I could only stare in shock, I mean, what would you have done? The person who's been trying to kill you for the last year and a half is staring down at you with a big smile on their face, after saving your life, seriously, how do you handle that?!

Victoria leaned down, crouching in that feline like manner she always did. Dressed in hiking gear with her main of thick curly red hair, she looked almost like an angel in disguise, almost. Most angels probably do not have shocking red eyes from vampiricly sucking the blood out some poor terrified human. She looked at me, her smile actually reaching her eyes, "Well, well Isabella, it seems you ARE a magnet for trouble, what's the matter, no Cullen hear to save you?" Her words stung, so this was her game. She was going to drive me mad by torturing me with Edwards's absence, well to late honey, I'm already insane!

I felt a few hot tears streak down my face, I lifted my hand to wipe them away from my eyes, but Victoria's pale hand shot out and grabbed me by my wrist. Carefully she aloud the other to rise and gently wipe away the tears, her smile turning to a sad one. "I am sorry, Isabella. I did not mean to upset you…has he really left?"

I nodded, staring confused at Victoria. What was her deal for Christ's sake? One minute, she's out for my blood –literally- the next she's wiping away my tears! I wonder if Vampires have bi-polar disorders…

"You look a little confused, penny for your thoughts?" I looked at her again, she sat there with her head tilted to the side oh so slightly looking like some Celtic Goddess descended from the clouds to save the day.

"Wh-why are you being so nice to me? I thought you hated me." We both just sat there, staring at each other and I could feel a headache coming on. Just then I heard a car honk, sure enough, it was Mike Newton.

"Sweet shepherd of Judea not that imbecile." I beseeched God quietly, but sure enough Victoria heard me with that oh so wonderful vampire hearing of hers.

"Do you not like that boy? I could kill him…he doesn't smell that bad actually…" I'm not sure which came first, the appalled look on my face at the thought of Victoria killing him, or that vague warm thought of watching Mike Newton get shredded to ribbons.

"N-no! Don't kill him, just-um, oh I don't know!" I said, I just flat gave out. Screw it, Mike was going to die sooner or later, might as well enjoy it, right?

Mike pulled up and Victoria rose from her position, I tried to get up but before I could she had grabbed my arm and my feet were touching the ground once more.

"Hey Bella! I was just wondering…who are you?" Mike said, pointing at Victoria. Suddenly, Victoria got the evilest glint in her eye, which by far was passing plain old 'freaky' and heading straight to 'Oh. F#ck.'

She gave her most dazzling smile, her teeth so white they could blind, her skin could set marble to shame and her eyes the color of blood red rubies, rimmed with a thin band of pink around her eyes. She grabbed my by my waist with one arm and smiled wildly, grinning at Mike, she leaned over and kissed me on my forehead, then turned to Mike, who was apparently as shocked as I was and said in an almost bubbly voice, if one could describe Victoria as bubbly, "Well hello, I'm Isabella's lover, my name is Victoria Leggatt." She walked over to the truck, and extended her hand, Mike after a few moments of shock extended and shook her hand limply. She turned around and seemed to glide over to me, where she put one arm around my shoulder, and the other around my waist, pulling me close. I stood there, breathless. Mike just sat there, then, seeming to snap out of it leaned back and stared.

Breaking from the trance, Mike eventually backed up, then pulled out onto the highway at breakneck speed. We stood there, watching him leave, then Victoria pulled back but not before sniffing my hair. Before I could even piece together what had just happened, Victoria looked at me and smiled in a cheery manner, "You smell very nice, an almost floral scent I dare say."

I looked at Victoria, looked at my truck, looked at the highway, and then crumpled. Victoria caught me and smiled, and then with vampiric speed we were off. When we stopped, we were in a dimly lit forest clearing. She sat me down on a stump, and sat down on an adjacent rock. "So, Bella, is that what you liked to be called? Well, anyways, I have a question for you."

It was almost too much, I was about to pass out again but shook myself awake. Victoria might be acting weird, but I wasn't about to trust her with my unconscious body. "What?" I croaked out, pulling my legs up to my chest and hugging them closely to me.

"I was wondering…well, one of two things actually. One, why did the Cullen's leave? The second will come after I know why they left."

I broke into tears, after six months I'd held up this wall to stay strong, and now I watched as it tumbled down. I explained everything to Victoria, the birthday party, the day in the forest, everything. I could tell her this, she a Vampire to, what would it matter if she thought I was insane? She was probably about to kill me anyway, so why die with such emotional distress?

But, to my shock once again I did not feel Victoria's teeth sink into my neck, no I felt her pull me into her lap and petting my hair, just like my mom did when I was little… Her hand glided up and down, massaging my scalp.

"Please, shed no tears! If he has left you, then you are better off without him. How he could turn down such a loving and beautiful girl is beyond me. Its always seems to happen to the good ones…" Muttering the last part, I wondered what she meant. Victoria looked up at me, as if she had read my mind. "You are probably wondering what I mean by all this, correct? Isabella…you remind me so much of her…so much of my daughter…" I'm sure my stunned expression caught her notice, for she smiled bitterly.

"You, you have a daughter?" I asked, confused, was she a mom to some vampire, like Esme was to Edward and the rest?"

"No my dear, I had a daughter. You see, before I was turned, I had a little girl, Brigit was her name. You look so much like her…you even have her eyes…but aside from all that, I will explain everything, on the condition that you will allow me to ask you one more question, deal?" I nodded, wanting to know how I fit into all this.

"Six hundred years ago, I was but the wife of a poor farmer in Ireland. We had four children, three sons, one daughter. I loved her dearly. She was my best friend, as they say these days, along with my sister Hannah, we were the 'Legatt' women, respected in our village as healers, and as women of power.

I specialized as a mid-wife, my sister Hannah was renowned as a healer of the sick, for many came for and wide to see her for her wise ways. And, then there was my daughter Brigit…oh how she lovely she was! She was a wonder at herbs, knew everything about them and then some! How I lover her, she was my baby…and Hannah lover her as well, having no children herself, for she refused to marry. Well, anyways…one night, a family sent word to me from Ulster, their oldest daughter was with child and was due soon.

Now, my three sons where sick, and my husband had since passed away, may he rest in peace. It was a nine-day journey, so I left by myself, and delivered the babe. As I traveled back, I heard news of some awful happening, so I sped on my journey. As I arrived back at my once precious farm, I found everything in ruins, burned to a cinder. I knew what had happened, we had been accused of witchcraft, and they had been attacked. We all knew something like this would happen one day, so we had arranged for a place in the forest to hide, I ran there. Oh how I wished I had not, for on arrival, I saw what had happened to my family, and oh my poor babies! My sister Hannah laid there, impaled on a large stick, her face transfixed in horror. My three sons mangled beyond recognition, there heads smashed in."

By now, Victoria was shaking, letting out tearless sobs. I hugged her, petting her hair as she had done me.

"And then, I found my darling little Brigit. She was naked, she had been violated, and her throat torn apart. But, she had been kept alive for a long time, for she was still alive, but barely just. I cradled her in my arms, she looked at me, she could not speak, but her eyes said more than words ever could. She stroked my cheek, and there she died."

Victoria straightened up, and shook her head, attempting to dispel horrid images I would assume. Then she spoke again, this time softer.
"I assumed for such a long time that the people of that village had done this, but only until recently did I find out otherwise. I was going through some old documents on the subject, never really stopping. There had never been a witch-hunt, no official record of it. But I did find out something, a mortal did not kill my family, for not humans could have done that. No, but I finally put it all together, I finally stopped blocking the memories. You see, for that night, I was bitten by Laurent. It was he who had murdered my family, he who had done this to me, and no matter how much I would come to love him, that will never stop me from hating his vile memory."

I patted her head, then I looked her in the eyes, "To draw your mind off this, what was your second question?" Victoria smiled, and then looked at me with such large eyes.

"Will you come with me?" I was puzzled, what did she mean, come with her? "How do you mean?" I asked, still confused.

"Will you become my daughter, please? Will you journey down the roads of eternity with me? I know I ask a lot, but please Isabella…I cannot take the sorrow anymore, I cannot take the loneliness." I was stunned, Victoria wanted me to become her daughter, to become her child? To become a vampire? I then thought of it all, I needed to, I sat there wondering about this. Really, what was stopping me? None of my friends really cared about me, Jake was loosing interest in me fast, and who did I need here, really?

Then it hit me, full head on. Charlie…Renee…Phil…they would care, I knew they would…but, seeing at how catatonic I had become, I doubted they would say no to anything that involved me starting over with a chance of happiness.

"Victoria, I have nothing stopping me except one thing. My family at least needs to know what is going on, do you think I could at least tell my father?"

Victoria studied the idea for a moment, then looked at me. "If it will let you say yes, I'll do anything! But, we need to hurry fast, I plan on turning you quickly." I nodded, and Victoria once again gathered me up in her arms, and we were off, speeding toward my house, towards Charlie. Victoria knew where I lived, after stalking me for a year and a half, it was all too easy to go to my house.

We arrived at my house, and knocked on the door. Not five seconds later, Charlie swung open the door. "Bella! I was worried! I thought something had happened, where did yo-who's this?"

Charlie had suddenly caught notice of Victoria standing there in all her glorious, and terrible splendor. "Well hello Chief Swan, my name is Victoria Legatt and I'm a friend of Bella's, so nice to meet you!" She shook his hand with both of her dainty ones.

Charlie, was nonetheless, stunned. "I, erm, come in." Charlie muttered. My dad was probably wondering how old Victoria was, she looked probably about twenty-seven. Her children had all been in there teens when she died, so it was not so hard to believe. But still, she was incredibly beautiful, and terribly fierce.

We sat down on the couch, and there Victoria explained everything, my story, and hers. Charlie, for some reason took this with amazing understanding. "I knew there was something funny about them, the whole lot of them!" Then he turned on me, and his eyes were horribly angry. "YOU RAN AWAY TO PHOENIX SO SOME CRAZY VAMPIRE COULD KILL YOU?!" Charlie was raging mad, I was petrified, but Victoria thought this was all terribly amusing.

"Please, Chief Swan, there is more." Charlie, never taking his eyes off me, replied with a gruff "Yes, and?" He spoke through clenched teeth.

"I would like to turn Bella into a vampire, so she could finally protect herself, and get to start over again, a free woman. She'd never have to worry about Edward hurting her, ever again." Victoria was pushing all the right buttons, working her way with words to my fathers core, trying to find a yes.

"You want to do what?" My father was livid, just as I expected, but Victoria pressed on.

"This is her chance to fulfill her destiny, she will finally be free, and she will never have to worry about Edward or any other man for that matter, hurting her." Charlie sighed and bent his head, obviously we where overloading him with so much information. But then, he bent his head up at an angle where we could just barely see his whole face. "Its okay by me, I just want Bella to be happy." Victoria let out a shrill and happy yell and jumped to her feat, hugging me, then turning and hugging Charlie closely. "Did you hear that? HE SAID YES!" Victoria was practically ecstatic, she was joyous even.

"Exactly how long will this take?" Charlie asked. "Three days, is there a room where we could perhaps put Bella, this will be extremely painful and most likely loud." "Her room…"

I choked, and both of them looked at me startled. "N-no, to many memories…" again in unison they both nodded. "We could use my room." Charlie spoke up finally.

"Okay…if your okay with that dad." He waved his hands, as if dismissing the thought.

"No worries, Bells. I'll call the school and tell them that you are leaving." I looked shocked, "Why would you do that?" Charlie looked at me as if it were obvious. "You honestly can't expect such a dramatic change to happen over three days and for no one to notice." Sometimes, Charlie was truly the smartest man alive.

With that, Charlie turned and left. Victoria rose to leave, but my hand caught her wrist. "Where are you going?" I asked, once again my mind in a hailstorm of confusion."

"To hunt, I don't want to accidentally kill you." I was shocked, she was going to hunt, humans? But, Victoria seemed to catch on, and with a great sigh she looked at me. "Isabella, I will have to hunt humans this night if I expect to keep myself control. But, after that, we can discuss other diet plans." And with that, she kissed my forehead, and dashed out the door into the twilight of the day.