I stayed silent, lost in my thoughts, as Alice slipped me into my gown, carefully curled my hair, applied makeup to my face. When she was done, she let me get a good look at myself in her large, lighted mirror before I was to be lead out.

The gown was stunning; an a-line white satin gown, sheer long sleeves that cinched at the wrists, white flowers embroidered into the sheer of the sleeves. My hair fell over my left shoulder and down my back in loose copper curls, completed with a long, sheer white veil held on my head by a tiara fashioned to look like a crown of crimson roses and dark thorns. Face adorned with a very pale white foundation, thick, black winged eyeliner and smoky black shadow around my eyes, and a deep red lipstick on my lips. I took one last look at my eyes; this would be the last time I would see them colored their natural brown. After tonight, they'd shine gold like the rest of the Cullens' eyes did and would turn black during feedings.

She helped me slip into low, white heels, then placed a delicate necklace with a silver chain and a strange looking symbol around my neck. "It's Vlakir's sigil. We all wear it," she said. "Every vampire in every coven."

I looked at it some more, then back at my reflection. "Why do I wear white for this while the rest of you wear black? Won't it get ruined?"

She shook her head no. "White represents the innocence of your humanity, the blank slate of your unturned form. When you're turned and consume blood for the first time, the red staining represents your rebirth. Your transformation."

I took it in. She continued. "Since you'll be bound to Edward, he'll also wear white. Your blood will spill on him, and his on you. A new soul joining the ranks of the Vampyr and two souls binding as one."

She stepped back and took a long look at me, admiring her work. I couldn't blame her. I never would have imagined that I could look like this. I didn't dress particularly boldly and the most makeup I really ever did was some lip gloss and a little mascara. Now here I was, standing in this room looking like a carefully crafted porcelain doll.

Footsteps were heard coming towards the door, then Esme popped her head in the door. "It's time."

Alice and Esme flipped the veil over my face and led me out, one on either side of me lifting me up so I wouldn't step on the dress Alice spent all of the last few days carefully crafting. They took me through the front door, down the porch steps, and to a path in the forest. They walked at a normal pace, being careful to not undo the work Alice had just done on my face and hair. After about five minutes, the path opened up into a clearing of field and flowers circled all around by trees. Edward stood dressed in an all white suit on a flat stone pedestal in the center, the rest of the Cullens in black gowns or suits and black hooded cloaks surrounding him and the pedestal. Alice and Esme gently placed me next to Edward and then took their respective places in the circle. The clearing was fully lit by the moon, almost directly above us in tonight's sky.

I took a deep breath in. The cold air almost burned in my lungs.

The Cullens grabbed hands and Carlisle began to speak.

"O powerful one, O dark one; He whose name makes all the stars, planets, and moons tremble, we bring to you tonight a new disciple, and ask that you bless this new disciple with the same greatness with which you have blessed us. Tonight, under the blood moon, we also ask that you bless the binding of these two so that they may have even greater power together than they would alone."

I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply again, exhaled, and opened my eyes to see Edward. He was looking right into my eyes, an intense yet calm expression on his face.

"Elisabeth, repeat after me," Carlisle said. "I, Elisabeth Allison Reeves,"

"I, Elisabeth Allison Reeves,"

"-offer my soul to you, Vlakir, and bind my soul to you, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen,"

"Offer my soul to you, Vlakir, and bind my soul to you," looking Edward in the eyes, unblinking, "Edward Anthony Masen Cullen,"

"-for now, for eternity, on this night of the blood moon."

"For now, for eternity, on this night of the blood moon."

Now he looked at Edward. "Edward, place the ring on her finger, and then give yours to her to place onto yours."

Edward pulls two silver rings with large, intricately carved rubies on them out of his coat pocket and slowly slips one onto my left ring finger, then places the other in my hand. I slide the ring onto his left ring finger.

"Now repeat after me. I, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, ask you, Vlakir, to bless this union of myself and Elisabeth Allison Reeves tonight."

"I, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, ask you, Vlakir, to bless this union of myself and Elisabeth Allison Reeves tonight."

"I offer my soul to be bound to hers, for now and for eternity, so that we may flourish in your power, greater bound than alone."

"I offer my soul to be bound to hers, for now and for eternity, so that we may flourish in your power, greater bound than alone."

"Now Elisabeth, repeat this in return: I offer my soul to your ranks, and I accept Edward's request for this binding. I trust in your power and judgment, Vlakir, father of all vampires. For now, for eternity."

"I offer my soul to your ranks, and I accept Edward's request for this binding. I trust in your power and judgment, Vlakir, father of all vampires. For now, for eternity."

The eclipse was beginning. The moon turned a deep, bloody red and lit the clearing and all of us in an eerie, red glow.

"By the power of the blood moon, by the power of Vlakir, I commence this initiation and this binding of two. Give your life force to Edward, and be reborn into your vampiric form as a Cullen."

Carlisle steps onto the pedestal and motions for Edward and me to expose our right wrists. We do. He pulls a sharpened ritual blade out of the inner pocket of his coat and slices Edward's arm, then mine. It stings, and I can feel heat spilling out from my arm onto my dress. Edward's arm raises over my veil and spills ice cold blood onto my head, shoulders, down the front of my dress. Then Carlisle raises my arm over Edward and spills mine over him, allowing it to drip on his head and over the shoulders of his coat. He steps down.

The wind begins blowing hard, rustling the trees around us and blowing strands of my hair to the side.

"Elisabeth, it's time," Carlisle says. "These are your final moments as a human."

Edward lifts my veil, takes me in his arms, moves my head to the side to expose the right side of my neck. Goosebumps form on my skin from the chill of the cold, autumn night and the realization of what's about to happen. He leans in and inhales, smelling the blood in the vein underneath my skin that he's more than eager to begin drinking from.

I stare up at the moon, now fully immersed in the eclipse. This was it.

"It's time, Edward. Turn her."

He bites down and I inhale sharply. The feeling of teeth sinking into my neck and…venom?...beginning to course into my neck, down my arms, through my body sends sparks and fire through me. My eyes widen. Holy fuck, this burns. I can't hold it in anymore and I let out a piercing scream. My heart starts pounding so fast it feels like it's about to burst, eyes so wide they might pop out. Edward brings his bleeding wrist to my mouth and says "Drink from me. Now."

I do as I'm told. I lick and suck the wound as hard and fast as I can. The wind is howling now, all I can hear is it and my heartbeat pounding so loud in my ears my eardrums feel close to rupturing. The burning still lingering, I suck from the wound as long as I can until suddenly my head snaps back, my whole body freezes, and I start levitating. Just like they did.

They all watch in frozen awe as I levitate higher and higher off the ground. My teeth start changing form, the same jagged razors theirs become when they feed. All I can see now is the moon and the black of the sky. The eclipse is nearing its end, the wind now roaring in my ears or maybe that's the sound of blood and venom rushing through me. I take one last sharp, long breath and then a flash of light and a loud boom. My eyes roll back in my head and I drop down onto the pedestal.

Everything goes black.