Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Saga. That unfortunately belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Copyright infringement is not intended.

BPOV:

My life spun out of control. Not that I ever had control. My world was a whirlwind from the moment that I first met him until the moment that he decided to end thing for us. I was not good enough to be in his life or the lives of his family. I knew this; of course I had always known that. There had always been that nagging question in my mind of what did he ever see in me, a plain Jane compared to the rest of his beautiful family. But he had a way of making me feel special and loved. There had been plenty of times I had to pinch my self because I didn't think that feeling this way was remotely possible.

I loved him with my heart and soul. Hell, I was ready to give him both if we could just spend forever together. But he adamantly refused each and every time I brought the subject up. He said that he would not damn my soul to an existence like this. Little did he know that by leaving me, he already damned my soul.

In all my fallible humanness I tried to follow him. I straighten myself up and marched in the direction that I thought he sped off in. He had to be going back to his house, right? I mean, sure vampires had strength, speed and agility on their side but it would at least take them a whole day to pack up. My thoughts continued in this way of reasoning as I wondered through the woods.

If I was going to be honest with my self, I had absolutely no idea where I was heading. Everything around me was starting to look the same. I wasn't sure any more. In desperation, I tried listening for the sound of the river that I knew was near their house. As soon as I heard it, I took off once again in that direction.

But to no avail, I was soon lost. My ears strained against the buzzing sound of bugs in the trees and the chirp of birds. Finally through the myriad of noises that on any given day I would never pay attention to, I heard the river this time in the complete opposite direction of where I first came.

I spun around in defeat. In agony, I clutched both arms around my waist as if I was holding everything back that was inside of me.

"Edward, please," I pleaded knowing that the love of my life was never going to hear me. He was never going to hear me again. I tried with difficulty to remember the sweet velvety sounds of his voice. He was right. The human mind was just like a sieve. Soon I would forget. I was already forgetting his voice and he just left me hours ago. It wouldn't be long before I soon forgot his beautiful face all together. Or what it felt like to hold his cool hand in mine.

But what I could never forget is the gut-wrenching hole in my chest that he left when he tore my heart out. I'll never forget who did this to me. I will never forget that Edward did this to me.

And then on that same note, if he came back to me today, tomorrow or even a year from now I knew that I would take him back. I loved him. I still love him and for some strange reason I knew deep down that I had always loved him even before we met.

Cold, tired and completely drenched to the bone, I tripped and sunk down to the forest floor and drowned myself in the flood of tears that just would not stop. The life I had known was over and a life without Edward was not worth living. Resigning to the fact that I would never see Charlie or Renee again, I curled myself up and waited.

Waited for the elements of nature to take me or for some animal to end if for me. I cared not for the promises that I made because he broke his the moment that he left. So I waited, waited for all of this to all end.

It seemed that I was lying there for days in the same spot curled up on the forest floor. Thirst and hunger were beyond me now as every part of me was numb and I even thought I heard the sound of police dogs in the distance. But the forest was tricky and just when you think you heard or saw something, you never really did in the first place. The woodland played severely with my imagination and my mind. Sometimes I thought I saw this ethereal creature watching me, begging me to get up and continue on. But through my illusions or maybe for a lack of a better word, my delusions, I ignored him.

Although I was sure of it now and was not hallucinating, Charlie was out there looking for me, but this ancient almost primordial looking woods was not about to let go of one of it prisoners to anybody, least of all to the Chief of Police. Dogs and people circled about but never coming close enough to finding me. It was like I had become part of the forest floor. Just like I had always done in life, I blended in.

So it was here that I waited, waited for death.

~0~

Before I even opened my eyes I could hear the buzzing of the forest. No. It wasn't supposed to be like this! My brain screamed at me. I almost felt claustrophobic like being confined to a small space. My eyes opened to a dizzying array of sunshine splicing it rays through the green thicket.

Confusion set in. Why wasn't I dead? Or maybe I was and this is where I was to forever remain. My mind was hazy as I tried to listen to the sounds around me. The wind rustled and the crunching of dried leaves under light, lithe footsteps. I could hear the whispering of voices and my heart dropped into an even deeper depression. I was found. I didn't want to be found.

The voices around me were quick and hushed. It was hard to make out the conversation. I knew that they were discussing me.

"She's waking up." A female voiced whispered as I strained my ears to hear.

"Yes, yes." A male voice chimed in. "She shall be hungry. We need to get her out of here soon."

"But why won't she just let go? Just give in and let the unconsciousness take her." The female voice sounded as if she were hovering above me. "It would make things so much easier."

I dared not to open my eyes for fear of what was around me. For all I knew that this was an illusion that my now demented mind cooked up.

"Because she can't," The male voice sounded just as close as the female's. "Her heart won't let go. She will never let him go. He is forever ingrained just as he had always been."

"Then this does complicate things a bit, doesn't it?"

"No, not really," The male's voice said. "Initially, it will not but as time goes on, she will remember bits and pieces of her former life and then she may complicate things. But she is kind, compassionate and loving in this life. There is no reason to doubt that she will be all of those things a hundred times more."

"Then let's get things in order, shall we?"

"Yes, my love, we've waited a long time for this to happen."

My eyes remained close that whole time but I suspected that they knew that I was now fully awake. I couldn't fathom for the life of me what in the world they were talking about. But before I could dwell on that thought any longer strong warm arms gripped me. The wind whipped around us and I was vaguely aware that we were running. I should have been freezing with the speed at which we were traveling but I wasn't. Whatever plans they had for me, I just hoped that they would make my death quick so that I wouldn't have to dwell on him anymore, that my heart wouldn't have to hurt anymore.

The whipping winds and the sounds of the forest soon gave way to more industrial noises. The loud resonance of engines filled my ears. I still didn't open my eyes to look at my captures but I found myself being laid down ever so deftly on the softest velvet sofa, soon after a blanket was gently placed on me and I drifted to sleep once again.

~O~

I was startled awake by the nightmare that I was forced to relive. My eyes opened wide, just barely taking in their surroundings. It was the loud roaring sounds of engines that told me where I was. Other than a few passenger flights I had never been on a private jet before. I finally took in the details of my surroundings. The woodwork was a rich mahogany; the plush velvet coverings were a luxurious burgundy surrounded by gold trim. If I weren't in such a nightmare of the moment, I would have sworn that Donald Trump himself kidnapped me.

At my third or fourth go around at taking in the details of the plane, I realized that I was completely alone. The strong warm hands that cradled me were no longer here. Terrified, I drew my knees up to my chest and clutched the blanket tight. I had been brought here for a purpose. To me, who ever had done this had put in a lot of effort to see this through. Death was still a possibility at this point. It was still something that I craved. The gapping hole in my heart still pained me beyond belief but another wave of sadness hit me. My parents. What about Charlie and Renee? If who ever took me would have just left me for dead in the woods like I had wanted, my parents would have had a body at least to bury and grieve for. But now there was nothing. No body and for all intents and purposes the Cullen's left town. Would my parents think that I left with them? Oh how I wish that were the case?

But everything that was of importance to me I left behind in my truck. I wanted to lay in my own tortured depression until it killed me. I worried about how my sudden disappearance might affect Charlie and Renee and none of that seemed even remotely important as to the overwhelming fear that gripped at my insides.

I knew that this was my end. That whoever had done this would use me for whatever reason and then kill me. I wanted death to be on my terms, to control it. I say when and where. Not somebody else. But I wasn't in control anymore, not that I ever had I guess.

I curled up on the couch listening to the drone of the engine. I should have felt much lighter with the gapping hole that was now in my heart but I wasn't. The crushing weight of my existence was heavy. The pulsating beat of my heart sounded loud in my ears. It still pumped blood but it no longer belonged to anyone. It was never mine to hold, only to give away. But the one whom I gave it to no longer wanted it. My heart was no longer whole. I was no longer whole. Forever, I would be damaged.

Sleep never found me but I closed my eyes wishing for death just to take me if I drifted off. Behind the closed door of the cockpit I heard the soft ramblings of voices that sounded vaguely familiar. The language was off. I couldn't even begin to place it. It almost sounded ancient, a language that isn't spoken anymore or enough to be learned in a scholarly setting.

And then as softly as the words that were spoken behind the closed door, the most beautiful creature that ever existed walked through. She had long dark blue-black hair that reached just behind her knees and radiant blue eyes. She was pale just like the vampires that I had known but her eyes lacked the tired purple bruises. In fact this creature seemed to glow from the inside out. It was very easy to see how one could fall prey to this angel. The shallow beauty of Rosalie couldn't hold a candle to this ethereal being. I could feel my eyes widen in sheer panic, fear and keening interest. Although the fear was winning out the closer she came.

She gracefully floated by and sat in the seat opposite of me.

"Isabella," Her voice was reminiscent of the lightest of warm breezes carried through the trees on a summer day. "I am so glad that you are finally awake."

I could only continue to stare, which I knew was rude but what did she expect of me?

"You must be hungry. I'll have Eli bring you something soon." I gently nodded my head giving her some kind of response so that she wouldn't think that there was nothing going on in my head at the moment. But I don't think that I could have spoken a word even if I had wanted to.

"I know that this is quite a shock to you and I am sure that you have questions, my dear child. All will be answered shortly and in due time." I wasn't sure if I really had questions. They were more or less demands floating aimlessly around my brain.

"Cain will be joining us shortly for our decent into Romania."

Huh? What? Where exactly was I? "Ro…Romania?" I managed an unintelligent stutter.

The celestial being lithely stood from her seat and offered me a smile that told me once again that all questions will be answered in time. Her feet never seemed to touch the floor as she made her way towards the door. She again spoke in that same ancient language and nodded her head as some one responded.

"Where are my manners?" She came and sat across from me again. "I am Lilith the Lilith of old and legend." She laughed and struck her hand out for me to shake.

That's it! I knew it! I'm dead. Yes, I did die in the woods. Only in death could I conjure up such ridiculousness. Not even in my dreams could I come up with such stupid silliness. It made sense now…Cain, Lilith, a murderous biblical figure and the demon ex-lover of Adam. Okay, I expected angels with harps and maybe, just maybe coming face to face with Jesus himself. Who knows, I still just might. He could be in the cockpit piloting the plane as we speak. I am dead after all. Dead and insane! Perfect, just perfect!

My face must have clearly reflected the absurdity of the situation because Lilith let out a hearty laugh.

"Oh, Isabella," She said still finding this utterly humorous. "This is all real. I am real. You are real. You are not dreaming nor are you dead." Lilith held her hand out once again and I realized then that I didn't reciprocate the handshake from before.

The light graze of her palm in mine was soft and warm. It was nothing like the coldness that I have come to know and expect.

"You're warm." I gasped.

"Yes, it wasn't what you were expecting was it?"

I shook my head trying to keep all unintelligent words from leaking out of my mouth and sounding like the stupid idiot that I was. And thank the heavens that I was spared further conversation with Lilith for the moment. The person that I was assuming was Eli came in baring food. And comfort food no less, grilled cheese and tomato soup. Eli slightly wrinkled his nose as he placed the food on a tray beside me. I could tell instantly that he was a vampire.

He crudely tried to spare me of the world of vampire by severing my ties with them and yet here I was on a privet jet bound for Romania wrapped up in legends much older than him and his family.

I didn't know how long it was the last time I ate but the food smelled absolutely mouth watering. And for the moment any and all thoughts of him left me. Lilith sat silently watching me inhale my sandwich and soup. I almost felt like a pig but something told me that she was aware that I was beyond ravenous.

As if on cue, Eli walked back in and picked up the now empty tray.

"Cain will be joining us in a few minutes and we'll try to answer some of your questions to the best of our abilities at the moment."

"Okay," I breathed out. But really in all honesty I was hurting. I was hurting so much. It was hard to imagine that one person could feel like this. I would do whatever they wanted me to do and then I would get on with dying.

~~0~~

We sat in marked silence that faintly reminded me of the comfortableness that Charlie and I shared. My heart seemed to break further thinking about my parents and what they must be going through at the moment.

But those thoughts were instantly shoved to the back of my head when I could only assume was Cain walked through the cockpit door. Like Lilith, he glided across the floor. He regarded Lilith with such reverence and love that made me very jealous to witness. I turned my head to the window, taking in the black nothingness of the world outside. I almost felt like I was intruding on they're tender moment.

"Isabella," Cain's musical voice brought me out of my trance and seemingly newfound fascination with airplane windows.

I slowly turned my head to see that he had his hand stuck out for me to take. If anything both Lilith and Cain were polite. My own hand reached for his as if it had a mind of its own. His grasp on my hand was not tight but it still garnered complete respect. I almost didn't squeeze back for fear that I would crush his. Cain's hand was pale and the skin although hard and cold felt paper-thin. He brought my hand to his mouth and brushed his lips against my knuckles.

I shivered. Not from the cold that emanated from Cain but from the sheer reminder of nights I spent with him and the chaste kisses we shared.

"I'm sorry," He swiftly apologized. "Sometimes I forget how cold I am to humans."

"It's okay," I shook my head. Let him think what he wants, I though to myself.

Cain sat beside Lilith and gently took her hand in his. Again jealousy flooded my heart and reminded me of what I will never have. I should just be grateful that at least I felt love for someone even if that love was somewhat one sided. It was sad but I couldn't even bring myself to feel grateful for that. On any given occasion I would have felt honored that I was in the presence of legends but now I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Watching love and being surrounded by it was just making me ache all the more for him.

"Isabella, I'm sure you have a ton of questions," Cain looked at me drawing my eyes to his. And for the first time I realized that his eyes were brown. I was so sure that he was a vampire. Was I wrong? But yes, he was right. I did have questions.

If there was one thing that he was right about, I did seem to lack the rational fear that one was in the presence of a supernatural predator even if they were unaware of who was before them. Maybe it was that fear seemed to dissipate because I wanted death so badly and at this point, being killed by two supernatural beings looked good either way. I would do what they wanted and then beg for death.

I only nodded my head to indicate that I did indeed have questions. But what those questions were exactly at the moment, I didn't have a clue yet. I'm sure they'd arise in time.

Cain looked and Lilith, "Maybe I should start first. A breif little history of the two of us is needed before we can proceed with everything else."

She looked down at her hands needlessly before she continued. "The Bible so conveniently forgets to mention me at all. I get shoved into myths and evil ones at that. But let's start at the beginning, shall we?

"I was the second human creation of God's. As soon as Adam saw me he wanted to name me. He called me Koch'av, which is Hebrew for star. It's because I glowed from the inside out he said. But I was my own person and I quickly corrected him that my name was Lilith. That's what I wanted to be called. This seemed to anger Adam some though he did quickly get over it." Her laughter was light as she recalled the tale.

"Of course I was naked. There was no need for clothes at this point. Adam's body responded appropriately." The light laughter that escaped her lips just moments ago was replaced now by a frown. "I was not prepared for what happened next. I wanted to talk with Adam, get to know him. But Adam wanted to get to know me in one way and one way only. He said that I was his that all creation was given to him to name and to have dominance over. He was not going to have dominance over me and I made it known to him that I was my own person. Adam lunged and knocked us to the ground as he tried to force himself on me. I quickly turned the tables and flipped us over so that I was on top. But I was not going to be forced into having sex with him. I found his dominance and arrogance very unappealing.

"I told him again that I was my own person. No one controlled me, least of all him. I ran from Adam, never to return and he let me go without a fight. I sat at the edge of the world watching the ocean water ebb, flow and crash upon the beach. I wondered what I would do or where I would go. I begged for God to kill me because I didn't really want to be alone per se. But I didn't want to be controlled either.

"I am human but I am also immortal. Before Adam and his now beloved wife, Eve, were tempted to disobey God, I didn't fall under the cover of Original Sin. I never thought that I was a jealous woman by any means until I came across Eve. Eve in every sense of the word looked exactly like me. Although she was created from Adam, it gave him a sense of control and he like it. And not only did we look alike but she was to become the mother of all human life. I didn't want Adam. I wanted motherhood. I envied that aspect about their relationship. I spent my days spying on Adam and Eve and my nights were spent begging God to grant me a mate just the same.

"God ignored me. He turned his back on his second human creation. His favored lied with his beloved Adam. While He ignored me, God spent his evenings walking and talking with Adam and Eve. Every night he stressed that his beloveds should avoid at all cost the Tree of Knowledge. It always struck me funny as to why God would put something like that in the Garden and then tell them to leave it alone or else they'll die. They didn't have the faintest concept of what death was…neither did I really. Because God choose to create someone exactly like me, because God allowed me to be alone and because God turned his face from me, rage flooded my heart. I was no longer Lilith any more. I realized, unlike Adam, that I had the power to shape-shift. The serpent was the first animal that I ever shifted to and it was too perfect really.

"I couldn't go to Eve as my former self as that might have been too much for her to take. That controlling pig Adam taught her that they were the only two humans that existed. I slithered and wound my way up the forbidden tree. I waited for Eve to come by when Adam was otherwise occupied. And then she came and I called to her. They were going to fall and I couldn't wait to see it happen.

"I told Eve that she wouldn't die if she picked the fruit of the tree. She would become like God if she did. All the knowledge that God possessed so would they. Of course I didn't actually have my facts straight but when jealousy and anger rages sometime all you see is red. There was no way to know for sure what was going to happen. In any case, I pleaded with her to convinced Adam of this newfound information. And who knew that the power of persuasion would actually work so well to my benefit. I thought my plan worked. But in reality it didn't. Yes, at first Adam blamed his actions on Eve but in the end even when they were cast out from paradise he still loved her and I was still alone.

"I should have counted my blessings because I was lucky that God never revealed to Adam that it was me. This major blunder in history gets blamed on Lucifer. It doesn't bother him much. Anything that sheds any sort of light on that fallen angel…well, he takes what he can get really.

"Anything on the outskirts of where Adam and Eve lived was called the Land of Nod. For obvious reasons I was never going back to Adam and I was never going to reveal myself to Eve, this is where I dwelled. I never went back to see them after that and to this day, I still don't have any regret as to what I did.

"I turned my love to the land, to earth. I became now what people refer to as mother earth, Mother Nature or as to the Greeks, Gaia. I became responsible for the birth, growth and death of the seasons. The breeze that floats and whips through the air is my voice carried on the wind. I am all around and in everything. Although I am an immortal human, I am also spirit, the three phases of the moon, daughter, mother and crone. I poured myself into becoming spirit and creating spirit. I found by touching a tree, I could give it life that it never had before. If I dipped my foot into a river, it flowed like blood flows through veins. Everything I touched, I gave life to. And I fell in love with my creations. Faeries and pixies were born out of nature spirits. What I created gave life to something else and I was ecstatic.

"But through it all I was still alone. I loved what I created and what I created loved me. I wanted more though. I didn't have to wait too long. The most beautiful man came wondering into Nod and he hid himself from me. He was scared and ashamed by whatever drew him from his homeland. I unabashedly wondered if I could touch nature and give it life, could I touch this man and do the same."

All the while through Lilith's brief tale Cain's eyes shone bright with love for the woman beside him. My heart still ached immensely for what I lost or better yet for the love that I never really had in the first place. I tried my hardest to stay interested in what they had to say. At any other time in my so-called life, I would have been enamored to be in the presence of an ancient legend and a biblical figure. I couldn't help wonder but wonder what roll I had to play in all of this. My whole world had been turned upside down. I lost everything I had ever known. But what could possess two notorious figures to kidnap me and take me halfway around the world. For what purpose did this serve?

Without missing a beat Cain picked up where Lilith left off. "From what you read in the Word of God, my dear Isabella, my tale is spun in truth. I killed my brother in a fit of jealous rage. God wanted offerings of our harvest but in all fairness He did not specify that it was to be the first harvest just that it had to be a harvest. Abel, my brother, brought God his first I did not. This didn't please God and He found favor in my brother. Abel was never a boastful person. In fact he was quite humble. He loved and had immense faith in God. I thought that I did too. The simple fact that we were individuals, different in life style and personality, this did not sit well with the Lord."

Cain looked towards the window lost in thought. "It always seemed that I couldn't do right where Abel was concerned. But this didn't bother me, at first. I would go about my daily business uttering useless prayers to a God that never saw fit to find any redeeming qualities in me. The midsummer harvest was coming up and I was busying my self with that and I paid little attention to my brother. As the day approached I laid my offer around the family altar. We paid our respects to our creator, offered prayers and blessing for a bountiful year ahead and took part in a feast all in the honor of God. But God was not with me; I could feel that he wasn't.

"I went to Abel to complain and to seek some advice on how to find favor. I wanted to please God. I really did. The moment that I laid eyes on my brother I saw nothing but red. Yes, I was the first to murder a human being but it was never my intent, you see. It wasn't planned out at all. Abel leaned against a Cypress tree smiling at me all the while knowing that I was annoyed and frustrated. He let me wallow in it. I picked up a rock that I intended to whip at the tree but in my act of frustration I missed my target and hit my brother in the head.

"Medically in this day and age he probably could have been saved. Although death was probably a blessing at this point as Abel most likely would have been brain dead from my frustrations. But we knew nothing of the sort. Longevity was bestowed on us; sickness and diseases didn't exist yet. So death was something very new. I held my brother as he bled to death by the tree. His blood poured into the earth. Oh, how little I knew that this was going to be my very existence…death and blood.

"The sun quickly quelled to night and the ground began to quake. The earth opened and split and at that moment as my brother lay dying in my arms, I wished one of those gashes would swallow me whole. It unfortunately did not."

Pain was clearly etched on Cain's marble features and my heart ached for him. It was clear to me how fallible the Bible really was. Nowhere did I ever read that what Cain had done was a mistake…nowhere. I was somewhat confused as to my stance on this whole God thing. But you can still see after all this time that he wrestled with the pain and the guilt over what he had done. I understood that there has to be some kind of punishment for the crime or crimes that you commit, but where was the forgiveness that the Bible mentions over and over again? A part of me knew where Cain was going with his story, so I wondered why it was that if God could find forgiveness of one of the murderous criminals on the cross next to Jesus, then why couldn't he find forgiveness with Cain? I planted that question away to ask later.

Despite his apparent affliction Cain continued. "There was a loud roar in the Heavens and I knew in that instant that God was angry with me.

'Cain, what have you done?' It wasn't really a question, as God clearly knew what I did.

'I'm so sorry, my Lord. It was an accident. I didn't mean for this to happen. Oh, please Father, wake him up.'

"Abel's death was the first and I didn't understand yet that his death meant that he would never wake again. I was truly scared and alone. Being separated from God is not a good thing. It's a desperate feeling but I knew what it was right away and I didn't like it. God was displeased with me.

'As your brothers blood seeps back into the earth, so shall you forever crave what you have spilled.' The ground shook and the leaves twisted on the wind as God spoke.

'As of now you will be marked. Let no man come to claim you, for if they do, they shall meet the same end as Abel. The sun shall not be your friend and in the day you will seek to hide. But it is the night that you will walk in search of what you will crave. May it forever burn and be a constant reminder of what you took from me. I am a just God, Cain and I do not like things taken from Me. You will walk for an eternity and yet you will never see my forgiveness for this is something that I just cannot give. Like a snake, venom will pour from your teeth to paralyze your victims, your skin will become cold and hard as death itself. Everything about you will draw humans to your presence. Your scent and your beauty will catch their eye. And with speed and strength you will take them before they even know what's happening to them. Like the lion hunts for it's prey, so shall you. Blood, the very blood that you have spilled will become the sustenance that you will need. You will kill and you will create.'

"I didn't have time to ponder that last sentence that God spoke because in that instant two things happened. One, He took my brother's dead body from my hands. And two, my own body began to burn. I'm not sure how much you actually know about the transferring process, Isabella, but it's an excruciating ordeal. It's not much different for those that I have turned or have witness their turning. For myself anyway, I wasn't sure how long the process lasted. On a normal human it take no more than three days. The burning pain began to subside as my heart began to pump its last beats.

"I awoke to a world much different than I remembered. For one thing, my vision was much finer and clearer than before. I could see farther and with great detail. Through my enhanced vision I could see the air itself. And my hearing, oh if there ever was a down fall it was there. I could hear everything. My family was miles away and yet I could pick up their individual heartbeats. The wet moist sounds of their blood flowing and working through their hearts brought the dull ache in my throat to a roaring inferno. I wanted them. It would quench this pain. And as I approached my family, I was blocked from going to them. A being with huge wings of a bird carried a flaming swords stopped me from going further. He told me that this was not where I belonged and to turn around. Turning from my home and my land to walk into the unknown was terrifying. There were no humans that I knew of in Nod. What was I going to do? How was I going to survive? I was apart from my family and I was apart from God. It was if He never knew me. Like my father and mother before me, I was cursed. I never knew Eden but I knew the shame that my parents felt at losing that aspect of God and he cursed them…particularly my mother and all women of the future. Creating and carrying a child is a gift but the act of labor and the pain it causes is a curse indeed. It stands as a reminder to the future generations of the sin my mother created her self. And women everywhere, everyday pay for that sin over and over again.

"So in turn, I myself am cursed. Forever I will pay for the blood that I spilled and so do every offspring of mine. It's an endless cycle where forgiveness cannot be found. I guess one begins to wonder if there is ever such a thing as true forgiveness. I think there is as God picks and chooses what He wants. Fallibility is the Original Sin as perfection is taken from you. On the outside I appear perfect, but, Isabella, inside, I am not. I have this perfect memory. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of Abel and wish that I did things differently. But what's done is done and I can't change that now.

"In shame I ran to Nod. I hid myself in the day and walked at night. I soon learned that other heartbeats; those found in animals piqued my interest and growing thirst. My second kill was that of a lion. He put up a great fight but in the end was no match for me. The blood of the lion didn't completely quell the thirst that raged but it quenched it enough to satisfy the burning ache. The thought occurred to me that if I could maintain sustenance of animal blood then just maybe I wouldn't crave the pulsating blood that flowed in a human being. If this is the only thing that I can do right by God then I was going to do it. I would do it for God and I would do it for Abel.

"Yes, I have tasted human blood and believe me when I say, it calls to me still to this day. But I have never killed another human being ever. I won't."

I felt a smile creep on my face as I thought about the Cullen's particularly Carlisle and his compassion towards life in general. I wasn't sure of the others in his family but I knew from what he told me that Carlisle had never taken a human life and he himself thought the same as Cain.

"Ah, you smile, dear Isabella. It is good to see and I don't doubt that I know why. Stregoni Benefici.I only met him once I am afraid. We don't share the same views on the Volturi. Very few of us choose to live off the blood of animals. Most are trained to take life and think nothing of it as if humanity was nothing more than chattel. My mistakes are mine and I own them but I will not treat humanity in that way.

"How I chose to live had no bearing on my curse and was still damned either way. I was shamed. Hiding from the sunlight, I walked by the stars and the moon. By night I stalked my prey and pondered how I was going to get through eternity. And then one day I thought that I would chance the sun and walk by the shadows. I had no idea what effect the sun would have on me. I didn't think it could be death because God had granted eternity on me but I stuck to the shadows regardless. I could hear the rush of water and I wanted to see for myself the cause of this sound. I chanced as close as I could get without stepping into the sun's full light.

"In my homeland we had rivers and other small areas of water but this was nothing like I had ever seen before. A head of me lay this huge vast body of water I was so enamored by this oddity that I almost didn't take notice of the beautiful creature walking along it's waves.

"This creature was nothing like I had ever seen before. Her heart beat but yet the blood the pounded her veins did not call to me. My own heart had since cease to beat so I knew that she wasn't anything like me but I knew that she could not be human. The first thing I noticed was her sadness. She kept calling for god to answer her and I couldn't help to wonder what she had done to be banished and cursed from God's presence.

She turned immediately as if she knew that something was there that didn't belong. Her beauty struck me. The wondrous and strange creature reminded me of what my mother probably had been in her youth. So much so did they look alike, like sisters. I tried backing away but I wasn't quick enough.

"I crouched behind a huge bush hoping to be hidden from her view. I was shameful and since I hadn't come across other humans, no one could tell me what I looked like or what this curse had done to me. I was frightened myself and yet I didn't want to frighten her.

"She came upon me as if she knew exactly where I was.

'Don't come any closer.' I called out to her. I knew what I was capable of when I was in the company of an animal so I had no idea as to what I could do to her. 'I don't want to hurt you.'

"She laughed at me and for the moment I felt insulted.

'I am not scared of you. I am curious, yes but not frightened in any way.'

'I could kill you and you wouldn't even know what came upon you until it is too late.' I wanted her to stay away and yet the other part of me yearned to know her. Her eyes squinted as if she were the one that was now insulted.

'I really doubt that entirely. Why don't you come out, please?'

'No, I don't think that you would like me. I walk by night only.'

'But yet you stalk the shadows by day?'

"How was I supposed to answer that?

'The sound of water drew me in and I had to see it for myself the source of what compelled me out and into the shadows. It is by mere curiosity that I happened here.'

'Ah, I see and what do you think of this mere curiosity?'

"I wasn't sure now if she were talking about the huge vastness of water before us or the fact that I had stumbled upon her. I chose not to answer her at this time. I thought that if I didn't answer her or talk to her any more she would go. But that was not the case for either of us. She didn't want to let me go and I didn't want to see her leave.

'Please tell me your name.' She begged of me.

'It's Cain.'

'Well, Cain, I am Lilith.'

"It took some coaxing on her part to finally draw me out of hiding. I was damned for eternity anyway so what did I have to lose? If I scared her off with my offensiveness then so be it. So for the first time I walked out into the sunlight in Lilith's presence. I think we gasped at the same time. My skin glinted like tiny diamonds. I now knew why I could not walk by the sun. I would draw attention to myself that I didn't want. I would be forced to kill. They would seek me out until the found me.

"It was this very reason alone that the myths about our species was created in the first place. I will not bore you with the details about how we came to fall in love but our love did spawn the second of our kind, Amasa. His name means 'bearing a burden', which he will forever and always do. Our son is more or less a hybrid of a vampire and a human. He can walk by the sun if he so chooses and pass for a human but Amasa can also create another with just the mere venom from his teeth as well.

"As the earth began to populate more and more and as Amasa grew, his heart began to search for his mate. We didn't know how this process worked. With Lilith, carrying Amasa was a grueling ordeal and the toll it took on her body alone was not something worth repeating. She thankfully healed but would a fully human woman heal from this? So far through out history human women can get pregnant with a vampire's seed, but they do not survive. Neither do the infants really. Some do but most that do tend to grow to become savages without the proper care.

"But God said that I would create, yes, create I did with our son and yet I knew that wasn't what he was referring to. This species of vampires would go on. I couldn't bring myself to bite another human but Amasa was willing to try.

"Amasa fell in love with a girl named Talia from a near by village. Of course her father didn't find favor in Amasa. In fact the man despised him immensely. Although our son could walk by day he didn't have the means, by human standards at least, to take care of her. Talia was promised to another. But the two of them were in love. She knew already what Amasa was and wanted to join him in this life.

"So before she was to be wed to another, Amasa kidnapped her in the middle of the night. He was the first to create a vampire companion. The burning ache that Talia went through was much like my own and she faired well through it. Amasa brought her into our way of life with much success.

"Talia's transition went very well and the two of them went on to create more vampires. Lilith and I were happy to watch our family grown. The species of vampires grew and with growth there also comes misfortune. We really had no idea how bad it was going to get. Since Talia's transition was such a huge success, we thought that every one of the transitions was going to be that way. We were wrong.

"They turned on each other, killing one another and seeking out their blood lust on the neighboring villages. Laws had to be put in place, not unlike a government of the people but for vampires. Stefan and Vladimir, two of our most loyal and most respected vampires were elected for the job. It was one that they held for quite some time before another in their guard usurped them.

"I do believe that you have heard of Aro, my dear child?"

I nodded my head remembering the painting in Carlisle's office of the three brothers.

"Night-time patrons of the arts," I whispered. And yet as strange and as wonderful as this has been, I couldn't see how any of this had to do with me.

"Between my son, Stefan and Vladimir they grew a strong city in which our kind could dwell in relative peace and safety amongst well cared for humans." Cain sighed, " But like all cities that start out successful there is still petty disagreements about how it should be run and who should be running it.

"I saw Aro's lust for power too late. We squabbled over sacred documents that were in our possession but never did we argue more over one that had long been in Lilith's possession first. We thought that it should be kept locked away and guarded at all times. This scroll or document goes by no name but yet it is filled with many and one that is filled also with immense power. The list contains the names of every angel that had chosen free will and wanted to live lives amongst the humans of this world.

"Angel's that choose a human life are very powerful in this incarnation. Can you imagine if that list fell into the hands of greedy immortals? It has once and only once. The list is guarded at all times by an immortal shield; they are designed to guard the list. There are nine of them altogether. And now sadly only one remains."

Cain looked at me and smiled. My head was swimming with the wealth of information that I had been given in a relatively short amount of time. I had questions upon questions and had no idea where to begin.

"Ah, my dear child," Cain lightly stroked my cheek with his cold hand. "I can see that this has been a lot to take in and you are looking weary. More can and will be explained to you in due time." He stood with Lilith still holding her hand. "You need to rest. We will land in Romania in less than an hour and then we need to prepare."

I cocked my head to the side to look at them with what was probably the look of utter stupidity but I was confused. "Prepare. Prepare for what?"

Lilith laughed light-heartedly. "Prepare for immortality, Isabella. That's what you've always wanted, right?"

I wanted it once but not like this. I wanted a forever with Edward and now that he didn't want me I didn't want forever with anyone. The darkness outside the window once again captured my attention. Tears welled up in my eyes threatening to spill over. Reality became all too real for me. I would now never again be able to lay eyes on my parents or any human for that matter without feeling the blood lust that would soon lay claim to me. Oh how I wished they left me to die in the woods. And now I would be forever immortal, lonely with an un-dead broken heart.

I barely registered that Lilith and Cain had left me alone in the cabin to ponder what had been thrown at me when the captain of the plane announced our dissent into Romania. What was I going to do? How was I going to go through forever without the love of my life? Could I muddle through it with only the knowledge that Edward was out there somewhere in the world? I didn't really know. I guess I didn't really have a choice now, did I?

Cain and Lilith waited for me on the tarmac. No doubt my slow ungraceful clumsiness would surely annoy them but I no longer cared. I was numb. I'm not sure why in the world they thought that I would make a good candidate for vampirism. I had nothing good to add to that world. The only good I had ever felt was now gone.

I remembered Carlisle had said that not everyone makes it through the transformation. Too much venom or not enough could kill a person. I could only hope now that this was the case for me.

Lilith linked her arm with mine as we walked to a car that was waiting for us. As we approached the awaiting vehicle, it's dark tinted window rolled down. Cain nodded to its inhabitant that stayed hidden out of my view.

Eli quickly loaded things into the trunk before opening the back doors for us. I was ushered into the car only to come face to face with the uncanny likeness of Cain. I could only assume that this had to be Amasa, Cain's son.

"I see this excursion was most successful this time." Amasa arched an eyebrow as he looked at his father. Had there been other attempts at trying to get me? Did I really want to know?

"Amasa let me introduce to you, Miss Isabella Swan." Cain gestured to me.

"For once the rumors were true." Cain's son smiled at me.

"Rumors," I muttered.

"He means that your beauty is remarkable, my child." Cain glared at his son and shook his head. There was more that they weren't telling me. "So, has there been any word on what's going on abroad?"

"Yes," Amasa nodded his head. "We do believe that they have sent out a spy. We are to be weary of any travelers heading in our region. I would hope that they would have the wear with all to…"

Cain quickly cut off his son. "We will definitely discuss this later in detail. But I think that Miss Swan would like to have a quiet ride back to the compound. Isn't that right, Isabella?"

"Thank you." It was all I could manage at the moment. I didn't think my brain could take any more information. And right now I didn't care. In all honesty, I think they made a huge mistake in picking me for immortality. As a human, I was utterly pathetic. I could only imagine that Edward and his family were laughing having a grant old time at my expense – a huge joke. Any normal person would have been hurt and angry. I was just hurt.

My only hope now would be that the venom would kill me in my transformation.

~0~

A/N: I am really sorry that this had taken so long to post. I wasn't happy at how it turned out the first time. I re-wrote this chapter several times and then my muse up and disappeared. I had writers block up until a few days ago. I'm now happy at how this turned out. I also re-wrote Edward's chapter (the previous one). I didn't like his conversation with Charlie. I thought it was really lame and changed it up a bit. You don't have to re-read the chapter if you don't want to as it's not really going to effect the story at all.

Thanks to all of you who have stuck with this.