Bella wasn't joking when she said it was a long story. I asked her to start at the very beginning, so that's exactly what she did, beginning from when she left for Forks, Washington.

She told me about the Cullens, and how she came to realize they were all vampires. It appears that whatever Byron did to change her memories for a time truly worked, because seeing the Olympic coven did nothing to jog her memory of me, although I suppose by that point it wouldn't have really mattered; I trust Carlisle, so by extension, the rest of his family must be trustworthy.

I remember meeting Carlisle in my earliest years as a vampire, it couldn't have been more than five years after my changing. He was the one that gave me the suggestion of becoming a "vegetarian" vampire to avoid losing myself to the blood lust; he had caught me sneaking out of a hospital with about fifteen blood bags hidden in my purse.

After my changing I made a promise to myself that I would never take an innocent life, no matter what the pain was that it put me through. Over the years I slipped up several times; I broke into more hospitals for blood over the years than I care to admit, but I have never killed a human in my 89 years.

Bella also told me about how she fell in love with Edward, and later had a daughter, named Renesmee. Despite the fact that Renesmee is only eight years old, she looks as mature as her parents, and has intelligence that surpasses that of an average adult.

"But then how long does that make her lifespan?" I ask hesitantly, not wanting to bring up a touchy subject.

She explains to me though that although a half-vampire like Renesmee is rare, there are others like her out there. They managed to find someone that could vouch for Renesmee in time to stop a mass homicide, courtesy of the Volturi.

I can't help but interrupt Bella by laughing at that. She looks at me rather strangely, but is used to my strange moments of weirdness, so remains quiet and waits for me to explain myself.

"Ever since I was turned," I take a breath, trying to calm the giggles bubbling up my throat, "I have been evading the Volturi, and you manage to catch not just Aro's attention, but every single member of their guard. Not including the wives!" I burst into another fit of laughter, this time Bella joining along with me. "Only you could have that kind of terrible luck."

"Oh shut up." Bella grumbles, but she is still laughing with me and doesn't seem serious in the least.

When both of us have quieted down, I ask another one of the many questions I still have. "So what now? You know the Volturi won't leave you alone forever. Hell, it's a miracle they've left you alone this long." I would be getting antsy by this point.

"That's what we've all been thinking, though no one's said it out loud. There are so many people with gifts in our family; I don't understand what he's waiting for." Bella responds, beginning to pull at the fabric of a purple throw pillow on the couch, unknowingly in her worry.

I can almost feel the dread rolling off Bella in waves.

"How many of you have gifts?" I ask, going through a mental list of their names as well as how Bella had described them.

"I'm a mental shield." Bella starts, but I interrupt her almost immediately with a side comment.

"Bet that pissed Jane off, eh?" I chuckle. I can just imagine how annoying that would be for the Volturi's little psycho princess.

Bella nods, a smile on her lips again. "Wait, how do you know Jane? I thought you were avoiding the Volturi?"

"It's a long story." I wave her off. "Keep going?"

"Edward can read the minds of those around him aside from me, because I have a mental shield." Bella continues, and I nod along. "Alice can see the future, though it changes based on the decisions that people make. Jasper has the ability to alter emotions, and Renesmee can project images through contact." Bella finishes, and I sit there for a second, struck dumn.

"How in the..." I don't know how to put my feelings into words. Now I understand why the Volturi would send every member of the guard after the Cullens; they would need that many people to stop such an imposing coven.

"That's not fair though!" I whine. "You guys have all these cool powers and I get the ability to be a freakin human chameleon."

"That's still amazing." Bella points out, looking on with amusement as I have a mini tantrum.

"Yeah I know." I respond, completely calm once again. "I've gotten better at it too. Here, watch this."

I adjust my seated position to match Bella's more closely, and focus on creating a glamour. It covers over my actual self like a thin, transparent cloth, undulating and changing to match my need. The glamour forms around me like a second skin, only this new outer layer looks just like the vampire sitting opposite me.

"Your skill has definitely improved; I'm impressed." Bella complements, nodding.

I allow the glamour to fade again and take a mock bow forward, almost tumbling off the couch. The only thing that stops me are my inhumanly fast reflexes, immediately untucking one leg to balance me back out and stay upright. Maybe Bella got her clumsiness from hanging out with me too much.

"So what have you done these past few years?" Bella asks. I consider spinning a tale, but decide against it, instead answering honestly.

"I've just been traveling around, not really staying in one place too long. I was actually in France for two years, but decided to move back here; the game in North America is much better."

"What were you living off of in France, squirrels?" Bella asks jokingly, nudging me with a jean-clad leg. I notice ironically that Bella's fashion sense has not changed in her second life.

"You would be suprised how good they are.." I trail off, keeping my face straight.

"You aren't serious, are you? You can't be serious! Why would you eat squirrel?" Bella crinkles her nose at the notion of such a preposterous idea.

"I'm just messing with you, Bella! That sounds repulsive." I laugh, poking her side. She squirms away, giggling along with me.

"I've missed this," Bella sighs, throwing her arms over the back of the couch. "I didn't even know I missed this up until a few weeks ago," she glares jokingly at me for a moment before continuing, "but I miss joking around with you."

"You're telling me? I basically turned into a loner; I kept moving around to avoid unwanted attention, and the last animal drinker I've seen besides Byron is you."

"Maybe we need to start working on your people skills then, Ember." Bella says, deadpanned.

"I talk to people! And I've become friends with several red eyed vampires, but I never stick with them for long; I detest their eating habits." I defend myself, trying not to crack a smile.

"Excuses, excuses." Bella sings, ruffling my hair.

I growl at her and push her off the couch, combing my recently cut, short, hair back into place with my fingers.

"Hey!" Bella exclaims.

"What? Is something wrong?" I ask innocently, running my hands through my hair one last time before smirking down at Bella.

Bella doesn't respond, but instead jumps up and grabs my leg, dragging me right off the edge of the couch and onto the floor next to her. "Something wrong?" she asks, badly immitating my voice.

I snort unattractively. "We still act like five year olds when we're near each other."

"Some things will never change." Bella responds, standing and dusting herself off.

I'm not sure if she meant for the comment to be so deep, but it's the most random moments like this when I remember that I will never age, never grow old. I am frozen in time, forever stuck at nineteen.

I rid my mind of that rather morbid thought though, wanting to focus on my much happier present. Gracefully rising from my seated position on the floor, I take my previous position back on the couch, and Bella follows. Her expression has changed back to thoughtful, making me wonder what it is she's thinking about.

She seems to make up her mind about whatever it had been preoccupied with, her eyes coming back into focus.

"You should come visit." Bella says suddenly.

I raise my eyebrows. "You mean the Cullens? You don't think they would mind?" I ask hesitantly.

"Of course not." she responds assuredly. "You're like my older sister, and I want you to meet the rest of my family."

It makes me warm inside that Bella considers me part of her family, and a smile creeps back to my face. I can't remember the last time I have ever smiled this much.

"But don't you have family out there? A human family? Do you trust me not to hurt them?" I ask worriedly, thinking of all the possible scenarios in which this could go wrong.

"You have crazy self control, Ember. In the more than eighty years you had lived before you met me, you told me you had never killed a human. I trust you." Bella smiles and nudges me.

"Well," I weigh the risks, but odds are I will be just fine. I've been able to handle myself in big cities for years, so a small town shouldn't be much of a problem. I am only so hesitant because Bella is one of the only true friends I have made since turning, and hurting her in any way is the last thing I want to do.

"If I'm not imposing then of course, I would love to meet them!" I reply, smiling along with her.

"Good! Let's go!" Bella exclaims, jumping up to her feet at an inhuman speed.

"Wait, wh- you mean now?" I ask incredulously, looking at her like she is crazy.

"Of course! There's no time like the present!" Bella responds with too much enthusiasm, and I roll my eyes at her.

"Do I at least get time to pack a bag?" I ask, moving to stand up as well. I'm suprised how long it's taken me to notice, but Bella and I really do sound like to bickering sisters a majority of the time.

"You can, but Alice is going to see you coming, and you're going to become her newest dress up doll." Bella says, shivering, no doubt reliving one of these "dress up" occasions.

"Way to sell it, Bella." I say, sarcasm laced into each word, but deciding to go anyways.

"I just knew that the prospect of becoming a life size doll would seal the deal!" Bella squeals as I follow her out of my apartment, locking the door behind us.

"Oh, wait a second." I say, stopping short only a few steps from my front door. I jog back the way we had come at a human pace, very aware of how close my human neighbors live to me.

Once I unlock my door again though I dash back into the living room, picking up my dog tags from the side of the coffee table not covered in books. I had removed them only to change, but Bella had knocked at the door before I put them back on, and I promptly forgot about it.

One of the two tags now around my neck is my own, the matching one buried at my "funeral" all those years ago. I never saw my family again after that funeral; it was closed casket, and none of them would have thought to look for me in the crowd of mourners. That was the first and last time I saw the rest of my family gathered without fighting with each other, physically or verbally. Neither my father nor my mother cried.

I was completely honored by the sheer mass of people that showed up for it though, the number was staggering. People from all over my hometown in Wythe, Virginia, had come, many that I didn't even recognize.

I had to leave early; the scent of all of those people, crammed together in a tiny church, had begun to get to me. I was still a newborn, and my self control hung by a thread that could be easily snapped at that point. That was a sight I would never forget though, and even now, over sixty years later, it's still fresh in my mind.

Another is of a lost comrad, my brother in war. Vinny and I were in the same unit, and I live every day wishing I had been just a little bit closer, just a few feet nearer to him, and maybe I could have helped him. He was the only one that knew I was a girl, the only one I trusted to keep that secret.

We hadn't been expecting anything out of the ordinary that day; it had been a routine mission. None of us had been particularly worried.

I still feel that his death is my fault, that maybe if I had been paying more attention I would have seen the landmine before he stepped on it, that maybe I would have noticed how odd the terrain was around where he was about to place his foot.

I remember having to push my fist into my mouth and bite down to prevent the scream rising in my throat. I relieved that moment in my dreams every night, up until being turned, and then the images would haunt me in the day. There was no escape from the memory; it played on a loop in my thoughts for the longest time.

It's slowly faded as time went on, now a more fuzzy memory because of my enhanced vision. I rarely see it anymore except in flashes of things that remind me of him. Once I even stopped someone on the street because he looked so like Vinny from the back, and was convinced it must somehow be him, despite the fact that it was fifteen odd years later and he appeared the same age.

These tags are from a part of my past that I keep hidden, a darker part that lives inside of the lighthearted side of me.

"You have whatever you forgot?" Bella asks when I appear outside the apartment door once again.

"Yeah," I mutter, still lost in thought. The tags are clutched tightly in my left hand, and I loosen my grip on them slightly, not wanting to bend either. "Let's go."

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