I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA

Before

Maxine opens her eyes, seemingly for the first time, on whichever day on whatever month in nineteen forty-three feeling strange. She doesn't know what is happening or where she is. One thing she does know is that she feels…better. Better than she has in years. She's used to feeling fatigued and hungry and sore, her back stinging with the wounds of a fresh whipping, or stomach cramping from lack of food.

But now she feels amazing. Strong and healthy, and for the first time in what feels like forever, she doesn't feel afraid. As soon as her eyes flutter open, she knows that she's different. How else can she explain how she can see colors that she didn't even know are real, and details that she wouldn't even be able to see on a picture: the ridges in the wooden ceiling, the dust particles in the air, the water stains that frame an old European map hanging on the wall. And how can else can she explain the strong scents in the air that she couldn't even describe. She thinks she can make out the earthy scent of dirt and the toxic smell of paint. And roses. She can't remember the last time she's smelled a rose. They were her mother's favorite flower, and on rare occasions her father would be able to bring one home to his wife as a surprise.

Max can't tell how long it's been since she's opened her eyes. She's lost all sense of time and doesn't even know what day it is, and barely remembers the year. But she knows she must have been asleep for a while. The dryness in her throat attests to that. It's dry as a desert, as her father used to say. She tries to swallow, hoping that her saliva could sate her thirst until she had a chance to do so properly, but it only makes it worse. Now that she's acknowledged her thirst, it's all she can focus on.

"You're up," a woman's voice rings out from close by. The voice is as smooth as butter, and Max can imagine that voice being on a radio show or singing a lullaby.

Max shoots up from her position, and in less than a second, she's crouched by a wall, her whole body tensed for a fight. The woman who stands in front of her is extraordinarily beautiful. Smooth, pale white skin. Long red hair and hangs in corkscrews around her shoulders, and perfect facial features that she has never seen on anybody before. Nobody she's ever met has been this perfect. Sure, there was Veronika Kunis, her old next door neighbor, who had thick black hair and wide brown eyes and dimples that showed every time she smiled or laughed. She was the only one who came close.

But this woman, though she's undeniably beautiful, looks anything but friendly. Every cell in Max's body screams danger just at the sight of her; and Max surprises herself when a low hiss sounds from between her teeth. She had never done that before in her life. She's more confused than ever, and doesn't know where she is. She doesn't recognize the faded white walls and creaky wooden floors of the house. The women holds up her hands, a showing Max that she means no harm.

"It's okay," she reassures Max. "I'm not going to hurt you." Max doesn't fall for that. With everything she's seen the past few years, she has lost all trust towards other people. She's lost all of her faith, in God and humanity. The only person she trusts is herself.

"Who are you?" Max questions. Wait, what? Her voice sounds weird. It still sounds like her voice, but smoother somehow. She can't exactly put her finger on it. The woman smiles, her eyes warm and inviting.

"My name is Zuzanna, what is yours?" Max hesitates for a moment. She hasn't said or heard her name in years. It's almost foreign to her now, like it belongs to someone else.

"Maxine Krzywonos." She looks around, abandoning her defensive position to walk around and study the thing she was laying on a few seconds before. It's a wooden kitchen table that looks like it's worn down from use. And it's so small Max is surprised that she was able to lay down on it and now be uncomfortable.

"Do you remember what happened?" Zuzanna asks the girl in front of her. Max shakes her head and tries to remember. The last thing she remembers is eating that stale lump of bread and getting ready to be herded into the showers with the other women. She's not sure about anything else and she voices this to Zuzanna.

"I raided a concentration camp," Zuzanna explains. "When I got there, I found a gas chamber that was in use. You were in there, nearly dead." Max shakes her head, confused.

"You raided a concentration camp? How is that possible? How did you get past the Nazis?" She completely bypasses the information that she had almost died in a gas chamber. She just wants to know how this woman could do what nobody else has.

"But you were alive," Zuzanna continues, ignoring Max's questions. "You were clinging to life, a fighter. So I brought you back to my home, and I changed you into one of my kind." Max frowns, not entirely sure what to make of what just came out of the woman's mouth.

"What is your kind?" Max was thinking of something along the lines of she turned her into a German, which isn't possible, but that's the only thing she could come up with. She definitely doesn't expect what comes out of Zuzanna's mouth next.

"A vampire." The pain and dryness in Max's throat fades away as she seems to freeze up in surprise. A vampire? Vampires don't exist outside of fairytales meant to scare children into behaving. But it makes sense…sort of. If what Zuzanna said is correct, she was close to death, and she wouldn't have been able to survive and heal on her own. Plus, her senses are a thousand times better than she remembers. She can see every detail of every object she lays her eyes on. She can smell scents she didn't even know exists. She can taste the air around her. And the way that she flew off the table? It was too fast to be human.

"Vampire?" As much as it makes sense, Max can't seem to really accept that it's real. Zuzanna nods.

"I'll explain everything to you soon. But first, you need to hunt. You must be in pain from thirst." The pain in Max's throat returns as she is reminded about her thirst.

"Hunt? Hunt what?" Zuzanna smiles, and Max's fears are confirmed.

"Humans, of course. We drink human blood. If you don't do it soon, you'll lose control, and we don't need to bring the attention of the Volturi down on us." Max starts to ask what a Volturi is, but Zuzanna cuts her off. "Again, I'll explain after you hunt."

"But I don't want to kill humans. If I do, I'm no better than the people who sent me to the gas chamber." Zuzanna looks at Max for a long moment, trying to decide what to do. And although they needed to hunt soon, she allows herself to look over the newborn. She's a young girl, no older than twenty-five. Her smooth skin is pale white, while her lips are full and her nose is just the right size for her face. And her hair…when Zuzanna found her, Max had been bald. Having been shaved by the Nazis. But Zuzanna had the power to change the appearance of herself and others, and so she helped Max's hair grow out, knowing that the girl wouldn't want to spend the rest of eternity with no hair. Now the blonde locks brush over her shoulders. While Zuzanna made it so that her eyes were their natural shade of blue. Maxine Krzywonos is beautiful in every way.

"Trust me, darling," Zuzanna finally says. "You'll change your mind when you taste that first drop of blood." With that, Zuzanna grabs Max by her elbow, and the two of them fly out the front door and into Max's new life.

A/N: What did you guys think? Please review!

~Gina