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  A GASP LEFT HER mouth as Magnolia's eyes refocused. She blinked rapidly, confused and dazed. Her memory was slightly foggy. "What happened..?" She mumbled as she swung her legs over the bed. It was strange — she could smell everything, see even the tiniest particle. Then it hit her like a freight train. I was bitten. She panicked and her chest heaved, yet she wasn't breathing. "Jasper?" She called. He was the first person that came to mind.

Immediately, he appeared by her side. "I'm here," He breathed out. He tried his best to keep his eyes from wandering, but she was so beautiful. Her face had stayed virtually the same, the only thing that was visibly different was her eyes — ocean blue swirled with ruby red.

"What..." She paused, her eyes trailing him up and down. She could see everything, especially his scars, which she could barely see before. Seeing them so clearly caused her heart to ache. "What happened?"

Jasper took a deep breath. "You...you were bit," He waited for her to scream or shout, but Magnolia froze. Her brain went numb as the shock of it hit her. Jasper frowned as he felt her distress. "My love," He cooed, stepping forward. "Look at me."

She did so reluctantly. She stared into his eyes, trying to ease her nerves. "...I didn't think..." She trailed off, looking away from him briefly, but Jasper's fingers softly grasped her chin and moved her eyes back to him. "I didn't really think it would work...it was just a theory."

"Do you know what you said to Alice before you passed out?" Jasper tilted his head.

"I don't..." She shook her head softly.

"You said something about the High Council," He prompted. It still didn't jog Magnolia's memory. "You said that...they were vampires?"

Suddenly, it hit her. "Oh my god," Jasper's hand slowly slipped from her chin as she took a step back. One of her hands clasped her forehead in shock. "I-I was right!? I mean, it made sense because they looked so fragile and their eyes were a mix of colours! As I said, it was just a theory I was tossing around but-"

"Magnolia!" A body slammed into her, scooping her up into a massive hug. Magnolia breathed in and she immediately hugged back. Elton squeezed her tightly, shaking with delight. "You're alive!"

He let her go and she chuckled with a shrug. "Sort of," Then, she got a good look at him. Just like hers, his eyes were a shining red. Everything from the day flooded back into her mind as she remembered a frightened Elton cowering, pale and sickly looking. "Elton you're...oh my god," Her eyes felt as if they were watering but no tears formed. "This...this wasn't supposed to happen..." Her panic returned.

Elton was quick to reach out, grasping her hands tightly. "Maggie, no..." He shook his head. "Please don't blame yourself. I-I should've listened to you."

"You didn't know," She choked out, dropping her head in shame. "If I had just told you the truth-"

"Magnolia," Jasper interrupted. "Elton is right. You couldn't tell him and if you did...who knows what else would have happened." Elton looked back at him with a small thankful smile.

"Gosh..." Magnolia sighed. She shook her head. "This is...too much. How am I a...a vampire?" She struggled with the word. Using it to describe herself felt...strange. "This doesn't make sense," 

Her ears perked up at the sound of fast footsteps. Letting go of Elton's hands, she turned to the door to see Alice, Rosalie, Carlisle, Esme, and her parents. "Mom!" In a flash, her mother was in her arms and she was across the room. But a soft yet sharp crack caused Magnolia to rear back. Her eyes widened as she stared at her mother. 

Ariana's eyes were glistening wet as silent tears streaked down her cheeks. She was looking at her daughter, yet she felt like a stranger. Her eyes were a swirl of red and blue, her face was perfectly symmetrical, all signs of human uniqueness were gone. Her daughter, gone. "Magnolia..." She even struggled with saying her name. 

Magnolia was overly aware of her mother's emotions. No, she didn't have powers like Jasper, but she could see every little movement, smell the fear. It was terrifying. She began to shake, taking a step back, right into Jasper's chest, but she moved away from him, from all of them, her head spinning. "I-I can't do this...I-I..." Her hands clutched at her now perfectly silky hair, tugging, trying to feel anything at all, any little pain. But there was nothing. 

"Magnolia," Carlisle stepped forward. Her head snapped up at his voice, her panicked eyes meeting his wary. "You need to calm down. You need to think, to breathe," Unblinking, she stared at him, trying to focus on only Carlisle, not her parents, not Jasper, not Elton, just him. She ignored the sounds of birds chirping and cars honking. It was difficult, but she managed. Carlisle nodded slowly as he watched her shoulders relax. "Good...that's good, Magnolia."

She took a deep breath. She could smell everything. "This is...weird," She stated plainly. 

"It will be for a while," Carlisle told her. "We don't know how you being part Sorceress will affect your newborn status."

"What does that mean?" Magnolia tilted her head. 

Jasper stepped forward. "Most newborns are...blood-thirsty," He spoke bluntly. "We're not sure if you'll be able to be around Bella for...who knows how long. Or even go into town, for that matter."

"So..." Magnolia knitted her brows. "I'm on lockdown?" 

"For the time being, yes," Carlisle nodded. "But you're parents and Elton will be staying here. And we'll need to train Elton, as well." He looked to the red-headed boy who shrunk back ever so slightly at the Cullen's gaze. 

"O-Okay," Elton stuttered. He looked over at Magnolia and smiled weakly. 

"We should get started right away," Jasper piped up. 

Esme nodded. "I agree. We'll all go prepare." She pulled Emmett and Alice by the arms, ushering them out of the room. Rosalie followed, along with Carlisle. 

Jasper hung back, unsure of what to do. He looked down at Magnolia. She looked up at him and sighed. "Go. We all just need a moment." 

He nodded and without a word, left Magnolia and Elton with Ariana and Timothy. The silence was thick and choking. Magnolia gulped, feeling a stranger sting in her throat. She shuddered. "This wasn't supposed to happen." 

"Magnolia, your mother and I are...so sorry," Timothy hung his head. Magnolia could see tears in his eyes. It shocked her -- her father never cried. "We're supposed to protect you, both of you." He looked over at Elton, his breath catching in his throat. 

Elton shook his head. "Tim, this..." He gestured to himself. "This is all my fault. I should've listened to Maggie but I was stubborn." 

Magnolia turned to her best friend. "How long have you...been..."

"A vampire?" Elton finished her question. Magnolia nodded slowly. He sighed, shrugging. "I'm not too sure. Reily found me the night I landed."

"Three days?" Magnolia choked, stumbling back. "I- this is...oh my god, Elton." She had no words. She was supposed to protect I'm and she failed miserably. 

Elton stepped towards her, watching for any indicators that she would run, but Magnolia just stood there. He took two more steps and pulled her into his arms and they cried. Their faces stayed dry, but their hearts still ached. "I'm so sorry," Elton mumbled into her hair. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Magnolia sobbed, gripping him tighter. She could hear her mother's sniffles from behind her, could hear as she gripped her father's shirt.  Letting go of Elton, Magnolia scanned his face, smiling sadly. "At least we get to spend eternity together."

Elton chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Always the optimist."

  They had decided that Carlisle and Esme should train Elton, with them being the eldest, it made sense. That left Magnolia with the rest of the Cullens, minus Edward, who was beginning wedding preparations. "I can't believe Bella said yes," Magnolia chuckled as she, Jasper, and Alice entered the woods.

"Alice is already making arrangements," Jasper chuckled, which earned a nudge from the pixie-haired vampire.

Magnolia only smiled and asked, "Could I help?" 

Alice smiled back. "Of course." 

Jasper's hand found its way to Magnolia's. For the first time since she 'turned', she noticed that he no longer felt cold. Her eyes widened and her head snapped to his. "You feel...normal."

Jasper could feel how much this made her happy, that finally, he wasn't ice-cold every time she touched him, but he couldn't share in her joy. Yes, he did get to spend eternity with her, but he would never feel the warmth of her blood ever again. And knowing it was gone for good, he found himself craving that warmth. She didn't feel cold, but she definitely didn't feel like Magnolia anymore.

He squeezed her hand and only smiled. Magnolia smiled back. 

Their walk in the woods concluded in a clearing. It was a meadow, covered in luscious green grass and blooming wildflowers. The sun illuminated everything it could reach. The three of them paused and Alice turned to Magnolia. "We'll start here. We're only going to test your strength and agility."

"Seems easy enough..." Magnolia bit her bottom lip.

"Everything will feel new to you, darlin'," Jasper reminded her. "Your body won't move like it used to. The venom has changed everything. We'll start slow, okay?"

Magnolia nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay." 

Jasper could feel how terrified she was. She was putting on a brave face for her parents, for Elton, and for the Cullens. It hurt him slightly to know she wasn't telling him, but he understood why. That was what Magnolia did -- she put everyone else before herself. "Come on..." He told her softly and pulled her along into the meadow.

 Alice followed and the surface of their skin glowed, somehow managing to outshine the sun. 

Magnolia's chest tightened at the sight. Somehow, it was the shining skin that solidified everything for her -- not the swirling red and blue eyes, not the heightened senses  -- but some silly, sparkling skin. She chuckled softly to herself. 

Once they made it to the centre, Alice clapped her hands together. "Alright, Maggie. Let's start with something easy; a jump." 

Magnolia titled her head. "Just...jump?" 

"Yup," Alice nodded. "See how high you can get." 

Stupidity washed over her. Jasper frowned as the feeling hit him. "My love," He whispered to her. "You are learning to live again. It will feel...silly for a little while. But Alice and I love you. We're not gonna judge you one bit." 

He quickly kissed her cheek, causing Magnolia to roll her eyes in an attempt to hide her smile. But she tried for them. She felt incredibly stupid as she locked her knees ina crouch, but as she felt wind rushing through her hair instead of her feet landing back on the ground, the stupidity washed away. A shriek of terror left her mouth as she caught a glimpse of Forks above the treeline before plummeting back down to the ground. 

Jasper's arms where right there to catch her. He smiled at the look of shock on her face. "That was impressive."

Softly, he lowered her feet back down but she still held his arm for support. Her chest was heaving with adrenaline. "What the hell just happened?"

"The jumping was a quick test of your strength," Alice explained. "But the next test will be much harder." 

As the smaller vampire's eyes turned serious, Magnolia looked back at Jasper, dreading what was running through her head. Since she awoke, the burning in her throat was hard to ignore. His nod solidified her fears. 

"Yes, darlin'. You have to feed."

AUTHORS NOTE

I can't believe I actually brought this fic back BUT UGH I missed writing for it sm and I felt bad for leaving y'all on a cliffhanger so HERE YOU GO.