I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA

"So fascinating!" Eleazar mutters as he stares at Judith in wonder. "A half-breed with that powerful a gift! I can't begin to imagine the things you'll be able to do when your gift is fully matured and you've had practice."

"I've been practicing with he ever since we realized what she could do. But that boulder is the biggest thing that she has been able to lift so far," I tell him. I sigh and shake my head. "But you understand, now, why I've kept her a secret."

"Of course," Esme nods. She puts a hand against her chest. "Aro has been trying to get Alice and Edward for years. I can't imagine what he'd do to have someone with telekinesis on his side. To have that kind of power…" She shakes her head.

"The both of you," Carlisle adds.

"What can Max do?" Bella questions.

"Max is very…special, I guess you could say," Eleazar begins. "She has the gift of brain manipulation." All over I see people freeze with surprise, even Edward, as I've never let on to what I can truly do.

"He's right," I tell them. "I have the ability to manipulate the brain and therefore, anything that the brain itself can control. Which means that I can manipulate your consciousness and your subconscious as well as bodily functions and your senses. Basically, anything your brain controls, I can control. I can manipulate the way you see things, what you do and don't see and hear and taste and feel and smell. I call it compulsion, but I can also control your body and your willingness to do things. And your memories. I can implant or take away memories." Everyone is dead silent for a moment while they think.

"Alice shouldn't have sent you here!" Esme says, her voice full of worry. "It's much too dangerous for the both of you."

"If Aro even suspects what either of you can do, no one you love will be safe. They'll use them against you," Eleazar confirms. "Do you have any living family?" he questions me.

"My sister is still alive in New York," I tell him. I shake my head. "But I'd make sure that neither him nor any of his guard get to her." As if she knew we were talking about her, my cell phone rings, and when I look at the caller ID, I sigh. I want to ignore the call and call her back later, but I talked to her just yesterday and told her that I would call when I could and to only call of it's important. Lena had promised, so I have to see what it is, otherwise I might regret it later. I look up at the other vampires.

"Excuse me for a minute." I answer the phone and press it to my ear. "Lena, what's the matter? What's going on?" And instead of saying that she had to go to the hospital or that someone broke into her house, she says the last thing I expect her to.

"Happy birthday!" She sounds cheerful and happy, something she hasn't been in a while. I freeze in surprise, then quickly count the days, and sure enough, it's December twenty-second. My birthday. But even though my sister brought it to my attention, that is the least of my concerns.

"Lena!" I breathe in slight annoyance. "You promised that you wouldn't call unless it was important!"

"This is important! You only turn ninety once, you gotta celebrate!" I sigh, aware of everyone's eyes on my back. I know she means well, and I also know that after the war, birthdays became a big deal to her. It's not like we could have celebrated during those years. Another birthday passing by to her means another one not spent in the ground like so many others.

"Thank you, for the birthday wishes," I finally tell her. "It's nice to know someone still remembers, even if it's not myself." I don't like to think of my birthday too much because it just reminds me of my brother. We were twins, born ten minutes apart, him being first. When I was human I didn't like that we had shared our mother's uterus, as whenever people found out, they would always compare me to him. Noah is more outgoing. Noah is more laid-back. I expected you to be like Noah, are you not twins? So, I just called him my older brother to put some kind of distance between us. But right now I'd do anything to be able to see him and wish him a happy birthday.

"I'll call you later, okay? I'm in the middle of something very important, so please don't call me unless it's a real emergency, okay?" Lena grumbles and sighs.

"Okay, okay. You have my word. Be careful, Maxie." I smile.

"I will. I love you." I hang up the phone and turn back to the others to find them a staring at me. "Sorry about that. My sister doesn't have the best timing in the world. She's eighty-six now, so I think she gets bored."

"Your sister thinks that you're still alive?" Emmett says. I nod.

"Almost ten years after I was changed, I felt like I had a good handle on my thirst, and so I tracked her down. I know the Volturi would kill me and her if they found out she knows about vampires, but I had to have her in my life. If anything went wrong, I knew I could always erase her memories of me and what I've told her about our kind. But I never needed to, as she's always kept the secret."

"Do you know what the Volturi would do if they found out that you told her?" Edward exclaims. "They won't care that you could erase her memories. They would kill you just for doing it, to make sure you don't do it again. Or force you to join them. You were safer just allowing her to believe you were dead. Then at least the both of you would be safe. They nearly killed Bella and I because she found out. I had to promise them I'd turn her into a vampire for them to let us live." I roll my eyes, annoyed that he said that I should have just let my sister think that I was dead. I get his point. I do. But it's like he doesn't trust my judgement.

"Don't you think I thought about that? I did. But I couldn't go another day without seeing her. I wasn't changed into a vampire under the best of circumstances, just like anyone else, but unlike anyone else, I never had the comfort of knowing that none of my family suffered like I did. My sister and I were the only ones left, and I had to let her know that she wasn't alone. And if I have to go up against the Volturi because of that, I will. It's not the first time I've dealt with a group of individuals who believe they're gods and bring terror on to others."

"What do you mean?" Carlisle questions. I close my eyes, not believing that I'm about to say this. After all this time I'm admitting it to someone other than Judith.

"The woman who turned me into a vampire? Let's just say that she had found me near lifeless, laying on the floor of a gas chamber." And with that, I grab Judith's hand, and lead her away from the group of vampires. I'm not sure where I'm going, but I do know that I need some space before I face them again.

A/N: What did you guys think? So I set up a Twitter account, if anyone wants to follow it. I'll just be posting stuff like who I see the characters as, and will tell you guys if I won't be able to post for a bit. Stuff like that. It's (at symbol)G_Reader1 (this site won't allow me to put the actual symbol for some reason). The profile picture on it is the book cover thing I use for my story "Forever & Always". Please review!

~Gina