalise, I know this is all very sudden. But we can do this. We can make a life together. I will make sure of it."

I didn't say anything; I had too many thoughts running through my mind. One that was at the forefront was the burning in my throat.

"Carlisle, my throat is burning." He turned and looked at me, "Annalise, it will be like that for a while. But we have to wait until tomorrow night. We cannot be out with others." I nodded.

It was going to be a long wait.

A/N: So I hope you are enjoying my story so far! Just want to remind everyone that reviews are very welcome. Whelp happy reading! :D