[Disclaimer] Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight. I just like to mess around with her characters and turn them into lesbians.

[A/N] to the Bella in my life because she is the one who always encourages me. I love you. Happy 10 month Anniversary.

23

She was born Isabella Maria di Cigno near Venice in the year 1798. "My life was probably like that of many people." Isabella explained. "The memory of my human years is blurry. It is like a story I've read in a book a long time ago."

Her eyelids fluttered, and she didn't open her closed eyes once while she continued talking in a low voice. "My father was a rich merchant. One day, he took me with him on a journey through Tuscany to a place called Volterra."

A smile flushed over her mouth. It carved dimples into her pale cheeks for a split second. "You may never have heard of Volterra. Have you? It is famous though all over Italy for the St. Marcus festival."

I shrugged my shoulders. "What's that festival about?" I asked.

Isabella laughed. The sound was sharper in my ears now. I could sense it wasn't a happy laughter. "The people of Volterra are celebrating how St. Marcus banished the vampires out of the city."

"Vampires?" I licked my lips. There was still the faint taste of dried blood on them. So, that was what had become of me? I was a vampire now? "Is that what we are?"

"You understand fast." Isabella whispered. She stroked her flat hand over my upper arm to place it on my shoulder. "It took me so much longer to realize what had become of me."

"Someone changed you? Why?"

Again, she laughed this too sharp laughter. The sound of her vocal chords sounded like an un-tuned violin playing in my ears. It made me feel uncomfortable. A growl left my throat.

"Calm," she whispered. "I know you must be angry with me." Isabella dropped her hands from me and shifted a bit further away from me. "I took your life."

"You gave me a new one." I protested. "My human life was not how a life was supposed to be." I shivered at the memory of the dreadful asylum. "Remember the place you found me at when you…changed me."

Isabella's voice got even lower. It was nothing but a whisper now. Still, I could hear her perfectly fine. All of my senses seemed to be intensified now. I wanted to explore all of them.

"On the last night of my human life, one of my father's business partners invited us to his house. I remember drinking wine." She sighed. "I can't remember its taste anymore."

She wiped dust from her black dress. "I danced and drank until I was dizzy. My dance partner escorted me outside to the balcony." Her words stumbled for a few moments. "I have little memory of what happened next. He kissed my wrist. I tried to push him away but then he bit me. I screamed."

Isabella's fingers glide over her wrist. "The pain was beyond bearable. I was losing consciousness. Then, suddenly there was a second man next to Aro. He pushed my attacker away from me. I thought I was being saved and then everything went dark."

What she described next resembles my own experience with what she calls "the change." Isabella told me of excruciating pain, of the feeling of being burned from the inside out. "I wanted to die. I opened my eyes and begged the blond man, who was sitting next to my bed, to end my life."

She sighed. "He apologized. Every time I begged him to kill me, he apologized." Isabella chuckled. "Carlisle apologized, but he didn't fulfil my wish to end my life."

"Carlisle…Is he the man who changed you?"

"No, he's the one who saved me from Aro. If it hadn't been for Carlisle, my life would have ended that summer night, like it was my destiny."

Finally, she opened her eyes again. "You asked why I was changed. There was no purpose in it. For a vampire, it is necessary to prey on humans. My mistake was I was there that night. My blood was young and sweet. Aro took what he had taken thousands of times before, maybe a million times."

"But this Carlisle saved you? Why?"

She smiles at me. "Because, Alice, there is good in this world despite all the evil out there too. Carlisle was a good person. He could have let Aro kill me, like he had watched him do with other victims countless times. Yet, I am still here."

"What happened to Carlisle?" I had noticed she had used the past form when referring to her savior.

"You have to know who Aro is to understand things better. Aro is…if our kind had royalty, he'd be our king. The Volturi are the leaders of the vampire world. Their word is law. Their prey is untouchable to other vampires." The corner of her mouth twitches. "Aro killed Carlisle in front of my eyes. It was considered to give me a warning example. I was put on a ship to the new World and was told to never return to my homeland again." She wrapped her arms around herself as if she is struggling to keep herself together. "Carlisle was gone. I was alone and scared of the Volturi coming back for me. That was when I noticed I could shield myself against dangerous attacks. This is how I survived all those years. Nobody can get near me against my will."

She holds up her hands, and the air seems to vibrate for a moment. Isabella's face shows high concentration. When I look around I see waves of a light fog around us. "Over the years, I learned to develop my talent. I can shield several people at the same time now, even when they are at different places."

A vision flashed through my head. Whatever Isabella's shield was protecting us from; it couldn't stop our future from happening. Right now, I could clearly see how this very future was at stake.